MADRESFIELD COURT must be one of the most mysterious of all the houses in England. Tucked away in a quiet corner, between the Malvern Hills and the meandering River Severn, it has lived, largely quietly, for nearly 1,000 years, occupied by the same family—the Lygons—for 29 generations, only emerging occasionally to play a role on the national stage.
Walking in a large circle around the house, as I
