Melbourne Hall
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire
, England was once the seat of the Victorian Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
, and thus is the ultimate origin for the naming of Melbourne, Australia. The house is now the seat of Lord Ralph Kerr and Lady Kerr and is open to the public. The house is a Grade II* listed building; more than twenty features in the grounds are Grade I listed.
Melbourne, a manor that had belonged to the bishops of Carlisle
in the twelfth century, was partly rebuilt in 1629-31 for Sir John Coke by a Derbyshire mason, Richard Shepherd. In 1692 it was inherited by Thomas Coke
(1675–1727), a gentleman architect in the golden age of English amateur architecture, who laid out the formal gardens that survive, with some professional assistance from Henry Wise, between about 1696 and 1706: there are avenues, a parterre
, a yew walk that has become a yew tunnel, basins and fountains, and lead and stone sculpture, much of it supplied by John Nost
. Coke travelled in the Netherlands and he turned to Nost, the famous statuary born in the Austrian Netherlands, with premises in Haymarket, London, who provided lead figures of amorini, vases, baskets of flowers and mythological figures, still identifiable at Melbourne, and most notably the lead "Vase of the Seasons" (1705), that is one of the finest examples of Baroque sculpture in lead in an English garden. Nost also provided a number of chimneypieces in the house as well as for Sir Thomas's London house in St. James's Place, one of which came to £50. At the sale of Nost's effects, Sir Thomas purchased his copy of Serlio
's Five Books of Architecture, English'd by Robert Peake, which is still in the Library.
Among fine wrought iron made for the grounds at Melbourne by Robert Bakewell
is the wrought iron arbour known as the "birdcage".
Though he drew up a plan for remodelling the sixteenth and seventeenth-century house and had the west wing rebuilt by Francis Smith of Warwick
it remained to his son, G. L. Coke
to rebuild the east front, facing the garden, and adjust the south front, in 1743-44, to a design by William Smith, the son of Francis Smith. His design for a gatehouse, built "according to his Honour's Draught" was built by Smith of Warwick but dismantled before the end of the eighteenth century. Unidentified alterations undertaken in 1720-21 were carried out by the builder William Gilks of Burton-on-Trent. The figure of George Lewis Coke remains an ambiguous one. Some believe that he was never at Melbourne after he left for a foreign tour in his late teens.
Redecorations of the interior were carried out throughout the century, in several campaigns. In 1745 Joseph Hall of Derby was paid for the chimneypiece in the Great Dining Room; in the 1760s, stucco
by Samuel Franceys was executed, and for the First Viscount Melbourne
, in 1772, further interior alterations were carried out by the leading Derbyshire architect, Joseph Pickford. The second Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria's Prime Minister, was separated from his wife, Lady Caroline Lamb
, in 1825, when her liaison with Lord Byron
had become notorious.
The house passed into the hands of the Cowper family when Emily Lamb
, sister of the childless third and last Viscount Melbourne, married the 5th Earl Cowper. (She later married Another Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston
). It remained in the Cowper family until Lady Amabel Cowper married Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr
who made Melbourne the family home in 1906.
The current owner Lord Ralph Kerr also owns Ferniehirst Castle
in Scotland. He is the heir to the Marquessate of Lothian as his brother the 13th Marquess, better known as the politician Michael Ancram
, has no sons.
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England was once the seat of the Victorian Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
, and thus is the ultimate origin for the naming of Melbourne, Australia. The house is now the seat of Lord Ralph Kerr and Lady Kerr and is open to the public. The house is a Grade II* listed building; more than twenty features in the grounds are Grade I listed.
Melbourne, a manor that had belonged to the bishops of Carlisle
Bishop of Carlisle
The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District...
in the twelfth century, was partly rebuilt in 1629-31 for Sir John Coke by a Derbyshire mason, Richard Shepherd. In 1692 it was inherited by Thomas Coke
Thomas Coke (privy counsellor)
Thomas Coke was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1698 and 1715.Coke was the son of John Coke and his wife Mary Leventhorpe, daughter of Sir Thomas Leventhorpe, 4th Baronet. He was born at Melbourne, Derbyshire where he was baptised on 19 February 1675....
