The Present Day
The estate was gifted to the National Trust by the Anson family in 1960 in lieu of death duties: it is managed on behalf of the owners by the Staffordshire County Council. The family resided in private apartments in the house until April 2010. Following the death of Patrick Lichfield on 11 November 2005 the private apartments were opened to the public in March 2011 where they can be viewed during a visit to the house.
The grounds and mansion house are open to the public. The attraction is marketed as "The Complete Working Historic Estate", which includes a working model farm museum dating from 1805 complete with a working watermill, kitchens, a dairy, a tea room, and rare breeds of farm animals. The walled garden, also dating from 1805, was restored in 2006 and also forms part of the attraction.
In addition, the house contains the historic servants' quarters and, within these, the Staffordshire County Museum, including a brewery. Originally restored in 1990, the brewery is England's only log-fired brewery that still produces beer commercially. Previously used only on special occasions, the brewhouse has been a working exhibit since 2007, operated by Titanic Brewery.
Read more about this topic: Shugborough Hall
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