Old and new rare come together with such striking contrast as at The Old Hall in Netherseal, Derbyshire. Penny Churchill takes a look.
Owning an ancient, character house invariably means leaving your mark on it — even if it’s simply in the things you’re able to restore and replace, and those which you have to leave for the next inhabitant. Yet few medieval homes have been shaped so much by successive owners as Grade II*-listed The Old Hall, a substantial property set in 14¾ acres of old and beautiful gardens on the edge of the picturesque village of Netherseal. It lies in the extreme south of Derbyshire, bounded to the south by the River Mease, which marks the county border with Leicestershire, of which it was once a part.
The former manor house, which is largely hidden and enclosed by boundary walls, yew hedges and lime trees, stands next to the 13th-century church of St Peter at the heart of the Netherseal Conservation Area. Comprehensively renovated and modernised by its current owners, The Old Hall is now for sale through the Nottingham office of Savills at a guide price of £3.5 million.
The Old HalI’s history (of which more later) goes back over 800 years, the last 14 of which have been as a wonderful family home for Adam and Lizzy Devey Smith and their four children.
The Devey Smiths have followed in the footsteps of previous custodians by making additions — in their case a vast orangery, an outdoor kitchen, a heated swimming pool and a sunken terrace. The woods teeming with wildlife, the lake, football pitch and swimming pool are all part of ‘an absolute children’s paradise within a tranquil private oasis,’ says Mrs Devey Smith.
Today, The Old Hall provides 10,560sq ft of accommodation on three floors, including, on the ground floor, a formal reception hall, four large reception rooms, a bespoke Mark Wilkinson open-plan dining kitchen, the magnificent orangery and a secondary kitchen and utility room.
The first floor houses the principal bedroom suite, a family bathroom, three double bedrooms and two more bathrooms, with three further bedrooms, a bathroom and store rooms on the second floor.
There is also a well-appointed self-contained flat, which is ideal for dependent relatives or staff.
As for the history of the place? In 1192, the Norman Earl Ferrers granted the manor of Netherseal to William de Ridware. Between then and 1648, when The Old Hall was sold, the manor passed by marriage through the de Ridware, de Stafford, de Pipe, Vernon and Mather families.
Over time, the estate gradually diminished in size and importance and, in 1614, William Mather sold some land and the lordship of the manor to George Gresley, who built a new manor house to the west of the church, thereby relegating the status of The Old Hall to second place.
In 1648, The Old Hall estate was sold to Zachary Johnson and later passed through the Moore and Jervis families before being sold in lots in 1797. The major purchaser was Maj-Gen George Hewett, who also bought The Old Hall itself. The Hewett family owned the property throughout the 19th century, sometimes letting it and sometimes residing there themselves. They made a number of alterations and additions, including the 1908 wing, built of red brick on two storeys, plus attics.
According to a detailed history of Netherseal commissioned by South Derbyshire District Council in 2011, The Old Hall was sold in about 1928 to Ernest J. Manners of the Worthington Brewery in Burton-on-Trent. By then, the Gresley estates were in trouble and, soon afterwards, Manners bought the ‘new’ Hall as well and swiftly demolished it.
In 1931, when the contents of nearby Drakelow Hall, another Gresley family seat, were sold at auction, Manners bought the exceptional linenfold panelling, which he installed in the dining room of The Old Hall. The report’s author comments: ‘Fittingly, therefore, despite the rise and eventual supremacy of the Gresley estate in the 16th and 17th centuries, it is The Old Hall that has stayed the course and which still bears witness to the long history of Netherseal’s manorial descent.’
Manners went on to extend The Old Hall, where he hosted many Society events. He married Alice Meakin, a local girl who had a passion for African plants, which she imported to create a vibrant African garden, the structure of which can still be seen today.
Mrs Manners was heavily involved in the life of the village and the lawns of The Old Hall were the setting for the local school sports day for many years; children evacuated from London lived at the house throughout the Second World War. It was eventually sold out of the Manners family following her death in 1980.
The Old Hall is for sale at £3.5m — see more details and pictures.
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