Editing Harlaxton Manor (section)

==Architecture and description==
[[File:Harlaxton Manor, front view (40892900702).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|The entrance front]]
Nicholas Antram, in his revised ''Lincolnshire'' volume of the [[Pevsner Architectural Guides|Pevsner ''Buildings of England'']] published in 2002, describes the approach to Harlaxton Manor as a "crescendo of effects".{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=363}} From the entrance gates on the [[A607 road|A607]], just outside of the village of [[Harlaxton]], the drive descends into a valley before crossing a serpentine lake by way of a five-arch bridge.<ref name="NHLEBridge">{{NHLE|num=1187968|desc=Bridge 800 metres north west of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> It then passes the [[Kitchen garden|Kitchen Gardens]]<ref name="NHLEKitchenWalls">{{NHLE|num=1298389|desc=Kitchen garden walls and gardeners house 500 metres north west of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> before going through an outer [[gatehouse]].<ref name="NHLEFormerStablesGatehouseNW">{{NHLE|num=1236606|desc=Gatehouse 400 metres north west of Harlaxton Manor and attached boundary walls|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> It continues past the stables before entering the [[Cour d'honneur]] through a second, double, gatehouse, described by Antram as a "[[pyrotechnic]] display".{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=363}}<ref name="NHLEGatewayScreen">{{NHLE|num=1298442|desc=Gateway and screen wall 1200 metres north west of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The visitor is then confronted by the "towering façade" of the main house. Gregory employed three of the major architects of the [[Victorian era]] to achieve his effects; [[Anthony Salvin]] was responsible for the majority of the exterior work,{{efn|Salvin was 31 when Gregory first consulted him in June 1831. Still relatively young, he had nonetheless already built two major houses in the newly-popular [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival style]], [[Mamhead House]] in Devon and [[Moreby Hall]] in Yorkshire.{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=29}}}} [[Edward Blore]] was consulted, and [[William Burn]] undertook the conservatory and the kitchen range. There is debate among architectural historians as to who was responsible of the design of the interiors. Salvin had been dismissed by the time of their fitting out, and Burn seems unlikely. [[Historic England]] suggests that Gregory "acted largely as his own architect"<ref name="NHLEHouse">{{NHLE|num=1298440|desc=Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> and Antram and [[Mark Girouard]] agree that Gregory must have made a major contribution.{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=363}}{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=93}} But [[Jill Allibone]], Salvin's biographer, is certain that Gregory alone could not have been responsible for the extraordinary designs.{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=50}}

The house cost Gregory in the region of £100,000, (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|100000|1838|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}} adjusted for inflation){{inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} a significant sum for a landowner with an annual income of £12,000, but as it had been over 30 years in the planning and as building was undertaken at a leisurely pace, the sum was affordable from his income.{{efn|[[Mark Girouard]] records the total expenditure on building and fitting out as traditionally being said to have been £200,000.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=93}}}}{{sfn|Hall|2009|p=26}}

===Exterior===
Harlaxton is built to an [[Elizabethan architecture|Elizabethan]] E-plan. The foundation stone of the main central block was laid by Gregory in 1832 and it was complete externally by 1837. All of this is by Anthony Salvin, with Gregory's input.{{sfn|Franklin|1981|pp=174-177}} The main construction materials are [[Ancaster stone]] [[ashlar]] and brick.{{efn|The stone was quarried at [[Ancaster, Lincolnshire|Ancaster]] in Lincolnshire and is also the main building stone used at nearby [[Belton House]], 150 years before Harlaxton.{{sfn|Tinniswood|1999|p=12}}}}<ref name="NHLEHouse"/> Salvin enhanced the drama of the entrance front by making the entry at basement level, the corresponding garden elevation behind opens directly onto a [[parterre]].{{sfn|Franklin|1981|pp=174-177}} The main architectural style is that of an [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] or [[Jacobethan]] [[prodigy house]], such as nearby [[Burghley House|Burghley]] or [[Wollaton Hall]] in Nottinghamshire, although with notable European influences.{{sfn|Hall|2009|pp=26-31}} [[Mark Girouard]], in his 1979 study, ''The Victorian Country House'', records that Gregory had visited "[[Bramshill House|Bramshill]], [[Hardwick Hall|Hardwick]], [[Hatfield House|Hatfield]], [[Knole]], Burghley, Wollaton, [[Kirby Hall|Kirby]] [[Longleat House|Lonleat]], [[Temple Newsam]] and the [[Oxford University|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] colleges " in pursuit of Elizabethan inspiration.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=93}} The uniqueness of Harlaxton, however, is the fusion of Elizabethan and Jacobean styles with the architecture and design of the [[Baroque]].{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=95}} Girouard notes that this blending continues "in varying proportions all through the house"{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=96}} and suggests [[David Bryce]], William Burn's chief assistant, as a possible source.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=98}}

