The Vyne, a few miles north of Basingstoke at Sherborne St John, is a red-brick Tudor mansion built in the early 16th century for William Sandys, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII. The king and his queens, including Anne Boleyn, stayed here. The house keeps its early Tudor chapel almost untouched, with extraordinary Renaissance stained glass depicting Henry VII, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon — among the most important early 16th-century glass in England.
The interiors layer Tudor, Stuart and Georgian decoration. A neoclassical staircase by John Chute, added in the 1760s, soars through the centre of the house. The grounds are equally good: lake walks, woodland, walled gardens and the so-called Hundred Million Pines — a small but characterful arboretum. The Vyne is owned by the National Trust; check opening times before travelling.