The Inspector visits a shabby-chic stately home near the M25 that’s been turned into an ‘off-grid hideout’ – and he’s smitten Birch in Hertfordshire is set in a stately home with just enough dilapidation to fit the shabby-chic mould The Inspector says it’s billed as a ‘community’ and an ‘escape from urban living’, ‘time off for … Read more
Hundreds of temporary camping sites could be set up across the UK this summer as holidaymakers prepare to ditch sunny climes in favour of a Great British getaway. Tourism chiefs say demand for camp sites and UK holiday homes for this summer has boomed – with Britons cautious about trips abroad due to the possibility Covid … Read more
Times are tough for stately home owners. Yes, really — for the aristos still hanging on to their ancestral homes, owning a palace is the ultimate money pit. Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, is said to cost more than £1.1 million a year for the Earl of Carnarvon to maintain (before any repairs). … Read more
Mrs Hinch, Victorian-style! Forget bleach… workers use milk and bread to clean 19th century stately home England Heritage used bread and milk to prep interior of Brodsworth Hall The charity are prepping the Victorian home for its reopening to the public Bread was used to clean wallpaper and skimmed milk helped to wash the floors … Read more
Yours for £28,000-a-week – the ultimate staycation in 18th Century Oxfordshire stately home so desirable Liz Taylor tried to buy it on the spot For the first time in its history, Grade I listed Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire, can be rented out for £28k a week Allowing up to 16 guests, it boasts eight bedrooms, landscaped … Read more
Sally Lindsay’s Posh Sleepover is offering a rare glimpse inside the 900-year-old Ugbrooke House in Devon, complete with 80 rooms, a private lake and an ancient chapel hidden behind a bookshelf. The Channel 5 programme, which airs tonight at 7pm, follows the presenter as she visits some of the UK’s wealthiest families to learn about … Read more
Two years ago, Boris Johnson visited Howletts Wild Animal Park where he was introduced to cheetahs Saba and Nairo. In a newspaper article praising the zoo and its proprietor, the gambling tycoon and conservationist Damian Aspinall, our future Prime Minister waxed lyrical about how the animals had decided to ‘nibble my beanie hat’. ‘Damian’s plan … Read more
The Duchess of Rutland has insisted running a stately home is not ‘all glamour’ and isn’t ‘for the faint-hearted’ ahead of the release of her new podcast. Emma Manners, 57, alongside her daughter Lady Violet, 27, is aiming to explore the reality of aristocratic life in 21st century Britain in her new podcast series called … Read more
A couple who found themselves living alone in a stately manor during the pandemic have used the time to revitalise its historic interior. Neil Watt, 36, moved into the top floor of the Castle Ward mansion in County Down with his partner Kris Reid, 29, in March after being appointed collections and house manager of … Read more
Noel Coward may have sung ‘The stately homes of England, how beautiful they stand, to prove the upper classes have still the upper hand’ – but that was in 1938, and today they are yet another casualty of coronavirus. While the landed owners of such magnificent historic piles might not receive – nor expect – … Read more