(1675–1727), a gentleman architect in the golden age of English amateur architecture, who laid out the formal gardens that survive, with some professional assistance from Henry Wise, between about 1696 and 1706: there are avenues, a parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
, a yew walk that has become a yew tunnel, basins and fountains, and lead and stone sculpture, much of it supplied by John Nost
John Nost
John Nost was a Flemish sculptor, from Mechelen. He was employed by Arnold Quellin, and married his widow. He moved to England at the end of the seventeenth century, and set up business in Haymarket....
. Coke travelled in the Netherlands and he turned to Nost, the famous statuary born in the Austrian Netherlands, with premises in Haymarket, London, who provided lead figures of amorini, vases, baskets of flowers and mythological figures, still identifiable at Melbourne, and most notably the lead "Vase of the Seasons" (1705), that is one of the finest examples of Baroque sculpture in lead in an English garden. Nost also provided a number of chimneypieces in the house as well as for Sir Thomas's London house in St. James's Place, one of which came to £50. At the sale of Nost's effects, Sir Thomas purchased his copy of Serlio
Sebastiano Serlio
Sebastiano Serlio was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau...
's Five Books of Architecture, English'd by Robert Peake, which is still in the Library.
Robert Bakewell (ironsmith)
Robert Bakewell was an English smith. He took an apprenticeship in London as an iron worker and became an extremely skilled ironsmith.In 1706, he started working at Melbourne Hall for Thomas Coke, and living in the town of Melbourne...
is the wrought iron arbour known as the "birdcage".
Though he drew up a plan for remodelling the sixteenth and seventeenth-century house and had the west wing rebuilt by Francis Smith of Warwick
Francis Smith of Warwick
Francis Smith of Warwick was an English master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England...
it remained to his son, G. L. Coke
George Lewis Coke
George Lewis Coke inherited his father’s property at Melbourne, Derbyshire. Some accounts say he returned from his Grand Tour to complete his father’s work on Melbourne Hall...
to rebuild the east front, facing the garden, and adjust the south front, in 1743-44, to a design by William Smith, the son of Francis Smith. His design for a gatehouse, built "according to his Honour's Draught" was built by Smith of Warwick but dismantled before the end of the eighteenth century. Unidentified alterations undertaken in 1720-21 were carried out by the builder William Gilks of Burton-on-Trent. The figure of George Lewis Coke remains an ambiguous one. Some believe that he was never at Melbourne after he left for a foreign tour in his late teens.
Redecorations of the interior were carried out throughout the century, in several campaigns. In 1745 Joseph Hall of Derby was paid for the chimneypiece in the Great Dining Room; in the 1760s, stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
by Samuel Franceys was executed, and for the First Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the Lamb family. This family descended from Matthew Lamb, who represented Stockbridge and Peterborough in the House of Commons. In 1755 he was created a Baronet, of Brocket Hall in the County of...
, in 1772, further interior alterations were carried out by the leading Derbyshire architect, Joseph Pickford. The second Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria's Prime Minister, was separated from his wife, Lady Caroline Lamb
Lady Caroline Lamb
The Lady Caroline Lamb was a British aristocrat and novelist, best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the Prime Minister...
, in 1825, when her liaison with Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
had become notorious.
The house passed into the hands of the Cowper family when Emily Lamb
Emily Lamb, Lady Cowper
Emily Lamb was a leading figure of the Almack's social set, sister to Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, and wife to Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.-The Lamb family:...
, sister of the childless third and last Viscount Melbourne, married the 5th Earl Cowper. (She later married Another Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
). It remained in the Cowper family until Lady Amabel Cowper married Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr
Lord Walter Kerr
Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Walter Talbot Kerr, GCB, PC was the British First Naval Lord from 1899 to 1904.-Early Life and Indian Mutiny:...
who made Melbourne the family home in 1906.
The current owner Lord Ralph Kerr also owns Ferniehirst Castle
Ferniehirst Castle
Ferniehirst Castle is an L-shaped construction on the east bank of the Jed Water, about a mile and a half south of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and in the former county of Berwickshire...
in Scotland. He is the heir to the Marquessate of Lothian as his brother the 13th Marquess, better known as the politician Michael Ancram
Michael Ancram
Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, PC, QC , known as Michael Ancram, is a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician. He is a member of the House of Lords, former Member of Parliament, and a former member of the Shadow Cabinet...
, has no sons.
External links
- Melbourne Hall and Gardens - official site