| Administrative History | Frederick Mutton ( d.c1967) and his wife Dorothy nee Taylor (1896-1987) were strongly attached to Derbyshire and were instrumental in the conversion by the Wesley Guild of Willersley Castle, formerly the Arkwright family home in Cromford, into a Methodist Holiday Centre. Frederick, the son of Ernest Mutton of Cummings St., Derby, was educated at the Canal St Schools and later employed for 17 years in the accountancy department of the Midland Railway works in Derby. An enthusiastic walker, Frederick Mutton belonged to a number of rambling clubs including the Derby Nomads, the Wesley Guild Club and the Derby Students Club. He was also active in Methodist affairs, serving on the Mission Committee of the London Road Methodist Church. In 1928 he was involved in the purchase of Willersley Castle in Cromford for the Wesley Guild and, as Secretary of the Derby and District Wesley Guild Council, he became the first Secretary of the Methodist Holiday Centre established in the Castle. Early in the 1930s he wrote a pamphlet on Willersley and its neighbourhood. Frederick Mutton was also the author of the first Penguin paperback guide to Derbyshire, published in 1939.
Dorothy Taylor was born in Newark ,Nottinghamshire, on 7 June 1896, one of eight children of George Robert Taylor and Jessie his wife, nee Findlater. Nothing is known of her schooling, but on 20 October 1920 she graduated from London University with as BSc degree in Household and Social Science. At this time, her home address was 6 George Avenue, Long Eaton. Following the acquisition of Willersley Castle, this became home for Frederick and Dorothy until their retirement. The couple then appeared to have lived for a time in Hampshire and Cornwall, before finally settling in Frimley Road, Sidmouth, Devon, in a house they called 'Cromford'. Here Dorothy Mutton died on 17 0ctober 1987. |
| Custodial History | These records were donated in October 2004 |