Badminton
House is a large country house in Gloucestershire,
England, and has been
the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since
the late 17th century. The architect William Kent
renovated and extended the house in the Palladian
style in the early 18th century, but many earlier
elements remain. The sport of Badminton was invented
at the house.
In
the 21st century Badminton House is best known for
the annual Badminton Horse Trials.
Badminton
House is also very strongly associated with fox
hunting. Successive Dukes of Beaufort have been
masters of the Badminton Hunt, which is probably
one of the two most famous
hunts in the United Kingdom. However, the British
Parliament has passed legislation that will make
hunting animals with dogs illegal in the UK from
early 2005, so the Badminton Hunt may soon be defunct.
Badminton was open to the public at one time, but
is not at present (as of 2005).
