As the Tourism Minister I have inevitably been up and down the country visiting the best that this country has to offer tourists and recently I was pleased to visit a tourist spot here in Northamptonshire: Holdenby House.
Holdenby House was built as Holdenby Palace in 1583 making it the largest house in England at the time. The Palace has housed many English Monarchs over the years including James I and Charles I. The House has also appeared in the BBC’s adaptions of ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘The Women in White.’ The House is now part of the Historic Houses collection – an organisation which represents the nation’s largest collection of independently owned historic houses and gardens with responsibility for ensuring that these houses stay alive and are accessible for generations to come. It goes without saying that this former Royal Palace was truly stunning and it is great that it is still accessible for school visits over 400 years after it was built. I spoke to representatives from Historic Houses on the day and heard about the great work they have done at Holdenby House as well as at some of their many other historic houses to ensure that their history can continue to be learned by future generations. Holdenby House now hosts many functions from weddings to private parties.
Northamptonshire is a huge hidden gem for tourism with many historic houses enjoyed by thousands of visitors a year as well as historic churches and family attractions such as Silverstone Circuit and the Royal and Derngate theatre.