Restoring
Wheathills
Wheathills Farm is located
on Brun Lane, within the boundaries of the old Derbyshire
village of Mackworth, which is located just off the current
A52 Derby to Ashbourne Road. Mackworth village has been in
existence from ancient times and is recorded in the Domesday
Book of William the Conqueror. The village lies in the Manor
of Markeaton, and has, in itself, a long and most interesting
history. The beginning of Wheathills as a house can be traced
to a time just after the Act of Enclosure of 1763, when a
number of prominent, old, local families and landowners,
including Lord Scarsdale, the Poles, the Mundys (who were
the Lords of Markeaton) the Bennetts and sundry others, petitioned
Parliament to divide up certain land within the village to
create ‘enclosed fields’ which
make farming a more financially viable prospect. Amongst
other land changes, this Act of Enclosure required what was
known s ‘Common land’ to be enclosed and therefore
the local farmers lost the right to graze their animals on
this common land. (Common land was land that could be used
for common grazing after the harvest had been reaped and
before the new crop was sown.) As a result of this land redistribution,
John Bennett Jnr., a local yeoman farmer, whose family had
been resident in the village for many years, acquired just
over 16 acres of land, including a portion of the common
land. Not long after Bennett secured the land, it is believed
that he built a home on it for himself and his family some
time between 1765 and 1780. Unfortunately no plans of the
original house have, as yet, been found. The land adjacent
to that on which the house was built, was above the village,
and had been tilled for wheat, and this perhaps accounts
for the house originally being called ‘Wheat Hills
House’ (Note the name and different spelling of that
time.)
The house eventually passed to
James Bennett, (John’s
Junior son,) and he died in 1805. A section of James’ will
is shown below. From this, it can be seen that
when James died he was a wealthy man and that he bequeathed
a considerable amount of money and effects to his son and
daughters, as well as his two friends. (The money he left
exceeded £2,500, a huge sum in those days, but still
less than what was paid for his property after his death!)
In line with Bennett’s will, Wheathills was placed
in auction, and on the 12th July 1805, the house and some
thirty acres of land were sold. Francis Noel Clark Mundy,
Lord of Markeaton Manor, and Sacheverell Pole, both of
whom were original petitioners for the Act of Enclosure
in 1763, purchased the land jointly, and paid £110
duty on the purchase, to the auctioneer, a Mr Shaw. It
is believed that Sacheverell Pole purchased only a portion
of the land, whilst Mundy secured both land and buildings.
The land sale realized about £2,960 whilst the ‘neat
convenient dwelling house and suitable out-offices and
extensive farm buildings’ fetched £750. It
has been suggested that Mundy bought Wheathills with a
view to using it as a ‘retirement or dowager home’ and
would pass the running of his Estate to his son, Francis
who would take up residence at Markeaton Hall, then located
in the present Markeaton Park. However before Mundy moved
into the house he decided to extend and probably update
the house to a better class of residence in all probability
to make it worthy of a person of his standing. He employed
a Derby Architect, Samuel Brown, to draw up plans for the
alterations and the original account book records show
that Mundy spent over £4,900 on this project. The
alterations and extensions appeared to take some four years
to complete for it was not until August 15th 1809 that
the final account was settled. During the ongoing works
at the house, substantial sums of money were spent on local
artisans, including masons, blacksmiths, carpenters and
painters.
There also records of marble being purchased from one
Richard Brown of Derby. (no connection to the architect).
In addition to this, towards the end of the contract, a
local man called Richard Leaper was involved in the project.
Leaper was a prominent figure in Derby and besides being
an amateur architect, was an Alderman and later Mayor of
Derby. From the account book, indications are that the
interior of the house was finished to a high standard,
but despite the existence of this record of payments, and
supporting documentation, again, none of the plans, which
Brown drew up for the project, can be traced. Indeed it
has been very difficult to trace any major information
on Samuel Brown himself. However enquiries are continuing
to try and establish more details, but should any of our
visitors have information on Samuel Brown we would be delighted
to hear from you.
Mundy allegedly lived at Wheat Hills until his death in
1815, but records are vague on this point. However there
are small clues which indicate that this may not have been
the case, as a letter of 3rd December 1809 infers that
a Bennett was still resident and owed Mundy some rent.
The same letter indicates that Mundy also appeared to owe
the Bennett Estate money for the sale of the house and
an interim accommodation was being considered!
Records of 1823 show that Mrs Bateman
lived here and as time passed the house reverted back
to its original function as a farmhouse and numerous
farm families tenanted it. Around 1890 a family called
Smith from Staffordshire, took over the tenancy and a
descendent of this family, Mr. Allsop Smith Esq., who
was in his 80’s when interviewed
was most helpful in the research regarding the house and
its grounds.
In the 1960’s a decision was taken
to divide the house into flats, and until Kedleston
French Polishers purchased the property Wheathills remained
as flats. The company took possession of Wheathills
in December 2001 and the work to restore the house to
some of its former glory began. Shards of old wallpaper
were found in a number of rooms, behind doorjambs or
under plasterboard. Samples were sent to the Victorian
and Albert Museum for assessment and results indicate
that one sample is mid late 1800’s whilst another
is c.1815. When false walls were removed it was evident
that the original house built by Bennett was modest
and utilitarian, but nonetheless well constructed. The
main ‘division’ of the house between the
original and the alterations made by Mundy, can be seen
by looking at the roof on the western side of the house.
Under the eaves on the left a ‘saw tooth’
pattern of brick is clearly discernable, whilst to the
right a ‘dentil’ pattern of bricks can be
seen . As you walk around the house, you will see other
areas where probable alterations by Mundy were carried
out.
The research into the enigma called Wheathills is an ongoing
project. Occassionally the house reluctantly reveals a
few of its tantalizing secrets, whilst further clues are
being discovered through documentary research. Where additional
information is uncovered, we will pursue each and every
avenue of enquiry, so that we can truly bring the past
into the present to be enjoyed into the future. |
