The Stately Homes of England

by Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt; S. C. Hall

The Earl’s Dressing-room, a small but remarkably pretty apartment, hung with tapestry, and lighted by a recessed window. This room, as shown in our engraving, immediately communicates with

The Earl’s Bed-chamber, so called in connection with the one just described, because thus occupied by the Earls of Rutland when residing at Haddon. This room is hung with tapestry representing hunting scenes, &c. From this chamber a doorway opens into

The Lady’s Dressing-room, also hung with tapestry, and lighted with a recessed window. From this room a doorway opens out to the top of the flight of steps already spoken of as giving access to these apartments from the lower court-yard. By this means access was easily obtained to the chapel, and the lord and lady could enter or leave these apartments without passing through the Banqueting Hall. A small padlocked door, in the tapestry of this room, leads up a narrow flight of steps to the leads over the chapel and to the open side of the belfry tower, where the works of the old clock may be seen.

Returning through the Earl’s Bed-chamber and Dressing-room, from the fire-grate in which it is said “the celebrated Count Rumford obtained his plan to prevent chimneys smoking,” and retracing his steps through the Drawing-room, the visitor passes out to the landing-place of the staircase leading up from the Banqueting Hall. From this a doorway leads up to a small rude apartment, with a fire-place, and an old chest; and also leads to the leads of the roof of the Drawing-room, Earl’s Bed-room, Long Gallery, &c.

The Long Gallery, or Ball-room, one of the glories of fine old Haddon, is next entered by a flight of semicircular steps of solid oak, said to have been cut from the root of a single tree that grew in the park of Haddon, the trunk and arms of which are also asserted to have furnished the whole of the timber of the floor of the Long Gallery, or Ball-room, itself. Thus, if the story be true, the whole of the flooring of this superb apartment, which is 109½ feet in length, and 18 feet in width, as well as these massive steps outside the room, were obtained from one single oak-tree grown on the spot.

Ascending the Steps, of which we give an engraving, the visitor will do well to notice the lock and other details of the door, which are somewhat curious. This noble apartment extends, as will be seen on reference to the engraved plan already given, nearly the entire length of the south side of the upper court-yard—commencing near the Banqueting Hall, and, running the entire remaining length of the upper court-yard, is carried out into the winter garden beyond.

Steps to the Ball-room.

This grand room is wainscoted throughout its entire dimensions with oak panelling of remarkably good architectural character. The general design is a series of semicircular arches, alternately large and small, divided by pilasters with foliated capitals, and surmounted by a frieze and a turreted and battlemented cornice. The pilasters, divided like the whole design up to the frieze, are of three heights. The basement of the wainscoting, about one-eighth of its entire height, is plainly panelled, and devoid of all ornament. The second height, rising to more than a third of the whole, is of a much more decorated character. The pilasters are fluted, and the spaces between them filled in with geometric designs, the narrower spaces being by far the most elaborate in their design. The third height is a series of semicircular arches, alternately wide and narrow, divided by the pilasters, the crown of the arch of the narrower ones being on a level with the springing of the larger ones. The whole of the arches, in which pictures formerly hung, spring from small brackets and semi-pilasters at the sides of the pilasters, and are elaborately decorated. Over each of the smaller arches is a shield of the arms of Manners, with a crescent for difference, and surmounted on the frieze by their crest, a peacock displayed, also differenced with a crescent, alternating with those of the Vernon crest, a boar’s head. The pilasters in this height are carved in scale pattern, and are finished with capitals of foliage filling up the spandrels of the arches. Above these is the frieze, the spaces of which are occupied respectively with the crests just named, alternating with the rose and thistle conjoined on one stem. Above this is a remarkably fine turreted and battlemented cornice, in which the loopholes, &c., are cut quite through the whole thickness of the wood.

The ceiling of this magnificent room is coved—the coving receding for the cornice. It is covered with elaborate and exquisitely designed geometric tracery, consisting of squares, lozenges, quatrefoils, &c., beautifully foliated at their points, and containing shields of arms and crests, the arms being those of Manners impaling Vernon, and the crests those of Manners and Vernon alternately. This ceiling was originally painted and gilt in a very rich manner, remains of the colouring and gilding being still distinguishable, here and there, through the whitewash. On the walls still hang one or two pictures, which perhaps, however, only add to the solitariness of its appearance.