Built in the 1720s by Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first Prime Minister, Houghton Hall is a fine example of England’s Palladian houses. Walpole employed the architects James Gibbs and Colen Campbell, and interior decorator William Kent, to design a residence that would leave none questioning his considerable power and status. The residence served a dual function: entertaining England’s political elite and housing Walpole’s family. In 1797, the house passed down to the first Marquess of Cholmondeley after the death of Horace Walpole, Sir Robert’s only surviving son. Today, it remains a Cholmondeley family home. 