Kedleston Hall in Derbshire is one of those buildings that has a lovely picturesque setting that makes the building one that has to be viewed from a distance.

When you open the guidebook the first thing you notice is that the Hall was never completed to its original design. With a similar layout to that of Holkham Hall this house was never completed and two of its wings remain only on paper.  In the wings that were never built there was to be a music room, a greenhouse and a chapel.  The music room is housed in the main building today but there is not chapel or greenhouse in existence at the property.

The house was finished in 1765 and has always been open to the public.  They were originally shown round by the housekeeper.  The house was not built merely for the public to view however, it was built for Sir Nathaniel Curzon 5th Bt, later 1st Lord Scarsdale.  The architect of the property was Robert Adam.

The tour of the house begins in the Marble Hall and it is here that you first see the Italian influence of the architect who had just returned from three years in Rome.

You then go on to the Music Room.  This was used by the Curzon family a their everyday sitting room and was in regular use.  Although Sir Nathaniel Curzon and his wife were music lovers they were unable to afford to build the wing which was to house their music gallery.

You then pass on into the Family Corridor which leads, not surprisingly, to the family wing, which is not open to the public.  However you can go down the curved corridor itself. You can see that the floorboards themselves were bent to follow the curve of the corridor.

Moving back through the Music Room you exit by another door to continue on the tour to the Drawing Room.  This room is apparently rarely used now although it does catch the sun in the morning.  The interior of this room was designed by James Paine before Robert Adam replaced him as architect.  The room also contains two false doors so that the room is symmetrical.

From the Drawing Room you pass on to the Library which is a male influenced room and contains plaster busts of Greeks and Romans high on the shelves.  

Moving on to the Saloon you find yourself next to the Marble Hall and at the other side of the building.  Like the Marble Hall this room is Italian in style.  I especially liked the paintings of the Roman ruins which were on display high in the rooms.  Just look up to see them.

You then pass on to the other side of the Hall and into the State Apartment.  First there is the Ante-Room, which was once used as a schoolroom, then the State Dressing Room and the State Bedchamber.   You can also see the separate room which is the wardrobe, although it was often used as both a dressing room and a lavatory.

You then come to the Dining Room which is conveniently placed to be the room nearest to the kitchen and the two rooms are joined via the Kitchen Corridor which runs parallel to the Family Corridor.

In the Kitchen Corridor you find that it is far less grand than the Family Corridor and you are clearly now entering the domain of the servants.  The Kitchen Wing was also used as a chapel at one point, presumably because of the wing to contain the chapel never having been built.  On display here are two model ships which were noticed by the Duchess of Northumberland in 1766.  It is unknown what happened to the third of the ships although the tour guide has his theories if you care to ask.

You can then view the Great Staircase before moving on to Ceasars' Hall and the Indian Museum.  In the museum is the famous Peacock Dress worn by Lady Curzon in 1903.

You can also view architectural drawings of the Hall in the Exhibition Corridor.

And when you have done inside, weather permitting there are the grounds to walk around as you can see from the pictures on this site.