.Berkyn Manor in Horton, Slough, has been a family home for 450 years - once to Paradise Lost poet John Milton
- .It has been lying empty since 1987, and has succumbed to damage beyond repair by nearly three decades of neglect
- .Haunting images taken inside show the dilapidated interior, where age old possessions have been lost in time
These haunting images show the crumbling remains of the country retreat once home to iconic writer and poet, John Milton.
What was once an elegant mansion is now certainly a state of Paradise Lost, as Berkyn Manor lies decayed, damp and dirty, 28 years after it was abandoned by its last owners.
In its prime, the vast property - now barely standing - housed some of the country's wealthiest families in its 450 years as a family home.
Haunting images taken inside the dangerously dilapidated manor show its crumbling remains - and all the possessions frozen in time when its most recent owners left. A cobweb covered, rusting pram sits motionless in front of a stained sofa
In its prime, the vast property - now barely standing - housed some of the country's wealthiest families in its 450 years as a family home. A desk, packed with papers and catalogues, remains in the home
The property's staircase is too dangerous to use and is littered with wall chippings and parts of the ceiling, which has caved in. An old reception room has a single spooky armchair, with books peppered across the floor
An old typewriter - fitting for the former home of one of Britain's most famous writers - has been left behind to rust, and sits beside an unfinished cup of tea
However, its most famous resident was John Milton, the London-born poet whose most celebrated work, Paradise Lost, cemented his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of all time.
He lived in the house with his family between 1632 to 1638 - when he was in his 20s.
For the next two centuries, the mansion - in Horton, Slough - changed hands between several well off owners, before being purchased in 1848 by wealthy Edward Tyrell, who rebuilt Berkyn Manor into the home it remains today.
Despite the decrepit state of the near 500-year-old home, these books - which have been left untouched within the damp manor for 28 years - appear to be in good condition
This creepy image shows an old television, which remains standing despite the carpet beneath it being torn from the ground, and the sink behind it falling from the wall
A beam of natural light shoots into the home's upstairs bedroom through a hole in its ancient ceiling, the remnants of which have fallen on and collapsed both beds
Its most recent owners were the Raynor family, who bought it at the end of the Second World War in April 1945.
But the structure has been left empty since 1987, when Ernest Raynor died aged 96.
Without care, it has succumbed to damage beyond repair by nearly three decades of neglect, falling victim to time.
The manor is now extremely hazardous, with parts of its roof and flooring caved in and the third floor only accessible by a ladder.
Without care, the home - and all its interior - have succumbed to damage beyond repair by nearly three decades of neglect. The crooked keys of a clearly once loved piano lay covered in dust
As well as the old piano, the house also has a dust covered organ and fireplace with brightly coloured tiling and wooden exterior
A haunting deer's head guards the rotting wooden frame of one of the mansion's windows, which overlooks the property's 60 acre farm
The anonymous urban explorer behind the images snapped old furniture, rotting bookshelves, clothes, a television, newspapers, letters and family photographs in his daring venture inside
However, these photographs show not only how the building has been lost to time, but how its final tenants' once comfortable lifestyle has been frozen in time by its abandonment.
The anonymous urban explorer behind the images snapped old furniture, rotting bookshelves, clothes, a television, newspapers, letters and family photographs in his daring venture inside.
There is also the crooked keys of an old piano, rotting wooden window frames and unfinished cups of tea.
Around 100 years ago the home was given the nickname Bull Manor, in honour of the guardian Highland Bull that waited outside for passers-by.
These well worn pairs of leather boots were left behind by the Raynor family, who bought the manor at the end of the Second World War in April 1945, living their until Ernest Raynor died aged 96
In one of the more eerie corners of the property lies the 'dairy room', which can still be found housing a number of mysterious liquids, chemicals and mixing equipment
An iconic Aga oven which is clearly in need of some love and care, having been left to rust with a kettle still stood upon its hob
Coated in dust, these framed photographs show a young woman and man, both presumably relatives of the former inhabitants, taken at around the turn of 20th century
Around 100 years ago the home was given the nickname Bull Manor, in honour of the guardian Highland Bull that waited outside for passers-by. Judging by these creepy bottles of 'Gaseous Fluid', inside wasn't particularly safe either
He may be gone - as too the building's interior grandeur - but, as these snaps show, the property certainly still retains its mesmerising character.
The man behind the photos said: 'We made our way into the windowless basement, and pulling the box of candles out of my bag, we soon had the room well lit and heated,' said the urban explorer.
'We lay down our cardboard box sleeping mats, get into our sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep.
'Five hours later we were up with the sun and ready to see what this place had in store for us, we were not disappointed.'
What was once an elegant mansion is now certainly a state of Paradise Lost, as Berkyn Manor - once home to poet John Milton - lies decayed, damp and dirty, 28 years after it was abandoned by its last owners
The grand estate is found on the outskirts of London in Slough. It is set on 60 acres of land and is situated not too far from Heathrow
Mr Raynor, who died just four years short of 100, left behind all of his possessions, including these old letters from a photographer and the Horton Parish Council
Perhaps the most modern looking room in the house is this bedroom. However, again the floor is covered in collapsed roofing, and the wall behind the bed is cracked
MILTON: ONE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST EVER POETS
John Milton was a poet of radical politics living in one of the most volatile times in English history.
Paradise Lost, his epic work published in 1667, can be interpreted as political allegory - the fall of man in Eden reflecting the lost paradise of Milton's cherished Republic.
Born on Bread Street in London in 1608, Milton grew up in a prosperous family. He studied at Cambridge, where he was nicknamed The Lady of Christ's - in reference to his long hair and sensitive manner.
After finishing his studies, Milton toured the continent, visiting European republics and observed country-wide Catholicism. His tour was cut short in 1639 by news of unrest in Britain and the prospect of civil war. On his return Milton turned to prose for the Republican cause.
The rise of the printing press meant pamphlets were at the forefront of this revolution, and Milton became the chief polemicist and pamphleteer for Cromwell's Commonwealth.
John Milton (left), writer of Paradise Lost (right, in an illustration by William Blake), was a poet of radical politics who grew up in a prosperous family
In 1642, aged 33, Milton married 16-year old Mary Powell, who bore him four children.
Milton was plagued in his later years by failing eyesight and many of his poems were dictated to assistants, one of whom was the poet Andrew Marvell. By 1654 he was blind.
The English Republic collapsed on Oliver Cromwell's death. After the restoration of the monarch in 1660, Milton was imprisoned and, though later released, he only very narrowly escaped execution.
After the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660, he was arrested as a defender of the Commonwealth, fined, and soon released. He lived the rest of his life in seclusion in the country, completing the blank-verse epic poem Paradise Lost in 1667.
Paradise Lost, which chronicles Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden, is widely regarded as his masterpiece and one of the greatest epic poems in world literature. Since its first publication, the work has continually elicited debate regarding its theological themes, political commentary, and its depiction of the fallen angel Satan who is often viewed as the protagonist of the work.
The epic has had wide-reaching effect, inspiring other long poems, such as Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock, William Wordsworth's The Prelude and John Keats's Endymion, as well as Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, and deeply influencing the work of Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Blake, who illustrated an edition of the epic.
Source: BBC Poetry and Poets.org
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