Duffield Hall is a 17th century country house situated in the Amber Valley

Amber Valley

Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, which is now the headquarters of the Derbyshire Building Society

Derbyshire Building Society

Derbyshire Building Society is a former UK building society based in Duffield, Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. With effect from 1 December 2008 it was acquired by Nationwide Building Society and now operates as a trading division of Nationwide...

. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The manor of Duffield was granted by King Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 to the Newton family who built a new mansion house there in the 1620s. The Newtons sold the house to Henry Coape, High Sheriff of Derbyshire

High Sheriff of Derbyshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

 in 1703. His granddaughter and heiress brought the estate to her husband Henry Porter. In the early 19th century he left the property to his kinsman Thomas Porter Bonell whose daughter married Sir Charles H Colville. After Colville's death the house was sold to John Bell Crompton of Milford (High Sheriff in 1847) a Banker of Irongate, Derby. He died in 1860 and the estate was acquired by Rowland Smith

Rowland Smith

Rowland Smith was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1874.Smith was the son of Samuel George Smith, of Goldings, Hertfordshire and his wife Eugenia Chatfield....

. Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for South Derbyshire

South Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:"-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1940s:-References:...

1868-74 and High Sheriff 1877.

Smith extensively restored and improved the house creating the present mansion of three storeys and five gabled bays.

From 1908 until 1970 the house and estate was occupied by St Ronan's School. The girls' school closed in 1970 and the property was acquired by the Derbyshire Building Society for whom it was restored and extended by architects George Grey and Partners. Much of the estate was sold for residential development. Since 1977 the house has been the Building Society's headquarters.