Aynhoe Park was originally built in 1615, but it has been rebuilt, remodelled and embellished many times since then, as time, tragedy and the imagination of its owners changed its face across the centuries.
The site itself has been in use since the 12th century, becoming home to the Cartwright family when John Cartwright bought the original house in 1615. Just 30 years later, Aynhoe Park was all but destroyed in the Civil War, and required rebuilding, more or less from scratch.
In 2006, James Perkins bought Aynhoe Park following the dissolution of the Country Houses Association, which had converted the building into a number of flats.
In the years that followed, James undertook the monumental challenge of restoring Aynhoe – remaining true to the creative vision of Archer and Soane while introducing a bold but sympathetic sensibility of his own.
The original Jacobean style rubs shoulders with Palladian grandeur and Baroque opulence, all set within private landscaped gardens and parkland planned by Capability Brown over 250 years ago.