Derbyshire visits....

Elvaston Castle and Country Park, Derbyshire (Oct 7th 2006)
Kedleston Hall, Derby, Derbyshire (Oct 9th 2006)
Calke Abbey, Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire (Oct 9th 2006)

The morning after we arrived at the camp site we expected the same weather as the few days before, rain. Thankfully, the weather changed and the sun split the autumn trees.
We left the caravan site and wandered into the neighbouring parkland owned by Derbyshire County Council. A real surprise was the castle and the ornate gardens. The castle, which is only open for special events, is on the site of an earlier Tudor house (one wall still shows Tudor windows and even states it was built in 1633) This wall has been incorporated into the newer 19th century castle lived in by the Stanhope family. The grounds surrounding the castle has a lake, ornate gardens with topiary, a Pavilion and Golden gates allegedly from the Palace of Versailles. A lovely country park which is well used by the locals and visitors.

Kedleston Hall just on the outskirts of Derby is a neo classical house for the Curzon family, rebuilt by the 1st Lord Scarsdale, Nathaniel Curzon and designed by Robert Adams. The stunning saloon based on the Pantheon in Rome and the entrance hall with beautiful marble pillars are two of the fascinating parts of this estate. An interesting point for me was the marriage of the 4th Baron Scarsdale, the Revd Alfred, to Blanche Pocklington Senhouse from Netherhall, Maryport, Cumberland in 1856. When we arrived at the hall the weather was less than welcoming but while we were inside the hall the autumn sun shone again. Kedleston village was moved by the 1st Lord Scarsdale as it was in the way of the road he wanted to build, the village is now a little further from the hall than it once was.

We left Derby and headed for Calke Abbey to see another National Trust property at Ticknall. Like Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire, the property was inhabited in its last days as a home by one person and a few staff who didn’t live in the house. Charles Jenney died in 1981 and lived in the cavernous house on his own. He used a microwave, cooker and sink in the old butlers pantry and slept in a small bedroom on the opposite side of the property. The kitchens had not been used since the 1920’s and many of the features are still in place, including a tunnel connecting the house to the vast stable complex and brew house.
Quite a number of the rooms were closed up during or around the second world war and only reopened when the property was transferred to the trust in 1985 by Charles’ brother Henry.