Notes on the churches of Derbyshire

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NOTES ON THE

CHURCHES OF DERBYSHIRE.

NOTES

ON THE

(Sf BPrfps of ^wbMm.

BY

J. CHARLES COX,

Member of the British Archaohgical Association^ F.R.H.S.^ etc.

VOL. IL

THE HUNDREDS OF THE HIGH PEAK

AND WIRKSWORTH.

ILLUSTRATID WITH HELIOTYPES, FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY R. KEENE, AND

NUMEROUS OTHER PLATES.

''could wb but read it right,

THKRB'S hot a furrow in THBSB TIMS-WORN WALLS
BUT HAS ITS HISTORY."

CHESTERFIELD :
PALMER AND EDMUNDS.

LONDON: BEMROSE AND SONS, lo, PATERNOSTER

BUILDINGS; AND DERBY.

MDCCCLXXVII.

"HGr 601028 <=<>

To THE Bight REVKiteND
.^ BISHOP HOBHOUSE,

:;

^

o

xr

THESE PAGES ARE, BY PERMISSION, DEDICATED,

y-* IN ACKNOWLEDOaiENT OF THE

■J

(3

^1 KIND AND GENEROUS HELP RECEIVED AT HIS BANDS

") IN FURTHERANCE OF

i-- -THE author's attempt TO ELUCIDATE

THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

OP DERBYSHIKK.

INTRODUCTION.

ILTHOUGH articles on most of the churches in the
Hundreds of the High Peak and Wirksworth have
appeared in the Derbyshire Times, it will be found
that fully two-thirds of these pages are entirely new or
completely rewritten.

The work of rejecting that which is superfluous, or of less
value and originality, has been far more difficult with this
volume than with its predecessor ; for not only does it contain a
greater number of churches, and more of first importance, such
as Ashboum, Bakewell, Tideswell, Wirksworth, and Youlgreave,
but the scheme of the book has grown upon my hands, as fresh
sources of information have deen disclosed.

I should like, therefore, to remind my readers, that, though
this work will, I fear, be usually known as the "Churches
of Derbyshire," it was no mock-modesty on my part, but a
full consciousness of its shortcomings and of the impossibility
of thoroughly exhaustive treatment, which caused me to give
it the fuller title of " Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire."

Though working new veins of material, I have tried to follow
up those sources of which I availed myself in the last volume
with equal care, but, as my pages have already not a little
exceeded the limit originally assigned to them by my publishers,
I shall not be expected to re-enuinerate those sources in detail.
Suffice it to say that the Close, Patent, Fine, Pipe, Charter, Quo
Warranto, and Hundred Rolls, together with the lengthy series
of Inquisitions have been thoroughly searched, full references
given to them in the notes, and several of the more important
ones given in exf'nso in the Appendix. A word of warning

• • •

Vlll DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

may not be superfluous to those, who, in these matters, may be
inclined to rely wholly on the published abstracts of the old
Record Commission. In many respects they are faulty, and
frequent blunders occur in the appropriation of charters to
their respective counties. Thus, for instance, the church of
Kneveton, in Nottinghamshire, is in several cases entered
Kniveton, Derbyshire, and nothing but a visit to the Public
Record Office in Fetter Lane, or the procuring of a full
transcript, has saved me from numerous pit-falls of this
description.

The Taxation Roll of 1291, the Valor Ecclesiasticus, the
Chantry Rolls, the Inventories of Church Goods, the Parlia-
mentary Survey of Livings, have all again been laid under
contribution. The character and present location of these
different documents were fully described in my first introduc-
tion, and I have also thought it unnecessary to burden the
notes with constant references to their whereabouts, which
would be mere reiteration. At the same time I have every
reason to hope that the introductions and notes will fulfil the
object at which I have aimed — viz., the rendering it a com-
paratively easy task for anyone to follow up more exhaustively
the treatment of any particular church.

The Heralds' Visitations, and the various collections of
manuscripts, such as the WoUey and Mitchell in the British
Museum, and the Dodsworth and Ashmole in the Bodleian
Library, have also been again closely searched.

The new sources of information of which I have availed
myself are twofold — private collections of MSS., and the
muniments and registers of Lichfield and Lincoln. The latter,
especially those of Lichfield, are of great iipportance to tke
ecclesiologist. The Episcopal registers, commencing in 1297,
are unusually complete and perfect.

Vol. i. begins with the episcopate of Walter de Langton,
and consists, down to f. 84, of institutions to the different
benefices in the diocese. From £ 92 to the end of the volume,
are lists of those ordained at the different ordinations from
1300 to 1358, which were held in various of the principal
churches. At an ordination held at All Saints*, Derby, in 1301,
there were 22 Sub-diaconi, 10 Diaconi, 7 Adhuc Diaconi, 17

INTRODUCTION. IX

Presbiteri, and 10 Adhuc 'Presbiteri ordained. Other lists
frequently include the primary grade of the sacerdotal office
— Acolitiy and AdJiiLc Acoliti,

VoL ii relates chiefly to institutions during the episcopate
of Roger de Norbury, 1322 — 1358, interspersed with occasional
dispensations and longer documents. That portion relating to
the Archdeaconry of Derby, is from f. 63 to f. 97.

VoL iii. has been thoroughly analysed by Bishop Hobhouse,
who most kindly placed his exhaustive abstract at my disposal.
It is by far the most interesting of the whole series, and
contains numerous ordinations of vicarages and chantries,
commissions, citations, dispensations, inspections, etc., etc.,
pertaining to the episcopate of Roger de Norbury, who must
have been one of the most energetic and hardworking prelates
that ever held the see of Coventry and Lichfield.

VoL iv. contains the institutions during the episcopate of
Robert Stretton, who held the see 1359 to 1385. At the end
of this volume (fif. 110 — 113) are the returns made by the
Bishop in 13G6 to the Archbishop of benefices held in plurality,
with values declared on oath by the holders, who were cited
under Papal monition before the Diocesan or Commissary.
Certain of the pluralists offer to resign some of their benefices,
others plead hard for retention.

Vol. V. commences with a brief abstract of the various
episcopal acts of Robert Stretton (ff. 1 — 39), followed by other
documents at length ; ff. 82 — 131 contain the lists of persons
ordained from 1360 to 1384.

VoL vL includes the episcopate of Walter Skirlaw, who only
held the see for a few months in 1386, and of Richard Scroope,
1386 — 1398. The institutions to Derbyshire benefices will be
found at f. 15 to 29, interspersed with a few longer documents
relating to these livings ; from f 75 to 104 are various episcopal
acts, including the ordination of chantries at Ashbourn, Dove-
bridge, Weston-on-Trent, and Dronfield, and several other
important documents relative to Derbyshire ecclesiastical history.
The volume concludes with lists of those ordained.

Vol. vii. and viii. are bound in one, and contain the episcopal
acts of John Burghill, 1398 — 1414, and of John Catterick,
1415 to 1420. The institutions to Derbyshire benefices will be

X DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

found at fiF. 76 to 85 of the first of these volumes, and at ff 9

to 12 of the second Both of them conclude with lists of

those ordained.

Vol. ix. contains the longer episcopate of William Heyworth,

1420 to 1447. The institutions in the Archdeaconry of Derby

extend from f. 73 to t 94, and the ordinations occupy flF. 207
—243.

Vol. X. covers the period when William Booth was Bishop,
1447 — 1452, with a few insertions pertaining to his successor.
The institutions to Derbyshire benefices are at ff. 21 — 23, but
other episcopal acts relative to the county, such as the endow-
ment of the vicarages of Aston and Weston will be found
further on ; the ordinations extend from f 105 to £ 115.

Vol. xi. gives the first seven folios to the very brief episcopate
of Nicholas Close, in 1452, and continues with his successor
Reginald Boulers, 1463 to 1459. The institutions of the
Derby Archdeaconry are from f 28 to f. 83 ; fud the ordina-
tions conclude the volume, ff. 97 — 118.

Vol. xii. contains the episcopate of John Hales, 1459— 1490 i
the Derbyshire institutions are at ff. 63—80 ; the general epis-
copal acts, ff. 145—176 ; and the ordinations, 178—291.

Vol. xiii. commences with the time when the see was vacant,
1490 — 1493, and when the diocese was in commission to John
Scharpe, canon of Lichfield, and Robert Schyrbury, treasurer
of Hereford. The bishopric of William Smith, 1493—1496,
begins at f 139 ; and the Derbyshire institutions, ff. 152 —
154. From f 200 to the end of the volume is the episcopate
of John Arundell, 1496—1502; with Derbyshire institutions,
ff. 216—222. The ordinations occur at ff. 171—191 and 258—
297. There is a long account of the foundation of the chantry
at North Winfield, ff. 250—257.

Vols. xiii. and xiv. are bound together. The first contains
the episcopate of Geoffrey Blyth, 1503—1533, with Derby-
shire institutions, ff. 32 — 43, and will and inventory of John
Fitzherbert of Norbury, ff. 106—111; and the second isl^rom
1534—1553, when Rowland Lee and Richard Sampson were
successively bishops, the Derbyshire institutions being at ff.
25—30 and 53—56. In neither of these volumes are there
any lists of persons ordained.

INTUODUCTION. XI

Vol. XV. contains the institutions made by Ralph Bayne,
1554—1559 ; by Thomas Bentham, 1560—1579 ; and by
William Overton, 1580—1609.

After this date there is a blank from 1609 to 1618 ; and
vol. xvi. extends from 1618 to 3631, followed by another
blank up to 1662. This latter hiatus is. to a considerable
extent covered by the large number of Commonwealth institu-
tions preserved at Lambeth Palace, to which I alluded in my
first introduction. Vol. xvii. commences with the episcopate of
John Hacket in 1662, and, in addition to the institutions,
contains important accounts of the consecrations of Foremark
church, and of St. Alkmund's, Derby, which will find a place
in my succeeding volumes.

It will be seen, from this analysis of the early episcopal
registers at Lichfield, that an almost perfect list of the rectors
or vicars of the different Derbyshire parishes, from the com-
mencement of ^the fourteenth century downwards, might be
formed. At one time I had the intention of attempting it ;
but as these volumes are entirely unindexed, and as the
writing is frequently close, crabbed, and contracted, to say
nothing of numerous places almost illegible from damp, or faded
ink, I decided that the result aimed at would scarcely justify
the enormous expenditure of time. I have, however, given
lists of the rectors of Matlock and Eyam, as specimens of
what may be done in that way, together with numerous
occasional entries relative to the. other churches. I hope, also,
that I have not omitted a single entry of importance in
connection with the more exceptional episcopal acts, so far as
they concern the churches treated of in this volume.

It should not, however^ be overlooked, that institutions to
the benefices of Bakewell, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Hope, Kniveton,
or Tideswell are not to be found in these registers, as they
were within the patronage and peculiar jurisdiction of the
Dean of Lichfield, and therefore required no episcopal confir-
mation to make the appointment valid. There must at one
time have been a register of these appointments in the custody
of the Dean and Chapter. It does not appear that one now
exists; but the muniments of the Lichfield Chapter are not
in such a condition as to facilitate reference to any particular

Xll DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

portion. When the Record Commissioners, appointed in 1800,
reported on the documents pertaining to our Cathedrals, they
said that no original Records, MSS., Statutes, or Charters were
to be found at Lichfield. Where these learned gentlemen
searched I know not; and when first I thought of making
inquiries in that direction, I was semi-officially referred to this
official report, as giving the true state of the case. But, on
obtaining access to the Chapter muniment-room, over a south
chapel of the quire, I found that there were a large number
of early charters and other documents, with seals attached,
including the original grant of the Church of Bakewell by
King John, with several other royal charters of a later date.
The most interesting volume is an ancient chartulary, beauti-
fully written in double columns, and called Magnum Regis-
trum Album. It commences with the chronicles and acts
of the Church of Rome in England, an account of the liber-
'tio6 of royal chapels, the form of metropolitan visitations, and
the form of election of a bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
Then follow copies of various early documents and charters
relative to the endowment of Lichfield Chapter (which have
been transcribed by Dugdale), and numerous entries relative
to the Derbyshire benefices within their jurisdiction. Those
parts relating to Derbyshire are almost aU contained in
another ancient chartulary, now forming No. 4799 of the
Harl. MSS. in the British Museum. It is endorsed — "Regist
Eccle Cathedralia Lichf. ex domo Magistri Qulietmi Whitlock
in Ecc. Cat Lichfeldensi Prebendai^, Anno Do. 1583. Dec.
3^." A table at the end is compiled by John Yatton, who
was Dean, 1492 — 1512. Part of this volume is missing, but
the leaves will be found in Harl. MSS., 3868. The large
amount of information from the Lichfield chartularies given in
the following pages, and in the appendix, is chiefly taken from
the volume in the British Museum, as being the readier of
access ; but whenever the notes give references to both autho-
rities, it has been collated with that at Lichfield. There is an
analysis of the contents of Harl. MSS., 4799 in Mitchell's
Collections (Add. MSS., 28, 109, ff. 124 to 142), but not a
very correct one.

INTRODUCTION. Xlll

In the Cotton MSS. (Vesp. E. 16) there is another frag-
mentary chartulary, entitled " Gronicon Lichefelden Eccleaie.'*
It is prefaced by the following statement : —

" This booke was found in the thatch of an house at Clifton GamTille in the
demolishicge thereof, And was brought to mee by M'. Darwin. The Gronicon
agrees perfectly with that within y* church in the wall by the south gate (? the
present muniment room) in folding leaves of Timber, wh was tome in peeces by
my L' Brookes his soldiers. But there is another antiquity called Lichfeildensis
wh was in y* custody of y* Dane & Chapter & suffered an harde fate, for there
having ben not many yeares since a Sute betwixt Mr. Spret & certain Preben-
daries touching y* repair of y* church of Stowes Chancel, whereof they were
parsons, the book went to London on an appeal cause & was never obtained back.
I was showed another Coppy under that title in Greyes Free Library, Mr. Selden
had presented, this I saw some 20 years ago."

Dugdale copied his early Saxon history of the See from this
MS. With it is bound up a brief chartulary of Lincoln cathe-
dral of twenty-five folios, but only giving transcripts of well-
known charters.

The large number of Derbyshire benefices held by the Dean
of Lincoln in this county, including the mother churches of
Ashboum, Chesterfield, and Wirksworth, with all their depen-
dencies, gives an additional interest to the history of that
grand old building in the eyes of a Derbyshire ecclesiologist.
Although all ecclesiastical connection with that ancient city
has been severed by recent legislation, it is pleasant to reflect,
when gazing upon the most glorious of all our cathedrals,

'^Thou, Lincoln, on thy sovereign hill,"

that it was the wealth of Derbyshire mines, and the fertility
of Derbyshire pastures, which materially helped to raise that
majestic pile, in all the successive stages of its culminating
beauty. The muniment-room, over the Galilee porch, is rich
in ancient chartularies and early royal and other charters of
unique interest, including a confirmation by Henry II. (1164?)
of the churches of Ashbourn and Chesterfield. The oldest of
the chartularies is the Registi^m Antiquiaaimum, which was
lost for some time, but purchased and restored in 1712 by
Archbishop Wake, who at that time held the See of Lincoln.
It is from this that Dugdale copied. The chartulary con-
taining the most Derbyshire information is one entitled in
full, ** Carte taTigentea Decanatu Ecclie beate Marie Lincoln.**
There are a few extracts from this in Pegge's Collections (vol.

XIV DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

vii., f. 213, etc.), and one or two transcripts amongst the
WoUey papers (Add MSS., 6666). The early Lincoln documents
are in admirable order, having been recently arranged by the
Rev. Canon J. F. Wickenden.

I may here mention that the references to Dugdale's Manas-
ticon throughout these pages are to the original edition in three
volumes, with the two additional volumes by Stevens. I fully
recognise the superior value of the later and extended edition,
but I had the former for ready reference in my own library;
and my readers will not have suffered, as I have not failed
to consult the original authorities quoted in the modem
edition. Thus, in connection with Bradboum, the chartulary
of Dunstable Priory (as well as the Annals) has been searched —
that of Vale Royal for Castleton, that of Welbeck Abbey for
Derwent, and what remains of Leicester Abbey chartulary for
Youlgreave. Full references are given to these documents
under the respective churches.

Between the years 1816 and 1843, the late Rev. R. R.
Rawlins collected in three large folio volumes a series of
original descriptive notes of all the churches ' of the county,
illustrated with no less than 258 drawings of the various
churches and chapels, as well as of the more valuable monu-
ments they contained. These are oC exceptional worth, as
not only are many of the monuments therein described con-
siderably mutilated or destroyed, since the time that he wrote,
but several of the churches have been altogether swept away
to make room for their successors. The Rev. R. R. Rawlins
was perpetual curate of Kneeton-on-the-Hill, Notts, sometime
curate of Alfreton, and also had sole charge for some years of
the parish church of Newark. He died within recent years,
at an advanced age, at Mansfield ; and it is owing to the
kindness of his niece. Miss Harrison, of Lytham, that I have
been permitted to thoroughly examine the results of his
researches.

About the same period the late Godfrey Meynell, Esq., of
Meynell Langley, was making similar collections, and also
most fully illustrating them with his own pen. Though not
quite so complete as Mr. Rawlins' notes, they are in one sense
more valuable, as Mr. Meynell was evidently keenly interested
in heraldry ; not a coat seemed to escape his pen ; so that his

INTRODUCTION. XV

MSS. may be almost regarded as a regular heraldic visitation
of those churches that he described. The courtesy of his
grandson, the present Godfrey Meynell, Esq., of Meynell Lang-
ley, enabled me to make free use of those documents, as well
as of the valuable volume of seventeenth centurj- MS. notes
relating to all the manors in the county, which Lysons has
referred to as the work of John Hieron, but which really
appears, according to Mr. Meynell's own notes, to have been
written by Mr. Sandars, of Little Eaton.

Lord Vernon has a ver)'^ fine and extensive collection of family
documents, pedigrees, and papers at Sudbury Hall, the most
valuable of which are bound in thirteen folio volumes, entitled
CoUectanea Vemoniania. I have to oflTer my hearty thanks
to Lord Vernon for so freely allowing me to make use of
this collection. My primary object in consulting it was to
clear up the difficulty about the Vernon tomb in the Bakewell
chancel, the due Explanation of which is given in the
Addenda ; but I found there many interesting entries rela-
tive to Bakewell and Haddon, as well as some valuable ex-
tracts from the chartulary of Lenton Priory, which perished
by fire in 173 1.

I am also specially obliged to T. W. Bateman, Esq., of
Middleton Hall, by Youlgreave, not only for allowing me to
consult his invaluable library — which contains the unpublished
collections of Blore, the continuations of Glover for his county
gazetteer, a most complete assemblage of county pedigrees,
representing incalculable research, and the laborious and volu-
minous collections and correspondence of his father and grand-
father— but also for lending me several MS. volumes for the
convenience of more leisurely research.

It will also be found that I have made a special feature in
this volume of parish registers and accounts, and have in all
cases given the dates at which they commence, and any
serious gaps or imperfections in their continuity. It is to be
hoped that this may prove of some service to genealogists, in
the saving of unnecessary journeys or applications for informa-
tion. Perhaps it is scarcely within my province to here criti-
cise any other work, but I cannot help giving a note of warning
with regard to the new edition of the Post Ojfflce DirecUn^ of
Derbyshire that has just been issued. Its information as a

XVI DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

directory may be all that is desired, but the brief descriptions
of the churches are for the most part ludicrously incorrect ;
whilst in the matter of dedications, and dates of the registers*
it seems to be more often wrong than right.

I desire also to tender my obligations to the clergy who
have so generally assisted me, but more especially to the
Rev. S. Andrew, vicar of Tideswell, and the Rev. F. Jourdain,
vicar of Derwent Woodlands, who have given me valued help
with regard to more than their own churches. The aid
of Bishop Hobhouse, particularly in matters relative to the
interpretation of difficult points in glossarial Latin, deserves
more a<)knowledgment than the mere mention of his name
in the dedication. I must also thank William Fell, Esq., and
Charles Gresley, Esq., for access to the Lichfield Episcopal and
Chapter Registers, and the Dean of Lincoln, Bishop Mackenzie,
and more particularly the Chancellor of Lincoln, Dr. Benson
(Bishop-elect of Truro), for their kind attention to my require-
ments with respect to the Lincoln muniments. I hope it will
• not be taken as a mere piece of affectation if I here, too, thank
' my wife for the many hours of labour she has expended in
correcting for the press.

My acknowledgments are due to the College of Arms, for
again permitting me to consult the qpUections of Dr. Pegge,
Bassano*s Church Notes, and William WoUey's MS. history
of the county ; and especially to Stephen Tucker, Esq., Rouge
Croix, for frequent assistance. To Captain A. E. Lawson Lowe,
a well-known genealogist, I am also indebted for help in the
elucidation of several knotty points of county pedigree and
heraldry.

The Reliquary has been of special service to me, as well as
sevei-al private communications from its learned Editor ; and I
must thank him, too, for the loan of two woodcuts, illustrating
the wall paintings at Haddon Chapel, and a brass at Edensor.
G. M. Tweddale, Esq., has also most good-naturedly lent me a
woodcut of Bishop Pursglove, which had been prepared for his
forthcoming Popular History of Cleveland. The remainder of the
twenty-five plates are originals ; and I trust the readers of this
volume will agree with me in thinking Mr. Keone's efforts as a
photographer (so faithfully reproduced by the Heliotype Com-
pany) worthy of his high reputation, and in thanking Mr.

INTRODUCTION. XVII

Bailey for the studious care and fiuisii that be has bestowed
upon the drawings, which have been fac-siiniled by Messrs.
Bemrose*8 Anastatic process.

To one point I desire very briefly to draw the attention ot
archaeologists. Since the publication of the manuals of Cutts
and Boutell, on incised sepulchral stones, a very large number
of additional specimens have been brought to light, and
nowhere more than in this county, where stone abounds on
all sides. A few fresh specimens are drawn, and others
described, in this volume ; and archueologists will be doing a
real service by giving all possible publicity to those early
examples of the sculptors' art that may come to light in
their own neighbourhood. The history, grouping, and signifi-
cance, of these stones yet remains to be written. When
travelling last spring in the south of France, I was startled
to notice the identical patterns found on the old Bakewell
and Darley stones, even now in use in numerous French Basque
churchyards, both on head-stones and flat slabs. And this was
the more surprising, as even the adjacent parishes outside the
Basque district, as well as the Spanish Basque churchyards
over the frontier, were searched in vain for similar memorials.

I am not aware that this singularity of the Basque grave-
stones has ever yet been" mentioned. The archaeology of that
district may be said to be totally unwritten ; and, when it is
accomplished, it is not improbable that a ray of additional
light will be thrown on the origin of that mysterious nationality,
as well as on the real source from which the various continental
tribes sprang, that peopled this country after the departure of
the Romans, and whom we are accustomed to comprehend
in the vaguely generic term of Saxon.

A word is necessary about the Appendices. Every care has
been taken to make them literal transcripts, and the false
concords of grammar and caprices of orthography must be
laid to the charge of the monkish compilers or the errors of
original transcribers. It is to be regretted that any Addenda
were necessary, but it seems as if certain items of information
could never be gained till the last moment. I have read with
attention the large number of public and private criticisms
that were the result of my first volume, and I hope I have
profited by various suggestions. It has been my endeavour

XVUl DERBYSUIRE CHURCHES.

to include as many of the remarkable post-Reformation monu-
ments as my space would permit ; but to those critics who
found some fault with my last volume because I had not given
a life of Chahtrey, under Norton church, and of Jedediah
Buxton, a calculating phenomenon of last century, under
Elmton church, I can only reply that the primary aim of
this work is to be a record of local mediaeval church history,
not a county gazetteer, and that it is expected to be
completed in four, not in forty volumes. With the two suc-
ceeding volumes much progress has been made, and I hope
another will be issued before the close of the ensuing twelve
months.

These pages will afford another incidental but strong proof
of the energy and life of the middle ages, especially when we
consider that there were few parts of England more retired,
and more diflBcult of access, than the Peak of Derbyshire.
It will probably surprise even educated churchmen to learn
how large was the church accommodation in those times that
it is popular to regard as "dark," as is proved by the large
number of chapels (the very sites of which are now unknown)
that were then extant, amongst a population far smaller than
the present.

The light of Faith might then be in a dim lanthom, and was
doubtless obscured by not a few superstitions and scandals ;
but at all events it shone brightly and cheerfully through the
un encrusted apertures, and it was not till the seventeenth
century that a traveller in the Peak remarked, in astonishment
on seeing a church, that he had " thought himself a stage or
two beyond Christendom." I have now reached the last lines
of my second volume ; for all the kindly expressions that were
used with respect to its predecessor, I thank both my known
and my unknown friends. For myself I can only say that
I regard this labour as one of personal utility, for I feel the
literal truth of those lines : —

** Something in these aspiring days \re need

To keep our spirits lowly,

To set within onr hearts sweet thoughts and holy!
And 'tis for this they stand,
The old gi'ey churches of our native land."

J. CHARLES COX.
Hazelvjood, December, 1876.

XIX

CONTENTS.

pAai

m

BAKEWELL ; 6

ASHFOBD 46

BASIiOW 68

BBELEY 63

BUXTON 72

CHEIilfOBTON , 78

HADDON 87

HABTHILL 96

LONOSTONB 97

MONTASH 106

SHELDON 112

TADDIN6T0N 114

CASTLETON 127

BDALE ... . 186

CHAPEL-EN-LE FRITH 189

DAELEY DALE 161

EDENSOR 177

EYAM 187

GLOSSOP 199

OHABLESWOBTH 206

HAY7IELD 209

ICELLOB 218

XX DERBYSHIRE CtlURCHES.

PA.OB

HATHEESAGE 227

DERWENT 241

STONY MIDDLETON 246

PADLE7 AND NORTH LEES 249

HOPE 259

FAIRFIELD 269

PEAK FOREST 277

TIDESWELL 285

WORMHILL J 810

YOULGREAVE 815

ELTON 846

WINSTEE 851

ROWTOR 855

ASHBOURN 868

ALSOP 402

PARWIGH 406

HULLAND 411

BONSALL , 417

BRADBOURN 427

ALTOW 486

BALLIDON 439

BRASSINGTON 442

TIS8INGT0N 448

CARSINGTON 457

FENNY BENTLEY 463

HARTINGTON 473

EARL STERNDALE 485

HOGNASTON 489

C0NTKNT8. XXI

PAOB

KIRK IRETON 495

KNIVETON 605

MAPLETON 511

MATLOCK ^ 617

THORPE 631

WIRK8W0RTH 639

ALPEBWASLEY 666

CBOHFOBD 671

ADDENDA 677

APPENDIX 685

INDEX OF PERSONS 601

INDEX OF PLACES 609

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAOB

BaXEWELL ChTJBOH, S. E FBONTISPIECB

BaKSWELL BEPULGHBAIi BLABS 82

Chelmobton, sepulchbal blabs 86

Haddon Chapel, wall paintings 94

Sediua of Montash and Tideswell 108

Dablby Dalb, Bollesley monuments 164

Dabley Dale, sepulchbal slabs and oxheb details 168

Edensob, Bbton bbass 182

Mellob, ancient wooden pulpit 222

Hathebsaoe Ghubgh, 8. e 226

Padley Chapel, n >. 252

Cbossks at Bakewell, Eyam, Hope, and Taddinoton 267

TfDEswELL Chubch^ 8. 284

Tideswell, south tbansept 292

Tideswell, Pursglovb bbass 304

loULOBEAVE ChUBCH, S. E 814

YouLOBEAVE Chltich, intebiob 822

Fonts of Bakbwell, Mellor, Winsteb, and Youlgreave 858

Ashbourn Church, s 362

BoN:>ALL ChUBCH, N. E 416

»

Hartinoton Chubch, s 472

Tympana of Hognaston and Parwioh 490

EiRK IrETON, vestry and VE8TRY DOOR 496

Wirksworth Church, n. w 639

Details of Wirksworth, Hartington, and IIatuersage 552

S|f l|HniiPF!i of j^fF

XalftoFiL

2^$forb. ^uffon. ]$ari$iIL

^asIotD. (Kplmorfon* lumg^p*

jSfFlbon* @abbraghm.

jpabFtDFlI.

jHE first historical mention of Bakewell occurs in the year
924, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates, that '' in
this year, before Midsummer, King Edward went with
his force to Nottingham, and commanded the Castle to be built on
the south side of the river, over against the other, and the bridge
over the Trent between the two castles : and then he went thence
into Peakland, to Bakewell, and commanded a castle to be built
nigh there unto, and garrisoned."

We may be quite sure that in those warlike times, Bakewell
would speedily become a place of some little importance, and at
the time of the Domesday Survey (1086), we find that it was
possessed of a church and tiw> priests, a distinction that was only
shared in this county by Bepton, an ancient capital of the Mer-
cian Kingdom. But this church was shortly afterwards taken down
and a new one erected about the year 1110. The popular idea
that the Norman Church was the work of King John cannot be
sustained, as the style of architecture points unmistakably to the
commencement of the twelfth century, and it seems probable that
the founder was William Peverel, the illegitimate son of William
the Conqueror, who died on the 6th of February, 1113. Bakewell
was one of the one hundred and sixty- two English manors
bestowed iipon his favourite son by the Conqueror. The advowson
of the church appears at this time to have been in the hands of
the holder of the manor ; but when the vast estates of the Peverels
were escheated in the reign of Henry II., both manor and church
reverted to the Crown, and were bestowed by Henry on his second
son, John, Earl of Mortaigne. Henceforward the manor and the
church were separated. The fortunes of the former need ]iot now be
pursued, but the latter was granted by John, in the third year of
his brother Richard (1192), to the Cathedral Church of Lichfield.
This was not a simple gift of the advowson, but included, as the

b DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

charter expressly states, the property belonging to the church,
as well as that pertainmg to the prebendaries which were then
attached to the Collegiate Church of Bakewell. It was, however,
provided that reasonable sustenance was to be found for the three
prebends serving the church of Bakewell ; and it was further pro-
vided that the Chapter of Lichfield, in return for this munificence,
were to find a prebend to say daily mass at Lichfield, for the good
estate of John during his lifetime, and for his soul for ever after
his decease.

Hugo de Novant was at this time Bishop of Coventry and Lich-
field, and he is described in the charter as '^ the most dear friend"
of the donor. It was left to his decision, whether the emoluments
of Bakewell should be appHed to the increase of the episcopal in-
come, to the support of the prebends of Lichfield, or to the Com-
mon fund of the church or chapter, from which provision was
made for the canons. It seems that his decision was in favour of
appropriating the revenues of the church of Bakewell to the epis-
copal office ; leaving to the chapter that portion which accrued from
the prebendaries. There is a deed extant, executed shortly after
this gift, by which Hugo permitted Matthew, one of the three pre-
bends of Bakewell, to retain his income for his life, on the payment
of a yearly pension of one gold angel to the chapter of Lichfield.

During the episcopacy of Geoffrey de Muschamp, the successor
of Hugo, John came to the throne, and one of his first acts was
to confirm the grant of Bakewell to that Bishop, but this arrange-
ment did not long continue, for WiUiam de ComhiU, who held the
See of Coventry and Lichfield from 1215 to 1223 made over two-
thirds of the church of Bakewell to the common use of the chapter,
and the whole was similarly appropriated a few years later by his
successor, Alexander de Stavenby.*

The tithes of the church of Bakewell, as well as the special
incomes attached to the three prebendaries, being appropriated to
the chapter of Lichfield, it became necessary to make some provi-
sion for tbe due celebration of divine service, and the wholly
insufficient income of twenty marks was set aside as the stipend
of the vicar.t The stipulated sustenance of the three prebends
seems to have fallen into abeyance, and out of this income of

♦Rotuli Chartarum, I John, memb. 26. Dugdale's Afonasticon, vol. iii., pp.
229, 283, 234. Harl. MSS. 4799, paaaim. Magnum Reytatrum Album, and original
charters at Lichfield.

t For particulars relative to the endowment of the Vicarage, see Appendix No. 1.

lUKEWELL. 7

twenty marks the vicar was expected to support himself, two pres-
byters or priests, as well as a deacon and subdeacon. When John
Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbui7, made his metropolitan visita-
tion in 1280, he severely rebuked tlie Dean and Chapter of Lich-
field for their greed. The deacon and subdeacon were found to be
begging their bread, and the Archbishop, though himself a mendi-
cant friar, ordered that they should henceforth eat at the Vicar's
table ; the emoluments of the vicarage being increased by ten marks
per annum for that purpose. The deacon was also to receive a mark,
and the sub-deacon ten shillings, for providing themselves with
clothes. But the sharpest censure of the Archbishop was reserved
for the conduct of the chapter with respect to the chapelries of Bake-
well, where the whole burden of maintaining the ministers, pro*
viding books and ornaments,'^ and repairing the fabric, fell upon the
parishioners. In defence it was urged that it was only the great
favour of the Dean and Chapter that had allowed the inhabitants
to build or maintain these chapels to save them from the trouble
and danger of attending the mother church in bad seasons. Peck-
ham came to a compromise in this matter, by which it was agreed
that the Dean and Chapter should provide fit and proper chaplains,
finding at least two and a half marks towards the income of each
of them (five marks being then the usual allowance for a chaplain or
curate), the remainder being found by the inhabitants, and that
the body and chancel of the several chapels should be repaired,
and a chalice and missal provided by the inhabitants, the Dean
and Chapter providing all other books and ornaments. f The
arrangements differed in certain cases, but will be treated of under
the respective chapelries. The chapelries of Bakewell, specified by
the Archbishop, were seven in number — Baslow, Beeley, Chelmorton,
Harthill, Longstone, Monyash, and Taddington. We know that
there were then also chapels at Ashford and Haddon, but there was

♦ The reqaieites for public worship were at that time so ntimerons and costly, that
the qiiefitiou of their Bupply was one of uo Hmall importance, and the use of all the
accessories, even in the most remote country districts, was specially urged by Arch-
bishop Peckham. Canon xxvii. of the Council of Lambeth, 1281, mentions that it
was required of the parish to provide the chalice, the principal mass vestment, a
chasuble, a clean alb, an amice, a maniple, a girdle, two towels, a cross for processions,
a lesser cross for the dead, a bier, a ceuFer. a lanthom, a bell, a Lent veil, manuals,
banners, bells, vessels for holy water, salt and bread, an osculatory for the pax,
Easter taper with candlcRtick, bells in the steeple with ropes, font with lock and key,
repairing of the body of the church within and without, as well in altars as in images,
glass windows, with the inclosure of the churchyard. All other particulars and orna^
meuts, with the repairing of the chancel within' and without, were to be found by the
rectors and vicars. Hook's Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury, vol. iii., p. 848.

t Lambeth MSS., Peckham's Retister, f. 25b; Magnum Registrum AlbuWy ff.
102—104; Add. MSS. 6567, f. 198: Harl. MSS. 4799: Dugdale's Monasiicon, vol,
iii., pp. 226, 228.

8 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

probably no dispute with respect to the former, and the latter was
not only attached to the manor-house, but Nether Haddon itself
formed an extra-parochial district. Nor is it improbable that there
was at this time a chapel at Buxton, but it was always regarded
as a chapel-of-ease to the parochial chapelry of Chelmoi'ton, and
would therefore naturally escape special mention ; and Sheldon
stood in a similar relation to Ashford.

Peckham also gave to the parishioners the privilege of appointing
the two ** clerici scholastici '* attached to the vicarage, whose chief
duty consisted in the carrying of holy water to the chapels and to
all parts of the parish on Sundays and festivals. From this it may
be assumed that the vicar reserved to himself the lite of the con-
secration of water, a ceremony usually performed by any priest.

This compromise did not hold good for many years, for it was
considerably modified in 1816, when the Dean and Chapter secured
the more favourable terms to which they afterwards adliered, of
granting six marks a year to be divided in certain proportions be-
tween the five chapelries of Baalow, Beeley, Longstone, Monyash,
and Taddington.* It would be tedious to attempt any exact enu-
meration of the various disputes that kept constantly occurring
between the chapter and the vicarage, or between the mother
church and her chapelries, which continued down to the present
century, but some of them are incidentally mentioned in the
accounts of the several chapels.

According to the Taxation Roll drawn up for Pope Nicholas IV.
in 1291, the church of Bakewell " cum membris," was worth the
very large sum of £194, in addition to a further income of X66
18s. 4d., drawn from the tithes of certain portions of the parish by
the Prior of Lenton, in accordance with the endowment charter of
that priory by William Peverel the younger, which t brought abput
numerous disputes, and to which frequent allusion will be made in
these pages.

The VaJor Eccleuasticus (27 Henry VIII.) values the vicarage at
£20. At that time Richard Gwent was vicar. Amongst the pos-
sessions of the Chapter of Lichfield in the same survey, the tithes
of corn, hay, and minerals are estimated at £43 18s. 4d., the site
of the rectory and glebe lands at £1 10s. 4d., whilst the tithes of
lambs and wool are given in the aggregate for the three parishes

• Add. MSS. 6698, etc.

+ Dugdale's MonaslicoHf vol. i., p. 645. See the account of Chapel-en-le -Frith

BAKEWELL. 9

of Bakewell, Hope, and Tideswell at £105, of which by far the
largest share was doubtless accruing from Bakewell.

The Parliamentary Survey of Livings, taken in 1660, estimates
the income of the vicarage, with its seven parochial chapelries and
two chapels-of-ease, at £5S, The Commissioners say — " the said
parish of Bakewell being 16 myles, over or thereabout, of very
large compass and extent is thought fitt to be divided and propor-
tioned into the parishes hereafter mentioned. Bakewell, to which
are thought fitt to continue Over Haddon, Neather Haddon, Birchill,
Great Eowsley, and Holme. Augmentation £50 out of impropria-
tion. Mr. John Bowlandson, jun.,* is vicar of Bakewell." The
remaining particulars of this survey are given under the respective
chapelries.

There were two chantries in the church of Bakewell. One of
these — the chantry of our Lady — was founded by the Vernon family
probably in the fifteenth century, but its precise date is unknown.
The Valor Eccledasticus mentions that Thomas Eawson was the
first chantry spriest, but that he was resident at Ton^ in Shrop-
shire, the other seat of the Yemons, through marriage with the
heiress of Pembrugge. It was valued at £4 per annum. The Chantry
Roll which was drawn up ten years later, says — " Chauntrye of or
Lady founded by the Ancestors of Geo. Vernon, Esq. to celebrate
masse and other dyvyne service iiij/t. clere vij^t. yj*. jrf. besyds ix«.

* The Bey. John Bowlandson was not amon^t the ejected on St. Bartholomew's
Day, 1662, for not only did he conform, but was instrumental in inducing many others
to foUow his example. There is an incidental allusion to this vicar of Bakewell in
the common-place Dook of Edward Browne, son of Sir Thomas Browne, afterwards a
physician of much celebrity. In September, 1662, when he was an undergraduate at
Cambridge, Edward Browne, in. company with some friends, undertooK a riding
tour through the Midland Counties. Their experiences are recorded in his common-

£lace book, which forms No. 1900 of the Sloane Manuscripts, in the British Museum,
[any of the Derbyshire extracts have been ^ven in the Reliquary ^yo\, xi., pp. 73-78.
The entertainment that the travellers met with at Bakewell affords a curious illustra-
tion of the roughness of those times. *^ Wee got to Bakwell a little after it was dark,
when our entertainment at our inn, as it could not bee expected sumptuous so neither
was it halfe so bad as we mighte fear, for our host was venr civill and carefuU to give
us the best accommodation that Barren Country could afford, and therefore after we
had drunk a gun of their good ale, I cannot say down went the spitt, but to spite it up
went a string with a piece of mutton and a chicken at the end of it, and wee took no
further care for ourselves but our poor horses could not fare so well, as there was

neither litter or oates to be gotten for them As soon as we came in and had

squashed ourselves down upon our seates, amongst some other townesmen I cou-
cluded my Darbishire friend, who had now vouchsafed us his company at our luue,
to be clearly the oracle of that country, and well hee might for hee had been at au
university, which I perceived was a work of superarrogatiou amongst their divines,
and that their greatest clarks might have passed in other places for sextons, for they
never went to any other schoole but to the parish churche ; to him therefore the most
judicious people did refer themselves, and I was going to say pinu'd them upon his
sleeve. The day before he had most manfully led up a train of above 20 parsons, and
though they thought themselves to be great Presbiterians, vet they followed him in
the subscription at Chesterfield, and kept themselves in their livings in despite of
their own teeth. For his sake I think we had very good usage here, and were some-
what merry this night."

10 DERBYSHIRE CUURCHES.

i}d. for rente resolute. Thos. Rawson chauntrye Priste. It is
founded in the parisshe cliurclie of AUhallowes in Bawkewell.
The incumbent hath a chambre witliin j of his tenements. Stock
lxv«. xj<i." An old chantry house, close to the churchyard, was
pulled down about the year 1820. The Rev. R. R. Rawlins tells
us that there was a stone over the chief window, in the gable of
this house, on which was inscribed — ** Dominus Thomas Rawson.
A.D. MGCCCCXV. Canon S. Crucis de Bakewell.*' From this
inscription it is uncertain to which of the two chantries this house
belonged, as Thomas Rawson seems to have been connected with
both of them. It is, of course, possible that Thomas Rawson, Canon
of the Guild of the Holy Cross, was not identical with Thomas
Rawson, the chantry priest of Our Lady. One Richard Rawson, as
will subsequently be noted, was chantry priest at Haddon.

The other chantry was dedicated to the Holy Cross, and was
founded by Sir Godfrey Foljambe and Anne his wife, in the reign
of Edward III. Lysons states that it was founded in 1365, and
Glover in ^371, but the one has been deceived by an inquisition
taken on the death of one of the chaplains or trustees of the
chantry property, and the other by a confirmation deed of the
Dean and Chapter of Lichfield. It was in reality founded several
years earlier, for Sir Godfrey obtained the verdict of an Inquisitio
ad quod damnum in 1344 in order to endow the chantry with cer-
tain lands and rents in Bake well, Bodenhall (? Bubnell), Chats-
worth, and Ashford ; and Royal Letters Patent for the appropria-
tion of the lauds to a religious use, were obtained in the following
year.* A guild, in connection with this chantry, was formed at
this time, and it added to its funds by letting out beeves and
cows.t The following account of this chantry and guild is given
in a confirmation of the endowment by the Dean and Chapter of
Lichfield, whose consent as rectors of Bakewell, was necessary to
their due establishment :

The ordination is, that Roger de Typshelf be the first Chantrey Priest, and he and
his successors enjoy the lands in another deed by the King's license settled, — That
he pray for the healthful estate of Sir Godfrey and Anne his wife, and their children
while they live, and after their decease for their souls and the souls of their parents,
and the brotherhood of the Gild of the Holy Cross in Baukwell, and all the faithful
living and dead, at the altar of the Holy Cross in the nave of the parish church,
built by the said Cross ; and that the said Boger and his successors be called keepers

•Inq ad quod damnum, 17 Edw. III., No. 21 ; Rot. Patent, 18 Edw. III., memb.
40 ; Inq. post Mort., 89 Edw. III., pt. 2, No. 44. From this last Inquisition it appears
that the chantry owned 34 acres of land in Bakewell alone.

f Toulraain Smith's English Guilds, p. xxxvi. On the subject of Guilds, see Notes
on the Churches of Derbi/shire, vol. i., pp. 163-166.

BAKKWELL. 1 1

of the said AUar. And that he or they celebrate mass in no other place unless there
be Jawful impediment. And if the Chaplain, without lawful cause, abbtain from cele-
brating mass, that another fit chaplain be admitted at the pleasure of the Yicar of
Baukewell, to receive the stipend for the time he serve. That every Chaplain that
hath the custody of the Altar shall every Sunday celebrate the Mass of the Holy
Trinity, unless the greater Double Feasts concur on the second day of the week, the
office of the dead for the souls of the founders and the Brethren of the Gild, and the
faithful deceased ; on the Srd the Mass of St. Thomas the Martyr ; on the 4th the
Mass of tlie Health of the People (Salus Populi); on the 6th that of the Holy Spirit ;
on the 6th that of the Holy Cross ; on Saturday that of St. Mary aud St. Margaret ;
and after the Confiteor in each mass, befoi'o the beginning of the office, turning to
the people he say in his mother tongue, " Pray for the soul of Sir Godfrey Foljambe
and Anne his wife, and his children, and brothers of the Gild of the Holy Cross, and
all the faithful deceased." That the said Chaplain have his constaut residence in the
said Chantry. That he be not three days away without license from the lord of
Hassop for the time being, if the lord reside there, *' si locum ibidem favere nosca-
tur," otherwise not without the leave of the Yicar. If the Chaplain, having not ob-
tained leave, be also away fifteen days, let him be removed and another fit Chaplain
placed by the lord of Hassop for the time being. And when it shall be vacant, the
lord of Hassop to present within fifteen days to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield,
and they to give institution, and if the lord of Hassop neglect, then* the Vicar of
Baukewell ; and if he present not within fifteen days, then the Abbot of Derby to
present; and if he present not, then the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield to present,
and if they neglect, then the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield to present. In the
vacancy the goods to be kept by the Vicar and four brethren of the Gild to have the
custody and give to the successors, and that every Chaplain leave a fourth part of his
goods to the Chantry.*

The Volar Ercledasticus describes this chantiy as owning ten
messuages and two hundred acres of arable and meadow land in
Bake well, Parwich, Overhaddon, Ashford, and Bircbill, which
brought in an annual rental of £8 16s. 5d., but after certain
deductions in favour of Sir Henry Vernon and the Dean of Lich-
field, its clear value only amounted to £6 Gs. Id. ''Brian Rocliflf
et ahi ** are entered as its patrons, and William Oldfield was the
chantry priest. The more accurate Chantry Roll estimates the clear
value at £9 4s. lid., in addition to Is. 4d. " in rente resolute,*'
and 378. 7d. as the value of the stock. Brian Rowcliff obtained
the chief patronage of this chantry through Uneal descent from the
founder. Alice, sole daughter and heiress of the Srd Sir Godfrey
Foljambe (grandson of Godfrey, the founder), man*ied Sir Robert
Plompton. Sir William Plompton, son of Sir Robert, left two
daughters and co-heiresses, one of whom, Margaret, married Sir
John Rowcliff. On the death of Sir John Rowcliff, 5 Henry VIII.,
he was succeeded by his son Brian.

At the inquisition taken at the death of Sir William Plompton,
in 1481, it appeared that that knight was seized not only of the
manor of Bake well but of the advowson of the church. The next
presentation, or possibly the presentation during a term of lives, as

•Nichol's Collectanea Topographica et Oenealoglcaf vol i., pp. 335-6.

12 DERBYSHIRK CHUKCHES.

was occasionally the case, must have been sold to him by the
Dean and Chapter of Lichfield.*

On the 20th of January, 4 Edward VI., a lease for three lives,
at the reserved rent of £37 16s. lOd., was granted to George Ver-
non by the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, of the tithes of
Bakewell, Nether and Upper Haddon, Eowsley, Alport, Monyash,
Taddington, Priestcliff, Sheldon, Haslebach, and Ashford ; but this
lease does not seem to have carried with it any right of presen-
tation.t

The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, is a large cruciform
structure, being about 150 feet in length, and 106 feet across the tran-
septs. It consists of a nave, with side aisles and south porch, north
and south transepts, and a large chanceL From the intersection of
the transepts with the nave and chancel, springs an octagonal tower,
resting upon a square base, and the tower is surmounted by an
elegant and lofty spire. That there was a church here for several
centuries before the Norman conquest, is more than probable, but
no trace of the fabric has been left, though it is fair to conclude
from the large number and importance of the early sepulchral
memorials, and other remains, which we shall shortly notice, that
it was of considerable dimensions.

The church was rebuilt throughout, about the year 1110; on the
cruciform scale. It consisted of a nave of the same dimensions as
the present one, with narrow side aisles (the extent of which can
still be traced in the masonry at the west end), together with
transepts and chancel, the south transept and chancel being of
much shallower proportions than those now standing. The tran-
septs and chancel probably all terminated in semi-circular apses, so
that the general design of the Norman church of Bakewell closely
resembled that of Melbourne. Much of this Norman work has
been removed during alterations of the present century ; but besides
a large number of fragments of Norman moulding that can be
detected in various parts of the masonry, there are still traces of
the old corbel table on the north side of the chancel, as well as a
fine richly decorated doorway at the west end of the nave. J There
is also above this doorway, some Norman arcade work, consisting

♦ Inq. post morfc., 20 Edw. IV., No. 88.
fAdd. MSS. 6666, f. 609.

J There is a good engraving of this Norman doorway at p. 154 of Bray's Tour into
Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The first illustrated edition of this tour was published in
1783 ; the doorway, though considerably defaced, does not seem to have much dete-
riorated during the last century.

BAKEWELL. 13

of interlaced arches of chevron moulding, which has originally been
continued along the whole of the west front, but was pierced to
admit of a later window. The west walls of the side aisles have
large semicircular arches in the interior ; but, as there is no ap-
pearance of these archways having ever been open, it would seem
that they have simply been intended to strengthen the masonry, so
as to enable the walls to bear the low western towers which
doubtless completed the original Norman design at this end of the
church.

The first alterations in the old Norman church occurred about
the year 1250, when the Early Enghsh style was well advanced.
"When the central tower-piers were taken down in 1841, it was
found that the Norman work had been cut away in parts, and
altered by the addition of side shafts, to carry the ribs of pointed
arches of Early English design. The upper part of the tower and
the whole of the south transept were taken down at this date, the
transept being considerably lengthened. This transept came to be
known by the name Newark (new work), a title which it still
retains. At this time, too, the north aisle of the nave was widened
and the south aisle rebuilt on the Norman foundations ; whilst the
north transept, though much altered, seems to have been suffered
to retain much of the old masonry. There is a good specimen of
late Early Enghsh work in the doorway of the north aisle,
though in a dilapidated condition. The jambs have two pair of
shafts, with the characteristic tooth moulding between them.

The chancel was rebuilt and considerably lengthened towards the
commencement of the Decorated period, about the year 1300 or
somewhat earlier. It has three two-Hght pointed windows on each
side, and two of the same design, but of larger construction, at the
east end. Between these two is a lofty buttress, and this unusual
arrangement gives a broken and unsatisfactory effect to the east
end of the church. The tracery of the windows in the side aisles
of the nave points to their renew^al or completion at the same
date.

The Vernon chapel, forming an east aisle to the south transept,
was built about 1860, at the end of the Decorated period. By its
undue projection it now blocks up half of one of the south win-
dows of the chancel.

The octagonal tower and spire were added to the Early Enghsh
base in the Perpendicular period, at the end of the fourteenth or
beginning of the fifteenth century. The clerestory was also then

14 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

added, the roofs lowered to a nearly flat pitch, the whole of
the parapets embattled, and the large west window (lately filled
with Decorated tracery) inserted in the Norman arcade.

The Norman tower-piers began to give way about 1820, and as
they threatened to drive out the walls and collapse, it was agreed
at a vestry meeting held in April, 1825, to take down the spire.
The contract for this necessary work of demolition was entrusted
to Mr. PhiUp Wootton for £260, the parish undertaking to find
him the requisite wood, iron, and lead.* In August, 1828, an
action was tried at the Derby Assizes, between the chapebry of
Taddington and the churchwardens of Bakewell, owing to the
resistance of the former to the mode of assessing the rates for the
rebuilding of the spire. The contention arose as to the rate being
determined by the scores of cattle in each township. Parish books
were produced, from which it appeared that this method of assess-
ment, at 6d. each beast, had prevailed as far back as 1638.t
Taddington won this suit, but a rate for this purpose could not have
been required for some time, as the outward pressure of the tower
piers still continued, until, in 1830, it became also necessary to
take down the tower.

In 1841 extensive repairs of the whole fabric commenced, which
were not completed until 1852, £8,600 being expended during this
period. The old piers of the nave were eventually removed to make
way for lighter pillars ; one only being retained on each side, at the
west end, as specimens of the Norman work These piers were
about 6 feet 6 inches wide, and 3 feet thick. They were 12 feet
high to the impost, and the openings between them varied from
10 feet 6 inches to 11 feet. The arches were square-edged, and
the imposts were plain projecting blocks with a chamfered edge,
resting on corbels, but these imposts had been for the most
part cut away at a period considerably anterior to 1841. J At this
time the whole of the tower-piers were taken down, and the tower
and spire carefully rebuilt after the old design. It was also found
necessary to take down the whole of the south transept and the
Vernon chapel, but here also considerable care was taken to repro-
duce the old features. The south front of the transept, with its
fine window and elegant doorway divided into two by a stone shaft,

• Add. MSS. 28,110, f. 12.

f Glover's Derbyshire^ vol. ii., pt. 1, p. 70.

t For these details of the piers, as well as for other architectural particulars we are
indebted to a description of Bakewell church, from the pen of the Rev. F. C. iplump-
tre, D.D., which appeared in the Arehaological Journaly vol. iv., pp. 87-68

BAKI^WELL. 15

is almost an exact reproduction. The design is of the geometrical
Decorated style, and is of the last quarter of the thirteenth century.
The west lancet windows are earher in the same century, and
the date of the late Decorated windows of the Vernon chapel, as
has heeu already remarked, is ahout 1360.

The site of the chantry of the Holy Cross was at the east end
of the south aisle, and Sir Godfrey Foljamhe, the founder, dying in
1877, at the age of 59, was there huried. A small but interesting
monument of beautiful finish, to his memory and that of his second
wife Avena, is now placed against one of the piers, between the
south aisle and the nave."^ This hardly seems as if it can have
been its original position, but we know that it has been in a Hke
situation for more than two hundred years, for Ashmole, who visited
the church in 1662, gives a rough draft of the memorial, which he
describes as *'set upon a Pillar betweene the upper end of the
south Isle and the body of the Church." t Sir Godfrey and his
wife are represented in half-length figures of alabaster, carved in
high reUef, beneath a double crocketed canopy. The knight is
represented in plate armour, and having on his head a conical hel-
met or bascinet, with a camail of mail attached to its lower edge.
The lady wears the reticulated head-dress or cauL Over the knight
are the arms of Foljambe — sa., a bend between six escallops, or —
the same being represented on his surcoat ; over the lady are the
arms of Ireland — gu,, six fleurs-de-Us, arg.y 3, 2, 1. The monument
is complete as it stands without any inscription, but in 1803, Mr.
Blore, the antiquary, placed here a slab of black marble with the
following inscription in gilt letters: —

" Godefridns Foljambe miles et Ayena nx : ej : qiis postea cepit in virom Bicar-
dnm de Greene mititem Dns Dnaque manerom de Hassop, Okebrooke, Elton, Stan-
ton, Parley, Over Hadn, et Lockhowe, cantariam banc fundaverunt in honorem
Sanctis Cracis an*' r. r. Edn tertii zxxix '^ Godefrus ob die jovis pr : post feet :
Ascens : Bni, an^ regis pdi 1«, obiit qne Avena die Sabbi pr : p : f : nativ : B : Marie
Virg : a" : r : r : BicII vjo.'*

which may be translated —

" Sir Godfrey Foljambe, Enigbt, and Avena his wife (who afterwards married
Bichard de Green, Enight), Lord and Lady of the Manors of Hassop, Okebroke,
Elton, Stanton, Barley, Over Haddou,and Lockhowe, fonnded this chantry in honour
of the Holy Cross, in the 89th year of the reign of Eing Edward III. Godfrey died
on the first Thursday after the feast of the Ascension, in the 50th year of the afore-
said Eing, and Avena died on the first Saturday after the feast of the nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, in the 6th year of the reign of Bichard II."

* This monument has been frequently engraved. The best illustration of it is that
in Lysons' Derbyshire.

t Bodleian Library, Ashm. MSS. 854, f. 61. Elias Ashmole visited the church of
ewell on the 13th of August, 1662.

16 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Mr. Eawlins states, in his manuscript notes on Bakewell, that
Mr. Blore obtained this inscription from a document in the British
Museum, where the original epitaph was quoted ; not only, however,
have we strong doubts if there ever was an old inscription, but we
may be quite sure that if there was it did not contain the blunders
of this supposed transcript As has been already pointed out, this
chantry was not founded in the d9th, but in the 17th or 18th of
Edward III., and it was founded by Sir Godfrey in conjunction
with his first wife Anne, and not with his second wife Avena.

At the time that Eling John confirmed his grant of the Church
of Bakewell to Lichfield, he bestowed the manor of Bakewell on
Ralph Gemon.* The manor remained in that family till 1783,
when Sir John Gemon died seized of it,t and it passed, through
one of his daughters and coheiresses, in turn to the faniilies of
Botetourt, Swinburne, HeHon, Tyrell, and Wentworth, when it
was at length sold, in the year 1502, to Sir Henry Vernon. J But
though this was the lineal descent of the manor proper of Bake-
well, there was no inconsiderable quantity of land severed at one
time or another from the manor, and these detached portions were
for the most part held by the Foljambes. Thomas Foljambe, of
Tideswell, held lands at Bakewell in the reign of Edward I. ; and
in the 19th year of the reign of Edward UL, Sir John Gemon
bestowed certain lands on Sir Godfrey Foljambe; and in the d4th
year of the latter reign. Sir John Gemon granted the whole of his
manor of Bakewell to Sir Godfrey, but this must have been of the
nature of a life tenancy. §

This is the only monument of the Foljambe family now extant
at Bakewell, but it is supposed that the following members of the
family were also buried here: — Alice, widow of Thomas Foljambe,
and mother of the first Sir Godfrey ; Sir Godfrey Foljambe I., with
his two wives, Anne and Avena ; Alvaredus, his fourth son ; Robert,
his fifth son ; Sir Godfrey II., his eldest son and heir ; Sir Godfrey
III., son of Sir Godfrey II. ; and Margaret, wife of the last Sir
Godfrey. II

The family from which Anne, the first wife of Sir Godfrey Fol-
jambe I. came is not known, but his second wife, Avena,

* Bot. Chart. 1 John, memb. 9.

t Inq. post mort. 7 Ric. n., No. 29.

I Inq. post mort. 11 Hen. VI., No. 42; 27 Hen. VI., No. 8, etc., etc.

§ Nichols' ColUctaneaj vol. i., pp. 95, 96, 883, 334.

;! Monumenta Foljambeana, Reliquary ^ toI. xiv., p. 238.

BAKEWELX.. 1 7

was the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Ireland, of HartBhorn,
by Avena, daughter and heiress of Sir Payn de Yilers, of Kinoulton
and Newboldy Notts. The marriage of Thomas, the second son of
Sir Godfrey and Avena, with the heiress of the families of Loud-
ham and Breton, and his settlement at Walton, near Chesterfield,
has been fully treated of in the first volume of this work. Thomas
Foljambe was buried at Chesterfield, though his monument is not
now extant, but he was also commemorated in the ancient stained
glass of Bakewell Church, which has unfortunately long since
disappeared.

At an heraldic visitation of Bakewell, made on the 29th of
August, 1611, occurs the following; — "These in the windowes of
the Church : —

*' 1. Gu,, three hons passant guardant, or, (Plantagenet).

" 2. /5a., a bend between six escallops, or (Foljambe), impaling
Qu,, six fleurs-de-Hs, arg.y 8, 2, 1, (Ireland).

'* 8. Foljambe impaUng arg.j on a bend, a;s., five cross crosslets,
or. (Loudham).

"4. Foljambe.

"This written under the armes: — * .... altare . . . .
men sis mail anno domini .... aia .... sexto Thome
Foljambe fil. prdict. Galfridi.'"*

It is not mentioned in what part of the church this memorial
glass was placed, but it would most hkely be in the easternmost
window of the south aisle.f

The Plantagenet coat mentioned above was probably not in this
window, but in the east window of the chancel, where it was noted
by Ashmole fifty years later. Ashmole also says, " Over the east
window hangs an ancient shield bearing the arms of England and
France, quarterly imbost upon it.'' This ancient shield of wood now
rests against the wall in the Vernon chapel, and tradition says
that it was brought here from Haddon Hall.

The next most ancient monument in the church is that of Sir
Thomas Wendesley, which formerly rested on a raised tomb within
a plainly arched recess in the east wall of the south transept.

• Harl. MSS., 1098, f. 97; 5809, f. 89.

f This window has been recently once more filled with beautifnl memorial glass
to the Foljambes, by Cecil G. Savile Foljambe, Esq. The following is the inscrip-
tion on the glass at the base of the window : — ** To the glory of God, to the memory
of his ancestors buried in this chantry chapel, and to that of his beloved wife, Louisa
Blanche Foljambe, who died 7th October. 1871, and her second son, Frederick
Compton Savile Foljambe, who died 21st August, 1871, this window is erected, by
C. G. S. F., 1876."

18 DEEIBYSHIEE CHURCHES.

The effigy is now placed upon a new table monument away from
the wall. On the upper slab rests a well executed effigy, in
alabaster, of a knight in plate armour, but wearing a camail and
shirt of chain mail Bound the hips is a bawdric or broad belt
richly ornamented, and on the head, which rests on a cushion
supported by angels, is a bascinet having the letters IHC !NAZAEEN
inscribed on the front. The surcoat bears his arms, and round
the neck is the collar of SS. This effigy represents Sir Thomas
Wendesley, of Wendesley, or Wensley, in the adjoining parish of
Darley, who was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury, 1403, when
fighting on the side of the house of Lancaster. The following
modern inscription runs round the margin : — ** Hie jacet Dns
Thomas de Wendesley, miles in proelio apud Shrewsburye occisus.
Anno Dni. MCCCCIII.'* In addition to the manor of Wensley,
he also held those of Gold Eaton and Mappleton. He seems to
have been of a turbulent disposition, if we are to judge of him by
a curious petition that appears in the Parliamentary BoUs of
1403, of which the following is a translation: —

" To the most wise Lords of the Council of our Lord the King,
most humbly prays a poor and plain esquire, Godfrey Bowland,
of the county of Derby, and complains of Sir Thomas Wendesley,
Knight, and John Deen, Vicar of the church of Hope, for that tlie
said Thomas and John with John Shawe, Bichard Hunt, Beginald
WombeweD, John de Sutton, Thomas Swj'nscowe, and John Swyn-
scowe his son, with many others of their bad associates, armed in
ii warlike manner, on the Monday next before the Feast of the
Translation of St. John of Beverley, in the 23rd year of the reign
of King Bichard, formerly King of England, came feloniously to
the house of said petitioner at Mikel LongesdoD, and the said house
with force and arms, broke into, and despoiled, and all his goods
and chattels there found, as well hving as dead, to the value of
two hundred marks took and carried away, and the said petitioner
out of his said house, took and brought with them to the Castle
of High Peak, and there imprisoned him for six whole days without
giving bJTTt any meat or drink ; and after the six days they brought
Viim out of the said castle, and cut of his right hand wrongfully
and against the peace, and to the perpetual injury and loss of said
petitioner ; therefore be pleased in your most wise discretion to
consider the shameful trespasses and the bad example of those, the
povpi-ty and loss of said petitioner, and to order said petitioner

BAKEWELL. 1 9

proper and hasty remedy, according to your wise discretion, for
God, and as a work of charity." *

The family of Wendesley are said to have been of Wensley, as
early as tlie reign of John. They held the manor (though occa-
sionally held in fee under them for a single life, by the Foljambes
and others) up to the middle of the sixteenth century, when it
passed, in default of heirs male, to Balph Blackwall, who had
married the heir ess. t It seems rather strange to find Sir Thomas
Wendesley buried in this church instead of that of Darley, but we
think it not improbable that he may have been a prominent mem-
ber of the guild of the Holy Cross, which would accoimt for his
sepulture here. This conjecture seems to be confirmed by his arms
being cut upon the wood of a *• very oulde pewe," as related in
the visitation of 1611. The arms of Wendesley — erm.^ on a bend,
//«., three escallops, or — appear on the front part of the monument. J

The earliest of the Vernon monuments stands in the centre of
the chancel. It is a small table-tomb of veined alabaster, hand-
somely carved, and round the margin of the upper slab runs the
inscription : —

" Hie jacet Johis Vernon filius et heres Henrici Vernon qui obiit
xii die mensis Augusti Anno Dni M^cccclxxvii cuj anime piciet de."

It would seem that this John Vernon, who died in 1477, was
the son and heir of Sir Henry Vernon (who died in 1515 and is
buried at Tong in Shropshire), and that he was father of Sir
Richard Vernon (who married Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert
Dymock), of Sir John Vernon who died in 1542, and of various
other children, who are generally represented as the immediate
issue of Sir Henry. We offer this as the most likely conjcctui*e,
though there is some doubt on the subject; most of the
pedigrees of Vernon omit all mention of a John Vernon who died
in 1477. Others have supposed that this monument is to a
younger Vernon out of the direct line of descent. § On this

* Petitions to the KJjig and Council, H. 305. For this translation of the original
document we are indebted to the Reliquary ^ vol. zi., p. 171.

t Add. MSS. 28, 113, f. 1 ; Harl. MSS. 6692, f. 12, &c. See also the account of Dar-
ley church in this volume.

J The field of the arms of Wendealey is tricked as aahU in Harl. MSS. 1093, but is
rightly given as ermine on the pew in Harl. MSS. 6809.

§In the elaborate accoimt of the Vernon family prefixed to Eayner's Haddon Hally
it is conjectured (p. 27) that this John Vernon was the son of Sir William Vernon
by Margaret Swinfen. But this conjecture would clearly never have been hazarded
if Mr. Bayner had seen a copy of the iuKcriptiou. It is also just possibW that John
Vernon may have been the eldest son of Sir Henry Vernon, and brotlier of Sir John,
and Sir Richard, etc., Sir Henry Vernon giving another son the same name after the

30 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

monument, at the time of the visitation in 1611, the foUowing
arms were visihle— Vernon— Vernon quartering AveneU, and Dur-
versal of Bpernor — Pembrugge — Stackpole — Vernon impaling a
blank shield— and Vernon with a canton ffules. All appearance of
heraldic blazonry has now vanished from this tomb, but angels
hold shields at the east and west ends, whilst on each of the
sides are two seated figures under canopies with a shield between
them. The upper slab now bears no incised figure nor effigy,
nor any other mark besides the inscription. We feel, however,
confident that this was not the case originaUy, but that an effigy
of John Vernon rested on the tomb, after the style of the monu-
ment to Thomas Cokayne (1488) at Youlgreave.

The remainder of the Vernon monuments are in the Vernon
chapel attached to the south transept. The following paragraph
descriptive of the interior of this part of the buildmg may be here
quoted from Dr. Plumptre's account : —

** The Vernon chapel, as was before stated, was constructed late
in the Decorated period, c. 1860, upon the walls of the former
chapel. The Early EngUsh haK pillars at each extremity of the
arches had been retained, and were very beautiful examples, well
worthy of imitation, the hoUows of the mouldings, up to a certain
height, being filled with bold roses ; capitals in a different style
were afterwards added to suit the Decorated arches. The central
pillars, with their slender clustered shafts, are of singularly elegant
design ; the tracery of the windows partakes of the flamboyant
character." This chapel was most likely originally constructed for
the Vemons, who had no right of sepulture attached to their
chapel at Haddon, and not for the Gernons as has been some-
times conjectured; for the Gernons, though lords of the manor of
Bakewell for nearly two centuries, never appear to have regarded
it as their chief seat.

In the centre of the Vernon chapel is a large table-tomb, bearing
the recumbent effigies of Sir George Vernon, and his two wives.
The knight is in plate armour and surcoat, with straight hair and
a long beard, and has a double chain round his neck, and a

oy!i^A aLw^*^*"""* '? Hi f^^»^<^y ; ^^t yet, a John Vernon had died as a mere
^o^TA ^ a monmnent as this would scarcely have been erected to his memory, nor

in^l tex[te.m« ^^t"" T r^^it^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^« ^^^- On the whole our conjecture
hWe^ov«r ?Sli^«.^'H^ *®*"i^^* ??®- '^^®^« "^^y^ however, have been some serious
the BSeweU^lS!^P*'i?''i7^?'' ^^"^ monument was restored. A MS. book among
sa^ thatlhis^cSfi^S;^*^'^*' ^""V ^?P^f« °' «®^«^»1 °' *^« epitaphs taken in isll,
blSk i^\m by Mr h' Wat?o?:?* '^^"'^ inscription cut afr^esh W fiUed up witll

BAKEWELL. 2 1

sword by his side The wives are dressed precisely alike, in long
black robes with dose fitting caps. The inscription is as foUows : —

" Here lyeth Sir George Vernon, Knight, deceased ye daye of ui*' 156-, and

dame Margaret his wyfFe, daughter of Sir Gilbert Tayleboys, deceased ye daye

of 156- ; and also dame Mawde his wyffe, dawghf to S' Balphe Langford,

deceased ye daye of anno 166- whose soUes God pdon."

The inscription has never been finished, the blanks for the dates
not having been filled up. On the snrcoat of the knight are nine
quarterings of the Vernons ; but before we describe them and the
other arms on this monument, it will be well to give a brief out-
line pedigree of the family, so that their presence here will be in-
telligible. It should be premised that not only were all the arms, but
the effigies themselves, on this and the remainder of the Yemon
monuments, painted in their proper colours. Much of the colouring
was carelessly renewed after the restoration of the chapel.

In the reign of Bichard I., Richard de Yemon married Avicia,
daughter and co-heiress of William Avenell, of Haddon.

His great-great-grandson, Bichard de Yernon, who died in 1832,
married Maud, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Gamville.

His grandson, Bichard de Yernon, in the reign of Edward UI.,
married (1) Joan, daughter of Bhees Griffith, and heiress of Bichard
Stackpole, (2) Juhana, sister and heiress of Sir Fulk de Pembrugge,
through whom the lordship of Tong, in Shropshire, came to the
Yemons.

His great-grandsoQ, Sir William Yemon, married Margaret S win-
fen, a widow, and daughter and heiress of Sir Bobert Pype, of
Spemor. He died in 1467, and was buried at Tong.*

Their son. Sir Henry Yemon, who died in 1515, and was also
buried at Tong, married Anne, daughter of John Talbot, second
Earl of Shrewsbury.

They had issue (as we have already stated that we believe to be
the case) John, who died in 1477^ and is buried at Bakewell, and
this John seems to have had, with other issue, a son, Sir
Bichard Yemon, who died in 1517, and who married Margaret,
daughter of Sir Bobert Dymook.

* The marriage or marriages of Sir William Vernon, are not a little puzzling. No
less than three pedigrees in the Harl. MSS. coincide in making Sir William Vernon
marry Bleanor, daughter and co-heiress of James Pype, of Spemor ; whilst his
younger brother Edmund is assigned to Margaret Pype, tne other co-heiress. Bayuer
suggests that Sir William Vernon marriea twice, firstly, Margaret Swinfen, and
secondly, the heiress of Pype. But on referring to the monument to Sir W. Vernon
and his wife at Ton^, and to Eyton's account of the family, etc. (Eyton's Antiquities
of Shropshire^ vol. li. pp. 191-257), it seems that the single marriage as jriven in the
text is the correct solution. See also Shaw's Staffordshirsy Pegge s MS a., and Add.
MSS. 28, 118.

22 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Their son, Sir George Vernon, whose monument we are now
considering, and who was usually styled, from his magnificent hos-
pitality, at Haddon Hall, **the King of the Peak,'* married (1)
Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Gilbert Talboys, and (2)
Maud, daughter of Sir Ralph Longford. He died on the 9th of
August, 1667.

On the front of the monument, as well as on the surcoat of
the knight is a shield of nine quarterings.

Quarterly 1st and 4th. Arg,, a frett, sah. (Vernon) ; 2jid, arg,,
six annulets, gu., 3, 2, 1 ; 8rd arg., a fess chequy, or and az.,
between six escallops, sab, (Durversal of Spemor).*

2. iiz., three lions passant guardant, arg, (Camville). t

8. Arg.^ a lion rampant, gu,j [ducally gorged, or\, (Stackpole).

4. Barry of six, or and az, (Pembrugge).

5. Arg,y fretty, sab,, a canton gn, (Vernon). J

6. Az,, two pipes between ten cross crosslets, or, (Pj'pe).

7. Arg,, a bend engrailed, gu. (§Treamton ?).

8. Az, three piles wavy, gu, (§St. Albone vel Hodnet ?).

9. Az,, three doves on as many branches, or, (§Spemor?).

On the north side of the monument are three shields bearing (1)
the quartered arms of Vernon, Avenell and Durversal, (2) Pem-
brugge, (8) Stackpole ; on the south side are (1) Camville, Pype,
and Treamton; whilst the two shields flanking the nine- quartered
coat at the end of the monument bear the quarterings of Talboys
and Longford.

The Talboys coat is quarterly of four, 1st, Arg,^ a saltire, gu,, on
a chief of the second three escallops of the first (Talboys) ; 2nd,
Gu.y a chevron between ten cross-crosslets, or (Kyme) ; 3rd, G^u,, a

• The third quartering of this coat is for Durversal of Spemor. co. Stafford, which
came to the Vernons through the marriage with Margai'et Swinfen of Spemor, as
given above. The tinctures of this coat seem to be very capricious or doubuul. They
differ in the accounts of this monument; given by Ashmole, and in the two copies
of the visitation of 1611. The tinctures here given are as they are described Harl.
MSS., 1093, f. 97. On the monument the colours of the field and the escallops are
reversed. Papworth gives three different renderings of the coat.

f Ashmole, by mistake, makes these lions table,

\ This rendering of the Vernon arms with a canton gvlea appears on the seal of
" Bichard de Vernon miles dns de Harlaston." The same arms were also used by
Matilda, daughter of William de Vernon, who married Adam de Harthill. This an-
cient rendering came to be afterwards quartered as if it had been the coat of an inde-
pendent family, instead of a mere differencing. Harl. MSS., 1093, etc.

§ The names of these last three coats are given on the authority of a pencil
sketch. Harl. MSS., 6809, f. 84. Treamton is elsewhere spelt Treaneton audTrentane
(liincoln); the 9th coat is given in Harl. MSS., 1093, f. 67, as Az.y three martlets, or.
"We suppose these three coats all came to the Vernons through the marriage with
Margaret Swinfen. All these coats are carelessly coloured, and differ on the surcoat
and in the front of the monument; in the latter case the field of No. 7 and the piles
of No. 8 are painted or ; the colours in the text are from the surcoat.

BAKEWKLL. 23

cinquefoil between an orle of eight cross -crosslets, or (Umfreville) ;
4th, Qu,^ a lion passant guardant, arcj, (Baradon ?).*

Lucy, daughter of Philip de Kyme, and heiress of her brother,
married Umfreville, Earl of Angus, in the reign of Edward II.
Their daughter Elizabeth, heir to her brother Gilbert, married
Gilbert Baradon (or Bardon). They had issue Elizabeth Baradon,
Bole daughter and heiress, who married Henry Talboys, from whom
Sir Gilbert Talboys, father of the first wife of Sir George Manners,
was lineally descended.t

The Longford coat is quarterly of four, 1st, Paly of six, or and
<7tt., over all a bend, arg. (Longford); 2nd, Quarterly, arg,^ and ^7«.,
(SolDey); 3rd, Paly of six, arg, and ^., on a chief, 02;., a fess
dancetty, trr (Hathersage) ; 4th, Sab,^ a fess dancetty, between ten
billets, arg,y with a label of five points (Deincourt). The alliances
of the Longford family with the heiresses of Solney, Hathersage,
and Deincourt, have been explained in the first volume of this

work.J

At the south end of the chapel stands the monument to Dorothy
Yernon and her husband, Sir John Manners. This lady was one
of the daughters and co-heiresses of Sir George Vernon of the last
described monument, by his first wife, Margaret Talboys. It was
this romantic marriage that brought Haddon Hall and the other
Derbyshire estates of the Vemons to the Manners family, to whom
they still belong. The monument is a large and pretentious struc-
ture of the unfortunate style that then prevailed. Under an arch
in the centre of the monument are the kneeling figures of Sir John
and his lady facing each other. The knight is bareheaded and in
the clumsy plate armour of the period, and the lady in a long
black robe and a close fitting cap, with a small ruff round the neck.
Between them is a pedestal bearing the following inscription : —

"Here lyeth S' John Manners, of Haddon, Knight, second sonne of Thoas,
Erie of Bntlandi who dyed the 4 of Jane, 1611, and Dorothie his wife, one of the
danghtera and heires to Sir George Vernon, of Haddon, Knight, who deceased
the 24 day of Jnne, in the 26 yere of the raigne of Queen Elizabeth, 1584."

Above the inscription is a large shield bearing sixteen quarter-
ings of Manners, differenced with a crescent for a younger son,
impaling twelve quartenngs of Vernon. On the spandrels of the
arch are two shields, the one bearing Manners quartering Roos,
Espec, and Belvoir, and the other, Vernon quartering Avenell, Dur-

• On the authority of Har^. MSS., 6589.

t Banks' I>W7nant arvd Extinct Peerages, vol. i. p. 416.

I Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., passim. See alBO Harl. MSS. 1093, ff. 29 — 81.

24 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

versal, and Vernon, witli a canton gules. On the cornice are three
other shields, that in the centre bearing Manners impaling Vernon,
and the two others Avenell and Roos respectively. On the top of
the cornice are two obelisk- shaped ornaments having the arms of
Manners and Vernon, and between them is a large shield bearing
the sixteen qnarterings of Manners again repeated. Below the
central figures, in the base of the monument, are the small quaint
figures of the four children who were the issue of this marriage : —
(1) Sir George Manners ; (2) Sir Roger Manners, of WhitweU,
who died unmarried in 1650, and was buried at Whitwell ;* (8)
John Manners, who died 15th July, 1590, aged 14, and was buried
at BakeweU ; and (4) Grace, who was married to Sir Francis
Fortescue, of Salden, Bucks.

The twelve quarterings of Vernon on this monument are — ^Vernon,
Avenell, Durversal, Camville, Stackpole, Pembrugge,t Vernon with
canton, Pype, Talboys, Kyme, Umfreville, and Baradon.J

The following are the sixteen quarterings of Manners on the
same shield: —

1. Ovy two bars, az. ; a chief quarterly of the second and gu.^ on
the 1st and 4th two fleurs-de-lis of the first, in the 2nd and 3rd
a lion passant guardant of the same. (Manners).

2. 6hi., three water bougets, arg. (Roos).

3. Gu., three Catharine wheels, 2, 1, arg. (Espec).

4. Az,y a Catharine wheel, or. (Belvoir).

5. Gu.f a fess between six cross-crosslets, or, (Beauchamp).

6. Chequy, or and az., a chevron, erm, (Warwick).

7. 6rtt., a chevron between nine crosses patee, arg, (Berkeley).

8. Or, a fess between two chevrons, mh, (De Lisle).

9. Gu,j a lion passant guardant, arg,, crowned, or, (Gerrard).

10. Gu,, three lions passant guardant, or, within a bordure, arg,
(Holland).

11. Arg,, a saltire engrailed, gu, (Tiptoft).

12. Or, a lion rampant, gu, (Charlton, quartered by Tiptoft).

13. Arg,, a fess double cotised, gu. (Badlesmere).

• Ohurchea of Derbyshire, vol, 1, p. 396.

f Folk de Fembrufge, who died in 1326, and was grandfather of the heiress of
Pembrugge, married Matilda de Bermingham. The arms of the Bermingham
family — Az., a bend lozengy, or — were formerly, according to Ashmole, painted on
the walls of this chapel, and also several of their qoarterings.

X One of the best printed pedigrees of the Vemons will be found in Rayner's
Haddon Hall ; p. 37, out there are several knotty points and not a few discrepancies
in the early genealogy of this family; compare Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 98; 1233, f. 106 ;
2038, f. 67; and 5809, f. 84.

BAKEWELL. 25

14. Chequy, arg. and gu. (Vaux).

ib, Gu,, an eagle displayed within a bordure, arg, (Todeni).

16. Or, two chevrons within a bordure, gu, (Albini).

For the due explanation of these quarterings and of the subse-
quent monuments, a brief account of the Manners family, and the
most celebrated of their alliances is here necessary. The most ancient
of the ancestors of the Dukes of Butland, was Sir Robert Manners,
of Exhall, in Northumberland. Another Sir Robert Manners, the
fourth in direct descent from the first Sir Robert, married Philippa,
daughter of Sir Bartholomew Monboucher.* Their son, Sir Robert,
married Avice, daughter of Robert Baron de Muschamp, in the
reign of Henry I.

The sixth in direct descent from this last alliance was Sir Robert
Manners, who flourished in the reign of Edward III, and who
married Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Strathcr.

Their son, Sir John Manners, died in 1402, and his great-
grandson. Sir Robert Manners, Sheriff for Northumberland in the
reign of Henry VI., Edward IV., and Richard III., married
Eleanor, eldest sister and co-heir of Edmund Lord Roos, by his
wife Philippa, eldest daughter of John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester,
and heiress to her brother Edward, Earl of Worcester. By
this marriage the estates and power of the Manners were most
materially augmented, and it is from this alliance, which first
gave Belvoir to the Manners, that they became entitled to the
quarterings enumerated above.

Robert de Todeni, noble Norman, had this estate, which became
the chief seat of his barony, bestowed on him by William the
Conqueror. Thence it passed by marriage to the family of Albini,
and Isabel, daughter and heiress of William, the fourth lord
Albini of Belvoir, brought it to Robert Lord Roos of Hamlake, in
the reign of Henry III. Peter de Roos, of Roos in Holdemess, his
ancestor, had married Adeline, sister and co-heiress of Sir
Walter Espec.

This celebrated heiress Eleanor, also brought to her husband
and their posterity, the baronies of Vaux, Trusbut, and Belvoir,
of which she was the lineal heir.

Sir George Manners, their eldest son and heir, married Anne,
sole daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas St. Leger, by his wife

* Collins says that Philippa was daughter and heir of her father, hut this is
donhtful. Coliins' Peeragct vol. i., p. 150.

26 DERBYSHIRE CIIURCHFS.

Anne, who had been first married to Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter,
and was sister to king Edward IV.

Their eldest son, Sir Thomas Manners, who was a fayourite of
Henry VIII., and made by him first Earl of Rutland, obtained the
augmentation to his ancient arms, which is given in the first of
the quarterings, in consequence of the royal blood brought into
the family by his mother. Their arms had previously been — or,
two bars, 02., a chief, gu. The second son of Sir George Manners
was Sir John Manners, who married Dorothy Vernon; Sir Thomas'
eldest son, Henry, was the second Earl, and Henry^s sons, Edward
and John, and his grandsons Roger, Francis, and George, respec-
tively succeeded to the title. But in default of male issue to the
elder branch, the title reverted through Sir John Manners and
Dorothy Vernon, to their grandson John, eldest son of Sir George
Manners of Haddon, who became eighth Earl of Rutland. His
son of the same name was created Duke of Rutland, and
Marquis of Granby.*

Against the opposite, or north wall of the chapel is a still larger
and more costly monument after the same style as that to Sir John
and Dorothy. It is to the memory of Sir George Manners, their
eldest son, and his wife Grace Pierrepoint, eldest daughter of Sir
Henry Pierrepoint, and sister to Robert, Earl of Kingston. .In the
centre of the monument are the figures of the knight and his lady,
kneeling at a lectern, on the front of which are the words — " Thy
prayers and thine alms are gone up before thee," and a shield
with their impaled arms. Behind the figures, on a tablet, is
the following Latin inscription : —

" Jastomm in Christo resorrectionem hie expectat Georgin^i Manners de Haddon
Miles qui duxit uxorem Graciam filiam secundam Henrici Pierrepont Equitis aurati ;
QvLSB post quam iUi qnatuor filioa et qninque filias peperisset, et cam illo in sacro
conjugio 30 annos vixisset, hie ilium cum patribus sepeliri fecit. Delude in perpetuam
fidei conjugalis memoriam, Monumentum hoe suis sumptibus posuit, suique corporis
figora illius figuree junxit, quia cineres et ossa socianda vovit. Obiit ille Aprilis 23,
anno Domini 1623 anno aetatis 64. Obiit ilia anno domini anno tetatis ."

At the top of the monument are the sixteen quarterings of Man-
ners, the same as on the opposite monument, and below the prin-
cipal figures are effigies of the children arranged in two rows. In
the upper row are (1) the eldest son, who died in infancy and is
represented bound up in swaddling clothes ; (2) the kneeling mailed
figure of John Manners, the second son, who eventually became 8th

♦There is a good pedigree of the family of Manners in Glover's Peak Quids;
see also Nichols' Leiceatershiref vol. ii, pp. 27, 40, 67, etc., and Collins' Peerage,
vol. i, pp. 150-176.

BAKEWELTv. 97

Earl of Rutland, and married Frances, daughter of Edward, Lord
Montague ; (3) Elizabeth, the wife of Robert Sutton, afterwards
Lord Lexington ; and (4) Eleanor, the wife of Lewis Watson, Lord
Rockingham. In the lower row are (1) Henry Manners, who died
at the age of twelve ; (2) Roger Manners, who died at the age of
18, and is buried at Lincoln's Inn Chapel; (8) Dorothy, the wife
of Sir Thomas Lake ; (4) Frances, the wife of Nicholas Saunderson,
Lord Castleton; and (5) Mary, the wife of Sir SackviUe Crowe.
On the spandrels of the arches over the children, are the arms
relating to their respective alHances. Over the upper arcade are

(1) Manners.

(2) Manners impaling arg,, three fusils in fess, git., within a bor-
dure, sah, (Montague).

(8) Manners.

(4) Arg,, a canton, sab, (Sutton) impaling Manners; and
(6) Arg,, on a chevron, az., three crescents or, between as many
martlets, sab, (Watson) impaling Manners.
Over the second arcade are
(1) Manners.
(2j Manners impaling gules,

(3) Arg,y a lion rampant, sab., a sem6e of cinquefoils, gu, (Pierre-
point).

(4) Sab, a bend between six cross crosslets fitchy, arg. (Lake)
impaling Manners.

(5) Paly of six, arg, and az., over aU a bend, sab., three annu-
lets, or (Saunderson), impaling Manners.

(6) Watson impaling Maimers.

The second coat on the lower row was intended to be left blank for
Roger's marriage, and has been subsequently painted red ; Roger was
only 14 years of age at his father's death and died unmarried. Mary
the youngest child, was but eleven years old at her father's death,
so that her match with Sir SackviUe Crowe, could not have taken
place at the time of the erection of this monument; the artist, by
a strange freak, has repeated the arms of her sister Eleanor's mar-
riage (Watson) from the row above, on the shield that ought to
have been left vacant for her own impalement.

It should also be mentioned in connection with this elaborate
tomb, that over the central figures are the words — " The day of
man's death is better than his birth,*' and other short passages
from the Scriptures are over ea<}h of the children.

Against the east wall of tliis chapel there is also fixed a mural

28 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

monument to the third son of Sir John and Dorothy, of somewhat
the same style as those last mentioned, hat on a far smaller scale.
It appears as though it had at one time had a small effigy in
the centre, but that part of the monument is now left blank, and
at the base is the following inscription : —

" Heare lieth buried John Maimers, gentleman, third son of S' John lianners,
Knight, who died the xvi day of July, in the yeere of our Lord God 1590, being of the
age of 14 yeers."

As a conclusion to the account of the Vernon and Manners
monuments, it may be well to give an accurate report of the
uncovering of the remains in this chapel at the time when its
reconstruction was effected, for so many strange tales and myste-
rious insinuations are not unfrequently whispered into the ears of
credulous visitors. We quote from a letter to Captain Under-
wood by Mr. William Flockton, dated October, 1841. Mr.
Flockton had received instructions to take accurate drawings of the
monuments, so that they might be carefully replaced. But soon
after the contracts for the new buildings were let, it appeared that
it would become necessary to interfere with any coffins or graves
that might not be in vaults. "Accordingly I attended at Bakewell
on Tuesday, 6th October, and during that day made necessary
preparations. On Wednesday, 6th October, the workmen com-
menced excavating on the site of the monument of Sir John
Manners and Dorothy Vernon, which was fixed at the south-east
comer. I had expected to find all the bodies in lead or stone
coffins, but I was mistaken. The excavators sunk twelve inches
and exposed the bones of a young person, with the head towards
the east, but no kind of coffin ; probably the remains of the son
of Sir John Manners mentioned on the monument (John). Imme-
diately adjoining this body (which was reverently laid in a wood
shell) were the bones of two full-grown persons side by side, which
had been in wood coffins, but the remains crumbled, leaving some
parts of iron handles and comer plates which were preserved.
After taking up one- of the bodies the head was carefully exposed,
and found partly covered with hair, and from the hair six ordinary
brass pins were extracted.* This was Dorothy Vemon. The male
skeleton had the bridge of the nose very long and high. The
excavation then proceeded down to the rock but no more bones
or remains were found.

♦ All reaaonable precautions were taken to prevent pilfering, but an unwholesome
reUc-hunter actualfy stole one of these pins,Vnd the late Mr? Bate^^Id the b^d
taste ^o* on\y to include it in his museum, but even to chronicle In his nrinted ca^
lo^o (p. 244) the fact that it was rifled from her grave. " « "» ais prrnwa cata-

BAKEWELL. 29

" The workmen now proceeded northward, and shortly exposed a
circular flat stone, which removed, was found to cover an unglazed
earthem vessel apparently full of lime, which, however, on being
touched immediately fell down, not filling more than half the
vessel; the inside of the pot was glazed, and on turning over the
lime a black substance was found at the bottom. This vessel is
supposed to have contained the viscera of some member of the
family who had been disemboweUed by the medical attendant after
death, and filled up with quick lime to cause rapid decomposition.
The vessel was removed to the vestry. Immediately afterwards the
workmen uncovered a small lead coffin, which not being soldered,
enabled me to see that it contained a skeleton of a very small
infant, probably stillborn. The hair on the head was perfect,
although in very minute portions. The next discovery was of two
lead coffins, fast soldered and not opened, but judged to contain
children three or four years old.

"The excavation now reached the tomb of Sir George Vernon
and his two wives. There were three skeletons under the tomb. The
magnitude of the head of one (the teeth quite perfect and all sound),
connected with bones of a large size, led me to suppose that they
belonged to the last of the Yemons. The remains of several others,
none in any kind of coffin, were deposited in a separate shell en-
closed in lead.

" The workmen then approached the site of Sir George Manners
and family, directly in front of which was a large coffin. I was
surprised to find a considerable portion of the top, from the head
downwards, had been torn away, not cut in the ordinary way as a
plumber would with a knife, but hacked and torn, as though it
had been done in great haste with a blunt instrument, probably the
sexton's spade — a skull of a female was found in it separated from
the body, which had been laid face downwards. On removing the
skull, to our surprise, it dropped into two parts, and on examina-
tion it clearly appeared to have been cut round by a saw. Dr. Eeed
and Mr. Walters the surgeon were directed to examine it. They
said that the bones were those of a female, and that the coffin had
probably been secretly cut open, by the connivance of the sexton,
with a view to some medical inquiry. The forehead was low and
receding, and small for the body. The head not opened in the
manner now done. There were remains of quick lime in the coffin.
It was surmised that it was the wife or daughter of Sir George
Manners." *

♦Add. MSS. 28, 111, f. 111.

30 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Tlie remains of several other bodies were foand near this tomb,
as well as the bones of Sir Thomas Wendesley, under his monu-
ment. A temporary vault was prepared for all these remains
close to the old north -doorway of the church, and they were
carefully replaced as far as possible in their former positions when
the rebuilding of the chapel was completed.

There are numerous monuments of the 17th and 18th century in
the south transept, chiefly consisting of small brass plates, now fixed
into the west walls, to the memory of various retainers of the Manners
family. One only of these seems to us of sufficient importance for
reproduction in these pages. In the days of Ashmole, the brass
plate to Wilham Savile was ^' fixed in a white stone, and raised
upon six square pillars in the south cross," but is now simply
fastened to the south-west tower pier.

" Here lies the body of William Savile of Bakewell in the county of Derby
Esq: Steward to the right ho^ John Earl of Rutland, & dyed the 16^ day of
Dec, in the year of our Lord 1658, in the &)^^ year of his age, who married Jane
Gilbert the daughter of W™ Gilbert, of the same Town & County, gent., by whome
he had yssue two sonns and three daughters, viz. George, William, Grace,
Manners, & Susanna, of which are now living George, William, & Susanna.

No Epitaph nede make the just man fam'de.
The good are praised when they're only nam'd."

On another plate above the inscription are the quartered arms
of the Savile family, surmounted by the crest — an owl. The two
sons, George and William, are buried in the chancel of Beeley
church.*

There are also brass plates on this side of the transept to Latham
Woodroflfe, who died in 1648, and to Basset Copwood, of Bubnell
Hall, who died in 1628, with the arms of their respective families.
Latham Woodroffe was of the ancient family of Woodroflfe, of Hope,
and Basset Copwood was tlie son of Richard Copwood, by Margaret,
daughter of Sir WiUiam Basset of Blore.

On the opposite side of the transept against the wall, near the
feet of the monument of Sir Thomas Wendesley, is an alabaster
slab, with an illegible marginal inscription and two figures incised
thereon. • This slab was formerly on the pavement immediately in
front of the monument to Sir George Manners, but was placed
here when the transept was rebuilt. When AsLmole visited the
church, the names on the slab were not to be read, and he could
only give this portion of the inscription : — " Orate pro animabus
. . . . qui obiit nativitatis Dni anno '' On a shield

♦ See the account of Beeley. The Saviles of Derbyshire were descended from the
Saviles of Howley, Yorkshire. There is a pedigree of the Derbyshire branch in the
Reliquary, vol. xiv., p. 102.

BAKEWELL. 31

below the figures are the arms of Eyre, {Arg,y on a chevron, «a^.,
three quatrefoils, or) impaling .... a chevron between three
estoiles .... In more than one account of BakeweU this coat is
described as Eyre impaling Mordaunt, the arms of Mordaunt being
arg.y a chevron between three estoiles, sah. But we are not aware
of any alhance between these famihes. There used to be the same
impaled coat in one of the windows of Longstone church, but the
position of the tinctures of the second coat exactly reversed to what
they are in Mordaunt. Bowland Eyre of Hassop, the eldest son of
Stephen Eyre, the first who lived on that manor, married Dorothy,
daughter of Henry Everingham, of Stainborough, Yorkshire, about
the commencement of the sixteenth century. The arms of Ever-
ingham are sometimes represented as a fess between three estoiles,
and sometimes as a chevron, and we have no doubt that this is
the tomb of Bowland Eyre and Dorothy his wife, whose grandson
of the same name married a coheiress of Stafford of Eyam."^'

Against the north wall of the chancel is a brass to ihe memory of
Bernard Wells, together with his arms — Ermines^ on a canton, or,
a buck's head cabossed, sab,, and crest — a demi-talbot, ermines.
These plates, instead of being fixed to the wall, were originally
placed upon *'a raised monument of free-stone,"' on the north side
of the chanceLt The following is the inscription : —

" Here lyeth the body of Bernard Wells of Holme in tlie county of Derbie gent :
he "wraa sone of Thomas Wells of Asbton Underbill in the county of Gloucester gent.
and married Barbara, the daughter of Richard Marshall, of Tiddeswall, in the said
county of Derbie gent, and by her- he had one sonne who dyed without issue & two
daughters viz., Mary, who maryed Henry Bradshawe of Marple in the county of
Chester Esquier, and Anne who maryed Robert Byre of Highlow in the said county
of Derbie, Esqr. Hee dyed at Holme afresaid the thirteenth day of June in the eighty

sixt yeare of his age,

" Annoque Domini 1653/'

Having now concluded the account of the monuments of interest
that can be identified in this church, it remains for us to give
some account of the fine series of early gravestones that were
brought to light during the repairs that lasted from 1841 to 1861,
and which are without a rival, either in number or variety, through-
out the churches of the United Kingdom. The monuments that
we "have been considering were to the memory of Christians who
thought it not inconsistent to fill the house of God with life-size
resemblances of what they were in the fiesh, and to hand down
the story of their earthly greatness in turgid epitaphs or the blazon

* See the account of Longstone ; also Papworth's Armoriahf and Robson's Armory.

f Ashm. MSS. 854, f. 43. Other memorials of this family aro mentioned under
Eyam, Hathersage, and Qope.

32 DERBYSHIRE CHUKCUES.

of heraldic pomp. All this is doubtless interesting to the antiquary
and of value to the genealogist. But it is assuredly easier to be-
lieve in the genuine faith and humble trust of those whose
memorials now come before us, and who were contest to occupy
a nameless grave, sleeping beneath the simple emblem of the Divine
Founder of their hopes. That these early Christians of the Peak
died many centuries netirer to the birthday of their faith, before
luxury and patronage had emasculated it of half its strength,
might be gathered even by those who are ignorant of all archseo-
logical taste. In the history of the gravestone or sepulchre, making
aU due allowance for the progress of art, can be read the vigour
or the decadence of the religious spirit of successive generations.

During the pulling down of the different ancient portions of this
church, commencing with the piers of the tower and ending with
those of the nave, a marvellous number of early gravestones and
other remains were disclosed amongst the masonry. Perfect speci-
mens, or more or less mutilated fragments, of upwards of sixty-
five different specimens of sepulchral stones are now preserved
in the porch, and at least fifty-five others were removed to the
Lomberdale Museum. Moreover, Dr. Plumptre tells us that he was
assured by the workmen, '*that at least four times as many had
been used again in building the new walls.'* Though this state-
ment was probably an exaggeration, there can be no doubt that a
very considerable number were re-used as mere masonry. It is
also much to be regretted that no attempt was made to separate
the specimens according to the different parts of the building from
which they were taken, as this would in itself have given a con-
siderable clue to theii' respective age. It is, however, certain that
none of them are of later date than about 1260, and that a con-
siderable number are of an earher age than 1100. All the
specimens that are now exposed at Bakewell are neatly arranged
within the porch. Drawings of a considerable number of those
that are in the Lomberdale collection were published by the late
Mr. Bate man;* and six carefully executed plates of the more
remarkable of those within the porch were published by Dr. Plumptre
in the Arcliceological Journal. f To fully describe and illustrate the

♦ These woodcuts first appeared in the Journal of the Archaeological AtsociaHon,
(the publication of a different Society to the Archaeological Journal) vol. ii.,pp. 803-6,
and were afterwards reproduced by Mr. Batemau at p. 186 of his Derbythire
AntiquiiieSf and at p. 188 of his Cadalogiie.

t Archceological Joumaly vol. iv. ; many of these were reproduced, together with
a few fresh specimens, in Cutts' Manual of Sepulchral Crostes, and Boutell's
Christian AfonumentSf both of which works were published in 1849.

BAKEWELL. 33

whole of these sepulchral memorials, and the other remains found
at the same time, would require a volume to itself; we can only
offer some general observations, with a description or illustration of
one or two of a remarkable or representative character.

These memorials are of two classes : slabs that have been laid
horizontally on the ground, and stones that have been placed per-
pendicularly at the head or foot of the grave. The former is far
the larger class, and may be divided into several heads. Firstly
come those on which the cross is formed by the simple intersection
of two incised lines at right angles, of which there are here one
or two instances, as well as at Darley and elsewhere in the county,
and which we are inclined for the most part to assign to Anglo-
Saxon days. Secondly^ those that have a latin or patriarchal cross
formed of double incised hues (one of those at Bakewell has the
limbs of the cross repeated three times on the same stem and is
supposed to be an emblem of the Trinity, Plate IL, fig. 1), which
are also of early but uncertain date. Thirdly, those that have (a)
the head of the cross formed of pointed stars, sometimes within
a circle (Plate U., fig. 8), (6) of radiating members each termina-
ting in a circle or half-circle (Plate II., fig. 2), (c) of limbs so
expanding at the extremity as to neirly or quite form a circle
(Plate III., fig. 8, Plate VII., fig. 4), or {d) that have stars, cinque-
foils, shears, keys, or other emblems plainly incised by the side of
the stem of the cross or elsewhere on the slab (Plate II., fig. 4,
Plate Vn., fig. 5); all these are of the first century after the
Norman conquest Fourthly, more elaborate specimens of art,
raised in slight relief, from the surface of the slab, of varying
design ; there is a specially fine fragment of one at Bakewell, with a
head as of four fans radiating from a cinquefoii, which is given on
plate 41 of Outts' work, and another specimen exactly resembles
one of those in the porch at Chelmorton (Plate lU., fig. 1) ;* these
are of the conclusion of the Norman style in the twelfth century.
Fifthly y those that have the head of the cross of a floriated device
within a circle, the cross being thrown into relief by cutting away
the remaining part of the stone within the circle to the depth of
half an inch more or less (Plate IL, fig. 6t), the stem of the cross,

* There axe also other specimens at Bakewell almost exactly corresponding
those at Chelmorton and Darley, Plate III., fig. 8, Plate YII., figs. 4 and 5, and

to
- w©

have therefore referred to them in the text.

t The head of this example is of a pattern that often occurs on these slabs both in
Derbyshire and elsewhere ; the curvea line for the bow, and the barbed arrow, on the
sinister side of the stem, are much more unusual, and probably denote the interment
of a Head Forester, or one holding office in connection with the Forest of the High
Peak.

D

34 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

as in earlier specimeus simply consisting of incised lines ; the date
of these stones is of the first half of the thirteenth century or the
close of the twelfth.

With the later styles of incised stones, we have not now to do,
though they continued to be used occasionally for several cen-
turies afterwards, especially in districts where stone abounded
and could be easily worked.

Of the various emblems found upon these slabs, such as shears,
key, sword, axe, bugle, and chahce, and their respective import,
we have already written at some length in our first volume, and
as we shall have occasion to return to the subject again, we will
not now make any further allusion to them.*

There was for some time a prevalent idea that all incised slabs
had served the purpose of coffin-lids. This has, no doubt, been the
case with a large number of instances ; for it was the habit to
sink the stone cofi&n, so that the hd formed part of the pavement
of the church, or lay on the surface of the church-yard, the upper
slab thus servhig both for a coffin-hd and a monument. Nor was
burial within the church near so exceptional, or so confined to
only the most prominent ecclesiastics and laymen as is sometimes
supposed to have been the case. There is abundant proof that in
the Anglo-Saxon church intra* mural burial was a matter of every-
day occurrence, though afterwards for sanitary and other reasons,
it was to a great extent suppressed.f But it is hardly possible to
suppose that the whole of the slabs found in the masonry at
Bakewell, had lain within the church, or had covered stone coffins.
Probably many of them, especially those raised in rehef, or shghtly
coped, were placed over the bodies of those who had been sim-
ply committed to the earth in the churchyard, and the finding
of slabs of this description, apparently in their original position, in
several cemeteries in this county, without any stone coffins be-
neath them, confirms this supposition.

But of all the rehcs brought to light in 1841, that which pos-
sesses the most exceptional interest is a small coped tomb, three
feet four inches in length, and about fifteen inches in breadth,
though it is rather narrower at the foot than the head. Accurate
drawings of this stone are given on Plate 11. , fig. 7, so that a detailed
description of the quaintly capricious, half- vegetable, haK-monster, or-

♦ ChurchM of Derbyshire, vol. i., pp. 263, 816, 373, 427 ; see also the Bubsequent
accouut of Baslow, and Darley.

f Spelman's Concilia^ p. 266 ; Lingard's Anglo-Saxon church, vol. ii., p. 47, e c

BAKEWLLL. 35

naments would be Huperfluous. We have no hesitation in agreeing
with Mr. Bateman in ascribing it to Anglo-Saxon times, although
the cable moulding running round tlie angles of the stone have
caused it to be not infrequently assigned to Norman workmanship.
This tomb is in the Lomberdale collection. There can be no doubt
that it was constructed to stand vrithin the Anglo-Saxon church,
and probably was on a coflBn of much larger size than itself, after
the manner of the tomb of William II., at Winchester.

There are two other coped tombs, both of them of much less
elevation, the sides of which are ornamented with zigzag and verti-
cal lines respectively. They were also found in the foundations,
near the Anglo-Saxon tomb, but are of the style that prevailed for
about a century after the Conquest. A fourth coped tomb, imper-
fect at the foot, is to the memory of an ecclesiastic, from the
chalice incised upon it. The intersection of the ornamental lines
at the head is worth notice, as the pattern corresponds to one of
the Norman devices on tlie church of St. Peter, Northampton, and
may be supposed to fix its date about the commencement of the
twelfth century. The device is repeated in slightly differing forms
on some of the headstones, and is of the same character as one at
Hartington church, figured on Plate XXIU. This is one of those
designs, alluded to in the introduction, as beiog even now re-
produced in the graveyards of the French Basque churches.

There is yet another slightly coped tomb, which generally attracts
the attention of the visitor, as it is on the floor of the porch, on the
left-hand side. This tomb was found in the interior of the church
when opening a vault many years ago, previous to the reconstruction
that commenced in 1841 ; it was for a long time preserved at the
Vicarage. It is probably of the thirteenth century, and bears a
cross fleury, but is remarkable as having an inscription in two
hues of Lombardic letters, running lengthways of the stone, on
each side of the stem of the cross. The inscrii)tion is in straggling
characters and partially effaced ; the upper line we read as follows : —
*• Qmintula siiit kominum corjyuscula,'* which is a quotation from
Juvenal, and may be rendered, " How little are the little bodies of
men ;"* the lower line appears to be " mms. mdli. parens* mms,
pittatU,^' and of this we can offer no satisfactory solution.

Two small mutilated specimens of the semi-eflSgial character,
showing the head and feet, as though through openings in the

* Satireg, X, 178. The quotation is prefixed by the "words " Mors sola fatetur^" —
"Death only discovers." It ik applied to Alexander the Great, who, after chafinp for
new worlds to conquer, had eventually to be content with the narrow limits of a
Barcophagus.

36 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

coffin-lid, may also be noticed on the right hand side of the pozxsh ;
two of the best instances of this style of monument (tliat forms
the connecting link between incised crosses and full-length effigies),
are to be met with in this county at Brampton and Hartington.

There are two or three instances of incised head- stones
in the porch, which correspond in style with those of the
larger slabs that we have classified in the second and third divi-
sions (Plate VII., fig. 6), but one of those that were removed to
Lomberdale is of much greater antiquity, and we believe we are
not wrong in assigning it to the ninth, or possibly, to the eighth
century (Plate III., fig. 6). Another fragment, conjecturally re-
stored by Cutts, from whom our illustration is taken (Plate 11.,
fig. 5), is not later than circa 1000 ; it has a striking resemblance
to a stone at Glanmaonoise, Ireland, of the date 1008.*

There aie also in the porch various fragments of ancient sculp-
ture and moulding, a few of them, perhaps, of Anglo-Saxon work,
but several of them undoubtedly Norman. The latter have very
likely formed part of the old Norman archway into the chancel.
Several undoubted pieces of Saxon moulding, such as the capital of
a small shaft, were removed to Lomberdale. One of the largest
pieces of sculpture consists of about half of what is described as an
old font, and which must have been octagonal when perfect. It
is of Early English date. We are more inclined to regard it as a
pulpit, but it is so built up with other fragments, that it is diffi-
cult now to come to any conclusion. The evangehstic emblem
of a winged Hon, with the word "Marcus'* carved below it, can
plainly be distinguished on one of the faces.

" Besides these, are the fragments with interlacing bands, or knots
and scrolls, cut upon them, which resemble the character of the
devices upon the crosses in the churchyards of Bakewell and Eyam.
Some are carved on both sides, and there can be no doubt that
these w^ere parts of upright crosses ; others have been cut away,
apparently at the time when they were used for building materials,
so that it cannot be ascertained whether they were parts of the
shafts of crosses or were used for other purposes. One is obviously
the upper part of the shaft, with a portion of one member of the
head of the cross which it supports. One small piece (in red
sandstone) carved with interlacing bands, the points of which are
not so angular as in some of the other specimens, seems to

* Petrie's liound Towers^ etc., p. 327.

BAKEWELL. 37

have been the lower member of a cross of small dimensions, which
may have been either attached to the upper part of a shaft, or
may have been used as a gable cross upon a building, anterior to
the Norman church which is supposed to have stood on the site
of the present church. Another is a square block, carved on two
sides with sitting figures with wings. This so clearly resembles the
figures in the four members of the cross at Eyam that no doubt
can remain of its identity in age if not in use.'**

The term ''Bunic'* has for some time been generally applied to
all crosses or other ancient sculpture ornamented with the inter-
laced knot or braid work. It is, however, a complete misnomer,
and it would be none the less absurd to call an apple-tree
mistletoe, because the latter plant not infrequently grows upon it,
than to style ancient crosses runic simply because runes are
occasionally found inscribed upon them. A "rune," both in Scan-
dinavian and Teutonic dialects, is merely an alphabetical character,
and has no further connection with scroll or braid work than that
the two are sometimes found upon the same cross. Moreover, runic
is essentially an unsatisfactory term, for there are two alphabets
of runes, Anglo-Saxon and Norse, which differ much from each
other, are the work of two different peoples, and belong to two
different periods of history. Norse runic is met with in the Isle
of Man and in the north of Scotland, but in England only Anglo-
Saxon runic is found.

The fine cross that still stands in the churchyard of Bakewell,
near the east wall of the Yemon chapel, is eight feet high exclu-
sive of the base, and about two feet in width. A small etching
of it is given on Plate XVII., where it may be compared with
the crosses of Eyam, Hope, and Taddington.t The east firont,
which has at the top a mutilated representation of a man riding
(perhaps Christ's entry into Jerusalem), and the two sides are
sculptured with an elegant spiral scroll pattern ; the west front has
a series of sculptures down the whole face, the upper one represen-
ting the Grucifixionr Besides the four crosses on Plate XYII., there
is another of early design in Blackwell churchyard in this county,
as well as fragments of others found at Bradbourn, Hartington,

* An Account of the Pariah Church of Bakewell^ p. 6. This is a republication
of Dr. Plmnptre's paper from the Archaological Journal, with a prefatory notice
containing a few farther particulars, published in a pamphlet form in 1851.

f Numerous illustrationB have been published of this cross : there is a good en-
graving of three sides in Bray's Tour, p. 155, an accurate outline sketch of all its
faces in L^^sons' Derbyshire, and a beautiful steel plate by J. H. le Eeux in the
Archaological Journal^ vol. zi., p. 281.

38 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and Darley. There is nothing unusual in supposing that there
were several other crosses of the same style (though perhaps that
now extant was the finest) in the churchyard of Bakewell. Several
crosses of elaborate early design are not unfrequently found in
the same churchyards in Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, and Yorkshire,
and at Ham are two supposed to be connected with St. Bertram,
circa 800. These crosses were probably to the memory of some
distinguished Christian or Christians.

We have taken much trouble to arrive at a sound conclusion on
the subject of the age of these Derbyshire crosses, but we give oiu:
opinion with diffidence in the fac& of the divergence of opinion that
exists among able men. After a careful comparison of the various
Scotch, Irish, Cornish, Welsh, and North of England crosses, it seemg
that the cross at Bakewell most nearly resembles, in general ornament
and several minor parts of detail, the principal one of the three
Ilkley crosses. Now from the runic inscription on the Collingham
cross, in the same county, its date is assigned to the middle of the
seventh century, and competent authorities have considered the
Ilkley crosses coeval with that at ColUngham. Then again it may
be compared with those at Aychffe, Durham, that are usually
attributed to 782, and 789, when synods were held in that parish.*
It is true, on the other hand, that both scroll and knot work are
occasionally though rarely found in the ornaments of Norman
work, but any one who has studied the sculptures themselves,
as well as engravings and drawings, can at once detect the
difference of style and finish of the two periods, and would not
for a moment assign any of the Derbyshire crosses to the later
period. That they are Anglo-Saxon (except that of Taddington)
we take to bo undoubted, and we also feel faii'ly assured that the
Bakewell cross, and several of the fragments, are not later than the
eighth or possibly the ninth century, but we incline to the eighth.
The Eyam cross may very likely be a century later, and to the one
at Taddington, which is of still earher date, we shall again allude
in the account of that church.

The demolition and the heedless usft of the sepulchral slabs of

* It would be tedious to fill up the text with a list of comparisons ; we have
preferred only to ^ve two, and to refer the reader interested m this subject, to
the works of Petne, O'Neill, and Brash, on early Irish Architecture, to Blight's
Cornish Crosses, to the Archseologia Cambrensis, to the splendid series of the
Spalding Society on the Sculptured Stones of Scotland, to Cumming's Crosses
of the Ifile of Man, to the Arc^tcBoloffical Journal, iii., 258, iv., 302-313, xi., 281,
xii., 196, and to the Journal of the ArchcBological Association^ xx., 808--S14, etc.,
etc.

BAKE WELL. 39

previous generations, both by the builders of 1110 and 1260, is a
painful reflection ; but the destruction, which would have been
purely wanton, of beautiful carved early crosses, standing erect in
the churchyard, and awkwardly shaped for utilitarian purposes, can
hardly be attributed to fellow Christians. There would be far more
excuse for using the flat incised stones, and indeed some show of
reason, when new buildings were being erected that covered a
portion of the churchyard area, on which these slabs had been
laid ; but it is a pleasanter fancy, and one that is withal highly
probable, to imagine that these early works of art were demolished,
and the cross which now stands erect mutilated, by the horde of
pagan Danes, who in 870 destroyed the mouasteries of Croyland
and Peterborough, and who four years later took up their resi-
dence amid the ruins of regal Bepton, and from thence ravaged
the surrounding parts of Mercia. That their special hostihty was
directed against anything that savoured of Christian worship we
have abundant evidence.* Such a conjecture would account for
the mutilated condition of the whole of the early crosses of Derby-
shire, which in other parts of the kingdom have for the most
part been regarded with special reverence, and have escaped all
other injury but that dealt by the corroding hand of time.

There are also within the porch a few specimens of encaustic
tiles that were found in different parts of the building during the
restoration. Some of them, of geometrical design, are of the thir-
teenth century, but others, with heraldic patterns, of much later
date. Of the latter, specimens were found bearing the arms of
Foljambe, and of Breton (a chevron between three escallops). The
marriage of Thomas Foljambe with the heiress of Loudliam, Loud-
ham having marrried the heiress of Breton, did not take place
till the close of the fourteenth century. Probably Thomas Fol-
jambe repaved the floor of the chantry of the Holy Cross.
Several examples of indented tiles of twelfth century workmanship,
in which the pattern is simply pressed in, and not coloured with
any different pigment, were also discovered, but unfortunately the
best examples of both descriptions of tiles were removed to the
Lomberdale Museum or elsewhere, f

The porch itself, that contains all these interesting relics, is of

* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle^ 874; Ingnlphas, vol. i., pp. 26, 27.

t There are some ^ood plates, and a description of several of these tiles in the JotLr-
nal of the Archceological Association (vol vii. pp. 384-380) from the pen of Mr. Llewel-
Ijrnn Jewitt. See also Bateman's Catalogue, p. 172. It is supposed that all these tiles
came from the medisval kiln at Bepton.

40 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Decorated date, in the first half of the fourteenth century, except
the battlements, which must have been added at the time when the
church was so much altered during the prevalence of the Perpen-
dicular style. Over the entrance is a small trefoiled niche. There
is also a mural sun-dial bearing the date 1793.

In the churchyard, to the east of the porch, are to be seen
several stone coflBns. Two of them, which are perfect, were found
in the year 1817 ; the rest during the last alterations. In one of
the two was the skeleton of a female with the hair in good preser-
vation, in the other was a leaden chalice "^^ that marked it as the
tomb of a priest Some of these coffins are probably the identical
ones which were originally covered by certain of the stone slabs
now in the porch.

Bassano, who has not much of interest to say of Bakewell,
noted {circa 1710) the arms of Vernon and Pype cut in stone on
the battlements of the south side of the church, but of this sculp-
ture there is now no trace.

Returning to the interior of the church, the most prominent
object of interest is the remarkable octagon font that stands at the
west end of the south aisle. It is of large dimensions, and is
complete in itself without any base. This font has been several
times sketched. The earliest drawing of it with which we are
acquainted is given on a large scale in Gotman*s Ancient Sculpture,
and there is a rude woodcut in Bateman's Antiquities^ On each of
the eight faces are full length figures rudely carved under canopies.
This font was for a long time considered to be about the most
ancient piece of workmanship connected with the church, and was
unhesitatingly assigned to Saxon times ; but the character of the
canopies renders it impossible to assign it to any earlier period than
the commencement of the Decorated style at the close of the thir-
teenth century. No inscription appears to be have been visible on this
font when Cotman's drawing was taken, but Lysons, who visited
the church about 1812, claims to have read the words ** Sista (?)
Mater ** on one of the figures.} We conclude that this inscription
was on the scroll held by one of the figures that faces south.
Various conjectures have been made in the attempt to identify
these different figures, some of them amusingly improbable. One

• Figured in Bateman's Caialogtie, p. 176.

t Cotman's Ancient Sculpture was published in 1786, but this drawing was taken
three years previously. Bateman's Antiquilict, p. 187. See also Carter's Specitn&ns
of Sculpture and Painting^ p. 11.

♦ Add. MSS. 9463, f. 5.

BAKEWELL. 4 1

of the figures facing north (given on our etching, Plate XVL), holding
a sword in one hand and a hook in the other, seems certainly
intended for St. Paul ; another, with the keys in one hand, and a
church in the other, for St. Peter; a third is a crowned figure
with a hook in the left hand, and a hough or hranched sceptre on
which rests a hird in the right, possihly meant for Edward the Con-
fessor (who is sometimes represented with the gospel of St. John and
a sceptre), or more prohahly for King David with the Psalms in one
hand, and the dove on the sceptre as the emhlem of the inspira-
tion of the Holy Spirit; a fourth is a figure seated with hands
uplifted in the act of adoration and a nimhus round the head,
probahly St. Augustine;* a fifth holds a long scroll; a sixth, in
a short robe with legs bare below the knee, pointing with his right
hand to a kind of medallion that he holds in his left hand (on
which is perhaps represented the Lamb of God), probably St. John
the Baptist ; a seventh in a long robe, with arms folded, might be
intended for various saints; and the eighth is a bishop with mitre
and crozier, and right hand raised giving the benediction, which
may very likely be intended for St. Chad, first Bishop of Lichfield.f
But, whatever may be the particular figures intended, we have little
doubt that the idea of the sculptor was to make this font typical
of the dedication of the church, by carving thereon figuresj illustra-
tive of " All Saints," and this would suggest to the artist the
selection of saints of different epochs. Having given our own
solution of these carvings it is only fair to add that of the Bev.
B. R. Bawlins (who so ingeniously explained the ancient carving
found at Wirksworth in 1820) whose description has not hitherto
been published. The order is given as above.

1. Abraham preparing to offer up the ram.

2. Si Peter with keys and church.

8. Perhaps Noah, with volume of generation of mankind from
Adam to his time, and dove.

4. St. John preaching in the wilderness, or Si Paul at Athens.

5. St. Paul shaking off the viper.

6. David bearing the head of Goliath on a spear.

7. A personage bound with a cord or chain, intended for either
Christ before Pontius Pilate, or Paul before Agrippa.

8. Pope, with triple crown.

*Tlie reason for Augnstine bein^ nsaally represented sitting will be found on
referring to Bede's EccXesuuticcd History, b. ii., c. 2.

t See Calendar of the Prayer Book, and Hnsenbeth's Eviblems of the Saints,

42 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

We must add that we think that any one who closely examines
this font will come to the conclusion that Mr. Kawlins was in this
instance too hasty in his surmises.

Immediately below the Foljambe-Ireland monument, there is a
large double almery or locker, for containing the various altar uten-
sils. It is ornamented round the margin with weU carved four-leaf
flowers, and seems to be of the same date as the monument.
Here were, doubtless, kept the sacred vessels pertaining to the
chantry of the Holy Cross.

In the south wall at the east end of the chancel, are three
pointed sediHa with seats of different elevation ; and beyond them,
on a level with the furthest sedile is a finely worked piscina niche.
These are of the early period of the Decorated style when the
chancel was enlarged. There is also a small piscina niche, of i

Early English work, in the south waU of the Vernon chapel.
There were formerly two other piscinas with trefoil heads, but
these were most unfortunately removed to the omnivorous collection
at Lomberdale, during the alterations. At the same time the base
of a stone screen of Decorated work, which measured twelve feet
(exclusive of the doorway), by four feet nine inches high, and
which separated the chancel from the rest of the church, was also
removed to the same place. The stone screen, which, doubtless,
formed the base of the old rood-loft, is mentioned by Mr. Rawlins,
and also by Rev. A. Suckling, who visited the church in 1823.*

Against this screen, facing east, used to stand the six stalls,
three on each side, which are now against the south and north
walls of the chancel. Those on the south have the ** misereres '*
complete, and quaintly carved underneath; these stalls are only
the remnant of a larger number that at one time occupied the
chancel. There are fragments of others at Lomberdale, and several
are said to have been moved to a former Vicar's garden at the
beginning of the century. This woodwork is of Decorated date,
and co-eval with the chancel. There is also some panelling with
Perpendicular tracery at the back of other seats in the chancel.

The finest piece of woodwork in the church, is the screen of
elegant tracery that divides the Vernon chapel from the remainder
of the south transept. In this chapel, too, is the old parish chest,
about seven feet long, with innumerable locks and braces of
ironwork ; it is certainly of pre-Reformation work.

♦Add. MSS. 18,470.

BAKEWELL. 43

The tie-beam roofs of the nave and side aisles are for the most
part of the old Perpendicular work of the fifteenth century,
and have some finely carved bosses at the intersection of the
beams. On one of the nave beams are the initials and date —
"F. R. . E. H. . C. W. 1753," which were, doubtless, the initials
of churchwardens, under whose control certain repairs were made
in the roof.

The peal of eight bells that is now in the tower, was cast by
Thomas Mears, of London, in 1796. In addition to the name of
the founder and the date, which is on each . bell, they bear the
following rhyming inscriptions : —

I. ** When I begin our merry din.

This band I lead from discord free ;
And for the fame of human name,
May every leader copy me."

II. '* Mankind, like us, too oft are found

Possessed of nought but empty sound."

III. " When of departed hours we toll the knell,

Instruction take and spend the future well."

IV. ** When men in Hymen's bands unite.
Our merry peals produce delight;
But when death goes his dreary rounds,
We send fortli sad and solemn sounds."

V. ** Thro' Grandsires and Tripples with pleasure men range,
TiU death calls the Bob, and brings on the last change."

VI. " When victo'ry crowns the public weal,

With glee we give the merry peal."

VII. " Would men like us join and agree,

They'd live in tuneful harmony."

VIII. *' Possess'd of deep sonorous tone

This Belfry King sits on his throne ;
And, when the merry bells go round,
Adds to and mellows ev'ry sound ;
So in a just and well-poised state,
Where all degrees possess due weight,
One greater pow'r, one greater tone
Is ceded to improve their own.

44 DKRBTSHIBE CHURCHES.

Eichard Chapman A.B., Vicar. Matthew Strutt, George Heath-
cott, Churchwardens."

The weight of the first bell is 6 cwt. 8 qr. 8 lb., and of the
eighth 18 cwt. 2 qr. 1 lb., the whole peal weighing 76 cwt. 2 qrs.
17 lb. '< The inscriptions were composed by Mr. Michael Williams,
a local poet, then residing in Bakewell." *

Up to 1796 there had been six bells, the inscriptions on which
have been preserved.

I. "Multi numerantur amici, 1719."

II. " The gift of PhiUp GeU, of Hopton, 1719."
ITL ** Glory be to God on high, 1616."

lY. ^' George Crotiat and William Bidiard, Churchwardens, 1616."
y. '*Trinitate sacra fiat hoec campana beata."
VI. " All men who hear my mournful sound,

Bepent before you lye in ground, 1671."
The parish registers of Bakewell, now extant, do not contain any
matter of great interest ; the earliest entries are in 1614. They have
been described at length by the Rev. W. R. Bell, from whose
account we take the following extracts: — ^t

** 1614, Dec. 24. Hamletus Charlton, Vicarius de BakeweU, sepultus
erat.
1617, Oct. 9. Gulielmus Henshaw, ecclisB de Bakewell clericus

sepultus.
1620. The whole number of Communicants at Morning Prayer
first on Easter Day 282. Eodem die at ye latter Prayer
187 ; Total 419.
1687, Nov. 6. Thomas Tomlinson and Dorothy his wyfe of Wake-
field or thereabouts were taken begging at Bakewell and
whipped according to ye Law and be sent home,"

* Bobinson's Derbyshire OatheringSf p. 22 ; bat the name of the author is given as
*• Willdnson" in Bagshaw's Gazeteer of Derbyshire, p. 408. Mr. Bagshaw also giTes
two remarkable coincidences with respect to these bells. The first peal rung upon
them was to celebrate the victoiy of Lord Nelson at Abonldr on the Nue. They were
lowered from the old tower on the 27th, 29th, and 80th of March, 16S0, and when re-
hung in the new tower, within half-an-hour of their being placed in position, the
first peal was rung to celebrate the visit of Queen Victoria to BakeweU.

t Reliquary f vol. iv., pp. 73-79.

ASHFORD. 45

"^t (^a^tlv^ of 'M«f)tovti.

|F the date of the foundation of this chapel nothing positive
can be determined, but there is no doubt that one existed
here in the twelfth century.*
The chapel (or church as we may now term it) of Ashford-in-
the- Water, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and consists of nave,
north aisle, south porch, chancel, and tower at the west end. The
church has recently undergone an extensive restoration, amounting
almost to a complete rebuilding, and was opened again for service
on Trinity Sunday, 1870. Previous to the restoration, there was
a semi-circular slab of stone built into the south waU, near to the
entrance to the church, on which were carved the rude represen-
tations of a wild boar and a wolf, beneath a tree that occupied
the centre of the stone. Underneath it was a tablet, placed there
by the late Incumbent, with the text, *' The boar out of the wood
doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it," an
interpretation of the stone which had probably never occured to the
mind of the fanciful sculptor. This stone had undoubtedly once
served as the tympanum or top stone of the semicircular doorway
of the Norman chapel erected here in the early part of the twelfth
century, and it has now been happily restored to its proper position.
There are special characteristics about this stone which serve to
distinguish it &om the nearly coeval sculptured tympanums of
Hognaston, Farwich, etc., for it has a classic tinge about the
foliage and general style of ornament, and may fairly lay claim to
the usually misapplied term of EomanesgrueA

The general features of the building, as now restored, partake of

• In 1872, the chapelriee of Ashford and Sheldon were separated from Bakewell
and united into one benefice, for ecclefiiastlcal pnrposea only, under the Act 1 and
8 Vic. cap. 106.

t There is a good woodcut of this stone in Bateman*a AntiquUieSt p. 1^2.

4G DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the Decorated style. The west archway into the tower, as well as
the three pointed archways, supported on octagon pillars, that
separate the nave from the north aisle, are of this period.
The church is now covered with High-pitched roofs. Against
tlie chancel wall are the stone corbels of the old roof, three on
each side. Those on the south side are all plain, but one of those
on the north is carved into a head and hands, and another bears
a fleur-de-lis. On the north side of the chancel is the vestry, and to
the right of the entrance to it is a niche in the wall, used as a
credence table. The chalice that is still in use is a very old one of
beaten silver. The vestry contains an old chest, and also two old
chairs, which we suppose to be of seventeenth century work. The
pulpit is of fine old oak, and is a fair specimen of the style constructed
about the time of James I. At the west end of the church is the
old font, which is octagon, and of a chalice-shaped design. The
alternate panels bear uncharged shields, and below them appear,
on opposite sides, the head and tail of a dragon, or evil spirit.*

The tower, which was not interfered with at the time of the
restoration, is of a style which makes it difficult to ascribe it
to any particular period. The battlements on its summit are
clearly a later addition, and are of the Perpendicular era, whilst
the pinnacles at its angles are of a yet later and more de-
based style. The basement story of the west side of the tower is
supported by a central buttress of a plain description, and over it
is a simple two-hght window, of a double -lancet description, but
having the two heads of the hghts cut out in a single squared
stone. The four windows of the bell chamber are of the same
description, but have rounded tops. These features, taken in con-
nection with the absence of all buttresses but the one named, incline
us to give an early date to its erection, probably at the time when
Wenunwyn held the manor, or at all events in the first days of
his son and successor Griffin.

The tower contains three bells, in addition to a Sanctus or ting-
tang boll which has no ornament or inscription. The three are
inscribed as follows : —

I. " Iho, Gloria in excelsis Deo," in Lombardio capital letters.
The founder's mark has the initials G. H. above a fylfot cross.

II. '* Richard Bennett, C.W. Thos. Hcdderly, founder.''

• Compare the fonts of Youlgreave and Norton. For a drawing and description
of the latter, see Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., p. 292, and of the former, Flate
XVI. of this volume.

ASHFOKD. 47

III. " Ihc, Gloria in excelsis Deo. 1612," in Lombardic capital
letters, and with the same founder's mark as that on the first bell.

On the south side of the church are the remains of the old
churchyard cross. The three sets of octagon steps stiLl remain, as
well as the base stone, about two feet high, showing the socket
for the reception of the shaft.

A chantry was founded in this church in the year 1257. It is
probable that the endowments of this chantry had lapsed or fallen ,
into secular use before the time of Henry VIII., for no mention is
made of it in the official Chantry Rolls then drawn up. We
possess however, certain particulars relative to its foundation, in
early chartularies of the cathedral church of Lichfield.* This
chantry was founded by Griffin, the son of Wenunwyn, on the
feast of the purification of the Virgin, 1267, for the spiritual health
of himself, his wife, and his family, with the consent of the Dean
and Chapter of Lichfield. Special stipulations were made to
preserve intact all the rights of the said Dean and Chapter, as
well as of the mother church of BakeweU. Five years later Griffin
founded a chantry at the adjacent chapel of Great Longstone.

We are able, after considerable research, to give a brief account,
based on the PubHc Records, of the connection of this Welsh
fam'ily with the manor, and hence with the church of Ashford.
The manor of Ashford, from the days of Edward the Confessor to
the time of John, formed part of the royal demesnes. But in the
first year of John's reign, that king, who experienced much trouble
from the turbulent Welsh, appears to have bought over a powerful
chieftain, Wenunwyn, to his side by grants of land in England.
Amongst other property, he conferred upon Wenunwyn the manor
of Ashford, with all its appurtenances, in consideration of a sum of
X30, to be held by him and his heirs by the annual service of a
sparrow-hawk. The charter making this grant is dated from
Winchester, on April 6th, 1200.t But within a few years,
Wenunwyn, described as the son of *'Hoen de Kevelac Wallensis,"
was once more waging war with his compatriots, and an endorsement
on the back of one of the Patent RoUs of the eleventh year of
John, mentions his submission to king John at Shrewsbiury, and the
delivery of hostages on the vigil of St. Dionysius.J This was the

• Magnum BegUtrum Alburn^ at Lichfield; Harl. MSS. 4799; Add. MSS.
6666, f. 87.

tBot. Chart., 1 John, memb. 11.

\ Calend. Bot. Pat., 11 John, memb. 6.

48 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

year in which John completely subdued the Welsh for a brief
season, having marched with a large army right to the foot of
Snowdon. Matthew Paris records that he took twenty-eight
hostages as a pledge of their future good behaviour.* Owing to the
part Wenunwyn took in this outbreak, the royal gift of the Manor
of Ashford remained for some time in abeyance, and we find that in
the 16th year of John, when he was in the midst of his contentions
with the barons, the king allotted this manor and its appurtenances
to Brian de Insula (or De Lisle), '' for sustaining himself in our
service as long as it shall please us."f In the meanwhile
Wenunwyn died, and John's successor, Henry III., instructed the
Constable of the Peak that his widow Margaret was entitled to a
third of the manor in right of dower. Nor was there subsequently
any difficulty in Griffin, the son and heir of Wenunwyn, resuming
control over the manor which his father had temporarily forfeited.
About the year 1242 Griffin took to wife Avice, the daughter of
John de Extraneus, and received the royal permission to settle on
her, as a dower, the whole of this manor; nine years later Griffin
obtained the additional favour &om the same monarch of free
warren over his estates at Ashford. J We know from the founda-
tion of the chantry that Griffin was living in 1257, but he died
sometime before the conclusion of the reign of Henry HE. (1272),
for that king on the death of Griffin, bestowed Asbford on Eleanor,
the wife of Prince Edward, and subsequently his queen.,} Griffin
and Avice had issue, two sons, Owen and Griffith, but the loss to
them of this manor does not seem to have been occasioned by any
traitorous conduct, for markets, fairs, and many manors were subse-
quently granted to them in their native land by the king's license. ||
It is scarcely surprising thnt the chantry at Ashford fell into
desuetude when the family that founded it became so completely
disassociated from the manor.

The manor of Ashford, which then embraced the "villata" of
Ashford, Great Longstone, and Sheldon, thus reverted to the crown
through Queen Eleanor, but, in 1819, Edward IL bestowed it on
his brother, Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Kent. His daughter and
heiress Joan, brought this manor to her second husband, Sir Tho-

•Matt. Paris Opera (Edit. 1640), p. 230.

t Bot. Lit. Claus., 7 Henry III., memb. 17 et 19.

|Bot. Chart., 26 Henry III., pt. 1, memb. 5; 36 Henry ILL, memb. IL

§ Bot. Hnndredorom, 8 Edward L, 1 memb. 2.

II Bot. Chart., 10 Edward L, pt. 1, memb. 1 ; Calend. Bot. Pat., 16 Edward HE.,
pt. 2, memb. 23.

A8HF0RD. 49

mas Holland, who jointly held it in conjunction with the manor of
Chesterfield, and the advowson of the hospital of St. Leonard, at
Chesterfield. For license to hold these manors and advowson of
Thomas and Joan, Otto de Holland paid fifty-two marks to the
royal exchequer of Edward III., in the 80th year of his reign. In
the reign of Edward IL, Ashford was held under the Hollands by
Godfrey Foljambe ; but it passed in 1408, on the death of Edmund
Holland, Earl of Kent, to Elizabeth, his sister, and co-heiress, who
was married to John Lord Neville. Henry Neville, Earl of West-
moreland, sold it about 1550, to Sir William Cavendish, and it has
remained with the Cavendishes to the present day.*

In the year 1826 Mr. Bawlins noticed '* a stone fixed in the wall
near the great door of Ashford chapel, on which are the arms of
that family (Neville) nearly obliterated.'' He also tells us that the
mansion of the Nevilles was in a field on the north side of the
chapel, and that tradition says that their castle was demolished to
build the chapel where it now stands.

We have merely given this brief outline of the subsequent his-
tory of the manor in order to render the account complete; for it
does not seem that the lords of the manor subsequent to Griffin,
were in any way connected with the church or chapel of Ashford,
which remained united to the mother church of BakeweU, whilst
the appointment of the priest or minister was vested in the Dean
and Chapter of Lichfield, and afterwards in the Vicar of Bakewell.

The Valor Ecclesiaaticus, of Henry VIII., estimated the value of
this chapelry at £2 Is.

The Parliamentary Survey of 1650 does not enumerate the sepa-
rate values of the different parochial chapelries of Bakewell, but the
Commissioners considered Ashford to be of sufficient importance to
warrant them in reporting that it was thought " fitt to be made a
parish."

Francis Bassano, the heraldic painter, of Derby, visited this
church about the year 1710, and he then noted in the east window
of the north aisle, a coat of arms " Verry, Argent, and Gules."
This shield was borne by several different families, and was one
of the numerous variations of the Ferrers coat. But it seems pro-
bable that it may here be attributed to Beauchamp (who were con-
nected with the Nevilles), and was most likely the only coat then

• Abbrev. Rot. Orig, 30 Edw. m., rot. 28 ; Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. m., No. 63;
35 Edw. ni., No. 104 ; 12 Ric. H., No. 21 ; 20 Ric. II., No. 30 ; 6 Hen. IV., No. 88;
1 Hen. VI.^ No. 46 ; etc., etc. See also Churches of Derbyshire, vol i., p. 165.

50 D£RBYSHm£ CHURCHES.

remaining of several placed in the windows of Ashford chapel by
the Nevilles when lords of the manor.*

The early registers of Ashford are apparently missing, for those
still preserved only commence in the year 1688. The following is
a list of incumbents of Ashford, compiled from the registers :—

1688. Samuel Mills, curate.

1707. Thomas Maddocke „

1724. Thos. Grove

1727. Bichard Fughe

William Beighton

1729. Samuel White

Bobert Lomas

1780. Wm. Wingfield
1763. May 7.— "Sep. Bev. Wm. Wingfield, curate, who had
been minister 88 years.'*

1768. July 10. Peter Walthall, curate.
1807. Nov. 13. Thomas Nadauld.
1812. April 5. fiache Thomehill.
1818. G. Berkley.
18U. T. B. Lucas.
1815. John Browne.
1887. W. Gully Giles.

1860. W. F. Boyd.
1852. James Burrow.

1861. Charles James Norman.

— Dec. 17. — John B. Luxmore.f

There are but few entries in the registers of any special interestj
but the following extract may be worth insertion.

'*1116, Nov. 18. Sep. A travailing boy found dead between
this town and Sheldon."

An early number of the Rdiquary contains a copy of an interest-
ing document of the year 1682, showing how the seats were ap-
propriated in the church of Ashford. It is entitled,

'' A Perfect order how men are to Sitt in the Ghappell of Ash-
ford by the Official Mr. Bowlandson and the neighbours of Ashford
Aprill the 10th, 1632.** From this document, which gives the
names of the occupants of each pew, it appears that it was then

♦ Papwoxth
by Bassano, -^
arches apiece

t Biliqua/ryt vol ii., pp. 166-168. We are mnch indebted to the Bev. J. B. Luxmore,
the present vicar, for scTcral of the particulars contained in this notice of Ashford.

ASHFORD. 51

the custom, for the most part, to separate the sexes. In the body
of the church, most of the men sat on the south side, and the
women on the north, but ** under the Pulpitt is for the Ministers
wife whom soever she is." At the conclusion of this appropriation
of seats, which is signed by Ealph Heathcote, minister, and nu-
merous parishioners, are two notes relative to payment pertaining
to pews. " Ralph White is to pay Ss. per annum to the Minister,
or if he refuse to pay it Will Milnes and George Johnson are to
pay it, and take one with them that will pay it.'* ''John Thorpe
is to pay 5s. per annum to the Minister or else Ralph Attkinson,
Tho. Thorpe, and John Greaves will pay it and take in one whom
they please that will give ii" It is also added that ** all those
that have any new seats in the Church are to leave their ould
seats to the discretion of the Minister and Churchwarden." From
which it would appear that the church of Ashford had just been
refitted, or, perhaps, for the first time, completely provided with
seats. The custom of seating a church throughout did not prevail
till the commencement of the seventeenth century.

The lover of picturesque old customs will ever associate the
church of Ashford-in-the- Water with funeral garlands. There are
very few specimens of this once almost universal custom of Eng-
lish villagers now extant, but from the beams of the north aisle
hang no less than five of these memorials. The only other Derby-
shire church, we believe, that now contains one is that of South
Winfield, where one is still preserved in the chancel. But within
the lifetime of those now living they were to be seen within the
walls of the following Derbyshire churches — Alvaston, Ashover,
Bolsover, Eyam, Fairfield, Glossop, Heanor, Hope, Matlock,* Tis-
sington, and West Hallam. Fortunately the five garlands at Ash-
ford were scrupulously preserved at the time of the recent restora-
tion, and subsequently replaced in the same position that they had
previously occupied. An admirable and exhaustive article on the
general subject of Funeral Garlands, accompanied by an engraving
of those in this church, appeared in the first number of the Reli-
quary, from the pen of the editor, Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt. It was
the habit, to carry these garlands before the corpses of maidens in
the funeral procession, and to subsequently suspend them in the
church. Those at Ashford are all constructed of ornamental white
paper cut into flowers and other designs, and fixed to a wooden

* The garlands that were formerly in the ohnroh of Matlock now hang in the yes-
try. See the account of that chnrch.

52 DERBYSHIBE CHURCHES.

framowork. ''Each garland," says Mr. Jewitty ''contains a single
gloTe and a kerchief or collar. On the collar or kerchief of each
has been written a verse of poetry, and the name, age, and date
of death of the virgin in whose honour they were prepared. Owing
to age, the decay of the paper, and the fading of the ink, the
writing on most of them is obHterated. On one, however, the date
of April 12th, 1747, occurs ; there has also on this one been six
lines of poetry, now perfectly illegible, and the name of the female
appears to have been Anne Howard, who died at the age of twenty-
one. On a garland of another date, we succeeded, with considerable
difficulty, in decyphering the following lines : —
"Be always ready, no time delay,
I in my youth was called away.
Oreat grief to those that's left behind.
But I hope I'm great joy to find.
Ann Swindel,
Aged 22 years,
Deo. 9th, 1798.*'
On the last occasion that we visited this church, our cicerone
told us that the most modem of these garlands was to a maiden
of the name of Blackwell, and that an old man, who had died in
1869 at about the age of 80, had carried it before the coffin.
William Harris, the founder of the Free Grammar School of Ash-
ford, by will dated 6th September, 1680, left a sum of 20 nobles
" to be paid yearly for 20 sermons to be made yearly in the chapel
of Ashford, or in the chapel of Sheldon, in the parish of BaJkewell,
which the said trustees should think most expedient, they allowing
to the preacher for every sermon 6s. 8d."

Ashford also affords an early instance of concurrent endowment
in the will of Thomas Boose, of the year 1761, who left " 208. to
the curate of the chapel of Ashford, as by law established, and his
successors for ever, and 40s. to the minister of the Presbyterian
chapel of Ashford, and his successors for ever,"* The Presbyterian
chapel is now disused, and in a dilapidated condition.

• Report of CommU$ionerM of Charities, 1827, pp. 21-28.

lusLOw. 63

Efie (S:1)a9tlt^ of ISasUitD.

|ASLOW was one of the numerous chapelries of the ex-
tensive parish of Bakewell, and it is only of late years
that it has acquired the position of a distinctive vicarage.
There can be no doubt that the chapel of Baslow was in exis-
tence at the time that King John bestowed Bakewell and its
various chapelries on the Dean and Ohapter of Lichfield. When
Archbishop Feckham made his stringent visitation throughout the
province of Canterbury, the differences between the mother church
of Bakewell and its dependencies were settled, and it was then
agreed that the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield should contribute
at least two and a half marks to the salary of the minister of
Baslow, and a like amount be provided by the parishioners.*
But this agreement did not long hold good, for we find that
the Dean and Chapter, in the year 1816, only paid 15s. to the
minister at Baslow, and declined all responsibility in connection
with the repair of the fabric.t

According to the Valor Ecclesiasticm (27 Henry VIII.) i the
chapelry was of the clear value of £27 6s« 8d., and it paid a
pension of 2s. per annum to the Lichfield Chapter.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 did not specify the
value of the different chapelries of Bakewell^ but they speak of
Baslow as '' a parochial chapell thought fitt to be made a parish,
with Bubnell, Corber, and Caulver. Mr. James Hewett officiates
.... Toadepoole, Froggat, and Heywood, members of Baslow,
thought fitt to be united to Stonye Middleton.'*

In Bassano's manuscript volume of Church Notes, taken about
1710, we find several notes relating to the chapel of Baslow.
The **Kinges Armes " were then to be seen in the east window

•Dugdale's MonasHcony vol. iii., p. 227 ; Harl. MSS., 4799, etc.

tAdd. MSS., 6698.

54 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the Bouih aisle, and in the same aisle was '* a fair Quire,
no tradition to whom." '' In east window of north aisle, in
ye toppe of it Christ coming to judgement, his robes yellow and
gules. Here is ye Hood loft very perfect with stairs and a door
into it In one of ye south windowes of chancell Eyres coat
with a crescent. On ye north side waU is ye Duke of Butlands
arms and crest painted. In east window is Eyres arm impaled
with . . . . , and in another part is Bobert Eyre, of Bnbnell."
*^ Bobt. Eyre de Bubnell Hall, generosus, dec. oct. die Febr.
sepultus fuit. A.D. 1698."

William Eyre, second son of Edmund (otherwise Edward)
Eyre of Brookfield and Beaton, Notts., who was tenth son of
Bobert Eyre by Joan Padley, purchased the manor of Bubnell
(a sub-manor of Baslow) in the beginning of the fifteenth cen-
tuiy. His eldest son, Edmund Eyre of Bubnell, married Margery,
daughter of Bobert Coyny, by whom he had issue Bobert This
Bobert of Bubnell, married Dorothy, daughter of George Colum-
bell of Darley, by whom he had six sons and seven daughter&*

The mention of the arms of the Duke of Butland in this
church, induces us to briefly allude to the history of the manor
of Baslow, in order to show the connection of the Vernon family
therewith.

Both Baslow and Bubnell were berewicks of the extensive
royal manor of Ashford at the time when the Domesday Survey
was made, but in the next century we find that William de
Avenell, Lord of Haddon, also held Baslow. On the death of
WiUiam de Avenell without male issue, towards the close of the
twelfth century, his property in Derbyshire, Buckinghamshire, and
Northumberland was divided between his two daughters and co-
heiresses, Elizabeth and Avice. Elizabeth was married to Sir
Simon Basset, and Avice to Bichard de Vernon. There appears
to have been a dispute between the two families as to the due
division of the Avenell estates, and we find from a roll of
King John (of uncertain date, but probably of the first year
of his reign), that this dispute was settled, so far as the manor
of Baslow was concerned, by its equal division between them.f
But the Bassets displeased that quarrelsome monarch, and we
find that in the laBt year of his reign, the land at Baslow which

• Add. MSS., 28,1 13, f. 72. For an account of the various children of Bobert Eyre
by Joan Padley, see Hathersage Church.

t Abbrov. Placit. Fragmenta Recordorum incerli temporis Ret/is Johannis.

BASLOW. 55

had been in the hands of the Bassets, was granted to Hugh de
Neville.'*' In the succeeding reign, however, Eichard Basset oh-
tained the license of the Free Warren over the manor of Baslow.f
We then lose sight for some time of the history of this part
of the manor, but we have little doubt that it was through the
Nevilles (by the marriage of Gilbert, Lord Talbot, with Maud,
only daughter of Sir Thomas Neville) that it passed to the
Earls of Shrewsbury, who were seized of it in the reigns of
Henry VI. and Edward VI. J

With respect to the other portion of the manor, which was held
in conjunction with Haddon by the Vemons, it appears that
homage was done to William de Ferrers who held it of the King,
but Henry TTT. changed this service into one by which it was held
directly from the King.§ Bichard de Vernon had, by his wife
Avice, an only daughter who conveyed his estates by marriage to
Gilbert le Frances. Gilbert le Frances died in the reign of Edward
I., seized, according to the terms of the Inquisitions, of the manor
of Haddon and the hamlets of '' Baselowe, Bowsley, and Bubben-
hulL'*|| His son Bichard, on succeeding to the property, assumed
the name of Vernon, and a roU is extant confirming his grant of
Baslow, and of two manors in Buckinghamshire, to his son
Bichard, and Eleanor his wife, daughter of Giles le Frenes.1I We
will not pursue this manorial history further, as it has only an
incidental connection with the church; suffice it to say that Baslow,
together with Haddon, passed, on the death of Sir George Vernon
in 1567, to Sir John Manners, second son of Thomas Manners,
Earl of Butlandy and direct ancestor of the present Duke of
Butland, by his marriage with that celebrated co-heiress — ^Dorothy
Vernon.

Bassano gives the following list of the curates of Baslow, with
the years of their incumbency.

Robert Tinmouth, 1565.

Bichard Allsop, 1568.

