Wingfield Manor

Wingfield Manor stands in the Derbyshire countryside, four miles west of Alfreton. It is a ruined manor house begun in 1439 for Sir Ralph Cromwell, Treasurer to Henry VI. The building was completed after his death and later used by the Talbot family for nearly two hundred years. Parliament ordered the manor dismantled in the 17th century, leaving the present ruins. A working farm still occupies part of the old estate. The manor is notable for its links with Mary, Queen of Scots, who was held there from 1569. The sixth Earl of Shrewsbury kept her in residence with over 240 people, but complained of unsanitary conditions. Anthony Babington, whose family lived nearby, plotted to free her, though the story of the walnut tree is untrue. During the Civil War the manor changed hands twice, first to Royalists then to Parliament forces in 1644. Visitors today see the remains of a great hall once among the largest in England, with an oriel window and traces of coloured glass. The undercroft below stored wine and food, while the kitchens were connected by a passageway. A tower still stands, once housing one of England’s earliest flushing toilets fed by a cistern. Cannonball damage marks the curtain walls from the 1644 siege, and a stone barn shows fine timbering. A carved moneybag above the north gate recalls Lord Cromwell’s role as Treasurer.