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Mysterious Gothic-style thatched cottages hidden away deep in woods is generally the stuff of fairytales, involving witches and lost children. But one such eccentric building does exist in South Derbyshire dating back to the 18th century – as historian Maxwell Craven discovered.

Hidden gem: A sketch of Sealwood Cottage published in a local newspaper in 1946

In the early part of the reign of George III, a fashion arose for what was then called “The Picturesque” and trendier landed gentlemen began falling over themselves to create romantic landscapes for their country houses.

This trend to rustic charm came quite early to Derbyshire and especially to the south of the county. The most obvious manifestations of it were at Repton Park and Knowle Hill. The former’s landscape survives but not the house, while the latter, just below Ticknall, is a site which overlooks a deep gorge running north to the Trent valley with distant views of Swarkestone Bridge.

Then it was still unspoilt by power stations and factories. The original house, very eccentric and climbing up the side of the vale, was Queen Anne and the landscape that surrounded it was equally eccentric though not “picturesque” in the manner meant by the arbiters of taste three generations later.

Later, after the estate had passed to the Burdetts of Foremark, the old house was replaced by a banqueting hall. Constructed like a folly, it was recently restored by the Landmark Trust as a holiday let. The landscape around it was skilfully reworked – probably by landscape designer William Emes of Bowbridge, Mackworth – to provide just the sort of picturesque landscape that Sir Robert Burdett would have wanted.

Even compared to set pieces of the same type such as Painshill (Surrey) and Hackfall (Yorkshire), it must have been truly arresting, but now its lakes are largely dry, its glades turned over to agriculture and its vistas clogged by afforestation.

Restored, it could become a national showpiece. Nor were the Burdetts alone in this part of the world in seeking picturesque landscapes and rural idylls. Another was the Rev Thomas Gresley.

He was the “squarson” of Netherseal Hall, an intriguing mansion demolished in the 1930s. Gresley was the great-grandson of Sir Thomas Gresley of Drakelow, who had settled on his second son, Thomas’s grandfather, the Netherseal estate.

Thomas, a Cambridge Doctor of Divinity who was patron as well as rector of Netherseal, was a connoisseur and a friend of Sir Robert Burdett, the Mundys of Markeaton and others in their circle, all imbued with the ideas of the Picturesque movement.

Whether he had his house’s setting relandscaped is unclear, though I think it likely. Two centuries of agriculture and industry have obscured its real nature, though a detailed survey combined with work using maps in the family archive would probably answer the question.

One thing does bolster this theory. In 1984, Philip Heath, heritage officer for South Derbyshire District Council, was tipped off about a quirky old building deep within a wood near Netherseal, which was then in a state of advanced decay. It had been granted planning permission for a large extension. Urged by the council, however, English Heritage spotlisted it Grade II in the autumn of 2004. Thanks to the council, this wonderful building has now been fully restored, though it is still hidden away on private property.

Picturesque: Sealwood Cottage, which was built around 1773 by the Reverend Thomas Gresley in a corner of Seal Wood on his estate at Netherseal. It is pictured here in a state of decay in 2004

The interior of the cottage, showing its Gothic doors, before restoration in 2004

Philip has since discovered that Sealwood Cottage was created around 1773 by the Rev Thomas Gresley to occupy a woody nook carved out of Seal Wood on his estate.

Containing only two superimposed rooms – although both are spectacular, spacious and unusual – it has the earliest known cavity wall since the Roman Empire, the inner brick skin being obscured by an outer timber frame nogged with further brick infilling.

This was done, it seems, solely to provide a suitably rustic effect when seen from afar. Originally, it had a large tapering cylindrical chimney and may have been thatched to add to its romantic, rustic appearance. It also has two single-storey mini-wings set snuggled up against its sides under catslide extensions to the pyramidal roof, which itself is of odd construction.

Inside it is all wedding cake Gothic with pointed arches, including one combining a corner cupboard with a curving staircase, and a black marble chimneypiece.

There is also a bed, hidden in the dado, which pulls out when required, presumably for the custodian of the building when it was not in use for Gresley’s shooting lunches or his occasional visits for contemplative reading.

Since being built to the designs of William Combes of Evesham, a later Regency cottage was added to the rear, also with a pyramidal roof.

The only known illustration of it before decay set in is a drawing which appeared in the Burton Mail in 1946. Even then, it had lost its thatch, perhaps when the cottage was added. In the 19th century, the woods grew up again round it and it vanished from sight.

Today, it is still virtually hidden, even though Seal Wood has been felled and the landscape is fairly bleak. However, thanks to Philip and a heritage-conscious council, this exquisite gem has been saved.

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County:  Derbyshire

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