* Bot. Lit. Clans, 17 John, memb. 14. This Hngh de NeviUe was one of the justices
of the Forest of Sherwood. Worktop, the Dukeriea, and Skonoood Foretty p. 198.

t Calend Bot. Chart., 36 Hen. m., No. 16.

t Inq. post Mort., 82 Hen. VI^ No. 29 ; 88, 89, Hen. VT., No. 68 ; 18 Edw. IV., No.
52. These Inquisitions puzzled Lysons in his brief mention of the manor, especially
as another Inquisition of Edward IV. (7 Edw. IV., No. 22) ascribes Baslow to John
Vernon ; but tne solution of the difficulty is to be found in the fact that the manor
remained in medieties, at all events to the close of the fifteenth century.

§Bot. Lit. Claus., 7 Henry m., memb. 20.

II Inq. post Mort., 6 Edward I., No. 2; 11 Edward No. 10.

IFAbbrev. Placit., 19 Edward L, Rot. 82.

56 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

John Elswigge, 1550.
Roger Rowley, 1582.
John Bankes, 1602.
George Longden, 1606.
Richard Smyth, 1610.
John Daken, 1620.
Robert Mower, 1630.

— Huet, , . .

— Barlow, 1658.

— Prince, (18 months).

— Raynes, 1662.
Robert Mathewman, —
John Cantrell, —
William Feme, 1668.
William Walker, 1677.
Joseph Feme, 1678.
Joseph Nicols, 1681.

In Mr. Mitchell's Derbyshire Collections, now at the British
Museum, are- several notes relative to this church, apparently taken
from the churchwardens' account.
** May 4th, 1569. The dispute about repairs of church at Bakewell,

settled by John Manners, Esq.
*' 1759. Inhabitants subscribed for a new clock, and hearse, harness,

etc.
'* 1759. A new pulpit and two desks erected, and a pulpit cloth and

cushion of velvet and gold given by William Taylor, of London,

gent., and Yeoman of the King's Guard."*

Mr. Mitchell also speaks of *'the confessional still remaining with
two Gothic niches in the chancel," which strange misnomer we
suppose he applied to the sedUia.

In Lysons* volume of Church Notes, taken about 1815, are some
pencil drawings of these two stalls or sedilia. Though they have
pointed arches, the intervening shaft seems to be of Norman date.f
Unfortunately these sedilia were swept away when the chancel
was rebuilt.

The appointment of the minister of Baslow remained in the
hands of the Vicar of Bakewell until the year 1811, when the
patronage of Baslow as well as Buxton were by Act of Parliament
vested in the Duke of Devonshire.]:

•Add. MSS. 28, 111, f. 123.

t Add. MSS. 9468.

^51 George III., cap. 69. See the account of Buxton.

BASLOW. 57

The Liber Regis is silent as to the dedication of this ancient
chapel ; certain directories give St. James as the patron saint, but
others ascribe it to St. Anne. We believe the latter dedication to
be the correct one, as the village feast takes place in the first
clear week in August, which is the date of St. Anne's day (old
ptyle).

The church, which was restored upwards of 20 years ago, con-
sists of nave, side aisles, south porch, chancel, and tower, sur-
mounted by a broached spire, at the west end of the north aisle.

There are now no details to connect this fabric with the days
when the Norman style of architecture prevailed. The oldest
portion of the building appears to be the tower and spire, which
occupy an unusual position, viz., at the west end of the north aisle,
instead of at the end of the nave. Probably what is now the north
aisle served as the nave when this tower was first erected. We
believe the date of this part of the church to be of the latter half
of the thu-teenth century, at the close of the Early English period.
The tower is supported on the west side by two buttresses placed
diagonally at the angles. In the west wall there is a small double-
lancet window, with tref oiled heads, and above it is a single-lancet
light. There are no other windows to the tower, but immediately
above the broached angles of the octagon spire are four pointed
openings, the jambs of which are built perpendicular, so that they
stand out from the spire after the fashion of dormer windows. The
apex of these dormers is unpierced, but the lower part is divided
into two lights with trefoiled heads. There are also four similar
windows, but of a single light each and much smaUer, near the
top of the spire. The weather moulding stones on the east side
of the tower, above the present roof of the aisle, show that it formerly
supported the gable of a high-pitched roof. There is also an Early
English buttress at the south-west angle of the nave.

The nave now projects beyond the north-west aisle so as to
conceal half of the south side of the tower. The three-light west
window of the nave, with its four quatrefoils in the upper tracery,
is a good specimen of the geometrical Decorated. This window seems
to have been a new insertion when the church was restored, but
there is an abundance of old work of this period about the fabric,
in fact nearly the whole of it may be attributed to the fourteenth
century, though varying somewhat in date. To the earlier part of
the century may be assigned the south entrance within the porch,
the east and west windows of the south aisle, the windows of the

58 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

north aisle, and, in the interior, the three arches with their
supporting pillars, on the side of the nave, which separate it from the
aisles. To the latest period of the Decorated, or rather to the
commencement of the Perpendicular (aboat the close of the same
century), we must attribute the south porch, the hea^y battle-
ments of the porch, nave, and aisles, together with a square-
headed two-light window to the right hand of the porch, and
perhaps the clerestory windows, of which there are four on the
south side and three on the north. The battlement, much of
which has been renewed at later dates, is ornamented with
crocketed pinnacles ; those in the centre of the parapets of both
nave and aisle are placed diagonally, and terminate at the base in
small gurgoyle heads. The old stone bell-cote for the sanctus bell,
now empty, should be noted on the east gable of the nave, though
it is nearly overshadowed by the new roof of the chancel.

There is not much of interest in the interior of the church.
The roofs of both the aisles are slightly gabled, and retain much of
the old timber. The roof of the nave is a flat one of the Perpen-
dicular style.

There is an old octagon font near the south entrance, on an
octagon base which has Decorated mouldings, but we think that
the base stone is a modem one. This font was recovered for its
sacred uses, at the time when the church was restored, from the
vicarage ceUar. We were told by the present incumbent that it
had been therein used for the salting of bacon ; but further inquiry
inclines us to the more charitable surmise that it had been placed
there with the intention of preserving it.

The rood-loft screen, the coloured glass, and the memorial to
Bobert Eyre, which were here a century and-a-half ago, as
mentioned above, have aU disappeared, and there are no monu-
ments of any antiquity.

A small iron plate, in an oak frame, against the north wall of
the north aisle, bears the following curious inscription : —

** Underneath here was interred ye Body of Tho. Marple son to John and Elizabeth
Marple of this town who departed this life Aug. 17th A.D. 1742.

0 youth consider and be wise,
Lest sudden death do you surprise,
Short was my time as it appears

1 not exceeding 16 years,

My friends I desired to cease their tears
I shall arise 'when Christ appears.
And near this place lyeth ye body of Helen Marple Grandmother to Tho.

Charles Cook, schnlsit."

There are also small mural brasses to the memory of Richard

BASLOW. 59

Oddy of Bubuell Gate, smith, who died in 1758, aged 71, and of
Mary and John Gnindy, of Baslow, who died in 1784 and 1790.

On the north wall of the chancel there is a monument, which,
tJiODgh of modem date, is worth transcribing, as it relates to two
incumbencies of unusual length, under the last of which the church
was restored: —

" In memory of the Bev. John Barker, M.A«, for thirty years incumbent of this
chapelry. He died Jane 6th, 1824, aged 63 years.

''Also of his eldest son, the Rev. Anthony Auriol Barker, M.Am who sncceeded
his father, and after an equal period of useful labour, during fhe last years of
which he was permitted to effect the restoration of this church, he entered into
his rest Dec. 2l8t, 1865.

"'I have planted, ApoUos watered, but God gare the increase.' — 1 Cor. 8, 6."

l*he porch contains a genuine relic of antiquity. In the south
wall is built in a large monumental slab or coffin lid, discovered
during the alterations. It bears no inscription, but has a cross
sculptured in slight relief with floriated limbs. On the sinister side
of the stem are two keys. The key used to be considered as the
symbol of the female sex, but this has been abundantly disproved,
and there can be little doubt that it indicates the duties of the
person commemorated, such as the steward or comptroller of a
large household, or a local official or magistrate of some import-
ance.* The date of this stone we believe to be of the first quarter
of the thirteenth century. It is not then an improbable conjec-
ture to imagine that this stone was carved to the memory of some
High Bailiff of the Peak, or perhaps, still more probably, to the
steward of the household of Richard de Yemon (who married the
co-heiress of Basset), and the two keys (which are but rarely met
with on monumental slabs), might then signify his double steward-
ship of the manors of Haddon and Baslow.

There are also several incised sepulchral stones forming the lintels
of the clerestory windows, which were freed from plaster when the
church was restored. From what can be seen of these stones,
three on the north side and two on the south, it appears that they
are all of one date, probably of the commencement of the twelfth
century, and have the stems of plainly incised crosses down the
centre. All of them bear symbols. On one is a staff, shears, and
key, signifying an official who was a wool merchant; on another,
only a key; on a third, two keys; on a fourth, a bow for a
forester; and on a fifth a curiously shaped hammer, perhaps for
an armourer. A sixth lintel on the south side also bears an
incised Latin cross formed simply of two lines at right angles.

*Bouteirs Christian Monuments, p. 91.

. Ringers, 1839."

60 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The tower contains a peal of six bells, bearing the following
inscriptions : —

I. ** Thomas Mears, Founder, London.

Josh. Bromhead I ^, i. Txr j

5 Church Wardens.

John Elhott

John Marples
John Brightmore
Geo. Merral
Wm. Cocker
Thos. Merral
Josh. Marples

II. " Robert Froggatt, Joshua Gregory, Chapel Wardens, 1746.
Thomas Hedderly, Founder."

III. This bell bears the monogram Ihc, a fleur-de-Us stamp,
and a cross fleury. Below the cross fleury is the bell-founder's
mark, consisting of the Lombardic initials B.H. surmounted by a
crown.

IV. " Ihc. Gloria in excelsis Deo. 1620.** Bell-founder*s mark,
a shield with the initials G. H., above a fylfot cross.

V. *'Sit nomen Ihc benedictum.,'* The same founder's mark
as on the third bell.

VI. "The Duke of Butland*s Gift, 1754, Tho. Hedderly,
Founder.**

The donor of this last bell was John Manners, 3rd Duke and
11th Earl of Rutland, and lord of the manor of Baslow. He
was bom in 1696, and died in 1779.

To the south of the churchyard, are the four square steps of
the old cross, which now support a comparatively modern base
and shaft about a yard high. On the top of this is a metaUic
sundial, bearing the date — June 25th, 1789. Bassano's notes
contain the following reference to this cross, which appears to
have been then nearly perfect : — ** In ye churchyard is a fair
cross of five greeces (steps) with a top stone and standard.**

We have not been able to discover any trace of a chantry
endowment at Baslow, either in the Chantry Bolls or elsewhere,
and therefore we merely reproduce the following story from the
pen of Mr. Peter Fumess, of Eyam, for what it is worth. Mr.
Furness speaks of it as an anecdote related by Francis, last
Earl of Newburgh.

** One of the Eyres of Hassop left by will a yearly sum for
ever to the officiating priest at Baslow to say mass and pray

BASLOW. 6 1

for the repose of himself and wife. It is presumed that at the
Reformation hoth the praying and paying fell into desuetude,
but a late incumbent of Baslow having discovered that a bequest
had been made, at once wrote to Earl Newburgh (descendant
of the Eyre of Hassop) to claim payment of the stipend. His
lordship courteously replied to the apphcant, statiug his belief
that the claim was correct, but took no further notice of the
matter. Encouraged by the pleasing tenor of the note, the
clergyman next applied personally for the money to his lordship,
who in his blandest manner informed him that he did not in
the least contemplate evading payment, but he must recollect
that before he did so he should insist on the prayers and
masses being duly performed according to the directions in the
will of the donor. It is needless to say that the clergyman went
away, * shorn of his beams.'"*

But whether the above tale is apocryphal or not, a somewhat
sinular instance of the disregard of a pious founder's bequest of
a much later period occurs in the Charity Commissioners' report
on Baslow, taken in 1827. One Humphrey Chapman, by will
of the year 1777, left lands within the manor of Hartington, the
rents of which were to be appropriated in stipulated quantities
to the schoolmaster, minister, and poor of Baslow. The bequest
to the clergyman was — **To the minister of Baslow who should
preach an anniversary sermon on 5th November, 10s. yearly, as
his stipend for the preaching thereof." The Conunissioners say
that the minister was receiving his proportion of the rent, which
then amoimted to 16s., but '< no such sermon is now preached."
The observance of this day is best honoured in the breach, and
we merely draw attention to it as another of the innumerable
instances in which the express intentions of a benefactor are put
on one side as inconsistent with the opinions of a subsequent
generation.

In the vestry there still remains the weapon of that ancient
parish functionary, of whom we read in so many churchwardens*
accounts in almost every county of England — the dog-whipper. It
was his duty to whip the dogs out of church, and generally to look
after the orderly behaviour of both bipeds and quadrupeds during
divine service. The whip in question is a stout lash, some three
feet in length, fjEkstened to a short ash stick, with leather bound
round the handle. It is said that there are those yet living in the

• Reliqwzryf vol. x., page 234.

62 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

parish, who can remember the whip being used. We belieye it

to be an unique curiosity, as we cannot hear of another parish in

which the whip is still extant.*

A large pewter flagon, nearly two hundred years old, and

which had been discarded from its sacramental functions when

silver plate was substituted, has recently been rescued from

oblivion, rebumished, and appropriated to the purpose of supply*

ing water for the font It bears on it the following names and

dates : —

** Mr. Bichard Froggatt ) Ghappell wardens
Robert OUver ) 1685.

" E, M. Wrench, F.R.C.S, \ Churchwardens,
C. Bcott, j 1875." +

The Registers of Baslow, which are in a most dilapidated con-
dition, begin in 1569. They contain numerous interpolations,
utterly irrelevant to matters ecclesiastical, especiaUy in the 18th
century. In 1721 a whole page is occupied by directions for
pruning and manuring nectarine trees. In 1780, after notice of
a bequest to the poor of the chapelry, is written in another
hand,

**Vidi sed vidisse, pudet puduitque videre."
On 22nd August, 1749, after the entry of a wedding — '*The
same night was the most terrible for lightning, thunder, and
rain there was ever known in this age.''

* On the subject of whipping dogs out of chnrch, see Notes and Queries, Ist S. ix.,
849, 499 : X.. 188 ; zii., 396 ; 2nd S. i., 283 ; ii., 187 ; iii., 379 ; 5th S. iy., 809, 514;
T., 87. We nave seen a wonderful instrument of a like nature, in the interesting
church of Clynnog Fawr, in North Wales. It is a long pair of iron " lazy tongs,'*
with short spikes at the end for laying hold of the unfortunate dog.

fin 1222 the Archbishop of Canterbury forbad the use of tin or pewter in the
holj[ vessels, but pewter was not unfrequently used, at a later date, before the Befor>
mation, and is still occasionally used on the Continent. By the Canon of 1604, the
wine was to be brought *' in a clean and sweet standing pot or stoop of pewter, if not
of purer metaL"

BEELEY. 63

Z^t (E^optlvs of ttetleg.

ITHING more than a casual glance is generally bestowed
on the small and unpretending church of Beeley, by
the army of tourists, who yearly pass it by, at the
entrance to Chatsworth Park. But that which remains of its
ancient architecture is of no small interest from the very com-
plexity of its styles, and there are many more interesting frag-
ments of its early history still extant, than is often the case
with buildings of much greater magnitude. The church at Beeley
now consists of a wide modern nave, chancel, south porch, and
tower at the west end. Within the porch is the earliest portion
of the building, consisting of a round-headed Norman doorway,
which is considerably mutilated. The jambs of this doorway have
originally been ornamented with detached shafts, or small pillars,
but of these only the capitals now remain. The ' dripstone over
the doorway has a small head in the centre, and its terminals
are also two human heads surmounted with a sort of tiara or
three tiers of curls. This precise pattern is used in a similar
place in the old south doorway of Edensor church. The style
of this doorway shows considerable advance in the Norman style,
and we should date it about 1150 — 1160. The alterations made
in this church at the commencement of the present century, to
which we shall again refer, did away with the north aisle, and
covered the main part of the building with a single roof. But
we find from the MS. OoUeotions of the Lysons* that the north
aisle was separated from the nave by what they term *^ Saxon'*
pillars, having capitals with heads at the comers, and these were
probably of the same date as the porch. The font, also, is spo-
ken'of in the same place, as ''large and round," whilst Mr.
Bawlins (who visited the church some ten years later, about

•Add. MSS., 9458,1 6.

64 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

1826) describes it as ** plain and circular." The font appears
then to have been within the church, but it was shortly after-
wards cast out, and is described by Mr. T. N. Ince, in 1858, as
" now 'Used as a rain stoup in the churchyard." * Since then it
has happily been once again restored to the church. It is with-
out doubt a plain specimen of Norman work. Mr. Bawlins -also
gives a brief description of the interior of the church, from
which it appears that though the pillars between the north aisle
and nave were Norman, the arches were of a later date and
pointed. There are also several indications of the extensive re-
building of this chapel that took place in the Ear]y English
period, about a century later. The greater portion of the ma-
sonry of the chancel, which is not supported by buttresses, seems
to us to belong to this style, though pierced by windows of
later dates. But on the north side of the chancel, there is a
small lancet window with a trefoil head that is undoubtedly a
specimen of Early English work. The lower portion, and per-
haps most of the masonry of the tower, is also of thirteenth
century work, as is clearly shown by the two parallel shallow
buttresses, of a single set-off, against the west wall, where there
is neither door nor window. There is also a buttress of the
same date, against the only portion of the masonry of the old
north aisle which now remains, at the west end.

The acutely poiated archway into the chancel, as well as the
similar one iuto the tower, out of the body of the church, are
also of that century, but probably belong to the early portion of
the Decorated period, which commenced about the close of the
thirteenth century. Probably these arches may be about the year
1280, or rather later, to which date, too, we should assign the
three-hght east window of the chancel, with the three quatrefoils
in the upper tracery. To the Decorated period, also, (in which
there was considerable variety considering that it did not prevail
for a century), and probably about the same year, belong the pointed
priest's door on the south of the chancel, and the four single lights
having an ogee arch, of the. bell chamber of the tower. There is
another Decorated window on the south side of the chancel, of
three lights, the mullions intersecting one another in a diamond
shape pattern in the upper tracery, after a common design that
chiefly prevailed about 1320.

* A drawing of this font is given by Mr. Ince in the Tolmne of the Anaistatic Draw-
ing Society for 1858, plate xzii.

BEELEY. 65

Of the succeeding style — the Perpendicular — there is also an
example in the same wall, in a square-headed window of two lights,
and the hattlements and pinnacles of the tower were erected during
that period, viz., iu the fifteenth or heginning of the sixteenth cen-
tury. From what we can gather of the general appearance of the
body of the church, before the barbarous alterations of the preseut
century, it seems that both roof and windows were characteristic of
the commencement of the Perpendicular and expiration of the
Decorated style, circa 1370 — 1380, when, as we shall presently see,
the church was thoroughly renovated.

Over the ugly modern porch is a keystone inscribed : — ** John
Lees, Beeley, Chapl. Ward. 1806 '^ — thus giving the year of its
erection. A few years later the body of the church became so
dilapidated, that the inhabitants applied to the Quarter Sessions
on 19th October, 1819, to obtain a Brief for its repair. The Brief
states that it was a structure *' greatly decayed, that the foundation,
walls, and roof of the body were particularly dangerous and neces-
sary to be taken down (leaving the chancel and the tower stand-
ing) and the same to be rebuilt upon a scale something larger,
which is desirable from the inhabitants of Kowsley using Beeley
church, they not having one of their own." James Ward, of Shef-
field, '* an experienced architect" estimates the cost at £'1,194 5s. 4d.

But this Brief did not suffice to obtain the requisite sum, for we
find that two other biiefs were obtained for a like purpose in 1823
and 1826.* On the lead of the roof of the nave is the inscription
'*H. Grainger, C. W.. 1819/'

Having completed our review of the present general aspect of the
church, we will now proceed to the consideration of its history as
it can be gleaned from several ancient documents. Beeley was one
of the numerous chapels of the large and unwieldy parish of Bake-
well — a parish that always seems to have been involved in inter-
minable disputes with its semi-dependent chapeh'ies, even to com-
paratively modern days.

The church of Bakewell, with all its appurtenances and chapels,
was given by John, in the year 1192, to the cathedral of Lichfield,
and this gift of course included the chapel of Beeley .f The profits
of the church being thus impropriated, a vicar was appointed with
a stipend of twenty marks, and other provisions made for his

* The ori|2^na1 of the first of these briefs in at the British Museum ; the petitions
to Quarter Sessious, relative to the two subRequent ouen, are amongst the County
Records.

t Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. iii., p. 227.

6U DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

maintenance, as well as for that of the different chapelries. But
these regulations were so ill-observed, that when the energetic
Archbishop Peckham made his visitation of the Diocese of Lichfield
in 1280, he sternly rebuked the Dean and Canons for their gross
neglect of the spiritual necessities of Bakewell and its dependent
chapelries. The Archbishop by his decision made a compromise,
and, so far as respected Beeley, ordained that the chancel should
be kept in repair by the inhabitants, who were also to find a
chalice and a missal, but that the rest of the fabric, and books, and
ornaments were to be supplied by the Dean and Canons. The
parishioners of Chelmorton were also ordered to pay two-and-a-half
marks to the chaplain of Beeley, w^hich with one mark received
from the very small endowment of that chapel, together with
twenty shiUings to be raised annually from the inhabitants
(amounting in all to five marks), was to be the yearly stipend of
the officiating priest of Beeley.*

In the year 1315, a composition was entered into between the
Dean and Chapter of Lichfield and the parishioners of the chapels
of Baslow, Longstone, Taddington, Monyash, and Beeley, by which
the Chapter, " desiring to be in amity with all and avoid con-
tention," grants twenty shillings to the chapelry of Beeley, to be
paid yearly "for the honour of God and augmentation of his
divyne worshippe," and remission of charges for testaments and'
administrations. They further permitted that " certayne honest and
chiefemen of theise parishes aforesaid which shall be meete for the
bringinge of holye water may be named by the parishioners, and
may be presented to the vicars or ministers of the places, and of
them in the name of tlie Dean and Chapter, if they be found
sufficient, may be therefore admitted." Li consideration of all this,
and certain other privileges, they are not to require anything for
the repair or defence of their chapels, or anytliing for any order
or uses.f

The Beeley registers are of exceptional interest, and contain many
references to the arrangements made between the chapelry and the
mother church of Bakewell. J In several places, and under slightly
varying forms, occurs a memorandum to the effect that the chapel
of Beeley was built and finished on or about Thursday, the 17th of

♦Dugdale'B Moriastieon, vol. iii., p. 229; Add. MSS. 6667, f. 198; etc., etc.
t Add. MSS. 6698.

X The Beeley Regislers commence in 1638. A good pappr on the earliest of these
Begisters was published in the Heliqaary^ vol. v., pp. 143-147.

BEEI.EY. 67

July, 1876, and that it was conBecratcd on or about Thursday, the
10th of March, 1878. From what we have already stated respect-
ing the architecture of the church, it is quite clear that a chapel
existed fully two hundred years earher than the first of these dates ;
and the entries in the register probably refer to a thorough renovation
of the building, especiaUy of the body or nave, which may have
been left untouched up to that time from the days when the
Normans first buOt it, and not have been rebuilt in the Early
English period as was the case with the chancel and tower.
These entries are of considerable interest, as helphig to confirm the
fact that the ceremony of consecration was not unfrcqucntly per-
formed again, especially when the sacred building had been for any
time in disuse.* Dr. Pegge tells us that in 1816 this chapel was
dedicated to St. Mary, and it seems very probable that at this
time (1378) it was dedicated to St Anne, which has been un-
doubtedly its dedication for several centuries. The allusion to St.
Mary in a document of a later date, which we shall now quote,
does not of necessity imply its then dedication to St. Mary, but
may merely be an allusion to the supposed influence of the Virgin
Mary, or possibly to her special altar, which was maintained in
almost every church or chapel of suflicient size to support a
second one.

The document in question is quoted at lengtli by Lysons from
the original, then in the possession of Mr. Adam Wolley. Lysons
gives its date as 1473, but Dr. Pegge, evidently referrhig to tlie
same, speaks of the 10th year of Edward IV. This instrument
states : — ** That there is a devoute chapel in Beley in Derwent dale
w^hich is a new begonne thing of our sweet lady St. Mary, and
hafe nothing but through the pace of God and the almes of good
men and wymmen, but that won Sir John Eyere chapellyn, movid
with grace and vertue, hath laboured and done great cobt there, as
well of his owne proper costs as of his pore neighbours, and hath
gotten thereto boke, bell, vestment, and chales, and hath a preest
there sayinge masse daily before our sayde layde for all brethren
and sisters, and all good doers thereto and purposeth through the
grace of God and our sayde layde and succoure of good men and
wymmen to found a preest there for ever, to pray for all the
benefactors and good doers thereto while he may not utterly
perform without refreshyng and almesdeds of good men and

• On the Bubject of the recousecration and redcdication of churches, see Churchts
of Iferhijnhire, vol. i., pp. 433, 484.

68 DERBYSlilUE CHUKCHE8.

wymmen, wherefore if hit please you to shew your blessed ahnes
thereto, hit is your owne, and our said blessed lady will reward
you : nnd also we have sent amongst you won Thomas WiUymot,
which is a very trewe proctour and a special benefactor and good
doer there. To which present writing, &c., &c." Br. Pegge
supplies the names of those who signed this instrument, which are
not given by Lysons. They were— Henry ColumbeU, Esquire;
John Rollesley, Renald Cockayne, Robert Lee, and Robert Leche,
gentlemen ; and Sir Richard Johnson, parson, of Darley.*

A document issued by the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, as
Rectors and Patrons of Bakewell, in the year 1494, concerning the
re-arrangement and increase of the temporalities of iiiat parish,
orders the Vicars of Bakewell in consideration thereof to pay the
annual grant of twenty sliilHngs to the chaplain at Beeley, which
had previously been paid by the Dean and Chapter.t

According to the Valor Erclesiasiicus (27 Henry Vni.,) this
chapelry paid a pension of 12d. to the Chapter of Lichfield.

When the Parliamentary Survey of Livings was taken in 1^0,
the Commissioners recommended that the parochial chapelry of
Beeley should be united to Edensor. l^Ir. Richard Slack was then
minister, whom they report to be " insufficient. *'

The Registers during the latter paii of the Commonwealth con-
tain the following compendious autobiography of a peripatetic
minister, who seems to have finally settled at Beeley. When John
Cantrell was at Elton in 1650, the Parhamentary Commissioners
not only reported him as ** scandalous" (which was a term often
only equivalent to being possessed of royalist proclivities), but, also,
as ** inefficient," and it was probably the latter failing that caused
his frequent removals. The entry is as follows : —

" John Cantrell, Minister and Scholemaster at Darley in the
ycares of our Lord 1627, 1628, 1629, 1630, 1631, 1632. Schole-
master at Mr. Raphael Barke's house at Stanton in the yeares
1683, 16.34, 1635. Minister and Scholemaster againe at Darley in
the yeares 1636, 1637, 1638, 1630, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1648, 1644.
Minister and Scholemaster at Ashover in the yeares 1645, 1646.
Minister and Scholemaster at Hucknall Tokard in the countie of
Nottingham in the yeares 1647, 1648. Minister and Scholemaster
at Elton in the yeares 1649, 1650, 1651, 1652. Minister at Pivr-

669*8^^216 wherf iC dJt« -i/-^ *• ^^^' ^^^^^^ Derhyskire, p. 83; Add. MSS.
6b98, f. Zlb, where the date is given as 18th March, 13 Edward IV.

t lieliquaryy vol. iv., p. 254.

BEKLKY. 69

wich and Scholemaster at Parwich, Elton, VVinster, and Darley in
the yeares 1653, 1654, 1655. Minister at Chelmorton and Becleigh
and Scholemaster there in the yeare 1666.

'' Sic transit tempus vitse humanse.

*' Per me Johanem Cantrell ministr* ac Mathemat', dccimo tertis
die Junii in hoc anno 1656.''

There are also in the Registers various entries relative to dis-
putes between the chapelry and the mother church. One of these
we give at length : —

" This is a true relation of all mauer of dues that can be justly
claymed from ye inhabitants belonging to or reputed to belong
within ye Chappelry of Beleigh in Darby shire, when that cure is
void, and the Vicar of Bake well is hired by the more part of y* said
inhabitants to officiate therein (otlierwise there is no dues at all belong-
ing to him). And Mr. Cluristopher Lawson, present Vicar of Bake-
well promised in this court to serve or procure a lawful minister
to serve monthly at Beleigh free Chapel, and to administer y*
Sacrament, and to marry, baptize, and burie as often as occa-
sion require, or he to require no dues there.

" The customary payments of the inhabitants of Beeley and Har-
wood Grange to the Vicar of Bake well for Easter dues and mor-
tuaries, there being no other payments to him, as it was proved
att a Visitation held at Bakewell in the year 1671, before the
WorshipfuU Thomas Browne, Archdeacon of this County, and offi-
cial of the peculiar and jui'isdiction of Bakewell, upon a difference
there was between Christopher Lawson then Vicar of Bakewell, and
the said inhabitants of Beeley and Harwood, by John Froggart of
Froggart, Peter Clay of Birchover, Hugh Wilson of FaUinge, and
Anthony Holme of Beeley, the youngest of them being then 76
years old, and which the said Mr. Lawson afterwards received, and
Mr. Edward Smith his successor, are as foUoweth, viz., —

D.

For Christmas 2

Offerings, when he serves Beeley Church, the Master

or Mistress or Dame of a family each of them 2

of aU other sojourners, servants, and children

above 16 years old, each one - - - - 1

His dues for the House 1^, Garden 1^., Plough 1^. - 3

for every Milch Cow 1*., Calf i^. - - - li

for a Foal - - - - - - - 2

for Geese, if above 6, 1^., if under 1 5, but if 15,1 i^ 21

70 DEFiBYSHIRE CHURCHKS.

Ilis dues for Pigga the like

for every Hen 2 eggs,

Geese if not agreed for, to be delivered in Bakewell churchyard on
or about Midsummer day, and the like for Piggs if they happen.'*

There does not appear to have been any early right of sepulture
attached to this chapel, nor need we imagine that any interesting
memorials of an early date were lost at the demolition of the nave
in 1819; for Bassano, who carefully enumerated the ancient monu-
ments in this district about the year 1710, mentions none of an
earlier date than those to the Savilles, the oldest of which bear the
years 1676 and 1676 respectively. These are in the chancel, as
well as two others to the same family of a later date. The
Savilles purchased the manor of Beeley towards the end of the
sixteenth century and occupied the residence in this chapelry,
formerly called the Greaves, but which they re-named Hill Top.*

There is also a small brass against the north wall of the chancel,
inscribed — " Here lieth interred, in Hopes of a Blessed Resurrec-
tion, the body of Jrhn Calvert, late of this Parish, Gent. Who
departed this Life April the seventh, 1710, aged 95." The repson
we draw attention to this late memorial is because it affords an
instance of an effigy in brass of a most unusually late date. The
brass itself is scarcely a foot square, and the figure below the
inscription of hlliputian dimensions. The figure is represented in
what we suppose is intended for an open coffin, and clad in a
shroud, but with the face exposed, and the hands by the side.

The tower contains three bells, which, bear the following in-
scriptions.

I. "God save his Church." In Lombardic capitals.

II. There is no inscription on this bell, but round the haunch
are two fleurs-de-lis, a foHated cross, a Lombardic capital letter S.
and the founder's mark, consisting of a cross between the initials
G. H. in chief, and a fylfot cross and the section of a beU in
base.t

102* ^George 's^vU^' wSn *^v l^^^lf °/ ?^ ^°P ^^ *^« Heliquary^ vol. xiv., p.
WilUam Seville wi^^^ without wsne 1676. and his^rotier and heh-

married Dorothy, daughter and^ WilUam, the younger,

their two eons George and John WW- i ^^.^^^^^^ .StevenBon of Matlock, and
estates to their neprw"john°G?lhtf o?^^^^^ ^''^" ^ ^'^^ ^^^^^ "^^^

BEELEY. 7 1

III. " Ste Georgi. 0. P. N." (Sancte Georgi, ora pro nobis).
The founder's mark the same as on the 2nd bell.

Besides these three bells, there is also fixed in the east window
of the bell-chamber a re-cast Sanctus bell of the seventeenth
century, bearing the mark of George Oldfield.

In the churchyard there is a fine old yew, or rather the remnants
of a once massive tree, but carefully preserved.

72

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

^fft Chapelts of Bttxtoti^

HAT the waters of Buxton were well-known to the Ro-
mans is an ascertained fact, but history is silent with
■ respect to Buxton for nearly ten or eleven centuries
after their departure from Britain. Notwithstanding, however,
this silence, there can be no doubt that the curative properties
of the waters were never entirely forgotten for any long period,
or the ancient well of St. Anne, which was surrounded with
Roman brick and cement, would not have existed in a compara-
tively intact condition down to the year 1709, when Sir Thomas
Delves, a gentleman of Cheshire, removed it, and erected a stone
alcove or arch over the sprmg.*

Various writers of tlie time of Queen Elizabeth not only testify
that the waters were tlien m high ropute,t but that they had
been thus regarded for a very considerable space of time. Dr.
Jones, writing in 1672, speaks of a register kept by fie warden

0 the bath, in which the names, sj-mptoms, etc., of the patients
were recorded, and this register appears to have been kept for
a ong period. Ho also speaks of "the vayne invencions about
L " °^ ^""^ ^ *^' ^""' °' °f *»^« ^'^^^ «et from flood Jor-

1 will .f. " ^ "''^"'^ "°* *^^°^ ^°'t^y tl^e recitaU ; therefore

shirt -r A T' ^"^ ^'^^ ""''^^ ''y^««' «"^ dayes being so
^ >=• + And though we could have wished that the days had

^« W7"4:^?t""a^A'''°'*'^ ^'"-"^ »-«««•» (1724,, p. 44,- Pe«rson-B Springs of

l^%^^S''-°''^^^°'^A^^l^^ °V*od%^."'r?; Sh„w«bury. appears to have
IboutVlS?- ^^■' ?*»' 289. 271. The Hart llfj^^t f/'"*!™'""" "/ Sn^tish HUtory,
Ha.SJ„il"P*,'}~^' o* 'he Earl of 8aa8/r f a ^^V'?^,*<* *« preaence at Buxton,
Harnngton, Mr. Thomas Cecil. Mr Eo«e^^„?r^'"«''i ^'' '^^ F"»wimam, Lady
"j,, „ ^ Manners, and many others of high posi-

'-th^e^^-nt.-:x-e^';^--^^^^

BUXTON. 73

been long enough for Dr. Jones to give us a few of these his-
torical or legendary trifles, still enough is said by him and his
contemporaries to comdnce us that a chapel existed here for
many centuries before the Reformation. Dr. Short says, **that
Buxton was of great repute in the darkest distant times is unde-
niable from the Chapel here dedicated to St. Anne, whose foun-
dation was likewise discovered and large piece of its wall dug
up in driving the foresaid level.*'* This was a new level driven
to the bath by Mr. White of Buxton Hall, in 1698. At the
same time various Roman remains were also uncovered.

For our own part we have little doubt that there was a
Christian chapel here at the time of Archbishop Peckham's Visi-
tation in 1280 (though as we have already explained under
Bakewell, it would not claim special mention), even if there was not
one as early as the time when John bestowed the church of
Bakewell and all its chapelries on the cathedral church of Lich-
field. It is not to be expected that any mention of this chapel
would be found earlier than the sixteenth century, for it had
no special emoluments or value attached to it. Probably the cha-
pel of St. Anne of Buxton was merely one of those ** well- chapels"
of which there are numerous ruinous instances in Wales and Corn-
wall. Small chapels of this description are now in use by the side
of the holy springs of the Pyrenees, and elsewhere in Catholic
countries. These served chiefly for the prayers and thanksgivings
of the superstitious votaries of the bath, and were only occasion-
ally and at fitful intervals visited by a mass priest. The chapel
at Buxton would probably be served from time to time by the
priest or priests of Chelmoi-ton, as it was situated within the
confines of that parochial chapelry.

The first historical allusion to this chapel that we can find
occurs in the Valor Ecclesiasticiuf (27 Henry VIII.), wherein is the
following entry, under the parish church of Bakewell : —

'* Capella de Bukstones in pochia de Bakewell. In oblationibus
ibidem ad Sanctam Annam coram nobis dictis commissionariis non
patet."

It is not to be wondered at that there was a difficulty in
supplying the Commissioners of Henry VIII. with the value of
the offerings here made to St. Anne, as they must have fluctuated
considerably according to the social position of the patients or the
completeness of the cures.

♦Short's Mineral Waters, p. 23,

74 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

A few years later, the superstitious reverence that associated the
healing properties of the water with St. Anne was rudely crushed
by one of the agents of Henry VIEE. In his zeal to do his mas-
ter's bidding, he not only closed the chapel and removed the image,
but even deprived the sick for a time of all access to the waters.
The following letter from Sir William Bassett to Lord Cromwell
will be read with interest : —

'* Bight Honourable my in especial good Lord,

** According to my bounden duty, and the tenor of your
lordship's letters lately to me directed. I have sent your Lordship
by this bearer, my brother Francis Bassett, the images of St.
Anne of Buxton, and Saint Andrew of Burton upon Trent^ which
images I did take from the places where they did stand and
brought them to my own house, within forty-eight hours after the
contemplation of your said lordship's letters, in as sober a manner
as my little and rude wits would serve me. And for that there
should be no more idolatry and superstition there used, I did not
only deface the tabernacles and places where they did stand, but
did also take away crutches, shirts, and shifts, with was offered, be-
ing things that allure and entice the ignorant to the said offering,
also giving the keepers of both places orders that no more offerings
should be made in those places till the king's pleasure and your
lordship's be further known on their behalf.

'' My Lord, I have locked up and sealed the baths and wells at
BuxtoD, that none shall enter to wash there till your lordship's
pleasure be further known. Whereof I beseech your good lordship
that I may be ascertained again at your pleasures, and I shall not
fail to execute your lordship's commandments to the utmost of my
little wit and power. And my lord, as touching the opinion of the
people, and the fond trust they did put in those images, and
the vanity of the things ; this bearer can tell your lordship better
at large l^n I can write, for he was with me at the doing of all
» this, and in all places, as knoweth good Jesus, Whom ever have
your good lordship in bis blessed keeping.

** Written at Langley with the rude and simple hand of your
assured and most faithful orator, and as one ever at your com-
mandment next unto the King's, to the uttermost of his little
power,

*' William Bassett, Knight. •
"To Lord Cromwell.'**

♦Ward's Guide to the Peak, p. 177.

BUXTON. 75

The old chapel of St. Anne stood very near to the well, a little
to the east, and it seems probable that the building was complete-
ly demolished, in order to eradicate superstitious notions, shortly
after Lord Cromwell's receipt of the letter just quoted. It was
the foundations of this old chapel that were uncovered, as already
mentioned, in 1698. Wlien Dr. Jones wrote about Buxton in
1572, it appears that there was not any chapel remaining, and the-
crutches and other tokens of restored health were suspended to the
walls of the public rooms, adjoining the baths, that had been erected
by the Earl of Shrewsbury. When this building was removed and
a larger one substituted in 1670, by the third Earl of Devonshire,
the whole of these relics, as well as the bath registers, most unfor-
tunately disappeared.

The collapse of the superstitious efficacy attributed to the waters
seems to have in no wise interfered with their natural repute, and
visitors of all ranks and conditions * continued to frequent the wells
and baths. It became requisite that some provision should be made
for their spiritual necessities, as the visitors overcrowded the adja-
cent chapel of Fairfield, and accordingly a plain chapel was built
in 1625, iu the higher or upper town of Buxton, above St. Anne's
cliff.

The Parliamentary commissioners of 1650 describe it as a chapel of
ease to Bakew^cU, and report that "it is thought fitt to be made a
parish, and to have united to it Cowdell, and Stadon. Mr. John
Jackson, minister, reputed an honest man."

This building seems to have sufficed for upwards of a century-
and-a-half, but in 1798 a petition was presented to quarter sessions,
signed by the minister, chapel- wardens, and principal inhabitants,
praying that a Brief might be granted for the obtaining of funds
for a new edifice. The petition states that the chapel of Buxton
was a very ancient structure, and greatly decayed in walls and
roof, and that in consequence of the increase of population it was
incapable of holding half the parish, " several of which are obliged
to stay away or go to other places of worship, which is attended

* It was by no meane onlj the wealthy who had faith in the efficacy of these
waters during the reign of Ehzabeth. So great was the influx of the very poorest, that
in an Act of o9 Elizabeth, a special clause was introduced " that none resorting to
Bath or Buckstone V^ells should beg, but have relief from their parishes, and a pass
under the hands of two Justices of the Peace, fixing the time of their return." Short's
Mineral Waterty p. 42. In the same reign the inhabitants of the adjoining township
of Fairfield, petitioned for a grant towards the maintenance of their minister, stating
that their poverty arose in part ** by reason of the frequent access of divers poor, sick,
and impotent persons repairing to the Fountain of Buxton." Robertson's Guide to
Buxton, p. 26.

70 DKRBYSniRE CHrRCHKS.

with great inconvenience," it was therefore urged that it should be
taken down and re-built ; Mr. Joseph Smith, ** an able and
experienced architect," having estimated the cost at JS2,41d. The
Brief was obtained, but its results seem to have been very small,
for the work was not undertaken, and the pressure of attendance
was relieved by service being read for the visitors in the large
•room of the hotel in the Crescent ; the Crescent having been com-
pleted in 1784. Eventually the Duke of Devonshire, in 1811,
obtained an Act of Parliament for "building and establishing a
church or chapel of ease at Buxton in the county of Derby" at his
own expense. The preamble to this act stated that the population
of Buxton, situated in the two parishes of BakeweU and Hope, had
much increased, that the old chapel was at a very inconvenient
distance and difficult of access from the principal part of the town,
and that the 'consent of Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, as patrons
of Bake well and Hope, of Richard Chapman, vicar of BakeweU, and
of Stephen Hartley, vicar of Hope, had been obtained for the new
church. The act itself provided that the patronage of the new
church should be vested in the Duke, as well as that of Baslow
(another chapelry of BakeweU), and that the Duke should hand over
to the vicar of BakeweU, in consideration of his giving up the
advowsons of these two chapelries, the patronage of Tutbury,
together with land at Tutbury to the annual value of £95, to be
settled on the vicar of BakeweU.*

The chapel which was built in upper Buxton in 1626, still
remains. In order to avert superstition, the new chapel was not
dedicated to St. Anne, but to St. John.t It is a plain oblong
building under a single steeply-pitched roof, and has an area of 56
feet 2 inches, by 20 feet 4 inches. It is Ughted by square-headed
windows, and over the north door is tlie date 1626. At the west
end is the font, of an unusual oblong shape. On one side is the
same date as that over the door, on another is a shield charged
with a sal tire, on the third the Greek character Q, and on the
fourth, which appears to have been originaUy fixed against the wall,
the initials T. Y.

The roof is open and has five large tie-beams across the walls. On
the beam at the west end is inscribed—** This church, dedicated to
St. John the Evangelist, was restored by WiUiam Spencer, Duke of

•61 Geo. III., cap. 69.

tPilkinffton, voL ii., p. 426, Bays that the dedication was to St. John the
Baptist, but in this he is in error.

BUXTON. i 7

Devoiihliire, A.B., 1841; Francis Richard Grey, A.M., Incumbent;
Augubtin Fowler, A.B., Curate ; Samuel Turner, CLurcliwardcn."
At the east end is a reading desk of handsomely carved oak,
apparently of 17th century work. This was, we were told, con-
structed from some old chests obtained at Wormhill, by the late
incumbent.

From the time of the opening of the new church in 1812 up to
1841, this old chapel was but seldom used for worship, and for the
most part served as a school-room. Since 1871, when the new
church of St. James the Great was opened, service in the old
building has been again discontinued. It is surroimded by a grave-
yard, the inhabitants having obtained the rights of burial and
baptism here in 1625, and is now used as a mortuary chapel and
a Sunday School.

In 1715 a vestry was added at the south-east angle of the
chapel, and the date carved over the door. On the walls are
several plain monumental tablets, the earliest being to the memory
of William Wallace, who died in 1788.

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. i

IS^t (S^aptlts of Ctielmorton.

jHAT there was a chapel of the extensive parish of Bake-
well at Chelmorton, with a right of burial attached, very
soon after the Norman Conquest, there can be no doubt,
if only from the sepulchral remains that have recently been
brought to light. In Glover's history of the coimty it
is said that the church was erected in 1111, the date being
given on an oak beam of the old roof.* But this cannot
be accepted as correct, although the date may ai)proximate
to the true one, for Arabic numerals were not then in use, and
the whole of the roofs were of late Perpendicular design. The date
in question, if authentic, should probably have been read 1511, for the
numeral 5 was at that time represented by only a slight wave or
inflection from the straight line. Or it may have been a misread-
ing of the monogram IHS., which was formerly on a boss of tlie
chancel roof. A third solution was obtained by a visitor to this
church at the commencement of the restorations, who was told that the
part of the beam, with the date affixed, was in a well-known local
museum at the entrance to Poole's Cavern. But on this collection
being inspected no date could be detected on the piece of wood,
but merely a car\ing representing "four pillars supporting the
floor of a chamber, or some object of that description." +

There must have been a chapel here, when John gave the
church of Bakewell and its dependencies to the Dean and Chapter
of Lichfield, but the first specific mention we have found of it is
in the early chartulary of Lichfield, from which we have before
quoted, under the year 1256. J

♦ Glover's Derbyshire j vol. ii., p. 2^7.

t A paper on this church, chiefly dealing with the eepulchral slabs, was contributed
by C. S. Greaves, Esq., Q.C., to the Archceological Journal^ vol. xxvi., pp. 268-265.

\ Harl. MSS., 4799. Add. MSS., 6666, f. 39. We conclude that Henry Foljambe,
one of the founders of the chantry, was one of the younger sons of John Foljambe,

CHELMOKTON. 79

In that 3'ear leave was granted by Roger Molent, Bishop of
Coventry and Lichfield, to William and Henry Bawkestones (Bux-
ton), Geoffrey and Nicholas de Kendall, and Henry Foljambe de
Standon, all residents at Chelmorton, to found a perpetual chantry
in the chapel of Chelmorton, with rights of sepulture in the ceme-
tery adjoining. They bound themselves to find at their own charge
for ever, a proper and fit chaplain, to be presented to the Dean
and Chapter or to their procurator at BakeweU, who should serve
the chantry if found to be sufficient for that purpose. The Chap-
lain was to swear canonical obedience to the Dean and Chapter,
and to give to them all obventions and mortuaries belonging to
the mother church. The founders of the chantry also bound them-
selves on behalf of the inhabitants of Chelmorton, to keep the
chapel in repair, to find books and ornaments, to pay both the
great and small tithes to the mother church, and to contribute
their share towards its repair and towards lamps and candles. If
the inhabitants failed in this, the chapel, chantry, and cemetery
would all be taken away.

But this arrangement, that bore so hardly on the inhabitants of
Chelmorton, was not maintained for mauy years, for at the metro-
politan visitation of Archbishop Peckham in 1280, when the short-
comings of the Dean and Chapter were so severely exposed, it
was stated that the ecclesiastical revenues of the chapelry amounted
to sixty marks. Owing to the gift of two-thirds of the tithes of
his estates to the priory of Lenton by WiUiam Peverel the younger,
disputes were constantly arising throughout the Peak district be-
tween the Priory and the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, as we
shall subsequently see under Chapelen-le- Frith and Fairfield, but
in this instance it appears that the right of the Priory of Lenton
to two-thirds of the tithes was undisputed, so that only one-third
was appropriated by the Dean and Chapter.* Taking this into
consideration, tlie Archbishop treated the case of the chapel of Chel-
morton on different terms to the remainder of the chapclries, aud
ordained that two-thirds of the expense for providing books and

who died 1249, and is buried in the chancel at Tideswell. He was brother of the first
Sir Thomas Foljambe of Tideswell, and was himself bailiff of that town. See Monu-
menta Foljamheana, Beliquary, vol. xiv., p. 239, and Nichols' Collectanea, vol. i., p.
99. Sir Thomas Foljambe died seized of certain lands at Stanton (Standon), on which
his brother Henry was probably sometime resident. The Foljarabes held land for
several centuries at Chelmorton. See Nichols' Collectanea, vol. i., pp. 887, 389, 341.

* Two-thirds of the tithes of the demesne pasture lands of Chelmorton, Buxton,
and Stemdale, and one or two other manors, are specifically mentioned in the foun-
dation charter of Lenton, and it does not appear that disputes arose about these
manors, but about others that were supposed to be included in the general gift.
Dugdale'B Monasticonj vol 1., p. 646 ; Stevens' Continuation, vol. ii., p. 18.

80 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. •

ornameutB (except the missal and chalice) should be provided by
the moiiks and only one-third by the Dean and. Chapter. The
Chapter, however, was to provide the Minister, and pay him the
yearly stipend of five marks, as the prior had never held the ap-
pointment of minister ; and the parishioners, as they were excused
any share in the payment of the stipend of their own priest, had
to find two-and-a-half marks towards the salary of the poorer
chapelry of Beeley.*

From the VcUor Ecclesiasticas (27 Henry VIIL) it appears that the
Dean and Chapter of Lichfield were in receipt of a pension of 4s.
from the chapelry of Chelmorton. The same record shows that the
Priory of Lenton paid at that time dOs. per annum to the minister
at Chelmorton. Bichard Dowkyn was then minister.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 reported of Chelmorton
that it was a parochial chapelry, '* thought fitt to be made a
parish and to have united to it Shj'worth, Topplehead (sic)
Fiagg, and King Stemdale." Mr. Willmore, who was then in-
cumbent, is described as insufficient.

The church of Chelmorton, which is dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, consists of nave, north and south aisles, south transept,
south porch, chancel, and tower surmounted by a spire at the
west end. With the exception of a fragment or two of rude
mouldings (including a large piece of the dripstone of a circular
Norman archway, having a rough chevron pattern, now built into
the porch), and a few of the earliest of the incised sepulchral
memorials, there is now no trace of the original building of
Norman design that undoubtedly at one time occupied this site.
These were brought to light during the recent restoration of the
church, which extended over several years and was completed in

1874.

It seems probable that the original building was either in decay
or required material extension in the latter half of the thirteenth
century, and that when Henry Foljambe, and those associated with
him, obtained leave for the erection of a chantry, they also rebuilt
the whole of the church or chapel. The character of the plain
and pointed doorway under the porch, of the two trefoliated lancet
windows (now renewed after the old design) in the south aisle,
and of the pointed trefoUated doorway in the north wall (now
blocked up) are an abundant proof of the extensive nature of the

* Dugdale's Monatticoni vol. iii., p. 227, etc., etc.

CHELMORTON. 81

alterations undertaken at the time when the Early English style
was declining, viz., 1250 — 1275. Though leave was obtained to
erect the chantry in 1256 it might very probably not be carried
out, as was often the case, till some years later; and in the south
transept, which cannot be much earlier than 1270, we most likely
have the original building for chantry purposes. This south tran-
sept is twenty feet long by sixteen wide, that is some seven feet
wider than the south aisle, from the east end of which it opens.
Its characteristics are of the commencement of the Decorated
period. The south window has three principal lights, the points of
which are carried up to the window arch, leaving plain open spaces
between them, without any other tracery than the curve of the
muUions. The east wall has a plain pointed two-light window of
the same description. The nave is separated from the aisles by
four arches supported on octagonal pillars on each side. These
arches are pointed on the north side but circular on the south.
This difference has given rise to a mistaken estimate of the age of
the south side of the church. The Rev. J. Hodgson, Vicar of
Bakewell, writing to Messrs. Lysons in 1816, says, " the church at
Ghelmorton is very ancient and the pillars on one side Saxon
(Norman work was generally termed Saxon in those days) and on
the other Gothic, as at St. Albans."* But whatever may be the
case with the- arches, the pillars on both sides, as is shown by the
mouldings of the bases and capitals, are of Decorated work of the
end of the thirteenth century. As to the round arches on the
south side, it is just possible that the masonry of the arches of
the former chapel proving substantial they were re-erected in a
eemi-circular form over the new pUlars to save expense. It is,
however, more hkely that it is an alteration of a post-reformation
date, as is the case with the rounded arches on the north side of
the nave of Duflfield Church in this county, where all the masonry
is exposed, and a conclusion can be easily reached.

The archway into the tower at the west end of the church is
also of a Decorated date, and probably the greater part of the
masonry of the basement stage of the tower. At all events the
last wall of the tower over the archway is as old as that period,
for the traces of the high-pitched roof which then covered the nave
are very obvious. There is a blocked-up window in the west wall
of the tower, as can be seen from the interior, though the

•Lysons' Correspondence, Add. MSS. 942-t, f. 82.

82 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

exterior has been rebuilt and supported with iron braces bo as to
efifectually conceal it. The tower is of two stages, and ia supported
by buttresses at the angles, which only reach to the top of the
lower stage. The belfry is lighted by four square-headed two-light
windows, and these, together with the battlements, conclusively
show that the tower as it now stands was chiefly the work of the
fifteenth century, when the Perpendicular style prevailed. The tower
is ascended by a turret staircase in the north-west angle, and is
surmounted by an elegant octagon spire hghted by a single tier
of windows of the usual design. The upper part may possibly
have had a second smaller tier of openings, but several feet of the
summit were unfortunately blown down in the last century, and
the new part is marked by a string-course of square cut stones
which could not have formed part of its original design.

The chancel was entirely rebuilt in the late Perpendicular style
that prevailed in the third quarter of the fifteenth century, and is
a very good specimen of the style. The south side is Hghted by
two square-headed two-Hght windows with Perpendicular tracery,
between which is a pointed priest's door; the east window is
pointed and has three principal lights, a design that is probably
after the original one, though previous to the restoration it was
simply divided by mulHons into three square-headed lights vdthout
tracery; the north side is lighted by two windows of the same
style as those on the south. The south porch, with its four-
centered archway, as well as the old oak roofs of a low pitch, were also
of the same date. The roof timbers were found to be so much
decayed, that new ones had to be substituted, and there now only
remain one or two bosses in the chancel roof to show the style of
workmanship. At the time when these roofs of the fifteenth
century were added, the walls above the arcades of the nave
were raised, so as to form a clerestory above the aisles. Three
two-ligbt square-headed clerestory windows were then erected on the
south side, but none in the north wall.

A striking peculiarity in this church, which arose to a great
extent from the natural slope of the rocky ground to which the
architects had adapted theur work, consisted in the great difference
in the levels ; but this characteristic has been much modified in
the recent alterations. An account of this church, written just
prior to the restoration, says :-- The most pecuUar feature is the
extraordmary variety of the levels of different parts, the chancel
being five feet, more or less, higher than the entrance to the south

CHELMOiJTON. 83

porch, and the original base of the north door beiug nearly four
feet higher than the same point. These remarkable variations are
met by a step at the south door, and another at the north aisle, in
one direction, and by three steps at the chancel arch, and one near
the altar, in the other; and a general fall of the floor from north
to south, and east to west. The piers also on the north side reach
at least a foot higher, and, with the arches, nearly two feet higher
than the corresponding features on the south side/* *

Of the various details of interest in the interior of the church,
we may first note the stoup for holy water in a small niche im
mediately to the right of the south entrance, within the porch.
It is apparently coeval with this inner entrance, and is older than
the fabric of the porch. In the east wall, at the end of the
south wall, is a plain stone bracket that has served for the figure
of a saint, and in the south-east angle of the south transept
is a piscina, that was hidden by the pews before the altera-
tions. The removal of the plaster from the 'walls at that time
also disclosed some fresco painting on the wall of the south
transept. The chief subject was ** The Beatitude" — ''Blessed are
the pure in heart for they shall see God, Matthew 5 verse 8,"
in black letter on a zigzag scroll. The face of the ribbon was
white, and the back red with gold stars. It was most effec-
tively represented as twined round a stem from which sprang
branches of leaves and red berries. More art was displayed in
the design of this scroll (a sketch of which is given iu the pam-
phlet from which we have just quoted), than was usual
in wall painting of post-Beformation days, but it is absurd to
suppose that this text in the vulgar tongue was placed here at
any earUer date. Possibly it may be of the days of Henry VIII.
or Elizabeth, but it more probably followed on the canonical
injunctions of the reformed church in the reign of James I.,
which ordered suitable passages of Scriptiure, in addition to the
Ten Commandments, to be depicted on the walls.t

Some black-letter inscriptions were also found beneath the plas-
ter at the east end of the north aisle, as well as paintings of
figures of various kinds further to the west on the same wall.
The latter frescoes appear to have been of pre-Beformation date,
but they were all too much damaged to be accurately described.

• A Description of the Church of St. John tlie Baptist^ Cfieltnortofi, a Hinail
pamphlet of S pages, inaccoi'ate in many respects reprinted, from the Buxton
Advertiser.

t Canon Ixxxii., 100:1.

A.

84 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Beneath the chancel arch is the unusual feature of a stone
screen, diyiding the chancel from the nave.* It stands about five
feet six inches high, and is divided in the front into panels of
tracery, surmounted by an embattled parapet pierced with quatre-
foils. It is of fourteenth century work. The entrance between the
two partitions of the screen is not arched over, but it seems pro-
. bable that this has at one time been the case, when the upper part
of the screen would be made of wood. An oblong piece of stone,
pierced with rather smaUer quatrefoils than those on the screen,
was found under the pavement where the pulpit now stands, and
is built into the south wall of the porch. We do not think that
this fragment had any connection with the chancel screen or ancient
pulpit, but probably formed part of another screen erected at the
same time to shut off the transept from the rest of the church.
In the south wall of the chancel are two shallow sedilia, consisting
of a stone seat or bench projecting from the wall, for -which two
panels, carved with tracery in low relief, form the back. With that
strange indifference to monumental remains, which characterised
other ages than the *^ Churchwardens* era," the scat of the sedilia
actually consists of an ancient incised sepulchral slab. Beyond the
sedilia is a small piscina ; a third piscina at the end of the north
aisle shows that there were at least three, or possibly four altars
in this church in pre-Keformation days.t In the upper tracery of
the two side windows at the east end of the chancel are a few
small fragments of blackened glass, which were found during the
restoration in the ground below the windows. These fragments
show traces of acorns and foliage that formed a usual pattern on
mediaeval quarries.

The octagon font, now placed at the west end of the church
near the tower archway, is a remarkable example of late Per-
pendicular. Its height, including the base, is four feet three inches,
and its diameter across the top is two feet. It is not, however,
remarkable for its proportions, but for the inscription or sculpture,
consisting of separate letters or designs on each of its eight faces.
This inscription has for a long time puzzled the most astute anti-
quaries, owing to the sculj^tor having carved a Greek invocation in
Old English letters. The first of these characters we take to be

* Stone screeLB in paribh cliurches are of very exceptional occurrence. Parker, in
his Glossary, only mentions two examples, Brougliton in OxfordKhire, and Ilkeston
in this county. There were also stone screens at Bakewell, at the old chapel at
Monk's Dale (Tideswell), and at Darley.

f There may have })een a fourth altar, at the entrance to the south transept, by the
stone bracket.

CHELMORTON. 85

an initial cross, followed by the letters s, eb, s, e, m, n, o, that is
<r«/3 atfAvw, or "Reverence the Revered One."*

Below the tower is a pariah chest in rather a dilapidated
condition, on which is inscribed '* Ralph Buxton of Flagg gave
this, 1630." The tower contains a peal of four bells, though the
framework has been designed to accommodate five. They are
inscribed as follows: —

I. "Jesus be our speed, 1621,'* and the bell mark of George
Oldfield.

n. "God save his church, 1681."

IIL " God save the churc, 1621," and the bell mark of George
Oldfield.

IV. **I sweetly toling men do call

To taste on sweets that feeds the soole."
with the date, 1607, and the bell mark of Henry Oldfield.

The inscription on the last bell is in Old English letters, but
those on the three first in Roman capitals.

The church contains no inscribed monuments of any antiquity.
When Bassano \isited this church in 1709, he recorded that it
had been robbed in the year 1696 of a brass plate to Mr.
Samuel Swan, of Hurdlow, who died in 1688, and of another to
W. Brereton, of Hurdlow, as well as of a Bible and a surpHce. He
also noted "upon an old seat end Foljambe arms,'* and that
" over the west gates into the chapel yard is cut Robert Me-
verell, Anno Domini, 1668," from which it appears that there
was then a Lych gate.t But the most interesting of his notes
records that — " in ye south wall is a Httle raised tomb, and on
ye covering stone is a Pastorall Staiff.'* Of this tomb there is
now no trace. The pastoral sta£f points to the burial of an
abbot or prior, and it is reasonable to conjecture that here
was interred a former prior of Lenton. From the fact of the
tomb being in the wall it was probably to the memory of one
who had given largely to the building or rebuilding of the
chapel. Lenton Priory drew so large a share of their emolu-

* For this explanation, now for the first time published, we are indebted to the
Bey. F. Jourdain.

t The eldest line of the influential family of Meverell, of Tideswell, became extinot
in 1626, on the death of Bobert MevereU, who is buried at Ham, in Staffordshire ; his
daughter and heiress ElizabeUi married Lord Cromwell, but Sampson MevereU, father
of the above-named Bobert, had a brother Nicholas, also of Tideswell. Nicholas
Meverell who died in 1628, left two sons, Edward and Bobeit, the latter being the
Bobert MevereU who gave the Lych gate to Ghelmorton. He also erected a sun-
dial in Wormhill churchyard, which stilTremains. Pegge's MSS. Collections, vol. vii.

86 DERBYSlTfRE CHURCHES.

raents from the Peak district, and especially from this chapelry *
that we can well understand one of their priors contributing
extensively if not exclusively to the erection or restoration of Chel-
morton chapel, and requesting that his bones might on that
account here find a resting-place.

The porch contains an interesting series of early sepulchral slabs
or gravestones. There are about a dozen tolerably perfect speci-
mens, as well as fragments of several others. Several of these
stones were discovered, apparently in their original position, about
the year 1840, when the churchyard near the porch was being
lowered. An outline sketch of twa of these is given in Bateman's
Avtiqnities ;i one of these has an axe across the stem of the
cross, and is by him supposed to denote the grave of the village
carpenter ; but we have elsewhere given our reasons for considering
tliis to be one of the symbols of a knight or man at arms; J the
other one, with a sword on the sinister side, is the same as is
given on Plate III., Fig. 3. Of the three others that were exposed
at the Rame time, two are represented on the same plate (Figs.
I and 2) ; and the remaming one is of the same style, but more
defaced. § The remainder of this collection was foimd, for the most
part, in the walls of the church during the recent alterations. One
or two of them bear obvious traces of having been cut away to
serve for other purposes, as is the case with Fig. 4 on Plate III-
This last stone is of the first half of the thirteenth century, and
belongs to the fifth of the classes into which we divided the Bakewell
stones. There are also other examples belonging to the several
divisions of the third of those classes (one almost exactly resembles
a Parley slab, Plate IV., Fig. 6.) ; and the two beautiful specimens,
ah-eady mentioned, at the top of the plate, belong to the fourth
class, and are of the twelfth century.

Not far from the porch are the base, and portions of the moulded
shaft of the old churchyard cross. The registers commence in
1590. There is an interesting entry, dated 80th August, 1607,
relative to absolution from a sentence of excommunication.

* An inquisition of the tithes due to Lenton Priory from the Peak district, taken in
1'27*2, shows that BakeweU paid iJS 3s. 4d., Ashford i:6, Hulme £5 8b., Nether Haddon
£3 8s. Bd., Monyash iJl lis. 8d., Fairfield £8 68. 8d., various smaller townships £3
128. 8d.,and Chelmorton (including Stemdale, Cowdale, Flagg, Stadon, and Buxton)
£27 68. 8d. Lichfield Chartulary, Harl. MSS., 4799, etc.

t Jiateman's A ntiquities of Derbyshire, p. 197.

t Churches of Derbijahire,' Yo\. I., p. 263.

§ There is a pood draN\'ing of these three stones, taken when in a recumbent
position in the churchyard, in the i860 Volume of the Anastatic Drawing Society^
Plate XLI. We still incline to the opinion that these three most probably served
originally as coffin lids, and not as mere gravestones. See the accoimt of the Bakewell
slabs.

HADDON. 87

^fie <!^apel¥s o^ ?^at(t(on.

|HE manor of Haddon, usually termed Nether Haddon, to
distiDguisb it from the adjaoent manor of Over Haddon,
formed part of the crown estates when the Domesday
Book was compiled. Shortly afterwards we find that it was held
on the tenure of knight service, by the ancient family of Avenell.
On the death of William de Avenell, about the middle of the twelfth
century, his estates were divided between his two daughters, Eliza-
beth, who became the wife of Simon Basset, and Avice, who was
married to Richard Vernon.* The manor of Nether Haddon was
shared between the two co-heiresses of Avenell, though Vernon ap-
pears to have become possessed of the more important half, including
the manor house, wliich was even in this century of great extent
and fortified in an exceptional manner. t The Bassets retained their
moiety of Haddon till the close of the reign of Edward III., when
John Basset was seized of it, but not long afterwards the whole
became vested in the Vernons thi'ough the purchase of the other
portion.}

The only issue of the marriage between Eichard Vernon and
Avice Avenell was a daughter, who married Gilbert le Francis, and
their son Richard took tlie name of Vernon on coming into the
property, and resided at Haddon Hall. He died in the 25th year

• See the previous account of the manor of Baslow.

f In the reiffn of Richard I., his brother John (who appeai-s then to have been
exercising regal functions, probably during Richard's absence in the Holy Land)
issued a patent to Richard de Vernon to fortify his house at Haddon with a wall, to
the heignt of twelve feet, but without battlements; and forbidding him to be
disturb^ in bo doing. The original of this document is in the possession of the Duke
of Rutland, and was exhibited to the British Archa)ological Association when they
visited Haddon Hall in 1851. Journal of the Archaological Association, vol. vii.,
p. 296-7. A part of this wall still exists to the east of the chapel.

{ Inq. post Mort. 32 Edw. I., No. 64; 46 Edw. HI., No. 8.

88 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of Edward I.* An outline of the chief points of interest in con-
nection with the subsequent genealogy of the holders of this manor
has been already given under Bakewell.

The chapel of Haddon HaU is situated at the south-west comer
of the building. It is entered by a doorway in the north side, and
consists of a nave with north and south aisles, and a chancel. The
north aisle is now very shallow, but was probably wider before the
extensive alterations of the fifteenth century. The earliest
portion of the building is the circular Norman pillar which sup-
ports the two arches between the nave and the south aisle. The
mouldings of the base and the capital of this pillar, though the
latter has been much cut away so as to fit the pointed arches
subsequently erected, are of the middle of the twelfth century.
This proves the existence of a chapel in the days of the Avenells
that possessed at least one side aisle; and the plain circular Nor-
man font, close to this pillar, also proves that in those days it
possessed the rights of baptism, a right never granted to a mere
private household chapeL Nether Haddon was at that time, and
for a long subsequent period, an extra-parochial district, so far as
matters ecclesiastical were concerned, and the chapel was probably
not only open to the Vemons and their retainers, but also to those
who occupied the half of the " town " of Nether Haddon, that per-
tained to the Darleys.

Of the Early English style of the next century, there is abun-
dant illustration in the four lancet windows of the south aisle, one
in the east wall, two in the south, and a very small one in the
west end. At the north angle of the east end of this aisle may
be noticed the base mouldings of an Early English detached shaft
or column, rising from a large block of stone that has apparently
no connection with the surrounding masonry. There are traces in
the wall above it of a large bracket that has been broken off at
some subsequent period, and it has been suggested that this shaft
supported its lower margin. It does not> however, appear to us to
have had any connection with the bracket, but rather to have been
a component part of a thirteenth century arcade that does not now
exist.

• The descent of the manor of Nether Haddon in the reign of Edward I. is some-
wnat involved. It has been stated that in the early part of the reign a moiety of
tne "^ft^or was held by Robert Darley, and again by his son of the same name— see
>?«^*fi?°^l ¥^- * .?^'^V ^-^ No. 1 ; 6 Edw. I., No. 2; 11 Edw. I., No. 10; 25 Edw. I.,
So;i«t7 v.^?^ 1?°?* M J^^dred and Quo Warranto RoUa it would appear that the

alwat« «iifi« Ji!" ""^ it® ^"^ °* N^^«' Haddon, a term that was Sy no means
always synonymous with manor.

H ADDON. 89

During the Decorated period of architecture that prevailed at the
commencement of the fourteenth century, the present north aisle
(except the doorway), with the octagon pillar supporting the two
arches, was erected. To this date also belongs the lower window at
the west end of the nave with its three principal lights, as well as
the two finely carved fragments of the old rood screen, which are
still to be seen inside the large chancel pews at their west end.

The chancel,* which is lighted at the west end by a large five-
light pointed window, appears to have been thoroughly rebuilt in
the Perpendicular period ; probably in 1426, when, as we know
from inscription, the glass of the window was inserted. At this
time also the pointed arches of the south aisle, supported by the
Norman pillar, were added; but we think that the square-headed
north and south windows of the chancel, and the clerestory of the
nave were of a somewhat later date, probably about the year 1455,
when the elegant bell turret is supposed to have been erected by
William Vernon, who married Margaret Pype. This bell turret is
on the north side of the chapel ; and on the outer wall, facing the
courtyard, the letter W is carved in bold rehef. The reconstruc-
tion of the vestibule or ante-chapel (which involved the building
up of the north window of the aisle), and the wide ogee-arched
entrance into the chapel itself were most likely effected at the same
time.

The roof of the chapel is of a very low pitch. Though some of
the woodwork had doubtless belonged to an old Perpendicular roof,
it was probably all reconstructed in the days of Sir George Man-
ners, the son and heir of Sir John Manners and Dorothy Vernon.
On one of the beams are the initials and date, ** G. M. 1624."
This, too (with the exception of the low massive benches in the
south aisle, which may be a century older) is the date of the high
balustraded pews of tiie chancel, of the pulpit and desk on the
north side, of the communion rails, and other woodwork of the
chancel and north aisle, all of which appears to have been pro-
fusely gilded at the time of its first construction.

Of the features of interest within this chapel not already
enumerated, we may first make mention of the stoup or holy-water
basin, which is immediately on the right hand side as we enter by
the north doorway. It is of exceptional size and construction, as
English stoups were, as a rule, projections from, or recesses in, the

* The chancel is of nnnsiial size in proportion to the rest of the chapel. The tottU
length of the chapel is 49 feet, of which tne chancel ahsorbs 28.

90 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

wall. But this stoup is a detached piece of sculptured, stone,
though constructed to stand against the wall, and resembles a
small font, being nearly a foot in diameter across the basin. It is
of octagon shape, and stands on an octagon base or piUar ; the
style seems to denote fifteenth century work.

To the left hand of the entrance, behind the pulpit, is a door,
now fastened up, leading into the bell turret,* from which a
doorway opens, high up in the north wall, that formerly led on
to the top of the rood screen. Over this lower doorway in the
north aisle is a short flight of narrow wooden stairs, ending in a
small platform. This we believe to have bee^ for an organ, but
popular tradition absurdly persists in styling it a confessional I
Who was first responsible for this legend we know not, but it is
now repeated to every party of tourists by the cicerones of the
Hall, and it has even found its way into more than one work
treating of this ancient buUding. A small loop-hole or opening in
the wall that commimicates with the turret staircase of the cam-
panile is pointed out as the orifice through which the sins of the
penitent were breathed, the priest taking up an uncomfortable
position on the steps on the other side of tlie waU. If the
ridiculousness of the position is not sufficient to disprove the tale,
it will surely be no longer accepted when we point out that the
wood- work of the stairs and platform inside the chapel is of seven-
teenth century, and therefore of post-Reformation, date, and
Protestant Clergymen did not then act as Father Confessors.

At the west end of the south aisle is a large oak chest of
remarkable size, which has probably served as a receptacle for the
vestments and other garniture of the chapel. On the front panels
are two shields, the one bearing Vernon, and the other a quartered
coat of Pembrugge, Vernon, and Pype, thus showing the chest to be
of fifteenth century work. Against the east wall of this aisle
there is a bracket carved with a grotesque head, which has served
as a support for the figure of a saint ; and on the floor is the
ancient altar stone with the hye consecration crosses still plainly
incised upon it. Its dimensions are five feet six inches by two
feet six, and the edge of the stone is chamfered. A unique squint
in connection with this altar was discovered and re-opened in
1859. It consists of a diagonal opening in the south-west angle
of the chancel wall, through which the attendant on the top of

* The bell that formerly hung in this turret is now in nse at the new church of
Bowslej.

TTADDON. 9 1

the rood-loft would be able to obtain a view of the side altar, and
thus know the coiTect moment for ringing the sacring ^ell when
mass was being celebrated. This side altar was dedicated to St.
Nicholas as we learn from the Chantry Roll of Henry VIII. where
the chantrv is thus described: —

" Haddon. The service of S. Nicholas in the Chapell att
Haddon. The incumbent Sir Rychard Bawson was put in by the
executors of Sir Henry Vernon. Clere vj/t, xvijs, ijo?. It hathe
a chambre in tlie manor-place of Haddon by the sufferaunce of
Geo. Vernon, Esq. He occupieth a chales and other necessaries
of the said George Vernon."

Sir Henry Vernon here mentioned died in 1516. He was a
favourite of Henry VIII. who made him High Steward of the
King's Forest in the Peak, in addition to many other honourable
posts. He had two sons, George and John, both of them subse-
quently knighted. From the younger son, who married the co-
heiress of John Montgomery of Sudbury, descended the family of
the Lords Vernon. The eldest son. Sir George Vernon, obtained
the title of **King of the Peak" from his lavish hospitality, but
he is still more celebrated as the father of Dorothy Vernon. "The
chambre in the manor-place" appropriated to the chantry priest
was the second room from the entrance gateway, on the first floor
of the west side of the lower court. It has been for some time
divided into two apartments, and is immediately over that part of
the building where the pewter dishes, jack boots, and other relics
are kept, and which is now erroneously shown by the guides as
**the chaplain's room."

At the east end of the chancel there is also another stone slab
raised an inch or two above the pavement. This stone is much
larger than that in the south aisle, being over eight feet in length,
and of corresponding breadth. There is no doubt that this has
been the high altar stone, though, owing to the battered condition
of its surface, only one of the consecration crosses and traces of
a second can now be discerned. On each side of the east window
is an image bracket, and in the sloping sill, three steps or level
places have been cut, which are supposed to have served as rests
for the crucifix and two principal candlesticks. In the south wall,
close to the east end is a piscina, with a single drain in an arched
recess or fenestella; the two projecting stones within the recess
were used to support a shelf for the elements, i.e.^ as a credence

92 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

table. The sill of the south window of the chancel is unusually
low, and was probably used as a sedile.

The stained glass in the windows of the chancel is well worth
attention. The glass was teleaded in 1858, and arranged, so far
as the fragments would permit, after the original design. No new
glass was introduced, but several old quarries were taken from other
windows and used in completing the groundwork of the large east
window. There are fourteen different varieties in the patterns.* In
the centre hght of the last window is the figure of Christ on the
Cross; in the next Ught, on His right, the Virgin Mary; and in
the corresponding hght on the left, St. John. Each of the latter
figures is mutilated, having lost the head and other accessories;
whilst the figures of the two outer lights have quite disappeared.
In the small tracery hghts of the head of this window are the
figures of various Saints in yeUow stains, except the centre Ught,
which contains the quartered arms of France and England. Below
the three central figures already named, are three shields of arms
supported by angels: — Arg,, a lion rampant, ^«. (Stackpole) ; t a?y.,
fretty, sab., a canton of the first (Vernon), and over it the words,
*' Bicardus Vernon ; " the bearing on the third shield has been
lost Below the outer lights are the fragments of a knight kneeling
at a desk, and of an ecclesiastic in eucharistic vestments. At the
bottom of the windows is the following black letter inscription on
the glass: —

** Orate pro aiabus Ricardi Vernon et Benedicite uxoris efus quifecenmt
ano dni milesimo ccccxxvii,*'

This Sir Richard Vernon was bom in 1391, and died in 1451.
He was Treasurer of Calais, Captain of Eouen, and Speaker of
the Parliament that met at Leicester in 1426. His wife Benedict,
was the daughter of Sir John Ludlow, of Hodnet, Shropshire.

The square -headed north and south windows of the chancel have
each three principal lights, with six smaller lights in the tracery
above. All the smaller Ugbts contain figures of different apostles
or saints. The centre light of the north window contains a figure
of Saint Anne teaching the infant Virgin to read. On her left is
a spirited rendering of St. George slaying the dragon, and on her
right St. Michael trampling on Satan. In the lower part of this
window are several fragments of armorial bearings, and over the

* Some of these quarries are etched on the enter title-page of the Ajtcutatic
Drawing Society's volume for 1860.

t The alliance of this family with Vernon is explained under Bakewell.

H ADDON. 93

centre shield the words, '* Richard Vernon." In the south window
are the arms of Vernon impaling a missing coat, and those of
Pype, az,, two pipes in pale and a semee of cross -crosslets, or ; over
the latter coat is a fragment of the original inscription, ** Mar-
gareta Pype uxo." Not only was the glass in the chancel of this
chapel far more perfect till within the last fifty years, but the west
window and other parts of the chapel were then filled with early
glass, said to have been of exceptional value and richness. About
the year 1828 a mysterious midnight raid was made upon this
valuable glass; that from the west window was wholly abducted,
but the thieves appear to have been disturbed, as other fragments
were found laid on the grass ready for removal.* A reward of a
hundred guineas failed to detect the culprits, and it was supposed
that the booty was shipped to the Continent and there sold. The
skill requisite to remove or pack so fragile an article, the great
difficulty of transit in those days, and the rarity of purchasers of
a style of art then so little appreciated, unite to make this daring
robbery as fully inexphcable and strange as the recent theft from
Bond Street of the celebrated Gainsborough.

The partial removal of the whitewash from the chapel walls in
1858 exposed mural decorations of various characters and of much
interest. The following description we borrow from an excellent
account that appeared in a recently-pubUshed Guide to Haddon
Hall.t

*< The oldest fragments are two running patterns of good design.
One is on the arches of the north arcade, and of the same date as
the stonework on which it appears, viz., about 1810. The other,
which seems to be of the same age, is on one of the jambs of the
east window of the south aisle, over the altar. In this window
there are traces of a figure, now almost entirely destroyed. Over
the arches of the nave there are traces of two different designs,
one on each wall. Both are much defaced. On the west wall of
the nave there is a design consisting of a running pattern of rose
branches and leaves, with red flowers of five petals. The stems
and leaves are shaded grey and black. Traces of the same design
have been found on the walls of the south aisle, and on the jambs

• ThiB robbery is mentioned in Rayner's History of Haddon, p. 42 ; and we have
also gleaned additional particnlars &om local inquiry.

t Haddon Hall, by S. C. Hall, F.S.A., and Llewellynn Jewitt, F.S.A. Buxton:
J. C. Bates, 1871. This guide book^ and its companion to Chatsworth, are the very
best books of the description, both in letterpress and illustration, with which we are
acquainted.

94 DEKBVSHIRE CHURCHES.

of its west window. The date of this pattern is probably about
1427, when the glass of the east window of the chancel was put
in.

** There is a pattern of green and duD red on the east waU of
the chancel, and on the south wall is a very similar pattern, which
enclosed four groups of figures, two on each side of the window
over the sediha bench. There is no border surrounding each group,
but merely the diaper pattern. They are probably of the same
date as the glass in the east window. The figures of these groups
are generally eflfectivoly drawn, though with occasional exaggeration
and distortion. They are in distemper on the plaster, and are
black, with the exception of some dresses, which are green. There
are scrolls to each group, corresponding with the number of the
figures, but without any name. These groups had been much in-
jured before they were covered with whitewash, and the injury
appeai-8 as if partially intentional. The groups form a series of
subjects, and commence with the upper group on the east side of
the window. The subject is the presentation of the Virgin in the
Temple by Joachim and Anna. The three figures remain. Below
this is a group, much injured, apparently Anna teaching the Virgin
to read, whilst Joachim stands by.

"The upper group on the west side is a Holy Family. The
Virgin holds the infant Jesus in her arms; St. Joseph stands by;
St. John the Baptist raises his hands and eyes towards the infant
Saviour.

** Below this is a group, much injured, with four scrolls, and
apparently four figures. A female figure, probably the Virgin,
seems to be carrying a child, whilst a male figure follows behind.
There seems to be indications of a fourth small figure. The
subject appears to be the flight into Egypt, with, contrary to
custom, the figure of St. John introduced."

There are also remains of colour-wash on the piscina, the altar
brackets, and in other parts of the chapel.

HAHTHILL. 95

m^t effo^tltv of i^artlitU.

JABTHILL (or Hartle) is a small township within the parish
of Bakewell, between two and three miles to the south-
west of that town.
We cannot say at what date a chapel was first erected here, but
probably not before the reign of Henry III. The first mention of
it occurs in the early chartularies of the Lichfield Chapter. From
an instrument dated the 4th of the Kalends of January, 1259, it
appeairs that a dispute had arisen between the Dean and Chapter
and Sir Richard de Harthill, with respect to a chantry that that
Knight had founded in his chapel at Harthill. The followmg ami-
cable settlement was mutually agreed upon : — That Sir Bichard de
Harthill should annually pay to the Chapter one mark of silver, six
shilliugs, and eight pence at the feast of the Purification, and the
like amount on the nativity of St. John the Baptist — that the
Chapter should receive all tithes of grain and hay that accrued
from the whole town and territory of Harthill, with the principal
dues and Peter's pence, and all other dues which the mother church
of Bakewell had been in the habit of receiving up to the comple-
tion of this instrument — ^that all other dues should remain for the
sustenance of the chaplain of the said chapel (that would seem to
give to Harthill the lesser tithes) — that the chaplain should be
presented to the mother church, and that he should take an oath
of canonical obedience to the Dean and Chapter — and, finally, that
if the payment of the mark should ever cease to be paid, in part
or in whole, by the said Knight or his heirs, the chantry in the
chapel would cease to exist.*

The manor of Harthill was held by the family who took their
name from that place at an early period. In the reign of Edward I.,

♦ Magnum Reffwirum Album, t. 98; Harl. MS8. 4799, f. 10; Add. MSS. 6666, f. 37.
See Appendix No. II.

96 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Richard do Harthill, the founder of the chantry, married Joao,
daughter and co-heiress of Thomas de Edensor by Lucy, co-heiress
to her brother William Savage. He seems, from the witnesses to
the above-quoted charter, to have had a brother, Robert de Harthill.
Their son, Adam de Hai-thill, married the heiress of Deyville, and
died in 1284. They had issue Richard de Harthill, who married
Agatha, daughter and co-heiress of William Savage, and died in
1325 ; whilst their son, another Adam de Harthill, who died in
1337, was tlie father of Sir Richard de Harthill, who died in 1390,
seized of the manor of Pooley, and half the manor of Ring's
Newtou, in Warwickshire. These manors, together with the Derby-
shire estates, passed, on the death of Sir Richard, to his daughter
and heiress Ehzabeth, who conveyed them by marriage to Edmund
Cokayne of Ashboum. * Hai'thUl remained with the Cokaynes till
1599, when Edward Cokayne sold the manor to John Manners,
from whom it has descended to the present Duke of Rutland.

Mention is made of the chapel of Harthill in the metropolitan
visitation of Archbishop Peckham in 1280. The Archbishop decided
that, as a suitable sustenance had been provided for the support
of the priest at Harthill by the Chapter, it was not necessary for
him to make any other order respecting that chapel, except so far
as related to the books and ornaments, in which matters the same
ordinance as that respecting the other chapels of Bakewell would
hold good. +

We conclude that either the Harthills or the Cokaynes neglected
to pay the mark to the Chapter stipulated by the agreement of
1259, and that thereupon the chantry fell into abeyance. At all
events this chantry was not in existence when the Chantry Roll
was drawn up in the 37th year of Henry VIII. The chapel itself
seems also to have been suffered to fall into decay at an early
period, and even its site is now unknown. It evidently did not
exist when the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 drew up their
report of Bakewell parish, wherein they recommend that the town-
ship of Harthill should be united to Youlgreave.

* Inq. post Mort., 19 Edw. H., No. 63 ; 11 Edw. III., No. 16 ; 13 Ric. II., No. 28 and
99 ; 14 Rio. II., No. 27. Cokayne Memoranda , by Andreas Edward Cokayne, printed
for private circulation, 1878.

f Dngdale's Monasticon^ vol. iii. p. 227 ; i^ic

LOXCiSTONK. 97

^l^t €l^iL9t\xv of Hongstone.

|ONGSTONE, usually termed Great Longstone, to distinguish
it from the adjacent manor of Little Longstone, was one
of the numerous ancient chapelries of Bakewell. The
time when it was originally founded is not known, hut we believe
it to have been extant at the time when King John bestowed
the church of Bakewell, with its chapelries, on the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield. When Archbishop Peckham made his
metropolitan visitation in 1280, it was arranged that the stipend
of the minister of Longstone should for the future be at least five
marks, half being paid by the parishioners, and half by the Dean
and Chapter.-^ But in 1815, a different arrangement was made,
by which the Dean and Chapter were only to be called upon to
supply six marks to the five chapelries of Baslow, Longstone,
Taddiugton, Monyash, and Beeley. Of this sum, fifteen shillings
was set apart for the minister of Longstone. t

In our description of the adjacent chapelry of Ashford, we gave
particulaj-s relative to the establishment of a chantry there by
GriflSn, son of Wenunwyn, and various details relative to the family
of the founder, and their position in this county. Five years
subsequent to the foundation of the Ashford chantry, viz., in 1262,
Griffin founded a chantry in the chapel of St. Giles of Great
Longstone, and endowed it with two bovates (or oxgangs) of land
situate in that township, /or ever. But the same fate that attended
the chantry at Ashford seems to have befallen this later endow-
ment, as no mention is made of any chantry property at Longstone
in the roll compiled in the 87tb year of Henry VIII. J

It is, however, rather curious to note that land to the same

* Dagdale's Monasticon, vol. iii. p. 227, etc.
t Add. MSS. 6698.

♦ Add. MSS. 66)6, f. 43, Harl. MSS. 4709.

98 DERBY.SH1KE CIIUKCUKS.

amouut as Griffin's eudowmeni of the tbirteenth century, was again
bestowed upon this chapel four centuries later. In the 17th year
of James I., the Earl of Devonshire gave two oxgangs of land at
Great Longstone, and the common rights pertaining to the curate
for the time being of that chapelry. The deed, in order to insure
the attendance of the minister, provided that the curate, if he
was absent on the Sabbath day, and neglected to find an efficient
substitute, should pay five shillings to the cliapel wardens for
the poor.*

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, report of Great
Longstone, that it "Is fitt to be made a parish church, and to have
united to it Little Longstone, Hassop, Rowland, and MonsaJdale.
There is granted by the Commissioners of plundered Ministers, an
Augmentation of £43 12s. 8d. unto minister of Great Longstone,
Mr. Robert Craven, an able honest man.*'t

The church, which is dedicated to St. Giles, consists of nave
with side aisles, south porch, chancel with north vestry, and tower
at the west end. There is no trace of Norman work in the
present building, but there is considerable evidence of there having
been a church, of much the same dimensions as the present one,
in the middle of the thirteenth century when the Early English
style prevailed. To this period belong the single-light pointed
windows in the east and north walls of the north aisle, the base-
ment of the tower, the buttress with a single set-off to the left
hand of the porch, and probably the pointed doorway with the
plain hood-mould within the porch. The church recently under-
went a complete but most careful restoration, being re-opened in
1878, and the stonework of the windows of the north aisle is now
new, but we were given to understand that they exactly follow the
old design. The church that was erected here in the thirteenth century
was probably built by Griffin, the founder of the chantry, in
succession to a smaller one of Norman workmanship.

But the next century, when the Decorated style prevailed, also
witnessed a considerable alteration in this church. The six
narrow-pointed arches on each side of the nave dividing it from
the side aisles, with their supporting pillars of octagon design,
belong to the Decora.ted period, as well as the south porch, and the
priests* door on the south side of the chancel.

The chancel windows, however, are of the Perpendicular style of

• Add. MSS. 6667, f. 1.

t Lambeth MSS. ; Parliamentary Survey of Livings, vol. vi., f. 419.

LONGSTONE. 99

the fifleentb century. It is lighted on the south by two two-light
square-headed windows, and one of the same design on the north
side. The east window, which was new at the restoration, is of a
five-light obtusely-pointed design, usually attributed to the reign of
Henry VII.

The most striking feature of this church — the fine old roofs of
chancel, nave, and aisles — must also be attributed to the Perpen-
dicular period, and were probably erected at the same time when
the chancel was rebuilt or restored. The roofs of the aisles are of
the lean-to description, but of moderate slope, and those of the
nave and cliancel are of so low a pitch as to be nearly flat.
These roofs have throughout been wrought with extreme care, all
the purlins and rafters being well moulded, the cornices embattled,
and the bosses at the intersection of the beams carved with well
executed designs. The wall-pieces running down from the tie
beams of the nave and chancel are supported by plain stone
brackets. Many of the bosses are carved into the usual patterns
of foliage and flowers, and others have armorial bearings, but
there are one or two of eccentric design, the n^Dst remarkable of
which is one towards the west end of the nave. It seems to
represent a man stripped to the waist, holding up in his left hand a
round cover, apparently taken from off the top of a tall chum-like
tub on his right; above is a strange figure, perhaps a devil, that
looks as if it had escaped from the tub. Does this represent any
incident in hagiology ? One or two suggestions have been offered to
us, but we have failed to reconcile them with any known legend.
The armorial bearings are, in the chancel, a frett, — a plain Greek
cross, — on a chevron three annulets, — and an/., on a chevron, gu,,
between three bundles of rushes, vert^ banded, or, a mullet of the
last (Shakerley, the tinctures supplied) ; in the nave, two chevrons,
— one chevron, — a frett, — on a chevron three annulets, — and
org., a fess embattled, counter-embattled, between three leopards'
faces, sah,, (Levett, the tinctures supplied) ; and in the north aisle,
a cross patee voided, — a bend, — a saltire, — and a chevron.

It woHld be idle to attempt to assign most of these coats to any
particular family, as they are not now coloured, and might belong
to so many different persons ; but the two coats that we have
identified, Shakerley and Levett, help us to give the date of these
roofs with more precision. The history of the descent of the
manors of both Great and Little Longstone is somewhat involved,
and it would be out of place to go into that subject at any length

100 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

in these pages, but we know that Walter Blonnt, Lord Mountjov,
died seized of the manor of Little Longstone in 1474.* Soon after
that, probably, immediately on his death, this manor was purchased
by Bobert Shakerley, of a yomiger branch of the Cheshire family
of that name.

Eobert Shakerley married Margaret, daughter and heiress of
Roger Levett. His son, Robert, married firstly, Anna, daughter
of Thomas Balguy, and secondly, AUce, daughter of Nicholas
Bagshaw. By his first wife, he had with other issue, Thomas
Shakerley, of Little Longstone, who married Jane, daughter of
Hugh Revel, of Higham; and one of the children by the second
wife, Grace,t became the wife of Francis, Lord Shrewsbury. On
the death of Tliomas Shakerley, his eldest son, Leonaxd, sold the
manor, in the reign of Elizabeth, to the Countess of Shrewsbury.
The ancient residence of the Shakerleys still exists, though in a
rapidly decaying condition, to the south-west of the church of
Great Longstone.

At the time when these roofs were added, the walls of the aisles
were raised as (is now shown in the masonry), and also the walls of
the clerestory ; but the clerestory windows, five of two lights on each
side, as well as the windows of the south aisle, are of much later
date, being destitute of all tracery, and may probably be assigned to
the seventeenth century. The tower, also (though the basement stage,
with its single-light west window, and possibly other parts of the
masonry, are of early English date), shows, by the square-headed
belfry opening, and by the battlements and pinnacles, that it has
been considerably interfered with in the days of debased architecture.
The west belfry window is a modern insertion.

The tower now contains five modem bells, the gift of G. T.
Wright, Esq. The three which were here before the recent resto-
ration are thus inscribed: —

I. *Elliss Dickens, Geo. Flint, Chappell Wardens, 1763. Thomas
Hedderley, Founder."

II. **God save His Church, 1G58,*' and the bell mark of George
Oldfield.

III. " Al glory bee to God on high," and the bell mark of George
Oldfield.

• Inq. post Mort. 14 Edw. IV., No. 24.

t Harl. MSS. 6809, f. 17. Possibly it was Robert Shakerley the younger who
bought the manor, but, if so, his father, who married the heiress of Levett, must
have held it under the Blounts, as he is described in the pedigree as " de Longstou
parva."

I

LONGSTONE. 101

Of details of iuterest in the interior of tlie church mav be re-
marked, the small piscina in a pointed niche in the south wall of
the chancel, an almery on the opposite side, and the remains of
the upper part of another small piscina niche at the east end of
the south aisle. The font is of a good octagon design, with four
uncharged shields on the alternate panels.

There is no ancient coloured glass left in this church ; but the
east window, which is now filled with a beautiful modem design to
the Wright family, formerly served as a memorial window to the
first of the Eyres who resided at Hassop. According to the Visita-
tion of 1611 there were two shields of arms in this window — Eyre
and Eyre impaling Everingham (sab., a chevron between three
estoiles, org,) — and at the base the following inscription : — ** Orate
pro bono statu Stephi Eyre et Katherinsa uxoris ejus." * Stephen
Eyre of Hassop was the eleventh son of Robert Eyre aud Joan
Padley ; he married Katheriue Dymoke, of Kyme, Lincolnshire,
and died in 1488. Their eldest son, Rowland, married a daughter
of Henry Everingham, of Stainborough, Yorks ; and Rowland's
eldest son, Stephen, married for his second wife the heiress of
Blackwall of Shirley. Stephen, in his turn, was succeeded by a
second Rowland, who married Gertrude, daughter and co-heiress of
Humphrey Stafford, of Eyam.f

The east end of the south aisle is shut off by an old oak screen
so as to form a family pew. It has a finely-carved cornice, and
on the north side has the arms of Eyre impaling Stafford {oKy a
chevron gu., between three martlets, sab.), and over the door which
forms the west entrance to the screen is the well-known crest of
the Eyre family — an armed leg. Within this screen, against the
wall, is a finely-engraved plate of copper fastened to a slab of black
marble. On it are represented the figures of a man and woman
kneeling face to face at desks. Between them there has been a
large crucifix, but that has been carefully obliterated, though the
skull and cross-bones at its base remain. The man is represented
with a pointed moustache and beard, and wears a long robe with
lace ruffies at the wrists. In his hands, that rest on the desk, is a
rosary. The woman has a ruff round her neck, and a long falling
veil from the back of the head ; she also holds a rosary. They

• Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 72. The same occurs in Harl. MSS. 1486, f. 81— the only dis-
iinction heing that the Eyre shield bears a crescent for difference— aud in Harl. MSS.
5809, f. 83.

t The other co-heiresses of Humphrey Stafford married Savage of Castleton, Brad-
Khaw, and Morewood.

102 DEEBYSHIRK CHURCHES.

are supposed to be kneeling in a cbapel, and there is a pointed
Gothic window on each side. The intervention of the Renaissance
style is to be found in the two cherubs floating in clouds over their
heads, each bearing a crown or chaplet, from the front of which
rises a cross. Below the figures is a shield with the Eyre crest on
a helmet, and below this again is a long inscription in Eoman
capitals. The latter part of the last line of this epitaph has been
scratched out. There can be no doubt that it contained a prayer
for the souls of Rowland and Gertrude, and that it wa^ obhterated
at the same time as the crucifix, through Protestant zeal. The
Eyres of Hassop, as well as most of the other branches of the
wide- spreading family of 'Eyre, appear to have always remained
true to the ancient Oathoho faith. It is rather sin£:ular that a
monument of so essentially a Cathohc description should have been
admitted in post-Reformation days. Perhaps the great influence
of the Eyres as large local landholders secured the requisite i)er-
mission, and the monument was probably not defaced till the days
of the Commonwealth.

The following is the inscription : —

'' Here lyeth Rowland Eyre of HasBope Esq., and Gartrede his wiffe, one of the
daughters and coheiresse of Humfrey Stafford of Eyme Esq, by whoe hee had
twelve children, eight sonnes and fower daughters, whoe hathe given uuto the
Chappel of Greate Longsdeu for the maintenance of Divine Service there xxs
yerely, and to the chappel of Baslowe for the maintenance of Divine Service there
xls yerely, to be paid by equaU portions at the feasts of the Annuntiation of the
Blessed Virgin S. Marie and St. Michaell ye archangel, and also hath given unto
the poore of the towne of Greate Longsden xxs yerely, and to poore of Hassope
and Rowland xxs yerely, and to the poore of Calver xxs yerely to be paied three
days before Christmas and three days before Easter for ever. All which said
several sumes are to bee paied by Thomas Eyre, his sonne and heire apparent,
and his heiress for ever. To whom I have given aU my landes and rents in
Tadington and Greate Longsdon for ever for ye true payment and parformence of
ye same,
Soe leavinge the miseries and troubles of this world with desire that all may cease,

I desire that all good Christians that read this will pray

'*Anno Dom., 1624."

Of the twelve children mentioned on this monument we are able,
after comparing numerous pedigrees, to give the names of ten ; the
other two probably died in their infancy. Thomas Eyre, the eldest
son, married Prudence, daughter of Nicholas Blackwell, of Ridware,
Staflfordshire ; (2) Gervase, of Horsley Gate, died 1619, s.p., and
is buried at Dronfield ; (8) Adam, of Bradway, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Thomas Barley, died 1684, and is buried at Norton ;
(4) Robert who died yoimg ; (6) Rowland, who married Hester
Hackett, of London ; (6) Roger, of Rowtor, who married ....
Gosling, of Attercliff ; (7) George, of Holdworth, near Brad£eld,

LONCiSTONE. 103

who married .... Bright, and had two daughters ; (8) Peter,
who died young. Of the four daughters we can only ascertain the
names of two — Jane, who was married to Christopher Pegge, of
Yeldeisley ; and Frances, who died a spinster.*

When this church was visited by the Rev. R. E. Rawlins, in
1827, this copper plate was "in a wooden frame against a pillar
between the nave and north aisle." Of the interior fittings of the
church, which have now been removed, he says: — **The pews are
irregular, of oak, and very old. Against the walls are the achieve-
ments of Eyre of Hassop, and Wright of Longstone. On the
pulpit and reading desk, with a large family seat, and on some of
the pews are ancient carvings." He also gives the following as the
dimensions of the area of the church : — Chancel, 26 feet by 14 ;
nave, 56 feet by 1 8 ; north aisle, 56 feet by 6 feet 3 inches ; and
south aisle, 5C feet by 7.

Within the porch, against the east wall, is affixed a narrow
oblong stone, on which is incised — **A. H. 1079." Lest, however,
this should deceive anyone as to the date of the church, it may
be remarked that the character of both letters and figures prove
that the inscription is many centuries later than the date it purports
to give. It should read 1679, the upper part of the 6 having been
worn away, and has originally served as a foot-stone to a grave, of
which there are other similar samples of the same century in the
churchyard.

Against the west wall of the vestry, which was added to the
church at the recent restoration, is built in an effectively carved
Latin cross, about 30 inches by 24, which is supposed to have
formerly served as the gable-cross on the chancel. There used also
to be a cote for a sanctus bell on the east gable of the nave.

To the south of the chancel is the old churchyard cross. On
a pediment of three square steps rests a large base stone, from
which rises the tapering octagonal shaft six feet high. It is per-
fect with the exception of the head, which probably disappeared at
the Reformation.

Mr. Sleigh gave a short account of the registers of Great
Lougstone in an early volume of the Reliquary.f He describes them
as being in good prcscrvutiou with the exception of one or two

• Harl. MSS. 1587. f. 6; 5101, f 84; I486, f.68; Egerton MSS. 996, f. 31 ; and 1>uk-
dale's Visitation, lt)62-8 ; etc, etc. For further particulars relative to the Eyro
family, see the acuuiuits of the churches of Hathersage and Hope.

fBeliquart/f vol. ii., 155.-

104 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

pages rendered illegible by damp. There are not many entries of
interest. A memorandum states ** that Griffin Higgs, Doctor of
Divinity and Deane of the Cathedrall Church of Litchfield, in his
Primarie and Triennial Visitation, celebrated in the Jurisdiction of
Bakewell, the xiiii and xv of Oct. 1689, did Injoyne the Church-
wardens, John Andrew, and Richard White to Repayre the Church
house, in all and every place where it was one whit ruinated ; And
it was executed and donne by Thomas Willyamson and Henry
Mellor, the next Churchwardens, and was certefyed to the Dean
and Chapter succeeding that it was done, by me Robert Craven,
Curate, and WiUiam Wiight, Gentleman, and others."

After this follows a doleful ditty from the pen of an evidently
Ulused Clerk : —

" Remember well and Bear in mind
What you have here to doo :
By never paying to ye Clerk
What nnto him was due,
Your CongBhance it will you pursue
And trouble much your mind.
There is a day will -Quickly come
All hidden things will find,
Yet you are not still satisfied
But more you will transgress,
By wronging of ye widdow, allso ye fatherless.
The things which I before liave set —
It is most certain true —
Before it hath been worse for us
Hereafter worse for you ! "

We may find place for the three following entries : —

" 1651, July 9. Robertus Craven, minist' de Longsdon et Eliza-
betha Wiuscombe de eadem nupti fuenint.

** 1656, Feb. 11. Rowland, ye sonne of Thos. Eyre esquire of
Hassope, was buried in templo.*

" 1680, Augt. 9. Mr. Richard Spencer, minister of this Towue,
was buried."

* Thomas Eyre, mentioned on his father's monument, died in 1637. Rowland,
his eldest son, obtained great celebrity by raising a regiment of foot for Charles
I., which he commanded in person and maintained at his own cost. When
Parliament triumphed this gallant cavalier had to pay the then enormous sum
of £21,000, as composition for his estates. But this Rowland lost his life at the
siege of Newark Castle in 1645, and the one whose burial is here recorded was a
younger brother of the same name.

MONYASH. 105

W^t Cliaptlrs of ^onsasli.

|T the time of the taking of the Domesday Survey, 1086,
Monyash (Maneis) was one of the eight here wicks into
which the extensive royal manor of Bakewell was then
subdivided. About the end of the reign of Richard L, Bobert de
Salocia, and Matthew de Eston, who appear to have been joint
lordd of the manor of Monyash, obtained leave from the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield, to grant to the mother church of BakeweU,
one oxgang of land together with a house in the town of Monyash,
on condition of the said mother church finding a chantry priest to
serve in the chantry chapel of Monyash three days in tlie week,
viz., on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They also ordained,
with the common consent of the inhabitants of Monyash, that every
messuage in that town should pay a farthing a year for finding
lights for their chapel, in addition to the fee that they customarily
paid to Bakewell for the same purpose. They further undertook,
on behalf of themselves and the inhabitants, that this chapel should
not in any way prejudice the various rights of the mother church,
and that they would attend service at Bakewell at Cliristmas and
Easter, and on All Saints' Day.*

From subsequent statements, it appears that the inhabitants, at
the original foundation of this chapel, bestowed on it twelve acres
of fruitful land, and probably their assistance caused the building
to be erected on a larger scale than if it had been a mere chantry
chapel of the lords of the manor. Very shortly after the grant
of land to the mother church by Bobert de Salocia and Matthew
elo Eston, we find that the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield (as
I "actors of Bakewell) leased a residence and an oxgang of land at

* Magnum Begistrum Album, ff. 168, 162. Harl. MSS. 4799, f. 26 ; Add. MSS. 6666,
f. 38. The deed is not dated, but it in witnessed inter alia by Hoger, dean of
Lincoln; Roger de Rolveston was elected dean in 1198, he died in 1223. See Appen-
dix No. in.

106 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Monyash, to one, William Fitz Alan, at a yearly rental of ten
shillings, making stringent regulation against Lis alienating the
propei*ty, or letting it to Jews or monks.* There can be no doubt
but that this was the property granted to Bake well church in con-
nection with the chantry.

The church of Bakewell, with all its appurtenances and chapels,
was given by John, Earl of Morton, shortly before he came to
the throne, to the Canons of Lichfield, and this gift, of course,
included the chapel of Monyash. The profits of the church being
thus impropriated, a vicar was appointed with a sti])end of twenty
marks, and other provision made for his maintenance, as weU as
for that of the different chapelries. But these regulations were so
ill-observed, that when the euergetic Archbishop PecLham made
his visitation of the diocese of Lichfield in 1280, he sternly rebuked
the Dean and Canons for their gross neglect of the spiritual
necessities of Bakewell and its dependent chapelries. Li defence,
it was urged that it was only by the gresTt favour of the chapter
that the inhabitants had been allowed to build these chapels, '* to save
them the trouble and danger in bad seasons of coming to the mother
church." The Archbishop, by his decision, made a compromise,
and, so far as respected Monyash^ ordained that the chancel should
be kept in repair by the inhabitants, who were also to find a
chalice and a missal, but that the rest of the fabric, and books, and
ornaments, was to be supplied by the Dean aud Canons. The
inhabitants of Monyash were also to add one mark, in addition to
the glebe of twelve acres, to the stipend of their priest, and the
remainder to be made up by the Dean and Cauons.t

Li the year 1315 a composition was entered into between the
Dean and Chapter of Lichfield and the parishioners of the chapels
of Baslow, Longstone, Taddington, Monyash, and Beeley, by which
the Chapter, ** desiring to be in amity with all and avoid conten-
tion," grants fifteen shillings to the chapelry of Monyash to be paid
yearly "for the honor of God and augmentation of his divyne
worshippe," and remission of charges for testaments and adminis-
trations. They further permitted that ** certayne honest and chiefe-
men of theise parishes aforesaid which shall be meete for the
briuginge of holye water may be named by the parishioners, and
may be presented to the vicars or ministers of the places, and of
them in the name of the Dean and Chapter, if they be found suf-

♦ Harl. MSS. 4799, f. 27. See Appendix No. IV.
t Bugdale's Monasticon, vol. ill., p. 227.

MONYASH. 107

ficient, may be thereto admitted.*' In consideration of all this, and
certain other privileges, they are not to require anything for the
repair or defence of their chapels, or anything for any order or
uses.*

The Chantry Roll, drawn up in the reign of Henry VIII., men-
tions a chantry founded at Monyash by Nicholas and John Congson.
The following is a verbatim copy: —

**The Chauntrye of Moniasshe founded by Nich. Congson and
John his brother and nowe patron of the ryght Hon. Erie of
Shrewesburye and Humph Stafford, Esq., that a preste shulde day
lye celebrate masse and other dyvyne service in the Chappell of
Moniasshe in the Hygh Peke, for their souls etc. and to miuistro
all sacraments and sacramentalls to the townes and hamletts of
Monyashe, Flagge, Hordlowe, and Onasshe, which be dystaunto
from the parisshe churche iiij or v myles, lxvi<. viijV. clere cvijijc?.
besydes ij*. vjrf. in rente resolute, and for a yerely obite. Mych.
Bredwell Chaxmtrye priste. It is distaunte from the parisshe
church iiij. myles so that in winter season and other tempestuous
wethers the said hamletts cannot be served withowte the sayd
ChappelL It hath a mancyon howse or cotage prised at iij«. mjd,
by yere. Stock xxxix«. vijc^."

Other documents tell us that Nicholas Congson (or Congesdon)
aud his brotiier founded this chantry in the reign of Edward III.,
and endowed it with lands in Stemdale, Chelmorton, and Monyash,
producing a rental of five marks.*

It is recorded in the Valrrr Eccleswsticua (27 Henry VIII.) that
the chapelry of Monyash paid the Chapter of Lichfield a yearly
pension of 12d.

At the time of the Parliamentary suiTey of 1650, the commis-
sioners reported of Monyash that it was fit to be made an inde-
pendent parish. One Ralph Boades was then the minister.

The church of Monyash consists of nave with north aud south
side aisles, chancel, and tower at the west end surmounted by an octa-
gonal spire. It is dedicated in honour of St. Leonard, though it
appears that the feast is regulated by St. Martin's day. Ai fiist
sight we might fancy that there was none of the original fabric
remaining that was erected here by Robert de Salocia and Matthew
de Eston about the year 1200, but if we step into the interior a

*' Add. MSS. 6698.

t Ibq. post Mort. 22 Edw. IH., pfc. 2, No. 14 ; Rot. Grig. 22 Edw. IH., rot. 47. See
Appendix No. V.

108 DERBYSHIRK CHURCHES.

casual glance would convince us of our error. Against the south
wall of the chancel are three stone sediha of different levels, the
eastern seat heing a step the highest, and the western the lowest.
Beyond them, further to the east, and of like construction, is a
fourtli arched canopy over a now mutilated piscina. The whole
style of these sediha (Plate V.) with the intervening pilasters and
capitals, and the semi-circular arches, points to the late Norman
period, or rather to the transition from the Norman to the Early
EngUsh. The moulding of the arches surmounting these niches is
carved into the tooth or four-leaved ornament so characteristic of
the Early English style, but occasionally met with in the later
Norman work, as is the case in parts of Rochester Cathedral.
These sediha are further of interest in showing that the original
chapel here erected was of some considerable size, and not merely
consisting of a small nave and chancel, as we do not know of a
single instance in which a threefold sedilia is found in a building
of small dimensions. A careful inspection gives proof of other
work pertaining to the commencement of the Early English style.
In the north wall of the chancel is a single-light window of the
lancet style, but rounded at the top, now blocked up. The chancel
on the south is supported by slight diagonally-placed buttresses, of
a single set-off, which appear to be of the Early English period.
There have also been buttresses of the same style at the end and
sides of the south aisle, but only the upper stones are left, as
they have been interfered with at a subsequent rebuilding during
the Decorated period of the fourteenth century. A string-course of
that style runs right through them. The whole of the fabric
of the church appears to have been strangely x^atched and altered
at different periods. This is very obvious on the south side both
of the chancel, side aisle, and tower.* There is a window of two
chief lights on the south of the chancel, which is of Decorated
design ; the upper tracery seems old, but it is rounded at^ the top.
The small priests' door on the same side has a flat top, but may
be of considerable age. The east windbw of the chancel is of four
lights, and is square-topped with plain mullions. Almost all the
remainder of the windows in the chancel and both aisles are some-
what simUar, and are of the Perpendicular, or later and more
debased style.

■f Im ^«rolmhi^'?® /*''' the restoration of this interesting church happUy arrives.

Plato V,

MONYASH. 109

The porch on the south side is in a most dilapidated condition,
only the side walls being left standing. On the door within the
porch is cut — "Thomas Batemau gave this, 1783.*'

Besides the sedilia, which has been already described, the interior
presents few matters of interest, and it contains no monuments
with any pretensions to antiquity. The font, however, which is
placed under the archway leading into the chancel, is an exception,
as it is of unusual couRtruction. The font itself is of an octagonal
shape, six of its sides being destitute of ornament, one bears a
quatrefoil, and the other lias on a shield the following armorial
bearings: — A fess between three saltires engrailed. It is supported
on four clustered columns, the capitals of which are sculptured into
what appear to be intended for the fore and hind quarters of a lion
and a tiger, though one of the four is broken off. It stands tlu*ce
feet in height, and is two feet three inches in diameter across the
top. A coat of arms similar to that upon this font was borne by
the family of Bovill, which varied much in tinctures, &c., at dif-
ferent periods. The saltires were not usually represented as
engrailed, but Sewall de Bovill, Archbishop of York 1266 - 8, bore
them thus. This might represent the possible date of this font,
though it may very probably be somewhat later, but we are not
aware of any connection between the Bovills and Mouyanh. Richard
Blackwall, of the adjacent chapelry of Taddington, married Griselda,
daughter and heiress of Bovill of Northampton, in the reign of
Henry VII., but the font is in our opinion of earlier date than the
Perpendicular period, nor was Richard Blackwall (a second son)
resident in this neighbourhood. The font is covered with a flat lid,
on which is inscribed " W. B. R. N. 1783."

The roofs of the chancel, aisles, and nave are all flat and plastered,
which is a sad disfigurement to the church. The flat roof of the
chancel cuts off a considerable portion of the archway between the
chancel and the nave. There is a large gallery at the west end of
the church. In the south aisle there is a sort of transept or
chantry, marking, probably, tlie site of the chantry founded by
Nicholas and John Congson. Here is a large stone bracket pro.
jecting from the wall, two feet two inches in width, and a smaUer
one carved into two faces. At the end of the north aisle a wide
stone projects from the wall, about twelve feet from the floor, which
at one time served as a step into the doorway leading to the top
of the rood-loft. The outline of the doorway can still be traced.

The entrance to the tower from the church is in the west wall

110 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the south aisle, which is hollowed into a kind of passage
There is evidence that the roof of the south aisle was formerly a
'* lean-to, " but now the nave and both aisles have gable roofs. The
tower has an embattled parapet, and the spire has two tiers of
windows. On the south side of the tower is a central buttress, in
which is a lancet window, four feet six inches by ten inches in
width. Above it is another lancet window. There are also but-
tresses in the centre of the west and north walls. There can be
no doubt that some portions at least of this tower are as old as
the Early English period. Indeed, it seems probable that the
original building of Bobert de Selucia and Matthew de Eston
covered much about the same ground as that occupied by the
present fabric.

Monyash must have been a place of no little importance in that
part of Derbyshire, as not only was a weekly market granted here
on Tuesdays, in 1840, but a fair for three days at the festival of
the Holy Trinity.*

In W. Wyrley*s copy of the Heralds' Visitation of 1669, taken
in 1592, mention is made of three escutcheons as being then in
the church of Monyash.f One was the coat, already mentioned,
on the font, and the other two appear to have been in the windows.
These two were — Arg,, on a saltire engrailed, «a., nine annulets,
or; and arg., upon a bend, gu., three escaUops, or. The former
of these is the coat of Leake, of Sutton. Sir Godfrey Foljambe,
who married Katharine, daughter of Sir John Leake, held lands
at Monyash in the sixteenth century, and hence, probably, the
appearance of the Leake escutcheon in this church. j: The second
coat may belong to Tankersley, a Cheshire family, or to one or
two other families, including that of Eobert Kilwarby, Archbishop
of Canterbury, 1272-8, and the immediate predecessor of Archbishop
Peckham. If this latter conjecture, and that respecting the coat

* Bot. Chart. 14 £dw. III., No. 41. This grant was obtained by William de
Lyuford. Another of the same name (probably his father), had died seized of the
mineral rights of Monyash and Chelmoiton a few years previonsly. Inq. post Mort.
11 Edw. III., pt. 2, No. 70. It was to encourage the development of the mineral
trade that this market was granted. The original holder of the market did not
possess it for many years, for a charter of 22 Edw. III. (Rot. Chart., No. 27), ascribes,
not only the manor, but the market and fair of Monyash, to John de Wyne. Subse-
quently, the manor passed into the hands of the Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury. The
miners' courts, that were held at Wirksworth for the Low Peak, were for a long
period held at Monyash for the High Peak.

t Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 89.

I Nichols' Collectanea^ vol. i., p. 342. Thomas Foljambe held certain manorial
or official rights over the town of Monyash in the reign of Edw. I., of which there are
some curioui instances recorded in the Hundred BoUs.

MONYASH. Ill

on tlie font are correct, it would be curious to find the arms of
two archbishops in this remote country church.

When Bassano visited the church, in 1710, he only noted the
arms on the font, and the last of the two mentioned by Wyrley in
the windows,

Mr. Rawlins, who was here in 1827, says, that ** there are a
few pews built round the pulpit and reading-desk, and also towards
the chancel, but, generally speaking, the open bench prevails."

The tower contains a peal of three bells, which are inscribed as
follows : —

I. ** J. Melland, W. Bateman, C. W. John Hedderley made me,
1732/'

n. ** Sea Maria o.p.n." (Sancta Maiia ora pro nobis ) At
the commencement of this inscription is the founder's mark in a
shield. The centre of the shield is charged with a staff issuing from
a cross pat^ in a' circle, and surmounted by another cross pat6e.
On the dexter side of the cross is a bell, and on the other side is
a double streamer attached to the staff. lu chief are the initials
T. B.

III. "Glory be to God on high. 1656." The founder's mark
is the well-known one of George Oldfield.

The earliest registers now extant at Monyash commence in 1701,
and contain nothing of special interest.

Beneath the tower is an old chest of remarkably large dimensions,
being about ten feet in length by two broad. It is encircled nearly
every three inches with iron clamps, and must be of considerable
antiquity. This chest may very possibly be the original receptacle
provided upwards of six-and-a-half centuries ago, by the founders
of the chantry for the church plate and vestments. It should be
compared, so far as size is concerned, with the similar one at
ScarcHffe in this county.*

• Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., p. 825.

112 DKKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

^i)e (!^aptlrp of St)eltrom

|HE manor of Sheldon was for a long period subordinate to
that of Ashford, and the chapel seems to have been some-
times regarded as a chapel of ease to the parochial
chapelry of Ashford, and sometimes immediately to the mother
church of Bakewell. We have not been able to ascertain at what
time the chapel was first erected, and, though it is probably not
of so early a foundation as the rest of the chapels pertaining to
Bakewell, we know that one existed here in the fifteenth century.

The old building was taken down and a new one, on a much
more pretentious scale, erected in an adjacent field in the year
1865. The chapel used to stand in the middle of the vilhige
street, without any enclosing fence or other protection. It was
able to boast of being the smallest ancient chapel in the county,
its area being only forty feet by twenty feet eight inches. We
never saw the old chapel, but an etching by the Rev. R. R.
liawlins, taken on the 10th of September, 1822, shows that it was
then a plain oblong building under a single roof with two two-
hght square-headed windows in the south wall, and another similar
one at the east end. The south doorway had an ogee pointed arch,
and there was a plain beU-turret at the west end. Mr. Rawlins
says of the interior, " it is regularly pewed with deal, and possesses
no monuments." This chapel, like the present church (in the
construction of which all the old material was re- used), was dedi-
cated to All Saints.

The Parliamentary commissioners of 1650 recommended that
Sheldon should be united with Ashford and formed into a distinct
parish ; and this advice has been recently followed more than two
centuries after the presentation of their report. The Rev. J. R.
Luxmore, Vicar of Ashford, was also instituted to the Vicara^re of

SHELDON. 113

Sheldon in 1871, and the two places now form a single parish so
far as ecclesiastical purposes are concerned.

The Sheldon baptismal registers only commence in 1818, and
the burial registers in 1858, when the present burial ground was
consecrated. All ecclesiastical duties pertaining to this chapelry
used, in post-reformation days, to be performed at Bakewell, but
the following remarkable marriage seems to have been an exception
to the rule.

''Last Saturday, at the chapel of Sheldon, in the High Peak of
Derbyshire, were solemnized the nuptials of a widow gentlewoman
of that place, of about 80 years of age, to a young lad (by the
consent of his parents) of about 14. As she was rendered incapa-
ble of walking, by a complication of disorders, she was carried in
her chair from her house to the chapel, about 100 yards distant,
attended by a numerous concourse of people ; where the ceremony
was performed with becoming seriousness and devotion ; after which
she was reconducted in the same manner, the music playing, by
her orders, the Duke of Rutland's hornpipe before her; to which
(as she was disabled from dancing) she beat time with her hands
on her petticoats, till she got home, and then called for her
crutches, commanded her husband to dance, and shuffled as weU
as she could. The day was spent with the ringing of the bell and
other demonstrations of joy ; and the populace (mostly miners) were
soundly drenched with showers of excellent liquor, etc., that were
plentifully poured upon them.*'*

• This is taken from a long list of Derby and Derbyshire events that was
copied in 1 776 by Mr. Keynolds, of Plaistow, from an old parchment roll, lent him
by Mr. Fallowes, an attorney of Derby — "it seemingly was wrote by Edward
Brooke, an attorney of the Borough conrt from its beginning to 1680, and residue
by another hand." Add. MSS. 6700, f. 174.

114 PF.RBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

t!ri|f (t^aptlvj^ of t^Tatitiington.

>DINGTON, including the hamlets of PriestcliflF and
Blackwall, was one of the numerous chapelries con-
tained in the very extensive parish of Bakewell, hut
under the recent Act it now ranks as a vicarage. The church —
which is of rather unusual size, considering the present and what
was apparently the par>t population of the district consists of a
nave, side aisles, chancel, south porch, and tower crowned with a
spire at the west end. It is dedicated to St. Michael

There seems no reasonable doubt that a chapel existed here when
John bestowed tlie mother church on the Dean and Chapter of
Lichfield ; but the first specific mention of this chapel that we can
find is at the time of the metropolitan visitation of Archbishop
Peckham, in 1280, when the arrangement as to church books and
vestments, that has been recorded under Bakewell, was drawn up,
and the minister's stipend of five marks a year equally divided
between the chapter and the inhabitants of Taddington.* But
the agreement was cancelled in 1815, when the chapter obtained
more favourable terms, by which they only contributed fifteen
shillings per annum to the minister of Taddington.f The latter
arrangement seems to have held good up to the sixteenth century.

According to the Valor Ecclesiasticus (27 Henry VIII.) the chapelry
of Taddington paid to the chapter of Lichfield a yearly pension of
2s. 6d.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 reported of Taddington
that it is *'a parochial chapelry fitt to be made a parish and to
have united to it Brushfield, Blackwell, Priestcliflfe, and Puttoe (sic)
hilL Mr. Anthony Mellor J officiates, reputed honest."

* Dugdale's Monatticon^ vol. iii., p. 227 ; etc.

t Add. MSS. 6698. See the account of Beeley chapel.

t Anthony Mellor was buried on January 9th, 1679, and is described in the registers
as "curate of Taddington."

TADDINGTON. 115

No part of the present edifice seems to be of greater age than
the fourteenth century. It would appear that it was entirely
rebuilt in the later style of the Decorated period of architecture,
circa 1850. Probably this was carried out by the Cotterell family,
who held the manor of Taddington and several adjacent estates
during this century.*

The eaat window of the chancel is a good specimen of the style.
It is of some Uttle width, and has five principal lights. The chancel
is further lighted by three square -topped windows of the same date,
two on the south side and one on the north. The archway into
the nave is supported by two large corbels, each carved with two
human heads. Four arches separate the nave on each side from
the side aisles. The supporting octagon -shaped pillars are slender
and of rather unusual height ; the capitals are plainly moulded.
The east window of the south aisle is also of the same date, but
the tracery of the corresponding one in the north aisle shows that
it was inserted during the prevalence of the Perpendicular style.
At that time, too, the clerestory windows of the nave must have
been added. The south doorway affords a nice example of the
Decorated period. The series of four deeply-cut mouldings are
continued down from the arch to the base of the jambs. The
porch over this doorway has an acutely-pitched stone roof, and low
stone seats on each side. The weather-moulding on the outside,
and other signs, show that this porch is more modem than the
doorway, and that the former one had not such a steep-pitched
roof. The gable-cross of the porch seems to have belonged to its
predecessor.

At each side of the east window of the chancel is a substantial
stone bracket about seven feet from the ground. That on the north
side may be noticed, as the carving represents three human faces ;
and that on the south because it still retains, firmly fixed in it,
part of the iron rod which, doubtless, once secured the image in
its position. There is also another bracket in the north wall about
a foot lower. Against this wall, too, is a stone reading-desk or
slab, projecting nine inches, and three feet from the ground. It
would serve as a rest for one of the altar books during the service
of the mass. These reading-slabs are of infrequent occurrence, but
two others may be seen in the churches of this county — viz., at
Crich and Spondon. In the south-east comer of the chancel is a

♦ Inq. poflt Mort. 9 Edward II., No. 8; 19 Ric. II., No. 71.

116 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

gravestone raibed twelve inches above the floor, but destitute of all
inscription or ornament Above it is the small-pointed niche of a
piscina. Against this wall is an ogee- shaped sepulchral arch, the
stonework of which projects several inches in reHef. It is divided
into three panels, as though for the purpose of containing mural
inscriptions. Perhaps this marks the founder's tomb, or it may
have been merely intended to indicate the spot where the mysteries
of the Sepulchre were performed, though this was usually on the
opposite side of the chanceL The chancel is raised so much above
the outer level, that the priests' door on the south side has four
steep steps leading up from it.

At the east end of the south aisle, in the south wall, is a second
piscina niche, of more ' elaborate e;!Lecution, though of the same
date as the one in the chancel. Here, too, are memorials of the
Blackwalls, of Blackwall in this parish, pointing out that this was
the place where that ancient Derbyshire family was formerly
interred. On a dark-coloured marble slab, six feet two by
twenty inches broad, are brasses to the memory of Bichard
and Agnes Blackwall and their family. This stone is now fixed
against the wall, but it has formerly been placed in a horizontal
position on an altar or table tomb. The two principal figures are
very narrow in their proportions, being about two feet in length
by six inches in breadth. Bichard Blackwall is represented in
the ordinary costume of a civilian gentleman at the commencement
of the sixteenth century. He wears a long gown reaching to the
feet, which is thrown open in front above the girdle, and also
slightly below the girdle, exposing to view the lining of fur. The
sleeves are loose with large cuffs, and trimmed with fur. The
tight fitting under sleeves are shown, and the doublet is also
displayed at the neck. From under the right sleeve hangs down
the gypciere, or pouch, which is attached to the girdle. The head
is uncovered, and the hair just rests upon the shoulders. From
his mouth proceeds a scroU, bearing the words, " FUi dei miserere
met." The costume of the lady is interesting as it represents a
conventual dress. She wears a close-fitting hood, which falls round
the shoulders. A plaited barbe or wimple hangs far below the
chin, and a long mourning mantle is held across the breast by
tasseled cords, which are crossed under the girdle and hang down
to about the knee. It seems, at first, rather strange to find
a married lady in a dress of tliis description, but this brass, as we
may learn from the omission of the date of her decease, was put

TADDINGTON. 117

up when she was a widow. Now it was not uncommon for a
widow, on the death of her husband, to "take religion," as the
expression went, and become a vidua pullata, or mourning widow.
When this vow of perpetual widowhood was taken, a monastic
dress was therewith assumed. "William, Earl of Pembroke, ui his
will, made in 1469, left this direction to his Countoss, ** that ye
remember your promise to me, to take the order of wydowhood,
as ye may be the better maister of your owne, to perform my wylle,
and to help my children as I love and ti'ust you."* There is
another Derbyshire instance of this costume on a brass at Etwall,
to the memory of Dame Elizabeth Porte, 1516. There is this
pecuharity about the one at Taddington, viz., that the cuffs of the
iuner sleeves are of fur, a feature that does not correspond to the
rest of the dress, and which we have noticed in no other instance.
From her mouth proceeds a scroll bearing the words, ** Muter dfi
memento mei.** Below the mother are the diminutive figures of
five daughters, all clad in close-fitting dresses, cut low at the neck,
and with tight long sleeves. They have long hair, and wear no
head-dress. Six boys, in long gowns like their father's, are below
the effigy of the man.

There are four coats of arms on this slab. One of those at the
top bears the arms of Blackwall, of Blackwall in the Peak, vtlr//.,
a greyhound courant, sab.^ collared, chequy or and gu.^ on a chief
indented, of the second, three bezants.t The second coat at the
top is much defaced, and has been clumsily repaired with lead, but
enough remains to enable us to say that it bears the arms of
Tunsted — Sab., three doves, arg. One of the shields below the
figures bears the two coats, already described, impaled ; and the
other has a chevron between three lozenges. This coat might
belong to a large number of families according to the tinctures.
The black-letter inscription reads as follows : — ** Orate pro aiabus
Bici Blackwall de Blackwall et domine Agnetis uxis sue qui quidem
Bicus obiit viii die March A. dm M CCCCCV et predicta Agnes
obiit .... die .... A. dm Millimo CCCCO .... quorm aiabus
ppicietur deus.'' This ancient family was settled at Blackwall from
an early period. They were on this manor as early as the time
of Henry II., but the first of the family whom we know by name
as a holder of the manor was Robert de Black waU, in the 40th

* Haines' Mommifntal Brawes^ Introduction, p. Ixxxix.
fLysonH gives the arniH "collared, or" — but this is an error.

118 DERBYSHIKE CHURCHES.

year of Henry lU. It is related of his son, Sir John Blackwall,
that he was smothered at the coronation of Edward U. The sixth
from him, in direct descent, was Robert Blackwall, who in the
reign of Henry VII., married Isabell, sister of Sir Robert Litton,
of Litton. Their son and heir Richard married Agnes, daughter of
John Tunsted, whose monument we are now considering. Of the
eleven children depicted on the brass we can only learn the names
of the four sons who survived their father, Robert, Richard, Thomas,
and Ralph. Richard, the second of these sons, married Griselda,
daughter and heiress of Bovill of Northampton, and left an only
daughter ; Thomas, who resided at Shirley, married Anne, daughter
of John Blount, of Blount Hall, Staflford, and left two co-heiresses,
Ellen, who became the wife of Thomas Hurt of Ashboum, and
Anne, who was the second wife of Stephen Eyre of Hassop ; and
Ralph married one of the co-heiresses of Humphrey Stafford of
Eyam. From Robert, the eldest son and heir, was descended
Ralph Blackwall, who married Anne, daughter and heiress of Richard
Wendesley, of Wendesley, about the middle of the sixteenth century.
Shortly after the attainder of Anthony Babington, Dethick Hall
and manor were purchased by Wendesley Blackwall, the eon of
Richard. He died in 1634, leaving his estates to his son Sir
Thomas Blackwall, who, being a zealous royahst, became greatly
impoverished in the civil wars. In the reign of Charles II., his
habihties were estimated at the then very large sum of £180,632 Ts.
lOd., and he consequently lost the manor of Blackwall, together
with the rest of his property.*

Close to the monument of Richard and Agnes Blackwall, but
against the east wall, is an alabaster slab, of which the upper
portion is missing. On it is rudely incised a figure of a man
(minus the head) wearing large trunk hose and clocked stockings,
and with a ridiculously narrow waist. This is the costume in
vogue about the end of the sixteenth and in the first haK of the
seventeenth century. The inscription which has once gone round
the margin is now altogether obliterated with exception of the letters
..." kwall " in text hand at the right hand lower comer. This,
however, in connection with its position, is sufficient to warrant us
in claiming it for one of the Blackwall family, most probably we
should think for Wendesley Blackwall, the father of Sir Thomas.

We learn from the registers that the east end of the south aisle

•Add. MSS. 28, 118, f. 4"; Lysons' Derby ahirey p. cxviii; Glover's Derbyshire,
\ol. ii., J), 100.

TADDINGTON. 119

used to be termed the Blackwall Quire ; and a similar position in
the opposite aisle seems to have been styled tlie PriestcM Quire.
Probably, seats were there appropriated to the lords of those two
manors, and subsequently to other inhabitants of the same hamlets.
In the year 1764, the registers record the burial of (1) **EUz*^
Wright of ye Herdlow, in Blackw Quire, on ye side of ye allabaster
stone tomb;" of (2) "Ralph Greene, going into Prestcliffe Quire;"
and of (3) ** Richard Roberts, with his feet lying to Blackwell Quire,
in ye alley."

The only other memorial that we noticed within the church was
a long slab of gritstone, forming part of the pavement in the north*
west comer of the church, about five feet six long by two broad.
On it is indsed a large and quite plain Latin cross. It is difficult
from its very plainness to hazard anything about the date of this
gravestone, but it certainly seems older than the present church.

Near the south door stands the font. It is a plain octagon font,
divided into panels, apparently of the late Perpendicular period.
Its diameter at the top is two feet, and the depth of the bowl
eleven inches. Its shape is unusual, resembling rather an hour-
glass, for both top and base taper to a narrow circumference in
the middle. The font of the neighbouring church of Chelmorton
is of a similar shape, probably from the same chisel. And here
we must note the most singular position and use for a church font
which it has as yet been our fate to chronicle. We have found one
Derbyshire font used by a prudent churchwarden as a salting vat
for beef ; another, in a farmyard as a trough for cattle ; a third,
used as a wash-hand basin for the viQage school ; and several,
adorning the flower-beds of parsonage gardens, but Taddiugton can
put one and all of these instances in the shade. On the right-
hand side, as we enter the field leading to the churchyard, stands
a public-house. Fixed to the wall, to the left of the fireplace, and
supported on a stone with notched edges, is what we suppose to be
the circular bowl of a former font, of the Norman period. On asking
what it was, the landlady at once replied that it was an old font;
and the only doubt that existed in our mind about it was from the
almost oval shape of the interior, but this may be chiefly owing to
the wear and tear that it has encountered since it was appropriated
to secular purposes. The bowl is fourteen inches high, and about
two feet in diameter. It is fitted with a wooden lid, and is used
for ordinary culinary purposes. At the time of our visit it contained
a slight deposit of the nature of pea-soup. A traveller, who was

120 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

present, told us that be bad frequently seen tbe beer-glasses washed
out in it when tbe passengers alighted there in tbe old coaching
days. Surely, this interesting old reUc, perhaps the only remnant
of the church that existed here in the days of King John, might
be rescued from its present incongruous position ?

It is noted by Messrs. Lysons, though not recorded in their
history of the county, that there was a rood loft across the entrance
to tbe chanceL This would be about the year 1812.*

A small gallery disfigures the west end of the church. When
Mr. Rawlins visited this church, on the 18th of January, 1827, he
notes that *^ over the singing gallery is rudely painted on the wall,
David playing on bis harp, and Time standing with his scythe,
at his feet an hour-glass, crown, globe, and sceptre." This wall
painting has now disappeared, but we may be sure from the
character of tbe composition, that it was of post-Eeformation date.
The tower, surmounted by a broached spire, is in good harmony
with the body of the church. Some nine or ten years ago it was
considered unsafe, and taken down, but we were told that the
same materials were for the most part used, and that it was put
up in identically the same form as the original one. Owing, we
suppose, to lack of funds, nothing but the bare walls were in tbe
first instance re- erected, there not being a single floor or partition
all the way up from the base of the tower to the summit of the
spire, only here and there a few cross beams.

The bells, therefore, as a matter of course, were not re-hung.
They are three in number ; and when we visited this church, in
1872, two stood on the pavement of the church at the west end.
The third was in the porch, slung across the walls by means of a
scaffolding pole ; to the clapper was attached a piece of cord, and
this primitive form of ringing was the only way for some years by
which the parishioners of Taddington were summoned to worship.
We expressed our fear as to the result of this style of ringing on
the ears of the performer, but were complacently assured by our
cicerone that Taddington possessed a deaf and dimib man, and to
him the office had been unanimously assigned !

The bells have, however, been re-hung in the tower dming the
present year (1876). Tbe one that was in the porch is inscribed,
** Anthony Meller minister, 1669," and bears tbe founder's mark of
George Oldfield. The second bell has the following inscription, in

• Add. MSS, 9463.

TADDINGTON. 121

elaborate Lombardic letters of singular beauty : — * ** Custos sanctus
nostrarum Michael it dux animaruniy* which may be rendered —
''Michael, the holy guardian of our souls, moves on as our leader."
The third bell simply bears '' Camp[ana] Sci Michael/' in Old
English letters. The dedication of two of these bells to St. Michael,
the patron saint of the church, is very interesting.

At the end of the south aisle is the table of old charitable
bequests, which is worthy of being here transcribed, if only on
account of the quaintness of the spelling : —

" Given by Mr. Roger Wilkson Minister of Wormhill to the poor
people of Taddington Chappelry twelve peneyworth of white bread
to be dealt every Lord's day for ever to such as frequent divine
service or are aged : paid out of one Close called bothem Close,
two beast grasses in prestliff Lees and one yard called Rippton
yard, and by tlie name of Tymin Land.f

•'Left by Charles Hayward in the year 1778 Five shilUngs to
the poor of the Liberty of Taddington to be distributed in bread
on the 4th of January yearly for ever, and to be paid out of the
Housing now in possession of Dorothy Hayward, a croft and garden,
on the backsid of the saide house, and a croft in the Hades also
in her possession."

The regi^rs of Taddington commence about the year 1640.
The following is an inventory of the church plate, taken in the
year 1695 : —

** An Account of the materialls belonginge to the Communion
Table at Taddington —

** One large silver Calice, given by R*| Goodwin, anno 1661.

" One small silver Bowie, with a silver cover.

** One large Flaggon of pewter, one pewter Bason, one large
Leather Bottle.

** One Table-cloth for the Communion Table.

" One pewter Dish with an M and an 0 upon the bottom ; one
table napkin of Holland, with an M at one corner, both given as a
free gift for the use of the ChappeU of Taddington afs*) by Mary
the wife of William Oldfield, now minister resident at Taddington
afs'*."

• For engrayings of the elaborate lettering on this bell, see the BeHqtiary^ vol. xiv.,
p. 228. The inscription in the text omits the contractions.

t This beqtiest was made in Mr. Wilkson's wiU, dated 4th April, 1714. He was
buried at Taddington on the 12th of the same month. By his will he also made
munificent provision for a school at Taddington. Not much more than a century
after his death the Charity Cummissioners reported how seriously this endowment
had been misused.— Charity Commishioners' Reports, vol. xvii., pp. 48-52.

122 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In the churchyard, to the south of tlie church, is an ancient
cross which carries us back to a very early era of Christianity.
The more elaborate crosses of Eyam and Bakewell have been often
illustrated and often described ; but that at Taddington, though
not nearly so perfect or so rich in ornament, is, unless we are much
mistaken, of greater antiquity, and therefore of greater interest.
The upper part of the cross is altogether missing. It is fixed in
a pedestal two feet square, raised two inches above the present
level of the ground. From it springs a shaft six feet high,
and eight and a half inches square at the base. The edges are
bevelled, and it diminishes very slightly in size as it gets higher,
being seven inches square at the top. On the west side the stone
is much splintered and defaced, but appears to have been carved
with foliage. The south side has a series of slightly-marked
chevrons one above the other, and some idea of the pattern incised
on the east and north faces can be gathered from our etching
(Plate XII.) After taking considerable care to avoid forming a
hasty conclusion, we feel bound to record our opinion that the
general character and style of this cross point to a British, or,
more correctly, to a Celtic origin. The patterns have a strong
resemblance to those often found on Celtic jewellery and pottery,
and also have a marked similarity — to mention only two instances —
to those on the undoubtedly British cross at Sancreed in Cornwall,
and on the ancient sculptured stones at New Grange, Ireland.*

We do not mean to say that we have here a relic of the ancient
British Church that certainly existed, in this and other parts of
Britain, when we were under Roman domination ; f for probably
every trace of Christian worship was swept away by the hordes of then
pagan Saxons, who rapidly overran and colonised almost the whole
of England, including the fastnesses of the Peak, soon after it was
deserted by the Bomans. But the conversion of the conquering
Saxons of the north and midlands of England was due to the zeal
of the Celtic Christians of Ireland, aided by the remnants of the
ancient British Church, and not, as is popularly supposed, to the
energy of St. Augustine and his colleagues. J The same year (597)
that witnessed the landing of St. Augustine on the shores of Kent,

* Archeeological Journal, vol. iv., pp. 302-318; Brash's EccleaiastiecU Architecture
of Ireland^ Plate IX.

t Deputations of British Bishops sat as representatives of their brethren at the
Councils of Aries (314), of Sardica (347)i and of Bimini (859).

\ This is not the place to multiply authorities in support of this assertion ; suffice
it to say, that we believe it is now accepted as a fact by all scholars, whatever may be
their theological predilections.

TADDINGTON. 123

also "witnessed the death of St. Colnmba at lona. Some thirty
years before that date, Golumba and his companions left Ireland,
** the Isle of Saints/' for the south of Scotland, where they founded
the celebrated monastery of lona. It was Aidan, a monk of lona,
and a band of Irish- Scottish monks who in 635 founded the
monastery of Lindisfame, on this side the border, and it was from
Lindisfame that Christianity gradually permeated through the
northern and midland districts of England. The Mercian kings
Peada and Wulfhere were converted to Christianity, together with
the large majority of their subjects, about the middle of the seventh
century, by the exertions of these Celtic missionaries; and it is
recorded that in 658 four priests were left in Mercia to instruct
and baptize the people — Cedd, Adda, Betti, and Diuma. The last
of these, who came direct from lona, was ordained Bishop of the
Mercians and Midland Angles, and took up his abode at Eepton,
in this county, which continued to be the episcopal see for some
twenty years, when St. Chad removed it to Lichfield. Diuma, the
first Bishop of the Mercians, died in 659, and his successor,
Ceollach, also came^ from Scotland. It is recorded of Diuma that
his preaching during his short episcopacy was specially acceptable,
and that many, as well of the nobility as of the common sort,
renouncing the abominations of idolatry, were baptized daily.*

We would fftin believe — and there are excellent grounds for our
belief — that this cross at Taddington, adorned by Celtic art, was
erected by the Celtic missionaries of the seventh century, perhaps
to the memory of one of the first converts to the truth, or, per-
haps, to celebrate the spot on which the first Bishop of the
Mercians first preached the Gospel in the wilds of Derbyshire.

May this stone long remain a silent witness of the truth to
generations yet to come ! It is difficult to imagine that any
Christians of the future will be found whose zeal can take the
form of demolition of the dearest emblem of their faith.

"Yet will we not conceal the precious Cross,
Like men ashamed ; the Sun with his first smile

Shall greet that symbol

And the fresh air of incense-breathing mom
Shall wooingly embrace it; and green moss
Creep round its arms through centuries unborn."

* Bede's Eccleaiastieal History ; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ; Sir Oswald Mosley's
Ancient British Church; Lingard's Anglo-Saxon Church; Hook's Archbishops of
Canterbury f vol. i.

\

(EasHFtom

^balF.

(^BifUHn.

|HE Castle of the Peak, as may be gathered from the
Domesday Survey, was built by William Peverel, the
illegitimate son of Wilham the Conqueror. This castle,
which gave its name to the village lying under its shelter, remained
with the Peverel family, together with the adjacent manor, till the
reign of Henry EL., when the whole of their vast estates were for-
feited to the crown in consequence of the poisoning of Ranulph,
Earl of Chester. Henry II. bestowed the manor and castle on his
younger son John, who subsequently inherited the crown, and they
remained part of the royal demesnes until the end of the reign of
Edward III., when that king bestowed them on John of Gaunt,
and they thus became absorbed in the Duchy of Lancaster.*

There is no mention of a church at Castleton in the Domesday
Survey, but there can be no doubt, from the remains still extant,
that a church was built here shortly afterwards, either by "William
Peverel or his son, but probably by the former. Nor can there be
any doubt that the advowson of the church was held for many
generations by the owner of the manor, or the custodian of the
castle for the time being. In fact, so close was this connection,
that the church went by the name of ** the church of Peak Castle"
up to the fourteenth century. During the long and tumultuous
reign of Henry III. the post of governor of this castle was fre-
quently changed. We know that it was' held in the 36th year of
this reign by Prince Edward, but it was in the hands of Simon de
Montfort in the 49th year of the said reign. Probably the king

* There are very numerous references to Castleton and the Castle of the High
Peak in the varions Rolls and Charters of the Public Record Office, but I have not
met therein with anything immediately relating to the church earlier than the time
when it was giyen to the Abbey of Demhall. Pegge's Sketch of the History of Bol-
aover and Peak Castles, forming No. xxxii. of the Bibliotheca Topographica Britan-
nica, published in 1785, contains the most accurate printed information relative to
Peak Castle, but so much more material is now accessible for its history, that it is a
pity that no one has yet undertaken another and more extended monograph.

128' DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

specially conferred the advowson of the church on his son, Prince
Edward, during the time he was in charge of this castle, and it
remained his after he no longer held the post of governor, for in
1269 that Prince gave the church to the Abhey of Demhall, in the
county of Chester. The foundation charter of Demhall, which
included the gift of this church, is of unusual interest, and is dated
from Winchester on the 24th of August. In the preface to this
charter it is set out that Prince Edward grants **to God and the
blessed Mary, and to the monastery of that same glorious virgin of
Dernhall, of the Cistercian order," the various manors and churches
which he had recently vowed to bestow when in danger on the sea.
This danger arose on the return of the Prince of Wales from his
crusading voyage with Louis, king of France, when, as the old
chronicler expresses it, he had been ** strenuously making war for
love of the Crucified One for the extermination of the pagans."
The church is herein described as '^ecclesia de Castro de Pecke.'*
After Edward had been 27 years on the throne he granted another
charter by which the Abbey of Demhall was translated to Vale
Boyal in the same county. In this voluminous charter he recapi-
tulates and confirms his previous grants. It therein appears that
the special consent of Pope Honorius IV., and subsequently of
Pope Nicholas IV., had been obtained for the transference of the
advowsons of one church in Lancashire, two in Cheshire, and
Castleton in Derbyshire, to the Abbey of Vale Eoyal, but that some
difficulty had arisen about the presentation, and the king specially
enjoins his heirs and successors to leave the appointment of the
parsons of these four churches peaceably in the hands of the
Abbot and convent,*

The Taxation Roll of Nicholas IV. (1291) values this church at
£12 per annum, and it is there entered as an '* ecclesia,'' and not
a vicarage. But the rectorial tithes, as well as the advowson, were
subsequently appropriated to the Abbey, and a vicarage formally
endowed.

In 1886 returns of the various possessions of Vale Eoyal were
made in compliance with a Boyal inquisition, and the church was
then valued amongst the property of the abbey at the same rate as

«

Dagdale's Monasticon^ vol. i., pp. 936-939. There are some transcripts of the
old chartularies of the Abbey of Vale Royal in the Harl. MSS. No. 2064. ThlR
volume is endorsed on the outside " the coppy of the Ledger-bookes of Vale RoyaU
and Standlowe." It was in the possession of Sir Thomas Mainwaring of Peover,
in 1662. The account of the foundation of the Abbey, given in the 5th vol. of
the enlarged Dugdale is taken from this manuscript.

CASTLETON. 129

I

in 1291.* In 1829 a dispute arose between the Prior of Lenton
and the Abbot of Vale Royal. The Prior (in consequence, we
suppose, of the old gift of Peverel of two-thirds of all his tithes in
the Peak to the Priory of Lenton f) had been selHng the tithes
of beasts pasturing in Edale, but the Abbot of Vale Royal, as
rector of Castleton, supplicated Queen Isabella, then lord of the
Castle and Honour of the High Peak, that she should instruct her
Bailiff of the High Peak to liberate to the Abbot the tithes of the
beasts pastured in Edale, as well as of all domestic animals for
the church of Castleton. The Queen thereupon instructed her Bailiff,
Ralph de Spaynynge, to make an Inquisition on oath as to the
old rights of the Abbot and the church of Castleton, and the
result was to upset the suddenly preferred claims of the Prior of
Lenton. :{

When the Valor EccUsiasticus was taken (27 Henry VIII.), the
vicarage of Castleton was valued at £6 Ts. 6d., including 9s. for
tithes of lead. Edmund Goldesmythe was then vicar.

After the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII. gave the
great tithes and the advowson of the vicarage to the Bishop of
Chester, in whose hands they remained till of late years, when &
change was effected with the Bishop of Lichfield.

The commissioners of the Parliament, in 1650, reported that the
living was worth £40 per annum, and that Mr. Samuel Cryer
was the present incumbent. It is added that '' the impropriation
of Castleton formerly belonged to the Bishop of Chester."

The church of Castleton, which is dedicated to St. Edmund,
consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel with small vestry
on the north side, and a tower at the west end. This church has
unfortunately undergone so many repairs and restorations during
the present century, that but little is left of any part of the
structure, except the tower, which can lay claim to a pre-Reforma-
tion origin.

