Breadsall Priory
Encyclopedia
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. A house of the Friars Eremites, founded, it is said, by the Dethick family, about the middle of the 13th Century, and subsequently converted into an Augustinian priory.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1536 the site was granted by the Crown to the Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in British history, all three times in the Peerage of England.The third creation of the dukedom of Suffolk was for Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, in 1551. The duke also held the title Baron Ferrers of Groby...
. Since then there have been numerous owners of the estate including Sir John Bentley who built the Elizabethan house in the late 16th century. Subsequent extensions and alterations by architect Robert Scrivener in about 1861, and a new wing in 1906 greatly enlarged the property.
The physician and poet Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
, grandfather of Charles Darwin, moved there shortly before his death in 1802 and his son Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin
Francis Sacheverel Darwin
Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin was a physician and traveller who was knighted by King George IV.- Early life :...
(1786–1859) lived there subsequently. Sir Francis' son Edward Levett Darwin
Edward Levett Darwin
Capt. Edward Levett Darwin , author under the pen-name High Elms of Gameskeeper's Manual, a guide for gamekeepers on large estates which shows keen observation of the habits of various animals....
, author of under the pseudonym High Elms of the Gameskeeper's Manual, learnt natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
in its grounds.
Later, Derby industrialist Sir Alfred Seale Haslam
Alfred Seale Haslam
Sir Alfred Seale Haslam , was an English engineer who was Mayor of Derby from 1890 to 1891, three times Mayor of Newcastle under Lyme, and Member of Parliament for Newcastle under Lyme from 1900 to 1906. He had made his money from devising a refrigeration plant that could be used to transport food...
(1844–1927), (Mayor of Derby
Mayor of Derby
Names of the Mayors for the Borough of Derby from the first that was chosen on the 3 July 1638 by the king's charter then granted to the town the two last bailiffs were the two first mayors Mr Mellor being proclaimed the 3rd day of July to be the mayor until Michaelmas and twelve months after but...
1890/91, Member of Parliament for Newcastle under Lyme 1900/6) acquired the house. His son Eric Seale Haslam was High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1937.
It is currently a Marriott
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
with two 18 hole golf courses, one set in mature parkland called the Priory Course, and the other set in moorland surroundings called the Moorland Course. In 2005, the priory hosted a G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
summit meeting of environment and development ministers.
The house has grade II listed status. The nearest villages are Breadsall
Breadsall
Breadsall is a village in the English county of Derbyshire, . Breadsall Priory is nearby.-History:Breadsall was mentioned in the Domesday book as belonging to Henry de Ferrers and being worth four pounds...
, Little Eaton
Little Eaton
Little Eaton is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The name originated from Anglo Saxon times and means the little town by the water....
and Morley
Morley, Derbyshire
Morley is a civil parish within the area of Erewash Borough Council in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall...
.