Country Images Magazine North Edition March 2017 | Page 18

Derbyshire- Lost Houses
His first wife , Sarah Evans bore him an eldest son , William , who married Elizabeth , daughter of cotton pioneer Jedediah Strutt , whilst his daughter Barbara , by his second marriage , married Jedediah ’ s eldest son , William in 1793 . He , of course went on to be a leading industrialist , scientist , chairman of successive Derby Improvement Commissions and amateur architect . We looked at another of his houses some time back when I wrote about Bridge Hill House , which he designed for his brother George Benson Strutt . He also designed Milford House ( still with us ) and Green Hall , Belper ( lost ), as well as the Derbyshire General Infirmary , various bridges over the Markeaton Brook and vast extensions to St . Helen ’ s House for himself .
Thus , once the Boar ’ s Head cotton mills at Darley Abbey were up and running , a whole new Regency mill village was created . As part of that a house for the manager was built and a grand new house adjacent for the family also became an imperative , but at that time the Holdens were comfortably ensconced in the Hall , so it was deemed necessary to start from scratch on their own land nearby .
The house that they built , Darley Fields ( later re-named Darley House ), was a large two and a half storey brick house , begun around 1791 . That the architect was probably not a professional seems apparent from the irregularity of the design , although this was also a result of the fact that it was erected in two stages . The design , however , may confidently be attributed to William Strutt in his earlier stage , when he preferred an attic storey for the staff rather than a separate wing .
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