Lydiard House will be closed during January, February and March 2016. Intensive cleaning and care of the collections will take place during this period and the house will re-open with a new exhibition in time for the Easter holidays. During the winter months the Friends of Lydiard Park , in partnership with Lydiard House, will be holding a series of free talks and tours called Behind Closed Doors. Lydiard House has a fantastic collection of portraits and paintings, and I will be introducing you to some of the fascinating Ladies of Lydiard during a guided portrait tour on Saturday January 23 at 2.30 pm and again on Wednesday February 24 at 7 pm. The remodelled Palladian mansion dates from the middle of the 18th century and incorporates features from a much older Tudor building, but a dwelling has existed in the parkland for much, much longer than this. So who was the first lady to live at Lydiard Park? Well it wasn't Edith Stourton, born in around 1375 who became the second ...