Terror in the tower of london

Glamis Castle, Angus, part 2 The seat of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Discover how the UK’s country houses defied the odds to survive as historic monuments and cultural centres

Somehow, it isn’t hard to imagine the scene of battle here, even on a sultry July morning when only the distant growl of a motorbike interrupts the crooning of collared doves. Perhaps it is the quiet.

Richmond Palace, 22 March 1603. Elizabeth I – the self-proclaimed Virgin Queen who had ruled England for 44 years, seeing off the Armada, healing religious divisions and creating a court so magnificen

Home to a marquess and an RAF air crew – and believed to be the birthplace of a Queen – this red-brick Jacobean mansion contains stories spanning centuries

Arundel Castle, West Sussex