Many

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

s have experienced a change of use and are no longer privately occupied.

Country houses converted to apartments

* Escowbeck *

Finedon Hall Finedon Hall is a Victorian architecture, Victorian English country house, country house in Finedon, Northamptonshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History The core of the house is 17th or 18th century, and was extensively remodelled by ...

* Hazelwood Hall * Runshaw Hall * Thurland Castle *

Woodfold Hall Elma Amy Yerburgh (née Thwaites, 30 July 1864 – 6 December 1946) was a member of the Thwaites family who was owner and then chairman of the Thwaites Brewery company (of Blackburn, England) from 1888 to 1946. She was the daughter of Daniel Thwa ...

Country houses converted to luxury hotels

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hi ...

* Coworth House *

The Grove, Watford The Grove is a large hotel in Hertfordshire, England, with a 300–acre (1.2 km2) private park next to the River Gade and the Grand Union Canal. It touches on its north-west corner the M25 motorway and remains a small part in Watford. T ...

* Hartwell House *

Peckforton Castle Peckforton Castle is a Victorian country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Her ...

Shaw Hill Shaw Hill is an 18th-century country house in Whittle-le-Woods, Lancashire, England, standing in 192 acres of parkland some 3 miles north of Chorley. The estate is now the Shaw Hill Hotel, Golf Club and Country Club. The house is a three-storey ...

Taymouth Castle Taymouth Castle is situated to the north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, in the Highlands of Scotland, in an estate which encompasses . It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, about from Loch Tay, in the heartland of the ...

* Thurnham Hall * Wyresdale Hall

Country houses used as schools or for other educational purposes

* Alston Hall *

Ashridge House Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate comprises of woodlands ...

Bramshill House Bramshill House, in Bramshill, northeast Hampshire, England, is one of the largest and most important Jacobean architecture, Jacobean prodigy house mansions in England. It was built in the early 17th century by the Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron ...

* Culford Park *

Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as ...

Harlaxton Manor Harlaxton Manor is a Victorian country house in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, England. The house was built for Gregory Gregory, a local squire and businessman. Gregory employed two of the leading architects of Victorian England, Anthony Salvin and ...

Heslington Hall Heslington Hall is a historic manor house near the village of Heslington, North Yorkshire, England, within the city of York. The hall is part of the campus of the University of York. The original house dated from 1565 to 1568, but it was large ...

Hinchingbrooke House Hinchingbrooke House is an English stately home in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, now part of Hinchingbrooke School. The house was built around an 11th-century Benedictine nunnery. After the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Cromwell f ...

Rossall Hall Rossall is a settlement in Lancashire, England and a suburb of the market town of Fleetwood. It is situated on a coastal plain called The Fylde. Blackpool Tramway runs through Rossall, with two stations: Rossall School on Broadway and Rossall Sq ...

Prior Park Prior Park is a Neo-Palladian house that was designed by John Wood, the Elder, and built in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was bu ...

Scarisbrick Hall Scarisbrick Hall is a country house situated just to the south-east of the village of Scarisbrick in Lancashire, England. It is currently home to Scarisbrick Hall School. Parts of the present building, which is considered to be one of the fi ...

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...

Townhill Park House Townhill Park House is a Grade II listed former manor house between the neighbouring housing estates of Townhill Park in Southampton and Chartwell Green in Eastleigh. History The Manor of Townhill was granted to Sir William Paulet by Henry ...

Tring Park Mansion Tring Park Mansion or Mansion House, Tring Park, is a large country house in Tring, Hertfordshire. The house, as "Tring Park", was used, and from 1872 owned, by members of the Rothschild family from 1838 to 1945. The mansion and its immediate g ...

Westonbirt House Westonbirt House is a country house in Gloucestershire, England, about southwest of the town of Tetbury. It belonged to the Holford family from 1665 until 1926. The first house on the site was an Elizabethan era, Elizabethan manor house. The H ...

Wennington Hall Wennington Hall is a former country house in Wennington, a village in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. The house is a Grade II listed building and from 1940 until 2022 was used as a school, at first by the Quaker boa ...

