The Hall was built by Henry Dixon. Henry arrived in Whittington around 1829/30. Henry was the heir to John Dixon’s estate. John, who at the time of his death in 1816 is said to have owned two thirds of the land in Old Whittington, had no natural heirs. He left his estate to Henry (More about this can be found on our article on the Dixon Family).
No money was spared in building the Hall. It boasted a boating lake, a fishing pond, a head gardener’s cottage, an entrance lodge and a gamekeeper’s cottage (Henry was known to host pheasant shoots) in all the estate covered 25 acres.
Whether the upkeep got too much we don’t know but around 1843 the whole of the ‘Whittington Estate’ then covering about 450 acres was put up for sale and was bought in 1884 by William Parker Esq. for £19,000.
Henry was listed as still living in the Hall in the 1851 census along with his wife Caroline and daughter Emily
Below is a list of all the owners of the Hall and have links to each of the owners histories.
Ownership and Occupancy of Whittington Hall (c. 1829 – Present)
Originally Henry Offerton, he inherited part of the Whittington estate through the 1816 will of John Dixon, adopting his benefactor’s surname. Between 1829 and 1831 he built Whittington Hall — a fine Georgian–Victorian residence combining classical design with industrial wealth.
Purchased the Hall after Dixon’s death. The Fowler brothers, ironmasters and coal-owners at Sheepbridge, were among Chesterfield’s foremost industrialists. William Fowler (1830 – 1906) lived at Whittington Hall, extending and modernising the property during the height of Sheepbridge’s success.
A wealthy Sheffield horn- and bone-merchant who retired to Whittington Hall as a country gentleman. He died there on 7 July 1893 leaving £57,776. His daughter Edith Mary later married Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset, linking the Hall with the Somerset family.
Retired army officer and proprietor of Clayton’s Leather Works in Chesterfield. Under his ownership the Hall remained a prominent late-Victorian residence noted for hospitality to local dignitaries and charitable causes.
Originally based in Bristol, Rev. Burden founded ‘Homes for Inebriate Women,’ offering refuge and rehabilitation through Christian discipline and agricultural work. Around 1903 he acquired or leased Whittington Hall as the site of his second institution — ‘The Whittington Hall Home for Inebriated Women.’ The Hall became a pioneering centre for the care and reform of women suffering from alcohol addiction, and later evolved into a home for women with mental-health difficulties as social attitudes shifted in the early 20th century.
- Whittington Hall Hospital (Derbyshire Royal Infirmary Annexe) – 1930s – 1970s
By the inter-war years the property had transferred to the Chesterfield and Derbyshire Hospital authorities, operating as a convalescent and rehabilitation hospital. The grounds were adapted for patient recreation, and it became known locally as ‘Whittington Hall Hospital.’
- National Health Service (NHS) – 1948 – 1980s
Absorbed into the NHS upon its creation in 1948. Continued use for recuperative and geriatric care until the hospital’s closure later in the 20th century.
- Private Redevelopment and Residential Use – Late 20th Century – Present
Following decommissioning, Whittington Hall was sold for private redevelopment. Converted to mixed residential and business use, the building retains significant Georgian-Victorian architectural features, preserving its link to two centuries of Whittington’s social history.
Regrettably Catherine Burden died on the 25th October 1919 following a stroke. Harold went on to marry Rosa Williams
Carpenter reports –
In his final 4 years of life, Mr Burden created a private limited company, Great Stoke Estates Limited, and transferred his land to it. This company then proceeded to buy all the freeholds of the institutions still occupied under lease and many nearby farms, amounting to almost 3 square miles of land around Bristol and Chesterfield. Some of this land and the institutions were later sold to the NIPRCC after his death, when the company was dissolved.
Harold Burden died on the 15 May 1930 from heart disease.
Unusually, the Board of Control inserted a note in their annual report
… with much regret we have to record the death … of the Rev. Harold Nelson Burden . . . he served on the Royal Commission on the Control of the Feeble-minded, his experience and knowledge proving of great value to the enquiry . . . The institutions under his control . . . were among the first to provide certified accommoda- tion for the mentally defective, and proved of great assistance at a time when the supply of beds was extremely limited. In the conduct of these institutions his administrative abilities were invaluable; and we feel that, as a pioneer in this sphere of work, a debt of gratitude is due to him. We wish to record our sincere appreciation of the valuable help he rendered in advancing the working of the Act
According to the Rev Crompton Harold had been a Freeman of the City of London and a liveryman of no fewer than seven city companies, including the Barber Surgeons of which he had been Master. He was one of the “Knights of the Round Table,” a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Empire Society.
The full article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (vol.89 April 1996 by Peter K Carpenter MRCPsych.) can be accessed here
The Home continued as a Voluntary Organisation treating women with mental issues until 1948 when in the advent of the NHS it became under the control of the Regional Hospital Board with Sheffield as its Administrative Authority.
In 1974 it became under the control of the Trent Regional Health Authority and North Derbyshire District Health Authority.
The Hall continued to be operational until the late 1990’s when it was put up for sale and was purchased by a development company who turned into luxury apartments.
There is a memorial to a long term matron and to all the past patients of the Hospital in the Churchyard at the East End of the Church.
