Resembling a Norman chateau on high ground on the town’s western outskirts, Westwood House is a stately home dating from the 1600s.

Originally an Elizabethan banqueting hall, the later addition of four diagonal wings made it a precursor of the Butterfly plan which became popular in the 19th century.

For several centuries it was the seat of the Pakington family, including in the mid-1800s Lord John Pakington, an MP who held a number of government posts, including Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Westwood House has now been converted into 12 luxury self-contained apartments. The kitchen garden covers the site of a long lost convent.

It lies in the centre of its former estate, Westwood Park, which is Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and includes a huge lake used for water skiing.

In Queensland, Australia, there’s a small settlement called Westwood, named in honour of Lord Pakington.

Click here for a video by Andrew Grant estate agents that explores the interior and exterior of Westwood House.