Althorp is a country estate of about 14,000 acres and a stately home. The Earl of Sunderland built it in 1688. The estate has been the ancestral home of the Spencer family since the 16th century. The estate stable block has been converted into an exhibition devoted to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, who is buried on the estate, and provides an attractive sandstone setting that effectively offsets the imposing facade of the house. Diana was interred on a small island in the middle of a lake here.

 

The ghost of an old employee, who enters the room of anyone who has left a light on whilst sleeping, in case it is a candle that might cause an accidental fire, reputedly haunts the house.