Country Images Magazine Derby Edition November 2016 | Page 21

D e r b y s h i re Lost Houses

T HE LOST HOUSE S
OF DERBYSHIRE
by Maxwell Craven

THE KNOLL, LITTLEOVER

I have tramped the streets of Littleover many times over the last decade, canvassing
or delivering leaflets, and have often wondered, when entering Knoll Close from
Swanmore Road, on the south western slopes of the village, whether the inhabitants
were aware of the reason for their street’s name.
The street itself was built in the late 1970s and partly covers the site of The Knoll, a house of some pretension, which stood in two
acres running southwards from Burton Road, next to Elms Farm (also demolished). There are not many photographs of The Knoll,
but some really very fine ones taken by gifted amateur Alice Hurt (1837-1894) in the 1860s enable us to get a good idea of what the
house was like.
CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 21