Hanbury Hall and its formal garden, built and created by Thomas Vernon (1654–1721), MP, in 1701 was originally bought by Edward Vernon (1586–1666), son of the Rector, the Reverend Richard Vernon (1549–1627), in 1631. It is famous for Sir James Thornhill’s best surviving schemes of mural painting in a private house, illustrating episodes in the life of Achilles and Borcas abducting Oreithyia and Selene forced to abandon Endymion at dawn. A new forecourt with an eccentric pair of pavilions at the corners was added by Thomas Bowater Vernon (1832–1859). Sir Bowater George Hamilton (1865–1940), 2nd and last Bt, left the house to the National Trust which also came with an anonymous endowment in 1953. The pictures, mostly portraits, were left to his adopted daughter, Mrs Horton, who took them to Shrawley Wood House but some have returned to Hanbury, thanks especially to her widower bequeathing many of them, in fulfilment of her wishes.