Reatively close to Burghley House, I visited Grimsthorpe Castle later in the same day and was on the next to the last tour of the property.  Being so late in the day we were the only people there in that particular party and so had a very good personally guided tour of the property.

The castle is the home of the Willoughby de Eresby family and has been since 1516.  Nowadays the castle, park and gardens, are in the care of the Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust.
 

The oldest part of the castle is King John's Tower which is on the south-east corner of the house.

Grimsthorpe passed through many families in its early years until in 1516 it was granted by Henry VIII to William 10th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. The guidebook details the history of the family and Grimsthorpe in great detail and is a fascinating read.

The tour of the house brings that history to life and begins in The Vanbrugh Hall.  This room is magnificant and to quote the guidebook is defined by superimposed arcades which reflect the architectural motif of the exterior of the house.

Arcaded screens at each end of the hall separate the hall from the staircases in a similar way to those at Audley End and Castle Howard.

The Vanbrugh Hall has been used as a sitting room in the Edwardian Era and a games room in the 19th Century.

The staircases lead on to the State Rooms on the first floor of the house, passing by the Vaulted Hall (also by Vanburgh).

The first State Room is the Dining Room which is, as many are in these properties, set out with the silverware and dinner services.  Contained in this room however are the throne used by George IV at his Coronation Banquet and a Regency giltwood throne and footstool used by Queen Victoria in the old House of Lords.  There is also a walnut and parcel gilt chair and footstool made for the use of George III at Westminster.

The tour continues with the Lobby which contains paintings of English sovereigns including Charles II and Queen Anne.  The Lobby also contains a white marble statue of Venus by Lawrence Macdonald.  Darkened with the curtain to the window pulled across to preserve the contents the Lobby is a small and interesting stop on the tour.

The King James Room is the next stop on the tour and particularly fascinating for me was the collection of vases made from Derbyshire Blue John.  The reason I took an interest in this is that several years ago I visited the Blue John Caverns where the Blue John is mined (and of course brought a piece myself) - an interesting tour but not for the claustrophobic.

The next stop on the tour is the State Drawing Room wish is lavishly furnished and once served as a dining room.  The tour continues to the Tapestry Room which is hung with yellow Soho Tapestries woven by Joshua Morris around 1730.

The South Corridor which is again lined with portraits and contains more thrones used by Prince Albert and Edward VII when Prince of Wales.  It also contains the desk on which Queen Victoria signed her coronation oath.  These pieces of furniture are described as more "perks" of the Lords Great Chamberlain.

The corridor leads to the Gothic Bedroom and takes it name from the canopy of crimson velvet, embroidered with the cypher of George IV in silver gilt thread, suspended over the bed.  This is the same canopy of state which once hung over the throne of George IV which, as previously mentioned, is in the State Dining Room.

The West Corridor continues the tour on to the Tapestry Bedroom and after descending a staircase onto the Chinese Drawing Room and the Chapel.  The visitor will not be surprised to find that you are now at the opposite end of the Vanburgh Hall where the tour started and now finishes.
 

There are some gardens to view when the tour of the house is concluded and as you can see from the photo directly above some of the gardens are presently being remodelled.