Harlaxton Manor

Hello Family and Friends!

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:

Harlaxton Manor: side view

                   Harlaxton Manor: 
             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.

The Front of Harlaxton

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[1] Harlaxton Field Trip Booklet, 4.

[2] Mark Girouard, The Victorian Country House, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979), 93.

[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.

[11] Girouard, 95.

[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.

[19] Ibid, 13.

[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.