Haddon Hall Houses

If we were to take ourselves back to 1170, we would see very little of the present-day Haddon Hall, other than parts of the Eagle Tower and chapel. A building originally stood on the land it now occupies as far back as 1087, but it was not until 1370 that Richard de Vernon embarked on a project of major construction.

William the Conqueror's illegitimate son, Peverel, and his descendants held Haddon for a hundred years before it passed into the hands of the Vernons. It was under their care and particularly under that of Richard de Vernon in the 14th century and Sir Henry Vernon in the 16th century that Haddon Hall took on the shape of the building we are familiar with today. It came into the possession of the Manners family by marriage after the death of Sir George Vernon in 1567 and has remained in the Manners family ever since.

The beautiful gardens at Haddon Hall today are due mainly to the passion of Her Grace the 9th Duchess of Rutland. When she arrived with her husband at the beginning of the 20th century, she encountered a garden overgrown and uncared for. A massive clearance took place and the once grand and then neglected gardens at Haddon were returned to their former glory. Yew trees were planted as well as herbaceous borders; climbing ivy was stripped from balustrades and climbing roses planted in their place.

Haddon Hall is believed to have one of the most romantic gardens in Britain, the terraced rose gardens are glorious. Roses, clematis and delphiniums soften the harshness of the great stone buttresses and ancient walls of the house itself, and whether visited in Spring or Summer, these wonderful surroundings are the epitome of the English Country Garden.