I had the run of the most expensive house

On tHe market at £250 million, the Holme in regent’s park (above) could become Britain’s most expensive house. In the 1960s, I had the privilege of studying for my degree in this mansion, which was then used by Bedford College students of english and Italian. Lectures were in the ballroom and fancy dress parties were held in the basement, under heating pipes wrapped in asbestos — no health and safety in those days. the reading room overlooked the lake and had a tiger-skin rug.

We’d sit on the grass in the lovely grounds and imagine ourselves back in the time of Jane austen.