Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family for nearly 400 years, Chastleton's last owner, Barbara Clutton-Brock, along with her 15-plus cats, eventually passed the house over into the care of the National Trust in 1991.
What followed was an extensive 6 year preservation project which included replacing the roof, lifting up floorboards, peeking behind panelling and sifting through years of built up precious clutter.