Parishes: Thorpe - Youlgreave

Thorpe

THORPE, in the wapentake of Wirksworth and deanery of Ashborne, lies about three miles from Ashborne, in a picturesque situation not fur from the entrance of Dovedale. The remarkable conical hill called Thorpecloud is in this parish.

The manor was in the crown when the Survey of Domesday was taken. Ralph de Hormanwell was seised of it in 1245. It was afterwards in the family of Wythen, from whom it passed to the Cokaines. John Cokaine, Esq., possessed it in 1359; his descendant sold it, about the latter end of Elizabeth's reign, to John Milward, Esq., of Bradley-Ash, from whom it descended to Charles Bowyer Adderley, Esq., the present proprietor

Hunsdon or Hanson-grange in this parish, which had been given, in the reign of Henry III., by Roger de Huncyndon, to the monastery of Burton-on-Trent (fn. n1), was granted by Henry VIII. to Sir William Pagett, and conveyed by him, in 1546, to John Flackett, whose descendant sold it, in or about the year 1638, to Robert Boothby, Esq. Some time afterwards it was in the family of Borrow, of Castlefield near Derby, by whom the house and some of the lands were sold to Mr. William Gould, the present proprietor. A part of this estate was purchased by Matthew Baillie, M. D., and is now his property.

In the parish church is an altar-tomb with the effigies of two men and two women; the inscription is gone, but it appears by Bassano's volume of Church Notes, taken in 1707, &c., that it is the monument of John Milward, Esq., who died in 1632, aged 82, having two sons and two daughters. Bassano relates, on the authority of the then rector of Thorpe, that Robert Milward, one of the sons, fought a single combat in Spain with a Spaniard, " he and his adversary were first to fight with a quarter-staff, in which he was wounded; they then betook them to sword and dagger, the Spaniard hereby soon lost the use of his left arm and afterwards his life."

The church of Thorpe was appropriated to the priory of Tutbury: it is, nevertheless, now a rectory, of which the dean of Lincoln is patron. (fn. n2)

Tibshelf

TIBSHELF, in the hundred of Scarsdale and deanery of Chesterfield, lies about four miles from Alfreton and about eleven from Chesterfield. The small village of Biggin is in this parish.

The manor of Tibshelf (Tibecel) was held by one Robert under the King, at the time of the Domesday Survey, when William Peverell is said to have been keeper of it for the crown. In the reign of King John, it was in the baronial family of Heriz, from whom it passed by successive female heirs, to Belers and Swillington. R. de Swillington was seised of it in 1429. (fn. n3) There was after this a great law-suit between Lord Cromwell and the Pierrepont family, about the inheritance of the estates which had belonged to the Heriz family; the latter succeeded as to this manor, and Sir William Pierrepont was possessed of it in 1513. (fn. n4) It now belongs to St. Thomas's hospital, to which it was given by the founder, King Edward VI, in 1552, being then described as parcel of the endowment of the dissolved Hospital of the Savoy.

The parish church was rebuilt in 1729. The church of Tibshelf was appropriated to the Nuns of Brewode in Staffordshire in 1315. (fn. n5) The impropriation is now vested in St. Thomas's Hospital. William Allwood Lord, Esq., is patron of the vicarage.

Tideswell

TIDESWELL, in the hundred and deanery of the High-Peak, is a small market town, about thirty-three miles from Derby, sixteen from Chesterfield, and about one hundred and sixty from London. The parish comprises the townships of Litton and Westown or Wheston: the chapelry of Wormhill, and the villages of Timstead and Hargate-wall.

The market at Tideswell was granted to Paulinus Bampton in the year 1250 (fn. n6), to be held on Wednesdays, together with a fair for two days at the festival of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist. (fn. n7) There was a confirmation of this grant to Richard Stafford about the year 1392, and to Sampson Meverell in 1432. (fn. n8)

The market is still held on Wednesdays for butchers' meat, &c. There are now three fairs, May 15th, the second Wednesday in September, and October 29, for horned cattle, sheep, &c. A considerable quantity of cheese is sold at the two last fairs: the October fair was noted for the abundance of calves offered for sale, but it has lately fallen off in this particular. Six acres of land were allotted for holding the fairs at Tideswell, under the inclosure act of 1807. (fn. n9)

The manor of Tideswell was in the crown when the Survey of Domesday was taken: it afterwards belonged to the Peverells. King John granted it, in 1205, to Thomas Armiger and his heirs. (fn. n10) It is probable, that it passed by female descent to the Bamptons, who had the grant of a market in 1250, the Daniells, to whom the manor was confirmed by King Edward I. in 1304 (fn. n11), are stated to have been representatives of Thomas Armiger (fn. n12) abovementioned. In 1330 it was vested in the coheiresses of Daniell; in 1337, Elizabeth Meverell, one of the coheiresses, died seised of a third of it: the other coheiresses married Marchinton and Turvill. (fn. n13) It is probable that Richard Stafford, to whom the market was confirmed in 1392, was descended from one of these. The whole appears to have centered by gift or purchase in the Meverells. The heiress of Meverell brought this manor to the Cromwell family. In 1654, Winfield Lord Cromwell sold it to Robert Eyre, Esq., of Highlow. William Eyre, his grandson, took the name of Archer, and was father of John Archer, Esq., who died in 1800. It was purchased, in 1802, of his heirs under a decree of chancery by the late Duke of Devonshire, and is now the property of the present Duke.

In the parish church, which is a handsome Gothic structure, built about the middle of the fourteenth century (fn. n14), are the monuments of John, son of Thomas Foljambe, 1358; Sir Sampson Meverell, 1462 (fn. n15); Robert Pursglove, Bishop of Hull (fn. n16), 1579; Thomas Statham (fn. n17), no date; Samuel Eccles, Gent., who married one of his daughters, 1731; Robert Freeman, Esq., of Wheston.hall, 1763; Robert Charlton, Esq., who married his niece and heiress, 1787.

Tideswell, being then a chapel of Hope, was given to the church of Lichfield in the reign of Richard I., by John Earl Moreton, afterwards King of England. (fn. n18) A vicarage having been subsequently endowed, Tideswell became a separate parish. The Dean and chapter of Lichfield are appropriators of the great tithes, and patrons. Queen Anne's Bounty was procured for the vicarage by subscription, in 1739.

There was a chantry at Tideswell founded by John Foljambe, who died in 1358; the endowment was valued at 9l. 9s. 40d. per annum in 1547. (fn. n19)

There is a meeting-house at Tideswell for the Wesleyan Methodists.

Near the church is " the grammar-school of Jesus," founded by Robert Pursglove above-mentioned. The rent of the estates belonging to Pursglove's charity was, in 1815, 222l. 6s. per annum. Three-fourths of this rent is received by the schoolmaster; the remainder is distributed to the poor on Christmas-day, by the vicar and churchwarden. The hospital mentioned in the epitaph is not at Tideswell.

Litton, in this parish, was the property and seat of the ancient family of that name. Rowland Litton, Esq., sold it to John Alsop, in 1597: it passed from Alsop to Bagshaw, in 1606; to Bradshaw, in 1620; to Upton, in 1686; and to Statham, in 1707. It is now the property of the Right Honourable Lord Scarsdale, whose grandfather, Sir Nathaniel Curzon, purchased it of Sir John Statham.

William Bagshaw, an eminent non-conformist divine, called " the Apostle of the Peak," author of a work called " De Spiritualibus Pecci, or Notes concerning the work of God, &c. in the High-Peak," and some devotional tracts, was born at Litton in 1628: he was ejected from the vicarage of Glossop in 1662, and died at Great-Hucklow, in the parish of Hope, where he was minister of a congregation of Dissenters, in 1702.

Wheston or Whetstone-hall is the property of the Duke of Norfolk, and in the occupation of Mr. John Shaw.

