Parts of Littlecote date back to the thirteenth century, although the principal (south) front is Elizabethan. It passed into the Popham family in 1589. General Edward Popham (d. 1780), had served as MP for Wiltshire (1741-47 and 1751-61), and was the owner of Littlecote when James Adam made an unexecuted design for a garden pavilion. It is possible that Popham had been introduced to the Adam brothers through their mutual acquaintance the Duke of Northumberland. This drawing for a pavilion is the only known Adam design made for Littlecote. It may have been an unsuccessful speculative venture. The house was extensively refurbished in the early nineteenth century, and has been an hotel since 1996.

Literature:
A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index pp. 21, 84; N. Pevsner, and B. Cherry, The buildings of England: Wiltshire, 1975, pp. 297-98; D. King, The complete works of Robert & James Adam and unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume II, p. 221

Frances Sands, 2011