Editing Kedleston Hall (section)

== Interior ==
[[File:Kedleston cross section.jpg|thumb|left|A cross section through the hall and saloon]]
The [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] interior of the house was designed by Adam to be no less impressive than the exterior.

===Hall===
[[File:The Marble Hall, Kedleston Hall.jpg|thumb|Marble Hall 1763, decoration completed in 1776-7]]
Entering the house through the great north portico on the ''piano nobile'', one is confronted by the marble hall. [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] describes this as one of the most magnificent apartments of the 18th century in England.<ref name=Pevsner>{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |last2=Williamson |first2=Elizabeth |author-link= |date=1979 |title=The Buildings of England. Derbyshire |url= |location= |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=255–258 |isbn=0140710086}}</ref> It measures {{convert|67|ft|m}} by {{convert|37|ft|m}} in plan and is {{convert|40|ft|m}} high.

Twenty fluted pink [[Nottingham alabaster]] columns with Corinthian capitals support the heavily decorated, high-coved cornice. Niches in the walls contain casts of classical statuary by [[Matthew Brettingham the Younger]] and others;<ref name=Pevsner/> above the niches are [[grisaille]] panels of [[Homeric scholarship|Homeric]] subjects inspired by [[Andrea Palladio|Palladio's]] illustration of the [[Temple of Mars]]. The stucco in the ceiling was created by [[Joseph Rose (plasterer)|Joseph Rose]] in the 1770s.<ref name=Pevsner/>

The floor is of inlaid Italian marble. Matthew Paine's original designs for this room intended for it to be lit by conventional windows at the northern end, but Adam, warming to the Roman theme, did away with the distracting windows and lit the whole from the roof through innovative glass skylight.

The overmantels to the fireplaces are by [[Joseph Rose (plasterer)|Joseph Rose]] with firebaskets by [[Robert Adam]].<ref name=Pevsner/>

At Kedleston, the hall symbolises the [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]] of the Roman villa and the adjoining saloon the [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibulum]].

===Saloon===
[[File:Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire (45855739452).jpg|thumb|The saloon]]
The saloon, contained behind the triumphal arch of the south front, like the marble hall rises the full height of the house, {{convert|62|ft|m}} to the top of the dome, where it too is sky-lit through a glass [[Oculus (architecture)|oculus]]. Designed as a sculpture gallery, this circular room {{convert|42|ft|m}} in width was completed in 1763.

The decorative theme is based on the temples of the [[Roman Forum]] with more modern inventions: in the four massive, [[Apse|apse-like]] recesses are stoves disguised as pedestals for classical urns.<ref name="NHLE1311507"/> The paintings of ruins are by [[Gavin Hamilton (artist)|Gavin Hamilton]] and the [[grisaille]] panels have scenes of British worthies painted by [[John Rebecca|John Biagio Rebecca]].<ref name=Pevsner/>

The four sets of double doors giving entry to the room have heavy pediments supported by [[scagliola]] columns, and at second-floor height, grisaille panels depict classical themes.

From the saloon, the atmosphere of the 18th-century [[Grand Tour]] is continued throughout the remainder of the principal reception rooms of the ''piano nobile'', though on a slightly more modest scale.

===State bedroom===
The "principal apartment", or State bedroom suite, contains fine furniture and paintings.

The state bed was constructed by James Gravenor of Derby.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/108628 |title=The Kedleston State Bed |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=National Trust Collections |publisher=National Trust |access-date=7 June 2023 |quote=}}</ref> The state bed posts are carved to represent palm tree trunks which soar up and break into flamboyant foliage at the top, sweeping in palm-fronds behind.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Old Scottish Bedsteads |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19350805/132/0013 |newspaper=The Scotsman |location=Scotland |date=5 August 1935 |access-date=4 June 2023 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>

