Leith Hill Place dates from around 1600, but was completely refurbished in Palladian style in about 1760 by a Bristol merchant, Richard Hull – who built nearby Leith Hill Tower.  It was bought in 1847 by Josiah Wedgwood III, grandson of the Josiah Wedgwood who founded the Wedgwood pottery business.  Josiah was married to Caroline Darwin, brother of Charles, author of ‘On the Origin of Species’.  One of their daughters, Margaret, married Arthur Vaughan Williams, but he died young and Margaret moved back to Leith Hill Place with her three young children. Her youngest son, Ralph, (‘Rafe’) went on to become the well-known English composer whose works include the Lark Ascending.  Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) inherited the property from his brother in 1944 and gave it to the National Trust.  It was subsequently leased by other members of the Wedgwood family, became a boarding house for a nearby college and then opened to the public in 2013.
It has a relaxed, informal, atmosphere - unlike many other National Trust properties.