It belongs to the Capricorn Foundation, a trust which has the task of maintaining the house as a museum and cultural resource for the nation.

[4] Designed by Dr Robert Hooke, the house is considered one of the best examples of his work, being dignified and built to the highest standards of the time.

[5] Nikolaus Pevsner wrote that the house is a "perfect example of the moderate-sized brick mansion of about 1680, a parallel to Melton Constable or Felbrigg or Denham Place".

Their son was Sir Francis Burdett (1770–1844), a Radical Whig politician, whose daughter Angela Burdett-Coutts (1814–1906) was at one time the richest woman in England.

Over time, land which had been sold in the 17th century was bought back to enlarge the estate, which amounted to about 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) in 1880.

After the death of Sir Francis Burdett, 8th Baronet, in 1951, the house and much of its land were bought by the 7th Earl of Wilton, who sold the house and its surrounding land to industrialist William Rootes in 1958; he was created Baron Rootes, of Ramsbury in the County of Wiltshire, in 1959.

[12] The gang were caught and convicted; the prosecutor Paul Reid said: "This has been described as the most valuable domestic burglary ever committed in this country.

[13][14][15] In his will, Hyams gave the house and his collections of fine art[16] and cars to the nation via his Capricorn Foundation, in a bequest reported to be worth £450M.