DiCamillo Companion
England

Holme Lacy House

  • Earlier Houses: There was probably an earlier house on the site of the current house.

    House & Family History: Holme, or hamme, is the Saxon word for a house, farm, or village. The name of Lacy came from Walter de Lacy, a powerful Norman knight who arrived soon after the Conquest and who owned enormous lands in Herefordshire. The design of Holme Lacy was influenced by Clarendon House, built between 1664 and 1667 to the designs of Sir Roger Pratt for the lord chancellor, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. (Clarendon House was a palace situated at the top of St. James's Street in the Piccadilly section of London; yet for all its grandeur, it had a short life, being demolished in 1684, one year after Lord Clarendon's death.) The 10th Earl of Chesterfield sold Holme Lacy in 1909. In a blast from a previous time, when the 10th Earl died in 1933 his "New York Times" obituary specifically mentioned his exceptional taste in neckties, which “achieved the triumph of being brilliant without being loud or vulgar."

    Collections: Some contents were sold by the 10th Earl of Chesterfield in 1902, with the remainder moved to his new seat, Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire. A gilded wood and metal chandelier (one of a pair) made circa 1710-15 for James, 3rd Viscount Scudmore, for the state apartments at Holme Lacy is today in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Louis XIV Baroque style chandelier (see "Images" section), with eight acanthus-scroll branches and feather-plumed masks, was installed at Beningbrough from 1916 until 1958.

  • Architect: William Atkinson

    Date: 1828-32
    Designed: Alterations to House, including north entrance front.

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    Architect: Hugh May

    Date: 1674
    Designed: House for 1st Viscount Scudamore

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  • John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: 2.S. Vol. I, p. 38, 1854.

    Country Life: XXV, 906, 1909.

  • Title: Belton House Guidebook - 1992
    Author: Tinniswood, Adrian
    Year Published: 1992
    Reference: pgs. 10, 11
    Publisher: London: The National Trust
    ISBN: 0707801133
    Book Type: Softback

    Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
    Author: Colvin, Howard
    Year Published: 1995
    Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
    ISBN: 0300072074
    Book Type: Softback

  • House Listed: Grade I

    Park Listed: Grade II

  • Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Walter de Lacy, 11th century. Sir James Scudamore, until 1619; John Scudamore, 1st Viscount Scudamore, 1619-71. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: John Scudamore, 2nd Viscount Scudamore, 1671-97; James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore, 1697-1716; Frances Scudamore, Duchess of Norfolk, 1782-1820. Sir Edwin Francis Stanhope, 2nd Bt., 1820-74; Henry Edwyn Chandos Scudamore-Stanhope, 9th Earl of Chesterfield, 1874-87; Edwyn Francis Scudamore-Stanhope, 10th Earl of Chesterfield, 1887-1909. Sir Robert Lucas-Tooth, 20th century.

    Current Ownership Type: Corporation

    Primary Current Ownership Use: Hotel

    Ownership Details: Today Holme Lacy House Hotel

  • House Open to Public: By Appointment

    Phone: 01432-870-870

    Fax: 01432-870-892

    Website: https://www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk

    Historic Houses Member: No

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