Audley End in East Anglia is an English Heritage property.

The house was built for the Earl of Suffolk in 1603 and took over a decade to be completed.  It cost a vast amount of money in comparison with other properties built at the same time.  Ambitious and expensive it is not surprising to discover that the Earl found himself in financial difficulties.

The financial problems were passed on to his son and then later his grandson.  Eventually Audley End had to be sold in 1666 when it was purchased by King Charles II. 

Unfortunately King Charles' interest in the property did not last long despite it being close to Newmarket and the racecourse he was often at.  However it did remain in the possession of the royal family until King William III returned the property to the 5th Earl of Suffolk.

The property remained in the possession of the Earls of Suffolk until the last Earl died without children in 1745.

After legal issues were resolved and the house came close to being demolished it was purchased by Lady Portsmouth in 1751.  She set about improving the property including demolition and adaption to create a better house plan.  The original Long Gallery was demolished at this time as well as the pavilions.

The house remained in the family (albeit not through direct descendents) and became tied through marriage to the Neville family in whose possession it remained until it was sold to the nation by Seymour Neville, 9th Baron Braybrook, in the 1940s.

English Heritage now have the task of repairing and conserving the property for the future.

The tour of the house itself is very impressive and extensive.  The guidebook clearly marks which areas of the house contain presentations from which century and the various displays throughout.

The tour begins in the Entrance Hall and then onto the spacious Great Hall with its high ceiling rising through two stories. 

The tour then moves on to the luxurious Saloon and the Drawing Room which contains a magnificent chimneypiece which is believed to have been moved from another part of the house and is Jacobean.

There are then two libraries, the main library being my favourite of the two, it being a light and airy room rather than the gloomy rooms contained in many of the properties.

Further furnished rooms are then on the tour before you reach the Chapel with the window of the Last Supper.  Visitors can try to pick out the traitor in the window, even the staff are unsure as to which of the men is Judas and it has been debated for some years.

Further lavish rooms are then accessible including sitting rooms, dressing rooms and bedrooms.

You then reach the Service areas and the Butler's Pantry.

The guidebook also tells you of the Museum Room, which is unfortunately not open to the public despite its name.

Passing this by there are then plenty more rooms to explore including the Little Drawing Room, the Great Drawing Room and many more before leaving to view the gardens.

Audley End is situated in extensive grounds. However once again last year I ended up at a house on a rainy day just not suitable for being outside.  (I really hope have better weather this year when I am holiday). 

However I did see some of the gardens before the heavens opened and the pictures here are just a small portion of the grounds.