Beyond the Gatehouse is a lighthearted, witty but factual biographical account of the eccentric lifestyles of the builders and residents of some of England's best-known country houses.

Extraordinary buildings require extraordinary people, and over the centuries our historic houses have produced more than their fair share of oddballs. Insulated from the outside world by vast wealth, rolling acres and the social status that a title implies, aristocrats have always been able to amuse themselves – and now us – by pursuing their idiosyncratic interests and manias to the point of eccentricity. The 12th Duke of Bedford preferred parrots to people – forcing his children to steal the birds' food to make up their own meagre rations – while the 5th Duke of Portland paid his staff a bonus on the understanding they would never speak to him. The Hon. Henry Cavendish inherited a million pounds in the 1780s, but never spent more than five shillings on dinner, while more recently the 2nd Lord Rothschild spent weeks training a team of zebra to pull his carriage up the Mall and into Buckingham Palace.

David Long lifts the lid on all that's bizarre, implausible, unthinkable and delightfully wacky about our glorious heritage homes and their unusual occupants.