The UK's 7 best National Trust castles and mansion to visit if you're a hopeless romantic

Partygirls Mandy Rice-Davies and Christine Keeler (Image: PA)

A POLITICAL SCANDAL: Cliveden, Bucks

As the location of the affluent Astor family, the 1851 Grade I-listed state location astatine Cliveden – the 3rd to beryllium built connected the tract – was a hub of society, bearing witnesser to exclusive parties and governmental gatherings for generations. But it deed the headlines successful 1963 erstwhile John Profumo, Secretary of State for War, was revealed to person archetypal met 19-year-old exemplary and dancer Christine Keeler by the swimming excavation astatine Cliveden 2 years earlier.

Their little matter became a governmental ungraded erstwhile it was revealed Keeler was besides successful a narration with Soviet naval attaché Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, sparking information fears among politicians and the nationalist alike.

Having archetypal denied a narration with Keeler, and convincing premier curate Harold Macmillan of his innocence, Profumo came cleanable and admitted impropriety.

Keeler arriving astatine the Old Bailey, London, 1963 (Image: Getty)

The Profumo Affair, arsenic it became known, ended his governmental career, portion besides starring to Macmillan’s resignation and contributing to the Conservative government’s downfall successful 1964’s wide election.

The ungraded besides shattered the Astors’ lives, and the decease soon afterwards of Waldorf and Nancy Astor’s lad Bill hastened the family’s determination to permission Cliveden. They talented it to the Trust successful 1942 connected the proviso they could transportation connected surviving there, with the Trust taking implicit wholly successful 1966. Today it remains 1 of the charity’s astir visited properties.

View of the northbound beforehand crossed the water successful aboriginal greeting airy astatine the Vyne, Hampshire (Image: National Trust / John Mill)

BY ROYAL COMMAND: The Vyne, Hampshire

There are fewer relationships that person had rather the aforesaid interaction arsenic the 1 betwixt King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. In 1509, the Tudor king and his archetypal wife, Catherine of Aragon, had made the archetypal of respective visits to The Vyne, whose proprietor was William Sandys, a royal favourite, aboriginal to go Lord Chamberlain.

Sandys had emblems of the astir important dignitaries successful Tudor nine carved into the panelling astatine the house, highlighting his almighty connections.

Catherine’s emblem, the pomegranate, symbolised fertility and her homeland of Spain, yet aft astir 24 years, with their lone surviving kid a girl Mary, Henry wanted to divorcement her.

Having go infatuated with her lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, the King moved to annul his marriage, starring to England’s eventual schism with the Catholic Church. The Pope, arsenic caput of the Roman Catholic Church, refused to assistance a divorce, truthful Henry declared himself Head of the Church of England, successful a determination that changed the people of British history.

In October 1535, Henry and his 2nd woman visited The Vyne, with a courtier describing them arsenic being “very merry successful Hampshire” – but she could not person missed seeing immoderate of the pomegranate emblems of her predecessor.

Sandys was a staunch protagonist of Catherine (hence the pomegranates). But helium besides understood the delicate equilibrium betwixt powerfulness and politics.

Just a twelvemonth aft her visit, and lone 3 years aft her matrimony to Henry, Sandys escorted Anne to her imprisonment successful the Tower of London, anterior to her bloody execution for adultery, proving his allegiance to the King.

A statue of Giovanna Zanerini astatine Knole, Kent (Image: National Trust / Jaron James)

A LASTING AFFAIR: Knole, Kent

Giovanna Zanerini, known by her signifier sanction La Baccelli, was a celebrated Italian dancer who performed ballet astatine a clip erstwhile it was opening to make into an creation signifier autarkic of opera. She made her debut successful 1774 arsenic the Rose successful Le Ballet des Fleurs astatine the King’s Theatre and it was determination that she caught the oculus of the bachelor John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset.

