Historic England say that “Wingfield Manor is considered to be the most important great house to survive from mid 15^th Century”. It was built in the mid 15^th Century for Lord Treasurer to King Henry VI, Ralph Cromwell. After his death it was acquired by John Talbot, second Earl of Shrewsbury and stayed in the Shrewsbury hands for nearly 200 years and it is believed that Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here in 1569, 1584 and 1585.

The site was abandoned in the last quarter of 18^th Century, though a section continued to be used as a working farmhouse and is still lived in today by the present owners, whose family purchased the site at the end of the 19^th Century.

The ruins are a Grade I Listed building and is in the care of English Heritage. Wingfield Manor is also featured in D H Lawrence’s book Sons and Lovers, which includes a walk from St Martins Church, Alfreton through the beautiful fields of Oakerthorpe and Wingfield Manor. Another famous literary book centred on the area is A Traveller in Time by Alison Utley. This is the story of a young girl by the name of Penelope Taberner. Penelope travels back and forth between the present and the sixteenth century, where she meets her ancestors, and befriends Wingfield Manor’s Elizabethan owners and becomes embroiled in the Babbington Plot to free Mary Queen of Scots.

More information can be found on the English Heritage website or on the Historic England website.