WORK has started to restore the pantheon at Stourhead landscape gardens.

Scaffolding now covers the building while the restoration team repairs the roof and restores some of the stonework.

The repairs are part of a £640,000 restoration project at the National Trust gardens.

Alan Power, Stourhead’s head gardener, said: “The landscape gardens are probably the most photographed in the National Trust, and the pantheon is the centrepiece of the most commonly taken view; that spectacular view across the lake which greets you as you walk into the garden.

“Having scaffolding will change the view for a few months but this will be the first really thorough restoration of the pantheon since Sir Henry Hoare in the 1890s. Once complete it will look fantastic and be the centrepiece of the garden again for many years to come.”

Work has been able to start thanks to a grant of £260,200 from the SITA Trust, which will also pay for work on the currently inaccessible lower pump house.

The SITA Trust supports community and environmental improvement projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.

In addition to the pantheon, the trust is raising money for repairs to the roof and to cracked stonework around the top of King Alfred’s Tower, as well as other buildings and structures.

Esther Stewart, fundraising manager for the National Trust, said: “We are asking local communities who love Stourhead to show their support for the campaign by getting involved in fundraising. We are obviously asking for financial support but we are also looking for sponsorship and attendance of some future events.”

For more information, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead.