In surviving for nearly a millennium since its early 12th century origins as a Norman fort, Haddon Hall offers an incomparable insight into the past.
Whilst renowned as a unique home for generations, Haddon is also a place of evocative and poignant memories.
‘I have a really precious memory from my children’s christening as swallows entered the chapel and circled around them as they were christened’ recalls Lady Edward fondly. ‘As swallows represent joy, it felt like such a blessing’
‘Haddon to this day remains a happy and special place to live; it’s precious, ancient and beautiful – it has a heartbeat and it feels alive.’
As Chatelaine of Haddon Hall, having lived on the estate for over a decade, Lady Edward remembers vividly her experience in entering the medieval manor house at the start of her romance with Lord Edward Manners.
‘Everything was asleep and dust covered - the whole house had an essence of 200 years of being asleep,’ she says.
‘It was very still everywhere, akin to a sleeping beauty from a fairytale. The rooms were absolutely magical.’
This particular aspect of Haddon’s history, and Lady Edwards’ first encounter with it, is echoed throughout its remarkable story of survival.
Remaining dormant as a residence for two centuries, a result of the family relocating to their home at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, the house remained untouched.
From the early 18th century and during the reign of Queen Anne, until its revival by the 9th Duke of Rutland during the 1920s, Haddon stood still with its rare interiors and contents protected throughout the passage of time.
Fast forward to the present day, and its journey of renewal continues with complex stone masonry and stained glass restoration projects, including Haddon’s bell tower as well as its east chancel chapel window and bay window in the Long Gallery.
‘The list is never ending and the cost is rather extortionate’ says Lady Edward. ‘Any of these big restorations are quite scarring and very impactful.
‘It can also be very challenging as it’s vital that any work is completed in a way which is in keeping with the property.’
These examples, Lady Edward says, underpin life at Haddon, where the constant requirement for endless restoration work is time consuming and yet hugely absorbing.
‘Whilst life at Haddon is incredibly busy, there is also some satisfaction in the house slowing you down’ she says.
‘As Haddon is so old, when you live here you realise that you are only a fragment of its time – you may only have 20 years out of 900 to make an impact. I have had to consider the legacy of my generation and what kind of mark I will leave.’
Lady Edward’s intentions are a culmination of a long-standing relationship which Haddon shares with its landscape, community and its craftspeople.
‘Haddon is part of a huge system’ she describes. ‘It has to work for the people within it, as well as its past, its future, its community and its region – Haddon has such an important role to play.
‘We also have a desire to be alive, relevant, and constantly ensure we work in symbiotic development with our landscape and community. I believe this mindset is unusual and important.’
Such examples which support these values are driven by Haddon’s role in hosting film and television productions, its parkland regeneration project, whilst its popular Christmas markets offer a prestigious platform for local creatives to showcase their work.
‘We feel proud to have grown from four to 180 makers since 2016 and our aim is that every stallholder will have made a profit and be on their planned trajectory.
‘We also feel our artisan markets offer a unique space for contemporary creatives to share their work within the most wonderfully restored historic interiors, and to ultimately continue an important heritage which underpins a beauty and uniqueness so associated with Haddon Hall.’
Craft at Haddon
Embodied throughout its exquisite chapel, fresco seccos, tapestries, woodwork, stained glass and stone masonry, along with its contemporary festive markets, there is, Lady Edward says, one intrinsic common thread.
‘Haddon is craft; every stone, fresco, window, door, hinge, downpipe, ceramic and tapestry has been handcrafted,’ she reveals.
‘In fact, as you become as familiar with the house as I am, you start to appreciate the attention to detail in every element of the house.
‘Everything is given so much pride and has so much thought – it has been done with love, care and soul for over 900 years.’
She adds that the importance of ensuring a craft skillset continues into the next generation is not to be underestimated, nor taken for granted.
‘This region forms part of the history of the Industrial Revolution, of making and of craft,’ she says.
