Kedleston Hall is an extravagant temple to the arts. Commissioned in the 1750s by Nathaniel Curzon whose ancestors had resided at Kedleston since the 12th century. The house is framed by historic parkland and boasts opulent interiors intended to impress.

Designed for lavish entertaining, Kedleston Hall displays an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture and original furnishings, reflecting both the tastes of its creators and their fascination with the classical world of the Roman Empire.

Inherited by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905, the hall also houses the many objects he amassed during his travels in South Asia and the Middle East, and in his role leading British rule in India.

By the 16th century the Arundell family had become well-established and was connected by marriage to nearly all the other landed families in Cornwall.

The status of the family increased through various members gaining good positions at the Royal court. Their legacy is this grand manor on a Cornish scale.

The Arundells inherited Trerice through marriage around 700 years ago. By 1572 John Arundell V had begun building the house we know today. Ten years earlier his income had been boosted by marrying well. Son of the builder of Trerice, Sir John Arundell VI earned the title John for the King due to his role in the Civil War, especially his defence of Pendennis Castle in Falmouth for Charles I.

After the restoration of Charles II, Richard Arundell became Baron Arundell in recognition of the support he and his father had given Charles I. We know little about how the Arundell family lived at Trerice. The Arundell line died out in 1768, and Trerice passed to the Aclands.

It was the marriage of John, 2nd Baron Arundell to Margaret Acland in 1675 that eventually led to the great Devonian family based at Killerton inheriting Trerice. Sir Thomas Dyke Acland never lived at Trerice but often stayed on his political forays into Cornwall. He also used the Great Hall for entertaining.

Initially arriving at Trerice as tenants of its last private owner, the Eltons took on the tenancy from the National Trust in 1953. At his own expense John Elton paid for the repair of the remaining parts of Trerice - and went on to rebuild the fallen north wing. His aim was to create a comfortable family home.

The arcaded oak wainscotting is early 17th century and is inlaid with holly and bog oak. It may have been made for another of the Legh houses, Bradley in Lancashire.

C Jeakes & Co of 51 Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London.

Makers of kitchen equipment.

Jeakes's products may be found in the kitchens of a number of large National Trust houses.

Lanhydrock was built in 1630-42 for the Robartes family who rose from merchants and bankers to the peerage as Barons of Truro and then Earls of Radnor. The house was partly destroyed by fire in 1881 and was rebuilt by Richard Coad, an ex-pupil of George Gilbert Scott. Almost all that survives of the 17th-century interiors is the 116-ft long gallery and its superb barrel-vaulted ceiling containing 24 main panels depicting incidents from the Old Testament. Meanwhile, Coad’s neo-Jacobean interiors are a splendid expression of late Victorian comfort and prosperity.

An almost life-size statue of a shepherdess in bodice and short skirt, holding a crook and a lamb, leaning against a bough.

An almost life-size statue of a shepherd in a short tunic and wide-brimmed hat, with a dog and flute, leaning against a bough.

The garden walls, steps, gates and gate piers. C16, C18 & C19 are Grade ll* listed.

Charlecote lies on the banks of the Avon between Warwick and Stratford. A grand Tudor house surrounded by a deer park and formal gardens, it is still the home of the Fairfax Lucy family.

There have been Lucys living at Charlecote since the 12th century. Wealthy country gentry. their income came primarily from land, occasionally augmented by fortuitous marriages.