![Wedding belles](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387284093/1712731018/articles/9LFvVKc9V1712743009727/WEDDING-BELLES.jpg)
THE vast, Grade I-listed Jacobean Dorfold Hall, just outside the market town of Nantwich in Cheshire, was built, so the story goes, for a visit by James I. Completed in 1621, the property and its surrounding estate of 101 acres have been in the home of the Roundell family ever since, making a few detours along the way down the female line.
Many of the original 17th-century interiors have been beautifully preserved, such as the ornate plaster ceiling in the drawing room, commissioned in 1621 to celebrate the unification of England and Scotland. Changes over the centuries have included a remodelling of the ground floor by architect Samuel Wyatt in 1771. Later, in 1862, William Nesfield was commissioned to rearrange the landscape. During the Second World War, the house was used by Canadian troops and sheltered children evacuated from the bombing of Liverpool.
The current custodians, Charles and Candice Roundell, began taking over the running of the estate from 2010 and moved in a few years later when, in their own words, it was in a state of disrepair and facing a rather gloomy future. The couple have since invested significant energy re-shaping the 400-year-old property for 21st-century living. One initiative included a ground-source heat pump system, one of the first to be installed in a historic house after Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. This combines both ground- and water-source energy from under a nearby field and lake and services properties across the estate.
This story is from the April 10, 2024 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 10, 2024 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![All dolled up](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/z0qO9cqPe1725519375804/ALL-DOLLED-UP.jpg)
All dolled up
Automata made in 19th-century France provided inspiration for the work of American artist Thomas Kuntz and a vintage dolls' house, furnished with period-appropriate pieces, stars in a charity auction
![Just keep walking](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/gYyLCnwWN1725519285733/JUST-KEEP-WALKING.jpg)
Just keep walking
ALMOST 30 years ago, a chap called Ian Bleasdale wrote a guide detailing all the walks on the Greek Island of Paxos. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had fallen for the island's rugged charms and, after many visits tramping its networks of old paths, decided to share their knowledge with like-minded souls.
![Delicious drupes](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/sz2hkv0gp1725518713209/DELICIOUS-DRUPES.jpg)
Delicious drupes
THERE is a peculiar magic in growing almonds. However often you see their soul-lifting, frost-risking flush of white blossom and however often you collect a basket of homegrown almonds, it's hard to lose the sense of glorious impossibility, that somehow you've cheated geography and climate.
![It started with a blank canvas](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/KuCtx5ORv1725518420708/IT-STARTED-WITH-A-BLANK-CANVAS.jpg)
It started with a blank canvas
The garden of Patthana, Co Wicklow, Ireland The home of T. J. Maher and Simon Kirby An exquisite small garden is rich in colour and texture and has been imaginatively extended, as you would expect of a painter's domain, reports Jane Powers
![Escape to 'God's own country"](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/wk_FqN-wX1725518299284/ESCAPE-TO-GODS-OWN-COUNTRY.jpg)
Escape to 'God's own country"
Yorkshire folk are rightly proud of their county's magnificent landscapes and rich architectural heritage, but incomers looking to settle there face strong competition from local contenders for picture-perfect country houses
![By the light of the harvest moon](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/9UA3xGmDG1725518139805/BY-THE-LIGHT-OF-THE-HARVEST-MOON.jpg)
By the light of the harvest moon
As autumn's whisper reminds farmers to reap their crops, inspect your produce for a suggestion of the winter to come, says Lia Leendertz
![Building blocks](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/PSy_Iosqh1725518000694/BUILDING-BLOCKS.jpg)
Building blocks
We can expect fireworks: Labour’s draft plans for a new planning policy contain subtle, but devastating amendments that bear closer inspection
![Friends in low places](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/XP8vF-q7m1725517730865/FRIENDS-IN-LOW-PLACES.jpg)
Friends in low places
As special as orchids, as beautiful as bluebells and as important as oaks, our ground-hugging mosses are worth a look down, says Mark Cocker
![Talk of the ton](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/1_rrwq4-U1725516739928/TALK-OF-THE-TON.jpg)
Talk of the ton
During the golden age of gossip, the fashion choices of the Regency elite were frequently the scintillating subject of the scandal sheets, finds Susan Jenkins
![Slopes of hazard](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5168/1821361/SDWG176WA1725516537249/SLOPES-OF-HAZARD.jpg)
Slopes of hazard
Skiing, ironically, is the safest thing you can do in St Moritz, says Rosie Paterson, who traces the Swiss resort's love affair with adrenaline-pumping winter sports back to a Victorian bet