MM #64: Kiplin Hall, Back from the Brink

View of Kiplin Hall on October 28, 2019

How long have I been in love with historic homes in the UK?  At least 30 years!

These homes, preserved for our education, wonder and enjoyment, share numerous common elements.  Walled gardens, sweeping lawns, ancient families, period furniture, and, of course, a striking home.  But each one has a unique tale, and inevitably, intriguing idiosyncrasies.  Welcome to the story of Kiplin Hall!

Built in the early 1620's, it was owned by four fascinating families related by blood and marriage.

The beginning: in the 13th century, Kiplin became part of the landholding of Easby Abbey, a monastery five miles to the west.  (Yes, you have read about Easby on my blog - see this post.  Small country, small world.)  After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the land was purchased by the Calvert family.  George Calvert was born there in 1859 and built the Hall between 1622 - 1625.

Scores of flowers despite our visit in late October!

In the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, a gentleman's house was a visible symbol of his status.  George Calvert built a tall, symmetrical red-brick house, using fashionable design features such as the diamond-shaped diapering pattern in blue-black bricks on the east front.  Many contemporary houses had corner towers with leaded domes; Kiplin was unique in placing the towers in the center of each façade.

Ironically, George Calvert and his descendants never lived in the house.  George was instrumental in establishing the colony of Maryland in the US, and his descendants lived there or in the south of England.  In 1722, Charles Calvert sold the Hall and its 800 acres to his mother's second husband, Christopher Crowe.

The first owners to live in the Hall, the Crowe family increased the estate to 4,500 acres.  To make the Hall more fashionable and comfortable, Christopher Crowe added the central staircase, Georgian fireplaces, and decorative plasterwork.  The estate passed to Christopher Crowe's nephew, Robert, in 1782.  When Robert's daughter Sarah inherited Kiplin in 1818, the estate passed through marriage to the Carpenter family.

Ceiling in the dining room

Sarah and her husband John Carpenter continued to improve and enlarge both the estate and the home.  The symmetry of the original building was further altered in the 1820s, when they built a Gothic style Drawing Room to the south.  Lady Sarah also developed the pleasure gardens, creating paths through the woods and the walled gardens.

In 1868, Kiplin passed to a cousin, Walter Cecil Talbot, on the condition that he change his name to Carpenter.  He rose to Admiral in the Royal Navy, and made many enhancements to the estate buildings and gardens.  Countless items in the house were collected, commissioned or made by the Carpenters.  Family scrapbooks and photo albums compiled between 1860 and 1904 give a wonderful picture of the country house lifestyle of the period.  The death of the Admiral in 1904 marked the end of an era.

This mahogany cabinet was designed by Chippendale and was

commissioned to house the decorative panels of pietra dura.

Pietra dura means hard stone, and the charming scenes of the

Italian countryside are made of marble and other colored stones.

Miss Bridget Talbot

Kiplin began its decline as a country house when Sarah Talbot Carpenter married and moved away.  Between 1905 and 1930, Sarah sold off most of the estate until only the Hall, a few outbuildings and 120 acres remained.  In 1938, Sarah made her cousin, Bridget Talbot, joint owner of Kiplin.  Bridget lived a varied and adventurous life, including serving the Red Cross on the Italian front line during the First World War, which earned her an Italian Medal of Honor and an OBE.  In a major campaign in the 1920s and 1930s to save the lives of Merchant Seamen, Bridget invented a waterproof torch for lifebelts that became a standard part of safety equipment.

During the Second World War, Kiplin Hall was requisitioned by the Army and later turned into flats for Royal Air Force officers.  (This room in the house has been left as is to show how it looked at that time, with modifications to bedrooms in order to create flats.) There was considerable damage and little hope of compensation.  Nevertheless, Bridget worked tirelessly to save Kiplin.

Left: "Bugingham Palace" - Get it?!?         Right: Conkers, also known as Horse Chestnuts

From the 1940s to the 1960s, Bridget struggled to ensure Kiplin's survival.  She approached many organizations and negotiated with the National Trust for years.  On several occasions she announced her decision to demolish the increasingly derelict Hall, but she never did.  Finally, in 1968, Bridget established the Kiplin Hall Trust.

Following Bridget's death in 1971, the trustees endeavored to maintain the Hall.  Financial assistance from Maryland in the 1970s and 1980s carried the house until its future was finally secured in the 1990s.  Income produced from quarrying gravel in the parkland was sufficient to put the trust on a firm footing, and also created an attractive lake.  Major restoration work since 1998 has brought Kiplin back to life as a welcoming Victorian country house.  Bridget, your hard work paid off - you can rest easy now!

Mosaic Monday

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Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
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