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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Longleat House
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(30km/19m S of Bath) The earliest and, in its exterior, one of the most satisfying of the great Elizabethan houses. It was built for John Thynne, with Robert *Smythson as master mason, and was completed in 1580. Only the Great Hall retains its Elizabethan appearance. The interiors of the state rooms were created for the 4th marquess of Bath, who in the 1870s attempted to turn his English Renaissance house into an Italian Renaissance palace. The park was landscaped by Capability *Brown, the lakes being formed from the stream which gave the house its name (the Long Leat). Britain's first *safari park was established here in 1966, when the lions of Longleat rapidly became a major tourist attraction.
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