itself is of oak with high quality joinery as in all Prior's buildings. The twisted oak balustrade echos the form of the twisting chimneys outside. Oak panelling was used in the billiard room and included Prior's usual use of built in facilities. Ceiling treatments were generally simple, in white distemper. Lighting fittings were typical of the Arts and Craft Movement with a range of ceiling and wall lighting fittings, generally with luminaires suspended by chains with glass shades. Gardens The gardens were of great renown and highly regarded. Home Place was perhaps Prior's greatest garden design. Garden making was a preoccupation of his middle period. Terraces extend from the wings of the house and end in steps leading down to the garden level. The garden is also reached from the terrace by a double flight of steps leading to two stone paths, separated by a water feature in the form of a stepped stone tank containing water-lilies, iris and forget-me-not. The central feature of the garden is a large basin. Pergolas with masonry walls lead east and west. The garden at Home Place was admired by Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Lawrence Weaver, who described and illustrated it in their book Gardens for Small Country Houses; "The stepped scheme at Home Place, Holt, designed by Professor E.S. Prior will be a counsel of perfection to most people". During its long career as an institution and hotel several major alterations have been carried out to the house. Externally the most notable alteration has been the addition of a bow fronted garden room to the terrace cloister of the garden from the main block and the in-filling of the garden cloister. This appears to have been carried out in the 1930s. The cloister has been in-filled with steel framed windows and doors of typical design of the period. Many of the original casement windows have also been replaced with steel frame windows. Present Day The house has undergone a programme of sympathetic restoration and is currently owned by the London bookseller Simon Finch. It is available for wedding receptions, retreats, a location for filming and photography as well as corporate events. The rock band Gene Loves Jezebel recorded their album The Thornfield Sessions there and Simon Finch has hosted The Voewood Festival a number of times. This is a literary festival for the most part but Glen Matlock and Adam Ant have both