English Country Houses

Farleigh Wallop
Architect: Originally 15th century; remodeled extensively over centuries
Location: Near Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK
Year: Foundations date to the 1400s; current form largely 18th–19th century
Visited: June 2024
Why it matters: A lived-in English country house with layers of history, aristocratic charm, modern warmth—and maybe the best wallpaper I’ve ever seen.

Why It’s Iconic:
Staying at Farleigh Wallop is like waking up inside a Merchant Ivory film—with better plumbing. The estate has been in the Wallop family for over 600 years, and it shows: the house is grand without being cold, and luxurious without trying too hard.

What makes it iconic isn’t just its scale or history (though there’s plenty of that—think royal portraits, secret staircases, and ancestral dining rooms). It’s the way it blends eras: 18th-century bones, 20th-century fabrics, and a kitchen you actually want to hang out in. The gardens are formal but not fussy. The drawing rooms are museum-worthy, but also perfect for sipping tea in your socks. It’s also made of flint bricks!

And then there’s the wallpaper. Reader, I took photos. It deserves a blog post of its own.

It’s not often you find a place this old that feels this alive. Farleigh Wallop isn’t a museum—it’s a masterclass in how tradition and comfort can share a house.

Jeb Score
(Judging Every Building)
Design ★★★★☆
Preservation ★★★★★
Livability ★★★★★
Influence ★★★☆☆
Overall Iconicity ★★★★★