British Country Houses

  Many country houses can boast stunning architecture and dramatic settings, but few can rival the spectacle of rose-coloured terraces, walls and towers, rising from a green woodland above the vale of Belvoir, which greets the visitor to the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland. Do not be fooled by its pristine Regency appearance, there has been a castle on this site since Norman times. It passed by inheritance, in the sixteenth century, into the hands of the Manners family who remain in residence to this day. Prior to the High Victorian period, Gothic Revival style was used in a more light-hearted manner, and Belvoir’s well-lit rooms, sweeping staircases and high ceilings are full of Georgian charm. This is one of the grandest houses in the land, brimming with the best of fine and decorative art, yet with the continued presence of its owners, the atmosphere is one of warmth and comfort, escaping that cold, museum-like quality some houses of this calibre can suffer. The buildi...