It is one of the oldest dwellings in England, being composed primarily of Tudor, Jacobean and Georgian architecture but with foundations dating from the 12th century.

Earl Harold Godwinson was Lord of Merkelan (Much Marcle), which included Hellens, from 1057 until his death as King at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Sir James, living and fighting in France, leased the manor to Walter de Helyon, who passed it on to his daughter Joanna when she married Richard Walwyn.

In 1930 Blanche Walwyn Cooke sold the house to Lady Helena Gleichen, Queen Victoria's great-niece and friend of Axel Munthe.

Hellens still serves as a family home, but also as a centre for many cultural activities, owned and administered by the Pennington-Mellor-Munthe Charity Trust.

The Trust supports Back to the Wild CIC, a Forest Schools initiative based on the Hellens estate.

There are also restored 16th century Tythe and Wain Barns,used for concerts, school visits, local community projects, and events of all kind, and Georgian Stables now remodelled for residential use.