2-982-552 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Tapton House, near Chesterfield, the Residence of the Late Mr. G. Stephenson, 1858. 'Chesterfield has acquired a celebrity by its connection with the memory of the late celebrated George Stephenson...Across the valley to the right, on the summit of a hill, stands Tapton House, where Mr. Stephenson resided during the last ten years of his life, and where many of his most important plans were formed and perfected. Tapton House is a large, commodious mansion, beautifully situated amidst woods, and surrounded by a park...When Mr. Stephenson took possession of Tapton House the gardens and pleasure-grounds adjoining were in a very neglected state, but his genius and love of nature soon caused them to assume a new aspect, and to exhibit more than ordinary attraction. His first improvement was to cut a woodland footpath up the hill, by which he added a beautiful feature to the park, and secured a shorter road to the Chesterfield station...His active mind was continually suggesting new improvements, so that the numerous workmen he had in his employ were never idle; and at the time of his death Tapton House, with its gardens, hothouses, and pleasure-grounds, was justly celebrated as exhibiting the most interesting evidences of his taste and genius'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.