Willersley Castle, Grade II* listed castle in Cromford, England.
Willersley Castle is a late 18th-century country house in Cromford, Derbyshire, built with round towers and a long stone front that faces the River Derwent. The building sits within a wooded estate and can be seen clearly from the riverside path below.
Richard Arkwright, the cotton-spinning pioneer, commissioned the house in 1792, but a fire broke out during construction and destroyed much of the work already done. Arkwright died that same year before the house was finished, and his son completed the building.
Willersley Castle is now run by the Methodist Guild as a holiday and retreat center, and groups from across Britain come here for stays throughout the year. The setting along the river gives the place a particular character that draws people seeking time away from cities.
The estate is mainly open to groups booking through the Methodist Guild, but the grounds and riverside path around it are accessible on foot for anyone visiting the area. Cromford village is close by and easy to reach on foot from here.
The building was designed by William Thomas, an architect who had not worked on a project of this scale before, which gives the result a slightly experimental character. Some of the round towers are decorative rather than structural, a detail that becomes clear when you walk close to the walls.
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