Peak Experience

 

 

Simon Jenkins, 1000 Best Houses

The BBC are just the latest to film at Haddon Hall with Jane Eyre.

 

Cate Blanchett proved regal as Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s outstanding 1998 film Elizabeth, which also starred Joseph Fiennes and Geoffrey Rush.

 

Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen starred in the 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice.  Haddon’s medieval banqueting hall featured as noisy Lambton Inn, where Lizzie dines with her aunt and uncle before their trip to Pemberley (Chatsworth House).  The dining hall doubled as Elizabeth’s bedroom.

 

Franco Zeffirelli shot many scenes for his film version of Jane Eyre at Haddon.  Released in 1996, the film stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Hurt and Billie Whitelaw.

 

Haddon has played host to ITV’s sexy Moll Flanders (whose author Daniel Defoe was an early Peak District tourist) and to cult classic The Princess Bride which featured many locals as extras!  Hugh Grant made an appearance as a modern swashbuckler in The Lady and the Highwayman.

 

The BBC also enjoyed Haddon as location for The Prince and the Pauper and Chronicles of Narnia – the Silver Chair.

 

For an earlier take on Elizabethan times, there’s a 1924 Mary Pickford, Allan Forrest swashbuckler, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall that was actually shot in the USA.

 

At beautiful Haddon Hall, you breathe air from the lungs of the stars!  A fortified manor house dating back to the 1100s, Haddon has been in the Manners family for nearly 500 years.  Architectural highlights include the medieval kitchens, banqueting hall and painted chapel and the Tudor long gallery.  Even more, there’s the sheer beauty of the stone in sunlight – it seems to be its own warm light source.

 

Haddon Hall is about 2 km southeast of Bakewell.  The Hall offers a restaurant and gift shop with local produce, as well as access to the Hall and outstanding gardens.  Opening times and other details are on Haddon Hall’s website.

 

Haddon Hall is served by buses between Bakewell and Matlock, running at least every hour, seven days a week, including the TransPeak service which runs from Manchester to Nottingham.  Further information about bus services can be found by calling Traveline on 0871 200 2233 or visiting Traveline.