Croome (National Trust Guide)

Croome is a place of incredible innovation, devastating loss, remarkable survival, and magnificent restoration. Outside is the grandest of English 18th-century landscapes, "Capability" Brown’s masterful first commission, while at the heart of the park lies Croome Court, once home to the Earls of Coventry. Croome Court was Brown’s first major architectural project as well as Robert Adam’s first important commission. This guidebook explores some of the many surprising stories of Croome, from the trend-setting design demanded by the 6th Earl, and his belief in championing young talent, to the part it played in World War II as a secret airbase. Featuring stunning new photography and evocative archive images, this guidebook not only looks back at Croome’s fascinating past, but also reveals how, after decades of separation, the Palladian mansion and its designed landscape have been brought back together again, as "Capability" Brown, Robert Adam, and the 6th Earl originally intended.