Stancliffe Hall Wedding Photography

We are always delighted to take part in some Stancliffe Hall wedding photography!! When Helen & Phil booked us back in 2018, we hadn’t been to Stancliffe Hall so we were very much looking forward to it! We’re Derbyshire wedding photographers, so Matlock is on our doorstep and we love coming to country houses for weddings!

We found that it’s an ideal wedding venue, the house stands high above Darley Dale near Matlock and has the benefit of stunning panoramic views across the Derwent Valley as far as Riber Castle! Nestled with 50 acres of parkland in the heart of the Peak District, it is a unique and exclusive Derbyshire wedding venue.

At Stancliffe Hall, you are allowed full exclusivity and able to hire the house for the entire weekend. This meant that the whole wedding party had stayed the night before, relaxed with pizza & beers before heading off to get some sleep before the big day began! What an awesome way to start the weekend with your bridal party.

The wedding day

When we arrived on this lovely Spring day, our beautiful bride Helen was getting ready in the bridal suite with her daughter Lily, bridesmaids and the mums. While, in another section of the house, Phil and his groomsmen and lovely son Charlie, were preparing for the day too.

There is a renovated school chapel on the site which makes for the perfect location for the wedding ceremony and the registrars were there in plenty of time. After a beautiful ceremony with a very cute reading from the children. Then everyone over to The Stone Court for glasses of fizz. But as it was such a lovely day, we all headed out into the sunshine for drinks reception some family photos in the gardens. We also took the opportunity for a couple of bride & groom photos but left the majority till after dinner when the light was a little softer. In for dinner and some great speeches, it was all too much for little Charlie who fell asleep at the table with a Crayola pretty much up his nose! Oh, to be a kid again!! With the cake cut done it was time for the first dance and to get the party started!!

We had a great time with Helen & Phil, they are a lovely couple with great friends and family. Here’s a little Sneak Peek of the day – TURN IT UP LOUD AND ENJOY!!!

The history of this beautiful Derbyshire wedding venue

There has been a building on this site as far back as the 1600s when it was owned by the Columbell family, Lords of Darley from 1373 to 1721. It was rebuilt in 1854 by the famous local engineer Sir Joseph Whitworth, who moved into the house in 1872 with his second wife, Lady Louisa. He was a renowned inventor and engineer and is buried in the local churchyard at Darley Abbey. Lady Louisa continued to live in the hall for the rest of her days and ensured that part of her husbands fortune was used to establish a splendid institute and a hospital for the people of Darley Dale. The name of Whitworth is still synonymous with the local area and The Whitworth Scholarship programme still exists today with 10-15 scholarships being awarded each year to top class engineers who have entered in to a degree level engineering program.

After Lady Louisa’s death, early in the 20th century, the house become a school and remained as such until 2001 when it was closed. In 2003 it was bought by a local self-made multi-millionaire, Deborah Fern and her husband.

The modern day Stancliffe Hall

When Deborah and Brian acquired the hall, the school had been closed for two years. There was so much work to be done! The house itself was overshadowed by a tower block that was added back when it was a school. They decided to remove the top floor of this building to reduce the height, demolished the 20th century pre-fab class rooms, converted the school kitchen into a billiard room, installed a spa, added a new conservatory and restored many of the internal fittings in both the public and private sections of the house. The project was huge and cost in excess of £6 million!! But now the house is a stunning example of what can be done – it stands within 50 acres of woodland and parkland.

Wedding Photography at Stancliffe Hall

Where to begin?! The house itself provides a beautiful backdrop with the bride & groom meandering on the lawns. The parkland allows for beautiful vistas where we can make use of the wide lens. The trees are surrounded by buttercups and daisies – perfect for playing flowergirls and pageboys. The driveway to the property is shaded in either side is covered in ferns and flowers – we loved this area for the groomsmen. The rose garden and the wilder area to the back which we loved. Of course, all this doesn’t take into account the inside of the house. The renovated chapel (The 1816 Room) for the wedding ceremony, the Whitworth Room for the Wedding Breakfast and evening reception. All in all, this is a lovely Derbyshire wedding venue. If you would like to chat to us about your wedding photos – GET IN TOUCH

Stancliffe Hall Wedding Photography. Ben and Hannah are multi-award winning, husband and wife International Wedding Photographers. Ben loves travelling throughout the UK for weddings and abroad for destination weddings. Meeting new people every day as we go is awesome! If you’ve seen us at a recent wedding and have a friend that’s getting married, we’d love you to recommend us!

Don’t forget to follow us for updates and cool stuff!

Facebook: Click Here

Instagram: Click Here