Harlaxton Manor - Architectural Descriptions

This material is held atHarlaxton Manor Archives

Reference
- GB 3454 arc
Dates of Creation
- 1830 - ongoing
Name of Creator
- Gregory family Harlaxton Manor
Language of Material
- English
Physical Description
- 9 folders

Scope and Content

A collection of items relating to the architecture and internal detailing of Harlaxton Manor.

Administrative / Biographical History

Harlaxton Manor was built in the 1830s by Gregory Gregory, a wealthy Nottinghamshire businessman, to replace the original Elizabethan Manor House in Harlaxton village. Having travelled throughout England and Europe seeking inspiration, ideas and indeed artefacts for this huge house, Gregory employed Anthony Salvin as architect and Harlaxton Manor must be regarded as Salvin's masterpiece. Built in Ancaster stone, it is an exuberant merging of Gothic, Jacobethan and Baroque styles creating an unforgettable and dramatic impact.

Owner and architect had many differences of opinion, however, and Salvin having completed the exterior of the main building was replaced by William Burn who is thought responsible for much of the interior.

Few houses in the country can match the splendid approach to Harlaxton. A straight mile long drive across a bridge, under a gatehouse, past 'the pyrotechnic display of the forecourt gates and screen' to Salvin's towering facade whether by day or night when the building is floodlit, is in itself a memorable experience.

The house is now owned by the University of Evansville, Indiana, USA, and is used as their International Study Centre.