A taxidermy polar bear in Biggles-esque flying goggles anybody? Those watching Grayson Perry’s recent Channel 4 three-parter, All in the Best Possible Taste, with a keen eye will recognise this home of former rave promoter James Perkins. From Fantazia to fabulous, Perkins’ Cotswolds mansion is in equal parts breathtaking and horrifying, you’re never sure quite whether his interior aesthetic is ill-judged and disrespectful or ballsy and brilliant; it’s certainly original, if nothing else.
The maniacal distribution of curiosities, animals, antiquities and artefacts is overwhelming to say the least, whilst the juxtaposition of old and new can’t fail to draw a smile from even the most hardened cynic. And, for the right price (a lot we’d guess), you too could join the likes of Heston Blumenthal and Sebastian Vettel in hiring the space for a party, event or wedding – a stuffed giraffe the perfect backdrop for photos of your special day?
Some will say Aynhoe Park displays only the sort of ostentation and over-indulgent ornateness that someone who made their money in hedonistic parties and music could display, whereas, we like to think that it displays only the swagger, tongue-in-cheek attitude and balls-out humour which that sort of character could only pull off. Dichotomy? Definitely. Sensationally original? Certainly.
