Built in 1832 for Isaac Cookson, at a cost of 7,188 1s 1d (about 5m today if compared with average earnings), it was a sizeable house with extensive service accommodation and extending to a beautiful Orangery, even if the main house was comparatively small.  That said, the rooms are bright and well-proportioned with a grand Imperial central staircase, with its deep coffered ceiling described by Pevsner as being ' the size of one in a London club '.  The staircase was later reworked by no lesser figure than Sir Edwin Lutyens , who replaced the original metal balustrades with wooden ones and added decorative plaster panels. Isaac Cookson was the third generation to manage the family manufacturing interests and had taken charge of his father's glass works, developing them into one of the country's leading makers, along with a very successful chemical works. Longhirst Hall, Northumberland (Image: Longhirst Hall Hotel) Cookson had previously employed Dobson to design part of a speculative urban development in Newcastle and combined with his earlier country house work at neighbouring Mitford Hall , Longhirst (with its striking entrance portico) and Nunnykirk halls, Dobson was a natural choice when looking to create his refined country seat. As owners of a glass works, it was natural that the house would be well-lit; the bright interior a result of the large windows which graced the main rooms on the south and east sides.  Yet, Meldon Park actually marks a turning point.  The brilliant Mark Girouard, writing in Country