Boost for repairs to historic hall
URGENT WORK NEEDED ON FAMED LONG GALLERY
HADDON Hall, near Bakewell, has received a vital cash boost from the Historic Houses Foundation to fund essential repairs.
The medieval house, once described as “the most perfect English house to survive the Middle Ages”, is one of Derbyshire’s most important historic houses. The major financial award is to repair the central bay of the long gallery. Its Venetian glass windows have suffered from movement in the masonry and degradation of the supporting timbers.
The foundation made the award from a £2.1 million Heritage Stimulus Fund programme it manages for Historic England. Its grants help support properties in the heritage sector which have experienced falls in revenue during the pandemic, directly impacting their ability to maintain, repair and renovate their buildings.
The Historic Houses Foundation is a leading funder of architectural conservation and one of the only bodies able to support buildings in private ownership.
The grant is for emergency repairs to the roof on the south range where water damage is a serious threat to the property.
Owners Lord and Lady Edward Manners are the first family to live there for over 300 years. Now urgent repairs are needed to the long gallery designed by the Elizabethan master mason, Robert Smythson. The room is both nationally and internationally renowned for its beauty and architectural significance, with many visitors coming to Haddon specifically to see it.
Haddon Hall is one of 13 nationally important properties which can begin work immediately on urgent repairs ranging from roofs and chimneys to internal structures and decorative features.
Lord Edward Manners said: “This funding will enable us to restore the long gallery’s central bay, which is heavily subsiding to a critical degree, with the immediate risk of irrevocable damage.
“If it collapsed, not only would it impact heavily on the financial security of the many directly and indirectly employed by the hall, it would represent an enormous loss on a national level.
“Lady Edward and I are particularly pleased that this highly skilled work can be undertaken by local craftsmen and talented professionals, to help us safeguard the future of Haddon for generations to come.”
Work will begin immediately and continue over the winter before the start of the new tourist season in spring 2022. It will provide employment to a wide range of traditional craftsmen and building professionals, in addition to other local employment opportunities.
Norman Hudson OBE, chairman of the Historic Houses Foundation said: “We are delighted to have been selected as a delivery partner for this important round of Government funding.
“As a small, nimble charity, we know that the money will kick-start restoration projects postponed by the pandemic.
“This money arrives just as we have launched our first major fundraising campaign which will expand our abilities to help threatened historic buildings, keeping them at the centre of their communities and creating specialist jobs.”
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “From local churches to ancient buildings and landscapes, the UK’s unique heritage makes our towns, cities and villages stronger, more vibrant and helps bring communities together. This latest funding will help protect sites and help them build back better from the pandemic.”
If it collapsed... it would represent an enormous loss on a national level.
Lord Edward Manners