BOWOOD'S BBC2 TV APPEARANCE IN 'AT HOME WITH THE GEORGIANS' SETS THE SCENE AS THE HOUSE & GARDENS PREPARES TO RE-OPEN FOR 2011 SEASON ON FRIDAY 1 APRIL

An Artists' Exhibition and a Photographic Competition add further to aesthetic appreciation

The recent appearance of Bowood in the second episode of Professor Amanda Vickery's BBC2 TV series 'At Home with The Georgians' sets the scene wonderfully for all that has evolved at Bowood since this period in history. Some 250 years later Bowood House & Gardens prepares to re-open (having first opened to the public in 1975) for its 37 th season on Friday 1 April.

The commissioning, in the 1760s, of Robert Adam and Capability Brown to re-design Bowood House (near Calne, Wiltshire and where the Lansdowne family have lived since 1754) as a highly impressive stately home, surrounded by magnificent gardens and parkland, is re-enacted in the programme entitled 'A Woman's Touch'. Lady Shelburne (whose husband the 2 nd Earl of Shelburne was later created the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne for having negotiated, as Prime Minister, peace with America following the War of Independence) is described by Amanda Vickery as 'the idealistic heroine of my tale of taste', being very heavily involved in the design brief for Bowood House and expressing her aspirations for it with a clarity of vision.

Those keen to learn more about this particular chapter in Bowood's history should head to the first of the series of Exhibition Rooms in Bowood House as soon as it re-opens in Spring. Here, various 18 th century heirlooms are displayed, such as the richly embroidered green velvet court suit of the 1 st Marquess and Lord Byron's Albanian costume that he gave to Margaret Mercer Elphinstone (mother of the 4 th Marchioness) suggesting she use it for fancy dress.

Winding the clock forward to present times, a new exhibition entitled 'Bowood Through the Artist's Eye ' will be featured in Robert Adam's Orangery bringing together a body of work by the Calne Artists' Group . "Each year a specially themed exhibition is staged within the House to showcase a particular aspect of life and times at Bowood," explains resident curator, Dr. Kate Fielden, "and this year's display sees the return of the Calne Artists' Group who last exhibited with us 10 years ago. 2011's initiative has encouraged local artists to share their visual interpretations of Bowood House, our surrounding landscape and the variety of wildlife found on the Estate."

Having sketched and photographed at Bowood last season, the artists are now developing their works ahead of the Spring 2011 re-opening. Some 17 members of the Bowood team, including Lord and Lady Lansdowne, sat for the artists and their portraits will also be on display, individually and as part of a collage . Visitors can, for instance, view David Auld's watercolour of the south wing of Bowood House and the lake's autumn light captured in oils by John Harris as well as Rosalind Robinson's charcoal drawing of Lady Lansdowne.

The Calne Artists' Group www.calneartists.co.uk comprises some 20 practising professional artists - drawn from painters, sculptors, illustrators, calligraphers, designers' printmakers, ceramicists, stone carvers, and stained glass artists.  Many have established regional and national reputations in their own fields and so the group was formed for its members to encourage one another and pool their insight. While each pursues their own individual practices and sale of works, the group exhibits together every year to express many creative disciplines in a variety of media. 

From spring flowers to autumnal shades, from the Hermit's Cave to Bowood House's Diocletian wing and from swans on the lake to deer strolling past the golf course and Bowood hotel, the splendour of Bowood and its surroundings will similarly inspire and stimulate the amateur photographer's eye this coming season, prompted further by a year-round photographic competition being orchestrated by Bowood from January through to December.

Digital photographic entries are invited for submission on a monthly basis so that a fabulous photographic album of scenes from Bowood (interior shots and pictures of children are not to be included) will be assembled across the passage of the year. From April-October there will be abundant photographic opportunities around Bowood House and across the 100 acres of Pleasure Grounds when both are open to the public. Additionally, from January to March and during November and December, visitors to Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort ( with its own dedicated entrance, a mile from Bowood House) can capture wonderful seasonal landscapes and elements of nature within this western corner of Capability Brown's parkland and around the golf course.

Photographs (no larger than 1 mb) must be e-mailed to photo2011@bowood.org by the last day of each month. The monthly winning photographer will be announced on the www.bowood.org website where their photo will be posted and at the end of 2011 the overall winner will then be chosen from the featured twelve. Each monthly winner will be invited to Bowood Hotel for an English Afternoon Tea for two while a weekend prize stay at the hotel will then be extended to the overall winner and their guest.

"Bowood and its beauty will truly be celebrated this year," comments Lord Lansdowne, "by the professional artist and the amateur photographer alike. Amanda Vickery's recent TV programme clearly illustrated Lady Shelburne's vision - in its infancy - for the finest aesthetic details coming together at Bowood. Now, hundreds of years later, the contemporary eye can fully appreciate how her hopes and plans have come to their fruition."

"Among Bowood's many other wide ranging attractions, the coming season will see the new features we introduced in 2010 going from strength to strength. The under-7s will continue to be thrilled by the 'Partridge Play Pen' - a mini version of our Adventure Playground - while older age-groups can sign up once again for the guided group garden tours with lunch afterwards. Garden enthusiasts can also combine a visit to the Rhododendron Walks - which bloom for six weeks from late April - with a specially-themed and priced 'Rhododendron Afternoon Tea' in the hotel's Library. All-in-all there'll be something to please everyone!"

Bowood House & Gardens will re-open to the public on 1 st April from 11am-5.30pm daily while the Gardens stay open until 6pm - with last admissions at 5pm (closing one hour earlier after the autumn clocks go back). Individual entrance tickets start at £5 per child aged 2-4 and go up to £9.50 per adult, (13 years +) with family tickets (two adults, two children) at £28.50 for the day. Season tickets - priced from £23 for children to £41 for adults and at £125 for a family - offer great value, with savings being made after just four visits across the eight months when Bowood is open.

For information on Bowood House & Gardens,
call 01249 812102.

For Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, call 01249 822228.

For fuller background on Bowood, visit www.bowood.org .