This is all about the Heydon family, and a bit of a bonfire of the vanities story. The Heydons made it big in wool, splashed out on flamboyant building projects and made some poor investment choices. So in less than 200 years they were bust. Hard, somehow, to feel their pain. The ruins are a good example of local flintstone construction (which we always call 'knuckleduster' stones).