Calke Abbey, National Trust
Over the summer we spent a weekend in Derby, and as part of our time there we visited a couple of National Trust properties, one of them was Calke Abbey, which is located in Derbyshire.
In the early 17th century Calke Abbey was sold to the Harpur family, who extended the house over future generations, until the National Trust cared for it in 1985.
At the time the National Trust took care of the house, many of the rooms had been abandoned for decades, and as a result were in decline.
The National Trust decided to leave the rooms as they found them, which has labelled Calke Abbey the un-stately home.
I loved that the National Trust kept the rooms as they found them. It’s the first National Trust property I’ve visited that had rooms where wallpaper was peeling off the walls, cracks were present in parts of the ceiling, and rooms were empty, which contrasted really well with other rooms in the house that were filled with items that were present when the house was lived in, including the largest amount of taxidermy I’ve ever seen.
It was the contrast between the rooms that made our visit to Calke Abbey memorable, and added a real sense of history and eeriness to the house.
Upon entering the house the first room we saw was the Entrance Hall, and nearly every inch of the walls were covered with taxidermy, which is a trend that continued throughout a large portion of the house.
It was here where a volunteer told us a brief history of Calke Abbey, and said that it’s a property unlike any other in the National Trust due to the run down nature of some of the rooms, and because it houses some of the largest collections within the National Trust.
After we walked around the Entrance Hall, we walked through the Grand Dining Room, the Library, and The Saloon, none of these rooms were run down, they were set up as they would have been when the house was lived in.
Once we walked through these rooms we headed towards the Servants’ quarters where we saw the School Room and a bedroom, and it’s where we came across the rundown areas of the house.
Once we finished walking through the house we sat on the hill opposite it and had a picnic, then walked up the hill and around St Giles’ Church.
We then walked down the stairs outside the Church towards the Kitchen Garden, which used to be a resort for the inhabitants of the house, but is now a pleasure ground for children filled with obstacle courses and interactive games.
Ryan loved the Kitchen Garden, unlike other National Trust properties we’ve visited that have just had a natural playground, Calke Abbey had wooden horses that children could race around a race track, a wooden stage with props so children could put on a show, and many other fun games and structures.
Ryan’s favourite part of this garden was the wooden stage. He put on a show for myself and another family who were waiting to put a show on of their own.
At the side of the Kitchen Garden was an Orangery, and behind the Orangery was the Flower Garden, a landscaped garden that grew pumpkins and squash and had palm trees in it.
Just outside of the Flower Garden was the Physic Garden, where fruit and vegetables were grown, as well as a small orchard, home to local and historic apple trees.
On our day out at Calke Abbey we also walked through the Gardener’s Bothy, a series of underground tunnels that once hid gardeners from view, and looked at the stables.
There were also at least six walking trails at Calke Abbey, which had views of ponds, reservoirs, woods, and even a deer park, which we didn’t do during this visit, but perhaps will if we return.
I loved Calke Abbey, it will definitely stay in my mind as one of the more unique National Trust properties, and one where we got a real sense of what an impressive house can look like if it’s been neglected for a period of time.
Calke Abbey is located at Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 7JF. For more information on Calke Abbey please visit their website.
Related posts:
A weekend in Derby
National Trust visits
A day out at Kedleston Hall, National Trust
What are some of your favourite day out locations?
I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.
