One of the most unusual British homes, 200-year-old Ickworth House in Suffolk was commissioned as the private residence of enigmatic world-traveller Frederick Hervey, on an estate the family had owned since the mid-15th century. The design of the 19th-century Pompeian room was based on ancient frescoes excavated at Villa Negroni, Rome. At Ickworth this dark grey-green performed the role of black in its striking Palladian colour scheme.