Althorp

Althorp is a country house and estate in Northamptonshire, England, long held by the Spencer family and noted for its landscaped park and historic interiors. It is a generational family seat with public access to parts of the house and grounds.

The property contains a stately home with historic rooms and a collection of portraits, extensive parkland and formal gardens. The ornamental Round Oval lake with its small island is a well-known feature within the landscape and attracts visitors to the grounds.

Althorp has been the Spencer family seat since the early modern period, with the house and landscape altered and updated by successive generations and designers. Landscape work by leading 18th-century gardeners reshaped the parkland into its present form, and the house interiors contain furniture and art accumulated over centuries.

The estate lies in rural Northamptonshire near the town of Northampton, set among agricultural land and parkland in central England. It is reached from local roads serving the county and is the principal landmark in the immediate area.

• Opening and collections: Visitors can view a permanent family collection including portraits and historic interiors; the house and grounds are open to the public on a seasonal schedule.
• Diana's burial site: The Round Oval contains an island which is the burial site of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is a focal point for many visitors.

What to See #

• Althorp House: The principal family home dating mostly from the 16th and 17th centuries, containing historic portraits, furniture and a collection of family papers and memorabilia.
• The Round Oval (island): An ornamental lake with a small island at its centre, known within the estate as the Round Oval; the island is the burial place of Diana, Princess of Wales.
• St Mary's Church: A parish church on the estate where several members of the Spencer family are buried and where some family monuments are located.