Boughton House, Northamptonshire, is a country house about 3 miles north-east of Kettering near Geddington. Part of an estate of 11,000 acres, it is one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch and famed for its beauty, its collections, and the fact it has survived virtually unchanged since the 17th century. While possessing a medieval core, its exterior evokes an opulent French chateau, causing it to be called ‘The English Versailles’.
In keeping with the French style of its exterior, Boughton House is set amidst a highly impressive formal, yet arcadian garden of strict geometry, designed on the golden ratio. Vast swathes of turf, planes of reflecting water, strong lines of trees and linear earth forms create an intellectually meditative landscape indicative of the Age of Enlightenment and the idea that a garden could be a journey of the mind, yet acknowledge the natural world. The 2nd Duke, who had been nicknamed John The Planter, swept away the previous ornamental parterres, multiplied the avenues of elms and planes, and developed the role of water which structures the garden. Later, the landscaper of the garden at Stowe, Charles Bridgeman, who was under his employ, is believed to have created the sculptural earth forms.
Restoration of the garden was begun by the 9th Duke, and has continued under the 10th Duke. It included returning the River Ise to its eighteenth-century width, which required two miles of green oak boarding, fixed by coach bolts. In 2009 landscape designer Kim Wilkie was commissioned to create a new work to complement an existing pyramidal grassed mount. The result, called Orpheus, is named after the famed musician of Greek mythology who, when his wife Eurydice died, went down into the underworld to try to reclaim her. His music was so beautiful that Hades relented and allowed Eurydice to return to the world of the living. This striking landform seamlessly continues the garden’s intellectual dialogue via an immense inverted pyramid and spiral rill, both set within a golden ratio. In 2015 The Grand Etang, or ‘large lake’ in French, a long-vanished lake of almost one-acre with a 75 ft tall water jet was recreated, to once again reflect the main frontage of Boughton. Located immediately to the north-west of the House, it is one of the earliest surviving features from the original gardens and designed landscape. It was created in the early 18th century as a reflecting pool for the house and was also used for ice-skating in the winter.