Live-in museum guardians: The caretakers of Britain's historic houses invite us into their homes

What's it like to have 100,000 visitors tramp through your sitting room, demanding to see your priest hole?

The Homewood in Esher, Surrey (Nick Ballon)

The modernist masterpiece

David Scott, 48

The Homewood in Esher, Surrey, was designed by the architect Patrick Gwynne for his parents in 1938. Gwynne lived there from 1942, after his parents died, until his death in 2003. It is now operated by the National Trust. David Scott has been tenant and custodian of the property for eight years. He lives there with his wife Louise, their nine-year-old daughter Isabella and their dog Annie

"I think the design is very practical. The key challenges are in the limitation of the technology available in 1938. We have a lot of single-glazed windows. Patrick didn't like the look of radiators, so we have two radiators and a lot of hot-air vent heating. Our friends know to bring extra clothes in winter.

"The dining room is a favourite for me – a massive wall of glass overlooking the gardens… it's an amazing space, particularly in the summer. It would be very difficult to replicate all its features in another house. We have two recliners, made in the 1920s out of bent plywood by Bruno Mathsson. They've been in the living room since 1938. I sit in one of them twice a year; it's one of those chairs that says you're off duty, to have a drink and just do nothing.

"The house is open Fridays and Saturdays on alternate weeks. We also do special days by appointment. The maximum we take is 70 people a day. We can fit 15 people in on a guided tour at one time. The only thing that can be frustrating with visitors is if somebody has left their phone on and they want to chat during the tour.

"The room that people come to see is the living room. We always keep the door shut; when we open the door, there's a collective gasp and I love that. It's the way the size works with the view and the furniture. You're on the first floor, and you feel like you're up almost in the canopy of the trees.

"We do love living here, although we underestimated the time and the energy needed for upkeep. A lot of time goes on the six-acre garden, preparations for the open day, getting the house in show condition and routine maintenance.

"There are practical elements to living in a museum that are not straightforward, so we have to think carefully. When we wanted to have a children's party, we had to consider which spaces would be appropriate. In the end, we decided to have it in the garden. Isabella has grown up here, so she knows that white walls are not for colouring on and sofas are not for jumping on.

"If we're using the dining room for a dinner party, we ask people not to wear stilettos, because of the floor. A lot of our friends kind of love that. You can embrace the specialness of the house or you can find it a limitation – it's a matter of attitude, really.

"The dog is allowed in the house. She can go in the non-carpeted areas. You don't really want a dog sleeping on a beige carpet in a historic house.

"There are moments when we do miss our privacy. For instance, when one of us is ill. I just want to slob around in my pyjamas. But I think we all find having the public visit a really positive and energising thing."

Opening times: 10:30am-4:30pm, alternate Fridays and Saturdays, April to October, nationaltrust.org.uk/homewood

The Freud Museum (Nick Ballon)

Freud's head space

Daniel Bento, 29

After fleeing Austria in 1938, Sigmund Freud lived in a house in Hampstead, north London, with his wife, sister-in-law and daughter Anna until his death in 1939. Anna lived there until 1982. In 2007, Daniel Bento followed his father in becoming resident caretaker of the house, now the Freud Museum, which is operated by trustees. He lives in the ground-floor flat of the museum, which he runs with his brother-in-law

"People always ask, 'Have you seen Freud's ghost?' but no, I haven't. The study is the only room that remains as Freud left it in 1939, so I guess that's the room where you do feel 'something'. It's got more than 2,000 objects. Every time you go in there you just look at something and you swear that you've never seen it before. It's a heavy atmosphere – if you're there yourself, you do feel quite small.

"Freud's chair is very nice – the one at his desk. I guess it's the shape of it. It was designed by an architect for him specifically, because he liked to throw his leg over the arms. It's got a really odd shape; some people say it's phallic.

"Nobody's allowed to lie on his [psychoanalytic] couch. It's a masterpiece, it's why people come from all over the world. People sometimes just cry in the room. Sometimes people jump over the rope, but they don't sit on it. It triggers the alarm, so they run back.

"Most visitors are related in some way to the field of psychoanalysis. We get a lot of South Americans: Brazilians, Argentinians. Some are students, others are experts. They are amazed by the collection of antiquities. Freud was one of the few refugees who was able to bring nearly everything with him [before the Second World War].

"On a good day, we could get 150 visitors. It can be frustrating when you ask them not to take photographs and they keep doing it. Sometimes people go to the toilet at the front of the museum and say, 'I'm going to Freud's toilet' – and you tell them it's not; that's actually upstairs.

"It's not like a normal nine-to-five; you always have your mind on the job. Obviously I understand other people maybe couldn't manage it, but because I was brought up with it, I'm used to it. One of the greatest lessons from my dad was to look after the museum like it's yours. That's one of the main responsibilities – just trying to do my best to look after it for future generations."

Opening times: 12pm-5pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Private bookings on Monday and Tuesday, freud.org.uk

The Priest House in West Hoathly, West Sussex (Nick Ballon)

Henry VIII's getaway

Antony Smith, 53

The Priest House in West Hoathly, West Sussex, was once owned by Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. As the 10th curator of the 15th-century Wealden hall house, now run by the Sussex Archaeological Society, Antony Smith has lived alone in the south end of the cottage for 27 years

"My grandparents used to live directly opposite The Priest House and when we'd spend the summer holidays in the village, it was the first thing I'd see out of the window when I got up in the morning. It was a place I loved – history has always been my thing – and [the Society] was looking for someone who could turn their hands to lots of different jobs. And that's me; it seemed to be the job I was born to do.

"We open March to October, every day except Mondays. If we can get 20 visitors a day, we're doing very well. Some come because they're interested in old buildings, others come because we've got a lot of 17th- and 18th-century furniture, domestic items, ironwork, lots of textiles. There's a lovely food cupboard which dates from about 1700 and it is literally 10 planks nailed together. It's my favourite thing in the house, though I don't think food would last very long in it.

"We've got lots of ritual marks that are supposed to keep witches out. And I'm still finding more of them after all these years – the light catching a beam at a certain angle allows you to see a circle or a cross here or there.

"The question I'm often asked is whether it's haunted. I haven't bumped into anything yet. But we do get paranormal investigators, ghost hunters. They seem to pick up things. The house likes me, leaves me alone.

"The most annoying thing people do is wander around the garden without paying. One person asked for his money back because we didn't have a priest hole [hiding places created to conceal priests during a time when Catholics were persecuted]. I was utterly polite and refunded him, but I was cross with him afterwards.

"It's not the easiest house to live in. Even on a bright, sunny day, if I want to read something, I've got to have a light on. That is the toughest thing to put up with. But the whole place is alive – all the beams have bird's nests in them. It's cold, damp and dark, but I wouldn't swap it for a modern home. I'm happy in the house, happy in the village. I don't have any great ambition to go anywhere else; it's just a question of staying here as long as I can."

Opening times: 10:30am-5:30pm Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm-5:30pm Sunday, March to October, sussexpast.co.uk

Bateman's in East Sussex (Nick Ballon)

Rudyard's residence

Gary Enstone, 31

Bateman's in East Sussex was home to author Rudyard Kipling and his family from 1902 until his death in 1936. It is now operated by the National Trust. Gary Enstone is the manager of the 17th-century property. He has lived alone in a top-floor flat in the house since 2007

"We're open 363 days of the year; I get the property to myself at Christmas; it's quite nice to have Christmas dinner here and walk around the garden. There are times I work 10 days on the trot, when I can't get off to get a pint of milk. Over Easter, we're looking at 1,000 to 1,200 visitors a day. We have 100,000 a year. It does become a bit like a glass case.

"You get Kipling experts who pore over certain items, particularly on his desk. Every time he finished a book, he carved its name into the ledge of the inkwell; it's got The Jungle Book, The Man Who Would Be King and Kim on the rim.

"It's strange how many people go through doors marked 'Private'. I've had people turn up in my flat, and you have to go through a couple of 'Private' doors to get there. And loads of people think it's terribly funny to say, 'Where did he make the cakes?' That gets a little wearing.

"Legend has it that my bedroom was Kipling's billiards room. I don't know if it would have been ideal for billiards, but there probably would have been lights and candles.

"Dealing with the sewage system can be tricky; it's still the same one Kipling had: it's designed for a family of half a dozen, so now that 100,000 people come through the door, there are times when it doesn't quite cope.

"We have a river at the bottom of the garden and it floods frequently. Kipling famously said, 'Sometimes the river is at the bottom of the garden and sometimes the garden is at the bottom of the river.' I've been out there at 2am at high tide waiting to see how much we can hold back the water.

"The study is an extraordinary place. When you open it first thing in the morning, you can still smell the pipe and cigarette smoke off the books.

"There are a couple of Indian silver decanters which Kipling brought back from India, but a member of the public stole one of the stoppers. I spent the past two years trying to raise money to get a new one made, so I spent a lot of time looking at the decanters. I feel a personal connection to them.

"When you have a visitor come round and you see how excited they are, you realise how lucky you are."

Opening times: 11am-5pm every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, nationaltrust.org.uk/batemans