Kedleston Hall
Kedleston Hall is a neo-classical manor house owned by the National Trust, and seat of the Curzon family, located in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village of Kedleston was moved in 1759 by Nathaniel Curzon to make way for the manor.[2] All that remains of the original village is the 12th century All Saints Church, Kedleston.[3]
Kedleston Hall
House
near Kedleston, Derbyshire
England
95 m (312 ft)
1759
1765
Kedleston Hall
25 September 1951
1311507 [1]
Background[edit]
The current house was commissioned in 1759 by Nathaniel Curzon and designed by Robert Adam.[4]
The Curzon family, whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy, have been in Kedleston since at least 1297, and have lived in a succession of manor houses near to or on the site of the present Kedleston Hall. The present house was commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Curzon (later 1st Baron Scarsdale) in 1759. The house was designed by the Palladian architects James Paine and Matthew Brettingham and was loosely based on an original plan by Andrea Palladio for the never-built Villa Mocenigo.
At the time a relatively unknown architect, Robert Adam, was designing some garden temples to enhance the landscape of the park; Curzon was so impressed with his designs that Adam was quickly put in charge of the construction of the new mansion.
On the death of Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale in 1977, expenses compelled the heir, his cousin (Francis Curzon), to transfer the property to the care of the National Trust.[5]
Later history[edit]
Second World War[edit]
In 1939, Kedleston Hall was offered by Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale, for use by the War Office.[22] The Hall was used in various ways during the War, including as a mustering point and army training camp.
It also formed one of the Y-stations used to gather signals intelligence by collecting radio transmissions which, if encrypted, were subsequently passed to Bletchley Park for decryption.[23]
Post war[edit]
In 1957 Viscount Scarsdale launched a programme of restoration on the exterior of the building which was estimated to cost £30,000 (equivalent to £910,000 in 2023).[24] Lord Scarsdale contributed £10,000 and the state provided the rest.[25]
In 1973-74 the central block roof was re-slated and exterior stonework was cleaned by Stone and Marble Maintenance Ltd of Willington Road, Etwall. This revealed the pinkish tinge in the sandy coloured stone.[26]
National Trust[edit]
By the 1970s Kedleston Hall had become too expensive for the Curzon family to maintain. When Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale, died, his cousin Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale, offered the house, park and gardens to the nation in lieu of death duties. A deal was agreed with the National Trust that it should take over Kedleston, along with an endowment, while still allowing the family to live rent-free in the 23-room Family Wing, which contained an adjoining garden and two rent-free flats for servants or other family members.[5] Richard Curzon and his family currently reside there.
The National Trust engaged Edward Wood and Sons in 1987-88 for a £1,000,000 (equivalent to £3,552,900 in 2023)[24] programme of restoration. The West Pavilion was given a new roof and a new central heating system was installed. The grand staircase was strengthened with reinforcing bars to stop the cantilevered stairs from sagging.[27]
The travel writer E. V. Lucas later commented that "It is easier in Calcutta to be suddenly transported to England than in any other Indian city that I visited. There are, it is true, more statues of Lord Curzon than we are accustomed to [in England]; but many of the homes are quite English, save for the multitude of servants; Government House, serene and spacious and patrician, is a replica of Kedlestone Hall in Derbyshire."