Stourhead, Wiltshire was home to an illustrious goldsmith-turned-banking family, the Hoares. Henry I 'the Good' purchased the estate in 1717. It was inherited by his son Henry II 'the Magnificent' in 1725. His daughter and heir Anne married her first cousin Sir Richard Hoare, of Barn Elms. Their son Richard Colt Hoare built the house's fabulous library and picture gallery. Sir Richard's second wife was Frances Acland (3rd cousin twice removed of Mad Jack Fuller). Her 1st cousin once removed, Sir John Palmer Acland, married Mad Jack's sister Elizabeth Fuller. Their grandson Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare gave Stourhead to the National Trust in 1946. The 1000 ha (2500 acre) site with its manmade lake, is liberally sprinkled with follies, monuments, ornate bridges and other curious structures.