====Entrance front====
[[File:Harlaxton Manor Forecourt (geograph 4596125).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|Forecourt with Burn's gazebo]]
The entrance front consists of a central block with a two-storey [[oriel window]] flanked by three-storey towers with [[bay window]]s and topped by [[cupola]]s. The doorway is framed by two [[pilaster]]s. Behind this there is a square tower, with an octagonal turret containing a clock and again finishing in a cupola.<ref name="NHLEHouse"/> The sources for all of these elements can be traced: the overall impression is of Burghley House; the pilasters are a direct lift from a 16th-century German architectural work, the ''Architectura'' by [[Wendel Dietterlin]], a copy of which Gregory is known to have owned;{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=49}} the oriel is from [[Hengrave Hall]] in Suffolk. Antram also identifies elements from [[Northumberland House]] and from [[Stonyhurst College|Stonyhurst]].{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=364}} Girouard writes, "the resulting impression of power, exuberance and abundance is sensational".{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=96}} To the left is a 
[[Servants' quarters|service wing]] by Burn, which is visually balanced by a [[gazebo]] to the right, drawn from Wollaton Hall.{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=364}}

====Inner and outer gatehouses====
By the time Gregory came to begin the building of the entrance to the cour d'honneur, Salvin had been dismissed. The reason for this is unclear, but the consensus among architectural historians is that disagreements of Gregory's future plans for the design and decoration of his house led to an estrangement.{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=48}} After some consultations with Edward Blore, Gregory employed William Burn. [[Historic England]] credits Burn, his assistant David Bryce, and Gregory himself with the design of the gateway.{{efn|Both Antram and Franklin are sceptical that Burn, "a dry and somewhat prosaic designer", could alone be responsible for the designs of the screen and lodges.{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=364}}{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=49}}}}<ref name="NHLEGatewayScreen"/> Antram considers the lodges and screen to be unlike anything else in England of that date, and comparable only to the work of [[John Vanbrugh]] at [[Blenheim Palace]].{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=364}} The central gateway is flanked by two pavilions with pierced archways and larger lodges to each side.<ref name="NHLEGatewayScreen"/> The outer lodges are topped by "scrolled [[Corbel|consoles]] [supporting] [[Sarcophagus|sacrophagi]]...the scale gargantuan".{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=364}}

The outer gatehouse is earlier and was designed by Salvin in a much more restrained [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival]] style.<ref name="NHLEFormerStablesGatehouseNW"/>

===Interior===
[[File:Harlaxton Manor, Great Hall (27063814128).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|The Great Hall]] 
The interiors at Harlaxton have been described as "a prodigious display of decorative virtuosity unparalleled in 19th century England". The designers are an uncertain mixture of Salvin, Burn, Bryce and possibly others, all influenced by Gregory himself. Jill Franklin, in her 1981 study, ''The Gentleman's Country House and its plan 1835-1914'', writes of the unusual nature of the interior layout of Harlaxton. Noting that there is no easy means of circulation, and that the entrance hall, the only public space at the front ground floor level, leads up via flights of stairs to two awkwardly placed landings, through which entrance is made into the main entertaining rooms of the house by concealed jib doors, she suggests that the house was always in fact designed for show, rather than for living; "a guided tour, with the visitor giving delighted cries of surprise as each door is flung open".{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=177}}

