Elvaston Castle

Elvaston Castle (full name Elvaston Castle Country Park) is a country park in Elvaston, Derbyshire, England with convert|200|acre|km2 of woodlands, parkland and formal gardens. The centrepiece of the estate is Elvaston Castle itself.

History

Originally built in 1633, it was going to be redesigned by James Wyatt in the early 1800s for the 3rd Earl of Harrington but due to Wyatt saying the grounds were too flat the work wasnt commenced and further modifications were made in the 1830s by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham.

In 1968, the estate was sold by the then Earl of Harrington to Derbyshire County Council. This coincided with the Countryside Act of the same year which proposed the creation of "country parks" "for the enjoyment of the countryside by the public". The council opened the estate to the public in 1970 and have operated it since then, as Elvaston Castle Country Park.

In 1969, Elvaston was also used as a location for Ken Russell's film adaption of the D. H. Lawrence novel "Women in Love". For the last eight years the Derbyshire County Council has been marketing the estate to private companies, claiming that it cannot afford to repair and maintain it but its actions have come to nothing. The latest of these is an attempt to turn the Castle into an hotel and the Park into golf courses. This is being fiercely contested by "The Friends of Elvaston Castle" on behalf of the community.

External links

* [http://www.friendsofelvaston.co.uk/ Friends Of Elvaston Castle Website] - group currently working to preserve the castle
* [http://thistreebelongsto.wordpress.com/ This Tree Belongs To: / Save Elvaston Castle] A series of art installations at Elvaston created to widen awareness of the of the threat to the Castle and grounds
* [http://www.elvastoncastle.org.uk/ Elvaston Castle Estate Trust Website] - group is defunct and information regarding the current castle may be out of date