Holker Hall

You know when you're in an Aristocrat's home - they have their armorial badges literally woven into the fabric of the place! The knotted snake is a traditional Cavendish armorial device.

 

You know the saying: Familiarity breeds contempt? Well, I am afraid that Holker Hall has suffered from that syndrome in my particular case. So, when husband John suggested a visit, I thought for a bit, and then it hit me - I hadn't been round the house for aeons, and apart from the Entrance Hall (we went to a Christmas concert there pre-pandemic), couldn't remember much about the rest at all!

Holker Hall from the formal garden

So on a niceish day in October, we toddled off to refresh our memories and we were not disappointed. Holker Hall belongs to Lord Cavendish, who is a member of the extended family of the Dukes of Devonshire, who reside at Chatsworth in Derbyshire (one of the pre-eminent stately homes of England). If you saw the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice then you have seen Chatsworth, as it starred as Pemberly, the home of Mr Darcy.

Pleached tree arcade - giving structure and style at all times of the year

Dahlias - stalwarts of the autumn border, giving both colour and form

But I digress! Holker Hall is about a half hour's drive from where I live on the edge of the Lake District. The original hall dated back to Tudor times, but has been changed, added onto, and finally rebuilt in the 19th Century. In terms of architecture I do not perceive it as drop-dead- gorgeous, but it has a sort of friendly reliable Victorian solidity to it, and it has lovely gardens and some quite interesting embroideries. 

Exquisite Whitework depicting Scottish Thistles - 

There are also interesting domestic features (domestic for the upper classes, I hasten to add. I doubt my Victorian, Edwardian ancestors even set eyes on something like them.) Take for instance the rocking horse and the children's indoor see-saw. Beautifully made and in remarkable condition.

Charming rocking horse - what child could resist him?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day bed with embroidered throw, with child's indoor see-saw behind. 

It also has a wonderful library - for me, one of the most important rooms in any house, large or small (a bookcase counts as a library to me!). In Holker's library there are some particularly fine historic portraits (excellent copies of historic originals, perhaps?)

Just a small corner of the magnificent library

 There are some exquisite pieces of furniture - a Pietra dura table particularly caught my eye. These tables, usually from Italy (shipped back home whilst some young sprig was on the Grand Tour, no doubt?) are inlaid with decorative stones, and required a great deal of skill and artistry to produce an aesthetically pleasing whole.

A magnificent pietra dura table with appropriately impressive marble sculptures

 

 

The house was rebuilt in 1828 to 1841 by the Duke of Devonshire in the Jacobean revival style. Though essentially a Victorian house, nods were made to traditional features of that earlier period. So there are heraldic windows. Maybe not quite impressive as those found in some historic houses, but the picture below does illustrate the sort of thing I was talking about when I mentioned them at the beginning of 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance'. 

 

Heraldic windows. These traditionally reflected the family's aristocratic connections, and in some cases, could almost obliterate the whole window space. I believe most of these blazons are connected with the Cavendish family.

 

 

And then there are even more impressive embroideries, including crewel work in wool and silk, bargello work (florentine work), and various mixed pieces. When one considers the time and expertise lavished upon these quite extensive works, one can understand the frequent references to ladies doing their embroidery in works of the period. One can only conclude that ladies must have been extremely bored with their lot in life to afford such time and effort to produce such detailed work!

An embroidered firescreen in the library

 

A crewel work bedspread

 

 

Another bedspread worked mainly in silks with various techniques including silk shading

 

A Bargello footstool (doesn't really suit being situated next to a check pattern, does it?)

 

Could you imagine embroidering all these bed accoutrements? The result is beautiful, of course, but all that back breaking work and maybe working by candlelight!?!

 

Then there are all the interesting paintings and other fixtures and decorations which are all fascinating, but would take a whole book to do justice to them. But I will leave you with a picture of that bastion of male retreat in many historic romances - the Billiard Room!

  

The Billiard room. Note that this male retreat  though less furnished than other rooms, still is decorated to same standard as other rooms in the house. 

 

 

 I will probably add to this post at a later date, when I'm not writing. However, as that is pretty much always ongoing - don't hold your breath!

Detta x 

 

 A few more pictures!

More from the Biliiard room

 

 

A nod to Jacobean carving - nicely executed

 

A relatively modest dining room table for a Stately Home - no doubt a few more leaves could be added to increase seating numbers

Now those are what I call Tassels!

More very fine embroidery

 

I think Queen Mary (wife of George V) may have slept in this bed

 

Ornate Gates with a view of the Park beyond

Lots of topiary gives the garden structure even when there isn't much in the way of colour to catch the eye.

The last gasp of colour? - Cherry tree autumn colouring

And some impressive steps with statuary, and a Lutyens bench to finish off!

Dean's Court

 

Dean's Court is a lovely Georgian styled house situated in the south west of England, which has been occupied by the Hanham family for about 500 years. The current owners are Sir William and Lady Ali Hanham. It is set in the quintessentially english market town of Wimborne, Dorset.

Dean's Court - North façade

The earliest building recorded on this site housed both monks and nuns, and dated from 705 AD. Since then it has had a lively history including being razed to the ground in 1015 by Danish Viking marauders. The house has changed in architectural character over the last near thousand years reflecting the architectural tastes of the time. During that period it has been closely linked with Wimborne Minster which is situated virtually next door. Fortunately, for whatever reason, the Hanhams have not made any major architectural changes since Georgian times, so we are now left to enjoy this lovely gem typical of that period, though the fly-over video on the Dean's Court website suggests that the buidlings behind the front range date from an earlier period - probably the Tudor/Jacobean period.

Wimborne Minster

My interest lay mainly in the fact that this is a house where the ownership has survived in the same family for a very long period; from the Tudor Period to the present day. The Hanham family are typical of many of the remaining Aristocratic families in that they have successfully adapted to changing times. Their history includes strategic marriages, surviving the perils of religious affiliation during Tudor times, the Civil War, the supervision of Napoleonic prisoners of war, and a major societal Scandal in the nineteenth century - to name but a few of the more common situations in which many families of this ilk found themselves.

Dean's Court East face.

I imagine that my literary creation, Norcombe Abbey New Hall, one of the main houses featured in the Brockworth Chronicles, to be a rather larger version of Dean's Court, and would have been built in honey-coloured Cotswold Stone rather than red brick! But the general look of the building and architectural nuances would be the same, just scaled up quite a lot. 

The above picture inspired my ideas as to how the New Hall might look (minus the topiary), from across the valley, viewing from Norcombe Abbey Old Hall . It would be sort of view that Lady Isabel might gaze out upon when she was playing her piano (see Lady Isabel's Inheritance on Amazon).

Places like Dean's Court and Wimborne Minster are 21st Century survivors that, thanks to the tenacity of generations of families and caretakers, still allow us to glimpse into the lives of those whose stories provide the bedrock of the history of England.

Dean's Court is open to visitors on a limited basis, and is a popular venue for weddings and other large entertainments. You can visit their website here