Buscot House

About

Buscot Park is the home of the Henderson family and the present Lord Faringdon with his eldest son James and his wife Lucinda. They look after the property on behalf of the National Trust as well as the family collection of pictures, furniture, ceramics and objects d'art, known as the Faringdon Collection, which is displayed in the house. Built between 1780 and 1783 for a local landowner, Edward Loveden Townsend, the estate was purchased in 1889 by Lord Faringdon's great-grandfather, Alexander Henderson, a financier of exceptional skill and ability, who in 1916 was created the 1st Lord Faringdon. He greatly enlarged the house, commissioned Harold Peto to design the famous Italianate water garden, and laid the foundations of the Faringdon Collection. Among his many purchases were Rembrandt's portrait of 'Pieter Six', Rossetti's portrait of 'Pandora', and Burne-Jones's famous series, 'The Legend of the Briar Rose'. Among his many purchases, his grandson and heir, Gavin Henderson, added considerably to the collection, acquiring important furniture designed by Robert Adam and Thomas Hope, and was instrumental in returning the house to its late eighteenth century appearance. The family, together with their fellow Trustees, continue to add to the collection, to freshen its display, and to enliven the gardens and grounds.