In the early 19th century, Gregory is believed to have held a post at the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Paris|British Embassy in Paris]]. While there, and taking advantage of the cheap prices occasioned by the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], he embarked on a spending spree purchasing, "panelling, chimneypieces, furniture and tapestries in great quantity".{{sfn|Hall|2009|p=29}} He also travelled extensively, "as far as [[Constantinople]] and the [[Crimea]]", taking particular interest in the [[Baroque architecture|Baroque design]] of Germany and Austria.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=93}} The wood carver William Gibbs Rogers, who visited the house in the 1860s when Gregory's collection was still intact, recorded his impressions; "[[marble]]s, [[jasper]]s, [[Cabinetry|cabinets]], [[porcelain]] of fabulous value, [[Boulle work|Buhl]], rare sculptures, delicate carvings, furniture, tapestries, all in glorious and unreadable confusion".{{efn|William Gibbs Ro(d)gers (1792–1875) was a highly successful wood carver who worked at [[Chatsworth House|Chatsworth]], [[Keele Hall]] and the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bifmo.history.ac.uk/entry/rogers-william-gibbs-1835-39|title=William Gibbs Rogers|publisher=British and Irish Furniture Makers Online|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>}}{{efn|Jill Allibone notes that Gregory was primarily interested in art works for their contribution to the overall design and decoration of his house, "He does not seem to have owned many pictures of any quality, although he did have a seascape in [[Oil painting|oils]] by [[Richard Parkes Bonington]]”.{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=41}}}}{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=52}}

The house was technologically advanced; a miniature railway, originally used to transport brick from Gregory's kilns to the house, and subsequently used to move coal, was run into the house on a [[viaduct]] and continued into the roof spaces to supply the internal coal bunkers.{{efn|As an indicator of Gregory's long-term planning for Harlaxton, he leased a kiln to a brickmaker in 1826 on a six-year contract, with a requirement for the supply of 400,000 bricks each building season.{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=42}}}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://victorianweb.org/technology/domestic/palmerwest.html|first=George P.|last=Landow|title="Unashamedly Archaeological" - a review of Marilyn Palmer and Ian West's 'Technology in the Country House'|publisher=The Victorian Web|access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref>
 
====Great Hall====
Entry to the house is through Salvin's entrance hall, set at basement level. Stairs rise to the first floor where the [[Great hall|Great Hall]] is entered through a stone screens passage. The main inspiration for what Gregory called The Barons' Hall, is that at [[Audley End House]] in Essex, but the design and decoration has decidedly Baroque elements such as the "muscular [[Atlas (architecture)|atlantes]]" supporting the roof trusses.{{sfn|Hall|2009|p=30}} Other decorative elements are more traditional, the stained glass in the window is by [[Thomas Willement]] and depicts Gregory's [[heraldry]] and ancestry.{{efn|[[Thomas Willement]] is also recorded as having restored fragments of original stained glass from the earlier Harlaxton Manor for installation in Gregory's new house, but nothing of this remains.{{sfn|Wainright|Beard|Rowlands|2000|p=15}}}}{{sfn|Wainright|Beard|Rowlands|2000|p=15}} The chandelier is a later introduction, bought by Mrs Van Elst, when its transportation to the intended destination, a palace in Madrid, was interrupted by the [[Spanish Civil War]].{{sfn|Wainright|Beard|Rowlands|2000|p=27}}

====Gold Drawing Room====
[[Louis XV style]] in decoration, as are most of the state rooms, this drawing room may have been created to emulate the Elizabeth Saloon at nearby [[Belvoir Castle]].{{sfn|Jenkins|2003|pp=438-440}} The decoration may be by [[John Gregory Crace (designer)|John Crace]].{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=367}}

