Ford House

Derbyshire
Location   Ogston
Year demolished   c.1961  
Reason   Demolition related to construction of Ogston Reservoir  
See all images: Gallery

Despite their apparent placid appearance, the creation of reservoirs is a destructive process. Seemingly immutable landscapes are irrevocably altered, with villages, houses, and other landmarks demolished and their scant remains covered by acres of water. The ruination can also extend beyond the waterline, with other properties which either pose a risk, or may be a risk, being cleared in an abundance of caution, or that they were simply in the way of the massive engineering works required during construction.

Black and white photo showing Ford House, a relatively simple Georgian house, positioned on a slope, surrounded by trees.Ford House was one such casualty. Although it lacked extensive grounds or parkland, it typifies the range of losses of country houses, where substantial houses were notable in themselves, rather than in relation to their landholdings.

A key factor which influenced its loss was the size and importance of its country house neighbour, Ogston Hall. Sitting just across the valley, Ogston certainly had the best part of the deal. Originally held by the Deincourt family around the time of the Doomsday Book, it had passed to the Revell family through marriage.

The first Ford House

The earliest recorded mention of Ford is in 1227, but during the 16th-century era the Curtis family established a modest estate in Ford, as yeoman farmers rather than gentlemen. The Curtis family likely constructed the old hall c.1500, which was sited just to the north of the later Ford House. In the 17th-century, John Curtis married into the nearby Revells family of Ogston Hall and in 1659 they added an additional wing. The house was sold by John Curtis to George Holland in the late 17th-century who then settled it on his son John, on his marriage to Hanna Hornbuckle in 1697. John had a successful career as a maltster and solidified and grew his fortune, and his family, with his wife giving birth to three children. His eldest (and eventual heir), Thomas, was born in 1702, and had a signficant influence on the development of the house. His sister, Anne, married

John Holland expanded the old hall around 1700, adding additional range on the eastern site, apparently as a malthouse as part of the family business. Though its architectural refinement suggests otherwise, possibly indicating accommodation expansion following his marriage. Surviving account entries reveal expenditures such as £100 for stables in 1721 and £336 for the construction of "the house at Ford", probably around 1723-24, with the new house complete by around 1725. This structure is commonly identified as Ford House, which is what we can see in the photographs.

The new Ford House

The new house had been built on the original stables, which were sited opposite the old hall, separated by a public lane which ran between them. The lane was subsequently closed and traffic changed to a new route which followed the garden walls. Another old house on the site was incorporated into the new house as a kitchen wing. There is no known architect for the new Ford House (and there may never have been one), and whilst the end result was a coherent, if unusual six-bay frontage (grouped into three sets of two windows on each floor), rising to three storeys and surmounted by a hipped roof. The house was solid and plain, the only ornament being a pediment placed above the main door and its single flanking window, maintaining the visual regularity of the facade at the expense of symmetry. Overall, the effect was well-proportioned and appropriate for its position as the minor seat of a local family.

With some houses, a plain exterior hid an extravagant interior - but not with Ford House. Whilst the rooms were all well-proportioned, with a certain level of refinement, it lacked the grand suites of rooms larger houses would have included. The joinery was all of a good quality and would be much-admired today, from the elegant mahogany doors to the spiral balusters on the stairs.

One notable feature of design of Ford House was the unique topography of the site; a slope which forced the wings and outbuildings into a sometimes confusing layout. Ann Skinner, who lived there as a child and whose family were the last to live in the house in the 1950s, remembers:

"The thing about Ford House was that it was built on a very steep slope, resulting in countless split levels. It was all higgly-piggly inside, you could be on a mezzanine landing one moment and then find yourself beside Ford Farm. Or go down some steps and find yourself underground - so cool and dark that we used it as a larder, and in this same stone corridor was a curing room with a big stone table. And go up some other steps, leading to the servants’ quarters."
Smaller houses are sometimes made more notable through the associations of the owners, which is where the Hollands had some success. John Holland and his wife Mary were noted for their good and hospitable nature. The beautiful situation of the house encouraged visitors, which included the renowned painters Joseph Wright of Derby and William Tate. John and Mary sat for portraits by Wright, which hung in the house alongside a number of his landscapes which John had acquired, and he also painted his own versions, which were said to display some talent. John's was much happier house than the rather authoritarian and austere one of his father, full of artistic and literary objects and conversation, which he enjoyed until his death in 1807, aged 73.

His widow, Mary, was to enjoy the house for another four decades, before she finally died, aged 93, in 1847 - their respective longevity perhaps an indication of the healthy atmosphere of Ford House. As John and Mary had no children, the house and estate passed to relatives of his aunt, Ann Bilbie, who eventually sold it to Gladwyn Tarbutt of Ogston Hall, finally uniting the neighbouring estates, with Ogston remaining as their main family seat. Over time, the Tarbutt's expanded their landholdings in the area, with the conveniently sited Ford House serving as the dower house for his mother, Anne Tarbutt, after Gladwyn's marriage in 1850. After her death five years later, it was let to a series of tenants until the news of the reservoir came and changed everything.

The letter annoucing the building of a reservoir and which heralds the loss of what, for the landowner, could sometimes be very substantial areas of parkland, would almost certainly be unwelcome. However, in several cases where the actual house was spared inundation, they often gained a new, quite spectacular view as a vast sheet of water was created, at a scale Lancelot 'Capability' Brown would have certainly appreciated. Ogston Hall was joined by Tattingstone Place (Suffolk), Anderton Hall (Lancashire), Blithfield Hall (Staffordshire), Hopton Hall (Derbyshire), Calke Abbey (Derbyshire), Hilfield (Hertfordshire), and Swinsty Hall, (Yorkshire) as locations which benefited in this way.

Ford House was loved by those who had lived there. Ann Skinner has a letter sent to her mother from Gladwyn Turbutt, saying how sad the house was demolished "...quite unnecessarily, as it turned out.". Writing in Derbyshire Life and Countryside1 in October 1972, Gladwyn wrote what could be considered an obituary for Ford. He lamented that 'Had the public authority responsible for the planning of the reservoir been imbued with a little more aesthetic sensibility, the destruction of Ford might have been avoided...'. Ostensibly, the house was removed to make way for four 'reservoir houses', even through space could easily have been found nearby. So another house was lost, lamented by those who knew it, denied to others for no greater reason than a lack of will to preserve the heritage which had been placed in their care. Sadly, this is a familiar story then, as it still is today.

Other houses lost due to reservoirs:
1 - 'Ford House' by Gladwyn Turbutt, Derbyshire Life and Countryside, October 1972, pp. 68-70

Credit

This history and the unique photos have been kindly provided by Ann Skinner, whose family were the last tenants of Ford House. I'm very grateful to her for generously sharing these materials.