Shugborough Hall

Shugborough Hall stands on the edge of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, a stately home reached along tree-lined drives that cross a railway tunnel. The estate once belonged to the Bishops of Lichfield before passing through several owners until William Anson bought it in 1624. The present house began in 1693 when William Anson’s grandson built a three-storey mansion that still forms its centre. In the 1740s his son Thomas added two pavilions, funded by his brother Admiral George Anson, who had made his fortune at sea. Later remodelling by architects Thomas Wright and Samuel Wyatt gave the hall its present neo-classical appearance with a portico of hollow timber pillars. The house is worth visiting for its state rooms, which hold some of the most lavish interiors in the region. The Verandah Room displays a 208-piece porcelain dinner service made to mark Admiral Anson’s voyage round the world. Queen Victoria stayed in the State Bedroom as a child when she visited with her mother in 1831. The private apartments include the Boudoir, its walls covered in silver gilt paper and its ceiling hand-painted with gold. The model farm museum, dating from 1805, shows working kitchens, a dairy and a watermill alongside rare breeds of animals. Visitors walk through the parkland where Thomas Anson created a landscape of trees, water and follies. Chinese-style buildings such as the Chinese House and two red iron bridges recall Admiral Anson’s time in Canton. A working brewery, restored in 1990 and fired by logs, produces beer for sale. The estate also offers a tea room and a gallery of photographs by Patrick Lichfield, who lived in the private apartments until 2005.