Wheathills

Wheathills is a farm near the village of Mackworth in Derbyshire, England. Its origins lie in the period following the Inclosure Act 1763, in which local landowners petitioned Parliament to divide up the village's common land into enclosed fields. As a result of this land redistribution, John Bennett, a yeoman farmer whose family had been resident in the village for many years, acquired just over sixteen acres of land. It is believed that he built a house for himself and his family on the land some time between 1765 and 1780. However, no plans of the original house have been found. As the house was built on crop-yielding land above the village, this may account for the house being called ‘Wheat Hills Farm.’
Ownership
After the death of John Bennett, the house passed to James Bennett. When James died in 1805, Wheathills was auctioned in accordance with his will. The house and thirty acres of surrounding land were purchased jointly by Francis Noel Clarke Mundy, Lord of Markeaton Manor, and Edward Sacheverell Chandos-Pole, both of whom were original petitioners for the Inclosure Act in 1763. The land sale realised about £2,960 whilst the "neat convenient dwelling house and suitable out-offices and extensive farm buildings" fetched £750. It has been suggested that Mundy bought Wheathills with a view to using it as a retirement home. However before Mundy moved into the house he decided to extend and update the house. He employed a Derby Architect, Samuel Brown, to draw up plans for the alterations and the original account book records that Mundy spent over £4,900 on this project. It was not until August 15th 1809 that the final account was settled. There are also records of marble being purchased from one Richard Brown of Derby. (no connection to the architect) In addition to this, towards the end of the contract, a local man called Richard Leaper was involved in the project. Leaper was a prominent figure in Derby and besides being an amateur architect, was an Alderman and later Mayor of Derby. From the account book indications are that the interior of the house was probably well finished, but despite the record of payments, and supporting documentation, once more, no plans, which Brown drew up for the project, can be traced. Indeed it has been very difficult to trace any major information on Samuel Brown himself. However enquiries are continuing to try and establish more details, but should any of our visitors have information on any of the above persons, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Mundy allegedly lived at Wheat Hills until his death in 1815, after which it appears that the house may have been rented, as records of 1823 show that a Mrs. Bateman lived there at that time. However, as time passed, the house reverted back to its original function as a farmhouse and numerous farming families tenanted it. Around 1890 the Smith family, from Staffordshire, took over the tenancy. In the 1960s a decision was taken to divide the house into nine flats and, up until the time that Kedleston French Polishers moved to Wheathills, the property remained as flats. The company took possession of Wheathills in December 2001 and the work to restore Wheathills began.
Restoration
Shards of old wallpaper were found in a number of rooms, either behind door jambs or under plasterboard and these were sent to the Victoria and Albert Museum for assessment. Results of this analysis indicated that one sample dates to the mid-to-late 1800s. When the plasterboard walls were removed it was evident that the original house built by Bennett was quite modest and utilitarian, but nonetheless had been well constructed. The main division of the house between the original and the alterations made by Mundy, can be seen by looking at the roof on the western side of the house. Under the eaves on the left a "saw tooth" pattern of brick is clearly discernable, whilst to the right a "dentil" pattern of bricks can be seen. However, other areas can be seen where it is believed alterations by Mundy had been carried out and which are highlighted.
Extensive restoration works were carried out by the current owner in 2002 and 2003.
Current day
Wheathills is home to a company of that name which creates handmade wooden Memory Boxes, bespoke furniture, and restores antiques and Period Properties.

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