The parochial chapelry of Wormhill lies two miles and a half from Tideswell, and seven from Bakewell. The manor of Wormhill (Wruenele) belonged, when the Survey of Domesday was taken, to Henry de Ferrars. Sir William Plumpton, whose father married the heiress of Foljambe (fn. n20), died seised of it in 1480. Having passed with Hassop, it is now the property of the Earl of Newburgh.

In the year 1320, John Wolf hurt, son and heir of John Wolf hurt, held a house and lands in Wormhill by the service of chasing and taking all wolves which should come into the King's forest of the Peak. (fn. n21) Sir William Chambers Bagshaw is now the principal proprietor of lands in Wormhill.

The chapel of Wormhill was in the patronage of certain trustees, of whom the present minister, the Reverend William Bagshaw is the only survivor. (fn. n22)

There is a small school here, built by the inhabitants, and endowed with the interest of 40l.

Trusley

TRUSLEY, in the hundred of Appletree and deanery of Castillar, lies between six and seven miles from Derby.

The manor of Trusley (Toxenai) was held by one Hugh, under Henry de Ferrars, when the Survey of Domesday was taken. In the reign of Henry II., Hugh le Arbalester, most probably his son or grandson, appears to have been lord of the manor. (fn. n23) Oliver de Odingsells purchased it of Ralph de Beufey in the reign of Henry III. The coheiresses of this family brought it in moieties to Richard Piper (fn. n24) and Thomas Coke. Piper's daughter and heiress married John Cowdale: their moiety passed (probably by sale) to the Vernons, and was purchased of the Manners family, in 1569, by Richard Coke, Esq., for 520l., and a douceur of 10l. to Mrs. Manners. John Coke, a younger brother of Sir Francis Coke of Trusley, who died in 1639, was Secretary of State to King Charles I. George, another younger brother, became Bishop of Hereford, and was ancestor of D'Ewes Coke, Esq., of Brookhill, in the parish of Pinxton. Richard Coke, Esq., of Trusley, was one of the intended Knights of the Royal Oak, in the reign of Charles II. One of the coheiresses of William Coke, Esq., who died in 1716, brought the manor of Trusley to Edward Wilmot, Esq., and it is now the property of his grandson, the Reverend Francis Wilmot, who is also patron and incumbent of the rectory. The manor-house, which was the seat of the Cokes, has been taken down.

In the parish church are some monuments of the families of Coke and Wilmot. (fn. n25)

Grange-field, in this parish, which belonged to the monastery of Croxden, was successively in the families of Fitch, Curzon, Kinersley or Kinardsley, and Hope; from the latter it passed by marriage to Docksey: it is now in severalties.

The grange of Thursmanlegh, alias Nunsclough, now called Nuns-field, which belonged to the nuns of Derby, was in the family of Kinersley in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is now, or was lately, the property of Mr. Thomas Cox, of Derby.

Walton-Upon-Trent

WALTON-UPON-TRENT, in the hundred of Repton and Gresley, and in the deanery of Repington, lies, as its name imports, on the banks of the Trent; and is distant from Burton about five miles. The chapelry of Rosleston is in this parish. King Edward II. is supposed to have forded the Trent at Walton, when in pursuit of Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and the rebellious barons. (fn. n26)

The manor of Walton was in the crown when the Survey of Domesday was taken: it was afterwards given to Hugh Lupus. In 1235 it belonged to Clementia, widow of Ralph de Blundeville, Earl of Chester. (fn. n27) Robert de Montalt was possessed of this manor in 1273 (fn. n28); Emma, his widow, in 1330 (fn. n29) : the reversion then belonged to Queen Isabella. That Queen granted it, in 1337, to Henry de Ferrars, of Chartley (fn. n30); from whom it passed by descent to the late Marquis Townshend, and is now vested in the devisees in trust under his will.

Walton-hall was formerly a seat of the Ferrers family; and was purchased of John Ferrers, Esq., of Tamworth, by the great-grandfather of William Taylor, Esq., who was sheriff of Derbyshire in 1727. It is now the property of Edward Disborowe, Esq., M.P., Vice-Chamberlain to her Majesty, who succeeded as heir at law on the death of the last surviving sister of William Taylor above-mentioned, in 1773. Walton-hall is in the occupation of Edward Mundy, Esq.

In the parish church are some ancient tombs of ecclesiastics, Robert Morley, rector, without date, &c. &c.; Penelope, wife of George Ferrers, Esq.; Thomas Bearcroft, rector, with his bust, 1680; Richard Taylor, Esq., 1692; William Taylor, Esq., 1733; and a handsome monument by Rossi, of Lady Charlotte, daughter of George, Earl of Buckinghamshire, and wife of Edward Disborowe, Esq., 1798. The advowson of the rectory has passed with the manor.

In the year 1760, a free school was founded at Walton by Mrs. Levett and Mrs. Baylie (fn. n31), and endowed with lands at Linton, now let at 18l. per annum. The Rev. William Bedford and Bridget Bedford gave 1l. 15s. per annum for bread and for teaching children.

The manor of Rosleston, or Rolston, was given by King Edward I. to Alan de Usser. (fn. n32) Not long afterwards (1335) it was in the baronial family of Segrave. Having passed through the Mowbrays to the Berkeley family, it was sold, in or about the year 1570, by Henry Lord Berkeley, to Sir William Gresley. It is now vested in the several freeholders, Eusebius Horton, Esq., Mr. Hamp, of Catton, and others. The chapel, which is about two miles from Walton, is annexed to the rectory.

Weston-On-Trent

WESTON-ON-TRENT, in the hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, and in the deanery of Derby, lies on the banks of the Trent, between six and seven miles from Derby. The manor was given by Wulfric Spott to Burton Abbey in the reign of King Ethelred, but was in the crown at the time of the Domesday Survey. It was given afterwards to Hugh Lupus, and by him to the abbot and convent of Chester. (fn. n33) After the reformation, the manor of Weston cum membris was granted to Sir William Paget. It is now the property of the Reverend Charles Holden, in whose family it has been for a considerable time. Sir Robert Wilmot, of Osmaston, Bart., is the chief landholder in this parish, his ancestor having purchased a considerable estate here in 1649.

Weston-hall, a large old mansion, now occupied as a farm-house, was a seat of the Roper family, by whom it was built in the early part of the seventeenth century. It was afterwards in the family of Lee; of whom it was purchased, about the year 1790, by Thomas Pares, Esq., the present proprietor.

In the parish church is the monument, with his effigies, of Richard Sale, L.L.B., Prebendary of Lichfield, and Rector of Weston, who died in 1625; he married Dorothy, daughter and coheir of William Wilne, Esq., of Melbourne: the monument was repaired in 1764, by his great-grand-daughter Elizabeth, daughter and heir of William Sale, of Willington, Gent. Bassano's volume of Church Notes describes the tomb of the wife of George Pulton, Esq., 1640. Sir Robert Wilmot is patron of the rectory.

Whittington

WHITTINGTON, in the hundred of Scarsdale and deanery of Chesterfield, lies two miles from Chesterfield. In the Survey of Domesday Whittington is described as a hamlet of Newbold. The paramount manor, which had been in the Peverels, was granted by King John to William Briewere, from whose family it passed to the Wakes. The Boythorps, and after them successively the Bretons and Foljambes, appear to have held under the families before mentioned as mesne lords; but the immediate possession was from an early period in the family of Whittington (fn. n34), whose heiress married Dethick. Geffrey Dethick was seised of the manor as early as the year 1320. A coheiress of Dethick brought it, about the year 1488, to the Poles, who held under Foljambe. George Pole had two daughters, coheirs, who, towards the latter part of the seventeenth century, brought this manor in moieties to Frith and Chaworth. Frith's moiety passed by marriage to Sir Charles Sedley, who sold to Gillett. The late Mr. Richard Gillett, of Chesterfield, sold this moiety, in or about 1813, to Mr. John Dixon; and it is now the property of his great nephew, Mr. Henry Dixon. The Chaworth family possessed three-fourths of the other moiety in 1769: this portion passed afterwards to the family of Launder, and having been since purchased by Mr. John Dixon, is now the property of his great nephew above-mentioned, who is possessed of seven-eighths of the manor. The remaining eighth belongs to the children of the late Samuel Hinde, who inherited one-sixteenth and acquired one-sixteenth by purchase.

