[00:00:21] Speaker A: The Tudor History and Travel show is a podcast that brings Tudor history to life by exploring Tudor places and artefacts in the flesh.
You will be travelling through time with Sarah Morris, the Tudor Travel Guide, uncovering the stories behind some of the most amazing Tudor locations and objects in the uk.
Because when you visit a Tudor building, it is only time and not space which separates you from the past.
And now over to your host, Sarah Morris.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Hello my time traveling friends.
Welcome to this month's episode of the Tudor History and Travel show with your host, Sarah Morris, the Tudor Travel Guide. You are most welcome.
In a moment I'll be introducing the place that we are going to be exploring on our time travels today and it is a real time capsule. But but before then, a little bit of housekeeping. And in fact I want to tell you about an opportunity that has come up over with our sister company, Simply Tudor Tours.
Many of you will know that we run our flagship tour, the Rise and Fall of Amberlynn in September each year.
Now the tour for this year has been fully booked for some time but due to a couple of unforeseen circumstances we have had some last minute cancellations and therefore there are three places available on that tour.
So if you are thinking I'm going to be in the UK in September, I'd love to do something really special for myself. Then you might want to consider joining us. Joining me in person on tour alongside my co founder of Simply Tudor Tours, historian Adam Pennington and also our historian in residence for the week, Estelle Peronk. If you want to know more about the agenda, then follow the link in the description which I will attach to the description associated with this podcast and you can find out everything you need to know, including how to book.
Okay, now while I'm mentioning it under similar circumstances, we also have one space become available on our 1502 the Year that Shook the Tudor Throne Tour for July 2026. So if you want a little bit more time to plan and get yourself together, then that might be the one for you. This one will be following in the footsteps of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York on their historic 1502 progress, the year of course of the death of their son and heir Prince Arthur. So yes, if you're interested in either of those two, check out the links associated with the podcast where you can find all the information you need and also details of how to book. And if you have any questions then you can always email me. And Adam, you can reach
[email protected] okay, well it's on with the show, my friends.
And earlier in the spring I headed up north to Derbyshire to visit Haddon Hall.
Now, I know from speaking to many of you that Haddon hall is a bit of a favourite on any Tudor lovers itinerary. And I think that's because it's a real time capsule with so many authentic medieval and Tudor features left in situ as the owners moved away after this period and based themselves had their primary country seat elsewhere. Therefore it wasn't subject to the usual Georgian and Victorian renovations.
Anyway, I don't want to take away from the fun. You're going to hear about all that as I explore Haddon hall with our expert guide for today. So without further ado, it's time to.
[00:04:24] Speaker C: Go time travelling, my friends.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Buckle up, let's head over to Haddon Hall.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: Welcome, dear friends, wherever you're tuning in from, wherever you are in the world. You are most welcome to this month's episode of the Tudor History and Travel Show. And I've been traveling north today to a place that is one of, well, I think it's been described one of the most perfectly preserved medieval castles in the country. It's a real stunner.
Some of you may not have visited Haddon hall, but if you have, I am sure that you have been enchanted by its charms. And the feature that most stands out for me is the incredibly exquisite Long Gallery. I have to say it is my favourite. It's my number one long gallery in the country, so I can't wait to explore it. And in, in fact, even if you haven't visited, I'm sure as you'll hear later, you will have seen it on the silver screen at some point, not least in the recent film Firebrand.
Now, as ever, I've got an expert joining me here today to be our guide and to unravel the stories and the history of this fabulous castle. So let me introduce our guide today. So Margie, Margie Burnett.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: Hello. Hello and welcome to Haddon Hall.
[00:05:40] Speaker C: Oh, thank you for having us here. I can't wait to do this one and explore all the nooks and crannies. So first of, can you introduce yourself and tell people what you do here at Haddon and your interest in the castle.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Lovely. Hello everyone. My name's Maggie. I'm the archivist and a duty warden at Haddon hall, which means I get to come here and help guides look after our lovely visitors when they come to see us.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: There's lots of you kindly made the time today because you're just in the Run up to opening for the season.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: We are indeed. We're just getting everything ready for the end of this month, which is very exciting.
[00:06:12] Speaker C: Okay. And right at the end, dear listeners, we'll be talking about how you find out more about the hall and all the events that go on here. Yes, because there are some splendid events to enjoy.
So. Right, well, okay, so let's describe where we are and let's start our tour of Haddon. We are in a magnificent courtyard. Now, I would normally say this is the outer courtyard, but is that right with Haddon?
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Well, actually, Haddon has two courtyards and this is known as the lower courtyard and there's an upper one above here. So it's basically was sort of built, but rather haphazardly in a figure of eight pattern. And it's built on a slope deliberately because the water source was actually at the top above here.
And so visitors would come up the steps here beside me and walk into the courtyard. And originally there would have only been the chapel in the 12th century and then there was a curtain wall built all the way around, which I hope we can just go and have a quick peek at as we walk around. Okay, so this is very often the film set for many films that people will have seen, particularly the Jane Eyre's that we both had and PR Pride and Prejudice and so I'm sure. And also Princess Bride, which is very, very popular with our American visitors.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: Okay, so that's another thing that people may go, oh, I recogn. I recognise this because of course it's a good time for me just to remind everybody listening that we do have a show notes page associated with this podcast and I will be posting some images. Lovely. And as ever, Chris, who is our soundman in the background there is wielding his trusty iPhone and making sure he captures some photos of the things that we're going to be talking about today.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Great.
[00:07:54] Speaker C: Also, the other thing I think we should do for those folk who, as ever, are not that familiar with English geography, is where are we in England?
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Right, well, we're in Derbyshire, which is the furthest you can get away from the sea anywhere in England.
We're actually in the East Midlands and we're near a town called Bakewell, which I think many people will remember is very famous for its puddings and tarts.
So, yes, we're right in the centre in the north.
[00:08:20] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay, well, let's. Let's go chronologically, as I love to do, because that helps me make sense of how this. How a place first originates and so how did this castle come about? Why was it built here and who.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Who built was first? The land was first given to William Peverell, who was the illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, and he had all this land here and originally he would have built the little chapel we're going to visit in the 12th century, but also what we call the Peveril Tower, which is in the top courtyard.
His son was a little bit mischievous and attempted, we believe, to murder the Earl of Chester, which meant that Peveril's lands were all taken from him, given to Avenel, his tenant. And then finally, through marriage, this land comes to the Vernon family, another group of Norman knights. And so when they got the land through a marriage settlement, they decided that they would settle here and, as I say, build the curtain wall all the way around to make sure that everyone knew this was their place. And because it's on a high position, it was obviously ideal.
It's actually a fortified manor house, so it doesn't have a roof, it's not actually a castle in itself, but it is obviously a very prominent place for people to see.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: And the Vernons, what, what period are we talking about at that point? When they come 12th century, it's still very early medieval, very, very early.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: When they wanted to build, they actually had to ask the then Count of Mortmain, who was to become King John, for permission to build the wall round. And we actually have still the response. And it says, yes, you may build a wall, but it can be no higher than 12ft and it can have no crenellations. That is, don't you dare build a castle.
[00:10:10] Speaker C: Right.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: So the original curtain wall would have gone all the way around and if I'm looking up, I'm seeing lots of crenellations, but they were built much later, basically just for effect and not for defence purposes.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: I see.
I mean, obviously, you know, back in those days, the population of England was tiny compared to what we're in State. But even now that we're in the Derbyshire Dales, aren't we? It's quite. We drove across some stunning countryside. It even feels quite remote. So back in those days, it must have felt really isolated. But was there any, was there any strategic reason for building it here?
Was it prone to unrest?
Did they get involved in any skirmishes?
[00:10:52] Speaker A: They did later on in the Tudor period, but at the time that it was built, I think it was just because there was a spring at the top and this was a prominent place.
But yes, later on there was some interesting little phrase with Actually, the Duke of Devonshire's gamekeepers, because they live right next door to each other, the two estates are close.
But no, they didn't really. They were very clever. They kept, for example, in the War of the Roses, they were very clever. They didn't actually side with anyone, particularly.
Richard was asking Sir Henry Vernon, who was the lord at the time, to come to support him, but he didn't. And in fact, he goes to Bosworth Field and he supports Henry Tudor and then he's actually made a knight just after the Battle of Stoke in 1487. So. But all through history, they've been very clever. They've always been a bit of a sort of fence sitter. Yes.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: Because if I look at what I know of Tudor history, the family name here is not one that jumps out of you. It's been involved in all sorts of treason and treachery. And so they kept their heads.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: They kept their heads well and truly down. They didn't get into trouble. This place was never attacked, for example.
