TL1018 : Common Footman at Luton Hoo
taken 6 years ago, near to New Mill End, Central Bedfordshire, England
Now a smart country house hotel, and part of a spa and golf club complex, but originally built in the 18thC, by Robert Adam, for the 3rd Earl of Bute. It replaced an earlier manor house that dated from the 11thC. In 1843 much of the house and its contents were destroyed by a devastating fire, and remained a burnt shell until 1848, when the estate was sold to John Leigh, a Liverpool solicitor and property speculator, who rebuilt it. In 1903 the estate was sold to the diamond magnate Sir Julius Wernher. It became the home of the Wernher Collection, and acquired by his son and Lady Wernher. During WWII the house served as Headquarters Eastern Command, and the grounds were used as a tank testing ground for the Churchill tanks that were produced in Luton. It was opened as Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf, and Spa in October 2007. Link.