Kedleston Hall, an extravagant ‘temple of the art’ with a vast parkland in Derbyshire.

Address: Kedleston Road, Derby, Derbyshire, DE22 5JH.

Kedleston Hall, sometimes called ‘the temple of the arts’, used to be our favourite weekend destination when we lived in Derbyshire. Not only because of its rich and fascinating story behind the beautiful facade, but mostly because of its vast parkland, perfect for leisurely and relaxing strolls with a dog.

Kedleston has been the ancestral home to the Curzon family for hundreds of years. Possibly, the Curzons have been at Kedleston since the 12th century. A few generations of the family lived in manor houses near to or on the site of the present Kedleston Hall. The impressive Kedleston Hall you can see today was designed and built between 1759 and 1765 for Nathaniel Curzon. This new creation of the young architect Robert Adam replaced an earlier medieval manor house and also required the removal of the small medieval village of Kedleston. So what has remained of the original village is the 12th-century All Saints’ Church, which is no longer in use for regular worship, although it’s open to visits.

It is interesting to know that Kedleston Hall was built as a house to rival Chatsworth House, which is also in Derbyshire. This intention tells everything about Kedleston: it was more a show place rather than a family home. The family lived in the private family wing (and still do to this day), while the central part was intended to host entertainments and lavish dinner parties. It was an opulent manor house with an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, and furniture. An extensive parkland was redesigned as well to create the picturesque natural-looking landscaped grounds you can see today.

Unfortunately, by the 1970s, the Curzon family couldn’t afford to keep and maintain Kedleston Hall anymore. Therefore, the house, park and garden were offered to the National Trust, on the condition that the family could keep living in the private 23-room family wing. Richard Curzon and his family still reside there.