Its use was reserved for important monastic buildings including Peterborough and Ely Cathedrals suggesting that Guanock itself was a place of stature. After the dissolution of the monasteries Guanock Grange was given to the Dayrell family by Henry VIII. The stones from the destroyed monastic grange were used as foundation stones and a single story house was built from handmade bricks made on site.

The main product from the estate was salt but this turned instead to agriculture as improvements in drainage meant more land could be reclaimed. At the beginning of the 1700’s Guanock House was officially recognised as a Manor House, although it had been operating as a manor house for more than 100 years already. At this time a second storey was added by Sir Marmeduke Dayrell. The plaque at the front of the House reads M.D 1699 – referring to Sir Marmeduke Dayrell.

According to the great yogi Sri Yukteshwar, 1699 was the end of the Kali Yuga – the end of the age of darkness and the beginning of the Dwarpara Yuga the modern age or the Age of Electricity. In the view of modern history it is the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment with Newton’s discoveries in mathematics and physics and the discoveries in harnessing energy and electricity which all began at the start of 18th Century. According to Sri Yukteshwar there was a period of transition of two hundred years from the Dark Age to the Modern Age, which means we are now one hundred and twenty years into the Dwarpara Yuga proper. This is measured relative to the equinoxes and their position in the heavens. We are now on the cusp of Virgo moving into Leo for the autumn equinox, which is the view taken by the Indian Rishi’s of old. Modern western astrology says we are on the cusp of Pisces moving into Aquarius in terms of the Vernal Equinox – it’s the same thing from a different point of view. Our grandchildren will be living in that age whereas you and I are the heralds of the New Age. We like to think there is some symbolic significance that Guanock House in its current incarnation represents the beginning of the true age of enlightenment!

In the 20th century the house fell into disrepair but was protected from total destruction by being designated a Grade II listed Building by English Heritage. It was lovingly restored in 1982 and has not suffered from “gentrification” like so many old houses, it still remains largely in its original state.The house was purchased in the 1990’s by the renowned garden designer Arne Maynard who laid out the gardens to exceptionally high standards. Arne Maynard’s design recognised the importance of the ancient historical Fen landscape, largely unchanged since Roman times. The house seems to rise up out of the Fens like a ship on sea, says Maynard. He incorporated the landscape into the garden by making gradual transitions away from the stark openness of the Fens and by creating small openings and sight-lines out to the horizon. Whilst never losing contact with the essential nature of the expansive Fens, there is a sense of safety and seclusion within. Most visitors are immediately struck by that contrast – the seemingly overwhelming expanse of space outside and the safe seclusion within. It is another metaphor that speaks of the healing to be found inside but which does not shut out the natural world. A secluded interior world that is always intimately a part of nature.