Garden Finder > England > Oxfordshire > Rousham House and Garden

Last updated on 25 March 09

Rousham House and Garden

  4.5/5 (4 ratings)

Gardenvisit Editorial

Rousham is the purest example of an Augustan landscape garden, designed by William Kent on a framework made by Charles Bridgeman in the 1720s. One's first Roman encounter is with statues recalling the Imperial games: a lion mauls a horse and a gladiator dies with restrained agony. A path leads into the woods and the Venus Vale, with statues of Pan, a faun, and Venus, from whom Caesar claimed descent. A sweetly serpentine rill flows in a stone channel from the Cold Bath into the Venus Vale. In another glade, a Temple overlooks the River Cherwell. The terrace overlooming the river is named the Praeneste after the ancient temple complex in the modern town of Palestrina outside Rome.
Address - Steeple Aston, Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, OX25 4QU
Opening times - Rousham Gardens are open every day of the year from 10 am. Last admission is at 4.30 pm and the gardens close at 6 pm (or at dusk, if earlier). Rousham House is only open by prior arrangement - please visit Rousham's web site (www.rousham.org) for information on how to book a tour of the house.
Admission - Garden tickets £4 per person (payment by cash only)
Website - Visit the Rousham House and Garden website

Designers and Influences

This garden has been designed and influenced by William Kent, Charles Bridgeman

Nearby Gardens

Gardens within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Nearby Garden Nurseries

Garden Nurseries within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Luxury Garden Hotels

Nearby Recommended Garden Hotels


Recent Reviews

  • 2 months ago Charlotte said

    This is an exceptionally beautiful garden - so peaceful and so uncrowded! It was featured on Monty Don's programme and I had wanted to visit for many months before I finally got there. It really did live up to my expectations.

    Worth making a detour for and open throughout the seasons - this is a lovely place to walk.

    (5.0/5)
  • 11 months ago Anonymous said

    Unspolit and peaceful! Fanastic for photography!

    (4.0/5)
  • about 1 year ago Jane Markham said

    What a joy to visit a wonderful garden unspoilt by signs warning of 'deep water' or telling you to 'keep off the grass'. The gardens are beautifully maintained so that the vistas that William Kent designed still work beautifully. You wouldn't be surprised to see ladies and gentlemen in 18th century costumes wandering across the lawns or dallying in Praeneste temple! Fabulous.

    (5.0/5)
  • about 1 year ago Adam Hodge said

    Once you are beyond the lawn and have entered the green glades a peaceful and yet hugely romantic aura pervades . A place to stroll hand in hand with your nearest and dearest. The walled garden is delightful in its slightly rickety sort of way ..half the formal beds are slightly wonky and yet lovely..lots of flowers always brighten the beds
    Great place !

    (4.0/5)

See all the reviews of Rousham House and Garden