THE High Peak District of Derbyshire hides its secrets well. When, in 1698, the intrepid English horsewoman Celia Fiennes rode from Chatsworth to Bakewell in the picturesque valley of the Wye, a tributary of the Derwent, she described the pretty market town as ‘standing on a hill, yet you descend a vast hill to it which you would think impossible to go down… the common people here know not above 2 or 3 miles from their home, but they of the country will climb up and down with their horses those steep precipices’.
From the 17th century onwards, wealthy Derbyshire mine-owners built fine country houses on the steep hillsides of the Peak District to make the most of spectacular valley views, using the region’s natural contours to create impressive terraced gardens. Such a house is imposing, Grade I-listed Holme Hall near Bakewell. It stands in more than four acres of historic gardens on the eastern bank of the River Wye, which runs through the town. Meticulously restored by its current owners, who bought the house in 2009, Holme Hall comes to the market today at a guide price of £3.75 million through Derbyshire agents Caudwell & Co (01629 810018).
Research assembled by the hall’s owner, John Stansfield, reveals that the main part of the present house, which incorporates an earlier 15th-century building, was built between 1626 and 1628 by Bernard Wells, a successful lead merchant originally from Gloucestershire. The new house was reputedly based on plans for smaller Italianate villas by Elizabethan architect Robert Smythson, the designer of Hardwick Hall near Chesterfield, now owned by the National Trust.
Denne historien er fra April 13, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra April 13, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
