The fascinating story of Diana’s ancient family seat
Althorp House is probably best known for being the childhood home and final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales.
However, the Spencer family has called the estate home for more than 500 years and it has been the family seat to 19 generations of the Spencer line. What stories lie inside its walls?
First mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as ‘Olletorp,’ Althorp started life as a small village, around six miles north of the town of Northampton in the English county of Northamptonshire.
With a tiny population of around 50 people in the early 14th century, the vast estate we see today has come a long way from its humble beginnings.
By the early 15th century, the village of Althorp was almost deserted, and the acreage up for grabs. Sir John Spencer, who grazed sheep in the village, eventually bought up the land in 1508 and built Althorp House using funds from his sheep farming business.
The sale was estimated to be worth around £800 ($1k) at the time, which is around £762,000 ($968k) in today’s money.
After passing through another generation of the Spencer family, in 1669, Althorp made its way into the hands of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, who was only an infant at the time.
When he was old enough, Robert started work on the estate, rebuilding the manor and making several changes to the vast property. The grand main house is pictured here in 1677 before renovations took place. You can see the vast empty fields surrounding the house, which are all part of a cultivated estate today.
John hosted many parties at Althorp, and the grand estate soon became well-known as a hub for extravagant soirées and festivities.
Georgiana Spencer, the Earl’s first daughter, was also born at Althorp in 1757. The great-great-great-great-aunt of Princess Diana, she eventually became the Duchess of Devonshire and a notable English socialite.
She was perhaps most famously portrayed by Keira Knightly in the film The Duchess.
When John Spencer passed away in 1783, the estate was inherited by his son, George John, who was the 2nd Earl Spencer.
George continued to keep the house alive with parties and events. He developed one of the largest libraries in Europe within Althorp, with over 43,000 first editions lining its bookshelves.
The library was full of early printed works, including 57 Caxton bibles, which are limited edition prints of the King James’ Bible, often bound in luxurious materials.
Today, the library room itself is still intact and said to be the current Earl’s favorite room in the house. Sadly, the extensive book collection was sold off at some point in the 19th century to pay increasing debts by the 5th Earl of Spencer, who was also known as the Red Earl due to his auburn-colored beard.
Over time, Althorp House has undergone a whole host of renovations.
The house was overhauled in the 18th century (roughly between 1786 and 1790) by architect Henry Holland, who transformed it from a red-brick Tudor mansion into a grand design with four Corinthian pillars added to the front of the house, which can be seen today and in this image.
The house’s striking entrance, Wootton Hall, is one of the highlights of Holland’s overhaul of the house, along with the saloon, seen here. With its imposing oak staircase, which was already there in the 1660s, the saloon was one of the first rooms at Althorp to have electricity installed.
Originally an inner courtyard, the saloon was later roofed to create an extensive, sheltered entry to the grand home. Today, it displays many family portraits including one of Princess Diana.