By 1779, La Baccelli had taken up residence astatine Knole, the Duke’s ancestral location successful Kent, and they had a lad together, named John Frederick Sackville aft his father. There are galore references to La Baccelli successful the surviving household accounts, including laundry bills, toys, pouch wealth and cricket stumps for her son.

She had her ain idiosyncratic servants astatine Knole and the portion of the location present known arsenic Shelley’s Tower is thought to beryllium named aft an mispronunciation of her name.

The 3rd Duke commissioned portraits of La Baccelli by his favourite modern painters, Gainsborough and Reynolds. But successful opposition to the ceremonial portraits of generations of Sackville women, Giovanna’s bequest is simply a voluptuous plaster statue of her bare reclining form, by John Baptist Locatelli.

In 1789, the Duke and La Baccelli separated, she receiving £400 annuity, and by the pursuing twelvemonth the Duke had settled down to a respectable matrimony with an heiress. According to an inventory of Knole successful 1799, the statue of La Baccelli was nary longer successful pridefulness of place. It had been discreetly removed to the attics, to “the Top of the Stairs, adjacent [to] the Wardrobe”.

A coating showing Lady Harriet Fox-Strangways crossing the River Hudson to the American lines (Image: National Trust / Sophia Farley)

COURAGE AT SEA: Killerton, Devon

There tin beryllium nary greater emotion and devotion than astatine times of war, but immoderate examples led to genuinely thrilling tales of adventure. The communicative of Harriet Fox-Strangways, who joined into the Acland household of Killerton House, was 1 specified story.

Harriet’s hubby John Acland joined the British forces successful the 1770s during the American War of Independence. When helium was posted to Canada to assistance subdue an uprising, Harriet insisted connected going with him to beryllium adjacent successful Montreal.

When John was taken sick successful the summertime of 1776, Harriet travelled “to be him upon his sickbed successful a miserable hut astatine Chamblee”.

However, soon afterwards, erstwhile John was wounded successful conflict and taken prisoner, Harriet showed her existent courage. Demanding to beryllium allowed to transverse force lines to beryllium with him, she badgered a British wide to get an unfastened boat, 2 servants and a chaplain, with whom she sailed 2 miles downstream astatine nighttime successful the pouring rain, flying a truce emblem that was seen by the enemy. Harriet was allowed introduction and support to enactment with her hubby until helium recuperated, and the brace returned to England. Her spirited travel by vessel is immortalised successful a coating that present hangs successful the drafting country astatine Killerton.

Graffiti showing Gipsy and Olie's names astatine Beningbrough Hall, North Yorks (Image: National Trust / Joanne Parker)

A WARTIME LOVE STORY: Beningbrough Hall, North Yorks

Dorothy Preston, known arsenic Gipsy, met Canadian airman Harry “Olie” Olsen successful precocious 1941 astatine the Alice Hawthorn pub successful the North Yorkshire colony of Nun Monkton adjacent Harrogate. Their clip unneurotic was brief, but intelligibly passionate.

In March 1942, Olsen was transferred to 405 Pathfinder squadron, based astatine RAF Pocklington successful East Riding. Without transport, they had small mode of seeing each other, but stayed successful interaction and continued to speech letters.

However, they ne'er met again. Olsen’s Halifax bomber was changeable down portion flying a ngo implicit Essen, Germany, connected June 8, 1942 . He managed to bail retired implicit the colony of Heteren successful the Netherlands and was taken prisoner.

Canadian airman Harry 'Olie' Olsen (Image: National Trust)

After the war, helium was flown backmost to the UK, but could not callback Gipsy’s code and returned to Canada without having been capable to interaction her. However, the couple’s clip unneurotic had been marked astatine Beningbrough Hall, the Georgian mansion which served arsenic a billet for the aerial crews based locally.

Graffiti supra the drafting country fireplace includes their names and primitively a heart, present faded done quality interaction implicit the decades. But until reasonably recently, nary 1 knew who the names belonged to oregon however they were linked.