Amongst the interesting manuscript volumes of the Rev. Alfred
Suckling is one containing notes and sketches of a few Derbyshire
churches which he visited in the summer of 1828. Mr. Suckling
visited Castleton in July of that year. He says : — Castleton
church is a small ancient structure, neatly fitted up. Though the
spirit of modern improvement so increasingly extends in barbarising

•Harl. MSS. 2064, f. 242; see also f. 249.

f See the account of the church of Chapel-en-le- Frith.

: Harl. MSS. 2064, f. 261.

K

130 DERBTSHIRE CHURCHES.

our sonthem churches, it appears to rage ^th ahnost equal force
among the bleak and barren hills of Derbyshire. To such beauti-
fications, as their Gothic projectors term them, this edifice is
indebted for the removal of her lancet windows, wretchedly sup-
planted by others of a nondescript architecture.* The expression
** lancet windows," when used by so careful a writer, inchnes us to
suppose that the main characteristics of this bmlding previous to
its '* beautifications" were of the Early EngUsh period of the
thirteenth century, and this view is confirmed by the sketch of
the church taken by the Rev. R. R Rawlins in 1827, which shows
three Early English lancets lighting the south side of the nave.
The nave, as it now stands, is almost as ugly a piece of church
architecture as could weU be imagined, whether regarded from the
interior or exterior, though it has been improved within the last
year by the removal of the "nondescript** windows, and the inser-
tion in their place of pointed windows having two principal lights.
There are four of these windows on each side. It certainly does
seem monstrous that any one could have been found to plaster the
exterior of the nave with stucco, in this region aboimding with
stone. It must, however, be mentioned to the credit of these
church beautifiers that they did not remove everything bearing traces
of antiquity, for there is a fine Norman archway between the nave
and the chancel, ornamented with the chevron moulding. It is
mentioned, in Glover's History of Derhyshirey that this archway was
rebuilt (probably only strengthened) in 1827, during the church-
wardenship of Mr. Elias Needham and Mr. Tym. Glover styles it
a Saxon arch, but it is not of that era, and may with confidence
be ascribed to the church here first erected by the Peverels. The
alterations of this church extended over a considerable period, but
the, most important work seems to have been done in 1880. An
inscription in raised letters, on the lead work of the flat roof of
the nave, records that : — " The old roof was laid on A.D., 1683." —
*' This church much repaired, the lead recast, new porch and but-
tresses bmlt A.D., mdcccxxx;" "the Rev. Charles Cecil Bates, M.A.,
vicar ; Joseph Hall, solicitor, and George Sidebottom, churchwardens
for Castleton and Edall ; '* and " Robert Hall, Tideswell, plumber,
1830."

Below the window nearest to the chancel on the south side of
the nave is a small piscina, blocked up at the bottom, but covered

* Add. MSS. 2064, f. 251.

CASTLETON. 131

by a trefoil-pointed niche. This, of course, points to the existence
of a side altar at this end of the nave, and also shows that at all
events a portion of the old walls of the nave still remain. For
we may be quite sure that the Gastleton churchwardens were not
sufficiently interested in archsaology to replace a piscina in a modern
wall.

When Mr. Suckling was here (July, 1823) he also noted that
•*many of the old pews were curiously carved, but, as it was then
again under repair, I fear they may have disappeared. I seized,
however, the opportunity of drawing some.** The drawings and
descriptions which follow are chiefly of the names of the occupants
of the different pews, boldly cut in oak, and of bands of moulding
of Benaissance design. Happily, Mr. Suckling's expectations con-
cerning these fine old pews have not been reaUsed, and we find
now every one of the inscriptions and ornaments which he then
copied. The following are the principal names and dates : — Samuel
Cryer* (vicar) 1661, Thomas Hall 1661, Thomas Creswell 1662,
Robert Hall 1663 (twice), John Hall 1676, Robert Hall 1676, and
Robert Thomehill (cut away, but still legible). In addition to these
names in full, are many initials with dates ; but these mark, for
the most part, pews of a later period and not nearly such good
workmanship ; they vary from about 1710 to 1720.

The old font, at the west end of the church, is of an octagon
design, and resembles in shape an inverted chalice.

The pointed archway from the nave to the tower is blocked up
by a west gallery. The tower is of the Perpendicular period,
dating from about the close of the fifteenth century, and was not
interfered with by the modern beautifiers, except to make a small
entrance on the south side up three steps, so that the belfry might
be gained from the outside. The doorway into the staircase from
the interior is built up. The tower has no doorway at the west
end; but the basement is lighted by an obtusely-pointed window of
three lights. The pointed bell-chamber windows have no tracery.
The tower is supported at the four angles by diagonally-placed
buttresses, and the summit is embattled and further ornamented
with eight crocketed pinnacles. Below the parapet are four large
gurgoyles at the angles, and four smaller ones projecting from the
bases of the central pinnacles.

* Samuel Cryer, as we have already seen, held the vicarage during the Common-
wealth * but, as we find ho was formally instituted to the Yioarage in 1662, he v as
probably one of those who was at fir»t ejected, but afterwards conformed. — Lichfield
Bpiscopal Begiflter, vol. zvii.

132 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

An old-establislied and interesting custom still prevails in this
parish on the 29th of May. On that day the ringers and others
parade the town, headed by a man on horseback bearing a garland
of large dimensions. When evening approaches, the garland is
carried below the church tower, and raised to the summit by a
pulley. It is then placed on the central pinnacle on the south
side (the other pinnacles having been adorned with oak boughs at
an early hour in the morning), and there left to wither away till
the anniversary of its renewal again comes round. There have
been some curious blunders made in taking notes of this ceremony.
A writer to Notes and Queries, a few years ago,* gravely assured
his readers that he had observed something remarkable stuck on
the top of the church tower, and on making inquiries of one of
the inhabitants, was told that it was a beeJuve (I), and that one
was placed in that position every 29th of May." This writer must
have met with an unusually facetious inhabitant of Castleton ! In
the churchwardens' accounts for the year 1749 is the following
item: — **Paid for an iron Rod to hang ye ringers garland in, 8d."
When Mr. J. B. Robinson sent this item to the "Local Notes and
Queries'* of the Derby ihire Times, \ the printers perversely ren-
dered "garments" for "garland," and it thus appeared in the
whole edition of the paper, to the no small amusement and mysti-
fication of its readers.

The tower contains eight bells, none older than the present
century. The first .and second bells are inscribed ** James Harrison,
of Barton-upon-Humber, Founder, X812." The third and fifth have
the same inscription, but the date of 1808. The fourth and sixth
bells bear ** Isaac Hall and Nicholas Tym, Churchwardens, 1803;"
and the seventh bell has the following legend : —

** When of departed hours we toll the knell
** Instruction take and spend the future weH.

James Harrison, Founder, 1803."
The eighth bell has also a rhyming legend : —

"I to the Church the people call
And to the grave I summons all.

James Harrison, of Barton, Founder, 1803."
Robert How, by will bearing date, 4th June, 1818, gave to the
Churchwarden and Overseer of the poor of Castleton £40 on trust,
20s. of the interest to be annually divided amongst the poor on

* Notes and Queries^ 4th Series, vol. iv., p. 315.
\ Derbyshire Times, July 13th, 1872.

CA8TLET0N. 133

8t Thomas' Day, and the remaining 20s. for the ringers of Castleton
for ringing a peal on every 19th day of August.*

The ohancel is now lighted by an east window of Decorated
design, and by two others of a similar style on the south side.
Below the east window is a small picture of the Adoration of the
Magi, which is locally attributed to Vandyke. The window itself
is of stained glass, and is to the memory of the Bev. C. C. Bates, who
died in 1858, having been Vicar of Castleton for thirty-five years.

In the vestry rooms, on the north side of the chancel, is a hbrary
of some six hundred volumes, and of unusual excellence for a
country parish. These volumes, with a few later additions, were
left to the parish by a former vicar, the Rev. Frederick Farran,
who died in 1819. A large proportion of these volumes are old
fashioned works of divinity, but there are a fair number of standard
works on general hterature, such as Clarendon's BebelHon, Johnson's
Works, and the Spectator. Amongst the rarer topographical works
we noticed Newcomers History of the Abbey of St. Alban, published
in 1798. The '*hons" of the hbrary, which are shown to all
visitors, are two early copies of the EngHsh version of the Bible;
one of these is of the year 1589, and is that edition commonly
known as Cranmer's or the Great Bible, and the other is a
"Breeches Bible," of the year 1611. Breeches Bibles are thus
termed from the quaint translation of Genesis iii. 7 : ** They sewed
figge-tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches." There
is a popular idea that this text was only thus rendered in a single
edition, but there are various editions containing this translation,
bearing date 1582, 1599, 1618, &c. On the fly leaf of the one
at Castleton is written : " This is the most perfect copy of the
Breeches Bible that I have ever seen. The Psalms in metre by
Stemhold and Hopkins, with the musical notes annexed to this
edition, were printed in 1609, and were purchased and bound with
it, and repaired, for the use of Castleton Library, by G. J. Hamilton,"

In the churchyard is a sundial standing on a shaft and capital,
about four feet high, rising from three wide circular steps. The
shaft, which is octagonal, is probably part of the old churchyard
cross. The metal plate of the dial is thus inscribed : '^Lat. 58.21.
John Mcquiner fecit. Shefd. Hora Pars Vitae."

The parish registers only commence in January, 1 688, and contain
nothing of special interest.

• Report of the Charity CommiaaionerSf vol. xvii., p. 284.

134 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHKS.

The following are the names of four of the fourteenth century
Vicars of Castleton with the dates of their institution; they were
all appointed on the presentation of the Ahbot of Yale Boyal.

1807. W. de Essheton.

1362. Thomas de la Peke.

1886. Adam de Barowe.

1388. W. Dryden.*

The Rev. R R. Rawlins (writing in 1827), says, ** The parish
choir is celebrated far and near for great accuracy in chanting
sacred music ; as well as highly gratifying the numerous visitors
to the Great Cavern, by singing, if requested, on elevated parts of
illuminated rocks, within these subterranean recesses, numerous
glees, catches, and trios, with quartettes and other fugitive pieces
of modem and popular harmony.'*

* Lichfield Episcopal Begisters.

£DAL£. 135

^t (S^a^tlt^ of HBtiaXt.

|N the Domesday Survey, Edale is described as a hamlet
of Hope, but it was not long before it was considered to
form part of the ecclesiastical parish of Castleton. As
such, its tithes were due to the Abbey of Yale Boyal, to which the
living of Castleton had been appropriated, and they were formally
confirmed to it in the year 1329* (as already stated), in consequence
of a dispute with the Priory of Lenton. It seems clear that there
was not at this time any chapel of Edale, nor can we discover any
trace of one in the Chartulary of Vale Boyal, or elsewhere in pre-
Beformation days.

In the year 1688, Edale chapel was built by Bobert Hall and
Stephen Bright, gentlemen, by Thomas Hall, Bobert Herrington,
Frances Howe, Henry Hall, George Howe, Gyles Barber, Thomas
Barber, Balph Creswell, John Hadfield, Boger Hall^ and George
Lowe, yeomen, and by Anna Shore and Alice Earsington, widows.
They furnished a parcel of ground in the Calfes Hayes, which was
set apart by the Bishop for a burial ground ia 1634. The building
was consecrated by Dr. Wright^ Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry,
in the same year on Trinity Sunday, as the chapel of the Holy
and undivided Trinity, and the nomination of a minister was to be
vested in the co-founders, their heirs and assigns for ever, and
they were to pay the minister £10 per annum.*
. The Bev. Bobert Turie, in 1722, augmented the income of the
minister with land to the value of £40 per annum, and £200 in
addition.f

This chapel could not have been very substantially built, for
about a hundred-and-fiffcy years after its erection its condition was

* Add. MSS. 28, 111, ff. 101, 106. See also Hope parish registers for 1684.
fPegge'B MS. Collections, vol. ▼., f. 5.

136 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHKS.

so bad that the inhabitants applied to Quarter Sessions for a Brief
for its repair.

A Brief was obtained in 1795, in which it is stated that £dale
chapel was **a very ancient (?) structure, greatly decayed in every
part, and much too small to contain the number of persons there
who profess the doctrines of the Church of England and who
should attend Divine worship there." The remedy suggested was
that it should be entirely taken down, enlarged, and rebmlt. Mr.
John Bishop, *^ an able and experienced architect,'' estimated the
cost at £1480 18s. 4d. As an excuse for appealing to the general
pubhc, the Brief further states that the inhabitants of Edale were
not only chiefly " tenants and labourers burdened with poor," but
that they were also chargeable with half of all the moneys ex-
pended over the mother church of Castleton. But the result of
this Brief was merely to bring in the sum of £134 6s. lid., and in
1808 another Brief was obtained in which the same prayer was re-
peated with the addition that the church of Castleton was then
undergoing repair, which made their position still harder»* We
do not know the exact sum produced by this second Brief, but within
a few years after this second appeal the old chapel was taken down
and the present plain bam-like structure erected. Against the south
wall, over the door, is this inscription : — " Edale chapel originally
built A.D. MDCXXXIU. was taken down and replaced by this
present edifice A.D. MDCCCXII."

The registers commence with the year of the building of the
first chapel.

J

*The originals of these two Briefs are in the British Mnseiun. Copies of the
petitions to Quarter Sessions also exist amongst the County Records, the earliest
Being a printed sheet signed by John Lingard, minister, and John Champion,
chapelwarden.

\

<giapFl-Fn-lF-fni!i,

\

(IfaiipI-pn-Ip-l'rifi.

|HE history of the Royal Forest of the Peak in Derbyshire
yet remains to be written. Both Lysons and Glover pass
it OTer in a brief paragraph. But this is not the place
to giye even the shortest outline of that which might form an
interesting monograph. It is sufficient here to note that Peak Forest
was held by William Peverel, the illegitimate son of the Conqueror,
though probably the whole *' Honour of the Peak '* was not con-
ferred ux>on him till the reign of Henry I. Thence it passed to
his SOD and grandson of the same nan^e, the former the founder
of Lenton Abbey; but the estates of the third William Peverel
were forfeited to the crown in the reign of Stephen, owing to the
murder of Eanulph, Earl of Chester. His daughter and co-heiress,
Margaret, had married Robert de Ferrers, and he was permitted to
hold certain of the lands of his father-in-law. It does not, however,
appear that the Peak Forest formed any part of his inheritance,
but that it reverted to the Crown, for Richard I., in the first year
of his reign, gave the Castle of the Peak and lands pertaining
thereto to his brother John.* William de Ferrers, grandson of
Robert de Ferrers, the first Earl of Derby, seems to have taken
the opportunity of John's wars with the barons to make himself
heir of all the Peverel estates without due royal warrant

The foresters and keepers of the deer became so numerous that
about 1225 they purchased a portion of the crown lands held by
William de Ferrers, and built themselves a chapel for divine wor-
ship, which they called the Chapel in the Forest (firth). William
de Ferrers, after his acquirement of the territory of Peverel, had
confijrmed his grant to the priory of Lenton ; it therefore followed
that the priory laid claim to the advowson of this chapel and to
the tithe of the new parish of cultivated land springing up around

*Di]gdale'B MonaHicony yol. i., p. 645, etc. ; Dngdale's Baronage, vol. i, p. 61.

140 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

it ; but the claim was disputed both iTy the King and the Dean
and Chapter of Lichfield. At the pleas held at Derby in 1241, the
Prior of Lenton and the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield had to
show cause why the king should not present to Chapel-en-le-Frith,
then \acant. The Prior claimed two parts of the greater tithes
pertaining to the chapel, and all the small tithes, from the grant
made by William Peverel of the tenths of all his lands to the
priory of his own foundation at Lenton, of which lands WiUiam
Ferrers was the inheritor; the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield
claimed a portion of the tithes as possessing the church of Hope,
within the limits of which parish they asserted that the new chapel
was situated ; whilst Adam de Eston, who pleaded for the king,
contended that William Ferrers had thrust himseK into ihe position
of heir to William Peverel at the time when war was raging
between the late king and his barons — that no royal warrant had
been obtained either by WiUiam Ferrers or the Dean and Chapter
in connection with the new chapel — and that the lands on which
it was situated were waste and uncultivated at the time that
WiUiam Peverel made his grant to Lenton. The roU containing
these interesting particulars is, unfortunately, incomplete ; but it
was decided that if either party could produce any charter or con-
firmation from the king it should not be set aside.'*'

It is clear, however, that the Prior of Lenton eventually succeeded
in estabUshing his claim to the lion's share of the profits, but not
to the advowson, which appears to have remained with the Dean
and Chapter of Lichfield.

The Chapter registers of a few years' later date give the value of
the great tithes of Chapel-en-le-Frith at 20 marks, and the lesser
tithes at 1 0 marks ; and they further state that two- thirds of this
sum was appropriated by Lenton Priory, and the remainder by
themselves.

But this appropriation of the tithes does not seem to have been
acquiesced in without protest by the inhabitants as opportunity
offered. At an Liquisition held at Fairfield in 1818, the foresters,
verderers, keepers, and freemen, to the number of upwards of
forty, affirm upon oath, that the chapel had been buUt by the
inhabitants on the king's soU in Henry's reign, and had had rights
of burial and baptism conferred on it by Bishop Alexander, so that
it is now a parochial church; that the Dean and Chapter of Lich-

• Abbrev. Placit., 25 Hen. III., rot. 26.

CHAPKL-KN-LK-FKITH. 141

field, and Prior and Convent of Lenton, hold the church to their
own use ; of which advowBon and appropriation, if they have a
true title, or not, they (the foresters) are ignorant.*

Alexander de Stavenby was consecrated Bishop of Coventry and
Lichfield at Borne in the year 1224, and died in 1238.

We have on several occasions drawn attention to the various
secular purposes for which parish churches were habitually used in

* Inq. ad quod damunm, 11 Edw. II., No. 97 ; See Appendix, No. VI.

It may be as well to here give a few additional particulars relative to the posses-
Bions of the Priory of Lenton in the Peak district generally, and which caused so
many dispute, and which are bo often referred to throughout this volume. The
Chaitulary of Lenton, which would have cleared up so many doubtful points, was,
unfortunately, amongst those valuable MSB. that were burnt at the fire in the Cotton
Library in 1731.

William Peverel, according to the foundation charter, quoted by Dugdale, gave to
the Priory two-thirds of the tithes of all things that could be tithed in his lordships
of Dunstan, Newbold, Tideswell, BradweU, fiakewell, Hucklow, Ashford, WormhiU,
Monyash, and Hulme ; also, two-thirds of the tithes of the pastures pertaining to his
lordships in the Peak, including those at Shalcross, Fenmee, Buxton, Chelmorton,
Gowdale, Stemdale, and one or two other places that it is difficult now to identify ;
also, the whole tithes of cocks and hens wherever he had a stable {haracium) in
the Peak ; and the whole tithes of lead and of hunting.

In 1252, an amicable composition was come to between the Priory of Lenton and
the Chapter of Lichfield, in order to settle certain encroachments made by the
former, upon the rights which had been granted b^ King John to the Chapter, in the
bestowal on them of the churches of BaJcewell, Hope, and TidesweU. These rights
had been held to override in certain particulars the charter of William Peverel, but
this interpretation had not been acquiesced in by the Priory. The Dean and
Chapter claimed £60 damages, and 40 marks for expenses, and the quarrel was
referred to Bome. Pope Innocent IV. appointed Brother Walter, warden of the
Friars Minor of Leicester, and Adam, Arcndeacon of Chester^ to act as Commis-
sioners. The case was heard in the Church of St. Mary, at Leicester, when Master
Walter appeared on behalf of the Chapter, and Master Alan, the Sub-prior, on the

Eart of Lenton. It was then agreed that the Priory should pay to the Sacristan at
lichfield 100 marks as a fine; that all the greater and lesser tithes of Tideswell
belonged to the Dean and Chapter, excepting two-thirds of the tithes of lead on the
demesnes of William Peverel, of the tithe of the mill of Bichard Daniel, and of the
tithe of the stables and of hunting: that the Dean and Chapter should pay 14 marks
out of the tithes of Bakewell and Hope to the Priory of Lenton ; and that two-thirds
of the great tithes only should go to the Priory in other parts, and of pastures and
places then cultivated at Bakewell, Nether Haddon, Ashford, and Frith. {Magnum
MegUtrum A Unitn, f. 119, etc. Harl. MSS. 4799.)

The Lichfield Chapter Registers also contain other compositions between them-
selves and the Priory, of a few years later date, that slightly varv in terms, and an
Inquisition of tithes due to Lenton, taken in 1272, gives the following details : —
Bakewell, £8 8s. 4d., Ashford, £6, Hulme, £5 8s., Nether Haddon, £8 8s. 8d.,
Monyash, £1 lis. 8d., BlackwelJ, £2 18s. 4d., Chelmorton, etc , i-27 6b. 8d., Bradwell,
15s. 4d., Hucklow, 48., Fairfield, £3 6s. 8d., Shalcross and Femilee, Us., Tideswell,
jb'l 6n. 8d., Chapel-en-le-Frith, £20 Os., and other dues in BakeweU, Hope, Tideswell,
and Greenlow, amounted to £8.

The Taxation Boll of Pope Nicholas (1291) estimates the annual income of the
Priory from the parish of BakeweU "cum membris," at £66 18s. 4d., in addition to
£5 6s. 8d. from the church of Glossop.

According to an Inquisition of Edward I., the Priory held the '* decima venaciouis "
of the whole of the Peak district. (Inq. post Mort., 3 Edw. I., No. 37.) A survey of
Alien Priories, taken 8 Bichard II., may also be consulted ; it only assigns £4 of the
tithes of the parish of " Capella del Frythe " to Lenton.

The Valor Ecelesicutictta (27 Henry VIII.) shows that the property of the Priory
in this county, had materially diminished ; thus, for instance, the tithes accruing to
it from TidesweU were onlv valued at Us., and those from Ashford at 8s. This did
not include the tithes of lead ore (separately estimated at £6 18s. 4d.), or we could
better have understood the fluctuation, but tne decrease probably arose in part from
leases or grants of tithes made from time to time in a semi -corrupt way, and not
subsequently recovered

See also the subsequent account of the churches of Fairfield and Tideswell.

142 DERBYSHIRE CUURCHES.

pre-Reformation days,* but similar instances of a post-Reformation
date are very exceptional This church, however, was thus utilised
in the days of EHzabeth, as is shown by the following document : —

** By virtue of Her Majesty's Commission out of her Highnesses
most honourable Court of Chancery to us and others directed for
the examination of witnesses touchinge a certain cause in the said
court dependinge betweene Thomas Wright, plaintiff, and Richard
Harford and William Redfeame defendants. These shall be to wyll
and require you and everie of you whose names are wrytten in the
liste in Her Majesty's name most strayghtly to charge and command
that you fail not to appear before us and other of our assessors
in the church of the Chappell in the Frithe in the countie of
Derbye, upon the Saturday, the 8th day of the instant June, by
nyne of the clocke in the forenoon, there to speak and declare
your knowledge touchinge such matters as shall be laid before you.

Given under our hands and seals 7th day of June, 1691.

Roger Columbell.

Henry Bagshawe.
To Agnes Kirke, Richard Bouden, Thomas Mellor, etc. etc."t
The ParUamentary Commissioners, in 1660, reported of this place
that it was *'a parish and donative worth £10 13s. 4d. Mr. Oliver
present incumbent and disaffected. Brownside, part of Glossop to
be united to Chapel-en-le-Frith, which part of the Peake Forest
is not hereinbefore mentioned and not reputed to be in the parish
of Castleton, wee think fitt to be united to Chapel-en-le-Frith."

But two years previous to this report being drawn up, the
church of Chapel-en-le-Frith had been put to a still sfranger use
than in the days of EHzabeth. In 1648 its walls were used to con-
fine a vast number of prisoners of the Scottish army, after their
defeat by the soldiers of the Commonwealth at Preston. The
record of their sojourn here cannot be better told than in the
simple but painful words of the old parish registers. We subjoin
several extracts of interest from these registers relative to the
church or its ministers, for which we are chiefly indebted to
papers contributed by Mr. Henry Kirke to the Reliquary.X
1624. Feb. 20th, Edmund Nickson, B.A., was chosen minister of
this church by the consent of the most part of the xxvii. free-
holders of our parish.

♦ Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., pp. 172, 468.
t Beliquaryf vol. 9, p. 20.

up^to tl'^inf i4i:*'- **' ^- "^^ "8^*''"' *" *^ » P^rf"* ~-^«<»' from 1620

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH. 1 4 3

1681. Sept., Barbara Bradshawe, the wife of Francis Bradshawo,
of Bradshawe, Esq., High Sheriff for this Countie this year, was
buried in the chancell the xviij day.

1648. Nov., Noe Minister, noe Churchwardens.

1648. March xviij., Mr. Wm. OUiver began this year as Minister.

1648. Sept. 11. There came to this town of Scots army led by
the Duke of Hambleton, and squandered by Colonell Lord
Cromwell, sent hither prisoners from Stopford under the conduct
of Marshall Edward Matthews, said to be 1500 in number, put
into ye church Sep. 14. They went away Sept. 30 following.
There were buried of them before the rest went away 44 persons,
and more buried Oct. 2 who were not able to march, and the
same yt died by the way before they came to Cheshire 10 and
more.

1651. DeQ. 6. Mr. OUiver, Minister, buried in this C'hancell.

1652. May 7. Mr. Robert Gee, Minister of this church, buried in
the Chancell.

1661. Jan. 17th. The coate of armes belonging to Nicholas
Bowden,* of Bowden in ye Countie of Derby, Esquire, being quar-
tered with ye two coates of his two wifes, Woodrofe emd Barnby,
are placed over the seat belonging to Bowden by consent of us,

Henry Kirke > Church
John Cooper j Wardena
1661. May 25th. A seat was erected in our church of Chappell
joyning to ye font for ye Churchwardens to sit in.

1661. Feb. 7. Mem. That it was agreed between Randolph
Brown, of Marsh, and Wm. Barber, of Malcoff, that the sd
Randolph hath sould one seate or pewe next adjoyning to his
chief seate or pewe in the Chappell Church, for a valuable con-
sideration, in the presence of

James Hulme, Henry KLrke, John Cooper.

1662. Sept 22. I am contented yt a seat be set upp in ye
Chappell Church within St. Nicholas* Quyre, in ye place
adjoynes to Rallph Gee*s seat, and belongs to Briggs farm,
and that Francis Gee and Dorothy his wife shall enjoy ye same
duringe theire two Hves paying all church dues which belongs
for ye seat to pay. Nics. Bowden.

* The arms of Bowden, of Bowden, are — Qnarterly, tab. and oTj in the firRt
quarter a lion passant, arg., langued, gu,, Crest, an eagle's head erased. Those of
Woodroffe, of Hope, are arg, a chevron between three crosses form^e fitchde, gu.
Those of Barnby, of Barnby, are, or^ a lion rampant, sab; on the lion escallops,
or, George Bowden, of Bowden and of Barnby, who died in 1680, and who was
probably son of this Nicholas Bowden, was the last heir male of the family.
Younger branches settled in Leicestershire.

„ , Henry Kirke >

James Hulme, -r i \r^ r

John Cooper j

144 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

1662. Feb. Mr. William Higginbottom hired to serve the Cure of
Chappell for one year.

1701. The great bell in our steple was taken down to be cast
upon Friday, 27 June, and as it was coming down the pulleys
broke, and the bell fell to the ground and brought all before it.
The man who was above to guide it was one Ezekiel Shuttle-
worth, a joyner in this town, he seeing the pulleys break could
noways help himself but came after it, a ladder with himself,
and a little crow of iron in his hand, and yet by God's great preser-
vation had little or no harm. The great bell was recast at
Wigan, 6 Aug. 170. (Another entry relative to the great bell
says, that Mr. William Scott was the founder, and was Alder-
man of Wigan, the same year).

1702. April. Mr. William Bagshaw of the Fford, Nonconformist
Minister, was buried in the chancell. Styled "the Apostle of
the Peake."*

1715. Feb. 1st. On that day there was an extreme wind. It blew

the weathercock off the steple and brake it in pieces, and a

great Ash in the Churchyard, with vast great loss to most

people in their houses. Some being blown down,

Bassano visited this church in 1710, but only made a brief note

or two respecting it : — '' In St. Nicholas Quire at east end of north

lies burying place of Bowden of Bowden — here a low raised ali-

baster stone for Nicholas Bowden of Bowden."

More elaborate notes were taken by Mr. Reynolds, of Plaistow,

fifty years later.t After detailing the hatchment of Bowden already

* William BagBliaw, the author of De Spiritualibus Pecci, was bom at LittoD, near
Tideswell, 17 June, 1627. He was educated at Corpus Christ! College, Cambridge,
and was ordained at Chesterfield on New Year's Day, 1651. Soon afterwards he was
invited to Glossop, where he remained till St. Bartholomew's Day, 1662. Thence he
went to Ford, where he preached privately in his own house and elsewhere. At last
a small chapel was erected at Malcalf, near Ford, which he assiduously served till the
time of his death. The chapel register says : — " In the begmning of the year 1702
the Rev. Mr. William Bagshaw of Ford departed this life. His last sermon was on
March 22nd, 1702, from Bomans viii. 31. On Wednesday, April Ist, he lay in a slum-
ber ; towards night he called to have a hymn sung, and after a short j^rayer, to which
he added his Amen, he fell into a slumber and seemed to breathe without difficulty,
till, on a sudden he gave a gasp or two, and so quietly slept in Jesus. Having lived
an eminently holy and useful life, he had the favour oi an easy death. He was
buried at Chapell-le-Frith, and his funeral sermon was preached by Mr. John Ashe,
from Heb. viii., 7, and afterwards printed with his life and character." Mr. John
Aaho, who preached the funeral sermon, was nephew to the apostle of the Peak. The
Rev. W. Bagshaw was of a family of considerable repute and position ; his brother
John Bagshaw, of Litton and Great Hucklow, was High Sheriff of the county in 1696.
It was not by his own seeking that William Bagshaw was buried in the chancel. His
will, dated 15th October, 1701, says — •* And as I hope for the glorifying of my soul
immediatelv after its leaving my body, I believe that at the last and great day, my
body {ihe decent interring whereof I desiret tho* it should not he admitted into a
place styled conseci'atecE) shall by divine power and grace be raised and reunited to my
soul, that I may be for ever with the Lord."

fAdd. MSS. 6701.

CHAPEL- EN-LE- FKITH. 145

described in the extracts from the registers, he says ; — " Above the
atchievement is a shield of Armes cast in Alabaster for Bowdon
only, and over the Armes a crest which I think is a Hawkes or
Eagles head erased. There is also a chest tomb of marble near
the same (being towards the N. ^E. corner) upon which is the
Armes of Bowdon only, and a crest as above, but no inscription,
neitlier does there seem to have been any, as the said shield of
Armes is large and covers above half the said Tomb, and the rest
thereof is quite plain and smooth. This church of Chapel in the
Fiith is also called Bowden chapel, and in the N. E. corner has
formerly been a chapel, now commonly called Bowden Quire.
Bowden Hall is now the estate of one Parson Pegge.

•* Upon a small brass plate affixed to the N. wall not far from
the west end is wrote in common round hand —

* Near this place Heth the body of Anthony Bealott, yeoman,
who married Susannah, the daughter of Stephen Staly, Gent., by
whom he had five sons and two daughters. She died Nov. ye 5th,
1661, aged 42 years, and he died May 20th, 1702, aged 84 years.'

" And a httle underneath is written —

* Given by Joseph Bealott, the 8d son, now liviug in Leverpoole.'
" On ye right hand as you enter the churchyard is a stone coffin

placed upon the top of the wall (instead of coping) in the bottom
of which, near the middle, is a round hole about four inches in
diameter. This coffin is about 6ft. long within. There is another
stone coffin like this at the signe of the Thorne Tree in the towne
with a hole in the niiddle hke the above mentioned, which said
last mentioned coffin serves for a watering trough, being placed
under the Pump, and has the said Hole occasionally stopped up
with a Plug. Whence these were is not now known, but they have
been villainously carried out of the church when the fabrick was
built some 80 or 40 years ago. . . .

*' This account of Chapel in lo Frith was taken by me in May 1,
1760.*'

Towards the close of the last century the church was rebuilt,
when all traces of the quire, dedicated to St. Nicholas, were swept
away. It appears from Dr. Pegge's notes, that the necessary funds
were collected by a Brief, but we have failed to find any mention
of one, either in the County Records, or at the British Museum.
He says : " The church here was only newcased by ye brief, for
'tis miserably pewed." He also notes that they had in his days
a ** rush bearmg, which is different from ye Wakes."*

* Peggo's Collections, voL v., f. 62. ^

146 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The Rev. B. R. Rawlins first visited this church in June, 1823,
when he made note of some old carved pews with dates cut on
them, varying from 1621 to 1710 ; hut the church was repewed in
1828, at a cost of £600, when it was unfortunately considered
correct to sweep away all the old oak seats.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket, consists
of nave, side aisles, south porch, chancel, and tower at the west
end. With the exception of the chancel, and a portion of the north
side of the nave, the whole of the exterior of the building was
rebuilt at the time when the debased '^Georgian'* style prevailed.
It would be difficult to imagine a more incongruous and imwhole-
some mixture. The architect has attempted to engraft a barbarised
classic style with urn-capped parapets, upon the ground plan and
general structure of a Gothic edifice. Glover, in his History of
the County, describes this church as '' a handsome structure," but
kindly gives his readers a small woodcut of the building, so that
they can form an opinion for themselves as to the discrimination
of his judgment ; and Rhodes, notwithstanding his exquisite apprecia-
tion of picturesque scenery, could actually write of this tower, that
it "rose with considerable grace and majesty."*

Of the original chapel that was erected here about 1225, when
the Early English style was in vogue, nothing now remains, unless
it is a portion of the masonry on the north side. That side of the
church was left comparatively untouched during the rebuilding, but
we were told that several ** lancet windows" were removed from
the north aisle to give place to square-headed successors early in
the present century.

The chancel, which has an embattled parapet and a single gurgoyle
on the south side, is lighted at the east end by a pointed Decorated
window (circa 1860) of three principal lights, with interlaced tracery.
There is also a three-light square-headed window of the Perpendicular
period on each side of the chancel, the lower part of the one on
the south side being cut away for a doorway. On the north side
of the chancel is a protruding vestry of exceptional ugliness. At
the east end of the north aisle is a three -light pointed window,
also of the Perpendicular period, but the remainder of the exterior
of the church is of the Georgian mixture.

The interior of the church proves that it was almost entirely
rebuilt in the fourteenth century, during the era of the Decorated

• Glover's History of Derhyahiret p. 211. Rhodes' Peak Scenery, p. 199.

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FKITH. 1 47

style. The nave is separated from the aisles on each side by four
arches supported by octagon pillars of that period. There is also
a fine wide arch into the chancel. In the south wall of the chancel
is a small piscina, and over the communion table is a very inartistic
representation of the Last Supper, said to be a copy of an old
master. The altar rails were given by William White, incumbent
of the parish in 1660.

The church also contains the old font, which is of plain octagon
construction, and apparently of the fifteenth century. On one side
is a shield charged with a quatrefoiL

The old stone coffin, mentioned by Reynolds, still serves as a
coping stone on the south wall of the churchyard.

The tower contains a peal of six bells. It will be seen that the
great bell that was recast at Wigan in 1701 had not a long life.
They are inscribed as follows : —

I. " Peace and good neighbourhood," followed by the initials A.
B., between which is the figure of a bell. This is the mark of
Abraham Eudhall.

n. ** Prosperity to this parish," and mark of Abraham EudhalL

III. " We were all cast at Gloucester by A. Rudhall, 1733."

IV. No inscrij)tion.

V. ** Jasper Frith and John Wainwright, churchwardens 1738,"
and mark of Abraham Hudhall.

VI. **I to the church the living call, and to the grave do sum-
mon all, 1733." This bell weighs 11 cwt. 8 qrs.

The BudhaUs had a celebrated bell foundry at Gloucester from
the end of the seventeenth century till about the year 1880, when
the foundry passed from the hands of John Rudhall to Messrs.
Mears of Loudon.*

The freeholders of the parish still retain the nomination of the
Vicar in their own hands. There is an inscription in the church
recording that the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield x)resented to
Chapel-en -Ic-Fritli in 1747, but the parishioners resisted, and even-
tually the advowson was again vested in the freeholders, then
twenty- seven in number.

A tablet in the church states that Thomas Marshall, by will,
August 8th, 1708, gave the sum of £100, the interest to be paid
yearly, half to the minister, and half to the overseer of Coombs
Edge for putting out poor children as apprentices. The Charity

• North'8 Church Belh of Leiceaterahire, p. 91.

148 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Commissioners (1827) say — ** The sum of £100 appears to have
been laid out towards building a central gallery at the west end of
the parish church, the pews in which are let at rents amounting
to £9 a year/'

EHzabeth Scholes, by will, October 5th, 1734, left the interest on
£52 to be laid out in buying *' 12 manchets or loaves weekly, to
be distributed every Sunday immediately after morning service in
the church, to such poor housekeepers and poor children as should
attend that service."

Samuel Wood, by will, May 12th, 1763, left the interest on £50
to be spent in wheaten bread, to be distributed every Sunday in
the parish Church to poor widows and fatherless children.*

* Charity Commissioners* Beports, vol. ZTii, pp. 210-250.

IHflPlFD HalF.

\

BorlFg BfllF.

lABLEY was a royal manor at the time of the taking of
the Domesday Survey (1086), and it was then possessed
of a priest and a church. At a very early date the ad-
vowson of the rectory was conferred upon the Cathedral Church of
Lincoln, possihly by WiUiam Rufus, but of this we have no imme-
diate proof. Not only was the presentation to the living in the
hands of the Dean of Lincoln, but he also received a pension of
40s. from the endowments of the rectorv. The first mention we
have found of this pension of 40s. is in the Taxation Boll of Pope
Nicholas IV., compiled in 1291, wherein the total value of the
living — '^Ecclesia de Derley in Pecco'* — is estimated at £18. An
Inventory of the Derbyshire possessions of the Dean of Lincoln,
taken in 1310, says that the church of Darley was divided into
three portions, and that from each portion a mark was yearly due,
t. e.t £2 in all.* A similar statement as to the pension, and as to
the church or rectory being divided into three portions, is also
made in like inventories drawn up in 1829, in the reign of Henry
VLt

The early episcopal registers at Lichfield afford many instances
of institution to the three different parts into which this rectory
was divided, all made on the presentation of the Dean of Lincoln.
The first instance occurs in January, 1301, when John de Brent-
ingham was instituted to a third portion of Darley, in the room of
"Walter de Foderingye, who had accepted the rectory of Matlock,
which was also in the gift of the Dean of Lincoln. Li 1369 one

* Pegge'B CoUections, vol. v., f. 196, 198. A diBpnte as to the patronage of Darley
Church was brought into the courts in Easter term, 1286. The king sued the Dean
aud Chapter on account of a claim to this ad^owson made by Henry III., but the
Dean and Chapter successfully resisted the claim by pleading the length of time that
had elapsed since the claim was made. Abrev. Placit. 13 Edw. I., Rot. 3.

t Add. MSS., 6666, f. 476. This inventory of the time of Henry VI. (amongst the
Wolley MSS.) is the original document.

152 DKRBYSniRE CHURCHES.

of the three rectors of Darley effected an exchange of benefices with
a prebend of All Saints', Derby. But in the year 1393 we find
from the same registers, that the Bishop's consent and that of the
Dean of Lincoln were obtained to the amalgamation of the three
portions into two. This was effected when one of the three portions
was vacant through death, and the other two rectors, Bichard del
Hay and John Sebyston, pledged themselves to the due payment
of the whole of the pension.*

When the Valor Ecdesiastiais was drawn up, in the reign of
Henry VIII., the rectory of Darley was divided into two medieties ;
the one was held by Bobert Gamson, and was estimated at
jeiO 8s. 4d. yearly value, and the other by W. Cretyng, at
£9 18s. From each income deductions were made of 8s. 4d. to
the Bishop ** pro indempnitate ecclesie," 20d. to the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield, and Ss. 3d. for Archidiaconal fees. The pen-
sion of 408. to the Chapter of Lincoln is also entered imder the
possessions of that Cothedral. Two rectors continued to be appointed
imtil the year 1744, when the medieties were amalgamated into a
single rectory, +

The Parhamentary Commissioners of 1650 report of Darley that
it is in two medieties, and that it "constantly had two parsons to
oflficiate, each a distinct dwelling. South mediety £70, Mr. Edward
Payne, a hopeful minister officiates. North mediety £80, Mr. John
Pott incumbent"

This rector Payne is mentioned in a dispute that seems to have
caused much litigation in connection with an unenclosed piece of
land termed "the walk," attached to the Netherhall manor of Dar-
ley. The following account, from a contemporary manuscript, is
worth quoting as an illustration of the customs, etc., that prevailed
in the Dale in the seventeenth century. John Columbell mentioned
herein died in 1687. "Edward Pain, rector of the south mediety,
was marcyed at ye court for sending his servants to bum Braken
within the walk of Darley Hall, and had a mare taken for distraint.
Henry Stevenson, yeoman, his servant, burnt brackin upon your
walk, and he was marcyd for it and had a colt taken for distraint,
and since yt time H. S. took your walk at £8 a year of John
Columbell, Esq., and he should have leased it but J. C. would not
destroy his rapits which did eat his sheep-hay and so he burned it

♦ Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, voL i., f. 13; vol. iv., f. 40; vol. vi., ff. 82, 83.

f Lysons' Derhyshira^ p. 99. This, we suppose, was the year in which the two
medieties were formally amalgamated, hut they had previously been held by one
rector, e.g.^ Rev, John LdwardK, who died in 1686.

DARLEY DALE. 153

up, and after J. C. died, Catherine, wife to J. C, was for walling
in ye whole bounds of ye walk, and she hired Henry Rows, J.
Benit, and others for to get stone and wall it. Widow Chapman,
John .Taylor, Peter Gladwin, and Roger Soresby to lead stone with
their teames at 4s. a day each team, and Mr, John Statham's son
of Gamesley, land steward, was to see as ye work was done accord-
ing to articles and to pay them their wage, and Madame Columbell
went to live at Darley, and there she fell sick and died before ye
work was begun. Since yt time J. S. took ye walk of Ld. Windsor,
who was left in trust to look after Columbell*s children, and Tho.
Wheeldone should have had half of the walk, and because he held
tho demean he would pay no rent, and so this J. S. turned it up,
and soe since it has been kept of with staff and dog. Henry Taylor
and Henry Tiping bought ye Brakin and burned it for several years,
some say they gave 60s. and some say £3, but whether I cannot
positively tell, and several mens goods have been pounded off ye
walk, and John Columbell took up all Weafs and Streafs within ye
liberty of ye High Peak in Darly, fellon goods and deadans, and I
never knew no heriote paid from Columbell nor from any yt pur-
chast their lands, nor paid no demande to ye Crown for 70 years
last jmst.'**

The church, which is dedicated to St. Helen, was thoroughly
restored in 1864. It consists of nave with side aisles, south porch,
north and south transepts, chancel with north vestry, and tower
at the west end. Of the church that probably stood here for several
centuries in the Saxon era, and which was extant when the Domes-
day Survey was compiled, there is nothing now left standing. Nor
is there much remaining of Norman work. There is a blocked up
doorway of quite plain and late Norman style in the south wall
of the chancel, with a simple hood-mould or dripstone over it.
This entrance cannot have been used for the last five centuries,
as a buttress of the Decorated period hides one of the jambs. It
also seems, from the masonry within this doorway, as though a
window with a semi-circular head had been inserted here after the
entrance had lost its original use, but this also is now filled up.
A doorway of a hke description, but smaller, opens firom the north
side of the chancel into the vestry. From the unusual circumstance
of the dripstone being on the inner side, it seems probable that
it is now in a reversed position to that in which it was originally

* Add. MSS., 6668, f. 463.

l'^4 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

placed, and may have been brought here from some other part of
the building (f. ^., the tower entrance)^ when the church was being
rebuilt in the Early English period. For it is evident from the
small lancet window at the east end of the vestry that this adjunct
was erected during the prevalence of that style, and there are no
instances of a north doorway to a chancel unless leading to a
vestry or sacristy. We were told that there was another built-up
doorway of this description in the north wall of the north aisle
previous to its restoration. An old font, that formerly belonged
to this church, and which now stands in the garden of Mr. Alfred
Soreby, of the Rookery, Ashford-in-the- Water, was also described
to us as being of the Norman period. In the masonry of the south
wall of the chancel may be noticed the reversed capital of a small
Norman shaft, which probably formed part of the jamb mouldings
of the chief entrance to the church in the eleventh or twelfth
century.

The church appears to have undergone a thorough renovation
when the Early English style was in vogue, about the end of the
twelfth century. There are two lancet windows of this date in
the east wall of the south transept, one of them built up ; there is
another of the same style in the south wall of the chancel, and
a fourth, already mentioned, in the east end of the vestry. It
also iippears as if the east wall of the porch was built against
another small window of this description, and the doorway to the
church, under the porch, is of Early English style, and though
entirely renewed in 1854, is of the same design as that which
was here previous to the restoration.

To the Decorated period of the fourteenth century, belong the
arches that separate the nave from the side aisles. Those on the
north side are supported by circular pillars of an earlier date than
those on the south, which are of octagon construction. The two
narrow-pointed archways at the west end next to the tower are
older than the rest. They spring from corbels, which are ornamented
with the nail-head moulding, and seem to belong to the Early English
style. The large north and south windows of the transepts are
good examples of flowing decorated tracery, circa 1380. The south
aisle is lighted by two pointed Decorated windows in close juxta-
position ; one of these is the old window from the west end of that
aisle, and the other is a new one after the same model. The
archway into the chancel is also of this period, as well as the
external buttresses and general features of that part of the church.

BARLEY DALE. 155

The east window of the chancel is now filled with Perpendicular
tracery, and there is a south doorway, with a window over it, of
the same character. The north aisle, too, is lighted with windows
of the fifteenth century style, hut these were inserted at the res-
toration in 1854. It had previously heen Ughted with square-headed
windows of a debased style and destitute of tracery. There are two
clerestory windows ahove the aisles on each side of the nave, of
Perpendicular work ; and the tower, though rather eccentric in some
of its details,' is also of the fifteenth century. The buttresses are
unusually shallow for the style. The archway into the tower is
now opened and shows the large west window. Below this window
was the wide west entrance, but about the year 1820, under the
direction of the Rev. S. C. Saxton, this doorway was converted
into a window and glazed. It is hid from view in the interior
of the church by the organ. The apex of the arch of this doorway
is quaintly carved into an animal shape, and a monster of
superlative ugliness (Plate VI.) serves as the corbel in the inner
north-east angle of the tower, upon which the projection of the
turret staircase rests. The summit of the tower is embattled, and
adorned with crocketed pinnacles at the angles.

The roof of the nave is a fair specimen of the style of roof that
prevailed towards the close of the Perpendicular period. It is not
the same roof, or at all events not at the same elevation, as that
which covered the nave when the tower was first erected (as may
he seen from the weather mouldings on the west front of the
tower), and it cuts off a small portion of the apex of the tower
archway. The roof is of a low pitch, formed hy the curving of the.
large tie-beams, five in number. The tie-beams have well-carved
bosses in the centre, and all the timbers are moulded, whilst the
wall plate is embattled. The braces, also, that spring from corhel
stones to give additional support to the tie-beams, are handsomely
carved. These stone corbels are plainly moulded, except those at
the west end, which take the form of a male and female head.
The chancel roof was renewed in 1854 and is now of a high-pitch,
but the supporting corbel stones are the old ones, those on the
south heing female heads with square head-dresses, and those on the
north, men's heads with curled hair and hoard.

The vestry is a narrow oblong building, Hghted, as we before
remarked, at the east end by a small Early English window.
There are now two other windows in the north wall, and from the
west end is a communication through the wall into the pulpit. But

156 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

these are alterations of modem date. The old vestry, we were
told, used to be of much larger size and was of two stories, the
lower part being used as a school-room for the boys, and the upper
room for the girls. We beheve this use was contmued till about
1820.

The tower has a peal of five bells, bearing the following inscrip-
tions : —

I. " God save this church. J. Hyden, A. Vickers, Ch. War-
dens, 1704."

n. ** God save the church, 1618." Bellmark of Henry Oldfield.

III. " God save the church, 1628."

IV. This bell has an ornamented border and various stamps of
fleur-de-lis, etc. It also bears the initials R B. and M. P.^ and
the date, 1628.

V. " Sacra clango, gaudia pango, funera plango. 1710."

The second bell is cracked, and at the time of our last visit to
the church (1876) it was just about being removed from the tower,
its successor, with the inscription, " James Barwell, Founder, Bir-
mingham, 1876," having arrived in the parish. A sixth bell, in-
scribed, ** Mears and Stainbank, London, 1876,'^ has now been
added to the peaL

Before we proceed to the consideration of the interesting monu-
ments contained in this church, it will be well to give a brief
outline sketch of the early history of the manor of Darley. Darley,
at the time of the Domesday Survey, formed part of the royal
demesne. But at an early period it was held under the crown
by a family, styled after the manor, de Darley. The first member
of this family of whom we have found record was "Andreas de
Darley," who died seized of this manor in 1249.* On his death,
the manor was divided into two parts, held, as we suppose, by
two of his sons, for at the commencement of Edward I. reign,
half of Darley was held by Thomas de Darley, and half by Henry
de Darley. Both of them are described as holding under the
crown, on the service of an annual payment of 13s. 4d., towards
the maintenance of Peak Castle.f But within a year or two of
this time, Robert de Darley, who we think was the son of Thomas,
died seized of a part of the manor ; and it seems that this moiety
passed to the family of Kendall. William de Kendall died seized

* Inq. post Mort. 33 Hen. III., No. 61.
t Quo Warranto Bolls.

•

I

DARLEY DALE. l57

of it in 1309.* William Kendall left a daughter and heir married
to Lawrence Cotterell. The history of this moiety here becomes
Bomewhat confused. John de Darley, and his wife Matilda, paid a
fine to the King, in 1310, of two marks for holding a mediety of
the manor of Darley, which they had acquired of William Cotterell
without royal hcense t This was probably the mediety inherited
by Lawrence Cotterell, passed on to his son WLliiam, and held
for his lifetime by John de Darley. But Cotterell died without
issue, and the property reverted to the heirs of the "wddow of
Lawrence Cotterell, who had married Herberjour ; for it appears,
that in 1391, WiUiam Roper conveyed this moiety to Nicholas atte
Weld, one of the Rectors of Darley, which had been the inheritance
of Margaret his mother, daughter and co-heir of Sir William de
Herberjour, of Chaddesden, by Alice, daughter and heir of William
Kendall. :( This conveyance to Nicholas atte Weld seems to have
been merely as a trustee, for the same person also had convoyed
to him the manor of Ockbrook. But the real purchaser of both
these manors was Sir Godfrey Foljambe, who settled them on his
wife Avena, and on the heirs of his son Godfrey. The Inquisition
taken at his death says, that the moiety of Darley was held by
him of John Duke of Lancaster, as of his Honour of the Castle of
High Peak, by Knight service. § Sir Godfrey's son Godfrey had
died before him, but his grandson, of the same name, inherited,
being then nine years old. This would probably necessitate a
renewal of the trust deeds of this manor on his coming of age ; for,
according to the Inquisition, the manor was previously held (in trust)
by WiUiam atte Weld, and would thus account for the deed between
WiUiam Roper and Nicholas atte Weld, in 1391. Sir Godfrey
Foljambe the third, left a daughter and sole heiress, AHce, who was
married to Sir Robert Plompton, of Yorkshire, who died in 1421. !|
The son and heir of Robert and Alice was Sir WiUiam Plompton,
who also died served of this moiety of Darley in 1480.11 His son

• Inq. post Mort. 4 Edw. I., No. 1 ; 3 Edw. II., No. 44.

t Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 4 Edw. II., Rot. 18.

J Vincent's Derbyshire, College of Arms ; quoted by Lysons, p. 97. Lysons it*

grobably right in thinking Nicholas atte Weld merely a trustee of the property, but
e is quite at sea with respect to the Foljambe connection with Darley.
§ In<^. post Mort., 60 Edw. III., No. 24. Abbrev. Rot. Grig., 50 Edw. III., Rot. 47.
This Sir Godfrey Foljambe also obtained a grant of free warren over the manor of
Darley. Calend. Rot. Chart., 44 Edw. III., No. 15.

|i Sir Robert Plompton was Steward of Knaresborough, and was possessed of
extensive property in his native county. An epitaph to his memorj', and that of his
wife Alice, is still extant in Spofforth church. Nichols' Collectanea, vol. i., p. 341.

^ Inq. post Mort., 20 Edw. IV., No. fe8. See Appendix, No. XIV. There is a
fairly accurate pedi^ee of Foljambe, Plompton, Sothul, and Rocliff, of the moiety of
Darley, in Glover's Derbyshire.

158 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

William left the Darley property to his co-heiress, who married
Sothill and Bocliff. The former moiety, after changing hands
several times, came to the Duke of Rutland, whilst that inherited
by Rocliflf was purchased in 1507 by Roger Columbell.

This moiety of the manor of Darley, whose history we have jubt
traced, was distinguished by the title of the Old Hall Manor. The
Old Hall stood a little to the north of the church.

In one of the note books of Mr. Reynolds, of Flaistow, that came
into the hands of Mr. Wolley, is the following entry: — "9th
July, 1771. As I was going to Bakewell, I saw several workmen
pulhng down the ruins of Darleigh Old Hall (commonly called
through mistake Darley Abbey), and others erecting within the area
(for it had been moated round) a new Building with the Materials.
Mr. Miles, gardener at Haddon, told me the said ruins and close
they stand in fell by allotment to the Duke of Rutland, and that
by his Grace's order was pulling the same down, and building a
barn for the tenant's use with the materials, so that now we may
justly say — Etiam ipsae periere ruinae." *

It now remains to follow up the history of the other manor,
termed Nether Hall, or Whitehall. About 1302, a second Robert
de Darley, son of Henry, died seized of this moiety,t and it then
seems to have passed for his lifetime, to John de Darley, whom we
suppose to have been brother to Robert, for he also is described as
a son of Henry. We know that he held this half of the manor
(in addition to that half for which he had to pay a fine of 2 marks
as already related, from an Inquisition of Edward 11., J by which
it appears that he also then held the important command of the Castle
of the Peak. The date of his death is not known, but Reynolds*
notes on Darley church say that he was living in 1321, and we
also believe him to be the same John de Darley, who was solemnly
denounced (with other ecclesiastical offenders against certain rights
of the rector of Whittington), and suspended from entrance to the
church, by order of the Bishop, Roger de Norbury, in August,
1322.§ But this ban must have been removed before his death, or
he would not have obtained sepulture within consecrated walls.
John seems to have left no heirs, and that part of the manor we
now considering reverted to the family of Robert. The foUowing

♦ Add. MSB. 6707, f. 41.

tinq. post Mort. 80 Edward I., No. 48.

t Inq. ad quod Damnum, 3 Edward n., No. 9.

§ Lichfield Episcopal Registers, vol. iii., f. 4.

arc

DARLEY DALE. 159

account of the succesBion of the manor is taken from a private
manuscript pedigree written about 1650, which is entitled " A true
coppie of pedigree of Darley as it hath been in antient writings
recorded/* (1) ** Kobert Darley de Darley, Esq. had issue, (2) Sir
Henery Darley married to Sir John Vernon's daughter and had
issue, (8) Sir Nicholas Darley married to Thomas Harthills daughter
of Harthill, Esq. and had issue, (4) Sir Eobert Darley married to
Sir John Fitzherbert's daughter and had issue, (5) Sir Ralph
Darley in ye green close Esq. marryed Frechvile Baron of Crytches
daughter and had issue a daughter a sole heyre and marryed to
Tho. Columbell of Darley Esq." * This is an error, for Agnes, the
wife of Thomas Columbell was ttister and heir to Sir Ealph Darley ,t
Sir Ralph Darley died in 1870. J The family of Columbell was
previously of Sandiacre, but does not seem to have been of much
importance prior to the marriage with Darley. The pedigree
from which we have just quoted gives four generations previous to
Thomas, and adds ''but before these was Thomas Columbell who
had lands in Codner and deeds without date.*' The manor of
Netherhall remained with the Columbells for eleven generations in
direct descent, when Roger Columbell, dying without issue, left the
estate to his only sister Katherine, who was msirried to William
Marbury, of Marbury, Cheshire. Dying without issue, in 1687, she
bequeathed Nether Hall to Gilbert Thacker, who had married her
late husband's sister. After passing through several hands (Green-
smiths, Beards, etc.), it was purchased by Mr. Richard Arkwright
in 1790, and the very ancient manor house of Nether Hall was
pulled down some six years later, and the materials used in building
a house a httle lower down the hill. It had not been inhabited
for several years and was incapable of repair. §

* The book containing this pedigree was kindly lent to us by the parish clerk, Mr.
Anthony Feam.

f Abbre. Rot., Grig. 44 Edward III., Rot. 7. It appears from this document that
the old serrice of ISs. 4d., to the crown was continued by Thomas and Agnes
Columbell.

X Inq. post Mort, 44 Edward III., No. 22.

§ Add. MSS. 6667, f. 646. Mr. Wolley copied "prickings " or outline sketches of
the two Halls of Darley from an old survey ol the parish, made in 1677. From tbese
outlines, if they are to be relied on, it woiiJd appear that the Old HaU was the more
imposing building, having a frontage of three towers with an archway under the
'centre one. Nether Hall is represented as a square, with buildings on three sides,
and an embattled wall in front. This manor house was originally built in 1^21. An
agreement, 14 Edward II., is still extant among the Wolley MSS. between John de
Derlegh and William de Kelstedis, mason (cemeutarius), for the removal and rebuild-
in|^ of the hall and chamber of the said John in a place called *' Robardyerd."
With respect to the survey map of 1677 Mr. Wolley further remarks : — " It appears
that the north parsonage and south parsonage stood very near together, the latter
standing where the present (1792) parsonage house stands, and the former a little dis-
tance to the north, part of which is still standing, as it should seem from a window in
an old building behind it."

160 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The oldest monument within the church is that which tradition
assigns to John de Darley. This tradition was current more than
a hundred years ago, when Mr. Eeynolds visited the church (1772),
and we see no reason to doubt its accuracy, although the monu-
ment is uninscribed; for it exactly corresponds in style with the
era in which John de Darley flourished, and there was no one at
this period in the history of the Dale of greater eminence than this
knight — Castellan of the Peak Castle and lord of the whole manor
— ^whose effigy we should expect to meet with in the church of
Darley. Even in the absence of all tradition, we should have
ascribed it to Sir John de Darley. The effigy of Sir John now hes
in a hollow, which has been cut out for its reception, immediately
below the south window of the south transept This is, of course,
not its original position, but it has been there for a long period,
probably from the date when pews were first placed in the church.
Previous to the restoration of the church, it was difficult to obtain
a view of this monument, as it was concealed behind the back of
a high pew, and could only be seen by looking down upon it from
the gallery that then occupied the south transept.* The knight is
represented clad in a surcoat over the suit of mail, with his legs
crossed below the knee, a sword before him on the left thigh, and
holding a heart between his hands, which are elevated on his
breast. The sword is broken and the figure otherwise mutilated,
especially about the head. The head is imcovered, and has long
curled hair and a short beard. The feet rest on a cushion.

Mr. Eeynolds, in describing the monuments at Darley ,t speaks
of this transept as being " commonly called Columbell's Quire,'*
and there is no doubt that this was the part of the chm*ch appro-
priated to the manor of Netherhall, and therefore first in the hands
of the Dai-leys and then of the Columbells. A large alabaster in-
cised slab pertaining to the Columbell family formerly stood in this
quire. It was removed during the restoration to the churchyard,
where it unfortunately remained exposed to the weather for some
time, but it has now found a resting-place against the wall at the
west end of the south aisle. It is to the memory of Thomas
Columbell and Agnes his wife. The man is represented in a long
gown Uned with fur, and the head, which is uncovered, has short
hair. The woman wears a dress tightly girded at the waist. The

♦ This gaUery was reached by an exterior staircase, which is shown in a spirited
etching of this church, drawn by the Eev. Alfred Suckling in 1825. Add. MSS.,
18,479, f . 71.

t Add. MSS., 6701.

DAHLET DALE. 161

figures are very indistinct, and quite worn away in places. There
is an appearance of cliildren having been depicted below the prin-
cipal figures. Some parts of the marginal inscription are now gone,
and others illegible, But we are able to give it in its complete form
from the notes taken by Bassano in 1710. ** Hie jacent corpora
Thome Columbell et Agnetis uxoris ejus, qui quidem Thomas obiit
xi die mensis Octobis MCCGCCXXXX., quorum animabus propicie-
tur Deus." It does not seem that this Thomas Columbell was one
in direct descent, but was the third son of Eoger, who died in
1636, by the heiress of Sacheverell. Agnes, his wife, according to
the parish registers, was buried at Darley on the 24th of June,
1640.

BeynoldSy after describing this monument, says, <' following are
painted on a pillsir in a lozenge, mblcy three doves, argent (Colum-
bell), impaling a cross between four pheons. Crest, on a chapeau,
a blackamore's head couped at the shoulders." The arms that he
fails to identify are those of Marbmy of Cheshire, granted in the
time of Edward II. — Sa., a cross cngraUed between four pheons,
arg. The arms of Columbell in full are — Sa,, three doves, arg,^
with ears of wheat in their beaks, proper. The marriage that this
coat commemorated has been described in the accoimt of the
manor.

' Of the early holders of the other moiety of the chief manor of
Darley, there are no monuments extant, nor is it likely that any
of the Plomptons have been here interred, as their chief seat was
in Yorkshire. There are memorials to the Greensmiths and Beards,
but of too late a date to warrant our finding space for a descrip-
tion of them in these pages. But that part of the church which
was specially appropriated to the Old Hall manor is easily distin-
guishable, as it is still enclosed by a stone open-work screen of
Perpendicular tracery, which seems to be of fifteenth century style.
It most probably was erected here by the Plompton family when
they succeeded to the estate. This screen shuts off the east portion
of the south aisle between the south transept and the main entrance
to the church. It was set back a foot or two, to give more room
in the aisle in 1864, but otherwise remains as it was before the
restoration.

Besides the manor in chief, there were several other manors
within the parish of Darley. One of these was the manor of
Wendesley, or Wensley, which was a hamlet of the royal manor
of Matlock at the time of the Domesday Survey : but in less than

M

162 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a century it seems to have been included in Darley parish. It was
held directly under the crown for about two centuries, but formed
part of the estates of Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, in
the reign of Edward L* Before the reign of King John, the
tenants of the crown who held this manor, were known by the
title of the manor — '■' De Wendesley, or De Wensley," and it remained
with that ancient family till the time of Queen Elizabeth, when the
heu'ess, Anne Wendesley, married Balph Blackwall of Blackwall.
The Visitation pedigrees give four generations previous to Anne
Wendesley. Her father, Richard Wendesley (who was living in
1569), married Lettice, daughter of Otwell Needham, of Snitterton.
Anne was buried at Darley, 81st August, 1567.t A few years later,
this manor was divided into four moieties, and became, by purchase,
the property of as many families, one of them being the Columbells.
In the nave of the church there was an incised alabaster slab, noted
by Mr. Suckling in 1825, on which he read the words, "Bichard
Wendesley.*' This stone is now fixed against the west wall of
the south aisle, by the Columbell monument. Both inscription
and effigy are almpst completely erased, but there are traces of a
central female figure, with three children below, two boys and one
girl. The marginal inscription is in Boman characters, and but
little more than ** Daughter to Bichard Wendesley of Wendesley,
Esq.," can now be read. The date, 1603, can also be just made out.
According to the register, George Columbell married Cicely Wendesley
in 1550. She is not mentioned in any of the pedigrees we have
seen; but it seems that she was another daughter of Bichard
Wendesley, and therefore co-heiress with Anne. This is the more
probable as it is stated in one pedigree, that Anne only brought
half of Wendesley manor to her husband. It is clear that this
tomb must either be to the memory of Cicely or Anne, and as we
learn from Mitchell's pedigree of Wendesley that Anne was buried
at Darley on the 81st of August, 1667, it may safely be assigned
to Cicely, the wife of George Columbell. That the manor of
Wendesley was of some importance, appears from the fact that
the Wendesleys supported a chaplain of their own at an early
date, who probably officiated in a private chapel attached to the
manor house. In a charter of Edward II., mention is made of

* Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. I., No. 51.

t Harl. MSS., 1093, f. 41; 1158, f. 107; 6692, f. 12; Add. MSS., 28, 118, f. 1. For
more information respecting this family see the accounts of the Churches of Bakewell
and Taddington.

DARLEY DALE. 163

William de Bruggeton, who was chaplain to Roger de Weudesley
on his manor of "Wendesley.*

Another ancient manor in this parish was that of Little Rowsley.
It is said to have belonged to the ancient family of RoUesley or
Rowsley, who took their name from this place, as early as the
reign of Richard I. The north transept of Darley Church was
considered the ** Rollesley Qxure," and was the burial-place of the
family. Against the west waU of this transept there stiU remain
two monument slabs of the RoUesleys, that have formerly served
as the upper stones of altar tombs. They are both of considerable
interest, and more liighly finished, and in better preservation than
is usual with incised stones of that date. The Imes are filled in
with pitch, which renders the designs very distinct. They are
faithfully illustrated on Plate VI.

The largest of these has the full length effigies of a man and
woman, and below them eight sons and four daughters. The man
is clad in a long fur-lined robe, which reaches down to the feet,
and a douole-hnked chain round the neck. The woman wears
the diamond-shaped hood or headdress with long falling lappets,
and a close-fitting gown with long embroidered girdle. The
heads of both [rest upon cushions, and are surmounted by
Gothic canopies of the same style as appear over window effigies
of this date. The inscription round tlie margin, which is a curious
admixture of Latin and English, is to the following effect: — ^^ Hie
jacet corptLS Johis JRollislei armiyi, Ehaheith uxor ejus, the tlierde
dei of Junif the yere of oiore Lorde a thousand v c and thritten
(1513)." t Between the heads of the effigies is an impaled coat of
arms, Rollesley and Cheney, which has originally been filled up
with pigments of the right tincture. John Rollesley, here commemo-
rated, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Cheney. J
The arms of Rollesley w^ere — gu, a fesse and bordm^e, erm. ; and
the arms of Cheney — Chequy, or and wz,, a fesse, gu,, fretted, arg.
The other slab is only about half the size of that already des-
cribed. It also has a man and woman engraved on the surface
with ten sons and two daughters at their feet. The boys are
crowded together, only the outline of the heads of those in the
background is discernible. The man is clad in a gown or robe

* Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 18 Bdw. IE., Rot. 26.

tBateman makes a aing^lar blunder in his transcript of this epitaph by printing
"CaroluB" for "Corpora;" Antiquitiet of Derbyshire, p. 202.

JAdd. MSS., 28,118, f. 2.

164 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

with wide sleeves, which only reaches just below the knees. The
legs are clad in hose, and on the feet are low wide-toed shoes
fastened with straps. The gown is slightly open in front and
shows the gypciere or pouch-bag attached to the girdle of the
doublet. The dress of the woman is similar to that on the other
slab, but the gown is square cut at the breast, and the skirt is
gathered up in folds in front by two short clasps or fasteners
attached to each side of the girdle at a little distance irom the
centre buckle. The following is the marginal inscription: — ** Hie
jacei corpora Johis Rousley et Agnet war, ejvsy hie qui quidem Joh€9
ohiit xxvi die ap7*ilis an dni MCCCGCXXXV, et predicti Agnes obiit —
die — an7io dni MCCCCC — quorum animahus propieietur Bens, Amen."
A few words of this inscription are now lacking, but we have
supplied them from Keynolds' copy, taken in 1758. The blanks left
for the date of the death of Agnes prove that the monument was
erected during her lifetime, and were subsequently omitted to be
filled up. The John Kollesley of this monument was the eldest
son and heir of the one previously mentioned. He married Agnes,
daughter of — Hybalt, of Ipsley, Warwickshire. Between their heads
is a shield of Kollesley quartering Cheney, and at their feet on
another shield, two lions rampant,* impaling Hybald. The arms
of Hybald were, sa., three leopards' heads, jessant-de-lis, arj.

The heir of John and Agnes was John Kollesley, who was buried
16th February, 1567. He had issue, by Elizabeth, daughter of
Edward Eyre, of Holme, a son of the same name, who married
Margaret, daughter of Robert Shakerley of Longstone, and was
buried 18th November, 1562. John and Margaret had one son,
who died in his infancy, a few days before his father. On the
death of father and son, the only daughter, Matilda, inherited the
manor of Little Kowsley, which she brought by marriage to Sir
William Kniveton, of Mercaston. Their son, Sir Gilbert Kniveton,
who was baptized at Darley, 8th February, 1582, sold the manor
to Sir John Manners .t

Against the north wall of the chancel, is a monument of a later
date than those we generally notice, but it is sufficiently remarkable
and costly of its style to warrant a brief description. Two figures
in marble are represented in the centre of the stone, kneeling

* The only explanation we can give of this bearing is that it was possibly an older
coat of BcUesley, occasionally used by them.

i These dates are taken from the parish registers. From the same sonrce we learn
that Walter Tomlinson married Agnes 2nd July, 1557 ; she was probably one of the
two daughters of John Bollesley by Agnes Hybalt.

Elate 71.

DASJ-Ey

3>Ahf.

•rgow

^^^

v^i'inw'^.

i^w.^ii^

(l^k^djK!

JWp'<^'«»nr

^Sy^**"

»oti!iwl:[.eiiuEV">;Jisi!ES.

Jf^R Sil^EdLBY If KUflJUtBrlL.

DARLEY DALE. 165

Opposite to each other, with an escutcheon between them. Below
them, in bas-relief, are representations of eight daughters of
different sizes, opposite to three sons. Three of the daughters, and
one of the sons, are represented as holding skulls in their hands,
indicating, we suppose, their decease at the time the monument
was erected. At the foot of, the monument are two tablets, one of
them being blank, and the other bearing the following inscription : —
•* To the pious memory of Anne Millward, daughter of James
Whitehalgh, of Whitehalgh, in the county of Stafford, gent., and
wife of John Millward of Snitterton Esq., who had issue by her
three sons and eight daughters. She departed this life the 20
of June, in the yeare of our Lord 1658. The 49 year of her age."

The arms on the monument are: — Erm.y on a fesse, gu., three
plates (Milward), impaling arg. a fesse chequy, gu, and *a., between
three helmets, proper, (Whitehalgh.)

The manor of Snitterton, in this parish, was originally held by
a family of that name, whose heiress was married to William
Sacheverell, of Ible, in the time of Henry VI. The Sacheverells
held it for several generations, but it passed in the sixteenth century
to a younger branch of the Milwards, of Eaton Dovedale, six gene-
rations of whom are mentioned in the Visitation of 1611.* John
Milward died without any surviving male issue, in 1670, and his eldest
co-heiress, Felicia, brought a moiety of the manor of Snitterton, in-
cluding the ancient manor house, to her husbajid, Charles Alderley,
who sold it to Henry Feme.

There was formerly a chapel at Snitterton, but all traces of it
are now lost, and whether it was attached to the manor house or
an mdependent building it is not possible now to say. In the year
1397, Roger de Wormhill had the Bishop's Hcence to celebrate
divine service in his oratory at Snitterton. t

In the 3rd year of Queen Ehzabeth, Sir Edward Warner sold the
chantry lands in Snitterton, Matlock, and Bonsall, that had
formerly pertained to the Chantry of Snitterton, to Richard Wen-
desley, of Wendesley, Esq., and to Ralph Brown, gent.J We cannot
trace any ancient connection of the Warners with that manor, and
probably these lands had been conferred on Sir Edward Warner by
the crown a short time previously, on the confiscation of the chantry
property.

* See the account of Thorpe Church,
t Ly sons' Derby thire, p. lOO.
X Add. MSS., 6669, f. 28.

166 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Near to the Milward monument is a qnaint little brass, about
six inches by nine, let into a stone with an ornamental border, upon
which is the following inscription, "Maria uxor John: Potts, theol :
cujus piam memoriam maritus et liberi celebrare junxunt. Obiit
Jan : 12, 1654. F.P. filius natu maxi : pie consecravit." John
Potts, as has been already noticed, was Rector of the north mediety
of Darley.

A much less durable style of memorial may be noticed in the
splay of the Early English lancet window on the opposite side of
the chancel, where is painted in black on the whitewash, with a
deep funereal border, **John Edwards, Rector, 1685/*

The only remnant of old wood carving in the church is an oak
"poppy-head," or stall finial, that now forms the end of a bench
in the south aisle. It was brought to light in 1854. Another
poppy-head from this church is in the Lomberdale Museum, probably
the corresponding one.

Within the porch, against the south wall of the church, is the lower
half of an alabaster monumental slab of sixteenth century work,
showing the drapery of a female, and six girls and three boys
below ; but only a small portion of the marginal inscription
now remains. The following can be deciphered, **...is Edwardi

qui qdam Elisabeith obiit xxvij die Septembris." The

valuable aid of the early parish registers has enabled us to identify
this fragmentary monument, for they contain an entry to the effect
that Elizabeth Needham was buried on the 27th of September,
1540.

The Needhams were an ancient family of some repute in North
Derbyshire. Lysons makes a mistake in saying that they were an
ofifshoot of the Cheshire family of the same name. The earhest in
the pedigree is Jolm Needham, of Needham, co. Derby, temp. Ed-
ward III. His eldest grandson, Thomas, married Maud, daughter
of Roger Mellor, of Thorn sett, and his younger grandson, William,
settled in Cheshire. Otwell Needham, of Thornsett, of the sixth
generation in direct descent fi'om Thomas, married Elizabeth, daugh-
ter and heiress of Nicholas Cadman, of Cowley. She brought the
manor of Cowley, in Darley parish, as well as certain lands in
Snitterton, to her husband. WiUiam Needham, the eldest son of
this marriage, took to wife the heiress of Garlick of W^hitfield, and
increased his property in this parish by the purchase of a moiety
of Dailey (Old Hall) manor. William had no less than eleven
brothers and six sisters, the deaths of several of whom are recorded

DABLEY DALE. 167

in the parish registers. The name of one of these younger brothers
was Edward, who was buried 25th August, 1562, and we have no
doubt that the mutilated slab in the porch is to the memory of his
wife.* The Darley estates of the Needhams were sold at the be-
ginning of the seventeenth century to the Seniors of Bridgetown.

Under the shelter of the porch are a large number of interesting
specimens of ancient sepulchral slabs and crosses. This number
would have been considerably larger, if a good many of those dis-
covered in restoring the church in 1854, had not been removed to
the local museum of the late Mr. Bateman.f They are only second
in interest to those found at Bakewell, and afford an evident proof
of the importance of the church of Darley both in the Saxon and
Norman days. Probably the oldest of these relics is the fragment
of an upright cross, carved with interlaced knot-work. The fragment
is only nineteen inches high, but enough remains to show that it
is part of a very large cross of an early type, the medium breadth
of the shaft being fifteen inches, and its thickness eleven. This may
possibly be as old as the ninth or even the eighth century.J This
relic is in the Bateman collection, and so also is a piece of a slab
with a diaper pattern, and one or two incised stones that may bo
as old as the cross, together with the lower part of a coped tomb
of the twelfth century, and upwards of a dozen other sepulchral
slabs, none more modem than the thirteenth century. In the porch
there are either portions or complete specimens of about twelve
more slabs. One of the most perfect of these crosses has a flori-
ated head, with a sword on the sinister side of the stem, and a
bugle horn at the base ; it has been engraved in Lysons' Derbyshire
and copied in several other works. This slab, which is of thirteenth
century work, probably commemorated the sepulture of a ranger or
other official of the great Forest of the Peak. One of those in the
porch, which is simply marked with two incised straight lines
forming a plain cross, is probably of Saxon date ; the remainder
vary from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. The cross with
the bugle was here before the restoration, and one small specimen,
and a fragment having a quaint quadruped in high relief, have
recently been found when digging graves in the churchyard. With

• Flower's Visitation, 1669, Queen's ColL, Oxon, MSS. ; Egerton MSS. 996, f. 72;
Harl. MSS., 1093, 1637, etc., etc.

f Bateman's Catalogue of Antiquities, p. 187, where it is stated that the numerous
slabs from Darley Church were *' presented by Mr. Joseph Hallows." Mr. Batemau
also wrote a short account of those in his possession for the first volume of the Beli-
quary, accompanied by numerous engravings of different specimens.

t See the account of Bakewell cross, etc., pp. 37, 38.

ICS DEEBTPHIEE CHTBCHES.

tL'-e c::c."*:'r.= th-v w-re aH bro^izLt to lizbt in lSo4. On FUie
ViL v.; i.<.'.vr ;riv»ii fir cf iLe ii.:iit chAracteriitic specimens tfigs.
1, ':/, 4, ai-'i 5/ ; ih'^ir approximate d^te, etc., m«T be g&lhered
from the r<^.ri* .rks ve Lave alreaiv male in connection with the

In a M>.i'':j to tLo-e in the porch, there sre portions of mt least
h'.x Ui'fTfi of tJiO-*:; eirlv sepulchral stonea built into the masonry of
ihfi cli'jrclj ill cli:T--nrit parts of the exterior. On one, at the east
ei.d of tlio chanc'l, can be noted a chalice, the symbol of the
ijjtrrrnoiit of a pne«t. In the slabs, too, that form the lintels of
tlio bc'll-cljamV^r windows of the tower, are three more specimens,
otic of til em bf-ing of tbat simple early description noted in the
porch, and another can be seen in the steps of the winding
htaimav.

At the west end of the tower, to the left-hand of the old
entrance, is a square stone on which are quaintly carved two
uondeBcript animals, described by Mr. Snckling in terms almost as
quaint as the sculpture, as a wolf attacked by a ^' peliran or some
Buch bird of prey." This carving (Plate VIL fig. 2), is probably
of Norman date, and may have formed part of the tympanum over
the Norman doorway. It was probably thought sufficiently reiiiark-
able to be preserved and built in here when the tower was recon-
structed in the Perpendicular era. When the paving stones round
the ancient yew-tree were recently removed, the lower side of one
of tliem was found to be carved after the same fashion, and showed
the hind qtiarters, and intricately folded tail of another nondescript
animal. This stone, which possibly formed part of the same
sculpture as that by the west doorway, is now preserved in the
porch.

Near tho south chancel entrance are two stone coffins, each
fonn(Kl of a single block of stone, with hollowed insertions for the
head. Tho smallest of these, which measures (inside) five feet
ton and a half inches by one foot six inches at tlie shoulders, and
uhu) incJioH at tho feet, used to stand near the entrance of the
old north doorway to catch the rainwater from the roof. It was
removed many years ago from the south transept, and used to be
known by tradition as " John o* Dorlcy's coffin,*' and may possibly
at ()!io time have been covered by the stone effigy that now rests
in tho recoHH under the fourth window of the same transept. The
otlior one, which is of the unusual length of six feet eight inches

BWJW P»B

•. ^^i!i( SiBlfhiui. D-*

DARLEY DALE. 169

inside, was found in 1854 in the south aisle just in front of the
transept chapel.

Against the projecting buttress to the left of the chancel doorway,
is fastened a circular stone, four feet in diameter, but only three
inches thick. This stone was found about two feet six inches
below the surface, on the south side of the churchyard, when pre-
paring a grave in the year 1863. There were two stones of similar
size about six feet apart, but the other one broke into fragments
when attempted to be moved. On the top of each stone was a
considerable amount of charcoal ashes, and the earth was much
burnt for some distance around and below. One of the incised
slabs now in the porch was discovered at the same time, but nearer
the surface. We believe that these circular stones were used by
the Bomans, to cover up the burnt remains of several bodies that
had been placed beneath them in a hollow of the ground. It was
not always their custom to place the ashes of the funeral pyre in
an urn, and an interment of the nature described, frequently took
place when numerous bodies had to be burnt after a skirmish or battle.
This cremation probably took place at a not later date than the
fifth century. Certain remains of an artifically constructed floor
of limestone rubble, found in several places in the south-west corner
of the churchyard in 1858, at a depth of six feet, are possibly of a
still earUer date. Owing to it being a burial ground, further re-
search was rendered impossible, but we think it likely that this
was the flooring of some Romano- British dwelling or temple,*
though it has been conjectured that it may have been connected
with the Saxon church that formerly stood somewhere about this
site.

Some fragments of this paving may be seen in the cottage garden
of Mr. Anthony Feam,+ the parish clerk, as well as pieces of
ancient querns or hand-mills, also found in the churchyard, and
which confirm our supposition of there having been a British dwelling
or dwellings on this spot. Here, too, is a most elegant fragment
of fourteenth century sculpture, which has, no doubt, formed part
of a low stone screen or septune, that at one time separated the
chancel from the nave after the fashion of the one now existing
in the church of Chelmorton.

Over the south window of the south transept is a mural «im-dial,

* See Bateman's Vestiges qf Antiquities^ and Ten Years' Diggings, pasBim.

f Mr. Fearn is himself no mean antiquary, and has been most aesiduouB in ^yiug
ui all information relatiTe to the pariah chnroh.

170 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

bearing the date of 1782. In the chorchyard, very near the walls
of this transept, are several table tombs of the first half of the
seventeenth century, which are worthy of notice for the exceptional
vigour and originality of the sculptures on their sides. The most
remarkable of these is to the memory of a weaver, and the sides
are carved with a representation of the old hand-loom, shuttles, etc.,
of those days.

The churchyard is celebrated for what may be justly termed
its magnificent yew tree, said to be the largest in girth and the
finest specimen in the kingdom. Bhodes says that the trunk, for
about four yards &om the ground, measures upwards of thirty-four
feet, and that it then assumes the appearance of two separate trees,
which rise ^perpendicularly from the parent trunk, and throw out
their ramifications over an area of between seventy and eighty
yards in circumference ; but since the time when Bhodes penned
his account (1817) the tree has been shorn of many of its limbs.*
Others have variously estimated its girth firom thirty-three to thirty-
five feet, the former estimate being mostly in favour. A measure-
ment, however, that we recently took, failed to make the circum-
ference thirty-two feet by a few inches, and this in the widest
part, which is about four feet from the ground. Mr. Feam tells
us that there is a cavity in the tree, about half-way up one of the
trunks, that will hold seven or eight ordinary sized men standing
upright therein.

From enquiries that we have made, through Notes and Queries ^\
and by private correspondence, we have satisfied ourselves that
Darley Dale is well within the limits of precise truth, in claiming
this tree not only as by far the finest specimen extant in England,
but even in the United Kingdom. The Fortingal yew, Perthshire,
which used to measure fifty- six feet in circumference, is now a
mere wreck, and existed only in fragments so long ago as 1888 ; and
other specimens of even greater reputed girth, such as that at
Hensor, Bucks, have disappeared altogether or in part. True it
is, that there is still extant in the churchyard of Tisbury, Wilts,
a yew tree with a girth of thirty-seven feet, but it is not to be
compared with that of Darley in luxuriance or stretch of limbs.

There have been considerable differences of opinion as to the
probable age of this venerable tree. Dr. Pegge was inclined to
ascribe it to Saxon times. X Mr. Suckling, who gives some interesting

• Rhodes' Penh Scenery^ pt. iii., p. 95.

t Notes and Queries, 5th S. v., pp. 308, 876, 476.

} Pegge'B MS. Collections, vol. Tii.

DARLEY DALE. 171

notes relative to the yew, thinks it must be as old as the twelfth
century, and compares it with the well-known trees of the same
species above Fountains Abbey, under which the. monks resided
until they built the monastery in 1133. The largest of those trees,
in 1776, only measured twenty-six feet in circumference. But
surely, if those trees were largo enough to afford shelter for the
monks in the twelfth century, they must have already attained to
a considerable age ? We are convinced that Mr. Suckling's estimate
errs considerably on the safe side, but we do not possess sufficient
confidence in Mr. Bowman's tbeories as to the age of trees to
adopt, without reserve, his conclusion (published in 1837), that
its age then amounted to the sum of two thousand and six years. "^
But, whatever may be its precise age, there can be little doubt that
this grand old tree has given shelter to the early Britons when
planning the construction of the dwellings that they erected not
many yards to the west of its trunk ; to the Romans who built
up the funeral pyre for their slain comrades just clear of its branches ;
to the Saxons, converted, perchance, to the true faith by the
preaching of Bishop Diuma t beneath its pleasant shade ; to the
Norman masons chiselling their quaint sculptures to form the first
stone House of Prayer erected in its vicinity; and to the host of
Christian worshippers, who, from that day to this, have been borne
under its hoary limbs, in women's arms to the baptismal font, and
then on men's shoulders to their last sleeping- place in the soil
that gave it birth. It would be strange indeed, if a tree, that is
thus indissolubly linked with an almost unlimited train of sacred
and historic recollections, had escaped the offerings of the poet's
muse. Pages might be filled with extracts culled from the local
rhymsters, who have become inspired beneath its branches, but
our readers shall be spared, for most of it is but sorry stuff. As
a fair sample of much that has found its way into print, concerning
the yew-tree of Darley Dale, the two opening lines of a **poem"
of twenty stanzas will be sufficient to quote : —

" Sure all do feel beneath this tree,
How very ancient you must be."

But the muse has been more successfully invoked by others, and

* Magaeine of Natural History , vol. i., p. 28. Mr. Bowman's theories, as to the
longevity of the yew, adopted from the French naturalist, DocandoUe, were based on
actual sections taken from the trunks of di£fe rent trees; and we believe that it was
his irreverent saw that made the small hole in the tree that is such a disfigurement
to it on the north side. Mr. J. K. Jackson, of the Museum, Kew, considers the age
of this tree to be correctly stated at about 2000 years.

t See the account of TaddingtoA cross.

172 DERBTSHIBE CHURCHES.

the conclnding half of a Bonnet from the pen of the late John
Hulland is worthy of the subject: —

" SnrpasBing all, in bole of mighty girth,

In amplitude of thick nmbrageons head,
The Darley Yew o'er consecrated earth ,

Antiquity's strange shadow seems to spread ;
And 'mid the pilgrim 's startled pause gives birth
To thoughts that mingle with some touch of dread." *

We conclude this notice with the following extract from a letter
that appeared in the Times, September 13th, 1863, signed "An
Old Yew Tree," and which shows the perils to which this grand
old tree has been exposed, though it is only fair to add that the
guardianship exercised over it of late years appears to be all that
could be desired, and that it has been enclosed within neat iron
railings during the present summer (1876).

'* I am a helpless and most iU-used individual, and my friends have advised me to
make my grievances known to you, as the most able and likely source to supply
redress. To make my tale short, I belong to that class of national property which
guide books call "objects of interest," of which this old historic country possesses
so large a share ; but I am not an old abbey, nor an old tower, nor even an old cairn ;
I am simply an old tree. My residence is in a churchyard, in a very lovely valley in
Derbyshire, called Darley Dale. From the reverence which has been paid to me for
more generations than I care to name, and from the admiration which pilgrims from
all parts of the world who come to see me bestow upon me, I conceive that I am no
common tree. My trunk alone girths 33 feet, but from within the memory of man I
have stretched my arms across one entire side of the churchyard, and forty years ago
the young urchins of the parish used to climb from the outer wall into my branches,
and from my branches on to the church leads. My age is fabulous, and learned
naturalists now calculate that I must have been bom 300 years before the gospel was
planted in this country; in which case I was probably associated with an old pagan
building, the foundations of which are still discovered in digging graves in my imme-
diate neighbourhood. If my memory did not fail me of course I could tell all about
this better than the naturalists ; but age has made me somewhat hazy in this respect,
so I must leave my origin to the genealogists to settle. Well, sir, with all these
claims to reverence, is it not shameful tbat in this year of grace 1863, men should cut,
break, and mutilate my poor old person in all conceivable ways ? Until tourists began
to multiply and excursion trains to run, I had scarcely a single scar, older than time
and tempest had left, on my body ; but now the Snookeses, and Tomkinses, and
Jones, have begun to immortalize themselves (as is the fashion of that race) by
cutting their names all over my bark, and on Thursday last two fellows of this tribe
commenced a still more cruel process. While one of them smoked his pipe and
watched, the other drew out a saw, and actually set to work to cut out a great slice of
my very flesh, which, but for the lucky intervention of the clerk, he would soon have
accomplished. You may believe me, sir, when I tell you that I quite dread the sight
of an excursion train : and from all that I hear, I am not alone in these apprehensions.
My fellow " objects of interest " are crying out on every side of me and all over the
land that the Goths are coming again. Oh, sir, can you not repel these barbarians.
The foe of all abuses, will you not make yoar potent voice heard to put an end to this
abuse."

The parish registers of Darley begin with the burials of 1539,
the marriages of 1641, and the baptisms of 1569. At the end of

• We have taken the liberty of changing " both" to " all " in the first line; the
previous part of the sonnet compared this Yew with those of Norton and Beeley, but,
as we have already said, it may fairly be compared with those of ^e whole kingdom.

DAELEY DALE. 173

the baptisms in this first volume of the registers (the last one beiag
dated April, 1603) is this entry — ** Written by mee John Cantrel
Sehoolemaster at Darley Anno Domini 1630." It therefore, appears,
that the whole of this first book is but a transcript made from the
original volume by that peripatetic pliilosopher, whose condensed
autobigraphy we have quoted in bur account of Beeley chapel. In
the maniages for 1561 is written — " The sweate was this yeare,"
and on referring to the deaths for the same year we find it recorded
that " nine persons were buried from the 6th of Julye till the 10th
which dyed of ye sweatinge sickness." The year 1661 was the fifth
occasion on which "the sweating sickness" (nearly akin to the
plague) visited London and the country in general.

In 1657, Darley was visited by the plague, two deaths occurring
in March of that year. Six more deaths &om the same cause are
recorded in the spring of the following year. Amongst other casu-
alties contained in the parish registers, are the following : —

1616. John the sonne of John Ward was buried the 15th day of December. Per-
ished with cold on ye moore.

1638. Frances the wife of Kobert Haslowe was buryed the eight and twentith daye
of October, perished with colde on ye moore.

1648. Elizabeth a maide child of Robt. Gregory's of Frogatt drowned was buried
the 13th of September broughte down the River in the flood.

1669. William Hogkinson and Robert Sidwell were both buried the thirtith day of
July, both dampt in a grove.*

1673. Denis Hodgkinson was dampt in a groove.* Buried the eight day of July.

With the volume of burials from August, 1678, to March, 1778, is
bound up a black-letter copy of the Act of 1678 directing burial in
woollen for the sake of encouraging the home trade in wool. There
is also an unusually long and perfect list of early Briefs, or official
mandates for collecting from church congregations, commenciug
with a collection for the "Distressed Irish'* in 1689, and going
down to the year 1730. Under date 7th of October, 1764, is the
following entry : — " It having been customary for several years not
to make any collection upon Briefs in the Church, but for the
Churchwardens to give 1/6 and charge it to the Parish upon each
Brief — a Brief being received this day no collection was made,
but 2/- having been privately given since, the sum for the Church
of Kirk Andrews in Cumberland is 8/6."

On a fly leaf is written : — " A great frost, which began at
Martinmas 1676 and continued till January 8 , 1677. Ye Der-
went was actually frozen and att ye dissolving of the frost was

♦The last two entries refer to death by choke damp ; " grove" or " groove " wag
an old term for a shaft or pit sunk to a vein of lead ore.

174 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a great flood, and incredible quantities of ice was brought out of
the water banks into tollerable inclosed grounds and up to the
churchyard steps. Thomas Mossley, Eector/*

The following entries relative to the old Hearth-money or Chimney
tax,* and to the ancient Hariot or Heriot * custom, seem also to
be worth transcribing: —

Memorandum, That in y* year 1685. An officer employed for y* collecting of
Hearth mony demanded mony for a hearth in y« Burley field honse which had
been for many years used for a bame only, and had not been payd for as haveing
no hearth remaining ; of which a Certificate was made to exempt it from payment
for y* future, Subscribed by John Edwards, Reotor.

Richard Adams, Churchwarden.
George Wagstaff, Constable.
Which Certificate (in behalfe of James Ward then occupant of y* said house) was
allowed by y* Justices at y* Sessions at Bakewell, July 14, 16^, and subscribed by

Francis Barker \ Justices of
Robert Ashton ) y« peace.

An account of what Herriotts have become due and have been paid -to me Henry
Aldrich Rector of Darley by reason of the death of y* Church tenants or any
alienation of the Church lands in Toadhole by the Tenants thereof taken the 2^
day of April Anno D" 1706.

Upon an Alienation of two Tenements lately in y* Tenure of John Stevenson ;
one belonging to the Mediety australe, y* other to y* north Mediety of the
Rectory of Darley, I marked two Cows, which I afterwards, being Hairiotts sold
for four pounds to Henry Feme in Toadhole.

Upon the death of Widow Wheatcroft mother of George Wheatcroft and late
Tenant to the North Mediety of the Rectory of Darley I received an Heifer beast
for an Harriott.

Upon the death of Dame Catherine Marbury Tenant to y* two Medietys of y*
Rectory of Darley in two Tenements sometimes inferiorly occupied by one Rowse
and Jackson I received for two Harriotts the sum of two pounds.

Upon an Alienation of the last mentioned Tenements made by Gilbert Thacker
Esq Executor of the s^ Dame Catherine Marbury I received for two Harriotts y*
sum of two pounds.

Upon an Alienation of part of one of the said Tenements being land lying in
Whamey head and that Close of the two belonging there to Henry Wheldon that
lies south east made by Greensmiths I received tenn shiUings.

Upon the death of Nicholas Davy and his wife in a short time afterwards as may
appear by the Register of Burialls tenants successively to one moiety of a Church
tenement I challenged or demanded one Cupboard and one Table, which Henry Davie
y succeeding tenant bought at the price of thirtie shillings.

Upon an alienation of one tenement lately in the posession of George Wheatcroft
made by him he paid to me for his best good or chattell as an Harriott the sum of
thirtie shillings.

♦ The Hearth tax was imposed hj Charles II., in 1662, when itlproduced JE200,' 00.
It was abolished in 1689, but agam imposed and again abolished. Hariot was an
ancient custom by which the best cattle (or other property) which a Tenant hath at
the hour of his death was due to the Lord. See Cowelrs Interpreter,

EtipnsQp.

^bFnsor*

[LTHOUGH the Domesday Survey is silent as to a church
on the manor of Edensor, we know that one was here
erected not long afterwards, whilst the Norman style of
architecture prevailed. The manor formed part of the vast estates
given by the Conqueror to Henry de Ferrers, and **the mesne
seignory,'* as Lysons says, "was for several generations, at a
remote period, vested in the ancestors of the Shirley family." * The
Domesday Book relates that Seswalo (or Sewall) held the manors
of Etwall, Hatton, and Hoon, in this county, as well as at Eatington,
in Warwickshire, and others in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire ;
but there is no direct proof of Sewall or his immediate descendants,
holding lands at Edensor until the times of his great-grandson, Henry
Fulcher, in the reign of John.t But we have earlier information
than this with respect to the church of Edensor. Sewall had two
sons, Henry and Fulcher, the former dying without issue ; and it
seems probable that Fulcher built the church of Edensor, as it is
not otherwise easy to understand how he or his sons obtained the
advowson. Fulcher left four sons, Henry, Sewall, Fulcher, and
Jordan. There is a very curious deed extant by which Henry, the
first-bom, sells his birthright to his brotlier Sewall. Amongst other
property which he sold mention is made of the church of Edensor.
This deed is undated, but it was made in the time of William,
Earl of Derby, who lived in the reign of Henry 11.1 There is an-

•Lysona' Derbyshire , p. 146.

t Rot. Lit. Caaiis., 7 John, Memb 18. " Henry, eldest son of Sewalbs do Scyrle
attended William Earl Ferrers in the Kind's army when he sailed into Poictou, which
was, as I take it in the 4th of John ; and in the 7th of John, by virtue of the King's
precept, had livery made to him of the mannour of Eduesowre in Derbyshire, whereof
he had been disseized during his absence in that voyafje, as it seems." Dugdale's
Wanvictshire. The manor certainly remained with the Shirleys till the time of the
great grandson of the above Henry, Ralph de Shirley, who was seized of it in the
reign of Edward I. Inq. post Mort., 25 Edward T., No 51.

tDugdale MSS. in Mus. Ashm. Oxon. H. 19(5-Ex vetusta membrana penes
Samuelem Roper ar , anno 1653." Stemmata Shirleiana^ Appendix, p. 7.

N

178 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

other deed relating to this subject, of the year 1192, between the
same Sewall and his nephew Fulcher, the son and heir of Henry,
who was then dead. This deed narrates the agreement that was
arrived at between these two relatives at the conrt of William, Earl
Ferrers, held at Tutbury, in the presence of the EarL It chiefly
consists of a confirmation of the previous deed, and an admission
by Fulcher that he holds under Sewall, the only difference being
with respect to the advowson of the church of Edensor, which it
seems that Sewall had given back to his brother Henry after the
original deed of disinheritance had been drawn up. The clause,
being translated, runs thus: — ''But when the Church of Edensor
shall be vacant, and anyone shall desire to resist the presentation
of Fulcher to the same church, the aforesaid Sewall or bis heirs
f^hall re>certify to Fulcher and his heirs the gift which the said
Sewall had often made to Henry, father of the aforesaid Fulcher."^

From this Fulcher (the third of that name) descended the
Iretons of Ireton, but the advowson of Edensor did not continue
in his family, as we And it in the hands of another of his uncles,
Fulcher II., within a very few years of the date of this second
deed. Fulcher II., the son of Fulcher L, by undated charter gave
the church to the monastery of Rocester in Staffordshire. t The
witnesses to the charter, however, prove that it could not have
been later than the reign of John (1199 — 1216), and probably just
at the commencement of his reign. This charter states that
Fulcher, the son of Fulcher, gives, concedes, etc^ to God and to
St. Mary and to St. Michael the Archangel, and to the Abbott of
Rocester, and the Canons of Leyes obeying and serving God in the
church of the aforesaid Rocester, for the soul of his brother Jordan,
and for the souls of his father and mother, and for the soul of his
wife Margaret, and for himself and his wife and his sons and his
brothers, the church of St. Peter of Edensor, with all that pertain
to it, in perpetual alms.

It does not, however, appear that this charter was interpreted
for many years to mean anything more than that the emoluments
of the living were to be held by the person presented by the Abbot
and Canons of Rocester ; for, nearly a century afterwards, the Taxa-
tion RoU of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291, describes Edensor

• Dogdale MSS. in Mas. Ashm. Oxon. H. 196 — Ex ipso autographico penes
Samaclem Iloper ar. anno 1653." In neither this nor the previous deed is any mention
made of the manor of Edensor, so it would appear that this was one of the exceptional
cases in which the manor was held by one family, and the chnrch by another, bat
both of them vassals of the same lord.

t Dugdale's Monasticon, yol. ii., p. 268.

EDEN80R. 179

as an ^'ecclesia*' worth £10 per aunum, and not as a vicarage.
But the tithes were subsequently appropriated, and a vicarage
formally endowed, and thus it remained till the dissolution of
monasteries.

Ralph Higdon was vicar at the time when the Valor Ecclmasticua
(27 Henry VIII.) was drawn up, and the vicarage is there estimated
at seven marks per annum. The Abbey of Rocester held the tithes
of grain and hay, which were then reckoned at the annual value
of £11.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1660, report the Hving of
Edensor to be worth JB40 "given by Earl of Devonshire, who
is wholly impropriator. Pillsley Lees and Calton fitt to be united.
Mr. Richard Archer incumbent, who hath formerly beene in Prince
Rupert's Armye and disaffected.'* It was also recommended that
the parochial chapelry of Beeley should be united to this parish.

The old church of Edensor was taken down a few years ago, and
a strikingly handsome structure erected in its place by Sir Gilbert
Scott. It was completed in 1867. The old church consisted of a
nave, side aisles, chancel, south porch, and square embattled tower
at the west end. The exterior was chiefly characteristic of the
Perpendicular period, but the east window of the chancel, together
with one at the east end of the south aisle, and another near the
priest's door on the south side of the chancel, were of Decorated
date. In the interior there was much greater antiquity, for the
nave was divided from the side aisles by Norman pillars, probably
those that were originally erected here by Fulcher.

The new church consists of nave, side aisles, south porch,
chancel, and the Cavendish Chapel on the south side of the
chancel. The west end terminates in a fine tower surmounted by
a lofty broached spire. The whole is of Decorated design. It is
not our purpose in these pages to criticise or describe modern
churches, but whilst admiring the general effect as well as the
careful details of this building, we cannot help remarking, at the
risk of being thought presumptuous, that the coup d^ ceil is marred,
and the typical character of the east end of the church destroyed,
by the rivalry of the south chapel, which is carried out parallel
with the chancel, and of equally imposing dimensions.

It is almost needless to state, that as many of the remnants of
the old church as could possibly be utilised, were preserved in the
new building, for this is a point that never escapes the attention
of Sir Gilbert Scott. The nave is separated from the aisles by

180 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

four pointed archways on each side^ Four of these arches , viz. :
tlie two at the east end and the two at the west end, are those
that occupied a similar place in the old church. Several also of
the old pillars, of Norman date, are again used. The designs
of the Norman capitals of the half-pillar or respond at the west
end of the north aisle, and of the third pillar from the west on
the same side, are worthy of attention. A small single-light window,
about two feet by nine inches in dimension, at the west end of
this aisle is also from the old building, and probably coeval with
the pillars. Under the south porch is the ancient entrance to the
church, consistiQg of a round-headed doorway, ornamented with a
threefold chevron or zigzag moulding, faintly incised. The hood-
mould, which has been restored, terminates in two corbel heads
having triple crowns or rows of curls. A similar design to this
may be noticed in the ancient doorway of the adjacent church of
Beeley.

The three-light Decorated window, which now lights the east end
of the south chapel, is of the same design as that which w^as formerly
the east window of the chancel, about haK of the tracery beiug
of the old material. The design of the former Perpendicular
windows can also be gathered from the two-light window in the
north wall of the chancel, just clear of the vestry, where the old
Perpendicular tracery has been preserved. Another feature of
interest from the old building is the beU-oote of the sanctus bell,
which still occupies its proper position on the east gable of the
nave.

The south porch, with its embattled parapet, is the same as
formed part of the old edifice. The pointed doorway has been
restored, but several of the old moulded stones remain, including
the base on the right-hand side. It has a steep-pitched stone roof,
supported in the centre by an arch of the same material resting
on corbels. It is of the Decorated period. On the west side of
the porch is an ugly gurgoyle with a flattened human face, and
on the east side is an interesting corbel stone, consisting of an angel,
delicately carved, holding on a shield the arms of Leche {Erm.,
on a chief dancett^e, gu.j three ducal coronets, or). The family
of Leche was of Chatsworth, as early as the reign of Edward III.,
when John Leche was surgeon to the King. The branch of the
family that held the manor of Chatsworth became extinct in the
reign of Edward VI., by the death of Francis Leche, but he had

EDENSOR, 181

previously sold the manor to the Agards.* An ancient sepulchral
slab has been built into the east wall of the porch for preservation.
It wants about a third of its length at the base, and consists of
a cross fleury in slight relief, with a sword on the sinister side of
the stem. There is also a fragment of another cross on the same
side, and in the west wall is a stone which appears to have been
the capital of a Norman shaft.

There are two ancient details in the interior of the church, con-
sisting of the upper part of the niches of the piscinas ; one in the
south wall at the west end of the south aisle, and the other in the
south wall of the chancel, beyond the beautiful modem sedilia.
Those, too, who admire modern art, cannot fail to be struck with
the splendid font, and also with the pulpit, both of which are
constructed of different tinted marbles from the Duke's estates.

With the exception of tlie early nameless slab in the porch, there
are no monuments of pre-Reformation sepulture now in this church,
but there are two which must not be passed by unnoticed. The
first of these is a singular but very fine monument of its style,
which now occupies the west side of the Cavendish Chapel. In the
former church it sei-ved, very inappropriately, as a reredos to the
chancel. The centre figure of this monument is a representation
of Fame blowing a trumpet and holding two tablets, on which are
inscribed long Latin epitaphs to the two sons of Sir WilHam
Cavendish, by his wife, who afterwards became the celebrated
Countess of Shrewsbury. Henry, the eldest son, died in 1616, and
William, the first Earl of Devonshire, in 1625. In a niche to the
right are sculptured the suit of armour, helmet, gauntlets, etc., —
hung in the natural form, but without the body — of Henry Caven-
dish. A niche on the other side contains in hke manner the Earl's
coronet and robes of WilHam Cavendish. From the centre projects
an open altar tomb, under which are two figures, one a skeleton,
and the other in a winding-sheet, but with head exposed. The
whole is flanked by two life-sized mythological statues on pedestals,
and is surmounted by the Cavendish arms and supporters. This
monument may be regarded as a good specimen of the costly but
heathenish art that adorned the sepulchres of England's great men,
when the purer taste of mediaeval days had been driven out by
the Benaissance.

Against the north wall of the chancel is affixed a brass plate of

* For pedij^ee of Lcche of ChatHWorth, seo TopograyJirr^ vol. iii., p. 317.

182 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

conBiderable interest. This plate, which is about thirty-three
inches in height by twenty-four in breadth, occupied the same
position in the old church, but was then surrounded by a stone
frame with a bold moulding. The inscription in the original Latin
can be read on Plafce VIH.,* but it may be thus rendered in
English: —

" To God the best and greatest and to posterity Sacred ; to John
Beton, of Scotland, son of that illustrious and very excellent man,
John Beton of Authmuty, grandson of David Beton, the celebrated
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Empire ; great grandson of the most
Reverend James Beton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and most
worthy Chancellor of the kingdom of Scotland ; educated from an
eariy age by the best of preceptors, both liberally and nobly in
polite literature and philosophy, so that he might the more easily
enter upon the study of Roman Law (in which he was highly
skilled) ; he endeared himself to all by the gentleness of his manners,
by his integrity, by his prudence, and by his constancy, for which
he was appointed by the Most Serene Princess Mary, Queen of the
Scots and French, first to the office of Taster, afterwards to that
of Comptroller to the Household. In conjunction with others he
bravely liberated the most Serene Queen from the chains of a most
truculent tyrant at the castle of Loch Leven. Having been sent
on an embassy to Charles IX., the most Christian King of France,
and to Elizabeth, the most serene Queen of England, which he
successfully performed with the greatest credit to himself, the fates
hurrying on, he was -unfortunately removed from the number of the
living, in the flower of his age, by the cruel disease of dysentery.
The most Reverend James, Archbishop of Glasgow, and Andrew
Beton, the former ambassador of the same most serene Queen to
the most Christian King, and the latter Comptroller of the House-
hold, his most sorrowful brothers, erected this in perpetual remem-
brance of the event, at the wish and command of the most serene
Queen, his most kind mistress. He died in the year of Salvation,
1570, aged 32 years 7 months, and awaits the day of the Lord at

Chatsworth, in England.

Epitaph,

The Fates, oh Beton, envious of thy worth.

Have snatched thee prematurely from the earth,

"With thee have gone bright genius, judgment sound,

And we, thy friends, are left in grief profoimd."

T * ^^^^S^^i?^^ °* *^^ engraving vtq are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Llewellynn
Jewitt, the Editor of the Reliquary, in which magazine it originally appeared.

l!,l-0>' I (/J

^v

Platb VIII.

C^^l

^

.-/r

ik*i

^y>

DEO OPT MAX ET POSTERITATI SACRVM.
(oanni Betoniu Scoto, nobilis & 0[)timi vin loannis Betonii ab
Anthmwthy filio, Dauidis Betonii IlIuftfifT. S. R. £. Cardinalis
nepoti, Iacol)i Betonii ReuerendifT S-Antlnee Archiepifcopi et Regni
Scotiae Cancellarit digniflf pronepott ab ineunte setate in huma-
nioribus difciplinis, & philofophia, quo facilior ad ius Romanu (cuius
ipfe ConfultifT fuit) aditus pateret ab optimis quibufqz preceptorib'
& liberaliter & ingenue, educato: omnilms monim facilitate, fide pru-
dentia, & conQantia charo : vnde a SerenilT Principe Maria Scotoni,
Gallorumqz Regina in pneguftatoris primu, mox Oeconomi munus
fuflftfcto, eiufdemqz SerenifT. Reginae, vna cum aliis, evinculis trucu
lentiflT. Tiranni, apud leuini lacus caftrum liberator! fortilT qusm
pod varias legaliones, & ad Carolum .9. Galliarum Regem Chrifli-
iniir & ad Elizabctham Sereniflf Anglorum Reginam fotliciter &
non fine laude fufceptas : fatis properantibus, in fuse setatis flore,
fors afpera immani dy-fenterias morbo, e numero viuentiu exemit
Facobus ReuerendifT. Glafquenfis Archiepifcopus, & Andreas
Betonii eiufdem ferenifl*. R^inae ille apud Regem Chririianinf
Legatus hie vero Oeconomus in ppetuam rei memoria, exvolutate
& pro imperio ferenifl* Reginae herae clemetifl' f'* moefliiT pofuerut
Obiit annofalutis 1570 Vixit annos 32 menfes 7. &
dum lini expeeUU apud Chathworth in Anglia,
EPITAPHIVM

IMMATVKA TIBl LEGERVNT FILA SORORES.
BkTONI, VT SVMMVM INGENIVM SVMMVMQZ PERIRET
IVDICIVM, ET NOBIS IVCVNDVM NIL FORET VLTRA. -•

rORIS •a^^^pc^

^.^N^>^S\

DIIUIIlUKUULmtll

Wiwiimi'iinw/i

EDENSOR. 183

Above the inscription are the arms of Beton, az., a fess between
three mascles, or, quartering those of Balfour, arg,, on a chevron, sa.,
an otter's head erased, of the field ; the whole surmounted by the
crest of a talbot's head. The BaKour quartering was adopted by
the Betons in the reign of King Robert IL of Scotland (1370—90),
when Bobert Beton married the heiress of that family. At the
bottom of the plate, surmounted by the words, **Domi et Foris,'*
is a small engraving of an effigy, in plate armour, lying on an
altar tomb. The angles and sides of the plate are filled up with
groups of flowers and fruits, and other ornaments characteristic of
the Elizabethan period. The inscription is signed with the initials
A. B., which seem to point to Andrew Beton as the author.

There is also another small brass plate to the south side of the
chancel arch. It is to the memory of " Mr. John Phipps, sometime
House-keeper at Chatsworth," who died in 1785, aged 78, having
been for sixty years in the service of the Dukes of Devonshire.

According to a Visitation of this church, made August 27th,
1611,* there was then a memorial extant to George Leche, bearing
the following inscription, "Orate pro animabus (? anima) Georgii
Leeche, armigeri, qui quidem Georgius obiit decimo die mensis
Martii Anno Domini 1506. Cujus anime propicietur Deus. Amen."
There was also the impaled coat of Leche and Babington. George
Leche, of Ghatsworth, married Anne, daughter of Thomas Babington,
of Dethick, by his wife Editha. Anne survived her husband for
many years, and married, for her second husband, Boger Green-
haugh, of Teversall, Notts., who was also lord of the manor of
Bowthorn, in the parish of Hault Hucknall. She died in 1538,
and was buried at Teversall. f

The old tower contained a peal of four bells, cast by Thomas
Hedderley in 1766. They were removed in 1867. Three of them
were broken up for recasting, and the fourth appropriated to secular
uses over the Chatsworth stables. This bell bears, round the
haunch, the following inscription, ''For Church and King we
always ring, 1669."

The present peal, six in number, all have the simple inscription
of, "J. Taylor & Co., bell founder, Loughborough, 1867.'*

On the south side of the churchyard is a sundial, fixed upon
a portion of the shaft of the old cross surrounded by four steps.

• Harl. MSS., 1098, f. 96; and 5809, f. 30.
t Churches of Derhyshirt, vol. i., p. 29, 83.

184 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The dial plate now lacks the gnomon^ and has no date, but is

inscribed, *'Robt. Meller, fecit'*

*

Ghatsworth was an extra parochial hamlet,"^ but had at an early
date a chapel of its own, which was probably attached to the
manor. It was, however, at one period considered as pertaining
to the vicarage of Edensor, for Dr. Pegge quotes a document in
which the church of Edensor is spoken of "cum capella Chats-
worth ;"t and it is also thus described in Bacon's Liber Regis,
Shortly after the purchase of the manor by Sir William Caven-
dish from the Agards, he pulled down the old hall of the
Leches ; and in the first Chatsworth House, as well as in its
successor, a chapel was included within the walls.

* Pilkington erroneously describeB it as within Bakewell parish. View of Derhy-
shiref vol. li., p. 31.

t Pegge'B CollectionB, vol. v., f. 7.

fgam.

^Bflin*

[HE Domesday Survey of 1086 contams no reference to a
churoh at Eyam, and the earliest historical mention of
a church that we have fomid is in the Taxation Eoll of
Pope Nicholas IV., which was taken in 1291, when the rectory
of Eyam was valued at £18 6s. 8d. per annum. But the fabric
itself gives plain proof that there was a church at Eyam many
years before the latter date, and one was probably erected here in
the reign of Henry I. (1100 — 1185), when that King bestowed this
heretofore royal manor upon William Peverel. The family of
Morteynes, whose chief manor in this county was that of Eisley,
held the manor of Eyam under Peverel, and subsequently direct
irom the Grown. There seems to have been a temporary aliena-
tion of their Eyam estates in the reign of John, on the death of
Eustace Morteyne, but with that exception the property remained
with that family until the beginning of the 14th century.* The
Quo Warranto Kolls of Edward I., taken 1275-6, show that Eyam
was then held by William Morteyne.

It may not be amiss to give another item from these returns.
The object of these rolls was not only to satisfy the King as to
the respective rights of the Crown and other landed proprietors,
but more especially to obtain a full return of the grievances and
exactions under which his subjects had fallen, during the latter
years of the turbulent reign of Henry III. The jury for the
Wapentake of the High Peak reported, under the head of exactions,
that a certain contention had arisen between Balph de Calvore and
Nicholas de Padley and his two sons at Eyam, fmd that the
younger son of Nicholas struck Ealph on the head with an axe.
Whereupon Nicholas de Padley and his two sons were apprehended
by William Hally, the bailiff of the lord Roger Extraneus, and

* Bot. Lit. Clans., 17 John, Memb. 14.

188 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Henry the priest of the said Roger, but were dismissed in peace on
paying them one mark. This was done when there were hopes of
the hfe of Ralph de Calvore ; but Ralph dying on the fifth day,
the baihff and the priest again seized Nicholas and his elder son,
and took from them ten marks. Meanwhile the younger son had
fled privately out of the county.* It is possible that the priest
Henry, who utilised tliis afiEray at Eyam for his own and his lord's
aggrandisement, was rector of the parish; but this does not of
necessity follow, as we find instances of his exactions in other
parts of the High Peak, and it also appears that he himself at one
time held the office of bailiff of the county of Derby.

William Morteyne, mentioned in the Quo Warranto Rolls, died in
1284, and the Inquisition at his death specially mentions that he
was seized not only of the manor of Eyam, but also of the
advowson or patronage of the church. There can be little doubt
that the presentation to the church had been held by the lord of
the manor since its first erection, t

William was succeeded in the possession of the church and
manor of Eyam by Roger Morteyne, who sold them about the year
1807 to Thomas de Purnival, the third of that name. J

Thomas de Fumival, the first Baron, was twice married — his
second wife being Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Peter do Montford,
and widow of William Montacute. He died in 1382, but he had
bestowed the manors of Eyam, Stoney Middleton, Bamford, Hather-
sage, BradweU, and Brassiugton, on his widow as her dowry, and
they accordingly remained hers until her death in 1854. § She
was buried at Christ Church, Oxford, where her tomb remains.

Thomas de Fumival, the second Baron Furnival, who was 40
years of age at the death of his father in 1882, died at Sheffield
in 1839, and was buried in Beauchief Abbey. His son Thomas de
Fumival, the grandson of the purchaser of this estate, dying with-
out issue in 1866, Eyam passed to his brother William, the fourth
and last Baron Fumival of this house. William died on the 12th
of April, 1388, leaving by his wife Thomasia, one daughter, Joan.
The inquisition at his death also makes specific mention of the
advowson of the church of Eyam.|| Joan brought this church and

• Rotuli Hundredorum, 3 Edw. I., memb. 2, xv. ; 4 Edw. I., No. 8, memb. 25. The
word rendered axe is in one place "ache," and in the other " hacia."
t Inq. post Mort., 12 Edw. I., No. 26.

X Inq. ad quod Damnum, 1 Edw. II., No. 42 ; Inq. post Mort., 36 Edw. I., No. 62.
§ Inq. post Mort., 28 Edw., No. 89.

li Inq. post. Mort., 6 Richard H., No 41. We give this important Inquisition in full
m the appendix. No. VII. ^ ^

EYAM. 189

manor, together with her other large estates, to her husband, Sir
Thomas Nevill, who was summoned to Parliament as Lord Fumi-
val in right of his wife. Of Joan we have already made mention,
when writing of Barlborough Church, where her monument now lies.*
Maud, the sole issue and heiress of this marriage, married John
Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury. This celebrated warrior, styled
by Shakespeare **the Scourge of Prance,'* thus became lord of the
manor of Eyam. He fell at the siege of Chatillon in 1458, and
his son John, the second Earl, also fell in battle, at Northampton,
a few years later, t When manors or advowsons are in the hands
of illustrious families, such as those who held Eyam, there is no
dijQBculty in tracing their history generation by generation in the
different inquisitions and other documents, but it would be foreign
to our purpose to carry this out in detail, beyond the death of
these two earls.

On the death of Gilbert, the seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, without
male issue, the church of Eyam passed with the manor to his
sister the Countess of Pembroke, and thence to her great nephew
Sir George Saville, who was afterwards created Marquis of Halifax.
His son William, the second Marquis, died in 1700, leaving no
son, and, on the division of his estates between his three daughters
and co-heiresses, the manor of Eyam fell to the lot of the Countess
of Burlington, but the mineral rights of the manor, together with
the presentation to the Rectory, were to be held in common
between the three. This tripartite division of the rectory still
continues, and the descendants of the three daughters — the Dukes
of Buckingham, the Dukes of Devonshire, and the Tuftons of
Kent — present in turn as the living falls vacant.

The following list of Rectors of Eyam, with the names of the
patrons, and the date of institution, which we have extracted from
the original Episcopal Registers at Lichfield, does not profess to be
complete, but we believe there are very few omissions.
1817. WiUiam Dauntre (Daventry) — Thomas de Fumival I. lu

1320 he obtained dispensation for a yearns leave of absence.
1824. Another institution — Thomas de Furnival I.

1861. Robert de Lamborne — Thomas de Furnival III

1862. 3 Kalends of June, John do Connayes — Thomas de Fur-
nival III.

• Churche.8 of Derbyshire, toI. i., pp. 67, 58.

flnq. post. Mort., 32 Henry VI., No. 29 ; 89 Henry III. No. 68.

190 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ft

1862. 4 Nones of May, Thomas de Satton, on resignation of J.
de C. — Thomas de Furnival III.

1868. 6 Nones of March, John de Gonnayes (or Cunneys), on resig-
nation of T. de S. — Thomas de Furnival III.

1364. Boger Moysco, on resignation of J. de G. — Thomas de
Furnival DX

1864. Another institution — Joan de Furnival.

1482. John Sudbury. This rector was instituted by the Prior
of Stowe, Vicar-General, who was then acting for the Bishop —
John Talbot.

1489. Thomas More, "in decretis Bacallariis," on the death of
J. S. He was instituted in the person of John Inkyrsell^
who acted as his proxy on the occasion — John Talbot.

1441. Another institution by the same patron.

1474. Thomas Thorley, on death of William Thome — Bobert
Eyre, Thomas Everyngham, and John Wormhill Knight, feoffees
of the lordship of Eyam, for John, Earl of Shrewsbury. (John
Talbot, third Earl of Shrewsbury, died at Goventry, 1473.)

1512. William Webbe — George Talbot, fourth Earl of Shrews-
bury.

1516. Another institution by the same patron.

1555. WiUiam Barrett, on resignation of John Morton — Elizabeth^
Countess of Shrewsbury.

1558. John Moreton, on resignation of William Barrett (probably
there had been some arrangement for the temporary rehef of
John Morton from his duties). — Elizabeth, Gountess of Shrews-
bury.

1569. WilHam Marchinton, on death of Thomas Moreton — George,
sixth Earl of Shrewsbury.

1680. Shorelanders (Sherland) Adams,* on death of Bobert Talbot
— PhiHp, Count Pembroke and Montgomery,

• The Rev. Sherland Adams was Bector of Evam, and also of Treeton in Yorkshire.
His numerous- and vexatious suits at law with the parishioners of Eyam rendered
him extremely hated ; and his conduct at Treeton, where he chiefly resided, was no
less disreputable. When the war broke out between King Charles and the Parlia-
ment, his intolerance and party spirit became ungovernable, and his furious loyaltv
assumed such an aspect, that he was regarded with disgust. The measures he took
in favour of the royal cause excited the notice of the partizans of the Parliament, and
he was seized, deprived of his livings, and cast into prison. The charges preferred
against him are embodied in a pamphlet, written by one Nicholas Axdron, of Treeton^
the only copy of which now known is in the British Museum.

One of the accusations is as follows : Further it is charged against him, that he is
a man much given to much trouble and suits at law, as is well known at Eyam in
Derbyshire, where he was Hector, where they tasted this his turbulent spirit ; that he
gave tythe of lead ore to the King against the Parliament, deliverea a man and
musket against them, and sent a rat ox to the Earl of Newcastle as a free gift to
maintain the war against the Parliament. He was amongst the number of gentle-
men who compounded for their estates. For a smaU estate of Woodlathes, near

ETAM. 191

(1644. Thomas Stanley.* Ejected for nonconformity, 1662.)
1664. 10th August. Guliehnus Mompesson, M.A. — Sir George
Saville.

The names of the subsequent rectors will be found in Wood's
History of Eyam, According to Bacon's Liber Regis, Essex, Doro-
thea, and Maria Saville presented to Eyam rectory in 1717; Lord
Bruce in 1788 ; and the Earl of Burlington and Lady in 1789.

The value of the living in 1291 has been already given. The
Valor EcclesiasHcus, drawn up 1586, estimates its yearly value at
£18 15s. 5d. ; **Patricius Chen*" was then rector, and George,
Earl of Shrewsbury, is entered as patron. The Parliamentary
Commissioners of 1650 report that the Hving was worth £100 per
annum. Thomas Stanley, whose heroic exertions at the time of
the plague ought to be equally memorable with those of Mompes-
son, was then the incumbent, and it is pleasant to find that the
Conmiissioners speak of him as '*an honest man.*' About fifty
years later this hving increased most remarkably in value, owing
to the discovery of the very rich vein of lead ore in Eyam Edge.
The local historian of Eyam says : — *• The Hving, on account of
the mines, varies in its annual amount. One penny for every dish
of ore is due to the Bector, and twopence farthing for every load
of hillock stuff. During some part of the last century the living
was worth near £1600 a year ; and of late its value has greatly
increased in consequence of successful mining operations. Should
the speculations now (1859) in progress to liberate the mines from

Coniflbro', he paid £198, where he resided until the restoration, when he was rein-
stated in his livings again.

That this cler^mnan was a disgrace to his order, may be satisfactorily seen from
the foUowin^ eviaence. When the Bey. — Fowler, Sheffield, gave np his living for
Nonconformity, Adams said that Fowler was a fool, for, before he would have lost
his on that account, he would have sworn a black crow was white. How striking the
contrast between this compromising hyprocrite and the virtuous Nonconformist,
Stanley. Adams died, April 11, 1664, and was buried in the chancel of the church
at Treeton, where a Latin epitaph commemorates his loyalty, virtues, and sufferings.
Wood's History of Eyam (3a. edit.), pp. 147-8. We believe that a subsequent Bector
of Treeton, Bev. Michael Adams, who died in 1680, and whose quaint epitaph is
recorded under our account of Brassington Church, was the son of Sherlaud
Adams.

* Thomas Stanley first commenced his labours as a minister at Dore in this county.
See OhurcJies of Derbythire, vol. i, p. 218. Sherlaud Adams was restored to the Bectory
of Eyam in 1660, but from that time to St Bartholomew's Day, 1662, Stanley
continued to officiate as his curate. After that day he still lived at Eyam until his
death in 1670. He seems to have worked harmoniously with Mompesson in their
heroic efforts to stay the spread of the plague which raged in this village in 1666-6,
until more than 250 had perished. It is difficult to decide to whom the greater
credit is due. We purposely abstain from all other reference to the "memorable
woe " of Eyam, and to the sublime and unparalleled conduct of the inhabitants. To
cut down this tearful episode — the proudest page in the annals of the county — ^to a
dry sentence or two of statistics, would be a sorry task; and the tale has been
already told in powerful prose by William Wood, and simg in tuneful verse by
William and Mary Howitt.

192 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

water, be carried into effect, this benefice may become as yalnable
again, or even more so. It is now worth about £400 per annum." *

The church of Eyam, dedicated to St. Helen, consists of nave,
north and south aisles, chancel, and tower at the western end.
The church underwent a partial restoration in 1868-9, at which
time the north aisle was doubled in width, and the chancel to a
great extent rebuilt, but the south side of the church has remained
imtouched. There is nothing ' of the Norman period about the
building, unless it be the ancient font at the west end of the south
aisle, which is of a plain circular design. The south side of the
chancel is hghted by four lancet windows of the Early Enghsh
period, and there is a three-light window of the same style at the
east end, but the latter was inserted when the church was restored.
There are also two lancet windows at the west end of the north
aisle, but one of these was added at the same time. From the
remarks of Mr. Croston, t who visited the church a year or two
before the late restoration, it seems that the characteristics of the
north aisle were then chiefly of the twelfth century. Probably the
whole of this church was rebuilt in the style then in vogue, about
the close of that century, of which some remnants in the chancel
and north aisle alone remain. There are now four two-Ught south
windows to this aisle of Decorated design of the fourteenth
century, after the pattern of one old one. The pointed arches
also, and the capitals that support them, on each side of the nave,
are of the Decorated period, as well as the archway into the tower^
the small west doorway, and the bell-chamber windows of the
tower. The four clerestory windows over the north aisle are fitted
with Perpendicular tracery ; but the corresponding ones on the
south side, together with the windows of the south aisle itself, are
square-headed, ugly specimens of debased work of the seventeenth
or later centuries, and are glazed with square panes.

The tower has a battlemented parapet, with crocketed pinnacles
at the angles, and projecting gurgoyles below it. Above the west
window is a stone upon which are cut a large number of initials,
and also a date, which we believe to be 1615. The initials 0. W.
are at the head of the inscription, and we have Uttle doubt that
the remainder are the initials of the churchwardens, and perhaps
of the builder, at the time when certain alterations were made. On
our last visit to Eyam we were assured by one cicerone that the

• Wood's History of Eyam (3rd edition) p. 162.
t On Foot through the Peai\ p. 94.

EYAM. 193

tower was nearly a thousand years old, and that the date of the
** Saxon** inscription was 916!*

There is a tradition current in the village that a maiden lady of
the name of Stafford rehuilt this tower and other parts of the
church, and also presented a peal of bells. A branch of the ancient
family of Stafford held an estate at Eyam, independent of the manor,
as early as the reign of Henry III. Humphrey Stafford, the last
male representative of this family, died in the reign of Henry VIII.,
leaving four daughters. The eldest, Ann, married Francis Brad-
shaw, of Bradshaw, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, conveying to her hus-
band the Eyam estate, and her sisters were married to Morewood,
Eyre, and Savage. It is very possible that one or more of the
daughters of Humphrey Stafford may have been benefactors to the
church before their marriage. Bhodes asserts that the. estate was
conferred on the family by the crown in recognition of certain
military services, and that it was held on condition " that a lamp
should be kept perpetually burning before the altar of St. Helen
in the parish church of Eyam." We have taken considerable
trouble to try and test the truth of this statement, and all that
we can say is that we have hitherto met with no corroboration.
This tradition, whether bom of truth or not, was worked up by Mr.
Wood into a pleasant, romantic tale, entitled ** Madame Stafford ;
or, the Lamp of St. Helen," though, in order to carry out the
idea, he has had to accredit Humphrey with a fffth unmarried
daughter, whom he names Margaret.t So cleverly is fact interwoven
with fiction, that not only is the pretty legend generally accepted
as striking truth in the neighbourhood of Eyam, but it has
been actually quoted as historical in descriptive guide-books.

There is but little of interest in the interior of the church, and
what there was appears to have been materially lessened at the
late restoration* There was formerly a piscina at the east end of
the north aisle, and also an obHque opening in the pillar at that
angle, forming a *' squint " for obtaining a view of the high altar
in the chancel, but these have both disappeared during the enlarge-
ment of this aisle. A good many wall-frescoes were brought to
light during the alterations, but they were not of a nature to with-
stand exposure. The roof of the nave still retains its old tile
beams and bosses, but the roof of the chancel is now of a high
pitch, in accordance with what it must have originally been in the

* There is a fac-simlle of this inscription in the British Magaeii^e for 1832.
t TaXet and Traditions of Ou Peak, by V^illiam Wood, pp. 1—88.

O

194 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Early English period. On one of the cross-beams of the former
chancel roof, a talbot or honnd was carved. The talbot was the
crest of the Earls of Shrewsbury, who, as we have abready seen,
were patrons of the chorch.

We do not intend to imply that the restoration of this church
did not achieve great and necessary improvements, such as the
removal of the different galleries, etc., but that it is nnfortmiate
that more of the ancient details were not preserved.

There are now no ancient monuments in this church; but men-
tion may be made of two, in consequence of remarkable incidents
connected with them. In the chancel is an inscription to the
memory of Balph Kigby, curate of Eyam twenty-two years, who
was buried on Apnl 22nd, 1740. Three clergymen from Yorkshire
who had attended his funeral were lost on Eastmoor in the snow,
whilst returning home the same evening. A shepherd found one of
them on the following morning, when animation was with difficulty
restored; but his two companions perished. A stone in the comer
of the vestry, at the end of the north aisle, records the death of
Joseph Hunt, rector of Eyam, who was buried December 16th,
1709, and of his wife Ann, who died dx years previously. His
wife, according to Mr. Wood, waa the daughter of a village pub-
lican, whom he had been obliged by the bishop to marry, in
consequence of his having gone through a mock ceremony with
her in a drunken freak. This caused an action for breach of
promise of marriage by a Derby lady, to whom he was previously
engaged. '* Some years passed in litigation, which drained hia
purse and estranged his friends; and eventually he had to take
shelter in the vestry (which some say was bmlt for that purpose),
where he resided the remainder of his life, to keep the law-hounda
at bay. He died in this humble appendage to the churchy where
his bones and those of his wife lie buiied."

We find from the notes of the late Mr. Mitchell, of Sheffield,'^
that the pews were all repaired in July, 1822, by the surplus
money of the enclosed land that was set out in 1809. He also
tells us that in the ''Stafford or Bradshaw quire,'' Mr. Thomas
Birds had put in a painted glass window, which was blown out by
a storm on the 5th of December, 1822. On the pew, where this
quire or enclosure formerly stood, there was the inscription '* J.6.,
1595, F.B. ; " the letters being the initials of John Bradshaw, and
Francis Bradshaw. Francis Bradshaw, who married Ann Stafford,

• MitcheU'B CoUections, Add. MSS. 28, 111, f . 98.

ETAM. 195

was the head of his family and subsequently High Sheriff of the
county. Perhaps the '* J.B." may be for John Bradshaw, his great
grandfather, and the first of the family mentioned in the visitation
pedigree.

There is a brass plate in the chancel to the memory of Bernard,
son of Bernard Wells, who died March 16th, 1648. We have
noticed the brass to his father in our account of Bake well Church.

The tower contains a peal of four bells. They are thus in-
scribed : —

1. Jesus bee our speed, 1659.

2. God save his Church, 1668.
8. Jesus bee our speed, 1658.
4. Jesus be our spede, 1628.

The first three bells have the foufider's mark of George Oldfield,
but the fourth has no ornament or mark whatever.

Over the south entrance to the church is an elaborate mural
sundial, on which the parallel of the sun*s declination for every
month in the year, the scale of the sun's meridian altitude, the
' azumithal scale, the points of the compass, and a number of meri-
dians, are all delineated.

The churchyard is singularly rich in interesting and truly poetical
epitaphs, but the chief attraction is the old Saxon cross close to
the tomb of Catharine Mompesson, which is one of the finest in
the kingdom (Plate XII). We believe it to be of the ninth or
tenth century, but we need not here repeat the conmients that we
made on the date of these early crosses' when treating of the one
at Bakewell. The following extract relative to this interesting cross
is taken from Bhodes* Peak Scenery, first pubhshed in 1818.

" The churchyard of Eyam was the next object that attracted our attention.
The trayeUer fond of antiquarian research will dweU with rapture on the rare
relique it contains. Near the entrance into the chancel of the church stands an
old stone cross, which, according to village tradition, was found on some of the
neighbouring hills. It is curiously ornamented and embossed with a variety of
figures and designs characterised by diiSerent symbolic devices, and its sides are
liberally adorned with Bunio and Scandinavian knots.

" Were the value of this antique specimen of the workmanship of former timea
more accurately appreciated, it might easily be made a more engaging object; aa
it now appears, the earth covers a portion of its shaft; no part of which should
be BO obscured; lifted from its present bed, a distinction which it eminently
deserves, it would not only be a valuable fragment, rich with the uncouth uculp-
ture of former times, but an ornament to the churchyard and village of Eyam.
This cross has suffered dilapidation from the culpable neglect of those who ought
to have felt an interest in its preservation. About two feet of the top of the shaft
is wanting, as may be seen by referring to the engraved sketch which was taken
in the year 1815. The present sexton of the church, who is an old man, well

196 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

recollects the part now mjfising being thrown carelessly about the churchyard as s
thing of no value, until it was broken up by some of tiie inhabitants, and knocked
to pieces for domestic purposes.

" The cross at Eyam is probably indebted for its present appeanmoe to the cir-
cumstances of its having, about SO years ago, attracted the attention of a man
who had spent the ripest years of his existence in mitigating the horrors of a
prison, and ameliorating the condition of a forsaken and friendless class of his
fellow-creatures. When the benevolent Howard visited the village of Eyam he
particularly noticed the cross, even though at that time the finest part of this
vestige of antiquity was laid prostrate in a comer of the churchyard, and
nearly overgrown with docks and thistles. The value this hitherto xmregarded
relique had in the estimation of Howard, made it dearer to the people of Eyam ;
they brought the top part of the cross from its hiding place, where it had long
lain in utter neglect, and placed it on the still dilapidated shaft, where it has ever
since remained. Condemning, as I most cordially do, the little attention which
has been paid to the cross at Eyam ; it is, nevertheless, some gratification to know
that its owes it present state of preservation to the intervention of no less a man
than Howard."*

Since Bbodes' visit the cross has been firmly established on a
low base stone or pedestal, and now stands aboat eight feet high.
The east side of the shaft is ornamented with elegant scrolls like
those at BakeweU, and on the arms of the cross are figures of four
angels holding crosses and blowing long trumpets. On the west
side of the shaft, above some interlaced knot-work, is a seated
figure holding a bugle-horn, and above it the Virgin and Child,
whilst on the arms of the cross are four more angels holding crosses.
The other sides of the shaft are closely covered with knot-work.

The registers begin in the year 1636. Under date December
80th, 1668, is the following entry of reputed longevity: — "Buried
Anna the traveller, who, according to her own account, was 186
years of age,"

•Rhodes' Peak Scenery, Part i., p. 57.

(|l0S20p.

<}]iarIp|fDQrf$*

(Jlossop.

Cistercian Abbey of Basingwerk,* in ^the county of
Flint and diocese of St. Asaph, was founded in the year
1181. In 1157, King Henry IL gave to this Abbey the
manor and church of Glossop, with all its appurtenances.f Olossop
was part of the royal demesne, being a parcel of the lordship of
Longdendale at the time of the Domesday Survey. It was subse-
quently granted to William Peverel by the Conqueror, but on the
attainder of his grandson it reverted to the crown.

There had been no endowment of a vicarage when the Taxation
Boll of Pope Nicholas IV. was drawn up in 1291. At that date
the ^^ecolesia" or rectory of Olossop was valued at £84 Ids. 4d.

The ordination of a vicarage probably took place not many years
subsequently, but there seems to have been some doubt as to the
right of impropriation possessed by the Abbey. During the ener-
getic episcopate of Boger de Norbury (1822 — 68), Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, the Abbot of Basingwerk was cited to show title to
the impropriation of the rectory of Glossop; and the title was
exhibited to the satisfaction of the Commissioners and of the Dean
"de Alto Pecco,*' in the church of Glossop, on the 5th of the
Ides of October, 1825. J

Bishop Stretton instituted Bobert de Bossyndale to this vicarage,
on the presentation of the Abbot, in April, 1862.§

* The Ghartolary of Baain^erk that used to be with the Cottonian MSS. was nn-
fortunately destroyed in the nre that burnt so much of that valuable library in 1781.

t Bugdale's Monasticon, toL i., p. 720. The actual words of the charter are — " In
liberam et perpetttam elemosinani decern libratas terrcBf in LongedensdaXey scilicet Olos-
eope cum eccteaia qum ihi eat, cum omnibus terris et rebus ad eam pertinentibus sicut
WilUehnus Feverell eamplenius haJbuit tsmpore regis Henrici ati mei." Mention is
alBO made of this " z li. terr' ** in Longdendaie, witn the Church of Glossop and its ap-
purtenances, as being the property of the Abbot of Basingwerk, in a charter of the
reign of Henry III. Galena. Bot. Chart., 80 Hen. in., memb. 12.

I Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, No. iii., f. 17^.

§ Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, No. iv., f. 84 \

200 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In 1494, John Talbot, A.B., was instituted to the vicarage, on
the death of William Waynwright The patrons for this turn were
*'Dns John Pole et Dns Geoff. Talbot milites," by leave of the
Abbot and Convent of Basingwerk.*

The Valor Ecclesidsticus (27 Henry VIII) gives the clear value of
the vicarage at £12 ISs. 8d. ; Thomas Poynton was then vicar.

At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, JEenry VIII.
gave this manor, with the rectorial tithes and advowson of the
vicarage, to Francis Talbot, fifth Earl of Shrewsbury. In 1651, Kalph
Bower, on the death of his predecessor, Thomas Poynton, was ap-
pointed vicar, on the presentation of Francis, Earl of Shrewsbury.t
It thence passed into the Howard family, through one of the
co-heiresses of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, who died in 1616.
When the Parliamentary Commission visited Glossop in 1650, they
reported that the vicarage was worth £80, but it had an augmen-
tation of £50. The Countess of Arundel was the impropriator of
the whole parish, but was under sequestration. The impropriate
property was thought to be worth £850. There was then " noe
minister for the present.''

On 27th January, 1668, John Sandiforth, M.A., was instituted to
Glossop Vicarage, on the presentation of Honourable H. Howard
and Arthur Onslow. On 25th February, 1673, William Wagstaffe,
B.A., was instituted to Glossop, the appointment having fallen to
the Bishop through lapse of time.j:

There are but very few traces left of the old Church of All
Saints, at Glossop. From what we can learn, the church consisted
of nave and side aisles, chancel, with chapel on the north side
communicating with the north aisle, and tower surmounted by a
spire at the west end.-

Apphcation was made to Quarter Sessions on the 5th of August,
1828, for sanction to obtain a Brief for this churches repair. The
petition states that "the parish church is a very ancient structure,
and is, by natural decay and length of time, so very ruinous, and
in so great danger of falling down, as to render it very unsafe for
the parishioners to assemble therein for the worship of Almighty
God, and, notwithstanding your petitioners have expended large
sums of money yearly in supporting the church,' it has become
necessary to take down the whole of the roof and walls, and rebuild

* Lichfield Episcopal Begistera, No. xii., f. 153.
t Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, No. xiv., f. 56.
X Lichfield Episcopal Begistera, No. xvii.

GL08S0P. 201

the Bame/' The estimated expense was put down at £700, but
they say that in addition to the above sum, it was necessary '' to
new pew the church, or repair the old pews where that can be
done, and also to erect new galleries in order to make sittings for
the poor, and for the accommodation of the increased population
of the parish.** The Brief was obtained, but it only brought in
a fraction of the estimated sum, so that it was not until 1881, as
we learn from a stone over the porch, that this "necessary" work
was accomplished.

This rebuilding of the body of the church was carried out in the
unfortunate pseudo-Gothic that then prevailed. A single wide-ceiled
roof now covers the whole span of the church, formerly occupied
by nave and side aisles, whilst wide galleries run round three sides.
All that we have been able to gather of the appearance of the old
church, beyond what is stated in the Brief, is from the notes of
Mr. Rawlins, who visited it in 1826, when the nave was being
rebuilt. He says — "This edifice is recorded to have been very
humble in its appearance." In 1885, Mr. Bawlins took a south
sketch of the exterior, which shows the present nave ; a tower sur-
mounted by a broached spire, with two tiers of windows, like those
of Baslow and Hope in this county ; and a chancel with a pointed
priests' door between two three-light pointed windows of Decorated
tracery. He also makes mention of a small chapel, called St.
Catharine's Chapel, at the end of the north aisle, having an area
of seventeen feet five inches by twelve feet five, "from which you
depart through another pointed arch into the chancel, where, against
its sustaining wall, is fixed a tablet — Hcnrious Bray, Ludi-magister,
1795." The Hague monument, the story of which we give under
Hayfield Chapelry, was then against the north wall of the chancel.

The chancel was rebuilt some years later by the Duke of Norfolk,
the lay impropriator of the tithes.

The only part of the old fabric now standing is the pointed
archway into the chancel with its quaint bracket heads at the
capitals of the jambs, and the archway, supported by corbel heads
at the east end of what was the north aisle, leading into St.
Catharine's chapel, now occupied by the organ. These arches are
of the Decorated period of the fourteenth century.

There are also a few of the central bosses of the old oak roof
of the nave in the centre of the present ceiling, but cut into two
parts to accommodate themselves to their new position.

Against the west wall of the church, in the gallery, are six

202 DEBBTSHIRE CHURCHES.

tablets of bene&ctions to the parish which were formerly in the
old church, and in the vestry is the parish chest with the date
1758 and the initials W.G. LD. marked on it in brass-headed
nails.

On the north side of the exterior of the church may be noted
two old corbel heads worked into the new corbel-table just below
the roof.

In the churchyard, on the south side are two pillar sun-dials,
but both now lack their plates. One of these stands on the two
octagon steps that have doubtless formed part of the old churchyard
cross. The other pillar, about four feet high, is near the chancel
doorway, and has on it " 1758. G. W. fecit E. W., B, B. C. W.
(churchwardens)."

The old tower and spire were taken down in 1853, and a new
one erected by the late Duke of Norfolk. In the spandrels of the
west doorway of the tower are the arms of Howard, carved in the
stone: — 6^., on a bend between six cross-crosslets fitchy, arg., an
escutcheon, or; therein a demi-lion rampant, pierced through the
mouth with an arrow, within a tressure, flory coimter-fiory, gu.

The tower formerly held a peal of six bells, but there are now
eight, the two smallest having been added when the new tower was
built. The first and second bell are inscribed " C. and G. Hears.
Founders. 1858 ; " the third '' James Harrison, of Barton-upon-
Humber, Founder, 1815 ; *' the fourth '' James Harrison, of Barton,
Founder, 1816;*' the fifth, sixth, and seventh, *' James Harrison,
of Barton-upon-Humber, Founder, 1816;'* and the eighth, "Bev.
Christopher Howe, Yicar. John Enott and Samuel Bray, Church-
wardens, 1815.** The eighth or tenor bell weighs 15 owi*

In the belfry is a tablet, of the date 13th March, 1858, telling
of the successful ringing of a peal of Kent Treble Bob Majors, of
7040 changes in four hours five minutes. Also another tablet com-
memorating the Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Cubit, Chairman
of the Cotton Famine Committee. He died 7th November, 1868,
and a peal of Kent Treble Bob Majors of 5280 changes, was rung
to his memory in three hours nine minutes.

Rhodes gives us a pleasing account of the now almost extinct
custom of Rush-bearing, as it formerly prevailed in this parish.

" We visited the village church, a plain and lowly structure, and as littie orna-
mented in the interior as it is without Here we observed the remains of some
garlands hung up near the entrance into the chancel. They were the mementos of a

* The eight bells at Castleton were also supplied from the same foundry.

QLOSSOP. 203

custom of rather a mngnlar nature, that lingera aboat this part of Derbyshire, after
having been lost in nearly every other. It is denominated * Bnsh bearing ; ' and the
ceremonies of this truly mral fdte take place anntiaUy, on one of the days appointed
to the wake or Tillage festival. A car or waggon is on this occasion decorated with'
rushes. A pyramid of rashes, ornamented with wreathes of flowers, and snrmoonted
with a garland, occupies the centre of the car, which is usually bestrewed with the
choicest flowers that the meadows of Glossop Dale can produce, and liberally fur-
nished with flags and streamers. Thus prepared, it is drawn through the different
parts of the village, preceded by groups of dancers and a band of music. All the
ribbons in the place may be said to be in requisition on this festive day; and he who
is the greatest favourite among the lasses is generally the gayest personage in the
cavalcade. After parading the village, the car stops at the church gates, where it
is dismantled of its honours. The rushes and flowers are then taken into the
church, and strewed amongst the pews and along the floors, and the garlands are
hung up near the entrance into the chancel in remembrance of the day. The cere-
mony ended, the various parties who made up the procession retire, amidst music
and dancing, to the village inn, where they spend the remainder of the day in joyous
festivity."*

That part of Rhodes* Peak Scenery y Gontaining the above extract, was
originally published in 1822, so that he must have visited Olossop
Ghnrch a few years after the visit paid to it by Lysons, when compil-
ing his volome on Derbyshire. When Lysons was here in 1810, he
noted two of these garlands hung up in the church, one from Olossop
proper, and another from a different township in the parish, which
had been carried during the preceding summer in front of the rush-
bearing carts. Of one of these he gives a pencil sketch in his manu-
script notes.f It was chiefly formed of gilt and coloured papers,
with glass balls sparkling here and there, and a bird crowning the
top. It seems to have been the custom to leave these garlands in the
church until the next rush-bearing came round, when the new ones
took their place.

In order to avoid again referring to this interesting old custom of
rush-bearing, once so prevalent in Derbyshire, we will here quote from
Farcy's Survey of Derbyshire, pubUshed in 1815.

" An ancient custom still prevails in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Glossop, Hayfield, Mellor,
Peak Forest, and other places in the north of the county, I believe, of keeping the
floor of the church and pews therein, constantly stiewed or littered with dried
rushes ; the process of renewing which annually is called the RtuMteaHng^ and is
usually accompanied by much ceremony. The Bush-bearing in Peak Forest is held
on Midsummer Eve in each year. In Chapel-en-le-Frith, I was informed, that their
Bush-bearing usually takes place in the latter end of August, on public notice from
the Churchwardens, of the rushes being mown and properly dried, in some marshy
part of the parish, where the young people assemble, and having loaded the rushes
on carte, decorate the same with flowers and ribbons, and attend them in procession
to the church ; many of them huzzaing and cracking whips by the side of the rush
carts on their way thither; and where everyone present lends a hand in carrying

* Bhodes' Peak Seenery, Ft. III., p. 88.
t Add. MSS. 9468.