In the parish church is the monument of the late Samuel Pegge, L.L.D., the well-known antiquary, author of the Life of Bishop Grossetete; a History of Beaucliief-Abbey, Bolsover and Peak Castles; Dissertations on Coins, and other antiquarian subjects (fn. n35); he collected also considerable materials for a History of Derbyshire, now deposited in the Heralds' College. Dr. Pegge was 45 years rector of Whittington, where he died Feb. 14, 1796, in the 92d year of his age. In the church-yard is the monument of Christopher Smith, Esq., of London, who died in 1752, and left 550l. to the corporation for the relief of disabled and wounded seamen. The Dean of Lincoln is patron of the rectory.

In the parish register is the following remarkable entry: — " Thomas Ashton, son of Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Jane Bulkeley was baptized July 1, 1644.— Godfathers; Edward Downes, great-great-great-uncle; Dr. Charles Ashton, great-great-great-uncle; Joseph Ashton, Gent., great-great-greatuncle. — Godmothers; Mrs. Wood, great-great-great-aunt; Mrs. Wainwright, great-great-grandmother; Mrs. Green, great-grandmother."

The school at Whittington was founded in 1674, when Peter Webster gave 20l. towards the building; at his death, in 1678, he bequeathed the sum of 200l., to be laid out in lands for its endowment, for the purpose of teaching 20 poor boys: Joshua Webster, his son, gave Plumtree farm for the purpose of teaching 10 more. The present value of the endowment is 32l. 12s. per annum.

Katherine Wright, a native of Whittington, was one of the persons whom John Darell pretended to dispossess of devils in the early part of the seventeenth century. He was attacked as an impostor by Samuel Harsnett, afterwards Archbishop of York, and wrote a pamphlet in reply.

The great revolution of 1688 is said to have owed its origin to the meeting of a few friends to liberty and the Protestant religion, held in the early part of that year on Whittington-moor, at which the Earl of Devonshire (afterwards Duke), the Earl of Danby (afterwards Duke of Leeds), Lord Delamere, and Mr. John Darcy (son and heir of the Earl of Holderness), are known to have attended. It is said, that in consequence of a shower of rain, they adjourned to a public-house on the moor, called the Cock and Pynot (or Magpie), which acquired from this circumstance the name of the Revolution-house; and the small room where these distinguished guests retired, that of the Plotting-Parlour. The arm-chair in which the Duke of Devonshire sat still forms part of the furniture of this room. When the centenary of the revolution was observed in Derbyshire with much celebrity in 1788, the committee dined on the preceding day at the Revolution-house. On the anniversary, the venerable Dr. Pegge preached on the occasion at Whittington church, before the descendants of the illustrious revolutionists above-mentioned, and a large assemblage of persons of the first families in the county and neighbourhood, who were met together for the purpose of commemorating this great event. After divine service, they went in procession to partake of a cold collation at the Revolution-house, whence they proceeded to Chesterfield to dinner. A subscription was opened for the purpose of erecting a column on Whitting-ton-moor, in memory of the Revolution; but in consequence of the turbulent scenes in which all Europe was soon afterwards involved, it was deferred, and the intention has not yet been carried into effect.

There is a chalybeate spring at Whittington, which was formerly much resorted to. A cold bath was inclosed in 1769.

Whitwell

WHITWELL, in the hundred of Scarsdale and deanery of Chesterfield, lies on the borders of Nottinghamshire, twelve miles from Chesterfield, on the road to Worksop. The parish comprises part of Cresswell village and manor.

The manor of Whitwell was given by Wulfric Spott, in the reign of King Ethelred to Burton-Abbey. (fn. n36) When the Survey of Domesday was taken, it belonged to Ralph Fitz-Hubert. Ralph de Rye, who was lord of the manor in 1310, stated, in answer to a quo warranto, that his ancestors had possessed a park at Whitwell from time immemorial. Edward Rye, Esq., sold Whitwell, in the year 1563, to Richard Whalley, whose grandson of the same name conveyed it, in 1592, to John Manners, Esq., (afterwards Sir John Manners,) ancestor of the Duke of Rutland. In 1813, a treaty was begun with the Duke of Portland, for the exchange of this manor for that of Barlow. The Ryes had a park at Whitwell in 1330. (fn. n37) The old manorhouse, which was the seat of Sir Roger Manners in the reign of Charles I., is still remaining, and occupied as a farm-house.

Robert de Meynell, Lord of Whitwell was one of the early benefactors to Welbeck-Abbey. (fn. n38) The heiress of Meynell married Hathersage, and the coheiresses of Hathersage, Goushill and Longford, who held the Whitwell estate in moieties. Nicholas de Longford, who was one of the representatives of Meynell held a manor in Whitwell, in the reign of Edward II., under the Stotevilles. This manor continued in the Longford family in the reign of Henry VIII. It passed with Goushill's moiety to the Pipes or Pypes, and was sold by Humphrey Pipe, Esq., in 1593, to John Manners abovementioned. The Goushill family had a park at Whitwell in 1330. (fn. n39)

The manor of Cresswell which was given to Welbeck-Abbey by Ralph Cordi, is now the property of his Grace the Duke of Portland.

In the parish church are the monuments of Ralph de Rye, Lord of the manor, 1482; Sir Roger Manners, Knt. (fn. n40), lord of the manor, 1632, and some memorials for the family of Clayton 1666–1751. Bassano's volume of Church Notes mentions some memorials for the family of Rhodes of Steckley; Captain William Rhodes, 1683, &c. &c. The Duke of Portland is patron of the rectory.

An act of parliament for inclosing this parish passed in 1813.

Steetley or Stetely, about a mile from Whitwell, appears to have been anciently a distinct parish and a rectory; it is now deemed part of Whitwell. The Vavasor family and the Frechevilles, who succeeded them in the possession of the manor of Steetley, presented to the rectory in 1348, 1355, and 1370. The manor was conveyed by the Frecheville family to that of Wentworth, in or about 1571. It is now the property of his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, being parcel of the Worksop estate.

The curious Saxon church at Steetley, long since desecrated, has been, already described.

Willesley

WILLESLEY, in the hundred of Repton and Gresley and in the deanery of Repington, lies on the borders of Leicestershire, about two miles from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The manor was given by Wulfric Spott to the abbey of Burton (fn. n41), under which it was held in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, by the family of Ingwardby; the heiress of Ingwardby married Abney early in the fifteenth century. The Abneys resided at Willesley for many generations, and became eventually possessed of the manor which had belonged to Burton-Abbey, and which, after the Reformation, had been granted to the Sheffield family. Willesley is now the property and seat of General Sir Charles Hastings, Bart., who married the daughter and heir of the late Thomas Abney, Esq., and grand-daughter of Sir Thomas Abney, one of the Justices of the Common-Pleas. Sir Thomas Abney of Stoke-Newington in Middlesex, some time Lord-Mayor of London, and one of the first founders of the Bank of England, was of this family, and born at Willesley in 1639. The manor-house, which is in the form of the letter H, appears to have been built in or about the time of Charles I.

In the parish church, which is a remarkably small structure close to the manor-house, are some memorials of the Abney family, (George Abney and Catharine his wife, 1571, 1578,) &c. &c.: some of the inscriptions are mutilated. There is a mutilated monument also of Sir John Wylkins, a priest.

Sir Charles Hastings is impropriator of the tithes, which belonged formerly to Burton-Abbey, and patron of the curacy. The late Thomas Abney, Esq., about 1782, settled 20l. per annum on the curate.

