Knowsley Hall, Merseyside

Описание: Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by 2,500 acres (10 km2) of parkland, which contains the Knowsley Safari Park.[Though the hall is still owned by the Stanley family, it is no longer a family home, but is instead used for corporate events, conferences and weddings. Since 1953, it has been designated a Grade II* listed building.

The house consists of a long wing running north–south dating originally from the 1720s to 1737 (the east wing) and at right angles to the west is the south wing, dating originally from around 1495. At the west end of this wing is a detached structure, the Dynamo Tower. The east wing is Georgian in style, built in red brick with stone dressings. The south wing and Dynamo Tower are built in ashlar red sandstone.The oldest part of the south wing is known as the Royal Lodging. On its north side, facing the courtyard, are two round turrets with conical roofs. This face has nine bays with tall sash windows which are divided into groups of three by the towers.

The west side of the east wing, which faces the courtyard, has a total of 19 bays, with seven bays in a central section and six bays on each side. It consists of two storeys over a basement with an attic storey over the middle section. Above the central section is a pediment on the summit of which is sculpture of the eagle and child (the Stanley emblem). The east face of the east wing is particularly long. At the north end are four bays in two storeys; the centre is of nine bays in 2½ storeys; and at the south end are 16 bays, also in 2½ storeys but one storey lower because the land falls away to the south. At the south end of the east wing is a "handsome" two-storey, five-bay stone "portico or loggia" with paired Doric columns on the lower storey and paired fluted Ionic columns above. The east wing then jumps back with six bays facing west until it joins the south wing.

The Entrance Hall is panelled in carved oak and is hung with early 18th-century paintings of the house and the park. The Grand Staircase has a collection of oil paintings on leather. The morning room is a light family room overlooking the gardens and parkland. The Breakfast Room has pale blue panels with paintings, one of which is a portrait of Charlotte, wife of the 7th Earl. The Walnut Drawing-Room contains a number of portraits, including one of the second wife of the 12th Earl, the actress Elizabeth Farren. The library contains a collection of books on natural history brought together by the 13th Earl. The Stucco Room, decorated in Rococo style, was created in the 18th century to link the Royal Lodging with the rest of the house is now a ballroom with a sprung floor. The State Dining Room is hung with portraits of family members. The room was designed by Foster to look like a great hall with doors 30 feet (9 m) high and contains two Gothic fireplaces and an ormolu chandelier. It was reworked in 1890, adding a bay window, a carved dado and a roof consisting of a large rectangular lantern supported on brackets which is glazed round its sides. The hall now measures 53 by 37 feet (16 by 11 m) and is 50 feet (15 m) high.

Parkland
This consists of an area of approximately 2,500 acres (10 km2) surrounded by a stone wall 9+1⁄2 miles (15 km) long. It has been registered by English Heritage at Grade II. The park was landscaped in the 1770s by "Capability" Brown, who flooded a 62 acres (25 ha) lake to feed the water-gardens around the hall. The southeast section of the park was made into a safari park in 1971.