Stories from Grand Tours of Europe
How travelling to Europe inspired English culture in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries
Crossing the channel and into continental Europe, British tourists in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries were among a new wave of pleasure travellers. It was a privilege largely enjoyed by the upper classes, giving them an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in mainland European culture and return home with new ideas and perspectives.
A great number of people who lived in properties that are now in the care of English Heritage embarked on a Grand Tour during this time. Here we share some of their stories and how the Grand Tour impacted their lives.
'I am so far content that I have gratified very agreeably a long desire I have ever had of seeing this most interesting country.’
Defining the 'Grand Tour'
First, let's define what the 'Grand Tour' was. The idea of the Grand Tour emerged in the late 17th century and flourished in the 18th and early 19th centuries, largely during the Georgian period. For members of the British nobility it was considered something of a rite of passage. The itinerary of the Grand Tour was not set in stone, but it was typically focused on travel to western Europe, with Italy being a key destination.
The term ‘Grand Tour’ comes from the 17th century travel writer, Richard Lessels, who coined the term in his book Voyage to Italy, in 1670. It is believed his book inspired somewhat of a tourism boom for English travellers who then sought educational and cultural enlightenment by travelling to the European continent themselves.
Many 'Grand Tourists' were escorted by a guide, sometimes known as a 'cicerone'. The guide was involved primarily for educational purposes, and they often travelled with friends or family. This is somewhat similar to contemporary tour guides who provides cultural contexts to modern sightseeing.
Travelling to the continent in itself was no mean feat. Tourists usually took horse drawn coaches across the land and boats over seas and lakes. But just making the channel crossing was a big effort. Getting to the channel alone involved a few days travelling by coach with overnight stops. There could also be days waiting at the port until the weather conditions permitted safe travel.
But the benefits outweighed the labour of travel. Grand Tourists were exposed to European art, architecture, food, fashion and new ways of living from across the continent.
Surviving letters and diaries provide valuable insight into individual experiences and often help us to identify works of art acquired during a Grand Tour. For many travellers, the exposure to mainland European culture was so profound that they dramatically altered their estates after returning to England. Rooms were re-decorated, gardens were re-designed, and in some cases whole houses were transformed or re-built from scratch.
Here are some stories of Grand Tourists linked to properties within the care of English Heritage.
Background image: Illustration showing tourists visiting the Roman ruins at Pompeii in Italy during their Grand Tour of Europe, circa 1840 © Photo 12 and Alamy Stock Photo.
Audley End House and Gardens
While many young men from the landed gentry went on a Grand Tour in the 18th century, for Richard Aldworth Neville, 2nd Baron Braybrooke, the motivation for travel was much more personal.
Richard Aldworth Neville, 2nd Baron Braybrooke.
Richard Aldworth Neville, 2nd Baron Braybrooke.
His mother, who came from Switzerland but settled in England, died in 1750 when he was only a few days old. 21 years later, in 1771, Richard set out for Geneva with his father and sister to meet her Swiss family for the first time. From Geneva, Richard travelled on to Italy in 1772, journeying south to Naples and then spending several months in Rome.
A Grand Tour group of Gentlemen in Rome circa 1773. To the right of the guide, with a spaniel on his knee, is the future 2nd Baron Braybrooke. From a private collection, on loan to English Heritage at Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.
A Grand Tour group of Gentlemen in Rome circa 1773. To the right of the guide, with a spaniel on his knee, is the future 2nd Baron Braybrooke. From a private collection, on loan to English Heritage at Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.
Neville’s tour brought him a new extended family, as well as languages and cultural capital that he brought home to England. His growing taste for art led to the acquisition of paintings in Rome that can be seen at Audley End House and Gardens today, for example the 'Holy Family Meeting the Infant St John the Baptist'.
Painting of the Holy Family Meeting the Infant St John the Baptist. From a private collection, on loan to English Heritage at Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.
Painting of the Holy Family Meeting the Infant St John the Baptist. From a private collection, on loan to English Heritage at Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.
Neville came home convinced that his travels had been of benefit. As he wrote to his father from Venice in May 1773:
‘You are kind enough to hope that I have either gained improvement or satisfaction in this tour: I cannot flatter myself that I am one jot a cleverer fellow than when I left you; as to satisfaction I am so far content that I have gratified very agreeably a long desire I have ever had of seeing this most interesting country.’
Background image: Audley End House and Gardens.
Wrest Park
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and owner of Wrest Park, embarked on a Grand Tour in 1690. He spent much time in Rome where he acquired a taste for Italian architecture and garden design. On his return to Wrest Park he had the gardens transformed in a grand classical manner, employing some of the leading architects and designers of the day.
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent.
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent.
A series of woodland avenues were created, enclosed on three sides by canals and ornamented with statuary and garden buildings. Thomas Archer was commissioned to design a Baroque pavilion which was built at the end of the long water and completed in 1711. Archer was from Warwickshire, but his outlook was fundamentally shaped by the Grand Tour of Italy he undertook as a young man in the 1680s. The interior of Archer’s pavilion was decorated with trompe l’œil paintings by Mark Anthony Hauduroy, echoing the prevalent style of interior painting in Renaissance Italy.
English architect Thomas Archer.
English architect Thomas Archer.