Willington

WILLINGTON, in the hundred of Morleston and Litchurch and in the deanery of Derby, lies about seven miles from Derby, on the banks of the Trent, opposite to Repton. The manor, at the time of taking the Domesday Survey, belonged partly to the King and partly to Ralph Fitz-Hubert. King Henry II., gave a manor in Willington to Burton-Abbey; George Finderne, Esq., held this manor under Burton-Abbey in 1539; John Meynell, Esq., died seised of it in 1561; it was purchased of Hugo Meynell, Esq., in the year 1760, by the father of Sir Henry Crewe, Bart., who is the present proprietor. There are no remains of the manor-house, which was a seat of the Meynells.

The other manor appears to have been given with the church by the family of Willington (who held probably under the Barony of Fitz-Hubert) to the prior and convent of Repton, to whom the tithes were appropriated in 1223. William Westcote conveyed this manor, in or about the year 1554, to Sir John Porte, founder of Repton school, and the hospital at Etwall, and it now forms part of the estate belonging to those foundations to which the impropriation and the advowson of the vicarage are attached.

In the parish church are memorials for John Stephenson, Gent., 1669, and some of the family of Sale.

North-Winfield

NORTH-WINFIELD, in the hundred of Scarsdale and deanery of Chesterfield, lies about four miles and a half from Chesterfield, and about a mile from the road to Derby. The parish comprises the townships of Clay-lane, Pilsley, Tupton, and part of Stretton; and the villages of Ford, Hanley, Henmore, Williamsthorp, and Woodthorp.

Winfield is described as an appendage to Morton, given by Wulfric Spott to Burton-Abbey (fn. n42), Walter Deincourt held North-Winfield (Winnefelt) when the Survey of Domesday was taken. The Deincourts gave the whole or a moiety of this manor to Welbeck-Abbey. Sir Ralph Longford is said to have possessed a moiety, in 1513, by descent from the Deincourts. (fn. n43) After the Reformation, the Leakes were possessed of the whole. It is now the property of Mrs. Anne Greaves, widow, having been purchased by the ancestor of her late husband not long after the death of Nicholas Leake, the last Earl of Scarsdale.

In the parish church is a memorial for Thomas Wilson, Esq., of Ford.

The church was given by Ralph Deincourt to the priory of Thurgarton. (fn. n44) Mr. William Pagett is patron of the rectory, which, till after the death of the last Earl of Scarsdale, had, from the time of the Reformation been attached to the manor.

There is a charity-school at North-Winfield, to which Mr. Thomas Luddington gave 2l. per annum, and Mr. William Stocks 10s. per annum.

The manor of Pilsley (Pinneslei) and Williamsthorpe (Wilelmestorp) belonged, when the Survey of Domesday was taken, to Walter Deincourt. Oliver de Barton, who married the heiress of Roger Deincourt, appears to have been possessed of the manor of Williamsthorpe in 1378. (fn. n45) In 1415, William Babington conveyed it to Sir Thomas Chaworth (fn. n46), who died seised of it in 1458. (fn. n47) George Chaworth died seised of it in 1522. (fn. n48) In 1561, it belonged to Edmund Lord Sheffield; in 1638 to Sir William Cope. The trustees of Sir Anthony Cope, Bart., sold this manor, in 1676, to Sir Henry Hunloke, Bart., and it is now the property of his descendant, Sir Henry Hunloke (fn. n49), a minor. The manor of Pilsley was in the Foljambes, from whom it passed by marriage to the Plumptons: Sir William Plumpton died seised of it in 1480. It was afterwards in the Leake family, and after the death of the last Earl of Scarsdale, was purchased of his trustees, in 1743, by the Caltons of Chesterfield: the manor was sold, in 1799, to Mr. Thomas Wilson, and is now the property of Mr. Richard Wilson: the lands which were attached to the manor have been sold in parcels.

Tupton-hall is the property and seat of William Allwood Lord, Esq.: whose grandfather acquired it by a marriage with the family of Gladwin.

The manors of Stretton and Clay-lane belonged to the Earls of Shrewsbury, and having passed through the same hands as that of Shirland, are now the property of the Earl of Thanet, William Turbutt, Esq., and others.

A charity-school at Dear-leap in this parish, was founded, in 1790, by Anthony Lax Maynard, Esq., of Chesterfield, Isaac Wilkinson, Esq., and others (fn. n50), who built the school-house and subscribed 450l. with which lands were bought, charged with 15l. 15s. per annum, for teaching twenty-five poor children.

South-Winfield

SOUTH-WINFIELD, in the hundred of Scarsdale and deanery of Chesterfield, lies eleven miles from Chesterfield near the road to Derby, from which it is distant fourteen miles, and three miles from Alfreton, which is the post-town. The village of Oakerthorp (anciently Ulkerthorpe) is in this parish. The manor of South-Winfield was held, at the time of the Domesday Survey, by one Robert, under Alan, Earl of Britanny, who held under William Peverel. The paramount lordship was conveyed, before the year 1109, by William Peverel to Robert de Pavely, whose descendants continued to possess it for several generations, and as late as the reign of Henry VI. The baronial family of Heriz held this manor under the superior lords at a very early period, and are supposed to have been descended from Robert mentioned in the Survey of Domesday. The heiress of Heriz married De la Riviere about the year 1330; a coheiress of Riviere married Belers, and a coheiress of Belers, Swillington. In the reign of Henry VI., Ralph, Lord Cromwell, Lord Treasurer, as nearest of kin (fn. n51) to Margaret Swillington, acquired this manor by compromise, after a long law-suit with Sir Henry Pierrepont, the heir-at-law of John de Heriz who died in 1330. Lord Cromwell sold the reversion to John Taibot, Earl of Shrewsbury. It continued in the Shrewsbury family till the year 1616, when it was divided between the coheiresses of Gilbert, the seventh Earl, married to the Earls of Pembroke, Kent, and Arundel. The Earl of Pembroke's share passed through the Savilles to the Tuftons, and is now the property of the Earl of Thanet. The Earl of Kent's share having been conveyed to Edward Earl of Shrewsbury (fn. n52), continued in that family till the Duke of Shrewsbury sold five-sixths of it, in 1710, to Thomas Leacroft, of Wirksworth, Gent.: this share is still in the Leacroft family. About the same time, the Duke sold the remaining sixth to Mr. Immanuel Halton. The Earl of Arundel's share was sold by the Duke of Norfolk, in 1678, to Immanuel Halton and others. This third part and one-sixth of the other third before-mentioned, are now the property of his descendant, Winfield Halton, Esq. (fn. n53)

Winfield manor-house was built, in the reign of Henry VI., by Ralph Lord Cromwell, the Lord Treasurer. It seems probable that it was not finished at his death, for in the steward's accounts, after it came into possession of John Taibot, the second Earl of Shrewsbury, who lost his life at the battle of Northampton, there are large charges for covering the manor-house, plumber's work, &c. It appears from the same accounts, that this Earl kept house here, and there is no doubt that Winfield-manor was one of the principal seats of his five immediate successors. George, the fourth Earl, died there in 1541. His grandson, George, the sixth Earl, had for seventeen years the custody of Mary Queen of Scots, who, during that period, resided at Chatsworth, Winfield, and Sheffield, but chiefly at the latter, as appears by the dates of numerous letters (fn. n54), written by herself and the Shrewsbury family during this period, which are still preserved. She was at Winfield for some months in the year 1569. " In the year 1569," says Camden, " Leonard Dacres contrived a way how to convey the captive Queen out of the custody wherein she was kept, at Winfield in the county of Derby, under the Earl of Shrewsbury. Northumberland being a partner in the plots discovered the same to the Duke, (of Norfolk,) but the Duke forbad it to be put in execution, fearing lest they should deliver her to the Spaniard for wife, and hoping ere long to procure Elizabeth's consent." The Queen of Scots was at Winfield in the months of November and December, 1584. She was removed thence to Tutbury-castle on the 13th January 1585. (fn. n55) It appears from Sir Ralph Sadler's Papers, published in 1809, that there were in all 210 gentlemen, yeomen, officers, and soldiers employed in the custody of the Queen of Scots at Winfield in the month of November 1584. (fn. n56)

