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Report - - Bennetston Hall, Dove Holes, Derbyshire, June 2019 | Other Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Bennetston Hall, Dove Holes, Derbyshire, June 2019

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HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
1. The History
Bennetston Hall was built in the late nineteenth Century by local doctor and property speculator Robert Ottiwell Gifford Bennett MD (1834 – 1902). Occupying a dramatic hillside location with a commanding view of the Derbyshire High Peaks, it is set in 10 acres of land including an impressive 2-acre trout lake. It comprises of a substantial country mansion and coach house constructed from coursed gritstone walls with gritstone detailing and has a number of significant and design features.

A couple of shots of the hall back in its heyday:

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Benneston old 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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Benneston old 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr

In the 1930’s it was acquired by the YHA and became a Youth Hostel. After World War II, Bennetston Hall saw usage as a private dwelling, a nightclub and a hotel. The house was badly damaged by fire in the mid-1980s and this resulted in it falling into a sorry state of neglect and disrepair. The Peak Planning Board refused planning permission, back in September 1987, to turn the coach house into a residential dwelling. In October 1989, the then-owner, a Mr Adshead, was locked in a contractual dispute and was then ordered to pay the claimant’s costs incurred by the Legal Aid Board back. After a protracted legal battle, the hall was granted to the possession of the Legal Aid Board in 1996. However due to Mr Adshead suffering from a terminal illness and the resulting protracted legal battle it wasn’t until March 2012 that the Hall was put up for sale by auction on the instruction of the receivers at a guide price of between £150,000 and £200,000. The developers, Puro Property Partnership of Knutsford, who bought the hall at auction obtained planning permission to convert the hall into five luxury apartments and a self-contained house. The coach house was subsequently sold off for £170,00 in October 2013.

It then all becomes a bit murky. However, in 2017 it appeared the hall had turned the corner when it was acquired by Chimp Management as the corporate headquarters of the charity with conversion to a dedicated conference facility together with 32 bedrooms. Additionally, the restoration would include the reinstatement of the hall’s original roofline with castellated gable and the restoration of the Coach House including a link via a single storey glazed passage to the main Hall. However, despite these ambitious plans, and conditional planning permission to go ahead with the work, little has changed, and the hall remains empty and at risk.

2. The Explore
This place has been on my radar for a while. With the acquisition of the hall by Chimp Management and their ambitious plans for the hall, I’d written the place off. However, I was recently passing and due to the apparent lack of development, thought I’d have a look. One of the main issues is the approach to the hall. It’s on a busy main road with no obvious parking places. Then there’s the long, exposed walk up to the house. Having worked out and negotiated these, it became very quickly apparent my perseverance was going to pay off. The hall itself stands beautifully well and externally is a lovely property. However, inside it is very sparse with little in the way of original features. The coach house is very strange. Clearly a lot of money has been spent to try and convert it into a hi-spec residential dwelling. I’m guessing this has been post-2013, but has stopped for a few years, perhaps due to planning permission issues. What is clear is that post-2017, no progress has been made by Chimp Management. This maybe down to the nature of the conditions attached to the planning permission that was granted to the company.

3. The Photos

The approach:

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img1583 by HughieDW, on Flickr

A view over the very picturesque trout lake:

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img1581 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1579 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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Bennetston Hall 14 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The main staircase in the hall:

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img1560 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1557 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Primitive alarm system:

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Bennetston Hall 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Sadly, some’s half-inched the fireplace:

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Bennetston Hall 08 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some view:

48160730906_81b5eec694_b.jpg
img1553 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Partition wall that’s seen better days:

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Bennetston Hall 06 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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Bennetston Hall 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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Bennetston Hall 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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Bennetston Hall 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr

On to the coach house:

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img1574 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1562 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1573 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Downstairs, the high spec kitchen has seen better days:

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Bennetston Hall 12 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Loving the spiral staircase:

48160703687_b2eb632ced_b.jpg
img1564 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1570 by HughieDW, on Flickr

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img1569 by HughieDW, on Flickr

48159596016_dd121b1204_b.jpg
img1565 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The bathroom is very nice:

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Bennetston Hall 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Attic space:

48159572531_96f8b353b5_b.jpg
img1568 by HughieDW, on Flickr
 
Last edited:

albino-jay

g00n Buster
Staff member
Moderator
Them buildings at the back were beind lived in when i got in the main house a few years ago. Good to see it during daylight. Nice one geez
 

Baggy trousers

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice, as a kid I can still remember someone living in here,you would see them occasionally out in a boat on the lake in summer. Last paid it a visit in 2009 the place was a mess, looks like someone has done some work to it since then. Will be nice to see it finished sometime as it's been unused for so long. Another good report chap.
 

paulpowers

Massive Member
Regular User
Weird its just been left. I assumed they were living in the barn conversion whilst they worked on the house. Money musta dried up and they pulled out?

We moved just down the road a couple of months ago and I've asked around to see what's going on
The plan was to renovate the hall into a hotel but the costs just mounted up
The hall was back on sale again last I heard
 

uttermuppet

28DL Member
28DL Member
Driven past this loads and always wanted a look inside but as mentioned it looked as though the house behind was lived in so never bothered. Great set of pics!
 

Old Git

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice. Passed this many times and often thought what it was like. When I want to approach a site unseen etc I put on my Hi vis gear it works a treat people think Oh hi vis he must be important. Never fails.
Do that myself sometimes, notably at Bletchley where a resident asked are they going to do something with this eyesore? Oh yes madam,very soon now. Made her day!
 

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