An 1831 engraving of the House from "Neale's Views of Seats"
A 1784 engraving of the Garden Facade from the Lake from "Walpoole's New Complete British Traveller"
A 1784 engraving of the Temple of the Winds from "Walpoole's New Complete British Traveller"
Earlier Houses: An earlier house was demolished in the late 17th century and replaced by the current house.
House & Family History: Until the mid-16th century the Shugborough Estate was owned by the bishops of Lichfield; at the Dissolution of the Monasteries Shugborough was sold into private ownership and passed through several owners, until it was purchased in 1624 by William Anson, a lawyer from Dunston, Staffordshire. In 1695 his grandson, William Anson (1656–1720), demolished the old house and created a new mansion, which still stands and is particularly noted for its fine plasterwork.
House Replaced By: An earlier house was demolished in the late 17th century and replaced by the current house.
Garden & Outbuildings: The Grade I garden includes 18 acres of land, as well as an assortment of Neoclassical monuments by James Stuart. Stuart's Choragic monument at Shugborough is the earliest known modern reproduction of the famous Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens. The Shepherd's Monument is based on the famous painting "Shepherds of Arcadia" by Nicholas Poussin and famously features an inscription at its base that has riddled people since its construction in 1748. In "Great Drawings from the Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects" Jill Lever and Margaret Richardson state that Athenian "Stuart's temples at Hagley, 1758, and at Shugborough in the 1760s, were the first accurate Greek Revival buildings in Europe." Shugborough remains a working farm.
Architect: Samuel Wyatt
Date: Circa 1790Architect: James Stuart
Date: 1756-70John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. IV, 1821.
Country Life: CXV, 510, 590, 676 plan, 1954.
Title: Great Drawings from the Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Author: Harris, John; Lever, Jill; Richardson, Margaret
Year Published: NA
Reference: pg. 58
Publisher: London: Trefoil Books
ISBN: 0862940362
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Athenian Stuart: Pioneer of the Greek Revival
Author: Watkin, David
Year Published: 1982
Publisher: London: George Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 0047200278
Book Type: Softback
Title: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1990
Author: Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors)
Year Published: 1990
Reference: pg. P 737
Publisher: London: Debrett's Peerage Limited (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc.)
ISBN: 0312046405
Book Type: Hardback
Title: In Trust for the Nation: Paintings from National Trust Houses
Author: Laing, Alastair
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pg. 94
Publisher: London: The National Trust
ISBN: 070801958
Book Type: Softback
Title: Greek Revival, The
Author: Crook, J. Mordaunt
Year Published: 1995
Publisher: London: John Murray
ISBN: 0719554551
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Grade I
Current Seat / Home of: Thomas William Robert Hugh Anson, 6th Earl of Lichfield; Anson family here since 1624.
Past Seat / Home of: Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson, late 18th century.
Current Ownership Type: The National Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction
Ownership Details: The earl resides in part of the House. The servants' quarters are used as the County Museum. The House and Estate are owned by the National Trust and open to the public.
House Open to Public: Yes
Phone: 01889-881-388
Fax: 01889-881-323
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Historic Houses Member: No