At the commencement of the civil war, Winfield manor-house was garrisoned for the parliament. The Earl of Newcastle took it towards the close of the year 1643. (fn. n57) It was then made a royal garrison, and the command given to Colonel Roger Molineux: it seems that he had been succeeded by Colonel Dalby before the month of July 1644, when Winfield was besieged by Lord Grey, of Groby, and Sir John Gell. It appears to have stood a siege of some length; for, in the month of August, the King sent General Hastings to its relief, but his troops were beaten by the Earl of Denbigh and Sir John Gell, who then conducted the siege. (fn. n58) Vicars relates that the garrison was surrendered about the 20th of that month, on the approach of the Earl of Manchester's army, after the battle of Marston-moor. (fn. n59) Sir John Gell's account is, that when Major-General Crawford came with his ordnance to Winfield, they both opened their batteries and having commenced a joint assault, after three hours' bombardment took the garrison, in which were then 220 men: Colonel Gell left two companies in Winfield. (fn. n60) Colonel Dalby was killed during the siege, after which Sir John Fitzherbert was governor. The garrison of Winfield-manor was dismantled by order of parliament in 1646. The old mansion appears to have been inhabited, in 1678, by Mr. Immanuel Halton, then steward to the Duke of Norfolk, who, at the time of his purchasing the Duke's share, was described of Winfield manor-house. In 1774, in consequence of a partition of the estate, the whole of the manor-house became the property of Immanuel Halton. Esq., who pulled down a considerable part of this beautiful and interesting Gothic mansion, and made use of the materials in building the house, which is now the residence of his son, Winfield Halton, Esq., at the bottom of the hill. A description of the present state of the ruins of Winfield manor-house has been already given.

There were formerly two parks belonging to Winfield manor, the larger of which, extending into the parish of Pentridge, contained nearly 1000 acres.

In the parish church are some monuments of the Halton family. (fn. n61) Mr. Immanuel Halton, who died in 1699, was the first of the family who settled in Derbyshire; he was born at Greenthwaite, in the parish of Greystock in Cumberland, and educated at the grammar-school at Blencowe; he was afterwards a student at Grays-Inn, " whence he was called to the service of Henry Duke of Norfolk; the last years of his life were spent in the studies of music and mathematics, in which noble sciences he attained a great perfection," Some of his mathematical treatises are printed in the Appendix to Foster's mathematical Miscellanies; and an Account of the Eclipse of the Sun observed at Winfield, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1676.

The church of South-Winfield was given to the monks of Darley by Ralph Fitz-Stephen, Chamberlain to King Henry II. (fn. n62) and became appropriated to that convent. The Duke of Devonshire is the present impropriator and patron of the vicarage.

The sum of 200l. given by Mr. John Newton, in 1683, for charitable uses, having been laid out in the purchase of lands, now let at 30l. 5s. per annum, twenty pounds per annum, part of the rent, is now given to a schoolmaster for instructing twenty-six children.

The manor of Oakerthorp or Ulkerthorpe was given by Ralph Fitz-Stephen above-mentioned to the monks of Darley, and has passed with the rectory of South-Winfield to the Duke of Devonshire. Philip Strelley of London, citizen and goldsmith, by will, in 1603, charged an estate here, then called the manor of Ulkerthorpe, with certain charitable payments; this estate, or part of it is now the property, and Ulkerthorpe-hall the residence, of his descendant, Mr. Benjamin Strelley.

The manor of Ufton belonged to the Heriz family, and afterwards to the Earls of Shrewsbury. It was part of the purchase of Mr. Immanuel Halton, and is now the property of his descendant, Winfield Halton, Esq. The site of the manor of Ufton was near the Peacock-Inn, on the road from Chesterfield to Derby, adjoining to which stood the chapel of Limbury. There were some remains of this chapel in 1761. John de Heriz had a licence from the abbot of Derley to have divine service performed in the chapel of Limbury. This must have been before the year 1330. (fn. n63)

A considerable and increasing trade of stocking-making is carried on in this parish. There were ninety-four stocking-frames in the year 1793 (fn. n64), and there are now about 190.

Wirksworth

WIRKSWORTH, an ancient market-town in the deanery of Ashborne, gives name to the wapentake in which it is situated. It is distant from Derby 14 miles, and from London 140. The parish contains the townships of Callow, Hopton, Ible, Ivenbrook, and Middleton, the villages of Bull-hill, Steeple-house, and Wigwell, and the chapelry of Crornford, in the wapentake of Wirksworth; and the townships of Alderwasley, Ashley-hay, Alton, Itheridge-hay, and Biggin, in the hundred of Appletree.

A market on Wednesdays, and a fair for three days at the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, were granted to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, in 1305. (fn. n65) The market is now held on Tuesday, chiefly for butchers' meat, butter, eggs, and pedlars' ware. The corn-market is small. The present fair-days are Shrove-Tuesday, May 12, Sept. 8, and the second Tuesday in October, for horned cattle, sheep, horses, and pedlars' ware. The last-mentioned fair is also for hiring servants. The town-hall was built in 1773, by the direction of Thomas Lord Hyde, Chancellor of the Duchy.

In the year 1547, there were 1000 houseling people (fn. n66) in the parish of Wirksworth: the population of the township of Wirksworth only, in 1811, was 3474.

The township of Wirksworth contains two manors besides that of the rectory. The chief, or paramount manor, belonged in the year 835 to the abbey of Repton. (fn. n67) It is probable that in consequence of the destruction of that monastery by the Danes, it became vested in the crown, to which it belonged at the time of taking the Domesday Survey. King John, in the fifth year of his reign, granted this manor to William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby. Having been forfeited by the attainder of Robert, Earl of Derby, in 1265, it was granted, together with the wapentake, by Edward I. to his brother Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. It has ever since formed part of the earldom or duchy of Lancaster. It is now held under the duchy, by Richard Arkwright, Esq., to whom it was granted on the expiration of a lease held by the Jodrell family.

Courts-barons are held twice a year at Wirksworth, for this manor: courts-leet for the wapentake, and barmote-courts for the better conducting of the mines and mineral concerns within the wapentake, are held also at Wirksworth.

The manor of Holland, otherwise Richmonds, was given by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster to Sir Robert Holland. It continued in different branches of the Holland family, till it was forfeited by the attainder of Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, in 1461. King Edward IV. granted it to his sister Anne, Duchess of Exeter. This manor afterwards belonged to Margaret, Countess of Richmond, mother of King Henry VII.; on whose death it devolved again to the crown, and was granted in 1553 to Ralph Gell, Esq., ancestor of Philip Gell, Esq., of Hopton, M.P., the present proprietor. This manor extends into the townships of Ashley-hay, Middleton, Carsington, Hognaston, and Kirk-Ireton. A court-baron is held for it at Middleton.

In the parish church are monuments of the families of Vernon (fn. n68), Gell (fn. n69), Blackwall (fn. n70), Wigley (fn. n71), Lowe (fn. n72), and Hurt (fn. n73); Anthony Hopkinson, Gent. 1618; Anne, relict of Thomas Parker, and one of the daughters and coheirs of Robert Venables, of Wincham, Cheshire, 1699; George Turner, Esq., of the ancient family of that name at Swan wick, in this county, 1768; and Francis Green, Esq., 1782.

Bassano's volume of Church-Notes describes a little chapel or quire in the aisle on the south side of the steeple, which was supposed to have belonged to the lords of Callow, but it had not then any arms or monument; and two such quires on the west side of the steeple, one dedicated to St. Catherine, founded by the Wigleys of the Gatehouse, and then the property of Michael Burton, proprietor of that house; the other founded by the lords of Ible, then belonging to Sir John Statham. It had been defaced in the civil war, and had then no monuments remaining. The same volume describes memorials for John Feme, Esq., 1509, (in the chancel;) Henry Gee, 1619; John Stuffin, Gent. 1696; &c.

