Avebury Manor and Garden

Avebury Manor and Garden occupies one of the most remarkable settings of any historic house in Britain — set within the boundaries of the Avebury stone circle, the largest prehistoric stone monument in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The manor house, begun in the mid-sixteenth century on the site of a small Benedictine priory, was substantially extended and remodelled over the following centuries, and the buildings visible today reflect this rich and complex history of continuous occupation.

The National Trust acquired Avebury Manor in the 1990s and has since undertaken an ambitious and unusual approach to presenting the house: each room has been decorated in a style reflecting a different period of the manor's history, from Tudor through Stuart, Queen Anne, Georgian, and Edwardian eras up to the 1920s. This 'time-travel through interior design' format was the subject of a popular BBC television series and has made Avebury Manor one of the most visited National Trust properties in Wiltshire.

The walled garden adjacent to the manor is a delight in itself, containing formal hedged compartments, a rose garden, a kitchen garden, and an orchard. The gardens are maintained with a programme of seasonal planting that ensures colour and interest throughout the year.

However, for most visitors the extraordinary appeal of Avebury lies in the combination of the manor with the World Heritage Site that surrounds it. The stone circle at Avebury is far larger in area than Stonehenge — the village of Avebury itself stands within the stone circle — and the great megalithic monuments of the Neolithic period, including the Avebury henge, the Avenue, and Silbury Hill (Europe's largest prehistoric mound), are all within easy walking distance, making this one of the richest prehistoric landscapes in Europe.