Bennetston Hall, Sparrowpit

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 4 Aug 2014

Bennetston Hall is a substantial former Victorian mansion which was built in the late Nineteenth Century by prominent local doctor and property speculator ROG Bennett MD although Bennett himself is not thought to have lived there. The Hall which occupies a dramatic hillside location was originally the home of the writer Mrs Coddington, a descendant of William Coddington, the 17th Century governor of Rhode Island and founder of Newport, Rhode Island. The Coddington family lived in Bennetston Hall for many years until ca 1920. In the 1930's this substantial property became a Youth Hostel and after the Second World War Bennetston Hall has been at various times over the years a private dwelling, a nightclub and a hotel. For decades however, the Hall was at the centre of a long running legal row, ending with the premises at one stage being owned by the Legal Aid Board. Meanwhile the once magnificent Hall fell into a sorry state of neglect and disrepair, being badly damaged by fire in the mid 1980s. Finally in March 2012, the Hall was put up for sale by auction on the instruction of the receivers and was acquired by its present owners (http://www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/hotel-goes-under-hammer-1-4347212 Buxton Advertiser). In 2013, the Peak District National Park Authority’s planning committee approved plans for the hall to be transformed into five apartments and a self-contained cottage (http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/local/new-lease-of-life-for-historic-hall-1-5482383 Derbyshire Times). More information : http://www.bennetstonhall.com/bennetston-hall/bennetston-hall-history/ Bennetston Hall History

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