In the church-yard is the tomb of Matthew Peat, of Alderwasley, who died Dec. 11, 1751, aged 109 years and 10 months.

The rectory of Wirksworth was granted by King Henry I. to the church of Lincoln. The rectorial manor and impropriate tithes are vested in the Dean of Lincoln, under whom they are held on lease by George Henry Errington, Esq. The Dean is patron of the vicarage. The vicar is by custom entitled to the tithes of lead ore. John Beresford, sometime vicar of Wirksworth, founded two fellowships and two scholarships at St. John's college in Cambridge, for his kinsmen, parishioners, or countrymen.

The revenues of the Rode chantry, in this church, founded by Sir Henry Vernon, were valued in 1547, at 5l. 3s. 8d. per annum; that of St. Ellis, founded in 1504 by Richard Smyth, vicar, were valued at 4l. 10s. 8d. (fn. n74)

There was formerly a Presbyterian meeting-house at Wirksworth, now occupied by a congregation of Independents. Mrs. Sarah Wood, in 1707, left 40s. per annum to the minister of this meeting. There are also at Wirksworth a Baptists' meeting, and a chapel of the Wesleyan Methodists.

In the year 1574, Mrs. Agnes Feme gave five marks per annum to a freeschool, when such should be founded, and 40s. per annum to an alms-house when founded. It is probable that she knew of the intentions of Anthony Gell, Esq., who in 1576 founded a grammar-school, and endowed it with lands, now let at about 170l. per annum, and an alms-house for six poor aged men, to which he gave a rent-charge of 20l. on the manor of Hollands. Mr. Henry Gee, in 1619, gave 5l. per annum to the school, and 5l. per annum to the alms-house. Mr. Anthony Bunting, in 1685, gave 5l. per annum to the alms-house.

The manor of Callow or Caldlow, (which township forms a joint constablery with Ible) was an appendage to the King's manor of Wirksworth. It was held at a very early period by the family of Okeover. In the reign of Edward I. it belonged to the De la Laundes; from whom it passed successively to the Stathams of Morley, and the Sacheverells. Henry Sacheverell, Esq., who died in 1620, gave it to his natural son, Valens Sacheverell, whose son George gave a moiety of it to his great nephew, George Sacheverell Chadwick: this moiety is now the property of George Chadwick, Esq. The other moiety was given by George Sacheverell, Esq., to the celebrated Dr. Henry Sacheverell (fn. n75), rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn. The Doctor's widow gave it to her third husband, Charles Chambers. It afterwards became the property of Mr. Chambers's daughter, who married Mackenzie, and gave a moiety of this share to Miss Jane Mackenzie, her hus band's sister, and the other to Mary Kirkby, who married Mr. Thomas Robinson. In 1775 these parties joined in selling the moiety of the manor of Callow to Philip Gell, Esq., father of Philip Gell, Esq., M.P., the present proprietor. The duchy manor exercises a paramount jurisdiction over the manor of Callow. In consequence of a partition of the estate, Callow-hall and demesne are the property of Mr. Chadwick.

In or about the reign of Edward I., certain lands in Ibole or Ible, described as a third part of the lordship, were sold by Henry de Barton to Ralph de Snitterton, from whom this estate passed to the Sacheverells. Thomas Sacheverell sold it, in or about the year 1498, to Sir Henry Vernon. In or about the year 1565, Sir George Vernon sold the manor of Ible to Henry Mather, whose grandson conveyed it to Anthony Hopkinson. John Hopkinson, Esq., of Bonsall, sold it in 1689 to the Reverend William Osborne; by him it was, in 1696, conveyed to William Buckley, yeoman, whose grandson sold it in parcels. The duchy manor of Wirksworth has a paramount jurisdiction over this lordship.

The township of Hopton adjoins the village of Carsington about a mile and a half from Wirksworth. A family who were called De Hopton, from the place of their abode, had the chief landed property in Hopton as early as the reign of King John. William de Hopton, who lived in the reign of Edward II., left a daughter and heir married to Nicholas de Rollesley. The heiress of Rollesley brought this estate in the reign of Queen Elizabeth to Sir William Kniveton; from whom it passed successively to the families of Greatrakes, Feme, and Stuffin. Johanna, daughter and heir of another branch of the family, is said to have brought all her estates in Hopton and Carsington to Ralph Gell, whose ancestors had then resided for some generations at Hopton. A descendant of the same name died seised of the manor of Hopton in 1564. Sir John Gell, who had been created a Baronet in 1642, was from the very commencement of the civil war a most zealous officer on the side of the Parliament. (fn. n76) He took Lichfield, and rendered very important services to his party in his native county and elsewhere, for which he several times received the thanks of the House. It appears that after the termination of the war, he was much dissatisfied with the treatment he received from the Parliament. In the possession of his descendant, Philip Gell, Esq., M.P., at Hopton-hall, are two narratives of the principal transactions in which he had been engaged, and the services he had rendered to the Parliament, drawn up as it appears by way of memorials (fn. n77), to confute certain calumnies of which he complains. He states, that he was the first in that county, who declared for the Parliament; that he had received from them only 64l., and that he had expended above 5000l. of his own property, besides the loss he sustained when his house was plundered by the enemy. Among Sir John Gell's papers is an order of the Earl of Leven, dated April 21, 1646, enjoining the Scottish forces not to plunder Hopton, or any of Sir John Gell's houses or lands. There is a bill, also, for the the cure of a severe wound in his neck, from which some items are given in the note as a specimen of the practice and charges of that time. (fn. n78) The first charge is on the 7th of July, 1646; the cure appears to have been completed before August 22. There is no intimation in the narrative, which is brought down to October 1646, where this wound was received; it appears to have been when the war was nearly over, and after Newark, the last fortress in that part of the country, had capitulated. Sir John Gell's colours, being the family arms, with the cross of St. George on a canton, are at Hopton in good preservation; together with some of the small artillery used in the civil war, and the leathern doublet worn by Sir John in the field: in the neck is a flaw, which seems to have been made by the ball from which Sir John received his wound. The doublet weighs 11 pounds.

In 1650 Sir John Gell incurred the displeasure of the then ruling powers, and was sentenced by the High Court of Justice to be imprisoned for life, and his estates to be confiscated (fn. n79); but two years afterwards he procured his pardon. Sir Philip Gell, the third Baronet, purchased, of the Stuffins, the estate at Hopton, which had belonged to the other branch of the Hoptons. Upon his death, in 1719, the title became extinct, and Hopton, with other estates, passed under his will to John Eyre, a younger son of his sister Catherine (fn. n80), who, in pursuance of his uncle's directions, took the name of Gell, and was grandfather of Philip Gell, Esq., M.P., of Hopton-hall, the present lord of the manor.

Sir Philip Gell above-mentioned founded an alms-house at Hopton for two poor people of Hopton and two of Carsington. It was completed and inhabited in 1722. Certain lands are charged with the payment of 2s. a week to each pensioner.

The manor of Ivenbrook (a small village about four miles north from Wirksworth) was given by Henry Studley, who died about the year 1165, to the abbey of Bildewas, in Shropshire. It was granted by King Henry VIII. to Edward Grey, Lord Powis; from whom it has passed by inheritance, through the Ludlows and Vernons of Stokesley, to the Right Honourable Lord Scarsdale, who is the present proprietor.

