House of the Dragon: The Elizabeth mansion protected by a fire-breathing beast — until it wasn't
Melanie Bryan recounts the fascinating story of Drakelow Hall.
The Derbyshire land on which Drakelow Hall once stood has a long-standing association with terrifying, fire-breathing monsters. It was first recorded as Dracan Hlawe, in the year 942AD, and its ancient English name translates to 'Dragon’s Mound', indicating a burial place with a guardian spirit.
The land was gifted to the Gresley family in the time of William the Conqueror, and remained in their care through the reign of more than 30 monarchs — a record unsurpassed by any other European dynasty. Perhaps they had some help from a mythical beast lurking somewhere underneath.
A Country Life article, published in 1907 noted, incredulously, that, ‘A Gresley was in arms against Henry III and yet did not lose Drakelowe utterly; another rode against Charles I, and the Drakelowe family was undisturbed by the Restoration. In the long line of Gresleys there must have been plotters and gamesters, men of wasteful fancies and lovers of change — a long pedigree never fails to record such — but Drakelowe remains unforfeited, unsold and unbartered.'
The hall was furnished with wood panelling and ornate plasterwork.
The magazine visited Drakelow a total of three times in the early 20th century. Blanketed by creepers, the romantic building, which dated back to the 16th century, boasted multiple chimneys and a castellated south facade. Inside, its most striking feature was the dining room, which was wrapped in a floor-to-ceiling fresco of a landscape, designed to trick the diner into believing they were outside.
The artist was Paul Sandby, a founding member of the Royal Academy, and he incorporated into his masterpiece scenes of north Wales and a chimneypiece decorated with crystals and seashells, to represent a grotto. The room's doors were cleverly incorporated into the painted design.
The Gresley dragon finally ran out of puff in the 1930s with the First World War and subsequent depression taking its toll on the family's fortunes. On August 8, 1931, Country Life reported on the sale of Drakelow's contents: 17th-century oak court cupboards; an Adam mahogany sideboard; fine Belgian tapestries; portraits of ancestors by notable artists, and George II, George III and William III ancestral silverware.
In 1933, Drakelow itself, along with more than 700 acres, appeared on the market. The Automobile Racing Association announced plans to purchase the house and turn it into a country club, and install two three- and eight-mile-long race tracks which would make it possible to legally host international races in England for the first time.
Sentinels guard the entrance to a secret garden.
The plans quickly burnt out and by 1934, Drakelow was back on the market. It was snapped up by brewery director Clifford Gothard, who waited all of four years before demolishing it, citing soaring repair costs.
By 1955, Drakelow A Power Station had risen from the Elizabethan mansion's ashes, followed, in time, by Drakelow B and C. The power station's time standing was considerably shorter than the house from which they took their name with the first one closing in 1984. Until 2006, six massive cooling towers loomed overhead, until they, too, were bought crashing down. Today, half the site is occupied by about 2,100 homes, the other half by an energy-from-waste facility.
A few parts of Drakelow Hall, survive, somehow, to this day. A sunken garden, gate piers, stable blocks and cottages all enjoy listed status. And one wall from Sandby’s fantastical fresco made it’s way to the the V&A Museum, where it can be seen on display in their very 21st century East Storehouse. So far, there have been no reports of dragons in the vicinity.
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