Watch Secrets of Historic Britain

Sitting below the beautiful Snowdonia Mountains in North Wales is the striking Penrhyn Castle. It was home to the wealthy Pennant family who made their fortune in the plantations of the West Indies and the local slate quarry of Bethesda.

Ham House on the banks of the River Thames, in Richmond, is an opulent 17th century mansion that tells the epic story of intimate royal relationships, civil war, political brinkmanship and the woman who triumphed over it all.

Kedleston Hall Derby is the country house of the Curzon family who have lived on the site since at least 1297 and continue to occupy a wing of this house. The stunning neo-classical mansion that we see today was the vision of Sir Nathaniel Curzon who spared no expense to transform it into his 'temple of the arts'.

Plas Newydd is an elegant mansion that sits on the banks of the Menai Strait in Anglesey and is a home full of action, adventure, creative impulse, passion and excess. It was residence to the 1st Marquess of Anglesey, Henry William Paget, who made his name fighting alongside the Duke of Wellington in the Battle of Waterloo.

Chartwell overlooking the picturesque Weald of Kent was the family home of one of Britain's most iconic figures, Sir Winston Churchill. He lived in this country house for over forty momentous years of the twentieth century which saw him warn against the appeasement of Hitler, during the 1930's and then step up to lead Britain during the Second World War.

Petworth House in West Sussex is famously known as 'the house of art' and sat in its beautifully, Capability Brown, designed grounds it is no surprise why this elegant mansion has been the inspiration for so many famous pieces of work.