Description:The entrance lodge to the Calwich Abbey estate, close to Tit Bridge near Ellastone. The lodge still stands.
Calwich Abbey was originally an Augustinian priory, and was acquired by the Fleetwood family in 1544 following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The original house was rebuilt in the early 18th century by Bernard Granville. It was in Granville’s time that the house played host to many literary celebrities including Erasmus Darwin and Anna Seward and the French philosopher, Rousseau. The composer, GF Handel, was also a frequent visitor and it is said that he composed some of his Water Music suite here A further rebuilding of the house took place in 1849-1850 to a design by the architect William Burn. By then the estate had been acquired by the Duncombe family. Calwich Abbey was largely demolished in 1927-1928 following the selling-off of the estate. A fishing temple, built next to the river, survives.
Photographer: H.P. Hansen, Ashbourne.