Explore Wimpole Hall

The Entrance Hall sits in the oldest part of the house, originally developed in 1640. The decorative floor tiles were added by the 5th Earl of Hardwicke in the 1880s. Look out for the Hardwicke family motto nec cupias nec metuas ‘neither covet nor fear’ and the Latin greeting Salve, meaning ‘welcome’.

When the young Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, inherited Wimpole, he wanted to create a grand room for concerts and dancing within the body of this old-fashioned house. He called on architect John Soane to find a solution. The Yellow Drawing Room was inserted into the centre of the house at the expense of seven ground floor and first floor rooms. Soane designed an enormous but delicate parachute-like canopy providing a soaring space at the heart of the house and it is undoubtedly the showpiece of Wimpole.

Created in the 1720s for Lord Harley, this unique space was intended for worship but was never consecrated. Instead the chapel was used for morning prayers. Finished in 1724, it took artist James Thornhill three years to complete the painting of the Chapel. Saints Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome, the four theological teachers of the Western church, stand within arches on the north wall. Above the altar, putti (cherubs) raise a red curtain to reveal the Adoration of the Magi.

According to Henry Colman, an American visitor in 1849, Wimpole’s housekeeping was “…carried to an extraordinary degree of perfection”, thanks to the efforts of the team below stairs. Communications in such a large house were vital but presented a challenge. Owners and guests summoned assistance using the servants’ bell system which relied on a wire pulley system until electricity was eventually installed.

Here the footmen worked under orders from the butler. Duties included polishing knives (emery powder, brushes and pads in the specially made machine would polish the knives to a shine as the handle was turned), cleaning the silver by hand (under the watchful eye of the butler) and making late night snacks for his Lordship; the ‘chafing’ dishes on the copper warmer were used after the kitchen staff had gone to bed.

From this room, the Housekeeper would have managed the affairs of the household for her mistress; her authority was second only to the steward’s. She was responsible for the female servants as well as the household furniture, linens and all the groceries.

Housing over 10,000 books across two rooms, the book collection at Wimpole is one of the most significant belonging to the National Trust. Orignally built by Edward Harley to showcase his large collection of books, today the library houses the books collected by the Hardwicke and Bambridge families.

Once a suite of three rooms that held Lord Harley’s coins, curiosities and manuscripts, the space was later opened up to make a picture gallery. Portraits of past owners or people associated with Wimpole now hang here.

Once known as the ‘modern eating room’, this room was designed by Henry Flitcroft and built in the 1770s. It was enlarged by the 4th Earl of Hardwicke in the 1840s – possibly in anticipation of Queen Victoria’s visit – and existed as a dining room until Mrs Bambridge turned it into a kitchen in the 1950s. Mrs Bambridge used the breakfast room next door as one of her eating rooms. In 2003, this room was restored to its previous use as the grand dining room you see today.

Part of the original house built by Thomas Chicheley in the 1600s, this room has been a dressing room, sitting room, boudoir and bedroom. The last private owners of Wimpole Estate, Elsie Bambridge and her husband George lived at Wimpole from 1938 – 1976. In this room, Mrs Bambridge would write her letters whilst watching the comings and goings of the house through the window.

Inspired by Roman bath houses in Pompeii, architect John Soane designed a number of sunken baths, the only surviving example remaining at Wimpole. The size of this double-entranced sunken bath suggests it was intended for group bathing, although we know very little about this private activity at Wimpole. Located deep inside the formal mansion, this eccentric little space shows us a pleasure loving side of the Yorke family.

This room was named by the National Trust after Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke and Lord Chancellor, but was in fact Captain Bambridge’s bedroom. The carriage drawings were collected by Captain Bambridge and form part of the print collection which was so important to him. The Bambridges aspired to recreate the former Georgian magnificence of Wimpole. In the 1950s Mrs Bambridge redecorated this room with the help of the London based firm, Kelso.