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Althorp, Northamptonshire

This photo is by Andrew Walker and is copyright free

The Spencers made their fortune in the sixteenth century when through a lot of hard work they became some of the richest sheep farmers in Europe. Althorp House was built in 1508 as a suitably impressive country seat. Charles I recognised the Spencers' wealth and power by making them earls. Spencers then served in many royal and government roles through the ensuing centuries. But Althorp is most famous as the childhood home of Diana Spencer, who became Princess of Wales when she married Prince Charles in 1981. Diana had spent her first thirteen years living at Park House at Sandringham, Norfolk. Visits would be made to Althorp, where her grandfather, 7th Earl Spencer lived. Diana didn't seem to have liked Althorp at all. Her young brother Charles has said: "It was like an old man's club with masses of clocks ticking away. For an impressionable child it was a nightmarish place. We never looked forward to going there" (quoted in Diana Her True Story - In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton). Following the 7th Earl's death in 1975 Diana's father became the 8th Earl, and he moved with his family to Althorp, much to Diana's dismay: "When I was 13 we moved to Althorp in Northampton and that was a terrible wrench, leaving Norfolk, because that's where everybody who I'd grown up with lived (Diana Her True Story - In Her Own Words P28).

It was at Althorp that Diana first met Prince Charles, in a ploughed field near Nobottle Wood during a shoot in 1977. Once again we have Diana's own description of the scene: "I remember him coming to Althorp to stay, my husband, and the first impact was 'God, what a sad man.' He came with his labrador. My sister was all over him like a bad rash and I thought 'God, he must really hate that.' I kept out of the way. I remember being a fat, podgy, no make up unsmart lady but I made a lot of noise and he liked that and he came up to me after dinner and we had a big dance..." (Diana Her True Story - In Her Own Words P31).

Diana's marriage to Prince Charles in 1981 turned out to be famously disastrous. During the spring of 1993 when Diana was living unhappily at Kensington Place, her brother offered her the Garden House, a four bedroomed property on the Althorp Estate. While Althorp had been an unwelcoming place in her childhood, it now offered the prospect of sanctuary from the pressures of a bad marriage and relentless media interest. Sadly three weeks later Charles, fearful of the disruption that Diana's presence would cause, withdrew the offer. Diana was not to return to Althorp until after her death, when the chauffeur driven car of Dodi al-Fayed crashed in Paris on 31st August 1997. Diana's grave is on an island in the middle of a lake in the Althorp grounds.

The house is set in four hundred and fifty acres of parkland. There is a restaurant and a shop. Six rooms in the house are dedicated to an exhibition illustrating the life of Diana. Exhibits include Diana's silk taffeta wedding dress decorated with 10,000 pearls.

Althorp was used as a location for the film Another Country.

Opening Times: 1st July to 30th August 2012 open daily from 11am - 5pm, last entry at 4pm.

Pets are not admitted to the park. No photography in the house.

Address: Althorp, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN7 4HQ

Directions: Althorp is located seven miles west of Northampton off the A428. There is clear signage as you approach Northampton from junction 16 of the M1. Althorp is seven miles from Northampton railway station. Click here for an interactive map centred on Althorp.

Access: The visitor route is accessible to visitors in wheelchairs, with the exception of the first floor of the house. There are dedicated disabled spaces in the car park. Carers are admitted free. Adapted toilet facilities are available. Guide dogs are welcome, and an audio tape is provided free of charge to blind or partially sighted people. A number of staff are able to use sign language.

Contact:

telephone: 01604 770107

e-mail: mail@althorp.com

web site: www.althorp.com