The childhood home of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, has just gone up for sale, giving a potential future buyer the chance to purchase this stunning property in the Derbyshire countryside, that's positively brimming with history. Grade II-listed property Lea Hurst is where the social reformer Florence Nightingale began her life and spent much of her childhood, alongside her older sister Frances Parthenope Verney. And Lea Hurst is certainly a home befitting its rich history; the Gothic-style period property sits atop the Derwent Valley , meaning it enjoys seriously stunning views of the countryside at all angles.
In fact, the home is nestled with an enormous 19.23 acres of landscaped gardens and parkland, poking out from the top of the hill as you travel up its large driveway. William Nightingale (formerly William Shore), Florence's father, inherited the home from his great uncle Peter Nightingale all the way back in 1815, adopting the name Nightingale shortly after.
He quickly expanded the once humble, smaller farmhouse that stood there into the enormous family home it is now. Florence spent the first 10 years of her life at Lea Hurst full-time before the family moved to Emberly Park in Hampshire (which is now a school) in 1825. However, they still spent their summers at Lea Hurst, returning to the picturesque home for around three months out of the year from 1825.
So what do you need to know about the historic property? The current owner, Peter Kay (no,.