William Nightingale (known also as W.E.N.) was born William Edward Shore on 15 February 1794, in
Lea, Derbyshire. His father was William Shore (1752–1822). His mother was Mary née Evans (1760–1853) who died at
Tapton House,
Sheffield. She was the niece of one Peter Nightingale, a lead mining entrepreneur, under the terms of whose will William Shore inherited the Lea Hall estate in Derbyshire, but also
assumed the name and arms of Nightingale in 1815. He was appointed
Sheriff of Hampshire in 1828. He had two sisters, Anne and Mary. By his early twenties, William Nightingale had an income of £8,000 which made him very wealthy. He liked to hunt, read, and follow social issues of his day. Nightingale was the architect of Lea Hurst, a house which survives today and which was highly innovative for its time. Lea Hurst was designed to offer the Nightingale family considerable privacy. In contrast to the manors of other wealthy gentlemen, Lea Hurst was designed to blend in with its environment. It was made of the same local gray stone as other, less affluent houses were made of. When his daughters were of school age, Nightingale devoted himself to their education. As a consequence, Parthenope and Florence were educated well beyond what was typical of young ladies of their age. ==Interest in politics==