Object description

Apethorpe Palace in the parish of Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house dating back to the 15th century and was a "favourite royal residence for James I". The main house is built around three courtyards lying on an east–west axis and is approximately 80,000 square feet in area. It is acknowledged as the finest example of Jacobean stately home and one of Britains ten best palaces. The building successive alterations are attributed to three major architects : John Thorpe for the Jacobean royal extension, Roger Morris for the Neo-Palladian modifications, and, Sir Reginald Blomfield for the formal gardens and the Neo-Jacobean embellishments. The Lebanese cedar planted in 1614 is a scheduled monument considered as the oldest surviving one in England.