18th August 1744

Went to Derby and from there to Kedleston to see Sir Nathl Coursons House and Lay that night at Derby
19 See the Silk mills & the Earl of Exeters Gardens and Cost me in all 10/-

Kedleston Hall now belongs to the National Trust and there are dozens of pictures on the web but that is not the place Thomas visited. The current Hall was built for Sir Nathaniel Curzon by Robert Adam in 1758. The world's passion for Palladian architecture ensures that google returns dozens of Adam related links but not a thing about the previous house.

The Earl of Exeter owned Exeter House which stood in Full Street, Derby, until 1854.
As Thomas only visited the garden, I won't post a picture from the inside, but you can visit some of the panelling in Derby Museum.
The Silk Mill was one of the earliest factories in the world and parts of it remain - Derby Museum refers again! There have been two mills on the site - the second, built in 1717, is the one Thomas visited, of course. Here it is.



30th August 1744
Spent at Pinkston Feast 3/6

I now have the benefit of some local knowledge and I understand that Pinxton Feast, also called Pinxton Wakes, is first recorded in the 1570s in a notebook by Edward Revell, whose family owned Carnfield Hall.