A tour around England’s smallest county will inevitably draw you to Rutland Water — the country’s largest (by surface area) reservoir. Beneath the windsurfers and pleasure boaters lie the remains of Normanton Hall , an apparently ‘sensibly sized’ house complete with exceptional farm land.

The late Dowager Duchess of Ancaster in fancy dress for a fund raising ball in 1901. She was the last occupier of Normanton Hall. (Image credit: Country Life Image Archive)

Back in the early 20th century, after various marriages into the family, the owners of Normanton, the Willoughby’s, had become the Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughbys, leaving the family with a few too many large estates to manage on their hands. The death of Normanton Park’s incumbent Dowager Countess of Ancaster in 1921 forced deci

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