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Although this is an area which is bordered by limestone, the village of Lea situated between Cromford and Crich, stands on millstone grit at a height of some 700 feet above sea level. In the valley below, the River Derwent flows, passing through Matlock and thence towards Derby.
It was in the village of Lea that John Marsden-Smedley spent much of his life. As well as being the local squire he was also the owner by inheritance of John Smedley Limited, a manufacturer of fine woollen garments.
The factory Smedley’s, set up by Peter Nightingale the second in 1784 is perhaps the oldest site in the world where mechanically powered spinning has continously operated. The water in this valley was central to the operation of three corn mills, the lead smelter, the textile factory, a hat factory and to the supply to the branch canal.
The industry in this valley, together with lead mining and property, was the source of the Nightingale wealth.
Lea Mills itself was built by Peter Nightingale, the great uncle of Florence Nightingale, and the ‘Lady of the Lamp’ spent many years just a stone’s throw from the mill. She often visited the works to give help and advice to employees.
People who know Matlock nearby will be familiar with the name of Smedley. The second John Smedley was a philanthropist of high order. In fact it was he who built the world famous Smedley’s Hydro with the associated hospital for the treatment of rheumatism. He built churches too, and of course the well known Riber Castle which today is the Riber Castle Wildlife Park.
One of the few remaining companies to comb and spin top-quality wool yarns from the raw state, the craftsmen and women of John Smedley still today adopt the principles handed down from generation to generation, and as such their knitwear is renowned throughout the world. A great deal of their products are on display in the Lea Mills factory shop which is open to the public throughout the year.
In 1895 the aforementioned John Marsden Smedley rebuilt the farm of Lea Green into the fine house it is, and of course is where the Nightingales and the Smedleys lived and built up the fortune which Florence Nightingales father inherited. These days it is better known as a sports and conference centre.
In 1935 at the age of sixty-eight John Smedley having been inspired by his visits to Bodnant and Exbury, decided to build his own rhododendron garden on the site which he had located behind his existing garden. He used skilled craftsmen from his estate to ulitise the abundant stone littering the area, originally an old quarry site, to fashion paths and verandas in the local style of dry stone walling. Soil was brought from other parts of his estate to top up beds of sand.
During this period he made a collection of some 350 vareties of specie and hybrid rhododendrons and azaleas in a two acre site which he developed before his death in 1959 at the grand old age of 92.
These days, Lea Gardens covers an area of some four acres and can now boast 550 different vareties. It welcomes visitors all year.
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