Entering through the porte-cochere at the front of the house, visitors proceed up to the piano nobile via a single staircase.

At the first landing this branches into an elegant double stairway, which opens out to reveal a dramatic three-storey acoustic space displaying attractive plaster-work and neo-classical vaulting and is capped by an oval glass dome.

All the reception rooms radiate from this striking architectural feature and visitors are free to circulate through the green room, drawing room, dining room, library and the delightful conservatory, which is unusual in that it leads off the dining room and has a staircase down into the garden.

It is worthy of a special note that the huge library houses a Bluthner grand piano, used regularly for musical recitals, concerts, parties and other functions.

All reception rooms are exquisitely furnished with the original Regency furniture from Gillow of Lancaster, and an extensive collection of family portraits, some by the renowned Scottish artist Raeburn, adorn the walls.