Derbyshire- Lost Houses
The house probably had a medieval predecessor in the NW corner of what was once the 500 acre park about 700 yards east of Warren Farm , a moated site . The first we can be sure of relating to the later house was that it was probably built after 1525 by Sir George Gresley , who succeeded to the estate through an award in chancery allowed by Thomas , Cardinal Wolsey , Henry VIII ’ s notorious first minister , no less . The house he built was in ashlared Keuper Sandstone and had its long side facing NW , raised on a high terrace overlooking the Trent . The entrance was on the SW and the service wing to the NE – not the most favourable orientation for a house , but probably dictated by the position vis-à-vis the river . The estate stretched into Staffordshire , also south to Castle Gresley , Lullington , Netherseal and with an outlier in Northamptonshire . Unravelling its history is not easy , as few relevant papers have survived .
The long garden front of the house was much akin to Longford Hall , of similar date , of two main storeys and with groups of bays separated by four protruding chimney breasts , tall stacks punctuating the parapet . The house was taxed on 23 hearths in 1662 , placing it amongst the larger houses in the county .
Unfortunately , the earliest view we have is an 18th century one , showing the same side of the house now mainly fitted with Georgian sash windows , the outer bays being tripartite ones as were those flanking the central one . The chimneys were all reduced to rectangular stumps with a balustrade in between just like
18 | CountryImagesMagazine . co . uk