Cromford, about two miles north of Wirksworth is a populous village, or rather as it may now be called, a town, inhabited chiefly by manufacturers belonging to the cotton-mills: it nearly adjoins to Matlock-bath. A market for corn, butchers'-meat, &c., was established at Cromford in 1790: the market-day is Wednesday. Sir Hugh Meyneli had a grant of freewarren in his lands at Cromford in the year 1350. (fn. n81) These lands, which are supposed to have constituted what is now the manor of Cromford, were afterwards in the family of Leche, from whom they passed by sale to the Agards (fn. n82); and from the latter, in like manner, to Sir William Cavendish. Henry Talbot, Esq., (third son of George, Earl of Shrewsbury,) died seised of the manor of Cromford in 1596. From Mary, Lady Armyne, his daughter and coheir, it passed to Evelyn, Duke of Kingston, descended from her sister Gertrude. The Duke sold it, in 1716, to William Soresby, Gent. William Soresby, the grandson, dying unmarried, his two sisters became his coheirs: Mary married William Milnes, Esq., and Helen the Reverend Thomas Munro. Mr. Milnes purchased Munro's moiety, and in 1776 sold the whole to Peter Nightingale, Esq., of Lea, of whom it was purchased in 1789, by Sir Richard Arkwright, father of Richard Arkwright, Esq., M. P., the present proprietor.

Cromford became very populous in consequence of the cotton-works established by the late Sir Richard Arkwright at this place, and in the adjoining parish of Matlock. The first cotton-mill was erected in 1771; the second, or lower mill, a few years afterwards; and the large mill, called Masson-mill, between Cromford and Matlock-bath, in 1783.

Soon after Sir Richard Arkwright purchased the manor of Cromford he began to build a chapel on a piece of ground called the Green, which was finished by Mr. Arkwright after his father's death. This chapel was consecrated in 1797, and endowed by Mr. Arkwright with 50l. per annum. It has since, by Mr. Arkwright's further benefaction, been augmented with Queen Anne's Bounty. The patronage is vested in Mr. Arkwright and his heirs. There had been an ancient chapel at this place, many years ago demolished.

Between Cromford and Wirksworth is an alms-house for six poor widows, founded by Dame Mary Armyne, lady of the manor of Cromford, in 1651. The pensioners have 40s. per annum each, and a gown.

The Wigley family had for several generations a considerable estate at Middleton: the manor belongs to Philip Gell, Esq., of Hopton. A branch of the Gell family was some time settled here.

Wigwell-grange was given in the reign of Henry III., by William le Foune and others, and confirmed by William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, to the abbot and convent of Derley; and it is said to have been the favourite summer residence of the abbots of that house. King Henry VIII. granted this estate to Thomas Babington, Esq., of Dethick. Anthony Babington Esq., in 1585, sold it to Mr. Henry Wigwell, of Middleton. A coheiress of Wigwell brought it to Sir John Statham, whose son sold it to the trustees of Mr. John Mander, of Bakewell. It was purchased of the latter, in 1774, by Francis Green, Esq., and is now the property of his grandson, Francis Green Goodwin, Esq.

Alderwasley, commonly called Arrowsley, lies about two miles south-east from Wirksworth. The manor anciently belonged to the Ferrars family, and was afterwards annexed to the earldom and duchy of Lancaster. The family of Le Foune, or Fawne, had an estate here as early as the reign of Henry III. Thomas Fawne, their descendant, the last of the male line, left a daughter and heir, married to Thomas Lowe, father of Anthony Lowe, who procured from King Henry VIII, in 1528, a grant of the manor, which had belonged to the duchy. Elizabeth, the sister and heir of his descendant and namesake, who died in 1690, brought this manor and estate to Nicholas Hurt, of Castern in Staffordshire, great-great-grandfather of Francis Hurt, Esq., of Alderwasley-hall, the present proprietor. In the civil war (1643) this manor was sequestered as the property of Edward Lowe, a royalist, and in 1646 leased to Richard Chadwick. It appears by one of the grants to the family of Le Foune, that the Earls of Lancaster had a hunting-seat near Alderwasley.

The chapel at Alderwasley was built in the reign of Henry VIII, by the joint contributions of Thomas Lowe and other principal inhabitants. It is not subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction, has no parochial duties performed in it, and has no endowment. The minister is paid an optional salary by Mr. Hurt, who has the sole appointment. Alderwasley forms a joint constablery with Ashley-hay and Miln-hay.

The townships of Alton and Biggin form a joint constablery. Alton is situated about two miles south from Wirksworth. William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, conveyed the manor of Alton, in the reign of Henry III., to Richard Burun, or Byron, whose descendant, Sir Nicholas Byron, died seised of it in 1503. It was afterwards successively in the Black walls (fn. n83) and Iretons. Henry Mellor purchased it of the latter about the middle of the seventeenth century: his brother and heir sold it to the Honourable Anchetil Grey. In 1747, George Grey, Earl of Stamford, sold it to Dr. (afterwards Sir Edward) Wilmot, grandfather of Sir Robert Wilmot, Bart., of Chaddesden, who is the present proprietor.

Both Biggin and Iderich-hay or Ithersay are parcel of the manor of Duffield, belonging to Richard Paul Jodrell, Esq. There was anciently a chapel at Biggin, or as it was called, Newbiggin, which was esteemed to be in the parish of Kniveton, as appears by an old grant of a chantry in this chapel to Sir Robert de Essebourn. It has, for nearly four centuries, been deemed part of the parish of Wirksworth.

A family of the name of Mellor, supposed to be a branch of the Mellors of Mellor, held a considerable estate in the township of Iderich-hay, from the reign of Henry VII. till the death of Mr. Samuel Mellor in 1795. His grand-daughters and coheirs married Cresswell and Cock.

Henry Jackson, in 1752, left the sum of 151. for the purpose of teaching two children of the township of Iderich-hay.

The manor of Griffe, partly in this parish and partly in that of Bradborne, has long been in the family of Gell.

Youlgrave

YOULGRAVE, in the deanery of the High-Peak, lies about three miles from Bakewell, which is its post-town; thirteen from Chesterfield and thirteen from Ashborne. It comprises the townships of Middleton and Smerrill, and the chapelry of Elton in the wapentake of Wirksworth, and the townships of Birchover, Gratton, and Stanton; the villages of Alport and Conksbury, and the chapelry of Winster in the hundred of the High-Peak. The township of Youlgrave is partly in the hundred of the High-Peak and partly in the wapentake of Wirksworth.

Youlgrave (Giolgrave) was one of the manors belonging to Henry de Ferrars, when the Survey of Domesday was taken. In the reign of Edw. I. it was held under the Earl of Lancaster by Ralph de Shirley. (fn. n84) It afterwards became the property of the family of Gilbert alias Kniveton, who had been settled at Youlgrave from a very early period, and had married the heiress of Rossington. Eleanor, heiress of the Gilberts, brought it in 1629, to Charles Barnesley, Esq. It was afterwards in the Buxtons, of whom it was purchased in 1685, by John Earl of Rutland, and is now by descent, the property of his Grace the Duke of Rutland.

In the parish church are, the tombs of Robert Gilbert, Esq. (fn. n85) (no date); his wife Joan, (Statham) 1492 : one of more ancient date (without inscription) of the family of Cokaine of Herthill; and that of a crusader, said to be Sir John Rossington. There are monuments also of Roger Rooe, Esq., of Alport, 1612; Charles Greaves, Esq., of Woodhouse, 1720; John Eley, Esq., of Alport, Major-Commandant of the Artillery, in the East India Company's service, and others of his family.

Bassano's volume of Church Notes, describes memorials for Frideswide Gilbert, sister of John Gilbert, merchant-taylor, of London (no date); Roger Rooe, of Alport, Esq., 1613; and Francis Fox, of Youlgrave, Gent., 1660.

The church of Youlgrave was given to the abbey of Leicester, in or before the reign of Henry II., by Robert, son of Robert, the son of Col (fn. n86), which Col was one of the lords of the manor in the reign of Edward the Confessor. King Edward VI., in 1552, granted the rectory and advowson of the vicarage to Sir William Cavendish (fn. n87), from whom they have descended to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire. The vicarage was augmented by Queen Anne's bounty in 1722, the money required for that purpose having been raised by a subscription, to which the Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland contributed 301. each.

An act of parliament for inclosing Youlgrave and Middleton passed in 1815. The Duke of Devonshire is stated in the act to be impropriator of corn, &c. in Youlgrave and Middleton; the Duke of Rutland of wool and Jambs in Middleton.

