English: Montacute House East Front It was about the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588 that Sir Edward Phelips, a successful lawyer and Speaker of the House of Commons, commissioned the building of Montacute House. It was probably local builder William Arnold who was given the task of creating Sir Edward's new home in the Somerset countryside. Arnold used local Ham Hill stone to create a symmetrical 'H' plan building owing much to the classical detail of the Renaissance style of architecture. There is a carved date of 1601 over the east doorway, probably denoting the year the house was completed. The Phelips family reigned supreme at Montacute for over three centuries, until the agricultural depression of the late C19 saw the last Phelips leave in 1911, and most of the house contents sold. The house was acquired by the National Trust in 1931. Montacute House is Grade I Listed.