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COUNTRY HOUSES

COUNTRY HOUSES | Back in fashion with a new generation of families

Fancy owning a big house and having your own country seat? Take a look at the new breed of country house owners and their new homes.

After the Second World War, many of the nation's country houses were demolished. Now, a new generation of grand scale country homes are being built to replace them.

The East Midlands certainly has its fare share of mansions steeped in history. There聮s Calke Abbey, Newstead Abbey, Hardwick and Kedleston Hall to name but a few.

But there are some people in our region - the ones that can afford it, who want to build brand new country homes for themselves.

So who are the new breed of big house owners?

A new generation of country houses

The new generation of country home owners are the nouveau riche, the new 'landed gentry'.

Traditional country houses like Chatsworth were built by wealthy aristocratic families

They range from self made businessmen and millionaires, to upwardly mobile, wealthy executives and working couples with high profile jobs.

A typical new-style country house boasts distinctive architecture features and a stunning countryside location.

These houses are usually built to specification, using specialist architects.

Like the Victorian era of country home builders before them, the owners dream of creating a truly special property for the future.

Inside a country house

Inside Out decided to take a look at one of the new country houses for itself.

The beautiful interior of Peter Gadsby's house with meticulous attention to detail

Peter Gadsby is a millionaire property developer who is having a new house constructed near Derby. It聮s being built on top of a hill six miles from the Peak District.

Using specialist architects Robert Adam, he is creating a home he hopes people will admire for many years to come and sees it as a legacy to the future.

On the outside it has almost a classical design with a Gothic arch doorway. But inside it聮s going to have a bright and modern feel.

A room with a view

An Englishman's home is his country pile - on site in the Peak District

Peter bought the land two years ago. He says "At first there were suspicions we were going to put several houses here. But once they saw the plans and saw it start to go up I think we overcame the fears pretty quickly."

"It has been a stress at times but that聮s been overcome by the love for what we聮re doing here," says Peter.

"Although it's a family home the hope is that it聮ll have a lasting impression on the landscape."

"I want someone to drive past here in 70 years time and stop to look to admire what we聮ve built here."

It's a sentiment that other new country home builders would agree with.