18 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Wiltshire

Checkout places to visit in Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge.

Popular Activities And Trips in Wiltshire

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Iconic Buildings to Explore in Wiltshire

Arundells, the home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, is situated in the beautiful Cathedral Close in Salisbury. The house and its extensive garden are open to the public five days a week from late March to late October each year. Arundells remains very much as it was when it was Heath’s home. An avid collector, Heath amassed works by LS Lowry, John Singer-Sargent, John Nash, John Piper, Walter Sickert and Augustus and Gwen John, as well as model warships made by Napoleonic prisoners of

Bowood House and Gardens

Bowood House & Gardens is the home of the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne. Bowood offers a fantastic day out in Wiltshire for all the family. Famous for one of the UK’s most extensive Adventure Playgrounds, children are guaranteed the time of their lives. This house has a rich history with a wealth of art and antiques on display, and within the numerous Exhibition Rooms are remarkable collections of family heirlooms and works of art built up over 250 years.

Corsham Court is a beautiful Elizabethan mansion built in 1582 and much remodelled over the subsequent centuries. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles west of Chippenham, Wiltshire and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintings inherited in 1757 by Paul Methuen from his uncle, Sir Paul Methuen, the diplomat. It is currently the home of the present Baron Methuen, James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there.

Great Chalfield Manor

Great Chalfield Manor is an English country house at Great Chalfield, about 2.5 miles northeast of the town of Bradford on Avon in the west of the county of Wiltshire. The house consists of a great hall, a panelled dining room, a solar with an oriel window and chambers in each gable. The moated manor house was built around 1465–1480 for Thomas Tropenell, a modest member of the landed gentry who made a fortune as a clothier. It is on the site of an earlier fortified house, of which traces remain:

Iford Manor Gardens

Iford Manor is a manor house in Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building sitting on the steep, south-facing slope of the Frome valley. It was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by Condé Nast Traveler in 2020, with the manor taking "center stage". Set in 2.5 acres, this steep, terraced, Italianate garden affords the visitor wonderful views of the valley, especially enjoyed from the casita, loggia and cloisters.

Longford Castle

Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. It also has a 16th-century park landscaped in the 18th century. The park covers some 125 hectares, with 19th-century formal gardens of two hectares.

Longleat House was widely regarded as one of the best examples of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain and one of the most beautiful stately homes open to the public. The house is set in 1,000 acres of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, with 4,000 acres of let farmland and 4,000 acres of woodland, which includes a Center Parcs holiday village. It was the first stately home to open to the public, and the Longleat estate includes the first safari park outside Africa

National Trust - Avebury Manor

Avebury Manor & Garden is a National Trust property consisting of a Grade I listed early-16th-century manor house and its surrounding garden. It is in Avebury, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, in the centre of the village next to St James's Church and close to the Avebury neolithic henge monument. The refurbishment of Avebury Manor was designed so that the rooms reflected the period in which the residents of Avebury Manor lived and you can learn about these people as you go around.

National Trust - Dinton Park and Philipps House

Philipps House, originally Dinton House, overlooks its picturesque village. A seat of a branch of the Wyndham family, it is a Palladian mansion, built in Chilmark stone by Jeffrey Wyatt – later Sir Jeffrey Wyattville – for William Wyndham IV of Dinton and Norrington. Inside, its finest feature is a great ‘Imperial’ staircase. Philipps House was much loved by many creative people during this era. The interior spaces were converted into artist studios with bedrooms available for paying guests. The

National Trust - Great Chalfield Manor and Garden

Great Chalfield Manor is an English country house at Great Chalfield, about 2.5 miles northeast of the town of Bradford on Avon in the west of the county of Wiltshire. The moated manor house was built around 1465–1480 for Thomas Tropenell, a modest member of the landed gentry who made a fortune as a clothier. It is on the site of an earlier fortified house, of which traces remain: the bases of curtain walls to the east and north, and parts of two towers.

National Trust - Mompesson House

Mompesson House is an 18th-century house located in the Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The house is Grade I listed. and has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1975. It was built in 1701 for the local MP Charles Mompesson, a member of an established Wiltshire family with a long record in politics. The house is used to display the Turnbull collection of English 18th-century drinking glasses bequeathed to the Trust in 1970. It also houses the Bessemer-Wright collecti

National Trust - Westwood Manor

This beautiful small manor house, built over three centuries, has late Gothic and Jacobean windows, decorative plasterwork and two important keyboard instruments. It has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1956 and was designated as Grade I listed in 1962. There is some fine period furniture, 17th- and 18th-century tapestries and a modern topiary garden.

Old Wardour Castle

Old Wardour Castle was a stylish statement of the wealth and status of its builder, Lord John Lovell, who was a loyal supporter of Richard II. It was built in the 14th century as a lightly fortified luxury residence for comfortable living and lavish entertainment. Today the castle ruin provides a relaxed, romantic day out for couples, families, and budding historians alike. The castle was the inspiration for the one featured in the Kevin Costner film 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.

Pewsey Heritage Centre

The building was originally the foundry for agricultural engineers, Whatley & Hiscock, and now provides an easily-accessible, airy and spacious setting housing wonderful collections that are sure to bring back memories. The company's collection of historic farm machinery forms the core of the museum collection.

The Merchant's House

The House of Thomas Bayly was built following the Great Fire of Marlborough in 1653. Over the years 1653-1700 a fine timber and brick building was constructed, its interior panelled, brilliant with wall paintings and with a commanding oak staircase. A substantial amount of this fabric survives and hidden painted decoration is still being revealed.

Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. The first recorded building on the site of Wilton House was a priory founded by King Egbert circa 871. The present Grade I listed house is the result of rebuilding after a 1647 fire, although a small section of the house built for William Herbert survives. The house stands in gardens and a park which are also Grade I listed. While still a

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre is a building in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, which serves as a focal point for heritage services relating to Wiltshire and Swindon. It is funded by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. It has purpose-built archive storage and research facilities and incorporates the local studies library, museums service, archaeology service, Wiltshire buildings record and the conservation service. The centre opened to the public on 31 October 2007 and is being

Map of Iconic Buildings to Explore in Wiltshire