Kedleston Hall

Kedleston Hall, Georgian Palladian mansion in Derbyshire, central England, built 1759-1765 for Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale. It remains largely unaltered today and boasts the most complete sequence of Robert Adam interiors in England.

The basic plan was designed by Matthew Brettingham based on the Villa Mocenigo by Andrea Palladio, but he only built the north-east wing. The north-west wing was built by James Paine, who also provided the design for the north elevation of the central block with its grand six-columned portico, but this was subsequently built by Adam. The south front is entirely by Adam and uses a central motif, containing four Corinthian columns, derived from the Arch of Constantine in Rome. The grounds, which include a lake, a bridge, and a fishing pavilion, are also partly by Adam.

The rooms centre on the marble hall, set with niches containing casts of antique sculpture beneath an arabesque stucco ceiling. There is a large collection of art and antiques, including furniture by Adam and John Linnell and paintings by Veronese, Cuyp, and Van Dyck, among others. There is also an exhibition of Adam’s architectural drawings for the house and grounds. The Indian museum houses the objects collected by George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquis Curzon of Kedleston between 1899 and 1905 when he was Viceroy of India. The property was given to the National Trust in 1987, though the Curzon family still maintains a residence there.