Country houses used for religious purposes

Capernwray Hall Capernwray Hall is a former country house situated 3 miles east-northeast of Carnforth, Lancashire, England, and is currently used as a Christian Bible school and holiday centre. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as ...

Taplow Court Taplow Court is a Victorian house in the village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire, England. Its origins are an Elizabethan manor house, remodelled in the early 17th century. In the 18th century the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney. In the 1 ...

Country houses used as hospitals or residential care homes

* Cuernden Hall * Gisburne Hall, private hospital * Leckhampton Court * Littledale Hall * Wrightington Hall, NHS hospital

Country houses run as museums or art galleries

Astley Hall Astley Hall may refer to * Astley Hall (Chorley) Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The building is now owned by the town and is known as Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery. The extensive landscaped grounds are ...

, museum and art gallery *

Compton Verney Compton Verney is a parish and historic manor in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 119. The surviving manor house is the Georgian mansion Compton Verney House. Descent of the manor The first ...

, art gallery * Cusworth Hall, The museum of South Yorkshire Life *

Duff House Duff House is a Georgian estate house in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, it is part of the National Galleries Scotland and is a Category A listed building. The house is built of ashlar in ...

, outstation of the

National Gallery of Scotland The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfa ...

Lytham Hall Lytham Hall is an 18th-century Georgian country house in Lytham, Lancashire, from the centre of the town, in of wooded parkland. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, the only on ...

, run by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Paxton House Paxton House may refer to: ;in Scotland *Paxton House, Berwickshire Paxton House is a historic house at Paxton, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, a few miles south-west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, overlooking the River Tweed. It is a country ...

, outstations of the

Samlesbury Hall Samlesbury Hall is a historic house in Samlesbury, Lancashire, England, east of Preston. It was built in 1325 by Gilbert de Southworth (b. 1270), and was the primary home of the Southworth family until the early 17th century. Samlesbury Hall ...

, run by trust * Saint Fagans Castle, National Museum of History * Temple Newsam House, a museum of the decorative arts *

Towneley Park Towneley Park is owned and managed by Burnley Borough Council and is the largest and most popular park in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The main entrance to the park is within a mile of the town centre and the park extends to the south east, c ...

, museum and art gallery *

Turton Tower Turton Tower is a manor house in Chapeltown in North Turton, Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It is a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade I listed building. It was built in the late Middle Ages as a two-storey stone ...

, run by Blackburn Council *

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

, natural history museum.

Country houses used for other purposes

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...

, amusement park. *

Drayton Manor Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Union ...

Drayton Manor Theme Park Drayton Manor Resort is a family theme park, zoo and accommodation in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. It covers , of which about are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people each y ...

amusement park *

Donington Hall Donington Hall is a country house set in parkland near Castle Donington village, North West Leicestershire. The Hall and Estate was purchased in April 2021 by MotorSport Vision, which also operates the neighbouring Donington Park racing cir ...

, office *

Hewell Grange Hewell Grange is a former country house in Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England. "One of the most important late 19th century country houses in England", the mansion was built between 1884 and 1891 by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner fo ...

, open prison * Heskin Hall, antiques centre * Waddow Hall, Girlguiding centre *

Winmarleigh Hall Winmarleigh Hall is a former country house located to the south of the village of Winmarleigh, Lancashire, England, now operated by PGL as an adventure centre. History The manor of Winmarleigh was bought in 1744 by Thomas Patten (died 1772) o ...

, children's activity centre * Wyresdale Park, barn wedding venue and business centre

Other uses

The

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

has several outstations at country houses:

Montacute House Montacute House is a late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan mansion in Montacute, South Somerset, England. An example of English architecture created during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic architecture, Gothic to the more Classica ...

is partially used to display Elizabethan and Jacobean portraits;

Beningbrough Hall Beningbrough Hall is a large Baroque mansion near the village of Beningbrough, North Yorkshire, England, and overlooks the River Ouse. It has baroque interiors, cantilevered stairs, wood carving and central corridors which run the length of t ...

is used to display 18th-century portraits and

Bodrhyddan Hall Bodrhyddan Hall is a country house in Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales. It is a Grade I listed building. The present building is a 1690s remodelling of an earlier building dating from the 16th century. It was later upgraded by the architect William Eden ...

displays 19th-century portraits.

