Apethorpe Palace

Apethorpe Palace in 1829

In May 1231 Henry III granted the manor of Apethorpe to Ralph le Breton; however on 21 June 1232 the manor was taken back into the king's hands.[13][14] In the 15th century the manor was owned by Sir Guy Wolston. In 1515 Apethorpe was purchased by Henry Keble, grandfather of Lord Mountjoy, who sold the manor to Henry VIII.[15]

Apethorpe was left to Princess Elizabeth in her father's Henry VIII's will. In April 1551 Sir Walter Mildmay acquired it from Edward VI in exchange for property in Gloucestershire and Berkshire. Queen Elizabeth dined with Mildmay at Apethorpe on her progress in 1562, 1566 and 1587. He added a stone chimney-piece with her words engraved dated 1562,[16] and after his death it was inherited by his eldest son Sir Anthony Mildmay (c. 1549–1617), from whom Apethorpe passed to his daughter Mary (1581/2–1640) and her husband, Sir Francis Fane (1617),[17] later Earl of Westmorland. Apethorpe remained in the Fane family for nearly three centuries.

Apethorpe Palace – Eastern Courtyard

The interior of Apethorpe Palace

The 12th Earl and his son, the 13th Earl, came into financial difficulties and, in 1904, the family seat was sold to Henry Brassey. After World War II much of the adjoining estate was sold and the house became an approved school under the Catholic Church. In 1982 the school closed and in 1983 the building was sold to Wanis Mohamed Burweila, who wanted to found a university in the cloisters and courtyards of Apethorpe. His plans never materialised and he left the country for political reasons. As the house was empty and neglected from the early 1980s it was becoming dangerously unsafe, with incipient damp and rot. When English Heritage started its Buildings at Risk Register in 1998, the house was included on it as one of the most important houses at risk.[18]

In September 2004 the entire estate was compulsorily purchased by the British Government under section 47 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (only the second time the government has had to use these powers). English Heritage has spent £8 million refurbishing it to make it waterproof. Much of the work was carried out by Stamford restoration and conservation builders, E. Bowman & Sons Ltd. From 2007, buyers were sought, in spite of an estimated £6 million still required in renovation (as of 2014, the house was without any plumbing, power or heating). In 2008, the asking price was upwards of £4.5 million.[19] In May 2012, the Daily Mail reported that the asking price for the property had been reduced to £2.5 million (but no utilities and already £100,000-a-year maintenance bill).[20]

In December 2014, English Heritage announced that Baron von Pfetten, a French anglophile and keen field sportsman, had bought the property.[10] Simon Thurley, English Heritage's chief executive, welcomed the purchase: "Since 2000 English Heritage has consistently said that the best solution for Apethorpe is for it to be taken on by a single owner, who wants to continue to restore the house and to live in it; especially one who has experience of restoring historic buildings and is prepared to share its joys with a wide public, as Baron Pfetten will do. Apethorpe is certainly on a par with Hatfield and Knole and is by far the most important country house to have been threatened with major loss through decay since the 1950s." Baron Pfetten has agreed to an 80-year commitment of 50 days public opening a year, a far more extensive undertaking than the normal period of 10 years in the case of English Heritage grant-aided properties.[10]