I realize I haven't posted on here for a long while, and for that I apologize. I have REALLY been enjoying my time studying abroad in the UK though and living in a manor house! I recently chose to write a research paper on Harlaxton Manor itself and for those interested in reading some about the history of where I've been living the past couple months, I thought I might go ahead and make a blog post out of my paper. No one needs to feel like they have to read this though because it's not exactly the most thrilling paper. I just found studying the history of the place I was living interesting. So, here goes:
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| Harlaxton Manor: side view |
A Unique Country Estate
Harlaxton Manor, built by Gregory
Gregory from 1831 to 1844, was one of the first of its kind—a neo-Elizabethan
style of architecture that began to rise during this period. While it was a
trend setter in this style, it was also significant for more than that. It
began as an Elizabethan inspired house and favored the Romanticism trend,
opposing the rise in industry which was so prevalent during these times and
rejecting former Enlightenment concepts of order. This alone could have made it
an important country estate; however, it was not enough of a feat for Gregory.
He added to its design the European charm of Baroque, and “the result was a
spectacular architectural firework display.”[1] Harlaxton
Manor, Gregory Gregory’s pride and joy in life, was significant and unique as a
country estate not only for being one of the first in the neo-Elizabethan style
but also for the ornate Baroque features.
Gregory sought inspiration for his house
in Elizabethan and Jacobean homes as early as the 1820s, making him a “pioneer”
in the re-emergence of this style. In the midst of the Industrial Revolution,
social unrest rose to new levels, which gave the upper class a need for a
paternal, generous image in order to maintain their position.[2] While
an escalation in Romanticism created an attraction to the building of castles,
the Elizabethan manor appealed to the rising concept of and need for “Old
English hospitality” in the upper classes. The castle, with its cold stone
face, risked being too reminiscent of medieval days, full of aggression and
uncomfortable living circumstances for the common people. Elizabethan
architecture, being unique to England, also revealed a pride for English
heritage and patriotism.[3] This
revival of Elizabethan character began with a Tudor-Gothic combination, the strongest
example being the Houses of Parliament rebuilt in 1835.[4] Such
inclinations towards a Tudor style affected Gregory’s ideas for his house.
In the midst of these new notions, Gregory
began making plans to re-create an Elizabethan home. He owned the decaying old
Harlaxton Manor which had been Elizabethan in style, but it was uninhabitable
by the time he inherited it. Setting about to create his own estate in 1831, he
brought in the young but already distinguished country house architect, Anthony
Salvin who had a canny ability to “combine sensible planning, skillful
composition, and scholarly detail.” Harlaxton Manor effectively reflected this by
showing architecturally what was to come while still holding to traditional
aesthetic appearances.[5] Later on, from 1838 to 1844, William Burn took
over and completed the house in Salvin’s place.[6] Gregory,
Salvin, William Burn, and even Burn’s talented assistant David Bryce—who greatly
appreciated the Baroque style—each had a great influence in the interior design,
making it hard to determine who bore the greatest influence.[7]
With its mixing of Gothic, Jacobean, and
Baroque styles, Harlaxton Manor was a masterpiece among Anthony Salvin’s
designs. The exterior walls were formed from magnificent Ancaster stone.[8] Erected
into the side of a hill, Harlaxton was cleverly designed with easily accessible
gardens. Burghley (a genuine Elizabethan house) inspired the balanced front
entrance of Harlaxton, while the backside remained “asymmetrical by the
irregular fenestration, bold bay window, and prominent chimneystack of the
great hall.”[9]
The entrance hall was very grand, with stone crests bearing the De Ligne and
Gregory family’s coat of arms. Significantly, guests entered the house through
this room, revealing Gregory’s pride in the house and his own status.[10]
The exterior and most likely this first room were chiefly designed by Salvin
and are also perhaps the most neo-Elizabethan features of the house.
In the midst of the house being built,
Gregory assigned a new architect and gained a newfound love for Baroque art.
The initial plans for the house, as compiled by Gregory and embodied by Salvin,
would have made it almost entirely “a neo-Elizabethan house on a grand scale”.
His change of mind while the house was being built created a very unique house
in comparison to other houses built in the period due to Gregory’s merging
Elizabethan/Jacobean with Baroque.[11]
The entrance to the circle drive bore the perfect illustration of this
combination, containing an Elizabethan centre-piece, Baroque pavilions and
gate-piers, decorated with Jacobean ornament. These contrasting styles gave the
feeling of “power, exuberance, and abundance.[12]
Because of Gregory’s alterations in architects and in personal taste, the house
grew into a jumble of Baroque, Jacobean, Gothic, and Elizabethan. The Great
Hall and Dining Room followed his original intentions of English tradition,
except for the Atlantide statues which hold up the ceiling, a Baroque element.[13]
The Great Hall reflected the medieval great halls found in castles and
contained a stain glass window created by Thomas Willement which bore Gregory’s
coat of arms. In addition to this, the design also appeared over the fireplace.
