IT looks more like a Greek monument than a traditional opera house and has a history that spans more than three centuries.

Home to an opera season the spectacular Northington Grange has a colourful history which has seen it host aristocracy, battle back from the brink of destruction and feature on TV.

In 1662 Robert Henley bought the estate and "modest" house of what is now known as The Grange, and three years later he commissioned William Samwell to build a four-storey red brick residence to replace the house.

In 1764 the kitchen block and entrance block was built after the 1st Earl of Northington, Robert Henley commissioned Robert Adam to do the work, that same year he laid out a naturalistic English landscape park which included a lake and folly.

Just 23 years later in 1787 the second earl died and the house was sold to the Drummond banking family.

It was in the 19th century when the famous building started to gain its unique look as Henry Drummond commissioned architect William Wilkins to transform the brick house into a "neoclassical" Ancient Greek Temple in 1804.

The work was completed in 1817 and the house was then sold to Alexander Baring (Lord Ashburton).

Mr Baring was involved heavily in slavery, he married the daughter of a Philadelphia merchant who made a fortune exporting tobacco and importing molasses both harvested by slaves.

Baring helped to arrange America’s purchase of Louisiana from the French in 1803, and he also sat in parliament for Taunton, Callingford, Thetford and North Essex during his political career in the 19th century.

During the Baring family ownership, the house became a hot spot for high society parties attended by high profile figures including Thomas Carlyle and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

In 1934, 600 acres of the estate and the Grange were sold to Charles Wallach who made his fortune in medicine and petroleum by-products.

The Wallach family used the Grange to house American troops during the Second World War.

The estate faced its toughest test when Charles Wallach died, and in an interesting turn of events, the main house and grounds were bought again by John Baring, who was now the 7th Lord Ashburton.

He quickly demolished the rear wing of the main building and planned to blow up the rest in 1972; however, following an angry correspondence with The Times, he was persuaded to pass the house into the voluntary guardianship of what the Department of the Environment – whichis now English Heritage.

The government had promised to pay for restoration to enable the public a chance to access the building, but the building was neglected until a 1978 a campaign forced the government to stump up £500,000 to pay for vital work on the house.

The Grange Park Opera festival was staged for the first time in 1998 and has been a popular attraction ever since, and the venues link to the arts didn’t stop there as a new theatre in the picture gallery was designed in 2002.