The feast of St. Nicholas - a children's festival

Today is the feast of St. Nicholas who was born in Patara, part of present-day Turkey, who became a Christian bishop and is believed to have died on the 6th December 343.  Stories of his work for the poor and legends about him spread far and wide and he became known as the protector of children and sailors and was associated with gift giving. In Holland he continues to be an important figure and the children put out their shoes the night before the 6th December in the hope that St Nicholas (Sint Nikolaas or Sinter Klaas) will leave gifts for them. In America Sinter Klaas became Santa Claus (the modern day Father Christmas).

Because St. Nicholas was such a popular saint in Europe until the Reformation in the 1500s many old churches and chapels are dedicated to him.

St. Nicholas' Church in High Bradfield is one of them. There was an Advent service there yesterday afternoon with an invitation to local women's groups as part of the patronal festivities, but since 87 m.p.h. gales were being recorded up there and being relayed to the local news programmes I decided not to go. Apparently High Bradfield felt the full force of the wind - the strongest gales in the area, which is not surprising being so high up and exposed to the elements. Thankfully, the weather has calmed down.

The chapel in Haddon Hall, Derbyshire has wall paintings including some in the chancel that illustrate incidents associated with the life of St. Nicholas - resurrecting three children and calming a storm at sea. St. Nicholas was associated from early times with the chapel.  The 'chapel of St. Nicholas' was mentioned in a marriage settlement of 1180.

Anyway, coming back to present-day festivities as we approach Christmas I've included a collage of 

chocolates made by grandsons when they worked at a chocolate shop.

Roses in June

The roses in our garden are late-blooming this year so I've been searching my photo archive from last year's visit to Haddon Hall.  Climbing up against the stonework of the house and rambling over mossy walls of the terraced gardens were some beauties.

        In the local park the first roses are beginning to bloom in the rose garden in front of the library.....

            and we've just noticed that the buds on one of our own rose bushes, Joie de Vivre, starting

            to open.

Time to take a break

I shall be taking a break from posting, but look forward to visiting you and reading all your news.

Haddon Hall, Derbyshire: the gardens

Maytime:  one of my favourite months in a lovely season for enjoying the garden.

Now that the weather has slightly improved I'm hoping to make some return visits to the nearby houses and gardens that I love best.  On the top of my list are Renishaw and Haddon Hall. It's always a pleasure to visit at different seasons to see the plants in flower, appreciate the designer's vision and the work of the gardeners who maintain the grounds.

In the sixteenth century the owners of Haddon Hall, John Manners and Dorothy Vernon, built the Long Gallery and they also laid the garden below the windows. Viewed from the windows, the garden would have featured an elaborate Elizabethan knot garden with gravel paths in between. Traditionally, this would have been planted with low growing herbs such as evergreen hyssop or germander which could be clipped into low hedges to form interweaving patterns.  There would have been fragrant plants such as lemon balm, thyme and lavender that could be used for medicinal purposes.  (Notes taken from 'Haddon Hall' written by Bryan Cleary).

Interestingly, this photograph was taken of a corner of one of the top terraces about three years ago

in Springtime and before the new planting scheme was laid out to reflect the garden's

Elizabethan origins as well as preserve the restoration work carried out in the 1930s by the present owner's grandmother, the Duchess of Rutland.

This is the same area taken in June last year.

It was a drizzly day - the red in the corner is an umbrella being held over me by a friend - we were in an out of the house in between the showers! There's so much of interest that one can return 

many times and always enjoy the day in the house and grounds.  

.

Wood and Stone

Main entrance through North-West Tower, Haddon Hall,
 Derbyshire

North-West Tower 15th century entrance

Remains of the brewhouse steps to the right of
 the West Tower forecourt

                     

Back to Haddon Hall

                                  Walking through the countryside of the River Wye
                                  Valley a visitor can almost feel as if they are
                                  stepping back in time on the approach to Haddon Hall.
                                 
                             

Crossing the bridge over the River Wye

there are glimpses of the Hall

through the trees.

There are meadows and a 16th century dovecote

can be seen in the distance.

The Elizabethan stables.

Next to the stables is a Tudor cottage. 

            

The topiary yew hedges have been clipped

into the shapes of a peacock and boar's head,

the arms of the Manners and Vernon families

of Haddon Hall.

The entrance to the Hall through the north west

tower is reached by way of a flight of steps.

Apparently there's a tunnel that leads from the stables

to the Tudor kitchen area. 

Today there's a restaurant serving refreshments

in the stable block and an outside seating area 

in the courtyard by the old cottage.

                          

A sense of past times

This is the 14th century Banqueting Hall at Haddon Hall. This room, together with the kitchens, the parlour and Solar Chamber (above) was the principal living area. Called the Great Hall it would have been set in an open quadrangle to minimize the risk of fire spreading.

Do you think it looks like a film set? It has been on many occasions, but neither is Haddon a museum. The present Duke of Rutland, Edward Manners, and his wife live there and welcome visitors who can appreciate a house and estate with a history that stretches back to medieval times.

Haddon Hall has been the location for many films and television dramas, including Pride and Prejudice, The Princess Bride, and both Zeffirelli's and Fukunaga's film versions of Jane Eyre.

At the moment there is an exhibition of some of the costumes of Jane Eyre (the films and BBC mini-series) in the Long Gallery.

You can see down the length of the Elizabethan Long Gallery. It was one of the last rooms that I went into in the late afternoon. For a while I was the only visitor there except for one of the helpful guides sitting quietly by the door ready to answer questions. In the silence of that room there was quite an atmosphere of past times.  It was rather strange passing the static models dressed in

beautiful costumes.  In addition, the Bronte novel is a favourite of mine. The length and width of the gallery and the huge windows would normally give a sense of light and space for indoor walking

and sitting. The windows overlook the beautiful terraced gardens.

Haddon Hall - The Fountain Terrace: lilies

Last week I spent the day with a friend at Haddon Hall near Bakewell in Derbyshire looking around the house and gardens.  The Manners family have owned Haddon since 1567 although there has been a building on the site since Norman times.

Entries in the Haddon account book in 1582 suggests that a famous Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson designed the house and gardens featuring stone balustrades and steps and a lower lawn.  In the 17th century several terraced areas were laid out which was a typical arrangement for a late Renaissance garden inspired by Italian hill-top villa designs.

The second terrace

The Fountain Terrace

The south side of Haddon Hall.  The Long Gallery overlooks
the Fountain Terrace

Two years ago a renowned garden designer, Arne Maynard, began a new planting scheme in the herbaceous borders on the Fountain Terrace and plants that would have been seen in an Elizabethan garden have been used.  Climbing roses, clematis and lilies as well as other flowers bloom in abundance from mid-June.  

                                     Here are some of the beautiful lilies in the garden.