For those of us whose ancestors failed to hover close enough to Charles II’s court as he doled out titles, visiting a stately pile can have the Brideshead effect: a wide-eyed, dry-mouthed ogle at the ...

Imagine if your home had turrets, a ballroom, or a maze in the garden. Some people's homes have all those things. But while life in a palace -- or a castle -- might sound like a fairytale existence, ...

Britain has more than 3,000 stately homes, and many are open to us hoi polloi. Indeed, visiting a stately home has become a staple leisure activity: what could be more British than a weekend drive to ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Castle Howard of Brideshead Revisited fame will be available as a holiday rental - Charlotte Graham It was the grand English ...

Introduction: The stately homes and England -- Prelude: Houses of taste (to 1815) -- 1. The Victorian idea of heritage -- 2. Hosts and guests: the opening of the country house -- 3. Philistines, ...

Highclere Castle is the setting for the blockbuster TV series Downton Abbey, but the English stately home has had its share of real-life drama. During World War Two its grounds were the scene of ...