Holkham Hall, Norfolk
A vast “stately home” in north Norfolk that was built in the 18th century by Thomas Coke, who wanted to reproduce what he had seen on the Grand Tour in Italy
Holkham Hall is an enormous “stately home” in north Norfolk, an eastern county of England. It is not far from another splendid country house, namely Houghton Hall, and they both date from the same time, namely the 1720s (although they took more than a decade to complete).
Houghton Hall was the country seat of the man dubbed Britain’s first Prime Minister, namely Sir Robert Walpole. It therefore had a political message to drive home by emphasizing the power and prestige of its owner. Holkham Hall, on the other hand, says much more about the artistic refinement and cultivated taste of its creator, who was Thomas Coke, a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament who would later be created Earl of Leicester.
As a young man, Thomas Coke underwent the “Grand Tour” of Europe that was typical for many sons of the gentry. However, Coke took six years to complete his tour, returning to England in 1718. He had spent much of his time in Italy where he acquired many pieces of art and objets d`art and also gained a love of the Palladian architectural style. He therefore determined that he would create his own…