Stratfield Saye House

Stratfield Saye House is a stately home in Hampshire. It is the home of the Dukes of Wellington, the most famous of whom defeated the French emperor Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.  

Stratfield Saye House was originally owned in the medieval period by the Stoteville and de Saye families. In 1629 it was sold to the Pitt family, ancestors of the famous British father-and-son Prime Ministers. In 1817 it was presented to the Duke of Wellington in thanks for his victories in the Napoleonic Wars. The idea was for a mansion to rival Blenheim, built for the Duke of Marlborough in thanks for his victories against France a century earlier. However, the plans proved too expensive, and the Duke had to settle with improvements to the existing house. 

The Wellington Exhibition in the stable block charts the life of the first Duke and contains a collection of military mementoes, including his funeral carriage, made from melted-down French cannon. His trusty steed Copenhagen is buried nearby, the only horse given a full military funeral. Ironically the site was a film location for the Steven Spielberg movie War Horse.