I arrived at Woolverstone Hall in September 1958 to be greeted by a tsunami of vivid and spectacular images. The main house, the boarding houses, the river, the adjoining fields, the church: these we all know about, but I remember being also struck by the "Old Stables". (Is there an official name? "Stable Block" perhaps?)

The thing is, they could have just put up a water tower like those you see in France, but instead with great ingenuity they combined it with stables and accommodation for the servants and others working on the estate. More than that, the building is beautifully constructed, and though in a totally different style it is in a way as imposing as the main house itself. It has lasted all these years and still looks good - AND is very useful, even if the tower is no longer needed for water!

What MIGHT have been!