The following remarkable entries relating to the seasons of 1615, are copied from the parish register.

" A memoriall of the great snow."

"This year, 1614–5, Jan: 16, began the greatest snow which ever fell uppon the earth, within man's memorye. It cover'd the earth fyve quarters deep uppon the playne. And for heapes or drifts of snow, they were very deep, so that passengers, both horse and foot, passed over yates, hedges, and walles. It fell at ten severall tymes, and the last was the greatest, to the greate admiration and feare of all the land, for it came from the foure p^tsof the world, so that all c[ou]ntryes were full, yea, the south p[ar]te as well as these mountaynes. It continued by daily encreasing untill the 12^th day of March, (without the sight of any earth, eyther uppon hilles or valleyes) uppon w[hi]ch daye, being the Lordes day, it began to decrease; and so by little and little consumed and wasted away, till the eight and twentyth day of May for then all the heapes or drifts of snow were consumed, except one uppon Kinder-Scout, w[hi]ch lay till Witson week.

" Hyndrances and losses in this peake c[ou]ntry by the snowe abovesayd. 1. It hindered the seed tyme. 2. It consumed much fodder. 3. And many wanted fewell, otherwise few were smoothered in the fall or drowned in the passage; in regard the floods of water were not great though many."

" The name of our Lord be praysed."

" There fell also ten lesse snowes in Aprill, some a foote deep, some lesse, but none continued long. Uppon May day, in the morning, instead of fetching in flowers, the youthes brought in flakes of snow, w[hi]ch lay above a foot deep uppon the moores and mountaynes."

This extraordinary snow is thus mentioned by Stowe in his Chronicle. The dates somewhat vary.

" The 17th of Januarie, 1614–5, began a great frost with extreame snow, which continued until the 14 of February; and albeit, the violence of the frost and snow some dayes abated, yet it continued freezing and snowing much or little, untill the 7 of March, whereby much cattel perished, as well old as young : and in some places, divers devised snow-ploughes to cleare the ground, and to fodder cattell; this snow was very dangerous to all travailers."

1615. " A dry summer."

" There was no rayne fell uppon the earth from the 25^th day of March till the 2^d day of May, and then there was but one shower; after which there fell none tyll the 18^th day of June, and then there fell an other; after y^tthere fell none at all till the 4^th day of August, after which tyme there was sufficient rayne uppon the earth; so that the greatest p^t of this land, especially the south p^tswere burnt upp both corne and hay. An ordinary sum[m]er load of hay was at 21., and little or none to be gott for money.

" This p^t of the peake was very sore burnt upp, onely Lankishyre and Cheshyre had rayne ynough all sumer; and both corne and hay sufficient.

" There was very little rayne fell the last winter but snowe onely."

There is a chapel at Youlgrave for the Wesleyan Methodists.

A school is supported here by voluntary subscriptions; the schoolhouse was built in 1765. A small benefaction for the purchase of books was given by Mrs. Ellen Webster.

The manor of Middleton belonged to the Herthills, and passed with their heiress to the Cokaines. About the close of the sixteenth century, it was sold by the latter to the Fulwoods, who possessed it for a considerable time. In 1719 it belonged to Sir John Curzon and Elizabeth Bateman. Sir John Curzon's part passed successively to Sanders and Howe. In 1771 this manor was the joint property of Lord Viscount Howe and Matthew Roper, Esq. It now belongs to Thomas Bateman, Esq., by purchase from the coheiresses of Viscount Howe.

Smerrill-grange passed with the manor of Herthill, in Bakewell, from the Herthills to the Cokaines, and from the latter, by sale to the ancestor of the Duke of Devonshire, who is the present proprietor.

The parochial chapelry of Elton lies about two miles and a half from Youlgrave, and one and a quarter from Winster. The manor, from the reign of Edward III. to that of Queen Elizabeth, belonged to the Foljambes. In the former reign it was held under the Tibetots, who had succeeded the Bardolfs as Lords paramount, by the render of a pair of gilt spurs. (fn. n88) It is now in moieties between Bache Thornhill, Esq., and Hylton Joliffe, Esq. The latter derives his title from a coheiress of the Stevensons by marriage. (fn. n89) Mr. Thornhill's moiety was purchased of the other coheiress.

The minister of Elton chapel is appointed by the majority of householders in the chapelry : the curacy has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty. An act of parliament for inclosing lands in the townships of Elton and Winster, was passed in 1809, when allotments were made in lieu of tithes. Two bovates of land in Gratton were given, in the year 1358, to the warden of the altar of St. Margaret at Elton, by Godfrey Meynell and William de Saperton. (fn. n90)

The manor of Gratton belonged to the Middletons in the reign of Henry VIII, and they continued to possess it in 1675; about that time it passed by marriage to the Lowes. In 1723, it was purchased by John, grandfather of Bache Thornhill, Esq., who is the present proprietor. Mr.Thornhill possesses also the manors of Stanton and Birchover. Stanton belonged to the Foljambes, and passed, by marriage, to the Plumptons. Sir William Plumpton died seised of it in 1480. It was the joint property of the Duke of Rutland and Mr. Thornhill till the year 1809, when, in consequence of an exchange made under the Inclosure Act, the whole became vested in Mr. Thornhill. Stanton-hall, the seat of Bache Thornhill, Esq., was for two centuries or more the residence of his ancestors, the Baches. Mr. Thornhill rebuilt the hall in 1799, and has lately made a deer-park, and extensive plantations.

Thomas Alien, yeoman, who died in 1574, was seised of a moiety of the manor of Stanton-hall, and the manor of Stanton-Ley. This estate now belongs to the Duke of Rutland, who has fitted up an old mansion on it, called Stanton-Woodhouse, (formerly the residence of the Aliens) as a place of occasional resort during the shooting season.

Lands in the township of Stanton have been inclosed by an act of parliament passed in 1809. The Duke of Rutland and Mr. Thornhill had allotments as joint impropriators of tithes. The Marchioness of Sligo was entitled to certain modus's for tithes of hay.

The chapel at Rowtor in the hamlet of Birchover, was built by Thomas Eyre, Esq., of Rowtor, who died in 1717, and endowed with 201. per annum, for the performance of divine service on the first Sunday in every month. The service is now generally performed every Sunday. The minister of this chapel is appointed by the possessor of the estate at Rowtor, formerly belonging to the Eyres. It is exempt from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and is repaired by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants of Birchover, that hamlet being about two miles distant from the parish church.

Conksbury and Meadow-Pleck, or Meadow-Place, lying to the north of Youlgrave, near Over-Haddon, in Bakewell, belonged to the abbey of Leicester. Conksbury was given to that monastery (and probably the grant included Meadow-Place) by William Avenell. (fn. n91) King Edward VI., in 1552, granted the manor of Meadow-Pleck to Sir William Cavendish (fn. n92), from whom it has descended to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire.

Winster is a small market-town, about three miles from Youlgrave, about 19 miles from Derby, and about 145 from London. The market, which appears to have been held by prescription, (as we can find no grant for it on record,) is held on Saturdays, chiefly for butchers'-meat. There is no fair now held.

Winster (Winsterne) was one of the manors belonging to Henry de Ferrars, when the Survey of Domesday was taken. It was, at a later period, in the Mountjoys, who were succeeded by the Meynells. The latter sold it to the freeholders in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Mrs. Ann Phenney and Mr. Henry Fenshaw, in 1702, gave one-fourth of the tithes of corn and hay in this township to the minister of the chapel, who is appointed by the resident freeholders. The chapel was augmented by Queen Anne's Bounty, in the early part of the last century; the inhabitants having subscribed 2001. for that purpose: the lands were purchased in the year 1728.

There is a chapel at Winster for the Wesleyan Methodists.

Thomas Eyre, Esq., of Rowtor, in 1717, gave 201. per annum to the minister of Winster, on condition of his teaching 20 children to read the Bible. Mr. Moore, of Winster, in 1718, gave 51. per annum for the purpose of teaching poor children.