‘However, whilst we are within an important region renowned for its craftsmanship, it is frightening how the heritage craft skills of older generations are on the decline – these skills are so fragile. We need this amazing indigenous culture to protect wonderful historic places including Haddon Hall.’
Lady Edward believes that through talented local experts such as stone masonry family R.M Eaton, whose workshop is on the Haddon estate, craft is within the heritage of the locality and it should be protected.
‘I believe craft skills exist within the DNA of the people within this region and we have to look after them. In fact, this family is a wonderful example where there has been a natural progression of skills from father to children.
‘It is essential these skills continue and we have a huge requirement for craftsmanship at Haddon - it is difficult to find such experts.’
The desire to encourage and inspire the next generation of craft whilst showcasing Haddon as a place to promote talented craftsmanship, Lady Edward explains, is at the heart of Haddon’s most recent collaboration with The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.
The charity, which counts His Majesty King Charles as patron, celebrates and supports the careers of talented and aspiring makers by funding their training and education in craft skills.
Innovative collaborations
Following on from James Eaton, a stone mason at Haddon Hall who was awarded a QEST apprenticeship to aid his craft development and experience, Haddon’s new collaboration features a showcase of highly gifted QEST alumni.
This innovative collaboration will be instrumental in developing Haddon’s standing as a place for showcasing contemporary craft.
‘Haddon is a beacon for craft,’ argues Lady Edward. ‘It has the infrastructure, the national positioning as well as the international facility to become a very important place and venue to see craft unlike any other place in this region.’
Having a desire to inspire visitors of all ages and prove the importance of craft, she feels, is a key to her future vision of Haddon Hall.
‘We ultimately want to change the face of craft within this area and have a real longstanding impact,’ she says.
‘This will be driven through future outreach and wellbeing programmes, workshops within our renovated stable block education centre and through our wonderful new QEST collaboration.’
Recognising Haddon’s vision and intentions as an inspiring craft venue, the QEST exhibition features six leading QEST alumni with skills including pewter design, silversmithing, ceramics, glasswork and fine art wet-felting.
‘We have 800 QEST alumni who are practising within a variety of fields, but Lady Edwards’ criteria focused on selecting makers based in Derbyshire, the East Midlands and the North of England,’ explains Deborah Pocock CEO of QEST.
‘We then presented a shortlist of those who were relevant and would work sympathetically with Haddon Hall’.
These, Deborah says, feature glass artist Effie Burns, whose delicate gilded botanical pieces resonate with Haddon’s surrounding parkland and ecology programme, as well as pewtersmith Fleur Grenier, whose contemporary homeware pieces relate to Haddon’s collections.
‘The house has a leading collection of old pewter, therefore this was an interesting juxtaposition,’ adds Deborah.
‘Wet-felting artist Valérie Wartell’s pieces are also reminiscent of the wonderful tapestries at Haddon, whilst Natalia Kasprzycka’s and Hannah Tounsend’s contemporary ceramics correspond to Haddon’s ceramic collections.’
Interestingly, as discovered through conversations with Lady Edward, Deborah describes that during the restoration of Haddon, instigated by the 9th Duke of Rutland, his gift to his craftsmen were engraved enamel boxes.
‘This is referenced within the exhibition through Harry Forster-Stringer’s silversmith designs and makes an interesting narrative between the old and the new whilst highlighting the evolving traditions of craft,’ she adds.
With Haddon being the first collaboration with QEST of its kind, Deborah hopes that through such an innovative concept, visitors will be surprised by the possibilities of contemporary craft, whilst the showcase will inspire young people to consider a career within the craft sector.
‘These skills are so crucial to the existence and future of Haddon Hall,’ says Deborah, a notion Lady Edward agrees with.
‘Haddon reverberates the beauty and potential of craft. It is and will continue to be an extraordinary platform for craftsmanship,’ she concludes.
‘The story of how Haddon has survived is astonishing, it is the ultimate showcase and there isn’t anywhere else quite like it.’
