Agent appointed to sell historic council-owned hall

An agent has been instructed to sell a historic council-owned mansion in Derby.

Derby City Council has instructed Salloway Property Consultants to put Allestree Hall on the market.

Set in 8.7 acres of grounds, the sale of the property, which was built in the early 1800s, includes the former stables and icehouse.

According to Salloway, the property requires new owners willing to repurpose and restore the building back to its former glory.

It believes the picturesque setting and scale of the property means that there is “great potential” in what the building could be utilised for.

Subject to meeting the necessary planning and listed building requirements, the agent believes that the building may be adaptable for educational, office, leisure and recreational or residential use.

Chris Keogh, associate director at Salloway Property Consultants, said: “We recently went ‘live’ with the property, and given the volume of enquiries and requests for further information, we are looking to conduct block viewings with an intention to draw interest to a close, by late October/early November.”

Allestree Hall was built on land previously owned by the Mundy family of Markeaton Hall.

Commissioned by Bache Thornhill, architect James Wyatt was instructed to build an imposing mansion within a country park setting.

The Grade II* listed building was built over three storeys with Ashlar stone elevations, sash windows and a central full height bow with a foundation stone bearing the initial JW and dated 1802.

The house was used as a residence from the early 1800s up until the late 1920s, with notable stewards among others including William Evans, Sir Thomas Williams Evans and Colonel Herbert Johnson.

In 1928, the property was sold to Commercial Constructions who broke the estate up, before disposing of it in 1936.

Following the onset of the wars the property was utilised by the National Fire Service as the County Headquarters, albeit conflicting reports suggest that Sherwood Foresters Regiment occupied the property during a similar period.

In 1946, Derby City Council acquired the hall and subsequently converted some of the grounds into an 18-hole golf course.

In November 2020 the golf course closed with the land returned to nature to become the UK’s largest urban re-wilding project.

The full marketing details for Allestree Hall are available on request.

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