Description: The ruins of Padley Hall lie along a track beyond Grindleford station. The hall was built around 1400 but all that now remains is the original gatehouse, now a chapel, and the foundations of the other buildings. However, this was the scene of a local tragedy, because it was here that the 'Padley Martyrs' were arrested in 1588. The Padley branch of the Eyre family remained Catholics even after the Reformation. The last of the Padley Eyres, Sir Arthur, died in 1560 and is buried in Hathersage church. His lands were inherited by his daughter Anne, who married Sir Thomas Fitzherbert. They rented Padley Hall to Sir Thomas' brother John, and the Hall became a local centre of Catholic activity with regular visits from Catholic priests. However, though being Catholic was not illegal, it was illegal to be a priest and a treasonable activity to harbour them. At the time Mary Queen of Scots (in the eyes of the Catholics the rightful heir to the throne) was held prisoner for Queen Elizabeth by the Earl of Shrewsbury at Chatsworth. On July 12th 1588, Padley Hall was raided by the men of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and two Jesuit priests were found - Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam. They were local men who had trained abroad. Both men were taken to Derby and hung, drawn and quartered. John Fitzherbert was also condemned to death but the sentence was never carried out and he died in prison in 1590. His brother, Sir Thomas, was imprisoned in the Tower of London and never released. Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam were later beatified and the gatehouse, which had survived the ruinous fate of the rest of the Hall because it had been used as a barn, was purchased by the Diocese of Nottingham in 1933 and converted to a chapel. Every year, on the Thursday nearest to July 12th a pilgrimage and service takes place here. The chapel is normally open to the public on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons from Easter to September. (information from www.cressbrook.co.uk)