Historic Buildings & Monuments

Although once surrounded by farmland, this ancient manor house now stands amidst an industrial estate. Nevertheless, a leafy garden provides a fitting setting for the property, and visitors willing to brave the built-up surroundings are more than rewarded with a fine medieval building - which also includes fascinating traces of wall paintings in the first floor hall.

Jane Austen is one of the most popular and important novelists that England has ever produced. The house at Chawton is where she spent the last eight years of her life. It is of international importance as the place where she did the majority of her mature writing, but at the same time retains the charm of a village home.

This rare and atmospheric 17th-century house sits on the banks of the River Thames in Richmond. It is the creation of the tenacious Duchess of Lauderdale and her husband, the Duke, who together transformed Ham into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England.

This early Tudor timber-framed wool merchant's house (circa 1500) provides a fascinating insight into local history.

Its strong medieval character is enhanced by the appearance of arcaded stalls opening onto the street on the ground floor (recreated by the National Trust during the building's restoration).

Peckover House is a secret gem, an oasis hidden away in an urban environment. A classic Georgian merchant's town house, it was lived in by the Peckover family for 150 years.

The family home of Bess of Hardwick, one of the richest and most remarkable women of Elizabethan England, stands beside Hardwick New Hall which she had built later in the 1590s.

Though the Old Hall is now roofless, visitors can still ascend four floors to view surviving decorative plasterwork, as well as the kitchen and service rooms with our audio tour.

One of the largest and finest 13th-century tithe barns in the country, lying in the Worcestershire countryside.

If you're visiting Middle Littleton tithe barn make the most of your day by visiting nearby Croome Park, Lance 'Capability' Brown's first complete landscape garden or Hidcote Manor Garden, a celebrated 20th-century garden in the north Cotswolds.

The remains of a large, wellbuilt Roman courtyard villa. The most important feature is a nearly complete mosaic tile floor, patterned in reds and browns. The remains are located in a peaceful rural landscape, within a loop of the River Evenlode, which flows gently past the site to the north and west.

Substantial remains of a small 16th century gun tower protecting Old Grimsby harbour, vigorously defended during the Civil War.

The Block House formed part of a series of forts built on the islands during the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, and followed the attempt to build a large artillery fort, known as Harry’s Walls, on St Mary’s.

Clent Castle is a mock ruin castellated folly in the grounds of Clent Grove (now the Sunfield Special School and Children's Home).

It was built in the late 18th century by Thomas Liell and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.

Tucked away in a tiny hamlet adjoining the National Nature Reserve, the 17th-century Old Town Hall is the only remaining evidence of Newtown's former importance.

It's hard to believe that this tranquil corner of the island once held often turbulent elections before sending two Members to Parliament.

An intimate family home and peaceful estate set in the rolling hills of the Chilterns.

This picturesque 16th-century mansion and tranquil gardens were home to the Brunner family until recent years. The house exudes a welcoming atmosphere with a well-stocked kitchen and homely living rooms.  The series of walled gardens is a colourful patchwork of interest set amid medieval ruins.