HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Houghton Hall ( ) is a
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...
in the parish of Houghton in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
, England. It is the residence of
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, (; born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British peer and filmmaker who acted as Lord Great Cham ...
. It was commissioned by the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' first British Prime Minister, Sir
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...
, in 1722, and is a key building in the history of
Neo-Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
architecture in England. It is a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
surrounded by of parkland, and is a few miles from Sandringham House.


Description

The house has a rectangular main block which consists of a rustic basement at ground level, with a ''
piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the ho ...
'', bedroom floor and attics above. There are also two lower flanking wings joined to the main block by
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
s. To the south of the house is a detached quadrangular stable block. The exterior is both grand and restrained, constructed of fine-grained, silver-white stone. The Gibbs-designed domes punctuate each corner. In line with Palladian conventions, the interiors are much more colourful, exuberant and opulent than the exteriors. The park surrounding Houghton Hall was redesigned in the 18th century by
Charles Bridgeman Charles Bridgeman (1690–1738) was an English garden designer who helped pioneer the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres an ...
.Donald, Caroline
"The new garden at Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk,"
''The Times'' (London). May 11, 2008.
In the process, the village of Houghton was demolished and rebuilt at the main gates of the park, with the exception of the medieval Church of St Martin, which now sits alone in the park.


History


Design and construction

This new building was placed on the site of earlier Walpole family houses. Sir Robert Walpole had inherited the property and its associated estate in 1700. He had commissioned some upgrades, but in 1720 commissioned
Thomas Badeslade Thomas Badeslade (active c. 1719–1750) was an English topographical draughtsman, who worked extensively with the engraver W. H. Toms. One of his early works was to draw the illustrations for the ''History of Kent'' published in 1719 by Dr J ...
to survey the house and its immediate block of land, which included a garden in the style of Stephen Switzer. Although Palladian in style, the exact timeline and style of the architecture and design are disputed. It is most likely that Walpole initially instructed his friend Thomas Ripley to head the design, having appointed him surveyor in 1722 when construction started, with his apprentice Isaac Ware employed in the Works Office and Robert Hardy as Clerk of Works. The first stone was laid on 24 May 1722, and by 7 December that year the brick cellars had been completed and the first stone course laid.
Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectura ...
is the architect most credited with the design. However, later investigation and studies show that his first works on the design are dated from 1723 CC onwards, which using the modern calendar would be from March 1723 onwards. Campbell can be connected to the project, but his initial and later designs show his preferred Wilton-style towers, as published by him in ''Vitruvivs Britannicus'' in 1725. However, the final design of the tower domes was undertaken by James Gibbs, with: the south-west tower dated 1725; the south-east 1727; and the others dated from 1729. Both the interior and exterior were extravagant, later estimated by Walpole himself to have cost over £200,000; he admitted to burning most of the receipts, adding further to being unable to verify the architecture timeline. The best materials and designers were employed, including
William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, bu ...
who designed the ceilings for the reception areas and ground floor, as well as some furniture. In the context of the day, Campbell, Gibbs and Kent were not just rivals, but very much disliked each other. Ripley's own records show that he took a larger role in the project during the later stages of construction of the external edifices, with his drawings showing him greatly altering the earlier works of both Cambell and Gibbs.


Ownership

Walpole was an extravagant host; hunting parties with local Norfolk
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
would last for weeks at a time. Visits from Royalty were common and his fellow politicians, particularly members of his Cabinet, held their meetings each spring over a three-week period in the rooms at Houghton. These meetings were known as the ''Norfolk Congress''. A grand Palladian pile, Houghton was intended to be the permanent home for more than 400 of his Old Master paintings, including works by Van Dyck, Poussin, Rubens, Rembrandt and Velázquez. Sir Robert Walpole became the 1st Earl of Orford in 1742. Ownership passed to his son and grandson, the
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
and third earls. On the death of the third earl in 1791, it reverted to his uncle the 4th Earl of Orford, better known as
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...
. Sir Robert and his successors as Earls of Orford are buried in St Martin’s Church nearby. On his death in 1797, possession passed to the family of his sister, Lady Mary, Countess of Cholmondeley, who had died aged just 26 more than 65 years earlier in 1731. She had married George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley and Houghton Hall has been modified and maintained by her Cholmondeley family descendants to the present day. Colonel Robert Walpole borrowed a book about the
Archbishop of Bremen This list records the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops of Hamburg (sim ...
from the
Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...
library in 1667 or 1668. The overdue library book was discovered at Houghton in the mid-1950s, and returned 288 years late.


