By Ben Wheeler
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE’S idyllic Grade II listed childhood manor house is available now to accommodate twenty guests for a bargain £65 per-person per-night.
Lea Hall in Matlock, Derbyshire dates back as far as the 17th century and beautiful images show the imposing exterior of the Manor where Nightingale would’ve spent much of her formative years after her family relocated to England from Florence, Italy in 1821, the year after she was born.
Photos from inside the property reveal that it has still retained many of its character features that have remained since the 16 and 1700s with the current owners having lovingly restored the property to its former glory.
Upon arrival at the property, guests will find a charming entrance hall complete with flagstone floor.
Elsewhere on the ground floor, you will find the sitting room with wood-burning stove and original shutters, this leads through to the large, beamed, chandelier-lit dining room which also features a gorgeous open fire.
Before taking the stairs, you may also come across the kitchen which is equipped with all the mod cons such as a dual fuel range, microwave, dishwasher and fridge-freezer whilst the manor’s library can also be found on the ground floor.
The property’s bedrooms can be found upstairs with five double rooms on the first floor and a further five on the second floor, each coming with their own en-suite bathroom.
Whilst only some rooms have the luxury of four poster or canopied beds, they all come complete with LCD TVs and iPod docks, meaning every guest will have plenty in the way of home comforts during their stay.
The parish of Dethick, Lea and Holloway is steeped in as much history as the beautiful manor and Lea was even recorded in the Doomsday Book, then as Lede.
The village offers an array of visitor friendly pubs, tea rooms, restaurants and is also home to the famous John Smedley knitwear factory.
Further afield, rural Derbyshire is a treasure trove of historical landmarks and beautiful countryside. One of the closest attractions to the property is the Heights of Abraham, built on the site of historic lead mining, the hilltop park offers outstanding views of the Derwent Valley and surrounding Peak District.
Lea Hall was acquired by local farm worker, Thomas Nightingale, in 1707 before he passed the property on to his son, Peter, who was the great-uncle of Florence Nightingale.
The Nightingale family continued to live at Lea Hall until the late 1800s but retained the property until 1922 and it is believed that Florence stayed at the hall whilst the nearby residence of Lea Hurst was constructed for her parents.
Florence Nightingale is generally considered the founder of modern nursing, she came to prominence during the Crimean War, where she served as a manager and trainer of nurses.
She gained a reputation whilst organising care for the soldiers during the conflict that lead her to become an icon of Victorian culture.
Despite many contemporary commentators’ assertions of her achievements were exaggerated by the day’s media, critics agree on the importance of Nightingale’s vital later work of professionalising nursing roles for women.
For more information see the property on cottages.com