===Drawing room===
[[File:Settee in the Drawing Room at Kedleston Hall.jpg|thumb|Settee by [[John Linnell (cabinet maker)|John Linnell]] in the Drawing Room dated from around 1765.]]
The drawing room with huge alabaster Venetian window is {{convert|44|ft|m}} by {{convert|28|ft|m}} by {{convert|28|ft|m}}. The doorcase is also alabaster. The fireplace with a scene of virtue rewarded by honour and riches is flanked by large female figures sculpted by [[Michael Henry Spang]].<ref name=Pevsner/> The gilt sofas by [[John Linnell (cabinet maker)|John Linnell]] date from around 1765.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/108607 |title='The Kedleston Drawing Room Sofas' by John Linnell 1765 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=National Trust Collections |publisher=National Trust |access-date=7 June 2023 |quote=}}</ref> They were commissioned by the 1st Baron Scarsdale and supplied, together with a second pair of sofas to Kedleston in 1765.

===Dining room===
[[File:Dining Room at Kedleston Hall.jpg|thumb|The dining room]]
The dining room, with its gigantic apse, has a ceiling that Adam based on the [[Domus Augustana]] in the [[Farnese Gardens]]. The apse contains curved tables designed by Adam in 1762<ref name=Pevsner/> and a giant wine cooler. The ceiling contains panel paintings of the continents by [[Antonio Zucchi]], the seasons by [[Gavin Hamilton (artist)|Gavin Hamilton]] and the centre is by [[George Morland]]. The original wall panels are by [[Francesco Zuccarelli]], [[Frans Snyders]], Claude and [[Giovanni Francesco Romanelli]].

===Music Room===
The Music Room has Ionic doorcases and delicate plaster ceiling designed by Adam. The marble chimneypiece is inlaid with [[Blue John (mineral)|Blue John]]. The pipe organ was second hand by [[John Snetzler]] with the case designed by Robert Adam and built by Robert Gravenor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/108761 |title=Chamber organ |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=National Trust Collections |publisher=National Trust |access-date=7 June 2023 |quote=}}</ref> A second manual with Hautboy was added in 1824 by [[Alexander Buckingham]].<ref>{{National Pipe Organ Register|id= D02535 |desc=Derbyshire, Kedleston Hall|access-date=4 June 2023}}</ref> The organ was restored in 1993 by Dominic Gwynn.

===Library===
[[File:Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire (32034569298).jpg|thumb|The Library]]
The library contains a Roman doric doorcase leading to the Saloon. The bookcases were designed by Robert Adam<ref name=Pevsner/> and built by James Gravenor of Derby.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/108611 |title=The Kedleston Library Bookcases |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=National Trust Collections |publisher=National Trust |access-date=7 June 2023 |quote=}}</ref> The plaster ceiling is divided into octagonal patterns. The library desk was built in 1764 by James Gravenor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/108613 |title=The Kedleston Library Desk |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=National Trust Collections |publisher=National Trust |access-date=7 June 2023 |quote=}}</ref>

===Other rooms===
The theme carries on through the music room, down the grand staircase (not completed until 1922) onto the ground floor and into the so-called "Caesar's hall". On the departure of guests, it must sometimes have been a relief to vacate this temple of culture and retreat to the relatively simple comforts of the family pavilion.

Below the Rotunda is the Tetrastyle Hall, which was converted into a museum in 1927 in collaboration with the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London. The kitchen is an oblong shape with a balustraded gallery at one end. This links the room to other household offices on each side.

Also displayed in the house are many curiosities pertaining to [[George Nathaniel Curzon|George, Lord Curzon of Kedleston]], who succeeded to the house in 1916 and who had earlier served as [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy of India]] from 1899 to 1905. Lord Curzon had amassed a large collection of [[Indian subcontinent|subcontinental]] and [[Far East Asia|Far Eastern]] artefacts. Also shown is [[Lady Curzon's peacock dress|Lady Curzon's Delhi Durbar Coronation dress]] of 1903. Designed by [[House of Worth|Worth]] of Paris, it was known as the peacock dress for the many precious and semi-precious stones sewn into its fabric. These have now been replaced by imitation stones; however, the effect is no less dazzling.

In addition to that described above, the house contains collections of art, furniture and statuary, hence Kedleston Hall's alternative name, ''The Temple of the Arts''.