Knightshayes

Knightshayes is the only complete country house ever built by William Burges, begun in 1869 for Sir John Heathcoat-Amory, grandson of the founder of Tiverton's lace factory. The family baulked at Burges's lavish scheme and in 1874 brought in J.D. Crace to finish the interiors more soberly, so the rooms mix Burges's carving and painted ceilings with Crace's decoration. The garden is the other draw: a formal terrace with the topiary fox and hounds, a woodland garden holding one of the most varied plant collections in the country and a turreted walled kitchen garden, set in parkland with walks of up to four kilometres and livestock-free fields popular with dog walkers. Dogs go on short leads everywhere but the house. Reviewers praise the room guides, the Stables cafe and the second-hand bookshop, and suggest allowing a whole day. Tips from visitors: non-members pay for parking by machine or the JustPark app, and a shuttle buggy runs from the stables to the house.