About Agricola House
Agricola House is a large, self-catering house, catering to family and friends, self-guided holidays for cyclists and corporate events. The house lends itself perfectly to sociable, open-plan living, it’s tucked away in a quiet street in Wirksworth, a vibrant town with a thriving arts scene, close to the beautiful church of St Mary’s. Agricola is a single-storey building, built in the 1960s, which was formerly an office, then the local Health Centre, and latterly the headquarters of the charity Derbyshire Rural Action trust (opened by Princess Margaret). Agricola has been totally transformed by owners Rachel and Mark into a property which sleeps 14 people in 7 bespoke bedrooms with a large kitchen diner, sociable living space, 5 beautifully appointed bathrooms, a soundproofed cinema room and a wellness sauna.
Rachel and Mark, owners of Agricola House
Rachel and Mark were able to spot the potential and see past the challenges of converting a former office building into the welcoming luxury self-catering holiday house that it is today. They didn’t want it to be just another holiday let, filled with cheap furniture for a quick turnaround with no character. So, using their previous experience in delivering a unique holiday experience, as owners of two other guest and self-catering holidays houses in the area, they set about bringing Agricola to life.
Converting Agricola House
The couple spent a year converting Agricola, Mark, who’s from an engineering background has a great deal of practical ability to back up his artistic vision, built much of the furniture in Agricola House, helping to cultivate its wonderful distinctive character. He made the huge bespoke dining table, as well as dressing tables, coffee tables, and the unique touches in each room, such as the vintage wire swimming pool lockers, the “door-drobe”, the headboard made from an old farm gate and collage from recycled tools. Rachel reupholstered the vintage ercol chairs in the cinema room and the stunning cushions and blinds throughout the house, calling on her mum too for additional help!
Small Business Sunday
Rachel and Mark’s achievements were recognised recently by retail tycoon Theo Paphitis, (from Dragon’s Den) during his Twitter ‘Small Business Sunday’ #SBS. Theo created #SBS to give a boost to deserving independent businesses, and Mark and Rachel were thrilled when Agricola House scooped the prestigious accolade, a fantastic “seal of approval” by someone with as much business acumen as Theo Paphitis. They met Theo at an exclusive #SBS winners’ event in Birmingham in February 2018.
We look forward to sharing Agricola House with you
People thought we were mad when we took on the challenge of Agricola House, but we feel the huge amount of time, care and design gone into every aspect has been worth it. We wanted to create something truly unique and memorable for our guests, we’re thrilled and proud with the result and the feedback has been fantastic. Our Monday morning buzz is coming into the property and reading the comments in our guest book, many of which refer to its quirkiness and individuality. We feel we’ve succeeded in turning what was an ugly duckling into a swan and we look forward to welcoming you, whether for corporate retreats, midweek breaks, family or cycling holidays, and who knows, maybe a Dragon or two!
Large Group Self-Catering Holiday House in Wirksworth
Self-Catering for Friends and Family Holidays
Self-Catering for Cyclists Holidays
