Derbyshire 29 - Bakewell, Haddon Hall, naughty gargoyles, long borders and ancient chapels

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There is a chinese proverb that says that you should be not afraid of growing slowly , you should be more afraid of standing still. So today was a day of not standing still.

Where shall we go? We needed somewhere fairly close. We needed somewhere we had not been to before. That is getting harder and harder as we exhaust places that are within travelling distance of home. So it was that we took the book out and looked at possible places to go and visit. Haddon Hall. Just down the road from us. About 8 miles away. Good idea- but we have been there before. OK but that was over 12 years ago. Surely we can go again. So what swung it then? A two for one offer from the Caravan Club where we would gain entry for £13 instead of £26. A hefty saving.

So in the end the choice was easy. It was Haddon.

The drive took us through some lovely Derbyshire countryside and we duly arrived at the car park for the hall. It is a fairly big car park on the opposite side of the road . £2.50 parking!!!! With typical Victor Meldrew attitude I complained "How much?" I knew it was a pay to stay car park but I had not imagined it was that much to put your car on such a little bit of tarmac. We paid up and parked and walked across the road to the hall.

Come with us on our journey to what is said to be one of the most romantic houses to have survived from the Middle Ages. Its architecture spans Norman, Tudor and Elizabethan eras. Walk through the romantic gatehouse and under its mellow stone arches. A gravel path takes us past the small shop, the small display of garden plants and the ticket office. The lovely lady welcomes us to the hall and gives us a couple of guides so that we can find our way around the small but perfect castle /stately home.

Our walk takes us along a gravel path and over a sandstone bridge under which races the river Wye. Stand on the bridge awhile with us and admire the scenery, the green fields and the rolling hills. It's a lovely day . The sun is shining on our backs as we walk. As we walk up the hill to the house we pass the small restuarant which we have earmarked for a later lunch. You can join us if you wish.

The house is one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland and is currently occupied by Lord Edward Manners, the Duke's brother, and his family. I doubt we will meet them today. It stands on the hillside just above us. Look up and you can see the towers just poking their turrets above the tree line. It looks tempting doesn't it? It sort of says come on in. I wonder what we will find . Will it be just as we remember it or will it have changed over time? We soon will see.

After we had visited the house last time we decided to go to Belvoir Castle which is the home of the family for most of the time. Haddon is the second home. The summer house . The one that doubles up as a film location .

Up the steps we go. Worn steps of grey stone and through the archway where we show our tickets . Come on get yours out of your pockets and give it to the nice lady. She welcomes us . She asks if we have been before . Yes we have - well still enjoy our visit. Head for the chapel first she says. Now that is different. Last time we came we saw the chapel last.

Stand with a while and look around you. We are in a courtyard and there are doors and steps everywhere. In a corner there is a clock tower with a clock. Take the camera out and like me start clicking away. The yard slopes away and we wondered what it must be like when the heavens open and the rain falls down heavily .

The sun today is high in the sky which means that the pictures sometimes come out dark. But all in all the castle is awfully photogenic. So what of the history of the castle well the Vernon family acquired the Manor of Nether Haddon by a 13th-century marriage. Dorothy Vernon, the daughter and heiress of Sir George Vernon, married John Manners, the second son of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, in 1563. A legend grew up in the 19th century that Dorothy and Manners eloped. The legend has been made into novels, dramatisations and other works of fiction. She nevertheless inherited the Hall, and their grandson, also John Manners, inherited the Earldom in 1641 from a distant cousin. His son, another John Manners, was elevated to the title Duke of Rutland in 1703. In the 20th century, another John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland, made a life's work of restoring the hall. You need a good story when you visit a castle.

The hall stands on a sloping site, and is structured around two courtyards; the upper (north-east) courtyard contains the Peverel or Eagle Tower and the Long Gallery, the lower (south-west) courtyard houses the Chapel, while the Great Hall lies between the two. As was normal when the hall was built, many of the rooms can only be reached from outside or by passing through other rooms, making the house inconvenient by later standards. As we stand there on the sloping site look up at the building. It is truly lovely. Everywhere you look you see doorways closed but temping you to wonder what is within. We see steps that lead up into the castle . For us it is already the most perfect of castles. For it is the most beautiful . How is it for you?

Ok so come on let's get out of the sun and the sunlight and go into the first building the Chapel of St Nicholas. It is light inside. The sun streams in through the clear glass windows. It is an attractive oblong building with simple nave and south aisle dating from the 12thC. A carved wooden screen separates the chancel with the family pews from the nave with its simple wooden pews which would be used by the servants. On the north wall of the nave is a two decker pulpit with readers desk below . A common feature in medieval chapels. The walls are painted white with remnants of medieval wall paintings. Look up and they are everywhere. Sometimes geometric patterns, some trailing leaves, skeletons and on the north wall and in the chancel are smaller pictures showing scenes from the life of St Nicholas including blessing passengers in a small ship and another of small three small children in a tub with kneeling figures receiving a blessing . Truly unique many of these wall paintings have been lost and whitewashed over.

