Derbyshire's Haddon Hall is set to receive funding towards essential restoration

The Historic Houses Foundation is a major beneficiary of the Heritage Stimulus Fund, recently announced by the UK Government and Historic England, which will provide invaluable support for restoration work on some of England’s most important and vulnerable historic buildings.

The Historic Houses Foundation will now be able to set in place a programme of urgent work that would not otherwise have been possible.

Over the past 17 years the Foundation has distributed more than £11 million in grant aid to nearly 250 vital restoration projects in England and Wales.

The Historic Houses Foundation is one of the leading funders of architectural conservation and one of the only bodies able to support buildings in private ownership.

The nationally recognised expertise of its eight volunteer Trustees makes it ideally suited to identifying those projects most in need of support and after careful consideration, 18 nationally important properties across England were selected to benefit from these funds – of which Haddon Hall is one.

Haddon Hall in Derbyshire lay empty for more than 200 years and was saved from certain ruin in the 1920s by the 9th Duke of Rutland who made its restoration his life's work.

Lord and Lady Edward Manners, the current incumbents, are the first family to live in the hall for more than 300 years and continue the restoration started by the 9th Duke to this day.

Haddon is a fortified manor house built more than 500 years featuring Norman, Medieval, Tudor and Elizabethan architecture and described by Simon Jenkins as “the most perfect English house to survive from the Middle Ages.”

These funds will complete the restoration of the Norman and Medieval chapel including the important early 15th century chancel window with fine stone tracery and stained glass which is in a critical state; and restore two chimneys, also in a critical condition, which serve the medieval kitchens.

Work will begin immediately and continue over the winter months before the start of the new tourist season in spring 2021 and is expected to provide welcome employment to a wide range of traditional craftsmen and building professionals in addition to other local employment opportunities.

Lord Edward Manners said: "Haddon Hall is truly grateful to the HHF for their generosity and funding that will enable essential work to be carried out here.

"Our elegant chapel is enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year, but it is also a parish church and it sits at the heart of our community.

"Visitors and church goers alike will again be able to wonder at the early 15th century chancel window and its stunning and historic stained glass.

"In addition, two chimneys on the point of collapse that serve our medieval kitchens will be saved.

"These painstaking tasks would not have been possible without this terrific grant and Lady Edward and I are particularly pleased that this highly skilled work can be undertaken by local craftsmen and talented professionals in these most uncertain of times."

Norman Hudson OBE, chairman of the Historic Houses Foundation said: “Our grants go to historic buildings in all categories of ownership, so range far wider than the National Trust.

"That we have been selected as a Delivery Partner for this money indicates that the Government likes what we do and recognises the exceptionally cost efficient way in which we achieve it.

"It is good news for historic buildings and good news for jobs and the local community.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​