Holker Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holker Hall |
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South face of Holker Hall
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| OS grid reference | SD 359,774 |
| Architect | John Carr, George Webster, Paley and Austin |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Designated | 25 March 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1335814 |
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Holker Hall is a beautiful old country house in Cumbria, England. It's known as one of the most impressive buildings of its time in the area. The house was first built in the 1500s, but it has been changed and rebuilt many times since then. Famous architects like George Webster and Paley and Austin have worked on it.
In 1970, Holker Hall and its terrace wall were given a special Grade II* listing. This means they are very important historic buildings. The house sits on a huge estate of about 80 hectares (that's about 200 acres!). It has lovely gardens, open parkland, and woodlands all around it.
Since the 1500s, Holker Hall has always been owned by the same families. It passed down through the Preston, Lowther, and then the Cavendish families. You can visit the house and its grounds at certain times if you pay an admission fee.
Did you know that a part of the Carboniferous period in Earth's history is called "Holkerian"? It gets its name from Holker Hall!
Contents
The History of Holker Hall
Early Days: From Monks to Families
The land where Holker Hall stands today was once owned by Cartmel Priory, a religious community. After the monasteries were closed down in the 1500s, the Preston family bought the land. George Preston built the first house here in the early 1500s.
Later, in 1644, the government took the estate from Thomas Preston, but he got it back later. When Thomas Preston passed away, his daughter Catherine married into the Lowther family, and the estate became theirs. In 1756, it changed hands again through marriage to Lord George Augustus Cavendish. The Cavendish family has owned Holker Hall ever since!
Changes in the 1700s and 1800s
The house was updated in 1783–84 by an architect named John Carr. Around the same time, the large parkland around the house was created.
In the 1800s, more parts were added to the grounds. These included a special garden for trees (an arboretum), a large glass building for plants (a conservatory), and beautiful terraces. The conservatory was designed by the famous Joseph Paxton, but it's not there anymore.
The house itself was mostly rebuilt between 1838 and 1841 for the 7th Duke of Devonshire. This work was done by George Webster in a style that looked back to the Jacobean period. Later, in 1859–61, another architect, E. G. Paley, made some small changes.
The Great Fire of 1871
In 1871, a big fire almost completely destroyed the front (west) part of the house. Many valuable artworks were lost in the blaze.
The Duke asked Paley, along with his new partner Hubert Austin, to rebuild the wing. Their firm was called Paley and Austin. They rebuilt the wing in the same spot but made it even grander. They added two towers, giving it an Elizabethan Revival look. The cost was about £38,000, which was a huge amount of money back then!
Holker Hall Today
Holker Hall is still the home of Lord Cavendish and his wife. The older part of the house is where the family lives and is not open to visitors.
However, the west wing, rebuilt by Paley and Austin, and the beautiful gardens are open to the public during the summer. You can pay a fee to explore them. The old stable buildings have been turned into a nice café and a gift shop. Holker Hall also hosts many events, including an annual garden festival.
Exploring the Art and Architecture
Inside the House
The part of the house that survived the fire was built with rough stone and has a slate roof. The west wing, rebuilt after the fire, is made of red sandstone. It has an entrance that isn't perfectly in the middle, with turrets (small towers) and domes on either side. Behind the entrance is a tower with a copper roof, and another large square tower.
Inside the older wing, you'll find spiral staircases at each end of a long hallway. There are rooms like a drawing room and a small dining room. This wing also has some interesting features, like old wood panels and a special fireplace.
In the Paley and Austin wing, the entrance leads into a long hall. From here, you can go into the library, the billiards room, the drawing room, and the dining room. All these rooms have beautifully decorated ceilings.
- The library* holds about 3,500 books, some of which survived the fire. You can also see some items that belonged to the famous scientist Henry Cavendish.
- The billiards room* has painted panels and paintings by different artists.
- The drawing room* walls are covered in silk, and it has a lovely marble fireplace.
- The dining room* has chairs made by the famous furniture maker Thomas Chippendale. You can also see portraits of family members and a self-portrait by Anthony van Dyck.
One of the most amazing features is the oak staircase in the entrance hall. It seems to float without support and has over 100 balusters (the small posts that support the handrail), each carved with a different design! The windows on the staircase have stained glass showing family symbols.
Upstairs, there's a gallery and four bedrooms.
- The gallery* has furniture, including a table with a purse that once belonged to Georgiana Cavendish.
- Queen Mary's Bedroom* is named because Queen Mary stayed there in 1937.
- The Wedgwood Bedroom* has a marble fireplace with blue and white Wedgwood decorations. The bed is a four-poster bed made by Hepplewhite.
- The Gloucester Bedroom and Dressing Room* were used by the Duke of Gloucester and his wife in 1939.
- The Duke's Bedroom* was used by the 7th Duke in his later years.
The Beautiful Grounds
The formal gardens cover 10 hectares, and the surrounding parkland and woodlands cover 80 hectares. The formal gardens are on the south and west sides of the house. To the north and west are pleasure gardens with paths that lead through the arboretum.
- The Elliptical Garden* is south of the west wing.
- The Summer Garden* is next to it.
- The Sunken Garden* to the northwest has two small summer houses.
The pleasure gardens have some very old trees, including a cedar tree planted in the late 1700s and an Auracaria tree planted in 1844. There are also two kitchen gardens where vegetables and fruits are grown.
In 1910, the famous garden designer Thomas Hayton Mawson redesigned the formal garden. More recently, in 2003–04, a waterfall, a maze (called a labyrinth), and a sundial were added.
The Famous Holker Lime Tree
One of the most special things in the grounds is the Holker Lime tree. It's thought to be one of the biggest and best lime trees in all of Britain! It was planted in the early 1600s. Its trunk is about 7.9 meters (over 25 feet) around! In 2002, it was named one of the 50 Great British Trees to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
Other Interesting Structures in the Grounds
There are several other historic buildings in the grounds that are also listed as Grade II, meaning they are important.
- Ice House: To the west of the house is a two-story circular ice house, which has been there since at least 1732. People used it to store ice before refrigerators existed!
- North Lodge and Gate: This small building and its gate piers are at the north entrance. They were probably designed by George Webster in the early 1800s.
- Stable Buildings: Southeast of the hall are the old stables, built in 1864. They have a bell tower, a clock, and a weathervane.
- South Lodge: This two-story building at the south entrance was designed by Paley and Austin in 1875.
- Entrance Gates: The main entrance gates to the hall were also designed by Paley and Austin around 1875.
- Inigo Jones Statue: In the grounds, you can find a lead statue of Inigo Jones, a famous architect. It was made in the 1740s and moved here in the 1800s.
- Limestone Underpass: There's even a tunnel under the road that connected the formal gardens to the kitchen gardens!
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in South Lakeland
- Listed buildings in Lower Holker
- List of works by George Webster
- List of non-ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin
