A management tenancy has been set up by the owners, with the aim of ceding control to all 12 eventual tenants (it's a 999-year leasehold), who will have an equal stake in the organisation. "February", another huge (3,000 sq ft) three-bedroom apartment, has an elaborately carved timber and gold-gilt vaulted ceiling, 20 foot above the ground. Other apartments offer features from 400sq ft porches, to roof terraces 100 foot above the ground. Apartments located in the west wing offers less ornate designs as they formed what were once the servants' quarters, although you still get vaulted ceilings and more rooms per apartment than found in the east wing.The apartments have clearly been situated with a neighbourly feeling in mind; entrances are placed around shared focal points to engender a sense of community within the home It's worth bearing in mind the cost of upkeep, however. The apartments here offer fantastically ornate designs and intricate features. Apartment 1 - "January" - a massive three-bedroom apartment in the east-wing (selling for £405,000) features a two-foot high frieze that snakes its way around the top of the whole apartment, depicting vivid Elizabethan figurines and Tudor roses.

For those searching for all the trappings of living in a stately home, but not the vast expanse (or expense - apartment 12 is the cheapest at £215,000), "December" offers a two-bedroom self-contained vantage point on the second floor, giving a great deal more seclusion than the others although it is quite a bit smaller and lacks some of the more ornate trappings.The east wing of the house originally formed the main living quarters, and it shows. The first floor features three more apartments, all with views overlooking the inner courtyards.Each apartment has its own quirks and strengths. The final touches to the courtyard have yet to be added, but a cobbled stone effect with charming period furniture is envisaged for all the residents to enjoy. It's another communal area and, according to Cumbrian Homes, it will soon be sporting a resplendent crystal chandelier. It serves as an access point to both the first and lower ground floor - the latter featuring an intimate inner courtyard that leads on to three further apartments. It's one of the few communal hallways (leading all the way to the rear of the house and accessing three more apartments) as the rest are incorporated into the various duplexes.Towards the centre of the mansion lies the magnificent, eight-foot-wide stone-constructed main staircase. To the immediate left and right of the reception are two of the apartments, and straight ahead lies the longest of the 12 corridors.

The main entrance is accessed through a 20ft-high central arch, which in turn leads to a huge shared reception area on the ground floor. The compartmentalisation of the property has turned it into a more manageable and user-friendly structure while still maintaining its stately-home ambience. Not so, argues Pallister, who says that although the exterior might seem typically Victorian - imposing and aloof - the interior displays an incredible warmth.Once inside, it's hard to disagree. Orwell scholars also believe that the writer extended his observational skills as a journalist to his novels and many of his neighbours may have spotted uncanny similarities to characters in the book. Orwell himself kept hens in Wallington, perhaps inspiring the opening lines: "Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes."Wallington today has lost its pubs and there is no village shop. Residents are unlikely to have to rely solely, as Orwell did, on a bicyle to get into Baldock, three miles away. It is a busy commuter route into London with a rail journey of 35 minutes.The cottage has not been improved at the cost of its character.

More space is provided with a self-contained office-cum-guest room in the rear garden - ideal for a writer, in fact.No 2 Kits Lane is on the market for £395,000 through Country Properties, 01462 895061. Sounds a rather austere place to live, no? Sounds a rather austere place to live, no? Imposing, yes; austere, well only from the outside. Built in 1865 and part-designed by Florence Nightingale, it was the first of a new breed of spacious, well-ventilated hospitals, which was so successful it stayed open until 1978.Is the whole hospital for sale then?No, it was refurbished in the early Nineties then converted into an apartment complex with 229 units. Naturally, this was all carried out with a view to maintaining the period features of the property, which include a mansard roof, symmetrical fa?e, ornate decorative designs and angled bay windows.What's the apartment like?It's a three-bedroom unit (one has an en suite bathroom) with a spacious, high-ceilinged living room with original arched windows and a minimalist wooden kitchen and dining area.