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Go off the beaten track. Discover the historic houses no one else has heard of — all in one place. 🏰🧭

11/11/2026

Afternoon tea, a crackling fire, and a castle dressed for Christmas…🎄

Next month, step inside Belvoir Castle with for a rather special afternoon - comprising of a guided tour of the castle (in all of its festive glory), followed by afternoon tea by the fireside in the Regent’s Gallery - as Steven shares the story of how one house guest made afternoon tea the height of fashion.

📆 Thursday 10th December
🎟️ Limited to just 15 guests
✨ Exclusive to HeritageXplore Club members

Places can be booked via HeritageXplore.com ☕️

10/11/2026

More words that we believe deserve a second chance at regular usage…

Five centuries of insults, excuses and exits, all of them far too good to leave in the dictionary.

Let us know your favourite in the comments! 👇🏼

08/11/2026

For the final Book Club season of the year, we’ll be diving in to Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford: a sparkling 1932 comedy set over Christmas in a Cotswold country house. Expect house parties, hunting, a disguised tutor and the formidable Lady Bobbin. 🎄

We’re also delighted to welcome Alexis as our host for the season ✨

Dates for your diary below:

📅 Sunday 29 November, 6pm GMT
📅 Sunday 13 December, 6pm GMT

Please remember to RSVP to each session via the HeritageXplore website to receive the meeting link.

Grab your copy and join us to close the year in good company 🥂 Link in bio to find out more.

07/11/2026

The Dot Project and HeritageXplore are pleased to present a new body of work by Dutch artist Sander Coers, created in response to his residency at Maxstoke Castle

Opening 28–30 November 2026 – *tickets available* via HeritageXplore

Sander Coers THE.DOT.PROJECT

Set within the fourteenth-century castle, which has remained a home for over six centuries, Coers draws inspiration from its medieval architecture, rich history and layered narratives, exploring the relationship between memory, identity and the passage of time.

Working with found imagery, photography and artificial intelligence, Coers explores the space between what is remembered, recorded and imagined. Through textiles, wood and ceramics, he transforms familiar images into physical objects, reflecting on how histories are preserved, inherited and reimagined across generations.

Now exhibited within the very walls that inspired them, the works bring contemporary art into conversation with Maxstoke Castle’s remarkable past, inviting visitors to consider how memories are shaped, how stories evolve, and what we choose to carry forward.

For further information and available works, please email [email protected]

07/11/2026

On Sunday 6th December, from 3pm, join us for carols at Kelvedon Hall and let’s sing in Christmas together. 🎶

Bought in 1937 by diarist and MP Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, Kelvedon has been the Channon family’s home ever since, and is rarely open to visitors.

Arrive from 3pm for carols in front of the house as dusk falls, with mulled w**e and mince pies throughout. For those who’d like to stay on, Katie Channon will be leading a tour around her beautiful home.🎄

Bring your friends and family, wrap up warm, and let’s sing in Christmas together. We hope to see you there!

Tickets available exclusively via HeritageXplore.com - early bird now available.

06/11/2026

She deliberately exposed her own children to one of the deadliest diseases of her time. And helped change the course of medical history.

An aristocrat, a traveller and a woman unafraid to challenge convention, she encountered a remarkable medical practice thousands of miles from home - and became determined to bring it to Britain.

Her influence reached the highest levels of society, while her sharp wit and unconventional choices made her a formidable figure in Georgian England.

Centuries later, a rather personal part of her story survives in the collection of one of Scotland’s most extraordinary historic houses.

Think you know who she is? Follow the clues and leave your guess in the comments. ✍️

02/11/2026

Five words that we strongly believe should be kept in our vernacular, and the portraits that look as if they were painted for them. 🎨

…which do you most relate to? Let us know in the comments below. 👇

02/11/2026

Five words that we strongly believe should be kept in our vernacular, and the portraits that look as if they were painted for them. 🎨

…which do you most relate to? Let us know in the comments.

30/10/2026

Witchcraft. Poison. Treason… but who is she?

This week we’re in 1500s Scotland, where one noblewoman became caught in a bitter feud between her family and a king.

Born into one of Scotland’s most powerful families, she married into another - becoming lady of one of the country’s most extraordinary castles.

But her family name would prove dangerous.

Her brother had married the King’s mother, and the bitter struggle for power that followed left the King with a deep hatred of her family. Eventually, suspicion turned towards her.

She was accused of conspiring against the King and plotting to poison him. The charges are now regarded as politically motivated - but in 1537, she was convicted of treason and taken to Castle Hill in Edinburgh, where she was burned at the stake.

Her castle and estates were seized by the Crown, and the King himself took possession of her former home.

But perhaps the strangest chapter came after her death. Centuries of legend have linked her spirit to the castle she once called home, where the mysterious Grey Lady is said to haunt its halls…

Rather fitting for Halloween. 👻

… Who was she? And which clue gave her away? Let us know below. ✍️

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