Leave the chapel and come with us to the kitchens. The kids are out of school but it is fairly quiet so we should be able to get in for a look see. The kitchens like the castle are a delight, dark, gloomy and cold with large fireplaces and benches . The hub of the house where the food was prepared for the family. Room after room - full of oak furniture . It is claimed the dairy, the bakery and the butchery are the finest 14th century remaining in the country. Actually I am inclined to agree with them.

From the kitchen walk with us up into the banqueting hall. If you look up you can see the gargoyles. You can get married here in a civil ceremony if you wish. Haddon is making money from the freedom available now to get married or have a civil partnership outside of a church or a registry office. The banqueting hall is the heart of Haddon Hall. In the 14th century the family ate and slept here. Look up and there is a minstral gallery which was added in the 15th century. Imagine sitting at the big table on the dias at the top of the hall. The table is full of wood worm and scoured with the blade marks of the knives that were used to eat meals over many centuries .

Next door is the Great Chamber and Earls apartment and this room features a Renaissance frieze. These rooms are filled with modern furniture as the room is still used by the current Lord and Lady of the manor. Above the firegrate are the signatures of royalty that have visited the castle since the 1930's. The newest Prince Charles and Princess Ann . There are not many rooms in Haddon but each one is a joy.

Come in to the ante room with us and into the state bedroom. These were redecorated in the 16th century the ceilings are covered with plaster reliefs and has a large fireplace. It is a treat that these rooms are fairly empty. None of the usual pushing past the crowds. None of the queueing to take pictures. Not a hassle to see what is there. Plenty of time to stand and look at everything.

The last two rooms we are going into are the long gallery reputedly designed by Smythson. Lets walk along the length with its large windows letting in the light. Light oak panelling on the walls. It is easy to imagine the women walking and exercising on the long winter mornings or sitting and reading in the window seats which overlook the gardens.

The final room is the Parlour created in 1500. Panelling covers the walls. Boar heads carved into the wall coverings and look up at the ceiling. Tudor Roses and Talbot Dogs painted on it. Sadly my pictures turned out wrong - out of focus . Is it the camera or the camerawoman I wonder ? Probably the latter .

So we have finished our tour of the hall. It is not big but what we have seen is the best thing we have seen for a long time and the garden are not a disappointment either .

Watch the steps we are going down into the walled garden which surrounds the hall. Elizabethan in essence they have been redesigned by the Chelsea designer Arne Maynard . There is a knot garden full of lavender and herbs which were used for both medicine and for dyeing fabrics. Around the walls are mauve and lilac clematis, rambling pink and rose red roses . Day Lilies line up in all shades of orange, yellow and brown. If you love gardening then there are ideas everywhere here for you to take back to your own little plot. Coreopis yellow like the sun,

The Dyeing Border against the back wall contains plants that would have been used to dye the silks for the tapestries in the Hall, such as yellow mullein yellow and lime tansy , cardoon purple and St John’s wort for red. Up the steps we go and encounter the wonderful smell of the sweet peas as they climb the pergolas. Pink, white, lilac and mauve picked and picked for the house. Rows and rows of white large daisies with their yellow centres looking up at the sun . Down the steps and there is the pond and fountain. Small but perfectly formed . The water filled with white water lilies. Another path follows the hall and is filled with pretty frothy plants. The narrow paths are a real delight with flowers at every corner and views to die for. The Derbyshire countryside is seen at every turn. Wildflower meadows are a feature here in this garden and also an ancient water meadow .

There it is then - a tour of the house and garden. Stomachs are rumbling. Do you want some dinner? We do.

It is only a short walk to the restaurant . Come on up the steps - sit yourself down . Have a look at the menu? It is not extensive but there is a dish or two of the day. Another selection of all day dishes . We are having a bacon butty and a brie and bacon poppy seed bagel with coleslaw, wedges and salad . How about you? OK i will go and order the food along with a nice latte and a glass of ice cold fiery ginger beer. It's nice to sit and talk while we wait for our food to arrive . When it does we enjoy it very much . It' s one of those yummy moments. We could have gone down the road to the Peacock and pub owned by the estate but it seemed a touch too pretentious and expensive for dinner time eating. Then there is the Grouse and Claret with its own camping ground. I dont think we made the wrong decision having our lunch here did we?

Meal finished - down the steps and its the walk back over the bridge. Time to look back at the hall and it truly looks spectacular. We walked past the ticket office and looked at the plants . Red Lucifer crocosmia with its lance like leaves. Shall we buy one for the garden? Well I thought about it . £2.99 a plant or three for a tenner . Now that is not bad value . I stood and looked. I thought about where they might go in the garden and then decided against buying . Why is it though when you get home and think I should have bought one . It would have lightened up a dark corner of the garden. We walked out and under the gatehouse to our car.

What a lovely day. Did you enjoy it as much as we did? We hope so .

A final thought though we love gardens and hope you do - "A flower falls even though we love it and a weed grows even though we do not love it". Here in this garden there was not a weed in sight and even if there was one we would have loved it just as much as we loved the flowers.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Grace and history
I love these old buildings.

[JenGog]

haddon
lovely buildings such mellow colours