A place to call home

Lady Edward explains to Derbyshire Life why Haddon Hall is so much more than 900 years of history

- Nathan Fearn

Driving through the main gates at one of England’s pre-eminent stately homes with nobody else in sight is a surreal, conflicting experience.

On the one hand, Haddon Hall cries out for people. Its elegance, history, imposing nature, and sheer presence deserves the hum of expectant crowds – in a normal year more than 80,000 people per year would pass through the doors, eager to explore it's every nook and cranny.

On the other, you can’t help but feel a sense of privilege, as if you have 900 years of history all to yourself; like being at a live music concert where everybody suddenly disappears into the ether and you’re left with just yourself and the musician.

The current climate dictates this was the unique atmosphere that met me when I arrived at Haddon on an autumnal, cold, and windy morning. Led through the centuries-old wooden door which leads to the unmistakable Haddon courtyard I am met by Lady Edward herself who, along with husband Lord Edward Manners, is the current incumbent of an institution that has truly stood the test of time.

Make no mistake, whatever I was feeling as I stood observing this people-free powerhouse of English stately grandeur paled into insignificance compared to what she must have felt on her first encounter here, as she explained as we sat down over a cup of tea.

‘I arrived on a winter night and hadn’t previously Googled Haddon, so didn’t fully know what to expect,’ says Lady Edward.