And Conroy Castle - with all its surrounding acres and maintenance staff - must be a very expensive toy indeed.

Lester Hall and its surrounding acres were the safest place on earth for a Lester bride.

The birthplace of Raggedy Ann - an 80-year-old house and its surrounding 11 acres - is being developed into four expensive homes along the Silvermine River in Wilton, Conn.

Scott's Bottom is named for the surrounding few acres, which is simply a wooded area next to the river.

At Shotesham there are delicate plaster ceilings and a frieze of wheat-ears and hops in the entrance hall, which told of Robert Fellowes' surrounding acres.

After spending a reported $200 million on the Biosphere, the Texas oil heir Ed Bass is about to sell the building and its surrounding 1,658 acres to Fairfield Homes of Tucson.

The village revamped the structure and its surrounding 13.8 acres (5.6 ha) for public use as a museum and park.

Tarrywile and its surrounding acres were bought for $4.7 million in 1985 by the City of Danbury, which plans to convert the mansion into a community center.

Initially the government rented Duntroon for two years before obtaining the title to Duntroon and its surrounding 360 acres (1.5 km2) through the creation of the Australian Capital Territory.

He plans to turn it and its surrounding 200 acres into a golf course with an astronomical entrance fee.