The West (Green) Staircase at Kedleston Hall

The visit to the National Trust property in Derbyshire, 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. All that remains of the original village is the 12th century All Saints Church, Kedleston.

The current house was commissioned in 1759 by Nathaniel Curzon and designed by Robert Adam.

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.

Grade I listed building

Kedleston Hall

Details
SK 34 SW PARISH OF KEDLESTON KEDLESTON PARK 3/41 Kedleston Hall 25.9.51 GV I Large country house, set in large landscape park. 1758-65 by Matthew Brettingham, James Paine and Robert Adam. Interiors complete by the 1780s. Red brick faced in ashlar and render. Hipped Welsh slate roofs. Various brick stacks largely hidden within the roof wells. Main rectangular block with quadrant colonnades and rectangular pavilions following Palladio's Villa Mocenigo. Rusticated basement, piano nobile and attic storeys. Principal north front: Centre block of eleven bays. Hexastyle, giant Corinthian portico over a basement of five round arches. Three statues on the pediment. Double staircase. In the portico, central doorway flanked by niches with statues. Medallions above depicting vintage, pasturage, ploughing, and bear hunting, 1769 by William Collins. Dentilled cornice and blocking course. Three bays on either side of the portico with square sash windows to the basement, glazing bar sashes in pedimented aedicules above and rectangular attic windows with moulded surrounds. Quandrants on either side without an attic storey. The basement continues the round-arched arcade, with windows set in. Glazing bar sashes above, with balustrading below the sills as on the main block. The bays divided by Tuscan pilasters. Tripartite windows to the return walls. Linked to identical pavilions, lower than the main block but still with basement, piano nobile and attic storeys. The upper storeys are cement rendered. Five bays, with four attached Ionic columns supporting a pediment. Similar fenestration to main block but with plain surrounds. South front of 3-3-3 bays. The centre piece derived from the Arch of Constantine. Four detached Corinthian columns standing close to the antae and pilasters against the wall. Each column carrying its own piece of entablature with statues above, in front of an attic with the date 1765 inscribed. Shallow lead dome above. Double staircase with sharply curved flights. Central door- way with pedimented Corinthian aedicule, set within a blind round arch, and flanked by niches with statues and medallions above, as on the north front. Frieze of swags and medallions above. The outer bays are given similar but less grand treatment, to those on the main north front. The east and west elevations of 2-3-2 bays are treated more simply, with the central feature of a Venetian window. That on the west side was at an early date blocked. The south elevations of the pavilions are likewise treated in a plainer manner, the three centre bays advanced beneath a pediment. Interior: The main entrance is into the magnificent Marble Hall, about 67ft by 37ft, and 40ft high (taking in the attic storey). Two rows of giant Corinthian columns of pink Nottinghamshire alabaster. They were fluted in 1775, against the advice of Robert Adam. Frieze and coved ceiling with delicate stucco decoration by Joseph Rose to a design by George Richardson. Hoptonwood stone floor with inlay, designed by Adam. Around the walls are niches with casts of antique sculpture. Above are grisaille panels of Homeric subjects. Chimneypieces with elaborate over- mantles by Rose, incorporating painted roundels. Beyond, in the relationship of 'atrium' and 'Vestibulum', is the saloon, a full-height domed rotunda. Apsed niches in the corners filling the square outer walls. Coffered dome and central skylight. Pedimented doorcases with pilasters of blue scagliola. Frieze of anthemion and palmette. Painted panels of ruins, by Gavin Hamilton, and grisaille panels of scenes of British Worthies by J B Rebecca. In the niches are four cast iron vases on pedestals. Two of them are stoves. The Music Room has Ionic doorcases and delicate plaster ceiling designed by Adam. Marble chimneypiece inlaid with Blue John. The State Drawing Room, lit by a Venetian window to east. Corinthian order for the alabaster window and door surrounds. Chimneypiece with scene of virtue rewarded by honour and riches, by Spang. The Library with severe Roman Doric doorcase. Bookcases designed by Adam. Plaster ceiling divided into octagonal patterns. Triglyph frieze. Beyond the Saloon is the principal Dressing Room (also called the State Boudoir), preceeded by an anteroom, and the two divided by a tripartite screen with pierced segmental arch above the entablature. More delicate plaster ceiling. Chimneypiece brought from elsewhere c1908. Similar decoration in the State Bedroom with fine chimney- piece. Beyond is the Wardrobe (also called the Dressing Room) which communicates with the Dining Room. Apse at the west end, flanked by stucco medallions by William Collins. Ceiling with painted panels by Zucchi (continents), Hamilton (seasons) and Moorland (centre). Chimneypiece with termini caryatids by Spang. The Main Staircase is off the Marble Hall. Cantilvered stone staircase around a rectangular well. Carved tread ends, wrought iron balusters, delicate wreathed and ramped handrial. Stucco panels of 1924. The staircase leads up to the semi-state bedrooms with plain coved ceilings, dentil cornicing and plain marble chimneypieces. Some of the doors may be re-used from the earlier Hall. Three other staircases, of stone, cantilvered with stick balusters. Beneath the Marble Hall a low hall with two rows of stone columns, and two rows of iron columns inserted in 1806. The north west pavilion houses the kitchens and service rooms. The north east pavilion houses the family apartments.

The West (Green) Staircase

This connects to the Butler's Pantry in the ground floor with the dining room above.

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Taken in: UK / England / Amber Valley District / Kedleston (show map)

Taken on: July 28, 2024

Tags:

Kedleston Hall

Curzon family

Derbyshire

England

Great Britain

United Kingdom

National Trust

Derby

Matthew Brettingham

Robert Adam

James Paine

Sir Nathaniel Curzon (later 1st Baron Scarsdale)

Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale

Francis Curzon

tree

trees

Grade I Listed

Grade I Listed Building

Large country house

Red brick faced in ashlar and render

Hipped Welsh slate roofs

The West (Green) Staircase « less

Sets appears in: • The mansion at Kedleston Hall • Kedleston Hall

Groups appears in: • Stately Homes, Palaces and Castles

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, f/3.4, 1/30 sec, 3.8mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
Aperture:	f/3.4
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	3.8mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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