by Brian Spencer
“What we see today is basically the unaltered fortified manor house developed between the late 12th century, and 1620 when the last and minor ‘improvements’ were made”
One autumn evening a few decades ago, driving home along the A6, just short of the entrance to Haddon Hall I was stopped by a police barrier, complete with bollards and flashing blue lights. Unable to see any problems ahead or behind, I sat there and waited for developments. The answer soon became clear when a large black car drove quickly past and turned left into the hall’s entrance. As the car overtook me, I got a glimpse of its passenger, the then young Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. Apparently, he and his sister Princess Anne used the castle when visiting Derbyshire and needing overnight accommodation they slept amidst Tudor grandeur! Their signatures together with that of their grandfather HRH King George V, are etched in the plaster above a small fireplace in the Earl’s Apartment. That their visit must be a privilege no one could deny, but who would turn down the chance of staying in this romantic relic of time gone by.
What we see today is basically the unaltered fortified manor house developed between the late 12th century, and 1620 when the last and minor ‘improvements’ were made. Throughout that time Haddon Hall was owned by only three families, the Avenels, the Vernons and the Manners. It was the Avenels from Northamptonshire who built the original house, and it was lived in permanently until the Manners more or less abandoned it when Sir John Manners, 9th Earl of Rutland was created the 1st Duke of Rutland in the early eighteenth century, and the family moved to the much grander Belvoir Castle, leaving Haddon Hall suspended in time. Before that time, Haddon had been owned by the Vernons for ten generations between 1262 and 1514 with Sir George Vernon’s legendary parties which could last for weeks, earning him the title of ‘King of the Peak’. His daughter Dorothy Vernon became the best known female family member. When she eloped with Sir John Manners by crossing the pack horse bridge below the house, her escapade laid the foundations of another legend; romantic though it may be, the trouble with it is that the bridge did not exist at that time. However, one way or another, she did marry Sir John Manners, and so the Manners dynasty are still the owners of Haddon. For almost three centuries Haddon Hall remained empty and almost but not quite unloved until the 10th Duke opened the house to visitors.
Little is known about the origins of Haddon, but there seems to have been a small manor house based on Saxon foundations either on the site of the present building, or nearby. The estate on which it stood stretched almost as far as Sheffield. Together with farming and lead mining, from entries in the Domesday Book of 1086 it sounds as though whoever owned the estate became very rich. The Avenels acquired the property in the 12th century, originally being tenants of William Peverel, one of King William the Conqueror’s knights. How they managed to expand these interests can only be guessed, but we can assume that their wealth grew by hard work and perhaps more than a little grovelling at the feet of their lord and master, William Peverel. What we do know is that the first mention of a house and chapel stood on the site and were thought to have been built around the mid-1100s. This was when it was mentioned in the marriage settlement of Avice Avenel, William Avenel’s eldest daughter, to Richard de Vernon in 1189. Haddon remained with the Vernon family until it passed to the Manners when Dorothy Vernon married Sir John Manners in 1567, with whose family it has remained ever since.
Visitors entering the Haddon estate walk in through the gatehouse away from the car park on the opposite side of the main road. Beyond the gatehouse, the gravelled drive winds its way, over the beautiful River Wye before dividing in front of the excellent café and tea rooms. The hall sits high above to the right, on an imposing limestone outcrop. Built from local stone Haddon looks just like the setting for a Sleeping Beauty pantomime.
A weathered oak door opens directly on to the gritstone flagged surface of the lower courtyard and in its right hand, south-east corner, the Tudor chapel projects like a bastion on an impregnable fortress wall. Fading yet still vibrant frescoes line the chapel walls and a jumble of box pews fill what little space the tiny nave can provide. To one side is the poignant stone effigy of a young boy, nine year old Lord Robert Charles Manners, known as Lord Haddon. This one is the copy of the sculpture now in the chapel at Belvoir Castle and was carved in 1894 by his grief-stricken mother. If Lord Haddon had lived, he was destined to become the 9th Duke of Rutland.
The sloping gritstone slabbed yard is surrounded by a complex of mysterious doorways and time worn steps. The first door on the left of the entrance door gives access to a small room where many of the odds and ends found when it became necessary to lift centuries old floors during maintenance work are displayed. The museum is full of everyday items ranging from a remarkably well-preserved shoe, to a still readable child’s prayer-book. There are even accounts of worker’s wages, such as what a skilled craftsman was paid for three day’s thatching.
Steps on the north-east side of the courtyard lead, on the left, to the kitchens, where the banquets prepared for the enjoyment of Sir George Vernon earned him the title, ‘King of the Peak’. We can imagine him and his guests warming themselves before a roaring log fire in the nearby Banqueting Hall. These feasts were legendary, especially when a guest whom Sir George thought not to be keeping up with the level of drinking as much as he was, would have their arm manacled and drink poured down his sleeve.
Steps climb from the east corner of the Banqueting Hall, into the Parlour or Great Chamber, with access beyond to the Long Gallery. Its purpose was to allow gentle exercise and friendly chat during periods of inclement weather, or on cold winter days. Attractive bay windows projecting at intervals along the east wall allowed the family and their friends to admire the small gardens overlooking the tranquil River Wye.
Haddon Hall’s gardens both upper and low, though relatively small, spread attractively below the Long Gallery windows. While the view from its bay windows should not be missed, the best place though is to stand outside and view the valley with the river winding gently below, from the far right hand corner of the rose garden, Haddon’s pride and joy. Down below and crossing the river from your right, is what has become Dorothy Vernon’s Bridge. Legend says that she fled over it, away from her father when eloping with Sir John Manners, but romantic though it may look and sound especially when viewed from above, it was not built until later when the star-crossed couple had made their way into matrimonial happiness.
It was while strolling through the Earl’s Apartment leading off the northern end of the Long Gallery that we spotted a few children’s toys littered about a tiny private garden, proving that in the twenty-first century, Haddon is still looked on as the much loved home for someone. Adapted by Sir Henry Vernon in the 1500s when he made the Long Gallery, the apartment served as a bedroom until the Manners family moved to Belvoir in 1703, the room and its tiny side chamber with its collection of antique furnishings, has been used by the Royal Family. Look carefully above the smaller of two fireplaces where you will see etched in the plaster, the signatures of King George V who came here in 1933, and Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who both stayed at Haddon in 1979.
The Eagle Tower completes the exploration of the upper floor. Steps lead down to the Bakehouse and onto the sheltered Upper Courtyard. We finalised our tour of Haddon’s ancient rooms by wandering back through the Banqueting Hall for a last look at the place where the legendary King of the Peak presided over his bucolic festivities. In our mind we could hear the jolly tunes played on no longer popular medieval instruments – perhaps even the roars of laughter when someone deemed to be too slow with his drink, had to face the indignity of having ale poured down his pinioned right arm.
The way out led us through the Lower Courtyard and out through the venerable oaken doorway, and down the stony track leading for a welcome cuppa, or more, in the cosy café built over what was once the family’s coach house.