Monument record MDR22812 - Sydnope Hall park and gardens, west of Sydnope Hill, Darley Dale

Sydnope Hall stands on the site of a late Tudor farmhouse but its present character, together with the surrounding landscape, date from the mid C19. Sir Francis Scheverell Darwin, MD, second son of Dr Erasmus Darwin, purchased Sydnope in the early 1820s from the Dakeyne family of Holt House. At the beginning of the 1850s, Darwin commissioned the architect J Barron Wright to greatly extend and alter the Hall, in the Tudor style. At the same time he instigated the laying out of the grounds which by 1874 were 'full of natural beauties and attractions' (J Horticulture and Cottage Gardener). Darwin was also responsible for the building of the folly known as Sydnope Stand. On his death in 1858, the estate was purchased by R B Barrow who made further alterations to the house and converted the folly to a gothic eyecatcher. See NHLE description for more details. (1)