Calke Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Calke Abbey is a country house in Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, and a property of the National Trust.
Calke Abbey is a baroque mansion, built between 1701 and 1704. Set in the midst of an impressive landscape park, Calke Abbey is presented as an illustration of the English country house in decline. Little restoration has been done and interiors have remained untouched since the 1880s.
The estate had belonged to the Harpur family from 1622 to 1985. They were baronets from 1626, and the last (Sir Vauncey Harpur-Crewe) died in 1924. The sudden death of Charles Harpur-Crewe (born 1917) in 1981 led to crippling death duties (£8m of an estate worth £14m) and the estate had to be sold by his brother Henry (born 1921).
The National Trust manages the surrounding landscape park with an eye to nature conservation. They contain such features as a walled garden, with a flower garden and a physic garden.