Present day

The house, including the north and south attachments, was designated as
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
in 1953. Houghton has remained largely untouched, having remained "unimproved" despite the Victorian passion for remodelling and redecorating, due to the fact that for most of the 19th century the family lived mainly at
Cholmondeley Castle Cholmondeley Castle ( ) is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has been a seat of the Cholmondeley family since ...
in Cheshire, and only stayed at Houghton for the shooting. Houghton still belongs to the current Marquess of Cholmondeley, and parts of the structure and grounds are opened to the public throughout the year.


Art

Houghton once contained part of Sir Robert Walpole's great picture collection, which his grandson the 3rd Earl sold in 1779 to
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
to pay off some of the estate's accumulated debt. Included in the current collection of paintings is
Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
's oil painting of his own family
''Thomas Gainsborough, with His Wife and Elder Daughter, Mary''
(circa 1751–1752). Walpole's collection of marble Roman busts was also considerable. In the early 1990s, Hans Holbein's "Lady With a Squirrel and a Starling" (1528) was removed from the walls of Houghton where it had hung since 1780. It was put up for auction to raise money to pay inheritance taxes and for maintenance of the house and grounds; and eventually, negotiations led to the painting's sale to the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
for £17-million tax free because of special incentives in England for selling works of art that are considered national treasures. In the 21st century, art market inflation has placed enormous temptations in the way of the old families with substantial collections. In recent years, ownership of several pieces have been transferred in lieu of tax from the Cholmondeleys to the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
. A major sale of items of pictures, furniture, silver and from Houghton estimated at $23 million was held at Christie's in London on 8 December 1994, with the intention of establishing an endowment fund for the future preservation of the building. Some artwork, such as
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...
's portrait of the Cholmondeley family is unlikely to be let go, and it remains on view at Houghton; but the Marquess admits that he is very aware that risk of theft is neither negligible nor negotiable.
Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques- ...
's ''White Duck,'' stolen from the Cholmondeley collection in 1990, is still missing.


