A modern business in an ancient landscape

In a quiet corner of Cumbria, in the Lake District National Park, is one of England's greatest country estates, Lowther. At its centre, the 3,500 acre Lowther Park is the largest home park in England. A limestone crest looks in one direction to the lakes and fells and in the other to the Pennines. In a winding valley below, a river was first named by ancestors of Viking descent, who gave the same name to the place and a family. King Edward I granted the right to ‘impark’ an area of Lowther in Westmorland in 1283 and it has been home to the Lowthers ever since.

Generations of Lowthers were knighted for their services to the sovereign, often defending England against the Scots. Their influence in national politics and culture and in the industry and ecomony of the northwest has been immense and varied, from the political wheeler dealer 'Wicked Jimmy', the first Earl of Lonsdale, to his successor who built Lowther Castle and who was a patron of artists and poets, including Wordsworth, and from the larger than life 'Yellow Earl' to the 7th Earl who responded to the pressures of the 20th century by partly demolishing the castle and creating forestry and farming enterprises.

Today the estate is a modern productive enterprise in a medieval and beautiful landscape, famed for its nature, its peace and its world-class events.

In this section of the website, find out about one of England’s largest country estates and about generations of the Lowther family, the Earls of Lonsdale.