Holkham Hall

The principal entrance is through the Marble Hall, which is in fact made of pink Derbyshire alabaster; this leads to the piano nobile, or the first floor, and state rooms.

Brettingham's son, Matthew the Younger, acknowledged in a latter addition of his father's book that, "the general idea was first struck out by the Earls of Leicester and Burlington, assisted by Mr. William Kent".

Its revival some 70 years later was driven by an influential group of aristocrats, of Whig political persuasion such as Burlington, who sought to identify themselves with the Romans of antiquity,[16] and who viewed the Baroque with suspicion, considering it "theatrical, exuberant and Catholic.

[21] It was the chosen style for numerous houses in both town and country, although Holkham is exceptional for both its severity of design and for drawing so heavily and so directly on Palladian examples.

[22] Coke engaged a number of architects in his preparations for Holkham, in addition to having firm ideas of his own, gained during his six-year sojourn in Europe when he studied Palladio's buildings and took instruction in drawing, and his friendship with Burlington whose approval he sought.

[36] The exact influences on the design of Lord Burlington and Coke has been much debated; writing in 1974, Rudolf Wittkower noted that "the history of Holkham has not yet been worked out in detail and Kent's debt to the two noblemen has not been solved".

[41] Bill Wilson, reviewing the most recent evidence available when revising the Norfolk 2: North-West and South volume in the Pevsner Buildings of England series in 2002, suggests that Coke's input was central, "in consultation with Lord Burlington, employing first Brettingham as a draughtsman and supervisor, and later Kent in a more responsible role".

[48][49] The plans for Holkham were of a large central block of two floors only, containing on the piano nobile level a series of symmetrically balanced state rooms situated around two courtyards.

The effect has been subject to criticism; John Julius Norwich wrote of the "unhealthy liverish colour" of the façades,[39] while Sacheverell Sitwell condemned the "ugly and mechanical rustication" and the "depressing white brick".

The reason for this is the double height of the state rooms on the piano nobile; however, not even a blind window, such as those often seen in Palladio's own work, is permitted to alleviate the severity of the façade.

[55] The principal, or South façade, is 344 feet (104.9 m) in length (from each of the flanking wings to the other),[56] its austerity relieved on the piano nobile level only by a great six-columned portico.

[33] Each end of the central block is terminated by a slight projection, containing a Venetian window surmounted by a single storey square tower and capped roof, similar to those employed by Inigo Jones at Wilton House nearly a century earlier.

The composition of stone, recesses, varying pediments and chimneys of the four blocks is almost reminiscent of the English Baroque style in favour ten years earlier, employed at Seaton Delaval Hall[60] by Sir John Vanbrugh.

[63] Kent's design of the library was unusual in that it formed part of Coke's private, family, apartments in the south-west wing, rather then acting as one of the state rooms in the main block.

[65] The house is entered through the Marble Hall (though the chief building fabric is in fact pink Derbyshire alabaster), modelled by Kent on a Roman basilica.

The grandest, the Saloon, is situated immediately behind the great portico, with its walls lined with patterned red caffoy, a mixture of wool, linen and silk known as Genoa velvet and another of the spoils of Coke's travels,[71] and a coffered, gilded ceiling.

[76] During a royal visit, when Queen Mary was allocated use of the bedroom, Gavin Hamilton's "lewd" depiction of Jupiter Caressing Juno "was considered unsuitable for that lady's eyes and was banished to the attics".

[78] Each corner of the east side of the principal block contains a square salon lit by a huge Venetian window, one of them – the Landscape Room – hung with paintings by Claude Lorrain and Gaspar Poussin.

[79] The Long Library running the full length of the wing still contains the collection of books acquired by Thomas Coke on his Grand Tour through Italy, where he saw for the first time the Palladian villas which were to inspire Holkham.

[84] In addition to his acquisitions of statuary and antiquities, Coke's six-year Grand Tour enabled him to assemble one of the finest private art collections in the country.

The collection, which remains substantially intact, includes works by Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Claude Lorrain, Gaspard Dughet and Canaletto.

The monument consists of a Corinthian column 120 ft (37 m) high, surmounted by a drum supporting a wheatsheaf and a plinth decorated with bas-reliefs carved by John Henning Jr.

[100] Coke's work to increase farm yields had resulted in the rental income of the estate rising between 1776 and 1816 from £2,200 to £20,000, and had considerable influence on agricultural methods in Britain.

[101][k] In 1850, Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, called in the architect William Burn to build new stables to the east of the house,[65] in collaboration with W. A. Nesfield, who had designed the parterres.

[98] This work continued until 1857 and included, to the south and on axis with the house, the monumental fountain of Saint George and the Dragon dated c. 1849–57 sculpted by Charles Raymond Smith.

[106] Edward Coke amassed extensive estates in Norfolk, and elsewhere in England, but the Holkham property was a later addition, acquired through marriage by his fourth son, John.

[107] The creation of Holkham as a suitable home for him and for his descendants became his life's main work and the death of his childless son Edward in 1753 left Coke disappointed and disillusioned.

Wenman's son, Thomas (1754 – 1842) inherited Holkham in 1776, and following a parliamentary career of modest success, and a more renowned vocation as an agrarian reformer, became known as "Coke of Norfolk", and was made Earl of Leicester of the seventh creation in 1837.

Coke was devoted to Holkham; although, like his predecessors and successors, he made few changes to the house writing, "I shall never venture rashly to interfere with the result of years of thought and study in Italy";[55] he did instigate major improvements to the gardens, the park and, above all, to the wider estate, where his innovations in animal husbandry and crop production saw the annual rent roll rise from just over £2,000 to over £20,000.

Succeeding in 1994, the seventh earl is credited with reviving the Holkham estate, his obituary in the Daily Telegraph recording that he transformed the hall "from a crumbling ancestral home to a major tourist attraction".