Elizabethan Levens Channels its Past With ‘Deck the Hall’ Musical Christmas
Visitors to Levens Hall and Gardens can connect with the Hall’s Elizabethan roots this December, as Cumbria’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year stages a series of ‘Deck the Hall’ occasions, combining the joy of music, played by inspiring local musical groups, with the opportunity to see the world’s oldest topiary garden in winter.
Music was hugely important in Elizabethan society and seen as a means to create wellbeing and cosmic order. It was felt music could balance the body’s humours – four elements believed to govern health and mood. Music consisted of high quality works, balladry and songs strummed by minstrels in taverns. The Elizabethan court employed 70 musicians.
Fittingly, therefore, Levens Hall, regarded as one of the very best Elizabethan properties in the north, will be reopening its doors, for December weekends only, during its out-of-season closure period, to use music to lift the mood of visitors during darker winter days.
From 11am to 4pm, on December 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22, visitors will be able to experience the glories of the Great Hall within Levens Hall, as they simultaneously appreciate the talents of a variety of local musicians.
Music will be played, and festive tunes sung, in a setting graced by ornate Elizabethan plasterwork, originally created by Italian artisans, which carries the coat of arms of Elizabeth I. This is not the only appearance of the queen’s coat of arms within the house, signalling the devotion of the Bellingham family, its owners of the time, to the Tudor monarch.
Queen Elizabeth I herself played the virginals – a type of harpsichord. Again, it is fitting that the Great Hall features a 1968 harpsichord made by former Levens Hall and Gardens owner, Robin Bagot, who was a devotee of this instrument.
The queen is also marked in the world’s oldest topiary garden, just a short walk from the Great Hall. There, she is represented in topiary, along with her Maids of Honour. Visitors to the Levens Hall Christmas events will be able to seek her out, as they wander around the topiary garden and see over 100 shaped pieces, silhouetted against the winter sky. These include Great Umbrella trees, the Toppling Wedding Cake, Darth Vader and Homer Simpson!
The musical extravaganza will fittingly start on Tree Dressing Day, on December 7, when the Saturday entertainment will be provided by Flutes & Co and the Salvation Army Band, in the morning and afternoon respectively. On Sunday 8, the artists will be Kendal Concert Band and Amabile Choirs.
Moving into the glorious Elizabethan environment the following weekend will be South Lakes Acappella Choir, performing all day on the 14th, and Brewkulele Ensemble (Kendal) and another musical group on the 15th.
On Saturday 21, musicians from Grange-over-Sands and Sedbergh will be performing, as The Sands Band and the Sedbergh Town Band balance visitors’ ‘humours’. Finally, the event will conclude with Kendal Concert Band playing throughout the day on Sunday 22, December.
Visitors will be able to enjoy food and refreshments in Levens Kitchen, which is also offering a Christmas Carvery menu. The Levens gift shop will be open for festive shopping, whilst takeaway treats will be available from Levens Bakery.
The Great Hall is also home to a portrait of the topiary garden’s founder, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont. Two years ago, Levens Hall and Gardens issued an appeal for information about this elusive figure, hoping to tap into genealogy and hear from members of his family tree. With nothing whatsoever emerging, either side of The Channel, the Hall hopes someone attending one of the musical events might just be able to offer some sort of insight, should the portrait strike a chord.
Owner Richard Bagot says, “This Christmas event would no doubt have been much appreciated by our Elizabethan counterparts. Although the music played will be both festive and more contemporary, it will sound fantastic as it fills our Elizabethan Hall. It will also be a true visual spectacle, as musicians and singers perform against the backdrop of our roaring log fire and gloriously decorated room. It is fabulous to be able to invite a wide variety of local musicians into this space and give them a very different venue in which to play.”
Tickets for the Christmas music events cost £6.50 for an adult and £2 for a child aged 5 to 16 years, including admission to the Topiary Garden. Children under five enter for free. Tickets are available for purchase on the day. Head to www.levenshall.co.uk to get directions.
