Site record MDR12108 - Site of Wingerworth Hall, East of Hockley Lane, Wingerworth

Wingerworth Hall was built in 1729, on the site of a house of c1600, extended in c1666. The former service wings of the extended house survive, but the main hall of 1729 was been demolished in the 1920s. In 1582 Henry Hunloke purchased the Wingerworth estate and, around the turn of the 17th century he built a house. A Charles II table in the Victoria and Albert Museum shows this house done in marquetry on its top. It appears to have been a castellated villa of the type closely associated with the Smythsons and their circle. It could well have been built c1595/1605, in the lifetime of Robert Smythson. The hearth tax returns assessed the house on a very modest eight hearths in 1662, however, it appears to have been extended soon afterwards, as it was assessed on 14 hearths in 1670. This was probably due to the addition of two parallel ranges added to the west front. These still survive, although they have now been converted into private dwellings. In 1729 a new house was built, possibly designed by Francis Smith of Warwick. The new house was a tall building, of three storeys over a basement, and of nine by seven bays. The main entrance was reached up a wide flight of steps. In the early 1920s the house was sold to a contractor who demolished it over a period of a few months. One room was taken to St Louis Museum, USA, where it is on display. (1)