204 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and spreading the mshes. In WhitweU, instead of rashes, the hay of a piece of
grass land, called the Chnrch-close, is annually, on Midsnmmer Eve, carted to and
spread in the church.** *

This custom no doubt arose in former days, when the floors of the
churches were rarely, if ever, paved, and its general prevalence
throughout the kingdom is testified to by the entries in numerous
Churchwardens' accounts.! It was usually the habit to use straw in
the winter months and rushes for the summer. An instance of straw
being annually provided for the church of Scarcliffe in the winter
months has been already pubhshed.j: The custom still obtains in a
few villages of Cheshire, Lancashire, and Westmoreland, notably at
Grasmere, in the Lake District.

♦ Farcy's Survey of Derbyahire, vol. iii., p. 626.

f See the Churchwardens* accounts for the chapelry of Hayfield.

I Churches of Dei'hy shire, vol. i. p. 474. For particulars and full details respecting
this custom, see Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. i. p. 437; Hone*s Fear Book,
pp. 652-6 ; Chambers' Book of Days, vol. i. pp. 605-6. Nor was it only in churches,
out also in houses that the practice prevailed. The nobles vied with one another in
the number of times that they replenished their carpeting of rushes. In the Festy-
val, (1528), f. 77, when describmg the extravagance of Thomas 6 Becket, occurs the
following passage : " He was also man full m his household, for his Hall was every
daye in somer season strewed with green rushes, and in wynter with clone hey, for to
save the Knyghtes clothes that sate on the flore for defaute of place to syt on." It
would have been well if Englishmen had been generaUy thus particular in renewing

removed, but so imperfectly that the bottom laver is left undisturbed, sometimes for
twenty years, harbouring expectorations, vomitings, the leakage of dogs and men,

ale-droppings, scraj^s of fish, and other aoominations not fit to be mentioned

I am confident the island would be much better if the use of rushes were abandoned."
—-Brewer's Letters and Papers, vol ii., p. 200.

CHARLESWORTH.

205

^t d^aptlv^ of C|iarU0t»ortti.

jHAELES WORTH formed part of the Crown Lands when
the Domesday Survey was compiled. In 1294 Peter de
Gharlesworth died seized of certain lands in this township,
and elsewhere in the parish of Glossop, which he held for the
Ahbot of Basingwerk* In 1808, Robert de Gharlesworth gave to
the said Abbot eighty acres of arable land in Gharlesworth, in ad-
dition to smaller endowments in Simondley and Chunall.f This
gift caused the monks of Basingwerk to establish a farm or grange,
managed by those of their own order, on their newly-acquired
possessions, and a chapel was erected, dedicated to St. Mary Mag-
dalen.:^ The Abbot of Basingwerk, in 1829, in order to increase
the value of his property, obtained royal permission for the estab*
lishment of a market at Gharlesworth on Wednesdays, and a yearly
fair to be held on the festival of the patron saint of the chapel. §

In the early part of the reign of Henry VIII., WiUiam Wolley,
of Riber, in the parish of Matlock, left certain lands in Ghesterfield,
Newbold, Tapton, and Dronfield (which lands had been given to
him by Ralph Heathcote, bell-founder of Ghesterfield), to provide a
priest to say mass for his soul, and for the souls of his benefactors in

* Inq. post Mort., 22 Edw. I., No. 114.

t Inq. ad quod damnum, 1 Edw. II., No. 69; 2 Edw. II., No. 82; Abbrey. Rot.
Orig., 2 Edw. n., No. 10.

{ " A chapel was built at Gharlesworth, it is said, by a native of Ireland, who when
travelling from Manchester to London, became fatigued on the side of the hill.
Unable to proceed, he lay down, and made a vow to the Virgin Mary that, if she

would help him on his journey, he would build a church to her honour on the spot

' ' in he rested. A shepherd passing by opportunely assisted him^ and he was

spared to perform^ his vow, and dedicated the edifice to Saint Mar^. It is still called

by her name.'' — Church Management, by Eev. G. Purcell, p. vii. But this is a
legend, the foundation of which it would be difficult to discover. The tale is quite
wrong, for there is no doubt whatever that the original chapel was dedicated to Mary

Magdalen (Pegge's CoUections, vol. v., f . 8) ; and we suspect that it has been unwittingly
" " " " " " " " the

book for the natives of Gharlesworth.

transferred by Mr. PurceU from another place, in the same way as the well-known

■ St V . ^ . . . y ....

story of the Stafifordshire Pottery manners is made to do duty at p. 11 of the same
>ok for the natives of Gharlesworth

§ Ghart. Bot., 2 Edw. ni.. No. 00.

206 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the chapel of Charlesworth. The land was of the clear annual
value of £8 ISs. Od., and was left by William Wolley to Otwell
Needham, of Thomsetfc, and to Thomas Poynton,* vicar of Glossop,
as trustees of the chantry.

Perhaps, owing to the lateness of this endowment the chantry
escaped entry in the Chantry Roll prepared by order of Henry VIII.,
in the 87th year of his reign, with a view to the confiscation of
their property ; but in the 2nd year of Queen Elizabeth this land
was taken from Charlesworth chapel, and conferred inter alia upon
Sir George Howard.! Sir George Howard, knighted in Scotland
by the Duke of Somerset in the reign of Edward VL, was the
second son of Lord Edmund Howard. } Dying without issue this
property reverted to the elder branch of the Howards, who, as we
have already stated, had inherited the rectorial manor and other
property in Glossop through the Earl of Shrewsbury.

It seems probable that no trouble was taken, but rather the
contrary, to keep up the structure of the chapel of St. Mary Magdalen,
or to supply it with services in the first century after the Reforma-
tion. This was often the fate of the smaller chapelries that had
fallen into the hands of landowners who still adhered to the
ancient faith. The people in those cases still clung for the most
part to the rites that were then forbidden under pain of cruel
penalties; they went in stealth to hear mass in the impromptu
chapels of the great houses that were served by the disguised
Jesuits, and suffered the ancient building, where these ceremonies
could no longer be performed, to fall into decay.

When the ParUamentary Commissioners of 1650 visited Charles-
worth, they reported that the chapel was fit to be disused and the
place united to Glossop. We gather from the expression "fit to
be disused ** that the building was then occasionally used for
service, which would of course be after the Presbyterian form at
that time in our national history. And this seems the more likely
as the Commissioners mention that there was an Augmentation of
£50 to this chapelry, paid out of the impropriate tithes of the
Howards, which were at that time sequestered to the State. §

• Thomas Poynton died in 1651, Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, No. xiv., t 68.

t Add. MSa, 6667, f. 307.

X Collins' Peerage, voL i., p. 11.

S The whole of these sequestered tithes of the old rectory of Glossop were
devoted to the angmentinff of i>oor liyings in the connty. " The Honourable Com-
mwBioners for Plundered Ministers " granted therefrom, by a decree of the 3rd of
5SfeniW, 1648, 1660 to Charlesworth, ^640 to Mellor, £40 to Stony Middleton,
*f"*o Chesterfield, ^£30 to Ockbrook, and to three of the Derby churches. All Saints*,
Bt. Peter's, and St. Werburgh's, £70 collectively.— Bateman's MS. Collections.

CHARLESWORTH. 207

Not long after the Restoration of the monarchy we find that the
chapel was allowed hy the Howard family to remain in the hands
of the Presbyterians, and it seems probable that a license for a
Presb3rterian minister to preach in this chapel, was obtained at the
time when the ''Indulgence** was granted to the Nonconformists
in 1672. Many of the old Presbyterian congregations became
gradually blended with the Independents soon after the ejection of
1662, and before the close of the century we believe that this
building was in the hands of the Independents.

When the official list of non-parochial registers was gathered
together about 1840, the return of the '* Denomination and Date
of Foundation *' of this chapel is entered as — ** Independent, time
out of mind.*' The register of births and baptisms, then placed in
the custody of the Registrar-General, extended from 1786 to 1837.*

According to the Charity Commissioners for 1827, John Bennitt,
by wiU dated 8th February, 1716, left, amongst other legacies to
the different townships of Glossop, £20 for the use of Charles-
worth chapel, the interest thereof to go to the ipinister that
preached there ; and directed that if at any time there should be no
dissenting minister preaching there, the said £20 should go to the
poor, t Similar legacies with a like stipulation were also left by
Lawrence Rowbotham and by Damaris Hibbert to the dissenting
minister of Charlesworth, which are recorded on a benefaction
board at the east end of the chapel.

The Rev. M. Olorenshaw, minister of Mellor, writing to Mr.
Lysons (when he was preparing his Derbyshire volume of the
Magna Britannia) under date 16th September, 1816, says of the
Independent chapel at Charlesworth that it ''was a very ancient
chapel in the form of a church, which ye Dissenters were allowed
by ye Norfolk family to possess. Of late it has been rebuilt much
in ye dissenting form." j:

A stone let into the west front of the chapel is inscribed — '' C. C.
1797.** This appears to be the date at which it was so thoroughly
rebuilt that no trace of the ancient chapel of St. Mary Magdalen
now remains. The chapel occupies a commanding position on the
side of the hill above the village. It is surrounded by an extensive
burial-^ground, where at one time all the village folk appear to have
been buried. The oldest tombstones that we noticed go back about
a hundred years.

* LUt of Non-ParoohuU RegUtera and Reoorda, p. 14.

t Charity Commiasionen' Report, toI. xvii., p. 256.

X Add. MSS., 9425, f . 1 ; see ^o Add. MSS., 9448, f . 248.

208 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The history of this ancient chapel is of peculiar interest, for we
do not beheve that there is another instance in the kingdom in
which a parochial chapel or church has remained in Nonconformist
hands for upwards of two centuries. ♦

* Though we cannot prove it as an absolute fact, it seems almost certain that the
Episcopalian form of worship was never heard within the old parochial chapel from
the days when the Commonwealth was established. Indeed it seems very probable
that the Established Church service was never read within its walls, as it is not un-
likely that it stood empty from the time of the Reformation until the temporary
establishment of Presbyterianism. It is only fair to state that the Rev. G. Purcell,
the vicar of the new church built here in 1849, writes to us — '' thirty years ago I met a
man named William Cooper, who, a little more than seventy years before then heard
the church service in the chapel." But it is difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion
that Mr. Cooper's memory had played him false, for the benefactions to the dissenting
minister which have been uninterruptedly his since 1716, would then have been
forfeited to the poor. Very possibly some portions of the church service may have
been read by a Nonconformist.

HAYFIELD. 209

^t Ci^o^tlvs of ^a^UtlO,

lTFIELD was one of the chapelries of the far-reaching
parish of Glossop, and as a component part of that
church, its tithes were appropriated by the Abbey of
Basingwerky in Flintshire. It is said that the chapel was built in
the year 1886, and there was formerly a tradition, which has not
yet died out, that the chapel was at that date removed here from
the neighbouring township of Kinder, where it occupied a site still
known as the Eirksteads. Information has reached us from seyeral
sources that the date MGCCLXXXYI. was on the walls of the old
chapel, and it is possible that the building was commenced in that
year, but discontinued in the troublous times which prevailed in the
latter part of the reign of Bichard II. That the building was in
progress in the 6th year of the reign of Henry IV. we know from
the registers of the Duchy of Lancaster, where we learn that the
king in that year issued orders to the custodian of his royal forest
of Whitlewoode, to deliver to Sir Roger Leche,* and other of his
lieges of the parish of Glossop, six oaks suitable for building pur-
poses, to be used in the erection of a chapel at Hayfield-in-the-Peak.
A similar order for a like number of trees was served on the custodian
of the forest of Thomsedbank. t

In " Philipp Kynders booke " it is stated in notes to the Kinder
pedigree, that — "A.D. 1420. Eobt, of Kynder built ye church of
Heyfield att his owne charges upon his owne ground, & his father*s
before him. As may appeare by a record out of the Registraie of
Leichfeild." This rather vague note leaves it doubtful whether it was

* Sir Roger Leche was of the ancient family of Leche of Chatsworth. He had
large possessions in the Peak, but his chief seat ^as at Belper. He was Lord High
Treasurer of England in the .reign of Henry V.

t Regist. Ducat. Lane., 6 Hen. IV,, pt. 2, f. 4. Thomsett and Whittle are now the
names of two hamlets in the adjacent chapelry of Mellor.

210 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Robert Kinder '* or his fathers before him " that built the church,
but a subsequent note makes it rather clearer — " A-D. 1428. Robert
of Kynder gave ye ground so yt our Ladies chappeU at Heyfield was
built on, wch was approved to be his father's land, and after by in-
heritance his, for ever away." * This Robert Kinder was the son of
John Kinder, and flourished in the reigns of Richard 11., Henry V.,
and Henry VI.

As a chapelry of Glossop, the appointment of the minister at Hay-
field would be vested in the Vicar of Glossop, subject to the approval
of the Abbot of Basingwerk, up to the time of the Reformation ; but
after that date the appointment came into the hands of the resident
freeholders, with whom it still remains.

Hayfield is described by the Parhamentary Commissioners of 1650,
as '* a parochial chapel, fitt to be made a parish with these hamlets —
Great Hamell, Kinder Hamell, Far Side Hamell, and part of Thome-
sett Hamell, £8 10s. There belongeth to the minister of Heafield five
pounds per annum, being an antient customage payd from the inha-
bitants. Also there is five pounds per annum being a guiffc given to
the minister of Heafield. Augmentation, JS50. Noe minister for the
present.'*

The Commissioners also reported of Beard, ''a township within
this chapelry, that it was fitt to have a church built for it, which the
inhabitants are willing to att their own charge ; " but this recommen-
dation was not carried out.

In the year 1814, the inhabitants obtained a Brief for the restora-
tion of the chapel. In this document, the original of which we have
consulted, it is stated that the chapel is *' a very antient structure,
erected in or about 1886, now ruinous, and on that account as well as
the roof being very low it has been necessary to take down the roof
and part of the walls, and to rebuild and raise the same higher, erect-
ing new galleries to provide for those now without sittings.'' The
Brief further states that " Thomas Bradbury and John Rangeley,"
able and experienced workmen, have estimated the necessary outlay
at £762 2s.

The funds obtained by this Brief were eventually used towards the
complete rebuilding of the edifice, which was finally accomplished, as
stated on a stone at the east end of the church, in the year 1818.
The building now consists of nave with side aisles, chancel, and tower

* Bodleian Library, Ashm. MSS., 788, f. 163b. This Tolume— Phillipp Kyndera
booke — contains misceUanies de omnibus rebus, astrology, Milesian fables, " a theo-
logical disconrse written at the age of 19," the Kinder pedigree, and '' The Historie
of Derbyshire."

HAYFIELD. 211

at the west end, carried out with the general lack of taste that pre-
vailed at the time in question. It has wide galleries on the south,
north, and west.

The ancient chapel, then dismantled, appears to have possessed
several interesting features. Lysons tells us that the rood-loft, be-
tween the nave and chancel, remained entire, though the upper part
had been modernised. On the front of it was the picture of the cru-
cifixion, with St. Peter and St. John, which bore the date of 1775. *

Bassano, who was here about 1710, describes *^ above chancel gules^
cut on wood, and nailed thereto — A griffin in bend with wings ex-
panded, and bushe tailed."' There was also an escutcheon carved on
the inside of a pew, between the church and chancel, bearing — " Arg,
Three pine apples, with long shanks in a shield, supported with two
sea monsters."

We have little or no doubt that the first of these coats was intended
for the remarkable arms of Ashenhurst, who bore — Or, a cockatrice,
the tail nowed, with a serpent's head, sab., the comb, wattles, and
head, gv.; in his beak a trefoil proper.

The manor of Beard, in this chapelry, belonged to the Beards,
of Beard Hall, from an early date. About the end of the sixteenth
century Beard Hall was transferred to Ashenhurst by marriage
with the eldest of ^three co-heiresses.

If the second coat described by Bassano is rightly given, it be-
longs to Appleton, but we are not aware of any connection of that
family with Derbyshire. In all probability Bassano mistook three
heads of garlick (the arms of Garlick) for pine apples, for, though
so contrary in nature, the rude art of the heraldic carver gives
them a similar appearance, f The Garlicks possessed landed pro-
perty on the adjacent manor of Whitfield in the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries. The heiress of Garlick married William Needham,
of Cowley and Thornsett.

At the east end of the south aisle of the present edifice, over a
large pew in the gallery, is a mural monument bearing the
following inscription : —

* Lysons' Derbyshire, p. 167; but in Lysons' MS. Church Notes (Add. MSS. 9,463)
which we may be sure are correct, as they exist in the pencil form in which they
were taken on the spot, it is said — " At the hack of the gallery facing the nave is a
painting of the Crucifixion with St. John and St. Peter. This is said to hare been
painted 1775, but probabl;^ from an ancient one which had remained undisturbed at
the time of the Reformation." But query, does he mean by gallery, the gallery on
the top of the rood-loft?

f We were led to this conclusion by the curious incident of a friend, by no means
unversed in heraldry, reading the quartered coat of Garlick, as tricked by Flowers
in the Visitation of 1669, "three pineapples," thus committing the identical mistake
made by Bassano.

212 DEKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

** Sacred to the Memory
of Joseph Hague Esq., whose virtues as a man were as distinguished
as his character as a merchant. Favoured with the blessings of
Providence he enjoy'd the fruits of his industry at an early period,
and by the most indefatigable pursuits and extensive connections
in trade acquired an immense fortune, which he distributed amongst
his relatives with such liberality as to give affluence to all in his
own lifetime. He was bom at Chun all in this parish in the year
1693, and in 1717 settled in London, where he married Jane, the only
daughter of Edmund Blagge, of Macclesfield in Cheshire, by whom
he had 10 sons and 2 daughters who all died in their minority.
He built and endowed the Charity School at Whitfield in the year
1778, and died at Park Hall in this parish on the 12th day of
March 1786, aged 90 years, leaving the annual interest on £1000 to
be laid out in clothing 12 poor .men and 12 poor women out
of the eight townships of Glossop Dale for ever; besides other
charities bequeathed to Glossop and the ohapelry of Heafield."

The monument is a handsome one of its style, and is surmounted
by a most admirable bust of Joseph Hague, executed in white
marble, by the sculptor Bacon. It is said to have cost £420.
But we should not have noticed in these " Notes " a monument of
so late a date had not a remarkable history attached to it. It
will be noted that the inscription speaks of ** this parish, " when
Hayfield was then only a chapelry, but this apparent error is
accounted for by the fact that the monument was originally erected
in the parish church of Glossop. When the chancel of that church
was being rebuilt, the various monuments were, of course, removed
to what were considered places of safety. Alarmed, perhaps, lest
so valuable a monument as that to Joseph Hague should be
stolen, the good folk of Glossop confined it in the lock-up ! But on
the completion of the church the monument still remained in durance
vile ; neither its intrinsic merits, nor the memory of a munificent
benefactor being apparently appreciated by those in charge. One
night its occupancy of the lock-up was shared by a drunken man,
who, out of very wantonness, attacked and disfigured his silent
companion. This discreditable assault getting bruited abroad, reached
the ears of Captain White, of Park Hall, near Hayfield, who was
heir to a considerable share of the Hague property. He promptly
rescued the monument from its ignominious position, and caused
it to be erected in the chapel at Hayfield, refusing to restore it
to the church that had allowed it to be treated with so much

HATFIELD. 213

contempt. The memorial still bears not a few traces of the assault
it suffered when in the loek-up. But the strangest part of the
story yet remains to be told, and is a singular instanoe of the
power of conscience. It was recently related to us by the parish
clerk of Hay£eld. About two years ago, an elderly stranger sought
admittance to the church, and immediately on entering asked for
the Hague monument, at which he gazed long and earnestly, ex>
pressing his satisfaction at seeing it well cared for. The clerk,
thinking he might be a connection of the family, began to tell
him the above narrative, but the stranger interrupted him by
saying — "Nobody knows that better than myself. I was the
drunken man who knocked it about in Glossop lock-up. I have
since been abroad for many years, and have only just returned to
England. The damage I did to that monument has often troubled
my conscience, and I determined that as soon as I set foot in
England again, I would at once journey to Derbyshire to see what
had become of it; and now I am satisfied."

The conduct of those who were in charge at Glossop, towards
this pious foxmder, is the more discreditable, as he left by his will
the balance of a certain sum of money as an annual payment
for keeping his vault and monument in decent order. When the
Charity Commissioners visited this district in 1826, 15s. 6d. was
being paid for this purpose. What has now become of this
money ? If any one has a claim to it, surely it is the parish clerk
of Hayfield.

We have often had occasion to comment in these pages on the
various secular uses to which churches were put, both before and after
the Reformation, and Hayfield affords a remarkable instance at the
commencement of the seventeenth century. John Hyde, of London,
by his will, bearing date 8th September, 1604, left certain trust
property, out of which £10 yearly was to be paid '* to the minister
of the Gospel, of Hayfield, in Derbyshire, keeping a Grammar
School mthin the chapel,'* and the Grammar School appears to have
been thus kept within the church or chapel for more than a century
after John Hyde's death, when subsequent donations rendered it
possible to hold it in a separate building.*

Mention is made of this gift on a quaintly-worded tablet relative to
the various endowments of the minister. It was removed from the old
building, and is now fixed, with several others, against the wall of
the staircase leading up to the galleries.

♦ Charity CommisBionora' Reports, to), xvii., p. 261.

214 DEEBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

" Imprimis, there is £10, left for ever by one Mr. John Hyde,
one of the worshipful Merchant-Taylor's-HaU, London, to a reading
minister keeping a Grammar School in the Chapel of Hayfield ;
also the use of £60 left for ever to a Ucensed schoohnaster, by
John Hadfield, of Ludworth, deceased, teaching pettyes {i.e. petty
things, or as we should now say, ** elementary education''), as well
as others more proficient, at our Chapel of Hayfield ; also we have
undertakers, who were agents and instruments in erecting and
building of our chancel at our Chapel, who had assigned to them
each a place or seat m the chancel, according to their degrees,
paying to the minister or curate, each of them, one old hoop
of oats or 2 sh. in money; also there is annually due and
payable, on March 26th, to the curate, firom those persons, church
wages, according to their estates and seats in the Chapel, of which
some pay 8 sh. other 2 sh., some less, according to the plot-form
which gives a particular account of every place within the
Chapelry." The sum is £4 14s. 4d. The surpHce fees are 6d.
every burial, and 6d, for the thanksgiving of women after child-
birth. (Dated) July 10th, 1774."

The "plot-form'* of the old chapel is given on two other large
tablets, one of which gives the ground plan, and is dated 1735, and
the other the plan of the south and west galleries, and is dated
1741. From the ground plan, it appears that the Communion table
and chancel rails only occupied the north side of the chancel; the
south side, right up to the east wall, being appropriated as ** Mr.
Ashenhurst's pew." The names, acreage, and annual payment
of the occupant are marked in each pew, an explanatory note
saying : — «* It is to be noted yt the sumes of money sett down in
each man's seate in numerall letters do shew what money they
usually have paid towards hiering a Curate, and ye figures do shew
what acres yey hould, and after ye same rate do pay their usuall
payments towards ye upholding and maintenance of ye Chapell of
HeyfielcL" On the gallery plan it is stated that "every person on
the south side paid sixpence, and every singer upon ye organ loft
4d. a year." The first plan is signed by John Hadfield and
Thomas Beard, Chapelwardens ; and the second by John Badily,
Minister. The Rev. John Badley, as his name is spelt on a stone
at the west end of the north aisle, died in 1764, aged 68.

On entering the basement of the tower by the west doorway, for
there is no . communication with the church itself, it is evident that
the old pointed archway that formerly opened from the tower into

HATFIELD. 215

the nave was not taken down at the rebuilding in 1818, but
simply built up. This is the only part of the old church of 1386
that is now standing above ground, as the tower itself, with the
exception of this part of the west wall, was built afresh at the same
tame as the body of the church.

The tower contains a peal of six bells. The following are their
inscriptions : —

I. " Peace and good neighbourhood. 1798."
n. " These bells were cast by Jno. Rudhall. 1798."
in. ** Thomas Drinkwater and Jno. Collier, Chapel wardens.
1798."

IV. *' Fear God, Honour the King. 1798."

V. " Prosperity to this parish. 1798."

VI. " I to the church the living call

And to the grave summon alL 1798."*
We were nearly leaving this church under the impression that
we had seen all that was left of the old building in the tower
archway, when our attention was directed to a low doorway on the
north side of the church, over which is cut the year ** 1886," as a
memento of the date of the original building. Entering this, we
found ourselves in a low crypt or cellar extending under the whole
of the church— body, chancel, and tower. This "crypt " is popu-
larly supposed to have been the burial-place beneath the old
church ; and we were assured that it was the fashion in those
days to let the coffins through the flooring of the different pews of
the church above, into this receptacle; in the dim Hght, the possi-
bility of this place — which is only some four or five feet high —
having been a crypt, was for a moment entertained, but on a light
being procured, its true nature was at once apparent. The roof of
this cellar was quite flat ; the wooden floor of the church above,
resting on long timber joists, being supported on short octagon
stone pillars, with bases and capitals of early Perpendicular work,
corresponding with the date at which the old building is said to
have been erected. The fact is, that this is the ground floor of
the old church ; the new one having been raised on the same
foundations, but on a level several feet higher. The pillars that
supported the arches, three on each side, dividing the nave from
the side aisles, were shortened to serve as props for the timbers of

♦ The Rudhalls were celebrated bell-founders of Gloucester, from the end of the
seyenteenth century till about the year 1830. There are several of Abraham lindhairs
bells in the belfries of North Derbyshire, but we have not noted any of John Kud-
hall's (the last of the firm) elsewhere in the county.

216 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

th© new floor, the old capitals being re-imposed to give them
greater width. The basement of the tower archway that remains
in the wall above is here open to view, and the extension that was
made to the chancel during last century (between 1785 and 1775,
as is shown by the old tablets already quoted) can also be traced.
Almost the whole of the flooring consists of gravestones ; but none
of them appear to be of any considerable age, being chiefly of last
century.

A reason for thus raising the level of the church is to be found
in the fact that two mountain streams meet immediately to the
west of the tower, and the old building had on several occasions
been subjected to floods.

The church is dedicated to Si Matthew. The registers com-
mence in 1662.

In the Library at Lomberdale House there is a volume of the
Hayfield Churchwardens' Accounts, from 1768 — 1794,* endorsed on
the back, *' John Allen and Joseph Hadfleld, Churchwardens, 1768.'*
Bev. George Boe was then the Minister. From it we take the

following extracts : —

£ 0. d.

1766. Paid for two men's Dinners and ale 8 Sacrament Days 0 8 0

Upon the account of the Bash Cartf 0 6 0

For cleaning Snow ont of the Chapel 0 2 0

Paid for cleaning the Chapel at the Wakes 0 10

1767. Be it remembered that the Churchwardens of Hayfield did give,

by the consent of the Freeholders the sum of £2 5s. being the
fuU cost and charge of making a Front Seat on the old Loft for

the sole use of those singers that join in Chorus and those only 2 6 0

1768. At a Vestry about the Bonehouse, and spent with G. Leech 0 3 0

Spent when the Bones were buried out of Bonehouse 0 8 0

Gaye Ashton singers 0 8 0

1769. For flagging Chancell and AUeye 0 6 6

1771. Paid to GloBsop churchwarden 18 8

Besoms, Wiskets, and Mellor Singers 0 17

1772. Spent with Singers when new Bazoon came 0 2 6

Spent when Vicar (of Glossop) came to preach 0 10

For two Tankards Chainging 0 7 8

Charges when the Bassoune came 0 3 6

For rushes for chtzrchf 0 2 6

1773. To the ringers when Mr. Bains (new minister) Licence came ... 0 2 0
At Smiths when Mr. Bain was voted in 0 7 6

1776. A horse for the Minister from Chesterfield 0 10

1777. Candles for the Fifth of Nov^ 0 0 7

1779. For repairing the Bassoon 0 16

1780. For four Branches of Candlesticks 0 6 6

1781. Whitewashing and painting the Pillars 0 16 1

• Mr. T. W. Bateman has kindly given us permission to publish these extracts.

t There are entries relative to the Rush Cart under ahnost every year to the end
of the volume. On the subject of Bush-bearing, see the account of the mother-
cnurcn of Glossop.

HATFIELD. 217

1782. To the Bingen when the peace was signed 0 2 0

Warrants and Charges belonging the Quaker (for not paying

Church rate) 0 16 6i

178S. Bzpences concerning the Qnaker 0 14 3

For reeds for the Bassoon 0 8 0

1784. Exchanging the silver Cup 0 12 0

1788. For the Thanksgiving of the King's Becovery 0 4 0

1790. To repairing the. little Bell 0 4 6

1793. (This year the tower seems to have been rebuilt. There are a
large number of entries for carting stone and sand, and other
incidental expenses).

Architect's expenses when drawing the plan of the Steeple 0 8 0

Expenses attending taking down the old Bells and weighing 0 5 0

Saml. Hyde's expenses for delivering the Bells at the Old Quay... 0 2 0

Spent at laying the first stone 0 2 0

Spent at Bearing the steeple 0 6 0

Pud John Line for a Hautboy 110

218 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

^fit d^a^tltyi of ^eUor.

I HE Chapelry of Mellor formed part of the extensive parish
of Glossop. It is said that a chapel was first erected
here in the reign of Stephen (1186 — 1164), but very
little can be gleaned of its early history as it was subservient to
the vicarage of Glossop, and its tithes went to swell the income
of the Abbey of Basingwerk, in Flintshire, whose Chartulary does
not now exist.

Of the old fabric of the chapel of St. Thomas, nothing now
remains but the tower. The chief features of the tower are un-
doubtedly of the Perpendicular style that prevailed in the fifteenth
century, though possibly some of the masonry is of a far earlier
date.

When Bassano, the heraldic painter of Derby,* visited this
church in 1710, there was the following quartered coat, in
stained glass, in the north window of the chancel. "1st
Arg, 2 bendlets, ragule, gules; a lambeaux of 4 points, gules.
— 2nd Arg. 2 martlets, 2, 1, sab. — 3rd vert, a broad arrow. —
4th as ye 1st. Crest, upon a Torce, a bull's head eraz'd, collared
and lingued, gules, horned, or." The first of these coats, together
with the crest, is that of Badcliflfe, of Mellor, more usually
expressed— ^r^., two bends engrailed, <a., a label of three points,
and a crescent, gu. Crest:— A bull's head erased, sab, armed, or,
ducally gorged and charged with a pheon, arg.

The second coat is that of Mellor, more correctly written — Arg.,
three blackbirds. Proper.

The third coat we have not been able to identify, but there is
no doubt that it was an ancient aUiance of Mellor, for it is also

MELLOR. 219

quartered by Needham, of Needham, who married Maud, heiress of
Roger de MeUor, of Thornsett, in the reign of Edward III.*

The Mellors were descended from a younger son of Simon de
Staveley, who settled at Mellor in the reign of Henry III., where
they held a subordinate manor. The co-heiresses of the elder
branch of Mellor married Eadcliffe, Stafford, and Ainsworth,
about the middle of the fourteenth century. A younger branch of
this family was of Idridgehay as early as the time of Henry VII.
Bobert Eadcliffe, who married the eldest co-heiress of Mellor, was
a younger son of the Badcliffes, of Ordeshall, Lancashire. Ten
generations of the Badcliffes of Mellor, are given in the Visitation
of 1611.t The heiress of Peter BadclifFe, mentioned in this Visi-
tation, married Horsfall, and the ancient seat of the family was
purchased in 1686 by James Cheetham.

The appointment of the minister seems to have pertained to the
holders of the Mellor Hall estate from the time of the Beformation,
but the Gheethams sold it about 1787, and the estate a few years
later. The purchaser of the appointment was Mr. Thornton, of
Glapham. Over a pew on the north side of the present chapel is
a board inscribed as follows: — "In 1809, this pew was purchased
by S. Thornton, Esq., M.D,, together with the right of burying
within the Communion rails, to be from thenceforth for the use
of the Minister of Mellor for the time being."

The ParHamentary Commissioners reported in 1660 of Mellor,
that it was a parochial chapelry of Glossop, <' thought fitt to be
made a parish church with hamlets of WhiteU, Hamell, part of
Thornsett, Ludworth, and Chisworth," and worth £12 10s. Od.,
X8 of which was customary from the inhabitants to the minister,
together with an augmentation of £40 from the sequestered rectory
of Glossop.

The Bev. M. Olorenshaw, who was then the minister at Mellor,
writing to Mr. Lysons, under date 5th October, 1816, says : — ** Less
than 100 years ago the perpetual Curate of Mellor had no endowment
except £7 paid for ye antient seats, and Burial and Baptism dues.
About 60 or 70 years ago this was somewhat augmented by ye
erection of a gallery, and 82 years ago by additional galleries, all
of which are the property of the minister." J We can gather
from this letter how disfigured the old church must have been.

• Flower's Vuitation of 1669, MSS. of Queen's Coll., Oxon. ; Add. MSS., 28, 113,
f. 44; Egerton MSS. 996, f. 72.

i Harl. MSS., 5809, f. 39.

t Add. MSS., 9425, f. 1.

220 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

At the Quarter SeBsions held 4th April, 1815, the Churchwardens
and principal inhabitants of Glossop petitioned in due form to
obtain a Brief for the general collection of subscriptions towards
the repair of Mellor chapel. It is therein set forth that the
" church or chapel of Mellor is a very ancient structure, and now
in a very ruinous decayed state, although in the year 1783 and
since £300 has been expended,* that the walls and foundations are
bulged out and supported by temporary props of wood and there-
fore unsafe." The petition went on to say that it was necessary
that the greater part of the church should be taken down and
rebuilt, and the floor, seats, and pews renewed. Immanuel Wils
and Abraham Olorenshaw, "able and experienced workmen," had
prepared an estimate at £676 16s. 4d.

But Briefs, from their frequency, were beginning to fail as a
means of procuring funds, and only £96 18s. lid. was the result
of this appeal. The inhabitants again had tecourse to Quarter
Sessions, and obtained another Brief in the year 1820, stating that
the front (south) wall had been taken down and rebuilt ; but the
chancel yet remained to be done, and various other parts, for
which £580 was required. This second Brief only brought in
another £90, and in the fourth year of George IV. they obtained
a third Brief, with which, we suppose, they had to be satisfied.
To the prayer to Quarter Sessions for this last Brief a communi-
cation received from Archdeacon Butler was attached, in which the
chapel-wardens are ordered to immediately take down and rebuild
the chancel, and finish the other work specified. It is also stated
in this last petition that the mother church of Glossop was at that
time being repaired, and that the share which the inhabitants of
Mellor were obhged to pay amounted to £200. f

The money thus collected was expended in gradually adding to
the Gothic tower a building as thoroughly inharmonious — ^with ita
wide nave and chancel — as can well be conceived.

* On ft blank leaf of one of the registers is the foUowing entry - — *' The chnrch
of MeUor was in part rebuilt, and the south and east galleries erected in the year
1783, -at the expense of £200 or upwards, which sum was contributed by Thos.
Chetham, Esq., Patron, the Bevd. M. Olorenshaw, Minister, the inhabitants of the
chapelry, and others." It is also stated thab new pulpit and desks, (doubtless those
now in use) were made and put up in the same year. The church was seated
throughout in 17S5. For these and other particulars, we are indebted to the Bev.
M. Freeman, the present incumbent, and owner, by purchase from the Thorntons,
of the advowson.

t The three original Briefs, as granted by the Lord Chancellor, are now in the
British Museum ; and the petitions to Quarter Sessions, together with the injunction
of the Archdeacon of Derby, are with the County Becords.

M£LLOR. 221

Over the entrance to the south porch (which has a room above
it, through which there is access to the galleries) is a stone
inscribed — **E. Ferns, G. Cooper, churchwardens, 1815/* A stone
let into the north wall bears — " Matw. Freenaan, minister ; Thomas
Stanney, Benjamin Batcliffe, James Yates, churchwardens, A.D.
1829,'' in which year, we suppose, the rebuilding was at last com-
pleted.

The interior arrangements of this church are probably as remark-
able and unecclesiastical as any in the kingdom. Against the north
wall, about the centre, is placed a lofty " three-decker " pulpit,
readuig-desk, and clerk's pew ; whilst round the remaining three
sides of the church extend wide galleries. It thus comes to pass
that the east gallery extends over the whole of the chancel,
and is used as the organ loft. There are, however, two very
interesting relics of the early church. The oldest of these is the
font at the west end of the church, which stands three feet nine
inches high, but the actual font is only two feet two in depth, and
two feet three in diameter. The font is circular, and is ornamented
with three quaintly-incised figures of strange proportions. The one
in front represents a man riding on a bridled horse. (Plate XVL)
Mr. Bateman has suggested that this was designed to represent
the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem. But this notion must be
erroneous, as the figure wears a helmet. It is not likely that
these figures represent anything more than the caprice of the
artist, whose eccentricities in the Norman period were specially
expended on fonts, and on the two jambs of doorways. This font
should be compared with the one at Tissington. Its date must be
coeval with the original erection of a church here in the days of
Stephen.

The other rehc is outside the communion rails on the north side
of the chancel, and is of exceptional interest, as it is probably a
unique example of an ancient pulpit cut out of a solid block of
oak. It is four feet eight and a half inches high, and two feet
eight inches in diameter at the top. It is of hexagonal shape,
with one side cut out to form a narrow entrance. One of the five
panels is plain and smooth, showing where it stood against the
wall, but the other four are ornamented with tracery, the style of
which assigns it to about the middle of the fourteenth century.*

* Contrary to the usuaI opinion, the earliest pulpits were of wood. They were
generally movable, and kept in comers until requiredTfor use, like that stiU preserved
at Hereford. This, no doubt, is the caiise of their present rarity. Palpits, as distinct
from choir desks or lecterns, were first introduced into France by the mendicant friars

222 DEBBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The Rev. R. R. Rawlins, who visited this church in 1836 men-
tions this old pulpit as being then in the belfry. In fact, both the
pulpit and font had been treated as mere lumber, until the incum-
bency of the Rev. M. Freeman, when he replaced the font at the west
end of the church, and the pulpit by the communion rails.

Mr. Bateman, who has several notes respecting this church in his
Antiquities of Derbyshire, * says that when the north wall of the
church was taken down, several holes hewn in the rock were dis-
covered, which had evidently been the foundations for the pillars of
a more ancient building. In a hole in the wall, stopped up with
plaster, a rosary was found, cut out of hard thorn wood. One of
the beads was worm-eaten and the string decayed, but with these
exceptions the rosary was in good condition.

The tower is evidently of the work of the fifteenth century, when
the Perpendicular style was flouiishing, but the tracery of the west
window has been renewed at rather a later date, probably in the
next century. It is supported at the west angle by diagonally
placed buttresses of three set-offs, which reach up to the first stage,
and the parapet is divided into battlements, and ornamented with
eight low crocketed pinnacles.

Entrance to the tower is gained by a west doorway, the archway
through into the church being blocked up, and in the bell chamber
are three bells.

I. ** Jesus be our spede, 1639," in Lombardic capital letters.

The bell founder's mark is a shield divided into four ; in the upper
quarters are the initials P.H., and in the lower, sprigs of foliage.

n. " Jhesus be our spede."

IIL ** Jhesus bee our speed, 1615.** From the style of lettering
(Lombardic capitals) on these two last bells, as well as from the
peculiar cross- stamp after the inscriptions, we have no doubt that
they were cast by the Oldfields of Nottingham.

In the bell chamber there is also a small '* ting-taug *' bell, called
the Par8on*s bell, which is rung immediately before the commence-

in the thirteenth century, and this was prohably also their origin in E ngland. Parker,
commenting on ancient wooden polpits, says, *' few if any of these are older than the
Perpendictmir style." Mackenzie Vvalcott instances sixteenth century wooden pulpits
at Sudbury, Southwold, Hereford, and Winchester, and states that the oldest one is at
Fulboume (Cambs), circa 1350 ; and Jules Corblet, Viollet-le-Duc, and other continen-
tal archflQologists can tell us of none older than the sixteenth century. We consider
the date of the Mellor pulpit to be not later than 1330-40, and therefore claim for it
the high position of being tlie oldest wooden pulpit in England, if not in Christendom.
Parker's Qlossaryy p. 299 ; Walcott's Sacred Archeaology, pp. 484-8 ; Manuel <f ArcfU-
ologie Nationale, par L' Abb5 Jules Corblet, p. 286, etc., etc.

*Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, pp. 215-6.

Wooden Bulpib.Mdlor

MELLOR. 223

ment of divine service. It is thirteen inches in diameter at the
month, and has no mark or inscription.

There is another curious matter with respect to this church, or
rather churchyard, which is worth noting. Within two or three
yards of the south-east comer of the church, and within the limits
of the churchyard, a free grammar school was erected in accordance
with the will of Thomas Walklate, who died in 1639. The school
was rehuilt in 1806 (which date is over the door), but on the same
foundations. It will shortly be pulled down, and re-erected outside
the churchyard.

On the north of the church is a stone pedestal, supposed to be
the remains of an old cross, now surmounted by a sundial. A
gravestone in this churchyard records the burial of a man and his
five wives, the first one being only sixteen at the time of her
death I

The church Is dedicated to St. Thomas. The registers date from
the year 1624. In one of them is a list of churchwardens from
1623 to 1759, with a hiatus from 1642 to 1649. There is also a
list of seventeenth and eighteenth century ministers in the auto-
graph of Rev. M. Olorenshaw.

Mamnw-

fuhUu flni PorfQ Epps.

I

•

|HE manor of Hathersage was held by Ralph Fitzhubert at
the time of the Domesday Survey, but the earhest men-
tion of a church occurs towards the close of the reign
of Henry L About the year 1130, Richard Basset, in conjunction
with his wife Maud, founded the Priory of Launde, in Leicester-
shire, and endowed it with the advowsons of no less than seven-
teen churches, one of which was Hathersage.* Maud, the wife of
Richard Basset, was the daughter and heiress of Sir Geoffrey Ridel,
and brought him the manor of Drayton, in Staffordshire, as well
as other large estates. It seems probable that certain lands at
Hathersage, if not the manor itself, may have been held by Sir
Geoffrey Ridel, for we know that he possessed a considerable share
of the lands in Derbyshire, that pertained to the Honour of
Peverel; and Sir Geoffrey may himself have been the original
founder of this church, which his son-in-law subsequently bestowed
upon the Priory of Launde. Thurstan Basset came over with the
Conqueror, and his son Ralph Basset was Justice of England.
Richard Basset, the third of Ralph's four sons, from whom de-
scended the divergent branches of the great family of Basset, also
held the important post of Justice of England in the reigns of
both Henry I. and Stephen. f

But if the manor of Hathersage was ever held by the Bassets,
it did not long remain with them, for in the reign of Henry III.
the lords of that manor were termed '* De Hathersage," and the
co-heiresses of Hathersage towards the end of that reign married

♦ Dxigdale*B Monastieony toI. ii., pp. 90, 91. It appears from the Charter of Confir-
mation granted by Henry I. that the Priory was founded with special re^rd to the
soul of his father, William the Conqueror. Dagdale also gives a second Confirma-
tion by Henry II., in both of which the chorch of Hathersage is mentioned.

t Rot. Lit. Clans. 9 John, Memb. 9; Dodsworth's MSS., vol. 96, p. 40 ; Wyrley'^
True Use of Armorie, p. 16.

228 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Goushill and Longford. From that date the manor was held in
moieties. The moiety of Longford remained in the same family for
more than two centuries.* There seems, however, to have been
considerable change with respect to the Goushill moiety; it was
probably that part of the manor of which Elizabeth, wife of
William Montacute, and, secondly, of Thomas Fumival, died seized,
in ld55.t Lysons also thinks that it was this moiety that be-
longed to the family of Thorp in the reign of Henry VL, with
remainder to Bobert Eyre and his heirs^

The church of Hathersage was valued in 1291 (Pope Nicholas*
Taxation Boll) at £16 Gs. 8d. per annum. It was then still a
rectory, the advowson being held by the Priory of Launde, to-
gether with a pension of £2 a-year, but the great tithes were sub-
sequently appropriated to that establishment, and the hving con-
verted into a vicarage.

The Chartulary of the Monastery of Launde, by which we might
discover what were the original endowments of the Vicarage of
Hathersage, is unfortunately not extant, but the Valor EecUtiasticuM^
compiled 27 Henry YIIL, shows that the vicarage was of the clear
annual value of £7 Os. 5d. (including £4 3s. 4d. as tithes of lead),
whilst the appropriate rectory of '* Athorsey, alias Hathersedge/'
was only valued at £11 6s. 8d.

The Episcopal Begisters, however, enable us to state this living
did not become a vicarage until the beginning of the fifteenth
century. Institutions made to this church in 1828, 1860, 1861,
1881, and 1882, all specify the incumbent as rector. In 1391,
Bishop Scrope collated to this benefice (that is, appointed without
the intervention or presentation of a patron) through lapse of
time. The Prior of Launde resisted this action, and in 1398, a
Commission was appointed on the question, who finally insti-
tuted Bichard Skelton to the rectory, on 7th September, 1894, on
the resignation of William Selby. In the following year 8kelt(»i
retired in favour of John Beresford. In 1422, we find that one
John Bolf was vicar of Hathersage ; he effected an exchange with
John Masson, vicar of Wirksworth. §

• Inq. post Mort., 47 Edw. HI., No. 22 ; 3 Hen. IV., No. 82 ; 21 Edw. IV., No. 62.
In Dodflworth's time there was " in le window " of this charch — " Paly, arg. and gu.
on a chief, clz., a fosse dancettie, or, (Hathersage.)" Add. MSS., 28, ill, f. 109.

t Inq. post Mort., 28 Edw. III., No. 39.

X Lysons' Derbyshire ^ p. 177.

§ Lichfield Episcopal Register, passim.

HATHERSAOE. 229

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1668, report that **Hatbor-
sitch " is a vicarage aud a parish of large extent. The Commissioners
suggested that the hamlet of *' Bamford, Outtsetts, Bancks, Boothe,
and Over Padley " should continue to be part of the parish. The
vicarial tythes amounted to £10, and an augmentation was granted
of £30. Mr. Robert Clarke was then the incumbent.

The church of Hathersage, dedicated to St. Michael, is not
only one of the most picturesquely situated churches of Derby-
shire, but is also one of the best examples of ecclesiastical archi-
tecture that the county possesses. It consists of a nave with
side aisles, chancel with north aisle or chapel, south porch, and
an embattled tower surmounted by a lofty spire. In 1861-2 the
church underwent a thorough restoration, when a considerable
portion of the external masonry was renewed, but we believe that
every care was taken to interfere as httle as possible with the
original character of the building. Its general design, and most
of its features, connect the present church with the first half
of the fourteenth centuiy, when the Decorated style prevailed.

The roof of the chancel is now of a high pitch, but the
parapets of the nave and side aisles are embattled, and ornamented
at intervals with crocketed pinnacles. The buttresses that support
the exterior of the buUding are throughout of Decorated design,
and to the same period belong the windows throughout the build-
ing, with the exception of the east window of the south aisle, those
of the north chancel chapel, and the west window of the tower,
which are later insertions of the Perpendicular style.

Below the battlements of the porch, over the entrance, are
four shields carved in stone, and a four-leaved rose. The first of
these shields (commencing on the left) bears a bend, the second is
nearly illegible, the third on a chevron three quatrefoils (Eyre), and
the fourth a chevron between four trefoils slipped.* There are
various quaint and well-defined giirgoyles both on the south and
north of this church ; on the south side may be noticed a muzzled
bear, and the face of a tiger, and on the north a Turk's head.

The nave is separated from the side aisles on each side by
four pointed arches, supported by octagon columns, having clearly

* Accordicg to ARhmole'a notes, taken in 1662, the first of these shields was quar
terly over all a beud, aud the second bore six billets in an orle. Tlie fourth coat,
which also appears on the font, has puzzled various gentlemen well skilled in heraldry
and genealogy, who have kindly endeavoured to assist us in the matter. On the whole
we are inclined to think that this was the old coat of Padley, who for the inost part
adopted the coat of Bernake, as the more honourable of the two, after the marria^i*
with the heiress of that family.

230 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

cut capitals of varying design. The archway into the tower is
worthy of notice, as the capitals of the jamhs are of an unasnal
character, and have by some been attributed to the Early English
period, though we believe them to be of the commencement of
the Decorated style.

There are two doorways of plain Decorated design — ^now blocked
up — one on the north side opposite the porch entrance, and the
other on the south side of the chancel.

Of the interior of this church it is not very long since it was
remarked that it was " in the most despicable order, the * Com-
mandments * are broken, the pavement is damp and dislocated, the
monuments are ill kept, and the very whitewash appears of the
earUcst ' Gothic * application/' But all this was completely changed
at its restoration in 1851,* under the auspices of the Bev. H.
Cottingham, the then vicar, and the exact contrary would now be
nearest the truth, for it would be difficult to meet with a church
in better order throughout. There are several objects of interest
within its walls. At the east end of the south aisle is a small
niche which has formerly, we conclude, served for a piscina ; and
the presence of a former altar here is placed beyond doubt, by the
two corbel brackets for images which, project from each end of the
base of the east window.

One of the corbels that supports the obtusely-pointed arch opening
from the chancel into the north chapel is exactly similar to these
brackets, thereby indicating that various repairs were done to the
church, such as the insertion of the east window of the south aisle,
at the time when that chapel was built.

In the upper tracery of one of the windows of the north aisle
are some remains of old stained glass, chiefly of a yellow colour.
Amongst the fragments may be noted an ape seated, an owl, a
griffin, and an eagle's head and wings. These fragments came
from Dale Abbey in this county, and were given to the Rev. H.
Cottingham by the late Miss Wright, of Brookfleld.

At the west end of the church is a fine octagon font of the
Perpendicular period, of a chalice- shaped design, f The font has
three shields, and other designs, on the eight sides of the upper

* The church was re-opened for Divine Service on the 16th April, 1852.

t There is an engraving given of what poiports to be Hathersage font in Bateman's
AntiquiiieSj p. 211 ; but it is in reality a sketch of the font of Stony Middleton, as is shown
by the grass growing at its base. The font at Stony Middleton closely resembled the
one at tne mother church of Hathersage. It unfortunately no longer exists. It was
doubtless carved by the same hand, and presented by the same donor as the one at
Hathersage.

HATH£RSAG£. 231

portions. Two of these shields bear the arms of Eyre and Padley
respectively, and betoken that it was the gift of Bobert Eyre, the
third son of Nicholas Eyre, of Hope, who married Joan, daughter
and heiress of Bobert Padley. * It is generally supposed that he
had much to do with the repair of this structure, and the probable
date of the Perpendicular portions of the church would bear out
this supposition ; but the rumour, which connects him with the
building of the church as it now stands, is clearly at fault, for it
is at least a century earlier. This marriage brought to the Eyres
the manor of Upper Padley in this parish, and as a moiety of the
manor proper of Hathersage came to the Eyres in the reign of
Henry YI., the family at once assumed a leading position in the
district. The third shield on the font bears the same arms that
are on the fourth shield on the porch.

On the south side of the chancel are three elegant sedilia of
equal height, with carved stone canopies; beyond them is a small
piscina of good design (Plate XXIII).

On the north side of the chancel is an altar-tomb under an
elaborate stone canopy. On the top are the effigies, in brass,
of Bobert Eyre and his wife Joan aforementioned, and their
fourteen children, Bobert, Nicholas, Boger, Bichard, Banff, Hugh,
Philip, Henry, Edmund, Stephen, Jane, Elizabeth, Joan, and
Margaret, t The man is represented bareheaded, with his hair
cropped close, in plate armour, having a gorget of chain mail
covering the throat, armed with a long sword suspended diagonally
in front of the body, and a dagger, and having a lion under his
feet.]: The lady wears a double-peaked head dress with falling
lappets, and a close-fitting gown trimmed with fur at the neck and
wrists. Below them is the following inscription : —

'* ffic jacet Robertus Eyr armiger, qui obiit xx die mensisy Marcii
anno miUimo CCCCLIX, et Johna uxor ejtLs que obiit ix die mensis

* The chief pedigree of the Eyres at the College of Arms (Vincent, 146, f. 168)
makes this Bobert the grandson of Nicholas Eyre, another Bobert intervenini? ; bat
this is an error, as is proved by comparing it with the Eyre pedigree given under the
Beresbys of Yorkshire (Vincent, 110, f. 189), and with Harl. MSS., 1093, f. 70:
Egerton MSS., 996, f. 32 ; and Add. MSS., 28, 113, f. 68. For further particulars of
the Eyre family, see the account of the churches of Hope, Longtoue, Baslow, etc.
The Eyres were originally of Hope, where we know that they were possessed of
considerable landed property as early as the reign of Henry III.

t There is a brads to the memorv of Philip Eyre in the church of Ashover. See
ChurehM of Derbyahiref vol. 1., p. 23. There was another Bobert of this family, the
eldest son, but he died in his infancy, making fifteen children in all.

I For the various characteristics of the armour of this effigy, peculiar to this par-
ticular period, see Haines' Afonumental Brasses^ vol. 1, p. 193-4.

232 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Marcii anno dni millimo CCCOZXIII, ac pueii earundem qu<n'*
anhnabiLs ppicietur Deus, Amen J*

There is now only a single shield, that of Padley, on the top of
the tomb, and it is placed above the heads of the effigies. The
two other shields, as we find from the Visitation of 1662, were
Eyre, and Eyre impaling Padley.

Bassano, describing this tomb, says ''here are two coats stolen,
but on one in sinister comer is 3 barnacles " (Padley). The whole
monument was restored by the late Earl of Newbnrgh, a lineal
descendant of Bobert Eyre and Joan his wife. A small brass plate
let into the east end of the tomb records this restoration.

'* Annorum serie dirutum, Uirpia non iminemor avitce tnonumentum
hoc Franc. Oom. de Newhurgh restituit. Ao, Dni, MDCCCLII"

On a shield carved in the stone on the south side of the monu-
ment are the quartered arms of Eyre and Padley.

Balph Eyre, of Offerton in the parish of Hope, the sixth son of
Eobert Eyre and Joan Padley, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-
heiress of Oxspring, of Oxspring Hall, Yorks. There are two

brass effigies to their memory, formerly on an altar tomb in the
north chapel, but now let into a slab of black marble and fixed in
a high position against the south wall of the chanceL The man
is in plate armour, bareheaded, and with the sword girt diagonally
in front, affcer the fashion of his father^s brass ; the woman's head-
dress has falling lappets, but fits close to the head, whilst the long
cuffs of the gown are turned down over the hands. Above them
is a brass plate, with the following inscription, which is not coeval
with the figures, but of much later workmanship : —

" Orate pro animahm venerahilis viri magistri Radulphi Eyr, quondam
de Oferton in com, Derby generosi, et Ulisab, uxoris ejtts^ qui quidem
Radulphus obiit Anno Dni. 1493."

The original inscription is given by Ashmolo, and corresponds
with the present one, except that it has the day of the month
(31 st January), and concludes with the usual formulary invoking
God's mercy. This plate also bears an impaled coat, the dexter
side bearing the arms of Eyre, but the sinister left blank. The
sinister side formerly bore the arms of Oxspring — Arg.y on a fess
between three church-beUs, gu,^ as many cross crosslets of the
field. The altar tomb of gritstone, from which these figures were
removed, was standing in the centre of the chapel as late as 1823,
when the church was visited by Mr. Bawlins.

Bobert Eyre, of Padley, the eldest surviving son of Bobert and

HATHERSAGE. 233

Joan, married £lizabeth, daughter of Thomas Fitzwilliam of Mable-
thorpe, Lincohi. BraBses to their memory were formerly against
the wall in the north chapel, between the two north windows.
They are now affixed to marble under the canopy at the back of the
altar tomb to Robert and Joan. Both figures are kneeling, the
man in plate- armour, with long hair, and on his surtout the
quartered arms of Eyre and Padley; the woman with a pointed
bead-dress with falling lappets, and on the sinister side of her
mantle the arms of her husband, with her paternal coat just
showing on the dexter side. The arms of Fitzwilliam of Mablethorpe
are — ^Lozengy, arg,^ and ^u., in fesse a fleur-de-Us of the second,
within a bordure, m^., bezantee.

From the man's hps proceeds a scroll, bearing — " Sancta Trinitas
unhu Deu8 miserere nobis ; " from the woman's — " Pater de celis Dens
miserere nobis,'* Behind the man are four boys kneeling, respec-
tively inscribed, John, Enstoner,* John, and Thomas. There were
seven sons to this Eobert Eyre, and probably there were effigies
of all of them when this monument was complete. The other sons
were — Eobert, who married Cicely, daughter of Nicholas Wortley,
of Derby ; a second Robert, and a second Thomas, who probably
died in their infancy (as well as the second John). John, who
lived at Throwley, in 8ta£Ebrdshire, died without legitimate issue ;
and Thomas married Catherine, daughter of John Ap-guilliam, by
whom he had numerous issue. There were also two daughters,
Jane, who married a Meverell, and Elizabeth, who married a
Draycott, but their effigies do not appear behind their mother.
"We know that at one time they occupied their proper position, and
they are mentioned in Haines' work on Brasses. But at the time
when the church was restored they were not forthcoming, and
their place is unfortunately occupied by another brass plate to
which we shall shortly allude. Two small kneeling female figures,
which are probably the missing ones, are now fixed against the
south chancel wall, in the centre niche of the sedilia. They were
brought back to the church by Lord Newburgh, after a sojourn of
some years at Hassop.

Of the remaining sons of Bobert Eyre and Joan Padley, in
addition to the two Boberts and Ralph, already mentioned, we
have gathered the following brief particulars : —

Nicholas, the 8rd son, was of Nether Hurst, near Hathersage ;

* The pedigrees are ananimous in styling this son Christopher y but Ensto7ier, as
given in the text, is oertainly the reading on the brass.

234 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

he married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter de St Andrew, of Gotham,
Notts.

Boger, the 4th son, of Hohne, married Elizabeth, daughter of
Bobert Whittington, and cousin and heiress of Henry Bakewell.

Eichard, Hugh, and Henry, the 5th, 7th, and 9th sons, died
without issue.

Philip, the 8th son, was rector of Ashover.

Edmund, the 10th son, of Brookfield, married Agnes, daughter
and heiress of Edmund Ashurst, of Beaton, Notts.

Stephen, the 11th son, of Hassop, married Katharine Dymoke,
of Eyme, Lincoln.

On the south side of the chancel, above the sedilia, are the
brass effigies of a knight and his lady, kneeling at desks, on
which books are lying. The knight is in plate armour, bare-
headed, and has the quartered coats of Eyre and Padley; the lady
is in a close-fitting pointed cap, and on her mantle, in addition to
her husband's arms, are the arms of Plompton, of Yorkshire —
Az,^ five fasils in fess, or, each charged with an escallop, gtu*
From the mouth of the knight proceeds a scroll, bearing ^^ Sea
Trinitas uni Detts,'* the sentence being concluded on the scroll
of the lady, ^* miserere nobis.'* These brasses represent Sir Arthur
Eyre, of Padley (grandson of Bobert Eyre and Elizabeth Fitz-
William), and his first wife. The following lengthy inscription is
below the figures, and is remarkable, for the sculptor not having
calculated the space with accuracy, has necessitated the addition
of the last two words on a separate little strip of metal : —

"Thys S' Arthure Eyre was Bone of Kobort, Bone of Bobert, sone of Bobert
(otherwyse called Bobenet), who maryed Johan Padley, which S' Arthure had three
wyves, Margarett ye daughter of S' Bobert Plompton of Plompton in Yorkshire
knight was his first wyffe, Alyce daughter of Thomas Coffyn of Devonshire Esq'
the 2 wyfte, and Dorothe daughter of Homfrey Okover of Okover in the countye
of Staffordshyre was his 3 wyffe. By Margaret he had yssewe three sones Bobert
Harrye and Edmond and iiii. daughters Katheryn Margarett Anne and Johan, and
by Alyce one sone namyed George, whych sones and daughters dyed yu there
tender age, all but Anne whych after was maryed as daughter and sole heyre of
Arthure to S' Thomas Fitzherbert knyghte, sone and heyre of Anthony Fitzherbert
knyghte, one of ye Kings Justices of hys cheif benche."

Behind Elizabeth Fitzwilliam, at the back of the altar tomb on
the north side of the chancel, where her two daughters ought to
be, is a small brass plate bearing an inscription and a quartered
coat of arms. The inscription is as follows: —

* These are the correct tinctures of the coat of Plompton, of Plompton. The
Plomptons, of Darley (see the account of Darley church), bore the same arms, but
differently coloured.

HATHERSAQE. 235

*^ Bepoaitum Robti Eyi't, Filii primog, Rohti Eyre de Eighlow Armig.,
obiit in colUgio Trinit. Cantab, ^ vicstsimo Sexto die Junii, Ao, Dni.
1656, ceiatis autem suoe vicenmo.'*

This Bobert Eyre was sixth in direct descent from Thomas Eyre,
of Highlow, by Katherine Ap-guilliam (mentioned above), who was
himself the grandson of Bobert Eyre and Joan Padley. The father
of this yonng Bobert Eyre, who died a bachelor, was Robert Eyre,
of Highlow, High tihenff of the county in 1658; and his mother
was Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Bernard Wells, of Holme
Hall, Bake well.* Above the inscription is the quartered coat —
1st and 4th Eyre, 2nd Padley, 3rd erm., on a canton, sab., a
buck's head cabossed, or (Wells) ; over all a label of three points.

The chancel contains yet one more monument to the highly
interesting and wide-spread family of the Eyres, though it is in a
place where it might easily escape attention. Under the communion
table, on a dark coloured slab, is the following inscription in Boman
capitals : —

'* Hie jacet Bob' JUitis primogenit* Gulielmi et Katarinas Eyre de
Highlow in agro Derbienei, jmei" egregia forma et indole, parentum
amor et delida, Vixit 3 annos mense uno decemque diebus, Placide Deo
animua (J animam) reddidit uL Junii, An, Dam, 1676. ON ^lAEI

GEOS AnOGNHSKEI NE02."

William Eyre, of Highlow, was brother of Bobert Eyre who died
at Trinity, Cambridge.

There are no other monuments of age or special interest in the
church, but one may be noticed in the churchyard, on the south
side, near a small weeping ash-tree, as it was formerly within the
sacred waUs. This stone — which is to the memory of Mary Clarke,
who died in 1628, the daughter of Bobert Clarke, a former vicar
of Hathersage — ^was found in the north aisle of the church at the
time of its recent restoration.

At the same time several fragments of ancient sepulchral slabs
were found in the clerestory walls, having portions of crosses
incised on them, but they were too much injured to be worth any
attempt at preservation. One fragment, which was found under
the flooring of the church where the old pulpit stood, has been
preserved, and is now flxed in the ground against the east wall of
the churchyard, near the entrance gates. It consists of the upper
half of a wide sepulchral slab, having double marginal lines incised

* See the account of Bakewell; there is a brass to the memory of Bernard Wells
in the ohancel of that church.

236 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

round it, and the bead of a floriated cross with fleur-de-lis termi-
nations ; there are also small shields in each of the upper angles.
The stem of the cross passes between the Roman initials *'L. J."
These initials are of much later date than the cross, which we
consider to be of early fourteenth century work, and show that the
stone has at some time in its history been appropriated to comme-
morate a second interment. Popular ideas, ever ready to fasten on
the smallest detail to corroborate a favourite tradition, were eager
to associate this stone, at the time of its disclosement, with Little
John, and pointed with triumph to the initials of his nickname 1

There is a legend, flrmly believed in by the good folk of Hather-
sage, that this village was the birthplace of Bobin Hood's most
celebrated companion, and that in this graveyard he found his last
resting-place. No inquiry or research has been spared by us in
endeavouring to test the truth of this tradition, but we have ascer-
tained little more than that this tradition was generally accepted
more than two hundred years ago. Yet there certainly appear to be
better reasons for its acceptance, than for its dismissal to the realms
of fiction. Dr. Spencer Hall, in his Peak and the Plain, has well
summed up the arguments bearing on Little John's history. When
he visited Hathepsage, about thirty years ago, the small cottage
near the church, that went by the name of " Little John's house,"
was still standing. The cottage was then occupied by one Jenny
Sherd, 70 years of age. Her father had died, at the age of
92, twenty years previously, and he had received assurance of
Little John having died in that cottage and been buried in the
churchyard, when he entered on his tenancy. He also recollected
that his predecessors had received a similar assurance sixty years
previously, and thus from mouth to mouth had the tradition
descended.

The grave of Little John is to the south-west of the church,
and is distinguished by two small upright stones about ten feet
apart. These stones were yet further apart some years ago, but
it is said that their position has been more than once tampered
with by mischievous youths.

"Jenny weU remembered, she said, when Little John's grave was opened by
Captain James Shuttleworth, and a great thigh-bone brought from it into the
cottage and measured upon her father's tailoring board, when it was found to be
thirty-two inches in length ; and though decayed a little at the ends, it was thick
throughout in proportion to that length. Two shovels had been broken in digging
the grave, and the bone had been broken near the middle by the third shovel
striking it ; but she declared that the parts corresponded with each other exactly,
and that there was no artifice or deception in fitting them together. The name
of the sexton who opened the grave was Philip Heaton, and the great bone was

HATHERSAGE. 237

taken by Captain James Shuttleworth to the HaU ; but his brother, Captain John,
was so offended at him for haying it exhumed, and he met with so many severe
accidents — ^two of them in the ohnrchyard — while it was in his possession, that at
the end of a fortnight he had it replaced. Some years after, however, being with his
regiment in garrison, at Montrose, in Scotland, he sent to her father, promising
him a guinea if he would take it up again and send it to him in a box; but her
father would not comply with the request. When she was about twenty years ^old,
a party of 'great folk' from Yorkshire had it re-exhxmied, and took it with them
to Cannon Hall, near Bamsley. Up to that time Little John's cap was kept
hanging by a chain in the church, (as it is said his bow had done till within the
last century), but even this the tasteless and foolish party in question also took
with them. Jenny said she remembered all this very well ; and, with every other
old person in the village, had a particularly distinct recollection of the green cap
that hung in the church, and which ' everybody knew ' to be Little John's." *

Nor was Little John's cap the only relic of Bobin Hood*s com-
panion formerly kept in this church. A memorandum, taken by Mr.
Elias Ashmole, states that this hero's bow was suspended in the
church in 1652. t A contributor to a Derbyshire journal recently
gave some further information relative to the subsequent history of
this bow: — "It may not be generally known that the identical bow
of Little John, the companion of Bobin Hood, now hangs up in
Gannon Hall, near Bamsley, where it has been more than a
century. Previous to that time it was in Hathersage Church,
Derbyshire, when it was removed by Mr. John Spencer, of Cannon
Hall and Hathersage, whose mother. Miss Ashton, was heiress oi
that property, which descended to the present Mr. Ashton Shuttle-
worth through his grandmother, Miss Spencer, the eldest co-heiress
of that family."! It thus appears that both bow and cap found
the same resting-place.

There are various extraordinary instances of the property of the
soil in preserving dead bodies in the north of Derbyshire, and this
property appears to be shared to some extent by the graveyard of
Hathersage. The corpse of Mr. Benjamin Ashton, who had been
buried fifty-six years before, was exhumed on the 81st of May,
1781, when digging a fresh grave, and was found to be congealed
as hard as flint. Jenny Sherd, mentioned above, *' saw it reared
upright in the church, whilst the grave was preparing for its
re-interment. It fell, however, along the aisle, when its head broke
off. Her father tried to cut a piece out of its back with a saw, to
preserve as a relic ; but the saw would not make the sUghtest
invasion." §

♦ The Peak and the Plains pp. 80—86.

t Pilkington's Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 387.

\ Local Notes and Queries, Derhythire Times, Sept. 2Sth, 1872.

§ The Peak and the Plain, p. 293. See also Gough's Camden, and the JReliquary,
vol. v., p. 120.

238 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The latest contribution to the history of Little John*s Bow, as
well as to the peculiar qualities of the churchyard soil, was
recently published in a note to the new edition of Hunter's RaUam-
shire, by the late Bev. Charles Spencer Stanhope, and dated 5th
October, 1865. It is as follows : —

" There is a bow at Caxrnon Hall said to have been the bow of Little John, bearing
on it the name of Col. Naylor, 1715, who, tradition said, was the last man who
bent it and shot a deer with it. There was also a coirass of chain mail and an
arrow or two which were said to have belonged to Little John, bat these
were lost in repairs of the honse about 1780 ; but I have heard my father say that
the cuirass had been much reduced by people stealing rings from it for memory.
Hathersage in Derbyshire was an estate formerly belonging to the Spencer family,
and was left by the last Spencer to the son of his eldest daughter, John Ashton
Shuttleworth, Esq. In this churchyard was the head and foot stone of the grave
of Little John, and his bow, arrows, and cuirass, according to Ashmole, as I am
told, used to hang up in the chancel of Hathersage Church. From thence they
have long disappeared, and a bow, etc., are found at Cannon Hall, a seat of the
Spencers, who were also owners of Hathersage, and this bow was always known
by the name of Little John's bow. It is of spliced yew, great size, and about six
feet long, though the ends where the horns were attached are broken off. The late
James Shuttleworth, who died about 1826, had the g^rave opened, I fancy about
1780, and the only bone which was found beyond what instantly crumbled to dust
was a thigh bone of the extraordinary length of twenty>eight-and-a-half inches.
I remember in the year 1820 when Sir Francis, father of Sir Charles Wood, Bart.,
of Hickleton (now Lord Halifax), was at Cannon Hall, on my recounting this
anecdote, sending up for the old woodman, Henchliffe, who told it me, and he
took a two-foot rule out of his pocket and extending the little slide, showed the
exact length. He mentioned besides that he was the gravedigger's son, and was
present at the disinterring of the said bone, and another anecdote which it is of
no importance to relate. After a discussion about making a grave for one of the
family, the Major said, 'Break up the grave of my uncle Benjamin Ashton, he
has been dead above 60 years.' This was done, but the body was found entire
and sound, as he said, as heart of oak. He was an immensely fat man, and no part
had disappeared but the feet and hands, for he had died of gout; so antiseptic, it
appears, is the soil of this churchyard."*

It will be seen that this account clashes in some particulars
with that given by Dr. Spencer Hall, but as it is the more likely
to be correct, coming from one of the family, we have thought it
best to give it at length. It wiU be noticed that the Bev. C. S.
Stanhope makes no allusion to Little John's cap. If this ^'Gap'*
had been stiU extant, it would have been of much value in test-
ing the question of the position held by its owner, and of more
worth than the bow as to comparative antiquity; but a letter ad-
dressed to us by Walter Spencer Stanhope, Esq., M.P., the present

* Hunter's Hallamahire, Dr. Gatty's edition^ page 3. It has been suggested that
this bow probably belonged to one of the warriors of the E^e family, and had no
connection with a mere marauding forester ; and this suggestion is favoured by the
statement that the bow, with the other relics, formerly hung over the altar-tomb of
the first Robert Eyre, of Padley. Nicholas Eyre, of Hope, the father of Bobert, took
part in the battle of Agincourt, and it has been further conjectured that this was the
weapon he there used. But though this mav have been the case with the cuirass (an
unliKely accoutrement for a forester), surely the bow was not then used by any but
the rank and file, and did not come within the category of knightly weapons.

HATHERSAGE. 239

owner of Cannon Hall, dated 2nd June, 1876, says : — " I never
heard of any cap having been part of the relics of Little John
which were brought to Gannon Hall, neither is there any such
article now preserved here." Our own inquiries, made at different
times at Hathersage, convince us that a green cap did formerly
hang in the church, and the tradition respecting the cap seems
even more vivid than that of the bow, as is only likely to be the
case, owing to its later removal. On the whole, the evidence
warrants us in assuming that a portion of the weapons and ac-
coutrements pecuhar to a forester were hung up in this church,
that the said forester (both from the bow and grave) was of ex-
ceptional stature, that both weapons and grave were popularly
assigned to Little John more than two centuries ago, and that the
said weapons, etc., must have belonged to a man of extraordinary
fame, or they would not have found such a resting place.

This being the case, the opponents of the accuracy of the tradi-
tion seem to us to have far more difficulties with which to contend
than those who accept it.

On the south side of the church is the wide base of the old
churchyard cross, with about four feet of the ancient shaft. On
the top is fixed a metal sundial inscribed — ** Daniel Bose, Darwent,
1811."

The tower, surmounted by a lofty octagon spire, enriched at the
angles with crocket work, contains a peal of six beUs. They are
thus inscribed:—

1. '* E mero motu hie habitantium," in Eoman capitals.

n. ** Ex dono Tho : Bagshaw * Arm : Cujus insignia," followed
by the family crest, an arm couped at the elbow, and erect, holding
a bugle horn.

m. " Gloria in exselsis Deo, 1669 ; " crest of Eyre, a human leg
armed couped at the thigh spurred, between the initials B. E. ;

followed by the ornate initials j A

IV. " Nos ab ruina salvet Virgo Katerina," in old English letters,
with ornate Lombardic initials.

V. **Tuo nomine dulcidina vocis cantabo, C. W. .G. E. 1657."

W
Below the date are the initials j g and on each side are the

initials R E. below the Eyre crest.

* Joan, daughter and heireRS of Nicholas Eyre, of Nether Hnrst, 3rd son of Robert
Eyre and Joan Padley, married Henry BagshawOi of Bidge. Hence the connection
of the Bagshawes with Hathersage.

240 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

VI. ** Ihc. Gloria in excelsis Deo, 1617/' followed by the founder's
initials — P. H.

There is also a very interesting Sanctns bell of the fifteenth cen-
tury, inscribed with a prayer for Robert Eyre and Joan Padley —
"Orate pro animabus Robert Eyr Johanne uxoris ejus." Over
the word "animabus" are the arms of Eyre, and over "Johanne"
those of Padley.*

Several feet of the top of this beautiful spire have, been lately
renewed, as it suffered much in the gale of December, 1872.

It should also be mentioned that a small piece of carved oak
tracery, part oif a former screen of Perpendicular style, and a
piece of Purbeck marble, well carved with quatrefoils from Hather-
sage church, are preserved at the museum at Lomberdale House.t

The earliest registers commence in 1627, but they contain no
entries of special interest.

♦The foUowing ringers' rhymes, circa 1660, which were formerly on the south wall
of the belfry at Bathersage, are taken from Mr. Rawlins' MSS., vol. i, p. 179 :~

" Yon gentlemen that here wish to ring.
See that these laws yon keep in every thing ;
Or else be anre yon mnst without delay.
The penalty thereof to the ringers pay.
First, when you do into the beUhouse come,
Look if the ringers have convenient room.
For if you do be an hindrance unto them,
Fourpenee you forfeit unto these gentlemen.
Next if you do here intend to ring,
With hat or spur do not touch a string ;
For if you do, your forfeit is for that,
Just fourpenee down to pay, or lose your hat.
If you a bell turn over, without delay
Fourpenee unto the ringers you must pay ;
Or if you strike, misscaJLl, or do abuse,
You must pay fourpenee for the ringers' use.
For every oath here sworn, ere you go hence.
Unto the poor then you must pay twelve pence ;
And if that you desire to be enroUed
A ringer here, these orders keejp and hold.
But whoso doth these orders disobey.
Unto the stocks we will take him straightway :
There to remain until he be willing
To pay his forfeit, and the clerk a shilling."

t Bateman's Catalogs of Antiquities, pp. 187, 269.

DERWENT. 241

^t Cl^jqpelrs ^f ^tvfotnt

|BOUT the close of the twelfth centtiry, John, Earl of
Mortaigne, in the reign of his brother Richard, bestowed a
large tract of land in this part of the parish of Hather-
sage, on the Premonstratensian Abbey of "Welbeck. It is described
in the charter as the pasture of Crookhill, the woods of Ashop up i
to Lockerbrook, and from Lockerbrook up the valley of the Derwent,
even to Derwent-head. This grant was confirmed by King John
in the 16th year of his reign, and again by Henry ni.*

A family, who took their name from the majior, held, as we have
seen, the manor of Hathersage, and its appurtenances seem to have
stretched up the valley as far as Berwent. On the death of
Matthew Hathersage, towards the end of the reign of Henry III.,
these estates were divided between two co-heiresses. Oliver, son of
Nigell de Longford, whose mother was Cecilia, co-heiress of Matthew
de Hathersage, gave to the Abbey of Welbeck the remaining lands
at Derwent, on which the Grange itself was erected, and which is
now known by the name of " the Abbey," or Abbey Farm. A
Taxation Boll that was taken of the possessions of the Abbey of St.
James, of Welbeck, in 1299, gives the value of their estates at
Crookhill at £7 17s. 4d.t ■

The same Chartulary tells us, that in the reign of Edward III.,
the Grange "in pecco/* conmaonly called "Cruchill," in Hope
parish, obtained an exemption, by the authority of the Pope, from
the payment of tithes of the newly-tilled lands which they had

* For several partionlars in this acconnt of Derwent Chapelry, we are in-
debted to papers contributed to the Beliquary <yol. X.) by Mr. Benjamin Bagshawe,
and the Kev. F. Jourdain. The latter gentleman — ^Vicar of Derwent- Woomands —
has also most kindly given us much information with respect to his own and adjacent
parishes, which has not hitherto been published. The Ohartulary of Welbeck Abbey
IS amongst the Harl. MS3., No. 8,640. The grants relative to Crookhill occur at
n. 218, 219.

t Harl. MSS., 8,640, f. 64.

242 DEEBYSHIEE CHURCHES.

planted with vegetables with their own hands, of the increase of the
animals, of the gardens, and of the orchards. It is also specially
mentioned in this place that the Grange was not subject to the
jurisdiction of the Bean of Lichfield.*

It appears that there were at one time no less than four chapels
on this extensive monastic estate, all doubtless served by the monks
of Welbeck. It is not necessary, however, to suppose that regular
daily service was carried on in all of them, any more than is
now the case with the multitude of small chapels in certain
districts of Eoman Catholic countries, where only occasional
masses are said. According to the change of the season,
labour would be most in demand now in one part, and now in
another of their domains ; and probably the monks were anxious
to have a chapel for the devotions of themselves and their dependents
near to the immediate site of those practical good works of fertilis-
ing the ground, to which the Premonstratensians were specially
addicted. But be this as it may, the four chapels were thus
situated : —

I. At Derwent, near the site of the present church ; this was
probably the most important, as it was by the old water-mill, near
to which a small colony would be sure to be in permanent residence.

II. At the Abbey Grange, some three miles higher up the stream
on the same side of the water ; a portion of this ancient grange is
stiQ standing, and inhabited as a farm-house, whilst the founda-
tions of the more extensive establishment can be readily traced.
The chapel seems to have stood immediately to the south of the
present building.

ITT. On the opposite side of the river, communicating with the
Grange by a bridge, the semi-artificial piers of which can still be
seen on each side of the bank ; this chapel, in the township of
Woodland, was near the present farm buildings, between Birchin
Lee and Marebottom, that are now approached by a road called
Chapel Lane.

IV. In the Woodlands, by the side of the old Roman road, near
where the present " Pillar "f stands, which was in aU probability
an ancient wayside cross ; a wood near Ashopton is still kown by
the name of Friars' Walk.

At the dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIU.,

• Harl. MSB., 8,640, f. 271.

^ Up to a very recent date it was customary to affix all notices relative to the town-
ship 01 Woodlands to this pillar, though at some distance from any habitation.

DERWENT. 243

all these chapels would naturally suffer from neglect and desuetude.
Probably the first to perish would be the one on the high ground
by the Pillar, and, secondly, the chapel that formed part of the
Grange, whose new owners would only care to preserve such of the
old buildings as would suffice for farm purposes. We know that
the chapel on the other side of the water, opposite the Grange,
lasted longer, for it is marked on Saxton's Map of Derbyshire
(1567), on Speede*s (1610), on Marden*s (c. 1710), on Bowen's (c.
1750), and on EUis' (1777), under the title *' New Chappel/' This
name would seem to imply that it was built subsequently to the one
attached to the Grange, and hence its cognomen, which would cling
to it even when it had itself become venerablen with age.* The chapel
at Derwent itself, which was dedicated to St. James, remained, and
was probably served from time to time by a curate, who was sup-
plied by the purchaser of the monastic estates. In an account of
lands sold in the reign of Queen Mary, the property at Derwent is
mentioned, and '' the leade, bells, and advowsons," are excepted from
the sale.f The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, describe
"Darwenf as a parochial chapelry in the parish of Hathersage,
with an income of £8. They recommend that it should be made a
parish church.J One Mr. Burdyes was then the incumbent.

In 1688 we find the Earl of Devonshire paying through his
agent, Mr. Greaves, of Rowlee, £5 as a gratuity to the Rev. Mr.
Nicholls, •* for his services at Derwent Chapel." In the month of
February, 1707, there is an entry in the parish registers of Hope,
among the list of SepuUi, of " Dom. PhiL Hutton. Curatus de Dar-
went." From a board of bequests in Hope Church, we learn that
Henry Balguy, who died in 1685, and whose monumental brass is
described in our account of that church, left the sum of £20 to '^ an
orthodox and conformable Minister of Darwent Chapel." The
Bev. Robert Turie, curate of Eccleshall, and assistant-minister of
the parish church of Sheffield, bought back the alienated Abbey
Farm, and it was eventually added to the living of Derwent in
1722.§

* On seyeral mopB, at the oommencement of the present century, the same site
is termed " Old Chapel."

t Harl. MSS., 608, f. lb. From the word "adyowsons" it would seem as if the
presentation to more than one chapel was implied.

t From this recommendation, when we compare it with similar suggestions of the
Commissioners, it seems fair to assume that it was a building of some little magni-
tude, at all events of superior proportions to that which was built in 1757.

§ Bev. Robert Turie appears to have become interested in this district through
his intimacy with the Baiguys. He was a Scotchman by birth. He also improved
the livings of Edale and l>ore, and by his will, dated 19th February, 1720, left edu-
cational endowments to Derwent, £dale, Dore, Stony Middleton, Bamford, and
other places.

244 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The ancient family of Balguy, who, np to the middle of the
seventeenth century, appear to have chiefly resided at Bowlee, built
Derwent HaU in 1672, and in the same year gave the font to the
adjacent chapel, and probably other benefactions. The font, which
is of a simple but good octagon design, bears the date 1670,
the Balguy arms, and the name ** Henery Bauegey," phonetically
spelt. It now stands in the new church, but up to a recent date
it served as a geranium-pot in the Hall gardens.

In 17-57, the pre-Eeformation chapel having become dilapidated,
it was pulled down, and another one built upon a small scale.
From a south-east view of this chapel, which was taken by the
Bev. B. B. Bawlins in 1824, and from a north-west view given in
the Reliquary to illustrate the Bev. F. Jourdain's paper, we can
gather a good idea of this ugly Httle building, with its round-
headed windows and square bell-turret at the west end. Its area
was only thirty-five feet ten inches by twenty-three feet four. In
1867 this mean edifice, which had neither antiquity nor beauty to
recommend it, was happily removed, and a church of admirable
proportions (to which a handsome tower and spire were added in
1873) erected in its place. It would be foreign to our purpose to
describe the new building, but it may be mentioned that the old
foundation-stone, bearing the date •* 1757," which was then found
face downwards, is built into the east wall of the chancel ; and
that numerous plainly-moulded stones of fourteenth century work
that were found in the walls of the smaller edifice were again
used in the masonry. The sundial that was on the walls of
the 1757 building still stands in the churchyard, near the south
entrance, affixed to the remains of a fourteenth century beam of
the old chapel. On the dial is the motto, "Mors de die aocelerat."
This was the work of Daniel Bose, a native of Wales, who lived
for many years in the dales of Woodland and Derwent. He was
clerk of Derwent chapel, and manufactured sundials whilst teaching
in the old school at that place. The dials at Hathersage, Hope,
and other churches and halls in the county, are of his workmanship.
His mother, who died in 1819, lived to the age of 105.

There is a tradition current in the neighbourhood, according to
which certain Scotch rebels were imprisoned and starved to death
within the walls of the old chapel. This tradition has been con-
nected with the expedition of the Young Pretender into Derbyshire
in 1745 ; but it seems mudi more likely that it should refer to the

DERWENT. 245

transit of the Scotch army through the county in 1648, when they
were being conducted as prisoners to London. We know that 1500
of them were imprisoned for sixteen days in the church of Chapel-
en-le-Frith, during which time no less than forty-four perished from
one cause or another ; * and it is very hkely that other sections of
the prisoners were temporarily quartered, with probably an insuffi-
ciency of food, in adjacent churches.

Nor should we omit to notice that this church possesses a very
fine silver-gilt chalice, beautifully engraved with figures emblematic
of the elementa The hall-mark proves it to be of the year 1584-5.
The church plate also includes a silver paten of the date 1763-4,
on which is inscribed " Chapel of Darwent, firom Dr. Denman." The
patronage of the chapel had been sold by Mr. Balguy to Joseph
Denman, M.D., about this date. He was the father of the first Lord
Denman. The advowson subsequently passed into the hands of the
Newdigates, and now rests with the Duke of Devonshire.

* See the account of Chapel-en-le-Frith church.

246 DERBYSHIEE CHUBCHES.

^t Cj^a^elrs ^^ £tons i^drirleton.

|HERE is but little left of the old Chapel of Stony Middle-
ton, nor can we glean much of a satisfactory nature in
connection with its early history. We may take it as
proved, that the Eomans had a bath here in connection with the
mineral waters, and it is highly probable that the waters did not
fall into disrepute, but were held in esteem both in early Christian
and mediaeval days. These healing springs * were dedicated to St.
Martin, and, doubtless, a well-chapel, under the patronage of the
same saint, would be erected near the margin of the waters, after
the same fashion as the ancient chapel of St. Anne, at Buxton.
Probably, too, such a chapel stood on the very site of the present
church, which now bears the name of St. Martin ; f for the
bath is very near to the church, and Dr. Short describes in
1734, ** three perpetual bubbling warm springs, close by the west
side of the churchyard.**

At what time this well-chapel first gave way to one on a larger
scale, and more suited for the general body of worshippers, we know
not, but from the present tower, and other incidental particulars,
it may be safely concluded that a fair-sized chapel was certainly
erected here in the fifteenth century.

The ParHamentary Commissioners of 1650 describe Stony Middle-
ton as *' a parochial chapel thought fitt to be made a parish church.

• For a full account of the nature of these springs, see Short's Mineral Waters
(1734), pp. 94—101; also Pilkington's Derbyshire, vol. i., p. 232.

t Pegge's MS. Colleeiions^ vol . i., f . 8. Dr. Pegge gives the dedication of the church,
and no other particulars relative to it, but we may perhaps be excused re-producing
the follo"wing anecdote relative to the extreme steepness of the street where are all
the old houses of Stony Middleton : " The hill in this town is so steep, that it is
said when Mr. Ash ton was Sheriff in 1664, he had no coach, the Judge asked him
why he did not bring one, he replied — ' There was no such thing as having a coach
where he lived, for ye town stood on one end.' "

STONY MIDDLErrON. 247

.... Mr. Thorpe present incumbent scandalous for drincking."
They estimated the income at £45 per annum.*

The present Vicar, the Eev. Urban Smith, writes to us — **When
I entered upon this living in 1834, I found this inscription on a
board in the church, under the Eoyal Arms, * Restored 1759. John
Hallam, Saml. White, Churchwardens.' There is no tradition about
the shape of the old church nor of its date, but diggings in the
churchyard seem to indicate that it was of the usual shape, with
oblong nave and small chancel." The architect of 1769 adopted
a singular octagon design for the body of the church, and the elBfect
of uniting this building to a low square tower of Perpendicular
style is most incongruous. It is said that the same architect also
designed the stables at the back of the Crescent at Buxton, the
stables at Chats worth, the rectory at Eyam, and Stoke Hall. We
cannot help wishing that he had confined his attention exclusively
to secular work.

The timber used in the re-building of the church in 1759, was
taken from the old edifice. It gradually became so rotten that a
new roof was put up in 1861. At the same time a new west door-
way and windows were inserted in the tower, but they are,
imfortunately, after an earlier pattern than the tower itself, which
is certainly not prior to the 15th century.

When Mr. Rhodes visited Middleton, some sixty years ago, he
remarked **an old stone font, of a very elegant form, and carved
in a good Gothic style. It stands in a comer of the churchyard,
overshadowed by some light trees. It is difficult to conjecture why
so graceful a piece of workmanship should be cast, like useless
lumber, into an obscure corner, rapidly to moulder away, when,
by being removed into the interior of the church, it might be long
preserved, an ornament to the building that gave it shelter." t
This ancient font was unhappily destroyed at the time of the
alterations in 1861, but from an accurate drawing of it, taken a
few years previously, we gather that it was of octagon shape and of
excellent design, very closely resembling the one at the mother
church of Hathersage.J From the notes of Bassano, taken in 1710,
we learn that it bore the arms of Eyre, as is also the case with

* £40 of this sum was an angmentation from the sequestered rectorial tithes of
Glossop. See the account of Charlesworth chapebry.

t Rhodes' Peai Scenery, pt. i., p.. 31.

J Anastatic Drawing Society^ s vol. for 1868, plate xxii. The woodcut of a font
given in Bateman's AntiqvitieSfy. 211, and there attributed to Hathersage, is also in
reality that of Stony Middleton.

248 DEEBYSHIRE CHUECHES,

the one at Hathersage. There can be no doubt that this fine old
font was given to the church by Robert Eyre, who married the
heiress, Joan Padley. The Padleys inherited property in this town-
ship, through marriage with the Bemakes, and it is very possible
that Robert Eyre, on his alliance with Padley, not only gave the
font to the church, but built the present tower, as well as the body
of the church that was swept away in 1759. Robert Eyre (as
we have already stated under Hathersage), died in 1459, and his
wife in 1463.

There are no monuments in the church of an earlier date than
the eighteenth century. The registers only commence with the
year. 1715.

The following are the inscriptions on the three bells in the tower :

I. *• Daniel Hedderly cast us all in 1720.*'

II. «* Tho. Froggat, Rob. Sheppard, C:W. "

III. " Benjamin Ashton, Esq., Jonathan Rose, curate.*'

PADLET AND NORTH LEES. 249

^e ISomestic Cf^a^dtCrs of ^aHIev antr

[HE manor of Upper Padley, in the parish of Hathersage,
came to the Eyres in the first half of the fifteenth
century, hy the marriage of Kobert Eyre with the heiress,
Joan Padley. In this beautiful situation the Eyres built a large
mansion, which was the most considerable in this part of Derby-
shire. A son and a grandson of the same name (Bobert) resided
here in succession, and then Sir Arthur Eyre, whose brass recording
his three marriages has been fully described under Hathersage. By
his first wife, Sir Arthur had a daughter and heiress, Anne, the
only survivor of all his issue. She married Sir Thomas Fitzherbert
of Norbury, eldest son and heir of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the
celebrated judge, and he seems to have resided during his wife*s life-
time at Padley, preferring it to the mansion on his paternal estate.
The Fitzherberts, like the Eyres, remained true to the ancient faith
in the days of EHzabeth, and suffered much persecution.

In George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, who was at that
time Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, the Protestants seem to have
found an apt instrument of oppression. We have elsewhere given
instances of his harsh treatment of Catholic Becusants,t and he
appears to have been specially severe with the household at Padley
Hall. In the year 1587 John Manners and Boger Columbell inform
the Earl that on Candlemas Day, early in the morning, Mr.

* There are farther particulara to be gleaned relative to these two domestic chapels
from yariouB sources, in addition to those given in these pages ; bat it would scarcely
accord with the design of a work on parish churches to enter into any fuller details
respecting them. I hope, however, that the Rev. F. Jourdain, vicar of Derwent
Woodlands, in conjunction with myself, wiU shortly be able to publish a small
monograph on the interesting remains of the chapels of Padley and North Lees,
together with an account of other Jesuit missions of which there are some traces
in the parish of Hathersage.

t Ohurchet of DerbyihirCf vol. i., p. 186.

250 DEBBYSHIBE CHURCHES.

Columbell went himself with sixteen or twenty men to Padley,
** where he found Thomas Fitzharberfs wife,* Anthony Fitzharbert,
two of his sisters, and about twenty persons besides, seeming to be
of their household ; and made diligent search for Mr. John Fitzhar-
bert, but could not find him." It is further stated in the same letter
that "Padlaye maye be doubted much to be a house of evil resort
and therefore, my Lord, there will be no good redresse there, in
our simple opinyons, in those matters, unless that some may be
resyant there that will be conformable, and some preacher placed
amongst us, here in the Peake, to teache the people better/' In
the following year Padley Hall was again suddenly searched by
the Earl in person, and two Roman Catholic priests, Nicholas Gar-
lick and Bobert Ludlam, were discovered in concealment Sir
Thomas Fitzherbert, writing in May, 1589, to the Earl of Shrews-
bury about the grievous burdens that he had to bear in conse-
quence of his recusancy, says that the presence of the "two semy-
naries was there all unknowne unto my brother, as was confessed
at their deathe, and is well approved since by good testimony." t

Nicholas GarUck, who was of a good family in the parish of
Glossop, had acted as schoolmaster at Tideswell for seven years.
He was ordained priest at the English College at Rheims in 1582,
appointed as an EngUsh missionary in January, 1583, imprisoned,
and then banished in 1585, but returned in the same year.

Robert Ludlam was born near Sheffield. He was ordained priest
at Rheims, and came to England in 1582. They were appre-
hended between the Lent and Summer Assizes, and consequently
confined for some time in Derby jail. There they found a third
priest, Richard Sympson, who had been committed at the Lent
Assizes ; , but his life had been spared, as he was supposed to be
converted to Protestantism. But the influence of Ludlam and
Garhck was sufficient to cause him again to recant and to brave mar-
tyrdom. The three were hung, drawn, and quartered at Derby ou
the 25th of July, 1588. An eye-witness says that they met death
** with much constancy and Christian magnanimity, without the
least sign of fear or dismay." They were drawn on hurdles to the

•

* This could not be Anne, wife of Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, for she died in 1576
(Harl. MSS., 1093, f. 70). It may either have been the wife of an uncle or a nephew
of Sir Thomas, the owner of Padley. as he had both then living of the name of
Thomas. Anthony Fitzherbert may oe either his brother or nephew ; and Mr. John
Fitzherbert, for whom special search was made, was the next brother and heir of Sir
Thomas, for he had no children. See the Topographer, vol. ii.*, p. 225.

t This correspondence is taken from the Talbot papers, as quoted by Lodge in his
Jlluitratume of British History , vol. ii.

PADLEY AND NORTH LEES. 261

place of execntion. Garliok, noticing that Sympson, who first
approached the ladder, seemed frightened, stepped forward, kissed
it, went up before him, and so "with remarkable joy and alacrity
finished his course." When Eobert Ludlam was on the ladder and
just ready to be cast off, "looking up towards heaven with smiling
countenance, as if he had seen some heavenly vision of angels, he
uttered these last words, as speaking to saints or angels appearing
to him — * Venite benedicti Dei * (* Come, you blessed of God ') j and
with these words he was fiung off the ladder, and so went to enjoy
their happy company." The heads and quarters of the three martyrs
were set upon poles in different places in and about the town of
Derby; and "the penner of this their martyrdom (who was also
present at their death), with two other resolute Catholic gentlemen,
going in the night diverse miles well armed, took down one of the
heads from the top of a house standing on the bridge, and a quarter
from the end of the body ; the watchman of the town seeing them
(as was afterwards confessed) and making no resistance. These
they buried with as great decency and reverence as they could.
Soon after the rest of the heads and quarters were taken away
secretly by others.'**

The following are some stanzas from a local ballad, descriptive of
the death of- the three priests : —

"When GarUck did the ladder kiss,
And Sympson alter hie,
Methought that then St. Andrew was
Desirous for to die.

When Ludlam looked smilingly,

And joyful did remain,
It seemed St. Steven was standing by,

For to be stoned again.

^ 9|C 9fC 3|C

And what if Sympson seemed to yield

For doubt and dread to die,
He rose again and won the field,

And died most constantly.

His watching, fainting, shirt of hair,

His speech, his death, and all,
Do record give, do witness bear,

He wailed his former fall."

The old chapel, with the offices below it, is the only part of
Padley Hall now standing, with the exception of certain barns and
outbuildings. It seems that the principal part of the Old Hall, or
Manor House, consisted of an enclosed quadrangle, the south side

* Challoner's Missionary Priests, pt. i, pp. 111-114.

252 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of which was formed by the chapel. Access to this court or quad-
rangle was gained by an arched passage through the lower storey
or ground floor of the building containing the chapel. Plate XI.
shows the north or inner side of the chapel, with the arched
entrance to the court-yard built up. It should also be remarked
that the ground on this side has been raised several feet above its
former level, by the accretion of the ruins of the remainder of the
halL The chapel occupies the upper part of the building, the floor
level being indicated on the plate by the base of the two narrow
doorways closely adjoining each other, just over the arch-way.
Access to these doorways must have been gained by stairways
(perhaps of wood), that have now been removed. We see from the
interior of the chapel, that a substantial screen divided the building
between these two doorways, and it seems probable that the one
nearest the east end was the entrance for the family, and the
other for the household, retainers, or neighbours. There was a
third entrance (scarcely shown on the plate) at the extreme east
of this north side, into that part of the Hall which there adjoined
it, and there can be no doubt that this was the private door for
the priest, communicating directly with his chamber. There was
also an external entrance to this angle of the chapel on the east
side, now hidden by a modern lean-to, which would enable the
priest to quit the Hall or chapel without going through any other
part of the building. On the south side there is no entrance to
the chapel, but the full size of the arched passage to the court can
there be seen, and the two large buttresses, one on each side,
which were ingeniously contrived by the architect to serve as
chimneys. The offices on the ground floor are now used as cow-
houses and stables, and the upper storey or chapel as a bam for
hay and other farm produce. The whole is much dilapidated.
The main timbers of the roof are in fair preservation. There are
four flnely-carved hammer beams, with wall pieces rising from
stone corbels ; the two at the west end bear simple shields, but those
towards the east end have well-designed shield-bearing angels, one
of which, is given on Plate XI. When looking at these ** carvM
angels, ever eager-eyed," we received from our cicerone a curious
piece of information as to their identity. ** They do say," said he,
*'that one of *em be a Cherubim and the other a Seraphim." We
are unable to say which it is that our artist has drawn !

The chimneys of this building are pointed out as the lurking
places of poor Robert Ludlam and Nicholas Garlick, but we are

Plabe XI.

PADLEY AND NORTH LEES. 253

inclined to think that some other part of the manor-house would
probahly offer a less obvious place of concealment.

NoBTH Lees, about a mile from Hathersage, was another of the
residences of the wide-spreading family of Eyre. Nicholas Eyre, of
Hope, (the father of Robert, who married Joan Padley,) had four
sons. His second son, William, was the first of the family who
lived at North Lees. It would not accord with our intentions to give
any description of the interesting old Hall, which is still in a fair
state of preservation ; but a little distance below the house, partly
concealed in a small plantation, are the ruins of a small chapel,
dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The Eyre family obtained permission
to build this chapel in the first year of the reign of James II.
(1685), for the purposes of Roman Cathohc worship, but it was only
used for two or three years, for at the time of the Revolution in
1688, *' it was demolished by the neighbouring Protestants, who
assembled for that purpose of their own accord."* It is a small
building, having an area of about thirty feet by fifteen. The west
wall is still standing, with its round-headed doorway, and the arch
of the east window is also erect, but the stones of the latter were
picked out of the ruins and re-erected only some five- and- twenty
years ago, for the sake of the picturesque effect

* Pegffe'B MS. GoUections, vol. v., f. 187. At the same time another Protestant
mob sacked the ancient Boman GathoUo Chapel at Newbold, near Chesterfield ; see
Churches of Derbyshire, yoL i., p. 179.

Mm.

Fatrftrlb.

J

^opp.

|HE royal manor of Hope was of considerable extent at
the time of the Domesday Survey (1086), and had
seven hamlets or borewicks within its limits, including
that of Tideswell. There was at that time a priest, and a church,
to which pertained one carucate of land, and there can bo Httle
doubt that this Saxon church occupied the same site as the
present one.

On the death of Henry JL, much of the royal demesnes and
royal patronage passed to the hands of John, and whilst he was
yet Earl Mortaigne, viz., in 1192, he bestowed the church of Hope,
with its chapel of Tideswell, on Hugo de Novant, Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, and his successors. After John had come to the
throne he confirmed this grant, in 1207, to Hugo's successor,
Godfrey de Muschamp, who held the bishopric from 1199 to 1208.*
The next Bishop, William de Comliill, who died in 1223, made
over the whole of his episcopal rights in various churches, viz., two
parts of that of Bakewell, and twenty marks out of the income of the
church of Hope, to the common use of the Cathedral church of
St. Mary and St. Chad at Lichfield, that is to say to the Dean
and Chapter. By a subsequent charter, he conferred on the Dean
and Chapter the whole of the church of Hope; a grant that was
confirmed by his successor, Alexander de Savensby, and it has
remained in their patronage to the present day.f

It was during the episcopate of Alexander de Savensby (122-1 —
1238) that the vicarage of Hope seems to have been formally

♦ Calend. Rot. Chart, 7 John, memb. 8 dora. Vide Appendix No. VIII.

f Magnum Registrom Album, and yarious original charters at Lichfield; Harl.
MSS., 4799; Dugdale's Monaaticon, vol. iii., pp. 229, 233, 234. King John, when
confirming this grant of the church of Hope, affixed his gold ring with a turq^uoine
stone in it to the silk string that fastened the seal to the charter, with this ex-
pression, "Non solum sigilli mei impressione sod proprii annuli appositione
roboravi." — Dugdale's Wartoichahire.

S

258 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ordained. We find from an early Chartiilary of the Lichfield
Chapter that the vicar held the Easter dues, the greater and less
oblations, the mortuary, marriage, and purification fees, the dominical
pence {denarii dominici), and certain lesser tithes, such as those
on pigs, poultry, and calves, giving him a total income of
£9 10s. Od.*

It is a curious fact that there is no mention whatever of Hope
or Tideswell in the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291),
from which it seems fair to conclude that these churches had
obtained some special exemption from passing over the tithe of
their incomes to the Bishop of Rome.

The Valor EccUsiasticas (27 Henry VIII.), gives the value of the
vicarage of Hope at £13 13s. 4d. Nicholas Heys was then vicar.

It further appears from this Valor that there was a chantry in
the church of Hope, but no mention is made of it in the Chantry
Rolls. t The following is the entry relative to it : —
**Hoope Cantar.*

Dns Thurstan Townend cantarista, non comparuit et valet
cantar' ut apparet in hbris episcopi £4."

The inventory of the possessions of the Dean and Chapter of
Lichfield, taken at the same date, gives the value of the rectorial
tithes of com, hay, and minerals at Hope as £21 4s. 6d. ; the
tithes of wool and lambs of Bakewell, Hope, and Tideswell are
given in the aggregate sum of £105 ; and the site of the rectory
at Hope, with glebe and lands, at £5 Os. lOd.

The rectory manor of Hope was granted by the Dean and
Chapter, in the reign of Edward VI., to Ralph GeU, of Hopton.J

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 proposed to make a
thorough re-arrangement of the hamlets of the extensive parish of
Hope. The following are their suggestions : —

"Hamlets to be continued to it (Hope), Bradwell, SmaJedale,
Hasselbadge, part of Pindall End, Abneye and Abneye Grange,
Little Ashop, Cockbridge, Thorn ehill, Ashton, Brough, and the
two Shattones. Vicarial tythes from these places £20. Thomas
Becking present incumbent formerly in Armes against the Parha-
ment and reputed scandalous.

** Fairefeild, parochial chapelry of Hope, fitt to be made a parish

♦ Harl. MSS., 4799; Add. MSS., 6666, f. 43.

t This chantry was probably dedicated to St. Nicholas; Edward Eyre, by his will,
dated 1669, directs his body to be buried " in the parish church of Hope in Sainfce
Nicholas Quere."

X Lysons* Derbyshire^ ]). 188.

HOPE. 259

church and these hamlets following (bemg members of Hope) to be
included. Pigtor, Cowlow, Foolow, Baylie Flatt, and LowfaU.
Vicarial tythes £\0. Thomas Nicholson, minister, reputed an honest
man.

** Rest of hamlets of Hope, Woodland, Darwent, and Shawcross
to Chappell in the Fryth.

"Hyelow, East side of Grindleford Bridge, Neather Padley, and
Callow fitt to be united to Hatliersitch.

" Stoake, and Colecliffe to Stony Middleton,'*

" Windmilne Home, two Hurdlows, and Greenelow, and part of
the forest extending to a place usually called Wormhill Peeke, to
Tideswell.

" Wardlowe to Great Longstone.

" Gorsyehead and Brownehill to Buxton.'*

The church, which is dedicated to St. Peter, consists of nave,
north and south aisles, south porch, chancel, and tower surmounted
by a spire at the west end.

The chief characteristics of the exterior of the church are of the
Perpendicular style of the fifteenth century. To this style belong
the whole of the windows of the north and south aisles,
and the chancel, as well as the eight clerestory windows.
The embattled parapets relieved by crocketed pinnacles are also of
this date, with the exception of those on the chancel, which are of
a debased design. The exact date of the latter alterations can be
learnt from an inscription cut on a stone in raised letters on the
east wall of the chancel, near the apex of the east window. The
inscription runs — "Repaired by the D. & C. of L. 1620," and on
another stone the initials, **W. L." The Dean and Chapter of
Lichfield, as impropriators of the rectorial tithes, were, of course,
responsible for the good condition of the chancel. The initials,
**W. L.," are probably tliose of one of the churchwardens. They
do not belong to the then Dean of Lichfield, as has been generally
supposed, for William Tooker then occupied that office.

The small priest's door on the south side of the chancel (now
disused), and the south porch, are also of the Perpendicular period.
Over the entrance to the porch is a smaU canopied niche that
formerly sheltered a figure of St. Peter,* and on each side of it

• Within the memory of man the fox has been hunted in this district, and the
body hung up as a troi)hy in the niche formerly occupied by St. Peter, circa 1820-
80. The foxes of this neighbourhood seem to have been specially destructive. In
the winter they were so numerous and hard set that they seized lambs from the fold.
At Twothornfield and Crookhill, during one season, fires were kept blazing round the
folds aU night, but Reynard even rushed through the flames to his prey. This being

260 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

is a small single-light window, which gave light (in addition to a
window on the west side) to a room over the porch. This room,
termed a "Parvise," contains a fire-place. It was probably occu-
pied by the sacristan or custodian of the church in pre-Beformation
times, and in later times possibly by the schoolmaster. The steps
in this turret have also been continued on to the roof of the aisle;
but the top of the turret has at some time been injured and not
restored, and it now remains level with the parapet.

There are several uncouth gurgoyle heads round the building;
but there are two serving as rain- spouts to the south aisle, which
are specially large and hideous, projecting fully three feet from
below the parapet. One of them, of a really revolting design,
has been not unhappily mutilated of late years, and the other
one reminds us of the mediaeval designs of devils in illuminated
manuscripts, possessed of heads or faces in impossible parts
of the body. So far as we are acquainted with gurgoyles — and our
acquaintance is an extensive one — these two at Hope easily bear
the palm for general monstrosity and ugliness ; but perhaps this is
in part owing to their comparative nearness to the spectator, instead
of being placed at the top of a tower, as is usually the case.

It can plainly be seen on the west side of the porch, that that
part of the building has been added to the older waU of the south
aisle, probably taking the place of an earlier porch. This
strengthens our supposition that a good deal of the masonry of
the outer walls is of an earlier date than the Perpendicular period,
although they have been subsequently pierced with windows of that
style. The mouldings of the south doorway into the church, under
the porch, show that it is of the Decorated style of the early part
of the fourteenth century. To that date, too, belong the arches
(four on each side) that separate the nave from the aisles, sup-
ported on lofty octagon columns with plainly-moulded octagon
cajpitals. The three sedilia, and the single piscina in a trefoil-
pointed niche, on the south side of the chancel, are also of the
Decorated period. The sedilia do not, however, display any richness
of design, but are simply separated from each other, and arched
over with a single bold rounded moulding. The seats are of
unequal height, graduating, as is usual, from west to east. In fact

the case, we need not be snrprised to find the numerous entries in chnrchwardenB'
accounts of sums paid for the carcaseB of foxes (see the account of Youlgreave). The
churchwardens of Hope probably placed the body in this conspicuous position as a
visible proof to the parishioners of the righteous use that they were making of the
parish moneys. For this information, as well as for several other particulars relative
to Hope, we are indebted to the Bev. F. Jourdain.

HOPE. 26 1

the whole of this church, including the tower and spire, appears
to have been entirely rebuilt about the commencement of the four-
teenth century ; the only remnant of an older building, being the
piscina in the south wall of the south aisle, the niche of which is
ornamented with the tooth moulding, and may probably be attri-
buted to the Early English work of the previous century.

The archway into the tower from the west end of the church is
now blocked up with galleries. The basement is used as a vestry
and a low pointed modem window has been opened in the south
wall. There is no doorway in the west wall of the tower, but
there is a narrow pointed window, with two principal lights, of
excellent design. The bell-chamber is lighted by four pointed win-
dows of two lights, but having the apex of the arch unpierced.
There is a course of four similar windows standing out from the
spire, and above them another course of a single light each. There
is no parapet to the tower, the spire rising straight from its wall
with angles bevelled ofF, after the fashion that is termed ''broached."
The spire loses all dignity from a lack of height; in short, the in-
elegant term ** squat " is the best that can be applied to it.

The weather-moulding stones of the high-pitched roof that for-
merly covered the nave in the Decorated period can be seen on
the east wall of the tower, both within and without the church.
The present nearly flat roofs of the Perpendicular style, both in
the chancel and body of the church, are entirely concealed in the
interior (except the ends of the beams resting on the corbel stones),
by plastered and white-washed ceilings. This barbarity, described
by a euphemism as ** beautifying," was probably accomplished in
1780, and they who did the deed, have handed their names down
to posterity, on a tablet fixed to the south wall of the chancel : —
** This chancel was beautifyd in 1780. The Revd. Mr. Thos. Hayes,
vicr. The Revd. Mr. Thomas Wormald, curate, since vicar. Robert
French, Matthew Chapman, Hugh Bradwell, Churchwaordens. Elis
Woodroofe, clarke." When the day comes, as it surely must, for
removing this incongruous plaster ceiling, we should not be surprised
if it were found that the '^ beautiflers " had therewith concealed
much handsomely carved timber.

The font, under the west gallery, is of a massive octagon shape
with octagon base, and is probably of fourteenth century work

In the north wall of the chancel is an oblong recess that has
served as an almery, and which has at a later date been divided
by wooden partitions into a double cupboard, but the doors are now

262 DEKBYSillBE CHURCHES.

wanting. Within the commonion rails are three old fashioned oak
chairs, all apparently of the 17th century. The largest has the
date 1664, and the following Latin aphori>m : — "jEx torto ligno
non fit MercuriuSy^ — i,e, " An Apollo cannot be made out of a gnarled
log." It is said that this used to be the chair of the schoolmaster
of the Endowed Free School of Hope,* and the motto perhaps bore
comfort to the heart of the village usher when incUned to wax im-
patient with the density of his material. The pulpit on the south
side of the chancel arch is of well carved oak, and it is inscribed : —
** Thos. Bocking, teacher, the Churchwardens this year Michael
Woodhead, Jarvis Hallam, John Have, 1652.'* "We may gather from
this inscription that Mr. Bocking was not removed owing to the
unfavourable report of the Parhamentary Commission, and we may
also infer, from his acceptance of the title of "teacher," that he
was inclined to faU in with the ways of the new regime.

Though there are no monuments in the church of any antiquity,
the remains of heraldic glass in the windows, and of heraldic carving
on the old seats, are of much interest and worthy of a detailed
description. We have not found any notice of the heraldic bearings
in Hope Church in the Visitations of the 17th century, but there are
some notes respecting them in Bassano's MSS.t taken about 1710,
in the Eev. A. Suckling's MSS.J compiled in the summer of 1823,
and in Mr. Mitchell's Collection8,§ who visited the church a few years
later. From these various entries, we find that several coats have
disappeared from the windows of late years. The arms of Eyre
quartering Padley used to be in the east window of the chancel ;
these are not there now, but in the east window of the south aisle

is the quartered coat — 1st and 4th Eyre, 2nd Padley, 3rd .

This blank quartering was Wells {erm., on a canton, «a6., a buck's
head cabossed, or), as we learn from Mr. Suckling's notes. The
marriage of Robert Eyre, of Highlow, in this parish, (descended from
Thomas, one of the sons of Robert Eyre and Joan Padley) with
Anne, daughter and co-heiress to Bernard Wells, of Holme, in the
parish of Bakewell, has been already mentioned under Hathersage,
in which church there is a small brass to their eldesk son, who died
in his youth. Robert Eyre, the husband of Anne Wells, died on
the 14th August, 1662, aged 44.

* The Free School of Hope was endowed by Thomas Stevenson, 7 Chas. II. See
Charity CommissionerB' Reports, vol. xviii., p. 79.

t Baesano's Church Note», at the College of Arms. Bassano describes the rood-
loft as existing at Hope at the time of his visit.

X Add. MSS., 18, 478, f. 87.

§ Add. MSS., 28,111, 1 101.

HOPE. 263

In the same window, and immediately above this coat, is a round-
let of glass, containing — per pale, sab., and or, a talbot, arg. — but
we cannot ^Ye any satisfactory explanation of its presence. The
crest of Wells was a demi- talbot, ermines. There used also to be
in the windows of this aisle, a single coat of Eyre, and another of
Padley.

The north wall of the chancel is now panelled with various
fragments of carved oak of different design and date, which formerly
formed parts of old pews in the chancel, or in the body of the church.
Here may be noticed the Eyre and Padley quartered coat, the
same impaling Reresby {gu,, on a bend, arg., three cross crosslets
fitchee, sah.), and an elaborate shield of Reresby quarterings — Dein-
court, Normanvile, Gotham, etc. These quarterings of the Reresby
family have been already described in our account of the churches
of Ashover and Chesterfield.*

The words "Eyre and Padley," **R. Ayr," " Ayre and Reresby,"
and the dates " 1581 " and ** 1652," are also carved on different
parts of the woodwork.

The connection of the Eyres and Reresbys may be thus ex-
plained. Christopher Eyre, of Highlow (grandson of Robert Eyre,
of Padley), had by his first wife, Alice Sanderson, four sons and
three daughters. The eldest of these sons, Thomas, who died in
the hfetime of his father, married Anna, daughter of Lionel Reresby,
of Thribergh. The third son, Robert, married Jane, sister of the
said Lionel Reresby. t

The second son of Christopher Eyre, and heir of his brother
Thomas, was George Eyre, of Highlow. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of Thomas Balguy, of Aston, Hope. The Balguys were
an ancient Derbyshire family, and held large landed property both
in Hope and in Hathersage. Their chief seat was at Aston Hall,
and subsequently at Hope Hall, and Rowlee, all in the old parish
of Hope. In the seventeenth century they purchased Derwent Hall,
in the parish of Hathersage. Against the north wall of the
chancel is a small brass, about nine inches by fifteen, quaintly
engraved with a full-length figure in pointed hat, doublet, and
breeches, having a pen in the right hand and a book in the left.

* Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., pp. 36, 159.

t There had been a previous iukerinarriage between the Beresbys and another
branch of the Eyres. Edward iByre, of Holme, Ohesterfield (grandson of Roger
Eyre, 4th son of Kobert Eyre, of Padley), married for his first wife, Elizabeth, daugh-
ter of Ralph Reresby, of Thribergh, and widow of John Bosvile, of Newhall. From
this marriage were aescended the Eyres, of Newbold.

264 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In the centre is the following ciirions inscription , with the arms
of Balgny — or, three lozenges, az, two and one— on a shield
above : —
<* A mnndo ablactans ocnlos tamen ipse reflecto

Sperno flens yitiis lene sopore cado.

Wained from the world, npon it yet I peepe,

Disdaine it, weepe for sinne, and sweetly sleepe.

'* EUc jacet Henricus Balgay qni obiit decimo septimo die Martii
Anno Domini 1685.

'* Anno aetatls sasB septnagesimo septimo. Cujas peccata per
Christum condonantnr. Amen."

On the panelling on the same side of the church is carved
** Henry Balgay, A.D. 1632." On the other side of the chancel;
is a hatchment of the Balguy family, on which are represented
the arms of Balguy quartering Brailsford {or, a cinquefoil, sab.) ;
Leigh (Barry of four, arg, and «a5., a bend, ^m.) ; and Leche (cttw.,
on a chief dancettee, //m., three ducal coronets, or).*

There are various other names and dates on the panelling
of the chancel, which have formerly been on the pews of the

1 fiTTQO
respective owners — mvr — 1679 — Balphe Bocking 1658 — Edmund

Poynton.

Against the north wall of the chancel, painted plainly in black
on the whitewash, are the arms of Woodrojffe — arg,, a chevron between
three crosses formee fitchee, gu.), with the crest (a woodpecker
russet) above, and the motto — Quod transtulif retidi — below it.
The Woodroflfes, of Hope, were a family of considerable antiquity.
Their pedigree can be traced back with precision to the reign of
Edward IV. In 1634 Ellis Woodrofife, the last heir male of the
eldest branch, died leaving five daughters as co-heiresses, one of
whom married Peter Foljambe.f This coat was probably painted
here in the time of this Ellis Woodrofife.

* Two of the alliances claimed by these qnarterings occurred us early as the twelfth
century. Robert, a grandson of Thomas Balguy, of Aston, who died in 1104, mar-
ried Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir John Brailsford, of Norton. His great-grand-
son, Sir Jobun Balguy, married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Leigh,
of Cheshire. The pedigree of Balguy, is given in fall, Add. MSS., 2S, 118, f. 41, but
the early part of it is condemned as "very suspicious and made up" by such
eminent genealogists as Mr. Wolley, and Mr. T. N. Ince. There is, however, no
doubt of the great antiquity of the family in this part of the Peak ; and probably
neither Mr. Wollej nor Mr. Ince were aware that the same quarterings as are now in
the church, were m Hope Hall two centuries ago (Bassano MSS.), at a time when
imposture in heraldry was rather at a discount. The alliance with an heiress of a
younger branch of Leche is of a later date, and can be satisfactorily proved.

i" Add. MSS., 28, 113, f. 4b. The marriage between Peter Foljambe and Jane,
eldest daughter of Ellis Woodrofife, was solemnized on the 19th of September, 1642 ;
Hope Begisters.

HOPE. 265

In the upper tracery of the east window of the south aisle is
a small shield, on which are the arms of Gell, of flopton — Per
bend, az. and or, three mullets of six points in bend, pierced and
counter-changed. This coat of arms was doubtless placed here in
the time of Edward VI., when lialph Gell obtained the lease of
the rectorial manor of Hope. Ealph Gell, grandfather of Sir John
Gell, of Parliamentary fame, died on the 7th of June, 1564.

No notice of the interior of this church would be complete with-
out an allusion — ^but it shall only be an allusion — to the four full-
length portraits that adorn its wall. In the chancel are Moses
and Aaron ; in the north aisle are allegorical figures of Time and
Death, the latter a grinning skeleton. These works of art appear
to be rather more than a century old, and probably are a componeut
part of the ** beautifying " of 1780.

There are six bells in the tower of this church, bearing the
following inscriptions : —

I. '* N. W. Clark. Daniel Hedderly made us aU in 1783."

II. "Jarvis Bawgey great benefactor, 1783."

ni. *' Soli deo gloria in excelsis, 1783. W. Hattersly, C.W."

IV. " Tho. Wormald Vic : E : B. W : H. N : C. Churchwardens,
1738."

V. ** Daniel Heddely, Founder, 1788."

VI. *'Our sounding is to each a call

To serve the Lord both great and small. 1788."
On the waist of this bell are th6 arms of the Duke of Devonshire,
three stags' heads, cabossed.

From articles of agreement between Daniel Hedderly, of Baltry,
in the coimty of York, bell founder, and John Hawksworth, of
Stunyserlow, in the same county, lead merchant, of the one part,
and Robert Bocking, William Hattersley, and Nicholas Chapman,
churchwardens of the parish of Hope of the other part, drawn up in
the year 1738, it appears that the four old bells being ** very much
decayed and out of tune," it was agreed for a new bell to be added,
and the old peal recast, the total weight of the five bells to be
between forty- five and forty-seven hundredweight, and the payment
to be at the rate of 20s. per cwt.* These bells were paid for by
the parish, and it would seem probable from the arms on the sixth
bell, that the last of the peal was given by the Duke of Devon-
shire, and therefore is not named in the agreement.

• Reliquary y Vol. XIV., pp. 83—35.

266 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The churchwardens' accounts for 1784 contain various entries
relative to these bells and the contingent expenses.

£ B. d.

Pd. W. Haws worth for je bells due from us 45 19 5J

Pd. Will Butcher for making ye frame 26 0 0

Pd. for ye Bell Clapers at Bawtrey 4 6 6

Pd. for waying ye old Bells in money and ale 0 7 9

Pd. Mr. Eddearly for coming to sine ye last article 110

My charges four days and what I paid for Mr. Parsons and both horses

when we went to way ye new Bells and tune them at Bawtrey ... 0 18 2

Gave to Mr. Ederly to help to load ye Bella and ye workmen 0 3 10

For four days my horse and myself going to Bawtrey 0 8 0

Spent in taking down ye old Bells and helping up ye new Bells and all

charges about em 4 18 10

Pd. George White for carriage of ye bells ilnd going to his house 7 1 0

In front of the porch is a small stone mural sundial, about a
foot square. It seems to be about two centuries old, and many of
the figures are illegible. Not far from the porch is the range of
six octagonal steps that have formerly supported the churchyard
cross. On the summit there is now a short column with an
horizontal metal sundial, inscribed — ** Daniel Rose, Darwent, 1805."

The antiseptic qualities of the soil in certain parts of North
Derbyshire have been already noticed when writing of Hathersage,
and a remarkable instance that was detailed in the Philosophical
Transactions J and has since been copied into various guide books,
occurred on the moors of Hope parish. It seems that in 1674,
a grazier of the name of Barber and his maid-servant were lost
in the snow, and remained covered with it from January to May.
When discovered, the bodies were so offensive that the Coroner
ordered them to be buried on the spot. Twenty-nine years after-
wards some countrymen, aware of this incident, and of the extra-
ordinary property of the soil, had the curiosity to open the ground,
and found the bodies in no way altered, " the colour of the skin
being fair and natural, and their flesh as soft as that of persons
newly dead.*' They were exposed for sight at frequent intervals, to
gratify an unwholesome curiosity, for upwards of twenty years,
when the unseemly exhibition was put a stop to, and the bodies
removed to Hope churchyard, chiefly through the intervention of
the man's grandson, Mr. Barber, of Botherham. We are able to
give the original description of this strange occurrence, contained
in a letter from Mr. Wormald (curate and subsequently vicar of
Hope), to the well-known antiquary, Dr. Pegge, which has not
hitherto been published.

*' With regard to the dead people found upon ye moss I know

JiOjpj;. fiAhWtiaeo)!.

PAfflswOt!:,. Yfm-

HOPK. 267

that when I lived at Darwent, in the year 1724 or 5 I am not
certain whether, they were taken up and brought to Hope to be
buried, and I (at the request of Mr. Hayes, who was then Vicar)
buried them. I also was a spectator when they were taken up and
put into their coffins, and I do affirm those parts of ye body that
had never been exposed to ye air were as entire and firm as when
they were lay'd in, the other part of ye body that was exposed to
ye air by opening so often were putrified and gone, only the bones
and joynts hung together. They had lain there in the moss 28
years, it was said, before they were ever looked at, and after yt
time they were exposed to ye view of people who came every
summer out of curiosity to see them for the space of 20 years
longer, which makes in ye whole 48 years. Therefore they were
layed in ye moss 23 years at least before I was bom, and yet I
buried them. This is a matter of fact and you may rely on it as
such from

** Your faithful friend and very humble servant,

** S. WORMALD."

Dr. Pegge adds to this letter the foUowing memorandum : — " Mr.
W., when he wrote this, was 68, and told me by word of mouth
that the joynts were pliable, and ye hands and nails perfect."*

In the Vicarage grounds at Hope tliere is the lofty stem of an
ancient cross. This cross, which has a strong resemblance to those
of Eyam and Bakewell, is profusely carved with interlaced knot
work and foliage, and bears upon one side two draped figures
holding a staff between them. It was, doubtless, standing at Hope
at the time when it was visited by the Domesday Survey Com-
missioners, and may possibly be a century or two older. We
imagine that this cross, when perfect, was finished at the top
after the fashion of that at Bakewell, rather than that at Eyam.
On taking down the old school buildings at Hope, about the year
1858, the lower part of this cross was discovered forming a lintel
over a door ; the upper part was afterwards found built into one of
the walls. It is of red sand-stone and now stands about seven
feet high, f

The parish registers commence in the year 1559. The following
entries are perhaps worth reproducing : —

1630. John Manners, of Haddon, Esquire, grants liberty to install a seat, in the

*Pegge*s Collections, vol. v., f. 163.

f There is a sketch of this cross in the volume of the Anastatic Drawing Society
for 1860, plate Ixii. ; there in also another sketch in the second volume of the Fac-
timiU Society^ plate xix.

268 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

place belonging to the house at Hazlebadge, in Hope Church, dnzing
pleasure of Thomas Eyxe at Sonthwinefield, gent.
1686. Began the great death of many children and others by a contagious disease
called the children pock and purple pock.

A considerable trade in body-snatching was carried on between
Hope and Manchester some fifty or sixty years ago. One of the
entries of Burial has this additional note — ''Body removed same
night/'

There was formerly a chapel on the manor of Grindlow in this
parish. Almost all that is known of it is contained in the roll of
church goods drawn up in the first year of Edward VL, wherein
is the following entry : — " Holoppe. Chapell of Grenelow, j chalyce
with a patten of sylver and parcell gylt-^a vestment of a albe — a
lyttyl bell — j corporas — a cope of black velvet — ^ij aulter clothes.**
In all probability this chapel was attached to the Grange that here
pertained to the Augustine monks of Lillcshall. Matthew de Stokes,
in the last half of the twelfth century, bestowed the manor of " Grene-
lawe in Peco '' on the monastery of Lilleshall, in Shropshire, and
King John confirmed this grant in the first year of his reign.*

In the year 1250, an agreement was made between the Dean
and Chapter of Lichfield, and the Abbot and Convent of Lilies-
hall, concerning the greater and lesser tithes of this Grange. It
was arranged that the Abbey should pay to Lichfield twenty shil-
lings a year, and should then be free of greater and lesser tithes,
as well as of the tithes of all animals feeding in the three parishes
of Tideswell, Bakewell, and Hope, or that were stalled on the
aforesaid Grange according to immemorial custom.t Edward VL
granted it, in 1562, by the name of Greenlow Grange, to Sir
WiUiam Cavendish.

* RotuU Chartarom, 1 John, memb. 16. Lysons makes the mistake of ascribing
the gift to John, who, however, merely confirmed it. The chartnlary of Lilleshall,
from which additional particulars might have been gleaned, is either non-extant or in
private hands.

t Magnum Begistrum Albums f. 99.

FAIRFIFXD. 2C9

Ef)t (S^SLptlvji of jfaivfitlJi.

HEN Messrs. Lysons were compiling their volume of the
Magna Britannia relating to Derbyshire, a Fairfield cor-
respondent wrote : — " It seems that a chapel and chantry
was fomided at Fairfield soon after the discovery of the warm
springs at Buxton by the Bomans." But such an improbable and
unauthenticated supposition did not, as we might expect, find a
place in the volume in question.

So far from having any claim to so venerable an age, it docs
not even seem as if Fairfield possessed a chapel in 1206, when
King John gave the church of Hope, with its chapel of Tideswell,
to the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.* Fairfield was then within
the parochial limits of Hope, and if a chapel had been then extant
it would probably have been mentioned in this charter, which,
however, expressly limits Hope to its single chapel of Tideswell.

But between this date and 1255, Fairfield chapel appears to have
been erected, for in the deed of confirmation of the Lichfield
Cathedral property, granted in the latter year by Archbishop Boni-
face, mention is made of ** Hope cum ejus capellis." Tideswellf is
named separately having then become a distinct parish, and we
conceive that the chapels alluded to were those of Fairfield and
Grindlow.

Though we can only fix the date of the foundation of this
chapel within a year or two, we are able to give the precise year
when a chantry was here established, together with the name of
the founder of both. An early Lichfield Chartulary tells us that
in the year 1260 the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield gave leave to
William Gretton, Lord of Fairfield, to found a chantry, dedicated
to the Virgin, in the chapel there erected by the said William, as

* Charter Bolls, 7 John, memb. 8 dors,
t Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. iii., p. 224.

270 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the inhabitants couJdJnot well go to Hope Church, to be served by
a priest at the expense of the inhabitants.*

It is rather surprising to find anyone termed **Lord" of Fairfield,
for there were no manorial rights or manor of Fairfield, over which
to be lord in the usual acceptance of the term. Fairfield formed
part of the royal Forest of the Peak, and there are numerous docu-
ments extant, relative to the pasture lands of Fairfield, in the 'reigns
of Henry III., and Edwai-d I.f These pasture lands seem to have
been of some celebrity in the neighbourhood, and to have been
common to all the rangers, foresters, and freeholders of the ad-
jacent townships, upon payment of certain royalties to the King.
The King had also power to grant rights of pasturage, etc., at
Fairfield, to others than the residents, and we find Henry III., in
the seventh year of his reign, granting pasturage for three hundred
sheep and twenty-four other animals to the prioress and nuns of
St. Mary's Convent at Derby, from April to Michaelmas day ; and
still more extended grants on several occasions to the Abbey of
Merivale in Warwickshire. WiUiam Gretton had probably some
especial privilege conceded him over these royal pastures, but one
that seems to be unrecorded in any extant document.

In the year 1328 one of those frequent disputes between the
Priory ^of Lenton and the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, that have
been fully explained in our account of Chapel- en -le-Frith, occurred
in connection with the tithes of Fairfield, two-thirds of which were
being claimed by Lenton. The matter was finally referred to the
decision of Pope John XXII. The Pope appointed the Prior of
Charley (acting for the Abbot of Gerendon) to hear the case as his
Commissioner. Several interesting documents connected with this
dispute have been preserved. The first is a citation to the Prior
of Lenton to appear before the Prior of Charley, in the church of
St. Margaret, at Leicester, " on the fourth legal day next after the
day of St. Kenelim next ensuing.'* This document is dated July,
1824. On the 10th of the following month the Prior gives his
decision in favour of Lichfield, and in September of the same year
the Archdeacon of Stafford issues a mandate to the Vicars of
Bakewell, Hope, and Tideswell, informing them of the decision and
ordering them to see to its due observance.^

♦Harl. MSS., 4799; Magnum Registnim Album, f. 158; Add. MSS., 6666, f. 88.

t Botuli Litterarum ClauBamm, 7 Henry III., memb. 2, 5, 13 ; 8 Homy III., memb.
8: 10 Henry III., memb. 28; Inq post Mort., 13 Edward I., No. 114; 30 Edward I.,
No. 125, etc., etc.

I See Appendices Nos. IX., X., and XI.

FAIRFIELD. 271

When the Valor Ecdesiasticus was drawn up (27 Henry VIII),
the chapelry of Fairfield was considered to be of the clear value of
^10 lOs. Od. per annum. The Parliamentary Commissioners of
1650 valued its •* vicarial tythes " at £10. They reported in
favour of its being made a separate parish in unison with several
of the adjacent hamlets. Thomas Nicholson was then the minister,
"reputed an honest man." Mr. William Naden, who succeeded
him, was ejected for Non-conformity on St. Bartliolomew's Day,
1662.

At the Derbyshire Quarter Sessions, on I7th October, 1815, it
was represented by the humble petition of the minister and chapel-
wardens and inhabitants of Fairfield, thut ** the chapel is a very
ancient structure, and so greatly decayed in every part that the
whole fabric is in very great danger of fulling, notwithstanding
the expenditure of considerable sums ; and also much too small,
there being no gallery, and no vestry, which renders it very incon-
venient to the officiating minister." It was, therefore, considered
expedient to take the whole down and have it rebuilt, and Mr.
John Worrall, " an able and experienced architect," estimated the
cost at £2,432 5s. 2^d. The result of this petition was that
a Brief was obtained for the rebuilding of the chapel iu 1817 ;
but the funds thus raised appear to have been wholly insufficient,
and it was not until 1638 that the old building was finally taken
down. A south view of it, drawn by Mr. Rawlins in September,
1885, shows that it had a square tower at the west end, a plain
pointed porch, a nave, and chancel. Its general appearance seems
to point to the late Perpendicular period, so that the tradition
that the old church was rebuilt in the time of Queen Elizabeth
may be correct. A small pointed window, however,- to the left
of the priests* door in the chancel, if correctly drawn, appears
to be of the Early EngHsh period, so that part of the church or
chapel originally built here by William Gretton, seems to have
remained until the rebuilding of the present centuiy. Both the
roofs are represented in the drawing as high-pitched, but the
nave is slated, and the chancel covered with lead. Mr. Eawlins
gives the dimensions of the nave as forty-seven feet by seventeen
feet ten inches, and of the chancel as twenty-four feet five inches
by thirteen.

The present church is a plain oblong building, with a tower
at the west end. It has a flat plaster ceiling. Over the south
door (the only entrance) is the date 1839. It contains various

272 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

moral monuments ; the oldest, which is under the west gallery,
being to the memory of Leonard Troughear, of Aspatria, Cumber-
land, who died in 1721. On the north wall is a monument to
Edward Dakin, 1809, on which it is stated that his ** forefathers for
very many centuries were interred in the chancel of the old church
standing on this site." A large monument to his grandson, WiUiam
Dakin, merchant, of London, who died in 1848, is against the east
wall; below the inscription is the singular motto of this ancient
family* — ** Strike Dakin, the Devil's in the Hemp."

There is a large plain octagon font under the gallery, which
probably came from the old church. On a rocky mound to the
west of the church, is a pedestal of a sundial, about four feet high,
the plate of which is now wanting. This pedestal has formerly
served as the stem of the old churchyard cross.

The following is an extract from, an interesting letter, written by
Mr. Mounsey to Mr. Lysons in 1816, relative to the endowments
of this church : —

*' As the inhabitants of Fairfield were not permitted to assemble
in the church for public worship, nor suffered to bury their dead
in the churchyard during the reign of Queen Mary, Thomas Dakin,
who was a great and successful opponent of that furious Biggot
(sic) protected the inhabitants in the performance of their religious
rites and ceremonies, near to his house at Bailey Flatts, where
they also buried their dead. It is probable that the church has
been stript of its possessions and left without any privileges, as
Thomas Dakin, who enjoyed a considerable share of royal favour
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, obtained Letters Patent to incor-
porate the Alms Houses and Church, and from that time the Alms
Houses ceased and the endowment thereof became the endowment
of the church and so continues. '*t Mr. Mounsey adds that this
information was obtained from Mr. William Dakin. Mr. Dakin was
one of the six resident governors in whom the appointment of the
minister rested pursuant to the Letters Patent of 37 EUzabeth.
He was a lineal descendant of Thomas Dakin who founded the
Almshouses in the reign of Henry IV.

The tower contains six modern bells, having the following in-
scriptions : —

L and II. ** Taylor and Co., Bell Founders, Loughboro."

* There is a good account and pedigree of the family of Dakin or Dakeyne in
Glover's Derbyshire, under Darley Dale.

t Add. MSS., 9,424, f. 293.

FAIRFIELD. 273

in. " Prosperity to our benefactors. Taylor & Co., Bell Founders,
Loughboro."

IV. ** William Barker, Churchwarden. Taylor & Co., Bell Founders,
Loughboro."

V. "Charles Smith, Incumbent, 1867. Taylor & Co., Bell
Founders, Loughboro."

VI. " This peal of bells was procured chiefly by the exertions of
Matilda Wainwright and Miss Jane Flint. Taylor & Co., Bell
Founders, Loughboro."

The church is dedicated to St. Peter. The registers only com-
mence with the year 1738.

fnl f oPFs!

]PFa6 ForpsK

[N the centre of the Peak district, about half-way between
Tideswell and Chapel-en-le-Frith, lies the extra-parochial
chapelry of Peak Forest. Here a chapel was erected in
the seventeenth century. Bassano, writing in 1710, says : — ** This
chappell is dedicated to Charles the Boyal Marter, *tis a chappell
donative and built by Elizabeth Lady Shrewsbury." But Bassano
is here in error, for the celebrated Countess of Shrewsbury died in
1607. The following entry in one of the early registers gives the
real date of its erection, that part in brackets being in a later
hand: —

"Mem*'. That the Chapel of St. Charles Einge and Martyr,*
was erected in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred
and fifty seven, [and the porch in 1666 that is to say 9 years
after]."

For our own part we have no doubt that this chapel was built
by Christian, Countess of Devonshire. She was the only daughter
of Edward Lord Bruce, and connected with the royal Stuart
dynasty. Shortly after the accession of James I., she became the
wife of William, second Earl of Devonshire, but was left; a widow
in 1628. The Countess ever showed the greatest and most constant
devotion to the cause of the monarchy, and lost her second and
favourite son, Charles Cavendish, at the hands of the Parliamenta-
rians in 1643. But even the Dowager Countess of Devonshire,
notwithstanding the great influence of her family in these parts,
would not have been daring enough to dedicate a chapel to Charles,
King and Martyr, in 1657 ; and it seems probable that the building
was not completed, and certainly not dedicated^ until after the

* We only know of one other similar dedication — viz., the chapel of Newton,
in the parish of Wem, Shropshire.

278 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Restoration. She died in 1674, and left by her wiD, according to
an inscription in Haolt Hacknall Chorch, a bequest to the poor of
Peak Forest*

This chapelry was not only extra-parochial, but also extra-
episcopal, and was, in fact, subject to no external jurisdiction
whatever. The technical title of the minister appears from the
registers to have been — "Principal Official and Judge in Spirituali-
ties in the Peculiar Court of Peak Forest." Amongst other privi-
leges, the minister was his own surrogate, and had the right of
granting marriage licences without any let or hindrance. For this,
amongst other purposes, the chapel was furnished with a seal. This
seal is remarkable both for the rudeness of the design and the
obscurity of the legend. It is a small piece of hard wood, round
at one end, and oval at the other. The engraving on the round
end has been carelessly cut, so that it can be read straightway
from the seal itself, and this has, of course, the effect of reversing
the lettering of the impression. The legend is — ** + PECV : iVliS :
APVD PEAKE FORREST. CAP : ADMC." That the first port of
this implies, " The PecuKar Jurisdiction of the Chapel in the Peak
Forest '* is obvious ; and the best explanation that we can give of the
last four letters is that they stand for *' Anno Domini," and that
the engraver had not left himself space to put in more than the
first two letters of the correct date intended to be expressed in
Roman numerals. The centre of the seal is occupied by a quar-
tered shield, most rudely cut, apparently bearing in the first quarter
a plain cross ; in the second, a cross pattee ; in the third, two
nondescript animals (? pigs seeking pannage in the forest) ; and in
the fourth, on a bend two mullets.

The oval end of the shield, which is equally rudely carved, bears
in the centre the same two animals, impaling a square diagonally
intersected and three roundlets in base.f Below this is the date
" 1665 " in Arabic numerals. The legend, which is in parts indis-
tinct, seems to be as follows :— -" SIGIL. IVR. STL CA. MARAD :
i?AMIAZFRP.'* Here again the first part is quite clear as being
** The Seal of the Jurisdiction of St. Charles the Martyr," but the

* For an account of Christian, Countess of Devonshire, see Grove's Lives of the
Earls and Dukes of Devoiiakire (1764), pp. 9 — 16.

t Several conjectures ml^htbe offered as to the meaning of these devices, but they
-would all be so vague that it is scarcely worth while to produce them. On the whole,
aiter submitting them to several gentlemen well skilled in heraldic lore, one of
whom is an official in the College of Arms, we are inclined to think that they
merely represent the caprice of a clumsy artist, or else that he has so misinterpreted
that whion he had to copy as to render it nonsensical.

PE.VK FOREST. 279

rest is a puzzle, attributable, we can only suppose, to the ignorance
of the provincial carver. The stop : seems to have been placed
after instead of before ** A.D.," and several of the remaining charac-
ters are not quite clear, especially the two given in italics. The
most liJvely suggestion that occurs to us (but we readily admit that
abetter may be found) is, that it should read in full after "MAR''
— Ad (or apud) Caineram in Foresta Regia Feed — i.e., at the Chamber
(camera) of the Royal Forest of the Peak This explanation
involves the idea that the engraver omitted -the first half of the
word cameramy instead of the lasfc, as is usual in contractions.
This particular spot was long known as the Chamber of the Peak,
and is thus marked in sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth
century maps of the county. It was here that the king or his
representative held a court in connection with his royal forest, and
we have met with the expression camera, etc., in several early
Latin charters.

Several attempts seem to have been made by the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield — who were the rectors of all the adjacent
parishes, with the exception of Castleton — to interfere with the
peculiar jurisdiction of this chapel, but all to no purpose. The
following spirited rejoinder that was made to their pretensions
by the Rev. Mr. Oldfield,* who wa» minister at the close of the
seventeenth and commencement of the eighteenth centuries, is to
be found on the fly-leaf of one of the registers : —

Mr. Oldfield Answer to y* Dane and Chapters OfflciaUe as to their pretensions to y«

Peak Forest.
Sir,

I haTe a due veneration for y« Dane and Chapter as y* Dignitaries of ye
Chnrch. But y* reason why I cannot comply w*^ them as to their Invasion on yt
Liberties & Immunities of y* Peak Forest are as FoUoweth (vi2.)

When first I came to y« place it was given me to observe by Mr. BuUock and Mr.
Wheeldon Senior the late Dukes chief Agents, y^ y« place was extra parochiaU & had
no dependency on Litchfield for it was a Church donative, & founded on y« Crown
Land -neither must I pay any appearance at their visitations, & so it was acknow-
ledged by y* Famous & Learned Bishop Hacket at his Primary Visitation in open
Court at Chesterfield, immediately after y* King's Bestauration.

Secondly, 'tis well known y* y« Dane & Chapter have a peculiarity in y« High Peak,
& as well known y* that peculiarity is made up of four Parishes (viz.) Bakewell,
Tideswell, Hope, Chapel en le Frith, & a small place towards Ashbum caUed Eniv-
ington & never more known by any man now living— But they not content w'*> their
antient Devidend as their Predicessors formerly have been to enlarge their jurisdic-
tion, w* fain push y« forest, w*» was always extra parochiall into some of y« fore
named Parishes w<* to any rational, & un biased man w* seem a prodigious push.

Sly It is weU known y' never any of my Predecessors in y* place ever since y*

* Bassano mentions a gravestone against the north wall of the chapel, to Maria
Oldfield* the wife of this ininiHtor. 8he died in 1699.

280 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Church was founded & huilt did pay any common appearancoi or took ont any
Lycence for y* place at their Court, neither have they any President for their
proceedings.

4Iy As to Probates of Wills etc. If they can destroy a Register of above three
score years standing vi^ would seem very strange, I presume there is a Court cals
itself Prerogative to yo" perhaps may take cognizance of those things.

51y As to yo' further proceedings against me you cannot justly chaige your Signi-
ficavit w*^* any notorious Heresie, Schism, Symony, Perjury, Usury, Incest, Adultery,
or any other gross immoralities, & if so then it must be pro contumibcia only, & in
y* there will be found a case de meo et tuo so must be further inspected, for he y^ is
chancellor in his own cause y* world would think it a wonder if he does not
carry it.

61y It is well known y^ never any of my Predecessors paid any appearance at their
Visitations nor took out any Licentia procurato for y« place.

These are some of y* reasons why I cannot comply w^ the Deane & Chapter in
their Invasion upon the Liberties & Immunities of y* Peak Forest, especially since
it hath been so carefully & nobly defended by his Graces Noble Progenitors from
all former invasions ever since it flow<* from y« Crown to y* Noble Family.
Though now the invaders write it y* Peak Forest intra nostram jurisdictionem
w^ as much confidence as ever Jezabel gave Ahab Nabotiis Vineyard w^ was
none of her own to give. Whareas it hath always appertained to his Grace &
Noble Progenitors to put in a qualified man there to Preach and to visit.

Ab the knowledge of the peculiar powers possessed by the
minister of this out-of-the-way chapel spread, it gradually became
the resort of runaway conples and those desirous of contracting
hasty marriages, from all parts of the kingdom. There are nu-
merous proofs of this in the earliest registers, which commence
in 1665, though in a very fragmentary condition. In the year
1728, so much had this practice extended, that a separate book
for their entry was provided, which is endorsed "Foreign Mar-
riages.^' It contains simply the names of the contracting parties,
without any other particulars. We struck an average from a large
number of years at the commencement of this volume, and found
that it exceeded sixty per annum. At the commencement of the
volume is written : — " Register book bought for use of the pecuHar
of St. Charles in ye Peake Forrest. 1728. Jonathan Rose, Minis-
ter." This book ends in 1754. The traffic in these marriages was
materially interfered with by an Act passed in 1768, the imme-
diate object of which was to put a stop. to the scandalous Fleet
Street marriages. But it continued in a modified form to a much
later date. Another entry says — ** Here endeth the Hst of persons
who came from different parishes in England & were married at
Peak Forest. This was a great priviledge for the minister, but
being productive probably of bad consequences was put a stop to
by an Act of Parhament. Hugh Wolstenholm. July, 1804." The
minister stated at the time these marriages were checked, that he
lost thereby £100 per annum.

PEAK FOREST. 281

In a review in the GentlemarCs Magazine, for 1833, of Bum's
Fleet Eegister, occurs the following paragraph : — ^* If it were pos-
sible to obtain similar accounts of obscure chapels in the country
at which clandestine marriages were wont to be celebrated, such
for instance as the Chapel of St Charles the Martyr in the Forest
of the Peak in Derbyshire, he would add to the obhgations/'
etc., etc.*

We are able to give a copy of the form of certificate given to
his patrons by Bev. J. Bose, from the original in our possession.

"These are to certify e whom it may concern that William
OUerenshaw of y* parish of Glossop, and Mary Greenham of y*
parish of Yolegrave Com: Derb: were Canonically married in the
Church of St. Charles in y* Peak Forrest upon Sunday the 26th
of August 1739. by " Jon : Bose."

The certificate is on a piece of paper about six inches by nine,
and bears two sixpenny Government stamps embossed on it, but
there is no impression of the seaL

That the faculty of issuing marriage licenses to those living
within the radius of the jurisdiction of Peak Forest stiU remains
to the minister there cannot be the slightest doubt. Such a right
was repeatedly exercised by the late incumbent, Bev. A. T. Field,
and the licenses he issued were stamped with the seal of the Pecu-
liar. We understand that some scruple has arisen as to the exer-
cise of this right at the present time, but it would be much to be
regretted, as well as detrimental to succeeding holders of the living,
if an interesting historical right of this description (which must
be now wholly innocuous to all, excepting the gatherer of Diocesan
fees), should be allowed to lapse by desuetude.