It remained absolutely left as it was.
So, no, they were clever and right the way through to the English Civil War as well.
[00:12:11] Speaker C: Okay, well, that's useful to know. So we have a family that's not so much known for getting involved in any of the major events of history, but they have this. They've left this amazing time capsule and we'll come to why it's such an amazing time capsule shortly, I'm sure.
Right, well, let's turn our attention to the building, because it is a rather lovely courtyard. I'd call it a lovely courtyard. Lots of architecture. Maybe you could just point out some of the highlights and what that tells us about the phases of building.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Yes, well, the chapel is in the right hand corner. We're going to go through there in a moment to the archway. But what you basically have is facing us. If we turn around with our back to the chapel, you can see the most beautiful facade, which was built in the 14th century.
And at the same time you have a porch and that chimney breast, which was also built in about 1415, with beautiful gargoyles up here, one of them, which is rather rude and school children like to ask questions about that, but we won't go into details.
We've also got this beautiful range, which is gritstone and sandstone. The mixture here.
And we were looking earlier at this amazing. What looks like a bit of an architectural mess, which was originally built to join the two ranges which meet in the middle, but between them there is the original tower. And they had to find A way of building the two ranges together without obstructing the entrance. So you can see lots of little archways which we call squinches, which look rather like a desperate attempt to make sure that those two ranges do actually join.
And then as we turn around again, we see this. In front of us now is the actual office range, the controller, where he had his offices and estates offices, which are still the estates offices today.
And then in the other corner we have the clock tower, which was built by William vernon in about 1450. And this is quite an interesting one for us because on it you've got what looks like WW or vv. And as you know, there are lots of. Of witches marks all around here. So the question is, is that William Vernon or is it Vee, which is virgin Verginibus, which is a sign against witches.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: I see, yeah.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: And then you have some steps which lead up to the Tudor original Tudor long gallery, which we now call the Earl's apartments. I see.
[00:14:34] Speaker C: So back in the day, this was more like what I would refer to in Tudor times as like a base court, with the service offices in the private apartments. Yeah, we're beyond the great hall. We'll be going through the great hall. I see.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: That's where we're going.
[00:14:47] Speaker C: Okay, so where do we need to go?
[00:14:49] Speaker A: Should we go. If we follow the chronology of the hall, if we start and have a little look at the lovely chapel, I'd like to show you some of the frescoes.
[00:14:55] Speaker C: Let's go.
And incidentally, you were saying the stone.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Here is sandstone and grit stone. It's a mixture of the two.
[00:15:05] Speaker C: And it wears, doesn't it?
[00:15:07] Speaker A: It does.
[00:15:08] Speaker C: When we met, actually, we came through the little tiny door. What do you call those?
[00:15:11] Speaker A: The wicket gate.
[00:15:12] Speaker C: The wicket gate in the main gatehouse. And there is a. Clearly the stone has been worn away over the centuries.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: It has. Well, you can see the stone steps. This is quite fun. I told you that the spring is right at the top. When it rains, we actually have to put sandbags at the top because the water is designed to come right down through into the kitchen and down here and out. And that is where the guard robes were. Where the original toilets.
[00:15:38] Speaker C: It flushes the toilet.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Brushes the toilets.
[00:15:40] Speaker C: Perfect. And then you've got to hand it to these medieval things.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Absolutely. This is the oldest part.
Hang on, I'll just push this back because that's where it kind of stays.
That's that. That's it. Just sit that.
[00:15:56] Speaker C: So we've come into the chapel now.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:58] Speaker C: So tell Us. Tell us about the. The building here and the amazing. Obviously, the thing that jumps out from you is the wall paintings. Immediately.
[00:16:06] Speaker A: Extraordinary. When you come down the steps into the chapel, you'll immediately see in front of you the south aisle, which is the original Norman chapel. And it has its normal pillar here and the Norman baptismal font. So it's exactly as it would have been. It's. Now, it's also got. In the 16th century, these are wooden benches and pews which were for the outside workers.
And then you turn around and you look down and you can see the north aisle and the chancel.
On the walls there are the most amazing frescoes which we know were probably down around 1435.
And there's one particular one I'd like to describe to you, which is my favorite, which is here, you've got the most beautiful figure here with fish and fantastic, fantastic picture of Christ being carried across the river.
And in medieval times, you believed if you saw this figure every morning, it would mean that you would live for that day. Oh, really? But it's very sneaky because it meant you could. Only with St. Christopher, you would see him, you would come down the steps, you'd have a quick look at him, go, oh, I'm all right then. Thank you very much. And then you didn't actually have to come in for a service or anything. You could just feel, oh, I'm okay, and you'd see him there. But it's absolutely beautiful. Black and white fresco, secco, dry fresco.
[00:17:35] Speaker C: It's in great condition, isn't it?
[00:17:38] Speaker A: And you can see little fishermen here and here.
And as I say, the fish, the smiling fish at his feet are my absolute favourite.
[00:17:46] Speaker C: He's a lovely one there, Dan.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: Ollie. Absolutely. We also have three skeletons here on the south isle wall with rosemary in their mouths for remembrance.
And we believe that on the other side of that window there would have been the figures of three kings. And this is a memento mori. This is. However great you are, we all have the same fate, right?
[00:18:08] Speaker C: And I take it, obviously the family would come here. This would be their principal place of worship. Did they join the main body of the church or did they have a.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: They had their own wooden family pews here, which we can see in front of us.
So on the right we have the pews for the household, and then in front we have the family pews.
What's interesting, you can see some very beautiful wooden tracery on the wooden pews. And this was taken from the original rude screen, which would have been up here in front of us. And you can see a very odd thing. There's a door.
[00:18:45] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: Hanging in the middle of nowhere.
[00:18:47] Speaker C: Right at the top.
[00:18:48] Speaker A: Right at the top. And that would have been where the rude screen was. And there would have been a walkway across the rood screen and then a little hagioscope or squint on the other side.
[00:18:58] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:59] Speaker A: And you would have had somebody there. Well, the priest was saying Mass.
When he elevated the host, he would ring a bell. But of course, in Edward VI's reign, the rood screen was dismantled, but we believe that some of these little bits of wood were actually part of the original rood screen.
[00:19:16] Speaker C: And there's a fabulous screen behind the high altar there.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: Let's go and have a look.
[00:19:19] Speaker C: Let's have a closer look at it.
[00:19:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: What's the age of that?
[00:19:24] Speaker A: It's 1430.
[00:19:26] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:19:28] Speaker A: The. The windows, the painted glass there, it says very clearly in the grass, I was made in 1427.
So we have a reredos, interestingly, not originally from here.
This is the Passion of Christ. There should be 12 panels, but there aren't.
The Crucifixion is no longer here, mainly, I believe, because at the time during the Reformation, the family probably remove the Crucifixion if they were Catholic and hid it.
So it's never been found. But it's all made of alabaster, painted alabaster and made in Nottingham.
Really?
[00:20:06] Speaker C: I mean, it looks like wood.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: No, it's alabaster.
[00:20:09] Speaker C: That's really incredible.
I would have sworn on my life that that was wood.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: And I've been doing a little bit of research, and I think probably one of the other panels, which is more of the mocking of Christ, is possibly in the V and A things. I'm trying to find out. But, yes. So this is the family chapel, but originally it was the chapel of Never Haddon, which is a little village, which is where our car park is now. It was a plague village.
And so by the end of this sort of 15th century, it had disappeared.
[00:20:39] Speaker C: Maybe you could just explain what a plague village is.
[00:20:42] Speaker A: There were various times during history when the plague hit various parts of England and Europe.
And in this particular area, there was a terrible, terrible plague in the 14th century where people didn't know where it was coming from. They thought you were breathing bad air or something. In fact, it was probably rats coming off ships. But basically it meant that a community, if somebody got it, it would spread absolutely like wildfire. And it meant that the whole of the village would be decimated and nobody would have Seen survived.
[00:21:13] Speaker C: So just essentially the village was abandoned. Yeah.
[00:21:16] Speaker A: We can still see little bumps on the hill, which is where some of the stones remain. Sad.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: So where do we need to go from here?
[00:21:23] Speaker A: I think if we now go into the main part of the. The hall and we'll look at the progression of the building is a bit of a jigsaw.
[00:21:31] Speaker C: It is wonderful.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: So while we're walking towards the main hall, I'm wondering how many people would have lived here when it was, you know, in the medieval. Medieval period?
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Difficult to tell. I would have thought about 50 or 60 with the family and their entourage and their servants.
So particularly when we look in the kitchen, you can see what capacity they had to making food. It must have been quite a large community.
[00:22:49] Speaker C: And would have that be. Would the castle have been served by the village?
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Yes, it would have been the. As you. When we. In the kitchen, you'll see that it was actually a very brutal, very hot place. And actually it was only men who worked in the kitchens the time, so the women would not have been allowed in the kitchen. So they would probably have been in the village and coming across to do the rest of the needlework and various things. Right, wonderful.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: Well, let's go.
[00:23:15] Speaker A: Lovely. So before we go into the next part of the building, let's go and have a quick look at the curtain wall which still survives.
[00:23:20] Speaker C: Let's do it.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: Oh, gosh.
[00:23:24] Speaker C: I love. I love narrow doors.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: And this is a sacred. Quite extraordinary.
[00:23:29] Speaker C: So we've come into a tiny little passageway, aren't we? We're sort of wedged between.
[00:23:33] Speaker A: We are. It's really narrow, like a corridor, basically. And here on the right, you've got the. Really, the original curtain wall that was built in 1193.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Hello.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: Hello. Wall. And then on the other side, you've got. Well, you've got huge oak wooden cantilever pillars here, you see, all the way up.
[00:23:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:23:55] Speaker A: And then you've got a wall which was built in the 15th century. And then this actually provided the foundations for the next part of the building here.
This is the exact old bit of the wall.
[00:24:06] Speaker C: Oh, you've got to love it, haven't you?
[00:24:08] Speaker A: You have to.
[00:24:09] Speaker C: You've got to love it.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: Right, that's lovely. Let's go on to the next part of the building.
[00:24:15] Speaker C: Good. So we're heading up into the main entrance to the castle.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: Yeah, we are.
Basically, this is the. What we call the screens passage door.
And this originally wouldn't have been here because. I'll explain the two parts. The next two parts the bank, the Great hall and the kitchens were built separately.
So we're going to turn right and we're going to go into the Great Hall.
[00:24:41] Speaker C: I love this Great Hall. And actually, as a visitor, often you have the fire going.
[00:24:45] Speaker A: We do normally have a very, very roaring fire, because I think Hatton is a little bit chilly. So we always have a fire burning.
[00:24:51] Speaker C: But it brings the whole hall to life in a beautiful way. It really, really does.
[00:24:56] Speaker A: And it's very nice when you're working here, because you can go and stand there for a little while.
[00:25:00] Speaker C: Yeah, I can thaw out. Yes, it's quite a cozy. I mean, it's. It's a good grey hall, but it's also quite cozy. When you compare it with something like Hampton Court, you know, it's got. It feels quite. It feels homely.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: It is, it's very homely. And that's what a lot of people say when they come to visit. They say, oh, I can imagine myself living here, because, of course, it is a family home with the family living here all the time.
So we come into the Great Hall. This was built around 1390, as was the kitchen, built separately.
Very much the centre of the hall, as your listeners will know, it was the absolute centre of the community, with a fire in the middle.
Dogs, servants, family, all sleeping here on the floor.
Then in 1450, they added this vast chimney.
And then all around we have beautiful wood paneling which has remained untouched all these years.
Maybe a couple of things. Furniture to mention. Very special.
[00:25:54] Speaker C: You're going to talk about this gorgeous table, aren't you, up on the desk.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: This is actually what we call a board.
It's not a table because it's not attached to the trestle at the bottom.
It's made of elm and it's called a board because what would happen is you would eat on one side, you could then lift it up, turn it over and use the other side. And on the other side, there are actually really big, deep cut marks from daggers behind us. Here we actually have a set of steps going up to the first floor and we have dog gates, which were built in the Elizabethan period.
And we're assuming that that was either to keep the dogs there or let them in and come. And actually, the story goes, they come and lick the board clean.
[00:26:41] Speaker C: Oh, lovely.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: Yum.
But basically, this is very special because also, as a board, this is where we get chairman of the board, board and lodging. But also, this could be lifted up and this could be put on the floor, because if you can imagine lying on very nasty, smelly, rush covered floor. Stone floor, very uncomfortable. You could lift that up and you could put it on the floor and that would be your bed.
[00:27:06] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:27:06] Speaker A: As well.
[00:27:10] Speaker C: So what I like also about this particular hall is it's got all the features that you want from a hall. So you've got, as you said, you've got the screens, passage at the low end, wonderful kitchen, pantry, butter. We're going to come to that in a minute. And then you've got the little stone raised dais and then you've got the lovely staircase heading off from the high end. That's right up to, I presume, the Privy Apartments.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. Well, there's a little Privy apartment next door. Right. Mainly upstairs. And you've also turned around and you see this beautiful minstrels gallery.
[00:27:39] Speaker C: Yeah, you do, don't you? So it's really got. If you want to kind of look at the architectural features of a great hall, it's just perfect for that.
[00:27:47] Speaker A: It is, absolutely.
And yes, it was left as it was.
And this room is still used all the time by the family.
[00:27:56] Speaker C: Oh, really?
[00:27:57] Speaker A: It is, yeah. As you see, the sofas are on.
[00:28:02] Speaker C: Do you have any records of feasting in here? Did you. Were there ever any royal visits to Haddon?
[00:28:07] Speaker A: Yes, there were.
Sir Henry Vernon, who, as I mentioned earlier, was very much on the Tudor side during the War of Roses, he was made the controller, the financial treasurer for Prince Arthur.
And Prince Arthur, as everyone will know, lived at Ludlow Castle but did come to visit here.
We know there's somewhere called Prince Arthur's room, but we're not sure which one it is. And we know Sir Henry Vernon was very much part of his life. As you know, Prince Arthur died very young, probably of tb, but no, he came to visit here. And Sir Henry Vernon actually's name is on a signature on the marriage certificate of Catherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: Oh, that's lovely. That's a lovely touch. Because we've just been recording at Ludlow last week because we've got the anniversary of his death coming up on the 2nd of April. So we are in March when we're recording this and we're going to be at Worcester to his tomb. So it's really nice to be able to come here and actually know that he visited here.
[00:29:07] Speaker A: He did indeed.
[00:29:08] Speaker C: Because I think apart from the royal palaces of London, I think when we think of Prince Arthur, we're mainly thinking Ludlow.
So it's actually nice to be able to come to another location that we know he came to that's brilliant.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: We have behind us a beautiful tapestry which we believe was given to the Vernon family to thank them for their care of Prince Arthur. It's probably made in the reign of Edward iv and it has a beautiful royal signature here and coat of arms. And this was actually making mention to the fact that the Vernons, way back in generations, were related to the Plantagenet. So this is one of our wonderful possessions, thankfully, which was not destroyed in 1925 when there was a terrible fire and we lost 60 of our tapestries. We're very, very grateful that we still have this one here.
[00:30:01] Speaker C: I didn't realize that. I mean, maybe we can touch on that, the historic history, the later history of the house. Yeah, great. Okay, now the kitchens.
[00:30:09] Speaker A: Let's go.
[00:30:09] Speaker C: A drawing, because along with the great. The great hall, I think it. I think these are just splendid.
[00:30:16] Speaker A: Yes, they are very special because they have been left completely untouched and you can actually feel people working in them when you go.
[00:30:25] Speaker C: And before we just go down, I've just got to enthuse about the fact that you have. Have these three lovely doorways preserved. There are so many places where they've either been lost completely or they've been. One's been blocked up. But you've got the pan. I don't. Which way around is it?
[00:30:38] Speaker A: This is the butler's pantry.
[00:30:40] Speaker C: Y.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: This is actually the buttery.
[00:30:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:43] Speaker A: And then this is a door into the other part of the house.
[00:30:46] Speaker C: And then you've got this lovely corridor with this worn floor.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: Yes. I always have to say, watch the step, watch the step.
[00:30:53] Speaker C: But it's you. You kind of go down this.
[00:30:56] Speaker A: Yep. Go down the corridor.
[00:30:58] Speaker C: You can. You can feel your walking in history. People scuttling backwards and forwards.
[00:31:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And originally this would not have been here. This would have been an entirely separate space.
[00:31:07] Speaker C: Are they connected because of fire risk?
[00:31:10] Speaker A: Of course because of fire risk. Somebody's come turned all the lights off and I turn them all on. There we go. That's it. So if we come into the main kitchen, again, this was 1390, but it was modernized by the Tudors. So you have this beautiful. In front. When you come in, you can see this fantastic Tudor wooden pillar.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Which basically holds up the ceiling.
[00:31:35] Speaker C: And do you think it was always like this? Because some kitchens are quite lofty because of the smoke.
