A guided tour around the former 18th Century house built for Sir Francis and Lady Henrietta Sykes that became the 1950s home for Lord and Lady Iliffe.

Basildon Park was subsequently sold to James Morrison and his decendent, Charles Morrison, inherited the property in 1910, but appeared not to live there. The house was used as a convalescent home for soldiers of the Berkshire Regiments during the First World War. During WW2 Basildon Park accommodated units of the 101st US Airborne Division prior to their participation in the D-Day landings of June 1944 and later it housed a amall British army detachment guarding German prisoners of war. The house fell into disrepair following its use to accommodate Ministry of Works workers constructing the Nuclear Research Establishment at nearby Harwell in the late 1940s. The Iliffes bought the property in 1952 and set about restoring Basildon Park to its former 18th Century glory.

This non-commercial production was made for the benefit of mobility impaired visitors to the now National Trust property in Berkshire, England.

BIAFF Diamond Award, 2010