Markeaton Hall was an 18th century country house at Markeaton

Markeaton

Markeaton is a village within Derby in the East Midlands of England.The name possibly means Boundary - Island Village, which had stood at this site since Medieval times....

, Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, 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...

. It is one of the Lost houses of Derbyshire

Lost houses of Derbyshire

This is a partial list of country houses in Derbyshire which have been demolished:* Appleby Hall. Demolished 1920s* Aston Lodge, Aston-on-Trent. Demolished 1933 * Chaddesden Hall, Chaddesden. Demolished 1920s.* Chilcote Hall...

.

History

The manor of Markeaton was held by the Tuchet family from the 13th century.

Sir John Tuchet (b1327) married Joan, daughter of James Audley, 2nd Lord Audley

Baron Audley

The title Baron Audley was first created on 8 January 1313 by writ in the Peerage of England for Nicholas Audley of Heighley Castle a member of the Audley family of Staffordshire.....

 and heiress of his brother Nicholas Audley, 3rd Lord Audley of Heleigh Castle, Staffordshire, and in due course their son became the 4th Lord Audley..

Sir John Audley of Markeaton fought for Richard III of England

Richard III of England

Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...

 at the Battle of Bosworth Field

Battle of Bosworth Field

The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...

 in 1485

The Tuchets sold the manor in 1516 to John Mundy

John Mundy (mayor)

Sir John Mundy was a London goldsmith and Lord Mayor of London.He was born in Wycomb, son of William Munday He purchased the manor of Markeaton in 1516 as well as Mackworth and Allestree, which are all now parts of Derby from Lord Audley....

, Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1522. The Mundays replaced the old manor house with a new mansion in about 1750.

John Mundy's descendants included a number of High Sheriffs 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...

 including Francis Noel Clarke Mundy

Francis Noel Clarke Mundy

Francis Noel Clarke Mundy 1739 – 1815 was a poet who published with Anna Seward and Erasmus Darwin. His most noted work was written to defend Needwood Forest which was enclosed at the beginning of the 19th century...

 who commissioned paintings from Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....

 to decorate his home and record the hunts that took place at Markeaton.

In 1929, the Markeaton Hall and twenty acres (81,000 m²) of its gardens were given to the Corporation by the Reverend Clarke Maxwell who had inherited the estate from the late Mrs Mundy, on condition that the whole area would be used as a public park and that the mansion would be maintained for cultural purposes, for example a museum or and art gallery. Unfortunately the hall was used by the Army during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and allowed to fall into disrepair after the war.

The Hall was eventually declared to be unsafe. and was demolished in 1964, leaving standing only the Orangery

Orangery

An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...

, a Grade II listed building