Rows of apple trees lead to the entrance of Easton Neston, Northamptonshire, the 1702 masterpiece by Nicholas Hawksmoor, an ingeniously inventive architect who also had a hand in Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. From its stone lions marching along the roofline to its wildly attenuated windows, the ashlar building represents the domestic high point of the English Baroque, a flamboyant style that flowered briefly before Palladian stateliness became prominent.