[00:31:40] Speaker A: Originally they would have been. And then with. During the Tudor period, they built the floor in and.
[00:31:45] Speaker C: Okay, wonderful.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: And so all around you have what we would call Tudor work surfaces, which are still here in place.
There's A wonderful piece here. Just as you're going to go out the door, which I think we try and think what somebody must have been like when they were working. So they're going, chop, chop, chop, chop on a wooden board here. Chop, chop, chop. And suddenly they go right the way through. And then you can see the thought, oh, my God. And then they move to the next bit and they go, chop, chop, chop. And then they think, oh, we're not going to do that again. So we go to this. So you see these three lovely big indentations in this huge chunk of wood. I think you can sort of see their thought process there. Plus huge, massive, as high as my waist. Massive oak chopping board here.
[00:32:28] Speaker C: That's just literally for chopping.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: It's just for chopping. And then if we walk across here, we'll see there is the original.
The stone troughs.
I think, as I said earlier, there is a spring which is above, and this is where the water would have come up. And you would have used this little one first for something very clean. And then there's a little wooden bung which you take out and it goes to the next trough for something that's not quite so clean. And the same thing when you do it here. So this is the original water supply for the kitchen.
[00:32:58] Speaker C: That's incredible. I mean, you just want to touch everything in here because it's just so the social history is just oozing from this place.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: And then you've got. Here, we've got the original copper, which has a place to have the fire underneath it, so you could make pottage, you could make Everlasting Soup or boil something up.
And then you have. Here you have the original spit oven, so you have the stone coming forward. That's a bit later built in. Because originally it was. Would all have been wood.
[00:33:32] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
These two huge fireplaces. It would have been so hot in here and noisy and all the smells of the cooking. Wonderful. Do you ever do food recreations?
[00:33:45] Speaker A: Yeah, we. We actually. We show one regularly. We have a dvd. It's when Ruth Goodwin came, I remember, and it was the Christmas feast. And you saw her preparing peacock pie and using. Making marzipan. No, peacock. People are very interested in this because we also have. In the corner, when we go to the next room, we have working pie ovens.
So we've used them for a number of different films and people are amazed that they still work.
[00:34:10] Speaker C: Oh, can we go?
[00:34:10] Speaker A: Yeah, let's go and have a look.
[00:34:12] Speaker C: Because we're not. It's not just this room is it?
[00:34:13] Speaker A: No, no, no.
[00:34:14] Speaker C: It leads through satellite of little rooms.
[00:34:17] Speaker A: So you have. Here, watch. This is the special. Everyone loves this step.
[00:34:20] Speaker C: Look at that.
[00:34:21] Speaker A: There's a really deep indentation in the stone.
[00:34:25] Speaker C: Because the type of stone obviously wears quite easily, doesn't it? You can feel the grittiness if I do this.
People can kind of hear.
[00:34:34] Speaker A: So this is the next part of it which has got, as I say, the two.
The two pie ovens, which basically work just like a pizza oven.
And you've got. We've made them, but these are the original what you call stop gaps, which you can put in place once you've got the fire going, put the wooden little doorway in to make sure the fire's kept in.
And you've also got lots and lots of burn marks here. You can see from tallow candles.
But some of them are actually witches.
[00:35:08] Speaker C: Ones, I was going to say. Are they witches, mark?
[00:35:13] Speaker A: These probably aren't, because those are actually quite visible. But there are things behind doors, under windows, which would have been designed to protect.
[00:35:20] Speaker C: And again, maybe just what are witches marks, in case people haven't heard of them before.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: Right. Well, particularly in the early medieval period, people really believed in hell and evil. And if you were working in a kitchen like this, which was all fire and darkness, it would have been very dark. You would want to protect yourself and you would believe that witches and evil spirits would come through windows at you, which would have been open, of course. So basically you made marks to protect yourself. And they fervently believed this would help to save them.
[00:35:51] Speaker C: And sometimes they're carvings, aren't they? Daisy wheels?
[00:35:54] Speaker A: Yes. I'll show you a daisy wheel.
We have a daisy wheel.
So, yeah, we have all sorts of them all over the house.
And so when we have Halloween and things, we have little tours showing people where we have. Fantastic. This is the original, probably the milk dairy, because it's pretty cold. And in here we have a collection of dole cupboards and these would have been used for people when they were traveling. They would have been put outside the hall or a monastery and someone would come and feed travelers or poor people and dole out the food, hence being on the dole.
So we have a collection that the 9th Duke of Rutland made. And also so these little lower wooden cabinets are called meal arcs, and they would have been under lock and key. You can see they've got all got little locks. You would have kept your finest flower under lock and key.
[00:36:47] Speaker C: And those ones where you can turn the lids over and you can Use the brilliant.
[00:36:53] Speaker A: It's a very clever idea.
[00:36:54] Speaker C: This is a kitchen. To be proud. If you had a kitchen like this today with all those work surfaces.
[00:36:58] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:36:59] Speaker C: Okay, so.
[00:37:00] Speaker A: And then we come into the butchery and originally there would have been a door here rather than a window, so you would have come from the top courtyard in. I see.
And this is a fascinating piece. It looks like just a giant slab of wood, but it's got a little bit that goes in a dip. And this is called a jointing stool. And this is where you would have got your carcass and you would have put the animal, the beast down on it and you would have used it for chopping up the actual carcass. We've also got a salting trough, a wooden salting trough from the 16th century where you would have used salt, meat, herbs. Salt, meat, herbs, to preserve the meat.
And you have also got a blood bowl as well there, which would have been used to catch the blood from the animal and make into black pudding.
[00:37:52] Speaker C: Chris's favourite.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: My favourite tool. I love black pudding.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Maybe this is. Maybe this is the time to say, wow, you've got so many original pieces here from the 16th century and you can often go to heritage properties and so much has been lost. So maybe this is the time to ask you how come so many of these original pieces are still here?
[00:38:17] Speaker A: Well, it is a wonderful thing. It's. It's literally saving grace. What happened was that the Duke of Rutland, well, the Earl of Rutland was made the Duke of Rutland in 1703, and they'd already had Beaver Castle near Grantham, and it had been partly destroyed during the English Civil War, and basically it had been rebuilt and it was very comfortable and it was very warm.
Haddon was neither. So the family decided they wanted to leave Haddon in about 1740 and they didn't come back for 200 years.
And that meant that Haddon became a sleeping beauty, as it's called. Nothing was touched, luckily. You know, if the family had lived here, they would have wanted a new kitchen and the Georgians and the Victorians would have got their hands on it. But as it was, it was left and there were caretakers here and it was.
It was made sure that nothing would be destroyed, particularly. But of course, it did deteriorate.
But that is why Haddon is so special, because you are not going to see anywhere like this because of the fact of it being left alone.
[00:39:26] Speaker C: Praise be.
[00:39:27] Speaker A: Absolutely. It's just the most wonderful thing.
[00:39:31] Speaker C: That's wonderful.
[00:39:34] Speaker A: But interestingly, lots of visitors came here all the time.
And when we go up to the long gallery, you'll see the graffiti that they left.
[00:39:42] Speaker C: I see. Were they invited visitors?
[00:39:44] Speaker A: No, they were just local people. There was a footpath that ran right the way through the hall.
Right the way through here.
So local people came and they would come, I think, very often, perhaps on a Sunday, Granny's birthday.
Constable came to paint.
It was incredibly romantic.
[00:40:05] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: So it was. It was really a very popular place. And Interestingly, when the 9th Duke came back to restore the hall in the early 1900s, he of course decided he didn't really want visitors coming through his sitting room. So he had the footpath closed and there were riots in Matlock and in Bakewell because people had obviously felt this was their place and they did not take too kindly to not being allowed to come back in again.
[00:40:33] Speaker C: Well, you know, I like to convince.
[00:40:35] Speaker A: Oh, furious.
[00:40:36] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:40:38] Speaker A: Absolutely excellent. Yeah.
Sam.
[00:41:43] Speaker C: So we're walking back out now, but back uphill. Uphill, yeah.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: It's quite.
[00:41:47] Speaker C: It's quite strange, actually, to be walking uphill when you're inside. Inside a house, but back into the great hall.
[00:41:55] Speaker A: So should we go into the parlour now?
[00:41:56] Speaker B: Oh, yes.
[00:41:57] Speaker A: To show its Tudor credentials.
[00:41:59] Speaker C: Yes. Because I think this is where you really do feel the Tudor bit for the first time.
[00:42:04] Speaker A: Definitely saying we back the right side.
[00:42:07] Speaker C: Yeah. So can we just rewind that a little bit and talk about Henry Vernon, I think you said?
