A highlight of Claydon House in Buckinghamshire, the Chinese Room is widely considered to be the finest surviving example of Chinoiserie in Britain. Eighteenth-century travel and international trade had given rise to an obsession with Asia and inspired the popular new ritual of tea drinking. Generations of Verneys used the Chinese Room as a private sitting room, and for taking tea with visitors, including Florence Nightingale, sister of 19th-century owner Lady Verney. Florence became a regular visitor, eventually occupying several of her own rooms at Claydon where she developed her important work in nursing.