- Harlaxton Manor
Harlaxton Manor is a
mansion inHarlaxton ,Lincolnshire ,England . It was built1837 by Sir Gregory Gregory. The manor is currently the home of theUniversity of Evansville 's British campus. The house combines Jacobean andElizabethan architecture with symmetricalBaroque massing to create a house more exuberant than any surviving Elizabethan or Jacobean mansion. The original architect wasAnthony Salvin , who was replaced by architectWilliam Burn , who is responsible for Harlaxton's interior detailing.University students from schools throughout the
United States reside at Harlaxton while spending a semester studying abroad. The manor was also used in all the exterior shots and the main hall for the1999 film, "The Haunting", as well as interior and exterior shots in the films "The Ruling Class ", "The Lady and the Highwayman ", and "The Last Days of Patton ". It was also used to film theBBC drama, "The Young Visiters". Most recently it was used as the setting for a TV program called "Australian Princess ".History
The current
manor house is the second Harlaxton Manor. The first was built on a different site during the 14th century and was used as ahunting lodge byJohn of Gaunt . By1475 , the de Ligne family purchased the manor. The original manor house was deserted after1780 and, after Gregory inherited it, was torn down in1857 .The current house was built by Gregory from
1837 to1845 and helped usher in a renaissance of Elizabethan architecture. Upon Gregory's death, the manor passed to his cousin George Gregory and then in1860 to a distant relative, John Sherwin. Upon the death of Sherwin's wife in1892 , it passed to his godson Thomas Sherwin Pearson, who owned the house but allowed it to fall into disrepair. Abandoned by1935 , the manor was purchased in1937 byViolet Van der Elst , the widow of a painter and a businesswoman, who developed the first brushless shaving cream. She restored the manor and arranged for it to be wired for electricity.In
1943 , theRoyal Air Force used the manor to house a company of the 1st Airborne Division. Five years later, Lady van der Elst was forced to sell the manor and it was purchased by The Society of Jesus who used it as anovitiate . They sold the manor, while retaining rights to some of the lands, toStanford University in1965 . TheUniversity of Evansville acquired the manor in1971 . Immediately after the purchase of the property, the University of Evansville began renovating the entire facility starting with the most critical items first.Present Day
Presently, Harlaxton Manor is known as "The British Campus of the University of Evansville." It is an American owned and operated college which is home to a wide array of students and professors seeking a bit of adventure each academic semester. During the summer, the site is often used for various meetings as well as social gatherings such as weddings.
All students and visiting instructors actually get to live in either the manor house or its accompanying carriage house, while teaching classes or studying abroad for a semester. Classes and offices are held in many of the gilded and ornate rooms throughout building. It is not uncommon to hold lectures in the dining room for example, or to have offices in former bedrooms.
The average enrollment is around 150-200 students each semester. A majority of the student body is composed of students from the University of Evansville. From as far back as 1973, the University also welcomed students from
William Jewell College [ [http://campus.jewell.edu/headlines/achieve/spring2004/expandingHorizons.html Achieve Magazine ] ] . Today, there are also students from several other American colleges, including but not limited to:University of Southern Indiana ,Emory & Henry College ,Baker University ,Converse College ,Eastern Illinois University ,Western Kentucky University ,Lenoir-Rhyne College ,Catawba College ,Houston Baptist University ,Texas Woman's University , and theUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire .During the summer the manor is home to the Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival which draws music students and faculty from throughout the world.
Since 1984, Harlaxton Manor has also been the site of the annual Harlaxton Symposium, an interdisciplinary symposium on medieval art, literature, and architecture. [ [http://www.harlaxton.dial.pipex.com/index.htm ] ]
Students recently arriving at the college have been known for getting lost; then they begin to explore the campus often finding a number of secret passageways throughout the building. There are occasionally even ghost sightings.Fact|date=February 2007
References
External links
* [http://www.harlaxton.ac.uk/ Harlaxton College website]
* [http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Harlaxton+Manor Flickr photos tagged Harlaxton Manor]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3821125 Photos of Harlaxton Manor and surrounding area on geograph]
* [http://web.harlaxton.ac.uk/harlaxton/history/index.cfm History and Heritage]
* [http://www.harlaxton.dial.pipex.com/index.htm Harlaxton Symposium]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.