Greenhill Lane B6016
155 acres was created , including a modest lake , and this may have been later and attributable to William Emes ( 1729-1803 ), a locally based follower of Capability Brown . The man who commissioned these works was probably not Sir Edward Abney ( died 1728 ), a senior retired judge , who has been blind for the last twenty years of his life , but his son , Sir Thomas ( 1691- 1750 ).
And so matters rested until 1791 then Thomas Abney of Willesley , the last of his direct line , died , leaving an only daughter , Parnell , married to a member of an illustrious neighbouring family , Maj . Charles Hastings , a French-born natural son of Francis , 10th Earl of Huntingdon , whose chief seat was then Ashby Castle . Thomas , who had a distinguished military and diplomatic career was raised to a baronetcy in 1806 , assuming the surname and arms of Abney-Hastings by Royal Licence . During the Napoleonic Wars he entertained at Willesley numerous officers of the French navy and Grand Armée with whom he felt to a degree at home , being a fluent French speaker and the son of a Parisian actress . He was also a prominent Freemason , as trait he shared with many of them .
His younger son , Francis ( born at Willesley in 1794 ) was a distinguished naval architect and commander . He was recruited by the Greek insurgents , financed by the Byzantine grandee and banker Prince Paul Rhodokanakis-Doukas , to oversee the building and to command the Karteria , the first steam powered warship ever to see action . At her helm , he effectively reduced the threat of the Ottoman navy and , despite being carried off by disease , like his friend Byron , at Missolonghi in 1828 , made a considerable contribution to the liberation of Greece . His bust in bronze may still be seen there .
Established 1984
Ex-GWR Modified Hall class 4-6-0 No . 6967 Willesley Hall in 1964 . [ Private collection ]
KITCHENS , WET ROOMS , BATHROOMS & SHOWER ROOMS
Unfortunately Sir Thomas shot himself in 1823 , and the estate passed to his elder son , the 2nd baronet . He later set about enlarging the house . The south front acquired a pair of small gables over the bays flanking the entrance and a coatof-arms above an inscribed tablet was placed between them . The formerly plain west side was much extended , with similar gables , but largely lower and irregular , extending back to the small stone chapel , founded by Michael de Willesley before 1270 , but later clad in stone and embattled some years before .
But the changes did not stop there . A medium sized manor house was about to become a major seat , for the north side , where there was previously a re-entrant courtyard , was replaced
Bathroom Images of Leabrooks .
44a Charles Street , Leabrooks , Derbyshire DE55 1LZ
Main Road B6016
To Swanwick
To Somercotes
LEABROOKS
Charles Street
Opening times : Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm , Saturday 9.30am to 1pm .
E : bathroomimages @ btconnect . com T : 01773 608531
CountryImagesMagazine . co . uk | 13