Lyme Park - Disley, Cheshire (NT)
Lyme Park was the country seat of the Legh family for 550 years. Although at first glance it seems all of a piece from the outside, the interior betrays its age, and parts of the Elizabethan structure built by Sir Piers VII can be seen. Knowing this, the exterior deserves a second look, and the north front, the original entrance, still has the Renaissance portico with four tiers of columns following the classical orders in a non-conventional way. The front was altered by successive Leghs to become the way we see it today after Giacomo Leoni's substantial remodelling in the early eighteenth century. As you pass through into the courtyard, the heavy Palladian regularity of the stonework is impressive, but rather austere in the cold light of northern England. The south front that you see above was completed by 1732 and Leoni's original intention was for a cupola rising above the monumental ionic portico. The then owner, Peter Legh XII rejected this idea and the squat tower which now links the pediment to the roof line was only added in about 1817 by the architect Lewis Wyatt's alterations. The tower contains the servants' bedrooms.
Lyme Park
The Entrance Hall is again Leoni's design, but working within the Elizabethan structure. He placed a screen of fluted ionic pillars to offset the irregular shape of the room, and portraits of Edward III and the Black Prince (who rewarded the grandfather of the wife of the first Piers Legh, Sir Thomas Danyers, for heroism on the battle field at Crecy) hang at either end of the room.The portrait of the Black Prince survives and can be swung out from the wall to reveal the squint into the Elizabethan Great Chamber. It is not know whether this was an original feature or an imaginative glance to the past by Wyatt.It was in this room that the Servants' Ball was held, with the family and guests attending. A painting by a daughter of the house,Phyllis Sandeman, commemorates this event and it can now be seen in the East Corridor.
The Great Chamber is now known as the Drawing Room, and provides a real contrast to the proceeding room. It retains its Elizabethan and Jacobean decoration, with dark panelling and a richly decorated plasterwork ceiling. The stained glass window in the alcove was gathered here by Wyatt, and contains some medieval pieces. The plaster overmantel, although of the period, was probably moved here from another part of the house as its sits rather awkwardly with the plaster frieze and ceiling. The Stag Parlour was the scene of intrigue during Peter XIII's time - he and fellow supporters of the Stuart cause plotted to return them to power. In later years the gentlemen would retire to this room to drink their port after dinner, rather than remain in the Dining Room as was traditional. Wyatt substantially remodelled the room in the early nineteenth century, and further alterations were made during the Jouberts' redecoration of c.1904.
In 1680, the New or Great Parlour, now the Dining Room, was built, with wood carvings supplied by the famous Grinling Gibbons. By Wyatt's time, the dining space was too small and he rebuilt and decorated sympathetically. The original carvings were moved to the Saloon. The table is set for dinner in the style of the 2nd Lord Newton and his wife, c. 1905.
The Library is another of Wyatt's creations; he opened up the late seventeenth century apartments originally used by Richard Legh. The family's remaining books can be identified by the ram's-head crest stamped on the spines. The ceiling is Wyatt's pastiche and the centrepiece depicts the Legh's heraldic device of a mailed arm holding a banner against a background of stars. This was awarded in 1575 by Elizabeth I in recognition of the saving of the Black Prince's standard at Crecy. The explorer and collector of the family, Thomas Legh, brought back the ancient sculpture in the room from his travels in the early nineteenth century.
The Saloon, located centrally behind the columns on the south front, was the principal receiving room. It has original oak panelling of the 1730's and the Gibbons carvings moved here from the Dining Room. It is worth taking time to study the carvings, it is almost impossible to believe their intricacy and delicacy.
The Grand Staircase and Bright Gallery were completed in the early eighteenth century and have now been restored to the colour scheme of bright red with dark joinery that existed from the late nineteenth century until the house was given to the National Trust in 1946. From here the Long Gallery stretches the length of the north facade. As in most grand houses of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period, this room was used for gentle exercise during inclement weather, and for display. The ceiling here is not original, although pretty convincing, it only dates from 1926. During the room's history it has been used by the family for billiards and amateur dramatics. The bedrooms on display contain a mixture of furniture and decoration from the various periods of alteration, much moved from elsewhere in the house.
The garden and deer park at Lyme are some of its best features. The Cage shown above stands on high ground to the north east of the house and was built by 1737 to replace a possibly early sixteenth century building on the site. Currently under restoration, this was used for watching the hunt and for banquets. Another building in the park is the Lantern, which has a square base, an octagonal central section and a pyramidal roof. This was built in 1729, possibly from old stone from the house. The red deer which roam freely over the park are descended from the deer which roamed the land when it was first enclosed by Piers Legh I. Up until 1884 there were wild cattle with white coats and red ears as well, but despite attempts to cross-breed them, they died out. Now Highland cattle graze on the surrounding moorland.