The Great Hall of Longleat House is 11 meters high with a ceiling supported by ten beams. The room features large paintings of hunting scenes by John Wooton, commissioned specifically for it. The paintings are said to tell the tragic story of an foundling, taken on as a stable boy and killed trying to separate two fighting stallions. They also commemorate various Thynne family patrons.
A gallery at one end of the Great Hall indicates the lengths and expense the gentry had to go through to be honored by a royal visit. It was built in 1663 when Charles II and his entire court stayed overnight.
While in the room, look for a painting of Longleat that shows how the house looked in 1675. The huge antlers on either side of the 16th century chimney-piece aren't family hunting trophies. In fact, they are from a prehistoric giant elk found on the family's Irish estate.