In 1995 a set of 17 folded love notes tied with string, fondly known as The Harlaxton Letters, were discovered behind a skirting board on the Gold Staircase. The writer (signed GG?) asks Alice to meet him repeatedly in Blackie’s stall. Was the writer Gregory Gregory? Was Alice a maid at the Manor? Was Blackie a horse in the Carriage House?

Upon analysing the paper, handwriting and staining, the Conservation Department at Lincolnshire Archives felt the letters were a hoax. But as today is Valentine’s Day there is romance in the air around the Manor.