Lainston House, Country house hotel in Sparsholt, England.
Lainston House is a country house hotel near Sparsholt, in Hampshire, England, housed in a late 17th-century William and Mary style building. The grounds around it include formal gardens, a working kitchen garden that supplies the two on-site restaurants, and open parkland.
The site has medieval origins and was rebuilt as a country house in the late 17th century during the reign of Charles II. It was later converted into a hotel during the 20th century after serving for generations as a private family estate.
The lime tree avenue is one of the oldest surviving examples of such an avenue in England, and it still greets visitors as they arrive on the property. Walking along it gives a sense of how formal landscapes were designed to impress in the late 17th century.
The grounds are easy to walk around, with paths leading through the gardens and parkland that are manageable for most visitors. Arriving outside of peak season gives more space to move around the garden areas without many other people nearby.
A secret wedding took place in the private chapel on the grounds in the 18th century and later became a court case over whether the marriage was legally valid. The scandal surrounding it is thought to have contributed to the debate that led to the Marriage Act of 1753, which banned clandestine marriages in England and Wales.
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