So can you tell us a little bit before we describe this room we're just stepping into now, a little bit about the Tudor family?
[00:42:21] Speaker A: Right. Well, he, as I said, was very careful not to go on either side. During the War of the Roses, he basically kept very quiet. He was a Lord Lieutenant. He had a number of positions around, but he obviously decided when Henry Tudor became the winner, the victor, that he would go all out to make sure that this was known in the local countryside. So there's Sir Henry Vernon and then his son Richard, who actually only outlived him for two years.
And then we have George Vernon, who liked to call himself the King of the Peaks.
[00:43:01] Speaker C: Oh, I say.
[00:43:02] Speaker A: And in this room you can see this is the small parlour which was built. Obviously, it's for sort of privilege. Sorry, some privacy from the rest of the community in the great hall. And it was built in 1503 by Henry Vernon. And if we look up, we can see absolutely dead center there, the Tudor rose with the checkered surround. We also have the Talbot dog.
And that is because Sir Henry Vernon married the second daughter of The Earl.
[00:43:31] Speaker C: Of Shrewsbury, I was going to say, because I recognize the Talbot dogs from the Shrewsbury Chapel.
[00:43:36] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:43:37] Speaker C: In Sheffield, where a couple of them are buried, aren't they?
[00:43:40] Speaker A: That's right. And there's a huge, wonderful, huge, big altar to them in the. Actually George Vernon and his wife in the Bakewell Church. And also for Dorothy Vernon.
[00:43:51] Speaker C: So I see.
[00:43:52] Speaker A: So Henry Vernon's here and then his son George basically redoes it and he decides. He's obviously up here. You can see beautiful wooden carving all the way around and you can see the Vernon bore.
You can see his initials, G.V.
[00:44:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:44:10] Speaker A: And then you can see M.V. now, he was very lucky because he married two women, Matilda and Maud, so he was able just to have the 1m.
[00:44:20] Speaker C: Henry VIII should have done a bit.
[00:44:22] Speaker A: More of stick with a stick with K. You have also here along you have the symbol of the episode Prince of Wales. Here you have the Tudor.
[00:44:33] Speaker C: So that's Edward, Prince of Wales we're talking about now. Yeah.
[00:44:36] Speaker A: And this is the Tudor coat of arms, but all the way around you can see shields and they belong to all the families who were worth knowing. So you have, for example, and through marriage you have the Pipe family there. Okay, you are up here. Where are they? Here they are. This is the Dimmock family.
This is a symbol of Dimmock family.
[00:44:56] Speaker C: Now that name. That name I know and I know that name through a lady called Margaret Dimmock.
[00:45:02] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:45:02] Speaker C: Any connections here?
[00:45:04] Speaker A: Yes, indeed. She married Richard Vernon and it's quite a nice story really. She married Richard Vernon. When he dies, she remarries someone called William Coffin, so she becomes Margaret Coffin and she becomes one of the women who we're not quite sure, rightly or wrongly, was actually with Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London.
And it's suggested that she was definitely not one of her favourite ladies in waiting and that she actually shared a bed with Anne Boleyn and told all the secrets of Anne Boleyn. And then funnily enough, she then marries a third time and she goes and marries a Manors family person. So she's been married twice to somebody belonging to Haddon. So it's really unusual. So this is a very intimate little room with, say, saying, look at us, we know everybody. That's worth knowing.
[00:45:52] Speaker C: So did Margaret live here?
[00:45:54] Speaker A: Probably not, no. No, no.
[00:45:56] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:45:57] Speaker A: But there is that same connection.
[00:45:58] Speaker C: How fascinating. Is there any relevance to the checkerboard ceiling or is it just a decoration?
[00:46:03] Speaker A: It's a heraldic device really, which you would use on the back of shields when you couldn't think of anything else to put in.
[00:46:09] Speaker C: So the one other thing that always draws me of the pictures of the man and the woman. Yes. Who do we know who these people are? Well, let's describe them.
[00:46:17] Speaker A: First of all, you can see they're both small wooden carving boards. And you can see the male who's dressed very well. He doesn't have a crown or anything, but he does look very like Henry vii, Henry Tudor. And next door is a picture of a woman.
Now, there's a discussion about the French hood or not French hood. Whether this is actually Elizabeth of York, we really can't be sure, but it could be a tribute because of his connection with Henry Tudor, that these were two depicted. And above, you've got a rather wonderful carving of a man with a very large beard and a particular jester's hat. And we think this might well be Will Sommers, who went on to be Henry VIII's particular jester.
[00:47:06] Speaker C: Because I must admit, the first time I saw that, I thought, that looks like Anne Boleyn to me.
[00:47:10] Speaker A: Well, I. I think in the past, people always said, oh, yes, it's definitely Elizabeth, but it's because of the hood.
Her face is quite narrow with the.
[00:47:20] Speaker C: With the blim. It's just. She just looks very like it, really.
[00:47:24] Speaker A: The answer is we don't really know.
[00:47:25] Speaker C: Yeah, what a shame.
[00:47:26] Speaker A: I know, but, you know.
[00:47:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:47:29] Speaker A: And this little bit is lovely. This is like a little window, an Oriel window. And this was built a little bit later because the women complained that it was too dark to sew.
So you build this out into the garden and you build benches for them to perch on. And there was also flower. Not flowers, birds in a sort of aviary just outside the window for their amusement.
[00:47:52] Speaker C: Oh, how lovely. The sound. Sound of the bird chatter through the window.
[00:47:55] Speaker A: This is the parlour.
[00:47:56] Speaker C: How lovely. What a beautiful room.
[00:47:58] Speaker A: It is a very special room.
[00:48:00] Speaker C: And does it still get used for.
[00:48:01] Speaker A: It's used by the family. Is the dining room when they have guests?
Yes. I mean, this whole house is used by the family all the time. Part of my job sometimes is to pick up skateboards or footballs and things, which is. It's lovely. It's the fact that it is actually used by the family.
[00:48:16] Speaker C: Well, that's what allows a house to survive, doesn't it?
[00:48:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. Right. Should we go upstairs?
[00:48:21] Speaker C: Yes.
Let's make our way up this fine staircase and through, I think, the only pair of Elizabethan dog gates. Now, I know what they Are.
[00:48:30] Speaker A: Yeah, they're the dog gates that I.
[00:48:32] Speaker C: Think I've ever seen.
[00:48:33] Speaker A: Yes.
Right, so we're going up onto the landing here and we'll go into the great chamber which was built originally as a solar. It would have been a full height room. And then in the early 1500s this was made into the great chamber.
[00:48:54] Speaker C: I see.
[00:48:54] Speaker A: At the same time as the parlour was built.
[00:48:56] Speaker C: Aha. Yes, I've got you. So originally there was a building here, originally contemporary to the great hall, but then it got partitioned into two stories. I see, yes.
[00:49:06] Speaker A: So this is basically a room where they would have received more important guests. And if you look very closely, there's beautiful wooden paneling everywhere, but you can just get vestiges. It was painted a dark green color and you can see the dark green paint and then gold. Oh, right.
[00:49:25] Speaker C: Yes, you can.
[00:49:25] Speaker A: Around all the edgings.
[00:49:27] Speaker C: How spectacular.
[00:49:28] Speaker A: So this must have been a, you know, a very impressive room.
Possibly though with a tester with a four poster bed in as well, because it was quite common for that to be part of the reception room.
[00:49:40] Speaker C: Yes. It's very odd to us now, isn't it, that you would have your best bed in your living room, really? Yes.
[00:49:49] Speaker A: No. So this was originally, as I say, just a straightforward great chamber.
As we move through history, we talked about George Vernon.
Now the Vernon line really ran out. He had two daughters, Dorothy and Margaret. And it is Dorothy Vernon who marries Sir John Manners in 1563. And they are the people the Manners now become. Take the house. And this is the next stage of the history, which is where the Renaissance, the Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design comes in.
[00:50:21] Speaker C: I see.
[00:50:21] Speaker A: And you can look up, if you look up here, you can see this beautiful frieze, plaster work frieze which has got dolphins and cupids. And this we believe was actually designed to celebrate their marriage.
[00:50:38] Speaker C: It's.
[00:50:38] Speaker A: You're really moving forward now from the very straightforward.
[00:50:42] Speaker C: So we're in the Elizabethan period now and that is an Elizabethan frieze.
[00:50:46] Speaker A: Yes, it is. And it's just on the cusp actually. So. Yeah. So should we then go to what were originally the bedrooms? Yes, the Earl's apartments.
[00:50:54] Speaker C: Oh yes, absolutely.
