It’s an example of hidden history in a small Derbyshire village. Wingfield Manor has such a fascinating history unbeknown to most who live outside the village’s perimeter, writes Charlotte Tait.
NOW part of a working farm, Wingfield Manor was once the home of England’s Treasurer and the site of captivity for Queen Mary of Scotland. While the site is not currently open to the public and is under the care of English Heritage, its history is rich.
The manor was built by a prominent individual, Ralph Lord Cromwell. Cromwell was most likely born around 1393, as the only son of a Lincolnshire baron. His early life was spent in the service of the Duke of Clarence and later his older brother, King Henry V. Cromwell fought alongside the king at the Battle of Agincourt and gained prominence in 1433 as he became Treasurer of England.
Cromwell acquired the manor site in 1439 and envisioned the possibility of creating a grand home in its strategic, elevated position. Cromwell was an avid builder and his design for the manor was very different to what his contemporaries were building at the time.
The final building was nothing short of opulent, with a great hall for banquets and a colossal tower that allowed any guests to have a 360-degree view of the surrounding scenery. The stone used to construct the manor was Ashover gritstone, with numerous intricate carvings engraved into both the inside and outside of the building – one depicting money bags, done to highlight the extent of Cromwell’s wealth.
Another revolutionary decision made by Cromwell was to make his manor primarily domestic in design rather than defensive, extraordinary for the time. While the manor was adorned with luxury, it strangely lacked what we now would consider to be a basic necessity: toilets (known as garderobes in medieval times).
However, Cromwell’s building of the manor, as well as his demanding role as Treasurer, all became too overwhelming as he resigned from his role in 1443 on the grounds of ill-health. He remained in his beloved manor for a further twelve years until his death, and was buried at Tattershall Castle, in Lincolnshire, another of his building projects.
His estate at South Wingfield was assumed to be inherited by his nieces. However, his will stated otherwise. Cromwell had written that the Manor was to be sold to raise money for Tattershall Church, so it could be transformed into a collegiate to commemorate his life.
“During this time, under the residency of George Talbot, the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland, was imprisoned at the Manor. ”
So, Wingfield Manor was sold to John Talbot, the second Earl of Shrewsbury. The manor remained in the hands of the Shrewsbury family for two centuries. During this time, under the residency of George Talbot, the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland, was imprisoned at the Manor.
Most commonly referred to in history as the ‘Queen of Scots’ – as opposed to Mary, Queen of Scotland – she was originally married to King Francis II of France, who had the most frivolous and sometimes licentious courts in Europe. Thus, in 1560 when her husband King Francis II of France died, she was confident in herself and her birthright to retain her power as Queen of Scotland.
After a few years following her return to Scotland, she married her cousin, Henry Darnley, Earl of Lennox. Unfortunately, within six months after the birth of their son, James (later James V of Scotland and James I of England), Darnley was murdered. Suspicion fell on Mary’s alleged lover, the Earl of Bothwell, who married her just days after securing a divorce. Unsurprisingly, an army of nobles revolted against their marriage, confronting Mary at Carberry Hill, where she surrendered while Bothwell fled. Among Bothwell’s captured belongings, a silver casket containing letters written before Darnley’s murder highlighted Mary’s complicity in Darnley’s death. The letters reveal Mary’s outpourings of love for Bothwell, while they reveal resentment and hatred towards her husband, desperate to be freed of him, as well as to have Bothwell released from his own marriage.
Following her surrender, Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle and forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son James. After escaping and raising an army, only to be defeated at Langside, she fled to England, seeking sanctuary from her cousin, Elizabeth I. But the Queen of England had her imprisoned and in 1569, the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury – who by then was married to Bess of Hardwick – was tasked with her imprisonment, and she was detained across several of his properties.
Mary was initially kept at Tutbury Castle but was soon transferred to Wingfield Manor to improve her health, as Tutbury’s dilapidated conditions had left her ill. Despite the move, Mary’s health continued to decline, with doctors blaming Wingfield’s unsanitary conditions — an accusation the Earl strongly disputed, attributing her illness to her own retinue’s hygiene. Nonetheless, Mary was frequently moved between Wingfield, Sheffield Castle, Sheffield Manor, and Tutbury Castle throughout her imprisonment in England, spending significant time at Wingfield Manor from around 1569 to 1584.
One interesting indication of the kind of lifestyle Mary had while at Wingfield was the unusually spacious size of the cellar, suggesting a significant consumption of wine. As well as drinking it, Mary reportedly used wine for “bathing,” as noted in a letter written by the Earl of Shrewsbury to the Marquis of Winchester and Sir Walter Mildmay. Given her poor health during this period, her physicians likely prescribed wine baths or body rubs, a common remedy of the time.
During the English Civil War, the manor was taken by the Royalists and then retaken by Roundheads and was partially demolished in 1646 on instructions from Parliament. In 1678, it was bought by local astronomer Immanuel Halton, before it was abandoned in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. However, a section of the Manor remained occupied as a farmhouse and is still inhabited today. The ruins are now a Grade I-listed building and have been in the care of the Secretary of State since 1960.
Sidney Oldall Addy and James Croston aptly described Wingfield Manor in their 1885 guidebook as “bitterly historical.” Today, its ruins reflect how time spoils a once magnificent house. Though many of the walls still remain strong, the roofless (formerly grand) hall – once one of the largest in the country – the obliterated chapel, and there are the marks of cannon shots on the walls.
Editor’s note: The author would like to thank farmer Sam, who inhabits the farmhouse adjacent to the ruins of the manor; Jonathan, a local who lives in the village; and John Hardwick, a local historian, for the information they provided regarding the manor’s history. A sketch of the manor forms the logo of South Wingfield Primary School.