Lady Abigail's Wing, Stapleford Park
Stapleford Park was once the home of the Sherard Family (latterly entitled Earls of Harborough) but has long ceased to be a family home and is now run as a luxury hotel.
The house is an interesting mixture of styles, with different wings betraying their respective distinct styles and eras, the most intriguing of which is the earliest part of the complex, the late medieval Lady Abigail's wing, which appears to be a mansion of c1500 that was enlarged in a surprisingly sympathetic style in the 1630s.
The most noticeable feature of this wings is its array of ornamental sculpture, most of which appears to be of late medieval date and includes a serious of rectangular relief panels of religious subjects that appear to have been reused here, and perhaps originated from a church or chapel, possibly elements of a lost reredos. There are also six late medieval statues in niches of noblemen, augmented by six more of early 17th century date to form a surprisingly homogenous sequence.
The interior of the house is for hotel guests only so I have no idea what original features lie within. The grounds too are generally the preserve of paying guests, though fortunately nobody seemed to mind me straying in for a closer look during an open day for the miniature railway in the grounds.
Lady Abigail's Wing, Stapleford Park
Stapleford Park was once the home of the Sherard Family (latterly entitled Earls of Harborough) but has long ceased to be a family home and is now run as a luxury hotel.
The house is an interesting mixture of styles, with different wings betraying their respective distinct styles and eras, the most intriguing of which is the earliest part of the complex, the late medieval Lady Abigail's wing, which appears to be a mansion of c1500 that was enlarged in a surprisingly sympathetic style in the 1630s.
The most noticeable feature of this wings is its array of ornamental sculpture, most of which appears to be of late medieval date and includes a serious of rectangular relief panels of religious subjects that appear to have been reused here, and perhaps originated from a church or chapel, possibly elements of a lost reredos. There are also six late medieval statues in niches of noblemen, augmented by six more of early 17th century date to form a surprisingly homogenous sequence.
The interior of the house is for hotel guests only so I have no idea what original features lie within. The grounds too are generally the preserve of paying guests, though fortunately nobody seemed to mind me straying in for a closer look during an open day for the miniature railway in the grounds.