England
Derbyshire

Historic Houses in Derbyshire

Bolsover Castle
Bolsover Castle is an unlikely mix of early Norman stronghold, Jacobean manor, country house, and romantic folly.

Calke Abbey
Unexceptional exterior houses a varied collection - no, not of furniture and objets d'art, as you might expect, but of stuffed birds, mammals, fossils, and other oddments gathered by a succession of eccentric owners.

Chatsworth
One of the true treasure houses of Britain, set in extensive parklands, home of the Dukes of Devonshire. Begun as an Elizabethan mansion by Bess of Hardwick, rebuilt starting in 1686. Everything is on a massive scale, opulent and designed to impress (it does). Too much art and furniture to mention.

Haddon Hall
This delightful house was begun by Peveril, illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, on a wooded crag above the River Wye. Of that early fortress almost nothing remains beyond some parts of the Eagle Tower and the Chapel. Peveril and his descendants held Haddon for a century before the property passed to the Vernon family, and later to the Manners, Dukes of Rutland.

Hardwick Hall
Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury (Bess of Hardwick), erected at Hardwick one of the most overpowering Elizabethan houses in the country, a testament to her ambition, power, and wealth.

Hardwick Old Hall
Hardwick Old Hall stands in the grounds of Hardwick Hall, Bess of Hardwick's monumental Elizabethan home. The Old Hall was Bess's first attempt at a house in this location. The Old Hall at Hardwick is in a state of partial ruin, though visitors can climb to the upper floor for excellent views over the surrounding countryside and Hardwick Hall.

Kedleston Hall
Just three miles from the centre of Derby lies this stately Palladian-style house, the seat of the powerful Curzon family since the early 12th century.

Renishaw Hall
The house at Renishaw has been the home of the Sitwell family since 1625 when George Sitwell created a small manor house here. It was left to the unusually named Sitwell Sitwell to build the present stately Georgian mansion around 1800.

Sudbury Hall
E-shaped Restoration mansion housing brilliantly crafted interior decoration. Sparsely furnished. In the same building is the Trust's Museum of Childhood.

Wingfield Manor
Wingfield is the imposing ruin of a 15th century manor house. Its most enduring claim to famne is that Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned here not once but twice (in 1569 and 1584-5).