Colonel Harding’s alterations to Abbey House
Featured in In The Picture: Objects in Focus exhibition at Abbey House Museum
When Colonel Harding became the owner of Abbey House in 1893, he started to alter it to his own taste and antiquarian interests.
The focus of the design process lay largely with the house’s interior. Outside, the most notable work done was the construction of a rustic, timber-framed porch located on the South Wing of the house. Today, this porch is the location of the museum’s entrance. Another timber-framed structure, an aviary, was constructed in the northern garden.
Inside, the influence of Jacobean and Jacobean-revival architecture on Harding’s designs are clear. Taking inspiration from other Yorkshire houses including Baildon Hall and East Riddlesden Hall, Harding added decorative plaster ceilings and deep oak panelling. Among the panelling, he commissioned decorative carvings inspired by local history – in particular, located in the Abbott’s bedroom, there is a fireplace featuring a wide carving depicting the surrender of the Abbey in 1539 as part of Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.
In addition, a series of stained-glass windows installed during this period depict the coats of arms of various former inhabitants – the Cardigan, Beecroft, Butler, and Harding families. These are contrasted with the windows located on the floor below, which depict Saladin, Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Richard Lionheart.
Arguably the centrepiece of the Harding renovations is the grand staircase – or rather, the construction of one staircase and revealing of another. Working in collaboration with his son Ambrose on the design, the staircase is constructed from rich oak with twisted spindles, and the soffit (underside) continues the panelled design found throughout the house, tying together the three floors it connects. On the staircase’s landings the Abbey can be viewed through the stained glass. At the bottom of the grand staircase, Harding had a section of the original monastic stairwell removed to provide a view of the spiral staircase ascending through the former gatehouse, giving his family and visitors alike a closer glimpse into the lives of the house’s earliest inhabitants.
By Katy Marchant, Collections Placement for In The Picture: Objects in Focus
Discover a portrait of Colonel Thomas Walter Harding painted by Sir Hubert von Herkomer and Doctoral gown worn by Colonel Harding in In the Picture: Objects in Focus at Abbey House Museum.