The house at Uppark

The North Corridor

When famous landscape designer Humphry Repton moved the entrance to the north side and added the portico, the North Corridor was built to link the two structures. While the intricately patterned red baize door draws the eye towards the Staircase Hall, be sure to look up at the stained-glass windows.

The Staircase Hall

The fire of 1989 burnt fiercest here, with only a single newel post and two balusters surviving. The 19th-century Gothic lantern that hangs here was completely flattened as the floors above collapsed, but incredibly it was painstakingly restored to its original form.

The Servery

Servants carried food from the kitchen using the underground tunnels, and from here it could be served to guests in the next-door Dining Room.

The stained-glass window was designed by Humphry Repton's son, John Adey, and was lit from behind by oil lamps after dark. The scenes below it were inspired by the Elgin Marbles, classical Greek sculptures from the Parthenon that came to Britain in 1807.

The Dining Room

Owner Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh was famous for his parties, with guests including the Prince of Wales and Emma Hamilton, who would later be Lord Nelson's mistress, who is said to have danced naked on the dining table.

The room itself features panelling, pilasters and mirrored niches designed by Humphry Repton, and forms the perfect backdrop for many fine pieces such as the specially commissioned Chinese dinner service.

The Stone Hall

Originally the day-to-day entrance (hence the stone floor), the Stone Hall is home to an exquisite carved marble fireplace by Thomas Carter, a gilt bronze French lantern that, remarkably, had been crushed in the fire of 1989, and a pair of scagliola tables commissioned by Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh in the 1750s.

The Little Parlour

One of the sunniest rooms in the house, the Little Parlour was popular with the ladies of Uppark, although few signs of it remain. This room was destroyed during the 1989 fire when a falling chimneystack carried it into the basement.

The details on the black japanned 'pagoda' cabinet are particularly worth a closer look, although the Prince of Wales is said to have tied his dog to one of its legs during a visit in the 1780s.

The Saloon

Perhaps the most impressive room in the house, the Saloon was originally the entrance hall. After the fire, the intricate plasterwork ceiling was reassembled from rescued fragments, with the craftsmen and women relearning the skill of freehand lime modelling in order to restore the damaged sections.

The Carter chimneypieces depict the stories of Romulus and Remus, flanked by classical Greek busts, while the finest of Sir Harry's furniture includes a piece by French 17th-century cabinetmaker Andre-Charles Boulle.