The room’s medieval inspiration was further indicated by its minstrel gallery
and oak wood paneling.[14]The
Drawing Room, Ante-Room, and Long Gallery have all the show and grandeur of the
Baroque style while the large conservatory displayed a combination of styles.[15] The
Ante-Room included a Jacobean style ceiling, with motifs on the doors
containing a French air to them.[16]The
cedar staircase was perhaps, the most elaborate, grand part of the house. It
was the most Baroque-like feature of the house, with all the gaudiness and
extravagant detail characteristic of Baroque. Walking up the stairs, one is
surrounded by more groaning Atlantides, plastered draperies and ropes hanging
overhead, cherubs situated all around, and when gazing still further up towards
the distant ceiling, it gave a person the feeling of looking into a symbolic
picture of heaven, with even more cherubs and a statue of Father Time holding a
half-unrolled scroll depicting the plan for the state rooms of Harlaxton.[17]
With such a grand building, one
might become curious if Gregory Gregory had an ulterior motive with Harlaxton.
It seems strange, upon first consideration, for Gregory to construct this grand
estate at all as a bachelor with no children to inherit his possessions. Some
possible theories suggest he possibly had a desire to earn a title from the
king with such an impressive estate, or Gregory might have wished to enforce
his status as an equal to the Duke of Rutland, who lived in Belvoir Castle at
the time. In this sense, Harlaxton, as a piece of architecture, could be seen
as a competitor to Belvoir Castle, and rumor has it that Harlaxton has one
additional room to the amount in Belvoir.[18] However,
Gregory’s extensive time, effort, and money he invested on Harlaxton would
indicate there was more to it than this. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, a biographer,
said of Harlaxton, “It was built in the Tudor plan of architecture; and no cost
is spared for its continuance and completion in the most correct and splendid
manner…Mr. Gregory has the rare merit of being chiefly his own architect.”[19] Typically
such a comment about a wealthy estate owner was meant as a general compliment
rather than a fact. With Harlaxton, though, it was a somewhat accurate
statement. Gregory’s switch of architects halfway through the building process
revealed his involvement and passion for his house. Gregory was the driving
force which kept the building process going despite the change in architects.[20] It
was thought he spent as much as £200,000 towards the house over some twenty
years.[21]
This passion for his estate revealed that perhaps Gregory’s motive was along
the lines of obtaining glory and respect for his name. He wished to distinguish
himself and his status in society.
Upon Charles Greville visiting the
house on 4 January, 1838, he discussed the character of Gregory Gregory, “a
gentleman of about £12,000 a year”. He spoke of the house as Mr. Gregory’s
passion and hobby, just as some gentlemen hunt or shoot. Gregory planned,
saved, collected and “lived for no other object.” Greville seemed to find it
interesting that Gregory poured his time and money into this house when he
might not live in it long before his death but he realized the Gregory saw it
in a different light: “it is the means and not the end to which he looks for
gratification.”[22]
This opens up another suggestion for Gregory’s motive. Perhaps Gregory simply
found pleasure in devoting his efforts into creating something tangible which
he could leave behind as a legacy. Most likely, Gregory was inspired to build
Harlaxton Manor by a combination of these possibilities. Undoubtedly, he wished
to declare his wealth and position in society and constructing a grand country
estate during this period of history was one of the loudest ways to declare it.
Sadly, Greville’s prediction was not
far from the truth. By the 1851 census, Gregory was finally living in Harlaxton
and had a meager staff, but he died by 1854. In the few years he lived within
his accomplishment, it is not known that he commonly entertained guests. He
carefully designed and planned this house with the capacity to handle the
bustle of a full house, with servants, guests, and even children, yet, before
his death, it never fulfilled this purpose.[23] One
might wonder if he felt this emptiness as dampening his triumph when he was
living in this grand house with so many empty, unused rooms. However, from the
priority he always placed on the house during his lifetime, it is possible he
felt no such regret. J.C. Loudon, who visited Harlaxton in May 1840, realized,
“from entering so completely into both the design and the practical details of
execution he may be said to have embodied himself in the edifice, and to live
in every feature of it.”[24]
This house was a great accomplishment, the greatest of Gregory’s life. However,
it is significant for more than his personal fulfillment gained from it. Christopher
Hussey stated about Harlaxton that it “has neither the sensitiveness nor the
redeeming deficiencies of the real thing, but instead perfects the excesses of
the Elizabethan age with the laborious but insensitive skill of its own,” and
sets itself apart due to the Baroque influence.[25] It
played a significant role in being among the first estate homes to utilize
neo-Elizabethan architecture but also maintains a distinctive feature in its
combination of this architecture with Baroque furnishings and decorations on
the interior of the house. Gregory Gregory truly left behind a legacy, one
which might never have existed if he had not given himself entirely to the
completion of this structure. His dreams and passion materialized into
Harlaxton Manor, a noteworthy neo-Elizabethan house emitting strong Baroque
sensations and is not easily forgotten.
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| The Front of Harlaxton |
[1] Harlaxton Field Trip Booklet, 4.
[3] Ibid, 93.
[4] Girouard, 94.
[5] Ibid, 52.
[6] Ibid, 93.
[7] Ibid, 98-99.
[8] Harlaxton Field Trip Booklet, 8.
[9] Girouard, 95.
[10] Harlaxton Field Trip Booklet, 8.
[12] Ibid, 96.
[13] Girouard, 96.
[14] Harlaxton Fieldtrip Booklet, 8.
[15] Girouard, 96.
[16] Harlaxton Fieldtrip Booklet, 8.
[17] Girouard, 96.
[18] Dr. Pamela Tudor Craig et. al.,
23.
[20] Ibid, 13.
[21] Girouard, 93.
[22] Ibid, 90.
[23] Girouard, 102.
[24] Ibid, 93.
[25] Alec Clifton-Taylor. Buildings of Delight, (Rugby,
Warwickshire: Jolly & Barber Ltd., 1986), 122.
