Punters are now free to stay at Florence Nightingale’s stunning childhood home – after its owners were victorious in a furious legal row against locals.
The 15-bedroom manor in the Peak District was at the heart of a bitter two-year legal battle over its status as a Bed & Breakfast… but is once again open to public.
Owner Peter Martin Kay was accused of having ‘cynically breached’ an agreement to keep the house a private residence after neighbours said he was plotting an ‘industrial’ expansion of the 17th century pad and its estate.
Barry Nix and Sue Cunningham tried to stop Mr Kay from letting rooms in 2021 by seeking an injunction from the Manchester Business and Property Court.
But after two years, Mr Kay has finally won the right to let rooms in the period home – which he says he needs to fund its staggering £50,000 annual running costs.
The estate attracts guests from far and wide as the childhood home of the famous Crimean War nurse, Florence Nightingale, born in 1820 in Italy
A side shot of Lea Hurst. Former home of Florence Nightingale Lea Hurst, in the Derwent Valley just outside Matlock, Derbyshire
General scenes surrounding Lea Hurst looking out from the grounds onto parts of the village of Holloway and neighbouring properties
Nightingale has been called the ‘mother of modern nursing’ and her name has been adopted for numerous awards in the field – with International Nurses Day celebrated around the world on her birthday
During a stay at the ‘Florence Nightingale Suites’, visitors have the option of a Honeymoon Suite, a Deluxe Family Suite, a Deluxe King and a Deluxe Queen when they are booking a room
The 17th century home set Mr Kay back £1.7 million when he bought it in 2011
Mr and Mrs Nix, who also live on the Lea estate, originally filed the complaint after an application was made during the pandemic to set up ‘glamping’ tents in the garden, The Telegraph reported.
The proposals were ultimately rejected by council planners.
But the pair maintained traffic to the B&B would cause them ‘nuisance annoyance or disturbance to the property’ – breaking another condition on a covenant signed when the property was bought in 2005 by a previous owner.
In 2021, ten years after Mr Kay bought the building for £1.7mn, a judge told the Nixes that their worries were ‘misplaced’ and let Mr Kay modify the existing deed to allow guests.
Judge Higgin last week ruled that the modification could formally be made to continue letting guests to the home, ran as a B&B.
Mr Nix told the court Mr Kay was ‘doing whatever he can do to get his own way even if it means deceit’ to secure his business.
The neighbour claimed the planning application proved he wanted to expand his holiday business.
Other villagers have also expressed discontent with the decision.
Claire Smith, 57, said: ‘Since he bought the place Peter Kay has just wanted to turn into a cash cow. He wanted to turn the orchard into a glamping spot, but that was defeated.
‘I suppose guests stopping in the house will not be so intrusive, but there will still be cars rattling down the track to the house and disturbing villagers.
‘We came here for a quiet life, not to be living in a tourist spot. The main road has been closed after a landslide anyway, so good luck to him.’
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said:’The village is divided really, half don’t like what he is doing at all, destroying our heritage and not really respecting the house where a national hero grew up, and the other half feel Mr Kay might be a bit too powerful to cross.’
Retired surveyor Pete Whitehead, 79, was playing ball with his four-and-a-half year old dog Sid, in a rain-drenched field beside Lea Hurst.
Mr Whitehead said: ‘There will be a significant amount of traffic backwards and forwards. We could probably do without it.’
Another dog walker Anita Hines, 52, with her miniature schnauzer Willow, said: ‘We weren’t happy with the glamping application, it would have been noisy. This isn’t great.’
Mr Kay started the business in 2020 after taking out a loan of £45,000, Companies House records show.
He also served as Director for the Florence Nightingale Foundation and is currently an officer for the Florence Nightingale Museum Trusts – where he lists his occupation as ‘Financial Consultant’.
During a stay at the ‘Florence Nightingale Suites’, visitors have the option of a Honeymoon Suite, a Deluxe Family Suite, a Deluxe King and a Deluxe Queen when they are booking a room.
With access to landscaped gardens overlooking the Derwent valley, outdoor seating areas, a full English breakfast and even peacocks in the grounds – punters are spoiled for choice as they visit the historic home.
The estate attracts guests from far and wide as the childhood home of the famous Crimean War nurse, Florence Nightingale, born in 1820 in… Florence, Italy.
Nightingale moved to Derbyshire as a baby and spent the majority of her young life at Lea Hurst, near Matlock.
Her mother died aged 94 in the home in her daughter’s care.
Nightingale has been called the ‘mother of modern nursing’ and her name has been adopted for numerous awards in the field – with International Nurses Day celebrated around the world on her birthday.
The owner said the building costs about £50,000 a year in upkeep
Mr Kay started the business in 2020 after taking out a loan of £45,000, Companies House records show.
Rear side of Lea Hurst. Former home of Florence Nightingale Lea Hurst, in the Derwent Valley
A side shot of Lea Hurst just outside Matlock, Derbyshire on November 2, 2023
A statue in the rear garden of the former home of Florence Nightingale
A walkway to Lea Hurst, which is accessed from a path which you follow through woodland and is private from the village of Holloway
Florence Nightingale Memorial Hall, which is right next to the gates to Lea Hurst from in the village of Holloway
The iconic figure’s family continued to own the home until the First World War, and it was sold in 1946 when the Royal Surgical Aid Society established a nursing home on the site.
Florence Nightingale has strong ties to the region after living there for many years and, even after the family moved to Hampshire in 1825, Lea Hurst remained a summer home and popular spot for the family.
She played a key role in the 1860s in advising on the redesign and management of the biggest hospital in the area, the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, which opened in 1869 with a wing named in her honour.