Testimonials
We wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed your tours, loved all the history......your area is beautiful. Jane & Andy P, New England
Enjoyed our time with you thank you for making our holiday so special. JJ & PD. Scotland.
Thank you again for everything our vacation was great. We thought the little towns and the the stately houses were wonderful and the girls just loved the all the movie scenery we visited. Tom & Audrey B.
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Haddon Hall customised peak district holidays designed for you
Step back in time and visit this beautifully preserved Medieval and Tudor manor house in the heart of the Peak District, Haddon Hall. Perched overlooking the river Wye and home of the Manners family for the past 800 years Haddon is a hall steeped in romantic history.
For a hundred years Haddon Hall was held by William the Conqueror's illegitimate son, Peverel, and his descendants.
Haddon then passed into the Vernon family they held Haddon Hall for a hundred years during which time Richard de Vernon in the 14th century and Sir Henry Vernon in the 16th century shaped the building we see today.
After the death of Sir George Vernon in 1567 the house passed, by the marriage of Dorothy Vernon, into the Manners family.
The tour begins as you enter a wonderful inner courtyard with access to the Chapel, a small museum and the main house.
In medieval times the Banqueting Hall would have been the principal dwelling room for up to 50 people. The hall at Haddon dates from the late 14th century and contains many items of interest. Around 1600 a wood panelled minstrel's gallery was added to the hall.
The Great Chamber was separated from the dining room below by Sir Henry Vernon in about 1500. At this time it was re-roofed with the oak beams now visible and remnants of one of the 14th century windows remain as an alcove in one of the walls. The room is decorated with fine tapestries and contains a 14th century English pew end. The plasterwork is 17th Century as is the panelling, which shows evidence of once having been painted.
Haddon's grandest room is the Long Gallery, linked to the Great Chamber by large oak steps and said to have been hewn from the roots of a single oak tree. Built in the late 16th and early 17th century it is typical of an Elizabethan Gallery and is the place members of the family could take exercise without subjecting themselves to inclement weather.
The use of light oak panels and diamond panes of glass in the Long Gallery enables light to flood in always ensuring maximum effect of daylight at all times.
Leaving the house you enter the garden and are met by the fantastic display and heady scent of flowers. Abundant perennial borders, terraced rose gardens and lawns are a wonderful sight whether visited in spring or summer.
In the early 20th century the garden was overgrown and uncared for. After a massive clearance the gardens at Haddon were returned to their former glory.
Trees were planted as well as herbaceous borders; climbing ivy was stripped from balustrades and climbing roses planted in their place. Now the garden is a mass of colour and traditional English country flowers.
The authentic appearance and unique charm of Haddon Hall has made it a perfect setting for filmmakers and the hall and gardens have been used as a setting for many films and dramas.
Most recently the Oscar nominated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and the BBC production of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Haddon is a perfect place to recreate the wonderful atmosphere these period novels.
Take as much time as you like to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the house, terraces and flowerbeds at Haddon Hall.
 
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How Interesting
One of England's most popular stately homes and one of its largest private houses is Chatsworth House the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Chatsworth is believed to have been the inspiration for Jane Austen's Pemberley, home of Mr Darcy, in the book Pride & Predjudice and Chatsworth has been used as a setting for the many adaptations of the novel.
The village of Edensor on the Chatsworth estate was razed to the ground then rebuilt out of site of the main house.
The Padley Martyrs, Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam, were two catholic priests, captured in 1588, taken hanged, drawn and quartered. The ruins of Padley Hall still exist behind the tiny Padley Chapel.
Castleton has a shivering mountain and the Devils Arse.
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Famous Derbyshire People
Richard Arkwright perfected water powered spinning machines and installed them in his factory at Cromford. Building up a whole new community he provided cottages for his workers, a chapel, school and the Greyhound Hotel. 
Initially he lived next to the mill at Rock House but as he prospered he went on to build Willersley Castle on a hill above Cromford. He died in 1792 aged only 60 and was buried at the church he built.
Kathleen, sister of John F Kennedy, is buried in the church of St Peter, Edensor. Kathleen known as ‘Kick’ married William Cavendish, Marques of Hartington in 1944. Only four months later William was killed whilst on active duty and in 1948 she was killed in a plane crash.
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