This was a totally unexpected success on a recent trip to the Peak District, one of my favourite areas of the country. I'd stumbled across it on Google Maps and pinned it as a 'go and see' as I had no information about the place at all, and much to my surprise we managed to find access into it.
Servo Computer Services (also known as Phoenix I.T.) is located in an old manor house, formerly known as Darley Lodge, on the outskirts of Matlock. They were a computer systems and software development company and occupied the site until a few years back when the company was wound up, it's now listed as dormant on Companies House. At one time the property also included a modern annexe and a workshop extension built onto the rear of the manor house. Frontier Estates Ltd. want to build a 78 bed carehome on site, which will involve renovating Darley Lodge into seven apartments. In preparation for this the modern annexe and workshops have been demolished, leaving only Darley Lodge standing, however development appears to have stalled over access concerns owing to the very busy road it's situated on and lack of adequate pedestrian access.
The real disappointment here is that the company had fitted security roller shutters to every single bloody window, which were all securely locked. Even the lovely bay windows had been cut off by the blasted shutters, so the inside of the property was mostly incredibly dark. Of course as it was used as offices, it had mostly been horrifically modernised inside however it still retained a few features including a nice original staircase as well as some decent decay in a couple of parts. Still, it was a great feeling to have a totally unexpected success, even if it wasn't the most inspiring place internally.
Thanks for looking
Servo Computer Services (also known as Phoenix I.T.) is located in an old manor house, formerly known as Darley Lodge, on the outskirts of Matlock. They were a computer systems and software development company and occupied the site until a few years back when the company was wound up, it's now listed as dormant on Companies House. At one time the property also included a modern annexe and a workshop extension built onto the rear of the manor house. Frontier Estates Ltd. want to build a 78 bed carehome on site, which will involve renovating Darley Lodge into seven apartments. In preparation for this the modern annexe and workshops have been demolished, leaving only Darley Lodge standing, however development appears to have stalled over access concerns owing to the very busy road it's situated on and lack of adequate pedestrian access.
The real disappointment here is that the company had fitted security roller shutters to every single bloody window, which were all securely locked. Even the lovely bay windows had been cut off by the blasted shutters, so the inside of the property was mostly incredibly dark. Of course as it was used as offices, it had mostly been horrifically modernised inside however it still retained a few features including a nice original staircase as well as some decent decay in a couple of parts. Still, it was a great feeling to have a totally unexpected success, even if it wasn't the most inspiring place internally.
Thanks for looking
