One Family’s legacy, the Treasures of Burghley House

Miranda Rock Burghley House still stands largely unchanged as a proud legacy to the ambitions of its creator William Cecil, Lord Treasurer to Elizabeth I. This extraordinary sixteenth century ‘prodigy’ house is a rare survival intended to establish the Cecil family as a powerful dynasty long into the future. Stepping inside the house today, it is clear that many generations have left their mark and what remains is a fascinating history of taste and collecting over the last 400 years. While very little remains of the Elizabethan interiors, the principle apartments remain lavishly furnished in the seventeenth and eighteenth century styles and display some of the most intact Grand Tour collections of any English country house. Perhaps the most interesting survival at Burghley is the remarkable archive documenting the history of the purchases, gifts and commissions over the last four centuries. Understanding these layers of collecting, connoisseurship and the characters involved has been the key to understanding the history and importance of Burghley, and to ensuring its preservation for the future.