Breadsall Priory
A historic Derbyshire country-house hotel and country club operated under the Delta Hotels by Marriott name.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Breadsall Priory is a historic country-house hotel and country club in Derbyshire, England, located roughly two kilometres north of Breadsall and two kilometres east of Little Eaton. The present hospitality operation occupies the site of a small medieval Augustinian priory and a later private residence. Its modern commercial identity is Delta Hotels by Marriott Breadsall Priory Country Club, combining accommodation with golf and leisure facilities. The site originated as Breadsall Priory, an Augustinian canons' house established before the middle of the thirteenth century by a member of the Curzon family. Although some historical accounts have incorrectly described it as a house of Augustinian Friars, documentary evidence indicates that it was occupied by Augustinian Canons. The priory was unusually small, generally accommodating only a prior and one or two canons. Its limited scale also meant that the Curzon family, who acted as hereditary patrons for several generations, played an important role in appointments to the priory. During the medieval period, the priory held religious and economic interests in several surrounding parishes, including Breadsall, Duffield, Horsley, Mugginton and Windley. Its records reflect the activities of a modest but locally connected institution: land and tithes were administered, disputes over parish rights were litigated, charitable and memorial arrangements were made, and repairs to the priory church were supported by local benefactors. By the time of the Valor Ecclesiasticus in 1535, the priory had a reported net annual income of £10 17s. 9d. and only Prior William Pendylton was resident. The priory was dissolved in 1536 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Pendylton received a small pension, and the original monastic buildings were subsequently demolished or substantially lost. A private house was later constructed on the site. An Elizabethan E-plan residence was built in the late sixteenth century during the ownership of Sir John Bentley, and the house was altered and expanded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Architect Robert Scrivener was associated with alterations around 1861, while another wing was added in 1906. Mid-nineteenth-century stable buildings also survive. The property passed through a succession of private owners after the Reformation. It was associated with the Darwin family in the early nineteenth century: physician and poet Erasmus Darwin lived there shortly before his death in 1802, and his son Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin later occupied the house. The grounds were also connected with Edward Levett Darwin, who developed an interest in natural history there. In the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the property was acquired by Derby industrialist Sir Alfred Seale Haslam, whose family retained an association with the estate. The house is now used as a hotel, while the former stables are in residential use. Both the house and the stables are listed buildings. The hotel’s leisure offer includes two eighteen-hole golf courses, the parkland Priory Course and the Moorland Course, alongside country-club and spa services. In 2005, the site hosted a G8 meeting of environment and development ministers, illustrating its use not only as a leisure destination but also as a venue for substantial business and governmental gatherings. As a hospitality property, Breadsall Priory is positioned around heritage, rural surroundings, golf, wellness and events rather than as a standalone consumer product brand. Its principal market is the United Kingdom, with the Marriott and Delta Hotels affiliation providing the current international hotel-network context.
History
Breadsall Priory began as a small Augustinian canons' priory in Derbyshire, established before 1266 by one of three generations of the Curzon family: Richard, Henry or Sir Robert Curzon. The institution should be distinguished from the Augustinian Friars, with whom it has sometimes been confused. Evidence concerning land grants indicates that Breadsall housed Augustinian Canons, who were permitted to hold property beyond the immediate priory site. The priory was consistently modest in size. It commonly had a prior and two canons, and at times only one canon or the prior alone. The shortage of resident canons made normal election procedures difficult, so the Curzon family, as hereditary patrons and lords of Breadsall Overhall, frequently influenced or made appointments. The manor passed to the Dethick family through the marriage of Cecilia Curzon to William Dethick during the reign of Richard II. Although episcopal and local patronage sometimes overlapped, Sir William Dethick's right to the first licence to appoint a superior when the priory was vacant was confirmed in 1456. Breadsall exercised local religious and economic functions. In 1402 William Dethick granted part of the rectory of Mugginton to the priory, though the transaction did not follow the required legal procedure and later led to financial penalties for his executors and trustees. In 1444 the priory lost a dispute with the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Leicester concerning tithes from a field near Mugginton. In 1448 Prior Thomas Breadsall reported the theft of charters and other documents connected with Dethick interests; the Bishop of Lichfield ordered notices to be read in local churches and threatened the thieves with excommunication. In 1453, a benefactor supported repairs to the priory church roof and clerestory glazing in exchange for the annual celebration of a commemorative mass. A canon named John Derby was licensed in 1454 to preach in parish churches across the diocese. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 recorded net annual income of £10 17s. 9d. and identified the priory's control of the parishes of Breadsall, Duffield, Horsley, Mugginton and Windley. William Pendylton was then the only resident. The priory surrendered during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, and Pendylton received a pension of five marks a year. Some of the priory's lands were transferred to Darley Abbey, which was itself dissolved soon afterward; the property subsequently reverted to the Crown before being granted to the Duke of Suffolk. The monastic buildings were later demolished, leaving only a thirteenth-century arch in the cellars of the later residence. During the late sixteenth century, Sir John Bentley established an Elizabethan E-plan house on the former priory site. The building was enlarged and remodelled during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Robert Scrivener carried out alterations around 1861, a new wing was added in 1906, and stable buildings were constructed in the middle of the nineteenth century. The later country house had several notable residents. Erasmus Darwin, physician and poet and grandfather of Charles Darwin, moved to Breadsall shortly before his death in 1802. His son Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin subsequently lived there, and Edward Levett Darwin, author of The Gamekeeper's Manual under the pseudonym High Elms, developed his interest in natural history on the estate. Derby industrialist Sir Alfred Seale Haslam later acquired the property; his son Eric Seale Haslam was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1937. The residence eventually became a hotel and country club. Under the Delta Hotels by Marriott identity, it operates as a heritage-oriented hospitality property with accommodation, spa and leisure services, and two eighteen-hole golf courses: the parkland Priory Course and the Moorland Course. The house was listed at Grade II in 1952, and the associated stables received Grade II listing in 1986. In 2005, the property hosted a G8 meeting of environment and development ministers. The house remains in hotel use, while the listed stables are used residentially.
- 2005
G8 ministerial meeting hosted
[1]The property hosted a G8 meeting of environment and development ministers.
- 1986
Stables receive Grade II listing
[1]The associated mid-nineteenth-century stables were designated a Grade II listed building on 6 November 1986.
- 1952
Main house receives Grade II listing
[1]The principal house was designated a Grade II listed building on 2 September 1952.
- 1906
Additional residential wing constructed
[1]A further wing was added to the former priory house as part of its continued development as a country residence.
- 1861
Major country-house alterations
[1]Architect Robert Scrivener was associated with alterations and extensions to the later private residence built on the former priory site.
- 1536
Priory dissolved
[1]Breadsall Priory was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ending its existence as a religious institution.
- 1535
Valor Ecclesiasticus records the priory's holdings
[1]The national valuation recorded the priory's net income and its interests in five surrounding parishes, with William Pendylton as the sole resident.
- 1444
Tithe dispute decided against the priory
[1]The Collegiate Church of St Mary in Leicester successfully challenged Breadsall's claim to tithes from land near Mugginton.
- 1402
Mugginton rectory interest donated
[1]William Dethick donated a moiety of the rectory of Mugginton to the priory, although the transfer later generated legal and financial complications.
Documentary evidence confirms the priory's medieval existence
[1]Breadsall Priory was established before the middle of the thirteenth century and is documented in connection with the Curzon family by 1266.
Products and positioning
A heritage country-house hotel and golf-led leisure resort combining historic architecture, rural Derbyshire surroundings, wellness, events and country-club facilities.
Hospitality
Hotel accommodation
The principal country house is operated as a hotel under the Delta Hotels by Marriott identity. Its accommodation offer is built around a historic Derbyshire setting, combining a listed former private residence with contemporary hospitality use.
Golf
Priory Course
The Priory Course is one of the property's two eighteen-hole golf courses. It is described as a parkland course and forms a central part of the hotel's country-club and destination-leisure proposition.
Golf
Moorland Course
The Moorland Course is the second eighteen-hole course at the property. Together with the Priory Course, it supports golf breaks, club use and wider resort-style leisure activity.
Wellness
Spa and wellness facilities
Spa and wellness services complement the accommodation and golf offer, reinforcing Breadsall Priory's positioning as a country-house leisure destination rather than solely a conventional business hotel.
Events
Meetings and events
The property provides a setting for meetings, conferences and significant private or institutional gatherings. Its use as the venue for a G8 ministerial meeting in 2005 demonstrates the site's capacity for high-level events.
Sources1 sources
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