Oak Hurst, Ambergate, Derbyshire, DE56 2EL
Image: Oak Hurst House 2015 SHill13 CC BY-SA 4.0
Seeking Saviour! Oak Hurst is an impressive Victorian mansion built in a mock-Tudor 'black and white' style. It was built in 1840 for Francis Hurt and radically remodelled and extended in 1888 and 1894 for the Johnson family whose large and derelict wire works sits below the house in the Derwent Valley.
The house has been empty for at least a decade (or two) and is now in extremely poor condition. In 1993 planning consent was granted for demolition. However, it still stands, although the garden facade has partly collapsed. Someone with determination and a healthy bank account is urgently needed to save Oak Hurst. Its size seems reasonable for a Country House and it might make a wonderful family seat. The house and works are probably the largest fromer industrial site in the Derwent Valley, and some sympathetic development in the curtilage of the house might help to bring Oak Hurst back to its feet.
The house stands within fine wooded scenery above the river Derwent and has excellent communications with the motorway network. Although the building is not listed the local authority is interested to see the building saved, and interested parties should contact the Conservation Officer. Unfortunately, the land is owned by the current owners, whose set-up is industrial in nature.
*Update* June 2020 - We understand there has been no change for this building.
*Update* August 2021 - Again there is no news on this decaying once splendid building. Its position and lack of listing protection are not helping to prompt action.
*Update* August 2022 - We understand there has still been no change to this once impressive Victorian mansion that continues to deteriorate. Recent photos published in the Derbyshire Times in June 2022 can be found here.
*Update* June 2023 – Sadly, there have been no developments in regard to this magnificent building.
*Update* September 2024 - There is no rescue plan in sight for this building.
*Update* December 2024 - We have just been notified of the proposed demolition of this building see AVA/2024/0629 with a decision set for 27 January 2025. We have written to object to the demolition of this house which is an undesignated heritage asset within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. We commented that despite its architectural and historic interest, it has been allowed to deteriorate despite its historic and architectural interest and is now in poor condition. Although it has previously had permission for demolition, this pre-dated the inscription of the area as a World Heritage Site.