HOLKHAM HALL WILL REVEAL UNSEEN ROOMS AND SECRET PASSAGES THIS SPRING
Follow in the young Princess Victoria’s footsteps as history celebrates the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth. Discover how life was lived upstairs and downstairs at one of the UK’s most prestigious stately homes on behind the scenes tours of the servants’ areas, attics and the cellars from April to October.
February 21stHolkham Hall
Holkham Hall in north Norfolk, built in the mid-18th century by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, is considered a Palladian architectural masterpiece and one of England’s great stately homes. This April Holkham will be opening up two new rooms for visitors to look into for the first time; The Old Servants’ Hall and the stunning Venetian Bedroom, as well as hosting a series of fascinating behind the scenes tours to areas of the hall which are not normally open to the public.
The hall has a grand history spanning the Georgian era to the present day. In 1835 Holkham was visited by a young 16year old Princess Victoria. With 2019 marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, visitors can learn where the royal party and the Princess’s entourage would have been hosted during their state visit and also see the various staterooms used in the filming of recent docudramas about Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert.
The Venetian Bedroom: This sumptuous bedroom will delight visitors and art lovers. The bedroom features tapestry panels depicting Venus and Cupid, based on paintings by Francesco Albani. The historically important portraits in this room include Dame Rachel wife of Sir John Croke, school of Marcus Gheeraerts, and Mary, Princess of Orange, daughter of Charles I, school of Adriaen Hanneman. Even today, guests of the Earl and Countess of Leicester are lucky enough to stay in this room with its Spanish travelling bed, rich gilt work, over-mantel and striking Venetian window overlooking the stunning panoramic parkland to the north of the hall.
The Old Servants’ Hall: This room holds its own place in history for its exotic collections. It is home to an extensive and well-mounted natural history collection of over 120 examples of mostly local species, including birds, fish and mammals. Visitors can also expect to see a large billiard table, George II library armchairs, George III tub chair and Georgian tables. The Old Servants’ Hall was last used by the lower servants as their dining room in 1942, soon after the Kitchen Wing and the Chapel Wing (excluding the Chapel) had been requisitioned by the army. From then on, all the servants ate together in the Stewards’ Room.
Offering a further insight into Holkham’s social history, from April through to October 2019, there is an opportunity to enjoy two different behind the scenes tours, accompanied by an expert guide:
Hidden Passages and Servants’ Stairs: Behind the Scenes Tours of Holkham Hall: Taking in the hall’s many hidden passages and servants’ stairs, the curators have delved through the archives to uncover historic documents and personal memories to showcase the various roles at Holkham. Throughout its history, royalty, leading society and political figures of the day have stayed at Holkham Hall, with the servants’ quarters adapting to the foibles of these important guests. History lovers will find out how the army of servants managed to flit between the grand state rooms without being seen and how they serviced the state bedchambers, where royalty once slept. The tour ends with a trip up to the tower rooms and attics in the hall, where visitors can see what sits above the magnificent ceiling of the Marble Hall and hear how it was built.
Cellar Tours of Holkham Hall: Guided tours of the cellars will ensure that visitors are treated to a glimpse of the warren of corridors and chambers serving the hub of the building, from the old bakery and the heating system to the massive wood store, which highlights the vast amount of maintenance and machinery required to maintain this great house, both past and present.