The chapel is a plain oblong building, with a bell turret at the
west end. It is of the debased style that we might expect from
ihe time in which it was built, and does not call for any special
remark. Over the porch is the date 1666, between the initials
B. I. and B. B. It also bears a sundial, dated Dec. 22, 1807, and
having the motto — Cursum peregi. There is an older dial on the
south of the bell turret. The chapel was lengthened at the east
end, as is stated on a board, by Mary Bower, in 1780. She was
the daughter of Robert and Harriet Needham, of Perreyfoot, and
died in the following year. There is a large monument to her
memory against the south wall ; and we learn from a table of be-

• Gentleman* 8 Magazine, 1838, pt. 2, pp. 480—432.

282 DERBYSHIEE CHURCHES.

quests, that she left her harpsichord to the chapel, with an endow-
ment for the player.* At the west end, under the gallery, is an
octagon font of good but plain design.

Against the south wall we noticed a wreath of many-coloured
everlasting-flowers suspended, and attached to it the funeral card
of ** Jonathan Rogers, 6 May, 1872, aged 29.'* We make mention
of this as it seems to be a relic of the now extinct custom of
funeral garlands. His tomb is in the churchyard.

A new church, of far finer proportions, is now rising immediately
to the west of the present building, which is to be taken down as
soon as its successor is completed.

* This endowment has been mistakenly transferred in Glover's Derbyshire to
Chapel-en-le-Frith.

StbpsfDfIL

Mom^iU.

@t&F8dlFlL

|0B the brief mention of Tideswell as a Chapel of Hope,
when the latter church was given by John to the Bishop
of Coventry and Lichfield, and. when it was handed over,
together with Hope, a few years subsequently to the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield, we must refer the reader to the account of
the then mother church.

It appears that it was not until the episcopate of Boger de
Weseham (1245 — 1256) that Tideswell was constituted as a separate
parish and an independent vicarage. From an old chartulary of the
Lichfield Chapter, we gather that the specific endowments of the
vicar of Tideswell were ordained in July, 1264.* To the vicar be-
longed the lesser tithes (except the tithes of wool and lambs) with
the oblations of the altar, that is the tithes of milk of the whole
parish, the tithes of two mills, the tithes of swineherds and goose-
herds, of flax, hemp, vegetables, honey, and gardens, and also St.
Peter's pence, and the plough-fees annually given by custom through
the whole parish, viz., one half -penny for each plough, and the tithes
of hay for the townships of Litton and Wheston. The Vicar was
also to hold a certain mansion, or vicarage- house, in Tideswell, and,
in return for the various emoluments, he was to officiate in person
in the church, and to maintain, at his own cost, a priest and sub-
deacon to assist him. The Vicar was also responsible for main-
taining a lamp burning in the church ; but the repairs of the
chancel, and the providing of books and vestments, were part of

* Magnum Begistmm Album ; Harl. MSS., 4,799, f. 42b ; Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 41 -
See Appendix No. XTT. The composition arriyed at in 1252, between the Dean and
Chapter of Lichfield and the Prior of Lenton abont the tithes of TidesweU and other

gariflhes (to which reference is made at the end of the Ordination of the Vicarage)
as been ahready detailed in onr aoconnt of Chapel-en-le- Frith, p. 141.

286 DERBYSHIKE CllUKCliES.

the duties of the Dean and Chapter. Alau de Liiceby was then
Vicar of Tides well.*

There is no mention of cither Tideswell or Hope in the taxation
roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291), which seems to imply some
special exemption of these parishes from the papal impost

The Valor Ecclesiasticus (27 Henry VIII.) gives the clear value of
the vicarage at £7 Os. 6d.t Edmund Eyre, the vicar, was non-
resident and hving at Gryn' (?Grindon), in Stafifordshire. The
same Commission valued the rectorial tithes of corn, hay, and
minerals, belonging to the Chapter of Lichfield, at iB43 18s. 4d.,
and the site of the rectory, with glebe and lands, at £2 16s. Id.
The tithes of wool and lambs of the three parishes of Bakewell,
Hope, and Tideswell, are only given in the aggregate sum of
£105 Os. Od.

The ParHamentary Commissioners of 1650 valued the vicarage
at £20, with an augmentation of £30. The impropriate tithes,
which were then farmed to several persons, were estimated at
£800 per annum. Mr. Ralph Heath was the incumbent.

A chantry was founded in this church in the reign of Edwai'd
III. by John Foljambe.J John Foljambe was the eldest son of
Thomas Foljambe, by his second wife, Ahce, daughter and heiress
of Darley, of Darley. The following is the entry in the Chantry
Roll (37 Hen. Vin.) :—

"Tyddeswell. — The Chauntry founded by John PuUjambe by Ucense of K.
Edw. m. and confirmed by K. Bch. n. for ij prysts to say Masse at or Ladye
alter there and to mayntayne God's Service, and to pray for the sowl of K. Bich.
n., the founders sowles and aU Crystyan sowles ixZ. ixs. iiijc^., besyds rent resolate
of wh is employed uppori in almesse xij«. Christ. Lytton and Christ. Synderby©
chauntrye prysts. It hath a maucyon prysed att iiij* by yere. Stock liii«. xjrf."

The eldest son of the above-mentioned John Foljambe was Roger :
and Roger Foljambe, by his wife Eleanor, had issue James. §
James Foljambe, in conjunction with other inhabitants of Tides-
well, obtained leave from Richard 11., in the seventh year of his

* Dns. Alan, Vicar of Tideswell, was witness to a deed of abont this date, by which
John Daniel of Tideswell gave to Thomas, son of Roger Foljambe of Wonnmll, half
the mill of Fairfield,— Nichols* Collectanea, vol. i.,p. 98.

t For particulars see Appendix No. XIII.

J Inq. post Mort., 88 Edward HI., 2nd pt. No. 1. ; from which it appears that John
Foljambe left 200 acres in Tideswell, Wormhill, and Litton, for two chaplains.

§ There is some little confusion in the Foljambe pedigree of this date, and it is not
quite clear whether there were not two John Foljambes, father and son; but the
statement m the text commends itself the most to Cecil G. S. Foljambe, Esq.. whom
we have consulted on the point. The wife of John Foljambe. the founder of the
chantry, seems to have been named Margaret. The John Foljambe who married
Joanna FrecheviUe, was of Elton, and nephew of John Foljambe, of TidesweU.—
Nichols ColUctanea, vol. i., p. 107. There is a mistake on this point in the
pedigree, given m vol. xiv. of the Reliquary, by Mr. Foljambe.

TIDESWELL. 287

reign, to refound this chantry of his grandfather, and to endow it,
together with a guild, with large landed property.* The following
is a fall translation of the charter relative to this chantry and
guild, which was finally drawn up in 16 Bichard 11. : —

"To all the sons of holy mother Church who shall see or hear
these presents, Nicholas Stafford, Knight, James Foljaumbe, Kobert
Joweson, of Tunstedes, Henry Alisaundre, Chaplain, Kobert Sharp»
Chaplain, Robert Machon, of Tideswell, and Henry Townsend, of
Litton, send greeting in the Saviour of all men. Among other
offices of piety it is not doubted, but that is one of the chief
that holy mother church by an ever new Increase of Ministers
diligently attending upon her and labouring in the Lord's Vineyard,
should be rendered fruitful to the end, that under the authority
and guidance of God, she may, from- the manifold seed of her
Ministers, see Fruit produced in her Members an hundred Fold.
We, therefore, desiring according to the ability given us from on
high, and by the mediation of the Author of all good things that
divine Worship may increase and flourish more abundantly in the
parish Church of Tideswell, in the diocese of Coventry and Lich-
field, by the License of the most illustrious Prince and Lord our
Lord Bichard, by the Grace of God, King of England, first had,
who of his special grace, hath by his Letters Patent, granted us
power to give and assign Three Messuages, Sixty and two acres
and one Bood of Land, with the appurtenances in Wormhill, and
also seven Messuages, ninety and eight acres of Land, with the
appurtenances in Tideswell, and also one Messuage, ' thirty and five
acres of Land, with the appurtenances in Litton, to two Chaplains
to perform divine services for the soul of Edward, late King of
England, for the soul of King Bichard himselfe, and for souls of
John Foljaumbe, of John, the son of Henry de Monyash, and of
John Alisaimdre, and for the souls of all faithful people, deceased
at the Altar of blessed Mary, in the Church of St. John the Bap-
tist, of Tiddeswell, aforesaid, and for the healthy state of the same
King Bichard and ours, and of the others while we shall Hve, and
for the souls of them the same King Bichard and ours when we
shall depart this life, and for the souls of all faithful people de-
ceased at the Altar aforesaid, in the aforesaid Church, according to
our Ordinance hereafter to be made. To have and to hold to

* Patent BoUs, 7 Rich, n, pt. 1, memb. 8. There are copies of this and two later
oharters of the same reign in WoUey's Collections— Add. MSS., 6,667, nff. 88^—^96.
For the extended translation of one of these, given in the text, we are indebted to a
Supplement to the Tideswell Parish Magazine^ for May, 1868.

288 DEEBYSmRE CHURCHES.

the same Chaplftins and their successors, to performe divine service
every day for the state and souls aforesaid, at the foresaid Altar in
the foresaid Church, as according to our Ordinance, leave is
given for ever, the Statute that religious men, or others, may not
enter upon another's Fee without License of the King, and of
the capital Lord of whom that thing is immediately held not-
withstanding.

" Enow ye that we are under Pretext of the Premises, and of the
License of the capital Lords who are interested in this respect,
have given, granted, and by this our present Charter, have
assigned to John Smyth and John Bedymon, secular Chaplains for
the endowing and sustaining of the same. To have and to hold
all the aforesaid Lands and Tenements with the appurtenances to
the aforesaid John Smyth and John Bedymon, secular Chaplains,
and their successors who shall celebrate divine service at the fore-
said Altar in the foresaid Church, for the state and souls aforesaid,
and for the healthy state of Anne, Queen of England, of John,
Duke of Aquitain and Lancaster, and of his noble Consort, of
William de Aston, Chancellor of the same Duke, of Elizabeth,
the wife of the foresaid Nicholas de Stafford, of Roger Foljaumbe,
Knight, of John de Stafford the elder, of Thurstan o' Boure, and
Margaret his wife, and Margaret, mother of the same Thurstan,
and of all the Brethren and Sisters of the Gild of the Blessed
Mary, of Tideswell, and of all the benefactors of the foresaid Oild
who are or who for the time shall be, while they shall live, and
for their souls when they shall depart, and of all faithful people
deceased for ever, and for all those by which or whom the foresaid
Gild may be supported, or in anything assisted. And for the soul
of Margaret Foljaumbe, and for the souls of the parents of the
said Elizabeth, and of all the forementioned, and for the soul of
Maud, wife of the said John Alisaundre, to be held of the Capital
Lords of that Fee by the services due therefrom, and of right
accustomed according to our Ordinance which we have thought
proper to be made in manner and form following.

''First we will and ordain that the Gift and Endowment be
called the Chantry of the Blessed Mary of Tideswell, and that the
Chaplains aforesaid, and their successors, be **secidar** and not
"religious'' * Chaplains, nor Chaplains of Honour, who shall possess
the Chantry aforesaid in form hereafter following, and that the said

* Parish priests were called "seonlars;" those living in monasteries were called
"religious," or regulars.

TIDESWELL. 289

Chaplains have the Custody of the said Altar, and of the books,
chalice, and other ornaments for the said Altar appointed by
Indenttire tripartite, to be thereof made between the Yicar of the
foresaid Church, two Aldermen of the foresaid Gild, and the
Chaplains of the same Chantry, of which we will that one part'
remain in the power of the Vicar, another in the power of the
said Aldermen, the third in the power of the Chaplains aforesaid,
which for the time shall be. Also we will and ordain that the
foresaid Chaplains, and their successors, say one Mass with the
Note of St. Mary at the Altar aforesaid, once in the week — viz.
Wednesday, except when full service of the same is performed in the
Quire the foresaid day, and except also double festivals, infirmities,
and other reasonable causes. Also we will and ordain that the foresaid
Chaplains and their successors be in the Quire in their Surplices and
black Copes as the Yicar of Lichfield, namely, at Mattins, at
Mass, and at other Hours of the day when the Vicar or his
parochial Chaplain are in the Quire, and say divine services with
the note reasonable causes excepted. And if it happens that either
of them omit through neghgence the foresaid service, he shall give
a penny for Alms for the souls of all the foresaid persons. Also
we will and ordain, that the foresaid Chaplains and their successors
say once in the year Placebo, and Dirige, solenmly with the Note
with the Mass de requiem on the morrow, in the same form at the
foresaid Altar, namely, on the day and morrow of All Souls, and
after the second mass aforesaid, the foresaid Chaplains shall pay
forty pence to be distributed among the Poor for the souls of all
faithful people deceased. Also we will and ordain, that if it happen
that the foresaid Chaplains live dishonestly contrary to the order of
Priests and the state of holy Church, the Vicar of the Church
aforesaid, . for the time being, with the consent of the Aldermen of
the foresaid Gild, and their successors, may then well remove the
foresaid chaplains from the Chantry aforesaid, and substitute and
put other fit secular Chaplains in the place of them or of him so
behaving ill.

"Moreover, we will and ordain that the Chaplains aforesaid who
for the time shall be, be fit, and that they shall be put into the
Chantry aforesaid by Nicholas Stafford, and EUzabeth his wife, and
by two Aldermen of the aforesaid Gild, or by their attorney, with-
out making any presentation to any Ordinary during the Ufe of the
foresaid Nicholas and Elizabeth, the foresaid Chaplains are to be
chosen to the said Chantry when it shall happen to be vacant by

u

290 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the Vicar of the Church aforesaid, for the time being, and by the
foresaid Aldermen shall be peaceably placed in the same Chantry
without any sort of presentation and Institution. And if it happen
that the said Chantry be vacant and the foresaid Nicholis and
Elizabeth, and Aldermen shall for more than forty days from
the time of the same vacancy defer to appoint one fit Chaplain,
then after that the appointment and provision of Chaplains of this
sort be devolved to the Vicar of the foresaid Church, and to the
Aldermen of the foresaid Gild for the time being for that time
and turn. And if those same Vicar and Aldermen for the time
being shall for forty days from the time of the same devolution, for
that turn so devolved to the foresaid Vicar and Aldermen, defer to
appoint fit Chaplains to the said Chantry from that time, that the
appointmen and provision of Chaplain of this sort be for that
time and turn devolved to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral
Church of Lichfield.

"Also we will and ordain, that the providing and ordering of a
Chaplain of this sort to the said Chantrey when it shall happen to
be vacant after the decease of the foresaid Nicholas and EHzabeth,
remain to the Vicar of the foresaid Church, and to the Aldermen
of the foresaid Gild, and their Successors for the time being for
ever. So that if it happen that the said Chantry, after the deceSrse
of the said Nicholas and EUzabeth be vacant, and they the said
Vicar and Aldermen for the time being, shall for forty days from
the time of that same vacancy, defer and be negligent to appoint
the said fit Chaplains to the said Chantry, then after that the
ordering and providing of Chaplains of this sort be for that Turn
devolved to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church above-
said. Yet so that if it should happen that they the foresaid Dean and
Chapter shall for forty days from the time of such devolution of
the Chantry for that time devolved to the aforesaid Dean, defer to
appoint the said fit Chaplains to be chosen to the said Chantry,
from and after that time the ordering and providing of Chaplains of
this sort be for that time devolved to the said Vicar and Aldermen,
and so alternately for ever, saving always for the time to come
the Rights and Powers of the patronage itself of the foresaid
Chantry to the foresaid patrons, in the foresaid form of ordering
and providing things when the case shall demand and require. Also
wo will and ordain, that if the same Chaplains and their Succes-
sors, both or either of them receive other ecclesiastical Benefice,
with cure or without, or other annual or perpetual oflices, or any

TIDES WELL. 291

Annual Stipend, and they or he shall possess them or it for the
Half of one year, from that time the foresaid Chantry be in very
deed said to be void of that Chaplain or those Chaplains, and that
the said Chaplains or Chaplain be removed from the same, and
other fit Chaplains or fit Chaplain be put in his or their place, in
manner and form abovesaid. Also we will and ordain, that every
Chaplain to be chosen to the said Chantry, before he shall obtain
the corporal possession shall take a corporal oath, laying his hand
on the Holy Gospels in the presence of the Vicar and Alderman
abovesaid which for the time shall be, that he will well and faith-
fully observe and fulfil all and every the ordinances, and that he
will make his corporal and continual residence in the foresaid
Chantry in form abovesaid, and if he shall absent himself without
licence of the Vicar and Aldermen for the time then being, or
without reasonable cause, for a week, then upon that very thing
that the foresaid Chaplain be removed from thence, and other fit
one shall be put therein in his place. Also we will and ordain
that the foresaid Ordinances be once in the year, namely, on Good
Friday, pubhcly read in the parish church aforesaid.

*' In Witness whereof we have put our seals to these presents,
dated at Tideswell on the Lord's day next before the feast of St.
Michael the Archangel, in the 16th year of the reign of Richard the
Second, after the Conquest, and in the year of our Lord One
thousand three hundred and ninety-two."

.There is not a little perplexity about the exact descent of the
manor of Tideswell, but at this time there is no doubt that it was
held by Sir Nicholas Stafford and Elizabeth, his wife.* The altar
of this chantry was in the north transept of the nave.

We have also found the record of another small endowment of
this chantry altar. Bobert de Beyley gave various lands at Litton
to UKeton de Litton, and his heirs, on condition of payment of two
shillings annually to the altar of the Blessed Mary, in the church
of St. John the Baptist, in Tideswell. Ralph de Sempringham
(described as rector of Tideswell), Robert Clericus de Wormhill,
William Daniel, and John Foljambe, are among the witnesses to
this deed.t

The present grandly proportioned church of Tideswell is almost

• Rot. Pat., 8 Hen. IV., pt. 1, memb. 6. The King confirms to Elizabeth Stafford,
widow of Nicholas Staffora, the manor of Tideswell, and divers other mills, lands,
and tenements, conceded to Thomas Anniger by charters of 9 John, and 11 Henry III.,
and confirmed to Kichard Daniel by 33 Edw. I., and confirmed to Nicholas and Eliza-
beth Stafford by 1 Bich. 11., on an annual payment of £7.

t HarL MSS., 4799, 1 37.

292 DERBYSHIEE CHUECHES.

exclusively of the Decorated, or later Decorated style, that prevafled
in the first half of the fourteenth century. We may be sure ^at
the erection of so large a building, in a comparatively poor district
like that of the Peak, was extended over many years, and, tiiough
it may have been commenced about 1320-80, it was probably not
finished till 1360-80. The tower would naturally be left to the
last, so that we need not be surprised to find it partakmg of the
characteristics of the next period, and with a large west wmdow of
undoubted Perpendicular design. _

This fine church consists of a nave eighty-two feet six mchea
in length, having a width, including the side aisles, of fifty-six
feet three inches ; of north and south transepts projeotmg sixteen
feet beyond the aisles ; of a south porch twelve feet two mches
square, with a parvise or upper chamber over it ; of a handsome
west tower, having a ground plan of sixteen feet eight mch^ by
sixteen feet ; and of a chancel of unusuaUy large dimensions, hemg
sixty-two feet six inches in length and an average of twenty-six feet

in breadth. * -m, > j.i.

We must trust to the heUotypes, (Plates XHP. and XIIP.) rather
than to any poor words of our own, to give some idea of the deh-
cacy yet boldness of the mouldings, of the effective character of the
buttresses, of the grace of the tracery (especially of the transept
windows), of the finish of the parapets, and of the proportion of
the component parts, that all combine in the production of a
building of singular beauty, mi one which it would be no easy
task to equal by any of Uke size in the kingdom. But it has suf-
fered, with exceptional severity, both firom sluggish neglect, and
firom the barbarising hand of the churchwarden "beautifier."

Writing in 1781, Dr. Pegge speaks of Tideswell Church as a
beautiful building that will speedily be in a ruinous condition if not
repaired.t A striking account of the neglected appearance of the
interior of this church was given by Mary Stemdale, in a small
work published in 18244 It is there stated that— " Tideswell
Church possessed a noble organ, the large pipes of which were
removed to Lichfield ; and so lightiy does the mother church regard
this her beautiful offspring, that report, I trust misrepresentation,
has asserted it has been in contemplation to apply its valuable roof

* These dimensions we take from a ground plan of the chnrch drawn by the Rey.
Samnel Andrew, vicar of Tideswell, to whom also we are indebted for other partiea-
lars relative to the chnrch.

t TPegge's MS. Collections, vol. vii.

} Vigntttet of Derbythire, pp. 69-78.

TIDESWELL. 293

of lead to the funds of Lichfield Cathedral, and Bnbstitute one of
slate m its place. . . . The tabernacle work, that is broken and
strewed around in the neglected transepts, evince how richly the
stalls, chapels, and screens were once ornamented. In a comer of
the transept is an ancient font ; it is now regularly used by the
workpeople to mix their colours in, when they heauiify the church
with blue and mahogany paint. . . . Indifference and insensi-
bility have suffered the decorations and designations of this fine
edifice to fall into decay — a species of destruction fatal in its
ultimate effects as the ravages of the Goths and Vandals ; the
building of such churches was a matchless proof of high devotion
that is now waxed cold ; and their neglect of them is a reproach
upon posterity, that ought most sacredly to be avoided.'* Happily,
this reproach is now being rapidly removed under the direction
of the present Vicar.

As we enter the south door of the church, which is dedicated to
St. John the Baptist, the consecration crosses should not escape
notice! These crosses, marked on the walls at the time of conse-
cration, have been clearly and distinctly cut on the moulded shafts
in the jambs of the doorway, and are some six inches in length,
the ends being bi-furcated. It is most exceptional to find consecra-
tion crosses extant at the present time, or, at all events, so clearly
marked as at Tides well.*

There is nluch of interest in the interior of the church. When
this church was in its pristine condition, it must have contained
four other altars, in addition to the high altar in the chancel.
The innermost bay of the south transept was "the De Bower
chapel/' as it is now called. In the south wall, to the east of the
beautiful south window, is a high canopied niche, below which is a
piscina ornamented with crocketed work and a finiaL This chapel,
like its fellows in this and the opposite transept, was formerly se-
parated from the nave and the rest of the church by a wooden
parclose or screen. Much of the material of these beautiful screens
remained in the church within the memory of man, and it is said
that ** cartloads'* of fine wood tracery were removed. The parclose
of the De Bower chapel has recently been restored, in exactly the

• " Antiently, when a Clinrch was built, it would not be omitted to have a cross,
or the fi^re of a cross, placed near or on the front, or over the entrance into the
Church.*' — Staveley's History of Churches. The Bishop himself marked or cut the
crosses at the entrance, and on other parts of the fabric of the church, but the Con-
secr^tor merely marked them with holy oil, or incised them slightly with a knife
f {cultro), and, if it was desired to make them permanent, they were subsequently
coloured, or carved to a greater depth. — Vide 2}urandiUf and the Pontificals
Romanum,

I
294 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

>

same position that it previously occupied. The adjoining chapel,
that forms, as it were, a continuation of the south aisle, belonged
to the manor of Litton, and to the celebrated family who took their
name from that manor. Here, in the east wall, is another piscina,
which, though mutilated at the lower part, and shorn of the hood-
mould which formerly encompassed it, is a good example of De-
corated work. On the south side of the respond adjoining this
chapel, there is a very small plainly pointed niche ; it has been
conjectured that this was the place for keeping the chrism or holy
oil. ,

That portion of the opposite transept which corresponds with
the Litton chapel has no piscina or immediate trace of an altar
now remaining, but there is little doubt that this was a chapel
appropriated to the manor of Wheston, for it is in this part of
the church that seats pertaining to that hamlet are now claimed.
The north transept proper, however, was the Lady Chapel, for it
was here that the altar of St. Mary stood, that is mentioned in
the account of the chantry and guild already quoted. Li the
east wall is a piscina of plain description, and there are also
traces in the masonry of the exact height of the ancient altar.
This altar-stone was found some few years ago below the boarded
floor of the transept, where it still remains. It is not perfect, but
there are two, if not three, of the consecration crosses remaining.

Vignettes of Derbyshire (1824), from which we have already
quoted, says — " A curious stone pulpit, on the north side of the
nave, is an immoveable testimony of having been a part of the
original structure ; but as if in determination to degrade the
beauty of the longitudinal view, a most impertinent gallery, of
modem erection is made to rest upon it.'* But alterations, that
were commenced in the very year in which this was published,
made light of this ** immoveable*' pulpit, and all that now re-
mains of it are some fragments under the flooring, used in sup-
porting the joists. This ancient pulpit stood in the nave, imme-
diately against the north base of the chancel arch, and from the
description just quoted, it is clear that it served as one of the
supports for a small gallery (termed **the Hucklow loft," as it was
used by people from that hamlet) that was erected over the chancel
screen, at an early period in the eighteenth century. This loft
disappeared at the same time as the pulpit, though happily the
original chancel screen, except a portion of the top, mutilated
when the Hucklow loft was erected, yet remains.

TIDESWELL. 295

We find from the Churchwardens' accounts, that at a vestry
meeting, held on February 22nd, 1824, it was resolved to pull
down the gallery (west) and make a new one, to re-pew the
church, and ''to underdraw with lath, plaster, and other requisite
materials, the roof of the church." The former part of this
resolution was carried out, and to it is owing the present large
gallery that blocks up the west end of the church; but most for-
tunately the determination to lath and plaster the roof fell through,
probably from lack of funds. The high-pitched roof of the nave
is the original one, and the timbers are in a fair state of preservation.
It forms a good specimen of the vigorous roof designs of the
Decorated period, but few of which are still extant. The roofs of
the side aisles, though of a plain lean-to description, have some
well-moulded timbera Both of them appear to have been rebuilt
during the 8tuart period. On one of the beams of the north
aisle is the date 1685, with the initials of the churchwardens.
Many repairs seem to have been done to the interior of the church
about that period. On the woodwork at the west end, imder the
gallery, is the date 1632.

As soon as we enter the chancel, we are struck with its large,
dmost conventual^ proportions, most unusual in an ordinary parish
church. The establishment of the Guild of St. Mary, which was of
the nature of a small collegiate establishment, probably led to the con-
struction of the chancel on this striking scale. We do not beheve that
the present chancel was part of the original design of the building;
and the weather-moulding of the steep pitched roof of the former
quire seems to be indicated on the east wall of the nave, as seen
from within the chancel* Perhaps the chancel of the original de-
sign, which would surely be smaller and more in keeping with the
rest of the building, was never actually completed, or, if it was,
could not have remained standing for many years; for the whole
character of the mouldings of the present chancel, as well as its
noble windows, point to the end of the Decorated period, in the
third quarter of the fourteenth century. This would just coincide

♦ The Vicar (Rev. S. Andrew) writea to us on this point :— "I think the great archi-
tects would diner with you as to the present chancel not being part of the original
design. It is considered that the marks on the eastern side of the chancel arch,
showinff Che existence of a former chancel, were purposely put there to provide a
small cnancel during the progress of the large choir, and the large choir or chancel
built over this smaller chancel so as not to interrupt too long the services of the
church. The plan of so large a chancel harmonizes entirelv with the rest of the
church, and was not uncommon at that particular period. Heckington, Nantwich^
Cobham, and some others might be named."

296 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

with the time when John Foljambe (88 Edw. III.) left the large
landed endowment to the chantry and guild. It is our opinion
that the foundation of this chantry, at a time when the parish
church was being constructed, or had already been in the main
completed, led to a remodelling of the chancel on its present grand
scale.

In the south wall .of the chancel, near the east end, are three
stone sedilia of most handsome design (Plate V.). Immediately be-
yond this is the piscina, the niche of which is ornamented with
crockets in a similar manner to the one in the De Bower chapel.
Opposite to the sedilia, in the north wall of the chancel, are two
slightly projecting low arches. They afford little or no recess be-
neath them, for they scarcely project further than an ordinary
string-course or moulding. One of these arches probably served,
from its position, as the SepiUchre, beneath which at Easter- tide a
representation of our Saviour's entombment was placed.* The
second arch seems to have been constructed to mark the place of
the founder's tomb. Close to it is the monument of John Foljambe,
which we shall shortly notice.

The great peculiarity of this chancel is its stone reredoSf or screen
for the back of the altar. This extends across the whole width of
the east end, and has a door on the north side leading into the
Sacristy, or vestry. It is placed nearly six feet from the east window,
and is adorned on each side with a large tabernacle, or niche for
a saint, which are enriched with elaborate canopies, surmounted
by crocketed pinnacles, similar to those on the exterior of the
church. With the exception of being embattled on the top, the
reredos is not otherwise ornamented, and would probably be covered
with rich tapestries or hangings at the time of celebration. It is
just of sufficient height to aUow of a clear view of the east win-
dow, which also possesses on each side two equally large niches.
Nor must we omit to notice the small bracket at the back of the
reredos, placed exactly in the centre, a few inches below the top,
on which would be placed the crucifix. It has been supposed that
this reredos was an after-thought, in order to provide a vestry, but
we scarcely see the necessity < of this supposition, for the string-

* Occasionally an actual effigy of our Lord was constractedf but the nsiial conzBe
was to remove the crucifix over the high altar on Good Friday, placing it under the
Sepulchre, where it was constantly watched till Easter mom. It was then replaced
upon the altar with great ceremony. In our smaller churches the Sepulchre was
usually a wooden erection, hut in larger ones we often find them of stone, and most
elaborately decorated.

TIDESWELL. 297

course, or moulding on the wall, terminates in front on each side
about three inches from the screen.*

The roof of the chancel has recently been renewed in a most
effective manner, stained glass of a graceful design now fills the
fine tracery of the large east window, several of the monuments
have been restored, and stalls introduced of handsomely-carved
oak. To make room for the latter, the remains of the old stalls,
five on each side, of a plain but massive description, have been
removed to the nave. It is intended to place them eventually in
the Lady chapel.

At the west end of the church is the ancient font, which Mary
Sterndale noted as standing in the north transept for the mixing of
colours. The alterations that immediately followed her visit, removed
the font to a heap of rubbish in the churchyard, from which igno-
minious position it was rescued by the present vicar, and restored
to the church. It is of octagon shape, and has various devices,
including a chalice and an open book, incised on its different faces.

The tower, which is crowned with a remarkable combination of
turrets and pinnacles, possesses a ^ne peal of six bells. The fol-
lowing are their respective inscriptions: —

I. "Cantate Domino canticum novum. 1705." Beneath the
inscription is the mark (" S. 8. Ebor*' in a shield) of Samuel
Smith, bellfounder, of York.

II. "God save his church. 1659.*' Mark of George Oldfield.
m. "All glory bee to God on High. 1659." Mark of George

Oldfield.

IV. "Missi de cells habeo nomen GabrieUs." The lettering on
this bell is in old EngHsh with Lombardic capitals. It is one of
the most interesting bells in the county, and we have httle or no
doubt that it is coeval with the erection of the church. As the
church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the inscription on this
bell — ^which is but a paraphrase of Gabriel's announcement of him-
self to the parents of St. John — is specially appropriate.

V. "Tho. Midleton, Geo. Bouer, Tho. Redfeame, Wardens. 1659."

VI. " Soli Deo gloria in excelsis. 1741. Daniel Hedderly, founder.*'
On the waist are the initials of the churchwardens — " B. N. . B. L. .
T.N."

^^ stone screens were not so nnnsnal in buildings of this date, thongh they have
been subsequentlY moTed in almost aU instances. At Amndel, in Sussex, one still
exists seven feet from the waU, and there is also a passage behind the altar at Brilley
(Hereford), and at Michaelchurch (Badnor). The wiU oi King Henry Vn., as to the
chapel at Eton, directs that there shall be a space behind the altar of eight feet. — See
Parker's Oloaeary, vol. i , p. 805, and Walcott's Sacred Archaologyy p. 499.

2^8 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

There is also a small Sanctos bell, about eighteen inches in dia-
meter, without any inscription, in the belfry. Its former position
waSy doubtless, in the small bell-cote that used to be on the gable
at the east end of the nave, where they not unfrequently remained
fixed long after the Eeformation. This plain bell-cote, apparently
of seventeenth century construction, was removed at the time when
the chancel roof was restored, and has given place to a large and
pretentious successor, which we think is somewhat out of propor-
tion with the rest of the building. Nor do we like the gurgojles
that project from the gable of the new bell turret. Surely gur-
goyles should always carry out, at all events, the semblance of
water-shoots ; but it would be impossible for that to be their
object in this situation.

Against the north wall of the belfry are a set of rhymed bell-
ringing laws ; but as they do not greatly vary from those quoted
under Hathersage, we will not reproduce them.

It now only remains to describe the monuments contained in this
church, taking them in the order of their antiquity. The earliest
are two stone effigies now in the north transept, where they have
recently been removed from the south transept. They are both
female figures, and are boldly carved without much detail, so that
it is impossible to assign them with certainty to any definite date.
The largest of them is evidently the oldest, and seems to have had
one side built-in against a wall. It may possibly be of as late a
date as the very commencement of the fourteenth century, but
more probably, we think, of the latter half of the thirteenth,
and is, therefore, older than any part of the present fabric. The
second figure, wearing a veil and wimple, with her feet resting on
a dog, is probably circa 1875. It would be idle to waste words in
conjecturing the names of the ladies that might possibly be memo-
rialised by these effigies, as nothing is even known of their original
position in the church, and tradition is silent.

In an interesting account of the various memorials of the Fol-
jambe family, recently written by Cecil G, Savile Foljambe, Esq.,
the following particulars are given of the interment of members of
this celebrated family at Tideswell: —

"The chancel of this church was probably the burial-place of
the Foljambe family from the time of their first settlement in the
parish, soon after the Conquest (for John Foljambe, who died in
1249, desires to be buried in the chancel of the church at Tides-

TIDES WELL. 299

well,* mth his forefaiher8)f and it was used as such by them until
the extinction of the male line of the elder branch by the death
of Roger Foljambe in 1448. There is not much left at the pre-
sent time of their memorials ; but there are said to have been
three brasses existing in the early part of the seventeenth century,
which have since disappeared — one to Sir Thomas Foljambe^ who
died in 1283, and Margaret (Gemon) his wife ; one to Sir Thomas
Foljambe, who died in 1298, and Catherine (Eyre) his wife; and a
third to his son and successor, another Thomas Foljambe, who
died in 1328, and Alice (Fumival) his wife. The only memorial
now remaining is a slab on the north side of the chancel, which
has had a brass let into it, but this has long been despoiled, and
the only record as to whom it commemorated is a piece of brass,
which was placed here by one of the family some two hundred
years ago, and which is fixed where the breast of the former brass
figure had been, with this inscription upon it, beneath a shield
with the arms of Foljambe (sab., a bend between six escallops,
or) : —

TiunnlnR Johanis filii Domini Thomn Foljam'be qtii obiit quarto die Angasti Ano
Domini Millesimo trecentesimo quinqucgeaimo octavo, qui multa bona fecit circa
fabricationem hujus ecclesisB.

The brass has evidently been the figure of a man in armour, with
pointed helmet, and his feet on a Hon ; a riband with an inscrip-
tion above his head, and an inscription around the edge of the
slab."t

Since writing the above, Mr. Foljambe has caused the brass
effigy of his ancestor to be restored. The inscription round the
margin is simply a more classical rendering of that given above, with
the addition of the date (1875) of its restoration. The old inscrip-
tion is now on another stone at the head of the brass. The fine
east window is also due to Mr. Foljambe's munificence.

In the south transept are the effigies of Sir Thurstan de Bower,
and Margaret his wife. The same writer, from whom we have
abeady quoted, says (1824) — *'In the extreme comer of the same
transept, hid by the sides of a dilapidated pew, and covered with
dust, cobwebs, and the splashings of the whitewasher, are two re-
cumbent figures, in alabaster, whose names as handed down by
traditional evidence, are * Sir Thirlstone a Bower and his lady : '

* This would, of course, refer to the chancel of a church prior to that now
existing.

t Reliquary f vol. xiv., p. 237.

800 DERBYSHIBE CHURCHES.

though mutilated by ill-ueage and neglect, their remains are worth
the notice and preservation of the antiquary.*** Shortly after this
was written, these figures were removed to the south-west angle of
the chancel, and there boxed up in the Vicar's pew. But on the
advent of the present Vicar, they were replaced in their original
position, and in 1878 the tomb, as well as the whole of the tran-
sept, were worthily restored by a descendant of the knight and his
lady. The monument consists of a large slab of stone sup-
ported on handsomely carved blocks of alabaster, the majority
of which have had to be renewed. On the top, rest the delicately
chiselled, but much mutilated effigies. They are clad in the ar-
mour and costume that distinguished the close of the fourteenth
and the commencement of the fifteenth centuries. The knight
wears the collar of SS. Bound the margin is the following in-
scription : —

This xnonnment of Sir Thurstan de Bower and the Lady Margaret his vrife, and
this Bonthem chapel in the south transept of Tideswell Church, where this monu-
ment was in the early part of the fifteenth century erected, were restored in honour
of their memory, hy their kinsman J. Bower Brown, Esq., J.P., of Woodthorpe Hall,
near Sheffield, in the year of our Lord MDCCCLXXTTI. The ahoTe-named Sir
Thurstan was living in 7 Ric. 11., MCCCXCII, '

It does not seem possible to learn much concerning this family.
They do not appear to have had any immediate connection with
the manor or parish of Tideswell, unless it was of a temporary
nature. From the special mention of Margaret, the mother of Sir
Thurstan, in the account of the Guild of St. Mary, it is not un-
likely that his connection with Tideswell arose from his mother
(or perhaps his wife) being a Foljambe or a Stafford. Probably he
was related to flobtus de Boure, who died, seized of landed pro-
perty in the adjacent parish of Glossop, towards the end of the
reign of Edward Ill.f The same family were also landowners hi
Staffordshire at this period.

The history of the descent of the manor of Tideswell yet remains
to be written, but it may here be simply remarked, that it was
given by King John to Thomas Armiger,J from whom it passed
by female descent to the Bamptons, thence to the Daniels, and
thence by three co-heiresses to Meverell, Marchinton, and Turvill.
Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Meverell, died seized of a moiety in the

• Vignettes of Derbyshire, p. 70.

t Inq. post Mort., 46 Edw. m., No. 8. The Vicar has a MS. note, about eighty
years old, which states that Sir Thurston de Bower was lord of the manor of Littl«
Longstone.

X Bot. Chart., 9 John, naemh. S.

TIDESWELL. 301

reign of Edward HI.* A market was granted at Tideswell, to-
gether with a fair, in 1260, to Paulinus Bampton, confirmed to
Richard Stafford about 1891, and to Sampson Meverell in 1432.t

In the centre of the chancel is a large altar tomb to the memory
of Sir Sampson Meverell. The top is formed of a slab of Purbeck
marble, having various brass plates let into it. That in the centre,
is a symbolical representation of the Trinity, consisting of the First
Person of the Trinity, seated beneath a canopy, holding a crucifix
in &ont of Him, on which rests a dove. - At the comers are the
symbols of the four evangeUsts, bearing scrolls with the following
legends : —

St. Matthew. *^Ego mm Alpha et Omega primus et novimmm,''

St. Mark. '* Qui haptizatus fuerit salvus erit.*'

St. Luke. *^Qui perseveraverit usque in Jinem salvus erit,"

St. John. " Quos Beus conjunxit nemo eeparet.'*
There are also four shields in brass, one of which is blank, and on
the others the separate coats of Meverell — Arg,, a griffin segreant,
sab,, beaked and legged, gu, ; Daniel — Az,, a bend between six
escallops, or; and Brampton, Az., a lion rampant, or, A fifth
shield has the same quartered. Another plate records how these
brasses, having been sacreligiously stolen, were restored at the
expense of John Statham, of the same family. But it appears
that a portion of them are original. The evangelistic legends are
obviously part of the restored work, firom their singular inappro-
priateness. Bound the symbol of the Trinity is the same inscrip-
tion as on St Matthew's scroll. The margin of the stone bears
a brass riband, with the following lengthy inscription : —

"Under thys stone lyeth Sampson Meyerell, whych was borne in Stone in the
leaste of St. MichaeU the AxchangeU, and there christened by the Pryor of the
same hous, and Sampson of Clifton, Esq., and Margaret, the daughter of Phillip

Stapley, in the yeare of our Lord Mocoiuiyni ^^^ ^^ liyed under the service of
Nicholl Lord Andley and Dame Elizabeth his wife, the space of zviii years and
more; and after, by the assent of John Meyerell, his father, he was wedded in
Belsor (Bolsoyer), the King's manor, to Isabel, the daughter of the worshipful
Knight, Sir Boger Leche, the xvil day of Pasche, and after he came to the ser-
yice of the noble Lord John Montegu, Earl of ^alsbury, the which ordeyned the
said Sampson to be a capityne of diyerse worshipful places in France; and after
the death of the said Earl, he came to the service of John Due of Bedford, and
Boe being in his service, he was at xi great Battayles in France within the space
of two years, and at St. Luce the said Due gave him the order of knighthood ;
after that the said Due made him Knt. Gonsfcable, and by his commaundement he
kept the Constable Court of this land till the death of the said Due; and after
that he abode under the service of John Stafford, Archbyshop of Canterbury, and

• Inq. post Mort., It Edw. m., No. 21.

t £ot Chart., 85 Hen. m., memb. 11 ; 15—17 Eic. 11., memb. 18 ; Bot. Pat., 11
Hen. Vl., pt. 1, memb. 16.

302 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Boe endoring in great worship, departed from all worldly service, nnto the mercy
of our Lord Jesn Christ, the which divided his soul from his body in the feast
of Mar ... in the yeare of our Lord mcccclxii, and soe his worde may be
prouved, that grace pasetb cunning. Amen. Devoutly of your charity say a
paternoster with an ave for all Christian soules, and especially for the soule whose
bons reste under this stone."

There is a mistake in this inscription in saying John Montague.
It should be Thomas. Perhaps the mistake arose when the brass
was restored. John Montague, Earl of Salisbury, though he was
engaged in wars in France, died in 1899 ; but it was his son
Thomas who was the distinguished general. Thomas, Earl of
hiahsbury, was shot in the year 1427, at the commencement of the
siege of Orleans. It is said of him ''he was the greatest hero of
his age, and by many noble acts and great achievements became
the darling of his country. In the reign of King Henry VI. his
name was terrible to the French ; and had he lived it is more
than probable, by the progress he made, that he would have
entirely subdued the kingdom." * The two yeajs, when Sir Sampson
Meverell was engaged in eleven battles, would be the years 1429-31,
when so many engagements took place in the neighbourhood of
Orleans, under the instigation of the celebrated Joan of Arc. The
Duke of Bedford was uncle to the young King Henry VL, and
Eegent of France. He died in 1485. John Stafford was Primate
from 1443 to 1452.

Thomas Meverell, of Throwley, Staffordshire, married (temp.
Edw. II.) Ehzabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir William Daniel,
of Tideswell. An earher generation of Daniel had married the
heiress of Brampton, and hence, we beheve, the lion rampant on
the tomb. Sampson Meverell, was the great grandson of Thomas,
and Ehzabeth Meverell.f

The sides of this altar tomb have for a long time consisted
simply of wooden bars; but these have recently been exchanged
for some boldly-carved tracery in alabaster, in the spirit of the
original design. Through the openings is to be seen the eflBgy of
an emaciated . corpse, wrapped in a winding-sheet, carved in stone.
The head is supported by two angels.

We have advisedly spoken of this tomb as an altar tomb ; for
though this term is often erroneously used when "high tomb" or
** table tomb " would be more appropriate, the five crosses, roughly
chiselled in the marble, at once prove that this tomb has been

* Collins' Peerage, vol. i., p. 183.
t Add. MS3. 28, 113, t 26.

TIDESWELL. 303

used, at all events occasionally, as an altar — ^probably for masses
for the repose of the soul of its occupant. This being the case,
it is a singular circumstance that the tomb should be placed
lengthways in the chancel, that is, pabrallel with its side walls, and
there is no appearance of it having been moved from the place
where it was originally erected.

The northern part of the south transept formed the chapel, as
has been already stated, attached to the manor of Litton. The
ancient family of Litton or Lytton, held that manor as early as
the reign of Henry IIL On the floor of the aisle of this chapel
is a well-preserved brass to the memory of Sir Robert Lytton, and
his wife Isabella. Bobert Lytton is dressed in a long robe faced
with ermine, and from his mouth proceeds the legend — Filim Dei
miserere mei. The dress of his wife also has cuffs of ermine, and
the legend from her mouth is — Mater Dei miserere mei. There
have formerly been two shields above the figures, but the matrices
only are now left ; the following inscription is at their feet : —

Orate pro animabuB Bobti Lytton de Lytton et Isabella nxoris, hie quiqnidem
Bobertus obiit sexto die mensis May anno dni millimo CCCCLXXXHI. et pre-
dicta Isabella obiit xv die Octobris anno dni millimo CCCGLYin, et pro aiabus
omn fideliiim defonctormn, qaoram animabns propicietor Dens.

Recent excavations showed that the lead coffins of Sir Robert
and his wife are immediately below the brass. Sir Robert Lytton
was Under-Treasurer of England in the reign of Henry VI. He
purchased the manor of Kneb worth, Hertfordshire, which became
the principal seat of the family. Litton Hall, however, remained
in the family till 1697, when it was sold by Rowland Lytton to
John Alsop.

On the pavement immediately west of the Foljambe tomb in the
chancel, is a fine brass to the memory of Bishop Pursglove. During
the recent restoration of the chancel, it was placed level with the rest
of the pavement, though when we first saw it, it was raised about a
foot from the ground. £ut we then noted, from the appearance of
the edges of the slab, that it had been originally designed for tiie
position it now occupies. In the centre of the stone is a full-length
well-engraved effigy of the Bishop, and his vestments are somewhat
remarkable, when we consider the date of his interment. He is
represented in Eucharistic vestments, mitre, amice, albe, dalmatic,
chasuble, stole, jewelled gloves and sandals, but without the ma-
niple, and with the pastoral staff over his left shoulder. (Plate

304 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

XIY.)* At the foot of the figure is the following inscription on
an oblong plate : —

"Under this stone, as here doth ly, a corps stimtime of fame,
In Tiddeswall bred and bom tmely, Robert Pursglove by name ;
And there brought up by parents care, at schole and learning trad.
Till afterwards, by ancle dear, to London he was had.
Who, William Bradshaw hight by name, in Paul's which did him place,
And y'r at schole did him maintain full thrice 3 whole years space;
And then unto the Abberye was placed as I wish.
In Southwark call'd, where it doth ly, St. Mary Overis.
To Oxford then, who did him send, into that colledge right,
And there 14 years did him find, wh Corpus Christus hight.
From thence at length away he went, a clerke of learning great,
To Gisbum Abbey streight was sent, and placed in Prior's seat.
Bishop of Hull he was also, Archdeacon of Nottingham,
ProTost of Rotheram colledge too, of York eak suffragan.
Two gramer schools he did ordain with land for to endure;
One hospital for to maintain twelve impotent and poor.
O Gisbume, then with Tiddeswall town, lement and mourn yon may,
For this said clerk of great renoun lyeth here compast in clay.
Though cruel death hath now down brought this body wo here doth ly.
Yet trump of fame stay can he nought to sound his praise on high.

Qui legis huno versum crebro reliquum memomeiis,

Vile cadaver sum, tuque cadaver eris."

This doggrel epitaph is of later date, as is betokened both by
the style of verse and by the colour of the brass, than the rest of
the monument. It was probably put in subsequently, to replace
one that had been removed or defaced &om a too great leaning to
the unreformed faith.

The comers of the slab are inlaid with the symbols of the four
Evangehsts, somewhat similar to those on the Meverell tomb,
whilst round the margin is this further inscription : —

*^ Crist is to me, as life on earth, and death to me is gaine.
Because I trust through him alone, salvation to obtain.
So brittle is the state of man, so soon doth it decay,
So aU the glory of this world must pass and fade away."t

" This Robert Pursglove, Bomet3rme Bishoppe of Hull, deceassed the 2 day of
Mali in the yeare of our Lord God 1579."

There is not much to add to this biographical epitaph. Purs-
glove was consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Hull in 1552, and
Archdeacon of Nottingham in 1558, but on the oath of supremacy
to Elizabeth being offered to him, he refused to take it, and was

* For this woodcut we are indebted to Mr. Q-eoree Markham Tweddell, who had it
prepared for his Popular History of Cleveland, There is a good engraving of the
whole of this interesting plate in the GentlemarVs Magazine for 1794 (pt. ii., p. 1100);
also on a larger scale in the Tidefwell Parish Magasine for 1869 ; and in Cambridge
Camden Society's JHustrations, I. p. 19.

t These four lines appear to have been favourites. They are also found on brasses
at Egham, Surrey (1576) ; at St. Laurence's, Reading (1584) ; at Wilton, Wilts (1585) ;
at mrmley, Herts (1698) ; and at Orford, Suffolk (1605).

TIDESWELL. 305

deprived of his archdeaconry and other spiritualities. He then retired
to the neighbourhood of Tideswell, where he remained till his death.
Though consecrated as a Protestant Bishop, under Edward VI., he
seems to have been a vehement Papist under Mary, and was ap-
pointed, in 1557, one of a commission to inquire after heretics, etc.
This Commission is regarded by Burnet and other writers as a
mere preliminary to establish the Inquisition in England. Letters
Patent were granted to him in the 2nd and 8rd of Elizabeth, to
found the Grammar Schools of Tideswell, and of Gisburne, in the
North Riding of Yorkshire. The pension awarded to Robert Purs-
glove on the suppression of the Priory of Gisburne (alias Guis-
borough), in 1540, was £166 18s. 4d. It is said, in a contemporary
MS., that **the pryor hved in the most sumptuous style, being
served at table by gentlemen only." He was seventh and last Provost
of Rotherham College, which was dissolved about 1550.*

Against the south wall of the south transept is a monument to
the memory of Thomas Statham, and two escutcheons of that
family. The monument is thus inscribed.

Thomas Stathau, son and heir of the loyal geniJeman Statham, of Edenstall
and Tansley, captain of a troop of horse, which he raised at his own charge, for the
royal King Charles I., and was afterwards a patient sufferer of the tyrannies and
sequestrations of those impious regecides ; lineally descended from the ancient and
loyal family of Statham, lords of Morley in this county, and of Statham and Barton
in Cheshire. Three of his ancestors. Sir John, Sir Nicholas, and Sir Bobert, were
^dges. He married three wives: 1 Barbara, daughter and heir of Cromwell
MevereU, of Tideswell, near kinsman of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Ardglass, lineally
descended from Francis MevereU, of Throwsley, by Anne, daughter and co-heir of
Sir John Denham, who had by the said Barbara three sons — Sir John Statham, his
heir, Thomas, a captain, and Charles, a merchant ; and one daughter Barbara. His
second wife was Mary, relict of Nicholas Shirtcliffe M.D., by whom he had one son,
William and three daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Frances.

Thomas Statham, son of Capijain John Statham, claims by this
monument to be descended from the Stathams of Morley, but this
descent has not been satisfactorily proved.f His eldest son. Sir
John Statham, married Bridget, a co-heiress of Wigley, of Wigwell,
near Wirksworth, where he resided. Sir John's two sons, Wigley
and John, both died without issue.

Francis MevereU, mentioned on the monument, was the fourth
in direct descent from Sir Sampson MevereU, whose tomb is ' in the
chancel. Francis' eldest son, Sampson, held the manor of Tides-
weU, but that branch of the famUy became extinct in the heiress,

• See Wood's Atlienm Oxoniensea, and Brett's Suffragan BishopSf p. 61.

+ Sir John Statham's pedigree (Add. MSS. 28, 118, f. 27.). drawn up in 1767. only

foes back to Hearv Statham, grandfather of Thomas, but he is stated to be of
idenstaU and Mortty.

306 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Elizabeth, who married Thomas, Lord Cromwell. Her consin,
Cromwell Meverell (grandson of Nicholas, who was a yomiger son
of Francis Meverell), had three children, Obadiah, Barbara, and
Bachel. Obadiah and Eachel died without issue, and Barbara, who
married Thomas Statham, became sole heiress. Thomas died in
1702, and his wife in 1682. *

Immediately below the monument is the vault in which many of
the Statham family were buried. Mr. Rawlins relates that Thomas
Statham was buried in a " tinned coffin, the which he had by him
for many years. It had thirty-six locks upon it, all locked with one
key, which, accordingly to his request, was cast away after his inter-
ment." Mr. Rhodes, writing about sixty years ago, says — "A
chapel and dormitory, on the south side of the church, still retain
the name of this family (Statham)/' We do not think it at all
likely that there ever could have been a separate chapel standing in
the churchyard or close at hand, to which Mr. Rhodes could be
referring, but we rather suppose that he alluded to the chapel in
the south transept of the church, and possibly by the ** dormitory **
to the room over the south porch, f

The earliest register book commences in 1636, and ends with
1674. The next volume extends from 1676 to 1746. The first of
these volumes is much damaged, and a considerable portion quite
illegible. At the end of the year 1639 the name of the vicar,
Ralph Heathcott, is subscribed, followed by the names of the three
churchwardens — Robbert Heywood, William Cleaton, and Robert
Bagshaw. To the signatures of these three officials the vicar has
added — " But from aU such officers God deliver every Church ! "
There are not many interpolations or entries of interest in these
registers, but the following may be copied as affording proof of
the large area covered by confirmations at that sluggish period in
the Church's history :—*' 1693. The fourth day of July, the
Reverend Father in God, William Floyd, Lord Bishop of Lichfield

• Add. MSS. 28, 113, f. 26.

t The WoUey Collections contain many particulars relative to Sir John Statham
and others of the family (Add. MSS., 6667. etc). Amongst other details are the bill of
fees paid to the Queen's servants when he was knighted, amounting to £85 lis. 6d.,
and the following proposed epitaph to himself in his own hand-writing :—

" Under this stone there lies a knight,

With cares and sorrows kUl'd outright.

His thred of life was not quite run,

He died by a graceless son.

Parents beware ! and take his word,

That grief e will kill without a sword."
Sir John died in 1759. The graceless son alluded to was his second son John, who
was his heir; for Wigley, the eldest son, died in 1736, the year after he was High Sheriff
of the county.

TIDESWELL. 307

and •Coventry, came to Tiddswell about 11 o'clock and preached,
and after Sermon did confirm four hundred ninety and five persons."

About the year 1812 an ancient chapel, that had stood for many
centuries in Tideswell, was unfortunately demolished. It has been
supposed by Rhodes, and others, that it was the old church or
chapel of Tideswell (at the time when Tideswell was a chapelry of
Hope), which was given by John to the Chapter of Lichfield. But
the description of the architecture shows that it was later than the
Norman or even Early English styles, and it is most probable that
the older church or parochial chapel of Tideswell stood on the
same site that is occupied by the present fabric. We know, too,
from the wiU of John Foljambe (1249) already quoted, that the old
church had a chancel, and it is tolerably clear that the building
destroyed in 1812 was not of a size to possess any part that could
be termed a chanceL Our own opinion is, that it was a building
erected at the end of the fourteenth century, in connection with the
Guild of St. Mary. We have not been able to glean any further
particulars respecting it, beyond what has been already printed in
the two following accounts (published respectively in 1818, and
1824) :—

** The most interesting specimen of antiquity which Tideswell
possessed was a stone chapel, or oratory, which stood on the left
of the road, on the entrance into the town from Middleton. This
structure was apparently much older than the church, and it was
probably erected before the reign of King John ; but its antiquity
could not preserve it from being taken down, and sold to the best
bidder. When it was unfloored, and dug up, at the time of its
demohtion, many human bones were found within it. Two large
Gothic windows, of two compartments each, occupied the ends of
this building, one of which looked upon the road, and the other
faced the eminence called the Cliff. These windows were formed
by three equal pilasters, which were surmounted with heads — one
male and two female — that were sculptured in stone ; and a pointed
Gothic arch, rising from slightly-ornamented buttresses, composed
the porch or entrance into this old structure. Such a place in
such a country, must necessarily have something supernatural
attached to it ; it was accordingly peopled, by village superstition,
with the visionary beings of another world. From this place so
long as it existed, unseen choristers were sometimes distinctly
heard hymning the sweetest strains, as they seemed to pass in slow
procession along the vaulted passages of the chapel to the chancel

308 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the church, where the sounds gradually died away. This tjere-
mony, whenever it happened, indicated the approaching death of
some of the most important personages in the place ; and
no Gospel truth was ever more religiously helieved, than was the
occasional occurrence of these supernatural sounds. Persons whose
veracity on other occasions could not be doubted, have solemnly
averred this pretended fact. This place, of which no trace now
remains, was probably 'the chapel which King John gave to the
Canons of Lichfield for their common provision of bread and
beer.' " ♦

** On the south side of the churchyard imder the high cliff below
Litton, an old oratory, or chapel, was standing some very few years
ago of more early erection than the church. It was a very curious
relic of ancient architecture, and full of the quaint devices of early
times ; its walls were a yard thick, of limestone, supported by but-
tresses that would have kept their station, if unmolested, as long
as the rocks from whence they were taken. But I will give the
relation I have received from one who resided within its ancient
walls, as best suited to the subject. * It was said to have been
built in King John's days, who made this town a market by
his charter, dated the first of his reign, and granted it to Meveril,
who was lord of the fee ; it afterwards belonged to the Foljambes,
and then to the Aliens, and lastly to the Middletons, who sold the
same to Colonel Gisbourne. My sister Middleton, who lived in the
house, says, when the kitchen was new paved, many human bones
were found ; and that a very curious stone basin, supposed to be
for the holy water, was broken up for sand by a servant-maid ;
tliat an arched passage went through the house, with a door at
each end, and that against the death of any of the family there
were always heard voices singing psalms in the ancient tongue ;
that the voices passed through the archway, and continued singing
very sweetly till they reached the church porch, when the sounds
died away ; affirming she herself heard them a few days before her
husband's death, Mr. Allen Middleton, who died in 1746 ; also that
a picture of one of the Aliens always slided from its frame previous
to the death of any one of the family.' " f

Within this parish, on the TidesweU side of the valley that is

* Hhodes' Peak Scenery^ pt. i., p. 103.
t Vignettes of Derbyahirey pp. 74 — 76.

TIDESWELL. 309

still, known as Monk's Dale, it seems that the monks of Lenton
had an establishment, where they probably gathered together that
portion of the tithes of this district to which they were entitled by
the gift of William Peverel. The outline of the foundations of the
chapel attached to this Grange can still be seen when the herbage
is scant in dry weather. All that remains of it above ground are
the beautifully-carved stones of the low septum, or stone screen,
that divided the chancel from the nave. They are of fourteenth
century work, and exactly correspond to those that still occupy a
similar position in the church of Chelmorton.

310 DERBTSHIEE CHUECHES.

n^e C^aprltp of Wlnw^iXL

the jear 1273, BaJph de Sempringfaflm,* Desn of Lich-
field, gave leare, as rector of Tideswell, to the inhabitantB
of Wormhill to erect a chapeL and to find at their own

exj>ens6 a chaplain, under the same conditions as hare heen already

given in dot ail nnder Chelmorton. The inhabitants were also

eiijoined to repair to the mother church at all the great festivals.

John Danic-rs name is given as a witness to this deedf The

cbax^el was dedicated to St. Margaret.

The following curious document, without date, hut assigned by

the editor of the lidiquary to the fifteenth century, relates to this

chapel : —

" The entente, can^e, and effect, of y* present dede is j*. Whereas, hyt is soe j*
Bobt. Harrison, of Tydd: and Thomas son and heyr nnfco the sayd Bobt. haff
r**'»^}'ved of WyUim Gretrakea and Wyllim Palfrejman, fefees of ye chapell of Worm-
byil, xxj as for a stoke, and the s^ Bobt. or Thomas, y** heyrs, or y* assignee, bo
a(^rf'u)/tjll and content to pey nnto the 6** fefees, or eyr being for the tyme, on Ston
Wijll (one btone of wool) every yer, snch as is aboil wull and Chapmans ware, at the

F<-«i>t of the TranBlfltion of Saynt Thomas of or within xl dayes after at the

uttermf^t. and to uphold the stoke of xx«. Provyded allwey that the sd Bobt. and
TbornaH are itli their Liberty and choice when they wyll pay in the s^ stoke of xxs.,
so that hyt l>e payd before the feast of the purification of oar Lady in that year that
they be advyned to pay it in, and to the performance and pajrment of the yearly rent
with the KU>ke, the said Kobt. Harrison and Thomas his son, haff given and delivered
pos*eHhion and seisin in and of an acre of Land where hyt lyse, nnto certaine Feoffnits,
whose names be within this Dede, annyxed nnto this present wrytying, made

betwixt and freewyll. And it is so agreed, that if the s' Bobt., or

Thomas, cr their heyrs do not wyll, consent, and pey, every year on Stan Wall at such
times as is before specified ; Then hyt is so covenanted, that Bobt. Harrison, and
Thomas his son, or their heires.or their assygns, caused to be payd of fefees being for

the time xiij«. ni\d. to the of the stoke, for to make the fall payment o'

zxiijs. iiij/i. for the and the 2*^ fefees for to stond in fall possession and

estate for evermore. To the behoof e of the Chappell of St. Margaret of Wormhyll " I

• Balph de Bempringham held the Deanery from 1264 to 1280.

t Add. MSS., 6666, f. 40; l>eing an extract from Harl. MSS. 4799. This agreement
also anpcars in the Magnum liegittrum Album at Lichfield, and there are several
early deeds, relative to the cemetery attached to the chapel of Wormhill, etc , amongst
the Chapter moniments.

I ReUquary, voL iii., p 51.

WORMHILL. 311

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 describe Wormhill as
a parochial chapelry, but recommend that it should be made a
separate parish, ** with hamletts of HiQ, Horgate, Wall, Tansted,
Over Oreatrix and Neather Greatrix Meadow, and Fairbancke.
Smaldale to same." It was not, however, till 1859 that Wormhill
was constituted an ecclesiastical parish.

The church was restored, or rather rebuilt, in 1864, and though
it is a picturesque building as it now stands, the work was unfor-
tunately carried out in such a way as to obliterate almost every
trace of the ancient chapel. From a south view of this church,
taken by Mr. Eawlins in 1835, we gather that the old building
had a high-pitched roof to both iiave and chancel ; a south porch ;
a debased square window to the nave ; a priests' door to the
chancel (Decorated period), with a small pointed window on one
side, and a square-headed one of two hghts on the other. Mr.
Eawlins gives the dimensions of the nave as thirty-two feet four
inches, by twenty-one feet three inches ; and the chancel twenty-seven
feet seven inches by sixteen feet six inches. He also says — " The
pews are regular and bmlt with oak," and they bore dates varying
from 1682 to 1717. Over the door of the porch was inscribed —
**P. H. . .0. W. 1746." The font he describes as ** plain and cir-
cular," but it also seems to have disappeared at the restoration (?)
in 1864, for there is now a small modem octagon font in the
church.

There is a small tower at the west end of the nave, which is
probably the same that was erected here in 1278. It is repre-
sented with a gabled top in Mr. Rawlins' drawing, but it was
raised in 1868 (as is stated on a stone over the west belfry win-
dow), and each of the four walls are now gabled, terminating in a
steep-pitched spire-like roof. This is said to be copied from the
weU-known Saxon tower at Sompting, Sussex, and, though pic-
turesque, is highly incongruous.

Until 1863 there was only one bell in this tower, but it now
contains a peal of six. '< These six bells are the largest of a peal
of eight cast by Taylor and Son on speculation, with the intention
of hanging them at their foundry, for the purpose of illustrating
church bell-work. They are believed to be, in point of size and
weight, by far the smallest peal of church bells in existence."*

• Beliquary, rol. xir., p. 104.

312 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Each bell is inscribed " J. Taylor k Co., Longhboro, 1868," except
the sixth, which bears the date 1864, for it was recast in that
year, being found defective.

To the south of the church are the remains of the old church-
yard cross, consisting of two sets of square steps, a large base
stone, and a portion of the shaft about three feet high. On it is
fixed a dial-plate, inscribed — " The Gift of Bobert Meverell,* Gent.
G. R. fecit 1670."

The registers commence in 1670. They do not contain much
of general interest, but the following entry is perhaps worth re-
cording:— ''1674, Nicholas Bagshawe, derke and schoolmaster, for
want of a better."

* This same Bobert Meverell also ffave a Lych Gate to Chelmorton cliarchyard.
For his connection -with the TidesweU MevereUs, see tiie account of Chelmorton.

Soolgppaiip.

^Ifon.

MintUt.

jBlobfor.

Igoulgppatip.

|NE of the two Saxon owners of the manor of Yonlgreave
in the time of Edward the Confessor was, according to
the Domesday Survey, named CoUe. The church of
Youlgreave, with its chapels, lands, tithes, and all things pertain-
ing, was given by Robert, the son of Robert, the son of CoUe, to
the Abbey of St. Mary of Leicester, in or before the reign of
Henry 11. (1154-1189). This gift is mentioned in a charter of
Henry 11., confirming the various donations to the Abbey, the date
of which seems, from the names of the witnesses, to be about the
commencement of his reign.* The Abbey of Leicester was founded
in 1143.

The confirmation charter of Henry 11. does not make mention
of the chapels of Youlgreave church by name, but, from several
entries in the old chartulary of Leicester Abbey, we find that they
were five in number, Gratton, Middleton, Stanton, Elton, and Win-
ster, of which only the two last remain .f

The church of Youlgreave was worth thirty marks (X20) per
annum, according to a valuation taken of the property of thd
Abbey in 1220, and a similar return was made in the Taxation
Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) ; but this estimate did not include
a deduction of ten marks that was made every year in favour of

• Dngdale's Monoiticon, vol. iii., p. 315; Nichols' Leiceiterahiref vol. i., p. 281.
The various gifts to the Abbey, inofnding Youlgreave church and chapelries, were
also confirmed by Pope Innocent IV., circa 1250.

t Cottonian MSS., Vitell. F. xvii., fl. 22, 86, etc. This is a voluminous ancient
chartulary, but a considerable part of it was destroyed or rendered illegihle, by the
fire that consumed so much of the Cotton Library, in 1781. There is also a smaller
chartulary of the same Abbey in the Bodleian Library (Laud. MSS., H. 72); this
latter has, for the most part, been printed in Nichols' Leieesierahire.

316 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the Sacristry of Lichfield Cathedral, bo that the real income of the
rectory was thirty marks.*

The formal ordination of the vicarage of Youlgreave took place
in 1224, in the first year of the episcopacy of Alexander Stavenby.
The Bishop appropriated to the Abbey the church with its chapels,
and all the tithes, lands, and appurtenances of the same, with the
following exceptions as an endowment for the vicarage. The vicar
was to have all the oblations and altar dues (-except the tithes of
lambs, wool, and minerals) ; all the tithes of com and hay in
Gratton; and two- thirds of the tithes of com and hay in the town-
ship of Smerril. In consideration of this income, the vicar was to
defiray all the customary expenses of. the church, and farther to
associate with himself, at his own cost, two chaplains and one
deacon.f

According to the Valor EcclesiaMicus (27 Henry VIII.), Youlgreave
vicarage was worth ^69 4s. 6d. per annum. Hugo HeapeJ was then
vicar. The same return gives the total annusJ value of the pos-
sessions of the Abbey of Leicester in this parish at £68, but far
the largest portion of this is from lands at Meadow Place, etc.,
which were absolutely the Abbey's by an independent gift, and to
which allusion will subsequently be made. The rectorial tithes of
Winster are estimated at £1 13s. 4d., and those of Middleton at
£4.

The Parhamentary Commissioners of 1650 valued the vicarage
at forty marks per annum. There was "noe minister." It is
added that " (Stanton) Lees is a member of Yolgrave, but by reason
of distance thought fitt to be united to Derbye (? Darley)."

We have gleaned a few particulars relative to former vicars of
Youlgreave from the Episcopal Registers. In 1812, William de
Billesdon was vicar, and he was succeeded by Hugo de Lekebome.
In 1456, Boger Capellanus was instituted vicar, on the free resig-
nation of John Rosyngton, rector of one half of Darley. In 1646,
John Wilson, A.M., succeeded to Hugo Heyre as vicar, on the
presentation of Andrew Lowe, Anthony Lowe, and John Gathewell,
for that turn patrons, by leave of the Abbey of Leicester. This is
curious, as the Abbeys were suppressed in 1689, and it is still more

• We do not know when this gift waa originaUy made to the Lichfield Chapter,
r«S.Ly^°™i, ^?® first mention we can find of it is in a confirmatory^ charter of
Archbishop Boniface, 1266. Dugdale's MonMticon, vol. iii., p. 225.

t Harl. MSS. 4,799, f. 44; Add. MSB. 6,666, f. 42. See Appendix No. XlVa.

Iliriati^^'^r spelt in the published copy of the Valor, bnt from the Episcopal
registers it seems that Heape is a misreading of Heare, or Heyre, i.e. Eyre.

YOULGREAVE. 817

80 to find the institution of Richard Enyveton to the vicarage, on
the resignation of John Wilson, five years later {i.e., in the reign
of Edward VI.), entered as presented by the same Abbey.* Perhaps
the last Abbot of Leicester continued to present until other arrange-
ments had been made respecting the advowson.

In the following year, by indenture dated 15th June, 1652,
Edward VI., granted the rectory, together with the advowson of the
vicarage, of Youlgreave, for certain considerations, to Sir Wilham
Cavendish and his heirs, and it is to the present time vested in the
Duke of Devonshire.

The following is a list of subsequent vicars : — Hugh Mann, 1681;
Thomas Swetnam, 1606; Stephen Moore, 1624; Edward Pole, 1647;
Samuel Coates, 1660 ; John Gilbert, 1666 ; William Bromsgrove,
curate 1661, vicar 1663 ; Thomas Palfreyman, 1666 ; Thomas Wil-
son, 1666 ; John Jacques, 1676 ; John Edwards, 1684 ; Jonathan
White, 1685; Edward Moore, 1701.t

About the close of the fifteenth century, Thomas Vernon, John
Vernon, and others, founded a chantry in this church at the altar
of the Blessed Virgin. Thomas Vernon was the second son, and
John Vernon the fourth son (according to the pedigree) of Sir
Henry Vernon, of Hadddn, by his wife, Anne Talbot. In the Valor
Eccledasiicus (27 Henry VIII.), this chantry is valued at JB5 per
annum; it is there described as **ex dono Hen. Vernon,*' and "Dns
Edmundus Boweman " entered as chantry priest. In the Chantry
Eoll, drawn up ten years later, preparatory to the confiscation of
that kind of property, it is thus described : —

" Yolgryffe -To fynde a secnllar preste att o' Ladye's alter by feoffment of
Thos. Varnon, John Varnon, & other. C«. clere. vjZi. vj«. ij(i. with Ca. imployed
upon Bychard Machyn prist, & the residewe uppon purposes thought good by the
reves at Yolgryffe. It hath a mancyon prised at iiijs. by yere. Stock iiijZi. vj».
iiijd/'

The church of Youlgreave, dedicated to All Saints, consists of
chancel, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, and large em-
battled tower at the west end. Although it presents a bold and
uniform appearance on a general view, it will be found upon closer
examination, especially of the interior, that this church as it now

* Lichfield Episcopal Registers, passim. Besides the institutions not^'d in the text,
•which will be found under the respective years, we have also noted institutions to
Youlgreave, in No. ii., f. 78, and No. iv., f. 41.

t This list is compiled partly from the parish register, and partly from the
Bateman MSS.

318 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

stands is composed of a most interesting complexity of styles,
varying from the Norman work of the twelfth century, down to the
debased alterations of the seventeenth century.

No mention is made of a church at Youlgreave at the time of
the Domesday Survey, and, judging from the style of the Norman
work now remaining, it was originally erected here by Eobert
Colle between the years 1130 — 50. It is evident that this church
was of some size, as is shown by ' the circular Norman pillars
supporting the arches that separate the nave from the side aisles.
Probably the original plan of the church only included one side
aisle, viz., that on the south side, as the style of the pillars and
the carving of the capitals is of rather earher date than the cor-
responding ones on the north side. But both aisles, when iirst
completed, were of less width than tliey are at present. The older
Norman masonry can still be plainly traced at the east end of the
south aisle, thus clearly showing its former width. The arches,
springing from the pillars on the south side, are circular and of
Norman workmanship, but those on the north side have given way
to pointed ones of a later date.

The south aisle seems to have been widened in the third quarter
of the thirteenth century (1250 — 1275), when the Early EngHsh
style was beginning to give way to the Decorated. It is lighted
on the south side by three characteristic pointed windows of good
design, respectively of one, three, and two lights. The south en-
trance to the chm*ch, under tlie porch, as well as the smaller north
doorway in the north aisle, are also of the same date. Probably
the north aisle was similarly widened and rebuilt throughout at a
like period, but it has imdergone more extensive alterations than
its fellow, at subsequent dates.

The wide pointed chancel arch is of simple character, but, judg-
ing from the style of mouldings on the imposts, it may safely be
assigned to the Decorated period, circa 1800 — 1820. Up to that
date the original Norman chancel had probably sufficed. At the
same time that this arch was inserted it seems that the Norman
arches, on the north side of the nave, were removed to make way
for their pointed successors.

In the fifteenth century considerable alterations were made in the
fabric, after the Perpendicular style, as it is usually termed. The
chancel appears to have been then rebuilt throughout, various
windows inserted in other parts of the building, the whole of the
church re-roofed, the nave consideraby lengthened at the west, and

TOULGREAVE. 319

the grand tower with which it terminates erected.* The gronnd
plan of the church as it now stands is the same as it was in the
fifteenth century. The area of the chancel is ahout thirty-seven
feet hy twenty-three. The aisles vary not only in width, hut
slightly in length. The south aisle is forty-four feet nine inches,
hy eleven feet seven inches, and the north aisle forty-three feet one
inch, by fourteen feet eight inches. Up to the fifteenth century, we
believe that the chancel was of less length, and that the nave was
of no greater length than the side aisles. But at that time an
unususJ feature was added to the west end, by extending the nave
(but not the side aisles) some twenty-seven feet in that direction,
and then building the west tower, which has an area of seventeen
feet by, sixteen. This gives a grand total of over one hundred and
twenty-five feet from the tower entrance to the east end of the
chancel, t

Though, doubtless, clerestory windows were inserted when the
Perpendicular roof was placed on the nave (if they had not existed
previously), the character of those that now remain* are of a later
debased date, and were probably inserted about the commencement
of the seventeenth century. These windows, of which there are six
on each side, are square headed, and are all of the same pattern,
having three circular-headed lights. Two on each side light the
upper portion of the extended nave. This part of the church is
also lighted on the south side by a three-light Perpendicular win-
dow, square -headed, but with pointed tracery at the top.

In 1746, we find from the churchwardens' accounts that ** a loft
for singers " was erected at the west end, access to which was gained
by a stone staircase within the building. This had the effect of
blocking out the light from the large west window, and, to remedy
the defect, two openings were cut in the side walls of this part of
the nave.

In 1869 — 70, this church was most admirably and carefully re-
stored by B. Norman Shaw, Esq., A.B.A.| It is almost needless

* It is absurdly stated in the Journal of the ArcJuxological Aasociatiotif toI. vli.,
p. 828. that this tower was rebuilt as it now stands in 1614. We believe that this
error originated with Mr. Stephen Glover, who had no great knowledge of eccle-
siology, though a most praiseworthy and indefatip^able worker in various paths of
antiquarian research. In his unpublished portion of the History of Derbyshire
(amongst the Bateman MSS.), there is a statement to this effect, and it was the late
Mr. Bateman who drew up the account of this church for the Archnological Asso-
ciation, when they visited this county in 1851.

t All the measurements are of the interior dimensions of the church, exclusive of
the walls.

I We omitted to mention, when describing Longstone, that this also was the work
of Mr. Norman Shaw. The genuine spirit of conservative restoration has been duly

320 DERBTSHIBE CHURCHES.

to state that the smging loft; was speedily cleared away, and the
modem windows built up. The restoration involved a new east
window to the chancel, the old one being of a debased style, and
in bad repair (described by Mr. Shaw as *' decidedly the poorest
part of the whole building"), two new windows in the north wall
of the north aisle, and also new windows at the west end of both
the aisles. This was the chief structural alteration, but the resto-
ration involved new flooring, new seats, repairs of roof, heating
apparatus, etc., etc., until from first to last, to the credit of the
parish, no less a sum than £4650 were spent on the substantial
repair and permanent benefit of this fine old fabric.

The tower is a particidarly fine and massive specimen of early
fifteenth century work. It is supported at the angles by well-pro-
portioned buttresses of eight stages, and its summit is embattled
and crested with eight crocketed pinnacles. Its general features,
such as the west window and the bold pointed belfry windows, two
on each side, remind us of the tower of North Winfield, in this
county, which was probably the work of the same architect, or at
all events at just the same period.* But the tower at Youlgreave
is of finer proportions, and possesses the additional interesting
feature of a projecting stair-turret at the south-east angle, which
runs up to the first two stages of the tower, and terminates in battle-
ments of its own. With the exception of All Saints, Derby, which
is a celebrated example of ornate Perpendicular of a later period
and on a far larger scale, Youlgreave can boast of the best tower
in the county.

This tower formerly possessed five bells, which were thus in-
scribed : —

I. ** John Bowman, John Lowe, Churchwardens 1762.
Thomas Hedderly founder."
II. *'God save His Church, 1685." "

III. ** Jesus be our Spede. 1623."

IV. ** I sweetly toling men do call

To taste on meats that feeds the sole. 1623."

V. This bell simply bore the monogram I.H.C., and the founder's
mark of P. H.

We do not know what the inscriptions were on the predecessors

observed in both these churches. Youlgreave and Longstone have been more care-
fully and artistically treated than any other churches in the county, and are models
of what restoration should be.

♦ See plate of North Winfield Church, Churchaa of Derhyshire, vol. i., p. 415.

YOULGREAVE. 321

of these bells, but various particulars about the first bell, which
was recast at the Heathcotes' foundry, at Chesterfield, in 1614, and
about the second and third, which were recast by the Oldfields at
Nottingham, in 1628, are given in the subsequently quoted Church-
wardens' Accounts. That part of the accounts relating to 1685 is
missing. There is a Sanctus bell- cote over the east gable of the
nave, but the bell which was in the tower at the time of the res-
toration, has not been yet replaced, as it is somewhat defective. It
bears no inscription, but does not appear to be earlier than the
seventeenth century, when it was probably recast. These bells, as
we have elsewhere remarked, were not unfrequently used as ** ser-
mon bells" in post-Reformation days, and the parish accounts of
Youlgreave, from the various entries of new ropes, etc., that were
provided for it, prove that it did not remain idle. In the year 1617
is an entry — "Iron chain for little bell hanging over chancel."

At Easter, 1870, the present new peal of beUs, eight in number,
the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomhill, of Stanton Hall, were hung.
As Mr. Jewitt truly remarks— "They are remarkably musical and
tuneable, and are among the best in the county." The weight of
the tenor is one ton six cwt. The whole of the metal of the old
bells was re-used in the casting. The fii'st six bells have similar
inscriptions : —

** Mears & Stainbank, Founders, London. Easter, 1870."
The seventh —

" Mears & Stainbank, Founders, Loudon. William Malam, M.A.,
Vicar. John Archer, Thomas Kenworthy, Wardens, Easter,
1870."
The eighth—

•* Mears & Stainbank, Founders, London.
I call the living, mourn the dead,
I tell when days & years are fled.
For grief & joy, for prayer & praise.
To heaven my tuneful voice I raise.
This peal of 8 bells given by William Pole & Isabella ThornhUl
of Stanton -in-Peak, Easter, 1870."

The condition of the interior fittings of the church previous to
the restoration can be best described by quoting from the original
report of Mr. Norman Shaw, dated 28rd of February, 1869 : —
'* The whole of the church has been fitted up with cumbrous and
ill-arranged pews — ^partly made up of what has been some fine
old oak seating— partly of more modem work in oak, but the

322 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

great bulk in mean deal of little or no value." His advice
with respect to the new wood-work, which has been followed
with most happy effect, is so conclusively put, and is so much
needed in these days, when it is the fashion to reseat even our
oldest churches with cheap pine, which is sticky and glossy to be-
gin with, and dull and dirty in a year or two's time, that we make
no apology for quoting it. Let us keep the French-polisher and
veneerer as far as possible from the House of God, and, however
simple the work, let it be genuine and the best of its sort. Mr.
Shaw says — *' The whole of the church requires re- seating ; some
old ends remain, and these should be used as a guide for the
general design, and must be re-fitfced as fiar as they vnll go. There
are also several old hnen-fold panels of good design, and these,
with whatever remains of the old backs and rails, should be worked
up in the new framing. The whole of the seating ought decidedly
to be of oak ; with such a fine spacious church, with oak roofs
throughout, it would be a great piiy to have recourse to common
deal varnished seats. It is not that rich, handsome, carved seats
are wanted — on the contrary, it matters Httle how plain they are,
provided the material is good — but there is something very mean-
looking about the varnished deal that is so often to be seen now-
a-days, and which could not fail to strike any one as being very
inferior to the excellence of the rest of the church."

The roofs throughout the church have been carefully restored.
They are good examples of tlie low-pitched roofs of the Perpen-
dicular period. The roof of the nave has some remarkably well
carved bosses at the intersections of the principal timbers. On the
boss at the east end is carved a frett, no doubt intended for the
arms of Vernon. At the west end of the roof of the south aisle
are the newly carved arms of the Duke of Eutland. Up to the
time of the recent restoration, this aisle was considered as appro-
priated to the tenants of the Duke of Eutland, and the pews bore
his name. To commemorate this the arms were carved on the
roof. This south aisle was no doubt the Lady chapel, where the
chantry altar to St. Mary stood, founded by the Vemons. About
the close of last century the fine old screen or parclose, erected
round the east end of tliis aisle, was removed, the monument of
Thomas Cokayne, as well as the mural one to the Gilberts
(both of which were at that time at the end of the south aisle)
boxed up in wooden cages, with sliding lids that were occasionally
removed to expose them to the gaze of the curious, and this part

YOULGEEAVE. 323

of the church appropriated to the use of the children. To com-
pensate the Duke of Eutland, who had previously had pews or seats
within the old screen, the pews further down in the same aisle
were set apart for his tenantry. At a later period (we heheve
ahout 1835), a fresh arrangement was made, by which the east end
of this aisle was used as a vestry ; the Cokayne tomb removed
into the chancel on the south side; and the Gilbert monument
built into the north wall of the same part of the church.

There is now no screen across the chancel arch, though it is in
conteniplation to replace one modelled on the mutilated remains of
the lower part of the old one of Perpendicular design, which were
removed at the time of the restoration, but have been carefully
preserved. It will be seen, from the Churchwardens* accounts,
subsequently quoted, how rudely this screen or partition was ti*eated
in 1604, and those entries are of more than ordinary interest, as
they serve to disprove the prevalent notion that chancel screens
were always regarded with abhorrence in the early days after the
Eeformation. Though the good folk of Youlgreave sadly disfigured
the old screen at the commencement of the seventeenth century,
they were evidently determined to do their best to maintain it as
an efficient ** partition."

There were, doubtless, at one time, three altars in the church of
Youlgreave, the two side altars at the east ends of the aisles, and
ihe high altar in the chancel. In the east wall of the north aisle
are the mutilated remains of a piscina, and in the south wall of
the south aisle is a square-headed piscina, the drain stone of which
is sculptured with tlie rude representation of a female face. This
latter was removed from the chancel in 1869. Though there is no
trace of the original piscina belonging to the Lady altar, there is
in the north-east angle of this aisle, behind the pier of the chancel
arch, a large-sized hagioscope or squint, for obtaining a view of tlie
high altar. It is now closed up at the chancel end, as the open-
ing would interfere with the now stall work, though the original
idea of Mr. Norman Shaw, as expressed in his report, was to
leave it open for the organist, who would have been able to utilise
it for the direction of his choir.

In the north waU of the nave, close to the most western pier,
is a niche containing a small figure of a female carved in the stem*,
in long drapery, and holding a staff. It has been suggested that
it represents a pilgi-im, but we tliink it more likely to be intended
for some ancient saint, and has probably at one time occupied a

324 DERBYSHIRK CHURCHES.

position over a former porch, or in some other part of the older
building, as it seems to us to be of greater antiquity than that
part of the masonry where it is now built in, which is only of the
fifteenth century.

We now come to the most interesting feature of this interesting
church. The font, which now stands by the most western pier of
the south side of the nave, is of remarkable character. It is
sculptured in porous red sandstone, having a smaller stoup cut
from the same block on one side, which is held, as it were, in the
mouth of a dragon, carved in relief upon the larger vessel There
is an accurate etching of it on Plate XVL It is there represented
as it now appears, with the four small shafts restored. Previous
to 1869 only the upper part of these shafts remained, projecting a
few inches from the bowl. This font has been more than once
described as ** undoubtedly Saxon," but there is nothing distinc-
tively Saxon about it, and we have little hesitation in giving its
date as circa 1150 — 1200. The stoup, which is attached to it, and
formed out of the same block of stone, has given rise to several
theories to account for its position. The chief of these theories
(putting aside one or two of an absurdly improbable character) are
three in number — (1) for the reception of the chrismatory, or vessel
containing the holy oil or chrism with which persons were
anointed after the ancient rite of baptism ; (2) for affusion during
the ceremony; and (8) for a holy water steup, as the font itself
would be conveniently placed near the entrance door. The first of
these theories has hitherto received the most support, and has been
adopted by authorities such as Eev. Edmund Tew, and Mr. E. B.
Ferrey.* Against this theory, which seems to us the most im-
probable, it may be urged that the vessel holding the chrism was
usually a narrow tall cruet of glass or metal, such as we have fire-
quently seen in use, or in the sacristies of Roman Gatholio
countries; and, whatever may have been the shape of the ancient
vessel in use at Youlgreave, it is almost impossible to imagine one
of the shape or size that could find a convenient resting-place in
the stoup attached to the font. There is more reason in the sug-
gestion that it was used when the water was spriuked on the head
of the infant; but in the fonts on the Continent, where an ap-
pendage of this description is attached to the font itself, it will be
found (as at Chirens, Is^re) that the subsidiary font also possesses

* Notes and Queries^ 6th series, vol. iv., pp. 169, 211, 2S6, 260.

YOULGREAVE. 325

a hole commnnicatijQg with the soil, so that the sprinkled water
may at once find its way into the ground. Though of unusual
occurrence, we have ourselves noted several instances of early fonts
in Brittany, to which a stoup is attached that does not commu-
nicate with the ground; but in each case, so far as we recollect, it
is not now used for any purpose whatever.* On the whole it
seems to us fairly conclusive (and this is the view taken by the
present Vicar) that the stoup on the font now at Youlgreave, was
constructed and used for holy water, at a time when the font was
close to the entrance. We believe it to be an absolutely unique
example, so far as English fonts are concerned ; a few others, such
as Pitsford, Northamptonshire, have small projecting brackets or
ledges, but these are not hollowed, and are supposed to have been
used as supports for a crucifix, or as a place to which to attach a
book stand.t

The possession of this remarkable font has lately become a bone
of contention between the church of Youlgreave, and its former
chapelry at Elton. It is said that this font was discarded from
the church at Elton, when that church was rebuilt at the begin-
ning of the present century ; that it then remained in Elton
churchyard for some years ; that in 1888 it was brought thence to
adorn the Youlgreave parsonage groimds by Vicar Pidcook; and
that in 1888, it was placed within the walls of Youlgreave church
by Vicar Wilmot. At thatjime, the old font of Youlgreave was
placed behind the "William IV." in the village, but was afterwards
allowed to be taken away to Warslow Church, Staflfordshire, whose
incumbent was Mr. Pidcock, a son of the formef* Vicar. A few years
ago, a great effort was made by the good folk of Elton to recover
their once despised font; but we confess we are not sorry that they
failed to remove it from the harbour which it had found within
the walls of the mother church, at a time when irreverence and
carelessness with res|)ect to the most hallowed or most ancient

* 'In one of thoBe ohnrches, near Auray, vfe saw the rite of baptism celebrated.
The stoup attached to the font was certainly not used to hold the chrismatory, which
was taken by the server out of a locker in the wall at some distance from the font,
handed to the priest, and immediately returned to the same receptacle. The font
was not in its original position, and there were large benitierSf of a renaissance date,
at the entrance.

t See Markland's Bemarks on English Churches^ p. 92, where there is an engrav-
ing of this font; Paley's i^onif« (Introduction), p. 29; Archceological Joumalf voL
vii., p. 328 ; Bateman's Antiquities of Verbyahire, p. 241. See also Corblet's Mantial
d' ArcMologie^ p. 282, and VioUet-le-Duc's Glossary. The dragon or Salamander on
this font (which is considered by Paley as a symbol of baptism) is of unusual oc-
currence, but there are two other examples in Derbyshire — Ashford and Norton;
there is an engraving of the latter in Churches of Derbyshire , vol. i., p. 292.

326 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

objects connected with religious observances, were so generally pre-
valent. At the same time we are bound to admit that the alle-
gations of the Elton folk as to their original possession of it
appear to be fully sustained; and we have met with a striking
corroboration of their view, in the notes of Mr. Bawlins, who
visited Youlgreave church in 1827, and commented on the then
font as ** plain and circular," expressions which it would have been
impossible for him to have employed with respect to the one that
is now in the nave. Mr. Thornhill generously soothed the sud-
denly aroused jealousies of Elton, by presenting them with a fac-
simile of the ancient font, very carefully modelled.

Low down in the south wall of the nave, a few feet above the
ground, is a built up rounded archway, that has evidently been
inserted after the wall had been originally constructed. It is said
that it was necessary to insert this strengthening arch, owing to
the following up of a vein of lead ore beneath the church.

Over the south door of the chancel is the head of an incised
cross fleury, with a design similar to the circular one at Harting-
ton, figured on Plate XXIII. This is a portion of a coffin lid, said
to have been found in situ over a coffin in the churchyard some years
ago ; it was intended to have placed it in the flooring of the re-
stored chancel, but a fall of one of the roof beams accidentally broke
it, and the mutilated fragment was built into its present position,
in order to preserve it. In the masonry on the east side of the
porch, is the floriated head of another incised cross, and also a
portion of the stem.*

The oldest monument, in the interior of the church, is the stone
effigy of a cross-legged knight, holding a heart in his clasped
hands, wearing the quilted gambason of the period, and with a
cross-hilted sword on his left thigh, f It now rests on a substantial
stone base against the north wall of the chancel ; but it has
hitherto been a wanderer within the sacred precincts. In 1710 it
was at the east end of the south aisle, subsequently it occupied
another position in the chancel, and when we first saw it, it was
beneath the tower. Tradition says that the effigy represents Sir
John Rossington, and we see no reason to doubt its accuracy.
The Rossingtons were of some importance in this neighbourhood

* For the probable age, etc., of these stones, we must refer the reader to the ac-
count of the slabs at BakeweU.

+ There is an enmving of this effigy in the Jowmal of the Arclueological Asso-
ciation vcA. vii., plate XXIX. On the subject of cross-legged effigies, see Churches
of Derbyshire, vol. i., p. 431.

YOULGREAVE. 327

at an early date. They appear to have originally come from Ros-
sington, near Doncaster. The elder branch became absorbed into
the Cokayne family by their marriage with the heiress, and at a
later period Gilbert, ali<is Kniveton, married the heiress of a
younger branch of Rossington. The date of this monument is
usually assigned to the twelfth century, but we beUeve it to be of
the commencement of the thirteenth.

The gem of the church, so far as monuments are concerned, is
the small altar tomb of alabaster, three-and-a-half feet in length,
on which is a man in armour, beautifully sculptured Vith great
fidelity and skill. His head rests upon a helmet, surmounted by a
cock, the crest of the Cokaynes, round the neck is the Yorkist
collar of suns and roses, with the white lion of March appendant,
and the feet rest on a lion. The body is clad in the plate armour
of the period, with gorget and skirt of chain mail It was con-
siderably mutilated, especially about the legs, but it was faithfully
restored, by present representatives of the family, in 1878. The
sides and ends are composed of slabs of alabaster, with shield-
bearing angels carved in relief. When Bassano visited this church,
about 1710, he took the following notes of this monument : —

" In y* east end of y' south ile is a large faire Quire called
Gilberts Quire — ^in y* north of which between 2 pillors is a raised
Tombe of alibaster, & upon y* covering stone is y* proportion of a
man in armour a cap a pe, with his hands elevated as in praying
posture with Gauntlets on y™. On y* side has been 2 shields of
armes painted — on one is a quartered coat !■* 8 cocks g, for
Cokayne. 2** 2 barrs vert, — y® 8^ as y* second — y* 4*^ as y* first —
impaling a frett, or frette, «».'*

Since that date all traces of these arms had disappeared, but
the proper coats are now (November, 1876) happily restored
to this tomb, so that its history can be again read, by G. E.
Cokayne, Esq., Lancaster Herald, in the following order: — At the
west end, (1) Cokayne and Harthill, quarterly, differenced by a label,
impaUng Barley; on the south side, (2) Harthill impahng Astley; (8)
Cokayne impaling Harthill; at the east end, (4) a shield of seven
quarterings, Cokayne, Harthill, Deyville,- Savage, Rossington,
E denser, and arg.^ three stags, sab, ; and on the north side, (5)
Cokayne and Harthill, quarterly, impaling Shirley, and (6) Cokayne
and Harthill, quarterly impahng Vernon.*

♦ These arms are, Cokayne, arg.^ three cocks, gu.\ Harthill, arg., two bars, vert)
Barley, arg.^ three bars wavy, aa6., a chief per pale, erm., and gu.\ Astley, az.^ a

328 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The monument is to the memory of Thomas Gokayne, who
died in 1488.* The arms we have just detailed on the tomb
give ' the immediate pedigree. The first is the arms of himself
and wife, Agnes, daughter of Robert Barley, of Barlow. The
second the arms of his great-great-grandparents, Sir Richard de
Harthill (died 1889), and his wife Ahce, daughter of Giles Astley.
The third, the arms of his great-grandparents, Edmund Gokajne
(slain at Shrewsbury, 1404), of Ashbourn, and his wife Ehzabcth,
daughter and heiress of Sir Richard de Harthill. The fifth, his
grandparents, Sir John Cokayne, of Ashbourn and Pooley (died in
1447), and his second wife Isabel, daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley.
The sixth, his parents, John Cokayne, of Ashbourn (died in 1505),
and his wife Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard Vernon, of Haddon.
The seventh shield represents the early quarterings of the family
that came through the heiress of Harthill, and which will be de-
scribed under Ashbourn, where the same coat appears.

This Thomas Cokayne had three children, Thomas, his heir, who
married Barbara, daughter of John Fitzherbert,* of EtwaU ; Henry,
who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Meverell, of Throwley ;
and Margaret, who became the wife of Humphrey Lowe, of
Denby.

Thomas Cokayne, on his marriage with Agnes Barlow, probably
had Harthill Hall assigned to him for a residence; both Ashbourn
and Pooley Halls being usually reserved for the head of the
family. ** At Pooley, doubtless, Thomas was visiting his parents
when he met with his untimely death. The Cokaynes were
intimately connected by friendship with the Bm*detts, who had
a seat near Pooley (Bramcote Hall)— indeed Thomas Cokayne *8
granddaughter Elizabeth married into the family, becoming the
wife of Robert Burdett. Thomas Burdett was probably visiting
at Pooley, when, as it is recorded, he and Thomas Cokayne
quarrelled and fought on their way to Polesworth church — at all
events the quan-el occurred in Pooley Park, and Thomas Cokayne
fell (by an accident, owing to the inequality of the ground, it is

cinqnefoil, erm.; Dey^'iUe, or, on a fess between four fleur-de-lis, d^., two fleurs-
de-lis of the field; Savage, arg.^ six lions rampant, three, two, and one, aab,, lan-
pied, gu. ; Rossington, arg., a feese between three crescents, gu.; Edensor, arg.^ a
clievron between three horse shoes, aab. ; Shirley, paly of six, or and oxr., a canton,
firm.; Vernon^ arg., fetty, sab., a canton, gu.

* The ArcheBoJogicnl Journal made the blunder of ascribing this tomb to Sir
John Cokayne, who died in 1505. This mistake was detected and a true account
given by Mr. Andreas E. Cokayne, in his privately printed Cokayne Memoranda,
p. 199. It is to his kindness that we are indebted for a fall account of the shields
now on this tomb.

YOULGRRAVE. 329

said) mortally wounded."* He was taken to Youlgreave for burial,
and this beautiful tomb erected over him.

Against the east end of the north aisle is a remarkable monu-
ment, which previous to the restoration was in the chancel; at an
earlier date it was against the south wall of the south aisle, as
described by Bassano ; but it was originally designed (as we beUeve)
to form a memorial reredos at the back of the chantry altar of the
Lady Chapel in the latter aisle. This mural monument has twenty-
one small figures carved in relief in alabaster. In the centre is the
Blessed Virgin crowned, with the Child in her arms. To her right
kneels a man with his seven sons behind him, to her left kneels
the wife with their ten daughters behind her. Round the margin
is the following inscription in rather illegible black letter : —

"Hie jacet snb lapide corp* Robert! Gylbert de Yolgreff generosi, et Johe
coBortis sue, que Joha obiit, ii® die Novembris AP dni MCCCCLXXXXII, qui
quid' Robert clausura hujus capeUe fieri iecit in A** [superadict], et idem Robert'
obitt."

The word in brackets is now missing, a piece of the marble having
been cut out, but we iiave supplied it from the copy of the inscrip-
tion taken bv Bassano. The date of the death of Robert was never,
recorded. The meaning of the latter part of the inscription is,
that Robert Gilbert erected in 1492, a screen, or parclose, round
the east end of the south aisle, so as to form a chapel. Below
the figures are three shields, (1) Statham (fju., a pale fusilly, arq.,
with a crescent for difference) ; (2) Statham impaling Rossington
(crrj/., a fesse between three crescents, gu.) ; and (8) Rossington.

The first of the Gilberts, of Youlgreave, mentioned in the
Visitation pedigrees, is Robert Kniveton, alias Gilbert, who married
EUzabeth, daughter of Thomas Maple, of Mapleton. His son,
Nicholas Gilbert, married Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Sir
John Rossington (a descendant of the Sir John Rossington whoso
effigy we have described). Their eldest son and heir was Robert
Gilbert, who, by his wife Alice, daughter of Nicholas Cooper, had
issue Robert, commemorated by this monument. This Robert
Gilbert married Joan, daughter of John Statham, of Horsley.
The Gilberts, of Youlgreave, whose own arms were — gu,y a bend
vaire, arg. and sab,, seem to have for the most part adopted the
arms of Rossington, as the more honourable family, after their

• Cokay 7ie Memoranda. Polesworth, in which parish is Pooley Hall, is a Tillage
of Warwick Bhire, about four miles from Tamwortn. The Cokayneb obtained that
property through the alliance with the heiress of Harthill.

330 DERBTSHERE CHUECHES.

alliance mth that heiress. It should also be noted that a careless
blunder of the original sculptor has reversed the arms on toe
monument, and has made Statham impale Rossington (t.e. Gilbert),
instead of vie versa. Of the various chUdren here depicted, we are
only able to give the name of the eldest son and heir-E^bert
Gilbert, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry ColumbeU, of

On the floor of the south aisle is a smaU brass effigy of a ladyin
the costume of the commencement of the seventeenth century The
hair is brushed back high from the temples ; the skirts of the long
sleeved gown, which is cut very low in front, project abruptly
from the hips, and are left open in front to show the arabesque
pattern on the petticoat. Below the figure are the foUowmg

XU16S *

"Fridswide Gilbert to the grave

Hath resignd her earthly part,

Her Bovle to God, that first it gave,

On angels wings went with her hart

A vertvovs maide she livd and died,

Hvrtful to none but good to all,

Religious, modest, hating pride,

These vertves crowne her funerall.

John Gilbert, marchant taylor of Londo7 brother to her."

No date is given on this inscription, but, on looking in the re-
gisters, we find this entry— " Fridesweda Gilbert, y* daughter of
Francis GUbert, spinster, buried 8 Augt 1604/' Sir Frajicis
Gilbert, her father, was great-great-grandson of Eobert Gilbert
commemorated by the mural monument. He married Joan, daugh-
ter of WilUam Longford, of Longford. They had a large family,
of whom Fridswide seems to have been the third daughter, and
John, the London merchant, the thh-d son. The elder sons,
Nicholas and Francis, continued to reside at Youlgreave.

Against the north wall of the north aisle is a characteristic
monument to Eoger Rowe and his wife, of Alport in this parish,
that has been richly coloured. The centre of the monument is
occupied by figures of the husband and wife kneeling beneath an
arched recess, with this inscription between them : —

• For pedigree of Gilbert, alia3 Kniveton, see Egerton MSS., 996, f. 28; Harl.
MSS., 1637, f. 76; and Add. MSS., 28, 113. The Gilbert who married the heiress of
Rosfiingtou is named Nicholas in the Harl. MSS., 1637^592, 2134, 886, and elsewhere,
but he is named Richard in Egerton and Add. MSS. We suppose that the Knivetons
of Youlgreave, originally sprang from the ancient family of Knivetons, of Kniveton,
and changed their name to Gilbert through alliance with an heiress of that family-
But younger branches of the Knivetons, of Youlgreave, retained their patronymic.
The Youlgreave registers contain various entries of Kniveton, both in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.

YOULGREAVE. 331

"Hio jacet Bogems Hooe de Alport, Anniger, qtd obiit 80 Aprilis, An. Dm.
1618."

The desk between them also bears this coat — Gu,y on a bend
between three garbs, or, as many crosses patee fitch^e of the field
(Rowe), impaling, arg,, a frett, az., on a canton, «a6., a lion ram-
pant, or (Cotes).

The man is dressed in the late plate armour of the period, but
wearing an incongruous ruff, and bareheaded; his wife also wears
a ruff, and on her head is a quaint high hat. Below them are
the small effigies of six boys and two girls, all wearing ruffs.

Eoger Rowe was the eldest son and heir of John Rowe, by Mary,
daughter of George Beresford, of Bentley. He married Katharine,
daughter of John Cotes, of Eslton, co. Leicester. The pedigree
gives the names of four of the sons, and of the two daughters —
John, Roger, George, Francis, Grace, and Agnes. The eldest son,
John, was only twelve years old at his father's death.*

Under the tower, against the north wall, is a stone (which was
formerly in the chancel) thus inscribed: —

"Hie jacet Raphaelis Bradbury de ToulgreaTe, qtd obiit vicesimo primo die
Aprilis, Anno Dni. 1686."

Above the inscription are the arms of Bradbury — Sah,, a chevron,
cT'm.y between three round buckles, arg. This family seems to have
originally been of Youlgreave (so far as their settlement in this
county is concerned), but a younger branch, who bore the same
arms with a crescent for difference, were of Ollerset, as early as
the reign of Henry VI. We find from the registers that Raphael,
the son of Francis Bradbury, was baptized 22nd of February, 1602.

There is now no ancient stained glass in this church, but when
Bassano was here, about 1710, he noted, in the head of the three-
light south window of the south aisle, the arms of Clare, Earl of
Gloucester (or, three chevrons, guJ), and in the three main lights,
Rossington, Harthill, and Erdeswick {arg., upon a chevron, gu., five
bezants).

We do not as a rule notice in these pages any modern monu-
ments or modem work, but we are sure that we are amply justi-
fied in making an exception in favour of the east chancel window
of Youlgreave. This window has just been filled (1876) with a
genuine work of art by Messrs. Morris & Co., after designs by Mr.
Bume Jones. The centre hght is occupied by a figure of the

• Harl. MSS., 1637, f. 44.

332 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Saviour, who is represented as holding the orb of the world in His
left hand, and blessing it with the uplifted fingers of the right.
The anxious care and exquisite pathos of the features, directing
their loving gaze upon the world, the scene of His Passion, which
is still held in the hollow of His hand, are simply inimitable,
and the high spiritual symbolism of the design is beyond all praise.
The four evangelists are represented in the subsidiary lights. They
are all characterised by the masterly expression of the countenances,
by the bold lines of the drapery, and by the natural but vigorous
attitude of the whole body. Admirable as they all are, perhaps the
most successful is St. Matthew. The base of the window is of the
richest crimson, whilst a green tint predominates in the upper tra-
cery. The colouring of the central figures is sober and dignified,
and the result is that the eye returns again and again with renewed
pleasure, to rest upon the general design, and is attracted, as it
were unconsciously, to linger with growing love upon the Divine
humanity of the chief figure, and not startled into a momentary
recognition, as is so often the case, by the gHtter of the nimbus, or
the gaud of the apparel. If it is ever possible to rise from the con-
templation of a picture with purer and more ennobling feelings, it
certainly seems to us to be the case with the east window of
Youlgreave.

The praise bestowed upon this window may possibly seem
to some excessive. The strict adherent to medieval traditions
may regret the absence of the canopies and other accessories, and
that stiffness of outline and formalism of features, which it is
customary to associate with the stained glass of the Perpendicular
period; but it should be remembered that this window is in eveiy
way new, that it does not pretend to be a reproduction or restora-
tion of past tastes, that even the ecclesiastical artist of the middle
ages scorned to abstain from altering the style and improving the
design of his pictures on glass when art advanced with the growth
of the centuries, that slavish imitation is baneful to true . culture,
and that ''the arts cannot be called liberal in the hands of those who
want spirit to think for themselves." We have confidence that no
real lover of art, who may be induced by our words to see this
window for himself, will have any cause to regret our eulogy of one
of the finest examples of modern art in the county.

To the south of the church, near the porch, are the steps of the
old churchyard cross, and a large basement stone of unusual pat-

YOULGEEAVE. 333

tern. It now supports the metal plate of a sundial, on which is
engraved "Mr. Joseph Smedley, Churchwarden, 1767. Sam. Ashton,
TidesweU."

The registers and parish books of All Saints', Youlgreave, are the
most complete and interesting in the county. The registers begin
in 1558, and are for the most part in excellent preservation, and
legible. The churchwardens' accounts are exceptionally perfect
for a long period. They commence in 1604, and are continued in
two volumes (interspersed from 1702 downwards with the constables*
accounts) to 1755. From that date, these accounts were kept for
a considerable time on separate sheets of paper, but we have
recovered those between 1772 to 1786 from a store of waste paper
in a chest beneath the tower. The constables' accounts, subse-
quent to the date when they were kept in the same book with
those of the churchwardens, are in a separate volume, and extend
from 1769 to 1829. Another volume contains the accounts of the
overseers of the poor from 1718 to 1754. All these volumes have
been most carefully bound, and preserved from further destruction
by the present vicar, the Rev. R. C. Roy. A large number of
orders of settlement, and indentures of parish apprentices, with the
names and seals of the Justices, together with various other papers
of local interest, chiefly of last century, have also been classified,
and put in order.

The future historian of this parish will find a vast stock of
material ready to hand, and if such a work was ever accomphshed
it would once more be seen how the history of even a remote
village is but the history of the nation in Httle ; how national vic-
tories were announced on the church bells, and national disasters
by the proclamation of a form of prayer; how local self-govern-
ment became gradually developed in the office of justice, constable,
and overseer of the poor ; how the press gang worked its cruel way
to man the ships and fiU the regiments of the Georges; how the
good folk of Youlgreave sent forth a spy to watch the movements
of Charles Edward in 1746; and how they prepared to defend
themselves by giving their constable a new bill-head, and repairing
his old one ; how unmerciful was the treatment of lunatics ; and
bow free was the consumption of ale, on the smallest possible pro-
vocation, at the parish's expense ; — these, and a thousand other
minutias, all of them possessing some point of interest, can be
gleaned from these annals of a parish, to say nothing of the perfect

334 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

genealogy of every family, together with an account of their vary-
ing circumstances, that might be constructed by their aid.

The following are some of the entries of interest that we have
extracted from the registers : —

1601. Uppon the 8th day of this moneth of Februarii being SeptuAgessims was the
couspiracy by the Earles of Essex, Rutland, and Southampton with their con-
federateH in London.

Uppon the 19th day being thnrsday, Essex and Southampton were arraigned
at Westminster and found guilty by the peiares of this land for high treason.
The 2.5th day of the said moneth of Feb. being the first day of Lent, was
Robert earle of Essex executed within the tower of London.

1602. March 23. Our most gracious soyeraigne Lady Elizabeth queue of Englande,
France, and Ireland, departed this lyffe uppon Wednesday, after bhe had
reigned most peacablye 44 yeares, 4 moneths, 11 daies.

1602. March 29. James King of Scotland was proclaimed Kinge of England,
France and Ireland at Baunkewell uppon Monday. Whom the Lord preserve.
And a gallant King and Queen
Was they and happey in their Keigns.
1614. A Latin entry, entitled " Hyems Nivosa" is in the Begistera, and the following
extended translation in the Churchwardens' accounts —

A MBMORIALL OF THE GREAT SNOW.

SMinninse This year 1614'5 Jan. 16 began the greatest snow snow (sic) which

ever fell uppon the earth, within man's memorye. It covered the earth

An doe de«p 'j^® quarters deep upon the playne. And for heaps or drifts of snow,

nppon tb« they were very deep ; so that passengers both horse and foot, passed

over gates, hedges and walles. It fell at 10 severall tymes and the last

was the greatest, to the greate admiration and feare of all the land, for

l^rth* SoQtk. ^* came from the fowre p** of the world, so that all entryes were full,

Jluoh iS. yea the South p^ as well as these mountaynes. It continued by daily

encreasing until the 12th day of March (without the sight of any earthi

eyther uppon hilles or valleyes) uppon w^ day (being the Lorde's Dave)

Babbotb. j^ began to decreasse ; and so by little and little consumed and wasted

away, till the eight and twentyth day of May for then all the heapes or

End 18 Malt, drifts of snow were consumed, except one uppon Einder's Scowt, w**

lay till Witson week and after.

HTNDERANCES AND LOSSES IN THIS PEAKB CUTRY BY THE SNOWB

ABOVESAYD.

1. It hyndered the seed tyme. A very oold spring.

2. It consumed much fodder (multitude of sheep, cause, continuance of cold wether).

3. And many wanted fewell ; otherwyse few were smothered in the fall or drownded

in the passage ; in regard the floods of water were not great though n^ny.

*' The Name of our Lord be Praysed."
*' The spring was so cold and so late that much cattell was in very great daxmger
and some dyed.

'* 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 fflowera^
the youthes brought in flakes of snow, w^ lay above a foot deep uppon the
moores and mountaynes. All these aforesayd snows vanished away and thoed with
little or no rayne."

" 1615—A DRY SUMMER.

There was no rayne fell nppon the earth from the 25th day of March until the 2nd
day of May, and there then was but one shower ; after which there fell none tyll the
18th day of June, an then there fell another ; after y' there fell none at all tyll the
4th day of August, after which tyme there was sufficient rayne uppon the earth ; so

YOULGREAVE. 335

that the greattest p^ of this land, specially the south p^ were burnt upp, both come
and hay. An ordinary Sumer load of hay was at 2li. and little or none to be got for
money.
" This p^ of the peake was very sore bamt npp, only Lankishyre and Cheshyre had

rayne ynongh all the Sumer ; and both come and hay sufficient.
" There was very little rayne fell the last winter, but snowe onely."

The churchwardens' accounts are also interspersed with occasional
interpellations, of wliich the subjoined are specimens. On pages
218, 219 of the first volume, are lists of persons excommunicated
between 1677 and 1693 for such offences as clandestine marriages,
having bastard children, and non-payment of Easter dues ; it is
added in another hand — ** all remitted after the death of Queen
Mary, Anno 1696." There is also a list of briefs, with the amount
collected for each, extending from 1609 to 1719.

1614. July 8. M<*. That Thomas Swetnam, Vicar de Yolgrave, hath cawsed a seat
to be made ex impensis suis within the chancell of the sayd psh. church on
the north syde thereof, by the hand of Thomas Stone and Bichard Halley,
of Gratton, in the sayd psh., husbandmen, to and for the use and uses here-
after foUowing, namely, for the use and behoofe of his wyfe now being during
his naturall lyfe, and after his decease, to descend for the use of the wyfe
of the next incumbent, and so to continue successively, ex dat the eight day
July, A.D. 1614. (Signed by the Vicar, the two workmen, and the three
churchwardens, as witnesses).

1708. Mem<i. That it is agreed at this meeting that the stocks and pinfold for ye
future by every respective Hamlett be repaired, and not charged in the town-
ship's accoimts.

1731. May 14. There was given two salvers for bread and two stoops for the wine,
all made of pure silver, and weighing by averdupois five pounds and half an
ounce altogether, by Mrs. Mary Hill of Woodhouse, during her life-time to
the Parish of Youlgreave, with her name engraved thereon only to prevent
its being imbeziled away : In testimony of woh I have hereunto set my
hand.

Dan^ Hardinge, cur* of Youlgreave.*

1746. April 80. Whereas several Bobberies have been committed within the Lib-
erty or Hamlet of Youlgreave, and the people Bob'd have been &om their
poverty unable to prosecute the offenders, it is agreed at this general meet-
ing of the Inhabitants that for the future when any such poor Person shall
be robbd, the Overseer of the Poor shall defray the expense of prosecuting,
etc. Signed {inter alia), Bache Thomhill.

(Inventory from the first page of the volume containing the accounts.)

A Memoiiall of all ye Bookes belonging to ye Parish Church of Yolgrave,

ut infra: —

One Byble of the largest volume.

One Communion booke.

Paraphrasis Erasmi.

Cannons and Constitutions.

An old register booke in parchment.

A new register booke in parchment.

A defence of the right of Kings made by King James I.

A booke of Homilies (in folio) 1687.

Another in quarto.

* There is a similar entry, in a slightly varying phraseology, under the same date
in the Baptismal Begisters.

336 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

A table of Affinity and Consangninitie.

This booke containing all acoompte.

Jewels worke.

A discovery of ye new-fonnde land, written by Captaine Richard Wliitboame.

Mason de Minesterio Anglicano.

IMPLEMENTS.

One Commonion cup of silver, with a cover of silver. One carpet for the table.
A linen cloth for the same. One surples. One qiiishen for the pulpit. Six loo»e
and two great formes. Three co£fer8. One hack, one spade, one beere. A decree
or definitive sentence betwixt the psh church and the two chappells, Elton and
Winster. A rate or lay for the buylding of the steeple. An agreement indented
betwixt the psh church and the chappell of Elton, all which are in the custodie
of Nicholas Gilbert, gent. A frame to cast lead in. A little instrument of yron
to shoot belropes withall. Three formes made of ye old Communion table. One
flaggon given to the church by Mr. Christopher Fullwood, Esq., of Myddleton.*

CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS.

£

1604. Item to the ringers on the Coronation day (James I.) 0

„ for mending the Bels agaynst that day 0

„ to the maymed Bouldiers f 0

„ for the boke of canons 0

„ given to Robert Walton for whipping dogs^ 0

„ to the workmen when the chancel gates were boarded over 0

„ for f atchinge the great bell yoke at Stanton hall 0

„ for f atchinge boords and timber at Stanton hall which are

over the chancell gates 0

„ boords & timber which made windowes for the steeple 0

,1 to Nicholas Hybert for making the partition betwixt the

church and the chancell§ 0

1605. Item for payntinge the church 2 11

„ for amending a lock and making a key 0

„ for a rope for a little bell 0

„ for a prayer booke II • 0

„ to the plumber for amending the leads 0

1606. „ at a court holden at Yolgreave 0

„ at a Visitation holden at Yolgreave 0

* The two last items of this inventory are in a later hand.

t Similar entries occur annually throughout the greater part of the volume. It
seems that this payment for wounded soldiers was of the nature of a regularly col-
lected rate or tax. We have met with it in various Churchwardens' accounts of this
county and elsewhere.

t The salary of the dog whipper is specified nearly every year down to the present
century. In some years his duties are described more fully — e.g.f *' for whipping y*
dogges forth of y* churche in tyme of divyne service."

§ The above items for 1604 are taken from the accounts of George Byrde, one of the

three Churchwardens. Each of his co-churchwardens, Francis Hallowes, and Francis

Garrett, also enter their separate expenses, from which it appears that it wa« the

I custom to divide the parisn proper of Youlgreave into three parts, or lays, a portion

i being allotted to each churcnwarden. For certain expenses they all collected like

. amounts ; thus, the total collection for the ** maymed souldiers " in 1604 came to ISs.,

but other expenditure was divided on a different principle, Francis Hallowes pay-
t ing 12s. towards the partition between the nave and chancel, and Francis Garrett

I only 8s. 2d. It is noted at the time that these accounts were passed, that the inha-

bitants of Callinge, Lowe, Elton, and Winster, did not contribute to that year's rates.
The total expenses for the year ending April, 1605, amounted to £7 Os. 8d. For
this year, and throughout the volume, entries are made of the names chosen as Over-
seers of the Highways, two each being appointed for Youlgreave, Stanton, Birch-
over, Gretton, and Middleton..

II This would be for the fast-day for the plague, which raged this year both in
England and Ireland.

i
t

B.

d.

2

5

1

0

4

4

0

8

1

4

1

0

0

6

1

6

1

8

10

0

11

9

0

4

0

5

0

6

6

8

0

8

3

6

YOULGUEAVE. US?

£ 8. d.

Item for 6 Dinners at the Bayd Visitation 0 16

„ to the BingerB the 5th day of August when thanks was
given to God for the delyveriug of King James from the

conspiracye of the Lord Gowrye 0 6 0

„ for wryting forth the Begister for the last yeare and bending

it to Lichfield; 0 10

1609. „ to the prisoners at the Kings bench 0 6 6

„ for y« Vicar his dinnar at y« Visitation 0 0 8

„ for Wyne at A Communion on Whitfionday 8 quarts 0 2 0

1610. „ for amending the belles and clocke 0 4 2

1611. „ for clensing a trough in the churchyard 0 0 6

„ for a boke called Jewells Works 16 0

„ to a strange pracher 0 2 0

1613. „ a stirropp for the fyrst bell wheele 0 0 8

I, spe^it at Bakewell about recusants 0 0 4

1614. „ for whitlether and neyles 0 19

„ for the maymed Bouldiers and the Maruhalsea 0 2 10

„ for the belief ouder his dinnar and his souues with other

chargs at the same tyme 0 0 10

„ at the second coming of the sayd bellfonder 0 0 9

at the taking downe of the bell 0 0 6

for castyng the fyrst bell* 4 0 0

for the surplus mettall which wee bought of the bell founder

becawse the new bell waeghed more than y* old* 8 15 10

to the bell-founders men -. 0 0 4

for the carryage of our old bell to Chesterfield 0 3 0

for carying the great bell clapper to Chesterfield 0 0 4

for carying the new bell from Chesterfield 0 2 8

„ to Nicholas Hybert for hanging the said bell Oil

„ spent at Gybs house at the belfounders In bt coming 0 0 3

„ for amending the great bell clapper 0 0 10

ft to Nicholas Hibbcrt the younger for amending the great

bell yoke and wheele 0 0 6

„ to y* Vicar for wryting and kepying my accompts this yeare

and setting hit downe in this booke 0 0 10

1615.' „ to Bob. Cawlton for fetching one Finlinson agayne and
carrying him before a Justice for getting a Dwarfe with

chylde 0 3 0

1614. 28 May. The charges of the casting of 26 'sheets of lead (weight
41 cwt. 1 stone) £5 9s. 4d.
The charge of laying both now and old sheets uppon the

body of the church and for amending the yles £2
Our charges in foder Ss. 9d,
Summa totalis payd to the plumber and his servant 7 18 1

1616. Item, an heame for 3^ church hack 0 0 1

1617. M <ui yron chayne for the little bell which hangeth over the
chancell 0 1 10

1619. „ emest money for a newe byble » 0 14

(total cost £2 4s. Od.)

1621. „ three quarters of yellow serg for the pulpit quishen 0 2 6

two brazile skinnes 0 2 4

Seven y cards of fringe and fyfteen skeynes of silke for the

sayde quishen 0 3 11

,, for making the B^ quishen 0 0 5

• These two totals are obtained by adding together the respective accounts of the
three Churchwardens. The other incidental items relative to the bell are only taken
from the account of the first Church wjirden. On another leaf (p. 62) the weight of
the old bell is given at 6 cwt. 2 st. 10 lb., and of the new one at 7 cwt. 46 lb. The
total cost (£7 16s. lOd.) there given agrees with the two entries above.

»»
»»
}l

It

ft

338 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

£ 8. d.

Item fyre li. of flocke to staff the B* quishen 0 2 0

1623. „ the casting of two bells and the overplna metall (in all) .... 8 6 8
„ the carriage of the s"^ belles to and from Nottingham (in all) 18 0

The old least bell waighed 7 cwt. except 19^ lb.

The second old bell waighed 10 cwt. except 12 lb.

The least new bell waighed 8 cwt. 12 lb.

The second new bell waighed 9 cwt. 11 lb.

to the ringar at the return of Prince Charles from Spayne... 0 0 6

to a pore boy which had his legg cut of 0 10

1624. „ for ringing Nov. 23 at his M"*« contract with the Lady of
France 0 0 6

„ for prayer books set forth in the sickness tyme* 0 0 7

„ to a GroDtian having a letter patent 0 10

„ at Chapel le frith about y« recusants 0 0 4

1625. „ for changing y* old Communion cupp and cover for y* new
ChaUc(inaU) 1 19 9

1626. „ for Mr. Masous booke de Ministerio Anglica 0 7 6

(this year the church porch repaired; much lead stolen

from the roofs.)

1627. „ halfe a fodder of lead, four stones overweight, and y* car-
riage of it 4 19 4

„ boardes and nailes for y* north door 0 3 3

1631. „ layd down toward y* new bell and y« caraying of it 6 10

„ for carying a letter to y* bell-founder of Chesterfield 0 0 4

1632. „ Spent at Chesterfield when we went to entertain y* new
Bishop 0 3 0

„ Spent when we went to pay the gathering for Paul's church 0 16

1634. „ for timber for y« Bell frames (in all) 5 10 0

„ for making y« Bell frames (in all) 8 0 0

(Various other expences connected with the new frames, such
as " drawing them up into the steeple,** etc.)
„ to y* Bingers upon the Kings Holy-day 0 2 6

1636. „ for sweeping y* snow out of y* church windows 0 0 2

„ given to an old minister 0 10

to the Apparitor for bringing the Byshopps orders concern-
ing the seates in the church 0 0 6

for glazing the south side of the church 0 6 8

„ for Rails envrioning the Communion rails (in all) 2 11 6

1637. „ for a Hoode for y« minister 10 0

(This year the tower roof was new leaded).

1639. „ for killing of foxest 0 2 8

(Here a gap, during the Civil Wars, until 1653.)

1653. „ P*^ for a warrant against the Inhabitants of Elton and

Winster for refusing to pay their levies 0 10

1654. „ Paid to Mr. Angell, minister, for preeching 2 Lord's dayes ... 0 1 0

1655. „ 5 Nov. Paide for beUes (and) to make a bonfire at Stanton... 0 16

(Several leaves cut out, a gap to 1661).

• Upwards of 35,000 persons perished of plague in London only in the year 1624-5.

t This is the first entry for killing foxes ; the first entry for kilHng ravens is in
1666; and the first for hedgehogs in 1687. At a meeting held in June, 1712, it was
a^preed that ** no money be allowed in futurity for hedgehogs, Ravens, or Urchins
within y* respective hamletts belonging to the church of Yolgreave by reason y*

Sarish hath been grossly abiis'd and impos'd upon in y* respect." But this agreement
id not hold good for long, like payments were again made within a few years by the
churchwardens, and occasionally by the constables and overseers of the poor. The
amount of vermin thus killed was very considerable. Between the ^ears 1724 and
1734, 16 foxes, 65 hedgehogs, and 80 ravens, were paid for by the parish. The price
paid for a single fox varies nrom Is. 6d. to 6s. 8d. On the subject of damage done by
foxes in the Peak "nicfTnVt. bp*i th** ttrrmi'nt of Hone church.

n

tf

If

YOULGREAVE. 389

£ s. d.

1661. Item. BiDgiug ou the Coronation day 0 8 0

f, Edward Statham for 3 hinges for y* Chancoll gatet), and for

amending the great bell 0 2 0

(Varioas other repairs to church, including battlements

and pinnacles.)

1666. „ for Killing of two Ravens 0 8 0

„ for two Houre Glasses 0 2 8

1668. „ P* to y« Painter for Coulering y« pulpit 0 11 6

P* to y* Joyners for Altering J"* pulpit 1 12 0

Bestowed in glew for y* canopyo of ye pulpit 0 0 4

1674. „ By consent it cost mee of Mr. Jaques y« first Lords day y*

he preached at Yolgreave 0 13

28. from y* right honourable John Earl of Rutland for 3
seats in Yolgreave Chui'ch belonging to Hartle Hall.

1687. „ P"* for 85 Hedgehogs 0 5 10

„ Pd to Ralph Mather for mending the clock and a cord for

the watch 0 5 0

1688. „ P<> for a Booke of prayers for the prince of wales 0 2 6

„ Given to the Ringers for the (seven) Bishops delivery forth

of Tower 0 8 0

„ P** to the Clarke for Ringing Eight a Clocke Bell half y«
yeare, 4 a Clocke Bell in Lent, and looking to the Clocke

and Watch and dressing the leads 15 4

1703. ,, Spent upon the parson of Edensor when he preached here 0 16

,, Spent upon the curate of Elton when he preached 0 10

„ P^ for a Book and a proclamation of a general fast* 0 16

„ For a Prayer Book for y* eighth of March 0 10

„ To the Ringers on the s* day of Thanksgiving 0 4 0

For writing y^ 10 Commandments, Sentences, and other

Ornaments in y« church 2 16 0

Ale to y* Vicarage aft^r evening service upon palm Sunday 0 0 9
1706. ti Given to the ringers upon y« newes of y Victory at

Ramillies 0 2 6

„ To the ringers upon y« Thanksgiving Day for the Victory at

Ramillies 0 10 0

„ To John Smith for a new Church Gate and Stoops, and

Railes for y« Ewe Tree » 0 10 0

1708. „ To Francis Swindal for a Churching Seat 0 7 0

1709. „ making a rail about y« Yew Tree '. 0 8 9

1711. „ To y« ringers upon y® news of y* victory over y® Spaniards 0 2 6

1716. „ To Robert Strutt for his advice about the clock 0 2 6

„ Spent upon y« Company at y« same time 0 9 6

(On page 291 is an agreement by which B. S. Whitesmith, of
BaJkewell, binds himself to keep the Clock in efiicient
repair for 4s. per annum).

„ To Robert Strutt for mending the Clock 5 0 0

1719. „ To William Carson for pruening y« Yew Tree 0 10

y, Spent upon the parsons when Mr. Moore was ill. Upon Mr.
MortclifF 2b., Mr. Munk, Is., Mr. Lomas, Is., Mr. Alld-

ridge, 28., Mr. Cooper, 2a. 6d., Mr. Nichols, Is 0 9 6

1721. „ Spent at Mr. Ward's at y" subscribing for y« (Ju: Bounty 1 15 0

• The object of this fast was — *' For the Imploring of a BlesRing from Almighty
God uz>on her Majesty and her Allies, Engaged in the present War, as also for the
Humbling of ourselves before Him in a deep Sense of Hia heavy Displeasure, shew'd
forth in the late Dreadful Storm and TempcKt : and in order to the Obtaining the
Pardon of our Crying Sins, the Averting of His Judgments, and the Continuance of
His Mercies and, in most especial manner, that of the Protestant Religion, to us and
to our Posterity." From an original form of this Prayer (44 pages 4to.) in our
possession.

71

)»

340 DEUBYSUIKK CHURCHES.

jE 8. d.

Item. P"* for a book on y« ace* of the Plague 0 2 0

1736. „ to Francis Staley for a fodder of Morring Lead 15 0 0

„ to 6 days work to get up y« lead to cover y« South Isle 10 14 51

,', to William Castle a year's wages and dressing y* Yew tree... 2 11 0

1729. „ to John Wilde for setting up a pillar at y« church 0 0 4

1730. „ to Will. Batcliffe for mending y® Church walls and setting
up y« Balls on y« Stoops several times 0 16

for wood, stoops, nails, and workmanship about y« yew tree 0 3 0

a Piggin and two Potts to wash y* church 0 0 6

„ Washing and plaistering y« church 5 7 6

,. to Barthia Neivman for mending surplice and setting a neck

0 0 1

on V w *

to Tho. Sheldon for carrying earth to Level at Back and

ChanceU doors 0 18

1731. „ a new Bible for y« Church 5 10 0

„ to Richard Dale for ye Communion Rails H 17 O

1732. „ In exchange between an old Silver Cup and Salver for a
Silver Plate ^ o a

1739. „ for doing the Weather Cock 0 2 0

1740. „ to Mr. Vincent for Writeing the Creed and Lord's Prayer on
two tables in y« Chancel 3 15 0

1741. „ to Mr. Vincent for drawing the King's Arms 8 8 0

„ for fitting ye bench about y* Elm tree (in the Churchyard)... 0 0 6

1746. „ to the Ringers by order on the Thanksgiving Day for sup-
pressing the late Rebellion 0 6 0

,, for Building a Loft for the Singers 3 11

1749 for an Act of Parliament relating to y« Distemper in Hom*d

Cattle 0 2 0

1761. ,1 gave Ben. Jones to buy Reeds for y« Basoon* 0 8 0

1762. „ Mr. Ashton for a Sundial -• 2 0 0

„ In Ale to the people who assisted in unloading the Faunt

and setting it up 0 3 0

„ Mr. Castle, clerk, for his care of the Yew Tree 0 10

CONSTABLE'S ACCOUNTS.

1702. Spent in going to Chapel le frith to pay in Palphrey moneyf 0 1 6

1703. Spent at Tideswell and sending out a Hue and Cry 0 1 10

1706. For a warrant to raise souldjers 0 0 6

1707. For a new pair of Stocks 0 14 0

1708. Spent in raising Carriages for ye souldiers that marched thro
Winster 0 0 6

1710. Spent in search for Soldiers 0 16

* From a loose sheet of paper that we found in an old chest in the church, it appears
that in 1785, a '* Base Voile was acquired by the parish, and it was decided at a ves-
try meeting that it should be appropriated solely to the use of the church, ^' and not
be handled about to Wakes or any other places of profaneness and Diversion," except-
ing the club feasts of Tonlgreave, Elton, and Winster. The basoon was a favoiinte
instrument of church music in the eighteenth century ; it is not unfrequently now
used on the continent, in the place of an organ to lead the responses on Good Friday,
and other days of mournful service.

f The Constable's accounts for 1719 include "a Catalogue of Palfrey Silver Due and
Payable within the Hamlet of Youlgreave, with the Names of the Persons that pay
it, etc." The total is 5s. 5d., and the highest amounts are "Mr. Whittaker's bouse,
8d., Mr. Franc Staley's, 6d., Youlgreave Hall, 6d." This palfrey money seems to have
been of the nature of a small house duty on the principal residences. The name
originated with a customary fee payable on certain estates to the lord of the manor
for shoeing his horses (palfreys). It is also mentioned in the accounts of Darley
Dale. ^

YOULGREAVE. 341

4J B. d.
Given to Valentine Greaves who received a wound by Jer.

Gregory when he was about seizing him for a soldier 0 0 6

Ditto ditto ditto 0 6 6

Spent in seizing James Ward, Sam. Nuttall, ueu, Sam. Nnttall,

jnn', and making search for others 0 19 6

Spent in searching all Yonlgreave for Bradshaw, Gregory, and

Adama 0 4 2

Spent in going through ye township to give ale keepers notice to

takelicenses - 0 16

1712. Spent ab* Thomas Holland when he oocasion'd a distorbance in

y« nig^t time 0 14

1718. To the man for Whipping David Wright 0 0 8

1711. Spent at a Meeting at Bakewell about papists and nonjurors
(when the names were given in to the Commissioners of for-
feited estates after the RebeUion of 1716) 0 4 6

1722. Spent at Mrti. Wards with y* persons I took with me to search for

fire arms at John Goulds pursuant to Mr. Boothbeys warrant 0 18
My charges to Ashboum with to case of pistols and a sword taken

from John Gould and carried to Mr. Boothbey 0 10

1739. Charges about y« two deserted soldiers for taking them up 1 1 0

For a Gaurd over them three nights 0 3 0

pd to a man to guard ym betwixt Nottingham and Derby 0 2 G

P* for puting y* men into y* Gazet and piinting a hundred papers 0 5 0

1786. To a maymed Souldier with a pass 0 0 4

To Strutt for a Staff for the Constables Use 0 12 6

1740. At Winster when X put the Kings Proclamation on the Cross 0 0 10

For two Watch bills 0 7 6

1744. Spent with pressing 3 men for liis Majesties Service 0 1 4

P^ two men for attending them one day 0 14

P** three men for attending them that night 0 2 0

F* the High Constable for the Press Warrant 0 10

Spent at several times going thro y* Township to press men 0 2 6

1745. 18 Dec. P^ to G. Toft when he went to Enquire about the Bebells 0 0 6

Gave to a Soulder y* was siok y* came from Carlile 0 0 6

Gave a Soulders wife comeing from Scotland \ 0 0 6

Gave two poor Seamen taken by the Turks 0 0 6

For a new Watch Bill and repairing the old one 0 4 6

1748. Giving notice for a meeting of the Commissioners about the

Hom'd Cattle 0 0 6

To the Inspectors charges 0 8 0

For inspecting the market by the Commissioners orders 0 2 0

(Numerous other heavy charges in connection with the Inspec-
tion of Homed CatUe ordered by the Commissioners'^ ow^ing to
the plague.)

1756. Spent with serching for Sealors at y® Ale Houses 0 2 0

1759. Spent on giving notice to the Hcadborough of a Warrant to im-

press Seafareing Men 0 0 6

1760. Spent with seizing W. Tomson a Stroler for abuse 0 10

P«* Jtrmy Grayham for meat and drink for the s*^ W. Tomson and

guards 0 10 6

1767. Gave a Malitia man and wife and son with a pass, who staid all

night, the son being ill 0 0 10

1772. P* to seven men we took to offer themselves at the meeting to

serve in the Militier 1 11 0

1773. My expenses to Cromford to attend the Justices on the account

of some Miners quareling about their wages 0 4 0

1775. Spent with the Headboroughs of Winster and Birchover with
numbering the Publick Houses to be laid before the Jus-

ticeses , 0 10

1779. At y*' inquist of Bette Gregore, expenses of y« Jure 0 8 0

342 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

£ 8. cL

For Caredge of y« Corpes onto Stanton More* 0 2 6

To ale and bread and chees to ye men that went with y^ corps ... 0 2 0
Paid to Stanton Officer for y* grave making and sum ale and

eating 0 2 0

Spent with giving ye Hcadborons Notis to bring in thear Balited

men to be Bworden before y* Jufltieea 0 0 6

1780. Paid for a new pair of Stocks and painting 0 8 6

1793. Paid last Sessions order at 8 shillings a Trained Soldier 2 8 0

1794. Paid the High Constable for Trained Soldiers 21 6 0

Paid the Train Soldiers Money 6 13 0

1799. P<^ postage of a Double letter from Mr. Leaper Distribntor of

Stamps respecting y* Licences to wear Hair powder 0 0 10

OVERSEER OF THE POOR'S ACCOUNTS.

1713. Payd two womin for wakeing one night and tenting Ellin Leey

two days 0 2 4

Paid for fiUicking to Bind her arms 0 0 3

Payd for a Cord to Bind her Down in Bed 0 14

Payd for a Stable (staple) to Locke her two, 0 0 1

1717. Given to John Wards daughter while she was Learning to Spin... 0 2 0
Given to Mary Wiird, while her daughter learned to Spin soft

Jarseyf- ■ 0 2 0 |

To Thomas Shelldon this winter season too load of Coals 0 2 4 i

1726. Spent about Hellen Ley being Lunatick^ on y* men that assisted I

George Clark to break y* door being fast bolted on y* inside

supposeing she had been dead 0 16

For ale and meat for her y* night 0 0 6

For ale to make her a Caudle when she fainted 0 0 3

To Dr. Wooley for bleeding Hellen Ley 0 0 6

1729. P* to William Roberts for Htmting y» fox by y« c<»isent of y*

Gentlemen 8 6 71

1733. P"* for repairing the Pinfold and Sheepwash 0 3 0

P<* to John Smith for repairing The Town's Stocks 0 4 1

1740. T^ Doctor Morrise for Curing Anthony Chappell 6 10 O

1741. P<* for seeds and plants for the poorhouse gardin 0 16

P* Jacob Clark for fetching the Wheeles from Tidswell to the

Poor House 0 2 0

Bought 22 pounds of Beef at 1^ per pound for poor house 0 2 8

1742. P<^ for a straight Bodyed Coate, and a Quilt, three Caps, 2 pair of

Stockings for Mary Bagshaw 0 6 O

1744. P* Anth. Hancock for Wintering Mary Dale's Cow 12 0

1746. Recv<* of George Wall, Constable, for the use of George Guys

Children, he being prest for a souldier 1 19 O

1746. Goods in y» Workhouse.

One iron pot, 1 water kit, 4 stools and pot hooks.
Parlor— a pair of Bedstocks, a new (spinning) wheel, ten pounds
and I of linnen yarn.

* Probably a case of suicide, Juried at cross roads on the Moor.

t One Peter Clowes, of Wirksworth, " a jarsay spinner," removed about this time
to Yonlgreave. Articles of agreement, dated February, 1716, are extant between him
and the parish of Youlgreave, by which he undertakes to teach those chargeable on
the parisli spinning, to provide wheels at live shillings a piece, »nd to pay the spin-
ners at the rate of eightpence to two shillings per pound, according to the coarseness
or fineness of the jersey.

\ There are several other entries relative to the rough treatment of lunatics, or
"melancholy" persons as they are usually termed.

YOULGREAVE. 343

£ s. d.
Chamber over y« house— one pair of Bedstocks, a chaff bed, 2

boTilsters, one Blanket, a coverlid, one wool wheel, and two

boards.
Kitchen — One Doccan, a Backsprittle,* one tnb, 2 barrels, a Ladle,

one chest, and one old tub.
Wheels belonging to the Town— Two at Mary Taylors, 3 at Mary

Beards, one at Martha Smiths, one at Eliz: Pickerings.

For 2 lb. of wool for y use of y Poor 0 0 10

For spinning 164 lbs. of wool 0 6 0

1747. For y« Window Act, and fetching it from Chesterfield Old

1751. September 24. Thos. Worrel died possest of One Cnbbord, one

seat, on Iron pot, one old Form, one old box, a pair of
Blankets and Do Sheets, and his wearing apparell : now in
Custody of Margert Saxmt and to be disposed of as the Town
shall think meet.

1752. Given to Eich* Swindell that day he had his finger cut of 0 2 0

1758. Paid Mary Hollingworth for Ingredients and trouble used about

Staton's eyes 0 2 0

Of the five Chapels of Youlgreave, that were possessed by that
church, when it was bestowed in Henry II. reign on the Abbey of
Leicester, only two — ^Elton and Winster — remain. Of two others —
Oratton and Stanton — it seems iinpossible now to even determine
the site. Nor can we say more than a word or two of the fifth,
which was situated at Middleton. Bobert CoUe not only gave
the tithes of Youlgreave and its chapelries to the Abbey, but also
a large tract of land at Middleton, which remained in its possession
until the dissolution of the Monasteries.f In the Valor ^celestas-
Hcus (27 Henry VIIL) the tithes of Middleton are valued at £4,
and the lands at ** Middleton More " at £28 per annum. The
manor of Middleton was held by the Harthills in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries; thence it passed, with the heiress, to
the Cokaynes in the reign of Henry VL, and it was purchased
from them by Francis Full wood about the year 1602. From the
Fullwoods it came into- the hands of the Batemans, the present
owners. It is said that the masonry of the old tower of Youl-
greave, taken down in 1614, was used by Mr. Bobert Bateman in
building Middleton Hall in 1626 ; and that tliis discovery was
made when taking down the Old Hall in 1828. It is further added
that much of this old material was used in building the New

* Doccan and Backsprittle were at one time literally '* household words " in Derby-
shire, though it is very exceptional now to meet with those who understand them,
nor can we find the terms in tne provincial dictionaries of Halliwell and others ; the
former word is the small wooden implement by which the oatcakes are turned, and
the latter is the heated iron plate on which they are baked.

t See the remains of the Abbey Chartulary passim.

344 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Hall almost on tlie Pame site, the foundation stone of which was
laid on Easter Monday, 1824.* The museum of the late Mr.
Bateman contains—" A crowned female corhel head of good work,
from Middleton,** and "a few architectural fragments, such as
heads of narrow lancet windows, etc., from Middleton ; prohaMy
(with the last article) from Youlgreave church."t There is also in
the collection a small cross in the form of a quatrefoil, with a rose
in the centre, cut from a thick piece of sandstone, which was
found in a waU at Middleton, in 1828. The tale ahout the re-
huilding of the tower of Youlgreave in 1614, has, as we have
akeady stated, no foundation, heyond the fact that some slight re-
pairs were done to the church in that year. We have no doubt
that these various details, instead of coming from Youlgreave
church, were parts of the old chapel of Middleton. Foundations
of extensive buHdings, as well as a vaulted passage, have quite
recently been disclosed in the grounds of Middleton HaJl. They
have probably aU belonged to the large ^monastic Grange which
formerly stood there, with which the chapel would be connected.

There was yet another chapel in this parish which is not men-
tioned in the gift of Eobert Colle, as it formed part of an inde-
pendent donation to the Abbey of Leicester. At the time when
William Peverel endowed the Priory of Lenton with two-thirds of
the tithes of diverse lordships in the Peak, Haddon, Monyash, and
Meadow Place, were held under him by W^illiam Avenel (ancestor
of the Vernons), and were specially included in the charter. J
But though this share of the tithes of Meadow Place (amounting
to 3s., temp. Henry VIII.) belonged to Lenton, the land itself,
in conjunction with the adjacent hamlet of Conksbery and its
water-mill, together with twenty acres of land in Over Haddon,
were given by William Avenel to the Abbey of Leicester.§ This
gift formed a valuable addition to the property of the abbey, and
we find that Meadow Place (Meadow-pleck) is valued in the Valor
Erclesiasticm at £22 13s. 4d. per annum. Edward VI., in 1562,
granted the manor of Meadow Place to Sir William Cavendish,

* Bateman MSS.

t Bateman'fl Catalogue of Antiquities, p. 186.

, Dugdalo's Monasticon, vol. i., p. 646.

al.l ^^feth%^^'Tn' ^""l '1' ' *• ^^^ ' ^^^ Leicester Abbey Chartalary . Avenel
^ tne lirange of Oneash to fioche Abbey, Yorkshire, fiugdale, volf i., p. 8»9.

YOULGUKAVE. M5

from "whom it has doKC ended to the Duke of Devonshire. • There
is a tradition that there was a clause in the gift of WiUiam
Avenel, by which the holders of the Meadow Place estate were
bound to maintain all the poor in the parish of Youlgreave; but
very possibly this tradition is merely founded on the hospitality
and care of the poor, that were practised by the monks of Leices-
ter at this their principal Grange.* Attached to the Grange was
an ancient chapel, which was most unfortunately demolished in
October, 1856, though it had long been merely used for farm pur-
poses. The only views that are extant of this old building, are
two careful sketches that were taken for the late Mr. Bateman, just
before it \vas pulled down. From these we gather that the chapel
had on the south side (in addition to some modern openings) a
round-headed Norman doorway, and two small lancet windows of
unequal size ; the east end had a wider pointed window, all of
which had been built up except a square opening ; and there
was also a doorway at the west end, with a lancet window on
each side.

* Meadow Place conBists of 781 acres.

«346 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

^e C^oprlrs of lElton.

|LTON was one of the chapels of Youlgreave, which were
given, together with the mother church (as ahready
stated), to the Ahbey of Leicester, in the reign of
Henry II. by Robert Colle.

The manor of Elton, at the time of the Domesday Survey, be-
longed to Henry de Ferrers. In^ the reign of Edward I. it was
hold by the Foljambes, and remained with that family till the
reign of Elizabeth.*

In the year 1858, Godfrey Foljambe and William de Sapnrtone
obtained the royal license to assign two oxgangs and a half of
laud, in Gratton, to the warden of the altar of the Blessed Mar-
garet in tlie chapel of the Blessed Margaret of Elton, for the cele-
bration of daily mass for the healthful state of the said Godfrey
and William whilst they lived, and for their souls when they had
departed this life. The jury declared this land to be of the
annual value of 19sl+ This Godfrey Foljambe was the son of Sir
GvKlfroy Foljambe and Avice Ireland, whose monument is described
in the account of Bakewoll Church.

Bi^sidos this chantry at the principal altar of the chapel of
Vlltan. there was also another chantry at the altar of the Yrrgin
Marv. We do not know exactlv when it was founded, but it was

• Tr^v l^"^*' MvMt>, 11 F.ltr, I.. XvV SS» *tc-, M**. Tb* Fc^ljamlws on^maST held it
«tt«Ur the TiWlv^ik *£^ (Ords p«r»n:ount« by the $«nrice cl a piiir of giirspazs.

♦ Inq >vv^l Moit., >^ Ka\r. III., pt~ i, Xo. 56L V:l« JLppeaiiz. Xol XTV*.

Fx"* **v.5v MS^S ,Nioh»>V> t\ J *;:-.A*. TvC i., re S3S eiTv^se«x25lT pat the date of this

\\*V.o^^ .>f Vvr.>N» ^x^^ T., ( ^v": , l.v^.^r? iV^?","^*, -*, f . A^ P'^** tbe date xi^v bnt
*•;:/,.;:«* l>.o iift lx> Ovv;:\^fT Mer::? "I ir.<:«.iiO. , : iT.«.ifr«T Fvl;\aibe- Tber* is
do..V: s' A! Su >t*rpnx't i* ;!:? tT\:<' viei:.-^::.-:: c^f liiis c*ap*I. si:>:;|A Dr. Feejpe

be |«4krdo«:ed foe i^<-;t i

% «« « ^ «

ELTON. 347

evidently also connected with the Foljambe family, for Sir William
Plompton died in 1480, seized of the nomination of a chantry
priest to serve this altar. • His father, Sir Robert, had married
Alice, heiress of the third Godfrey Foljambe.

The following is the entry in the Chantry Roll (37 Henry VIII. >
relative to this second chantry, at which time the endowment of
the chantry at the altar of St. Margaret seems to have lapsed, or
become amalgamated with the other one, as no mention is made
of it : —

Sidpendarie of Walton founded by 8er Godfrey Fuljambe Knt for a preste to
aaye masse at the Chappell of Elton durynge his naturall lyfe, clere Ixviij*., with
Ixiiij* out of lands in Elton et Gretton to Thos. Borowes Stypendarye. It is a
Chappell dystaunte from Tolgryffe ij mylles, to the w<* resorte iiij" howselynge
people and there is mynystred all Sacraments. It hath a mancyon prised at iiijs.
No chalys and other ornaments otherwise than [is borowed from the towne of
Elton.

In the Inventory of Church Goods, taken in the reign of Ed-
ward VL — ** Elton chapell in Yolgrave parishe. Rich. Ruyston
vichar," was credited with ** iij bells — j sanctus belle — j sacryng
bell — j handbell — j sute of vestments of Sey and lynen clothes."

In the time of Henry VIII. the clear value of Elton was £3
per annum, and when the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650
drew up their report, they found the value of the small tithes of
Elton to be only £1 68. 8d. Mr. Cantrell was then minister, and
the Commissioners credit him with being *' scandalous and in-
efficient."

