Erddig
Most recorded love stories in historic buildings relate to the upper echelons of society, but Erddig in Wrexham, north-east Wales, bucks this trend. The Yorke family, who owned this country house for almost 250 years, cultivated an unusually close bond with their servants, and celebrated members of the staff in a collection of portraits and poems that still exists today. Among these past employees were Lucy Hitchman and Ernest Jones, a nanny and a groom, who fell in love and eventually married. The match was encouraged by the Yorkes, and is commemorated in a portrait and verse in Erddig’s below-stairs hall of fame. nationaltrust.org.uk
Sweetheart Abbey
When Lord John Balliol died in 1268, his grieving widow, Lady Dervorguilla of Galloway, had his embalmed heart placed in an ivory casket, which she carried with her for the rest of her life. This grand but grisly expression of love was just one of the ways Dervorguilla demonstrated devotion to her late husband – she also undertook various charitable acts in his memory, and even founded a Cistercian abbey in Dumfries & Galloway for him in 1273. On her death, she was buried in the abbey along with Lord John’s heart, and the abbey’s monks named it ‘Dulce Cor’ – Sweetheart Abbey – in honour of its founder and her enduring love. historicenvironment.scot
Hughenden
Magnificent Hughenden, in Buckinghamshire, was the home of Victorian prime minister Benjamin Disraeli and his wife, Mary Anne, for many years. A visit today reveals copious evidence of the couple’s influence on the place – and of their devoted relationship, which is best epitomised in the carriage door that remains on show in the house. The story goes that Mary Anne trapped her finger in the door while accompanying Disraeli to an important speech, but kept her pain a secret so as not to distract him. When he discovered her injury, he had the door removed from the carriage and displayed on the wall to symbolise the strength of their love. nationaltrust.org.uk
Shibden Hall
‘I love, and only love, the fairer sex,’ declared prolific 19th-century diarist Anne Lister in one of her myriad journal entries. The charismatic entrepreneur and landowner – and the inspiration for BBC drama Gentleman Jack – lived for many years at Shibden Hall, a timber-framed manor house nestled within resplendent gardens just outside Halifax. It was here that Anne conducted her romances and wooed prospective lovers, including local heiress Ann Walker, who eventually became her ‘wife’ (though their marriage rituals were not officially recognised). The pair lived here together until Anne’s death in 1840. museums. calderdale.gov.uk
Leeds Castle
While most historic royal marriages took place in the name of political advantage or diplomatic necessity, a smattering of true-love matches can be found amid the tangled history of the British monarchy. Among them is the union of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, who met and married as teenagers and lived at this castle in Kent from 1278-1290. Evidence suggests the pair were genuinely mad about one another. Upon his wife’s death, grief-stricken Edward not only established the castle’s chapel in her memory, but also ordered 12 monuments (the Eleanor Crosses) to be placed at each stop on the funeral procession route, from Lincoln to London. leeds-castle.com
Kenilworth Castle
For a queen who famously never married, Elizabeth I left behind one of the monarchy’s greatest love stories, and Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire is at its heart – a grand, 12th-century fortification that Elizabeth gave to Robert Dudley in 1563. The exact nature and extent of their relationship has been lost to time and myth, but Robert transformed Kenilworth into a lavish ‘wonder house’ to impress his queen. In 1575, she stayed for 19 days while he laid on extravagant entertainments in a bid to convince her to marry him. Of course, she never did, but their affection persisted until the death of her ‘Bonny Sweet Robin’ in 1588. english-heritage.org.uk
