BURTON AGNES

Built in 1598 by Sir Henry Griffith, Burton Agnes Hall is a magnificent example of Elizabethan architecture, and is still inhabited by descendents of the same family. Today, Simon Cunliffe-Lister and his wife Olivia, with their young children Islay and Joss, welcome visitors into their home, which is filled with treasures collected or commissioned by the family over the centuries. These include French Impressionist paintings, contemporary furniture, tapestries and striking modern artwork from recent decades.

Simon Jenkins, author of England s Thousand Best Houses , described Burton Agnes Hall as the perfect English house and as one of the twenty best English houses alongside Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Chatsworth House and Castle Howard.

Outside, lawns with more than a hundred yew topiary bushes surround the house. There is a classical pond with a fountain and a pebble mosaic garden on the eastern side. The old Elizabethan walled garden is an awardwinning wonderland containing over four thousand different plants, a potager filled with herbs, fruit and vegetables, herbaceous borders, giant board games, a maze, a jungle garden and a national collection of campanulas. To the north of the house is a woodland walk with wildlife sculptures.

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