Kirby Hall, near Corby, Northamptonshire, England. Another historic site I used to manage.

Kirby Hall is one of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th century houses once owned by Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor and a favourite of Elizabeth I.

Although this vast mansion is now partly a roofless ruin, the walls show the exceptionally rich decoration that proclaims that its successive owners were always in the forefront of new ideas about architecture and design.

The Great Hall and state rooms remain (intact and roofed) and are refitted and redecorated to authentic 17th and 18th century specifications. The great gardens have been restored to an elaborate ‘cutwork’ design complete with statues and urns, inspired by an original Kirby Hall urn after it was discovered in a nearby property’s back garden. It is open to the public and managed by English Heritage.