A glittering Victorian mansion still shines today despite being torn through by fire and abandoned by its owners during the Covid pandemic.
Tilstone manor in Tarporley, Cheshire was hosting regular weddings and events as recently as three years ago, with its grand halls and grand staircases making it a "fairytale" venue for couples hoping to tie the knot in style.
Built by Lord and Lady Daresbury in 1888, it began life as a hunting and shooting lodge, and boasted over 130 years as a hub of socialising in Cheshire.
The original fireplaces, staircases, flooring and the tall ceilings have all been maintained, while other parts of the mansion had undergone a more recent refurbishment to keep up to date with modern trends.
But the quintessential Arts and Crafts property was sadly forced to close after the pandemic hit business takings hard, while a devastating blaze proved to be the final nail in the coffin with the building now victim to the elements and vandals.
The fire on January 12, 2020 - which was caused by an electrical fault - devastated large parts of the building, and took 90 firefighters four days to fully extinguish.
Now, new images of the interior and exterior have been captured by 34-year-old urban explorer Daniel Sims, who runs the channel Bearded Reality on Youtube and Instagram.
One shows the kitchen blackened by fire damage, while another shows a chandelier still hanging from a room now covered in graffiti and debris.
Describing what he found when he arrived at the abandoned manor, he said: "The place itself is stunning and leaves you feeling in awe and confused about how such a massive amazing place is lying abandoned, left, and decayed.
"The property outside is still mainly intact and not a ridiculous amount of damage to it from vandals and fire however you can see where the fire hit the building.
But the inside is "another story", he said, with untouched areas filled with old furniture" eventually giving way to parts that are clearly more "dangerous and destroyed" - suggesting any restoration work may take some time.
"Little parts of the building were falling down around me and the lack of flooring at some points made getting certain shots a bit scary but the space was very relaxed and allowed me to focus and work on my shots.", he said.
"With places like this, I love the decay, how grand the building is screams of its former glory waiting to have some life breathed back into it.
New plans currently in the concept design stage could see Tilstone become the centre of a housing development, according to Daniel, who said a new use would need to be found for the manor to find the investment required to rebuild fire damaged parts of the structure.
As for his own role in documenting abandoned and sometimes dangerous buildings, the urban explorer said local people were "usually happy" to see how certain buildings are being left, and said his photographs allow people to "share their memories and intimate moments from the place".
Reflecting on his time at the manor he reflected: "There will always be people that don't understand what I do or the laws around what I do, however the way I see it is I am documenting history in a current moment in time.
"The whole site is interesting and amazing and you can see how massive the grounds are and can imagine how amazing the weddings would have been here"
