Houses Where History Was Made

Do period dramas like Bridgerton and Downton Abbey have you yearning for a stately home of your own? Unfortunately, the price point and upkeep will likely put you off owning one yourself. However, many of this grand manor houses are open to the public, allowing visitors to take a walk through history. While manor homes are most commonly associated with aristocrats, they've also housed artists, poets, and ne'er-do-wells, who will we meet on this journey.

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1. Dunrobin Castle

Located in Scotland's North Highlands, Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly great house in the UK and one of the oldest continually inhabited! Dunrobin's earliest sections date back to 1401, when Scottish society was still somewhat tribal, and has borne witness to some of the most exciting moments in Scottish history. For example, during the Jacobite Rising of 1745, rebels stormed Dunrobin because the Sutherlands supported the British government, the Earl of Sutherland narrowly evaded capture by sneaking out the back door.

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2. Harewood House

The 1st Baron Harewood made his fortune through plantations, as many men did in the 18th century, and used that wealth to merge two existing estates into a single, sprawling manner. To make his vision a reality, Harewood assembled a Georgian-era dream team of designers: interior design by Robert Adam, furniture by Thomas Chippendale, and gardens by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The result is one of foremost historic homes in the country.

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3. Adare Manor

Adare Manor's beauty derived from disease. Confined indoors by a terrible case of gout, the 2nd Earl of Dunraven decided to give his family home a Gothic facelift, leading to a a bold and eclectic design featuring 365 stained-glass windows and 52 chimneys to mark the passage of time. Today, Adare Manor is a luxury hotel with an 18-hole golf course and Michelin-starred restaurant.

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4. Bodrhyddan Hall

One of few stately homes in Wales to still be family-owned, Bodrhyddan Hall is the ancestral seat of the Langford family. This manor is a tale of two houses: the original, which was remodeled in the 1690s, and the current home, which was remodeled in 1874. The house's collections contain armor, portraits, and a 3,000-year-old mummy and sarcophagus!

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5. Stonor Park

One of the oldest manors on this list, Stonor Park is also one of the least-known. Constructed in the late 1200s, Stonor Park belongs to a historically Catholic family, which spelled bad news during the English Reformation. In 1581, the family housed a secret printing press decrying Anglicanism, but While the dissenters were eventually caught and imprisoned.

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6. Kenwood House

Unlike the other houses on this list, Kenwood House does not sprawl over picturesque countryside, but is tucked away in Hampstead, London. Kenwood is best known for its significant art collections, with masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age and English Landscape movement. Due in part to its proximity to London, Kenwood is one of the UK's most visited manor houses—make sure not to miss the grand library!

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7. Highclere Castle

Probably the most recognizeable house on this list, Highclere Castle is better known on screen as Downton Abbey. Crawley family aside, this magnificient mansion has a storied history of its own, belonging the Earls of Carnarvon. If that names sounds familiar, it's because the 5th Earl was the chief financial backer of the search for King Tut's tomb. It should come as no surprise that Highclere houses a splendid Egyptian museum.

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8. Norton Conyers

While Norton Conyers house may not be the most famous house, norton Conyers inspired one of the most enduring images in all of literature: the madwoman in the attic. Charlotte Brontë visited this medieval home in 1839 and used both its interior and its legend of a woman confined to an attic as inspiration for Jane Eyre. The 2004 discovery of a blocked staircase to the attic confirms this.

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9. Lyme Park

Built in a mixture of Tudor and Palladian style, Lyme Park is one of the finest examples of Neo-Classical architecture England has to offer. Lyme Park was catapulted to international stardom in 1995 when it was the backdrop for Colin Firth emerging from the lake in Pride & Prejudice. Visitors can dress up in period costume, browse the antique library, and roam the grounds—be careful not to spook the deer!

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10. Clonalis House

Looks can be deceiving in the case of this manor in County Roscommon, Ireland. While the current Clonalis House was built in 1878, it is actually much older than that; for over 1500 years, the estate has been the property of the O'Connor family, descendants of Ireland's last High King. Clonalis is also home to one of the greatest collections of Irish history, with over 10,000 historical volumes.

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11. Renishaw Hall

Constructed in 1625, Renishaw Hall has been home to the Sitwell family for 400 years. Among the Sitwells are a trio of literary luminaries: Osbert, Edith, and Sacheverell Sitwell. The siblings were known for hosting literary salons to rival the famed Bloosmbury group, and sponsoring exhibitions by controversial artists such as Picasso and Modigliani.

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12. Longleat House

Constructed between 1568 and 1580, Longleat House sent the English aristocracy into an architectural frenzy. Longleat was one of the first "prodigy" houses which were built to impress the monarch and show off to fellow aristocrafts. Longleat is also home to the first drive-through safari park outside of Africa, opened in 1966.

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13. Castle Howard

Castle Howard took 100 years to build we think it was worth every day. The east wing is built in flamboyant Baroque style, while the west is Palladian, and, somewhow, the two work together beautifully. While the home was severely damaged by a fire in 1940, a group of schoolgirls (who'd been evacuated during the blitz) managed to save some of Castle Howard's priceless treasures.

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14. Hatfield House

While all of the homes on this list played their part in British history, few did so as directly as Hatfield House. Not only was Hatfield home to Elizabeth I during her turbulent childhood, Elizabeth held her first council meeting in its Great Hall and Hatfield was where she learned that she was Queen of England. Because of its royal connections, Hatfield House is one of the most popular filming locations in the UK.

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15. Tyntesfield

As far as manor homes go, Tyntesfield is rather small! Completed in 1863, Tyntesfield has an imposing Gothic exterior, but a warm interior which documents generations of the Tynte family. In addition to the expected paintings, silverware, and rare books, the collections at Tyntesfield also features an unexploded WWII bomb and a coconut with a carved face and hair.

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16. Somerleyton Hall

Somerleyton Hall has a colorful history, beginning in the 1840s. Not only does it feature one of the finest hedge mazes in the country, but its greenhouse was designed by the architect of London's famed Crystal Palace, and the lake was used to test-drive hovercrafts in 1955! Currently, visitors to Somerleyton have to share the estate growns with free-roaming pigs, cattle, and ponies.

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17. Wentworth Woodhouse

The largest house in all of Europe, Wentworth Woodhouse must be seen to be believed. At twice the width of Buckingham Palace with stories to match; its three hundred rooms have played host to royalty (George V), spies (during WWII) and traitors (the Earl of Stafford lost his head in 1641).

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18. Blenheim Palace

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, Blenheim Palace is the only non-royal or non-episcopal house in Britain designated a castle. The land Blenheim sits on was given as a gift from Queen Anne to The 1st Duke of Marlborough, in praise of his military triumph against the French. And, no, the name is not a coincidence; yes, Winston Churchill was born here in 1874.

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19. Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall was commissioned in the 1590s by Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbuery. Better known as Bess of Hardwick, she was a close companion of Elizabth I along with being one of the richest and most influential women in English history. Bess commissioned Hardwick Hall not only to flex her wealth—though the huge windows certainly did that—but to invigorate English architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest and best examples of English Renaissance architecture.

Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). on Wikimedia

20. Chatsworth House

Another gorgeous building masterminded by Bess of Hardwick, Chatsworth House has been the seat of the Duke of Devonshire since 1549. Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner at Chatsworth between 1569 and 1584 after her claim to the English throne made her a threat to Elizabeth. Chatsworth house is best known in connection to Pride and Prejudice, inspiring Jane Austen's Pemberley, and "portraying" the home in the 2005 film. 

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