Tyntesfield

Tyntesfield is a glorious example of Victorian high gothic architecture built with no expense spared. And all built on shit. Bird shit to be precise. Guano. A much prized Victorian fertilizer. William Gibbs who commissioned the house (previously a small Georgian house) was supposed to be the richest commoner in the land. His family firm acquired a monopoly on the South American guano trade which apparently was bringing in (in today's money) about £8 million a year. So they could afford to go all out on the family home in the most fashionable neo-gothic taste, with the highest standards of craftsmanship, mostly displayed in the quality of the woodwork in the house interiors.

The family were devout Roman Catholics, so unsurprisingly the hose had its own pretty lavish chapel.

Particularly taken by the gentleman's room. It took in, according to the blurb, three fashionable men's activities, billiards (fine table), hunting (lots of stag antlers lining the walls) and wood-turning on the lathe. (What? Never heard of that as a gentleman's pursuit!)

Plenty of paintings line the walls and they have labels like Rubens, Rembrandt and Zurbaran, but they are not genuine. The only big name genuine painting here is the Bellini below, an early Madonna and Child being a fitting work to have in the house of a Roman Catholic family.

Obviously the house comes with an extensive estate and grounds.

A rose garden is not at its best in February but you can tell it would be spectacular in summer...

Of course a house lie this would also have an orangery and extensive glasshouses