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This gracious Palladian mansion was the home of the late Lord Louis Mountbatten and the place where the Queen, as the young Princess Elizabeth, together with her husband, Prince Philip, spent the first part of their honeymoon following their marriage almost 60 years ago.
Broadlands is an historic place, since it was transformed from an ordinary 16th-century house into the splendid manor we see today, the house has welcomed the great and the good of each passing era, particularly the years when the house was the family home of the Viscount Palmerston's. The 1st Viscount was responsible for landscaping the grounds and the 2nd Viscount commissioned "Capability" Brown to carry out alterations to the house. It was Brown who shaped the landscape between the house and the River Test, by giving the house a more imposing look and shaping a gentle descent towards the water. Later, Henry Holland, son-in-law and protégé of Brown was instructed to make further alterations, and today the house is largely as he left it, with only minor improvements being made when the 3rd Viscount, Lord Palmerston occupied the house. During the reign of Queen Victoria the 3rd Viscount Palmerston was twice British Prime Minister.
Lord Mountbatten, the grandson of Queen Victoria, came to Broadlands through his marriage to Edwina Ashley, she inherited the estate via her grandfather who had received it from Lord Palmerston's step-son William Cowper, later Lord Mount Temple.
Lord Mountbatten met an untimely death through a merciless IRA bomb attack in 1979. After this the property passed to the present owner, Lord Romsey. In 1988, Lord Romsey commission his uncle, famous interior designer David Hicks to redecorate the interior.
Visitors to Broadlands see an elegant, mellow, yellow-grey brick house with an elegant east-front portico and domed hall designed by Brown in 1768. This domed entrance hall leads to the Sculpture Gallery, both rooms contain parts of the 2nd Viscount Palmerston's collection of antique sculpture from the 18th-century. The neo-classical Dining Room was created by Holland, this has a painting of Emma, Lady Hamilton, by Lawrence and other works of art including paintings by Monnoyer and Van Dyck.
Overlooking the river are three handsome reception rooms, these contain many treasures, particularly the beautifully gilded Saloon, with its fascinating display of Meissen and Serves porcelain arranged by the late Lord Mountbatten's brother-in-law, King Gustav of Sweden. The Wedgewood Room is crammed with pieces of Wedgewood collected by several family members, and the Drawing Room still has original neo-classical pier glasses. Much of the intricate plasterwork to these rooms is the work of Joseph Rose the elder, the rooms also contain mirrors, superb bookcases and interesting portraits of court beauties by Lely.
Lord Mountbatten's ancestors from the House of Hesse are represented with paintings lining the back staircase, this leads to the Oak Room which was transformed into a cinema by Lord Mountbatten. Further along visitors come to another back staircase leading to the ground floor where the passage shows models of ships on which Lord Mountbatten served during his long Naval career.
The Palmerston Room contains Angelica Kauffmann's vivid Grand Tour portrait of the 2nd Viscount showing Mount Vesuvius in the background together with memorabilia commemorating his great career, life and times.
Lord Louis Mountbatten became the last Viceroy of India, and as Earl Mountbatten of Burma, he was Admiral of the Fleet from 1956 to 1965. Visitors to the house will find all periods of Lord Mountbatten's life and times covered by an exciting permanent exhibition in the 17th-century stable block.
Broadlands is open to the public between June and September. A number of annual events are hosted each season, these include the annual game fair, orchestral concerts, the Hampshire Pageant of Motoring, and many others.
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