[2] The small number of canons made it impossible to elect a prior, meaning one was often chosen by a member of the Curzon family, who served as "hereditary patrons".

[2] However, in 1456 the bishop confirmed Sir William Dethick's right to "the first licence to elect or provide a superior when the priory was vacant".

Dethick had, however, failed to follow proper procedure to alienate the lands; thus, upon his death, his "executors and trustees" were "heavily fined" by the crown.

[2] In 1444, Breadsall Priory was sued by the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Leicester, over the tithes of a field called "Hethfield", near Mugginton.

[2] In 1448, Prior Thomas Breadsall complained to the Bishop of Lichfield that "certain charters and evidences which particularly affected the interests of William Dethick" had been stolen from the priory.

[2] The bishop ordered that at high mass in several local churches, the priests should spread the news of the theft, and instruct that the perpetrators were to be excommunicated unless the items were returned within 15 days.

[2] In 1453, John Statham of Morley agreed to donate money to repair the roof of the priory church and the glazing in the clerestory.

[2] In 1454, a canon at Breadsall, John Derby (who was "probably a gifted preacher"[2]), was granted a licence from Reginald Boulers, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield to travel around the diocese preaching in its parish churches.

In the late 16th-century, when under the ownership of Sir John Bentley, an Elizabethan "E-plan" house was constructed on the former priory site.

[citation needed] The original house, also known as Breadsall Priory, was altered and extended by architect Robert Scrivener around 1861, and a new wing was added in 1906.

[citation needed] Sir Francis' son Edward Levett Darwin, author of the Gameskeeper's Manual (under the pseudonym "High Elms"), learnt natural history in its grounds.