[00:50:56] Speaker A: So we walk through and there's a little antechamber here with a fireplace note.
And then you come in through a wide doorway and you're in what we now call the Earl's apartments.
And this was the original Tudor long gallery.
And this is built on top of the curtain wall that we went into.
[00:51:19] Speaker C: And when you say Original Tudor.
[00:51:21] Speaker A: What date is 1515. That sort of time.
[00:51:24] Speaker C: So early Tudor. So that's quite early for a long gallery as well, isn't it? So.
[00:51:30] Speaker A: So this is really. It was originally one place.
Now, as you're probably beginning to feel it's freezing cold in the house. So what do you do? You have a fireplace here. You have a fireplace in the middle of the room and you have a fireplace at the end. So you partition this off and you can still. When you look. And you look at the wooden beams, you can see that there is a mark here where the original partition would have gone across.
[00:51:58] Speaker C: Right.
[00:51:59] Speaker A: So this would have been used as bedrooms. And we. We've got some notes from 1640 onwards. And then, of course, they left and they went to Beaver, where it was very warm indeed.
But it stayed partitioned off until the 9th Duke of Rutland came back in the 1920s. And so he takes off the partition and he also uncovers this beautiful wooden ceiling.
[00:52:22] Speaker C: That's a Tudor ceiling if ever I've seen one. That's beautiful. But the sort of. The shallow arch.
[00:52:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:52:28] Speaker C: To the ceiling.
[00:52:29] Speaker A: He had no idea that that was a.
[00:52:31] Speaker C: That's fabulous.
[00:52:32] Speaker A: It was so wonderful. He kept on covering things which had lain on, you know, unknown, and he suddenly starts to look at everything and he finds these things.
[00:52:40] Speaker C: Well, maybe we could come back to talk a little bit more about that kind of journey of discovery.
[00:52:44] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:52:45] Speaker C: Gallery, was it. Was it as long as the two rooms are now, or do we think it went further?
[00:52:50] Speaker A: No, I think it was just as it was here.
[00:52:51] Speaker C: Right, yeah. Very nice.
[00:52:53] Speaker A: And you've got. At the end, you've got a door which then takes you down the steps back into the lower courtyard, which would have meant you, the family, could have gone to chapel without going through the main building.
[00:53:03] Speaker C: Oh, yes. Yeah. There's always a reason. There's always some sense.
[00:53:07] Speaker A: There is, there is, there is. So, right, so let's go up to the pieces and look at your favorite place to place. I shall.
[00:53:14] Speaker C: I shall have to gather myself. I always walk in and go, wow.
[00:53:19] Speaker A: Well, that is what the building was built. That's what the room was built for.
[00:53:22] Speaker C: Well, it does it. It absolutely does it.
[00:53:39] Speaker A: Sam.
So we walk up these amazing rounded steps.
They're all supposed to be from one oak tree root, but I'm not too sure about that. But anyway, they are absolutely beautiful.
[00:54:38] Speaker C: Contemporary with the.
[00:54:39] Speaker A: With the long gallery.
[00:54:41] Speaker C: Sorry, we're about to step into.
[00:54:43] Speaker A: So we come in and you are faced with a very, very, very long gallery with windows alternating on either side with a beautiful plasterwork ceiling.
The wonderful thing I love is the windows. Can we talk about the windows?
[00:55:01] Speaker C: Yes, yes, talk about it. I'm just in love. Every time I walk into this room I just swoon. It's just beautiful. Who built it?
[00:55:10] Speaker A: This was built originally. George Vernon built some of it and then when Dorothy and John became the owners, they made this themselves. And this is probably built by some Smithson. Designed by Smithson. We had records in the archives of models being sent to London and he happened to be great friends of those, the family who lived in Woollaton Hall. And obviously there's a great connection locally. So we believe this was a Smithson designed hall.
[00:55:42] Speaker C: I keep trying to wonder why it's so magnificent. I just love the wooden paneling but the proportions are so beautiful.
[00:55:50] Speaker A: They are. And the fact you have windows on.
[00:55:52] Speaker C: Both sides and then there's windows at the end. It's a perfect stage set. Oh yes. So it is.
[00:55:58] Speaker A: I'll tell you a little bit about that.
[00:55:59] Speaker C: Yes. So tell me about the windows.
[00:56:00] Speaker A: The windows are very rare.
They are made to a Venetian design. They're called Venetian Bombay glass. And what's so special about them is that they are not flat.
They have lead frames and the glass frames are set at different angles. So in fact you can see there's a very regular curve running right the way along. Oh yes.
And this was made to make you go, wow.
And there aren't any other windows like it in England. And you've also got yellow panes and green panes. So you have copper and magnesium and when the sun shines you have this extraordinary light coming through. It hits the floor and you get this kaleidoscope effect and you can imagine how it would have looked at night with candles. Oh.
[00:56:53] Speaker C: And then when they're all dressed in their finery and jewels.
[00:56:56] Speaker A: Oh. So this was. This was built. I mean this is basically Elizabethan bling.
[00:57:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:57:01] Speaker A: This was built to show off their wealth and. Yeah. And they survived. And I mentioned earlier. Yes, there's lots of scribbles everywhere.
[00:57:11] Speaker C: Is that 1617?
[00:57:12] Speaker A: Yeah, 1617. There's lots. The more you look, the more you see. And this would have been local people, many from Bakewell. People wore rings with diamonds so they would attract. So it's basically. I was ear. Yeah, basically all around.
[00:57:26] Speaker C: That's fantastic.
[00:57:26] Speaker A: And it's just amazing. Can I, can I just.
[00:57:30] Speaker C: Has anything been tampered with or is this pretty much still in its original state?
[00:57:34] Speaker A: It's pretty much in its original state.
[00:57:36] Speaker C: I Mean, that's incredible, isn't it? It was left for 200 years and this. The wood didn't deteriorate.
[00:57:41] Speaker A: Nothing was. When the 9th street came back, he did take the wood paneling down. We have the 9th street kept journals of what he did every day. We've got lovely pictures of his main craftsman taking the wood down and treating them for woodworm. But that was all.
And what's so lovely as well, if you see you've got the wood paneling, the idea, as you know, is you would promenade up and down because you couldn't go out, but you wanted to be in the garden. So this is the shape of an Italian parterre garden and this is the shape of sort of a not garden shape. So although you couldn't go out because of the weather, you could still feel that you were in nature. And the inventory shows that the colors were green and golds and reds.
[00:58:26] Speaker C: Actually, the painted. Yeah, of course, you see. Yes. We forget, don't we, that all these wooden surfaces would have been either hung with tapestries or painted.
[00:58:34] Speaker A: Some painted. I mean, the furniture was.
[00:58:37] Speaker C: I guess.
[00:58:37] Speaker A: Well, yeah, but we don't have any evidence of there having been. I mean, you talked about it being a little bit remote because it was a very much a family home. There weren't that many portraits that would have been shown. There is one of Dorothy Vernon, but that's actually much later now.
[00:58:53] Speaker C: Is this Dorothy Vernon? Which stuff and legends?
It's the big sort of romantic story of Gadden hall, isn't it?
[00:59:01] Speaker A: Isn't it?
[00:59:01] Speaker C: Tell us about it.
[00:59:02] Speaker A: Well, the story goes that Dorothy Vernon eloped with Sir John Manners and that George Vernon talked about, who is this young whippersnapper? He's the second son of a mushroom earl, as he called him, and that he basically, during the sister Margaret's wedding, she came down the long gallery which wasn't built yet, ran down the steps which weren't built yet, and dashed off to meet him. He was waiting with a horse and they scampered away. And that this was a great story.
There are some issues with this story in that most of the places described weren't built yet.
There is absolutely no reason. I've looked in all the marriage settlements and stuff, no reason why George Vernon shouldn't be quite happy about marrying a second. His daughter marrying a second son. And we know that during the late Victorian period, one of the caretakers, when the house was still empty, was called William Haigh. And we have a lovely picture of him sitting in a chair and he made up quite a few stories, we know. And so the first story of Dorothy Vernon is from the late Victorian period and he was terribly popular. People came for miles around to hear his stories and so actually he publicized it. Then you get all sorts of Gilbert and Sullivan dreadful operas and. And things which.
[01:00:29] Speaker C: Dorothy. It's in all sorts of literature.
[01:00:31] Speaker A: Dorothy of Haddon hall books in America and Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks filmed. You know, I've seen it. It's an absolute hoot.
Basically, that was the story, but there is no real reason and. But, you know. Fantastic.
[01:00:46] Speaker C: Yeah, great story.
