Description: Osmaston Hall was built for Sir Nicholas Wilmot, c 1696. William Hutton described it thus; 'This house is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I even beheld.' The Wilmot family let it to the Fox family, 1814-87, hosting the Royal Agricultural Show in 1843 and 1881. In 1888 the Midland Railway bought it and the estates for £90,000. The Royal Show was also held here in 1906, 1921 and 1933, although the park had now been built upon for foundries and sheds. The hall later became a golf club house before demolition in 1938.
This image is one of a collection by the famous local antiquarian, Thomas Bateman, of Middleton by Youlgreave. (1821-1861). Bateman organized his collection by inserting them into a 4 volume copy of Lysons Magna Britannia, Derbyshire, creating a fascinating and unique illustrated record of the county. The purchase of the collection for Derbyshire Libraries was made possible by the generous bequest of Miss Frances Webb of Whaley Bridge, well known local historian, who died in December 2006.