This stunning 18th-century Palladian hall sits in 500-acres of parkland and was built in 1741 by Horatio Walpole, housing his considerable art collection. Now owned by the Ellis family, this historic house is fittingly being reopened with an extensive arts and culture programme, complete with ‘Sea State’ a site-specific exhibition of new work by contemporary artists Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson in the Marble Hall (until 7 December), and artist residencies, creating a dialogue between old and new.

Maggi Hambling has also taken over The Portrait Room with a new installation’ Time’, an intensely moving and intimate view into her life, serving as both a poignant celebration of her late partner Tory and a meditation on the enduring power of the sea. Forty emotionally turbulent studies ‘Nightwaves’ radiate from a central portrait titled ‘Tory, October 2024’, described by Hambling as having ‘painted itself’ when Tory died. This group of paintings, conceived by the artist as a single installation, pays tribute to their 40-year relationship and is a tender reflection on time, love, loss and the persistent, perhaps threatened, beauty of the natural world that continues its rhythm regardless of human intervention. The installation and exhibition coincides with Hambling’s 80th birthday.

Entry is free to view the house, grounds and exhibition (though you are invited to consider making a donation to The Ted Ellis Trust). You do need to pre-book though. Open Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 4pm, until 7 December. You can also visit to enjoy the Bread Source cafe in the library or one of the walks round the extensive grounds with its 10-acre lake. Dogs on leads are welcome in select parts of the grounds. 

Alongside, there’s also a programme of creative workshops, from flower arranging to painting; opera and theatre on the lawn; dining experiences – and you can book a stay, too (visit www.wolterton.co.uk for prices for these activities).