[01:00:47] Speaker A: Brought people. I have to be very careful sometimes, though, because if I'm talking to people from a very much earlier generation and they've been brought up on this legend, I hate to tell them that it's complete tosh, but it is.
But it's a lovely story.
[01:01:01] Speaker C: Well, we love debunking myths on this. Yeah, we do on this podcast, so that's fine.
[01:01:05] Speaker A: So, sorry.
[01:01:06] Speaker C: That's a rather lovely painting. That was obviously, I can see from the gentleman. It's a much later.
[01:01:12] Speaker A: Yes, this. This was when the 9th Duke. The 9th Duke spent about 20 years of his life restoring the hall.
[01:01:18] Speaker C: Well, this is a good time to talk about the ninth Duke, isn't it?
[01:01:20] Speaker A: He was a very enterprising young man. He loved Haddon. His father basically told him not to touch it with a barge pole because it would cost him too much money. But even when he was 13, he put an advert in the Times newspaper asking for furniture for Haddon from the right period.
And he started coming back despite his father's protestations. When he was about 20, 21, he was an archaeologist. He'd been with Tutankham's tomb reopening and he set to. For example, the roof down in the great hall would have collapsed. So he does a lot of research about what a medieval hall roof which should be like, and he rebuilds it in 1924.
He then takes all the wood paneling off.
He spends the next 220 years of his life with a fantastic team of craftsmen, basically making sure that this was a safe place for his family and for everybody.
And he finishes in 1935, 1936, and he commissions Rex Whistler to paint this. This is Haddon in front of us. This is the 9th Duke here with his gun. This is his son, the Marquess of Granby, and his two little dogs.
So this is here and, as I say, celebrating the end of the restoration. And up here you've got the Pouvray Parvenir. Which is the motto of the Manners family.
And there's a lovely story about that. That had been shoved, I think, somewhere in a cupboard.
And when he was restoring the horse. Oh, I think I. Oh. So then we realized that's where it should be.
So he did a huge amount of detective work as to what things should be. He was determined not to alter, but to replace and restore. This is what he did.
[01:03:11] Speaker C: Wow. I love people like that.
[01:03:13] Speaker A: Well, he. I mean, he was extraordinary. I mean, he was single minded. His father was absolutely right.
I've got bills of sale, you know, this thick.
[01:03:22] Speaker C: Have you.
[01:03:23] Speaker A: He sold off tons and tons of properties, whole villages almost.
[01:03:27] Speaker C: But to raise the funds to look after Haddon.
[01:03:31] Speaker A: And so, yeah, so this is how it should be.
[01:03:34] Speaker C: Okay, so we're just at the far end of the. The hall. I keep calling it a hall. It's not. It's a gallery with a beautiful window in front of us. And I think this is the. The shot that many people will recognize because, of course, you know, Haddon is so associated with Hollywood. So I'd love to just, you know, hear your reflections on some of the. The films and the TV series that have been filmed here.
[01:03:58] Speaker A: Well, as I said, Mary Pickford and was here in the 1920s and ever since then, because Haddon is so authentic, people beat a path to our door. And so we've had all the Jane Eyres that ever were. We had Mary Queen of Scots, we've had the Other Boleyn Girl. We've had the King. We've had the Six Wives of Henry VIII with Keith Michel a long, long time ago.
We've just had Firebrand made with Jude Law and Elizabeth Kander. And of course we've just had Mirror and the Light, which was absolutely wonderful to have. We're so pleased when we have people come because they really appreciate how authentic everything is here. And they really. Well, they always ask us for some of the history of the actors and they. I think it really helps, particularly I know, with the Tudor period films or programs that they really feel that they are part of it.
And we also had it. We had Becoming Elizabeth here, which was on Channel four a couple of years ago. And that was something they just said. They really felt they were right back in time.
[01:05:03] Speaker C: And once they get the costumes on and they get the candles and the lighting, it must be so atmospheric in here.
[01:05:09] Speaker A: Yes. And as the guides here, we absolutely adore it because you can actually see and when they bring on things on set which may be happening, have, you know, more tapestries More materials, these sorts of things. It really brings the whole place alive. And we're going to go into the state bedroom in a minute. But basically it was made as Henry VIII's bedroom for firebrand. And it was stunning, particularly that the tapestries, of course, were as they would have been in the Tudor period. They were bright and colorful. You know, we're so used to seeing faded ones. And it was. Was quite astonishing to see how amazing it looked for us.
[01:05:49] Speaker C: Do you get to watch any of the filming happening?
[01:05:51] Speaker A: Oh, we do. We have to be there.
We have to make sure that nobody sets fire to anything. I do the risk assessments. You know, how far away does a candle have to be from the wooden wall? No, we have. We are here. Our prime job is to protect the house.
And in fact, if something isn't going the way that we would like it, we actually have the power to say stop.
And the filming has to stop until we make sure that it's safe and nothing's going to be damaged. But filmmakers in general are incredibly respectful because they just see what the workmanship is. We've never had an issue with anyone bashing anything up or doing anything.
[01:06:27] Speaker C: That's fantastic. Very good. Okay, so where else do we need to go?
[01:06:32] Speaker A: Let's just have a quick look in the state bedroom and then we'll go quickly out into the garden.
[01:06:38] Speaker C: Goodbye, long gallery.
[01:06:41] Speaker A: So as we. As we go through this. This is called the Orange Chamber. I just wanted slightly out of the period, but I wanted to tell you a story about these tapestries.
We have five of them. They are the Five Senses, and they were made in England in Mortlake in 1620, and we believe they belong to Charles the First.
And after his execution, all his effects, his chattels, were sold off and the family bought them. But if you look at the very top of the tapestry, you'll see a blue oval shape. And that is where the original royal coat of arms would have been. And somebody snipped it out, and they put the blue shape there so that nobody would know.
So when Charles II comes back and says, look, I want a rest of the. I want my father's things. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I have no idea where they came from. But we have them actually in the ledger, the invoice.
[01:07:34] Speaker C: Right.
Wow. So you've got the proper provenance. We do and would have this have been. We've come out of the sort of the lot. One end of the long gallery. This would have been here built at.
[01:07:44] Speaker A: The same time, slightly later.
And this was built Supposedly as the state bedroom. We're now just walking through its very wide doors.
And this would have been, as you know, many Tudor houses, castles would have built a state apartment in the hopes that the monarch would come.
Elizabeth I of course never came north.
Pilgrimage of grace risings in the north. And also because you know, Mary Queen of Scots was just along the road and despite the fact they wrote all those soppy letters to each other saying how I long to see you, my darling cousin, they didn't.
Although in the film of course they do meet.
[01:08:22] Speaker C: Don't get me started on it.
[01:08:24] Speaker A: No, no, basically. So this was a. Would have been made as the state bedroom and there was originally a bed which is now at Beaver Castle. But I wanted to show you this amazing plasterwork over mantelpiece which is early 16th century. And this is actually no 17th century. This was done. This is Orpheus and he's playing his, his lyre to the animals. And I love it because at the top, right up the very top there is a peacock which is the symbol of the Manus family. And you've got along from it, you have the Cavendish, what I call the Cavendish bagel, you know the snake with a sort of bagel like shape, sort of about the same level. And then right down at the bottom you have a beaver.
And we think that most of these animals would have represented a family. So this is sort of saying, look at us, we're right at the top.
So that's a really beautiful plaster work piece.
[01:09:18] Speaker C: Yeah, it's gorgeous.
[01:09:19] Speaker A: So this is now just you're standing leaning on a whacking great big billy.
[01:09:23] Speaker C: Table. Table.
[01:09:24] Speaker A: And this is what was here from 1927 with the 9th Duke. And it's played regularly by the family, obviously.
[01:09:32] Speaker C: Speaking of the 1920s, I think you said it was the 1920s when there was a fire.
[01:09:37] Speaker A: Oh yes.
The saddest thing is, you know, the 9th Duke spent these 20 years restoring everything and at the time he took all the tapestries down and he put them all in one place, which is where the restaurant is now, the original Elizabethan stable block. And one night an ember fell and 60 of these beautiful tapestries were destroyed and heart rending photographs and of, you know, water soaked tapestries. So he. It's the greatest irony that he wanted to restore and that. So these are the remaining.
And it was rather sweet. He'd actually had someone draw what the tapestries were and then of course we know what we lost. But. So these are tapestries which still remain, still very beautiful, but not same Number or probably quality that were there.
[01:10:30] Speaker C: So the house wasn't badly affected. It was the.
[01:10:33] Speaker A: It was down when you came up the road. I see. The house has never been a major fire.
