The house was remodelled by the world-famous designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh in his iconic Modernist style. The gallery upstairs is free to enter and has a series of exhibitions throughout the year. The dining room and the in-house boutique restaurant offers a full range of delicious contemporary cuisine. From a coffee to a light lunch, full afternoon tea or a delicious meal – The Dining Room is sure to delight.

Northamptonshire home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, Boughton began as a Tudor building and was transformed into the “English Versailles”. The outstanding collection of fine arts within the house is complemented by the Grade One listed historic landscape.

The gatehouse, chapel and other remains of a communal residence for priests serving the parish church, founded by locally-born Archbishop Chichele before 1425. Regularly used to display works of art. Chichele College is a rare surviving example of a chantry college. It was founded in 1422 by the locally born Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury. Such colleges, common in England in the 14th and 15th centuries, were groups of priests who shared a communal life which was less strictly controlled than that of a monastery.

Surrounded by park and beautiful gardens with long borders, roses and specimen trees, this Tudor and Georgian mansion has been the home of the Brudenell family since 1514, including the 7th Earl of Cardigan who led the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Northampton’s hidden treasure located just a mile or so from the town centre is alive with the possibilities of the present and surrounded by the echoes of the past. There’s something for everyone in and around this fascinating building from guided tours, education visits, events, theatre productions, exhibitions and special displays.

Elton Hall is a fascinating mixture of styles and every room contains treasures – magnificent furniture and fine paintings from different eras, wonderful porcelain and books, including Henry VIII’s prayer book. Magnificently restored formal gardens include mature topiary, a Gothic Orangery, a flower garden with large herbaceous borders, a shrub garden and box walk. The gardens provide a stunning backdrop to the house. Prints displayed in the house show how Sir Thomas Proby first laid out his garden in the 1670’s and how it developed during the 18th century. During the 19th century the family really gardened in Ireland and Elton was left with a small shrubbery, some topiary and the parkland you see today. The present gardens are based on a design made in 1911 by A.H. Hallam Murray, father-in-law to Sir Richard Proby (d.1979). They have been completely revitalised over the last 35 years. Extensive hedging and topiary create different areas and structure throughout the year.

One of England’s greatest Elizabethan houses, built in the hope of receiving Queen Elizabeth 1 on one of her annual ‘progresses’ around the country. Explore the Great Garden, laid out in elaborate and intricate ‘cuwork’ parterres.

Set in the heart of rural Northamptonshire, Lyveden is a remarkable survivor of the Elizabethan age. Created by Thomas Tresham, Lyveden is one of England’s oldest surviving garden landscapes.

A royal castle for 450 years and a family home for all that time. The pre-dominantly Tudor building, within Norman walls, has architecture, furniture and works of art from every century. Explore 18 acres of stunning formal and wild gardens.

Built by Sir John Knyvett, Lord Chancellor to Edward III, Southwick Hall dates from the 14th century. As a family manor house with Tudor rebuilding and Georgian and Victorian additions, there are exhibitions on Victorian and Edwardian life, with collections of agricultural and carpentry tools and local archaeological finds. Southwick Hall comprises architecture of many centuries, notably the 14th, 16th, 18th and 19th. Although altered many times, the house still retains much of its original medieval layout, and as the local limestone and Collyweston slates have been used throughout, the various styles blend harmoniously.