Broadlands

Broadlands is a Palladian country house in Hampshire, once home to the 19th century British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, and later to Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the British general of World War Two. Much of the architecture owes its appearance to the famous landscape designer Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.

The original Broadlands manor belonged to nearby Romsey Abbey since before the Norman Conquest almost 1,000 years ago.  After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-16th century it came into the possession of a series of powerful families, of whom the Temples, said to have been the wealthiest in the country, had most influence on its current appearance. They began a major architectural transformation of the house during the 18th century.

The famous landscape designer Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was asked to seize upon the 'capabilities' of the earlier manor house. The work was completed by two other giants of the period Henry Holland and William Kent. The result was one of the most elegant of all country houses in England. An exhibition displays a collection of memorabilia from the life of the Queen’s cousin Louis Mountbatten, killed by terrorists in 1979, and the house ownership remains connected to the Mountbatten family.