A Tudor mansion built by Queen Elizabeth’s Lord High Treasurer
William Cecil was his own architect.
During the 1540’s, when William Cecil was establishing himself both politically and economically, there was a change in architectural fashion in England.
After Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1558 there was a feeling of optimism for a period of peace and stability in England. Many of the great men of the day began the construction of substantial houses: Cecil amongst them. Initial works at Burghley coincided with that of other ‘prodigy’ houses such as Sir Thomas Tresham’s Lyveden, Longleat, initially built by Sir John Thynne and Kirby Hall, optimistically constructed by Sir Christopher Hatton, one of Queen Elizabeth’s ‘comely young men’ and later her Lord Chancellor, who hoped in vain to receive the Queen at his new home.
The Italian influence was superseded by the classical style of buildings that were popular in France and Flanders. During the 1560’s, designs from the Low Countries, particularly those of Hans Vredeman de Vries, were influential in England as were those of the Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio and the Frenchman, Philibert de l’Orme. The construction of Somerset House by the extremely powerful Duke of Somerset, for whom Cecil worked, was hugely influential both to Cecil and to other builders of great houses.
The history of Burghley House
The building period of the house extended over a period of 32 years. We know from the State Papers that the east range was erected in 1555 and work continued on the east and south ranges until 1564. Sir William Cecil had purchased Theobalds Manor, Hertfordshire in 1563 and for a whole decade was fully engaged there in the building of his great ‘prodigy’ house.
At Burghley in August 1564, Edmund Hall, the surveyor, promised that the south side should be finished by winter. Thereafter, little more work was done until 1575 when the team of masons was reassembled. The west front with its great gate-house (it was originally intended to be the main entrance) was finished in 1577. The north front was completed in 1587.
In the late 17th century, the 5th Earl inserted arched windows on the south front to enclose a gallery and possibly to repair damage caused during the Civil War, when Cromwell’s forces subjected the house to a brief bombardment.
When Brownlow, the 9th Earl, inherited in 1754, he promptly employed Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to mastermind the modernisation of the Garden, the surrounding parkland and aspects of the House itself. Brown levelled the roofline elevation of the south front, constructed extensive stables, a fashionable Orangery and a Gothic garden Summerhouse. He also demolished the single storey north-west wing to open up the north courtyard and to give views of the newly planted parkland.
