Kirtlington Park

Kirtlington Park is a Grade I listed Palladian house in north Oxfordshire, built between 1742 and 1746 for Sir James Dashwood by William Smith and John Sanderson, from plans by James Gibbs. It stands in Capability Brown parkland with views across the gardens to the Chiltern Hills. The rococo dining room left for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1931. The rooms that stayed include the Saloon, the Library with its plasterwork by Thomas Roberts of Oxford, and the Monkey Room, whose ceiling of monkeys at human pursuits was painted by the French artist Andien de Clermont.

The house is still a private family home and is let whole. The reception rooms on the first floor interlink, so an evening moves from room to room: drinks in the Great Hall, a seated dinner in the Saloon, and the Drawing Room and Monkey Room for later, by the fire. Fourteen double bedrooms on the upper floors sleep 28, so a party can stay the weekend. Outside there are lawns for croquet and pétanque, a hard tennis court, wild-flower meadows and walks to the lake.

The owners sell it for milestone celebrations, family gatherings, company dinners, launches and retreats, and viewings are by appointment only. It is an hour from London by the M40, with stations at Bicester and Oxford, and close to Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds.