He strolled by the 100ft long outdoor pool, walked through the ballroom and mingled with other rich and famous guests staying at Firbeck Hall.
For five glorious years in the 1930s, the Hall epitomised the glamour of those inter-war years when society's elite enjoyed a golden-era of privileged leisure.
With its own private aerodrome, the hall was able to welcome members by air; by rail from Retford; or by road, sweeping up the drive in a Lagonda or Bentley.
For seven guineas a year (five for women), guests could enjoy tennis, squash, putting, swimming, dancing and full use of the tea terraces. Golf on the 18-hole course and horse riding were extra.
In the evening they could sip the latest American cocktails in the cocktail bar, enjoy fine food in the restaurant and then dance the night away before eventually retiring to one of the luxury bedrooms.
The ballroom played host to some of the top acts of the day, including American Arthur Tracy, known as The Street Singer; celebrity exhibition ballroom dancer Santo Casani; and the Palm Court Orchestra.
Hollywood silent movie star Greta Nissen stayed at Firbeck Hall when she was appearing on stage in Sheffield and Leeds.
Firbeck Hall's countryside setting made it the perfect location for a June 1935 Vogue fashion shoot which featured a swimsuit costing six-and-a-half guineas (about £176 in today's money) which was almost as much as a year's membership to the hall.
The interior of the Hall was done out in up-to-the-minute art deco style and one of the Vogue pictures features models in the reception area, the ultra-modern sweeping staircase behind them.
Lifelong Firbeck resident Julia Colver, of Park Hill Drive, has a personal interest in the club era. Her parents Jim and Ethel Batty were members and she has a picture of her mum standing in her swimming costume by the pool, in similar pose to one of the Vogue models.
Julia said: "The club was open to anyone who could afford the membership and my dad was a farmer in Firbeck. We lived at The Yews and the house overlooked a field that was part of the golf course and we used to find golf balls there many years after it had stopped being used."
"My mum and dad didn't really talk much about the club but we had a copy of the Vogue magazine with the photo shoot pictures in it which I had remembered from being a child."
Julia is now meetings secretary of the Friends of Firbeck Hall group, set up last year in a bid to secure the building's future.
It was leading Sheffield stockbroker Cyril Aubrey Nicholson who bought it in 1934 and then spent £80,000 transforming it into the private club.
The aerodrome was constructed under the direction of Capt Tom Campbell-Black, the joint winner of the 1935 Mildenhall-Melbourne Air Race. It was his connections with the Prince of Wales, on flights looking for game in Africa, that persuaded the prince's equerry to alter the itinerary of a royal engagement to Sheffield and call in at Firbeck.
Julia said that when they knew the prince was coming, a private road was built in a day for him to have his own access to the door, annoying locals by putting gates up which blocked a public footpath.
A newspaper report of his visit said the prince was impressed with the Hall's appearance. He talked to the owner Mr Nicholson as well as Campbell Black and his actress bride Florence Desmond.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Firbeck Hall was requisitioned for use as a hospital and a year later became part of RAF Firbeck.
At the end of the war it was bought by the Miners Welfare Commission for use as a rehabilitation centre for South Yorkshire miners.

How the Hall is in Disrepair

THE past splendour of Firbeck Hall is in marked contrast to its current condition of boarded-up disrepair.
It was bought by Cambs Construction of Harthill in 1996 but the company doesn't appear to have any plans to do anything with it.
The Dinnington Guardian made repeated attempts to talk to company boss Glen Saint this week but he has not returned our calls.
The Friends of Firbeck Hall group was formed in April last year in a bid to secure the hall's future.
It has around 200 members and produces a quarterly newsletter.
The Friends have been lobbying Rotherham Council to take action to get the Grade 2 listed building brought back into use.
In its first newsletter the group pledged: "It has been part of our village for 400 years. The building is now at risk so we are determined to protect it in the short term and will use every reasonable means at our disposal to ensure this objective."
"Its loss is not an option and our growing numbers are ample proof of the strength of feeling within our group and the community."
A Rotherham Council spokesman said the authority was fully aware of the issues surrounding Firbeck Hall and had been working for many years to secure its long-term future.
She said: "Over the years we have been in regular contact with the owner of the hall and where necessary, have used our powers to get him to undertake agreed repair work to the fabric of the building - which have been completed."
"Works have also been carried out on the building since the fire last year as well as security improvements for the whole site."
"In the meantime, apart from the regular discussions we have with the Friends Group, we are also in talks with the owner and interested third parties in an effort to secure this important building's long-term future."
Anyone interested in joining the Friends of Firbeck Hall should email FOFHmembers@aol.com. The group's website is www.fofh.wetpaint.com.