Walton Hall, Warwickshire

The current Walton Hall has existed since the mid-19th century, but it sits on the site of several older manor houses and its cellars date back to Elizabeth I's time.

It was Sir Charles Mordaunt who built the Victorian Manor house that guests stay in today, and the matching chapel where wedding blessings take place.

In the mid-20th century, the main property was owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a training camp for Army cadets and the rest of the estate was used as a girls' boarding school between 1963 and 1969.

When Lord Field retired to his home on the Isle of Man at the end of the decade, the entire estate was sold to the performer Danny La Rue who converted the main house to be used as a hotel.

In the 1970s, La Rue spent more than £1 million on the purchase and restoration of Walton Hall and signed it over in 1983, as he could not manage it and his career, to a pair of Canadian con men.