Wormleighton Manor

Wormleighton is a tiny village in Warwickshire with about ten houses, a church... and this.
This gateway is about all that is left of Wormleighton Manor, at the centre of what was once a fairly large Anglo-Saxon settlement. It emptied out partly in the 14th Century (it's not clear whether that was due to the Black Death or poor agricultural land) but after a series of owners, around 1500 it fell into the hands of a local herdsman, John Spencer. He went from strength to strength, buying up many farms in the area and clearing out the occupants in favour of sheep and cattle, eventually owning substantial amounts of land in Warwickshire and Northamptonshire.
The Manor is apparently still owned by the Spencers, but was more or less abandoned over the following centuries, with many of its fittings being moved to the Spencers' preferred residence, Althorp. If any of these names ring a bell, it's because one of the most familiar members of that family was Diana, Princess of Wales, who is buried at Althorp. But this is where it all started, with a humble herdsman in a tiny Warwickshire village.