Parwich Hall

Parwich Hall is a privately owned 18th-century mansion house at Parwich, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire Dales. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The Manor of Parwich was owned by the Cockaynes of Ashbourne until they sold it in about 1603 to Thomas Levinge of Norfolk. His great grandson, Richard Levinge, was Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland and became the first of the Levinge Baronets.

His son the second Baronet replaced the old manor house with the present brick and limestone mansion house in 1747. The entrance front has three storeys and five bays, symmetrical around the slightly advanced and pedimented central bay. A three-bayed service wing was added to the west in 1905 and raised to three storeys in 1930.

The Levinge family seat was moved to Westmeath in Ireland and the house was let out and in 1814 was sold to William Evans of Allestree Hall. During part of the time of Evans' ownership the house was occupied by the vicar Rev Carr, a relative of Evans. After the death of Sir Thomas Evans in 1892, another clerical descendant, Rev Claud Lewis, had the use of the house.

Parwich

Coordinates: 53°05′17″N 1°43′08″W / 53.088°N 1.719°W / 53.088; -1.719

Parwich is a village and parish in the Derbyshire Dales, located 7 miles to the north of Ashbourne. Its population is estimated at slightly over 500 inhabitants.

Village facilities include the Anglican church of St Peter's, a primary school, The Sycamore Inn (containing a public house and village shop), the village memorial hall (established in 1962 and rebuilt in 2010) the Royal British Legion club house (established 1951), a hard surfaced play area, a bowling green and a cricket pitch.

History

Parwich is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Pevrewic" under Derbyshire in the lands belonging to the King. The book which was written in 1086 said:

Domesday noted that Parwich together with the manors of Darley, Matlock, Wirksworth and Ashbourne and their berewicks rendered TRE 32 pounds and 6.5 sesters of honey. Now 40 pounds of pure silver.

Manor

Parwich was part of the ancient Crown lands and after the Conquest was granted to the Ferrers, Earls of Derby. Robert de Ferrers took a prominent part in the Montford Rebellion against the king, and Edward I seized his lands. The king gave the manor to Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster and it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster held by the Cokayne family of Ashbourne Hall. In 1603 it was sold to Thomas Levinge and remained in his family until 1814 when it was sold to William Evans. The Levinge family built Parwich Hall in 1747 but were frequently absent. The son of William Evans, Sir Thomas William Evans built the present church in 1874 at a cost of £4,500. After 1892, and the estate was split between the Carrs and the Gisbornes. After World War One, the estate was sold to the Inglefields who sold it in the 1970s.