The communicative remained a enigma until a sojourn from a woman successful 1987. When shown the graffiti by a country guide, she was overwhelmed to spot it – and revealed that she was Gipsy. Dorothy had kept Olie’s prison-issue letters, often blacked retired by censors. One, dated December 20, 1944, read: “Dear Dot, Haven’t heard from you for immoderate time. Hope each is well. Would you nonstop maine a photograph of yourself, conscionable successful lawsuit I don’t spot you again. Merry Xmas to you. Love Olie.”

Dorothy Preston, known arsenic Gipsy (Image: National Trust)

CHALLENGING CONVENTION: Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent

The past of Sissinghurst Castle Garden, erstwhile location of writer and plot decorator Vita Sackville-West and her hubby Harold Nicolson, has been shaped and enriched by radical who challenged wider society’s accepted ideas of sex. The relationships Vita and Harold enjoyed extracurricular of their matrimony had a profound effect connected their beingness and work, peculiarly Vita’s, immoderate of which tin inactive beryllium felt astatine Sissinghurst.

She filled her originative sanctum, her penning country successful the Elizabethan Tower, with tokens of emotion which symbolised her relationships with different women. One of the astir enduring of Vita’s relationships was with the writer Virginia Woolf, who she archetypal met successful 1922 astatine a meal party.

The 2 women were instantly intrigued by each other, sparking a emotion matter immoderate years aboriginal which matured into a heavy relationship and provided overmuch originative fuel.

Virginia’s critically acclaimed caller Orlando is inspired by her lover, arsenic its main quality fulfils a destiny that Vita longed for, to inherit her stately puerility home.Vita had been denied her household home, Knole, arsenic it was passed to her antheral relative.

The caller was described by Vita and Harold’s lad Nigel Nicolson arsenic “the longest and astir charming emotion missive successful literature”.

English writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West successful her operation survey astatine Sissinghurst (Image: Popperfoto via Getty)

A LOVE THAT WAITED: Flatford Mill, Suffolk

One of England’s top painters had to endure a seven-year hold earlier helium could wed the pistillate helium loved. John Constable grew up successful the household location successful East Bergholt, Suffolk and spent clip astatine Flatford Mill connected the River Stour, which his begetter owned.

He archetypal met Maria Bicknell, the granddaughter of the section rector, erstwhile she was 12 and helium was successful his aboriginal twenties, but the brace met again 9 years aboriginal and fell successful love. They longed to wed – but Maria’s begetter was a palmy solicitor to the Prince Regent and the admiralty, portion Constable was a struggling creator surviving connected a tiny allowance from his parents.

The brace were thwarted by Maria’s affluent gramps who threatened to disinherit her if she joined the artist, and truthful she and John were forced to conscionable secretly.

The strain of specified a hidden seven-year relationship, unneurotic with unexpected deaths successful some families implicit the pursuing years, caused them to go rather melancholic astir the situation.

However, John’s begetter died successful 1816, providing generously for his six children, and John yet had the means to enactment a woman and a aboriginal family.

That aforesaid year, the brace were joined and immoderate of Constable’s astir celebrated works were painted during the aboriginal years of his matrimony to Maria, successful the country that has go indelibly linked to him, including Flatford Mill successful 1817 and The Hay Wain successful 1821.

However, Maria had suffered each her beingness from mediocre health. After the commencement of their seventh child, she became sick with tuberculosis and died aft 12 years of marriage, aged lone 41.

Constable was beside himself. He wrote to his brother: “Hourly bash I consciousness the nonaccomplishment of my departed Angel – God lone knows however my children volition beryllium brought up… the look of the World is wholly changed to me.”

After Maria’s death, Constable’s artwork became much sombre successful its style.

• For details of each National Trust properties, opening times and events sojourn nationaltrust.org.uk

The exterior of Flatford Mill astatine Flatford, Suffolk (Image: Chris Davies / National Trust)