Standing proudly in 5,600 acres of storybook-green Warwickshire countryside is the Palladian Ragley Hall: home to the 9th Marquess of Hertford (pictured, below), but also the stage for weddings, star-studded parties, sprawling outdoor events, and idyllic holiday hideaways.

Plans were drawn up for the mansion in 1680 by Robert Hooke, but it took another 100 years for his vision to come to life. Eventually completed in 1750, The Great Hall, with its baroque plaster decoration by James Gibbs was the showpiece, and nearly 300 years on its still amongst Ragley’s jewels, whether it’s the setting for an engagement party or a grand ball.

It was in the 1950s that the 8th Marquess and Marchioness decided to open their home to the public, and so began a tireless restoration to return it to its former glory – it had not been fully occupied since 1912, having been used as a hospital during the Second World War. But approaching Ragley today through its 450 acres of opulent Capability Brown-designed parkland, it’s hard to imagine its era of neglect, a place now humming with life.

The glamorous interiors attract film and TV companies – Netflix has filmed episodes of The Crown, and the savvy-eyed will recognise it as the backdrop to instalments of Doctor Who. The period backdrop is also an in-demand setting for photoshoots and product launches.

Dotted throughout the calendar are some of Britain’s best outdoor events. The Game Fair, Adventure Bike Rider and Classic Ibiza or family festivals like Camper Calling and The Midlands Air Show – to name just a few – attract around 200,000 visitors through Ragley’s gates every year.

Then there are the lucky brides and grooms, bringing their romantic mood boards to life with the help of the events team, with an intimate reception in the state rooms perhaps, a marquee in the Rose Garden or a festival-style party on the polo field with the backdrop of the hall.

And for those in pursuit of a bucolic escape, Ragley’s three holiday properties are blissful hideaways, each dog friendly and with wood-fired hot tubs. The seven-bedroom former hunting lodge (pictured, below), originally dating from 1504, sleeps 16 with its far-reaching views of Shakespeare country; Arrow Lodge, one of the original gatehouse lodges, sleeps two; and Ridgeway Farmhouse with its Scandi-feel interiors has space for eight guests.

But Ragley at its core is a working home and farm, with a flock of around 1,000 North Country mule ewes grazing the parkland, a thriving and award-winning estate butchers and a mixed-used regenerative approach to arable farming. This is a LEAF demonstration farm, growing wheat and oats in partnerships with Jordans, Warburtons and Wildfarmed, alongside barley and specialist pharmaceutical crops like borage. The estate works closely with LEAF Education, local schools and agricultural colleges, and hosts Open Farm Sunday to bring students and locals onto the farm, celebrating the importance of understanding the food chain and the estate’s commitment to biodiversity.

Investment in the development of ecology and managing habitats for nature is also high on the agenda. This combined commitment to preserving heritage and managing the land was recognised when Lord Hertford was presented with the prestigious Bledisloe Gold Medal by the Royal Agricultural Society of England last year – an outstanding achievement that is perhaps proof that Ragley will thrive for another 300 years to come.

Find out more at ragley.co.uk

To book the holiday properties visit boltholeretreats.co.uk