Haddon Hall - Building Stones

A view of the south front of Haddon Hall

Anyone who has spent time exploring the Peak District of England will be aware of the contrast between the landscapes of the White Peak and the Dark Peak, which reflect the underlying hard rock geology of the Carboniferous Limestone and the Millstone Grit respectively.

The Lower Courtyard

Throughout the region, this contrast is also apparent in its historic architecture – with the hard but brittle Carboniferous Limestone essentially being used for roughly coursed and squared walling and the more easily worked Millstone Grit reserved for the dressings.

Carboniferous Limestone and Millstone Grit

At Haddon Hall, originally built in the 11th century by William Peverel – the illegitimate son of William the Conqueror – the same pattern of construction using these stones can be seen in the various phases of building, from the 12th to the early 17th century.

Buttresses

The walls of the house and outer defences – with very substantial buttresses – are built in limestone, but Millstone Grit has been preferred for the structural elements, with plain late Elizabethan and Jacobean windows giving the south front much of its architectural character.

A squinch

Although the style of the masonry is essentially functional, a very unusual internal squint corner to the lower courtyard and a wide variety of gargoyles and grotesques shows that for one of the most powerful families in the country, money was no object.

Rainwater goods

Walking around the interior, it is the spectacularly carved woodwork that really catches the eye but – looking closely at the various doors, windows, thresholds, steps and paving stones – it becomes very clear that many of these are in desperate need of some sensitive restoration...