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Through shot of Baslow Hall, showing the restaurant and hotel grounds in the distance

A Brief History of Baslow Hall

Truth be told, Baslow Hall is a bit of a fraud, looking to all intents and purposes like a solid country squire’s residence from the 17th century, complete with gabled wings and leaded panes of glass in its mullioned windows.

It was, in fact, built at the dawn of the 20th century in 1907 by the Stockdales, a Baslow family, on land purchased from the Duke of Rutland. Alongside the Dukes of Devonshire, the Duke had owned vast swathes of land locally, but crippling debts required him to sell many of them in 1905.  The bedroom names at Fischers reflect this link to the Manners family, including Longshaw, Belvoir, Rutland, Granby, Vernon and of course Haddon.

Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti

FROM FERRANTI TO FISCHERS

In 1913, Baslow Hall was bought by the famous electrical engineer and inventor Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, his wife Gertrude and their brood of seven children.

Their two elder sons both served in World War I and were both awarded the Military Cross. Major Basil Francis Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti MC was killed in action and is listed on the War Memorial in St Annes Church, and his younger brother Sir (Gerard) Vincent Ziani de Ferranti M, who went on to become Chairman of Ferranti Electronics.

Embracing the modern world and ahead of his time, in 1919 de Ferranti installed a 25hp oil engine, operating his own private plant until 1923, and proceeded to install every modern labour-saving device that could be operated by electricity including an electric laundry, electric lawn-mower, even the tennis court was lit by electric light. You can still see the original de Ferranti lamp posts lining the drive to the house.

Following Sebastian de Ferranti’s death in 1930, the house changed ownership 3 more times, until Max and Susan Fischer first set eyes on it in 1988. It was love at first sight, and whilst still running their successful restaurant in Bakewell, they set about the refurbishing and transforming Baslow Hall.

However, during that refurbishment, a devastating fire broke out in one wing, completely gutting the house and creating a full year’s extra building work.
Finally opening in October 1989, Fischer’s Baslow Hall, a beautiful fine-dining restaurant with rooms has never looked back.

Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, his wife Gertrude and their brood of seven children on the steps of Baslow Hall, Derbyshire
Decorative Ceiling Item in Baslow Hall, Derbyshire
And now we have the next generation; Max & Susan’s eldest son Neil joined them at the helm of  Fischer’s in October 2016, bringing fresh vision and energy to carry this thriving business forward to an exciting future.