North Lees Hall is a picturesque manor house in a secluded position below Stanage Edge. The oldest part of the building, the Tower House, dates to 1594. In 1845, Charlotte Bronte visited the Hall several times and it became the inspiration for Thornfield Hall in the novel ‘Jane Eyre’. North Lees Hall is Grade II-listed.

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September 8, 2025

A settlement was first mentioned here in 1306 with the existing grade II* listed Tower House dating from 1594 and probably replacing an earlier Elizabethan timber-framed hall house. Its design has been linked to Robert Smythson, (architect of Hardwick Hall) and incorporates three principal rooms, one above the other, all with Elizabethan features, which are linked by a spiral elm staircase. Behind are four floors of service rooms with lower floor to ceiling heights – an early split-level design. The tower house was restored in 1962 by General Sir Hugh Beach for use as a guest house. The restoration included the plaster ceiling decoration which was replicated from photographs and surviving fragments. The Hall was acquired by the Peak Park Joint Planning Board in 1978 along with the surrounding North Lees estate, and was leased to the Vivat Trust in 1988. The Vivat Trust converted the building into self-catering holiday accommodation with help from the Architectural Heritage Fund.

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Elevation 260 m

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Tuesday 18 November

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Max wind speed: 12.0 km/h

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Location: Hathersage, Derbyshire Dales, Derbyshire, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom

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North Lees Hall

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