The Landmark Trust restored 28 South Street to its former glory in the early 1990s. The house was built in 1701 and is grand in style without being too formal or losing its sense of cosyness. When I stayed here recently, I couldn’t believe I had the good fortune to have access to such a building. After wandering around the many rooms for what seemed like hours, I discovered that there is a large dining room with portraits of people, whose eyes follow you about the room, and a ceiling with an amazing relief of musical instruments in plaster; a parlour room with comfy sofas; study with books and information about the property and a kitchen that has a lovely big table to sit around, all on the ground floor. There are two bathrooms and four bedrooms upstairs, including a large master bedroom at the front of the property with a ceiling decorated with plaster leaves, plus some spooky attic rooms that you access from a separate narrower staircase.

When I read the log book (all Landmark Trust properties have these which are a mine of useful information), I discovered that the surrounding area has a lot to offer as well. The Landmark Trust log book has turned into something of a major epic in most of their properties, as visitors not only record their names and time spent there, but what they had to eat, do, drink, unfortunate incidents, where to go/not to go and any other random thoughts that spring to mind (a bit like a blog).

When you enter through the front door (above), you will find the dining room through a door on the left at the front of the house (below) and before you a very grand staircase. A parlour room is off another door to the right.

Previous visitors had written that there was a “presence” at the top of the stairs, I was aware of nothing, but the back door did open twice by itself. If you do visit remember to take your ghost busting spray as one of my friend’s did (that’s what I nicknamed it, she called it her house clearing spray, don’t ask)! It is one of the places that lends itself to ghost stories just by the fact of its age. I find many old houses present this kind of atmosphere. Imagining that there is a ghost at the top of the stairs of my 1980s “starter home” or suchlike is not quite the same as creating ghost stories for an old house.

The front room has a small fireplace and lots of comfortable sofas to relax in (below). It also has a Japanese style piece of furniture that contains many drawers and clues left by previous occupants for a treasure hunt.

The study (below) has a real log fire and the ceilings in all the rooms are highly decorative, especially the dining room ceiling (bottom).

The house has big sash windows that rattle in the wind and shutters that you can close and secure in place with a metal bar. It also has creaky floorboards and an open fire in the study area, which takes you back in time to another age where there were no televisions, internet, mobile phones and all the other paraphenalia we surround ourselves with. I didn’t miss watching reality TV one bit.

There is a small garden and parking area at the back, with a separate walled garden too, and it’s a great place to banish smokers to with a handy Landmark Trust ashtray. It’s a fantastic house and I recommend it to anybody.

From the back of the house you can see the layout of all the rooms (top). Even the details, such as the door knob, are elegant (above). Just a ten minute walk from the house is Castle Hills, where you can get a fantastic view of the area (below).

For more information and to order a booklet about Landmark properties visit their website at landmarktrust.org.uk