Kedleston Hall

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Having never heard of Kedleston Hall I was surprised to find such a grand and exquisite ‘a temple of the arts’ . Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby.

Kedleston Hall

Spectacular 18th-century mansion with Robert Adam interiors and parkland. Kedleston was built for Sir Nathaniel Curzon in 1765 as a house to rival Chatsworth.

Intended as ‘a temple of the arts’ and as the location for grand entertainments, the main house was never meant to be a family home, but a canvas on which to showcase the finest paintings, sculpture and furniture.

The Hall was used as a key location for ‘The Duchess’, the Hollywood blockbuster starring Keira Knightley.

Kedleston’s pleasure grounds are one of the best surviving examples of an 18th-century informal landscape. It’s the perfect place to spot birds, with owls, buzzards and woodpeckers often spotted, as well as beautiful hares. It’s also where Dexter cows spend much of the year.

Certainly, the whole construction with its grounds and gardens were clearly built to impress.