All over the world, many people try to emulate “English country style,” whether with their interiors, architecture, or charming grounds. But, they can’t compare to the true historic estates spread around England’s many villages and shires.
One exceptional Grade II manor just listed that has a splendid history you simply can’t replicate. It was the childhood home of medical pioneer Florence Nightingale and, later, her descendants. The Nightingales held the property from at least the early 19th-century to 1951 and the current sellers have been excellent stewards as well. Known as Lea Hurst, the 19.2-acre property in Derbyshire is now up for grabs asking £3.75 million.
Florence Nightingale, a trailblazing social reformer, statistician, and the founder of modern nursing, was born just as the manor you see today was completed. Her father, William Shore, inherited the estate from his uncle in 1815 and expanded the more modest 17th-century structure that stood at the time. He created a more impressive, Elizabethan-style home for his family.
Nightingale would grow up here for five years until it turned into their second home, becoming a haven for them three months of the year. According to the listing held by Blue Book Agency, she enjoyed it greatly and “gained formative experience spending time within the local community, conducting home visits to the sick and poor in the surrounding villages.” When Lea Hurst finally changed hands from the Nightingales in 1951, it appropriated became a home for retired nurses. Later, the Royal Surgical Society bought it and turned it into a nursing home, which operated until 2004. The current owners nabbed it in 2011 and carried out careful renovations to restore it as an enchanting family home. So, the opportunity to buy it and live within it is indeed rare.
Behind the home’s ivy-covered walls and ethereal gardens, both sophisticated and cozy spaces await. It’s just as easy to imagine glitzy parties unfolding here as it is to imagine curling up with a good bood in rooms full of rich woodwork, gracious windows, and delicate wall decor. It has 13 bedrooms in total, perhaps bringing to mind visions of Old World, Downton Abbey-style hosting where servants skillfully move about making stately English homes run like clockwork.
Interested in stealing away to the countryside? Sebastian Hipwood of Blue Book Agency holds the beguiling listing.