Henry Grey’s Grand Tour also led him to plan the rebuilding of the main house at Wrest Park according to designs by the Italian architect Giacomo Leoni. However, he abandoned this project after a turbulent period in his life during which his two sons died, his London house burned down, and he lost a large amount of money in the ‘South Sea Bubble’ financial crash of 1720.
Background image: Wrest Park.
Belsay, Hall, Castle and Gardens
Sir Charles Monck of Belsay, Northumberland, and his wife Louisa, had a two year honeymoon to Greece in 1804-6. On their return he began plans for a new family home. Inspired by his visits to a range of ancient sites, Monck designed Belsay Hall himself, rather than employing an architect, as was the norm.
Sir Charles Monck.
Sir Charles Monck.
The Hall sits on a stepped plinth, like a Greek temple, and is perhaps based on measurements taken from the Theseion, a temple in Athens. The two columns on the front elevation are copied from the Thesion, and columns in the library were taken from the Erechtheion, also in Athens. Monck was an exacting architect, insisting on no external drainage as it would spoil his vision.
As well as buildings, Monck’s diaries from his travels are full of praise for the landscapes he saw. It was the interplay of the ancient sites and the natural landscape that most enthralled him, with notes on new plant varieties included in his reports of site visits.
The Hall was built of stone quarried from the Belsay Estate, and it was excavated with care to a specific plan to create the dramatic garden you see today. Just as Monck explored the Greek landscape, visitors walk through the Quarry Gardens to discover the ruined Castle.
Monck also spent some time in Sicily, which he recalls in his diary:
'Beautifully moonlit, clear, and mild: sea smoother. I spent it upon dock. From Stromboli to the Faros of Messina is thirty eight miles. At (half) past seven we passed the Faros: So it took us only 3 hours to cross the last 38 miles.'
Background image: Belsay Hall.
Kenwood
Lady Frederica Murray lived at Kenwood with her parents and her siblings. In July 1819, 19-year-old Lady Frederica set out on a Grand Tour, accompanied by her father and mother, the 3rd Earl and Countess of Mansfield.
While the Grand Tour had traditionally been a rite of passage for wealthy young men, by the early 19th century a greater number of upper-class women were enjoying travel on the continent, albeit typically in the company of their husbands, brothers, sons or parents.
Frederica, 3rd Countess of Mansfield, the mother of Lady Frederica © Heritage Image Partnership Ltd and Alamy Stock Photo.
Frederica, 3rd Countess of Mansfield, the mother of Lady Frederica © Heritage Image Partnership Ltd and Alamy Stock Photo.
Like many female Grand Tourists, Lady Frederica kept a travel diary. She recorded that the family departed from Paris on 15 July and travelled through France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland before crossing the Alps into Italy. Along the way, she documented their activities. In Belgium, they took a guided tour of the battlefield of Waterloo. In Germany, the Countess of Mansfield practiced the organ in the various churches they visited. In Milan, they saw Leonardo da Vinci’s fresco The Last Supper. Lady Frederica also documented family memories such as this entry on 1 August from Laufenburg, Germany.
‘We then went up a hill from whence fell a little cascade. Mama, attempting to cross a plank across this cascade, fell in, but catching a post was saved with only a few bruises.'
For young women like Lady Frederica, the Grand Tour offered opportunities for education and self-improvement. It was also a chance to escape domestic life and mix with a varying, mobile social set.
The experience was to be a key event in Lady Frederica’s life. For part of their trip, the Mansfields were accompanied by a family friend, Colonel James Stanhope. During their travels, Frederica and James fell in love and on a visit to see Mont Blanc they became engaged.
Background image: Kenwood.
1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield
For Sir Godfrey Webster and his wife Lady Elizabeth, the Grand Tour was an opportunity to escape problems at home, but ultimately lead to the breakdown of their marriage. Godfrey’s family seat, Battle Abbey in Sussex, was occupied by a dowager aunt who refused to move out, leaving them in a small rented house nearby. The situation was unhappy and Godfrey eventually agreed to Elizabeth’s requests to travel. Between 1791 and 1793 they spent time in France, Switzerland and Germany, but returned most often to Italy.
Portrait of Elizabeth, Lady Webster painted during their Grand Tour.
Portrait of Elizabeth, Lady Webster painted during their Grand Tour.
However, over time their marriage began to collapse. This was in part because of the large gap in their ages (at the time of their marriage in 1786 he was 39 to her 15) but also the social context of travel. Early in their tour Elizabeth became good friends with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and as part of her social circle she began to meet, and flirt with, younger men. She became dismissive of her much older husband and increasingly travelled with friends instead.
Then, in Naples in 1794, Elizabeth met Henry Richard Fox, third Baron Holland. They began a romantic affair. A year later she refused to return to England with her husband, only returning in 1796 to give birth to Henry’s son. The resulting divorce lost Elizabeth access to her children, but Henry married her and they remained important figures in society.
Background image: 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield.
In many ways the Grand Tour paved the way for modern overseas travel. Although technology may have advanced methods and accessibility, the appetite for cultural experiences remains the same.
Around 20 million British tourists travel abroad each year, seeking adventures in far-flung places, just like those who travelled hundreds of years before. If anything, the allure of travel and tourism has only become more insatiable.
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