After the Reformation, there appears to have been much diffi-
culty in keeping the cure supplied, owing to the smallness of the
income. At the close of the seventeenth century, the freeholders
complained to the Bishop, that "whereas there were eighty families
poor farmers and miners, who had an antient chapel, two miles
distant from the Parish church, of three aisles, three beUs, and a
right to bury and administer sacrament, but now by poverty (there
being but only the chapel yard farmed at 68. 8d. per acre, be-
longing to it) become destitute of Divine Service, and whereas
the cottage rents, heretofore dormant and not claimed by the lord
of the soil but sent to benefit of said chapel, are now claimed by
the lord, so that they had not got a minister to officiate, therefore
they pray the Bishop's assistance, setting forth that there was a
vein of ore found in their town street and is all or great part
enjoyed by persons that lived in London, and does appear by its

• Inq. post Mort., 20 Edw. IV., No. 88. See Appendix No. XIV«.

348 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

position to go through the north side of ye chapel yard, it being
also contrary to custom of the myne here for the owners thereof
to pursue or work said vein of lead oar in the chapel yard, there-
fore they pray his lordship to admit and impower their chapel-
wardens to delve in the chapel yard to seek for said vein for
benefit of chapel." This document is signed by Richard Lomas
and Richard Shipman, chapelwardens, and several other free-
holders, amongst whom may be named — Thomas Eyre, of Rowtor,
Robert SetliflTe, Vicar of Bradbourne, and Jacob Cresswell, Curate
of Brassington. To this request the Bishop replied on the 20th
of June, 1695, giving leave to three of the inhabitants to dig for
ore, and taking a bond for £400, pledging them to apply all the
proceeds to the chapel. It is supposed that the lead mining thus
sanctioned injured the foundations of the old buildings. Lead is
even now being worked below the church, but at a considerable
depth.*

The Vicar of Youlgreave was patron of this chapelry up to the
year 1726, when the appointment was vested in the hands of the
freeholders, in consequence of the subscription of j£200 got up by
Mr. R. Marpley, and others.f The hving was further augmented
by c£20u Parhamentary grant, and ^6200 from Queen Anne's
bounty; an Act was passed in 1809 for enclosing lands in Elton
and Winster, when fifty acres were allotted to the Incumbent of
Elton in lieu of tithes.J

In 1805, application was made to Quarter Sessions to obtain
their sanction for a Brief to procure subscriptions for the rebuild-
ing of the church. The petition states that it is "a very antient
structure greatly decayed ; that the steeple thereof, which for a
long time has been held together by cramps, gave way on the
28th of February last and fell to the ground, that in consequence
of this accident the body of the church (the walls and pillars of
which wore before several inches out of the perpendicular) was so
materially damaged, as that it cannot by repairing be made safe
to assemble in." The petition further states that it is altogether
so ruinous that no other course but taking it down and rebuilding
it remains, and that an estimate for the same has been obtained
at £1,100 12s. lOd. The petition is signed by " B. Pidcock.
Minister; Henry Watts and Joseph Clayton, Chapelwardens/'

* Pegge's Collections^ vol. v., f. 202.
f Pegge's Collections, vol. v., f. 8.
J Bateman'B MSS.

ELTON. 349

The Brief was obtained, but it only brought in £158 18s. Qjd., and
a second application was made in 1808. A third application was
made in 1816, from which we learn that the church was taken
down and rebuilt in 1812, and since completed at a cost of
£1,227 148. 6id., but that £882 Is. 7d. of that sum still remained
due and unpaid.*

The old church consisted of nave and side aisles, south porch,
chancel, and tower with a low broached spire at the west end. Its
successor is a plain parallelogranr with an equally plain western
tower. This building, with its round-headed windows, was pos-
sessed of all the worst characteristics of the time in which it was
built, but in 1869 the flat ceiling of the roof was removed, a
pointed east window inserted, and the windows on the south side
** Gothicised.'*' There is no porch, but on the key-stone of the
south entrance is the date 1808. When the east window was in-
serted, several fragments of the old chapel were found built into
the wall. Some of these are now in the Vicarage garden, where
we noticed stones that have formed part of the jambs of two door-
ways. One of these stones shows the clearly cut capital of an
Early English shaft of the thu-teenth century ; whilst another frag-
ment of a shaft with a flllet running up it was of the Decorated
period of the next century. In the same place is the fine base
stone or pedestal of a large cross, with the angles chamfered off,
which was recently found in a wall on the other side of the street.
It appears to be too large for a churchyard cross, and has probably
at one time stood in the centre of the village. This gard^i also
contains the small modem font, which the execrable taste of the
past generation thought preferable to that unique relic which was
in the old chapel, and which has now found shelter at Youlgreave.
At the time when this church was lately improved, a strong effort
was made to induce the authorities of Youlgreave to restore the
old font. But the effort was vain, and the lord of the manor, the
late Mr. Thomhill, caused an exact facsimile of the ancient font
to be sculptured, which now stands in the church of Elton.

The tower contains three bells, bearing the following inscrip-
tions : —

I. " God save the Church, 1688." In Eoman capitals.

II. "God save the Church, 1603." In Eoman capitals.

• County Recorde.

350 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

in. " Jesus be our Spede," and the initial letters H. D. Tliis
inscription is in ornate Lombardic letters.*

From the appearance of some broken-off corbel-stones in the
north wall of the tower, a little above the level of the floor of the
belfrey, we are led to believe that this is a. portion of the wall
of the old tower, though there is no appearance of age on the
exterior.

In the churchyard, leaning against the north wall of the church,
is a curious hollowed stone, which is said to have been unearthed
when the old building was taken down. It is about five feet long,
by three feet wide, in the centre, but tapers considerably to each
end. It is hollowed to a depth of six inches, having an internal
measurement of three feet nine by two in breadth at the widest
part. These dimensions seem to preclude all possibiUty of its be-
ing a stone coffin, but popular tradition accounts for its shape by
saying that it was used for the interment of twin children I An-
other hypothesis is that it once served as a font for immersion;
but, though in other countries we do occasionally meet with early
Christian fonts shaped like a parallelogram and other unusual de-
signs, yet its shallowness, and the very rough and uneven condi-
tion of its underside are quite sufficient to disprove both theories.
We believe it to be a stone that has been roughly hollowed out
for some domestic or agricultural service, and, having served its
original purpose, has been subsequently utilised as a foundation
stone.

In the interior of the present building, there may also be noted
a royal hatchment, at the west end of the church, of the reign
of George III., bearing th^ name of "J. Clayton, Chapelwarden,*'
and an oak chair within the Communion rails, inscribed " Joseph
Conaway, 1637."

The registers commence in the year 1690.

* The initial letters H. D. are speciaUy fine and ornate. Within the H. is a lion's
fifLn' w? "^thin the p. are the smaller letters M. H. There is an engraving of
these letters in the Reliquary, vol. xiii., Plate 11. «**,«• "X8

WINSTER. 351

^t Ci^oyelrs of Wlimttv.

|INSTER was one bf the five chapels given, with the
mother church of Youlgreave, to the Ahhey of Leicester,
by Robert CoUe, in the reign of Henry 11. There are
occasional brief references to it, in the mutilated chartulary of the
Abbey, which has been mentioned in our account of Youlgreave.

At the dissolution of the monasteries, it appears that Winster
chapel, with much more of the confiscated ecclesiastical property of
Derbyshire (including the chantry lands of Snitterton), was granted
to the Warner family. A deed of the 23rd October, 3 EUzabeth,
is extant, by which Sir Edward Warner conveys to Richard Wen-
desley, of Wendesley, Esq., and to Ralph Brown, gent., "all my
chapel and scite and chapel -yard called Winster chapeL" Subse%
quently the appointment of the minister of Winster became vested
in the resident freeholders, in whose gift the living still remains.*

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, recommended the
uniting of the two chapelries of Elton and Winster in a single
parish. They report the small tithes of Winster as being worth
£5 per annum; "noe minister at Winster."

Mrs. Ann Phenney and Mr. Henry Fenshaw, in 1702, gave the
fourth of the tithes of hay and com in this township to the min-
ister, and the living was shortly afterwards augmented £200 by
Queen Anne's Bounty, £400 by subscriptions from the inhabitants,
and £800 by a Parliamentary grant. At the inclosure, in 1809,
87a. Ir. 27p. were allotted to the incumbent.f

Vain human nature has always desired to leave mementoes of
itself to succeeding generations, and when the law of the land, and
the change of the national religion, forbad the endowments of

♦ Add. MSB., 6669, f. 28,
t Bateman's MSS.

352 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

chantries, various expedients were resorted to for this purpose.
The charities of Winster give evidence of this desire to live before
posterity. Robert Gates, by will dated 7th May, 1717, left to the min-
ister of Winster, ten shillings per annum for a sermon to be preached
on the day of his burial, twenty-four wheat loaves to be distributed
to a like number of poor persons present at the said sermon, and
two shilUngs to the ringers for a funeral peal. Elizabeth Buxton,
by will dated 11th July, 1720, left ten shillings per annum to the
minister for a sermon on the anniversary of her burial, twenty
shillings to be given to forty poor inhabitants, and five shillings to
the ringers for ringing on the like occasion. She also made pre-
cisely similar threefold bequests for the anniversary days of the
death of her aimt and of her mother. These four memorial
sermons were preached, and the four peals duly nmg on the
appointed days, when the Charity Commissioners reported of this
district in 1827, and, for aught we know, they are still continued.*

The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was
entirely rebuilt, and considerably enlarged, so as to provide 294
additional sittings, in the year 1842. The tower only remained
standing, and that is but a century and a half old, as we find
from a stone on the western face which is inscribed : — ** Christo-
pher Bagshaw and Robert Staley Ch. W. 1711."

Fortunately we can give a few particulars relative to the old
building. A south east drawing of this church was taken by Mr.
Rawlins, in 1825. From it we gather that there were, on the
south side, two dormer windows in the roof, which were probably
later insertions to light galleries, and three square-headed plain
windows of a debased style, one of three lights, and the others of
two each. The priest's door was Norman, with a projecting drip-
stone.t The south porch had a high pitched roof with a niche
over the entrance; the doorway being evidently Early English, with
a triple row of jamb shafts. Near the priest's door, was the shaft
of an ancient cross, some five or six feet high. Mr. Rawlins gives
the dimensions of the nave as sixty-five feet six inches, by sixteen
feet one inch; and the north aisle as forty .-throe feet, by sixteen
feet five inches. The north aisle was separated from the nave
by three pointed arches, resting on circular columns. H« adds
— "as there is ^o chancel, the Communion table is placed at the
end of the nave."

• Charity Commissioners' Reports, vol. xviii., p, 93.

+ In Lysons' Church Notes (Add. MSS., 9463) is a smaU pencil sketch of this richly
ornamented hood mould.

Plate XVI,

Wltt^s^.

Yovu^H,<ftV<.

S!<!:/f/-op^. sjiKL^^I'-

WIN8TER. 363

The interior was choked up with galleries. When Rhodes visited
this place about 1815, the church seems only to have caught his
attention from its smallness. He says: — *' Whilst at Winster we
visited the church, a small structure which appeared to us not of
sufficient capacity for the place and the neighbourhood around. The
churchyard too is a contracted spot, and the graves seem crowded
together in a manner very unusual in a small country town; two
sides of it are bounded with a plantation of spreading limes, and
several fine yews grow near them." Mr. Rhodes also comments on
the musical tastes of the inhabitants, alleging that a wealthy gen-
tleman of the neighbourhood had given them the choice of an
abundant water supply, conveyed from a well a mile distant, or of
an organ for the church, and that they preferred the latter.

There is one object of considerable interest within the church,
viz., the old font. (Plate XVI.) The font itself is circular, but it
rests on an octagonal base, that reminds us of one in the Rectory
garden at Matlock. Both font and base are rudely sculptured, but
with much vigour, and the whole is in good preservation. The
former has a cable moulding running round the margin, and the
circumference is divided into six sculptures. The one facing east, is
of two children holding a book, two of the others have the monogram
"Ihc,** and another the more unusual but older monogram of the
two first letters of the Greek rendering of Christ. Three sides of
the octagon base are plain, two have a lily springing from a pot
(one of the emblems of the Virgin), another the Virgin and
child, another a head out of folds of drapery, and another, a half-
length nude figure in a font. The characteristics of this font are
contradictory as to age, but on the whole we think the balance
of opinion is in favour of its being of late Norman or Transition
design, circa 1200.

There are five bells in the tower, bearing the following in-
scriptions : —

I. "Jesus be our speed, 1761. Thomas Hedderley, Founder."

n. **R. Bagshaw, C. Staley, C:W:1711.^*

III. No inscription or mark.

IV. "Daniel Hedderley, Founder."

V. ** Devonshire and Rutland Benefactors. Joseph Heathcote
and John Sellers, Churchwardens 1860. Recast by Jolin Warner
and Sons London." On the waist are the Royal Arms.

'J'he old Curfew custom is still kept up at W^inster. The 4Ui

2a

354

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

bell is rung throughout November, December, January, and Febru-
ary, at eight o'clock every work-day evening, except on Saturdays,
when the hour is seven. A six o'clock morning bell is also rung
daily from 25th March to 25th September.
The registers commence with the year 1661.

ROWTOR. 355

€|e (iDlapelrs of litotDtor^

|HE Chapel at Rowtor, in the township of Birchover, was
built by Thomas Eyre, Esq., who died in 1717. It is
not quite clear when the Eyres became possessed of the
Rowtor estate. One pedigree describes Stephen Eyre, of Hassop,
who married the heiress of Blackwall, as being also of Rowtor ;
but there is no doubt that his grandson Roger, one of the younger
sons of Rowland Eyre, by the co-heiress of Stafford, owned the
estate and resided at Rowtor. Roger Eyre, by his wife Elizabeth
Gosling, had two sons, Adam and Thomas.* Adam dying without
issue (being killed by a fall from his horse) the property passed to
Thomas, who was a barrister of Gray's Inn.

Thomas Eyre died on the 30th of November, 1717. By his will,
dated 2nd of September, of the same year, he leaves his body
to be buried "in my chappell lately by me erected near my man-
sion house of Rowtor. "t He made bis kinsman Henry Eyre, second
son of Gervase Eyre, of Rampton,j: his heir, on condition of con-
stantly residing at Rowtor Hall (which had just been rebuilt) where
he was to maintain '* a good house of sober hospit^ity.'* He also
left an endowment of £20 a-year to be paid to "an orthodox
minister, as a chaplain residing there or thereunto, for y* con-
tinual service of my said chapell, who shall read and use y*
service of Common Prayer by law established in y* Church of
England in my said chapell twice every day, and administer the
Sacrament every Sunday or Lord's Day in y* year.''

♦ Harl. MSS., 6,104, f. 82 ; Dugdale's Visitation, 1662—3, CoUege of Arms.

t Add. MSS., 6,669, f. 96.

} The Byres, of Bampton, were descended from Boger Eyre, of Hobne, fourth
son of Boberi Eyre and Joan Padley ; the Eyres, of Rowtor, were dsBceuded from
Stephen Eyre of Haseop, eleventh son of Robert Eyre and Joan Padley.

356 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In the chancel at Youlgreave is a plain brass to the memory
of Catherine, daughter of Gervase Eyre, of Rampton, who died
in 1728, aged 30, and of her sister Dorothy, who died in 1719,
aged 19 years. From their interment in this parish, it would
seem that they had come to reside with their brother Henry, at
Rowtor Hall.* The estate of Rowtor was sold by the Eyre family
to John Bradley, of Birchover, who left it to his illegitimate son,
Joseph Hodgkinson.f Eventually it came into the hands of the
late Mr. Thomhill, when both chapel and hall, which had been
desolate for some years, were rebuilt.

Amongst the Wolley papers is a letter from Mr. John Fletcher,
on behalf of the Bishop, dated 16th of January, 1769, remonstrat-
ing with the Rev. Mr. Mason, of Winster, for baptising in the
** private domestic chapel of Rowter in the parish of Youlgreave,"
as the said chapel had only been consecrated for the convenience
and ease of the Rowtor family.J

The endowment of the minister by the will of Thomas Eyre,
was charged upon an estate at Great Rocks, Wormhill. In 1882,
there were some further episcopal enquiries respecting this chapel,
and Mr. W. Bateman, as the owner of the estate, answered them
on behalf of the Churchwardens of Youlgreave. He stated that
one marriage had been solemnised, and three interments taken
place within its walls, but he could not hear of any baptisms.
He also expressed his confidence in it having been consecrated, a
fact which is proved by the previous letter of 1769.§

Mr. Rawlins took a drawing of this chapel in 1828. The en-
trance was then on the south side, between two square-headed
windows of two Ughts each, and there was no chancel. He con-
siders its dedication to be All Bauits. Its area was thirty feet by
eighteen. About 1869 a chancel was added to the east end, the
doorway inserted in the west wall, a pointed window inserted in the
place of the south door, and the upper part of the two square-
headed windows altered to harmonize with it. It is rather curious
that there should be no memorial within its walls to Thomas Eyre,

♦ Henry Eyre, of Rowtor, was high sheriff of Derbyshire in 1723. He married
firstly, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hickman Willoughby ; and secondly, a daughter of
Rowland Cotton. By his last marriage he had no issue; and by his first, only one
daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Clotworthy Skeffiugton, Earl of Mae-
sareene His eldest brother, Anthony, of Hampton, had a large family. Henry Eyre,
Esq., of Bampton Manor, is his lineal descendant, and to him we desire to express
our obligations for the use of his certified family pedigree.

t Bateman MSS.

♦ Add. MSS., 6,668, f. 933.
§ Bateman MSS.

ROWTOR. 367

but the only two tjiat we could find was one to *'Rev. John Gresley,
late minister of this chapel, and Rector of Aller, Somerset," who
died in February, 1795; and another to **John Bradley, gent.,
late of Rowtor, Patron of this chapel," who died in April of the
same year.

About a mile from this chapel, at the base of the Cratcliffe
Rocks, is a hermitage, consisting of a shallow recess or cave, the
entrance protected by a low wall, and partially concealed by a
well-grown yew tree. To the right hand, as you enter, is a large
crucifix, boldly carved in the solid rock, about four feet high, and,
with the exception of the face, in a fair state of preservation.
From the stem and arms of the cross are small crockets of budding
foliage, which incline us to attribute this laborious work to the
thirteenth century. By the side of the crucifix is a small niche,
probably intended for a lamp, and near it is a seat, also hewn out
of the rock. Major Rooke gave a drawing and description of this
anchorite*s cell in the ArchcBologia for 1780.

8fF lltiniiPF!) of

MspoHPn*

SSIsop.

jPapiDirl.

^

SSsliioupn.

HE Domesday Survey records that Ashboum possessed a
priest and a church. WiUiam Bufus gave the churches
of Ashboum and Chesterfield, together with^ those of
Mansfield and Ossington, in Nottinghamshire, to the Cathedral
Church of St. Mary, of Lincoln, and to Bobert Bloett, Bishop of
that See, by a charter that is undated, but which recites that it
was signed on the day after Archbishop Anselm did his homage. ''^
This enables us to give the precise date as December 5th, 1098.
The charter also secures to the Cathedral the chapels in all the
here wicks pertaining to these manors, and all the tithes, lands, etc.,
which they possessed in the days of Edward the Confessor.

About the year 1200 Boger,t Dean of Lincoln^ on the resignation
of GeofiErey, Yicar of Ashboum, granted the Vicarage to Nicholas de
Essebum, to possess it with all its revenues and those of its
chapels, on payment of 100s. yearly as a pension.:^

At that time, it seeihs that the Dean was in the habit of striking
as good a bargain as he could with each successive Vicar; but in
January, 1240, Hugh Pateshull, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield,
with the consent of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln, ordained
with respect to the church of Ashbourn and its chapelries, that
the Dean should for the future receive an annual sum of fifty
marks as a pension from the Vicar ; that the Dean should present

* Dogdale's Monasticofit vol. i., p. 260. The original of this deed does not appear
to be extant, but it is recited in several of the early Chartnlaries of the Chapter mu-
niments of Lincoln. Amongst the same archives, is the original Boyal Charter of
Henry II., of the year 1164, confirming the grant of these fonr charters.

t Boger de Bolveston was Dean from 1195 to 1228.

t This, and several of the f oUowing pandctdars are taken from an ancient Char-
tulary at Lincoln, entitled — Carte tangentea Deca/natu Ecclie Beate Marie Lincoln.
It is a volume relating chiefly to Derbyshire. The folios pertaining to Ashbonm
and its chapelries extend from 18 to 87.

364 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

suitable persons to the Bishop for institution to the six. chapelries
of Kniveton, Mapleton, Thorp, Bentley, Bradley, and Edlaston,
(reserving the customary pensions due to the Dean from the
chapelries), as they fall vacant, as well as to the vicarage of Ash-
bourn ; that the Vicar should have all the emoluments, both greater
and lesser tithes, oblations, rents, and other dues pertaining to the
church of Ashboum and the chapelries of Parwich and Alsop (ex-
cept the fifty marks due to the Dean ; that the Vicar should dis-
charge all the expenses of the church and of three chapels of
Parwich, Alsop, and Hognaston, and that he should serve per-
sonally in the church of Ashboum with two chaplains, a deacon,
and a sub-deacon, and appoint men duly qualified for the discharge
of hospitality, and the celebration of Divine worship at the said
chapels.*

Hugh PateshuU was consecrated Bishop on July 1st, 1240, at
Guildford, and died on December 8th, 1241.t It is rather remark-
able that he should be styled Bishop in the document just quoted,
which was drawn up some six months before his consecration. EEis
predecessor, Alexander Stavenby, had died in December, 1238, and
Hugh Pateshull appears to have been chosen by the Chapter some-
time before his consecration.

Bishop Pateshull was again called upon to interfere in the
internal administration of the parish of Ashboum in October, 1241.
A dispute had arisen between John de Brecham and Walter de
Eeyiam, priests, who had been presented at different times to the
vicarage of Ashboum, and after the altercation had lasted a long
time, it was referred, by the consent of the Dean of Lincoln, to
the arbitrament of the Bishop. He ordered that John should have
the cure of souls at Ashboum on the payment of the annual pen-
sion to the Dean of fifty marks, and that Walter, having resigned
the vicarage, should receive an annual sum of thirty marks for life
at the hands of the vicar of Ashbourn for the time being, the due
payment of the same being secured by a fine of three marks for
delay.:^

From an incidental entry in the Annals of Dunstaple, we learn
that the value of the living of Ashboum at this time was two
hundred and fifty marks, and that the vicar had the whole of this
income, witli the exception of the annual pension to the Dean.

* See Appendix, No. xv.

t Dngdale's Monasticoni vol. iiL, p. 218; Begittrum Sacrum Anglicanum, p. 41.

} See Appendix, No. xyi.

ASHBOURN. 365

On the death of John de Brecham, in 1260, Henry UI., who was
not troubled with many Bcrnples as to the legality of his acts,
claimed that advowson, and appointed one, Peter de Wintonia, to
the vicarage. The Dean and Chapter, becoming alarmed at the
seizure of this valuable benefice, offered, in accordance with the
spirit of the times, a thousand marks to the king to forego his
claim, and a pension of a hundred marks to the clerk that he had
presented. It seems, however, that the king carried his point,
notwithstanding the existence of several charters, granted by his
immediate ancestors, confirming the gift to Lincoln.*

In 1269, Henry's son. Prince Edward, on his return firom the
crusades, gave varioas manors and churches to the Abbey of
Dermhall (subsequently termed Vale Royal), including the church
of Castleton, in accordance with a vow made when in peril from
ihe sea.t Ashboum just at this time again fell vacant, and
Henry III. completed his injustice to the Lincoln chapter, by
bestowing the benefice on Vale Royal Abbey, by charter dated
February, 1270. Edward I. restored this benefice to Lincoln in
the sixth year of his reign,}: and we also know that it was again
in their hands during the time that Philip WiUoughby held the
Deanery (1288-1306), for the original deed of confirmation of the
restitution to that Dean and his Chapter of the patronage of
Ashboum, by the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, is still extant
amongst the Lincoln muniments, though in a damaged and im-
perfect condition. The restitution appears to have been thorough,
for it is described in the deed as " reddiium et re^tauratum omnin^,
cum omnibus suis appendiciis ei pertinenciis"

From that date, until legislation of the present reign gave it to
the Bishop of the Diocese, the patronage of Ashboum vicarage
remained with the Lincoln Chapter, and in the year 1290, Roger
Longesp^e, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, gave his consent to
an ordination of the vicarage, that still regulates the income of the
vicar, by which, to the great detriment of Ashboum, a very con-
siderable share of the emoluments was made over to the holder of
the patronage. It w^as thereby decided, that Robert, who was then
vicar, and his successors, should have a site for a vicarage house
at a place, bounded on the one side by the road leading from the

• Annales Prioratus de Donstaple. The living was recovered to the crown under
a quasi legal procesB termed an aasize of Darrein Presentment.

t Supra, p. 128.

♦ RoLuli Chartarurn, 6 Kdw. L, Nos. 10 and 14; Add. MSS., 6071, f. 569.

366 DERBTSHIfiE CHURCHES.

churchyard to the bridge, and extending on the other side from
the wall of the churchyard and the rector's fishpond up to the
conduit of the '* Scolbrooke ; " that the necessary buildings should
be erected at the expense of the rector; that the vicar should
have all mortuaries (except horses), the tithes of flax and hemp
(if there be any), the tithes of pigs, geese, fruits, gardens, colts,
and calves, and also all Lent dues and offerings, whether in money
or kind, the tithes of the mills of the whole parish, the tithes of
com and hay of Little and Great Clifton ; the tithes of hay of
Methley, Longdoles, and the EarFs Meadow, and half the tithe of
com of Methley ; and that the Bector should receive all the re-
maining tithes throughout the parish and its hamlets, in return for
which he was to pay all the archidiaconal charges, and other bur-
dens of the vicarage. The Bishop reserved to himself and suc-
cessors, the power of adding to or altering this ordination in
accordance with the change of times, or for other legitimate
causes.*

There are also documents extant, of nearly the same date as
this ordination, by which fresh arrangements were come to with
respect to the chapelries of Mapleton and Eniveton. Further allu-
sion will be made to these in our subsequent account of these
churches, but it may here be remarked, that Mapleton was consti-
tuted a rectory in 1290, and that the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln
seem shortly afterwards to have attached it to the Vicarage of
Ashboum, as some compensation for the large share of the tithes
of Ashboum, which they were now, for the first time appro*
priating.

The Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) gives the income
of the rectory of Ashboum at £66 Ids. 4d., and of the vicarage
(exclusive of Mapleton) at only £5 per annum. A valuation of the
possessions of Lincoln Chapter, taken id 1310, estimates their total
income from the tithes, manors, a^d pensions of Ashboum and its
chapelries at £108 lis. 4d. Another one, drawn up by the order
of Dean Anthony Bek, some twenty years later, shows an increase
of £15 2s. lld.t There is also a further slight increase shown in

• This Ordination of the Vicarage is given in the Wolley GoUections (Add. MSS.,
6,671. f. 673), and it is there stated that it was copied in 1805 from an old transcript
of the date of Elizabeth or James I., lent to Mr. Wolley by Rev. W. "Webb, Vicar of
Ashboum. Mr. Wolley conjectures that it was copied from a Lichfield Chartulary
now lost. He adds that there were still some pieces of land called the Methleys,
half-way between Ashboum and Hanging Bridge.

t Pegge's CoUecttonSf vol. v., f. 198.

ASHBOUEN. 367

a fourth valaatioii of the same property, taken in the reign of
Henry VI.*

The Valor EcclesioMicw (27 Henry Viil.) enters the annual
collective value of the rectories of Ashboum and Wirksworth at
£78. The vicarage of Ashbourn was then valued at £5 18s. 8d.,
the income of Lawrence Horobyn, who was then Vicar, being de-
rived from the following items : — a house with two acres of glebe ;
Easter dues; tithes of hemp, flax, pigs, and geese; certain obla-
tions made on four yearly occasions, termed " Offering Dayes ; "
tithes of grain at Mapleton ; and tithes of wool and lambs .f

On the 20th of March, 1560, Sir Thomas Gokayne obtained, at
the hands of Francis Mallet, Dean of Lincoln, a lease for eighty
years of the rectories of Ashboum and Wirksworth (excepting the
advowsons of the vicarages), at a rental of £71 6s. Sd.j: This lease
must have been renewed to his descendants, for his great-grand-
son, Sir Aston Gokayne, is described, in the Boyalist Composition
Papers, under date 25th of December, 1646, as " interested in the
remainder of a term for thirty- one years, if he should so long live,
after the death of Anne Gokayne," of certain tithes belonging to
Ashboum Bectory, valued at £30, and in other closes and tithes
belonging to the same rectory, at Parwich and elsewhere, valued
at £95 13s. 4d.§

At an Liquisition held at Ashbourn, on June 10th, 1650, by the
Parliamentary Gommissioners, it was stated that Ashboum —

<*Is a viccaridge of large extent a market towne and populous
and hath these seuerall Ghurches and Ghapells of the seueraU
valves and fitt to be generally disposed of as follows (vizt)

*< Glifton Gompton, Stackhous ffenton, Mappleton, Offcoate, and
Underwood are fltt to continue still as members of Ashburne and
are really worth thirtye pounds per annum the church att Mapple-
ton fitt to be disused.

** Item Bradlye Ash an appertenanse to Ashburne fitt to be
vnited to Thorpe the vicarall duetyes tenn shillings per annum
also that parte of Thorpe that is now apperteyning to Ashburne
is fitt to be vnited to Thorpe the profitts about tenn shillings per
annum.

♦ Add. MSS. 6,666, f. 475.

+ See Appendix, No. XVII.

J Add. MSS., 6,669, f. 473.

§ Royalist Composition Papers^ Qnd series, vol. 41, f, 819.

368 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

*'Item Newton Grange lyes remoute from Ashbume and may
conveniently be vnited to Tyssington the YicaraU tyi^es being
about six shillings eight pence per annnm.

** Item Parwich is a parochiall chappell flfoure myles distant
from Ashburne the flfarmers of the Rectoryes of Ashbume and
Wirksworth vnder the Deane of Lincolne have vsually procured
the cure supplyed the salarye payed hath beene six pounds thir-
teene shillings and ffoure pence per annum, the place voyde.

"Item Alsop in the Dale is a chappeU of ease fifoure myles
distant fitt to be disused and that parte of it that apperteynes to
Ashbume to be vnited to Parwich and the chappell att Parwich
made a parish church.

" Item Yeldesley and Halland two hambletts members of the
same butt remote thense may conveniently be vnited to Bradlye
in the hundred of Appletree.

**Item Painters lane and Ladyes hole members of the same tuo
myles distant wee conceave fitt to be vnited to Osmastone in the
hundred of Appletree.

**The impropriacon of Ashburne is ffarmed by S'. Aston
Cokayne of the late Deanes of Lincolne and about thirtye yeares
yett in being three score and eleaveh pounds six shillings and
eight pence reserued to the Deane. Mr. William Wayne is viccar
att Ashbourne."*

A Survey of the rectory of Ashboum was taken in October,
1698, wherein it is described as " late belonging to the Cathedral
Church of St. Mary, Lincoln.'' The tithes of com and hay ** pay-
able to the lessee out of the parish and townships " are valued
at the annual rate of £83. " Memoraudum-r-The vicarage of
Ashbome hath no endowed vicarage within tlie manor of Ashbome,
but small and petty tythes, with the Easter-book, worth communibus
annis £16. There is also annexed to the said vicarage, a gift of
an advowson of Mapleton hamlet, worth communibus annis £30.
Tythe of Fruit, questionable whether due to the Parson or to the
Vicar; paid to neither. "f

In the same year the following terrier of the glebe lands of the
vicarage was taken : —

" Imprimis — A little croft of about one acre and half of ground,
or two acres, butting east upon the church-lane towards a little
croft, commonly called Shefton's croft, and west upon the Vicar's

* Parliamentary Survey of Livings (Lambeth Palace MSS.), vol. vi.
t Add. MSS., 6,675, £, 36.

ASHBOURN-

369

close, and north upon the Churchyard, and south upon the School-
hrook, towards the Keeper's meadow, upon which stands the
Vicarage-house, consisting of three hayes of building, and one by
the barn of about two bays of building near the School-brook, and
another barn and stable about the same bigness adjoining to the
churchyard pales, with two Httle gardens taken out of the said
croft, the one about the middle of the croft, and the other going
along by the church-lane beforementioned. Item — Clifton Chapel-
yard, ten shillings per annum, given to the Vicar by Anthony
Etrick, Esq., tenant to the Dean of Lincoln."

The singular desire for exchange of benefice, which seems to
have attached in a remarkable way to the holders of the Lincoln
Chapter livings, and on which we have commented in the Intro-
ductum, made the vicars of Ashboum for a long period httle more
than birds of passage. Especially was this the case in the four-
teenth centuiy. Taking one period, we find that the vicarage
changed hands in 1361, 1862, 1363, 1864, 1371, 1373 1879, and
1380.*

There were two chantries in the chui'ch of Ashbourn, one
founded in the reign of Richard II., and the other about one
hundred years later, in the reign of Richard II.

The first of these was founded by Henry Kuivoton, rector of the
neighbouring parish of Nor bury, in the year 1392. He endowed
it with a messuage and a house, two-and-a-half acres of arable and
two acres of meadow land, situated in Ashbourn, Offcote, and
Norbury, and subsequently with one hundred shiUiugs rental from
five tenements at Coventry.f For the royal Hcenso to bestow these
lands on the daily chantry at the altar of St. Mary, he had to
pay no less a sum than forty marks. { The Valor Erclesiaslxcm (27
Henry VIII.) describes this chantry as founded by Nicholas Knive-
ton, and possessed of lands and gardens to the annual value of
£4. Thomas Russel was the chaplain. The foUowhig is taken
from the Chantry Roll, compiled some ten years later : —

The Chantrye of Nyoholas Knyrton founded by Nycholas Knyrton Esq. to synge
masse at the alter of the Holy Cross and to distribute at an obite ts. amongst the
prysts of the Church and the Pore, the fouudacon dated in Festo Nat. B. Marie xvi>
Begis Bic. IX. Clere value i\i\li. ix<2. besyds t«. Tiij^. rente resolute. Tbos. Bub-
sells Chaimtre pryst. At Ashe bone iB viij<> howselyng people. § Stock cj«. vijti.

• Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, No. IV.

t Inq. post Mort., 15 Bic. II., Nob. 89 and 149.

t Patent Bolls, 15 Bic. II., pt. ii., memb. 2.

§ That is, eight hundred '* liowselyng people.'* This was a term used to 8if,'ijify
those of a fit age to communicate, or above fourteen years ; from housele, on old
word for the Eucharist or Host.

2b

370 DERBYSHIKE CHURCHES.

It seems from the Chautry Boll that this chantry was trans-
ferred from the altar of St. Mary to that of the Holy Cross. We
helieve that the altar of St. Mary, or the Lady Chapel, was in the
north transept, and that of the Holy Cross in the nave. The
apparent contradiction in the name of the founder of this chantry
probably arose from the fact of Nicholas, the elder brother of
Henry Eniveton (or Nicholas his nephew), having assisted him in
founding it, or perhaps having bestowed some separate endowment
on it, but of which we have no record. The earUest member of this
ancient family, of whom we have satisfactory evidence, is Matthew
de Eniveton, who held the manor of Bradley, in the reign of Ed-
ward L He had issue, two sons, Henry and Matthew. Matthew
(2) had also two sons, Thomas and William (of Ashbourne); the
latter of whom had, by his wife Margery, six sons — Nicholas,
WiUiam, Thomas, Henry (rector of Norbury), John, and Bobert
(vicar of Dovebridge).*

The second chantry is described in the Valor IScclenaslicus as
founded by " John Bradbome de Hogh and Anne his wife," and
possessed of four tenements, respectively situated at Longnor,
Over Haddon, Birchover, and Kirke Ireton, an inclosure at Boyles-
ton, and a garden at Bakewell, giving a total income of J^5 4s. lOd*
From this total deductions were made of 8d. annual rent to the
King, and Ss. 4d. as a gift to the poor on the Wednesday next
after the feast of St. Luke, that they might pray for the souls of
the founders. Bobert Hasilhurst was the chaplain. The following
is the entry in the Chantry Boll : —

The chauntre of Asshebome founded by John and Anne Bradbome to the honor
of God and S. Oswalde, to mayntayn Godd's Service and praye for the fonnderg
souls G8.; clere ciiijs. xd. for the keping of an obitt iij«. iiijcL To the parish
church belongeth M houselinge people. Stocke Ixxvs. jd.

The precise date of the foundation of this chantry, as given in
another roll, is J488» John Bradbome, the founder, was the son of
Henry Bradbome, who was grandson of Boger the first of the old
family of Bradbome, of Bradboum, who took up his residence at
Hough, alias HuUand, in the parish of Ashboum. Anne, the wife
of John Bradbome, was the daughter of Sir Bichard Vernon.t
John and Anne Bradbome also founded a chantry at Hough, to
which we shall subsequently refer.

• CoUinB* Baronetage^ vol. i., p. 218, etc., etc. "
t Harl. MSB., 1,687, f. 4.

ASHBOURN. 371

The Inventory of Church Goods, which was drawn up in the first
year of Edward VI., contains the following full and interesting par.
ticulars relative to Ashboum : —

AshebtLme. Sept. 80. Ser Lanr. Horobyn vicar, j vestment of blew welwet
with ij tunicles of aU thyngs belonging— iij copes of blew welvet — ij old copes of
Sarsenet— j cope of wyte damaske— j holde cote for the roode — j vestment of wite
damaske with ij tunicles and aU thyngs belongeyng - j vestment of blew velvet
with appurtenaances — j of blewe russett with the a^jpurtenances — ij hold vestments
with albes — ^j vestment of yelew saten with appurtenaunces — ij vestments of blake
russett — vij old vestementes — iij old tunicles — j hangjnge afore the alter of saten
of Bruges — j of the same to hange over the aultor — a vestment of redde damaske
with that belongeth thereto— j hold vestment of dornex — ^j hold herseclothe of
Saten of Bruges — ^j canabe clothe of dornex with fryngs of crule — x aulter clothes
of l3men — iij of dyaper— iij chalices of sylver — iij belles in the steple— j clocke
uppon j of them — j broken bell — ^j lyttle bell called a sanctus bell — ^ij handbeUes
— ij holy water stopes of bras — ij sacyng beUes hangyng before the aulter of grene —
vij corporesses — iij corpores cases — ^j holde albe stoUen forth of a cofer in the
churche the locke being pyked, and ij holde frocks of no Talewe beyng lent to
disguyso persons at the bryngyne in of a Maii game.

The church is built in the form of a cross, and consists of a
chancel, north and south transepts, and nave with a south sida
aisle, or, as it is sometimes expressed, a double nave. From the
centre piers rises a bold tower, sm'mountod by a spire, which
attains to an elevation of two hundred and ten feet. Some idea
of the general proportions of this fine church may be gathered
from a statement of its principal dimensions. The chancel is
sixty-five feet, by twenty- five feet ; the total length of the church,
one hundred and eighty feet ; the transepts, which are double,
being divided by piers and arches, are eighty-five feet, by forty
feet ; and the height of the nave is fifty-five feet.

There are no remains of the Norman church which was given
to Lincoln cathedral, by William Rufus. The edifice seems to have
been rebuilt throughout in the first half of the thirteenth century.
It is but seldom that ecclesiologists are able to give the date of a
particular building with so much precision as is the case with
Ashboum. Against the south-east pier of the tower is a small
brass plate, framed in marble, having the following inscription in
Lombardic characters, from which it appears that the church was
dedicated to St. Oswald, in 1241 : —

"Anno ah incarnacione Domini MCGXLI^ viii IcL Maii dedicata
est hec ecelesia et hoc altare consecratum in honore aancii Oswaldi
regis et martiris a venerahili patre domino Hugone de Fatishul
Goventrensi episcopo,'*

Some doubt was at one time cast upon the genuineness and
antiquity of this inscription, but we cannot discover the slightest

372 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

reason for Buspecting its authenticity. In the seventeenth century,
this plate was at Ashbourn Hall, where it had doubtless been
taken from the church at the time of some repairs or alterations.*
About, however, the commencement of the eighteenth century, it
was restored to the church, as we learn from the following entry
at the commencement of the register book, 1702-1739, written
above a transcript of the brass : —

** A copy of an antient inscription on a gilded brass plate,
fastened with ten silver pins in a small black frame of wood,
to which is fastened an iron handle w*** an hole in it, by which it
hangs upon the side of one of y* pillars of the steeple within the
Church, directly over against the Reading Desk, and it relates to
y* Consecration and Dedication of the Church at Ashbum."

Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, whom Bede styles "the
most Christian of kings,'' was slain in battle by Penda, the heathen
king of the Mercians, in the year 642. The site of this battle is
generally supposed to have been at Oswestry. The place where his
body fell is said to have been discovered a few years subsequently
by a traveller whose horse was suddenly taken ill. The beast,
after rolling about in extreme agony, happened to come to tha
very spot where the aforesaid king perished, and immediately
recovered. The traveller, convinced of the singular sanctity of the
ground, remounted and sought his inn. Here he found his land-
lord's niece ill of the palsy, under which she had long languished.
By the guest's advice she was carried to the spot where his horse
had recovered, and, it is needless to add, was instantly cured!
From that time Oswald was held in peculiar esteem, and was
judged to be of the rank of saints. This truly pious king, who
died with a prayer of forgiveness of his enemies on his lips, has
been specially unfortunate in the number of absurd legends with
which his memory has been encrusted. The Acta Sanctorum give
twenty closely-printed folio pages of these tales, but those we have
already quoted will suffice. His rehos were distributed in various

* Harl. MSS., 1486, f. 49. It Ib there described as ^'\rrittezi in old Saxon characters
in brasse in Mr. Cokayne's hoase." Copies of this brass were given in the Qentlem^n*s
Magazine (1772), vol. idii., p. 416, and in the Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica
(1790), vol. vi., p. 32, and in Doth occurs the mistake of giving the letters BE instead
of KL. The latter account is by Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary. It is carious
that he should have fallen into this error, as eighteen years before he had corrected
the mistake in the Gentleman's Magazine (vol. uii., p. 573), under his usual signature
of " T. Row." This pseudonjrm was obtained bv using the initials of one of the livings
which he held and wnere he chiefly resided — Whittington, i.d., The i^ector Of WhiXr-
tington. It is most amusing to find ^fr. Mosse, in his work on Ashbourn church,
scolding Dr. Pegge for not availing himself of the erudition displayed by " T. Row 1"

ASHBOURN. 373

churches, and several times translated, bufc the greater portion of
them eventually found a resting place at Gloucester.*

It is singular that Hugh Pateshull should be styled on this plate
simply ** Bishop of Coventry." When the diocese of Lichfield was
originally founded, it was called the Bishopric of Mercia. It was
subsequently changed to that of Lichfield, and so remained till
1088, when Robert de Linsey removed it to Coventry. It thus
continued for exactly a century, when, after much opposition, it
was brought back to Lichfield. The title of the See on each new
accession formed a bone of contention, and many prelates to avoid
it styled themselves Bishops of Chester, which did not become a
separate diocese till 1541. In the prelacy, however, of Alexander de
Stavenby, 1224 to 1238, the difficulty was arranged at a meeting
of the two Chapters, whereat it was decided that the style should
henceforth be ** Coventry and Lichfield." It is therefore surprising
to find that one of his immediate successors should be called simply
** Coventry." Perhaps an explanation of this may be found in the
great jealousy that existed in this part of Derbyshire between the
Chapters of Lincoln and Lichfield, owuig to the large share of
valuable benefices owned by the former in the diocese of the latter.
Probably the dedication plate was engraved from a copy suppHed
by the Dean of Lincoln, as rector of Ashbourn. Hugh Pateshull,
who was a Canon of London, and son of Simon Pateshull, Chief
Justice of England, was elected Bishop quite unexpectedly, as a
compromise, in order to avoid the disputes that were arising be-
tween the nominees of Lichfield and Coventry.t

The date 1241, when this church had been sufficiently built to
warrant the Bishop in consecrating it, was about the time when
the Early English period of ecclesiastical architecture had reached
its perfection. Parker, in his invaluable Glossary of Oothic Archi-
tecture, assumes that the rebuilding of this church was commenced
in 1285.J The presbytery of Ely Cathedral, the west front of
Peterboro' Cathedral, the church of St. Neots, in Huntingdonshire,
and the choir of the Temple Church, London, were all erected
within the margin of these dates, and though the church of Ash-

• Bede's Ecclesiastical History, vol. iii., c. 12; Acta Sanctorumj die 6th Auffustii,
p. 91 ; Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. viii., p. 100. St. Oswald is twenty-fifth on
the list of Saints, in whose honour the greatest number of ancient English churches
were dedicated ; there are forty-three dedications in his name.

f Wharton's Anglia Sacra, vol i., p. 489.

1 Parker's (?/o««ar^, vol. iii., p. 85; where there is an accurate fac-simile of the
dedioation plate.

374 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

bourn may not possess the elaboration of design which distinguishes
these master-pieces of the art, still enough remains to convince us
of the elegance of its harmonious outline when Hugh Pateshull,
with all the pomp and ceremony of our ancient church, dedicated
it to the glory of God, and the memory of St. Oswald.

It seems probable that most of the external walls, with the ex-
ception of the nave and south aisle, are the identical ones that
were erected in the Early Enghsh period, though now in many
parts pierced with windows of a later date. On each side of the
chancel are six lancet windows, whilst some of a similar design at
the west side of the south transept are partially blocked up by
the south side aisle, which is of an obviously later date. Two
beautiful windows of this style, the triple-lancet, are to be found
in the north transept, and one in the north side of the nave.
Besides these indications of the original structure, there is a fine
doorway, ornamented with the characteristic tooth ornament be-
tween the side shafts of the jambs, which gives admittance to the
south transept, and also another one of smaller size on the same side
of the chancel. When, in addition to these features, we have men-
tioned the font,* which, though possessing a circular top, is clearly
from its base and general character of Early English date, we have
come to the end of those portions of the church that can positively
be said to correspond with the date of the brass tablet on its walls.
The peculiar grace and beauty of the old portions of this church
have frequently excited the admiration of those well qualified to
express an opinion, and they obtained an appreciative notice, that
is well worth reading, when the British Arch<jeological Association
visited Derbyshire in 1851.t

Of the next period — the Decorated — there is abundant evidence
in this building. We would venture to offer as a conjecture that
at the time when this church was consecrated by Hugh PateshuU,
neither tower nor spire were built. This is often the case with
our modem churches, where the least necessary part of the build-
ing is rightly left to be completed till ample fimds flow in. We
may still further conjecture, that when it became possible to com-
plete the structure, viz., about 1800 to 1880, (or, to put it in

* This font, which is three feet four inches high, and two feet eleven inches across
the top, is engraved in Paley's IHtutrations of Baptismal Fonts. It is a good speci-
men of the style, and should he compared with that in the adjacent church of
Bradley.

t Journal of the Arehmological Associatinn, vol. vii., pp. 339-343. There are
illn8trations of the sedilia in the chancel, and of one of the triple-lancete in the
nortli transept.

ASHBOURN. 375

round numbers, about one hundred years after its consecration) it
was not only deemed expedient to complete the erection of the
tower and spire, but also to add the south side aisle of the nave,
and to re-pierce the walls in many places with the expansive
windows of the Decorated period, which gave such a far greater
scope for the display of the beauties of the coloured designs on
the windows, which were then attaining so great a success through-
out the ecclesiastical edifices of Christendom. It would be at this
time, that the elegant arches which separate the nave from the
south aisle, and those that divide the transepts, were erected ; it
would be at this time, also, that the two Decorated windows at the
western end of the chancel were inserted, as well as the north
windows of the nave, and the west one of the south aisle, which
are of similar design. The four windows on the south of the
south aisle are also of this period, and of a good design ; one of
them, however, is a modern imitation, and supplies the place of
the porch which was pulled down during the alterations in 1840.
Above the doorway in the south transept, already mentioned, is an
admirably devised window of this elaborate style, of seven lights,
but rather wanting in length, owing to its position. Much of
the tracery of this window has been recently renewed, after
the old design. The north transept also possesses two large
Decorated windows on its northern side, of a somewhat different
date.

Of this period, too, as we have already remarked, are the tower
and spire. The tower, with its fine belfry windows, rises of itself
to some considerable elevation above the building. It is ascended
by a turret staircase in the south-eastern angle, which is sur-
mounted by an elaborately crocketed pinnacle. The parapet of the
tower is handsomely and effectively pierced with a trefoil pattern.
From these battlements springs the octagonal spire, which attains
the elevation of 212 feet, and has been justly described as the
** Pride of the Peak." It is of extremely elegant proportions, and
is rendered remarkably light and graceful by being pierced with
twenty windows, in five tiers of four each ; the angles are all
ribbed by strings of the ball-flower ornament

This beautiful spire —

"Like Wisdom's finger pointdiig up to Heaven'*—

has often suffered from its exposed position. It was severely

376 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

damaged by a gale of wind in February, 1698.* In 1878, it was
re-pointed, and otherwise carefully repaired.

During the Perpendicular period much was done to disfigure this
church. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the old high-pitched
roofs (the former outines of which are plainly shown by the weather-
mouldings on each side of the tower) were most unfortunately re-
moved, the walls raised several feet on all sides, ranges of incon-
gruous windows inserted above the older ones in the north transept
and in the clerestory of the nave, and the whole church supphed
with almost flat roofs of the Perpendicular style. At the earUer
part of this period, a large east window, of seven principal hghts,
was inserted in the east end of the chancel, and though it is not
a bad specimen of the style, it is so thoroughly inharmonious, that
it is much to be regretted that it should ever have been allowed
to take the place of the triple-lancet, surmounted by a small cir-
cular light, which, doubtless, formed part of the original design.
Of nearly, if not precisely, the same date, is the large Perpen-
dicular window of the south transept, which is also of seven hghts.
Probably it was inserted by the Bradbornes over their quire, at the
time of the foundation of iheir chantry in 1483. The west vnndow
of the nave is of a specially stiff and poor design, being crossed by
horizontal transoms. It could not have been placed here, judging
from its style, earlier than the first half of the sixteenth century.
Duribg the alterations of 1840, a west doorwayt of Decorated date
was taken away, and this window was rendered still more un-
happy-looking by being elongated. The north transept doorway
is modem.

Considerable repaii-s were done to the church at the beginning
of the eighteenth century. We have copied the following from the
registers : —

** Mem*". In this month (September, 1706) was finished the
Church Roof in the middle Isle, having all been made new both
Timber and Lead from the Steeple to y* great western window, the
lead by William Pidcock of Ashburn, the woodwork by Francis
Butcher carpenter in Scarsdale. Churchwardens — Mr. Alexd Taylor
and Mr. Charles Cliancey."

During the years 1839-40, very considerable alterations and im-

• Pegge's Collections, vol. v., f. 41.

t This doorway was not precisely below the window, but rather to the sonth. It
is plainly shown in a west view of thib church that appeared in the European
Magazine^ for 1792.

A8HB0URN. 377

provements were made in the fabric and interior arrangements of
the building. Tliis was chiefly owing to the energy of the Eev. E.
Tenison Mosse, at that time curate of the parish. It was re-opened
on the 5th of June, 1840, after an expenditure of about £4,000.
So much that was bad in taste, and poor in conception, was
put into practice by the architect, who then had control over the
" restoration," and so much damage and capricious removal of
monuments occurred (some even of considerable value disappearing
altogether), that we are apt to forget, that, after all, the alterations
of 1840 were, on the whole, a considerable improvement on the
former state of affairs. It is only fair to Mr. Mosse to let him
speak for himself, from the preface to his work on Ashboum
Church,* which was published very shortly after this restoration
was completed. He says : —

** I became curate of this parish in 1838. The church was then
cold, and damp, and decayed, and deformed. The two elegant
Early English windows to the east of the monumental chapel, and
all the lancet windows on the north side of the chancel, were
closed up with masonry. Many of the pillars supporting the various
arches were mutilated to receive tablets, and their bases broken in
hewing out sepulchres for the dead. The chancel was completely
cut off from the nave and aisles, by a coarse screen of lath and
plaster encompassing the organ ; and eleven different flights of steps
led to as many cumbrous lofts, one of which on the north side of
the nave, the late learned Bishop Ryder called * the sixpenny gal-
lery.* The approach to this was extremely grotesque; a viaduct of
brickwork was constructed on the outside, and those who came to
worship entered through the upper part of a handsome window,
the muUions forming the casement of the door."

No one, after reading this, can deny that the condition of the
church was genuinely improved by Mr. Mosse's efforts, though we
may deplore the lack of taste at that time dis2>layed, and may
be inclined to cordially agree with a WTiter in the Archceological
Journal for 1852, who points out how the ponderous projecting
galleries of the nave cut every window in two, and adds, that ** a

* Archaological and Graphic Illustrations of Ashboum ChiircJi, Derbyshire. This
is a work in elephant folio, illustrated with Beven lithographs from drawings by S.
Bayner. The letterpress chieily consists of transcripts of the inscribed monuments.
There are two plates of Ashboiirn church in Ashboum and the Valley of the Dove^
which was published just before the alterations of 1840 were commenced. One of
them gives a south view of the church, showing the porch that was then pulled down,
and the other gives an interior view of the chancel. A largo number of small engra-
vings and woodcuts have been taken at different times, to illustrate magazines, etc.,
but none of them caU for special mention.

378 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

real barbarism has been committed in the western gallery, which
has been brought out so far as to intersect entirely the western-
most pier and a portion of the arch/'

At our last visit to this church (October, 1876), we found the
chancel in process of restoration. This restoration is being accom-
plished at the expense of G. H. Errington, Esq., the present holder
of the great tithes.* As the architect is Sir Gilbert Scott, it is quite
superfluous to say a word as to the scrupulous care with which the
work is being carried out. At the same time it is, in our humble
opinion, much to be regretted that Sir Gilbert Scott could not see
his way to adopt the almost unanimous wish of the parish
with respect to raising the roof of the chancel to its original pitch,
even if it should have been thought desirable to retain the present
east window.t There is scarcely a church in the kingdom that
suffers so much in general effect from the removal of the high-
pitched roof, as is the case with Ashboum. Notwithstanding all
its beauties, there is a general air of incompleteness, and lack of
harmony of outline, that can never be obviated whilst the roofs
remain at their present level. The grace and effect of the tower
and spire, considerable as they may now be, would be immeasurably
increased if the ancient roof-level from which they originally sprung
was faithfully restored. This decision with respect to the chancel
is specially unfortunate, as repairs to the nave^ and transepts will
before long become a necessity, and it will then be most difficult
and unsightly to avoid following the example set in the restoration
of the chanceL The high blank walls that kill the grace of the
lancet windows on the north and south sides of the chancel seem
now, alas, doomed to remain, and a golden opportunity, for initia-
ting a general return to the original outlines of this flne old build-
ing, has passed away beyond recall.§

♦ The Post Office Directory for the ctirrent year Bays, that the vicarage of A&hbonm,
with the consolidated rectory of Maple ton, is of the gross annual yalue of £340, and
that the rectorial tithes, held by Mr. Errington, as lessee under the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, are of the yearly value of £1,425.

+ Might not this window be with advantage removed to the west end of the nave,
and the original lancets re-inserted in the chancel ?

X The nave of the church leans many inches out of the perpendicular towards the
north. The cracks in the apex of the west window uid elsewhere show the serious
extent of the subsidence. But it is said not to have gM any worse during the last two
or three years.

^ The letter addressed to Mr. Errington, begging him to reconsider his determina-
tion about the pitch of the chancel roof, was signed by the vicar, churchwardens,
and upwards of a hundred of the principal inhabitants of the town. Sir Gilbert
Scott, in refusing to follow their wishes, characteristicaUy observes that ** my expe-
rience gives me a right to speak, and gives my opinion a right to be considered,
rather than that of a promiscuous number of those who have not thought much upon
the subject, or whose thoughts are rendered of little value by their want of training
on the subject." But the whole tenor of the statement of the petitioners showed
that they had given the most careful attention to the subject, and that they (or at all
events those who drew the petition) were evidently possessed of sufficient know-

ASHBOURN, 379

In the south wall of the chancel, are three sedilia with pointed
arches, supported by slender clustered pillars, that are clearly co-
eval with its erection in the first half of the thirteenth century.
Four feet below them, is a label moulding corresponding with
the width of the arcade. Their present height from the
ground precludes the possibility of their being used as seats, and
they are about to be lowered to what was their original level.
Beyond these, low down in the wall, is a small piscina, with a
plain trefoil niche over it. An interesting discovery had just been
made, when we were 'last at Ashbourn, in the north wall of the
chancel, below the centre one of the three pair of lancet windows
with which that side is pierced; and it the more deserves a brief
note, as it will probably have been buUt up, at all events on the
exterior, by the time these words are in print. In renewing cer-
tain portions of the masonry, a small doorway was found here, the
splay of which slopes outwards instead of inwards, thus clearly
indicating that it could not have been used as an outer doorway,
but was probably designed for communicating with some small
building on that side of the church. Anyone who has studied ec-
clesiology, need not be told how very exceptional are doors in the
north of a chancel. We found that popular fancy had already
determined that it was **a leper's doorway," by which those in-
fected with that loathsome complaint might find a separate entrance
when they went to mass; but all notions of that description seem
to be at once disproved by the very construction of the doorway,
which, as we have already pointed out, could never have been used

ledge and taste to justify a respectful consideration of their views. We extract from
the memorial the foUowinff summary of their objections to the erection of a new
low-level roof, objections which appear to us unanswerable, and which at all events
have not yet been answered : —

"(1). That a flat roof is not in character with the Early English windows.

"(2). That the original wall plate is plainly visible about eight feet below the
pr (Sent ]^apet of the side walls.

' (3). That the stone weather mouldings on the tower, which exactly correspond
in position with the old wall plate, plainly show that the original roof was pitched.

*'(4). That the high blank walls above the old wall plate are evidently of a very
much later date than the rest of the building, being of a different kind of stone,
and a different colour, and entirely out of character and proportion with the original
design.

"(5). That there could not have been a flat roof on the old wall plate, as the east
window rises much higher, and must have been in the centre of the high gable of a
pitched roof.

*' (6). That although the side waUs have been so much raised, in order to carry the
present flat roof, the beams obstruct the interior view of the upper part of the east
window, and spoil the effect of the pointed arch of the window ; as the timbers of the
flat roots of the two transepts also do as regards the upper portions of the two flne
windows over the north and south doors."

The decision of Sir Gilbert is all the more singular, as he was responsible for raising
the flat roof of the nave of Wirksworth church to a pitch even higher than it had ever
been before; and we could point out to him scores of instances throughout the country
where he has done away with a Perpendicular roof, substituting one of high pitch. Yet
the demand for a high roof on the score of architectural propriety, at Wirksworth* and
elsewhere where he has thus acted, was not half so strong and just as at Ashbourn.

380 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

as a means of communication with the outer world. It does not
appear from the outer walls or foundations as if any building of
the nature of an excrescence, even of the smallest size, had ever
occupied this site; nor is the doorway of an earUer date than the
present chancel. The most likely supposition that occurs to us is,
that the doorway was inserted with a view of comnmuicating with
a small vestry or sacristy for the altar furniture, but that this idea
was subsequently abandoned.

Sundry fragments of old paving tiles, both encaustic and in-
cised, have been found during the alterations. Some of the latter
form parts of a most effective pattern, which was, doubtless, the
original flooring of the Early Enghsh ChanceL

In the south wall of the south transept, where the vestry now
is, are the piscina and almery which were used in connection with
the Bradboum chantry. At the east end of the nave, against the
pier which separates it from the south aisle, is a tall canopied
niche. This niche must formerly have been occupied by the figure
of a saint, and points out, as we conceive, the site of the altar of
the Holy Cross.

In the north wall of the north transept, is a cmiously-carved
stone bracket of Early English date, with a face and frontlet of an
Egyptian character. On this bracket used to stand an image of
St Modwin. Sir Thomas Cokayne, in his wiU dated 4th of April,
1687, leaves — ** my Soul to God and the Lady Marye and all the
company of heaven, and my body to be buried in the church of
Hasshebum in my Lady's choir before the image of St Modwin.*

It is in the eastern half of this north transept that the fine
series of Cokayne monuments are found, enclosed by a handsome
screen or parclose of Decorated design. In describing these monu-
ments we have ventured to borrow very largely from the pri-
vately printed second series of the Cokayne Memoranda, wherein is
a most careful account of tliese tombs, written subsequent to their
recent restoration and to the repainting of the heraldry f

* St. Modwin was an Irish nun, the daughter of a King of Connaught. King
Egbert hearing that she healed aU diseased persons repairing to her. sent his son
Ariiuljph, w^ho was a leper. The holy woman nealed him, and was invited by Egbert
out of gratitude to England, and established at a Nunnery at Polesworth, Warwick-
shire, the first Abbess of which was his daughter Edith.— Dugdale's Warwickshire,
p. 797. Pooley Hall, the other seat of the Cokaynes, being in the parish of Poles-
worth, would account for the veneration of that family for St. Modwin, as it would
be through their instrumentality that an image of this little-known saint found ita
way to Ashboum.

t We should not have borrowed so largely from the work of another, had we not
had the express and courteous permission, nay, we might say, the request of the
author, to thus use his diligent labours. Mr. Andreas £. Cokayne has conclusively

ASHBOURN. 381

The ancient family of Cokayne were settled at Ashboum about
the middle of the twelfth century, where they resided and flourished
without intermission till towards the close of the seventeenth cen-
tury, possessing large estates elsewhere in the county of Derby, in
addition to other considerable property brought into the family by
their various marriages. The earliest ancestor of the family, who
can be traced with certainty, is John Cokayne of Ashbourn, c.
1150. His son, Andreas Cokayne, 1154 to 1189, was father of
William Cokayne, whose wife's name was Sarah ; their son William
married Alice de Dalbury, and had issue Boger, who was father,
inter aliay of William Cokayne, of Ashboum, 1299 to 1323 ; his
eldest son, John, 1805 to 1382, married a daughter of Sir WiUiam
Kniveton, of Bradley, by whom he had issue, John Cokayne, of
Ashboum, 1357, M.P. for the County of Derby; the son and heir
of the aforesaid John, was Sir John Cokayne, also M.P. for the
county several times. This brings us to the earliest of the Cokayne
monuments now extant. He married Cecilia, who afterwards be-
came the wife of Bobert Ireton, of Ireton, and died in 1872.
Their eldest son was Edmund, and from their younger son John
descended the Cokaynes, of Cokayne -Hatley, Bedfordshire.

The first monument in point of date, an altar- tomb of excellent
character, is that of John and Edmund Cokayne, whose effigies are
recumbent thereon. The tomb itself is of freestone, the effigies of
alabaster. John Cokayne, the elder of the two, is represented as
an old man, in the costume of the fourteenth century; the tight-
fitting timic, buttoned down the front, and girt about the loins
with the high hip-belt, from which hangs the ornamental gypciere,
or purse ; the long chausses or hose, show beneath the short tunic ;
and the mantle, fastened on the right shoulder, falls loosely over
the left in graceful folds, and reaches down to the feet, which rest
on a lion.

His son, Edmund Cokayne, by his side, is represented in the
knightly dress of the same period — the pointed bascinet, far more
admirable than its stunted successors in the next century, the
tippet of mail (or camail), which bears thereon a plain shield, re-
markably if not uniquely placed, and the tabard displaying the
three cocks, the arms of the family. Edmund Cokayne was en-
cleared up mauy doubtful points in connection with these monuments, which had
nreviously received very insufficient treatment at the hands of Lysons, Glover, and
Mosse, and others who have pretended to correct them. We have collated the whole
of Mr. Cokayne's account with the monuments themselves.

382 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

gaged on the King's side in the battle of Shrewsbury in 1404,
where he fell, and his body (tradition says) was brought to Ash-
bourn for burial.

Bound this tomb are decorated mouldings and quatrefoil panels,
alternately enclosing stone shields. All these quatrefoils were
originally painted,* as appeared from the faint traces of emblazon-
ment lately discernible, and it is satisfactory to find that wher-
ever such remained they accorded with the description and j)rder
as taken by the Herald in his Visitation made over two centuries
ago. The shields on this tomb are thirteen in number : (1) Erdes-
wick — arg,y on a chevron gu,, five bezants. (2) Vernon — arg,,
fretty, sab,, a canton, gu. (3) Shirley, paly of six, or and az., a
canton, eimive, (4) Astley — az., a cinquefoil, ermine, (5) Pembruge
— barry of six, arg, and az. (6) Pype — az., a fesse, or, between six
crosses crosslet, arg. (7) Cokayne and Harthill quarterly. (8)
Stafford — or, a chevron, gu. (9) Ferrers — ^Vaire gu. and or, (10)
Basset — or, three piles, gu.y a canton, vaire, (11) Longford — paly,
or and gu., a bend, arg, (12) Cotton, alicu Bidware— az, an eagle
displayed, arg,, armed, gu, (18) Poleswell or Hartington — arg., a
stag's head caboshed, gu,, between the horns a fleur-de-lys.

The second tomb clearly marks a later era in the style of monu-
mental sculpture. It is entirely of alabaster, and is enriched with
plain shields and recumbent effigies of Sir John Cokayne (eldest son
of Edmund of the'^first monument), who died in 1447, and of his
first wife Jane, who was a daughter of Sir John Dabridgecourt, of
Strathfieldsaye, in Hampshire.t His second wife, the mother of his

* The term "originally painted," as applied to these arms in the text, wants
qaalifying, for it is obvious that several of tne coats relate to alliances that occurred
after the erection of the tomb, and they must have been painted thereon with much
lack of judgment, after these alliances took place. But we know that they now ap-
pear precisely as they did in 1611. The connection of Erdeswlck, of Staffordshire,
(1), with Cokayne, cannot be explained; from its appearance with Harthill, etc., in
an ancient window at Youlgreave, it is probable that it came to them with that alli-
ance. Cokayne and Harthill quarterly (2) represent the marriage of Edmund Cokayne
with the heiress of Sir Richard Harthill, by which alliance they became entitled, to
various ancient quarterings, such as Astley (4). The remaining coats refer to the
marriages of Edmund's son with the daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley, ancestor of the
Earls Ferrers, and of his grandson with the daughter of Sir Richard Vernon, of
Haddon. All heraldic canons have been strangely set at nought by these emblazon-
ments. There is a plate of the two effigies on this tomb, as well as of those on the
second tomb, in vol. vii. of the Journal of tlie Archtsological Association.

t We place great reliance on Mr. Cokayne's judgment in assigning this tomb to Sir
John Cojcayne and his wife Jane, but it is only fair to state that it has been by others
attributed to his uncle, Sir John Cokayne, of Cokayne-Hatley, Bedfordshire, Chief
Baron of the Exchequer, who died in 1429, and his wife Ida, daughter of Reginald,
Lord Grey, of Ruthin. MT.UossefAshbourn Church, p. 22) says— '* The following
inscription in brass letters, ran round the edge of the tomb till within a few
years Skgo—JoJiannes Cokain primo capitalis Baronis de Saccario, deinde uniu^ Jus-
ticiarum de Commi Banco sub rege Henrico IIII. — accurata effigies. Certainly

ASHBOURN. 383

eldest son and heir, was Isabel, daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley ; she
survived him, and was eventually buried in her native county,
namely in the church of Polesworth, in Warwickshire, where there
is a fine altar tomb, with her effigy thereon. Sir John affords us
a good specimen of the armour of the reign of Henry V. and VI.
There is no tabard or surcoat, and round the neck is the collar
of SS. His wife has all the characteristic costume of the first half
of the fifteenth century — the sideless surcoat, with its full skirt
surrounding the tightly fitting kirtle, girdled over the hips — the
mantle with its lace and tassels — and the homed or pointed head-
dress, with its reticulated covering for the hair.

In the drawing given in the Archceological Journal^ there appears
near the feet of the lady, a shield resembling that of HarthilL
Some antiquaries have attributed considerable importance to this,
and have inferred therefrom that the female effigy was that of
Elizabeth Harthill, wife of Edmund Cokayne (he of the former
tomb), and who would, being an heiress, be entitled to use those
arms after her marriage. Mr. Planch^, in his paper read before
the British Archceological Association, in 1861, refers to this. But
it is a mistake ; and it is curious how such a mistake could have
been made, from the simple fact that no such shield exists^ nor does
there appear any probability of its ever having been on the tomb
at all. Mr. Errington is certain that it has never been there in
his time, and it is equally certain that there is no place where it
could hare been, as shown in the drawing. This is the more re-
markable, as the plates are in other respects accurate.

The next monument in order of date, is an inscribed slab of
alabaster, to the memory of the grandson of Edmund Cokayne,
once doubtless **a thing of beauty," but now mutilated. In 1872
it was in the floor of the chapel between two of the Boothby
monuments, to make room for the base of one of which the in-
scription round this slab has been cut away ; the intruding monu-
ment just destroyed half the letters all round the slab, thus
rendering the whole illegible, with the exception of a few letters at
one comer. But here our invaluable friend Heraldry steps in and
tells us for whose memory the slab was erected. On it stiU re-
main two shield^, bearing the quartered arms of Cokayne and
Harthill impaling those of Vemon. We, therefore, know that it is to

the last two words of this inscription read as if it had been an after-thought, and we
have not been able to learn whence Mr. Mosse got his information. But Chief Baron
Cokayne is said to have been buried in the nave of Polesworth Church, Warwick-
shire.— Lyaona* Bedfordthire, p. 92.

384 DERBYliHIRE CHURCHES.

be attributed to Sir John Cokayne (the eldest son of John Coka3me,
to whom the last-mentioned tomb is dedicated), who married
Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard Vernon, of Haddon Hall, and who
died an old man in 1505. This slab, being in the centre of the
floor of the chapel, has been much walked upon, and the shields
were rapidly being worn away; it has, therefore, been taken up,
and one-half of it being quite blank — quite worn bare, it has been
(in deference to the wish of Mr. Errington) dimidiated, and that
portion on which the shields remain has been fixed into the
eastern wall of the chapel, and thus preserved.

The eldest son of John Cokayne, and his wife Agnes, was
Thomas Cokayne, who was buried at Youlgreave. His tomb has
been already described in the account of that church.

The memory of his eldest son, one of the most celebrated of
his family, is perpetuated by an altar tomb of Purbeck marble in
the comer, a stone nearly resembling granite, but of a less durable
nature. In scroll hues, on its alabaster slab, are drawn the effigies
of Sir Thomas and Dame Barbara Cokayne. This " worthy
knight" received knighthood from King Henry VIIL 'on the field
of battle, namely, at the siege of Toumay, in France, 'and he
was, hkewise, one of the attendants of the same monarch at
that splendid display of chivalry, "The Field of the Cloth of
Gold.*' He was author of a curious book, now extremely rare,
" A Treatise on Hunting," a copy of which is in the British
Museum. Sir Thomas is represented in a suit of complete plate
armour; the sword hangs by his side, attached to a belt which
passes over the taces below the breast-plate. The lady's long robe
falls to her feet; the pedimental head-dress, peculiar to the earlier
part- of the sixteenth century, with its long pendent lappets,
adorns her head. She was one of the Fitzherbert family. On
the slab is this inscription : —

(I

Here lieth Sir Thomas Cokayne

Made knight at Turney and Turwyne

Who builded here fayre houses Twayne

With many profettes that remayne

And three fayre parkes impaled he

For hia successors here to be

And did hia house and name restore

Whiche others had decayed before

And was a knight bo worshipfull

So vertuouB wyse and pitiful!

His deeds deserve that his good name

Lyve here in everlasting fame

Who had issue iii sonues iii daughters."

ASHBOUBN. 385

In addition to this, it is recorded that formerly *'on a tablet hung
up against the wall, over this tomb, are the following verses:" —

** Here chested in this Tombe, and closed in this clay
Doth lye S' Thomas Cokain Knt, and must till jud^^ement day.
This martiaU man so bold and eke This worthy wight
At Turwyn and at Turney seige was dub'd a worthy knight.
Two goodly houses he did build to his g^eat praise and fame
With profitte greate and manifold belonging to the same.
Three Parkes empaled eke wherein to chace his deere,
Aloft the Lodge within this Parke he also builded heere.
He did his house and name renew and eke his land restore.
Which others had by negligence decay'd in tyme before.
This marshall knight had yssue male 3 sons of manly port,
And eke three daughters verteous, aU married in this sort.
The eldest unto husband had a knight of worthy fame,
Sir William Basset, Lord of Blore, and so was called by name.
To Vincent Loe, of Denby Squire, the second married was,
The third to liobert Burdet Squire, all this he brought to pass.
This knight he was so witifull, so verteous, and so pittifull,
His deeds deserve his noble fame may live in everlasting name."*

A brass plate, inscribed with these Unes, has therefore been
replaced where it is beheved formerly to have been fixed, namely,
against the north wall over against the tomb.

Built against two outer walls, this tomb has suffered much from
damp. Four brass escutcheons, engraved with the following arms,
have been replaced round the side and end of the tomb: viz., (that
in the centre) quarterly — ^in the first quarter, Cokayne quartering
Harthill; 2nd quarter, Rossington ; 3rd, Edensor; 4th, three stags;
the whole impaling Fitzherbert arg.^ a chief vaire, or^ and gu., over
all a bend, sab,, a crescent for difference, being the arms of Sir
Thomas Cokayne and his wife, Barbara Fitzherbert. On dexter side
Cokayne, quartered as above, impaling Barlow (harry wavy of six,
arg. and sab,, a chief per pale, ermine and gu.) being the arms of
Sir Thomas Cokayne's parents; on sinister side Fitzherbert impal-
ing Babington (arg.y ten torteaux, four, three, two, and one, in
chief a label of three points, az,), being those of the parents of
Lady Cokayne. At foot of tomb: Cokayne quarterly of seven,
viz., 1st quarter, Cokayne; 2nd, Harthill; 3rd, Deyville ; 4th,
Savage ; 5th, Rossington ; 6th, Edensor ; 7th, three stags.

The will of Sir Thomas Cokayne, dated 4th April, 1537, orders —
**a tomb to bo raised over me according to the discretion and
advice of my wife and executors; the sum of £S to be expended
on the same, so that it be all of marble, and if that sum be not
sufficient then I will that more be expended thereon."

• We have given in the text the version of Elias Ashmole, 1662 (Bodleian Library),
which differs only in orthography from that of Dagdale, 1666.

2c

386 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The eldest son of 8ir Thomas Gokayne was Francis, who only
snrviTed his father hy a single year.

The handsome altar tomb of Francis and Dorothy Gokayne,
under the north window, was, until lately, in bad condition.
Being, like that of his father, Sir Thomas, of Porbeck marble, and
against an outer wall, it had yielded in a great degree to decay, to
say nothing of the hard usage it had experienced from sacrilegious
hands in Puritan times. The brasses which adorned it, the efi&gies,
the canopy, the shields, the inscriptions, were all partially destroy-
ed ; the shields entirely. These, however, have all been renewed,
as in the case of the monument of latest date, at the expense of a
descendant of Lord Gullen. The ten stone shields about the tomb
are as follows: (1) Gokayne, (2) HarthiU, (3) Rossington, (4) Eden-
sor, (5) three stags, (6) Gokayne and HarthiD quarterly, in the
first quarter, quartering firstly Rossington, secondly Edensor, and
thirdly three stags, aiid the whole impaling Marrowe quartered
with Brome, Eiche, and Anmdell. (7) Gokayne and Harthill
quarterly, quartering Rossington, Edensor, and three stags; (8)
Marrowe quartering Riche, (9) Marrowe impaling Brome, (10) Riche
impaling Arundell.

The inscription in brass round the slab is: —

"Here lyeth the Bodie of Frauncis Gokayne Esquire and Dorothy his wife
which Franncis deceased ye v day of Aogost Anno Domini MCCCCCXXiVllJ.

Francis Gokayne married Dorothy Marrowe, daughter and heiress
of Thomas Marrowe, serjeant-at-law, and died in 1588. His
effigy is drawn in armour, with tabard or surcoat decorated
with the arms of Gokayne, his bare head resting on a helm with
its mantling, etc., surmounted by his crest The lady appears in
a long graceful robe, with jewelled girdle, frilled sleeves, etc. ; her
head, adorned with the pedimental head dress, resting on a cushion.
Above their heads is an ornamental canopy, supported by twisted
shafts. On the slab are also, in brass, two escutcheons, the one
engraved with the arms of Gokayne and Harthill quarterly, quar-
tering Rossington, Edensor, and three stags, the other with the
same quartered coat, imj^aling Marrowe quartering Brome, Riche»
and ArundelL

The latest of these monuments is that recording the memory of
Sir Thomas Gokayne, son of the last named Francis, and his wife
and children, a stately mural monument of marble, in the Renais-
sance style. In 1810, it was moved from what is believed to be
its original position against the eastern wall of the chapel, and
placed outside, under the north window, between the oak screen

ASHBOURN. 387

and the north door, when certain alterations were made in the
church. Regardless of its heauty, and heedless of its preservation
in moving — so little was the respect shown to it — ^it was half
buried, its base being placed two or three feet below the floor of
the chnrch, thus rendering it liable to decay, and damp — silent
relentless enemies that steadily did their work. However, thanks
to the liberality of a member of- the family, it is now lifted from
its degradation ; the decayed panels restored, the destroyed pin-
nacles replaced, the inscriptions recut, and the arms repainted.

There is a shield of eleven quarterings in the centre of the
monument, of the following coats — Cokayne, Harthill, Deyville,
Savage, Rossington, Edensor, three stags, Marrowe, Brome, Biche,
and Arnndell. Besides this there are about the monument eight
other shields : viz., Cokayne, Marrowe, Ferrers (gu,, seven mascles
conjoined, three, three, and one, or), Freville,* of Tamworth {or,
a cross fleury, gu.), Marmion, of Tamworth (vaire, a fess, gu,,
fretty, arg.) Botetourt f (or, a saltire engrailed, sab.), Harthill, and
Rossington {arg., a fess between three crescents, gu.) ; of which
Freville, Marmion, and Botetourt are quarterings of Ferrers.

Dorothy, the wife of Sir Thomas, was daughter of Sir Humphrey
Ferrers, of Tamworth.

The arms of the knight and his lady appear respectively over

their effigies, which are in kneeUng attitude towards a reading

stand, on the front panel of which is this inscription : —

" Hie jacent Sepvlta Corpora Thomie Cokaini Militia et Dom. Dorothea Uxoris
Bins. Christi Mors Nobis Vita."

There are effigies, too, of their sons and daughters, on each
side a panel, inscribed thus: —

"Nomina Liberomm Thomas Cokaini Mil. Et Dom Dorothea Uxoris Eivs —
FranciscTS Thomas Edwardvs Florentia Dorothea Tabitha Johanna Johanna Jana
Maud."

This inscription, also, is said to have been upon this tomb : —

"Thomas Cokaine, Miles, Filius et Hares Franoisci Cokayne Armigeri, et
Dorothea Uxoris Ejus Filia et Haredis Thoma Marrowe, Servientis-ad-Legem
De Berkswell In Com Varricensi Qui Thomas fait Creatos Miles per Comitem
Hertfordia Tempore Captionis Edyngboroogh In Sootia 2 do Die Mali 1644 Anno
86 Hen. 8-"t

With this monument ends the fine series of Cokayne monuments.
There are few families that can boast of so uninterrupted a series of
memorials. The memorial of each successive head of the family

* One of the Freyilles married a co-heir of the last Lord Botetourt ; another co-heir
married a Berkeley, from whom Narbourne Berkeley, Lord Botetourt, who died in
1764, descended, and from his sister and heir, the Duchess of Beaufort, the present
Duke of Beaufort (who is Lord Botetourt) descends.

t Harl. MSS., 6809, f. 28.

388 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

(including Thomas Cokayne, 1488, at Youlgreave), from John Cok-
ayne, 1372, to Thomas Cokayne, 1592, are all extant.

Sir Aston Cokayne, the great-grandson of Sir Thomas and
Dorothy, hecame impoverished from his devotion to the cause of
Royalty, and sold the Ashboum and other Derbyshire estates in
1671.

In the south transept was the burial place of the Bradbome
family. At the restoration of the church in 1840, the Bradbome
tombs were most wantonly treated. Up to that date, there were
three altar tombs within the Bradborne quire, which was separated
by a screen from the rest of the transept. The most perfect of
these has been carried across the church to the opposite transept,
being much injured in the process. The remaining two were abso-
lutely knocked into one ! Lest it should be thought that we are
libelling these church restorers, we will quote from Mr. Mosse's
own account : —

" Proceeding from the chancel to the south transept, we enter
Bradburne choir, within which, on the left hand, was an old altar-
shaped tomb of alabaster, enriched on the sides with Gothic tracery,
and figures of angels holding shields ; on it lay the mutilated
effigies of a man in armour, with straight hair, and his lady in a
close gown and mantle, and a rich head-dress and necklace of
pendants. This monument had no inscription, but is supposed to
belong to some of the Bradbumes, as being within their cemetery.
Close to the last monument was another aJtar-tomb, without any
ornament except the Bradburne arms on a lozenge at the head ; it
was covered with a plain slab, on which are the words *Jane
Sacheveral,* and the arms Sacheverell impaling Bradbuma To
obtain room during the recent alterations, these two monuments iccre
removed to the south of the transept, and now appear as one tomb.
The plain slab supports the two recumbent figures ; one side, with
the Gothic tracery and figures of angels, has been made good with
the assistance of the other, which was similar, and lies close to
the wall ; and the Bradburne arms are preserved at the head.*'*

Godard de Bradbome, who was living on his manor of Brad-
borne, or Bradboum, in the reign of Henry III., is the first
of this ancient family mentioned in the pedigrees. His great-
great grandson Roger, became connected with the parish of
Ashboum by purchasing an estate at Hough, or HuUand. His

♦ Mosse's History of Ashboum Churchy p. 83.

ASHBOURN. 889

great grandson, John, seems to have made Hough the chief
residence of the family, where he rebuilt the manor house,
and founded a chapel. This John (as we have already men-
tioned), in conjunction with his wife Anne, daughter of Sir
Richard Vernon, founded a chantry in the parish church of
Ashboum, and the graceful though mutilated effigies in the
south transept are probably to their memory. Their eldest
son was Humphrey Bradbome,* who by his wife, Margaret,
daughter of Sir Nicholas Longford, had issue John Bradborne,
who married Isabella, daughter and co-heu*ess of Richard Cotton,
of Ridware, StaflFordshire.f Sir Humphrey Bradborne, the eldest
son of this marriage, took to wife Elizabeth, daughter of Su-
WilHam Turville, of Nowhall, and it is their elaborate monu-
ment which was removed to the north transept, where it now
stands, just outside the parclose of the Cokayne chapel. On the
top are the effigies of . Sir Humphrey and his lady, with their
hands clasped on their breasts, holding missals, in the attitude of
prayer. Sir Humphrey is in plate armour, with the incongruous
addition of wide ruffs round his neck and wrists ; he wears a sword
on his left side, and a dagger on his right ; his feet rest on a lion,
and by the side of his right foot are his gauntlets ; he w^ears a
pointed beard and moustache, and has a double chain round his
neck. The lady is clad in a long robe, with a short mantle, and
a ruff round her neck ; on her head she wears a close-fitting
diamond-shaped cap, with the curious falling lappet of the French
hood at the back4

At the west end of the tomb is a shield of the six quarterings
of Bradborne impaling the four quarterings of Turville, surrounded
by a garter bearing the same motto, repeated in old French and
Enghsh — **In Dieu his poier — In God is my trust." This shield
is flanked by single shields of the same quarterings. These, and
the other arms on the tomb have all been emblazoned, though the
colours in some instances are now worn off.

The quarterings of Bradborne are : —

(1) Ar(/., on a bend, gu,, three mullets pierced, or (Bradbome).

* Humphrey Bradbome, was buried at the church of Bradbome, though there is
now no remains of his tomb.

t Harl. MSS., 1,537, f. 4.

\ The lappet of tlie French hood, that preyailed from Henry VIII. to James I.
was intended to be worn at the back of the head, or turned back ovor the top bo hb
to form a shade for the eyes, according to the taste or inclination of the wearer. The
adjacent tomb of Dame Dorothy Cokayne, represents it after the latter fashion.

390 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

(2) Az., an eagle displayed, arg. (Ridware).

(3) Gu., three swords erect, arg. (Waldeshef).

(4) Arg,, three falcons, gu, (Falconer).
(6) Az., two bars, arg, (Venables).

(6) Arg,, a bend, Bah,, between three pellets (Cotton).

All these quarterings came to Sir Humphrey through his mother,
a co-heiress of Cotton of Ridware. The second coat was adopted
by Cotton as their own, after the marriage of William Cotton with
Agnes, daughter and heiress of Walter de Ridware, in the time of
Edward IIL; the sixth coat was the ancient bearing of the
Cottons.

The quarterings of Turville, as here given, are : —

(1) Gu,, three chevronels, vaire (Turville).

(2) Ovy fretty, sab, (Champaine).

(8) Or^ on a fesse, gu., three water bougets, arg, (Bouge).

(4) Arg,, a maunch, at, (Flaville).

Richard Turville, of the second generation recorded in the Yisi-
tation pedigree, married the daughter and heiress of 8ir William
Flaville, of Aston. Richard Turville, the third in descent from last
named Richard, married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Bald-
win Bouge, who himself quartered Champaine. Their eldest son,
William, was the father of Elizabeth, the wife of Sir Humphrey
Bradborne.*

On the north side of the tomb are representations of the four
eldest sons, clad like their father, and holding shields with a blank
impalement for the arms of their wives. Beyond them, on the
same side, are two small figures in long black gowns and ruffo,
and beyond them again, are three children swathed in thdr
chryaomes^f to signify their death in infancy. The six sons, whose
names are given in the pedigree, are William, Francis, John,
Hugh, Nicholas, and Anthony.

On the south side are the four eldest daughters, with the res-
pective quarterings of their husbands impaling the Bradborne
quarterings. The eldest daughter, Anne, married Humphrey, son
and heir of John Ferrers, of Tamworth ; the second, Elizabeth,
married Sir John Cotton, of Landwade, Cambridgeshire ; the third,
Jane, married Henry SachevereU, of Morley ; and the fourth was

* Harl. MSS., 6,692, f. 7; HiU'a flw/ory of Oartree Hundred, p. 57.

wW J«inf>?^^t??^^*r ^^'^^ ^®^® incorrectly painted red. The chrysome waa a
Twid d «^ Wn^^?" "^*^*' ^T ?^?«*ed immediately after their bajSm. Ifthe
child died before it was a month old, its chrysome served as its shroud.

ASHBOURN. 391

Martha, who married Christopher Duckett, hut not until after the
erection of this tomh, so that the dexter side of her shield is left
hlank. Beyond them are two younger daughters, whosfe names are
not known, and who probably died in childhood.

Bound the mietrgin of the tomb is the following inscription : —

Here lyeth the bodyes of Sir Humphrey Bradbume, Knight, which deceassed the
zvij of April in the year of our Lorde God 1581, and Dame Elizabetha his wyffe,
daughter of Sir William Turvyle of New hall in the Countye of Leicester, Knight,
whodeoeaaed the day of in the yeare of our Lorde God

Over the composite altar tomb, which still remains in the south
transept, is a stone bearing this inscription : —

Here lieth the body of Jane Sacheverell, Widow, daughter of Sir Humphrey
Bradbame, Kn^ and Dame Elizabeth his Wife, and late Wife of Henrio Sache-
verell, of Morley, Esq. She had issue by her said Husband 4 Sons, viz., Jacinth,
Jonathan, Victorin, and Oswawld, and 4 daught. Elizabeth, Abigail, wife of
Humphrey Pakington, of Harrington in y" County of Worcester, Esq., Jane, and
Omphela. The said Jane Sachev. died y« 14 of March, 1624, ^tatis busb 67. The
said Abigail her daught. and Thomas Milwarde* her Kinsman and Executor cavsed
this Monument to be erected.

In the north wall of the chancel, opposite the sedilia, is a se-
pulchre tomb, with a richly ornamented arch and crocketed pin-
nacles. Mr. Mosse says that, up to a few years before the restora-
tion of 1840, there was an inscription on the slab covering the
tomb, but he was unable to give any particulars of it. It is said
to be the tomb of Robert Kniveton, of Underwood Grange, son of
John Eniveton, who held the manor of Bradley, and descendant of
Nicholas, the elder brother of Henry Kniveton, the founder of the
already-mentioned chantry. He died in the year 1471. A hand-
some monument, of graceful design, was erected, just beyond this
sepulchre-tomb, a few years ago, to the memory of Christopher
and Mary Harland, by their surviving children. Cliristopher was,
through his mother, the last representative of the ancient family
of Eniveton.

In the south transept, with the Cokayne monuments, are many
memorials of the family of Boothby, who purchased Ashboum Hall
of the Cokaynes in the reign of Charles II. The earhest of these is
to the memory of Francis, eldest son of Sir William Boothby, who
died in 1684, but it would not accord with our purpose to give
any detailed account of these comparatively modem inonuments.

ft

Exception, however, must be made with regard to the monument of
Penelope, the only daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby. The sculptor
was T. Banks, B.A., and it derives an additional interest from the
fact that Sir Francis Chantrey designed his world-renowned group

392 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the two sleeping childreu, of Lichfield Cathedral, in an Ash-
bourn inn, after a visit to the monument of Penelope Boothby.
This exquisite work of art has been often described, but by no one
more successfully than by the Rev. D. P. Davies, in 1811, and we
prefer to use his language to any of our own. He says —

" Nobody ought ever to overlook this tomb, as it is, perhaps, the
most interesting and pathetic object in England. Simplicity and
elegance appear in the workmanship ; tenderness and innocence in
the image. On a marble pedestal and slab, like a low table, is a
mattress, with a child lying on it, both being cut out of white
marble. Her cheek, expressive of suffering mildness, reclines on
a pillow ; and her little fevered hands gently rest on each other,
near to her head. The plain and only drapery is a frock, the
skirt flowing easily out before, and a ribbon sash, the knot twisted
forward, as it were, by the restlessness of pain, and the two ends
spread out in the same direction as the frock. The deUcate naked
feet are carelessly folded over each other, and the whole appear-
ance is, as if she had just turned, in the tossings of her illness,
to seek a cooler or easier place of rest. The man whom this does
not affect, wants one of the finest sources of genuine sensibiHty;
his heart cannot be formed to reUsh the beauties, either of nature
or art."* The inscriptions round the monument are in English,
Latin, French, and Itahan. The English has : —

I was not in safety, neither had I rest, & the trouble came.

To Penelope

Only child of Sir Brooke Boothby, and Dame Susannah Boothbjr.

Bom April 11th, 1785, died March 13th, 1791.

She was, in form and inteUect, most exquisite.

The unfortunate Parents ventured their all on this frail Bark,

and the wreck was total.

There was formerly a great deal of heraldic glass in the church
windows of Ashboum. Elias Ashmole gives the following list of
the coats that were noticeable here in 1662: —

" England. .

Lancaster.

Zouch. Gules iv Besants a canton ermine.

Montgomery, Or, an eagle displayed ar.

Longford, Per pale or & Gu. a Bend ar.

* Davies' Derhyshirey p. 424. To alleviate his grief, Sir Brooke Boothby composed
various sonnets on the loss he had sustained. These he published in 1796, under the
title —-Sorrow* Sacred to the Memory of Penelope— b, volume illustrated with an
engraving of the sculptured tomb, with a symbolical frontispiece by Fuseli, with
welt-flnisned vignettes of Ashboum Church and Hall, and with an exquisite engrav-
ing of Penelope, done by Kirk, from a painting of Sir Joshua Beynolds, which is a
most perfect picture of childish grace and beauty.

A8HB0URN. 393

Ferrars, Varry or & Gules.

Shandos, Arg. a pile Gules a dove of the first.

Greisly. Yfsjnrj ar and Gules.

Dethick, Arg. a fesse varry or & Gu. betwixt 3 Water Budgets G.

Annedey. Per pale arg. & az. a bend gules.

Bradhum, Arg. ^ on a bend gules 3 Mullets or.

Lathhary. Arg. 2 Barrs or on a canton of the same a faulcon or.

Mackworth. Per pale indented Arg <fe Sa. a clieveron Buttony g. & o.

Pole, Arg. a cheveron betwixt 8 Cressants gules.

Blunt Undee or & Sa.

Francis. Arg: a Cheveron betwixt 3 eagles displayed Gules.

Vtmxm. Sable Frete arg. a Canton gules.

Brailesford. Or. a Cinqz fayle Sable.

Ireton. Ermin. 2 Bends Gules.

Fiiidern, Ar. cheveron betw. 3 crosses fitche Sab.

Curson, Arg. on a bend Sable 3 popingeys or.

Twy/ord, Arg. 2 Barrs sa. on a Canton of the 2d a Cinque fayle or.

Okeover. Ermyn on a Cheife gu. 3 Besants.

Cockjield, Gu. 6 flours de luces 3. 2. & 1. arg.

Audeley, Gu. Fretty or Canton Ermyn.

Kriiveton, Gu. a fesse varry arg, & sa.

SacheverelL Arg, on a Saltier az. 6 Water-Budgetts or.

Louell. Unde or and gules.

Cockain. Argent 8 cocks gules.

Leech, Ermyn on a cheife gu. 3 crownes or.

Freshvill, Ar. a Bend betw. 6 Escalops or.

FoIJame. Sa. a bend betw. 6 Escalops or.

Sliirly, Per pale or and ar. a canton ermyn.

Leake, Arg. on a Saltier sable. 5 aimulets or.

**In the lower window of the South Isle towards the west end —
Paly over all a bend.

- ** In the greate West window of the said church a man in armes
kneeling, having these coats quartered upon his Surcoat : — *

" Cokayne and Harthill quarterly, Bossington, Edensor, and the
Three Stags."

In the east window of the chancel there are still many coats re-
maining, eighteen, we believe, in number. England, Lancaster,
Annesley, Lathbury, Ferrers, Cotton, Pole, Blount, Francis, Blun-

* Ashmolean MSS., 854 (Bodleian Library). Some of the coats are given some-
what-incorrectly, and we are not quite confident that the identification of all of
them is correct, but we thought it best to reproduce the description just as it is
given.

394 DEKBTSUIRE CHURCHES.

dell. Grey of Codnor, Findem, Fitzwarren, Basset of Colston,
Eniveton, Champagne of Duffield, Darley, and Okeover.*

In the large Perpendicular window of the south transept are two
coats. One of them — chequy, or and az,, on a canton, gu., a lion
rampant, arg. — Earl Warren, has been reversed by the ignorance of
the glazier ; the other is Longford impaling Bradbume. In the
upper part of the same window are some fragments of old yellow-
stain glass, including a small crucifix, with the legend Insi over
the head.

The upper windows of the north transept, in addition to some
more modem glass, have an impaled coat of Cokayne and Fitz-
herbert.

The tower is mounted by a staircase in the south eastern pier,
which is entered by a curious and original door, formed of a solid
block of oak. Immediately over the arches of the tower is an
ambulatory or passage, running round the four sides in the thick-
ness of the walls, and commimicating with the centre of the tower
by twelve low arches, three on each side. On the old peal of six
bells, that were removed in 1815, were the following inscriptions: —

L "Amici multi numerantur, 1705."

II. "Sweetly to sing men do call

To feed on meats that feed the soul."

III. **God save our Queene. 1590."

IV. *'Ecce Ancilla Domini." (No date).

V. **God save the Churche, 1632."

VL " Ut tuba sic sonitu Domini convoco cohortes. 1692."

The first bell weighed 8 cwt. 14 lbs., and the tenor 17 cwt. 17 Ibs.f

The new peal are eight in number, though they are said not

to be so sweet in tone as their predecessors.^ These are their

legends : —

* Some of these coats are damaged. We have given in the text that which we,
deemed to he the most likely identifications, though two or three of them are home
hy more than one family. We saw them also to disadvantage, for at the time we took
onr notes, the window was much blocked up with scaffolding.

f Mosse's History of Ashboum Churchy p. 40.

X Yet it was when listening to the melody of the newly hung peal, that the poet
Moore wrote the weU-known strains —

" Those evening bells 1 Those evening bells I "
The last stanza says —

" And so 'twill be when I am ^one ;
That tuneful peal will still nng on,
While other hards shaU walk these dells.
And sing your praise, sweet evening bells I "
But, BO far as we know, no other poet has as yet been moved to song by their mufiic
unless we except a passing reference by Edwards, in his Tour of the Dove (stansa
xvii.), published in 1821.

ASHBOURN. 395

I. " Give no offence to the church."

II. *' William Dobson, Founder, Downham, Norfolk. 1815."
m. ** William Dobson fecit, Downham, Norfolk. 1816.'* ^

IV. "Peace and good neighbourhood.'*

V. " Prosperity to the town of Ashbum. 1816.**

VI. "The order for this peal was given in May, 1816, by

Sam* Carrington and J»* Tunnicliffe C** W**.**

VII. " Cast in the year 1816, in which the great battle of

Waterloo was fought."
Vin. " These bells were completed in August, 1816. John

Hobson and Tho« Hartwell C** WardenR."
Above the bell-chamber, beneath the spire, and exposed to the
inclemency of the weather through its unglazed windows, is the
"Sanctus" bell, by the ringing of which, the elevation of the Host,
at the time of the celebration of the mass, was announced to the
worshippers ; its proper place was immediately over the eastern end
of the nave, and, as the tower of this church is in the centre, we
here find it in its ancient and correct situation; it is about
eighteen inches or more in diameter, and bears upon it no other
inscription than the letter " S," followed by an equal limbed cross,
three times repeated. The foimder's mark, containing the initials
"T. N.," may also be deciphered. It is certainly of greater age
than any of the peal that were removed in 1816.

The earUest of the Ashboum registers is endorsed 1647 — 1622,
but it really commences with the year 1638 (the first year in which
parochial registers were ordered to be kept), though the commence-
ment of the book is in a fragmentary condition. This volume is,
however, all in one hand, and has evidently been copied from the
original. The oldest original portion is from 1604 — 1615. Another
volume extends from 1629 to 1640, and another from 1665 to 1679.
This latter one contains numerous entries of marriages during the
Commonwealth, which are rarely met with in parochial registers,
as they had to be celebrated in the presence of the civil magistrate.
The names of the attesting Justices that most frequently occur
are — ^Edward Manlove and Edward Pegge. In the volume that
extends from 1702 to 1789, there are numerous interpolations by
the hand of Nathaniel Boothouse, M.A., of Emanuel College, Cam-
bridge, who was instituted to the Vicarage of Ashbourn (from the
Kectory of Carsington) on May 6, 1706, The following are speci-
mens of his Chronicles of a Parish: —

396 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

" 16 August 1707. Mr. Charles Chaucey, Physician and Apothecary, and one of
the Church Wardens of this parish. A man of good knowledije learning and
experience in Physick, Pharmacy, and Chyrurgery; of a lepid and satyricaU. kind
of conversation, but of great Integrity and good nature, and so helpful! and use-
full to all sorts, that his loss was universally deplored, and his Corps was mett
some miles from the Town, for he died at Darby in his return from visiting a
Patient in Leicester, the Gout (with which he was much troubled) striking up to
his stomach, and that occasioned (as was supposed) by eating cowcumbers and
ffruit. He was sorrowfully (yet voluntarily and without invitation) attended to
his grave by multitudes of the whole neighbourhood.

" 8 April 1708. Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel Boothouse and Hannah his wife,
vicar of this parish, who was bom at Carsington (where his father was then
rector) June 22, 1704, and died here at Ashbume on Easter Tuesday the 6"* of
this instant month. A child he was of exceeding sweetness and prettiness both
in person and temper, and of wonderfull quickness of apprehension and parts, far
beyond his years. His death drew tears from many more eyes than those of his
own Parents. He lies buried in the east end of the churchyard, his father
esteeming Churches and Chancels to be too good to lay dead bodies in.

"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the

Lord.

" He was a flow'r of Sweetness, might have grown

In age and kindred to perfection.

But Grod's resistless Hand, by Death's surprise,

Transferred him to th' Heavenly Paradise.

"Verba haBO (Lectores) massto indulgete Parenti.

"7 April, 1710. Buried old George Wood aged about eighty years, a person of
good health and activity for his years and one that frequented the Prayers and
Sacraments at Church continually. On Wednesday the 6*^ of this month having
eaten his dinner well he came down to Evening prayers, and entered the Church
with a lively fresh colour in his face, and went into the seat y* is just opposite
to y« Reading Desk, laid down his staff e and gloves on y« bench, and stood up
leaning his arms on the side of the seat, when the sentences of Scripture and
the Exhortation were read, but just as that was ended, and before y« Confession
began, he fell down on the floor of the seat, and in two minutes time was taken
up dead and carried home on a pillow upon the Bier. Matt. 24^ 42-46.

" 10 May, 1710. Henry Valentine of Leicester first brought hither the great
Organ, and some days after began to work at it towards fitting it up.

**The great Organ being sett up and almost compleated on Sunday the 6*** of
this month (August, 1710) Thomas Cook of Trusley Esq and his servant and M'
Richard Bassano came in the afternoon, and after evening prayers and sermon
ended they first plaid a grave Sonata as Voluntary, then M' Bassano before the
Church fuU of people sang the 121 Psalm — ' I will lift up mine eyes ' — as an
Anthem.*

'' September, 1710. The great Organ in the Church being now compleated and
put in tune, and y« iron standard Rods and curtains of the Organ loft being sett
up it was opened and dedicated in the manner following. On Sunday (16^) the
Vicar preached from Psalm 92—1, 2, 3 (here follows an abstract of the sermon,
and an account of the part taken by the organ in the services). But in the
afternoon M«" Matthew Haines, one of the singing men of the Quire at Lichfield,
gave a fine long anthem just after the Italian manner. The anthem has much
variety of musick in it, and is contrived with intermixture of frequent Sym-
phonies or Returnalles, which Retumalles were touched and plaid upon two

♦ Mr. Richard Bassano was for some time of the Quire at Lichfield Cathedral. He
^^l^ ?P*n ®^ °* Francis Bassano, the heraldic painter, of whose Church Notes, now
at the College of Arms, we have so often availed ourselves in these pages. The
liassanos were a musical family by inheritance. Anthony, a native of Italy, the first
ol this familjr who settled in England, was of the Royal Band of Music of Henrv
nviiiu^v l^JJs successors; his sons, Arthur, Andrew, and Mark Anthony, were of
B^^t!?^* f?°®*^l-^*^^' ^^ ^^ grandson, Anthony, grandfather of Richard, the
singer oi tlie anthem at Ashboum, was organist to James I. and Charles I.

ASHBOURN. 397

Violins by two gentlemen who Btood behind the curtain in the Organ loft.
This performance was very fine as well as grave and solemn.

" (But the grand performance was on the following Wednesday, when there were
many voices and instruments, of which a full list is given, and an audience of
five thousand people.) Mr Rathbone of Nottingham played the Organ, and M'
Henry Valentine, who made the Organ, stood by him with a trumpet. At night
in the great parlour of the Blackmore's Head they made a fine consert both of
Instrumental and Vocal Musick, and so concluded the musick of the day.

" 11 May, 1712. James Dawson and Susannah Osbaston both of Derby. This
was a fraudulent and wicked marriage. Dawson came to Ashbourn fair May 10**»
and applied himself e to old M' Hardistee the Surrogate for License, who having
examined him upon oath (as the Canon requires) the perjured wretch swore y* there
was no pre contract or other legall impediment against his marriage, so he obtained
a license and was married next morning being Sunday May 11*^ But before noon
I discovered that his first wife was living at Southampton.

The Mapleton registers from 1704, are also kept at Ashbourn.

Several portions of the early Ashbourn registers, that contained
entries of special interest, have been stolen within recent years.
The parts that were stolen included an entry, in August, 1646,
of Charles I. having visited the church, *' and talked with Mr.
Peacock," the vicar, and a most painful entry, April 20th, 1650,
relative to a case of premature interment. It is also said that
Charles I. wrote his autograph in the registers.

About the year 1631, an endowment fund for a lecturer at
Ashbourn, independent of the vicarage, was raised by private
subscription. The appointment of lecturer has given rise at dif-
ferent times to much dispute and litigation ; recently it seems to
have been held, as is most appropriate at the present time, by the
vicar, but during the last few years, as we are informed, the
trustees have thought fit to withhold the endowment, and the lec-
tureship is in abeyance. Under these circumstances, which are
attracting a good deal of attention in the parish, we think it well
to give some account of its foundation and of tlie early litigation
connected with it; more especially as the particulars we have been
able to glean, contain several interesting details relative to the
state of society and religion in the seventeenth century. Our
chief source of information is from the Brief of the Attorney-
General, who was retained on behalf of Thomas Goodread,* vicar
of Ashbourn, and WiUiam Hand, who had been licensed to the
lectureship, in a suit against the trustees, Sir Philip Gell and
others, and their nominee, Henry Aldrich.f From this document
we take the following abstracts.

• Thomas Goodread was instituted to the vicarage on Slst December, 1639, on the
resignation of Thomas Browne. — Lichfield Episcopal liegisters, vol. xvii.
t Add. MSS., 6,602, f. 23-38.

398 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The informatioii sets out that the vicar of Ashbomn being only
endowed with Easter reckonings and BuipUce fees, not exceeding
£15 per annum clear, that that cure, till about 1634, was but
meanly served, few persons of learning being ready to accept so
small a preferment, so that though the parish was large and
populous, yet was there no preaching there.

That several gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood of
Ashboum, in conjunction with several citizens of London who had
estates or relations thereabouts, taking notice thereof about 1681
or 1632, did by voluntary contributions, raise £400, to purchase
an annuity of £40, to be settled on six citizens of London and
five inhabitants of Ashboum, as trustees, '* to the Litent that there
might for ever bee mainetained an able pious painfull learned and
orthodox preacher of the sacred word of God, who should preach
two sermons or Divinity Lectures every weeke in the said Towne
of Ashbome, or, in case of interrupcon there, then att some con-
venient Towne in the county of Derby not above five miles from
Ashbome, and if any interrupcion or disturbance shall happen soe
as the same shall bee discontinued or prohibitted, then the Annuity
dureing such discontinuance should bee imployed towards the releife
of the poor of the parish of Ashbome or to that effect."

That the trastees originally purchased a rent-charge of £40
out of the impropriate Rectory of Bagby, Yorks., which was sub-
sequently exchanged for a similar annuity on certain lands and
tenements at Walton-on-Trent.

That up to 1689, a lecturer was maintained at Ashbourn and
paid the annuity, and the vicar and patron of the church allowed
him to preach every Sunday, the vicar usually preaching or using
Divine service at Mapleton, and the lecturer reading service and
preaching twice at Ashbourn.

That on the death of Mr. Leeke* (the lecturer), m June, 1689,
all the original contributors to the charity being dead, and not
having appointed any new trustees, the lectureship was vacant for
three months ; whereupon the parishioners requested WiUiam Hand
to take upon him the office.

That after Hand had been settled in the place, the defendants,
Sir Philip Gell, John Moorewood, Hugh Bateman, and others,

* Samuel Leeke, B. A., was licensed by the Bishop to this lectureship, 20th October,
1671, on the nomination of Sir William Bateman, of Castlebar, Miadlesex, and of
John Hieron, of Loscbe, Derbyshire, clerk. — LichfUld Episcopal Begisters, yoL xviL

ASHBOURN. 899

acting as new trustees, none of them of Ashboum, " combined to
disturb Hand in the execution of the place and sett up the other
defendant Aldrich in his place."

That the matter was debated and laid before the Bishop of
Lichfield and Coventry, who duly licensed Hand, but that Aldrich
procured a provincial license and preached out of the parish, and
that the defendants refused to pay Hand the annuity, '^ arrogating
to themselves the election of the Lecturer whereas itt belongs either
to the parishioners of Ashbome for whose benefitt the Lectures
were designed or else by Law is devolved upon their Majesties."

Sir Philip Gell, and the other defendants, then explained how
by heirship they had become trustees and had the right of appoint-
ment, but their chief point appeared to be to attack the character
of Hand. They believe that he does not preach there to the good
likeing of one half of the parishioners of Ashbourn, that his license
was gained of the Bishop by surprise, and not heard with the
solemnity it required, and that Sir Philip Gell had heard Hand
declare in the reign of the late king James that he had been at
mass and would read mass if the king demanded it of him. They
also stated that they appointed Aldrich to the lectureship, and on
the refusal of the Vicar of Ashbouru* to allow him to lecture
there, he had preached at the parish church of Eniveton, two miles
from Ashboum.

The evidence was very voluminous and every whit as conflicting
as in modem suits ; a great deal of weight was evidently attached
to the inclination or otherwise of Hand towards Popery. The
parish clerk of Hognaston, where Mr. Hand had been sometime
minister, testified that he was a learned, orthodox, right well-prin-
cipled divine, and not in the least **inclineable to Popery," and
that he declined to read King James' declaration for Liberty of
Conscience. Godfrey Meynell deposed, that Hand had told him
that he had been out of curiosity to the late King's chapel,
but "did ridicule the Popish religion and service and termed itt
a profitt play." Rowland Okeover deposed that his father, Sir
Rowland Okeover, presented Hand to the Hving of Atlow, which

* Thomas Goodread, one of the defendants in this action, was Vicar of Ashboum
thirty-three years, and died in 1702, as is recorded on a wooden mural monument to
his memory in the church. The inscription concludes with the verse — " The memory
of the just is blessed." Dr. Pegge states (Collectiona, vol. v., f. 198) that Goodread
was suspended on the 14th of Jiuy, 1696, on articles presented by the churchwardens
and parishioners ; but that on tne 29th of the same month, at the request of Sir
WiUiam Boothby and others, and on a bond of Goodread's to repair his houses, and
on his promise not to be seen in any public house at Ashboum or Mapleton, his sus-
pension was removed.

400 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

he would not have done if he had been Popishly incUned. John
Marriott deposed, that he had known Hand for twenty years, that
about the latter end of Charles II.'s reign, he found him **in his
own house with a case of pistols in his hands, who then asked him
what he intended to doe, and hee answered he believed he should
have occasion to use them against the papists, and that there
would be occasion both for the deponent and himselfe to goe
against them, and the said Mr. Hand did not read the late King
James* declaration, but is a very good and charitable person."

On the other hand, the defendants brought witnesses to support
Sir Philip G-ell's statement George Milward deposed that, in July,
1687, he had heard Hand say, at Sir Philip Gell's table, that he
had been at mass at the King's chapel, in London, and '* had
kneeled there untill his knees were soare, and that if there were
any life in Christianity t'was in the Bomish Beligion, or it seemed
to bee among the Papists, and if the King commanded him to read
mass he should not scruple to doe itt, and unsultingly de-
clared he believed the King would in a short time bring others
to a like compliance.*' This statement was supported by several
witnesses. Elizabeth Jackson heard Hand say in an alehouse in
Hognaston, words to the like effect, adding that ** if *t was possible
for him to gett a horse to carry him to London once a day he
would goe to mass every day, and if the King should command
him he would read mass in Hognaston church where he was then
Minister." He was also accused of specific instances of drunken-
ness and debauchery.

The names of the holders of the lectureship, previous to this
dispute, were as follows, being given in the order of their appoint-
ment— Messrs. Hieron, Loundes, Machion, Tomhnson, Kelsall, Mer-
cer, and Leeke.

There was anciently a private chapel, dedicated to St. Mary,
attached to Ashboum Hall. Sir John Cokayne, who died in 1477,
charged his manor of Budsley Endsor, Warwickshire, with seven
marks a year to be paid annually to a priest at this chapel, for
singing masses for his soul and for the souls of his family.* Th is
chapel stood near the Hall gates. It had long been secularised,
and for many years used as a malthouse, but was finally taken
down by Sir Brooke Boothby about the year 1785.

• Dugdale'B WartpicJahiref p. 809.

ASHBOURN. 401

At the village of Clifton, about a mile-and-a-half to the south-
west of Ashboum, there was a chapel, also dedicated to St. Mary.
It seems to have fallen into disuse after the Reformation. The
chapel-yard, valued at ten shillings per annimi, was given, as we
have already seen, to the Vicar of Ashboum in the seventeenth
century. In 1760, the chapel was pulled down, and much of the
material used in the repair of the chancel of the mother church.
The present church of Clifton, built in 1845, was erected on the
site of the ancient chapel.

In 1240, as has been already stated, there were six chapelries
of Ashbourn — Kniveton, Mappleton, Thorpe, Bentley, Bradley, and
Edlaston, in addition to three which were of more dependent nature,
and might be termed chapels-of-ease — Parwich, Alsop, and Hognas-
ton. All of these, except Alsop and Parwich, speedily attained to
a greater or less degree of independence, and will be treated of
under their own heads. Bradley and Edlaston, not being in
Wirksworth Hundred, will be described in our next volimie. It
remains then, under the head of Ashboum, to give a brief account
of Alsop, Parwich, and the domestic chapelry of Hulland.

2d

402 DEBBYSHIBE CHUBCHES.

^t Ci^apelYs of &lnop^in^1^t^Sait.

|T the time of the Domesday Survey, Elleshope suid Eitu»
(AlBop and Cold Eaton), were berewicks to the manor of
Parwich. Alsop, as part of the crown demesnes, was
granted to William do Ferrers, Earl of Derby, who, in the reign
of John, granted the manor to Gweno, son of Gamel de Alsop.
This family held it for seventeen generations, when it was sold by
Anthony Alsop, in 1688, to Sir Phihp GelL The Beresfords af[;er>
wards held the manor, and thence it passed by marriage to the
Milwards. The subsequent changes of ownership have been very
frequeni

John Alsop, lord of this manor, great-grandfather of Anthony,
the last owner, has obtained some celebrity for giving hospitality
to Becon, the Eeformcr, when he was secldng obscurity in the days
of Queen Mary.

Thomas Becon, who was bom about the year 1511, was ordained
in 1688, and shortly after obtained preferment in Kent. But his
outspoken writings soon brought him into trouble, and he was
deprived of his benefice. He then thought it prudent to travel,
and try to obtain pupils amongst the provincial gentry, and, in the
course of his wanderings, hghted on Alsop-in-the-Dale, where he
tarried about a year. Many incidents of his life are detailed in
Tha Jewel of Joy, a lengthy reUgious dialogue, dedicated to the
Princess (afterwards Queen) Elizabeth. The dramatis personce of
this treatise are Philemon, Eusebius, Theophile, and Christopher ;
Philemon being the pseudonym under which his own personality
was veiled: —

'* Ohria. : You have not declared to nn in what counties ye have been here in
England, since yonr departure from hence.

" Phil. : After I departed from you, and had taken my leave of my most Bwoet
mother, and of my other dear friends, I travelled into Derbyshire, and from thaaoe
into the Peak, whither I appointed my books and my clothes to be brought

ALSOP-IN-THE-DALE* 403

**Bu$, : Into the Peak? Lord God, ^ehat made yea there? That is a mar-
veUooB and a barren county, and^ as it is thought, such a country that neither
hath learning, nor yet no spark of godliness.

^ Phil. : Mine intent was, by exercising the office of a schoolmaster, to engraft
Christ and the knowledge of Him in the breasts of those scholars whom God
should appoint unto me for to be taught.

*' Theo» : I think you found there very peakish people.

'' PhiL : Not so ; I confess to you that I found there very good wits, and apt
onto learning.

" Chris, : But how favour they Christian religion in those parts ?

" P?Ul. : I will toll you. Coming into a little village, called Alsop-in-the-Bale,
I chanced upon a certain gentleman called Alsop, lord of the village, a man not
only ancient in years, but also ripe in the knowledge of Christ's doctrine. After
we had saluted one another, and taken a sufficient repast for that present, he
shewed me certain books which he called his jewels and principal treasures.

" Eu8. : I pray you, what books were they?

" Phil. : To rehearse them all by name I am not able ; but of this am I sure
(hat, among all other, there was the new testament, after the translation of the
godly learned man Myles Coverdale, which seemed to be as well worn by the
diligent reading thereof as ever was any portass or mass-book among the papists.

** ChrU. : A rare thing and almost a miracle to find an old man, namely in
those parts, where Christ, I think, as yet was never truly preached, to be so well
affectod toward the reading of the sacred scriptures

**Phil. : 1 remember right well that he had many other godly books, as, 'The
Obedience of a Christian Man,' 'The Parable of the Wicked Mammon,' 'The
Revelation of Anti-christ,! * The Sum of Holy Scripture,' * The Book of John
Frith against Purgatory," all the books published in the name of Thomas Becon,
with divers other learned men's works. In these godly treatises this ancient
gentleman among the mountains and rocks occupied himself both diligently and
virtuously.

" Chris, : I would not lightly have believed that such a man could have been
found in so barbarous and rude a country, nor that so fruitful works had been
placed in so unlearned a region. . ,

" Eu8. : Truth it is ; but to return unto the Peak, of what sort, I pray you,
are the people concerning Christian religion?

'^Phil. : When I was there, all their religion consisted in hearing matins and
mass, in superstitious worshipping of saints, in hiring soul-carriers to sing tren-
tals; in pattering upon beads, and in such other popish pedlary .... While
I was in the Peak, I learned that B. Wisdom was in Staffordshire. Desiring
greatly to see hiim I bade my friends in the Peak farewell, and mfibde haste
toward him. • . . . .

'* Eua. : How savoured the people Christ and 'His doctrine in those parts (Staf-
fordshire), when you were there?

** Phil. : Not altogether unlike the people of the Peak, but that they were not
in all points so commonly superstitious ; they savoured somewhat more of pure
religion. This, I think, came to pass through certain English books that were
among them, and through travellers to and from Loudon."*

The chapel of Alsop-in-the-Dale, from tlie date of its first foun-
dation in the twelfth century, down to comparatively recent times,
was a dependency of the mother church of Ashboum. It is men-
tioned in the Charters of 1240 and 1290, by which the endowment
of the Vicarage of Ashboum was settled, and the Vicar was bound

• Becon's Works, Parker's Society Publications. We are not aware that these
extracts have ever yet appeared in any book of Derbyshire topography ; and as
they relate to the religious feelings of the inhabitants at a most interesting epoch in
our history, we may, perhaps, be excused for introducing them into a work on the
Churches of the coimty.

404 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

to find a fit chaplain to serve it. In post-Beformation days it at-
tained to the dignity of a parochial chapelry, and the appointment
of the minister became vested in the freeholders in consequence of
their augmenting the stipend.

The inventory of church goods, taken in the reign of Edward
VI., gives the following brief list of the goods at Alsop : — ** All-
Boppe in LedaUc, Asheboume parishe. Laur. Howrobyn Vicar, j
chalice with a paten — iij vestments — ^j albe — j amyse — ij bells —
j hanbell — ^j sacrying bell — ^j awlter clothe — ^j surples — j censer — j
corporas.'*

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, as we have already
seen, recommended the disuse of this chapel, and its being united
to Pai-wich.

This little chapel, dedicated to St. Iklichael, is another instance
of an early Norman foundation. Mr. Eawlins gives its dimensions
as — nave, tliii-ty-two feet one inch, by fifteen feet ten inches ; and
the chancel as twenty feet four inches, by the same width as the
nave. The frequency of chapels and churches, all showing traces
of twelfth or, j)crhaps, of late eleventh century work, in this particu-
lar part of Derbyshire is remarkable, and points to the compara-
tively large population that once inhabited it, at a time when* its
mineral resources were being first developed. It is a small build-
ing, consisting Tjimply of a nave and chancel, and a bell- turret at
the west end. The most interesting feature is the Norman doorway
on the south side. The jambs are not ornamented in any way, but
round the head of the doorway is an effective and xmusual mould-
ing, consisting as it were, of two rows of the chevron or zigzag
moulding, placed face to face, and producmg an effect like that of
the dog-tooth pattern of a later style. The windows, like those of
Parwich, are for the most part mere square-headed openings of the
debased or ** Churchwarden " era, but in the south wall by the
pulpit is a small Norman window, and the remains of another on
the same side at the west end. The archway into the chancel is
pointed, but the jambs appear to be of plain Norman construction.
To the same x)eriod belongs the font, which is circular in shape,
tapering slightly towards the base, and two feet four inches in dia-
meter across the top. In the chancel wall is a small piscina, in a
pointed niche fourteen inches high, but the niche is arched in such
a rude manner that this detail, also, may be part of the original
structure. The chapel has now a fiat plaster ceiling, but the old
stone corbels of the first roof show below in the nave. The walls

ALSOP-IN-THE-DALE. 405

are very massive for the size of the building, being about three feet
thick throughout, and are probably in much the same condition as
when first erected, except where they have been cut away to admit
of the insertion of later windows. On the north side are two of
these late windows, one above the other, and on the slab that sup-
ports the masonry above the lower one, may be noted the x^arallel
lines of the stem of an incised cross ; so that here, as well as at
Parwich, and in many other Derbyshire churches which we have
described, the architect of a more recent date has not hesitated to
avail himself of the conveniently-shaped sepulchral stones of the
earlier population. The pews on ihe north side of the church are
marked with a monogram of the initials C. P., and the date 1703.

There are several small mural monuments, but none of an earher
date than last century.

The solitary bell in the turret has no inscription or bell-founder's
mark.

The registers only date from the year 1701.

406 DEBBT8HIBE CHUBCHES.

^t Cliapeli;^ of ^axfDie^.

ARWICH (the Pevrewic of the Domesday Survey) was ori-
ginally a Chapelry of Ashboum. The manor, which
formed a portion of the ancient crown lands, passed with
Ashboum to the Earls of Derby, and to Edward, Earl of Lan-
caster. It was conveyed to the Cokaynes in the reign of Edward
III., with whom it remained till the commencement of the seven-
teenth century, when it was conveyed to Thomas Levinge, from
whose family it was purchased in 1814 by Thomas Evans, of
Allestree.*

In the post-Beformation days, the appointment of the minister
seems generally to have rested with the lord of the manor, but in
early times it was undoubtedly in the hands of the Vicar of Ash-
boum. The first definite mention that we have found of the
chapel of Parwich occurs in the Endowment Charter of the Vicarage
of Ashbourn, made in 1240, wherein it is stipulated that the vicar
is to supply a fit chaplain for Parwich.t There are numerous
early charters still extant at Lincoln, relative to lands and tithes
at Parwich, which formed part of the possessions of the Dean and
Chapter of that city in connection with the rectorial manor of

Ashboum.J

When the inventory of Church goods was taken in the reign of
Edward VL, Parwich was visited on the 19th September, and the

• Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. I., No. 61 ; 16 Hen. VI., No. 40, etc., etc. Certam lands
vere also lield in Parwich by the families of Sutton, Segrave, and Foljambe. See
Inq. post Mort., 16 Edw. I., No. 8 ; 33 Edw. I., No. 66 ; 19 Edw. n., No. 91 ; Rot.
Orig., 18 Edw. III., No. 38.

t Add. MSS., 6,671, ff. 566 to 576.

t These are to be found in an ancient Lincoln Chartulary relating to the chapter
estates, flf. 62—70.

PARWICH. 407

following report drawn up : — " Parwyche. Thomas Underwood,
curat. A chalis wyth ye paten — ^ij vestments, j ys grene silke, ye
odur broken sylke — ij albs with their amyssis — j corporas — ^ij towells
ij bells — ^j payx of tyn — j coupe of yelow sylke — j surples — j hand
bell — iij banner clothes — ^j cruyt — j crosse of wood and plate — j
holly water pott of bras.**

At the diocesan registry at Lichfield is preserved the will of
Thomas Levinge of Parwich, dated 15th January, 1689. He directs
that he is " to be buried in the chancell att Parwich as neere unto
my late deere wife as convenient may be.'* It is a lengthy and
curious document ; and the following extract relative to an increase
in the very insufficient salary of the minister may be of interest : —
** And whereas I am lawfully possessed of all the Tythes and Tenths
of Parwich, Cold Eaton, and Alsop-in-the-Dale, together with some
glebe, and Easter Dole, oblacions, abvencions, and convencions
(except wool and lambe) for diverse years yet to come and unex-
pired, if Edward and William, the sonns of Michael Jesson de-
ceased, or either of them shall live, yeilding unto them £18 yearly,
and towards the maintenance of a minister at Parwich £6 186. 4d.,
which is neere the full valew of the same — ^yet in respect that it is
a very small maintenance for a minister, and I have often laboured
with my neighbours that they should have joined mee in the aug-
mentation of the same, which they have refused to do, and whereas
there is yearly paid 14s. 2d. for tyth hay which I conceive to be
onely for the Antient Math meadows, and my neighbovrs and I
having made many several incomes of the Common fields for
which no tyth hay is paid neither are they willing to pay any for
the same, whereas I consieve wee do wrong, I do therefore give
and bestow toward the better maintaining of a minister there in
lieu of such tyth hay as I ought to pay the said 14s. 2d. yearly,
and all such Tyth hay as is or shall be dew unto mee in Parwich
during all such tearme as I have therein, humbly praying the
Rt. Revd. Father in God, the Lord Bishop of this Diocese that
now is, and his Chancellor, and their successyrs, that they will be
pleased to take the same into their due consideration, and from
time to time place there an honest discreet preacher, that there
may be dehvered the word of God amongst them who have great
aeed thereof, and also to take such order for the maintenance of a
minister from time to time as they shall think fitt — Provided
always that when my neighbours of Parwich shall be constrained

408 DERBYSHIBE CHURCHES.

to allow and shall yearly pay 2s. for every oxgange towards the
maintenance of a minister there, that so long my gift of Tyth hay
shall only cease/* *

At the time that the Inquisition into the state of the benefices
was undertaken by Parliament in 1650, the following report was
made by the Commissioners sitting at Ashbome on 10th June of
that year : — ** Parwich is a parochiall chapell fouro myles distant
from Ashbume, the farmers of the Rectoryes of Ashbume and
Wirksworth under the Deane of Lincolne have usually procured
the cure supplycd, the salarye payed hath becne six pounds thirteene
shillings and foure pence per annum, the place wyde." The Com-
missioners recommended that Alsop should be united to Parwich,
the latter being made a parish church.

Bassano visited this church in 1707, but found no heraldic dis-
play or ancient monuments to chronicle. He contents himseK with
mentioning, at the east end of the north aisle, a monument to
WiUiam Beresford, 1699, in ** Buckley's Quire,'' and that "the
present Dean of Lincoln is charitably inclyned to ye curate of Par-
wich to ye sume of £G 6s. 8d. per annum out of ye tythes."

William Beresford left certain lands in Parwich, the rents of
which were to be used " for the performance of Divine Service and
preaching one or more sermons in the church of Parwich, accord-
ing to the Protestant religion, with certain stipulations as to how
the x^roceeds should be appHed if any other religion, other than
the Protestant religion, should be established or exercised in the
Parish Chtu'ch.t

The old church of Parwich, much of which had stood the wear
and tear of more than seven centuries, was pulled down in 1872
to make way for a more commodious structure erected on the same
site. Fortunately, we had taken some rough notes of this building
in the previous year, which enable us to give a brief description
of the church as it formerly existed. The church, which was of

* Add. MSS., 6G71, f. 261, wherie there is a fnU transcript of this vriH. The
document abounds in curious particulars; e.g. **Two poor women to occupy two
little houses in Linchiffe croft and to receive on Ist of every mouth one gallon of
oatmeole by the measure now used in Ashbome." Amongst tiie numerous bequests,
he leaves to his son his armour, " tlio armour to remain in my house as heire loomes
unlesse it shall please God that there shaU be occasion to use any of it in the defence
of the Kingdome;" to Mrs. Ajin Cokayne, widow, " a watch wliich was my old Lady
Cokaynes, and to her worthy sonne Mr. Aston Cokayne a Scarlett nightcapp laced
down with gold lace;" and to his nephew, Simon Feckc, parson of Grindon, ne left
'* f ortie shillings in gold and a paire of whito lonpr gloves faced with changeable Taf-
fata, and I do desire him to preach at my buriall at Parwich, and at his convenient
leasure after at Ashbome ana All Hallowes in Derbie."

t Oharity OommUsionera* Beports, vol. xix., p. 75.

PAEWICH. 409

very limited size, was dedicated to St Peter, and consisted of a
nave with a north aisle, a south porch, chancel, and low tower at
the west end. Its dimensions, as given by Mr. Bawlins, were as
follows : — ^Nave, thirty-six feet eight inches by nineteen feet ten
inches ; north aisle, thirty- seven feet by eight feet ; and chancel,
seventeen feet eight inches by fifteen feet four inches. The edifice
was thickly shrouded in ivy, or, otherwise, the late square windows
and generally debased style of the exterior, would not havo
redeemed it from the charge of ugliness. Entrance was gained
through a clumsy south porch of last century design, surmounted
by a square mural sundial ; but the porch covered a good Norman
doorway of effective design. The archway into the chancel was
also Norman, ornamented with the chevron or zigzag mouldings,
the jamb shafts having their capitals carved in the cable pattern.
The two rounded arches that separated the north aisle from, the
chancel, were also of this period. The only sign of antiquity on
the exterior, was the row of small, quaintly-carved corbel heads
under the eaves of the chancel, ten on each side, though those on
the north sido were nearly hidden by the ivy. All the windows
were of the debased style that succeeded to the Perpendicular, and
need no comment ; and the south side of the church was rendered
still more uncouth by an exterior staircase biiilt against the wall,
which led by a doorway into the gallery. The tower, too, had
been similarly spoiled at a comparatively modem date, and the
summit was crowned with a plain parapet and four equally plain
pinnacles.

Of the objects of interest inside the church we noticed two
pointed niches in the north wall of the chancel, utihscd as cup-
boards; and a sepulchral incised slab, that had been built in at
the top of the west window of the north aisle, ornamented with a
cross fleury and a sword.* The font, too, is somewhat remarkable,
being a Norman one of a very unusual shape. The stone itself is
two feet six inches in depth, and two feet three inches in diameter
across the top, where it is quite circular ; but, after some twelve
inches of this dimension, it tapers down and is divided into sixteen
sides or surfaces. The stone is not pierced through the centre of
the base according to the usual practice, but a spout comes out
at the side, just where it begins to taper. On the font is the date

* This slab was engraved in Lysons' Magna Britianica, and also on a smaUer scale
in Bateman's AnHquitie$.

410 DEBBTSmBE CHUBCHES.

1662, which was probably carved on it to commemorate its restora-
tion to the church, from which it had doubtless been ejected durmg
the Commonwealth.

Besides the large incised slab just mentioned, two smaller ones
of a similar description, about two feet six inches by one foot,
were found in the masonry when the church was pulled down, and
fitigments of several others. A piece of a churchyard head-stone,
with a cross incised, was also found at the same time, and is of
interest, as crosses of that description are so rarely met with. It
closely resembles one in the Bakewdl collection. These various
incised slabs point to an extensive sepulture here at an early date,
and are all of them at least coeval with the oldest portions of the
late structure, in the first half of the twelfth century. But the
most interesting discovery was in connection with the tympanum,
or semi-circular stone, that filled up the upper half of the north
doorway (Plate XIX.) This had been so coated with plaster and
whitewash that it presented a plain surface, but, upon being
cleansed, was foupd to be covered with rudely incised grotesque
figures, after the fashion of these on stones in a similar position
at Hault-Hucknall, Hognaston, and other churches of the county,
or like those on the font at the adjacent church of Tissington.
The centre figure is intended for a stag with branching horns; to
the left a horse with a cross having a circular head in front of it ;
to the right a wolf with a strangely foliating tail; in the upper por-
tion a boar, and a bird with a long beak; and at the base two
serpents with intertwined heads.

It should be mentioned that the old north doorway and chancel
arch have been happily preserved in the tower of the new building.

There is one bell, inscribed ** Smith and Co., Chesterfield, 1804,"
and on the sound bow the initials B. T. rudely scratched.

The first legible entry in the Parwich registers is under the
year 1640,

HULLAND. 411

^t ^omtMit Cliapeirs ^' ?^unanti.

|EE ancient family of BradborneB, of Bxadboum or Brad-
borne, held lands at Hulland, a small township four
miles to the east of Ashboum, for upwards of three
centuries. In 1296, when Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, died seized
of this manor of Hulland, the Bradbornes were one of three famihes
who held freehold estates there under him.*

About the year 1468 (some years before the founding of their
Ashbourn chantry), John and Anne Bradbome obtained leave from
Edward lY. to found a chantry at the chapel attached to the
manor house of Hough or Hulland. It has usually been assumed
that this was the first foundation of a chapel at Hulland, but we
are able to prove from ancient documents at Lincoln, that a chapel
existed more than two centuries before that date. In the reign
of Henry III., Sir Eobert de Esseburn (Ashbourn) obtained leave
from Eoger, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, and from Henry,
Dean of Lincoln (as Eector of Ashbourn), to establish a chantry
**{n manerio meo de ffolendo"f The precise way in which Sir
Bobert de Esseburn held this manor, we have not been able to
ascertain, but from other documents at Lincoln, we learn that he
also held the manors of Kniveton and Newbiggin, and probably
that of Ashbourn itself under the Earl of Lancaster. On the
granting of a charter to the town of Uttoxeter, 86 Henry III.,
Eobert de Esseburn was a principal witness, and either this same
Eobert, or an immediate descendant of the same name, represented
the county of Derby in three several Parhaments of Edward I.J

• Inq. post Mort., 25 Edw. I., No. 61.

t Cliart. Decani, f. 20. This is the Chartnlary of Lincoln Cha;pfcer that relates to
the possessions of that body in Derbyshire. The date of this particular deed is not

S'ven, but it can be put down approximately at 1250; for Henry de Lexington was
ean from 1245 to 1253, and Boger Wexham was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
from 1245 to 1258.

I Aakboum and the ValUy of Dove, p. 88. For further partioolars relative to
Booert de Stssebom, see the Handred BoUs, temp. Edw. I.

412 DEBBTSHIEE CHURCHES.

The Valor Ecclenasticua (27 Henry VIII.), gives the name of the
chaplain at Hnlland as Thomas Parker, and describes the chantry
as possessed of lands and tenements to the yearly value of 100
shillings.

The following are the particulars relative to this chantry as
given in the Chantry Roll, which was drawn up some ten years
after the Valor : —

Chantre of Howghe. Founded by Jo. Bradbome and Anne; for a pi3rste to
saye Masse and Godd's service within the manor place of Howgh distannte iij
myles from the parisshe church, f oundacon dated A^. iii Regis Bicardi III ; Clere
Talue dxs. xi<2. whereof iij«. iiij^. for a yerely obit. Sir Thos. Parker Chauntry
Pryste. It is iij mills from the Parisshe churche and there comyth to yt Ix
howselynge peoi^le. There is a maucyon howse and lyttell croft of the yerely
rente of y«. There is no chales nor other omamente otherwisse than Sir Humfrey
Bradbome dothe lend unto the incumbent sayeing service in his house.

The following indenture, dated 1st of April, 1480; that is seven-
teen years after the foundation of the Bradborne chantry at
Hulland, contains so many particulars relative to it, that we make
no excuse for reproducing it in extemo: —

Indenture between John Bradburue of Hoghe, Co. Derby, Esq. and Ann, his
wife of the one part, and Sir Nicholas Longford, Knt., Henry Vernon, Esq.,
Nicholas Montgomery, Esq., John Cokayn, Esq., Bichard Enyyeton, Esq., John
Fitzherbert, son and heir apparent of Bauil Fitz Herbert of Norbury, Baufl Oke-
over, son and heir apparent of Philip Okcover, John Eniveton of IJnderwoode«
Humphrey Okeover, son and heir apparent of the said Banff Okeover, Bobert
Bradshawe of Wyndeley, Sir Henry Prynce, parson of the Church of Norbury, and
John Northamx)tou, vicar of the Church of .Asshebume, feoffees in certain landa
&o. to the use of said John and Anne*— Wituesseth that John and Anne at the
desire &c. of Anne have caused Sir Nicholas &c. to be enfeoffed of a messuaga
and 8 oxgangs of land in Lytteel Bradbume and of aU other lands &c, which
were some time_of John de Pole of Hertynton, in the town &c. of Lytteel Brad-
bume and of anr messe and 2 oxgangs of laud in Lytteel Bradbume and of cer-
tain lands in Kirk Iretou Newbigging and Boylston, Co. Derb. and of a tenement
and close in Bigging and of a messe and a croft there, And had surrendered to
the feoffees in the King's Courts of Duffield and Wirksworth Copyhold estates in
Eirk Ireton and Bel|)er to the uses after mentioned said John and Anne charge
the feoffees that conable preest be kept and had to say divine service in the
Chapel of our lady edi&ed in the Manor of Hoghe in Co. Derb. abovesaid to pray
for the good estate of said John and Anne while living, and for their souls when
dead, and also for the souls of Henry Bradbume and Margery his wife,* father
and mother of said John, And also for the souls of Sir Bichard Vemon, Knt. and
Dame Bennet his wife, father and mother of s' Anne, and for the soul of Boger
Vemon, brother of said Ann to whom 'she was executrix, and by whose gooda
part of said lands were purchased. And for the good estate of Humphrey Brad-
bume, son and h' of said John and Anne, and of Margaret, wife of said Hum-
phrey daughter to Sir Nicholas Longford and sister to Sir Nicholas Longford,
Knt. that now is and for their souls when dead, and for the good estate of Banff
Okeover, son and heir apparent of Philip Okeover, and of Ann wife of said Banff
eldest daughter of said John Bradbume and Anne, and of IsabeU Bradbume
second daughter of said John and Anne, and for her husband as God wiU pro-

* Margery was the daughter of Sir John Baggott, of Blithefleld, Staffordsiure.

HOLLAND. 413

vidoi* and of John Fitzherbert son and heir apparent of Baafl Fitzherbert of
Norbnry, and of Bennet his wife 8rd daughter of said John Bradbnme and Ann,
and for their sonls when dead, and for the sonls of all the children of said John
Bradbome and Sir Bichard Vcmon^and for all the souls of the feoffees when dead
and for their good estate while living. And the said John Bradbum and Ann
willed that the priest should have all the profits of said lands, and the priest was
not to be otherwise attendant on the inheritor of the Hoghe for the time being,
but only in divine service, and that he be resident as a Vicar in his vicarage in a
tenement in Holland, late in the holduig of Henry Harper, and after of Tho. Key,
and he was to perform daily service according to the ordinale so that he say his
ma6s_ in said chapel at Hoghe, and to say on every week pladbo dirge et
connendacion of Jieqem, and on the friday mass of Hiu and sometime of the
Cross, Aud daily at his mass, or (ere) he go to his lavatory after the gospel, to
say in open voice for the souls of John Bradbume aud Anne his wife founders of
the mass and all Xten souls De profundis with the Collect Incline t£c, ut dnima$
famulor' tuor' fundator'; and the Chapel was to be repaired at the charge of the
heirs of the inheritance of Hoghe, and the prieste was to do no injury to the
parish church of Asshebume in Offerings or otherwise. And after the decease of
John and Anne the Leir of the house of Hoghe and the Vicar of Asshebume to-
gether should have the nomination of the Chaplain, but if they disagreed the
Abbat of Darley was to have the appointment and the priest was to make an
Obit at his own Co&t in the church of Ashbnme on the day of the death of said
John B. the said obit to be done by the Vicar of Ashbume, the said priest and
the priests and clerks of Ashbume, &c.\

Li 1594, the Bradbornes sold their estate and residence (includ-
ing the chapel) to Sir Humphrey Ferrers, and it subsequently
passed to the family of Borrow.

There are now no remains of the chapel. It seems that it was
not destroyed at the Beformation, but used occasionally, even as
late as last century^ as a chapel-of-ease to the mother church of
Ashboum.

La Wolley*s MS. History of Derbyshire, written about 1712, it is
stated, that there is at Hulland ''a piece of ground moated about
in Mr, Burrows grounds, which was said to be y* scite of a house
of Sir Humphrey Bradboume. It now mostly belongs to Isaac
Burrow Esq. of Derby, whose father John Burrow bought it, . . .
Here is a chappel of ease, but little used."|

The precise time at which this chapel was demohshed is not
known, but it is beheved to have taken place prior to 1750. A
new district church, dedicated to Christ, was erected here in 1887.

• Isabel, the second daughter, subsequently married Hugh Willoughby, of Risley.
Some pedigrees make out that another aaughtor, variously termed Isabel and Agnes,
married John Okeover ; if so he must have been a brother of Ralph Okeover, but
we believe that it is a confusion with the match of the eldest daughter, Anne. There
was, undoubtedly, a fourth daughter, Beatrice, not mentioned in this document, who
married Henry Columbell, of Darley. See Harl. MSS., 1,687, f . 4 ; Add. MSS., 28,118 ;
Pegge's CoUectionSy vol. vi., f. 114, etc.

t Add. MSS., 6,671, f. 63.

I From the original copy at the College of Arms.

'

lonsall

J

^onsalK

ONSALL (Buntesbale) was not a distinctive manor at the
time of the Domesday Survey, being a hamlet of the
royal manor of Mestesforde. There is no mention of a
chnrch either here or at Matlock, and it seems probable that at
that time the minster for the whole of this district was the ancient
church of Wirksworth. Shorly after the incursion of the Normans,
as the lead trade developed, and this neighbourhood became more
populous, various other churches were built, Bonsall probably being
amongst the number. But the first distinctive mention that we
have met with of the church of Bonsall is in the Taxation Boll
taken by order of Pope Nicholas IV., of the year 1291, when the
rectory of Bonsall (Bondeshale) is described as being worth £10 per
annum. We have also found this church mentioned in a manu-
script account of the possession of the Deanery of Lincoln, taken
a few years later. The rectory of Wirksworth had been given to
the church of Lincoln by Henry L, and the advowsons of the
adjacent churches, which were to a certain extent tributary to
Wirksworth, appear to have passed into the same hands. Li 1810
the patronage of the church of Bonsall (Bondesdale) was in the
hands of the Dean of Lincoln, as rector of Wirksworth, to whom
also it paid a pension of five shillings a year. A similar sum is
also mentioned as being paid in the year 1326, when Anthony
Beck, who had just been appointed to the Deanery, caused an in-
ventory of his official property to be taken. * The patronage
remained in the hands of the Dean of Lincoln until recent legis-
lation transferred it to the Bishop of Lichfield.

* Pegge's Collectionfi, yoI. v., ff. 196, 198. There is also an original document
amongst the WoUej MSS., of the reign of Henry VI., giving an acoonnt of the
Derbyshire possessions of the Dean oi Lincoln, in which the pension of 68. from
Bonsall is also mentioned; Add. MSS., 6666, f. 476.

t Lichfield Episcopal Registers, vol. iv., f . 34.

2e

418 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

But it seems that the Dean and Chapter of Lincobi occasionally
made merchandise of this living, even as early as the fourteenth
century; for» in 1861, Nicholas Bassett was instituted to the rectory
of Bonsall on the presentation of John de Strelley, who had
probably purchased the presentation for that turn.

That this benefice shared in the peculiarity attaching to the
Derbyshire livings in the patronage of Lincoln — rapid changes in
incumbents — is evident from the institutions to Bonsall recorded in
the episcopal registers. Thus in 1876, the living of Bonsall was
exchanged with that of Blontsham (Lincoln), in 1378, for Grants-
den (Ely), in 1879, for Woodham Water (Essex), and in 1881, for
Buddesden (Rochester).* Changes were also very frequent in the
fifteenth century.

According to the Valor Ecclesiastums (27 Henry VIII.), the rec-
tory of BonsaU was worth iBlO 8s. 8d. per annum. The rector at
that time was Thomas Lylliton. An annual pension of 7s. 7d. was
due to the Dean of Lincoln. Lylliton was a pluralist, for, accord-
ing to the same return, he also held the rectory of Matlock. Plu-
ralities were rather the rule than the exception in those days. In
1658, William Inskip, who held the distant rectory of Clown in
this county from 1628 to 1582, was instituted to the rectory of
Bon8all.t

The inventory of Church goods, taken in the first year of
Edward VI., has the following entry relative to Bonsall: — "Boun-
tisall — Sept. 80, j chalez with ye paten — ^j albis with iiij copes per-
teynying to hyt — ij towells — ij auter cloths — iij small bells — ^j sanctus
bell — iij bells in stepull — ye holy water tunicle — j crosse of brasse
overgyld — ij vestements, on for a deykun, and anoder for subdecon,
all be in ye kepying of on Jhon Nauton — ij candelsticks with a
sylver spone — j candylstycke of yrne afore ye sepulchre. The same
Jhon Nauton dyd come on Sunday last and dyd take from ye
tabull ij corporas with the case violent in so much as yesterday ye
persons dyd not minister for lacke of them, the Comunion boke
was takyn away yyolenter by Henre Bowne.**

The Parliamentary Survey of Livings, made in 1660, says of
Bonsall: — *'It is a parsonage really worth ffoure score pounds per
annum, noe chappell apperteyning. Mr. Edward Pole is Incumbent,
a man able and of good conversason.'*

* Lichfield Episcopal Registers, vol. iv.. £f. 43, 44, 44b, 45.

t Lichfield Episcoj^al Begisters, vol. xv. There is an aocoont of William Inskip's
monnment at Clown m Churches of Derbyshire, vol. i., p. 196.

BONSALL. 419

The church, which is dedicated to St. James, consists of chancel,
nave with north and south aisles, south porch, and tower sur-
mounted by a spire at the west end. The building is now in good
repair and admirable condition throughout, having been restored
about thirteen years ago from a grievous state of decay. Over the
doorway within the porch is a stone upon which are incised the "
following particulars : —

" This church was re-opened for divine service by the Right Revd. the Lord
Bishop of the Diocese, August 4th, 1863, having been restored and enlarged by
pnbUo subscription for the sum of iB1627 18s. 7d. At the same time the chancel
was restored by the rector at a cost of JL'S40 18s. 6d. inclusive of allowance for
dilapidation ; total cost, £1968 12s. Id. The pulpit was given by Robert Clay,
Esq., the reading desk and Communion table by the Revd. Samuel Prince, the
chairs by the Revd. G. Bagot, M.A., the Clock by Mrs. Elizabeth Ashworth.

"Evan Christian, Esq., Architect.
«* William Francis I ^
"Solomon Fox j Contractors.

"Rev. Isaac Bickerstaff, B.D. Rector.

** J. Broxup Coates, Esq. i ^, ,

- R. Clay, Esq. j Churchwardens."

It appears that every care was taken during this restoration to
preserve as much as possible of the old fabric, and the general
features of the church are the same as they have been for upwards
of five centuries. The enlargement was carried out by lengthening
the aisles at the west end, so that they are now continued almost
square with the west wall of the tower. We have been favoured
with a sight of a sketch of the church previous to the alterations,
in the possession of Mr. Coates, which gives a good idea of certain
of the debased modern windows that then disfigured the building,
such as those at the east end of the south aisle. This sketch also
shows that there was foiTierlv an exterior staircase on the south
side to reach one of the galleries which blocked up the interior.

If a church was erected here during the years when the Norman
style prevailed, there are now no traces of it, though illustrations
may be found of all the subsequent styles. There was undoubtedly
a church here in the Early English period, during the first half of
the thirteenth century, as is shown by the pillars which separate
the south aisle from the nave. These pillars are formed, as it were,
of four columns grouped together, and the capitals are ornamented
with cable moulding. The bases are peculiar, and raised consider-
ably above the level of the present floor. The lower part of the
base has evidently been inserted under the older pillars, in the next
century, when the floor of the nave was lowered, the chancel being
now gained by six steps, an unusual number for a church of thcBe

420 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

dimensions. The floor of the tower has apparently been at one
time lower than its present level, as the base stones of the tower
arohway are partly concealed by the paving. The fabric itself is
built on the slope of the hill, the gronnd at the east end being
considerably the highest, and it seems probable from the step-like
courses of the outer phnth, that the tower, nave, and chancel were
intended to be paved in ascending stages, at the time when the
church was reconstructed in the fourteenth century. The upper
part of a plain pointed niche of a piscina, which still remains in
the south aisle, may be of the Early English period, but the only
other portion of the building that can with certainty be assigned
to that style, is the double lancet window in the north waU of the
chancel. These traces of early Gothic do not bdong to the com-
mencement of the style, but may probably be assigned to about
the middle of the reign of Henry III (1216—1272).

