Althorp (pronounced awltrop) has been the home of the Spencer family for nearly five hundred years.   The original red brick Tudor building underwent alterations as fashions changed and was remade in a grand classical style.   The brick was clad with Weldon stone, and Corinthian and Composite columns added.   The architect Henry Holland added further pediments to the North and South Fronts, and pilasters in local Kingsthorpe Stone to the front entrance.   It has a good collection of portraits, with notable works by Van Dyke, Gainsborough and Reynolds.But Althorp is held in the popular imagination as the birthplace of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, who died on 31st October 1997 as a result of a car crash in Paris, along with her lover Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.The following year her brother, Earl Spencer, created a museum in a converted stable block, dedicated to his sister's memory.   It contains memorabilia, home movies of Diana as a child, a collection of her haute couture dresses, and the first draft of Charles Spencer's controversial eulogy delivered at the funeral.The Princess is buried on an island in the grounds, near to which stands a summerhouse of classical design, known as Diana's Memorial Temple since its dedication to her.   It is a site of modern pilgrimage, attracting up to 2,500 visitors a day during the summer months.