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The Great Hall
The proportions of the Great Hall survive from the medieval house. Here the whole household would have eaten, and important visitors would have been greeted and entertained.
In 1813 the room was transformed, with classical details added. Jacobean panelling was then installed in 1867, in an attempt to restore the Great Hall's earlier character.
© National Trust / David Kirkham
On display is Israel Amyce’s large parchment map of the estate, provided for Sir William Cordell in 1580.
There are also a number of portraits of the Hyde Parker family, along with a series of mythological scenes, painted in grisaille (grey tones). Panels of stained glass in the windows are rare examples of mostly English and Flemish 16th-century work.
The Hyde Parker (Dining) Room
The Hyde Parker Room was Rococo in style before being largely destroyed in the fire of 1942. Rebuilt by Sir Richard Hyde Parker, 11th Baronet, his wife Ulla Lady Hyde Parker had the room redecorated with white painted walls and polished (uncarpeted) stone floors to reflect her Scandinavian tastes.
As well as the room's family portraits, over the fireplace hangs ‘Catwyk on the Rhine’, a winter landscape painted in 1662 by Anthonie Beerstraeten.
© National Trust / Stephen Bennett
The Blue Drawing Room
Fortunately, the 1942 fire did not reach the Blue Drawing Room, and it survives with its early 18th-century decoration intact.
The Louis XV writing table, c1770, is decorated with ceramic plaques. A pair of pole-screens, decorated with fine needlework, flank the fireplace. The seaweed marquetry longcase clock was made c1770 by Richard Street and requires winding just once a year.
© NTPL / Martin Charles
The Library
The Melford Library was completed in 1813 by the architect Thomas Hopper for Sir William Parker, 7th Baronet. It is an especially complete example of Regency design, with bookcases and furniture original to the room. A number of books covering naval and natural history are held.
The columns resemble solid marble, but are hollow and made of scagliola (a compound of pulverised stone and plaster skilfully mixed and polished to resemble veined marble).
Picture highlights are Dominic Serres's battle paintings and George Romney’s fine portrait of Vice Admiral Hyde Parker I, 5th Baronet, whose son bought Melford Hall in 1786.
© NTPL / Martin Charles
The Stairs
The Stairs are of French neo-classical design. They were designed by Thomas Hopper to provide a processional route from the remodelled Hall to the first floor. At the top of the stairs, two screens of Ionic columns support a shallow barrel ceiling.
Hanging over the stairs is Romney’s full-length portrait of Captain Hyde Parker II. He would be Nelson’s commanding officer at the Battle of Copenhagen. A pair of Chinese Qianlong period covered vases, c1755, are located on the half-landing.
Melford Hall was one of the earliest country houses in Britain to have central heating. Circular brass grills found on the landing were part of this new system.
© National Trust / David Kirkham
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