Staveley Hall Chesterfield Ghost Hunt 

Staveley Hall is a historic building that was constructed over four hundred years ago by Sir Peter Frecheville on the site where his ancestors had lived for five hundred years before him. The plaque over the front door displays the date 1604, Sir Peter's status as a Knight of the Realm, and the coats of arms of his parents, Peter Frecheville and Margaret Kaye. 

On the first-floor landing of the hall, there is a fire back displaying the coats of arms of Frecheville and Fleetwood. This marks Sir Peter's marriage in 1605 to Joyce Osborne (nee Fleetwood), who was the widow of Sir Hewett Osborne of Kiveton and Harthill.

When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 and claimed all the land, he rewarded those who had helped him with vast amounts of land in England. Hascoit Musard de Bretagne and other family members served William in the Breton section of his army at the Battle of Hastings. They were awarded twenty-five manors in six counties of England as a Tenant-in-chief of the King.

Hascoit chose Staveley as his main family seat because it was the biggest and the best of all his manors. The Domesday Book tells us that Staveley already had a priest, a church, and a mill, as well as sixty acres of meadow and woodland pasture about two and a quarter miles long and wide. 

Staveley Hall is positioned on a ridge that is high up on three sides, with the River Rother running down below. It is a good place for defence and where the Anglo-Saxons first marked out their settlement with staves in the lea, giving Staveley its name. Perhaps somewhere under the mound are the remains of Musard's motte and Bailey castle.

The Musards held Staveley from 1066 until 1300. When Nicholas Musard died, he had to leave the manor to his three sisters. His children could not inherit because although he was Baron Mustard of Staveley, Nicholas was also in holy orders as Rector of Staveley. Ralph, the son of Amicia, Nicholas's eldest sister, inherited his mother's one-third share and came to live at Staveley.

The Frechevilles lived at Staveley Hall until John Frecheville died in 1682, having sold the estate to William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire, in 1681. At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, John fought on the side of King Charles 1st. as a Colonel in the royalist army. He raised a troop of horses and garrisoned Staveley Hall at his own expense.

John left only three daughters. The eldest, Christian, married Charles Paulet, Lord St John of Basing. She died on 22nd July 1653 in childbirth, and her baby son, John, died one week later. They were buried together in Staveley Church in the Frecheville Chapel. If John Paulet had lived, he would have succeeded his grandfather as Baron Frecheville of Staveley and his father as the 2nd Duke of Bolton.

After being leased out briefly in 1682, Staveley Hall was lived in by William Cavendish's grandson, James, in 1710. When he died in 1751, the hall was going to be demolished, but it was saved by Rev. James Gisborne, Rector of Staveley, who persuaded the Cavendish family to allow the Clergy to live there. The Church rented it as a Rectory for the next 200 years. When Sir George Gilbert Scott worked on Staveley Church in the 1860s, he also worked on the Hall.

Charles Paulet was created 1st Duke of Bolton, James Cavendish’s father, William, 4th Earl of Devonshire, was created 1st Duke of Devonshire and Joyce Osborne’s grandson, Thomas Osborne, was created 1st Duke of Leeds for their support to William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

In 1967, Staveley Hall was sold to Staveley Urban District Council for use as their offices, and in 1974, English Heritage granted it grade ll listed building status. 

Today, Staveley Town Council owns the Hall, and it has been beautifully restored thanks to them and help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. The hall holds some fascinating stories connecting it with many famous people and important national events in history, like Bess of Hardwick, the Brontes, the Gunpowder Plot, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, and the Mutiny on the Bounty—to name just a few.