====Cedar Staircase====
[[File:Harlaxton Manor, looking up the Cedar Staircase (26061998577).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|The Cedar Staircase]] 
The Cedar Staircase is placed within a tower that is invisible externally.{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=177}} It appears to rise three full storeys in what Michael Hall, in his 2009 study, ''The Victorian Country House'' calls an, "astonishingly theatrical ''tour de force''".{{sfn|Hall|2009|p=30}} This is in fact a ''[[trompe-l'œil]]'' illusion, as the upper storey is merely a decorative device and leads nowhere, culminating in a fake sky. The decoration is entirely Baroque; "[[Festoon|swagged]] curtains interlaced with thriving [[Putto|putti]] blowing trumpets and supporting huge [[scallop]] shells".{{sfn|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=366}} Franklin notes that the style would amaze in a German church but is extraordinary in an English country house.{{sfn|Franklin|1981|p=177}} The plasterwork, here and elsewhere in the house, is possibly by the firm of [[Francis Bernasconi|Bernasconi]], a London-based firm of Italian origin.{{sfn|Jenkins|2003|pp=438-440}} An alternative theory is that Salvin, who is known to have visited [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] in 1835, brought back local German craftsmen to undertake the work,{{sfn|Allibone|1988|p=50}} but architectural historians favour the former suggestion. The Bernasconi Company certainly had the necessary experience, having been employed at both [[Buckingham Palace]] and [[Windsor Castle]].{{sfn|Wainright|Beard|Rowlands|2000|p=19}}

===Listing designations===
The manor is listed at Grade I<ref name="NHLEHouse"/> while the gardens and park are listed at Grade II* on the [[Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England|Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]].<ref name=NHLEGarden>{{NHLE|num=1000982|desc=Harlaxton Manor (garden)|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> To the north-west of Harlaxton Manor, the bridge 800 metres from the house is listed Grade II*, as is the gatehouse 400 metres away and its attached boundary walls.<ref name="NHLEBridge"/><ref name="NHLEFormerStablesGatehouseNW"/> The kitchen's garden walls and the gardener's house 500 metres to the north-west are listed Grade II* and the stables 70 metres from the house with their adjoining screen wall are listed Grade II.<ref name="NHLEKitchenWalls"/><ref name=NHLEFormerStables>{{NHLE|num=1298441|desc=Former stables 70 metres north west of Harlaxton Manor and adjoining screen wall|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The gateway and screen wall 1,200 metres north-west of the manor are listed Grade II.<ref name="NHLEGatewayScreen"/>

The walls, steps, and [[gazebo]]s to the south-west of the forecourt are listed Grade I.<ref name=NHLEWallsSW>{{NHLE|num=1187969|desc=Walls steps and gazebos to south west of forecourt at Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The statue at the head of the ornamental garden steps 50 metres south-west of the manor and the twelve stone benches in the garden to the south-west of the forecourt are both listed Grade II.<ref name=NHLEStatue>{{NHLE|num=1194948|desc=Statue at head of ornamental garden steps 50 metres south west of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref><ref name=NHLEBenches>{{NHLE|num=1236577|desc=Twelve stone benches in garden to south west of forecourt of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The ornamental garden steps 50 metres south-west of the manor are listed Grade II*.<ref name=NHLEStepsSW>{{NHLE|num=1236717|desc=Ornamental garden steps 50 metres south west of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref>

To the south of Harlaxton Manor, the garden [[loggia]] and the loggia's steps and trough 90 metres to the south of the house are listed Grade II.<ref name=NHLELoggia>{{NHLE|num=1187970|desc=Garden loggia steps and trough 90 metres south of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref><ref name=NHLELoggiaSouth>{{NHLE|num=1264520|desc=Garden loggia 90 metres south of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The gazebo 80 metres south of the manor is listed Grade II*.<ref name=NHLEGazeboSouth>{{NHLE|num=1298388|desc=Gazebo 80 metres south of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The steps to the east and the west of the gazebo 80 metres south of the manor are listed Grade II.<ref name=NHLEStepsEast>{{NHLE|num=1194946|desc=Steps east of gazebo 80 metres south of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref><ref name=NHLEStepsWest>{{NHLE|num=1194947|desc=Steps to west of gazebo 80 metres south of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> The Baroque terrace fountain and statues 25 metres south-east of the manor are listed Grade II*.<ref name=NHLEFountain>{{NHLE|num=1236526|desc=Baroque terrace fountain and statues 25 metres south east of Harlaxton Manor|access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref>