Modern house builders can learn a lot from Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire - Yorkshire Post Letters

To feel and enjoy the magnificent experience of living life in Victorian times, a visit to Brodsworth Hall and garden near Doncaster in South Yorkshire is a must.

It should be on the places to visit before you die along with Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire.

The Thellusson family had made plenty of money from women's hosiery and coal mining, and it is incredible that the present house built between 1861 and 1863 was ahead of its time.

Features like windows in the flat roofs over the billiards room and in the main kitchen with louvres to help ventilate the heat from cooking is clever but of course the main benefits were plenty of natural light cascaded into the rooms, saving on energy cost from purchasing gas and later on electricity to power up the lights.

It amazes me that none of the modern main housebuilders, like Barrett, Persimmon and Beal don't have these features as standard in new house builds today?

With high insulation properties of glass these days, thanks to the research and development by glass manufacturing companies like Pilkington Glass of St Helens, it is incredible that more windows are not designed into the roofing space of new housing to fully utilise natural light, which costs nowt and saves on electricity bills.

The acres of ‘pleasure’ gardens are equally a delight, with something different to see around each corner as you stroll around the grounds.

The horticultural gems are the formal gardens with vibrant or bright seasonal bedding displays of red Begonia and Tageties (a type of Marigold) in the summer and autumn.

Rose garden with the long arches supporting the fragrance of old English roses is pleasant to the nose, and there are stunning colours of the flowers.

The fernery in the low lying shaded areas are equally as tranquil and the fact that you cannot hear the buzz of continuous traffic from the nearby A1 dual carriageway is another reason for a visit to this historical grade one site, encompassing Brodsworth Hall and garden.

Fortunately this is being carefully restored and maintained by charity, English Heritage, for all our benefit.

The highlight of my recent visit was two scoops of brown bread ice cream, which wasn't as unhealthy in my mind as you taste the wheat and oats in the ice cream.