I am working on a guidebook for Dyrham Park at the moment. A glorious National Trust house, made more famous by being used as the main location in that wonderful film, The Remains of the Day. The man who built Dyrham, a certain William Blathwayt, was a sort of Samuel Pepys, without perhaps the endearing self-knowledge or sense of fun. He was a highly successful 17th-century civil servant, conspicuous for his capacity for work and ability to perform several demanding roles