I help out at a very well known heritage property, a small country house – with attitude and history. It’s been owned by three families. But the most interesting person living there was a tenant who was the doyenne of all things decorating and gardening. She featured regularly in countrylife magazine and really put this otherwise ordinary palladian pile truly on the map. What is all the more remarkable is that this american heiress was the first to introduce central heating . . . . and running hot and cold water. She also had several more bathrooms installed so that her 24 guest bedrooms could offer something modern and akin to the luxury she had left behind in Virginia. The bathrooms remain – very much of the late 1920s. The rooms are not used though and it’s such a shame – plans to open the top storey of the house move apace, so we may see them enjoyed again once more.