The Longleat Estate was originally a priory. It was purchased by John Thynne, builder of Longleat House, in 1541, for the princely sum of £53. Thynne, a clerk in Henry VIII's kitchens, was 25 years old.
He achieved power and wealth in court politics and warfare and was knighted in 1547. When he died, in 1580, Longleat House was still unfinished but was complete enough to have hosted a visit from Queen Elizabeth I and her court in 1574.