The small but elegant piscina in the south wall of the chancel
appears to be of the reign of Edward I. at the commencement of
the Decorated period, and perhaps one or two other minor details;
but almost the whole of the remainder of the structure was obvi-
ously rebuilt later on in the same period, during the reign of
Edward III., probably between the years 1830 — 50. The octagon
pillars, with plainly moulded capitals, which separate the nave
from the north aisle, as well as the archways leading from the
nave into the chancel and tower respectively, are of this date. On
the bevelled angle at the base of one of these piUars, is a quaintly
carved nondescript animal of the unicorn type. Several of the
windows previous to the restoration were of the most debased post-
reformation style, and many others were and are of Perpendicular
design, but one or two still show the original tracery of the time
of Edward III. The tracery in the east window of the chancel
was inserted at the restoration ; but a considerable portion of the
archway and base of the window is as it was originally con-
structed. The three-light window at the east end of the north
aisle contains the old tracery of this date. This window is worthy
of note, as it presents the unusual feature of an acutely pointed
hood-mould over it in tho interior. The south doorway into the
nave is of this date, and so also is the one which opens into the
west end of the north aisle; the former is protected by a hood
mould, which almost looks as if a porch had not been contem-
plated when it was constructed, but yet enough remains of the old

BONSALL. 421

porch to show that it also may be attributed to the Decorated
period.

The most characteristic featiire of this style is however to be
foimd in the tower, together with .the spire, which have happily
not been interfered with to any material extent in later times.
The tower is supported by diagonally placed buttresses, which reach
nearly to the parapet, of the same design as the buttresses at the
angles of the chancel and aisles. There is a pointed doorway in
the west wall, and over it a two-light window, of good late Deco-
rated design, giving light to the base of the tower. The belfry is
lighted by four windows of like construction, and the hood-mould
over them is continued horizontally round the tower as a string
coursa The tower is surrounded by an embattled parapet, which
has crocketed pinnacles at the four angles, except at the north-
west, where the summit of the stairway intervener Below the
parapet are some large and far-projecting gurgoyles in a fair state
of preservation. From the summit of the tower springs a spire of
unusal but beautifal design, and far more richly ornamented than
is generally the case with those pertaining to small village
churches. The spire is of octagon shape, and is gorged (to use an
heraldic expression) with three crowns or encircling bands of
ornament, which stand out from the slope of the rest of the
masonry. The lowest of these is pierced with a continuous row
of quatrefoU openings, and crowned with a battlement of fleurs-de-
lis. The middle one is similar, but immediately above it, in a
hollow moulding surmounted by a series of uncharged shields, is
a row of the flat four-leafed flower peculiar to the latter half of the
Decorated period. The topmost crown, only a few feet from the
summit, consists simply of the shields and four-leafed flowers
repeated It appears that the spire was formerly of a rather
greater altitude than it now attains.

During the close of the Perpendicular period, the walls of this
church appear to have been for the most part pierced with windows
of that style. There is a good example of the style of Henry
VIL, (1486-1607) in the obtusely-pointed window on the south
side of the chancel ; and the old tracery of the same date, in the
square-headed window of the south aisle nearest the porch, still
remains. It is after this pattern, that the new windows, inserted
in the north and south aisles at the restoration, were designed.
It would seem, too, that during this reign the present clerestory
walls, and perhaps the battlements of the church, were added.

422 DEKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

There are now three clerestory windows on each side ; one of three
lights on the south side is of the date of Henry VIL, and the
remainder are later insertions.

Of the objects of interest within the church, in addition to the
two piscinas already mentioned, special attention should be drawn
to the very small window, richly ornamented, over the tower
archway, which gives a view of the interior of the church from
the belfry, and which probably served as a squint, whereby the
attendant would know the right moment, during the celebration of
the mass, at which to ring the sanctus bell. The font, which
stands under the tower archway, is of octagon shape, and has a
chahce-like appearance in its general design, for the base-stone
expands almost equally with the font itself. It is about three feet
throe inches high, and is of Perpendicular workmanship. Of
monuments in the interior of the church, there are but few, and
hardly any of those of suflBicient antiquity to come within the
scope of these notes. At the end of the north aisle, on the top of
the wooden framework that forms a double door to the entrance
at that part of the church, is a large iron helmet surmounted by
a crest From what we could gather, this helmet appears to have
been suspended over the monument to Henry Feme, previous to
the restoration of the church, and we hope that it may eventually
be replaced in a position to which it is justly entitled.

The Femes held property at Parwich in the fifteenth century,
and Bassauo's Church notes describe in the chancel at Wirksworth
the tomb of John Feme and his wife Agnes, daughter of Thomas
Boresford of Fenny Bentley, who died in 1609. But this elder
branch appears to have become extinct, and a separate grant of
arms was made to Kobert Feme of Bonsall, in the seventeenth
century, both arms and crests differing shghtly from those of
Feme of Parwich. Lysons implies that this was the first settle-
ment of the Femes at Bonsall, but this is clearly an error, for a
Henry Feme, of Bonsall, compounded with the King's Commis-
sioners for the confirmation of his customary estate in 1620, and
the grant of arms to Robert was probably only a confirmation.
The crest granted to Robert Feme (a mount of fern, proper,
thereon a garb [whoatsheaf], or, banded, gu,), appeai-s coustnicted
in wood, on the spike of the helmet of which we have spoken, and
we are much mistaken if the helmet is not of greater age than
the grant of arms, viz. of the latter half of the sixteenth
century. Henry, the son of Robert Feme, was Receiver Oeneral

f

I

I

BONSALL. 423

of the Customs in the reigns of William IIL, Anne, and
George I., and died in 1703. His chief seat was at Snitter-
ton. He had one son who died without issue, and three
daughters, Elizabeth, Isabella, and Frances. Elizabeth died in
1768, and her daughter, in accordance with her mother's will,
erected the white marble monument which is now affixed to the
north wall of the north aisle. The presence of this helmet in the
church points to an earlier sepulture of the Femes at Bonsall, of
which, however, there is now no trace. Henry Feme*s wife was
Elizabeth, co-heiress of Nicholas Dayrel, of Southampton, and their
arms were formerly emblazoned at the foot of the mural monument.
The painting has now disappeared from the marble, so it may be
as well to mention that it formerly bore — Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
per bend indented, arg, and gu,, two lions heads erased, counter
changed, crowned, or (Feme) ; 2nd and 3rd, 02., a lion rampant,
oTj crowned, arg, (Dayrel).

Against the south wall of the chancel is a brass plate in a
wooden frame bearing this inscription: —

"In memoriam Henrici Hopkinson, generosi quondam Hospitii Lincolniensis,
Jurisperiti, qui ex uxore sua Dorothea (filia Anthonii AUsopp, de AUsopp in le
Dale Armigeri) tres filios suscepit, Anthoniam, Qalielmum, et Johannom, et obii
qnarto die DecembriB anno Domini 16S4.

A Barrester, a Bachelor of Arte,
A practiBcr that chose the better parte;
That pleaded more for just defence than gain,
That for the poore and common good took pain,
That counceUed peace, for hee did plainly see
Too mnch decrease by Buites that trivial bee ;
That knewe the lawe, yet Boe lov'd neighborhoode,
Noe man did know him sue, or to be sued;
He's harried here, his Bonle iti heaven doth rest.
Without aU feare; for peacemakers are blest.

Amici Amantes debentes, et dolentes amoris hoc monomentnm possaenmt."

The Hopkinsons, of Bonsall, were at one time a family of some
substance. They held a considerable estate, both freehold and
copyhold, in the parish as early as .the reign of Henry Y. Doro-
thy, the wife of Henry Hopkinson, was one of the nine children of
Anthony Allsopp by his wife Jane, daughter of Bichard Smith, of
Combebridge, Stafford.

At the time of the restoration of the church, certain very inte-
resting memorials of early sepulture were discovered amongst the
masonry, and though they are in a place of perfect safety, in the
garden now attached to the fine old manor house, the residence of
Mr. Coates, who was churchwarden at the time of the alterations,
still we feel sure that that gentleman will agree with us in think-

424 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ing that the most stiitable place for these mementos of the dead is
as near as possible to the place where their remains were depo-
sited. Although our ancestors of the fourteenth century showed
but little reverence for their predecessors, by utilising their memo-
rials as building materials, it becomes us to show a different spirit,
by not only treating these stones, now that they have again come
to light, with a respect then denied them, but by retaining them at
all events within that consecrated ground where they were first
deposited. One of these memorials is an incised slab that has
doubtless served as a cofi^ lid, and is now broken in two pieces.
It bears an incised cross with an elegant floriated head, and has
on the dexter side a sword, and on the sinister side what we take
to be a warrior's mace, or martel de fer, a design that we have not
before met with on the large number of incised slabs that we have
seen in this county and elsewhere. Its date is of the thirteenth
century. Of the same century, though of different design, and pro-
bably of a slightly different period, is the floriated head of another
cross. In this instance the design appears within a circle, and is
thrown into relief, by cutting away the remaining part of the stone
within the border to the depth of about half an inch. The third
memorial is of still greater interest, on account of its rarity, though
it may belong to the next century. This is a small headstone
cross, so few of which now remain. The stone is rounded at the
top, and has a cross pat^ cut upon each side of it. Instances of
headstone crosses of pre-Beformation date are of very unfrequent
occurrence, and still more so when the design appears on both
sides. In the same garden are one or two of the beams of the old
roof of the church, on the boss of one of which we noticed an
estoile or wavy star, which had probably some heraldic significance,
as a badge or otherwise. There are also several fragments of the
old Perpendicular tracery, and some carved stone corbels which
have formerly served as supports for the roof.

The tower contains a peal of six bells. No records remain of
the inscriptions upon the old bells, recast by Mears in 1841. The
first, second, and fourth bells bear simply — "Thomas Mears,
Founder, London, 1841." The third— "God save his Church,
1656,** and the founder's mark of George Oldfield. The fifth —
" Laus Domini nostra mobilitate viget, 1781." The sixth—" Iho.
Gloria in Excelsis, Deo, 1609," and the founder's mark of a fylfot
cross below the initials G.H.

The registers, now extant, only commence in the year 1719.

r

liPBbboHPn.

1

SSflotfl.

jSallibon*

^rasstngfoii*
Stssingfon*

i

^pflbbourn.

IHE manor of Bradbourn, at the time of the Domesday
Survey, formed part of the lands of Henry de Ferrers,
and even at thafc early date was possessed of a priest and
a church. It was soon afterwards held, under the Ferrers, by the
family of Caus or de Cauceis. In the reign of King John, the
manor of Bradbourn was conveyed to Godard de Bradbourn by Sir
Geoffrey de Cauceis,* and it was held by that family till the end
of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when it was bought by Sir
Humphrey Ferrers, who had married Jane Bradbourn. f Sir Geoffrey
de Cauceis did not, however, allow the church to go with the
manor, but presented the advowson in 1205 to the celebrated priory
of Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, and the gift was confirmed by
William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, as the chief lord of the fee.
But though the presentation to the living of Bradbourn was then
given to the priory of Dunstable, it was not until 1278 that the
rectory — i. «,, the greater tithes — were appropriated to that estab-
Hshment.j: This appropriation of the rectory and its four chapelries
was confirmed by the Bishop in 1294.§ A vicarage was specially
endowed here about the year 1880. At the time when the church
was given to the priory, it had a rector and two vicars. Shortly
after the Eeformation, these rectorial tithes, which had been granted
to Rogers and Fethersfcon, were purchased by the several land-
owners of the parish, and the rectory-house and glebe lands were

* We find from the Patent Rolls (16 John Memb. 17) that Sir Geoffrev was a priest.
Probably he held his own living of Bradbourn, and was rector as well as lord of the
manor.

f The Bradbonrns also held the manor under the Ferrers, for it is mentioned 4n the
reign of Henry III., as forming part of the dower of Margaret de Ferrers, Countess
of Derby ; Inq. post mort., 39 Henry III., No. 31.

I Chartulary of Dunstable, Cott. MSS. Tiberius, A. x, a volume of 190 folios, but
very much damaged by fire.

§ Harl. MSS., 4799; Add. MSS., 6ti66, f. 87.

428 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

purohased by George Buxton, of the ancient family of Buxton, of
Buxton. This family subsequently reverted to the older spelling of
"Buckston."

The old parish of Bradbourn was of considerable extent, and
embraced within its limits the four chapelries of Atlow, Ballidon,
Brassington, and Tissington, as well as the township of Aldwark.
From Pegge's Collections, and from the Annals of Dunstable, we
make the following extracts relative to Bradbourn, giving them in
chronological order.* It was the custom of the priory, before the
vicarage was formally endowed, to send one or more of their canons
(usually two) to reside at Bradbourn. They were styled custodes or
wardens, and it was their duty to account to the prior for the
profits, and to provide for the cure of the church and its chapels.

1214. The prior had a suit in the court at Home with the
rector and vicars, with a view, as is supposed, of displacing them.
It was alleged that Bobert, the rector, was a son of Godfrey, the
former rector; that Henry, one of the vicars, was son of John,
his predecessor, in one mediety of the vicarage ; and that William,
the other vicar, kept a concubine publicly, and went a hunting,
forsaking his tonsure and clerical duties.

1223. The prior received the first crop from ''Balidena*' and
** Tiscintuna," two chapels of Bradbourn.

1248. In this year no less than eight hundred sheep died at
Bradbourn, of the flock belonging to Dunstable Priory.

1278. Eoger, Bishop of Coventry, confirmed to the Priory
''ecclesia de Bradboume cum omnibus capellis suis;" and for this
episcopal act the Priory granted, as fee to the Bishop*s almory,
two hundred marks, raised from the chapelries of Atlow and Bras-
sington.

1282. Badulphus de Harewold died at Bradbourn, and was there
buried. Probably he was one of the custodes, or wardens.

1284. In this year the Priory possessed a flock of sheep at
Bradbourn numbering twelve hundred, "by the great himdred."

1287. The prior was here on a visit.

1291. The rectory was valued at sixty marks.

1295. The Priory, in consequence of the poverty of Bradbourn,
granted to their brothers, the canons resident, their wool and all

* Pegge's MS. CoUectionB, vol. i. The Annala of Dunat<ible were first published by
Thomas Heame in 1788 ; they have since been republished in the Master of the HoUa'
Series.

BRADBOUBN. 429

other profits except the tithes of Brassington for that year, for
which the priory was to receive seventeen marks to be appropriated
to the clothing of the convent.

In 1805 the Prior complained that Boger Bradboum, lord of the
manor, and five others, had mined for lead, and taken away ore to
the value of one hundred shillings. Boger contended that this
was according to the invariable custom of the Peak ; but the Prior
replied that GeofiErey de Oauceis had not only given to Dunstable
the church of Bradboum and its chapels, but also all Ituids and
liberties pertaining thereto. Tha court decided in favour of the
prior, and Boger Bradboum and his heirs were forbidden from
ever again disturbing the soil, or mining for lead, on the church
lands of the Prior.*

About the year 1880 the Priory of Dunstable petitioned Boger
de Norbury, who held the See of Coventry and Lichfield from 1822
to 1868, to present one secular vicar to serve the church of Brad-
boum, instead of keeping two of their monks or canons on the
spot. When this petition was granted, it was arranged that the
vicar should have for immediate habitation the close of land
belonging to the Priory at Tissington, with the house upon it,
together with two bovates of land at Tissington tithe free. The
Priory also undertook to cause a hall and other new buildings to
be erected for the vicar, in a close belonging to them on the south
side of the church of Bradbourn. The further endowment of the
vicar was eventuaUy settled by his taking the tithes of corn, and
hay, and lambs, at Tissington, of the mills throughout the parish,
and all the small tithes, mortuaries, and altar dues throughout the
parish and chapehies In return for this income, the Vicar was to
undertake the due administration of divine service at his own
expense at all the chapels, as well as at the mother church.t

We gather from the institutions to this vicarage, recorded in the
episcopal registers at Lichfield, that the Priory usually presented
one of their own canons to this benefice. The following vicars of
Bradbourn are all entered as canons of Dunstable : — GafGridus de
Merston (1297), Willielmus de Holum (1316), Thomas Lewes (1865),
Johannes Aston (1898).

The Valor EcclesiaMicus (27 Henry VIII.) estimated the annual
value of this vicarage at £8 8b. 4d., which sum included a pension

* Flacitoram Abbreviatio, 83 Edw. I., rot. 80.

f Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. iii., ff. 78, 126; Add. MSS. 6671, f. 521. See
also Episo. Begisters, vol. v., f. 46, for an arrangement made in the year 1862.

430 DERBYSHIRE CFTUHCHES.

from the abbot of Dale of 68. 8d., and a farther sum of £4, being
an annual payment from the prior of Dunstable. The altar dues
and oblations then averaged 208. ''Dns. Johes Barret" held the
vicarage. The same return estimates the annual value of the rec-
torial manor, held by the Priory, at £24 lOs. Od.

When the inventory of " Church Goods '* was being taken by the
Commissioners of Edward VI., with a view to the sale or appiro-
priation of those connected with superstitious uses, Bradboum was
visited on the 80th of September, 1554, with the following result : —

"iij yestments with all things— iij aolter clothes — ^ij towells — j coope — ^ij snr-
pleses — ^ij cruetts pewter — ^J senser off bras — ^j crosse off wodd— j backet of bras*
j candelstyke off iron — j pyxe of bras — j cannabe (canopy) covering — ^j corperas
casef — iij bells — ^j sanctus bell — ij hand bells — ij sakeryng bells — j chalice with a
paten parcell gilte.

"Thos. Swetnam, Coratt."

After the dissolution of the monasteries, the advowson of this
vicarage came into the hands of the Cavendishes, and the rectorial
tithes were dispersed into various hands.

In the reign of Charles I. there was a suit in Chancery about
the liabihty of Atlow to contribute to the repair of the mother
church, which affords some interesting particulars relative to Brad-
boum and Atlow. On the 10th of February, 1629, Thomas Buxton
and Vincent Sexton, Churchwardens of Bradboum, complained
against Wilham Cokayne, Valentine Jackson, and four others living
at Atlow, declaring it an ancient custom for all parishioners to pay
for the repair of the parish church, and that, whereas Bradboum
church was from April to September, 1627, ** in greate decay in
the roofe, tymber, lead, windowes, and bells thereof soe as the
same could not be in any reasonable sorte repaired with a lesse
charge or some of money than sixe and fortie pounds,** defendants
dechned. to contribute, stating that the inhabitants of Atlow had only
for time immemorial been bound to repair ^' one peece or parte of
the churchyard wall of Bradbourne which peece or parte of the
churchyarde was one and twentie yards or thereabouts and was
commonly called by the name of Atlowe parte ; " also that ** there
neither was nor ever had been anie place in the said church of
Bradbourne alloted or apointed for the inhabitants of Atlowe and
the waies were very foule and in a could countrie soe as they the

* This " backet of brass '* may probably have served as a vessel for the conveyance
of holy water to the different cbiapelrieB : see the account of Bakeweli church.

t Corporas cases were vessels of precious metal suspended by a chain under a
canopy, and used for the reservation of the Sacrament lor the sick.

BRADBOURN. 431

Defendants thought there was great reason to discharge ye inha-
bitants of Atlowe of any tax or contribution to Bradboume."
They further alleged that ** Atlowe was a very ancient chappell
and tyme out of minde of man had used to have Divine Service
^ there and Christening of their children and churchwardens of their
own and that they did bury their dead with their own minister
sometimes at Hognaston, at Enyvton, at Ashborne, at Bradley, at
Mugginton, and sometyme at Bradbourne untill such tyme as their
own church yard was consecrated, and since at their own church."
The Court decided, in the following year, that the inhabitants of
Atlow were to pay 58. 6d. to oxgang to Bradboum church for re-
pairs, but not to be charged with any of the levies in arrear.
They were also to contribute in future to the repairs of the mother
church, and to keep up the wall of the churchyard between the
churchyard gate and a pasture called Newe Close.*

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, reported that Brad-
bourn "is a viccarage endowed, really worth fortye pounds per
annum. Mr. Thomas Miles is viccar, a man of good repute.'*

Mr. Miles was one of those ejected for Nonconformity at the
Restoration. The Lichfield registers describe the institution of
Samuel Trickett, his successor, as made ''per cessionem sive dis-
missionem ThomsB Myles." William, Earl of Devonshire, was then
patron of the vicarage. To Samuel Trickett succeeded Richard
Ensor in 1667, and John Hopkinson in 1669.t

The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, consists of nave,
with south aisle and porch, chancel, and tower at the west end.
Though of considerable antiquity, there is no part of this church
of sufficient age for us to suppose it to be the same building
which was standing here when the Domesday Survey was taken in
1086. The ancient Saxon church must have speedily fallen out
of repair, for it is evident that a new one was erected about the
close of the reign of Henry I. (1100-1135), or at the beginning of
Stephen's. Judging from the tower, the Norman church was of
considerable size. The tower is a massive square building, of
greater height than was usually the case with those of Norman
date, and contains a turret staircase in the north-east angle. It is
comparatively unadorned, except on the south side — ^the side from
which the church would be usually approached. The circular south
doorway of the tower is adorned with three belts of mouldings, the

♦ Add. MSS., 6,678, ff. 249 to 268.

t Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. xvil.

432 DERBTSHIBE CHURCHES.

first consisting of that known as the beak-head moulding, and the
two others of birds and nondescript animals. The jambs of this
doorway have been restored at a comparatively recent date. Of
the four bell-chamber windows, the one on the south is embellished
with the chevron, and alternate-billet mouldings, and divided by a
circular shaft into two lights ; the others are of similar construc-
tion but plain. The parapet to the tower is slightly indented
at wide intervals — the intervals beiag so wide as hardly to
warrant the application of the term " embattled.*' Parapets,
being more exposed to the weather than any other portion of
a building, are the first to be repaired, and are but seldom
met with of any great age. Norman parapets are almost
unknown (the keep of Eochester Castle being an exception) ;
but we are inclined to thiak that the tower of Bradboum
may be added to the very small Ust of exceptions, or that this
parapet is, at all events, after the original design. Below the
parapet runs a corbel table of small human heada

The south porch, which is entered by a plain round archway,
and the doorway that it shelters, of the same construction, are
other remnants of the Norman church.

A small lancet window on the north side of the nave, and
another like it on the north side of the chancel, point to a recon-
struction of that part of the building when the Early English style
was in vogue, about the commencement of the thirteenth century.

The east window of the chancel is of the Decorated period, circa
1820. It consists of three principal lights, the upper tracery being
divided into three quatrefoils. It is surrounded by a hood-mould
with head terminals. On the south side of the chancel are two
windows, and a small priest's door with a pointed arch. One of
these windows, also, though square-headed, is of Decorated design,
but the other shows Perpendicular tracery.

To this latter period may also be attributed the two south
windows of the south aisle, the three clerestory windows above
them, the remaining window on the north side, and the battle-
ments of the nave. A small pointed doorway on the north side
was blocked up during the last alterationa

The objects of interest in the interior are not numerous, as
there is a singular paucity of monumental remains. When Bassano
visited this church, about 1707, he mentions "Buxtons quire" at
the end of the south aisle, as though some portion of the church
was then railed or screened off for the peculiar use of the Buxton

BKADBOURN. 433

family; but as this was hardly ever done in post-Eeformation
times, the probability is that this was the old quire of the Brad-
bourn family, appropriated by the Buxtons in 1609, when they
purchased the rectory-house and glebe-lands. Mr. Rawlins, who
visited this church in March, 1827, says — " The pews are regular
in their construction, and one, which belonged to the Bradbourn
family at an early period, hath its panels, which are of oak,
embellished with some ancient carvings of quadrupeds, flowers,
heads, and various rude devices." Mr. Meynell, who was here
about the same time, describes this pew as being at the end of
the south aisle, and calls it "Buxton's pew." "He gives drawings
of four of the grotesque human heads, which appear to be of
fifteenth or sixteenth century work. He also noted *'I. B.," and
"W., 1642" on other parts of the same pew. Bassano (1710),
mentions an alabaster tombstone in the chancel near to the altar,
"the inscription not to be taken," and he also describes in a
south window of the chancel, the following coats of arms : — Arg,,
on a chevron, sa., 5 (seemingly to be), pears, or ; and Arg,,
between a fess, 3 horse-shoes, »a." The former coat is more
correctly described by Mr. Rawlins, as — " Arg. on a chevron, sab.,
five drops. Quite cT or, which is the arms of Athill : the latter coat
pertains to the family of Edensor. This glass was probably put in
by Richard Ensor (Edensor), who was vicar in 1667, as the arms
of himself and wife. In the seventeenth centiiry, two other coats
were noted in the windows of this church, which have now dis-
appeared— Okeover impaling Bradbourn, and Bradbourn impaling
Longford. * This glass still remains.

The font, immediately on the right as we enter the south door,
is of unusual shape and construction. It is formed of a single
square block of atone, being two feet four inches square. The
basin, which is circular and lined with lead, measures about a
foot in depth. The sides are ornamented with circles enclosing
quatrefoils. Square fonts on plain square bases are very uncom-
mon, except in a few instances of rude Norman work. It is not
easy to give the date of this font, good authorities consider it to
be Early English in style, but we are more inclined to attribute
it to the commencement of the Decorated period, about the years
1280— 1800. t

♦ Dodsworth MSS., Bodleian Library, as quoted in Beliquary, vol. xii., p. 220. The
allianccB commemorated by these coats have been explained is an account of HuUatid
chapel.

+ This font is engrayed in Paley's Illusiratious of Baptismal Fonts, it is Ly him
termed Early EftgUsh.

2f

434 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The tower contadns a peal of five bells, thus inBcribed : —

I. On the haunch, the date 1736, and a border of fleurs-de-lis.

II. and IIL "J. Taylor and Co., founders, Loughborough, 1863."

IV. ** Te pater ahne cananL W. Buxton, D. H. 1708,'' which
may be rendered "Thee, bountiful Father, will I sing." On each
side of the initials D. H. is the impression of the obverse of a
half-crown of Charles 11., with the legend Carolus II, Dei Gratia,

V. The fifth bell bears a Greek legend signifying '* Glory to the
only God," and "R. Dettliffe, I. B.'»

Mr. Rawlins says (1827) — "The floor on which the bells in the
tower are rung is considerably raised from the pavement, and thus
forms a room which is fitted up as a Sunday school, and ceiled

over."

In the churchyard may be noted a large stone coffin, six feet
six inches long, placed under the south wall of the chancel, where
it is utilised as a receptacle for water.

A very interesting memorial also here exists, though unhappily
now in fragments, and fast perishing through the friction incidental
to its utilitarian position. We allude to the fragments of a fine
and very ancient cross, part of which is used in the gateway lead-
ing to the vicarage, and another portion in the stile that opens on
the footpath leading to Ballidon. Evien as late as 1816, we find,
from Lysons' MSB., that the cross was standing.* It is by him
described as ornamented with two rude figures with an angel
holding a book on the west side; with the crucifix on the east
side and two figures, one holding the spear and the other the
sponge ; and on the other sides with interlacing foliage of the same
description as that on the cross at Bakewell. The precise date
when this cross was broken up we failed to ascertain; but Glover,
writing in 1883, mentions "part of an old cross now converted
into a gate post." These rehcs possess even more of interest in
connection with the early spread of Christianity in this county than
any portion of the church itself, for there can be no doubt that
this cross was standing here as a symbol of the faith, many a year
before the days of De Ferrers and the Normans. Would it not be
possible to rescue these fragments from further maltreatment ?

The registers do not go further back than 1720 ; they have been
very badly kept, and there is nothing of interest in them.

* Add. MSS., 9463, f, 8. Mr. Me^pell took a sketch of this cross (circa 1820), which
corresponds with the description given in the text.

BRADBOURN. 435

Henry de Ferrers, according to the foundation cliarter, gave to
Tutbury Priory, in the eleventh century, the tithes of his lordships
of Brassington and Tissington.* The Taxation Roll of 1291,
states that the prior of Tutbury received an annual income of £16
from the church of Bradbourn ; but probably some arrangement
respecting this was arrived at shortly afterwards between Tutbury
and Dunstable, for there is no mention of any tithes from Brad-
bourn in an inventory of the property of the former priory, taken
in the reign of Edward ILf

Lysons states (and he has been followed by different county
compilers), that Robert de Ferrers "founded an oratory, with a
cemetery, at Aldwark, of which there are scarcely any traces."
This is a mistake. It is true that Robert de Ferrers gave the
monks of Darley six acres of land at Aldwark, in the twelfth cen-
tury, but the oratory and cemetery, mentioned in the same charter,
pertained to his lordship of Osmaston, and not of Aldwark. J The
monks, had a grange at Aldwark, and possibly a chapel connected
with it, but there was never any cemetery there, or we may
be sure it would obtain specific mention in the chartulary of the
Abbey,* as a direct infringement of parochial rights would be
tlifiTfibv involved.

* Dngdale's Monasticon, vol. i., p. 854.
f Mosley'B History of Tutbury, p. 868.
} Dugdale'8 Monasticon, yoL ii., p. 381.

436 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

W^t <!^si9tlvv of ^tlotD.

TLOW was undoubtedly one of the chapels of Bradboum,
when that church with all its dependencies was bestowed
on the Priory of Dunstable in the year 1205. And it
also seems probable that a chapel existed here about a century
prior to that date. The first explicit mention made of Atlow in
the ancient Chronicles of Dunstable occurs in the year 1278, when
Roger, Bishop of Coventry, confirmed the church of Bradboura
and all its chapelries to that institution, and received for his char-
ter the sum of two hundred marks from the tithes of Atlow aud
Brassington. It further appears from an entry in 1291, on the
feast of St. Mary Magdalen, that the tithes of these two chapelries
had been farmed for a rental of two hundred marks, for the space
of thirteen years, which had then expired, to one "WiUiam de
Hameltone.*

The manor of Atlow was held by Eleuric under Henry de
Ferrers at the time of the Domesday Survey. He is supposed to
have been an immediate ancestor of the ancient family of Okeover,
of Okeover, in Staffordshire, and of Atlow and Mappleton, in Derby-
shire, t

Up to the Reformation, the appointment of the minister of Atlow
was in the hands of the Vicar of Bradboum; but subsequently,
when it attained the semi-independence of a parochial chapelry, the
advowson became vested in the Okeovers as lords of the manor.
An interesting account of a suit of the seventeenth centiury relative
to the liabihty of Atlow to pay to tlie repairs of the mother church,
has been already given under Bradbourn.

* Annah of Dunstable (Thomas Hearne, 1773) ; Pegge's Parochial Collections,
vol. i.

t There is an elaborate pedigree of Okeover in Glover's Derbyshire, commencing
in 1100, but it is incorrect in several particulars.

ATLOW. 437

Eowland Okeover, in the year 1716, gave the tithes of hay and
corn towards the augmentation of the vicarage, and subscribed
£500 towards a hke purpose. Owing to the restoration of these
great tithes, the H\iug from that date is fairly entitled to be called
a rectory.

Atlow was the first benefice in Derbyshire that benefited by
Queen Anne's bounty.*

The Commissioners for taking the inventory of Church Goods in
the first year of Edward VI., visited the chapel of Atlow in Octo-
ber, when Thomas Parker was curate. They found —

**i challes with a paten of sylve — ^j pyxe of tyne with a cover— ij vestments j
of blewe syUce and the other of grene dyed sylke — ij albes — ij amesses — ij aolter
clothes— j corporas — j towell— ij cruets — ^j Sanctus bell— j sacryng bell — ^j surples."

The Parhamentary Survey pf Living, taken in 1650, reports
that — **Attlowe is a chapell apperteyning to Bradburne. The
heires of Mr. Okeover receive the profitts, and their predecessors
possessors of the said Impropriation have procured the cure sup-
plyed. The value of the Impropriation is thirtye pounds per an-
num. Mr. Massey is curate and has fifoure shillings a week
salarye, a man unfitt and a drunkard. Attlowe lyes remote from
Bradburne, and maye conveniently be united to Hognastone."

The old chapel was almost entirely rebuilt about the middle of
last century, nothing being left of the old fabric beyond a portion
of the foundations and walls. In 1874 a new church was built on
a site immediately above that of the former building, which has
been entirely removed. We visited the older building sonie four

m

years ago, and, from the notes that we then took, are able to give
our readers some idea of what is rightly described in Glover as "a
plain humble structure.'* It was a small bam-hke building, having
an area of forty feet by fifteen. t The windows were all square-
headed ones of the last century, and there was a gallery at the
west end, entered by a flight of exterior steps. There was a plain
pointed doorway on the south side, just six feet high, and a small
unassuming porch, in the east side of which was a window that
may have been used in the older building. The oldest and best
part of the masonry was at the west end, which was supported by
a central buttress of three stages. In the interior of the church,
against the south wall of the chancel, about three feet from the

• Lyson's Derby ahirey p. 61.

t Mr. Rawlins, who was here in 1823, gives the exact dimensions as forty feet three
inches by fourteen feet eight inches.

438 DERBYSHIRE CETORCHES.

ground, a small stone bracket projected a few inches, which was
hollow in the top, and may have served for a piscina, though we
did not observe any trace of a drain. In the east wall close
adjoining was a smaU recess about a foot square. The roof was
flat, with a plastered celling, though three of the old tie-beams^
roughly curved, showed below. The font was modem.

The earliest register is a small quarto parchment book, begin-
ning— " A register of births, marriages, and burials, in the parish
of Allow, in the county of Derby, from the year 1685, truly
extracted from an old and ruinous paper register by W. Wilson,
curate, 1762." According to an entry in this book, the singing-
loft, desk, pulpit, and many other improvements and ornaments
were added to the chapel of Atlow in 1761.

The old chapel was dedicated to All Saints. The new church
has been dedicated to St. Philip and St. James. We know not
why this change was made ; but it seems to us an ill-judged thing
thus to alter the ancient sequence.

BALLIDON. 439

^l|e eiiapelrg of iSallOion.

AJjLIDON, at the time of the Domesday Survey, was part
of the possessions of Ealph Fitzhubert. In the four-
teenth century the manor was held by the Harthills,*
and early in the next century it passed, by the marriage of Eliza-
beth, sister and heiress of Sir Giles Harthill, to Edmund Cokayne,
of Ashbourn, a younger branch of which family resided at Balli-
don for several generations. In the reign of EHzabeth, the manor
was sold by Sir Edward Cokayne, and passed in severalties into
the hands of Trott, Milward, Hurt, and others.

Up to the time of the dissolution of monasteries, the chapelry of
Ballidon remained in the possession of the Priory of Dunstable,
when it passed to the Cokaynes, thence to the different holders of
the manor, and eventually the advowson became vested in all the
freeholders of the township.

The building itself gives unmistakable evidence that a chapel
existed here in the days of the Normans, prior to its subjection in
1205 to the Priory of Dunstable, as one of the chapelries of Brad-
bourn. The chapel is a small building standing in a field, with no
chapel-yard round it The dimensions of the nave are thirty feet
by seventeen feet seven inches, and of the chancel sixteen feet by
twelve feet nine inches. It is dedicated to All Saints.

The south doorway to the nave is of plain Norman character,
but has been renewed of late years. Another round-headed door-
way on the north side has been blocked up. The chancel is
raised four steps above the nave, and is entered by a semi-circular
Norman archway of a plain description, like that in the adjacent
chapel of Alsop. At the west end under the bell-turret is a tall

♦ Richard de Harthill died seized of this manor in 1326 ; Inq. post Mort., 19 Edw.
II., No. 68.

440 . DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

lancet window, but it is of modem construction. The two-light
pointed east window, and the two square-headed windows on the
south, giving light to the chancel and nave respectively, are of
Perpendicular style, and apparently of late fifteenth century work.
The roof is of a high pitch and covered with stone, but there are
flat plaster ceilings inside, both in the nave and chancel. The roof
was open up to 1822, when the chapel was ** restored." The walls
up to that date were covered with what has been described to us
as "pen and ink frescoes," which, in the opinion of the Church-
warden who plastered them over, made the chapel look like "a
bad place." Up to that date the floor was annually strewn with
rushes, there being no pews.

The font is in the chancel, and is built in, as it were, into the
pavement behind the south jamb of the chancel arch. It stands
three feet in height, and is two feet six in diameter. The diame-
ter of the bowl, from which the lead has been taken, is twenty-two
inches, and about a foot in depth. The font is of octagon shape,
and both the upper panels and the base are carved with various
figures and designs, but they are much choked up with plaster and
whitewash.

The chancel also contains an old pre-Eeformation seat, about
three feet long, of oak, much worm-eaten. It has had two ** poppy-
head " terminals, one of which is now broken off.

Occasional mention is made of the chapelry of BaUidon in the
Annals of Dunstable. An entry is made under the year 1223, that
the Priory then received the first crops of Ballidon and Tissington.
In 1227 mention is made of the death of one John de Tattenhulle^
and of the consequent recovery of the Priory to their own use
of half the chapelries of Ballidon and Tissington, from which we
infer that John de TattenhuUe had a life lease of half the tithes
of these townships. In 1287, certain of the parishioners of " Bali-
dene in Pecco," who were tenants of Dame Ellen, who held the
manor as part of her dower, brought into cultivation a certain
meadow, a corner of which meadow had been held by the Priory
in Heu of tithe. In the time of harvest the Priory sought for
tithes on the whole of the newly-cultivated area, but only three or
four sheaves were rendered. This led to a dispute which was at
last referred to the mediation of William de Meynell, and other
friends of both parties resident at Atlow, who decided that the
sheaves already rendered should suffice as tithes for that occasion.

BALLIDON. 441

and recommended that the meadow should for the future remain
uncultivated to avoid other disputes ! *

• On the 19th of Septemher, in the first year of Edward VI., the
chapel of BaUidon possessed —

"j chftlice with a patent silver and gylte — ij vestments of saye with ij albes
and ij amyses — j surplice— ij corpus with their cases — ij alter clothes — ^j haug^-nge
of lynen clothe— ij toweUs — ij bells with j hand bell— j sacringe bell."

An indenture, dated 10th of November, 1614, between Baptist Trott
of the one part, and Nicholas Hurt and John Milward of the other,
recites that the King had granted to Gervase Bogers and Ealph
Featherstone, by letters patent dated at "Westminster, 6th Novem-
ber, 1607, "all that church chappell and churchyard in BaUidon
in the county of Derbyshire with the appurtenances, and all tythes,
tenths, oblations, obventions, fruits, profits, lands, tenements, &c.,
&c., being or reputed to be part or parcel of the Bectory of Brad-
borne." A third portion of this right in the chapel had passed to
Bpptist Trott, who **by this indenture grants it to Milward and
Hurt.^t

The ParHamentary Commissioners in 1660 say of BaUidon —
**Ballington is a chappell apperteyning (to Bradbourn), Mr. Thomas
Miles is viccar, a man of good repute. Mr. W. Alsop serves
the chappell at Ballington, a man unfitt for the ministry and
scandalous."

* Annals of Dunstahle (Thomas Hearne, 1783); Pegge's Parochial Collectiana,
vol. 1.

t Add. MSS., 6,697, f. 284.

442 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

^I^e Clia^elrs of iSrassmgton.

HE Manor of Brassingtxm (Brazinctaiie) is mentioned in
the Domesday Survey,- when it was held by Siward,
under Henry de Ferrers. This manor was subsequently
divided into two; one portion remained with the Ferrers, Eafls of
Derby, and hence eventually forming part of the Duchy of
Lancaster, was granted by Charles I. to Charles Harbord; the
other portion was given in frank marriage by one of the first Earls
of Derby to an ancestor of the Fumivals, from whom it passed by
marriage to the Nevilles and Talbots, and on the death of Gilbert,
Earl of Shrewsbury, to his three daughters. •

But none of these noble owners had, so far as can be ascer-
tained, anything to do with the church of Brassington. Brassington
was but a chapelry of Bradbourn, and for a long time in every
way subject to the mother church, though it eventually obtained
the semi-independence of a parochial chapelry. Thus when Sir
Geoffrey de Cauceis presented the church of Bradbourn to the
Priory of Dunstable, the chapelries went with it as a natural se-
quence. There can be no doubt that the church or chapel of
Brassington is fully as old as the most ancient part of the mother
church of Bradbourn ; but the first distinctive mention of it, of
which we are aware, occurs in the year 1278, when the fee,
required by the Bishop of Coventry, for the confirming of the
church of Bradbourn " cum omnibus capeUis suis " to the Priory
of Dunstable, was paid by the chapelries of Brassington and Atlow.
There are other references to the chapelry of Brassington in the
Annals of Dunstable, but none of sufficient importance to be worth
reproduction.

* Information relative to the earlier descent of these manors will be foand in the
following Inquisitionea post mortem — 38 Hen. III., No. 34 ; 26 Edw. I., No. 61 ; 19
Edw. II., No. 91 ; 28 Edw. HI., No. 39; 6 Richard H., No. 41 : 32 Hen. VI., No. 29; 38
Hen. VI., No. 68; 13 Edw. IV., No. 62.

BRASSINGTON. 443

When the inventory of Church Goods was taken by the Com-
missidners in the reign of Edward VI., the following was the
report of Brassington :

" BraBsyngham • Sept. 30, Bdw. Bennett Curate :—j chales gylver parcel gylte
with a patente— j vestment with alb & amysse — ^j eurples — j to well — ^ij aulter
clothes — j corporaa Case — j corporase clothe — ^ij bells — j sanctus bell in the
stopull — j handbell— j sacering bell."

The rectorial tithes of Brassington continued in the possession
of Dunstable Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries, and
shortly afterwards was held by the Gale family. Robert Gale,
citizen and vintner of London, by his will, dated in 1612, charged
the impropriate rectory of Brassington, and an estate he held in
Lincolnshire, with the annual payments of J620 to Christ's Hospital ;
£20 to Corpus Christi College, Oxford ; £22 to Chippenham, in
Wiltshire ; £22 to the City of Lincohi ; and Je20 to the Vintner's
Company.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 report that, "Bras-
sington was heretofore an appertenance (to Bradboum), an antient
Chappell, Mr. George Lawcocke of Nottingham and his heires
receives the tythes and profitts which are really worth fifty pounds
per annum, and he and his predecessors possessors of the said
Tythes, have found the cure supplyed as they could agree. Mr.
Thomas Alsop is curate and scandalous."

This ancient church consists of nave, south aisle, chancel, tower
at the west end, and southern porch. Of the original Norman
fabric there are extensive remains. The very narrow south aisle,
only six feet in width, is separated from the nave by three semi-
circular arches, supported by very massive round pillars with
boldly carved capitals. A south aisle to the chancel extends from
the east end of the aisle to the nave through a round headed
doorway. It is divided from the chancel by two smaller Norman
arches, the centre pillar of which is of octagon shape, and its capi-
tals, carved into well-defined foliage, point to the latter period of
the Norman style. There is also a fine round archway into the
tower at the west end, but this is unfortunately blocked up by a
gallery. The tower is thoroughly Norman in all its chief charac-,
teristics. Though it has now an embattled summit, the indented
cornice underneath it is clearly of Norman design, and so also are
the buttresses, which are of some Uttle width, but very sUght pro-

* The final syllable of this place-name was occasionally gi^en as ham instead of
ton from an early date. The first instance we have met of the spelling BrassingAom
is in an Inquisition of the reign of Edward I.

444 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

jection. The rounded heads to the Bet-o& of the buttresses on the
south side are of comparatively modern date. The bell-chamber
windows are of semi-circular shape, and divided into two Ughts by
a rounded shaft with a square capitaL The west doorway to the
tower is also semi-circular, and surrounded with three rows. of
moulding, but it is of modern design. The window above this
doorway is divided, like those of the bell-chamber, by a central
shaft, but the head of each hght is of a trefoil pointed shape,
proving it to be a later insertion, probably of the commencement
of the Early EngUsh style, at the beginning of the thirteenth
century. The outer doorway of the porch has a Norman arch,
but the whole of the fabric of the porch is in a piecemeal and
patched condition, and this doorway has, at some time or another,
been reset in a clumsy manner. A small pointed window to the
porch on the east side has been blocked up, and the stone seats
broken and carried off. Inside the porch, is a plain pointed door-
way opening into the church, surmounted by a corbel head.

Of the Decorated period of Gothic architecture which prevailed
in the fourteenth century, there is some evidence in the chancel.
The high pointed archway leading from the nave to the chancel is
of that date and style, and so is the eleganf two-light window on
the north side of the chancel. The large east window also contains
some good. flowing tracery of this period, but it has been restored
within recent years.

The church probably underwent further alterations and repairs,
when the Perpendicular style prevailed ; but alterations of a much
later and more debased period have effaced all this, with the excep-
tion of three clerestory windows — two on the south and one on the
north— and a south window of the chancel. The remainder of the
windows are conceived in the worst possible taste, and are a striking
deformity in the general appearance of the church. Over the
entrance to the porch is a mural sundial, bearing the initials
«*W. T.,'* and the date "1751," and this is probably about the
time when these ugly windows were inserted. The roof pf the
church is a plain one and nearly flat ; but there are indications
from corbel stones within, and from traces on the tower without,
of the older and higher pitch.

The objects of interest inside the church are not numerous. The
old Norman font still remains in the south aisle, built into the
wall. The font itself — ^which is circular, and destitute of ornament

BRA8SINGT0N. 445

or moulding — is nineteen inches high, twenty- seven inches in dia-
meter, and the unlined basin is eleven inches in depth ; but it is
raised on masonry to a further height of about three feet. This
font is certainly as old as any portion of the present church ; but
there is a quaint rehc of old days in tlie waUs of the tower, which
we are inclined to consider more ancient. This is to be found in
the west wall of the inside of the tower, just above where the
joists of the second floor have been. It is a stone about twelve
inches by ten, built in flush with the rest of the masonry, and on
it is rudely carved in high rehef, the three-quarter length naked
figure of a man, with one hand on his heart. It would be idle to
speculate at any length as to the purport or antiquity of this
figure ; but two things appear tolerably clear in connection with
it — first, that this is not its original position, and secondly that it
is of greater age than this Norman tower, and was probably built
in here to preserve it, when the tower was first erected. Of course
it is just possible that it may have been the silly freak of some
mason long after the tower was erected ; but this is very unhkely,
and the figure had never been noticed by our cicerone — who had
been acquainted with the church for many years — until we pointed
it out. There might be a worse conjecture than that it formed
part of the old cross before the present church was erected.

On the south side of the chancel is a recess in the wall, about

■

a foot square, which has formerly served as the almery for the
sacred vessels. On the opposite wall is a brass plate, eighteen
inches by twelve, bearing an inscription, which, though of no great
age, contains so quaint a conceit, that we make no apology for here
reproducing it in its original dress, as well as attempting a Literal
rendering :—

*' SiaiCf viator^ gradta pavlisper, et viatoris ohitu cujuadam illachrymandu
obiter aaltem defle — viz. : MichaelU Adams 8 : T : B : Divi olim Johannis Colli j
Cantab : , dekinc Collij Xti ManceHr : Soci% una et Sects : de Treton in agro
Ebor : Rectoris ; Qtiein forte hinc itinerantem ^ dum Hgor forts seviebat Hiemalis
so'vior arripuit intus febris calor inextinguihilis^ et igneo (ad instar ElijoB) vehi-
culo ad sedes Domini evexit procid dubio : Quippe qui vir bonus uxore relict :
liberos 7 pulchros reliquity quorum unus Michael alter^ 3 annos nat : die Asen-
tionis proxime sequenti descedensj una hie recumbit^ felicem. unn expectans resur^
rectionem. Obiit 27, 10 bris. Anno JEtatis 43, annoqxve Dom,ini 1680."

" Pause, traveller, for a while, and drop at least a pasRing tear for the lamentable
death of a certain traveller, one Michael Adams, B.D., formerly of the College of
St. John the Divine, at Cambridge, and subsequently fellow of Christ's College at
Manchester, and at the same time Rector of Treton, in Yorkshire ; whom per-
chance travelling hence, when a fierce winter was raging without, the more raging
heat of an inextinguishable fever seized within, and carried him without a doubt
to the mansions of the Lord in a chariot of fire, like hmto Elijah ; and this good
man left his surviving wife seven fair children, one of whom, another Michael,

446 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. -

three yean old, dying on the Ascension Day next following, lies here with him,
in the like expectation of a happy resurrection. He died on the 27th of Decem-
ber, in the 43rd year of his age, and the 1660 year of the Lord."*

Bassano, who visited this chnrch about 1710, gives this inscription,
but we are not aware that it has ever yet been printed. Bassano
also notes that there were various arms carved on ''the Buxton
pew/' as well as in the house of Mr. Buxton, at Brassington.
The Buxton pew, as Well as the pulpit, is still adorned with
effective post-Eeformation carving. On the former may be read
the arms of Buxton of Brassington : — Sa., two bars, arg,, on a
canton of the second, a buck trippant of the field ; and also the
crest on a helmet — a peUcan vulning itself, or. The arms of Bux-
ton of Bradboum were the same, with the addition of three mullets,
arg.t between the bars. The family of Buxton — as we have already
mentioned under our notice of Bradboum — came originally from
Buxton ; and the first of the name who can be traced, is said to
be Henry de Bawkstones, alluded to in a deed of the year 1256.
The Visitation of 1634 describes the family as having resided at
Buxton for four generations, when the representative of the elder
branch removed to Brassington, in consequence of the marriage of
Bichard Buxton with the heiress of Lane. It was a yotmger
branch of this family that settled at Bradboum ; Henry Buxton, of
^radbourn, being a younger brother of William, the father of
Bichard just mentioned. At the end of the south aisle is a stone
affixed to the wall, on which is recorded ; — " Given unto the poor
of Brassington 208. per annum for ever by Ann, daughter of German
and Jane Buxton, who dyed Dec. 2dd. 1674, and whose body is under
here intered/' There were many charitable donations from the same
family during the seventeenth century.

The tower contains a peal of three bells, of which the first bell
is now destitute of any inscription, though there are traces of
former lettering round the haunch. Bell inscriptions were occa-
sionally defaced for two reasons, one being through the instrumen-
taUty of the bell founder, when handing over a bell that had
formerly done service elsewhere, and whose inscription was of a
local nature; and the other, through Protestaufc zeal to destroy
superstitious legends. A correspondent who has examined this bell
thinks that he findfl traces of ^'Ave Maria," and classes it amongst
the bells defaced at the time of the Reformation, but our own

* Michael Adams was the son of the Bev. Shetland Adams, who held the rectory
of Eyam in this county, as well as that of Treton in Yorkshire. See the account
of Eyam church.

BHASSINGTON. 447

examination inclines ns to think that ''Ave" is only part of the
word '* Save/' having once borne a like legend to one or other of
its fellows. The second bell is rudely inscribed with ** God save
the King, 1677," and the third " God save his Church, 1743.
Tho. Hedderly, Founder."

The registers only commence with the year 1716.

The church is in reality dedicated, like the adjacent chapels of
Atlow and Ballidon, to All Saints,* but modem Directories have
chosen to assign it to St. James.

* Rawlins' MSS. The dedications given by the Rev. R. R. Rawlins we have fonnd
to be invariably accurate, whenever we have tested them by ancient chartolaries or
other absolute authorities.

448 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Sl^c dt'^a^tlx^ of ^tssmgton.

HE Church of Bradboum was given by Sir GeoflErey de
Cauceis, in the year 1205, to the Priory of Dunstable, in
Bedfordshire, together with all the chapels pertaining to
the mother church. Amongst the chapelries. was that of Tissing-
ton, which was always regarded as a parochial chapelry of Brad-
bourn, until the ecclesiastical legislation of recent years. It still
continues to pay a modus to the tithe -owners. The ancient Annals
of Dunstable, which were first pubhshed by Thomas Heame, in
1733, contain one or two allusions to Tissington. Under the year
1223, it is mentioned that the Prior received the first crop from
the two chapelries of ** Balidena et Tiscinctuna." In 1227, the
death of J. de TattenhuUe is recorded, and mention is made that
on his death the Priory recovered for their own use the half of
the chapelries of BaUidon and Tissington, from which it would
appear that a portion of the tithes accruing from these places had
been let on a life lease, which was not unfrequeutly the case in
those days. But though these two notices are the earliest historical
record that we have of the existence of a chapel here, there can
be no doubt, even from the present remains of the structure, that
one was built upon this site, about a century before it was made
over to the Priory of Dunstable.

When the inventory of Church Goods was made in the first year
of Edward VL, the Commissioners visited Tissington on the 9th of
September, and the following is the list they made: —

"j chalys with a paten of silver and gylt— ij bells — j cross of tyne — ^j vestinent
of worsted with j albe and amyse there unto belon^ince — ^j coope of redd worsted
ij awlter clothes- -j surples — ^j handbell — ^j gacreng bell — j towel — ^j corporas case —
j cruet of pewter— j corporas clothe."

The Parliamentary Survey of livings, drawn up in 1650, says —
** Tyssitigton is allso a member of Bradburne and a parsonage

TISSINGTON. 449

really worth fortye pounds per annum. Mr. William Bott is curate,
a man disaffected."

The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a small structure, but until
recently was of still smaller dimensions. Its dimensions, as taken
by Mr. Bawlins in 1888, were — nave forty-three feet ten inches, by
nineteen feet nine inches, and chancel sixteen feet eleven inches,
by sixteen feet three inches. In a carefully-compiled local volume,
published in 1829, we read: — ^'Tissington church is most pic-
turesquely seated on the brow of a gentle eminence, nearly opposite
the mansion. It bears evidence of having been originally con-
structed in the early Norman style. Like many other

village churches of small dimensions, it consists of a nave and small
chancel, without supporting pillars or side aisles, and having a
square tower at the west end.''* To this account it may now be added
that the church was. thoroughly restored in 1854, when anew aisle
was thrown out on the north side.

Of the architecture of the church it may be observed, that the
fabric, including the chancel arch, was of the original construction
till 1854, except the chancel, which had been rebuilt in the eigh-
teenth century, and the porch, which only dated from 1817. Sir
William Fitzherbert tells us, that ''the old north wall contained a
round-headed doorway opposite to the south door, but blocked-up,
and a long window had been inserted." There is a modern porch
on the south side, but under it is an early Norman doorway with
a semi- circular arch. The tympanum of this doorway retains, in
tolerable preservation, the quaint carvings of that date. There is
a small full-length human figure, with arms a-kimbo, on each side
of the stone, and the centre is geometrically incised with a number
of squares, two or three being crossed by converging lines. The
tower, which is low and massive, the walls being about four feet
thick, is also of Norman date, though Early English buttresses
have been added, and the roof altered in the thirteenth century.
The entrance to the tower ia original, over it there is a discharg-
ing arch, visible on the inside. One of the small original windows
may be seen on the south side. The rounded archway, that opened
the interior of the tower to the body of the church, is still blocked
up. The tower contains no stairway, but the belfry has to be
gained by a ladder. The chancel is of a higher level than the. rest
of the church, being gained by three steps, and the archway into
it is of a simple roimded character, with plain jambs.

* Aahhorne and the ValUy of the Dove, p. 116.

2a

450 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The font is an object of much interest, being ornamented with
those eccentric figures, half foliage half animal, which are often to
be seen on early Norman tympana, such as those of Parwich,
Hognaston, and Hault Hucknall in this county, but most rarely
upon fonts. This font was happily recovered and placed again in
its old position at the time of the late restoration. It stands two.
feet high, and is two feet three inches in diameter. The bowl,
which is circular and eight inches in depth, is rudely incised on
the exterior with a multiplicity of figures, including a bird, a wolf,
two men, and a nondescript boar. Tradition^ says that the font at
the adjacent church of Thorpe was formerly ornamented in a
similar way.

The church contains no monuments of any great antiquity, and
was probably not used for sepulture in the early days of its de-
pendence on the mother church of Bradboum, but it abounds with
memorials of one of the most ancient of all Derbyshire families —
the Pitzherberts. It will only, however, come within our scope to
give a description of the earliest of these. The Fitzherberts did
not come into possession of any part of the manor of Tissington
until the latter half of the fifteenth century.

The manor of Tissington formed part of the vast estates of Henry
de Ferrers at the time of the Domesday Survey, and passed from
that family to the Savages in the reign of Henry L The co-
heiresses of Savage brought the manor in moieties to Meynell and
Edensor in the reign of Henry III.* Of the former moiety Phil-
lippa de MeignaU died seized in the time of Edward I., and her
grandson, Hugo de MeignaU towards the end of the reign of Ed-
ward in.t Balph Meynell, of Meynell Langley, etc., grandson of
Hugh, had only female issue, and his daughter and co-heiress,
Joan, carried the moiety of Tissington to her second husband. Sir
Thomas Clynton, Their only daughter and heiress, Anne, married
Robert Francis, of Foremark. Cicely Francis, daughter and heiress
of this aUiance, became the wife of Nicholas Fitzherbert, second
son of John Fitzherbert, of Somersall. Thus half of the manor of
Tissington came to the Fitzherberts through the respective heiresses
of Savage, Meynell, Clynton, and Francis.J

• William le Salvage, the last heir male, died seized of this manor 1258-9. Inq.
post Mort., 48 Henry in., No. 89. ^

t Inq. post Mort., 13 Edw. I., No. 6 ; 87 Edw. m., No. 49.
^vl ?®® pedigree of Meynell in Hill's HUtory of the Hundred of OoHree, p. 91,
Fiteherbert ^^^'' mcorrect in some particnlars, for it makes Cicely maxry WilUam

TISSINGTON. 461

The other moiety of the manor passed by marriage from Edensor
to Harthill, and from Harthill to Cokayne ; but in the reign of
Elizabeth it was purchased by Francis Fitzherbert, and thus the
manor became again united.*

Nicholas and Cicely Fitzherbert had several children ; the eldest,
Robert, who died in 1535, married Grace, daughter of Eoger Eyre,
of Holme. Their son George, married Anne, daughter of Hum-
phrey Berresford, of Slaton Grange, who had issue Humphrey (who
died childless), and Robert. Eobert Fitzherbert married twice —
(1) EUzabeth Cotes, and (2) Jane Bassettf

To the memory of this Eobert and his two wives, there is a
small brass, about two feet by one, fixed to the south wall of the
chanceL It is divided longitudinally into two parts ; the impaled
arms of the first and second marriages preceding the respective in-
scriptions. The arms of Eobert Fitzherbert and his first wife are : —
Quarterly, 1st and 4th gu.^ three lions rampant, or^ a crescent for
difference (Fitzherbert), 2nd arg., on a chief, at,, two mullets, or, a
crescent for difference, over all a label of three points, (Clynton),
8rd, Vaire, org, and 9a, (Meynell), impaling ermine, a cross, gu,,
(Cotes). The arms of the second marriage are : — Quarterly, Ist
and 4th Fitzherbert, 2nd Clynton, drd Meynell, impaling or, three
piles meeting in base, gu., with a crescent for difference, a canton,
ernfine (BekQseU), The inscription is as follows: —

''Herd tmdemeth lie buried the bodies of Bobt. Fitzherbert Esquier and Eli-
zabeth his Tvife, one of the daughters of John Cotes of Woodcote, in the countie
of Saloppe Esquier, which Elizabeth died the viith of Julie 1545, and the sayd
Bobt. died the zzixth day of March, 1595.

Had issue
Willm., Thomas, Bobt., John, Frances, George, and John, their sones. Johane,
Maude, Jane, their daughters.

*' Jane one of the daughters of Thomas Bassefct of Hince in the countie of Staff.
Esquier, which Jane died the zxviith day of October, 1574, and lieth buried in
St. Marie's Church at Oxford.

Had issue
WilHam, Thoms. Bafe, HofEry, and Samson, their sones. Anne, Elizabeth, and
Dorothe, their daughters.

"Fr: Fitzherbert hoc. fieri feoet 1595."

Close adjoining this brass is another plate about half the size,
also put up by Francis Fitzherbert in the same year, upon which
appear three coats of arms. The first of these is Fitzherbert

• Lysons* Derhythire, p. 63 .

f The early pedigrees of Fitzherbert are somewhat conflicting. We have collated
several, but the statements in the text are chiefly from Harl. MSS., 5,809, f. 59, which
seems the most reliable. The Topographer makes several errors in quoting this
pedigree.

452 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

impaUug Quarterly, let and 4th arg,^ a chevron between three eagles
displayed, ^w., Francis, 2nd Glynton, 8rd MeynelL By the
side of this escutcheon are the initials N.F., and at the base
** Obiit 1472." The second shield bears the quartered coat of Fitz-
herbert, Glynton, and Meynell, impaling arg,^ on a chevron, «a.,
three cinque foils, or. Eyre, the initials KF., and at the base
'* Obiit 1585." The third bears the same quartered coats impaling
arg,y three fleurs-de-lis between six cross crossletts fitchy, «a., Beres-
ford, the initials G.F. and " Obitt 1515." These three shields re-
present the respective bearings of the great-grandfather, grand-
father, and father of Eobert Fitzherbert

Francis Fitzherbert, who erected these two brasses, is himself
commemorated in the lower half of a most elaborate and lofty mo-
nument^ which reaches nearly to the roof of the building. In the
upper compartment of this same monument are two figures,
kneeling over a tablet inscribed to Sir John Fitzherbert,* who died
in 1642, and who was the son of Francis and his first wife.
Francis Fitzherbert is represented as kneeling with two other
figures, over a tablet, bearing the following quaint epitaph: —

"Francis Fitzherbert Esq., departed this life the 4th of January, ^tatis san 80»
Anno Domini 1619.

Love, jastice, honoore here

All at once in one appeared ;

Let the reader silent be,

And do homage on his knee.

To this Beverend Esqnire

Y^ hath now his foil desire;

Of that peace he ever loved

Li his life and death approved:

Layd here with his two loyall friends,

Most renowned in their ends."

Francis Fitzherbert married (1) Elizabeth, daughter of John
Bullock, and (2) Jane, daughter of Hugh Armstrong.

The following epitaph to Lady Elizabeth Fitzherbert, wife of Sir
John, was copied in this church by Ashmole, in 1662, but it is
not now to be seen: — t

''The vertnons Lady Eliz. Fitzherbert departed this lyfe the 15th of Feb. at.
sniB 29 a» Dni. 1680.

Beader doest thou enquire who here doth lye
One that may teach thee both to live and dye
Elizabeth Fitzherbert called by name

* Sir John Fitzherbert, of Tissington, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony
Fitzherbert, of Norbury ; the two families bearing different arms, and having a
totally distinct ancestry.

t Ashm. MSS., 854, Bodleian Library.

TISSINGTON. 453

Whome Fame makes live in death, and Death in Fame.

To neighbours, Love ; to Needless, Almes, she brought :

Early and late the house of God she sought

Swcete Children five a Husband deare she left

Of Wife is he, of Mother they bereft.

He mournes for her, for them, o greivous cross

Their sight, her absence, aggravates her loss.

A loss for such a Lady none can finde

'Mongst all the fairest that are left behinde

Death hasted not for nothing, who comes forth,

That punctually can praise her to her worth,

Lead, Marble, Stone, and Brass are all but pelfe

On earth she was, in Heaven she is her selfe.

Best lov'd best known, best welcome to her Maker

With whome she sleepes in peace who dare awake her.
If monuments consume they are to blame
Who make a tombe for her whose tombe is Fame
Whose blessed Fame shall never be forgotten
When Trophies, Pictures and Monuments are rotten."

Upon the south side of the same monument, he also records
this inscription: —

"Elizabeth youngest daughter of Sir John Fitzherbert late of Tissington dyed
at Ludham in Norfolke and there lyeth interred.
" She deceased the 25th of July an^ Dni 1649.
And was aged 18 years and 6 months."

Bassano, who visited this church about 1710, makes mention of '< a
loffc, and upon ye face formerly was written : —

Sir John Fitzherbert, noble knight of fame,
Beader if thou enquire did make y* same
Beligion, more of worth y^ life deserveth praise.
For which God send him many and happy dayes."

Below this stanza were the Fitzherbert arms and crest^ together

with the date 1694, and the motto Vivo et Vivam.

The tower now contains three bells, the inscriptions on which

are as follows : —

1st "William Dobson, Downham, Norfolk, Founder, 1815."
2nd the same as the first with the omission of the date.
8rd "Edward Buxton, Humphrey Goodwin, Churchwardens."
There is no date on the third bell, but it appears from the

registers that Buxton and Goodwin were the churchwardens about

the commencement of last century.

On the bell frame is '' H. B. 1719.'* The registers date from

the year 1658.

(^flpsinnton.

(Jarstngion.

iSINGTON, at the earliest period of its ecclesiastical
history, was a parochial chapelry of the mother church
of "Wirksworth. Together with several of the neighhouring
churches, it was included in the gift of Wirksworth to the Cathedral
Church of Lincoln hy Henry I. It thence came to pass that the
patronage of this living remained for centuries with the Dean of
Lincoln, until recent legislation gave it to the Bishop of Lichfield.
The tithes were, however, never appropriated, like those of Wirks-
worth, to the Dean and Chapter, and it has, therefore, always
remained a rectory since the time that its independence of Wirks-
worth was secured.

We do not know the precise date when its independence was
obtained, but it was probably in the reign of Henry IIL The
Taxation Koll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) gives the annual value
of the rectory (ecclma) of Carsington at £6. We also find it men-
tioned in inventories of the Derbyshire possessions of the Dean of
Lincoln, of the years 1310 and 1829, as paying a yearly pen-
sion of 18s. 4d. to Lincoln.* This pension is also entered in the
Valor Ecdenasticus (27 Henry YIII.), where tlie clear annual value
of the rectory is entered at £5 Is. lOd. Hugo Sheldon was then
rector.

The Inventory of Church Goods, taken in the first year of
Edward VI., gives the following with respect to this church : —

"Oarayngton, Sept. 80. Hngh Sheldon reotor. j TeBtmente of tynseU saten with
a crosse of green — ^j vestment of whyt fustyan with a cross of rede— j ohalice with
a paten — ij altar clothes — j corporasse with j casse— j forfront — for ye steeple ij
handbells — ^j surples — J crewett — j candylstyke — ij towells."

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 say of Carsington that

* Pegge's MS. CoUectionB, vol. v., f. 196, 198.

458 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

it is <'a parsonage reaUy worth fiftye pounds per annum, noe
ohappell apperteyning. Mr. John Olefield Incumbent, able and
honest.'*

With respect to the successive rectors of Garsington in early
days, we can glean some particulars from the Lichfield registers ;
and here we are again struck with the frequency with which they
resigned and exchanged for other livings at different periods. In
1811 Hugo de Warkenham was instituted to the rectory of Garsing-
ton ; in 1818 he was succeeded by John de Yeynes ; and in 1815
John de Yeynes resigned, and was followed by John de Gampaina,
who is described as an acolyte, and who was admitted to the three
grades of sub-deacon, deacon, and priest in a single day.* In 1822
the rector obtained a dispensation for a year's leave of absence. t
In 1364 Henry de Assheton exchanged the rectory of Garsington
for the vicarage of Tideswell.^ In 1421 Bichard Whitelombe
rector of Kedleston, exchanged benefices with Eichard Smythe,
rector of Garsington ; and in 1485 Whitelombe resigned for a
mediety of Darley ; there was another resignation in 1428, and yet
another in 1429. § The intervention of the Bishop had to be sought
in 1451 in a dispute between Thomas Porter, the late rector of
Garsington, and Bichard Smyth, who then held that office, as to
the payment of the pension to the Dean of Lincoln, which was
payable in two severalties — viz., on the feasts of St. Michael and
the Annunciation. The Bishop's decision was in favour of Thomas
Porter recompensing his successor by paying to him the whole
amount — 18s. 4d.|| A change was effected in 1465 between the
rectors of the adjacent parishes of Garsington and Eirk Ireton,
and in 1489 John Northampton exchanged the vicarage of Ashboum
for this rectory.** In 1563 Thomas Heydocke was instituted to
Garsington on the death of Hugo Sheldon. tt

John Oldfield, an eminent Puritan divine, occupied this benefice,
as we have abready seen, during the Gonmionwealth. His suc-
cessor, Bobert Stones, was instituted on the 8th of October, 1662,
the rectory being vacant by the dismissal of Oldfield, as the Epis-
copal registry expresses it, for not subscribing according to statute.
He died in 1682, and was buried in the church. of Alfreton.j:^

* Lichfield Episcopal Begistera, toI. i., fF. 72-74.
t Ibid, vol. ii., f. 63.
1 Ibid, vol. iv., f. 86.
S Ibid, vol. ix., ff. 78, 78, 80, 81.
||Ibid,voLx.,f. 47.
•♦ Ibid, vol. xii., ff . 66, 80.
JJ Ibid, voL XV., f. 88.

jl See OhwrchsB of Derhyshire. vol. 1., p. 8, where we have given some aooonnt of
this mixiister and his writings.— Ijichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. zvii.

CAESINGTON. 459

The church of Garsington, which is dedicated to St. Margaret,
is of small dimensions and simple construction,- being a parallelo-
gram, with an area of forty-nine feet six inches by twenty feet.
There are no traces of Norman or Early English work in the
present building. The fabric seems to have been chiefly erected,
much as it now stands, in the first half of the fourteenth century,
as the buttresses partake of the Decorated style that then pre-
vailed. There is a good east window of this period, circa 1320, of
three principal Ughts. The upper half of another pointed Decorated
window of two hghts, with a quatrefoil in the apex, now gives Hght
to the west side of the vestry. The vestry is a small adjunct at
the north-west angle of the building, and was probably placed there,
and this window removed from some other part of the fabric, in
the seventeenth century. On a mural sundial in the south wall is
the inscription — ** Eeedified, 1648. W. I." The large square-
headed windows in the north and south walls would, perhaps, be
then inserted, and the battlements added, though they are in better
taste than usually prevailed at that period, and if it had not been
for the inscription, we should have attributed them to sixteenth-
century work. The higher pitch of the old roof can be traced in
the masonry over the east window.

At the west end of the roof is a small beU turret, containing a
single bell, which bears the date '* 1704.'*

Inside the church is a good octagon font standing three feet high,
and two feet in diameter at the top. The chamfered angles at
the base are carved into four small heads. The mouldings prove
this to be of fourteenth century work.

On the floor of the aisle is a worn tombstone with the following
inscription in capital letters : —

** Malin Harrabim and four of his desu: children, Mary, Snzanna, Winifred, and
Elizabeth, who was for some years vicar of Laneham in Nottinghamshire, and
after for some years rector of this parish church of Carsington. He died 18 day
of November, in 42 year of his age, and of our Lord 1687.'*

At the west end of the church is a gallery, on the front of
which is the following inscription : —

"This loft was erected at the onely charge of Sir Philip Gell, Baronet, Anno
Domini, 1704, by consent of the Parishioners at a meeting at Carsington, for the
use of his tenants in Hopton."

The church was repaired and re-roofed in 1864, and in 1874,
was reseated with open benches, and a south porch built.

The first register book begins in 1592, and ends with 1639.
There is a blank of some years between this and the next volume^

460 DERBYSHIRE CUURCH£S.

which extends from 1653 to 1688. There then occurs another
blank to the year 1688, but from that downwards they are perfect.
The registers contain several entries of interest and curiosity,
especially during the incumbency of Nathaniel Boothouse, whose
lucubrations in the Ashboum registers we have already noticed.

" 1637. In this year was the parsonage house built. *

" 1638. The View tree t was sett in the Chorchyard of Carsington by W™
Thorpe rector, Thonx. and Baph GeU, and Edward Yalenc, upon the feast day of
Simon and Jude.

"1688, May 30^* Nathaniel Boothouse inducted (Samuel Mower, rector of Kirk
Ireton, and Ellis Famworth, vicar of Mickleover, being among the witnesses of
the ceremony).

" 1688, September 29^ Sarah Tissington, a poor young woman, bom into the
world without any hands or arms, yet was very nimble and active in the use of
her feet, with which she could not only take up things from the ground, and
play at most childish games with her play feUows when she was a child; but
also, when grown up, she could knit, dig in the garden, and do divers other
services with her feet; she was aged 24 or 25 years, and departed this life the
day and year aforesaid; bom and buried at Carsington.

" 1688—9, February 2S^' Sir John Gell of Hopton, Baronet- died att London
Feb. 8, and buried at Wirkesworth 22^- Vir bonus et non titulo solum et san.
guine, sed vera etiam pietate justitia et charitate insignis. |

" 1696, December 8^* after a long and costly suit att law beg^un in j* year 1692,
between Nathaniel Boothouse parson of Carsington compl^* and Bobert Hayward
of Carsington defend^*. The said defendant using a multitude of falsehoods and
tricks and delays in j* suit, and y* comp^* all the while from first to y* very last
day offering and desiring to accept a reference of the s^ suit to the arbitration
of any honest indifferent person, but was always denyed or frustrated in that by
y defendant. Att last on y* day aforesaid att a hearing before the Lord Cheife
Baron Ward and the rest of the Hon^^ judges of the Court of Exchequer then
sitting at Serjeants Tnn in Fleet Street, London, a finall decree was made to
oompell the b^ Bobert Hayward to pay 2 shillings p' pound for Tythe Herbaye
decreed to be due to the said Nathaniel Boothouse for all lands pastured with
dry, barren, and unprofitable cattle.}

* This parsonaffe house, or rectory^ is still standing. It is a well-built gabled
house, with small stone-mullioned windows, on the opposite side of the road to the
church.

f By this must be intended the Teto tree. There is a well-grown yew in the
churchyard, to the south-east of the church, which is doubtless the one planted
in 1688.

tSir John Gell, who died in 1688—9, was the second Baronet and son of the
celebrated Parliamentary General. He was a man of little or no repute as compared
with his father, who died in 1671. During the recent restoration of Wirksworth
church the coffin plate of the second baronet was found near the basement of the
church on the exterior of the Gell chapel- It was thus inscribed: — " S' John Gkll
Baro*' Knight of y* sheare for y« county of Darby, one of y* members of this
Hon'" Convention, dyed y* S^ day of Feb^y 168f in y« 76 yeare of his age." Even
Homer nods, and the learned editor of the Reliquary presented his readers with
a coloured fac-simile of this plate as pertaining to "the great Parliamentary
leader, and one of the most notable of Derbyshire worthies 1 " Reliquary ^ vol. xi.,
p. 134.

§ Bector Boothouse did not alwavs use the pen of the ready writer with charity or
discretion. His adversary, Bobert Hayward, died on June 11, 1701, and was buried
at the Presbyterian chapel that he had founded at Wirksworth in the previous year.
Mr. Boothouse could not resist chronicUng this death in the Carsington registers in
a satirically- worded Latin entry, in which, though admitting that he was the chief
founder and benefactor of this chapel — nova Preahiterionorum ayanagoga — ^he sums
up Bobert Havward's character, as rich but stingy — divea aed nequaqxtam generoatie.
The offence of preferring to worship after his own conscience, and objecting to tithes
on " unprofitaole cattle," seems to have warped Mr. Boothouse's judgment. This
chapel was pulled down about 1865, and a new one erected in its place. A lead
coffin was found at the entrance, and was generally supposed to have contained the
corpse of the first minister of the chapel, l>ut we nave little doubt that it pertained
to Bobert Hayward.

f FnnQ 3EiFnflFD«

F^nne j^rnHps*

jENNT BENTLEY, as we have already seen under Ash-
bourn, was considered one of the numerous chapekies of
that church as late as the year 1240. But soon after
that date, it obtained independence as a distinctive rectory, though
the advowson or right of presentation remained in the hands of
the Dean of Lincohi. In common, however, with several of the
adjacent churches, a small token of its previous connection with
the mother church of Ashbourn was continued, in the payment, on
the feast of St. Oswald, of a pension of 18s. 4d. to the Dean of
Lincoln, as rector of Ashbourn. We find this pension specified, in
two inventories of the Derbyshire property pertaining to the Lin-
coln chapter, drawn up respectively in the years 1310 and 1329.*

It must have attained independence in 1291, for in the Taxation
Roll of Pope Nicholas IV., drawn up in that year, Bentley is
entered as a rectory (ecclesia) of the annual value of £6 13s. 4d.

From the Lichfield registers we give the names of two of the
fourteenth century rectors of Bentley, both of them presented by
the Dean of Lincoln : — Eicus de Hasilbech, instituted in 1318, and
Boger de Ballidon, instituted in 1361.t

Stephen Bynney, was rector of Bentley, when the Valor Eccle-
siasticus (27 Henry Vin.) was taken. The benefice was then
estimated at the clear value of £6 12s. lOd.

In 1561, Stephen Bynney died, and his successor, Nicholas
Bamford, was instituted on the 12th of September of that year,
but on the 2l8t February, 1564, Eobert Nedehame was instituted
to this rectory "on the deprivation of Nicholas Bamford.j:

• Pegge'B Collections, toL v., £. 198.

t Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. i., f. 82 ; vol. ir., t 83.

X Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. xv., ft. 38, 39.

464 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, merely say of Fenny
Bentley, that it **is a parsonage really worth fortye pounds per
annum. Noe chappelL Mr. .John Hollingshead Incumbent."

A chantry was founded here in this church in the year 1512,
by James Beresford. The Valor JEcclesiasticus states that it was
endowed with lands and tenements in Bentley, Aldwark, Shire-
brook, Hope, Winster, and Chelmorton, to the annual value of
£9 58. 4d., out of which sum Edward Hyll, who was then the
chaplain, received £4 18s. 4d., thirty shillings to Bichard Bestow
and his successors, to pray for the soul of the founder, and the
remainder in charity. The Chantry Boll, drawn up ten years
later, gives the following particulars: —

" The Chauntrye of our Blessed Lady founded by James Ba£Ford (Beresford)
foundacyon dated xvi Oct. A. iij Regis nunc iiij2t. ziij«. iiijd, olere value ixli.
▼iij«. for an obitte vj«. yiijd. to a bedeman. xyts, to the pore to pray for the
founder's soule zzziiij«. ihjd. Ser WiU. Taples oxlTiij«. ohauntrye Pryste. There
is a mancyon house att ▼«. by yere. Stock iiij/i. ziij«. jd,**

The Wolley papers give additional particulars relative to this
chantry in the following transcript from the original foundation
charter : —

''James Beresforde, bachelor of laws, canon residentiary of the
Cathedral church of Lichfield, and prebend of the prebendary of
Frees in that church, by his deed poll or instrument dated at Lich-
field 1512, and sealed with his prebendal seal (by license of King
Henry YIU.) founded a chantry for one secular priest at the awter
of our blessed lady the virgin, St. Katheren, and St. Anthony, in
the parish church of St Edmund King and Martyr of Fenny Bentley
in county of Derby, to pray for the King and Katheren his wife,
and for James Beresforde, also for Greorge Earl of Shrewsbury, Anne
his wife, and their children, also for Jeffirey Biyth bishop, Master
Balph Chantrell doctor of the decrees, Laurence Beresforde, Godfrey
Beresforde, and Edward Beresforde, sons of Denys Beresforde, and
all brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends of founder." The founder
further ordains that, after his decease, Laurence and Godfrey
Beresford should have the advowson of the chantry, then to Aden
Beresford and his heirs male, and in default of issue to the Abbot
and Convent of Our Lady of Combermere and their successors, the
proprietors and holders of Newton Grange.* The founder also
gives by this charter, to Sir Thomas Fletcher, chantry priest, for

* Bobert Earl of Ferrers gave Newton Orange, in the parish of Ashboum, to the
Abbey of Combermere. — ^Dugdale's Monastioan, toL i., p. 766.

I

I

FENNY BENTLEY. 465

the support of the said chantry, all his lands and tenements at
Fenny Bentley, Shirebrook, Pleasley, Winster, Offerton in Hope
parish, Chelmorton, Fla gg, and Aldwark.*

We have noticed two institutions to this chantry in the Lichfield
registers. In 1531, Edward Hyll was instituted on the presenta-
tion of George Beresford, owing to the death of Thomas Fletcher.
The chantry is there styled the chantry of St. Mary, St. Katha-
rine, and St. Nicholas. In 1639, William Toples was instituted, on
the death of Edward Hyll.f

James Beresford was one of the sixteen sons of Thomas Beres-
ford, whose monument in this church we shall shortly describe.
Lawrence and Godfrey, to whom he left the advowson of the
chantry, were two of his younger brothers, and Aden was his
eldest. Denys, or Dionysius, was his youngest brother, and lived
at Cutthorpe. James Beresford seems to have been a domestic
chaplain to Sir John Leake at Sutton Hall, as we have elsewhere
explained ; J subsequently (1497) he accepted the rectory of
Matlock, which he resigned in 1608 in favour of the. Vicarage of
Wirksworth.

This church is generally supposed to be dedicated in honour of
St. Mary Magdalene; but unless some authority of which we are
ignorant can be produced, it must now be admitted to belong to
St. Edmund, King and Martyr. For it is impossible to suppose
that James Beresford, who was bom and brought up at Bentley,
and whose ancestors had lived there for several generations, could
have made a blunder as to the dedication of the parish church in
which he was founding an important chantry. §

The church now consists of nave, south porch, north aisle, chan-
cel, and tower surmounted by a spire at the west end. The fabric
underwent extensive repairs, and considerable enlargement, in the
year 1850. The high-pitched roofs of dark oak are of that date,
and the present tower and spire, as well as the north aisle were
then added. ^ Mr. Eawlins, who visited this church in July, 1838,
gives the following as its dimensions — nave forty-four feet by

• Add. MSS., 6,671, ff. 248-5.

t Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vol. xiii., f . 48 ; vol. xiv., f. 28.

\ Churches of Derbyshire f vol. i., p. 369. There was formerly a window to his
memory in the church of Sutton Scarsdale.

§ We have taken considerable trouble to try and find any ancient record mention-
ing St. Mary Magdalene as the patron saint, but we cannot find this dedication men-
tioned earlier than Bacon's Liber Regis. Possibly this may be a case of re-dedica-
tion at some time of rebuilding or extensive repairs. See on this subject Churches
of Derbyshire^ vol. i., p. 433-4.

2h

466 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

seyenteen feet two inches ; chancel twenty -fonr feet eleven inches
by eighteen feet five inches. From a drawing taken by Mr. Baw-
lins, and one of a few years earlier date by Mr. Meynell, we find
that it had a low square tower at the west end, with an embattled
parapet. The roof of the nave was nearly flat, but there were the
weather-mouldings on the tower, of an earlier roof of steep pitch.

There are no traces of Norman or Early English work about the
fabric, unless it be in the plain round-headed doorway within the
south porch, which may be Norman. The whole building appears
to have been re -constructed in the Decorated style of the first half
of the fourteenth century, probably in the rectorship of Richard de
Hazilbech. In the south wall of the nave is a fine pointed window
of three principal lights, which is a good specimen of Decorated
work, of a pattern of infrequent occurrence. -The large five-light
east window of the chancel is of exactly similar design. One of
the south windows of the chancel, of three lights, has also a tra-
cery of excellent design, partaking of the flamboyant character.
There are two other windows to the chancel, one on the north
and one on the south, as well as a south priests* door, which are
all of this date.

At the west end of the church is the ancient font, which is of
an earher date than the general fabric of the building. Its height
is three feet six inches, and the diameter across the top two feet
three. Both the font itself and the base are circular; but the
font, which is of a red gritstone, is channelled into six panels of
varying size, and the base, which is of a grey gritstone, has six
channels or deep flutings cut into it, the one facing east hav-
ing some foliage growing from a pot carved in it.

There is a beautifully-carved oak screen across the chanceL The
upper portion is expanded so as to form a rood loft. The cornice^
with its flowing pattern of vine leaves and grapes, is very finely
wrought. It is of the late Perpendicular style, circa 1500, and
was, we beheve, considerably restored in 1850. An old bench in
the chancel is worth notice, as it bears some carving of the Deco-
rated date. The south-east angle of the nave, immediately in firont
of the screen, is shut off by a screen, or parclose, of the same
design as that across the chanceL Probably it was erected by
James Beresford, to enclose the chantry altar that he founded here
in 1512. The flooring inside this parclose is composed of encaustic
tiles, but much worn. Several of them have armorial bearings,
amongst which may be noticed the arms of the diocese.

FENNT BENTLEY. 467

Mr. Bawlias, when he was here in 1888, noted ''in the chancel
windows some fragments of glass, presenting no connected history,
nevertheless what remains is brilUant in colouring/' All this has
now disappeared. He also observed — "On the pavement are
numerous remains of alabaste slabs, having all their figures and
inscriptions nearly obliterated through age and with individuals so
frequently passing over them in a long series of years.'* Mr.
Meynell also noted these slabs on the floor and the glass in the
windows, and further chronicled the curious fact, that ** the chest
serves as a communion table."

These alabaster gravestones seem to have disappeared in 1850.
But there is on the north side of the chancel a remarkable, if not
unique monument, which demands our attention. It is to the
memory of Thomas Beresford, who died in 1473, and his wife
Agnes, who died in 1463 ; but the style of the monument plainly
shows that it could not have been erected till at least a century
after their death. About the middle of the sixteenth century, a
custom began to prevail, of representing the corpses of deceased
persons on their monuments in shrouds tied at the head and foot.
These representations are, fortunately, for the most part confined
to brasses ; but we have here, on the top of an altar-tomb of ala-
baster, the recumbent effigies of Thomas and Agnes Beresford tied
up in shrouds fastened above the head and below the ankles, so
that no portion of the human figure appears. The effect is most
repulsive and ghastly, and we should think the idea must have
occurred to a sculptor who wished to conceal his lack of skill in
chiselling the human face or figure. Shrouded representations of
the sixteen sons and five daughters, tied up in a similar manner
at head and foot, are incised on the south side and east end of the
tomb. Along the cornice of three sides of the tomb is incised an
ornamental string of warlike instruments — breastplates, helmets,
shields, gauntlets, halberts, swords, banners, trumpets, and drums.
In front of the tomb is the quartered coat of Beresford and Hassall —
First and fourth, arg,, a bear rampant, sab,, muzzled, coUared, and
chained, or; second and third per chevron, ar^. and or, three
pheons, saJ)» The bear rampant also appears twice as a crest.
The following inscription and Latin epitaph extend over the south
side and two ends of the tomb : —

"Here lyes the corps of Thomas Berisforde Bsqyire the Sonne of Jo*m Beris-
forde late Lorde of Berisforde in the coyntie of Stafford Eaqvire and Agnes his
wife the daughter and heire of Robert Hassall in the covntie of Chester Esqvire

468 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

who had issTe XVI sonnes and five davghters Thomas departed thlB life the
XXth day of March in the yeare of ovr Lord God 1.4.7.8. and Agnes departed
this life the XVI day of Mrch in the yeare of ovr Lord God 1.4.6.7. here
alsoe lyefchd corps of Hevghe third Sonne of the sayd Thomas and Agnes.

"As tov now are soe once were wee
And as wee are soe shall yoe bee.

" Quern tegat hoc marmor si forte reqniris amice,
Nobile Beresford tv tibi nomen habei.
Lvce patrvm clarvs, proprio sed Ivmine maior,
De gemina merito nomina lvce capit.

"LargvB, doctvB, amans, alvit, colvit, recreavit,
Mvsas, ivB, vinctvB, svmptibvs, arte, domo.
MilitisB ExceUens, etrenws dvx, fortis, et avdax,
Francia teetatvr, cvria testis Agen.

" Nnnc tacet in tvmvlo resolvtvs pvlvis in isto,
Lvtvm, bvlla, fvsvs, pvlvis, et vmbra svmvs.
Dvm loqvimur moriamvr svbito vanescimvs omnes,
Si sapiens homo sis, disce memento mori."

There are also four tablets to other and later members of the
Beresford family on this side the chancel, and three on the other.
The only one that we shall here transcribe is the following, which
appears on an alabaster slab against the south wall, the lettering
filled in with lead : —

"Under this neat stone lyeth the body of Hewghe Beresforde Gentleman, 3^4
sone ^f Thoas and Agnes. This Hewghe departed this lyf e ano dom 1516, and
Lanrce departed this lyfe February the 2^ Ano Dom 1577. He is interred in St.
Peters chancel in Altonsfeild : Also by Laure lyeth his sonne John Beresforde
Gentlema. ^e was borne y* 9^ Maye Ano Dni 1589. He departed this lyfe
Sept. l?^** Ano 1607.

''No epitaph need make the jast men fam^d
The good are praysed whe ye be only neied.*'

In the reign of Henry VI., a younger son of John Beresford, of
Beresford, by Elizabeth, daughter of Bassett of Blore, settled at
Fenny Bentley. He is said to have raised at his own expense a
troop of horse, consisting of his sons and their retainers, to assist
in our wars against the French. He specially distinguished him-
self at Agincourt (Agen), in which battle his second son Thomas
(who married the heiress of Hassall), also took a prominent part,
according to his epitaph. Thomas Beresford must have been of a
ripe age at the time of his death, as Agincouiit was fought in
1415. The names of the sixteen sons of Thomas and Agnes were
— Aden, Thomas, Hugh, John, Eobert, William, Eoger, Edward,
Laurence, George, Godfrey, Kalph, Ealph, James (the founder of
the chantry), and Dionysius.*

* Harl. MSS., 1093, f. 49; Glover's Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 44.

FENNY BENTLEY. 469

There are three bells in the tower, inscribed thus : —

I. " C. & G, Mears. Founders, London, 1860."

II. ** God save his church, 1654." Mark of George Oldfield.

III. "God save our church, 1617." Mark of Henry Oldfield.
The registers date &om about the commencement of the seven-
teenth century. There is a break from 1642 to 1660.

<f

1604. Bartholomew Griffin, rector of y* church of Fenny Bentley, was married
y» 25**» day of May."

"1608. Sir John Stannehop/ Knight, was married to y« lady Elliner his wife
(danghter and heire of Edward Beresford Esq.) uppon y* feast day of St Michael
y* ArchangeU."

1638. Sep. Bartholomew Griffin, rector, Jan. 12."

it

It appears from voluminous Latin entries, that William Bott was
inducted to this rectory on April 10th, 1642, but that owing to the
Commonwealth, " rehellione factisdma,'^ he was dispossessed of the
living until the Eestoration. He married for his second wife,
Elizabeth, the daughter of Bartholomew Griffin, his predecessor in
the rectory. He further records that he spent at least J950 on the
repairing and adorning of this church, according to a vow made
by hin^ when in adversity.*

* See a paper on the registers of this church, by Mr. Sleigh, Beliquary^ yoI. vii.,
p. 104.

llflpHng^on*

^arl ^trrnbalF.

l^ariinglom

|HE old parish of Hartington is one of very considerable
extent. It has been for several centuries divided into
four quarters, known as Town Quarter, Middle Quarter
(including East Sterndale Chapelry), Nether Quarter, and Upper'
Quarter. From the south-east extremity to the north-west it
extends sixteen miles in length, and is in some parts five miles in
width. The Domesday Survey (1086) makes no mention of a
church in this wide-spreading district, but the manor of Hartington
was then held by the noble family of Ferrers, and we have no
doubt that one was erected here in tke next century, if not at
the end of the eleventh. Hartington was a town of sufficient
importance, in the reign of King John, to obtain a license for a
market, and for a three days* fair. These rights were obtained
by William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, in 1204, and the fair was
regulated by the festival of St. Giles, who was the patron saint of
the church.*

Daring part of the subsequent reign the manor was held under
Ferrers by William Marmiun, who also held Matlock, Brassington,
&c.t It appears that the Ferrers, during the time they held
Hartiugton, kept the advowson of the church in their own hands.
But they somewhat lessened the area from which the rector would
otherwise have drawn his tithes, by bestowing certain lands in
the parish upon the monks of Garendon in Leicestershire.

This Cistercian monastery was founded by Robert, Earl Leicester,
in the fifteenth year of Henry 11., and the Ferrers family endowed
it, so far as this parish was concerned, in the first instance with
the hamlet of Heathcote, and subsequently with a messuage of

♦ Calend. Bot., Chart, 6 John, memb. 6—195, 196.
t Inq. post. mort. ^8 Hen. III., No.

474 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

twenty acres of land, and half their appurtenances, in New Biggin,
Wolfstoncote, and Hartington, together with a meadow in the town
of Hartington called " Gotheboldesick." *

But on the attainder of Eobert de Ferrers, Hartington was
granted to Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of Edward L, who
had a capital mansion or castle at Hartington. The manor
remained annexed to the Duchy of Lancaster till the commence-
ment of the seventeenth century.

Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, married Blanche, Queen of Navarre.
She built and endowed on the Tower Hill, London, a nunnery
of the order of St. Clare (a branch of the Franciscans), gene-
rally termed the Minories without Aldgate. Stow, in his Survey
of London, says: —

" From the west part of Tower Hill towards Aldgate, being a
long continual street, amongst other smaller buildings in that row,
there was sometime an Abbey of Nuns of the order of St. Clare,
called the Minones, founded by Edmund, Earl of Lancaster,
Leicester, and Derby, brother to the King Edward I., in the year
1293 ; " &c., &c.t But there is some mistake in this date, for
although it is true that the king's charter licensing the founding
and endowing of this nunnery is of the year 1298, as stated both
by Dugdale and Stevens,^ we can prove by reference to the Church
of Hartington that the nunnery was originally founded two years
previously.

The church of Hartington, with all its profits, was bestowed up-
on the Minoresses, by Edmund, as their earliest endowment ; and
in the Taxation Boll of Pope Nicholas lY., compiled in 1291, we
find the* rectory (ecclesia) of **Hertingdon" valued at the then very
large sum of £26 Ids. 4d. ; a note stating that it is appropria-
ted to the <* Minorissi extra Alegate." This shows that the
Minories was already founded, and the church of Hartington given
to the Nuns. The church was probably not termed a vicarage, but
entered on the BoU in the way we have described ; as neither the
foundation of the Nunnery, nor the appropriation of the rectory

^ Dugdale's Monatficon, vol. i., p. 772.

t Stow's Survey of London^ p. 118. Stowe, in the continuation to the Motuuiiotm^
objects to the use of the terms Abbey, ana the subse^aent term Abbess, " beeaoso
those of this order neyer use those names ; but, be this as it may, both eipressions
are used in the foandation charter of the minories b^ Edward I, which is snrely a
sufficient authority." The " Minories " otherwise " Minoresses " was a title showing
their connection with the Franciscans, whose distinotive appellation was G-rev Friars,
or Friara-Minor$, St. Glare, their foundress, was a native of Assissi in Italy, and a
zealous disciple of St Francis.

X Dugdale's MonoBticonf vol. i., z, p. 772.

HARTINGTON. 475

had yet received royal assent. According to this same Boll the
church of Hartington then received, in addition to its local income,
one ponnd from the church of Badbpum, in the Deanery of Gas-
telar. The manor and church of Badboum -were then held by
the Staffords, but under Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. It had also
previously formed part of the Ferrers estate, but the origin of this
pension from one church to the other cannot now be traced.

Edmund died seized of the manor of Hartington, but the Inqui-
sition taken at his death mentions the church of Hartington as
held in fee under him by Thomas Touchet (of Markeaton).'*' As
the church had been already formally appropriated to the Minoresses
four years previously, we can only conclude that Touchet had ob-
tained a lease of the lands and tithes of this church, paying so
much a year definite income for the enjoyment of the same, and
that this lease had not expired at the time of the appropriation.

The appointment of Vicar of Hartington was shortly afterwards
in the hands of the Minoresses, as an institution of the year 1885,
at their representation, is recorded in the Lichfield Begi8ter8.t

From an Inquisition of the year 1875, we gather the name of
one of the Chaplains of -Hartington in the reign of Edward III.
— Bicus del Hilla. He increased the emoluments of the Minoresses
in this parish, by bestowing, in conjunction with Symon Handyman,
upon the Abbess and her successors, two messuages and twenty
acres of arable land, with their appurtenances in Hartington.]:

In 1509, WiUiam Bray was instituted to this Vicarage on the
death of WiUiam Cockys ; and in 1528, Bichard Comberford was
instituted on the death of Bray, under a papal dispensation, on
account of his youth.§

When the Valor Hcclesiasticus was taken, in the 27th year of
Henry VUL, Hartington still remained appropriated to the
Minoresses. Bobert Morton was then the Vicar, and the endow-
ment of the vicarage consisted of three houses (mansions) ; the
Easter dues; the oblations made at marriages, funerals, and the
purification of women ; and the tithes of pigs, ducks, geese, and
hemp ; the whole bringing in an average income of £10. The
Nunnery of the Poor Clares was dissolved three years later, when
its property was valued at JB418 Ss. 5d., by Elizabeth Savage, the
last Abbess.

• Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. 1., No. 61.

t Licnneld Episcopal Registers. toI. ii., f. 73.

t Inq. ad auod Damnum, 49 Edw. m., No. 2 ; Archeeologia^ toI. xv., p. 202.

{ Lichfield Episcopal Begisters, vols, ziii and xiv.

■

476 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. i

The following entry occurs in Bishop Lee's register, under date
February 4th, 1641-2 : — " Gervase Alen admitted to Vicarage of
Hartington, vacant by death of Bobert Moreton, presented by
Francis Earl of Shrewsbury in virtue of an assignment made to
his Father, by the Abbeys of the now dissolved House of Minorites
extra Aldgate, and confirmed by the Sings Court of Augmen-
tations."

The Commissioners appointed by Edward YI., to take an inven-
tory of aU the Church Goods, in the first year of his reign, visited
Hartington on the 80th of September. They found there —

**ij chalics — ^iij beUes — j sanctns bell — ^j cope — ^j sute accordyn^ of flowred
silke — iiij Yestyments, j of ym is of blewe velvet and y* other iij of silke— ij albes
— j broken crosse, coper and f?ylte — ij candylstycks of brasse— y« sencers were put
by the charchewardens towardse the makyng of a beU stoppe — ij hande beUes — a
payre of organs*— ij toweUs — j 'grene vestyment in y* hands of Grace Hide*
widowe."

The Parliamentary Survey of Livings, undertaken in 1650 by
order of the Commonwealth, says of Hartington : — *^ It is a parish
and vicarage of large extent, usually divided into four quarters.
The two neather quarters are thought fitt to be continued to ye
parish churche. The whole vicarage is worth £ld 10s., whereof
£10 aryseth out of the gleabe and the two neather quarters. Earl
Sterndall is a chapel of Ease in the parish of Hartington, a mem-
ber of the middle quarter, which is thought fitt to be made a
parish church, and these hamletts of middle quarter, Harlee,
Glutton, DoewaU, Crowdicoate, Wheeldontrees, Needham, Graunge,
Hurdlow, Cronkston, and Sterndale, £2. The upper quarter (ex-
cepting Earles Booth which is fitt to be united to the middle quar-
ter) £2 10s. ; though fitt by reason of its great distance from its
parish church to be united to Buxton.

" Mr. Thomas Honeye is vicar of Hartington, reputed scan-
dalous."

The church, which is dedicated to Si Giles, is of a cruciform
shape, consisting of nave and side aisles, north and south tran-
septs, chancel, and tower at the west end.

With the exception of certain fragments of inscised slabs, etc.,
built into the walls, and which may possibly point to an earlier
sepulture on this site, there are no traces in the present building

• " The larger organs are often caUed *a pair.' " Walcott's Sacred Areh€eology.f p, 415.
But we believe that in this, as in other instances, " a payre of organs " signified a
small organ on each side of the quire, which were used alternately in the antiphonal
chanting of the psalms, etc.

HARTINGTON. 477

of a church of prior date to the first half of the thirteenth century,
temp. Henry 111. There are sufficient remains of the Early Eng-
lish period in the chancel, and the north transept, to justify us in
the surmise that there was a complete cruciform church here, of
much the same dimensions as the present one, at the commence-
ment of the reign of Henry III., circa 1220 — 1230. On the north
side of the chancel are two lancet windows of this date, and one
of the same character in the west wall of the north transept.
There are also indications of the Early EngHsh style in the
detached shafts against the chancel wall at the east end of the nave.

The two east windows of this transept (of two lights each) and
the one of three Hghts in the north wall, are of the period of
transition from Early English to Decorated, which prevailed in the
last quarter of the thirteenth century. These alterations would
accordingly be effected just about the time when this church came
into the hands of Edmund of Lancaster, when we might naturally
expect that the building should be put into a state of repair, pre-
vious to its being presented to the Minoresses of London.

But the main characteristics of the building are of a rather later
date — viz., of the Decorated style that was in vogue during the
first half of the fourteenth century. The nave is separated from
the north and south aisles by three archways on each side, sup-
ported by pillars, formed of four clustered columns with a fillet
moulding running down the face of each, and these are of Deco-
rated design.

The various features, too, of the south transept, though of
slightly differing date, are all of this period. This transept • is
divided into two unequal parts by two archways running south and
north, supported by an octagon pillar in the centre and two similar
pilasters against the walls. The smaller or more western part of
this transept is lighted on the south by a small pointed window
of two lights, and the other part by a five-light window of good
design on the same side. Li the east wall of this transept there
is also another good window of this date, the centre light of which
contains a fragment of the old glass, consisting of a roundlet of
yellow and white glass, bearing a design of two triangles and a
rose. The roof of this transept, which has some well-carved bosses
on the iie-beams, is nearly flat, and partially conceals the apex of
the large south window, being a later addition of the Perpendicular
period. The large east window of the chancel, of five lights, with

478 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

simple intersecting tracery, is of that style of Decorated which is
usually attributed to about the year 1320. There are also windows
of the Decorated period in the south wall of the chancel, and at
the west end of both north and south aisles. The exterior, too, of
the chancel, with its diagonal buttresses at the east end, and high
but narrow priest's door on the south, with a widely -projecting
drip- stone, proves that this portion of the church, in common with
the remainder, was rebuilt in the fourteenth century.

The same century also, we conceive, saw the tower erected.
The weather lines on the western face of the tower show that
there was a higher and more acute pitch to the roof of the nave
at that time, proving that the present clerestory windows were of
a later date. An alteration that apparently affected the whole of
the roof of the different parts of the church, necessitating the
erection of the present handsome battlements, was probably brought
about early in the Perpendicular period. A considerable alteration
was also made at the west end of the south aisle, subsequent to
the general rebuilding of the church in the Decorated period, by
the addition of a porch of considerable dimensions. But this seems
to have been built — to judge by the doorway and other distinctive
features — before the advent of the Perpendicular style. There is a
staircase in the west wall of this porch leading to a chamber above
it ; but this is now built up, and so also is the lower of two
windows in the porch, on the same side. The south front of the
porch has over the entrance a well -carved niche for the patron
saint, now tenantless. On each side of this niche are two small
shields cut in the stone. That on the 3ex.ter side, bears a frett^
and that on the sinister, a fess between two chevrons. These coats
of arms are noted, in the very brief account given by Bassano of
this church, about the year 1710.

We cannot associate these arms with any borne by the principal
landowners of Hartington, but have come to the conclusion that
they were carved here in honour of two custodians of the Peak
Castle, who, by virtue of their office, exercised certain important
rights over the whole of the Peak district. Richard, son of William
de Vernon {arg,, a frett, sah.) had the custody of the Peak Castle, 47
Henry IIL ; * and Bryan de I'lsle (or, a fesse between two

* Pegge omits his name from the list of Castellans given in his History of ths
Castles of Bolsover and the Peak. We giye it on the authority of the Vernon CoUeo*
tanea, in Lord Vernon's possession.

HARTINGTON. 479

chevrons, sah.) held a similar position for a long period during the
earlier part of the same reign.*

This will be the best place to mention three other coats of arms,
that were in the church of Hartington in the sixteenth century,
but which have long since disappeared. We quote from "William
"Wyrley's copy of Flower's Visitation of 1569, with additions taken
by himself in 1592. ** Hartington in the high peake in Darbie-
shier, sometime to the famelie of Hartington belonging, by whose
daughter and heyr it came to the Poles, being an auncient race of
gentlemen in thes countries. Having devided themselfes into
manie branches of which this of Bradbourn that married Harting-
ton's heyre is the eldest. In the church thes thre escochiones. It
is placed near the ryver of Dove."

(1). Gu,, a fess between six cross- crosslets, or,

(2). Gu., three lions of England passant gardant in pale, or, a
label of three points, az., each charged with two fleur-de-lis, of the
second.

(3). Arp.y Six cross-crosslets fitchee, »a., on a chief, az., two
mullets pierced of the first.

The first of these coats is that of Beauchamp, the second that
of the Earls of Lancaster of royal blood, and the third belongs to
CHnton, Earl of Huntingdon. Both the Beauchamps and Clintons
were allied to the Earl of Lancaster, who bestowed this church, as
we have already seen, on the Minoresses of London.

A square-headed window of three lights in the north aisle, and
another of similar design in the south side of the chancel, were
inserted during the Perpendicular period. A late illustration of
that style, of the reign of Henry VII. may also be noticed in the
wide blocked up doorway of the north aisle, with its obtusely
pointed arch.

The interior of the church presents several details of interest
The transepts afford proof of there having been at least four sub-
sidiary altars in this church, in addition to the high altar in the

* The following porfcicnlArs relative to Bryan de I'lele are chiefly taken from
Dogdale's Baronage, vol. 1., p. 737. Bryan de I'lsle was a person of great note in his
time. In 3 John, Bryan paid 120 marks and a palfrey for the wardeship and
marriage of the heir of W. Briton {Rot. Pip. 3 John.), and, in 6 John, married
Maude daughter and heiress of Thomas, son of W. de Selehy. {Claua. 6 John, m.
10). In 9 John he was Governor of Bolsover (Pat. 9 John m 2) ; 17 John, he held
the honours of Peverel and Bolsover {Rot. Pip. 17 John); 18 John, commanded to
fortify Bolsover against barons, and if he could not hold it to demolish it. {Pat.
18 John m. 8.). In 7 Henry 3, he had his trust in castles of Peak and Bolsover
renewed {Pat. 7 Hen. III. m. 5) ; 9 Hen. 3, he was joined in Commission with Hugh
de Nevill to in^re by oath ot bounds of Forests, &c. ; 13 Henry 3, and 16 Henry 3,
he was confined in Peak Castle; 18 Hen. 8 {Pat. m. 15), he was once more made
Gov. of Bolsover. But in that year he died. Hugh de I'lsle was probably his soi^.

480 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

chanoel. In the soath transept there is a plain piscina in a niche,
and a square almery or cupboard in the wall, the holes for the
hinges of the door being still discernible. In addition to these,
there is on each side of the window in the east wall a stone
bracket, upon which the images of saints have formerly stood.
The one to the left is supported by an elegant tapering corbel, and
was restored at the time of the restoration of this church. On
entering the north transept, there is a piscina in the east wall,
immediately to one's right, in a niche with a trefoil arch, and
near it is a bracket with Early English dog-tooth moulding.
Between the two windows in this wall, is another piscina of the
same description as the last, but having another line of moulding
round the niche. There is also a corbel head, projecting below the
further window.

Three steps lead up iiTto the chancel from the nave. The pis-
cina in the south wall was repaired at the time of the restoration.
The communion table is a good specimen of the woodwork of the
seventeenth century, though it is now supported on straight legs
which have undoubtedly replaced the original rounded ones. The
name of ** Ralph Steamdale" is carved in large raised letters on
the front margin of the table, and the other sides bear the names
of Henry Lomas, Robert Bagshawe, and Bennit Highton, the four
churchwardens at the time of the table being placed in the
chancel.

When this church was restored in 1868, various fragments of
incised memorial slabs were found in the walls. Two of the most
perfect of these are now in the porch. One of them, which had
been cut to form the splay of a window, consists of the circular
head, and part of the stem, of an incised cross. The efiCective dis-
position of the lines differs from the patterns we have noticed at
Bakewell, and Chelmorton, and elsewhere in the county, nor is there
a similar one figured in Cutts' Manual of Incised Slabs,"^ It is of
the 13th century. The other fragment is the lower part of an in-
cised slab, having flowing lines carved on each side of the stem.
In the exterior masonry of the north aisle that blocks up the Tudor
doorway, are two more heads of incised crosses ; one of these is a
good geometrical design within a circle, and the other of an un-
usual pattern, closely resembUng that in the porch, the segments
of the circles being turned inwards (Plate XXIII). In the side

* There is a small woodcut of this stone in the Reliqiiaryj ro\. i., p. 128; also in
the 1858 volume of the Anastatic Drawing Society, plate xxiii.

HARTINGTON. 481

of the east window of the bell chamber of the tower, may also be
noticed the stems of two incised crosses. But the stone that has
the greatest claim to antiquity is one in the wall of the north
transept, about twelve inches by nine. It is carved into an inter-
laced knot-work pattern, and is certainly as old as the eleventh
century. This fragment may very possibly carry us back to the
time when there was a church here in the Anglo-Saxon days, but
which appears to have been destroyed before the taking of the
Domesday Survey (1086). Such a church would probably be of
wood, but the graves of the more prominent persons might be
marked with stone memorials carved after this fashion.

In the churchyard, against the south side of the chancel, is a
large stone coffin with a lid. It is six feet eight inches in length,
and two feet seven inches in breadth at the head. The angles are
bevelled off, and it does not otherwise present the appearance of
any great antiquity. We could not learn how long it has stood in
its present position. It is thus described by Mr. Bateman, in
1848 : — ** Near to the chancel door of the church is a very large
stone coffin, with a thick and heavy cover, upon which has been
sculptured a cross fleury, now almost obliterated by the effects of
the weather. The size and form of the coffin indicate that it has
not been intended to be placed beneath the ground (?), and the
many furrows which it exhibits, arising from atmospheric causes,
show that centuries must have elapsed since the occupancy of
its present position. It is probable that many may in turn
have occupied this narrow house, as several initials of a modern
style of letter are engraved upon the lid; and from information
afforded by the sexton, it appears that some years since, the cover
being removed, the stone coffin was found to inclose an inner one
of wood, upon which there were initials, done in brass nails, but
no date. This would certainly be of much later date than the
outer coffin, as the custom of using brass nails appears to have
been most prevalent during the seventeenth century.*'*

There is a singular absence of tombs of any antiquity within
the church, especially when we consider its size and importance.
Under the large south window of the south transept, is a canopied
recess of Decorated design, which appears to have been intended
for the repose of the founder of this part of the church in the
fourteenth century. We were told by the custodian of the

* Bateman'H Antiquities of Derbyshire^ p. 209.

2i

482 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

church, that on making a vault for the burial of the Bev.
B. Hope, vicar of Hartington, who died in 1614, nineteen
skulls were found beneath this recess. The recess is now
occupied by a monument or sepulchral slab of the semi-
effigial character. The opening at the upper end of the slab
shows the sculptured head and shoulders of a female, holding a
heart between the clasped hands ; and a small opening at the
lower end exposes the feet. It bears a striking resemblance to
the similar monument of Matilda le Caus at Brampton church,
who died in 1224, and is undoubtedly of the same century,
though of rather later date. This slab was found, during the restora-
tion in 1858, about a foot below the pavement at the east end of
the nave. The surface is much worn, as though at one time it
had been level with the floor. The stone is a little over six feet
in length, by about two feet in breadth, at the head, but tapering
considerably to the feet. It may fairly be concluded that this
monument marked the sepulture of a person of considerable con-
sequence. May it not belong to one of the Ferrers family ? On the
attainder of Eobert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, as already mentioned,
the manor of Hartington was granted to Edward, Earl of Lancaster ;
but it appears from the Hundred Boll (1278) that Margaret,
Countess of Derby, held it for her life, probably by right of dower.
We would therefore offer it as a conjecture that this may be the
tomb of Margaret de Ferrers.

Bassano says (1710) : — **To ye north west of ye cross building
of ye church is an old tomb of stone, covered by alibaster, on
which has been ye - portraiture of a man and woman ; arms and
inscription illegible." Of this tomh there is now no trace.

At the west end of the church is an octagon font, one face of
which is against the wall, on t\fo others are uncharged shields,
and on the remaining Ave is pointed tracery of different designs.

Various remnants of old fresco painting came to light on the
walls during the restoration, but they were not capable of being
preserved. Previous to that time, framed illustrations representing
the twelve tribes had hung against the clerestory walls. They were
then removed to the north transept, but at the time of our visit
when the roof of that transept was being repaired, they were
placed in a pile with their faces to the wall, at the end of the
north aisle. They do not appear to possess any artistic merit, and
are, we believe, the work of last century.

HARTINGTON. * 483

On the south wall of the porch may be noticed a mural sun-
dial, bearing the semi-heathenish inscription, " So marches the
God of day."

The tower contains only three bells. The first bears the legend,
** God save this Church, 1667," and the bell mark of George Old-
field; the second ^^I.H.S* Naaarenus Bex Judeorum fill Dei miserere,
E.G., V.W.y Wardens, 1696," and the third, ^^ Dei Bonitum plenum
Jems et modulamen amanum, 1686," and a bell mark of a shield
divided into quarters, having the initials P.H. in chief, and sprigs
of foliage in the basa

There are very unusual ornaments cut in the external jambs of
the west window of the tower, of the style that is sometimes
seen on incised slabs — viz., an open book on the one side, and
a chalice with the wafer rising from it on the other.

In the very extensive museum, formed by the late Mr. Thomas
Bateman, at Lomberdale House, are two interesting objects con-
nected with the Church of Hartington.* One of these, which
unfortunately was removed from the church, is an oaken box,
twenty-four inches long, strongly bound with iron straps, and is
described in the catalogue as having been intended for the security
of the papal dues termed Peter's Pence. The other is an ivory
seal of a Dean of Hartington, bearing round the edge the inscrip-
tion— *^ Sigil. Thorn. Harvey, Deconi, de. Hartington. cum, membriSf"
The handle of the seal forms a salt-cellar, and the face, which is
of pointed oval shape, is engraved with the following singular de-
vices : — At the top is the sun, a little lower on the dexter side is
a crescent to indicate the moon ; on the sinister side is a hand,
issuing from the clouds, holding a pair of balances ; beneath the
clouds are seven stars. Under the balances is a label extending
across the seal, inscribed '' Vincit qui patitur /*' and lowest of all is
B. shield, bearing in chief six crescents, and in base an arm in
armour holding a dagger. It appears from the Hartington regis-
ters, that Thomas Harvey was vicar of the parish from 1685 to
1648.

The present seal of the Dean has an oval face of brass (two
inches by one-and-a-half), engraved with the figure of a dean in
his canonicals, holding a pair of balances in his left hand. Bound
the seal is the simple legend — The Dean of Hartington, The handle
is of turned ivory. From the style of the costume, and general

* Bateman's Catalogue of Antiquitie*, pp. 176, 271.

484 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

character of thiti seal, we are not iocliiied to ascribe to it a
greater aotiqnity than 1750-1800.

With respect to the Dean of Hartington (an office of post-
Reformation origin), Lvsons tells ns (1817) that Sir Hn^ Bate-
man, who had pm-chased the rectorial estate of William Lygon
on the inclosnre of the Commons in 1798, was patron of the
deanery of Hartington ; and that the Dean 4ield the ecclesiastical
jarisdiction of the parish, the probate of wills, etc., it being
exempt from the anthoritj of either Bishop or Archdeacon.*
Bat the parish is now under both episcopal and archidiaconal
supervision. The office of Dean, however, still exists, and is
held by the Bev. John Bateman, rector of West Leake, near
Loughborongh. He was appointed to the office in 1852, by the
trustees of his late ancle, Sir Hogh Bateman. The present Dean,
in a letter that he wrote to ns in September, 1876, says: — "My
daties as Dean were to grant Marriage Licences, Probates of
Wills, and Letters of Administration.** Only the first of these
privileges now remains to the Dean, and tiiat not exclusively, as
the late vicar of Hartington was a surrogate.

The Hartington registers now commence with 27th of April,
1610. They are in very bad condition up to 1700, and many
leaves missing. In 1791 an earlier register, beginning at least as
early as 1554, was extant. It appears to have been used by Mr.
Bigland, the Herald, while compiling the pedigree of Sir Hugh
Bateman in that year.f

• LyBona' Derby thire^ p. 176.

f Bateman's MSS. Writing in 1829, Mr. Batenum Beems to think it was still
extant, but adds, ** It is not known at present where it is deposited.'* Possibly
this notice may even now bring it to light. More than one instance occiub- to ns,
in which a parish register has been recoyered, after lying nnnoticed for a long
period of years among private papers.

EARL STEBNDALK 485

^fje CEI^aprlrg of iEarl Stmxirale,

F the early foundation of this chapel to Hartington, we
know nothing. The first mention of it, with which we
are acquainted, occurs in the Inventory of Church Goods,

taken in the reign of Edward VI : —

** Sternedall ChappcU — Sept. 80. Rich. Frost, priest, j bell — ^j
broken bell — ^j vestyment of Blewe scamell — j albe — j amys."

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 recommended that
Earl Stemdale should be made a separate parish, but it was not
till the reign of Victoria that their recommendation was carried
out.

In the year 1819 a Brief was granted to obtain funds for the
rebuilding of this church. The preamble of the Brief runs as
follows. — " Whereas it hath been represented by humble petition
of the minister, chapelwardens, and inhabitants of Earl Stemdale,
by certificate of the justices at Quarter Sessions assembled
.'.... that it is a very ancient structare, and, through length of
time greatly decayed .... and so ruinous that the inhabitants
cannot assemble therein for the i)ublic worship of Almighty God
without great danger" — it was therefore considered necessary for
it to be taken down and rebuilt. Hugh Hartley, '* an able and
experienced workman" estimated the cost at £1700, exclusive of
old material. The trustees for the funds collected were the
Bishop, Pache ThomhiU, Henry Pache Thomhill, Samuel Frith,
Marmaduke Middleton, Philip Gell, and Charles Hurt, etc., etc.

But this appeal had not much effect, for in 1824 a second Brief
was issued, in which it is stated that only £136. 10s. lljd., had
been collected. The fabric certainly seems meanwhile to have
been in a wretched plight. Mr. RawUns, who visited it on the
16th of June, 1823, describes ifc as in a dilapidated condition, roof
broken, and wind and rain penetrating. He gives its dimensions

486 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

as nave forty-seven feet, by twenty feet three inches, and chancel
seventeen feet two inches, by fifteen feet two inches. Mr-
Meynell, who visited Earl Sterndale a few years previously,
describes the church as in a very minons state, although repaired
in 1798. He adds that at the east end was "a Saxon window,"
but that those to the south were of 1793 date. However, Mr.
Meynell took a south-east sketch of the church, and from that it
appears as if the Saxon window was merely a square-headed one
of the Perpendicular period. In 1828 the rebuilding of the church
was at last accomplished.

Mr. Rawlins says — ** There are no monuments whatever save
one, which, although it consisteth not of sculptured marble or
plate of brass, yet speaketh and telleth greater things, inasmuch
as good for the mind, and directions for attaining eternal life and
happiness, is contained in a small cupboard library on the south
side of the altar ; having above its folding doors this inscription,
"Master James HQl, His Gift, 1712.'* The names of the books,
twelve folio and twelve quarto, were painted on the doors of
the cupboard, and included the Homilies, Clark's Martyrology,
Eusobius' Ecclesiastical History, Theopolitica, etc. " The font,"
says Mr. Rawlins, is plain, " and placed upon a square pillar."

The old chapel had merely a bell cote on the west gable, but a
small embattled tower was given to its successor in 1828. Three
bells were hung in this tower in 1866, aU of them bearing the
same inscription — ** J. Taylor <fe Co., Loughborough 1866." Pre-
vious to that, the tower had only held a single bell, cast by the
same founders in 1851, which had in its turn succeeded to one
cast in 1792.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael ; its registers only begin
with the year 1768.

I"

(ognasl^on*

l^ogna^jpon*

[OGNASTON was one of the six parocliial chapelries of
Ashbourn when that Vicarage was endowed in 1240, and
it occupied the same position in 1290. At an earlier
date, it was probably not possessed of the semi-independence of
being a parochial chapelry, but was simply a chapel of ease to the
mother church.* The Dean and Chapter of Lincoln were appro-
priators of the rectorial tithes, out of which they subsequently paid,
at the time when the independence of Hognaston was further
assured, an income of 20 nobles to the incumbent of Hognaston,
who appears to have been usually termed the vicar, though he still
owed a certain allegiance to the church of Ashbourn. The appoint-
ment of the minister was in the hands of the Dean of Lincoln, but
it appears that in the sixteenth, if not in the fifteenth century, the
presentation was sold to the lord of the manor, and eventually the
advowson.t In post-Reformation days there were several disputes
as to the real nature of this incumbency — whether it was a rectory
or vicarage.

Hognaston, as a hamlet of Ashbourn, formed part of the early
demesnes of the crown. It was included in the royal grants to the
Ferrers family, and subsequently came to Edmund, Earl of Lancas-
ter.} The later history of the manor of Hognaston, or Hokenaston,
as it is usually termed in the old charters, is somewhat involved,
for it changed hands frequently, and became intermixed with the
manor of Wirksworth, which extends into this township.

The inventory of church goods, taken in the first year of
Edward VI., contains the following : — ** Hognaston, Sept. 20. Thos.
Haydocke curate, j chahce with a paten — ij vestments with albe

♦Add. MSS. 6671, flf. 665-576.

t Pegge's CoUectious, vols. i. and y. In addifcion to the great tithes, the Dean
of Lincoln also held landed property here at an early date, numerous charters
relating to which are still extant in several of the Lincoln chartularies.

I Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. I., No. 51.

490 DERBySHIRE CHURCHES.

and amesse -j eurplea— j corporas — ij alter clothes— j towel — j payr
of censors — j crosse of wodde covered with plate — ij bells — a saka-
rynge bell."

In 1561 Sir Edward Warner sold to Richard Wendesley and
Balph Brown certain lands at Hognaston, the rent of which had
been used in pre-Beformation days for maintaining lights in the
church.* The Commissioners appointed by parhament in 1650 to
survey the livings, report that '^Hognastone is a church or chappell
parochial, the proffits three pounds six shillings and eight pence
per annum. Mr. Boger Cooke, curate, honest but weake." The
survey of the possessions of the Lincoln chapter at the same date
shows that the rectory of Ashboum even then received certain
tythes &om Hognaston.

There was considerable dispute as to the tithes of Hognaston in
the seventeenth century, one Bichard Barker, '* doctor of phisicke "
having laid claim to them as the impropriator of the rectory. A
judgment of Sir Matthew Hale's, 21 Charles II., dismissed the
plaintiff's case on technical grounds, without prejudice to a new
trial. Dr. Barker brought an action, in 1668, against John
Slater and ten other defendants, all landowners in Hognaston,
asserting that he had been for ten years past the holder of the
impropriate rectory of Hognaston, but that the defendants had
conspired together to deprive him of all tithes of com, grain, hay,
wool, and lambs, although they were possessed of <* great flocks of
sheepe and lambs, and clipped wool, and had great quantities of
wheate, meslin alias blendcome, rye, barley, pease, beane, and
oates." The defendants in reply acknowledged that there was a
rectory of Hognaston, of which the King was patron, but that
such rectory was held by the parson for the time being, and that
to such parson, they had always paid their tithes.f

Certainly the living had for a long period been considered to be
in the king's gift« and during the Commonwealth had been ap-
pointed to by Bichard Cromwell, as Lord Protector. At Lambeth
Palace Library are preserved the original letters patent, dated from
Westminster, April 80, 1652, and signed by <' Hastings, Lord
Keeper of the Great Seale of England," by which Bichard Crom-
well presents **Bobert Cooke, clerke to the Bectory of Hognaston,
in the countie of Darby, now lawfully and of right void, and to our
presentation of full right belonging." Dr. Barker's claim to the

• Add. MSS., 6669, f. 28. The exact words are — ad mautUenendum divertarum
lunUnarum in ecclesia de Hockencuton,

t Add. MSS. 6671, f. 581.

HOGNASTON. 491

rectory dates from about this period. Perhaps he hoped that an
appointment by Richard Cromwell, during the interregnum, would
be considered null and void.'^

The church, which is dedicated in honour of St. Bartholomew,
must have been erected here a very short time after the incursion
of the Normans. It consists of chancel, nave with south porch,
and low tower at the west end. Though of small dimensions t
and in poor repair, it possesses several points of interest in the
diversities of style that may be here recognised. Inside the south
porch is the original Norman doorway, the mouldings of which are
still in tolerable preservation, though coated with several layers of
whitewash. The jambs of the doorway are ornamented with the
beak-head moulding, and the rounded arch with the usual zigzag or
chevron pattern. The tympanum, or stone which fills up the semi-
circle of the arch, is rudely incised with quaint figures, after the
fashion that prevailed at other Norman churches in the immediate
district, such as the tympanum at Parwich and the font at Tis-
sington. The centre figure is a man in a tunic, holding in his
right hand a staff with a pastoral hook. To the right is a wild
boar, a fox, and a wolf ; whilst to the left is a quadruped, probably
intended for a lamb, in front of which rises a cross with a circular
top. The whole is, perhaps, intended to typify the protection/
afforded to the flock by the pastor or bishop from the attacks of
wild beasts.j: The porch itself has been compounded at some sub-
sequent period, chiefly of materials not intended, we imagine, for
its construction. The jambs and capitals are roughly carved, and
from them springs a low but acutely-pointed arch, moulded after
the Early English fashion, and not now in its original position.
The other Norman detail is the font, which is about four feet
in height and two in diameter. The base upon which it rests,
consisting of three grouped pillars, is modern ; but the font itself
is a circular piece of gritstone, channelled into a series of circular-
headed arches.

The lower part of the tower is undoubtedly of thirteenth century
work, of the Early English style. It is entered from the church
by a pointed archway, now blocked up by the west gallery. The

* Lambeth Palace MSS., 947, No. 53.

-f Its area, as given by Mr. Bawlins, is — Nave, thirfcy-fiye feet five inches by seven-
teen feet seven inches ; chancel, fourteen feet three inches by eleven feet nine inches.

t The Hector of Hognaston, the Kev. Thomas O'Grady, writes to us : — " I read the
tympanum to represent a bishop or preacher (who with the left hand presses a book —
the Word of God — ^to his heart, and with the right hand extended forward holding a
pastoral staff) leads the hoCT of Hognaston to a knowledge of the Agnus Dei, repre-
sented by a lamb holding in his paw a cross encircled with the globe — orbs mundi."

492 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

three other sides of the tower, on the ground floor, have each been
lighted by a lancet window widely splayed in the interior, that at
the west end being now filled up with masonry, and supported on
the outside by a large buttress which conceals it. The walls are
massive for the size of the tower, being fully five feet thick. The next
stage is also lighted by four small lancet windows ; but the upper
stage, pierced with two-light square headed windows, and sur-
mounted by battlements with a small crocketed pinnacle and
gurgoyle at each angle, is of late Perpendicular, and may even
have been altered subsequently to the sixteenth century. The
windows, also, to the body of the church, on the south and north,
are square-headed, and comparatively modern productions. The
pointed archway into the chancel, with its plain capitals, is
indicative of yet another period, and is attributable to the Deco-
rated style of tlie fourteenth century. The pointed east window
of the chancel, which has apparently been cut down from its
original proportions, is also of the same date. The first Norman
chancel probably lasted longer than the remainder of the building,
and did not require rebuilding till the days when the Decorated
style prevailed. The bases of this archway into the chancel are
partially concealed, as the chancel is raised above the nave, some
eighteen inches, by a wooden floor. This floor was, we think, put
in at the same time with the west gallery, which is thus inscribed
on the central panel : — ** This gallery was erected by subscription
for the use of the choir. A,D. 1790." A flight of exterior steps
leads into this gallery from the south side of the church. The
inside of the roof is flat and plastered, and the woodwork which
does show is coated with whitewash. One of the beams blocks up
the upper portion of the chancel archway. On the north side of
the church a second doorway has been built up, and on the south
side are several corbel heads projecting from the waU, which give
some idea of the angle of the roof in earlier days. The roof of
the Early English period, as is shown by the weather-moulding on
the tower, was about two fee^ higher in pitch than it is at present.

The restoration of this church has been for some little time in
contemplation, subscriptions to the amount of nearly £2,000 having
been promised.

The tower contains two bells. One, which is of a tall, narrow
shape, and fifteen inches in diameter across the mouth, is destitute
of all inscription-; and the second bears — **H. Bucston, N. Bradley
1670." We have little doubt that the uninscribed beU is one of
those enumerated in the inventory of the time of Edward VI.

The earliest date in the registers is for the year 1661.

iLipft ippfom

Jiivli IPFion.

|HE Church of Eirk Ireton, in the earliest days of its
existence, was in the position of a chapehry of Wirksworth,
and was therefore included in the gift of the mother
church to Lincoln Cathedral hj Henry I. But in course of time
it ohtained independency of Wirksworth, and was constituted a
separate rectory. We do not know the exact date when this took
place, hut Kirk Ireton is entered as a rectory in the taxation roll
of Pope Nicholas lY., compiled in 1291, and was then estimated
to be worth £6 Ids. 4d. per annum. The advowson, or presenta-
tion to the living, remained in the hands of the Dean of Lincoln.
The Valor Ecclesiasticm (27 Henry VIIL) gives the income of the
benefice at £1 12s. 8d., from which there were deductions of
Is. 6d. for sinodial dues, and 4d. "pro Chad-ffardyngs.*'*

The list of church goods, drawn up in the first year of Edward
VL, contains the following long entry relative to this church : —

'* Church of Ireton — Sept. 25. Balphe Holme curat, iij bells in the steeple
with j sanctas bell — ^j handbeU — j sacring beU — j clocke — j chales wyth a paten—
j craett — ^iij copes, ij of saten of brygges, the tbreds of other sylke — vj yestments
w^ be outwome — ^iij albes Teray course— v aultar clothes yeray course — ^j flaxen

* There was an ancient payment to the Bishop for the honour of his See^ due
from aU the diocesan clerey, which was generally paid throughout western Christen-
dom as early as the twelfth century, termed the cathedraticum. In later times this
fee obtained different names in different dioceses, thus it was in some districts
termed " Pentecostals," in others ** Smoke farthing; " at Chichester **• St. Richard's
pence/' and at Lichfield ** Chad farthings," or *' St. Chad's pence." See Mackenzie
Walcott's Sacred Archaoloqy^ p. 122. An entry, howeyer, in the common
place book of Boger Columbell, of Darley, who died in 1665, giyes a different
explanation : — " A dewtie belonging of oulde tyme to the churches — Every house
pay^ at Easter for small tythinge 2id., one garden pennye, one glebe pennye,
one farthynge called a wap-farthynee, and an other callea a ehoMd farthinge.
The wap farthinge for lyght of the alter; the chadd farthinge to hallow the fonfce
for christening of children and for oyle and creame to anoyle sycke folkes wyth.
The parson had the garden penye for tythinge, and the bishop the l^d., then Uie
parson's charge was to fynde Bread and wyne to sarye with at Easter of hys

pasteroule, and the parish by to fynde eyery Sondaye in the yere 1 penj

white lofe for holy breade and a halfpenny for wyne to receyve with, and this is
to be proyided." Add. MSS., 6702, f. 91.

496 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Bhete — j kercheff — ^j syrples with certen stoles fanancs and barretts of albes* — ^iij
fronts of anne handbrod (one handbreadih), j blacke velvet, j blewe damaake y*
thred tawnie sylke — ^j corporacs ic ij cases .... on the Table — ] lytyll cowver —
j orismaterie on standing box of copper whyche was for y* canape — ^ij cootes (coats;
of ymagys of lenen cloth, ^ j of sylke — i] candylstyJ^ of brasse — ij crosses of
copper, j old & broken, the other somwhott newer and gylt — ^j old dyepor towell
conteynyng iiij yards— j old sencer of copper stnffe sold iij*."

Of Kirk Ireton, the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 report
that it **is a parsonage really worth three score pounds per annum.
Mr. Peter Watkinson, incumbent, able and godlye."

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, consists of
nave with aisles, chancel with north vestry, south porch, and tower
at the west end. There are considerable remains of the church
that existed here in the twelfth century, when the massive Norman
style prevailed. Within the south porch is a plain, circular-
headed Norman doorway, though a pointed arch of later date has
been built up inside it. The narrow aisles are separated from the
nave by round Norman arches, supported on circular piDars having
boldly-carved capitals. A low rounded archway communicates with
the basement of the tower, all the lower stage of which is of
Norman date. The basement of the tower is lighted on the south
side by one of the original windows.

Considerable alterations were made in this church in the first
half of the fourteenth century, at the time when the decorated
style of architecture prevailed. At that date the south porch was
built, the pointed doorway inserted within the previous Norman
entrance, a well-carved doorway, with a hood-mould having head ter-
minals, opened into the south wall towards the east end of the aisle,
the chancel entirely re-built, and the upper stage, with its effective
pointed windows, added to the tower. The chancel is of a specially
good design. The nature of the buttresses, the wide battlements,
and the bold moulding of the wall-plates, can be gathered from the
etching on Plate XXI. The lower drawing gives a view of the
small vestry, which formed part of the original design. It will be
noticed that the window in the east wall is a debased addition.
Vestries of the nature of an adjunct to the chancel are of tlie very
rarest occurrence of a pre-reformation date. There is another
instance in the county of a similar style, at Whitwell ; indeed it
has BO many features in common with it, that it seems almost
certain that the same architect designed both. The doorway out

* Faiianc (fanon or phauon) was another name for the maniple or kerchief fastened
to the left arim of the priest, when in his eucharistic vestments ; harrett was another
term for the ** apparel " of the albe, which was the embroidered work at the caffs
and edges.

DOOR IRGO VeSKHY

KlHK iH>:?-.6n.

KIEK IRETON. 497

of the chancel inio this vestry (also given on Plate XXI.) is a
genuine architectural gem. It is of small dimensions, being
scarcely six feet high to the apex of the arch, by twenty-two
inches in width. The four-leaf flowers within the moulding of the
arch are cut with a precision and skill that are rarely met with
in the sculpture pertaining to parish churches. The chancel is
lighted by a pointed window of good tracery at the east end.
There used to be another of Hke pattern in the south wall, but
later alterations caused it to be built up. During the recent
restoration, the mullions and tracery were found to be perfect
behind the masonry, and they can now be seen from the interior
of the church. There is a small piscina in the south wall. The
archway into the chancel is well proportioned, and has a series of
effective mouldings of the usual Decorated t3rpe ; but it is rather
strange, and detracts from the interior effect of the chancel, that it
should have been built on a somewhat lower level than the Normau
nave. Another detail of this date must also be noticed, viz. : — the
small doorway in the north aisle, exactly opposite the porch. It is
now built up, but it can be seen from the exterior that it has an
archway of an acutely-pointed ogee shape.

At a later period, either in the fifteenth century or beginning of
the sixteenth, both the aisles were lengthened towards the east, and
two low four-centred arches opened from them into the chancel.
This was an unfortunate way of enlarging the church, as it inter-
fered with the window on the south side of the chancel, and
brought the end of the north aisle up to the west wall of the
vestry. High up in this wall is a small trefoil opening, which
must formerly have communicated with the outer air, possibly for
the ventilation of the vestry. There are, of course, the usual
absurd whispers, as to confessionals and communicant lepers, in
connection with this opening ! Square-headed Perpendicular windows
were also inserted in the north and south walls at the same time.
The walls of the nave were probably then raised, clerestory
windows inserted, and a flat roof substituted.

The present clerestory windows — two on each side, and one over
the east gable of the chancel — are, however, of a much later and
debased character, and cannot be of an earlier date than last
century. One of the same style also gives light to the north aisle.
Probably they are of the year 1741, as that date is incised over a
doorway, now built up, which was then opened over the archway
into the tower, as a means of obtaining access to the large west

2k

498 DEBBYSHIBE CHUBCHE8.

gallery that used to block up that end of the church. The porch
alBO seems to have been interfered with at that time. Over the
entrance are the initials, <' L B. . H. H." followed by '' G. W.*' for
chnrchwardens.

This church has been recently most carefully restored in the
interior, and re-seated with open benches throng^ont. A stone at 1

the west end is thus inscribed — ''This church was restored A.D. i

1873."

There is a large new font of Perpendicular design that at once
catches the eye on entering by the south porch. It is to the
memory of a late rector, and is good of its sort, but strikingly out
of keeping with the prevailing architecture of the church. A small
pedestal font, its immediate predecessor, is now below the tower.
There used, however, to be a plain massive font of Norman date.
There is a sketch of this ancient font in Mr. Meynell*s Church
Notes. He describes it (circa 1820) as ''now used to catch rain
water near the chancel door.*' Unfortunately, within recent years,
a pagan-minded plumber lighted a fire under it to melt some lead,
and, of course, split it to pieces. Surely this should be a warning
to all lovers of antiquity and respectors of hallowed observances, to
see that our ancient fonts, even if not in use, should be preserved
within the walls of the church. Nine instances occur to us» in
which Derbyshire fonts are, at the present moment, standing deso-
late in the chmrchyards.

There ore no monuments of any special age in this church, but
there are one or two of sufficient interest to warrant our giving
an account of them. One of these is a small brass let into one
of the piers of the north aisle. It is to the memory of Agnes, wife
of Bobert Mellor, of Idridgehay. The Mellors of Idridgehay were
descended from a yoimger branch of the ancient family of Mellor,
of Mellor.* The brass is thus inscribed : —

*' Memento mori.

" Hio in resarrecclonifl spe reqniesoit corpus A^netis fills Bobti Madocke, oxoris

▼ero Bobti Mellor filii et hosredis Thom(B_Mellor de Idiichehaje, qui quatuor

Alios, viz. Bobtu Edoardn Johem et Henxicu : et toticle ex ea susc'epit filias, viz.

Helenam nuptam JoM, filio et h<Bredi Jacobi Cokerham; Aliciam qnn obiit

* There is a pedigree of Mellor, of Idridgehay, in Glover's Derhy$hirey which we
believe to be fairly accurate. According to the records in the College of Arms, John
Mellor, a barrister, of this family, obtained a patent of arms in the reign of Queen
Anne, claiming a traditional descent from the Mellors, of MeUor. He obtained the
same arms — Arg., three blackbirds, proper, — but with a chief dancettee, $ah., for
difference. The Rev. T. Vernon Mellor, vicar of Idridgehay, is the seventh in
direct lineal descent from Bobert and Agnes Mellor.

KIRK IRETON. 499

infans ; Graciam primo nuptsm Bico filio et hoeredi Johls Alton, et postea Johi
Bowlande ; et A^etem naptam Alkemudo Leighes."

"Obiit xi die Februarii A.D. 1680, Qnuu pie religioseque quinquaginta et sex
compleviBset annos."

Beloiw the east windorwr, and concealed by the Communion
Table, are two stones, on which are inscribed the following in-
scriptions : —

'^ Under these two stones on the north side of this stone and adjoyning to it
lye the bodies of Thomas Gatesby of Ireton Wood of this parish and Elizabeth
his' wife. He dyed the 19th of August and she the 22nd October both in the
year of our Lord 1668."

"On the south side near the wall lyeth the body of Ellen Mellor, wife of
Robert Mellor, of Idridghay, daughter of Tho. Gatesby and Ellen his wife, and
grandmother to the above-named Ellen Leacroft, aged about 71 at her death,
which was Srd day of December."

''The above named Ellen'* used to be commemorated by a
stone fixed above these two, and forming a sort of reredos. It
was removed at the recent restoration of the chnrch, and is now
loose in the vestry : —

" Here lies the body of Ellen Leacroft, Elder daughter of Mr. T. Leacroft and
Ellen his wife, of Wirksworth in this county, She was bom 5th March, 168^,
and died 11th August, buried 14th August, 1700.

Here lies a virgin innocent and mild,

A loving sister and obedient child —

Ev'n in whose tender years you might descry

The early marks of blooming piety.

She to her parents strict obedience paid.

And liv'd belov'd of all, yet dy'd a moid.

She was a flow'r of sweetness almost grown.

In youth and beauty to perfection ;

When God's resistless hand by death's surprise

Transplanted her to th' heav'nly paradise.

In vain her freinds her sad fate bemoan.

She sleeps in hope of resurection.

' Stir not this stone the mother now does crave
Till she or some dear friend partake ye grave."

The Communion Table is an effectively carved specimen of
Charles II. period. In front it bears the name and date —
"Thomas Haywood, 1679." In the old west gallery there were
some good oak benches, on which were texts of Scripture boldly
carved in capital letters, such as — '' Dreadful is this place ; this is
none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven "
— "Go and sin no more," etc., etc. We were very sorry to
learn, when visiting this church after its restoration, that all these
old carvings had been sold by auction with the rest of the former
fittings.

500 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The bells are three in number. One of them has no inscrip-
tion^ on another is ''God save his Church, 1699," and on the
third **Thos. Ward, Will Harrison, C. W." In addition to the
three principal bells, there is also a small uninscribed bell, which
is rung immediately before the commencement of the service. It
is probably the successor of the old Sanctus beU, which, as we
have more than once mentioned, was occasionally recast or used
in its old form, in post-Beformation days, as a sermon or service
beU.

The tower is strongly braced with iron clamps on the west side.
This became necessary in consequence of a violent whirlwind or
tornado, that stripped the lead off the roof, and flung much of it
over the top of the tower, on Sunday, May the 12th, 1811.

The earliest register book contains this entry: —

"The Register Booke belonginge to the Chnrch of Eirk Ireton was begunne
Ano Domini 1572, which being defaced and rent, was (copied) into this boke Jan-
nary 19th, 1652. Peter Watkinson (registrar).

" The first leafe being rent haHe out, we conld only read these names following
which are accordingly here imperfectly entered.

" 1574. From this place till July 1576 the old booke was so rent that one name
daring the said Interval could only be transcribed.

" 1647. Bichard Spicer, who had been Bector of Kirke Ireton for the space ol
43 years, viz., from ye of the year of our Lord 1605 till the end of

the year 1647, was buried the 19th day of January."

By indenture, dated 20th May, 1590, between the master, ware
dens, and commonalty of bakers of the City of London of th-
first part, the bailiffs and burgesses of Derby, of the second part,
and John Storer, of the third part. John Storer, a native of
Eirk Ireton, gave to the bailiffs and burgesses of Derby £52, to
the intent that they should annually distribute 52& as follows, —
viz., that they should provide a godly sermon, to be made on
Trinity Sunday, in the parish church of Eirk Ireton, in the after-
noon, by a sufficient preacher ; that they should give to such
preacher for his pains 10s., besides . 12d. for his dinner, and 12d.
for the dinner of such one of the said bailiffs or burgesses as should
accompany the preacher; and after such sermon should distribute
40s. amongst the poorest of the parish. There were also strict
injunctions that some of the baUiffs or burgesses of Derby should
be present to see that the money was paid. This bequest still
continues, though the attendance of any of the Derby Corporation
has lapsed for some time. But for many years this was strictly
observed, as we learn from the old accounts of the charity, the

KIRK IRETON. 501

earliest entry in which is dated 1658. In that year Peter Watkin-
Bon (of Kirk Ireton) preached "by the appoyntment of the maior
of Derby.*' Thomas Goodwin and John Allen, chamberlains of
Derby, were present, as well as the churchwardens, Thomas Mellor
and John Cockain. But more frequently the minister of another
church was brought over to preach.

*• Mem*- that the 21 day of May 1665, being Trinitie Sonday, Mr. William
Osborne, Vicar of St. Peters Church in Derby, was brought to preach a sermon
at and by the direction and appoyntment of the Maior a nd Burgesses of Derby.
** 1700. The sermon was by ye Chamberlains of Derby appointed to be prea.
ched by Mr Anthony Blackwall,* M^. of Arts, Vicar of Elvaston, Head M'. of ye
Free School, and Lecturer at ye church of All Saints in Derby, but Mr More
opposed ye said Mi". Blackwall, and denyed him ye use of his Pulpit.

<' F«t to Mr Blackwall for his attendance and preparing to preach ye sermon
10s.

£ 8. d.

"1663. To y preacher 0 10 0

For ye dinner of preacher 0 10

For ye dinner of one of Chamberlains 0 10

For ye minister of Iretons dinner 0 14

His Clarke 0 0 8

Churchwardens and y» wives 0 3 0"

* Anthony Blackwall was a native of *Eirk Ireton, bein^ of the ancient family of
Blackwall, of Blackwall in this parish. He was bom in 1674, and educated at
Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he took his M.A. degree in i698, and was then
appointed head-master of the Derby Free Grammar School. He published various
works, his most important being An Introduction to the Clasaica, and The Sacred
Classics Defended and Illustrated. In 1722, he was chosen head-master of the
Grammar School of Market Boaworth, and was subsequently presented to the
rectory of Clapham. But in 1729, he resigned Clapham and retired to Market
Bosworth, "where his abilities and convivial turn of mind rendered him generally
respected." He died at the school-house, on 8th April, 1730. — Chahner's Biographical
Dictionary.

KniUF^on*

KnitiFfon*

NrVETON was originally one of the chapelries of Ash-
bourn, and was therefore included in the gift of that
church to Lincoln by William Rufus. It was still a
dependent chapelry in 1240, as has been already mentioned under
Ashboum ; and on the appointment of Peter de Winton, the
nominee of Henry III., to that important benefice in 1260, the
rectorial tithes of Kniveton were a component part of the living.
Ashboum was, however, restored to the Dean and Chapter of
Lincoln in 1288 ; and we find from the ancient Lichfield Chartu-
lary that the arrangement then arrived at between the king and
the two chapters, included the confirming of Peter de Winton for
his life in the rectorial tithes of Kniveton, and the handing over
of that chapelry to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, as a return
for their good offices with the king, in securing the restitution to
Lincoln of the church of Ashbourn. The charters relating to this
transaction are three in number, and will all repay a careful
perusal.*

The first of these is dated 6th April, 1289, by which Philip de
Willoughby, Dean of Lincoln, — grateful for all past favours of the
Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, and especially to Bishop Roger
de Molent {alias Longespee) for freely allowing the Chapter of
Lincoln to appropriate the church of Ashboum, now restored to
them, to their own use, — places the chapels of Kniveton and
Mapleton, which pertain to Ashboum, at the absolute disposal
and ordination of the said Bishop.

The second, dated 16th October, 1290, is from Roger de Molent,

*

* See Appendices No. xyii., xviiL. andxiz. There are also a large number of deeds
relative to property at Kniveton, otherwise than tithes, which pertained to the Dean
of Lincoln, in another ancient chartolary of that Chapter. They extend from f. 43
to f. 60, and commence with a transfer (temp. Henry III.) from Robert de Essebnm to
Matthew de Kniveton.

506 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

granting the chapel of Eniveton, with all rights pertaining thereto,
to Peter de Winton, as rector for his lifetime ; bat after his death
or resignation, to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, reserving to
himself, and succeeding bishops of the see, the vicarial rights — i,e.,
the lesser tithes.

The third simply consists of a confirmation of the previous deed,
executed by OUver Button, Bishop of Lincoln, and by Philip de
Willoughby, the Dean.

From this time Kniveton became an independent rectory in the
patronage and peculiar of the Deans of Lichfield ; so that we do
not find any institutions to this living in the Episcopal Registers.
In the Taxation Boll of Pope Nicholas lY. (1291) it is entered as
a rectory of the annual value of £S, In a list of the Derbyshire
possessions of the Dean of Lincoln, in the year 1810, is the fol-
lowing entry : — ^'Knyveton, olim de patr' Decani et solvebat pens'
12"^, sed jam annexa sit capitulo de Lichfeild." '*' According to the
Vcdw* Hcclesiagtictu (27 Henry VIII.) the value of this benefice to
the Chapter of Lichfield was £5 per annum.

