Elvaston Castle is a stately home in Elvaston,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England. The

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

castle and surrounding parkland is run and owned by

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

as a country park known as Elvaston Castle Country Park. The country park has of woodlands, parkland and formal gardens. The centrepiece of the estate is the

Grade II* Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Elvaston Castle. The castle has been neglected and is in need of restoration. Due to its condition, the building is not open to the public, and since 2008 has been listed on the Buildings at Risk Register.Elvaston Castle Country Park
- official Derbyshire County Council site
/ref> Derbyshire County Council estimates the castle and estate requires significant investment for both restoration and to support its longer-term maintenance. In 2017 The Elvaston Castle and Gardens Trust was created to manage the estate once these works, which are already underway, are completed.

History

Until the 16th century the estate was held by the Shelford Priory. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Crown sold the priory and its estates in 1538 to Sir Michael Stanhope of Rampton, Nottinghamshire. Sir John Stanhope (died 1611) granted the estate to his second son, also Sir John Stanhope (d .1638), High Sheriff of Derbyshire, in 1629. The manor house was built for the latter Sir John in 1633. This Elizabethan-style house was redesigned and extended in a grand Gothic Revival style by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

in the early 19th century for Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington. Wyatt designed a new wing, a new great hall, and most of the interiors of the castle, but died before work was completed. His designs were carried out by Robert Walker between 1815 and 1829. Further modifications were made in the 1836 by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham; this work was on the Elizabethan-styled south front which was remodelled to match the rest of the now Gothic-styled castle. In 1860–1861 there were further alterations. The Earl of Harrington contracted alterations carried out by Robert Bridgart's building company of Friar Gate Derby under the direction of Messrs Giles & Brookhouse, architects. Both newspaper articles have lengthy descriptions of all the alterations. Robert Bridgart died in 1860 during the alterations and his son (Robert Bridgart of Derby) took over the building works. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the house was turned into a teacher training college after the original college in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

was evacuated. The college vacated the house in 1947, after which time it remained mostly empty for the next two decades until its sale, starting a steady decline that continues to this day.

The Gardens

The 3rd Earl, approached

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

to remodel the grounds of the Castle. He turned down the commission due to the flatness of the estate, which he described as having 'no capability'. In 1830, Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington commissioned landscape gardener William Barron to redesign the gardens. The Fourth Earl caused scandal by marrying an actress 17 years his junior: Maria Foote. Maria and Charles were described as "inseparable and besotted"; the Earl wanted the gardens to be a "private and secluded oasis of great beauty" for himself and the love of his life. Barron would spend the next 20 years working on the gardens; he even brought in full-grown trees using a tree planting machine he had designed (an example of which is on display at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

) to try to give instant gratification to the Earl. The Fourth Earl and his Countess valued their garden for the romantic seclusion it afforded them, however following the death of their only son aged 4, the couple isolated themselves at the castle, never leaving and forbidding anyone from entering the grounds. (Some sources claim it was the Earl that instigated the seclusion and forbade his wife from leaving) Following the Fourth Earl's death in 1851, his brother, Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington, opened the gardens to the public. They became renowned as "a Gothic paradise", and are

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. The estate contains over 50 structures, including stables, kennels, a walled garden, a home farm, several cottages, gatelodges, an ice house and a boathouse. The gardens are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Country park

Following the

Countryside Act 1968 The Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which enlarged the conservation and recreation functions of the existing National Parks Commission and re-named it the Countryside Commission. It provided for the e ...

, the estate was sold in 1969 by William Stanhope, 11th Earl of Harrington to

.Friends Of Elvaston Castle
/ref> By The Countryside Act proposed the creation of "

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

s", "for the enjoyment of the countryside by the public". The council opened the estate to the public in 1970 and have operated it since then, as Elvaston Castle Country Park. In 1969, Elvaston was also used as a location for

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the D.H. Lawrence novel ''Women in Love''.

Today

The deterioration of the castle and estate which started after

continued until the 1970s. Although restoration work was carried out and the gardens and park brought back into good heart, the operating costs were significant. With dwindling public funds available, and priorities elsewhere by 1990 the castle was considered unsafe and was closed to visitors. In 2000, the council estimated the country park's running costs were £500,000 a year, and that they were facing a backlog of restoration work which would cost £3,000,000. In 2006, Derbyshire County Council commissioned a report, which estimated the castle and estate required at least £6.1 million of work and materials in essential repairs. Whilst development partners were interested in the Castle, a combination of public opposition and difficulty creating a plan which would achieve a suitable balance of development and access meant that these plans fell through. The castle is thought by the credulous to be haunted and inspired a gothic "novel" entitled "Elvingstone" by J.P Reedman. In 2013 The County Council asked The National Trust for help to create a future vision for the estate. This led, in 2015, to the County Council recruiting a Project Development Board to help it shape a future for the Estate as a charitable enterprise, further developing the Masterplan and exploring options for a sustainable future. This led to the formation of a totally independent board of Trustees in 2017 - The Elvaston Castle and Gardens Trust - and to the beginning of a new era for the estate.

References

English Heritage:Images of England, architectural description (1952) of listed building
*''Magna Britannia, Volume 5'' Derbyshire (1817) p. 142

External links