Alfreton Hall is situated in large grounds at the north-west corner of the town of Alfreton. The Hall was built for George Morewood in 1724 by Francis Smith of Warwick. An eastern extension was added in 1855. The Hall remained in the ownership of the Morewood family until 1957, but by 1964 it had passed into the ownership of the local council.
By 1968 the Hall had been seriously affected by mining subsidence, and the original building of 1725 was demolished, leaving the eastern wing standing, and this is what you see in today’s shot. The site of the early hall is now a car park, and the grounds are a public open space.
In 2006 the eastern wing of Alfreton Hall was fully restored to its former grandeur and now provides conferencing and banqueting facilities which can be used for concerts, conferences and weddings. It is a beautiful building inside and out.
Such a grand building, so majestic. It is very interesting to see all these places and read about them; so many of our towns and cities have similar names. Of course, New England was founded by people who first came from England, so it makes sense that our towns have names like Derby, which is about 45 minutes north of where I live, or Warwick, a town in Rhode Island, another New England state I used to live in.
What a great shot of a place close I my heart. I lived near here for he majority of my life and started work at the Nat West branch that you would have passed at the traffic lights. Alfreton was a mining town surrounded by a number of collieries which provided work to the local community. Many of the local industrial parks were built on slag heaps plus Alfreton was the home of Viyella with Butterley steel works nearby. Happy memories and thanks for the shot.
I'm amazed that this grand structure is only the remnant eastern wing, hard to imagine what the complete building would look like. Thanks again for your extensive history.
Thank you Padlock, and I'm glad it brought back memories for you. The Alfreton area is in many ways similar to the part of Rotherham where I grew up - coal mines and steel works, but transformed by landscaping with the closure of much of the old industry.
Thank you Brian - Mansfield and Alfreton were new to us, and it was interesting to discover so much of interest, and good to be able to share some of it.
Ian
August 24th, 2013
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Thank you Camille. It is interesting to compare places around the world with the same name, and to see the very different places!
Ian
Thank you Padlock, and I'm glad it brought back memories for you. The Alfreton area is in many ways similar to the part of Rotherham where I grew up - coal mines and steel works, but transformed by landscaping with the closure of much of the old industry.
Ian
Thank you Lee - it was wonderful inside and out!
Ian
Thank you Bob - they have made a wonderful job of the restoration.
Ian
Thank you Therese - it is quite large, and must have been huge before the old part of the hall was demolished.
Ian
Thank you Ferry - it was a great setting for the wedding reception we went to.
Ian
Thank you Jacqui - it was beautiful inside and out!
Ian
Thank you Lynda - it was a fascinating piece of architecture!
Ian
Thank you Molly - it was a beautiful building, and I'd never even heard of it before our visit for the wedding reception!
Ian
Thank you Tony - there is a photo on their website showing how it used to look ( http://www.alfretonhall.co.uk/content/contact-us)
Ian
Thank you Cathie - it was nice to be able to share this with you!
Ian
Thank you Angela - you can see an old photo on their website showing what it was like before the old part of the hall was demolished ( http://www.alfretonhall.co.uk/content/contact-us)
Ian
Thank you Brian - Mansfield and Alfreton were new to us, and it was interesting to discover so much of interest, and good to be able to share some of it.
Ian