Burghley House; a beautiful and imposing Tudor mansion maintained today for future generations. The House was begun in 1555 and completed in 1587, although its design incorporated features fashionable in much earlier times. Thus the unusual roofscape of the House is an image strongly associated with Burghley, with its maze of 72 tall chimney columns and distinctive obelisk-like clock tower. Many of these columns have been strengthened with discreet steel cores and the work of cleaning and stone repair poses a continuing challenge for the Estate maintenance team.

The well-being of the whole structure is closely monitored by the home team. The stability of the west side of the House is threatened by the remains of buildings lying under the west front lawn and terraces. These buildings were abandoned in the early 16th Century and may have belonged to the Priory which owned the land at the time of Henry VIII's wholesale dissolution of such ecclesiastical communities which began in 1536.