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!

Gresgarth Hall

Entrance to th Hall, with battlements and Georgian Styled windows. Formal lawn with topiary and magnificent Boar Statue.

This lovely house and garden is just about an hour’s drive from where I live. It is the home 

of Arabella Lennox-Boyd, the famous garden designer and modern day Aristocrat. She is 

married to Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd, the second son of Viscount Merton. So, technically she is 

Lady Arabella Lennox Boyd. However, as she was brought up in the Palazzo Pirisi, Rome, 

she is obviously no stranger to moving in the higher levels of society. Many modern Aristocrats 

eschew the use of formal titles in everyday life, as it can sound a little pretentious in these 

more egalitarian times.

She and her family moved to Gresgarth Hall in 1978. There is little information about the 

origins of the house, apart from the fact that there was a house on the site in 1330, and it has 

long been associated with the Curwen family (a widely distributed and powerful family in the 

north-west of England in times past). The current house looks to be a mix of a Gothic 

frontage with Georgian windows, mixed withVictorian or possibly Edwardian styles on the 

lakeview aspect. Despite the mongrel architectural styles, is as refined and gracious as one 

would expect of such a stylish lady. However, having a nosey round the house is not on the 

menu of a visit here - only the gardens are open to the public, and then only one day a month.

 

Side view of the house which has a romantic feel, looking across the serene water-lily flecked stillness of the lake.

But having grumbled about that, it is still well worth making the effort, the gardens are quite 

beautiful in that well mannered, tasteful way that one would expect of a six-time RHS Gold 

Medal winner, and winner of Best in Show at Chelsea Flower Show in 1998.

There is a lake, a most beautiful lake, which does not appear to have any form of pond weed 

sullying its pristine surface (I am quite jealous). No, there are beautifully serene water lilies, 

which seem to have been perfectly placed - but then Lady Arabella is not some merely gifted 

amateur - no she trained to be a garden designer, as well as being a self confessed gardening 

addict. And it shows. 

Lovely views across the lake.

There is a lot of structure in this garden. Lots of carefully primped yew, straight paths nearer 

the house, which become more meandering farther from it. There is a wonderful bridge 

crossing the stream connecting the more formal garden to the wilder parts, where she plants 

trees and large shrubs to great effect. 

Formal Yew avenue

Wonderful 'Angel' decorative paving.

Formal lawn with circular heding and a few formally clipped trees

. Classic

 

There is no dominant genus of plants here, though she does seem to like quite a few 

varieties of the beautifully flowering Cornus kousa. Most seemed to have been picked for 

their individual beauty, and placed with an artist’s eye. The only mistake that I detected was 

that someone has chosen to plant Iris ensata in semi-shade. They much prefer full sun.

Herbaceous borders with the turretted tower as a backdrop

Lilium canadensis(?) with a background of clematis and phlox. Not quite sure about this particular colour combination.

Acer japonicum aureum

Eryngium

Borders with a background of shrubs (Cornus kousa?)

I have only been to this garden once, but I shall give update posts as I revisit.

There is a lovely video of Gresgarth Hall on YouTube, featuring Lady Arabella in her 

favourite surroundings - the garden. It not only gives you a taste of these lovely gardens, but 

also a flavour of a modern lady Aristocrat in the 21st Century. You can enjoy it here.

Her book ‘Gardens in my Life' is available on Amazon.

 

 

What a patio! Superb planting, posing lion statues, and is that a Venetian mooring post on the right. Brilliant!

 

 Happy gardening, Detta! 

 

Asthall Manor

Asthall Manor from across the fields

Many of you may not have heard of the The Mitfords, but they are a bit of an Enigma here in Britain. The Mitford Girls were most prominent in the 1930s, mainly because they had quite a talent for getting themselves into the newspapers. The most prominent of these were Nancy Mitford (author of Love in Cold Climate and the Pursuit of Love, amongst others), Diana Mitford (famed beauty and notorious wife of Sir Oswald Moseley, prominent leader of the British Union of Fascists; friend of Adolf Hitler and The Duke of Windsor), Unity Mitford (Friend of Adolf Hitler), Jessica Mitford (who eloped with Winston Churchill's nephew to the Spanish Civil War and became a Communist), and Deborah Mitford who became the Duchess of Devonshire. To say that they covered the vast extremes of thirties politics, is not to overstate the matter in the least.

There were two other siblings who managed to lead quieter lives - Tom (the only son, who died in the second world war), and Pamela who loved horses and was a friend of Sir John Betjeman (poet laureate)

As you can see, the Mitford girls weren't the sort of ladies (and they were aristocrats) who sat at home doing their embroidery. Love or hate them (and as always, none of them were altogether bad or good), they were certainly an interesting bunch, and have fascinated me for years. So, when I noticed that the garden would be open in February, and I was in the area at the time, I had to go and see where this singular bunch of females spent at least part of their formative years.

The Ballroom and the covered passageway joining it to the main house

The frontage of of the house from the drive

I was not disappointed. It was a fine cold day, and though the garden will, no doubt, be spectacular in summer, it exuded that timeless grace that is peculiar to ancient Manor Houses set in the rolling countryside of the Cotswolds. The gardens were of course, a bit thin on colour, but what can you expect in February? I was particularly taken with the manner in which they train their roses - something that won't be as apparent when they are in full leaf.

Roses trained over small domes to form a butterfly effect -  most interesting

I hope to go back in the summer if the garden is open then, In the meantime, here are a few photos to whet your appetite.