Parkland and gardens

Charles Bridgeman's landscaping plan for the parkland at Houghton remains intact. His "twisting
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
paths" were cleared in the early 18th century; and they have been maintained since then. The park, which extends into
Bircham Bircham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It includes the three villages of Great Bircham, Bircham Newton and Bircham Tofts. The parish is located about 12 miles (20 km) north-east of the town of King's Lynn and 37 mil ...
and Harpley parishes, was designated Grade I on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in 1987. Bridgeman replaced the formal geometry of intersecting avenues with blocks of woodland and parkland which, as he saw it, was better able to complement the Hall's compelling architectural statement. Tree-lined vistas in four directions are aligned on the Hall. The
ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...
barriers at Houghton were an innovative feature credited to Bridgeman. In his 1780 "Essay upon Modern Gardening,"
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...
explained: "The contiguous ground of the park without the sunk fence was to be harmonized with the lawn within; and the garden in its turn was to be set free from its prim regularity, that it might assort with the wilder country without." Sir Robert Walpole constructed a watertower (1731–1732) with the appearance of an architectural folly which was designed by Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke. It was restored in 1982 and is a
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
building. In this well-established context, a number of contemporary outdoor sculptures have been commissioned in recent years by
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, (; born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British peer and filmmaker who acted as Lord Great Cham ...
. To the west of the house is a circle of Cornish slate at the end of a path mown through the grass. This
land art Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mov ...
feature was designed by the British sculptor Richard Long. Two modern follies lie in a wooded area to the side of the west front. American artist James Turrell contrived "Skyspace" for Houghton. Turrell's construction presents itself from the exterior as an oak-clad building raised on stilts. From the inside of the structure, the viewer's point of view is focused upwards and inevitably lured into contemplating the sky as framed by the open roof. "The Sybil Hedge" is another folly in this vicinity.McCarthy, Anna. "Focus on Jeffe Hein,
''Houghton Hall Education Newsletter,''
January 2009, p. 3.]
It is based on the signature of the current marquis' grandmother, Sybil Sassoon. Scottish artist
Anya Gallaccio Anya Gallaccio (born 1963) is a British artist, who creates site-specific, minimalist installations and often works with organic matter (including chocolate, sugar, flowers and ice). Her use of organic materials results in natural processes ...
has created a sarcophagus-like marble structure which is sited at the end of a path; and nearby is a copper-beech hedge which is planted in lines mirroring Sybil’s signature. A walled kitchen garden lies beyond the stables. Over the course of time, the productive area was reduced in size, and the enclosure was mostly grassed over. In 1996, the fallow enclosure was redesigned and replanted. The effort was rewarded in 2007 when it was named Historic Houses Association and Christie’s Garden of the Year. Yew hedges divide the space into a formal grid of discrete areas or "rooms", each intending to provoke a different interest and mood. The hedges, some cut in swags, give height and form. The garden rooms include an Italian enclosure with box parterres; a formal rose garden laid out in a pattern based on one of the William Kent ceilings in the house; a French garden of pleached limes and plum trees which have been underplanted with spring bulbs; and a croquet lawn. Danish artist
Jeppe Hein Jeppe Hein (born 1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is an artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen. In 2015, James Turrell created an artistic illumination of Houghton House as part of the LightScape festival celebrating the house and gardens.


Horse trials

The Houghton International Horse Trials have been held in the park annually in May since 2007. National events run alongside the three-day international event.


Model soldiers

The stable block at Houghton Hall houses the Cholmondeley Collection of Model Soldiers, previously at
Cholmondeley Castle Cholmondeley Castle ( ) is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has been a seat of the Cholmondeley family since ...
and moved to Houghton Hall in 1980 soon after it was opened to the public. The collection was started in 1928 by the 6th Marquess, expanded throughout his life, and now includes about 20,000 figures.''The Cholmondeley Collection of Model Soldiers'', leaflet, Houghton Hall


In media

''
Treasure Houses of Britain Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...
'', a TV documentary series first shown on PBS in 1985, has considerable detail on the house its second episode. The 2006 book ''
Noble Households ''Noble Households: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses'' presents transcripts of inventories of nine great country houses and four London town houses as a tribute to the late historian John Cornforth. Summary The inventori ...
'' by Tessa Murdoch has transcriptions of Houghton Hall inventories of 1745 and 1792.


Notes


References

* Conan, Michael. (2005), ''Baroque Garden Cultures: Emulation, Sublimation, Subversion.'' Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection * Michaelis, Adolf (1882), translated by Charles Augustus Maude Fennell, ''Ancient marbles in Great Britain.'' Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
* Moore, Andrew W. (1996), ''Houghton Hall: The Prime Minister, The Empress and The Heritage''. London: Philip Wilson Publishers * Whyte, Ian D. (2002), ''Landscape and History Since 1500''. London:
Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In rece ...


Further reading

* Cornforth, John (2004), ''Early Georgian Interiors''. New Haven, CT.; London: Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, pp. 20–3, 89–91, 131–2, 150–68, 258–9 * Murdoch, Tessa (ed.), ''
Noble Households ''Noble Households: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses'' presents transcripts of inventories of nine great country houses and four London town houses as a tribute to the late historian John Cornforth. Summary The inventori ...
: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses. A Tribute to
John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel ...
''. Cambridge: John Adamson, 2006, pp. 169–205 {{OCLC, 78044620


External links


Official websiteHoughton Hall entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country HousesHoughton International Horse Trials
Country houses in Norfolk Gardens in Norfolk Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk Robert Walpole Historic house museums in Norfolk Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom Walpole family Cholmondeley family Militaria 1735 establishments in England