Knebworth House Knebworth House is an English country house in the parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II* listed building. Its gardens are also listed Register of Historic Parks and Gar ...

stages rock concerts in the park.

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundre ...

has an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

attached. Port Lympne is now a zoo, several houses also have

Safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari par ...

s in the grounds:

Knowsley Hall Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, which contains the Knowsley S ...

(The house has never been open to the public),

Longleat Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. Longleat is set in of parkl ...

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

. Clouds House is used as a centre for treating alcoholics and drug addicts. Moor Park is a golf club-house.

Halton House 300px, Halton House, Buckinghamshire Halton House is a country house in the Chiltern Hills above the village of Halton in Buckinghamshire, England. It was built for Alfred ''Freiherr'' de Rothschild between 1880 and 1883. It was used as the m ...

is used by the Royal Air Force and

Minley Manor Minley Manor is a Grade II* listed country manor house, located within a Grade II registered garden, built in the French Gothic style by Henry Clutton in the 1860s with further additions in the 1880s. The Manor is situated 2 miles north of junct ...

was used by the army. Another common use of country houses is to convert them for multiple occupation, for example

New Wardour Castle New Wardour Castle is a Grade I listed English country house at Wardour, near Tisbury in Wiltshire, built for the Arundell family. The house is of Palladian style, designed by the architect James Paine, with additions by Giacomo Quarenghi, w ...

, Sheffield Park House &

Stoneleigh Abbey Stoneleigh Abbey is an English country house and estate situated south of Coventry. Nearby is the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The Abbey itself is a Grade I listed building. History In 1154 Henry II of England, ...

whose former park Stoneleigh Park is used for exhibitions and agricultural shows.

Culzean Castle Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; ) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is now owned by ...

Margam Castle Margam Castle, Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, is a late Georgian country house built for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by Thomas Hopper, the castle was constructed in a Tudor Revival style over a five-year period, from 1830 to 1835. ...

Tatton Hall Tatton Hall is a country house in Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It is designated as a Grade I listed building and is open to the public. History The original manor house in Tatton Park was Tatton Old Hall. Around 1716 a new ha ...

are at the centre of country parks.

Goodwood House Goodwood House is a country house and estate covering in Westhampnett, Chichester, West Sussex, England and is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I listed building. Description The house and it ...

is a centre of both horse & motor racing.

Ince Blundell Hall Ince Blundell Hall is a former English country house, country house near the village of Ince Blundell, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. It was built between 1720 and 1750 for Robert Blundell, the lord of the manor, ...

is now a nunnery.

Toddington Manor Toddington Manor is a 19th-century country house in the English county of Gloucestershire, near the village of Toddington. It is in the gothic style and was designed by Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 1st Baron Sudeley for himself and built between 18 ...

is being convert into an art gallery and home by

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

. Many houses are now in the ownership of

Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

and operated as country house museums including

Ashton Court Ashton Court is a mansion house and Estate (land), estate to the west of Bristol in England. Although the estate lies mainly in North Somerset, it is owned by the City of Bristol. The mansion and stables are a Grade I listed building. Other st ...

Aston Hall Aston Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean house in Aston, Birmingham, England, designed by John Thorpe and built between 1618 and 1635. It is a leading example of the Jacobean prodigy house. In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corporat ...

being the first to be so owned from 1864,

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roma ...

Heaton Hall Heaton Park is a Urban park, public park in Prestwich, Manchester, England, covering an area of over . The park includes the grounds of a Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester, Grade I listed, neoclassical architecture, neoclassical 18 ...

Tredegar House Tredegar House (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tŷ Tredegar'') is a 17th-century Charles II of England, Charles II-era mansion in Coedkernew, on the southwestern edge of Newport, Wales. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, late ...

Ditchley Ditchley Park is a country house near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The estate was once the site of a Roman villa. Later it became a royal hunting ground, and then the property of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley. The 2nd Earl of Lichfield built ...

is owned and used for conferences by the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. Based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, it was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by philanthr ...

References

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