Country Images Magazine North Edition May 2017 | Page 17

D e r b y s h i re -
Lost Houses
T HE LOST HOUSE S OF DER BYSHIR E
by Maxwell Craven
If you drive south along Walton Road out of Burton, you
used to see, on your right the cooling towers of the Drakelow
Power Station, which was demolished in stages up to 2006.
You could also catch a glimpse of a pretty lodge house beside
a pair of imposing Baroque style gate piers. These are all that
survives of Drakelow Hall.
Drakelow Hall
Drakelow, had it survived the destructive fi rst
two thirds of the twentieth century, would
without doubt have been able to take its place
amongst the great houses which are a treasure
of our Derbyshire heritage. Th e family that
held the land on the eastern boundary of the
Trent just south of Burton, from the 12th
century until 1933, were the Gresleys, the
name of which is kept alive for us through the
achievements of a junior member of the family
from Netherseal Hall, the late Sir Nigel Gresley,
the designer of the record-breaking LNER A4
class locomotive Mallard, which still holds the
world speed record for a steam locomotive.
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