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This quiet spot has seen the glory of a castle wax and wane; it has seen the destruction of a wonderful house said to have been built by Inigo Jones, and the passing of an ancient church.
It is said that the stones of the old castle were used for the building of the great house, a magnificent place, full of treasures of art and set in gardens with lakes and fountains. Its chapel, richly adorned and lined with cedar wood, was finished in 1696, and it was here that John Heiron, the great Nonconformist, used to preach for the Countess of Chesterfield.
In the Civil War the house was fortified for the king and plundered by the Parliamentarians. The wife of the second earl was one of the famous beauties of the court of Charles II, and lived here often.
The splendid pile was destroyed in the 18th century, owing it is said to a mistaken idea that it was unsafe, and the present hall, now a hospital, was built in 1813 by Sir Jeffry Wyatville, who made a large addition to Chatsworth.
The 13th century church, over half a mile away, was pulled down when the new one was built on its site in 1878; all that remains of it is masonry in the west wall.
The reredos Crucifixion was once a picture in the Hall. It is strange to find in this little church, an inscription to Lord Beaconsfield. We understand why it is here when we remember that one of the joys of Disraeli's life was to leave his troubles in London to spend a few quiet days as the guest of Lady Chesterfield.
The memorial was put here by the Countess, one of the two beautiful sisters Disraeli loved, and we read that it is in memory of the foremost man of his age, a record of a much-prized friendship and a lasting regret.
In the years after the death of his wife Disraeli found great consolation in the friendship of Lady Chesterfield and her sister Lady Bradford. He apparently made them members of a little group of his women friends; he called it the Order of the Bee, and he gave his members a brooch with a bee in it.
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