This Elizabethan mansion could be yours for nearly $800,000

By Ed Chatterton

House-hunters have the chance to live like an Elizabethan lord for the same price as a London apartment after a 16th-century mansion went up for sale with a guide price of $738,100–$805,200.

Historic Barlborough Hall, a Grade I-listed Elizabethan stately home dating back to 1583, is heading to auction later this month complete with 14 acres of land.

The sprawling estate near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, boasts almost 16,000 square feet of accommodation, landscaped gardens, woodland and lawns.

The magnificent 440-year-old hall was built for Sir Francis Rodes, the judge who took part in the trial of Mary Queen of Scots.

It is believed to have been designed by architect Robert Smythson, the man behind other nearby stately homes including Hardwick Hall and Wollaton Hall.

The country house is set in around 14 acres of gardens and the estate forms part of a Grade II registered park and garden.

James Vandenbrook, associate director at BTG Eddisons Property Auctions, which is handling the sale, said: "Barlborough Hall is an exceptional property in every sense.

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"It is not often that a Grade I-listed Elizabethan house of this scale, with such a remarkable architectural history and so much land, comes to the market at auction.

"The fact that it dates back to 1583 and is associated with Robert Smythson, whose work includes Hardwick and Wollaton halls, gives it a very special place in the history of English country houses.

"It is also a property with enormous potential for its next chapter. Of course, any future use will need to respect its Grade I listing, its historic significance and the necessary planning and other consents, but the scale and setting of the estate make it a fascinating proposition for the right buyer."

The hall is being offered for sale following last year's closure of Jesuit-run Mount St Mary's College and Barlborough Hall School, which had occupied the building since 1939.

The school went into administration in July 2025, with other parts of the wider estate sold this summer.

Vandenbrook added: "Barlborough Hall is a building of genuine national architectural significance and there will inevitably be a great deal of local and national interest in what happens to it next.

"Whoever acquires it will have the opportunity, and indeed the responsibility of becoming the next custodian of a unique house that is more than four centuries old."

Barlborough Hall will be auctioned on September 30.