Mayfield Hall is a classic Grade II listed Georgian Hall with all the trimmings on the southern edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire. The property dates back to the 1600s in some form, but the majority of the main hall was built in the late 18th century. The house is constructed of local stone under a slate and tile roof, and is reputed to have been built on land granted by William the Conqueror to Henry de Ferrars and has many period features in tact including a superb stone staircase.
The house has also been re-roofed, re-wired, re-plumbed and has new gas-fired central heating and contemporary bathroom and shower facilities so needs no major work from a new buyer. The accommodation comprises four reception rooms including drawing room, dining room and sitting room, and ten bedrooms with eight bathrooms in total.
The Hall also comes with a substantial range of lovely outbuildings including a clock tower, garaging, two cottages a coach house and stables; planning consent has already been granted to convert these into five holiday lets.
The gardens amount to around 3.7 acres and are a fine feature of the property. Formal lawns give way to an array of mature specimen trees and hedges which add a high degree of privacy to the Hall and the property also comes with a share of grazing land of approximately 3.7 acres.
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In addition to all this the Hall also comes with two subterranean passages which are over 800 years old. One contains an old style ‘ice hole’ and leads to the local church while the second passage leads directly to Calwich Abbey some one and a half miles away, perhaps indicating former owners with devout leanings.
Our resident House Historian Melanie Backe-Hansen, who has recently started blogging for Countrylife.co.uk commented that there might be a very sensible history behind the tunnels:
‘White’s 1851 ‘History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire’ says “There was a convent of Black Canons here [Calwich Abbey], founded about 1148, but no vestiges of it now remain.” Without more research it is difficult to be certain but there is a strong possibility the passages were built for the canons to get away from the convent and the church – either as protection from external attacks or as a way of linking the two underground (or both) – especially given the country was in a civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda at the time (1135–1154).
‘I only know a little about this period of English history and although most of the conflicts were further south it is possible that this was the original motivation for the building of the passages when the canons settled here in 1148….especially given there was a battle not far away in Lincoln in 1141,’ she commented.
The Hall is situated on the southern tip of the Peak District National Park and Mayfield village has a general store and post office whilst more amenities can be found at the larger town of Ashbourne nearby.
The guide price is £2.2m. For further details contact Fisher German on 01530 412 821 or visit www.fishergerman.co.uk.
* Read more on Melanie’s fascinating job as a house
historian. For more information on her and properties for sale visit www.humberts.co.uk