We have lots of fire precautions, but we've never actually had a fire.
[01:10:42] Speaker C: Yes, exactly.
[01:10:43] Speaker A: And that's hence the self opening doors of closing doors. Right. So.
Yes, because your mic is gradually slipping down.
[01:10:51] Speaker C: So.
[01:10:51] Speaker A: Okay, you just move your stuff. That's it, that's it.
Towards your middle. Right, okay. Not too close to your mouth because it does.
The chin gets in the way. Okay, yes. Am I going outside? Yes, we go.
[01:11:01] Speaker C: Okay.
[01:11:03] Speaker A: So we're now going down what we call Dorothy's steps. But they're not.
[01:11:07] Speaker C: Because they weren't here.
[01:11:08] Speaker A: No, they weren't here. Well, there might have been earlier steps, so I might be being a bit cheeky, but these are sort of 1690, these steps.
[01:11:14] Speaker C: Right.
[01:11:15] Speaker A: And we're coming out into what we call the Bowling Green Terrace.
And this is. This is actually where bowling was played. And we have records of Thomas Stanley, who was the. The husband of Margaret Vernon and John Manners playing bowls here. And at the end of the terrace you can see there's a beautiful Elizabethan summer house here.
[01:11:38] Speaker C: That's Elizabethan as well. Wow, that's amazing, isn't it? Because I probably would have put that later, I must admit.
[01:11:43] Speaker A: So there's a Beeson, all genuine. And. And then what. What happened was Lord Edward the. The ninth Duchess created a rose garden here, very much a 1920s style. And Lord Edward, when he came back to live here in 2000, really felt that if you got such an authentic house, you would really want to see what it would have been like during the Tudor and Elizabethan period. So he asked Arnie Maynard, a gold medal Chelsea winner, to create a knot garden, which you can see, or a cabinet of curiosities. And all of the plants here are medicinal or herbal, the sorts of things that they would have known.
So this is very much. I think you come out, but you're still very much involved in that time period.
And it's, it's. And we had in mirror in the light, they actually built a sort of bowling green here again, Bowling green wood. Yeah.
[01:12:38] Speaker C: Oh, brilliant.
I'll have to go back and watch the series again.
All of those different pieces. I mean, it's quite difficult to have some of the sort of large gardens here because you are on such a. You're on the slope, aren't you? So everything's terraced and you've got, as we walk along, just Lovely views of.
[01:12:56] Speaker A: The gardens, amazing views across to Stanton in the peak. Yeah, no, and so the other thing I should really mention is the Hudden Medieval park, because there was a license to enclose the park in 1330, and this was as a standard medieval deer park with all the trimmings. But the wonderful thing, of course, it was left for 200 years.
And so we now have the most extraordinary resource of animals, plants, birds that are really very special to this area. And we now have a series of walks and talks for people who come round.
So, again, we're very fortunate that it wasn't plowed up, it wasn't used as agricultural land, and Lord Edwards, had it been been farmed organically since 2009.
[01:13:45] Speaker C: And is that the village over there?
[01:13:47] Speaker A: Yes, that's the original village. The lumps and the bumps. That's. That's Nether Haddon. Yeah.
[01:13:51] Speaker C: How interesting. So the other. Almost the other side of the valley. Valley. Well, it is the other side. It is, yeah. Isn't it? Yeah. So it's brilliant.
[01:13:58] Speaker A: Oh, yes. So we have this and then we have what we call now we call the fountain terrace with the little. What was actually built as a paddling pool for the children in the 1920s.
And it is the most beautiful vista with lavender and it. We have. We do have wonderful roses in the summer climbing up all over the walls.
[01:14:19] Speaker C: Yeah, very pretty.
So does that bring us to the end of our tour?
[01:14:23] Speaker A: I think it does, actually.
[01:14:25] Speaker C: Well, I think in which case we just need to hear more about all the events that are going on here, particularly I want to hear about the Christmas event, because I think I speak about it on social media and try and advertise it as it's coming around every year, because I did come here one year and it's really. I think it's one of the best. But maybe you want to tell us of all the different things you've got going on.
[01:14:44] Speaker A: Well, we have a number of things happening coming up. I'm very excited. We've got what we would call little exhibition dotted around the house, all about magic. About that again, please. You just flipped your bike over. Sorry. Should we start? Shall I start again?
Yeah. Okay.
So I'll just start. Okay. So. No, we have some really exciting things coming along.
We've got a little exhibition. Well, exhibition is going to be dotted around the house about magic, about apothecary, all of the different things, elements, more for adults, really, starting in September, going through October. And then we have an amazing school of sorcery for children where you get to make broomsticks, you make potions.
All the guides are dressed up as witches and it is just great fun and the emphasis is on making things.
And I know my granddaughter loved making the potions.
And yes, you're right. The big event of the year, which runs for five weeks, starting on Wednesday 12th November, we have an amazing collection of artisans, about 120, and we're open five days a week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And we have ceramicists, painters, all sorts of different artisans who come.
The house is decorated for Christmas and it's beautiful. It really is stunning.
Ah. And it's. It's become. It's actually in the running for the event of the year, isn't it?
We're going to hear if we get the award this week.
So it's developed over the last six or seven years and it has now become a major highlight.
[01:16:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:16:21] Speaker A: And very much appreciated. So we're looking forward to it, actually.
[01:16:24] Speaker C: And the house, really, when you say it's dressed for Christmas, it really is and it's absolutely beautiful. If you want a Christmas. Christmas vibe, something to get you in the mood, you've got to come here.
[01:16:34] Speaker A: There's lots of.
[01:16:35] Speaker C: You mentioned artisans. I've got to talk about the food as well.
[01:16:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. All sorts of wonderful foods. We have a big. This year, we have a huge marquee just for food. Oh, right. And then we're going to have lots.
[01:16:46] Speaker C: We.
[01:16:46] Speaker A: This year, we. Last year we had beautiful wooden chalets and it all looked incredibly festive.
No, and very, very successful. We had over 40,000 people come.
[01:16:57] Speaker C: Fantastic.
[01:16:58] Speaker A: Really a big event for us.
[01:17:00] Speaker C: Wow. I'm gonna have to mark it in my calendar again, I think, for a revisit, I think.
[01:17:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:17:04] Speaker C: Oh, and speaking of all that food, it's nearly lunchtime.
[01:17:07] Speaker A: It is indeed. It is indeed.
[01:17:08] Speaker C: I can feel like going hungry, but just remains for me to. Oh. Oh. Actually, before we go, let me do that again, because we need your website. We need your website.
Yeah, yeah.
Just say. I'll just say, where do people go to find out more about you? And just say, find us on the.
[01:17:23] Speaker A: Website.
[01:17:26] Speaker C: Just before we go. Where do people go to find out more about you or find out more about the events?
[01:17:32] Speaker A: If you just go to haddonhall.co.uk it's all there. You'll see all the events and you'll see lots of lovely photographs of all the places we've been talking about. Brilliant.
[01:17:42] Speaker C: Thank you so much. So, just to remind everybody, there is that show notes page if you want to go back and look at some of the images. Images as well. But it just remains for me to thank you so much, Margie, for being such an amazing guide today. Thank you.
[01:17:53] Speaker A: It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.
[01:17:57] Speaker B: Well, that draws to a close today's episode. I hope you enjoyed our exploration of Haddon hall and that if you've not yet been you're inspired to visit.
Maybe you'll go during the summer and enjoy a long, languid, hot day at the hall. Or maybe, maybe you'll go to the Mercanta Market at Christmas time, which is so joyful and full of sparkly, glittery, beautiful things.
But whenever you go, I'm sure you will fall in love with the place and in particular that fabulous long gallery, which truly is the most magnificent in the country, in my humble opinion.
Okay, well, that is the end of our adventures for today. I am in the midst of a house move at the moment, so I'm going to be have a very busy month ahead, packing up and moving over finally to a completely new location in West Wales, which I'm very excited about. But I'm going to be ready with the next podcast all ready to go well in advance so that while I'm unpacking boxes and painting walls, you can be enjoying our next adventure in time. And this time it's a walking tour of the historic city of Norwich. Wow, there is so much to see and I can't wait to take you with me. Okay, until next month.
[01:19:32] Speaker A: Foreign.
[01:19:37] Speaker C: Thank you.
[01:19:38] Speaker B: For tuning in to today's episode of the Tudor History and Travel Show. If you've loved the show, please take a moment to subscribe like and rate this podcast so that we can spread the Tudor love.
Until next time, my friends. All that remains for me to say is happy time traveling.
[01:19:58] Speaker A: Sam Sa.
