 |
| Queen Elizabeth Portrait |
A new event has just been added to Burghley’s 2014 programme offering visitors a chance to not only be amazed by the stunning Elizabethan architecture of the house and estate – but also enjoy ‘An Audience With Elizabeth I’.
Built by her chief minister William Cecil, Burghley House in Lincolnshire was originally designed as a grand tribute to the Queen, and is still lived in by a direct descendant of Lord Burghley.
Despite there being a Queen Elizabeth Bedroom among the magnificent state rooms open to the public, Elizabeth never actually stayed at Burghley, with her one planned visit called off at the last minute because William Cecil’s daughter had smallpox.
But 400 years later, there will be a chance to see Queen Elizabeth at Burghley!
Evening drinks in the Orangery Restaurant – housed in a building that provided space for the family’s love of horticulture and designed by Capability Brown – will be followed by a glittering presentation by Lesley Smith, Curator of Tutbury Castle, in character as Queen Elizabeth I at the special ticketed event on Friday, 23rd May 2014.
Held in the Great Hall – boasting a remarkable double hammer-beam roof 60ft tall that was used as a banqueting hall in Elizabethan days – the lecture will transport guests back to the time of Drake, Raleigh and Shakespeare on England’s voyage into the Renaissance.
Renowned Elizabethan historian Lesley Smith will talk about the profound effects on English and European politics of the Protestant queen who went on to rule England longer than any other monarch before her.
An Audience with Elizabeth I starts with drinks in the Orangery at 6pm and the lecture ends around 8.30pm.
Tickets are £14 and include a glass of wine and places are limited so the advice is to book early.
For full details of opening times, events and to book online tickets, visit www.burghley.co.uk or telephone 01780 752451.Burghley, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, has been the home of the Cecil Family for over 400 years and is England’s greatest Elizabethan House. Burghley is owned and maintained by Burghley House Preservation Trust, which looks after a huge collection of great works of art, including one of the most important private collections of 17th century Italian paintings, the earliest inventoried collection of Japanese ceramics in the West, exceptional 18th century furniture and wood carvings by Grinling Gibbons and his followers. The Trust also maintains a 13,000-acre estate including residential, commercial and agricultural lettings, woodland and Burghley Park, which is open daily at no charge.
The House is open from Saturday 15 March to Sunday 2 November 2014, daily (except Fridays) from 11am to 5pm (last admission 4.30pm). Admission: House and The Gardens of Surprise - adults £13; children (3–15 years) £6.50; seniors/students £11.80; family (2 adults & 2 children) £35.
No comments:
Post a Comment