Skip to main content

Listed Building record MDR4848 - Cromford Bridge House, Cromford

Type and Period (1)

  • (Tudor to Georgian - 1524 AD to 1800 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Cromford Bridge House is a Grade II* listed building of early 17th century date, with 18th century additions and alterations. The building is constructed of stone with two storeys and attics. The roof has original stone stacks and tiles throughout. (1) Part-Jacobean, part-Georgian house in Lea Road. (2) Cromford Bridge Hall (formerly House), once known as Senior Field House, is a 17th century hall and crosswing house with dormer gables, perhaps containing the remains of an earlier building. It is built of coursed gritstone. Some 17th century mullioned windows with transoms survive. In the 18th century wings were added at both ends. The addition at the east end was built in a similar design to the adjacent 17th century crosswing so as to give the overall impression of a symmetrical main front. The main entrance was placed in the middle of this enlarged façade. Most of the windows are sashed and it has a recently repaired slate roof. Most of the building is three storeys high. The house was acquired by George Evans, brother and business partner of Thomas Evans, founder of Darley Abbey cotton spinning mill, in c. 1760. It was lived in by his descendants including his daughter Elizabeth Evans, a local amateur artist and great-aunt of the famous Florence Nightingale. (3) Cromford Bridge House is built of limestone and millstone grit and its main south-east frontage has elements of 17th and 18th century design. However, a historic building survey and dendrochronological dating showed that the earliest phase can be dated to 1524. This part consists of a rectangular 2-bay deep house, built in stone to the eaves, with diagonal timberwork showing in the gables. The house had a heated ground floor room and a chamber above. The house was extended to the north-west in about 1655 and to the south-west in the 1660s, in keeping with the then owner's status as a yeoman farmer of some means. In the 1740s various alterations were made and finally in c. 1800 the north-east end, where there may have been an earlier structure, was extended with a new entrance hallway and suite of rooms in a fully Georgian style. (4)

Sources/Archives (4)

  • <1> Bibliographic reference: DOE (HHR) U.D of Matlock, Derbyshire, Oct 1972, 16. 3/3057/011.
  • <2> Index: NDAT. 3299. 3299.
  • <3> Unpublished document: Derwent Valley Mills (DVM) Nomination Steering Panel. 2000. Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage List Nomination Document. p 53-4.
  • <4> Unpublished document: Sheppard, R, Arnold, A & Howard, R (Nottingham Tree-Ring Dating). Cromford Bridge House, Cromford, Derbyshire. Part I: An Historic Building Survey; Part II: Tree-ring Dating and timber Analysis. HER Doc. No. 1112.

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 3005 5727 (29m by 25m) Centre
Civil Parish CROMFORD, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE
World Heritage Site Derwent Valley Mills

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • EDR2600

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Nov 7 2023 3:01PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.