Welcome along to our journey of discovery around the 18th Century Mansion, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, UK.
"Completed under the watchful eye of famous architect Robert Adam, Kedleston Hall was built for Sir Nathaniel Curzon in 1765 as a house to rival Chatsworth. Intended as 'a temple of the arts' and as the location for grand entertainments, the main house was never meant to be a family home, but a show palace in which to showcase the finest paintings, sculpture and furniture."
(Source https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall/features/the-history-of-kedleston-hall)
On arrival, we were greeted by a gorgeous wicker Bulldog artwork piece, which appealed to me for obvious reasons :)
After showing our passes, we head along the woodland path making our way towards the rear of the Hall, expecting to see huge grand scale gardens. There were none to be seen, much to our surprise!
The original gardens were completely redesigned to contain the bare minimum, showcasing the grand features of the South Front of Kedleston Hall.
“The central part of Kedleston's south front was modelled on the arch of Constantine in Rome. In the Roman period, these arches were built to celebrate an emperor's success in battle.
However, at Kedleston art and prosperity are celebrated rather than warfare. The statues at the top of the arch represent theatre, dance, prudence, and hunting. Below these, there are two roundels, one representing the moon and the other the sun. There are two more statues here: Flora and Bacchus, both associated with abundance and pleasure.”
(Source https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall/features/the-story-behind-kedlestons-garden-features)
Kedleston's South Front...
There are a few features scattered around the landscape still. The lion was extremely interesting!
“The lion is a copy of a Renaissance sculpture made for the Villa Medici in Rome in the 16th century. In the Villa Medici, it was one of a pair overlooking the garden. Other copies can be found at Stowe where they guard the steps up to the mansion. The ball under its paw represents the earth. Lions are traditionally associated with royalty and power.”
“Nathaniel Curzon commissioned his lion in 1759, soon after he'd inherited Kedleston, but it wasn't put in the garden until 1766. The lion still stands on a plinth designed by Samuel Wyatt, who we think was also responsible for the design of Kedleston's stables. The lion was always on its own.
The design for the urn was taken from a book on classical sculpture that is still in the Library at Kedleston. It was dedicated to the poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631), who wrote a poem celebrating the English landscape.”
(Source https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall/features/the-story-behind-kedlestons-garden-features)
This freaky tree reminded me of the ‘Sleepy Hollow’. It literally had a hole straight through the centre of its bark! Parts of the estate are designated as a site of special Scientific Interest because of the rich and diverse deadwood invertebrate fauna inhabiting its ancient trees. I can only imagine the kind of creepy crawly’s that live in there...
The summer house was designed in the 1770’s by George Richardson. It still stands, but looks quite lonely there on the vast landscape all alone.
The Entrance Bridge and wier was designed by neoclassical architect, Robert Adam. He was no doubt inspired by his 5 years of previously living in Rome.
There is a beautiful little wishing well hidden away almost underground. You don’t notice it until you are meters away. We had a go of course, I wonder if my wish will come true...
All Saints Church at Kedleston Hall was here long before the mansion was built. The first mention of the church was in 1198! The only surviving original features of the church are the Norman South Doorway and the adjoining wall. The rest has been redesigned and rebuilt along with the hall.
Hubbster photo-bombing again...
Some Unique features were added to the church...
And so, we enter the main hall...
During the Edwardian era, Lord Curzon became Viceroy of India (1899-1905), and his return to Kedleston saw the creation of the Eastern Museum.
Displaying objects he collected on his travels in Asia, the museum includes an extensive collection of silver and ivory and remains much as it was when he created it, housed in beautifully crafted hardwood cases.
There are quite a few unnerving items on display here, this tiger for example...
And of course, no mansion is complete without a Billiard Room!
The grand scale of the rooms are hard to comprehend from the pictures. They just don't do them justice. You can tell that the purpose of the hall was not to be lived in, but to be presented to people as a work of art in itself, containing vast collections of artistic collection pieces from all over the world.
So we are at the end of a very tiring day, and what delights we have seen! I was sad to say goodbye to my friendly Bulldog, but I leave here with fond memories!
No English Mansion is complete without a classic car in the car park! (Not mine, unfortunately)
Goodbye Kedleston Hall, we will see you soon!
All pictures are taken with my Fujifilm Finepix S9900W and edited with PhotoScape software using the antique filters.
Thank you for reading, @beautifulbullies xx
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 52.959083 lat -1.536970 long 18th Century Mansion Kedleston Hall d3scr)