These three beautiful Essex manor houses are steeped in history and are all located within an hour's drive from Romford.
Whether you are a history buff or just looking for a day trip out of Havering, these three heritage spots could be well worth a visit.
Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden
Nestled in Saffron Walden in the Cam Valley, Audley End House and Gardens is described as "one of Essex's most beautiful heritage sites" by English Heritage.
The house was built between 1605 and 1614 on the site of a medieval Benedictine abbey, which was formerly under the control of the de Mandeville family - the Earls of Essex.
English Heritage states that "Audley End was the most ambitious house of its period in England," adding that "in form and scale it was a royal palace in all but name, intended to accommodate royal visitors on their progresses around the country".
Landscaper Lancelot "Capability" Brown designed the gardens which English Heritage describes as "among the largest and most opulent in Jacobean England".
Visitors today can explore the house and gardens, including the "intricately designed Parterre", and see the resident horses in their "grand" stables, sometimes performing in displays.
Hill Hall, Epping
Hill Hall - believed to be one of the earliest Renaissance houses in England - sits in the village of Theydon Mount in the Epping district and was once used as a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War.
Diplomat Sir Thomas Smith acquired Hill Hall in 1556 and continued making changes to it throughout his lifetime with English Heritage claiming the house's "multi-columned exterior imitates European mansions he'd admired on his travels".
An example of this came when Smith returned from a trip to France and rebuilt the north and west ranges "more strongly and splendidly" in a style influenced by what he had seen overseas.
Great British Life's website notes that "like many old buildings, Hill Hall is not without its own rumours of ghosts" and army personnel are said to have sometimes been spooked and refused to sleep in a particular bedroom off the Great Hall.
Legend also holds that a duel took place at the house during the Georgian era, leaving no survivors, after a young lady of the house fell in love with a man her seven brothers disapproved of.
She is said to have then taken her own life in despair.
Ingatestone Hall, Brentwood
Ingatestone Hall, in Ingatestone within the borough of Brentwood, was bought by William Petre after Henry VIII tasked Thomas Cromwell with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1535.
Petre was Cromwell's representative and secured a lease on the abbey's manor where descendants of his family lived for many years.
The hall features two "priest holes" built into the thickness of its walls - secret chambers most likely used during the 16th and 17th centuries to conceal Catholic priests from priest hunters during times of persecution.
During the Second World War, the house was used by pupils from Wanstead School, and in the 1950s the north wing was leased to Essex County Council as a record office until the late 1970s, during which thousands of Essex schoolchildren visited exhibitions there.
Today the hall remains a private family residence, though since 1992 the house and grounds, including its gallery, stone hall and summer parlour, have been available to hire for weddings, parties, filming and more, with visitors commenting on its "friendly, welcoming atmosphere".
Guided tours can also be arranged, and the hall's authentic Tudor architecture has featured in TV productions including Lovejoy, the BBC's Bleak House, Horrible Histories, The Windsors and The Crown.
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