The following is the entry, relative to this parish,^ in the Liven-
tory of Church Goods taken in the reign of Edward VI. : —

'* Knevorton or Knoton Sept. 28. Wm. Piatt curat, a ohalls with y* paten — ^ij
Testments, ye j ys grene silke, ye odtir broken eylke — ^ij albs with their amyssis —
J corporas— ij towella— ij bells— j pyx of tyn— j cowpe of yeUow eylke— j snrplea —
j handebell— iij baner clothes — ^j cmyt— j crosse of wood and plate — ^j hoUy water
pott of bras."

Almost immediately after the taking of this inventory, the Dean
and Chapter disposed of their tithes, etc., in this parish, reserving
only their ecclesiastical jurisdiction and, patronage of the perpetual
curacy, as it then became. By this deed, dated 1st July, 1649,
the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield grant to Thomas Gell, son of
Ealph Gell, of Hopton, "ye mansion house of ye Rectory of ye
parrish church of Knyveton and all glebe lands to that rectory
belonging, and all tithes oblations, <kc.,'* for £5 per annum. f In
1796 this estate was sold by the trustees of Phihp Gell to Mr.
Evans and others, and the tithes were shortly afterwards sold to
the respective landowners.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 report of Kniveton,
that it '4s a parsonage impropriate, hath a gleabe and tythe worth
really threescore and twelve pounds per annum and Sf John Gell
receives the profitts, and he and his predecessors, possessors of the

* Pegge's Colleotions, vol. v., f. 198.
t Add. MSS. 6689, i. 440.

KNIVETON. 507

said Impropriacon, have procured the cure supplyed, it is destitute
att present.*'

The true dedication of this church is to St. John the Baptist, as
Dr. Pegge states in his Collections, and as we are assured in the
Liber Regis; but modem directories (from Bagshawe's, published in
1845, down to the last edition of the Derbyshire Red Book), seem
determined to insist upon St. Michael as the patron saint; and the
notice-board in the porch, when we visited the church, was headed
"St. Michael.'* We know, of course, that occasionally there are
instances of doubtful dedications, where a church has been re-
dedicated on its restoration or rebuilding ; but unless there exists
some special information with which we are unacquainted, there

can be no doubt as to the error of the modem directories and

*

gazetteers.

Kniveton wakes are held on the first Sunday after the 11th of
October (Michaelmas day, old style). Probably this gave rise to
the idea that the church was dedicated to St. Michael; but it
is in reality no proof whatever, as a large number of provincial
wakes were altered at the time of the JReformation to St. Michael's
day and to All Saints' day, in order to avoid the multiplication
of holydays.

The church, which is a small building, consists of nave, chancel,
south porch, and a low tower at the west end. The porch is
entered by a plain semicircular arch, and the doorway under it
into the church, is also of the same shape, and of Norman design.
There is a large corbel head in the centre, and two rude carvings
at the terminals of the hood-mould. Another trace of the church
that was here in the period of Norman architecture is, perhaps, to
be found in a circular stone, about a foot in diameter, which was
discovered at the time the church was re-pewed in 1842. This
stone, upon which is carved in reHef a very rude crucifix, is now
let into the south wall, and preserved from further injury by being
covered with a sheet of glass.

To the next period— rthe Early English — ^may be assigned the
font, which stands upon a clustered group of eight columns. The
font itself is circular, being two feet in diameter, and has a tasteful
border carved round the margin. On the top is the date **1668;"
but there can be little doubt that the font itself is of thirteenth
century work, and that the date merely .records the year in which
it was restored to the church on the revival of episcopal doctrine.*

• It is Btatdd in Mr. Rawlins* notes that round the edge was graven—" This font
was erected at the charge of Mr. Thomas Gaunt 1663."

608 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The three-light pointed window at the east end of the chancel is
of Perpendicular design, but the remaining windows are of much
more modem and debased construction. There is a small priest's
door on the south of the chancel, which is also of the Perpen-
dicularjperiod.

The chancel roof is nearly flat, and so also is- that of the nave,
which is ceiled between the beams. In the south window of the
chancel is a quartered coat of arms of old glass, but it seems as
if it had been put together in a clumsy way, probably at the time
of the re-pewing

The 1st and 4th divisions of the escutcheon are — Arg.^ a chevron,
gu.y but the chevron is reversed; the 2nd and 3rd divisions are —
gu,, a chevron vaire, arg, and sa. The first of these coats was
borne by several families, Acton of Cheshire, Barlow, Bolton, &c.,
and the second are the arms borne by the baronets of the Knive-
ton family.* This ancient family was originally of Kniveton, from
whence they took their name, but in the reign of Edward L, the
elder branch settled at Bradley, and the younger one at Mercaston
in the parish of Mugginton. There are also a few fragmentary
pieces of old yellow-stain glass, including a female head. When
Bassano was here, circa 1710, he noted, Christ on the cross in the
centre of the east window, with the Virgin Mary and Mary Mag-
dalene in the side lights. The escutcheon just mentioned was then
below the crucifix. He adds that "the Lady Francis Knyveton
gave to y® church a silver flaggon and chalice with cover, which
cost £50.'*

The small tower at the west end has an embattled parapet, and
is crowned with a very short spire.

It contains two bells. The first is inscribed — " God save the
King, 1665,'' and has the bellmark of George Oldfield ; the second
has round the haunch three Lombardic capital S's alternating with
three crosses fleury, and the bellmark generally attributed to
Eichard Mellor, an opulent bell-founder of Nottingham, who was
Mayor of that town at the commencement of the sixteenth century.

The registers date from the year 1691, and are in fair preserva-
tion. They contain numerous early entries of the Hurt family, as
well some relative to the Gells, Pegges, Gilberts, etc., and would
prove of value to the county genealogist.

• Probably this esoatcheon is intended for the qoartered ooats of Kniveton and
wey. Sir Gilbert Kniveton, the first baronet (hiffh-sheriff of Derbyshire, 21 Jamea
1.), married Mary, daughter and coheiress of Andrew Grey, of the comities of Hert>
ford and Essex.

jiaplFl^on*

Wajplpfon*

|0B nearly eight centuries, the rectory of Mapleton has
been consolidated with the vicarage of Ashboom ; bnt as
it is a rectory, and not a chapelry, it is more in accord-
ance with onr plan to give it a distinctive notice, rather than to
classify it under Ashboum.

It has already been recited under Ashbourn, how Mapleton was
originally a chapelry of that church ; and it has further been
recited under Kniveton, how in 1289 the chapels of Kniveton and
Mapleton (on the restoration of the hving of Ashboum to the Dean
of Lincoln) were given by Lincoln to Roger de Molent, Bishop of
Coventry and Lichfield, for him to dispose of as he thought fit.
In the same year Boger de Molent gave back the chapelry of
Mapleton to the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln, on condition of its
being annexed to Ashboum ; the Dean and Chapter to enter into
possession of all its emoluments, immediately on the death of Peter
de Winton, who then held its greater or rectorial tithes, on the
usurped presentation of Henry IV. In the ancient Lincoln Char-
tulary, from which we have several times quoted, is preserved the
charter of the Dean of Lichfield, dated October, 1290, in which he
confirms to Lincoln the grant of the Bishop.*

In the T&xation Boll of Pope Nicholas lY., taken in the subse-
quent year, the Church of Mapleton is entirely separated from the
vicarage of Ashboum, and is described as worth £6 per annum, the
vicarage itself being only worth £5.

But, a few year's later, it appears that Mapleton still had to
render certain dues to the Dean of Lincoln, for in a record of the
temporalities of that deanery taken in the year 1810, it is stated

* Appendix, No. XX.

512 DEBBYSHIRE CHUBCHES.

iD doubtful terms that — ** Mapleton oum capella cui facit deservire
per capellanum ad volontatem et reddit Decana ultra seryitiuin
suum xij marcs."*

The inventory of church goods, taken in the reign of Edward
VI., enters under Mapleton : —

"ij beUfl ye prisse iij li. Yjs. viij<i — j browken chales xzxs — iij wescmentts -witii
albes — ij corporas vj«. yiijd — j cowpe Ytf^vij soheples (surplices) xijd — ^iij hathere-
dowBse (altar clothes) ij«— j handbell xijd.'*

The Parliamentary Commissioners who sat at Derby on the 8th
June, 1650, under the presidency of Sir Samuel Sleigh, estimated
the value of Mapleton, in conjunction with other hamlets, at £30,
and reported of the church itself that it was '* fitt to be disused."

But we know, from the account given of the Lectureship under
Ashbourn, that this church was certainly not disused. On the
contrary, the Vicar of Ashbourn seems for some period to have not
only resided but habitually officiated here, leaving the services at
Ashbourn for the most part to the Lecturer.

The fabric itself, however, fell into great dilapidation, so that
it became necessary to entirely re-build it, and a new church was
erected about the middle of last century, in the hideous style that
was then considered suitable for ecclesiastical edifices. It is thus
described in AshhourM and the Valley of the Dove : — ** Mapleton
Church is a small oblong building, surmounted by a dome and a
lantern," and we do not think it merits a description of any greater
length. Its dimensions, as given by Mr. Bawlins, are 52ft. 9in.
in length, by 17ft. in width. There are three round-headed win-
dows on each side, and one at the east end, whilst the west end is
occupied by an organ gallery. There is but little to connect this
building with the older edifice that for so many centuries occupied
the same site. The work from which we have just quoted mentions
that there is in the floor of the aisle an alabaster slab, having
round the edges some traces of an inscription in old English cha-
racters, illegible. The church has a flat wooden roof, supported by
five large beams, very slightly gabled, and we are inclined to think
that they may have served as tie-beams to a ** perpendicular" roof
of the older building. In the centre window, on the north side,
are some fragments of coloured glass (yellow and white), which are
certainly older than the present church, and which we suppose to
have been placed here out of the old windows. On one fragment,
about 3 inches by 5, is a church tower and spire with a tree ; on

* Pegge's Collections, yol. v., f. 198.

MAPLETON. 513

another apparently the nave of the chui-ch ; on a third is the lower
half of a crucifix, the feet crossed and pierced with a single nail ;
whilst a fourth fragment is a skull with a thigh hone in the mouth.
In black letter are the words " Thome Prince."

The earliest Mapleton register is a small oblong folio (kept at
Ashbourn), commencing with December 8rd, 1704 — " Ecclesia
vacante, Eichard Williamson. Churchwarden." In May, 1706, Rev.
Nathaniel Boothouse, whose entries in the registers of Ashbourn
and Carsington we have already described, was instituted at this
rectory in conjunction with the vicarage of Ashbourn. The pen of
this ready- writer was frequently at work in the Mapleton registers,
from which we take the two following entries : —

" William Mawkin, a poor old man, being long troubled with fltts of spitting
and vomiting np blood and being oftentimes brought very near to deaths door
by these fitts, was att last on ye 26 of October found dead in a field not far from
Okeover the same day that Elizabeth, wife of Kowland Okeover, Esq., was
interred at Okeover. The said William Mawkin was buried at Mapleton, on Sun-
day, the 28th of October, 1705."

*'Dec. 8, 1707. Buried George Holmes butcher Butterton in Staffordshire, who
was found dead on Mapleton Calow on Sunday morning last, viz. Dec, 7, having
been at Ashbourn market on Saturday ye 6th, and being lost in a most violent
storm of wind and rain on Saturday night."

The church is dedicated in hoiioiur of St. Mary.

2l

jiaHori

lIBaHorfc.

I HE Domesday survey does not make mention of any church
at Matlock, but we know, from the remnants of Norman
architecture, that there must have been one at Matlock
not many years subsequently. It was probably first erected in the
second quarter of- the twelfth century. We gather from Dr.
Pegge's manuscript notes concerning Matlock, that that eminent
antiquary was of opmion, that the church of Matlock was originally
no more than a chapel of ease to Wirksworth. In support of this
opinion, he contends that Matlock has been immomorially in the
patronage of the Dean of Lincoln ; that William Bufus granted
only Wirksworth to the church of Lincoln in these parts ; and that
Matlock, like Bon sail and other adjacent places, was merely a
^berewick of the important manor of Wirksworth. In process of
time, however, the Dean thought proper to leave to Matlock its own
tithes, and it thus became a Rectory.* Dr. Pegge in these sur-
mises forsook his usual accuracy, and we are unable to see any
reason for accepting his theory of Matlock having been a dependent
chapelry of Wirksworth. We beheve on the contrary, that Matlock,
like Darley, was always an independent rectory. In the first place
it may be remarked that the church of Wirksworth was given to
Lincoln by Henry 1. 1 and not by his brother WilUam, though
that has no immediate bearing on the subject; and we further find
from the Domesday Survey that Matlock (Mestesforde)^ was then

* Add. MSS. 6667, f. 263 etc. There is comparatively little relative to Matlock,
amongst Pegge's Collectiona in the College of Arms, but Mr. Wolley appears to
have secured the Doctor's writings on his native parish, as many of the notes in
the Wolley MSS. are in Dr. Pegge's autograph.

t Dugdale's MoneuticoHy vol. 3, p. 264

X Mestesforde, or Nestesford, I believe to have been near what is now called
Matlock Bridge, which was formerly a ford. "Nestes," "Nestus," or "Nesterside"
are names of the mountain now known as the ** Heights of Abraham," on which
is situated the Nestor Mine (now called the Rutland Cavern), which is undoubt-
edlv a Boman mine, and was probably the one alluded to in the Domesday Book
as '^one lead work.'* The little village at the foot of the hill near Matlock Bridge
has alwavB been known by the name of Nestes or Nestus, — Jewitt's Domesdajf
Book of herhyahirej p. 3.

618 DERBV.SIIIKE CHURCHES.

an independent manor, and, instead of being a berewick of Wirks-
worth, had the berewicks of Matlock Bath, SnittertoD, Wensley,
Bousall, Ible, and Tansley attached to it. Both Matlock and
Darley were royal manors, and the patronage or advowsons of the
rectories appear to have been bestowed at an early date on the
Dean of Lincoln, though no deeds relatiye to the gift of the former
of these churches are known to us to be extant.* Henry I. gave
Wirksworth church about the commencement of his reign, and it
seems probable that Matlock [church was not then erected, but
was both built and presented to Lincoln in the reign of his suc-
cessor Stephen.

The rectory of Matlock 'was valued at £10 in 1291, when the
Taxation Boll of Poper Nicholas lY. was compiled. An account,
drawn up in 1310, of the Derbyshire possessions of the Dean of
Lincoln, mentions the church of Matlock as being in the Dean's
patronage, but owing no pension or dues to the Dean and Chapter.
A similar survey drawn up in the time of Benry VI gives a like
account of this church, f

The Valor Ecdesiasticus (27 Henry VIIL) records that Thomas
Lyllylowe was then rector, and that he held a mansion, and glebe
lands adjoining, of the annual value of 33s. 4d. ; the various tithes
brought up the total value of the living to £11 12s. Od.

By will dated 23 January, 1524, Thomas Blackwall of Wirksr
worth, left 10s. towards the repairs of Matlock Ghurch.:^

When the Inventory of Church Goods was compiled throughout
the kingdom, in the first year of the reign of Edward VI., the
following was the report with respect to Matlock : —

**Matloke, Sept. 19. Nicholas Wallser ciuat, j chalice with a patent of silTer
and gilte -iij veBtmenta of eaye- ij albe and threi alter clothes — ^ij towells — ^j cope
of fusty an — j senser of brasse — ^ij amanle candellstikes of brasse — iij bells — j hand-
bell— ^j sacringe bell. £dw. Walker, £dw. Madden iij li at changinge of the bells."

The ParUamentary Commissioners, of 1650, report that Matlock
'* is a parsonage really worth foure score pounds per annum. Mr.
Thomas Shelmerdine, Incumbent, able and honest.''

In 1636 the church underwent considerable alterations, and a
new south porch was built.

In post-Reformation days pews in the parish churches not un-
frequently came to be considered the freehold property of the

*We do not wish to say now that there are no such deeds at Lincoln, but we
failed to find them.

t Pegge*s Collections, -vol. v. f. 196.

X Add. MSS. 6666, f. 475.

MATLOCK. 619

holders. A deed of 1742 speaks of the rights of Timothy Spencer
to '* a seat or sitting for one person in the great seat against the
pulpit, the upper or head end or moiety of the Woman's seat in
the body of the church on the south side of the pulpit, and two
sittings in a seat at the bottom of the north isle of Matlock
church"* An exterior flight of stone steps was constructed to lead
to this loft.

On April 1st, 1760, Peter Nightingale, jun., George Evans, John
Wilkinson, Edmund Hodgkinson, Adam WoUey, John Sowter, and
John Kirkland, gentlemen, obtained a faculty to rebuild the wall of
the south aisle of Matlock church, 45 feet long, and rebuild a loft
over the same of the same length and 12 feet broad, f It was
probably at the time when this aisle was rebuilt, that the old cle-
restory windows were removed, and cast-iron pillars substituted for
the ancient stone piers of the arcades between the nave and aisles.

The manor of Willersley in this parish, was purchased of
Thomas Hallett Hodges in 1782, by Richard Arkwright. The
holders of thi« manor appear to have had certain claims over the
north aisle of the parish church, where the manorial pew was situ-
ated. In the year following his purchase of the manor, Mr. Ark-
wright took down the north aisle and rebuilt it, with a gallery
over it, containing eighteen seats or pews ranging from the west to
the east end of the church. On March 16th, 1784, Mr. Arkwright
obtained a faculty for the conflrming of these proceedings. :(

The general appearance of the church, after these barbarisms had
been committed, can be gathered from a small woodcut, giving a
south-west view of the church, in Glover's Peak Guide, ^ and also
a plate, giving a north-east view, in Lysons' Derbyshire, From
these it appears that the south side of the church was lighted with
square-paned square-headed windows ; that a flight of steps led up
to the gallery on the right hand side of the porch, and another
flight at the west end of the south aisle ; that the north aisle was
lighted with a double row of square windows, giving it the appear-
ance of a barrack or factory ; whilst the tower, and the three-light
east window of the chancel (seemingly of Decorated design), were

• Add. MSS. 6666, f. 49.

t Add. MSS. 6694, f. 46.

t -Add. MSS. 6667, f. 82. "The manor of Willersley was held in the reign of
Henry VI. by Roger Minors, who conveyed it to Sir Roger Leche. Rot. Pari.,
vol. iv. p. 863. It Bubsequently passed through many hands. See Lyson's Derbyshire^
p. 208.

§ Glover's Guide to the Peak, p. 106. The same engraving also appears in Adam's
Oem of the Peaky p. 86.

520 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the only unmolested portions of the ancient fabric. Some fifty or
sixty years ago, during the curacy of Mr. Gell, the church was
repewed, and a pulpit erected on a platform over the middle
gangway, supported by four posts rising from the pews.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1859, as is recorded by a slab on the
inner side of the south wall: — **This chancel was rebuilt A.D.
1859. W. R. Melville, M.A., Rector. John Knowles, Knowleston
Place ; Nathan Statham, Matlock Green, Churchwardens." The
level of this church had been so interfered with by divers altera-
tions, that there was actually a descent of a step or two from
the nave into the chancel, until 1859.

About five years ago the whole of the body of the church was
taken down (as '* restoration " was found to be out of the question
after the shameful way in which it had been treated in the last
century), and rebuilt after the designs of the late Mr. Wilson,
architect, of Derby. The work appears to have been carried out
with care and taste. The general style of the new buildings
is that which prevailed early in the fourteenth century, and is
usually termed geometrical Decorated.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Giles, now consists of
chancel, with vestry and organ chapel on the north side, nave
with north and south aisles, south porch, and tower at the west
end. The south aisle is built on the old foundations, but the north
aisle is double the width of its predecessor.

On taking up the old floor in 1871, and laying bare the rock,
several graves were found, cut out of the solid limestone, barely
the size of a coffin. In them there were a few remains of bones,
and over them rude slabs of limestone.

The tower is the only portion of the old building now standing.
It is a good example of the perpendicular style at the commence-
ment of the 15th century. The three-hght west window, and the
door below it, are now thrown open to the body of the church, as
there are no galleries to block up the archway leading into the
tower. It is supported by diagonally-placed buttresses which run
up nearly to the parapet. The summit is embattled and orna-
mented at the four corners by handsome crocketed pinnacles. In
the south-west angle of the basement, is a small pointed doorway
to the wmding sti^rs which lead to the summit TbA door itself is
worthy of notice, as it seems to be coeval with ihe date of the
tower. In the basement of the tower may also be seen, fixed

MATLOCK. 52 1

against the south wall, the five panels removed from the front of
the old west gallery, on which are full details of the different
parochial charities.

The tower contains a peal of six bells; a large number for the
dimensions of the bell-chamber, but the two smallest are hung
above the larger ones. The following are the inscriptions : —

I. ** The Revd. Geo. Holecombe, Rector : R. Mason, W. God ward,

C. Wards : G. H. 1791.'* G. H. are the initials of George Hed-
derley, the founder.

II. " Jno. Woolley and Jno. Wood, Ch. Wardens. Lester k Pack
of London fecit 1767."

III. " Remunerabit calum benefactoribus meis, 1718." This
round the haunch, and below — ** F. Walker : R. B. : C. W. :

D. H." D. H. implies Daniel Hedderley, the founder.

IV. '* Jesus be our speed, 1626," in small Lombardic capitals.

V. *' Sea Maria Magdalena o.p.n.." The last three letters are
an abbreviation for " ora pro nobis," i.e. " pray for us," thus at
once giving a pre- Reformation date to this bell. Mr. Llewellynu
Jewitt says, " this is evidently one of the oldest, as well as most
interesting bells in the county. The mark, with fylfot cross, is of
great rarity."*

VI. "I unto those that liveth well.

Do toll their welcome passing bell.
G. Hedderley fecit, 1791."

The body of the church contains no object of interest, except an
old chest of small dimensions, which is placed on the ground at
the east end of the soutk aisle. It is a strong chest, and has the
staples for three padlocks with which to fasten it. Rivetted to one
end of the interior, is a light chain about four feet long, and it is
supposed that the other end of this chain was formerly fastened to
the parish Bible, when first deposited here in the sixteenth century.
There is another small but massive oak chest, in the organ chapel.

There are no traces of a piscina in the chancel ; but in the
north wall, near the vestry door, is an arched recess, about a foot
in depth, and four feet in height. That this recess has formerly
been fitted with a door, is obvious, and it doubtless served in early
days as an almery for the sacred vessels.

From the roof of the vestry, are suspended six of those Funeral
Garlands of which we have spoken at some length in our descrip-

* Beliquary, vol. xv.» p. 116.

522 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

tion of the church of Ashford-in-the-water. In the Gem of the Peak
we ready ** on entering the church by the porch, on the right
hand, will be seen suspended from a beam of the gallery some
relics of an ancient custom, now obsolete here, that is crowns and
garlands made of paper. These were always hung up at the
funerals of young persons, chiefly maidens.'* There were formerly
eight of these garlands, but two now form part of the museum
collected by the late Mr. Bateman at Lomberdale House. They
are all formed of white paper, with the exception of one, which
has the centres of the rosettes of yellow paper.

The same account of this church in its unrestored condition,
from which we have just quoted, says, " On the ceiling are some
rude, but interesting specimens of what we may be allowed to call
Village painting; one figure, Death, seated on the half-opened
tomb is very striking." Mr. Rawlins, who visited this church on
January 26th, 1827, says : — ** In the centre of the ceiling of the
nave are painted the four Evangelists writing their gospels, attended
by their symbols. On the wall over the singing gallery is a fresco
painting — David and harp, attended by two angels, one holding a
scroll of music, and the other blowing a trumpet ; behind them
Death and Time. Over the pulpit two winged figures, on the left
Christianity holding in left hand a church, in right a Bible, and
trampling on the Crescent and Koran; on the right, Faith with
cross in right hand, a Bible in left, trampling on Triple Crown and
missal." He also noted in the east window, ** a perfect portraiture
of a female saint.''

In the chapel that connects the north aisle w^ith the chancel are
various monuments to the WooUey family. This family is of con-
siderable antiquity in the county, being mentioned amongst the
county gentlemen enumerated by the Commissioners in the time of
Henry VI. Two branches of the family were settled at Ryber and
Allen Hill in this parish. The oldest of these monuments is an
altar tomb to the memory of Anthony Woolley of Ryber and his
wife. It is now under the north window of this chapel, but
formerly stood under the east window of the north aisle. The
upper slab is of alabaster, and on it are incised figures of
Anthony, his wife, and their offspring. The man is represented
clad in a gown, lined with fur, reaching to the feet. It has long
hanging sleeves, through which the arms were never passed. The
woman also wears a long robe (with hanging sleeves of the same
style) open down the front, but fastened by ties at regular

MATLOCK. 623

intervals; on her head is a close-fitting cap. Both these figures
are worthy of notice, as affording instances of a style of costume
that only prevailed for a short period. The six children are repre-
sented below, four boys and two girls, with these initials : — '* J. W.,
E. W., A. W., T. W., A. W., J. W." (John, Edward, Anthony,
Thomas, Anne, and Jane). Round the margin of the tomb runs
the following inscription :

" Here lyeth the bodies of Anthonie WooUey and Agnes his wyeffe wch Anthonie
dyethe iiij daye of September in the jete of our Lorde m^dolxxviij (aged) Ixxij on
whose Soules God bathe taken mercy on."

On a plain black marble slab on the wall above this tomb is
inscribed :

" Near this place were interred the remains of Adam Woolley, of Allen Hill,
in this parish, and of Grace his wife; he was born in the year 1568, married at
the parish church of Darley on the first day of October, 1581, and, after continuing
in wedlock with his said wife for the long period of 76 years, died in the month
of August, 1657, in the hundredth year of his age. She was bom in the year
1559, and died in the month of July, 1669, aged 110; and for the purpose of
recording so extraordinary but well authenticated an instance of longevity and
long continuance of the state of wedlock, their great, great, great, great grandson,
Adam Woolley of this parish, gentleman, caused this memorial to be erected
in the year 1824."

Adam Wolley, who erected this monument, was the well-known
collector of materials for a history of Derbyshire, who bequeathed
his valuable collections to the British Museum. Another slab
records his death in 1827, and that of his wife in 1849. His
eldest daughter and co-heiress, Mary, married the Bev. John Hurt,
who assumed the name of Wolley, and there is a handsome mural
brass to her memory.

Besides these monuments now extant to the WoUey family, several
others have disappeared from the north aisle duriug the various
alterations of the building. Of the oldest of these Mr. Wolley
gives a rough sketch in one of his manuscripts. It was a slab of
freestone six feet long, and having incised on it a plain Latin
cross, various initials, and the date **iiivof Juen 1587.** Mr.
Wolley says : — ** It was covered with rubbish for many years, and
about 1776 was discovered and made clean. On the church being
new paved in 1812 it was covered over by the new pavement. I
suppose it to have been for John Wolley, the first of the family at
Hill.'* * At the time of this repaving there were two other slabs
unearthed at the east end of the north aisle, bearing the following
inscriptions : —

♦ Add. MSS., 6667, f. 461.

524 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

" SoBAuna uxor Willi Wolley de Biber, gen. sepnlfc xxiii Novembrii; 161:3/'
'* Here lyeth the borly of Elizabeth Wolley, widdotr, wife to Adam Wolley. of
Riber, who departed this life 19 April 1658."*

These stones were afterwards laid over some graves and covered by
the new pavement It does not appear that they were again
brought to light at the recent rebuilding. An achievement with
the arms of Wolley {Sa., a chevron vaire, or and ^., between
three maidens' heads coupled, proper, crossed of the second) is
placed over the archway from the organ chapel to the chancel.

Against the south wall of the chancel is a small brass plate
about six inches square, to the memory of a former accompHshed
rector : —

*'Hic jacet Henricus Smith quondam istios ecclesia rector, qui mortem obiit
Anno Dom Ift^. DiTinos, Medicus, Masicns."

There is also a small mural brass to the memory of another rector,
Joseph Fern, who died in 1717, his wife, and their eleven children.

There is a third brass plate, on the floor of the chancel, to
Lawrence Whittaker, curate of St. Mary*s, Nottingham, who died
at Matlock Bath, 1769.

In the south-east corner of the chancel pavement, is an ancient
incised cross, with a sword on the sinister side of the 8t<em.
We believe this to be of twelfth century work — ^nearly coeval with
the original erection of a church on this -site. This slab was
brought to hght during the rebuilding of the chancel in 1859. In
the Rectory garden there are fragments of two incised crosses — each
also having a sword by the side of the stem, denoting the sepul-
ture of a knight or man-at-arms— as well as a small piece of the
head of a foliated cross of the thirteenth century. There are also
a large number of fragments of Gothic window tracery, both of
Decorated and Perpendicular design, in the Rectory garden.
One of the most perfect is evidently the head of a clerestory
window of Perpendicular date, and we understand that this, with
many other fragments, was found some years ago during the altera-
tion of stables attached to the Rectory. The porch has now found
a resting-place in an angle of the same garden, having been care-
fully put together again stone by stone ; and the slab, bearing the
date **1636" and the initials *'T.B. D.W.*' (probably the then
churchwardens), is now built in to the right hand of the entrance.

In the stable yard are two interesting relics of the original
church of Norman design — viz., two of the massive capitals of the

• Add. M8S.. 6667, f. 258.

MATLOCK. 525

pillars that separated the nave from one or other of the side aisles.
The character of these capitals inclines us to attribute them to the
reign Jof Stephen (1136-1154) or thereabouts. There are also, in
other parts of the garden, portions of a Norman pillar, formed of
four clustered columns, several pieces of moulded stones characteristic
of the Early English style of the thirteenth century, and parts of
the jambs of a doorway of Decorated work of the following century,
thus proving that the church of Matlock imderwent various resto-
rations and rebuildiugs during all the different periods of ecclesias-
tical architecture.

But the relic of greatest interest in the Rectory grounds is the
fine old font. The Rector had the good ftntune to discover it some
time ago, buried, in an inverted position, in a heap of stones and
other rubbish. It is of large size, and octagon shape, having a
scalloped border, carved round the margin ; but tapers down towards
the base. The font, when discovered, fitted over an octagon stone
that had a hole bored through the centre, and upon which it now
stands ; but we do not think that this stone was its original base,
as it seems to be of a different date and design to the font
itself, which we beheve to be of the Early English period. There
are some curious carvings on this base stone, but much defaced,
one of which may possibly be intended for a priest in his robes,
with chalice in one hand, and paten in the other. A post-
Reformation marble basin was displaced at the recent rebuilding
for a handsome font, given by Mr. Arkwright ; but we cannot but
regret that the ancient rehc now in the Rectory garden was not
restored to its original position.

The following is a list of the rectors of Matlock, extracted for
the most part from the Episcopal Registers at Lichfield : — *

Walter de Fodringeye, instituted 4 Kal. September 1300.

Ralph de Ergom, inst., on the death of his predecessor, 17 Kal
November, 1815.

Robert de Brydelington, inst., on. the resignation of his predeces-
sor, 3 Ides February, 1816.

Richarde Bargrave, inst. 11 Kal. February, 1328.

Michael, son of John de Hayeltou, inst. 8 Kal. March, 1832.

Henry de Wichiner, inst. 16 Jan., 1361.

♦ A list of Matlock rectors is given in the Wolley Collections (Add. MSS., 6667, ff.
260, 268), but we have added to it and amended it very considerably, by comparison
with the Lichfield registers.

526 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Hugh Hykeling, rector in 1366, and had leave of absence from
his church for two years' study.

William de Loundey, inst. 1372. Exchanged Precentorship of
Crediton, Devon, with his predecessor, for this Uving.

Lawrence de Sundrish, inst. 2 Kal. May, 1873. He was only an
accolyte at the time of his institution, and was admitted to the
rectory ** in persona Henry de Foston."

John de Assheburne.

Bichard de Stepull, inst 9 Kal. Jime, 1887.

John Tekyll.

Robert Conyngham, inst. 16 January, 1428, on the death of his
predecessor. This presentation was made by Brothers Simon and
Henry, monks of Parley and Dale Abbeys, patrons for this turn
by concession of the Dean of Lincoln.

William Egge, inst. 1 May, 1436. Exchanged with his prede-
cessor the living of Brailsford for Matlock.

Wilham Lowthe.

Henry Anse, inst. 29 December, 1459.

Oliver Dynham, M.A., inst. 26 October, 1467.

Thomas Beynald, inst. 1482.

James Basford, alias Beresford, B.L., inst. 81 August, 1497 ;
resigned 12 August, 1604, and accepted the Vicarage of Wirks-
worth.

Thomas Lyllylowe, held the rectory 27 Henry VIII.

Bobert Home, inst. 28 March, 1546, on the death of his pre-
decessor.

Edmund Wyld, inst. 10 May, 1654.

Christopher Grange, inst. 10 December, 1660.

Peter Hart (Strype's Memorials, iii. 108).

Henry Smith, obiit. 1640.

— Thorpe succeeded Smith ; was rector for about two years.

Thomas Shelmerdine, A.M. In 1656 he was ** minister and
registrar " of Matlock. He was ejected for nonconformity in 1662.*

John Chapell, prebend of York, inst. 7 November, 1662. Obiit
circa. 1688.

Joseph Fern, A.M., came here from the Peak, November, 1688 ;
obiit 1716.

* The registers of this church, which commence in 1637, conttiin the following —
"Memorandum, that upon the 26^^^ day of January 1654 Mr Thomas Shelmerdine
was chosen Begistrar for the Parish of Matlock before me John Spateman one of
the Justices of Peace for the County of Derby.

"(Signed) Jo. Spateman/*

MATLOCK. 527

Thomas Hinckeyman, vicar of Chesterfield, inst. 19 July 1717,
and held it with Chesterfield, where he died 1739.

Charles Cartwright. He exchanged for Charborough, Notts, 1758.

Benjamin Burrow, A.M., inst. 1753 ; held it with Morton, and
died 1779.

G. Holcomhe, D.D., insf. 1780; made chaplain to Prince of
Wales 13 March, 1789; died in 1886. Dr. Holcombe also held
the living of East and West Leake, Notts., where he resided.

William Job Charlton Stanton, inst. 1836.
-W. E. Melville, inst. 1839.*

The Begisters only commence in the year 1637.

According to a compendium of English travels, published in
1746, there was formerly a hermitage in the rocks on the top of
the High Tor, not far distant from the parish church. But it
cannot now be descried, nor can we gather any traditionary recol-
lection of it. The traveller says : — '* By being at the Pains to
clamber on Hands and Knees almost to the top of it (the High
Tor), may be viewed an Hermit's Cell hewn in the Rock, with a
most dreary prospect before it. At one end is a Crucifix and a
little Nich, where the Anchorite placed his Saint, "t

* To the Rev. W. R. Melville, the present rector, we desire to express our obliga-
tions for the assistance he has given us in this account of Matlock church.

t The English Traveller vol. i., p. 261.

SfQPnp*

2)1

@(orpF*

HORPE, as we have already noticed, was considered a
chapel of Ashbourn in the thirteenth century. It was
probably still only a chapelry in 1291, as it does not
obtain any distinctive mention in the Taxation Roll of Pope
Nicholas IV., drawn up at that date ; but between 1291 and 1810
it was constituted an independent rectory. In the latter year,
Thorpe is entered in a list of Derbyshire Hvings in the patronage
of the Deans of Lincoln; * It was completely independent of its
former mother church of Ashbourn, for it did not pay any pension
to the Dean as rector, a course "which was insisted on with respect
to Bradley, Bentley, and Edlaston. Lysous makes a careless
bhmder (a blunder repeated by numerous guide-book writers and
compilers) with respect to this church, stating that it was appro-
priated to the Priory of Tutbury, thereby confusing it with Thorpe
in Leicestershire.t

The following are the names of some of the early Rectors of
this church, all instituted on tlie nomination of the Deans of
Lincoln. Radus de Cressi, instituted 1299 ; Nicholas de Benteley,
instituted 1364, on the resignation of John Crech ; Thomas
Jackson, instituted 1466, on the death of WiUiam Watson ; and
Anthony Draycott, instituted 15 57. J

The Valor Ecclesiasticus (27 Henry VIIL) mentions Alanus
Prowdelove as rector, and gives the clear annual value of the
Hving at £(>. Is. 6d.

The Inventory of Church goods, drawn up in the reign of
Edward VI., contains the following entry relative to this parish: —

♦ Pegge'a Collections, vol. v., f. 198.

t Dugdale's Moruisticon^ vol. i., p. 354.

I Lichfield Episcopal Registers^ vol. i., f. 12; vol. iv., f. 36; vol. xii., f. 66; vol. xv.

532 DEKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

"Thorpe. Sept *20. Alen Prodelove, person, j cluJice with j patent silTer
and gilte— two TestmentR of saye with ij albes and j anayse — ^iij bells — ^ij hand
bells^' aacringe bell— j surplice — ^j towell — ij alter clothes — j corpus with the
case."

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 report that " Thorpe
is a parsonage really worth fiftye poands per annum. Mr. Francis
Topham incumbent."

The church, which is a small plain building, half buried in ivy,
is dedicated to 8t. Leonard. It consists of a nave, chancel, south
porch, and tower at the west end. The dimensions of the nave
are 20ft. 10m., by 16ft. Sin. ; and of the chancel 23ft. Sin., by
14ft. The tower is the oldest part of the present edifice, being of
the Norman style that prevailed in the reign of Stephen, circa,
1150. The west door of the tower has the rounded arch, which
is surrounded by a plain hood-mould. The windows of the bell-
chamber are also semi -circular, and are divided into two round-
headed lights by a central pier or shaft within the arched recess.
The parapet Q,t the top of the tower is reUeved at wide intervals
by small battlements. It has every appearance of being the origi-
nal one, and deserves, if this be the case, the close attention of the
ecclesiologist, for instances in which Norman parapets remain, that
are otherwise than perfectly plain, are extremely rare.* A winding
staircase in the north-west angle of the wall leads up to the tower,
as far as the first stage or story. This staircase is very narrow,
and about the rudest that we have met with ; it almost appears as
if it had been an after thought to make it, for it goes right through
the rough rubble stone, which is not cased, as is usual, with any
masonry of a better finish.

The pointed window at the east end of the chancel is a plain
three light specimen of the early Decorated style, circa, 1320. In
the south wall of the nave there is also a two-Ught window of
similar design and date. There are also two square-headed win-
dows of the late Perpendicular period, on the south of the chancel;
but the remainder of the windows are of a much more modem
description, and lack all tracery. The south porch has a plain
pointed doorway, and a similar one inside with a hood-mould.

Inside the church, the chief object of interest is a table tomb in
the north-east corner of the chancel. It is much mutilated, and

• This parapet should be compared with that on the nei^hbonring tower of Brad-
boum. See our account of that church. From a sketch, however, of this church,
taken by Mr. Rawlins, in 1833, when it was much freer from the trammels of ivy, it
certainly looks as if the parapet were of later work than the Norman corbel table
that was then visible below it.

THOKPE. 533

the communion rails are fastened to it with iron clamps ! The
upper slab, which measures six feet four inches, by three feet three,
is scratched over with initials. There is no trace of it having
been originally incised with figures or inscription, and we are
inclined to think that it originally bore a sculptured effigy or
effigies. At the west end of this slab is a shield of arms bearing
— jfiV-wi., on a fesse, gu., three plates (Milward) impaUng Barry,
nebulee of six, or and sah, (Blount).

In the centre of the south side of this monument is the inscrip-
tion. Lysons, in his History of Derbyshire (1817), says that the
inscription is gone ; and certainly, at first sight, the space occu-
pied by the inscription does appear to be perfectly blank. The
letters have been very faintly incised, and are destitute of any
remnant of colouring matter. But a close inspection rewarded us,
for we were able, one by one, to put together the letters, till the
following complete, and, we believe, accurate copy was made : —

"Here lieth the body of John Millward Esq: who married Mary daughter of
Williaxn Blount Esq: who had issue two sons and two daughters, wh: John died
28 of Januy 1632 his age 82." .

On the one side of this inscription are the small figures of his
two sons, and on the other those of his two daughters. The sons
wear moustaches and small peaked beards, and are dressed in
close-fitting doublets, short cloaks, breeches with fringed ends, and
wide-topped boots, whilst over their shoulders falls the characteristic
broad band or collar. The daughters wear embroidered bodices
with pointed waists, and the skirts of their dresses open slightly in
front, showing the petticoat. Round the neck is worn a crescent-
shaped jewel.

The manor of Thorpe was purchased of the Cokaynes, about
the end of the reign of Elizabeth, by John Milward, of the ancient
family of Milward, of Eaton Dovedale, and subsequently of Dove-
bridge. He also held lands at Bradley Ash, where he resided. He
manied Mary, daughter of William Blount, of Osbaldeston, sister
to Sir Thomas Pope Blount.*

One of the sons, whose efiigies we have just described, was
Robert Milward, a celebrated soldier. Bassano, in his MS. volume
of Church Notes, taken about 1710, relates on the authority of the
then rector of Thorpe (Mr. Hamilton) that he engaged in single
combat with a Spaniard when serving in Spain. ** He and his

• Harl. MSS., 6809 ; also family Memoranda of T. A. Milward, Esq., of Wolver-
hampton. See the account of Darley church, p. 165.

534 DERBYSHIRK CHURCHES.

adversary were first to fight with the quarterstaff, 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 Kfe." The second male effigy on the tomb represents the
younger son, John, who was also, Uke his brother, a soldier. He
purchased the manor of Snitterton, in the parish of Darley, and
served as a colonel with the Royahsts in the time of Charles I.
He died in 1670, leaving only female issue surviving. His eldest
daughter, Felicia, brought the manor of Thorpe and a moiety of
Snitterton to her husband, Charles Adderley.

Against the south wall of the chancel, is a small weU-finished
piscina, of the same date as the east window. One of the windows
on the south side of the chancel contains a few fragments of old
heraldic glass. Mr. MeyneU's notes, taken about 1820, mention, in
the chancel window, the arms of Longford, and arg.^ a lion ram-
pant, sah.

Besides these details there are no other objects of interest in the
church, except the. font at the west end. Its total height is two
feet three inches ; the height of the upper portion being seventeen
inches, its diameter twenty-four, and the depth of the bowl eight.
The font itself is circular in shape, and tapers ehghtly towards the
base. It is incised rotmd the centre with two parallel lines. The
base is evidently modem. We sought out and found *'the oldest
inhabitant," from whom to make inquiries respecting this font.
This was his story : — He could remember the font being in the
church some fifty or sixty years ago, for he used to sit close to it
when a boy. It was then covered with rude figures of queer-
shaped animals with long tails and horns, as well as a good deal
of foliage. In short, he described to us a font almost exactly
similar to the remarkable one now standing in the adjacent parish
church of Tissington. We thought that our informant might be
confusing it in his mind with that one ; but he assured us that he
had never been in Tissington church in his hfe, or ever heard talk
of the font. At the time, he added, when the church was re-pewed,
this old font was removed by one of tlie churchwardens, near
whose house it stood for many years, and served as a drinking-
trough for the cattle. The action of the frost and weather peeled
off the surface of the stone that bore the quaint figures, so that
they had almost disappeared when it was pointed out to the late
Rector. The Rector had it scraped and cleansed, and then restored

THORPE. 535

to its original position. The two parallel lines were at that time
incised, according to our informant.

The roof of the church is ceiled and plastered both in the
chancel and nave, though in the latter, judging from some pro-
truding beams, it seems as if the old timber roof still existed. At
the west end of the church is a gallery, erected in 1841. Under
it is a round-headed archway, with plain jambs, leading into the
tower.

The tower contains three bells, which bear the following inscrip-
tions : —

I. ** Jesus be our spede.*' This inscription is beautifully wrought
in Lombardic characters, and below it are the initial letters ''H. D.,'*
most elaborately finished, like one in the belfry at Elton.

n. ** Campana Beate Marie Virginis.*' This inscription is also
in Lombardic characters, but of a smaller and much older descrip-
tion than those on the first bell.

III. *' C. and G. Mears, founders, London, 1846."

The registers date from the year 1688.

ipfisfnopfL

2£lbpp!D8|lFg.
(|romforb«

MirhllDorff.

|HE Domesday Survey (108G) records that Wirkswortb at
that time possessed a priest and a church, and we also
gather from the Charter, by wliich Henry I. bestowed this
rectory, with all its appurtenances, on the Cathedral Church of St.
Mary, of Lincoln, that a church was extant here in the time of
Edward the Confessor. This Charter was confirmed by the
donor's grandson, Henry II., about the commencement of his reign
(1164).*

It was not until 1272 that there was any formal ordination of
the Vicar of Wirkswortb, at which time, it is said, that the
tithes of lead, in addition to other small tithes and offerings were
set apart for his income. Up to that date the church had been
served by a chaplain or chaplains appointed by the Dean of Lincoln,
these chaplains probably receiving the majority of the income of
the benefice, and paying a certain pension to the Chapter.

There is a good deal of information in the early deeds of Wig-
well Grange, relative to the history of this church.t Certain lands at
Wigwell were given to Darley Abbey, circa 1200-1225, by "Vincent
the Chaplain, of Wirkswortb,'* Henry Braund his brother, Banulph
the son of Walter, the ** Priest of Wirkswortb," and divers other
persons, and remained in the possession of that Abbey until the
dissolution of the monasteries. According to the Lincoln Chartu-
laries, a controversy arose between the Abbot of Darley and the
Dean of Lincoln, soon after this gift was made, with respect to the
tithes of Wigwell, and of five acres of land, also in the parish of

* Dugdale's Monasticon^ vol. iii., pp. 264, 268. These Charters are also recited in
fnU in the Begistrum Antiquistimum ff. 6* and 21) of the Lincoln muniments.
Another Lincoln Chartolary {Carte tangentes DecanatUy ft. 3S-46) also contains copies
of various ecclesiastical ordinances relative to Wirksworth.

t These deeds have recently been puhlished hy Mr. Jewitt, in the Beliquaryt vol.
xvii., No. 66.

540 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Wirka worth, that had been presented to the Abbey by William de
Ferrers. In 1249 this dispute was settled on the following terms : —
that the Abbot should pay to the church of Wirksworth for sheep
and lambs at the rate of three shiUings per hundred, for every
cow with a calf one penny, within the octaves of the Holy Trinity ;
that he should pay twelvepence a year as composition for the small
tithes ; that the tithe of fruits and vegetables {curtilagium) should
be remitted to the Abbot ; and that the tithes of corn, hay, and
mills should belong to the church of Wirksworth.

But after the ordination of the vicarage of Wirksworth (1272),
this controversy broke out a&esh, between Nicholas de Oxton, the
first vicar of Wirksworth, and Abbot Henry of Darley. At last,
on the Feast of Blessed Pope Gregory, in the year 1275, the con-
tending parties agreed to a composition almost precisely similar to
the one adopted in 1249, and this composition was confirmed three
years later by William Godman, who was the successor of Nicholas
de Oxton in the vicarage of Wirksworth. In the year 1285, on the
Feast of the Purification, these deeds of composition were oflScially
confirmed by Roger de Molent, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. *

The Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV, (1291) gives the annual
value of the rectory of Wirksworth at £46 13s. 4d., and of tlie
income actually received by the vicar at £10 Os. Od. But besides
appropriating the greater tithes, the Dean of Lincoln at this time
also received certain dues, which had once been settled on the
vicar, to the annual value of £13 6s. 8d. We beUeve that this latter
appropriation arose from the increase in the value of the tithes of
lead, which in the original ordination of the vicarage had been ap-
propriated to the vicar, but which, from the unexpected increase,
became a fruitful source of dispute and litigation, and led to the
imposition of this pension of twenty marks (£18 6s. 8d.) on the
vicar's income.

We know, however, that in 1310 the Dean had all the tithes of
lead and iron, as well as those of corn and hay. He also held a
certain inferior manor (guoJdam manerium dehile), sixty acres of
land pertaining to the church of the anual value of fifty shillings,
tenants who paid 8s lOd. a year, as well as certain suit and service
done at the court of the lord (sectu curia) of the average value of
ten shillings. The vicar, in addition to various altar dues, Easter

* References to this dispute are also to "be found in the Cliarfciilary of Darley Abbey
(Cotton MSS. Titufl, c. ix.), and the subject will be a2:ain referred to when treating of
Wigwell Grange, under Darley Abbey, in a subsequent volume.

WIRKSWORTH. 541

offerings, and oblations, held the tithes of wool, lambs, and water
mills, but had to pay out of his income, as already stated, a pen-
sion to the Dean of twenty marks. The Dean also received va-
rious small sums from the different hamlets of Wirksworth, as well
as certain pensions from some of the churches which had
formerly been under the jurisdiction of Wirksworth, giving him
a total income, in the year 1810, from this district only of
£62 18s. 2d.*

It seems that in the twelfth century, the churches of Bonsall,
Garsington, and Kh*k Ireton, aod possibly Matlock, were in the po-
sition of parochial chapelries dependent on Wirksworth, but they
had obtained their independence, and become distinct rectories
some time prior to 1291.

An account of the possessions of the Dean and Chapter of Lin-
coln, in the county of Derby, taken in the reign of Henry VI.,
states that the tithes of the township of Wirksworth had been leased
to one Nicholas de Hungerford for £10 per annum, and the tithes
of hay for 20s. The tithes of most of the hamlets of Wirksworth
had also been leased to different persons at varying sums, those of
Callow being valued at six marks, those of Hopton at nine marks,
those of Idridgehay at eleven marks, etc., etc.t

The Valor Ecclesiasticua (27 Henry VIII.) attributes to the vicar-
age a house and garden worth 6s. 8d. ; Easter dues averaging £8 ;
tithes of wool and lambs £15 ; oblations 76s. ; tithes of geese, pigs,
eggs, hemp, and flax 8s. ; and tithes of lead (?)J £80 ; giving a
total of £57 10s. 8d. But from this had to be deducted the pen-
sion to the Dean and other small charges, leaving to the vicar a
clear income of £42 78. 9d. Anthony Draycott at that time held
the vicarage. The joint value of the rectories of Wirksworth and
Ashbourne were at the same time entered as £78.

In the following year, the Dean of Lincoln, George Heueage, de-
mised to Rowland Babington, of Atlow, Esq., these two rectories,
reserving only the advowsons of the vicarages, for a lease of thirty-
one years, at a rental of £71 6s. 8d., to commence on St. Mark's
Day, 1542. § These rectories were subsequently leased to Sir Aston

* Pegge's Collections f yoI. y., i. 196; Lincoln Cliartularies.

t Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 476.

X Decima dely is the expression nsed in the Valor ; it also occurs under BonsaU
and Matlock. The glossaries of Du Cange, Du Fresne, and Carpenter ha^e been
searched in vain for an explanation of this term. Under the circumstances it seems
almost certain — as kindly suggested to us by Bishop Hobhouse — that it is glossarial
Latin for some local miner's term, and is therefore probably equivalent to lead ore.

§ Pegge's Collections i vol. v., f. 196.

542 DKRBYSHIKE CHURCHES.

Cokayue, for a like rental Bat it appears that tbe_y were then of
a considerably greater vahie than the rent, as the property pro-
duced for him a clear annual income of £124 10s., after paying the
stipulated sum to the Dean and Chapter.'^

The following is a list of the Church Goods found in the parish
church of Wii-ksworth, when a general inventory was made in the
first year of Edward VI. : —

Wirkesworth — Sept. 3(»

j wholle Bewte of blewe velvett— j bewte of tauuay velvet— j wholle sewte of
whyte damaBife — ^j whole sewtt of greue bylke — j wholle Bewte of blacke wolsted —
j vestmente of whyte satteu burgeis — j vestemeiit of whyte fustian — j olde cope —
ij vestements lackyuge all thyugs therto belougynge — ij fruntes of Telvett — iij
table clothes — ^j coverynge for the Table — j corporasse — ^j kerchief & ij cases — ij
chalyces aylver & gylte- ij louge to wells — j monstraunce of sylver & gylte — iij
old Vele for Lente — j paxe of copper & gylte — ij crosses of brass— ij pajre of
censers— j cupp for the sensers — j pyllowe for the Table— ij lytle candelsticks of
latten — iiij bells — ^j sanctus bell — ij haudebells & j lytle belle in the quyre— j
cruett of pewter — ^j crismatorie of tynne— j pyxe — ij payre of organes— ij coflfers —
j louge boorde— j old clocke.

The Parliamentary Commissioners, at an Inquisition held at
Ashbourn, June 10th, 1650, reported that —

Wirksworth is a viccaridge having divers hambletts and two chappells apper-
tayniug and is really worth fifty-nyne pounds three shillings and foure pence per
annum, viz W irks worth itself fiftye pounds.

Alderwasley is a chappell apperteyning and lyes near may be conveniently
disused.

Item Ible and Embrooke Grange are members two myles distant really worth
three pounds tenn shillings per annum may conveniently be united to Bonsell.

Item Hopton a member of the same a myle distant and adjoyned to Carsing-
ton the profitts being about fortye shillings per annum is litt to be united to
Carsington.

Item Alton and Newbugings are members of the same distant three myles
maye conveniently be united to Kirke Ireton they lying neare and are worth
two pounds three shillings and foure pence per annum.

Item Idrichaye an appurtenance three myles distant really worth thirt3-e
shillings per annum, fitt to be united to Turneditch in the hundred of Appletree.
Mr. Martin Topham is viccar able and of good conversation.

From a Terrier of all the glebe lands, houses, tithes, etc., per-
taining to the vicarage of Wirksworth, exhibited at the Visitation
of the Bishop at All Saints', Derby, on the 20th of June, 1693,
we abstract the following relative to Easter dues, mill tithes, and
surplice fees : —

Easteb Duties.
Itm Every person of the age of sixteen pays one penney for his offeringe for
every house three pence. For a Cow Id. for every Calf three half i>ence. For
evy foal a penny, for evy swarme of bees a penny, from evy person for his trade

• Royalist Composition Paper, quoted in Cokayne Memoranda^ p. 143. Sir Aston
Cokayne had thirty-three years of this lease unexpired in 1646.

t Add. MSS., 6,671, f. 298.

WIRKSWORTH. - 543

four pence From every man servant six pence and maid servant four pence for
their wages. Itm The Tyths of wool and Lamb throughout the whole parish
(except hereafter is excepted) are paid in kind. But if the pishoner hath but
fiv6 Lambs or five fleeces then hee setts the rate and the Vicar either gives or
takes at his choice. And if there is above five Lamb^ or fleeces but under ten
then the Vicar has one allowing a halfpenny to the pishoner for evy one under
that number. Ttm. The tyth or tenth dish of all lead oar gott within any part
of the parish after it is cleans'd and wash'd from the rubbish. Itm for every
Hen, one Egg and for evy Cock, two— but if they have no Eggs then the Parish
ioner pays to the Vicar, one penny for three hens and for two Ducks Kggs one
penny and for evy Turkey Egg one penny. Itm. The tithes of Piggs and Geese
are paid in kind after the same manner with wool and Lamb.
_ Mills within the Parish pay as followeth —

Itm. For Biggin Mill, fourpence. For Hopknowle Mill, two shillings six pence.
For Grange Mill, one shilling. For Wirkesworth Mills, thirteen shillings four-
pence. For Cromford Mill, one shilling. For Wigwall Mill, one shilling. For
Alder Swagslee Mill two shillings eight pence. For Alton Mill six shillings, eight
pence and for Whalley Mill four pence. Itm Imbrook Grange pays a modus of
Ten shillings p ann for the Tythea of wool and Lamb.
_ Surplesse fees are as followeth.

Itm for every Buriall sixpence, for every Churching, sixpence. But if they gO
out of the Parish to be buried or churched, or if they come out of another Parish
to be buried or churched, then for every such Burying or Churching there is due
to the Vicar of this Parish twelve pence. Itm for every Marriage with Banns
Published, one shilling and for every Wedding with a Licence two shillings. Itm
Mortuaries are paid according to the Statute. Itm. for every grave made in the
chancell six shillings eight pence to the Vicar.

Will: Browne Vic : de Wirksworth.
Sam : Buxton \

Sam : Wall f ^, u ^

William Bamford j Churchwardens.

Francis Eaton )

There have been innumerable disputes in connection with the
payment of the lead-ore tithe to the Vicar of Wirksworth. In the
time of James I., the Vicar was decreed to be entitled to every
tenth dish, on paying a penny to the miners for dressing it. This
decision was disputed in the 18th James I., but was confirmed by
the Court of Chancery two years later. In the 2l8t of James I.,
February 19th, the Derbyshire miners proposed a bill in Parha-
ment to abolish tithe of lead ore in that county, which bill was
twice read, committed, and reported, but on May 12th was thrown
out by the House of Commons. The Wirksworth miners submitted
to the decree of 20th James I. for five years, but then questioned
it. Whereupon the Vicar, Bichard Carryer, in the 4th of Charles
L, exhibited another biU, and the decision of the Lord Keeper,
Sir Thomas Coventry, was in his favour, and confirmatory of
the decree of the previous reign.*

Shortly after the Restoration vigorous efforts were made by the
clergy of the county to place the whole subject of tithes of lead

• Glover's History of Derhyshire, vol. i., chap. 2.

544 DEKBY8HIRE CHURCHES.

ore on a general and uniform basis, as very dififerent castoms pre-
vailed in dififerent parishes, and their rights, whether real or sup-
posed, were being constantly resisted. In this they did not succeed.
A scarce broadside, in our possession, entitled ** The Case relating to
the Bill for Preventing Vexatious Suits, and Ascertaining a certain cus-
tomary Tyth in the County of Derby ,' gives a good summary of their
arguments, and of the general historical aspect of the question.
They urged : —

Firstly, that though the payment of tithe on lead -ore was not
found in ordinary tithing tables, nor due of common right, still it
was not novel, for the ancient kings of this realm did usually
reserve and provide a tenth for the church, as appeared by
grants of mines made 11 June, 8 Ric. II., 9 Feb., 7 Henry IV.,
24 Feb., 5 Henry VI., 28 March, 15 Edward IV., etc.

Secondly, that it is equitable for the miners to pay tithe, as
they have the privilege of digging or turning up any man*s ground,
in search for lead-ore, whereby vast quantities of pasture and arable
land were made barren, which would otherwise yield good tithe of
another kind.

Thirdly, that the miners have more than once, on their oaths,
acknowledged the duty of paying tithes, as might be seen by two
Inquisitions, 20 Sept., 3 Edward VI., and 3 May, 8 & 4 Philip and
Mary, both taken at Wirksworth.

Fourthly, that no less than twenty thousand miners from all
the mineral districts of Derbyshire, subscribed to a petition pre-
sented to Parhament in the reign of Charles I., in which they
acknowledged the payment of this tithe to the church.

Fifthly, that decrees, orders, and verdicts, in all the Courts of
Law or Equity, and orders of the Star-Chambers and Council
Board have been made in favour of the proprietors of this tithe,
whenever thoir right was denied, but the plaintiflfs in these suits
having " multitudes of adversaries and some of them rich,'' were
put to vast expense (one of- them expending above £1600 in
recovering his third part of the tithe in three parishes), which was
wholly insupportable to the four or five poor parsons and proprie-
tors, who only in all the county were then denied this duty.

Sixthly, that the parsons and vicars of the mineral parishes of
Derbyshire pay first-fruits, and yearly tenths to the king expressly
for their tithe of lead-ore.

Seventhly, that a bill was once offered in Parhament against this
tithe, but was rejected upon the reasons given by the miuisters n,nd

WIRKSWOKTH. 545

proprietors, who proved their right from many ancient deeds and
records of the reigns of Edward II., Edward IIL, Bichard 11.,
Henry VL, Edward IV., Henry VII., Henry VIII., and Edward VI.

The petitioners therefore appealed to the two Houses of Parlia-
ment, ** as the common patrons of their injured and despoiled
churches," to estabhsh by law a general right for the whole county
of Derby.

A recent writer, describing the great activity of the lead mines at
"Wirksworth about a century ago, says : — **The produce of the mines
at that time was immense, the vicar's tithe alone being said to
have been worth £1000 per annum,"* By an agreement made
10th of August, 1778, between the vicar, the Bev. Bichard Tillard,
and the proprietors of the mines, the former consented to receive
**one fortieth part of all ore to be got and raised within the
said parish, in full discharge of his tithe ore, reserving never-
theless to the said Bichard Tillard, the tenth dish of ore on every
new freeing."

A chantry was founded in the parish church of Wirksworth by
Sir Henry Vernon in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Sir
Henry Vernon, of Haddon and Tonge, married Anne, daughter of
John Talbot, second Earl of Shrewsbury, in 1466, and died on
April 18th, 1515. He was buried at Tonge, in Shropshire, but there
was also a memorial to him, as we shall subsequently note, in
his chantry at Wirksworth. The Valor EcdedaMicus describes this
chantry as possessing one tenement or hostelry, called ** The
Swanne/' with certain lands pertaining, of the yearly value of
53s. 4d., and of three other tenements, one of them situated in
*'Peyteyate" (? Petergate), making it of the clear annual value of
£5 4s. 8d. The Chantry Boll, drawn up about ten years later (37
Henry VIII.) gives the following details : —

The Rode Chauntrye foanded by Sir Hen- Vernon Ent for a preste to aaye
masse & to praye etc. ciiij« yiijci, clere ciiijs viij(2. besyds xiijf. iiij<2. rente reso-
lute to the Eynge. Rich. Thomlynson Chauntry Preste. It hath a mancyon
hovse prised on the rentall. Stocke xlii«. ix^

There was another chantry, dedicated to St. Helen, which was
founded in 1604 by Bichard Smyth, Vicar of V^irksworth. The
Vcdcyr Ecdesiasticus mentions William Weyley as being the chaplain.
It then possessed three messuages in Kirk Ireton, tenanted by
Bobert Wood; two messuages in Wirksworth, tenanted respectively

• Wirksworth and Five Miles Round, p. 64. The vicar's tithe in 1852 was about
£1,200 from a single mine, but we are told that it has never reached more than £600
or £700 per annum since that time.

2n

546 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

by John Plonte, and Thomas Nawton ; a fifth in Alderwasley, in
the occupation of Roger Lyndope ; and two others in the same
township, respectively occupied by Robert Aleyn, and Robert Aleyn
de Grene. The total annual value of this property was
£4 Is, 8d. The following are the particulars afforded by the
Chantry Roll : —

The Chauntry of S. Ellin ioanded by Rych. Smythe snmtyme Vicar for a pT3r8te
to Bynge masse Ss to praye for his soule etc. by foundeyn A^. Dni. Mdiiij<^
iiij?*. xs. viiijrf. clere, besyds ixvj«. ijd. rents resolute. Rych. Wylson Channtrye
Priste. There is V** howselynge people. Stock xlv«. -njcL Antony Lowe
gent hath taken awaye ij tenements in Alderwasley the rent amounting to
XXVJ9. viijd. & Rych. Hudson of Workeworthe hathe taken a howse with ix acres
of meadowe.

Edward VI., in the third year of his reign, granted to Richard
Yenables, and John Maynarde, of London, Esqrs., certain messuages
in Wirk^orth, being part of the possessions of the suppressed
chantry of the Holy Cross.* An Inquisition, taken in 1601, on the
death of Anthony Lowe, mentions amongst other property, "decern
acre* past^ in pochia de Wirkesworth nuper in ten* Johis Spenser, nuper
parcelV poss cantar* Sea Crucis infra eccV de Wirkesworth pdcta modo
dissolue^'f

Both these documents also prove the existence of a third chantry
at Wirksworth, which is not mentioned either in the Valor or the
Chantry RoU. Edward VI. 's grant to Richard Venables and John
Maynarde included a certain tenement, formerly belonging to the
late chantry of the Blessed Mary . within the parish church of
Wirksworth ; Anthony Lowe died seized of lands that had be-
longed to the chantry of St. Mary ; and Richard Wigley, of
Middleton, by his will, dated 9tli August, 1640, leaves 3s. 4d. "to
Our Lady's priest at Worksworthe to pray for me."

The church of Wirksworth is dedicated to St. Mary ; it consists
of nave with side aisles and south porch, north and south transepts
each with an aisle on the east side, chancel with short north
and south aisles or chapels, and a tower in the centre. Its pro-
portions are unusual, as there is a greater space eastward than
westward of the central tower.

The manor of Wirksworth, and its valuable lead mines, belonged
to the anciently-established abbey of Repton — probably even from
its first foundation in the seventh century. In 714 Eadburga,
Abbess of Repton, sent a leaden coffin for the burial of St. Outhlao

♦ Add. MSS., 6,667, f. 77.
t Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 116.

WIRKSWORTH. 547

of Croyland, which was doubtless obtained from these mines ; and
in 885 the Abbess Karewara granted to Humbert her estate at
Wirksworth, on condition that he annually gave as rent, to Arch-
bishop Ceolnuth, lead to the value of three hundred shillings, for
the use of Canterbury Cathedral* If we consider, then, that for
several centuries prior to the Norman Conquest, Wirksworth was
owned by a rehgious house, and must have been possessed of a
considerable mining population, it is fair to conclude that there
was a church here during that period of the Saxon sway ; and we
know, as has been already stated, that there was one here in th«
days of Edward the Confessor. Of this Saxon church — the one
that was standing when the Domesday Survey was taken — there
are now no traces, unless it be in one or two quaintly carved
stones.

Of its Norman successor, although there is no part now standing,
sufficient remains were discovered during the recent restoration to
prove that it was a building of some size, of a cruciform shape,
and lavishly ornamented with the various effective mouldings that
characterised that style about the middle of the twelfth century .f

In the thirteenth century, when the Early Enghsh style pre-
vailed, this church was rebuilt throughout, and covered much the
same ground-plan as it does at present The works of this period
can be traced throughout its whole length, in a more or less
obvious way. The chancel is lighted by two lancet windows on
each side, and there are also two lancet windows in the west walls
of both the north and south transepts. The detached shafts in the
respond of the arcade of the south chancel aisle, and similar work
in other parts, is of this date; so, too, are the beautiful clustered
piers of the central tower, bearing fine pointed arches.j: The first
stage of the tower, above the piers, is also of thirteenth century
work ; and traces of an arcade work of pointed arches, that for-
merly ran round its four sides, were found when it was recently
repaired. The roofs of this church were of a high pitch, and had
no clerestory. The weather-line moulding of this roof can be seen

♦ Dngdale's Monasticonf vol. i., p. 88 ; Pilkington^s DeH>y8hire, vol. i., p. 99 ;
Bigsby's jRepton, p. 19.

-{- Numerous fragments of mouldings of the beak-head, alternate-billet, and other
patterns, as well as heads of small shafts and other details, that were found in the
m&sonry, h»ve now been built in in different parts of the interior of the church, where
they can easily be seen, especially in the north wall of the nave, and in the south and
west walls of the south transept

I The north-east pier is built on the moulded base of the pier of the preceding
tower, as can be seen in the present pavemenL

648 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

against the west face of the tower (within the present roof), and
is continued down against the west walls of the transepts, so as to
form a single roof over both nave and aisles.

Just below the pitch of the present roof can also be seen another
weather line, showing the elevation to which the roof was raised in
the Decorated period, at the commencement of the fourteenth
century, when the arcades that separate the nave from the aisles
were rebuilt, and the walls over them raised, so as to admit of the
insertion of clerestory windows. At this date the upper stage of the
tower, with the belfry windows, and the parapet pierced by quatre-
foils, were built. There were doubtless, too, at this time, many
Decorated windows inserted ; but they had all, at a later period, to
give way to Perpendicular or debased successors, with the single
exception of the pointed two-light window that gives light to the
west end of the south aisle.

In the Perpendicular style that prevailed throughout the fifteenth
and the commencement of the sixteenth centuries, various altera-
tions were made in the fabric of the church, consisting, for the
most part, in the insertion of large pointed windows at the ends of
the transept, in the east end of the chancel, and at the west end
of the nave. The walls of the nave and transepts were raised, to
admit of higher square-headed clerestory windows, the old pitch of
the roofs destroyed, and almost flat ones substituted ; whilst the
walls were finished with embattled parapets and small crocketed
pinnacles. The clerestory windows that were recently removed,
though probably in the same frame as those placed here in the
fifteenth century, had had the mullions renewed, and the tracery
removed, in the seventeenth century ; so that there certainly had
been three different styles of clerestory windows, prior to those
placed here in 1878.

Judging from the Churchwardens* accounts, and other sources of
information, there are, we should think, very few parish churches,
in post- Reformation times, on which so large sums of money have
been continually spent, and which have at the same time been so
grievously maltreated, both within and without. On the 28th of
July, 1611, a court was held at Wirksworth, presided over by the
"official,*' Mr. Robert Bamford, attended by Mr. Toby Stoyte,* vicar of
Wirksworth, Mr. Richard Warde, vicar of Duffield, and Mr. Richard
Brandreth, a Proctor of Lichfield, to procure a rate of £20 towards

* Tobias Stoyte, M.A., Fellow of Magdalen CoUege, Oxford, married Ann, danghter
of Michael Harrison, the previous vicar of Wirksworth, who died in 1608.

WIRKSWORTH. 549

*' the reparation of the churche and castinge of the firste bell."
In order **to avoyde all controversies which for the moste parte
had hapened in former tymes," it was then agreed that the rate
should be levied on the different townships after the following pro-
portion in the pound : — Wirksworth, 4s. 8d. ; Alderwasley, 23d. ;
Ashleyhay, 24d. ; Idridgehay, 23d. ; Biggin, 18d. ; Middleton, 18d.;
Cromford, 18d. ; Hopton, 23d. ; Callow, 19d. ; Ible, 18d.*

The Churchwardens* accounts, which are very perfect from 1658
downwards, enter a payment of 8d., in the year 1G62, to one Chris-
topher Wall for "fitting up of a Saw pitt. in the churchyard,"
which was doubtless used by the local carpenters, for the frequent
refittings and alterations of the interior that took place from time
to time. In 1664 a considerable sum was spent over the church,
as may be gathered from the following entries : —

£ 8. d.

Payed to y* Painters for Beautyfieng of y* Church and for drawing

with Lime and hair where there was need 18 13 4

Payed to Ralph Richinaon for gxiilding of y« wethercock 110

Payed to Thomas Woodcock for timher and workmanship ahout the

spire and roofe of the steeple f 21 16 0

Payed in part for y» buylding of one bay of the Church next to the

Steeple, that he is to have 12li. for by bargain 13 8

Payed to Gervis Clee for covering the spire and the Boofe of the
steeple and for Covering y* east bay of the Church with Lead,
and for one Sheet of Lead Layde over Mr. Loes quire and for
sodering of some places where there was needs the some of 54 0 0

In 1724, the necessary repairs to the church were considered to
be so much in excess of the means of the inhabitants, that a Brief
was obtained to procure contributions throughout the country.
The estimated cost was set down at Jt 1,900, but we have not been
able to find a copy of this Brief, and are therefore, unable to say for
what particular worfcj about the church the money was required.

♦ Add. MSS., 6,704, f. 210.

t From this it is evident that there was a spire of timber covered with lead on
the tower two centuries ago ; that it was somewhat higlier and far better propor-
tioned than the present " extinguisher" (as it is locally termed), being broader in the
base, is also evident from the engraving in Lysoiis' Dm-hyshire (1817), and from older
drawings that we have seen. The present "extinguisher," whose days we hope are
numbered, only dates from the year 1821. It is quite possible that this tower was
originally crowned with a spirelet of timber and lead in the fourteenth century, for,
strange to say, the builders of the Decorated period did occasionally thus disfigure
even their miaster-pieces.

t There is no copy of this Brief at the British Museum, or in the Lambeth Palace
Liorary, nor is there any reference in the Orders of Sessions of the Derbyshire
County Becords to Briefs of so early a date. Possibly there may be some collection
of early Briefs, printed or otherwise, but we have failed in every effort to find it.
Should any of our readers know of such a collection, they will be conferring a
favour by communicating with me. The Churchwardens' accounts contain several
items connected with the preliminary expciiHes of obtaining this Brief, but no entries
as to the manner in which the money that came in was spent. But this is not sur-
prising, as the money would pass tlirough tlie hands of specially appointed trustees.

650 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

But it seems likely that it was chiefly for the repair of the roofs,
and that it was the money then obtained that plastered and ceiled
over the roof of the chancel. A small brass plate below- the large
west window of the nave, says — ** This window rebuilt in the year
1813, Revd. John Chaloner, Vicar, Rev. Nathan Hubbersty, Curate.
R. Toplis, E. GriflSn, G. Frost, W. Bradshaw, Churchwardens.
W. Maskrey, Architect." This window is a poor imitation of its
Perpendicular predecessor. Mr. Maskrey, who here arrogates to
himseK the title of architect, was, as we have been told, only a
stonemason of Gorsey Bank. ELis plan for attempting to copy the
old tracery was certainly origiuaL The nave was at that time, as it
always seems to have been up to 1873, nearly free from sittings, and
Mr. Maskrey taking advantage of a bright afternoon, soon drew the
outlines of the shadow of the window in chalk upon the fl.oor. His
son, Bartholomew, as was stated on another brass plate, was the
** architect" of the large south window of the south transept in
1819 ; but a new window has now been placed there.

In 1820 — 1, this church suffered most barbarous innovations and
alterations, though the object was a good one> as it was intended
thereby to give larger church accommodation for the population,
and it seems to have been considered idle to attempt to utihse the
nave. The east walls of both the transepts were taken down, and
rebuilt so as to enclose a much wider area. This had the effect of
completely destroying the proportions of the side aisles, or chapels,
of the chancel ; and, in order to complete the barbarism, the centre
pillar of the arcade, dividing these aisles from the chancel, was
removed on each side, and a wide semicircular arch of a single
span substituted. That portion of the architecture of this end of
the church, which was not interfered with, was concealed and dis-
figured by ponderous galleries, the effect of which can be more
easily imagined than described. In 1855, considerable alterations
were made in the church. The south porch was rebuilt, and new
windows inserted in the south wall of the nave. But the chief
alterations were in the chancel, which was unwarrantably divided
into two parts by the insertion of a new arch ; eastward of this
a new roof was put on, whilst the western portion, with its plaster
ceiling, was left untouched. A new east window, filled with stained
glass, to the memory of Francis Edward Hurt, Esq., was also
inserted, the walls of that part of the chancel raised, and the
parapets restored.

It was not, however, imtil 1870 that anything worthy of the

WIRKS WORTH. 551

name of restoration was commenced. On the 21st of May, of that
year, the necessary Faculty for commencing the work was obtained.
This Faculty empowered the Churchwardens ** to thoroughly restore
and repair the parish church, to take dowii and remove the present
pews, seats, and sitting places, Pulpit and Beading Desk, to take
down and remove the present galleries in the north and south
transepts," and it further declared, in accordance with the resolu-
tion of a Vestry Meeting, that " all sittings should be wholly
free and unappropriate.*' The work extended over several years,
under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, and cost nearly £10,000.
A very considerable portion of this sum had to be expended in
undoing the mischievous alteration of the grouud plan of the tran-
septs effected in 1820. The transepts and side chapels of the
chancel were restored to their old proportions ; the pillars removed
in 1820 replaced, and the arcades rebuilt ; the debased clerestory
of the nave was taken down, and one of Decorated design, with
a high-pitched roof, substituted; the raised walls of the transepts
were lowered, and high-pitched roofs made to spring immediately
above the lancet windows ; the roof of the western portion of the
chancel restored ; new window-s inserted in the north, south, and
west walls of the transept ; and the whole interior and exterior of
the church most carefully and scrupulously renovated. Wirks worth
can now venture to place herself in comparison with some of the
finest parish churches in the country. The proportions of this
church are, however, still marred by the shortness of the nave,
and the blank unfinished appearance of the west front. It was part
of Sir Gilbert Scott's plan to lengthen the nave (now only of three
bays) by two additional bays; and we have little doubt that this
would be in accordance with the original design of the building,
even if it be not found that the foundations still exist beneath the
surface. But this work, together with the raising of the chancel
roof to an uniform level (and, we should hope, the extinguishing of
the ** extinguisher"), has been for a brief time deferred.

Of the objects of interest within the church, we must first notice
the ancient font of early thirteenth century design. There is only
the large circular bowl now remaining, with the capitals of the
four shafts upon which it originally stood attached to it. It is
of unusual size, being two feet ten inches in diameter, and two
feet in depth. It now stands in the north-west comer of the north
transept. Probably it was mutilated aQd ejected from the church

552 DESBT8HIRE CHURCHES.

in the time of the Commcmweahli. Its snccessor, on the Bestora-
tion, stands in the opposite transept, and is of octagon design ^ and
ornamented with patterns of unnsoal style, haying more resemhlance
to Egyptian art, than anything that pertains to either Gothic or
Kenaibsance. On one Dace is the date 1662, and on the remainder
are the initials T. B., I. B., L A., A. W., W. W., E. T., and T. B.*
We have foond the following entries relative to the settLog np of
this font, in the Churchwardens' accounts for 1662: —

£ u, a.

P* y* Joyner for y« Cover of y« font ^ 1 15 0

P^ John A«hmore And y* Carrier and Aahmore's man lor settinge np

y* font and other worke 4 7 0

pd w*. Greene for painting y« font, etc ^ 0 11 0

P** ChriHtopher Wall for dressinge the Church yard 6d. And for Ale

at the faanginge op of y* font cover 6d. 0 10

In the sonth wall of the chancel is a large piscina with a donhle
drain, and opposite to it is the recess for the almery. There is
also a small piscina, pointing to the situation of one of the sub-
sidiary altars, at the east end of the south chancel aisle.

Mr. Rawlins relates that the alterations of 1820 brought to
light two encaustic tiles, bearing the arms of Beauchamp and of
Lancaster. The recent restoration also disclosed a great number of
fragments of encaustic tiles (including a few perfect specimens), as
well as one or two incised tiles of an earlier date. Of the heraldic
tiles the following have been identified, in addition to other
instances of Beauchamp and Lancaster : — England and France
quarterly, Cantelupe, Solney, Warren, Alfreton, and Ferrers. A
remarkable tile, bearing a ram, and the lettering Sol in ariete
marciu — ^berng one of a series having the signs of the zodiac, an
alphabet tile, as well as numerous foHated and geometrical pat-
terns, were also brought to light, and have been fully described
and illustrated by the editor of the Beliquary.f

It now remains for us to consider the ancient sepulchral memo-
rials and monuments that still remain within this church. The
most remarkable of these is a curiously-sculptured stone, found in
1820-1, when removing the pavement in front of the altar, two feet
below the surface, with the carving downwards. It was over a

* The chorchwardenB for 1662, were, Thomas Bradshaw, John Ballerhons, William
WaU, and Edward Toplis. Anthony Weston was also sidesman for the township of
Cromford, in the same year, and the churchwardens' accounts also mention John
Ashmore and Thomas Blackwall as office-bearers about that time.

t Reliqiiary^ vol. xi., pp. 129-134. It is unfortunate that these interesting old tiles
were not retamed within the church, instead of being allowed to form part of private
collections.

^ISXfeJtJiifeoJJ,

•«5Ji,K^VfoJifeJj

Vi3JlK^^AtoJL)3^.

iihm^^Ji^h

wxwf^w-ojt^.

1 %mi riE-il^PKFU DE«r

WIRKSWORTH. 553

stone-built vault or grave, containing a large perfect human skele-
ton. The Bev. B. B. Bawlins (from whose manuscript notes we
have so often quoted in these pages) was present at its discovery,
and was the author of the drawing and description of this stone
that appeared in the Gentleman's Magaziiie of that date. We cannot
do better than quote his ingenious explanation of this sculpture
(Plate XXIII.), premising that it commences at the left-hand
extremity of the upper row : —

''First, there is a representation of Christ washing the disciples' feet, of whom
three appear ; near the basin lies the towel ; secondly, the cross, on which is the
lamb, emblematical of our Savioar. The figures above the cross are supposed to
be intended for St. John and St. Peter ; St. John on the left, from the head
leaning towards the cross ; that disciple being the beloved one, is always repre-
sented reclining on Christ ; beneath the cross are two birds, apparently cocks.
The third scene represents the entombing of Christ, wherein He is figured lying
on a bier, as in the act of being carried by Joseph of Arimathea and his atten-
dants to the sepulchre. The figure beneath, in a recumbent posture, is significant
of the -victory obtained over Death and the grave by Christ's passion ; the foot of
the bier seems to retain Satan captive, by being placed through his body, and
thus pinning him to the earth. The faces in the centre, over the body of Christ,
are intended for the guard placed by the Chief Priest and Pharisees at the
sepulchre, to prevent the abduction of the body by the disciples ; fourthly,
we see the presentation in the temple. The figure with the palm-branch in its
hand denotes the Christian's joy at being rescued from sin and misery, by the
appearance of Christ upon earth.

" The first group of the lower range of figures is intended to show the Nativity.
The busts beneath and the person pointing towards the infant signify the wise
men from the Bast. The next group exhibiting the ascension, where our Saviour,
bearing the cross, in token of having fulfilled his Father's will, is borne trium-
phant by angels to His heavenly home.

"The subject of the last division appears to be the return of the disciples to
Jerusalem aiter the ascension."

r-

This stone, which measures five feet in length, by two feet ten
inches in breadth, was, at its discovery, fixed against the north
wall of the chancel; but it will now be found against the north
wall of the north aisle of the nave. Below it is a small brass
plate, thus inscribed: —

" This ancient piece of sculpture was discovered] underneath the chancel when
the i&terior of the church was newly arranged in the year 1821. Vide Qent. Mag,,
Nov. 1821."

Mr. Bateman, and others, have considered that this stone was
an altar-piece, or reredos, of the ancient church; but it is to us
quite obvious that it has served as a coped tomb, as it slopes down
slightly, on each side, from the ridge in the centre. It may reason-
ably be conjectured, from its dimensions, that this coped stone
originally stood upon a larger flat stone, and did not form by it-
self the immediate Hd of the coflfin. It was probably raised some
little height above the pavement, after the fashion of the tomb of

654 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

William 11., in Winchester Cathedral We have no hesitation in
saying that this is a piece of Saxon art, and was most likely exe-
cuted to cover the remains of the Saxon convert, or, possibly, of
the Celtic missionary priest,* who first built a church at Wirks-
worth, but whose name history has failed to embalm. It was the
habit of the conquering Normans to do all in their power to dis-
associate the names and memories of revered Saxons from the
minds of the people whom they had subdued; and what more
likely than that the Normans, on re-building the church of Wirks-
worth, should reverse this tomb, and bury it beneath the pavement ?

Various fragments of incised sepulchral crosses of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries were found in the masonry, during the
recent restoration, and have been now built into the walls, so that
they can easily be discerned. None of them call for special notice,
except the large slab, now against the west wall of the north
transept, which bears a boldly incised cross, a sword, and bugle-
horn, with belt attached. (Plate XXIII.) Probably this covered
the coffin of a chief forester of the ancient royal forest of Duffield
Frith.

We had occasion, more than once, to remark in our first volume
on the sad destruction of monuments that has taken place within
the past century and-a-half ; a destruction that is usually attributed
in the popular mind to Cromwell and his troopers, but which, in
reality, is far more due to that gloomy period of EngUsh church
history, when an unholy traffic in boxed-off portions of the sacred
area not only caused the memorials of the past to be treated with
wanton indignity, but drove the poorer classes in despair from her
doors. Wirksworth has been specially unfortunate in the treatment
of her monuments. Possibly the Civil Wars may be responsible
for the spoiling of the fine sepulchral brass from the large slab in
the north transept, and of the smaller one against one of the pillars
in the same part of the church ; but we have distinct documentary
evidence of the damage, and wholesale destruction, of historical
monuments in this church, at a far later date. In Bassano's
Church Noted, taken about 1710, mention is made of the Vernon
Chantry at the east end of the south aisle (of the chancel), ^* in
which was a raised tomb, lately taken down by order of the pre-
sent Dean, Dr. Willis, to give, more sitting room ; y* covering
stone now Ues flat in the same place, with portraiture of a man
armed and coat of arms, fretty arg, and sab. (Vernon) —

♦ Vide supra, p. 128.

WIRKSWORTH. 555

m

" Hie jacet Rogenu Vemoun, armiger, qui obitt undecimo Novembris A.D. milM-
aimo aexagessi^no octavo. Cujua anime propicietur deus, Ame7i.'*

There was then, too, in the east window of this chapel, the
arms of Vernon, and underneath the fragmentary inscription —
** Vernon fundaiore Canierice* In addition to various monuments
which are still extant, Bassano described the following, of which
there are now no traces. In the north transept was " the Alton
quire,'* then used as a vestry, where were three alabaster stones,
one of which was defaced ; on the second was the portraiture of a
woman and this inscription : —

Hie jacet Elizabetha Wigley filia Ric. Blackwall, que obiit tricessimo die Martii,

Anno Dom. Milessimo qiiingentessimo Cujos anime propicietur deus,

Amen.

And on the third, under the north window, the portraiture of a
man and this inscription : —

Hie jacet Johannes Blackwall, filius Johannis Blackwall, qui obiit Vigelia an-
naucionis Beate Maria A. D. MCCCCCXX. Cujas anime propicietur Deus, Amen.

The quire, corresponding to the Alton quire, in the south tran-
sept, Bassano considered to be that of Callow, but it had no
inscriptions. **In the great quire, at the west side of the steeple,
are also two little quires, (one) dedicated to St. Catharine, in
which she is painted, founded by ye Wigleys of y« Gate house in
Wigley, and y* quire on the north side founded by Lords of Ible,
but no traces of antiquity, now belongs to Sir John Statham, de-
faced in warrs, and parishioners have made stairs here into steeple/*
In the chancel he noted an alabaster slab with the effigies of a
man and woman, and the remains of an inscription — ** Hie Jacet

Johannes Feme obiit A.D, MGCCCC — with the quartered

coat of Beresford and Hassall, and the initials ** J. F." and " A. F.*'
(John and Agnes Feme).t

♦ From Wvrley'fl copy of Flower's Visitation (1569), with additions taken by him
seli in 1593, (Harl. MS9. 6,592, f. 93^), it appears that the words Henricus Vernon
miles et Ana ux, with Vernon quartering Camville, Stackpole, Pembrugge, and Pype
(see Bakewell Church, p. 23), were either in this window or else on a separate monu-
ment. There was also another inscription — Bicardus Vernon et Margaretta tucor^
which would relate to Sir Richard Vernon, of Haddon, son of Sir Henrv, the founder
of the chantry, and his wife Margaret, who was the daughter of Sir liobert Dymock.
But it does not appear that any member of the Vernon family was buried here, ex-
cept Roger, mentioned above, and whom we believe to have been a younger son of
Sir Richard Vernon, by Benedicta Ludlow, and therefore uncle to Sir Henry. Wyrley
also noted in the glass of this church the following arms : — Frechevllle, Swynnerton,
Lancaster, Venables, Mack worth, Norman ville, Fitzhugh, Heriz, Beresford impaling
Hassall, and Blackwall impaling RoUeston.

t Agnes Feme, by will, dated 1574, devised a house and garden in Wirksworth, on
trust, to the intent that if, after her decease, there should happen to be a free school
in the town of Wirkswortii, the trustees should cause five marks out of the profits of
her lands to be conveved to the said school for ever. She also directed 40s. yearly to
be paid to tiie poor folk in a bede house in Wirksworth, and devised £1 6s. 8d. out of
lands in Kirk Ireton and Idridgehay to be expended in clothing for the most neces-
sitous.

556 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Mr. Rawlins' notes, written a few years after the completion oi
alterations in 1820-1, explain how some of these monuments dis-
appeared. He says that two altar tombs of alabaster were taken
down and put away in chests to be re-erected; "but, from some
unpleasant misunderstanding between the Gell family and the over-
looker of the works, that intention was not completed until several
years afterwards," and adds that other tombs of similar design
"were taken away, greatly injured, and never replaced."

The oldest inscribed monument now in the church, is a Blackball
brass against the north wall of the north chancel aisle. When
Bassano wrote, there were then within it two brasses pertaining
to this family. One of them had two eflfigies with scrolls — ^that
from the woman being ^^Jhu filii dei miserere mei" and that
from the man, **(? mater dei m^emenio jneL'' Below their feet was
a brass inscription, "rent off,** and below that again were repre-
sentations of eight sons and ten daughters. The other brass had
two more effigies, and between them a scroll — *^Jhu filii David
miserere nobis,'' Below them was the following inscription : —

" Of yo charite pray for' the Boule of Thomas BlakewaU, late of Wirkyswortho
and Maude his wyfe which Thomas depted forthe of this worlde^ y* xjLvii day of
Marche y« yer* of o' Lord MVXXV. o whos soules iha have mcy. Ame'."

Below this inscription were six boys and one girl, and at the head
of the stone the arms of Blackwall {arg,, a greyhound courant,
sah.^ collared, chequy or and gu., on a chief dancett^e, of the
second, three besants), and also an impaled coat which had been
rent away.

These two different monuments have been amalgamated into one,
probably in 1820. At the top of the stone are the eight sons and
ten daughters, immediately above the figures of Thomas and Maud,
who were not their parents ; whilst the six sons and one daughter
are placed close to the heads of the other two unknown Black-
walls, at the bottom of the slab. In the centre is the inscription
to Thomas and Maud, as given by Bassano.

Thomas Blackwall, by his will dated 28rd January, 1524, gives
to a priest to say mass for him, for his father and mothers* souls,
and for the soul of his brother Henry, at St. Edmund's altar, and
at our Lady's altar in Wirksworth church (one week at the one,
and the other week at the other), for three years from his death,
£10. He also left money towards the building of the north aisle
or transept, and that is the reason why the arms of Blackwall are
over the west window of the transept. It was probably also in

WIRKSWORTH. 557

this window that there was the impaled coat of Blackwall and
Rollesley, noticed by Wyrley. From the will, we also find that his
daughter, Elizabeth, had been married to Henry, son of John
Bothe (or Booth), of Arlaston, who was a ward of Thomas Black-
wall^s, and not then 14 years of age ; that he had a son Bichard,
whom he leaves to the management of Dr. Balph Cantrell, a son
John to Mr. Anthony Babington, a son Balph to Thomas BoUes-
ton, his brother-in-law, a son Bowland to Sir Hugh Heyre, vicar
of Youlgreave, and a son Thomas to his wife.* His wife was
Maud, daughter of James Bolleston, of the Lea.

There is some contradiction, and ambiguity, in the pedigrees of
the ancient family of Blackwall, so that it is difficult to give the
exact parentage of Thomas Blackwall of this brass. Lysons
suggests that there was no connection between the Blackwalls of
Blackwall, near Taddington, and the Blackwalls of Blackwall, in
Kirk Ire ton parish, and also of Wirks worth ; bijt there is no doubt
whatever that he is wrong, as is sufficiently proved by the simi-
larity of the arms, for both branches bore the same in the six-
teenth century. We beheve that Thomas, who married Maud, and
died in 1525, was a younger brother of Bichard Blackwall, whose
brass we have described at Taddington, and therefore son of
Bichard Blackwall and his wife Isabella, daughter of Sir Bobert
Lytton.

From John Blackwall, the son of Thomas and Maud, the Black-
walls, of Blackwall, Kirk Ireton, are descended. John's eldest sou
was William Blackwall, who married Mary, daughter of Balph
Sacheverell, and died in 1597. It appears probable that they
gave their name to the manor which they held in Kirk Ireton in
the sixteenth century, and not vice' versa, f

Near to the Blackwall brass, at the east end of the south chancel
aisle, are the monuments of the Gell family. The oldest of them —
to John Gell and Margery his wife, who died in 1521 — has long
ago disappeared. It was extant when Wyrley visited the church in
1593, and probably down to 1820. John Gell, who was apparently
the first of that family who resided at Hopton, died in 1526. The
monument to his eldest son, Balph, is still extant. It is an altar
tomb of alabaster, having the figures of Balph between his two

• Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 49.

f Add MSS., 28, 118, £f., 1, 17, etc. We also desire to express our acknowledgments
to J. B. Evans Blackwall, Esq., of Biggin, eldest son of tne Rev. Charles Evans, by
Emma, sole surviving daughter and heiress of John Blackwall, of Blackwall, for the
loan of valuable family memoranda, prepared by his brother, the late William Evans.

558 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

wives incised on the upper slab. He is represented bare-headed,
and wearing a long gown with falling square-cat sleeves. His
wives wear similar circular caps, and dresses tied down the front
in a succession of bows, but girded after a different fashion.
Round the margin of the tomb runs —

" Here lyeth Raff Gell of Hoptnn, sun of John GeU of Hoptan, and Godytho
and Einme his wyffes, which Raff deceased ye vii*** day of June Anno Dmi
M'V'LXIin."

The following stanza is at their heads : —

"This body whych of kynde wee have .... to earth it mnst
A gostly bodye shaU at length be raised out of dost
What harme at all receyveth- man by yeldynge nppe his brethe
Synce he unto a duryng lyffe hath passage thoronghe dethe
God of his mercy meer as those in a lyves booke us writ
Dy must thou oncdes then yelde thyself e and dred not deathe a wyt.'*

At the head is an uncharged shield in a wreath » held by a small
male figure ; but the east end, which nearly touches the wall, is
blank. On the north side are the figures of three sons and five
daughters ; whilst on the south side are five more daughters and
one boy, as well as another uncharged shield. Ralph's two wives
were (1) Godeth, daughter of Nicholas Ashby, of Willoughby-on-
the-Wolds, and (2) Emma, daughter of Hugh Beresford, of Newton
Grange. By his first wife he had Anthony, the eldest son, who
died a bachelor ; Thomas, heir to his brother, who married Milii-
cent, daughter of Ralph Sacheverell, of Stanton-by-Bridge ; and
Ralph, who died in 1601, and is buried at Kniveton. By his
second wife he had Elizabeth, married to Henry Wigley, of Wigwell
Grange ; Helena, married to John Wigley, of the Gate-house,
Wirksworth ; Mary, married to Thomas Hurt, of Ashbourn ; and
Lucy, married to Edward Lowe, of Alderwasley. The other children
carved on the tomb probably died in their youth, as we cannot find
any others mentioned in the pedigrees we have seen.

. Close to this tomb is the altar tomb of Anthony Gell, son of
Ralph and Godeth. The effigy on the top is beautifully sculptured,
and represents him in a long gown, with ruffs round his neck and
wrists. He wears a pointed beard and moustache, but the face is
somewhat mutilated. On the sides of the tomb are epitaphs both
in Latin and English.

In obitum Antonii Gelli armigeri.

Antonius Gellus sapiens jurisp' peritus,

^ui quondam patriie flosq* decusq* fuit,
Hie jacet ob dolor, o, nihil est.mortale perenne,

quam cito qui viguit mor(s) ruiturus obit.
Hoc tuns indoctos erudit lacte mineirsB,

Vivendi o foelix hso tibi cura fuit.

WIRKSWORTH. 559

^des panperibus pulchras et dona reliquit,
sit Christum in membris pascit in SBTa suis.

XJltimam Vale.
Dixit vita vale, dixit yaleatis amid,

dixit et eximo pectore vita veni.
Vita veni sine lave insors sine fine penis,

absq* labore quies absq' dolore salus.

Amicomm responsum.
Vale in Christo Jesu, vir ornatissime,

nihil maU tibi accidit in morte,
Si quid accidit nobis occidit.

An Epitaph.
The corpse of Antonie Gell, Esquire,

entombed as you see
Lye here, his soul y* everlasting joyes

posses undoubtedlye.
EUs lyfe, his deathe, his faith, his hope

are testimonies sure
God grant us many lawiers such

in cuntrie to endure.
By wrongful means he hurted none

but wished all men good
And helpiuge was to such as nedde

yf in his power it stood.
By upright lyfe he learned to die,

by deathe to lyve agayne.
Though earth to earth by course convert

his Boule for aye doth raiyne.
Mori lucrum.

At the foot of the tomb are the Gell arms* — Per bend, az, and
or, three mullets of six points in bend, pierced and counter-
changed, and the motto DiligerUia et Studio, Against the east wall,
'immediately above this tomb, is a tablet with the following in-
scription : —

Heere yn this tombe lyethe buryed the Bodye of Anthonye Gell, late of Hopton
Esquire, and somtyme one of the worshipful! companie of the benche in the
lunar Temple, in London. Hee at his oiilye coste and charges founded a free
Grammar Schoole and an almeshouse in this towne of Wirkesworthe. And hathe
geven lande worth by yeare tenne poundes for ever for the mainteynance of the
said schoole, and hathe lykewise charged his manner of Wirkesworthe, called y*
Holland lande, with a rente of xx poundes by yeare towardes the mantenance
of five poore aged and impotent psons, in y* sayd almeshouse for ever. He dyed
y* xxix day of June an® di. 1583.

Against the same wall, with its base on the pavement, is a
tablet to the memory of the celebrated ParUamentary General, and
first baronet, Sir John Gell.t He was the son of Thomas Gell

* '* Anthoni GeU of Hopton new made esquier, 1581, then taking fro the Herauldes
this escochion under (as above), before whos tym they had not any to this house
of Gell."--Harl. MSS., 6,692, f. 94.

f The letters on this monument have been gilded, but are now nearly worn off
and almost illegible. Sir John GeU does not appekr to have been a man of whom
even his own party could have been very proud, out he was one of the most remark-
able historical characters Derbyshire has produced, and it is unfortunate thai this
tablet should be so neglected.

560 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

(brother and heir of Anthony), and was born in 1593, the year of
his father's decease.

Sacrum memoria.
Johanis Gell Barronett qui daxit ux. Elizab. filiam Percivalli Willnghby
militia per qaam progeniem habuit Millicent, Bridget, Johannan, Golielm, Elizab,
et Elianor. Obitt xxvi die Octobris, Anno Dom. MDCLXXI. ^ talis sos

LXXIX.

Above the inscription are the arms of Gell impaling Willoughby
{orf fretty, ciz.). The monument only mentions his second wife, but
he was first married to Mary, daughter of Sir John Radcliffe, and
relict of Sir John Stanhope.

There is also a monument to his grandson, Sir Philip Gell* (1719),
the third and last baronet. Sir Phihp left no surviving male issue,
and the property went to his daughter Katherine, who was mar-
ried to William Eyre, of Highlow, and Holme Hall. Their son,
John Eyre, assumed the name of Gell, on succeeding to the Hop-
ton estates in 1730.

In the <2hancel, against the south wall, is an altar-tomb to
Anthony Lowe, with an effigy of the deceased in armour, having
his helmet on, with the vizor up, and his feet resting on a
skull. On the wall behind it are the royal arms and this in-
scription : —

Here lye the Antonye Lowe, esquyer, servante to Kynge Henry the VII., Eynge
Henry the VIII, Kynge Edward the VI, and Qaeene Marie y« I, buried y« XI of
Deceb. a.d. 1555.

On the front of the monument is a coat of arms, the quarter-
ings of which are curiously marshalled, and somewhat difficult of
explanation. A coat of three, (1) three roses, (2) a fess engrailed
between three crescents, (3) a stag trippant, over all a label of
three points, impales a quartered coat, 1st and 4th, three pales
wavy, 2nd and 3rd, on a fess between three annulets, as many
mullets. t Anthony Lowe was third son and eventual heir of

betwixt east and west, for a burial place for the said S' Philip Gell and his family."
— Churchwardens* Accounts.

+ With regard to the arms of the Lowes of Alderwasley, there exists some diffi-
culty. From an early period the family bore— ^w., a wolf passant, arg. — which armB
appear upon the chapel at Alderwasley and elsewhere, and are appropriated to the
family in the Derbyshire Visitations. Yet, upon the monument of Anthony Lowe
an entirely different coat appears, viz., ojc., a hart trippant, arg.t which coat was
borne by the Denby branch of that family. Now it is very difficult to imderstand
how this latter coat came to be borne by any of the Lowes, for the wolf has for cen-
turies been the cognisance of that family. Why the Denby Lowes bore a different
coat to the Alderwasley Lowe is hard to understand, for, according to WoUey,

WIRKSWOKTU. 561

Thomas Lowe, who settled at Alderwasley, after his marriage with
Joan, daughter and heiress of Thomas Fawne, of that place. The
father of Thomas Lowe was Lawrence Lowe, who married for his
first wife the heiress of Rossell, of Denby, and for his second, the
co-heiress of Mylton, of Gratton. Anthony Lowe, married Bridget,
daughter of Sir John Fogge, of Richbury, Kent.* At the foot of
the monument is a large finely-chiselled rose, and at the head a
representation of five girls and two boys, in a kueeUng attitude,
with an open book on a reading-stand between them. The only
children, whose names we know, were Edward, son and heir,
Anne, Susanna, and Barbara.

John Lowe, of Alderwasley, the great-grandson of Edward Lowe,
died in 1677. His eldest son, John, died unmarried in 1690, and
having no surviving brothers, the estates of Alderwasley were con-
veyed by his sister Elizabeth, in marriage, to Nicholas Hurt, of
Casterne, in which family they have remained to the present time.
This is recorded on a mural monument against the north wall of
the chancel, the aims on which are, Lowe {gu,, a wolf passant,
arg,) quartering Fawne (arg.y a bugle between three crescents, sab.,
each charged with a besant).

To perpetuate the memories of John Low, son of John Low, Esq., lord of y*
Mannor of Alderwaslee and Ashleyhay in this parish, w<* John y« son dyed nn-
manyed y^ 17 day of June, 1690 aged 37. And of Elizaheth relict of Nicholas
Hurt, of Casterne in Com. Staff. Esq., sole sister and heir of y* &<* John Low, y«
son, who dyed y« 20th day of April, 1713, aged 62.

This monument is erected by her gratefull son and heir Charles Hurt, Esq.,
A.D. 1719.

Upon John Low, Esq.

Great soul, for whom death would no longer stay,
But sent in haste to snatch thy life away ;
O cruel death, to those thou takest more kind
Than to the wretched mortals left behind:
Here beauty, youth, and noble virtue shin'd,
Free from y* clouds of pride that shade y* mind ;
Inspired verse may on this marble live,
But can no honour to thy ashes give.

Alleluja !
Great overliving God to thee
In essence one, in persons three:

Thomas Lowe, who married the heiress of Fawne, was elder brother of Lawrence
Lowe, who became possessed of Denby through his marriage with the heiress of
RoBsell ; though I understand that Mr. Brury Lowe, of Locko, maintains that Thomas
Lowe, of Alderwasley, was the son of a younger brother of Lawrence Lowe. At any
rate they were nearly related, and there seems no reason why the two branches
should not have borne two entirely distinct coats. And dt is still more difficult to
understand why Anthony Lowe should have the arms of the Denby branch on his
tomb, or the arms of Bossell, for according to more generally accepted version of
the pedigree, he was not descended faom the BoBselis in any way. The arms of
Bossell are placed first, and the marshalling of the whole shield is very peculiar." —
From a letter written to us by Captain A. E. Lawson Lowe, of Highneld House,
Nottingham, a well-known genealogist, to whom we have already expressed our in-
debtedness for other information.

* Sir Thomas Fogge, great-great-grandfather of Sir John mentioned above, married
Jane, daughter and heiress of Valence. The arms of V^ence were (yr.^ three pales,
gu.y which were afterwards quartered by Fogge, and occasionally borne instead of the
paternal coat. Harl. MSS., 1648, f. 117.

2o

562 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

May all thy works their tribute bring,
And every age thy glory sing.

Amen.

Above this last-mentioned monument, and at a height that
renders it quite illegible from the pavement, is a monument to the
last of the Wigleys, of Wigwell, the inscription on which it may
be well to reproduce in full, as it relates to a family of consider-
able antiquity and importance in this district, whose earlier monu*
ments have long since disappeared.

'* Sacred to the memory of Henry Wigley of Wig^waU in this parish, Ssqnire,
son of John, son of Richard, who was second son and heir of Henry Wigley of
Middleton in this parish, gentleman, who lies interred under the table monument,
lineally descended from John de Wigley, temp. R. S. John, who bare upon his
coat armour Paley of eight peices, embattled argent and gules, which achieTement
his successors have continued to bear to this time. The first above-named Henry
Wigley was honest, brave, hospitable, and charitable. He lived honoured and
beloved by his neighbours and friends. Et omnibus ille bonis flebilis ocoidit 27
die Jan. 1683, aged 41 years ; lyeing under interred —
^ "His short life did a pattern give

How neighbours, husbands, friends, should live.

The virtues of a private life

Exceed y* glorious noise and strife

Of battles won. In those we find

The solid interest of mankind.

Approved by all and loved so well.

Though yoimg, like fruit that's ripe he fell.
" He married Mary the sister and at length coheir of John Spateman, of Road
nooke in this coimty, Esq., who survived him and left issue by her, Henry, his
son and heir who died an infant, 4 die Jan. 1690, aged 13 years, ft lies interred
by his father ; and three daughters, coheirs, viz. Ann married to Jarvis Bossell,
Esq., Bridget to Sir John Statham, Knight, and Mary to Michael Burton, Esq.,
who to perpetaate the antiquity of their ancient race & the memory of their
worthy father have erected this monument An. Dom. 1714."

The Wigleys were originally of Brampton, in this county, but in
the fifteenth century they were of Wirksworth and Middleton.
Henry Wigley, of Wirksworth, who married Elizabeth, daughter of
Charles Blount, also possessed lands at Scraptoft, in Leicestershire,
where he was buried in 1553. His eldest son settled at Scraptoft;
his second son, John, was of the Gate-house, Wirksworth, and was
father of Francis, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Bichard
Blackwall, of Blackwall, who died in 1596, and whose monument
used to be (according to Bassano) in the north transept of Wirks-
worth church ; and a younger son, Henry, of Middleton, who
married Elizabeth, daughter of Balph Gell, is the one mentioned
on the monument as the ancestor of Henry, the last of the
Wigleys, of Wigwell Grange.*

* Pegge's Bcnuchief AhheVf p. 181 ; Nichols' Leicetterahire. vol. ii.. p. 787. Bichard
Wigley, of Middleton, by will dated 9th August, 1640, left his Dody to be buried " in the
churche of Wirkswortbe before the St. Eatherine Queene." He also bequeathed to
*' our Lady prieste to pray for me 3«. Ad./* and " to every Priste that doth continewe
at Worksworth to pray for mee 4<f," Add. MSS., 6,670, f. 428.

WIRKSWORTH. 563

It may here be remarked that Bassano noted the arms of Black-
wall, carved in stone, over the north window of the north transept,
a position which they still occupy, and the quartered arms of
Beresford and Hassall over the porch. The latter coat probably
pointed to the re-building of the porch by James Beresford whilst
he held this vicarage from 1504 to 1520. In addition to what has
been said of him imder Fenny Bentley, it may be added that he
founded two fellowships and two scholarships at St. John's College,
Cambridge. This stone may now be seen in the interior of the
church, close to the entrance through the porch.

The small quaint figure of a miner with his pick and "kibble,"
that is etched on Plate XXIII., came originally from Bonsall
church, but was built into the wall at the east end of the south
chancel aisle to preserve it from destruction. It was brought to
Wirkaworth, from Bonsall, by the late Mr. Marsh, the high bailiff,
who was a native of the latter place.*

The tower contains a peal of six bells. On the four first is
simply inscribed *'P. W. 1702;" on the fifth bell, "Thomas Mears,
Founder, London ; Rev. J. Harward, Vicar ; Daniel Wilson, John
Williamson, William Ogden, Joshua Ford, Church Wardens, 1889;"
and on the sixth, ** Michael Burton, John Wingfield, John Morton,
Henry Gregson, Ch. Wardens. Made by Philip Wightman, London,
1702." On the waist of this last bell is a shield, bearing the arms
of Michael Burton, being the quartered coats of Burton of Holmsfield
and Lindley, with the arms of Wigley on an escutcheon of pretence.

It has already been noted that the first bell had been recast in
1611, and we have taken the following entries from the church-
wardens' accounts, relative to recastings of a later date :- -

£ s. d.

1659. 3 April! to Mr. Fort upon the Bell 6 17 0

more payd for the Bell 8 3 0

allowed more to Mr. Fort as by his ace* 2 0 6

1684. Payd John Storer of Heage for Carridge of the great Bell

40b & for the tonle 4d 2 0 4

Payd Mr. William Noone for new casting the Tennor Bell 24 6 10

JThe churchwardens' accounts for 1872 also contain very full par-
ticulars relative to the cost, etc., of the new peal. It appears that
the old peal consisted of five bells, and weighed 42 cwts., and the
new peal of six weighed 64 cwts. Mr. Wightman charged for the
new bells at the rate of Is. 2d. per pound, making a total of
£418 12s. 7d., and allowed £235 14s. Od. for the old ones, at 7d.

* '^®J?^®®®'^**ion of this cnrious piece of sculpture is due to Mr. Gf»orge Mara-
den, of Wirksworth, the indefatigable Hon. Secretary of the Bestoration Committee.
To him we desire to express our great obligations for the information and assistance
he has given us in preparing this account of Wirksworth Church.

564 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

per pound. There were also additional charges of £115 3s. 9d. for

carriage, frames, clappers, &c.*

The following are a few of the more interesting details of other

expenditure from the churchwardens' books : —

£ 8. d.

1658. Paid to Wolly for 6 hedgehogs t 0 10

to old Bonf?aU of Alderwashe for a fox head t ... .^..... 0 10

Aug. 8 to Henry Wigley for 5 quarts Claret for Commuuio ... 0 4 2

Nov. 6 for 5 quarts wine to H. Wigley 0 4 2

1660. March 25 for a quart sacke to 2 miniBf* preacht y* day :.. 0 2 0

May 24. Given to the Ringers upon a Thanksgivinge Day for

restoringe a Kinge & continueinge y* Gospell 0 6 0

1661. P** Mr. Johnson the painter for his coining & spent in bargin-

ing w'** him 0 2 6

Given him in ernest same time 0 2 6

paid Mr. Johnson for drawing the Kings Armes 16**> Sept. 1661 9 17 6

paid P. Maiiers for making frame for Kings Armes 0 4 6

1662. pd Mr. Heape for the Church Byble 2 13 4

pd for a Puter flagon for the Communion Table 0 7 4

pd for an hower glass for y* Church 0 0 10

1663. Layd downe for ale at y» viccarage 0 0 6

pd to Thomas Smith for worke about y« Lieche gate & for a

new stile at Lieche gate & for mending ye north stile 0 12 6

1666. Payd to Mr. Anthony Bunting for the PulJpitt Cushion 5 16 0

1668. for oyle for the bells & 2 lb of candells when hee rung the 5

a Clock bell 0 2 5

for a'Green Carpet for the Communion Table 16 0

1669. pead off the Carpentors bill 12 9 0

pead to Mr. Wigley of Wigwall for timber and leading it to

Church 11 16 0

1670. Payed to Francis Mathon for makeing of a new Clocke 7 0 0

1673. spent upon labrors for helping to load and unload y* great

Pinacles & y* waying of y* lead 0 0 6

1675. pd to Thos. Waterfall for proclameing the fast 0 0 6

1677. pd the Carpenter for mending the Chyme Loft 0 2 6

pd for putting barrs into the window and pointing where the

Chyme stands 0 16

Disburst by Mr. Archdeacon for a pewter flaggon 0 6 9

three pewter plats 0 6 0

1679. Paid to Edward Milward for 31 quarts of wine at I4d a quart

for 4 Communion days 1 16 2

1688. June 14 for Ale to ringers at y* birth of y« Prince of Wales... 0 9 0
168|-. Feb. 16 & 19. pd to y« ringers when King Wilim & Qaeene

Mary proclaimed 0 7 0

1689. for cherges of a warr* for Antho : Willmott for pulling down y«

Church Stiel 0 10

1692. John Green for 7 yards off Holland for making a Communion

Table Clothe and 3 napkins ..'. 110

1698. paid for Wine & bringing it when the Bishop was heere 1 2 0

♦ The accounts relative to these bells were printed in full in the Reliquary, voL
xiii., p. 3-7, where there is also an engraving of the arms on the tenor bell.

t The slaughter of hedgehogs, ravens, and foxes in the parish of Wirksworth was
in some years very great, and must have seriously interfered with the economy of
nature. In 1688 sixteen foxes were killed ; in 1710 ravens were paid for at 3d. a head
to the number of 191 ; and the following were the years most fatal to hedgehogs, with
. the respective numbers of the slain :— 64 in 1672, 62 in 1711, 103 in 1720, 123 in 1721.
and 161 in 1725. See the previous extracts from the churchwardens' accounts of
Youlgreave and Hope.

WIKKSWORTH. 565

£ 8. d.

1695. for a proclamation & form of prayer when the King tshold

have been murthered 0 2 0

1696. pd Mrs Heathcoate for 18 Quarts of wine for Michas & Xmas

Comiuiions & the carridge 19 0

And for 6 Gallons of wiue at Easter 1 16 0

1699. A proclamation against swearing and curseing 0 0 6

In the churchyard are two stone coffins, and there is the plain
lofty shaft of a cross, aboufc ten feet high, to the north-west of the
church, which shows itself above the tombstones on Plate XXII.
Against the buttress at the north-west angle of the church is a
small tablet, bearing an inscription so quaint that, though of
modern date, no apology is needed for transcribing it.

''Near this place lies the body of Philip Shallcross, once an eminent quiU driver
to the attorneys of this town, he died the 17 of Novr. 1787: a^ed 67. Viewing
Philip in a moral light the most prominent and remarkable features in his character
were his real and invincible attachment to dogs and cats, and his unbounded
benevolence toward them as weU as toward his fellow creatures.

To the Critic.

Seek not to shew the devious paths Phil trode,

Nor draw his frailties from the dread abode.

In modest sculpture let this tombstone teU,

That much esteemed he liv'd, and much regretted feU."

The registers begin with the year 1608. The entries are almost
entirely confined to the briefest chronicle of births, deaths, and
marriages, but there must have been some singular wedding festivi-
ties in connection with the nuptials of Thomas HaU and Ann Shee,
in 1619, as it is stated — ** Malta alia dicta et facta fuemntj quce
narrate pudet et piget,*'

BioaiN is a smaJl village between four and five miles south-west
of Wirksworth. For at least four centuries and a half, it has been
regarded as part of Wirksworth parish, but at an earlier date it
was within the hmits of the then chapelry of Kniveton and sub-
servient to Ashboum. In tlie thirteenth century, Bobert de Esse-
bume obtained permission from William, Dean of Lincoln, as
rector of Ashboum, and Alexander Bluudus, chaplain of Kniveton,
to establish a chantry within his chapel of New Biggin, within the
parochial chapelry of Kniveton, on condition of its not injuring the
mother church of Ashbourn, and on condition of the grantee and
his family attending the mother church twice in the year, viz., at
the feast of the dedication, and at the feast of St. Oswald, king
and martyr.*

Even the site of this ancient chapel is not now known.

• A Lincoln chartulary, entitled Carte tamjentes DecanafUf etc., f. 20; Add MSS.,
6676, f. 27.

5(i0 DKRBYSHIKE CFIURCHES.

Z'^t Cl^aptlrs of MUitv\DMltv,

\0 mention is made of any distiuctive manor of Alderwasley
in the Domesday Sorvey, and it was in all probability
included in the great tract of forest-land contained in the
wide* spreading manor of Duffield. At a subsequent period, we
know that it formed part of DufBield forest or frith, anciently pos-
sessed by the family of Ferrers, and afterwards attached to the
Earldom and Duchy of Lancaster. At an Inquisition taken in the
89th year of Henry III., Alderwasley (Arlewashele), together with
Ashley hay and Bradbourne, are ascribed to '* Margaret de Ferraries
Comtissa de Derby pro dote sua;" and a subsequent Inquisition of
the 25th year of Edward I. assigns " Allerwale " to ** Edmundus
frater Regis comes Lancaster."* Besides the manor proper,
Alderwasley contained a separate estate, generally known as
the Shining CUff, and this was granted by the above-mentioned
Edmund, in the 18th year of Edward L, to William, son of
William Fawne (or Fowne), and continued in the male line of that
family to the time of Edward IV.t On the death of Thomas
Fawne, the estate passed to his daughter and heiress Joan, who
was married to Thomas Lowe in the year 1471. Of the issue of
this marriage, Anthony Lowe, the third son, eventually became
heir, and to him was granted, by Henry VTTT., in the year 1528,
the manor of Alderwasley, which had up to that time belonged to
the Duchy of Lancaster. Anthony Lowe was standard-bearer and
gentleman of the bed-chamber to three of our monarchs, Henry
VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Mary. He married Bridget, the
daughter of Sir John Fogge, of Kent, and died in 1556. The
manor eventually came to the family of Hurt, by the marriage of
the heiress, Elizabeth Lowe, the fifth in descent from Anthony,
with Nicholas Hurt.

♦Inq. post Mort. 89 Hen. III., No. 81; 25 Edw. I., No. 61.

i S6« Glover's Derbyshire, where Blore's accoiiufe of this manor ia qnoied in folL

ALDEKWASLEY 567

Alder wasley was a hamlet iu the parish of Wirks worth. It is
mentioned in an inventory of the ecclesiastical property pertaining
to the Deanery of Lincobi, taken in the year 1810, as contributing
the pension of tenpence a year to the church of Wirksworth.* At
that time it seems clear it was not possessed of a chapel. Accord-
ing to Lysons and Glover, a chapel was not erected here tUl the
reign of Henry VIII., but the will of Joan Lowe, from which we
shall shortly quote, makes it quite manifest that an older building
existed on the same site. This first chapel was probably erected
as a domestic oratory by the Fawnes sometime in the fourteenth
century, and suffered perliaps to fall into decay when that family
seem to have become embarrassed in their circumstances at the
end of that century. For in the 7th year of Henry V., John
Fawne enfeoffed Ralph, son of Peter de la Pole, in the Shyning
Cliff, and he granted it to John Sacheverell for life, with remainder
to Thomas Fawne, the father of Joan.

The following interesting indenture with regard to the repairing
and endowing of the chapel of St. Margaret at Alderwasley, by
Thomas Lowe and others, is now for the first time published. It
is rather singular that the year of the reign is not given : —

" Thys indenture made ye fyrst day of March ye yere of the
reygne of Kyng Henry the Eyght, wytnesseth whereas the town-
shype of Alderwasselegh and of Assheleyhey lye and stand far-
frome parysh church so that the inhabitants of the same in wynter
tyme and many other seasons of the yere cannot come in conveny-
ent tyme to ther seyd parysh church to have the devyne servyoe
as Orysten peple oght for to doo, wherefore the inhabitants of the
sayd townshype by the assent and agreement of the ordinary and
curate, and for that they may more perfectly serve God by sup-
portacyon and helpe of good crysten peple of the contre repayred
and mayd new a chapell in the honor of seynt Margaret in Alder-
waslegh, and for the sustentacon and fynding of a preste there
syngynge con tine wally as well the inhabitantys of the sayd towne-
shype as many other gud masters nere adjoyning have gyffen of

their holiness and granted to the same intent sume of a

yerely rent, sume money, and sume catell, ytt ys agreed by the
assent and agreement of all ye seyd inhabitantys yt all the lands
rentes guds and catels and whatsoever there be gyffen or in tyme
comyng shall be gyffen to ye seyd behove of fyndyng of the seyd
preste in ye seyd chapell of sent Margarett shall be gyffen to

* Pegge's CollectionB, vol. v., f. 196.

5G«S DERBYSHIUE CHURCHES.

Tho. Lowe, Henry Bradshawe, John Ward, Richard Legh, Eobt.
Alsope, and Bye. Newton of Alderwaslegh and to Will. Beighton,
Richard Spencer, and Tho. Wynfeld of Hassheleyhey, to ye intent
that these persons shall lymet seyt and assigne ye seyd landes
rents guds and catels as shall by thowght to ye most profeyt for
ye fyndyng of ye seyd preste and to see yt he have his wages
payd. Also the inhabitants of the seyd towneshype be agreed yt
Tho. Low of Alderwaslegh, ye vicar of Wyrkesworthe for ye ijme
being, and Ric. Blakwal shal be overseers that yff any of ye seyd
persons thus beyng infeoffed in tyme comyng be neglygent and do
not their trew dilygans forye most perfeyt and avayle which such
lands and other guds for ye countynaunce of the seyd preste then
that it shal be lawfuU for ye seyd Tho. Lowe, &c., to put iii
another person in hys stede."*

Thomas Lowe must have died before 1531, which gives us the
approximate date of the indenture, as the will of his wife Joan,
made in 1531, gives instructions as to being buried by the side of
her husband. There is a special allusion to the endowments of
this chapel in the will, which thus commences : —

** In the name of God, amen, the yer of our lord God a thousand
fyve hundred thyrtte and one, and the xviij day of Auguste, I
Johan the lat wyfif of Tho Lowe, of Aldewasleyle, in the parysh of
Werksworthe, with an hole mynde and perfecte remembrance make
my will and testament in this maner or forme hereafter folowynge
— fyrst I bequaithe my soul to God almighty to our ladye Sainte
Marye and to all the holly company of heyven and my body to be
buried in the roode quire of Werksworth, nyght unto the sepul-
chare of my husband Tho Lowe. Also I bequaythe unto my mother
churches of Coventre and Lychefeld eder of them iiijd. Also I will
and straytely charge myne executors that the stock of the chapell
gudds be forthe comyng to the behove of maynteyning of a prest
sei'vyce in Alder wasleyh and oder devyne servyce then" The re-
mainder of the will mentions a large number of bequests, including
twelvepence to each of the tenants on the estate, and ** two
shelyngs" to each of the household servants. It appears also from
the will that two x)f her sons were priests.f

Thomas Blackwall, of Wirksworth, by will dated 28rd January,
1524, left 40s. to the chapel of Alderwasley.J

N.

• Pegge's Collections, vol. vii.
t Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 227.

♦ Add. MSS., 6,066, f. 49.

ALDER WASLEY. 569

When the Parliamentary Survey of Livings was made in 1650,
the Commissioners reported, under the head of Wirks worth, that,
" Alderwasley is a chappell apperteyning and lyes near, may con-
veniently be disused."

In 1850 a new church was built at Alderwasley, just within the
park-gates, and a few hundred yards below the old building, which
has however been still suffered to stand, though the fittings and
windows have become sadly dilapidated.

The old chapel of 8t. Margaret is a plain bam-Hke building
under a single roof, and the beU turret that formerly existed at
the west end has been pulled down. Otherwise the walls and
general external appearance must be almost precisely the same as
when it was ** repayred and made new " in the sixteenth century.
Its dimensions are 50 ft. 8 in. by 20 ft. 10 in. There are two
doorways on the south side, one into the nave, and the other the
priest's door into the chancel. On the same side are three two-
hght windows of late Perpendicular design, and one on the north
side, which half fills up a space that was formerly a third door-
way. At the west end are two windows and a doorway leading
into the gallery without the aid of steps, as the church is built on
a considerable dechvity. At the east end is the singular arrange-
ment of two three-light square-headed windows, one above the other.
Through these, numerous lengthy tendrils of ivy find their way
into the interior of the building. Above the south door are various
geometrical designs cut in squares, but arranged with much irre-
gularity. On this side, too, of the church, are several corbel heads
protruding, which can have served no purpose in tlie present
building, * and are doubtless relics of the older chapel. Nearly over
the south door is a stone escutcheon projecting from the surface of
the wall, upon which is rudely carved what may be intended for
three roses (Rossell for Lowe) impaUng tliree pales wavy (Valence
for Fogge). Over the priest's door, in a recess protected by a wire
guard, but much injured by the weather, is a square block of white
alabaster, having the following quartered coat carved in rehef upon
it : — 1st and 4th gu, ; a wolf passant, arg. (Lowe) ; 2nd arg, a
bugle, sa., between three crescents of the last charged with a
besant (Fawne) ; 8rd, or, on a fesse between three annulets, m,, as
many mullets pierced of the first (Fogge). The crest above the
coat is a wolfs head erased. This proves the final erection of this
chapel at a time subsequent to the marriage of Anthony Lowe
with the heiress of Fogge.

670 DKRBYSHIRIC CHUKCHES.

The interiof of jJie church, which still retains the pews and other
fittings, is in that condition which twenty-five years of disuse is
sure to effect. The pews are continued up to the end of the
chancel, just leaving space for a small Communion tahle still in
situ. The large manorial pew in the north-east corner used to be
kept warm by its own fire-place, the brick chimney of which can
be seen on the north side. In the north wall is a large recessed
archway of brick, of comparatively modem date, apparently put in
to strengthen the fabric. The pulpit, of a sexagon shape, and sur-
mounted by a ponderous sound board, stands against the south
wall. The roof, which is covered with stone, is plastered on the
inside, and, though preserving its pointed shape at the east end, is
flat over the nave. Three of the old tie-beams, however, with
moulded edges, but well white- washed, still stretch across from wall
to wall.

CROMFOKD. 571

^l^c (t^aptlv]^ of (!^tomfotQ.

•^^

|BOMFOBD formed part of the estates of the Crown at the
time of the Domesday Survey. In 1297, the manor was
held by Edmund of Lancaster, the brother of Edward L*

In 1360, Edward III. granted the right of free warren at Crom
ford to Hugh de Meynell, and the said Hugh was seized of the
manor at his death in 1364. t In 1403, Sir Hugh Shirley was
seized of a messuage at Cromford,j: which may possibly have come
to his family in the fourteenth century, when there was a marriage
between Sewal de Shirley and a co-heiress of the Meynells. Sub-
sequently, in the sixteenth century, the manor of Cromford was
purchased by Sir William Cavendish, the second husband of ''Bess
of Hardwick." It afterwards passed to Henry Talbot, that lady's
fourth son by her fourth husband, George, Earl of Shrewsbury.
Henry Talbot, who also held the adjacent manor of Willersley, left
no male issue, and the manor descended to Mary, Lady Armyne,
who was the founder of the Cromford almshouses for six poor
widows. Subsequently it changed hands several times through
purchase, and was eventually bought by Sir Bichard Arkwright in
1789.

Though the history of the manor of Cromford can be traced
with tolerable completeness, from the days of the Conquest
downwards, we are unable to give a similarly satisfactory account
of the ancient chapel. It was situated within the wide-spreading
parish of Wirksworth, and, as no mention is made of the chapel

* Inq. post Mort., 26 Edw. I., No 51.

t Inq. post Mort., 87 £dw. JIL, No. 49. This Hugo de Meynell resided at
Winster.

X Inq. post Mort., 4 Henry IV., No. 12. There are various other charters relative
to mills, messuages, etc., at Cromford. in the Public Becord Office, but it would be
foreign to our purpose to recapitulate tnem here at length, as it is not the history of
the manors that we are now writing.

572 DKKBYSHIBE CIIURCHF^S.

in varioiiB docnmcnts of the twelfth and commencement of the
thirteenth century, relative to the ecclesiastical jori^iction of
WirkB worth, we are led to conclude that it did not then exist

That there was a chapel, however, at the very commencement of
the sixteenth century, can he abundantly proved, and also that it
was then considerably out of repair, so that it is reasonable to
conjecture that it was founded early in the previous century.

The first direct mention of the building that we have met with
occurs in the will of Richard Smyth, Vicar of Wirks worth, who
died in 1504.* The will of Thomas Blackwall, of Wirksworth,
dated 28rd January, 1524, leaves special bequests for masses for
his soul to the parish church of Wirksworth, as well as certain
sums of money to other churches in the neighbourhood, but to the
chapel at Cromford he leaves — " a fodder of lead, as well in
dischargo of old reckonings, as towards the maintenance of divine
service. "t As money gifts were left to all the other churches, there
can be no doubt that he intended the gift to be applied to the
restoration of the roof. This church was also mentioned in a third
will of the same century, Richard Wigley, of Middleton, by his
will, dated 9tli August, 1540, leaves his body to be buried ** In the
churcho of Worksworthe before the St. Katharine Queere," etc.,
and two shillings *' to chappell at Crumford."J '

In the Inventory of Church Goods, taken in the reign of Ed-
ward YI., Cromford makes rather a mean appearance, as the regis-
ter stands thus ; — ** Crumforde chapel — j lytle bell without a clapper
— ^j vestment."

This chapel is not noted in the Valor EcdesiasUcus of the time
of Henry VIII., nor does the report of the ParHamentary Commis-
sioners in 1660 make any direct mention of it, though it speaks
of tlie parish church of Wirksworth and its two chapels, Alderwasley
being the one, and Cromford doubtless the other.

On the 8th of June, 1753, Mr. J. Reynolds, the local antiquary
of Plaifltow, visited Cromford, and noted the following drms in the
window of the chapel — *' Quartered coat of Lord Talbot. Ist and
2nd, gules^ lion rampant within bordering, or, borne by Talbots ever
since Gilbert Talbot, who died in 1274. (He married Juliana,

• Pepge'B Collections^ vol. v., f. 197.

t Add. MSS., 6,666, f. 49. The fodder or fother of lead was eqoivaleiit to nine-
teen cwt., and was worth aboat JL'5 at the time when this wiU was made. The old
load at the dissolution of Repton Priory in 1689, was sold for £4 the fother.

: Add. MSS., 6,670, f. 423.

CROMFORD. 573

daughter of Rbese-ap-GriflStb, Prince of South Wales, relinquishing
his own arms). 8rd quarter, antient arms of Talbot, bend of ten,
argent and gules ; 4th quarter, arms of Roger de Montgomery, first
Earl of Shrewsbury."* Tins coat may have been placed here by
Henry Talbot, mentioned above in our account of the manor. He
died in 1596.

To later notes in the same volume of Mr. Wolley's MSS. we
are indebted for the following brief account of the old building.
He says — " The chapelry of Cromford stood adjacent to the south-
east end of Cromford Bridge ; just below it in the meadows. It
had for a considerable length of time been diverted and converted
into two small dwelling-houses, which were taken down, under the
direction of Richard Arkwright, Esquire, their owner, in the year
1796. Before the building was demolished, it had a Gothic arched
doorway to the south, a few paces from the bridge foot, and a large
Gothic window facing down the meadow towards the easff

But the building was not so completely destroyed as this para-
graph implies. Down a few steps, immediately to the left of the
bridge, is the " Gothic arched doorway " still standing in a portion
of the south wall of the chapel. The mouldings of the doorway
(which is barely six feet high) show it to be of fifteenth century
work. This fragment of the old chapel is now used as an outhouse
to the adjacent cottage. Tradition has it, that this was an oratory
for the use of those who were about to cross the ford of Crom/or^,
and that fees were paid to the priest-in- charge by the travellers. J
It is possible, though not very probable, that there may have been
an ancient oratory or chapel on this site in the days when the
river was crossed by a ford, but there is no doubt that there was
a bridge at Cromford some time before tlie foundations of the ruins
of the chapel now extant were laid.

The fine collection of Derbyshire views, in the possession of
J. C. Arkwright, Esq., of Cromford, includes a beautiful water-
colour drawing of the old village, taken in the year 1786. This
drawing shows the west gable of the old chapel, and proves that it
had been conveniently situated for the population. For the chief
part of the village of Cromford is therein shown on the far side

♦ Add. MSS., 6,670. f. 892.

t Add. MSS.,6,670, f. 426.

I Carrencj has been given to this tradition in Wirksworth and Five Mile* Boundy
p. 141 ; but the paragraph relative to Cromford Bridge is thickly strewn with
blunders.

574 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the bridge, where the entrance gates to Willersley now stand, and
the site of the present chapel is occupied by smelting millfl,* with
tall brick chimneys, in front of which passed the old road to Mat-
lock Bath.

The endowment deed of the new chapel at Cromford, by Bichard
Arkwright, under date 20th September, 1797, sets forth that owing
to the extensive manufactures, the village of Cromford had becomo
very populous, that it was distant two miles from the parish
church of Wirks worth, that Sir Bichard Arkwright (father of this
Bichard Arkwright) shortly before his death erected a chapel on a
parcel of land called the Smelting Mill, containing in length, with-
in the walls, from east to west, seventy-two feet, and in breadth
forty-one feet two inches within the walls ; that he had intended to
have it endowed amd consecrated, but that he died before its com-
pletion, leaving instructions for its endowment, etc., etc. The
charges paid by Bichard Arkwright for consecrating the chapel
amounted to £65 3s. 6d.t

The new chapel is dedicated to St. Mary, and it is said that
it herein followed the dedication of its predecessor, but of that we
have no satisfactory proof.

The chapel, or church as it may now be termed, when originally
erected by Mr. Arkwright, partook of the plain characteristics of
that time, and was destitute of a chancel. It was lighted by a
double tier of five windows, circular-headed, and having cast-iron
frames. In 1858-9, it was greatly improved and ** gothicised," by
cutting down the two rows of windows into one, and dividing them
with stone mullions and tracery. At the same time a new chancel
was added, the west portico built, and the galleries and flat ceiling
of the interior removed. The extent of these alterations, although
the ground plan and walls of the 1797 chapel still remain, may
be gathered from the fact that they cost the late Peter Arkwright*
Esq., the sum of £8,000.

The small tower over the west portico contains a single bell,
which is inscribed : —

*' Edward Arnold fecit. Leicester, 1796."

* In a book published in 1746, it is said of these smelting mills, that " the beUows
are kept in continiial motion by running water," which aoooonts for their erection so
near the atrea,m,—ETigliah Traveller, vol. i., p. 360.

t Add. MSS., 6,666, ff. 855, 857.

SSbbFnbfl.

ADDENDA.

BAKEWELL.— p. 11.— Sir William Plompton was not seized of the advowson of
Bakewell Church, but merely of the chantry of the Holy Cross within that church.
The mistake is made in the Becord's Commission volume. See the Inquisition given
in full, Appendix, No. XIV «.

p. 14. — Considerable repairs were done to the tower and spire in the year 1722,
when money was collected by Brief for the purpose.

p. 19. — After a careful search through the valuable and extensive collection of
Vernon pedigrees and family documents at Sudbury, we have no doubt that the
monument in the chancel is to the eldest son of Sir Henry Vernon, who died in his
youth. Sir Henry Vernon married Anne Talbot in 1466, so that the John Vernon of
this monument could not have been more than ten years old at his death.

The will of Sir Henry Vernon, dated 18 Jan., 1613, and proved 5 May, 1615, directs,
— '* Item, to buy timber for the Belfry and floors of Bakewell Church, as mine
executors think most for the same expedient" — "Item, I bequeath to y* church of
Bakewell and to y^ making of the Hood loft 6li." (Vernon Collectanea, vol. vii. f. 175).

p. 30. — Savile brass, "on a raised alabaster monument two feet high" (Meynell
MSS., circa 1820).

p. 85. — The second line of the inscription on the coped slab in the porch, should
end with^i^^a^t, not pietatia. MMS is an abbreviation for monumentuTn tneinoria
aacrum, and being twice repeated may perhaps imply that the stone commemorates a
double interment. The line implies that the person or persons commemorated
yielded to no one in piety. For this explanation we are indebted to the Eev. F.
Jourdain.

ASHFORD.—** There is cut upon the altar rails (circa 1820) 'The. Cheney, Richard
AVhitby, Churchwardens, An. Dom. 1716.' " (Meynell MSS).

CHELMORTON.— " There is an adage in the village, that when the church floor
is damp it will rain in four hours .... The Comunion plate consists of a silver
cup and a very small plate, and a pewter Tankard, and the woman who attended
said it was mostly used to warm Ale in at Funerals .... There is also in this
church a chest for Books, the gift of Michael Buxton, of "Manchester, WooUendraper,
1657. The Books, now four in number, are rotten." (Meynell MSS.)

HADDON.— The will of Sir Henry Vernon, proved 6 May, 1516, says—" Item, I
will that all the chapel stuff in Haddon shall remain except I will give any away

.... Item, I will that there be a priest perpetually singing and there abiding
in Nether Haddon according to y« will of my grandfather to sei-ve God St. Michael
and St. Anne, and to pray for my soul, etc., taking for his wages all those lands and
tenths which Sir J. Smyth, otherwise Sir J. Peneston, lately had during his life."
Sir J. Peneston was one. of the executors of the will of Sir William Vernon.
(Vernon Collectanea, vol. vii., f. 175).

2p

578 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

LONGSTONE.—p. 101. — Everingham, Yorkg, nsnally bore Gu^ a lion rampant
vaircj but the arms in the text were those of an ancient alliance of Everingham, and
occasionally assumed by them. Wyrley's notes, taken in 1593, give also the single
coats of Eyre and Hartington as being then in these windows: Lytton, and a
quartered coat, that appear from the manuscript as if they belonged to this church
or Monyash, really belong to Tideswell. (Harl. MSS., 6592).

SHELDON. — p. 113. — The date of this remarkable marriage was January 8th,
1753.

TADDINGTON.— The nave of Taddington Church was restored in 1847, at an
expense of Jb':i50. The chancel was left untouched and very much dilapidated, it
being supposed that the holders of the great tithes were bound to repair it. This
entailed a law-suit between the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, owners of the great
tithes, and the Duke of Kutland, their lessee. Ultimately this suit lapsed, the Dean
and Chapter referred back to Archbishop's Peckham's ordination, directing the
inhabitants to repair the whole building, and the inhabitants were unable to refute
this or prove that the repairs of the chancel had ever been executed by the Chapter.
An appeal for funds was issued in 1852, signed by Richard H. Eirby, incumbent, and
John Braddock and James Buxton, chapelwardens, embodying these statements.
(Bateman MSS.)

p. 116. — ^The Blackwall brass, at the end of the south aisle, was on " a raised altar-
tomb," about 1820. (Mej-nell MSS).

p, 118. — The account of the children of Richard and Agnes Blackwall is probably
not quite accurate. Various disputed points in relation to this pedigree have not yet
been cleared up. See the accoxmt of the Blackwall brass in Wirksworth church.

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH.— p. 141.— We have to admit a blunder in the second
paragraph of the note relating to Lenton Priory, with respect to the rendering of
pulloru?n et pullarumy which we have given as "cocks and hens," according to the
natural meaning. But in glossarial Latin these terms are used for the young of any
animals, and, taken in connection with haracium (stable), should be here undoubtedly
rendered ** colts and fillies."

p. 145. — A Brief was issued for eollecting funds for the rebuilding of this church,
in 1731.

DARLEY DALE.— p. 165— Third paragraph, for " Sixteenth century" read
" seventeenth " ; for '* Alderley " read " Adderley." The connection of the Milwardfl
with Snitterton is better explained under Thorpe church.

p. 169. — In the last line but three, for '* septime " read •* septum."

EYAM. — pp. 189-190. — Bishop Hobhouse has kindly supplied us with the names of
three rectors omitted in our list.

May, 1825. Philip de Blanncfront, inst. on resignation of William de Baudrey, his
predecessor, presented by Thomas de Fumival I.

Jan. 31, 1884-5. John Redefer, inst. on the death of Roger Moyser, his prede-
cessor, presented by Joan de Fumival.

March 20, 1441-2. William Thowre, inst. by proxy in the person of his
predecessor, Thomas More, presented by John Talbot.

pp. 190-191.— The note relating to Mr. Adams should be in inverted conmias, as
Mr. Wood is responsible for the statements and reflections therein and not ourselves.

p. 192. — The present value of the living is £300 per annum.

p. 196. — Mr. Peter Fumess, of Eyam, whose opinions are entitled to great credit,
says— "The cross has occupied the same position for upwards of 100 years. The
Howard restoration is a myth. The cross was elevated and restored in 1828 or 1829.
I believe the Rector and a few other gentlemen defrayed the expenses." The present
Rector, the Rev. John Green, writes to us, xmder date Oct. 17, 1876, — " The interest
of the cross arises not only from its antiquity, but from its most probable connection
with the principal cross at lona. The kingdom of Mercia was Christianised by the

ADDENDA. 579

MonkB from Landisfame, who went thither from lona. It is very natural to suppose
that they not only brought their Christianity, but also the pattern of the cross then
erected here, from the same place, and it was probably erected when they preached to
the inhabitants in those days. I visited lona about two years a^o, being curious to
ascertain whether there might be any resemblance between the Eyam crdss and the
cross there, and without any difficulty I could trace at least five points of resemblance
in the working of the two crosses, although the lona cross, being made of a more
compact stone, did not require to be so massive as ours. If the stone that is missing
in the Eyam cross, between the shaft and the shoulders, could be replaced, it would
then be about the same height as the lona cross."

HATHERSAGE.— p. 234. — The certified pedigree of Henry Eyre, of Hampton, gives
a 12th son John, to Robert and Joan Eyre, who died in his infancy. Of the four
daughters, two died unmarried, but Elizabeth became the wife of Ralphe Lcche, of
Chatsworth, and Joan was married to Stephen Thorpe, of Holderness. The arms of
this last alliance used to be in the west window of the tower.

p. 237. — The date of Ashmole's note respecting little John's bow is 1625, and not
1652. (MeynellMSS.)

FAIRFIELD. — ^p. 270. — The rights of this chantry were confirmed by John, Dean
of Lincoln (1280-1319), vrith the sanction of Robert de Hassop, who then held the
vicarage of Hope, but with full power of revocation if there was any infringement of
the prerogatives of the Dean (as rector), or of the vicar. (Harl. MSS., 471-9, f. 40.)

TIDESWBLL. — ^p. 298. — ^With respect to our criticism on the gurgoyles of the new
Sanctus bell turret, the vicar appositely points out, that "there are two gurgoyles,
one of somewhat extensive projection, on the gable buttresses of the south transept,
which were never intended as water-shoots, but only as ornaments."

p. 299, — Wyrley's Church Notes, taken in 1593, give the inscription on the brass of
John Foljambe (before it was despoiled) in much the same words as are given in the
text, but with the important difference of the date being 1388, instead of 1358 ; it also
seems from Wyrley's description as if there had been the impaled arms of Foljambe
and Neville on this tomb. If this is correct there must certainly have been two John
Foljambes, father and son, between Thomas Foljambe IV. and Roger Foljambe. See
note, page 286.

p. 800,— An unfortunate blunder has been made in the dates on the restored
monument of Sir Thurstan de Bower; for the year 1392 corresponds to the IGth
year of Richard II., and not to the 7th as stated on the monument.

p. 801.— Wyrley says (Harl. MSS., 4799, f. 99)—" At Tydswallin the Peake in Darby-
shier is a fayr Church wherein be thes monimentes, it shold seme to have bene the
place of buryinge of the family of the Meverels, whos it is." In his days (1693) the
large Meverell brass had not been despoiled, and the escutcheon now left blank bore —
Erm., on a canton, a chevron (Middleton). The quartered coat also had these arms
in the second quartering, and over all were the arms of Leche on an escutcheon of -
pretence. It is to be hoped that these bearings will be restored. The inscription
given by Wyrley differs considerably in phraseology from the present one, though
not in sense, with the exception of BeJper being the king's manor, and not
Belsor (Bolsover), where Samson Meverell was wedded.

Wyrley also noted in the windows of this church, the arms of Stanley, Daniel^
Foljambe, England, Francis, Meverell, Darley, Warren, Frecheville, and Thorold.

p. 302.— The vicar writes tons: — "I regard the five crosses on the tomb as an
indication of the struggle of parties at the reformation — when the old chief altar was
by law removed — and yet when there may have remained some warm friends of the
ancient form of worship in the chantry priests, and probably in Bishop Pursglove and
his relatives, then still living. The crosses are evidently insertions long after the
erection of the tomb, and are rudely and irregularly introduced. The position of the
tomb, lengthways, would give (if this conjecture is true) an appearance of obedience
to the law, even in the very act of its contravention. That this tomb has a history of
contention belonging to it, in connection with the reformation, I have no doubt
in my own mind."

580 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The epiticopal registers at Lichfield do not coutain institutions to Bakewell, Tides-
well, Hope, or Chapel-en-le-Frith, as they were in the Dean's Peculiar, but Bishop
Hobhouae has found a single institution to the vicarage of Tideswell, in April, 1369)
when William do Hanley was instituted, on the collation of the Dean and Chapter of
Lichfield. This is noted in the Bishop's registers, because the Vicar of Tideswell
exchanged for a Staffordshire living which was under episcopal jurisdiction.

YOU LG RE AVE .—From a settlement deed of the time of Richard L, it appears
that half the manor of Youlgreave, etc., etc., and whatever right Fulcher, the son of
Lewallis, had in VirO church of Youlgreave, fom^ed the dowry of the wife of Jordan,
one of the sons of Fulcher. Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 11, see the account of Edensor.

p. 343. — Our explanation of the terms " Doccan" and " Backsprifctle," in the note is
not correct; the former was the vessel in which the leaven for the oatcakes was made,
and the latter the wooden implement with which they were tamed. W^^nderings of
Memory f by A. G. Jewitt, p. 118.

ASHBOURN. — p. 865. — In addition to the several charters relative to this church,
preserved at Lincoln, from which we have quoted, the Chancellor of Lincoln has been
good enough to send us particulars of two deeds from the chartulary relating to theix:
Derbyshire livings (ff. 27 and 37), which have reference to the temporary alienation
of Ashbourn from that chapter. The first is a deed by which the Abbot of Vale
Royal gives back the advowson of Ashbourn to King Edward, their founder, and his
successors; and the second is an Inspeximua of Edward L, which states that King
William had given Ashbourn to the Dean of Lincoln quosque Henricua pater noster
in curia sua apud turrim London per consider atiffnem ejusdem curuB nuB per breve
ultima priBsentationis recuperasset presentationem suam ad eandem ecclesianv de
Esiehurn versus episcopum et decanum et capitulum ecclesice Lincolniensis — then
Henry, our father gave the advowson to us, Edward, and we gave it to the church of
Vale Royal, which is of our foundation, etc.

We are in error in saying that Ashbourn was vacant, when Henry m. bestowed it
on Vale Royal, for we find that Peter de Winton was living several years later, and
in possession of the rectory. See the accounts of Kniveton and Mapleton churches.

p. 369.-— The ordination and confirmation of the Kniveton Chantry, by the Bishop,
is given in full in the episcopal registers at Lichfield (vol. vi., f. 92), from which wo
find that Thomas Daubyn was the name of the first chantry priest. The immediate
object of the foundation was to pray for the souls of Robert de Kniveton .(vicar of
Dovebridge), of William de Kniveton, son of W. de K., of Bradley, of John, Dean of
Lincoln, of William de Kniveton, the founder's father, of Margaret his mother, and of
Nicholas, William, Thomas, and John, his brothers.

It was William de Kniveton, the father of the founder of the chantry, who, some
forty years previously, had to undergo a severe sentence of marked publicity for
adultery. The episcopal registers record (vol. iii., f. 104) that William de Kniveton,
having confessed to a long course of adultery, was to receive six floggings {sex
fustigatioiies) on six consecutive Sundays round Lichfield Cathedral, and as many
through the Market-place on market-day, corum processione solemnitio faciend*.
The writ is addressed to the Archdeacon of Stafford, who was to " fustigate " once in
person. The writ is followed by a ban of excommunication against all hindering
this sentence. But now-a-days, everything is made pleasant for the adulterer, and
after an hour or two's interview with Lord Penzance, he can appeal to the Church
to repeat the ceremony that he has violated. A return to ancient discipline, at all
events in certain eases, would be most salutary.

The endowments of the Kniveton chantry were increased in the year after its
foundation by rents to the value of 100 shillings from the manor of Mercaston, in the
names of Sir John Cokayne, John de Kniveton, Roger de Bradburne, and Richard
Cokayne. The priest was directed to pray for the good estate of Joan, wife of
Nicholas de Kniveton, Henry de Kniveton, Robert de Kniveton, and William de
Hyde, chaplains, and for the souls of Nicholas de Kniveton, William de Kniveton,
his wife Margaret, and Thomas de Kniveton. As the chantry priest was directed to
sing at the altar of the Holy Cross, it was probably a separate chantry to the on©
founded by Henry de Kniveton, but it subsequently was amalgamated with it. (Inq.
ad quod damnum, 16 Ric. 11., pt. i.. No. 13a )

SSppFnbi^

APPENDIX.

No. I.
Ordination of Bakewell Vicarage.

OMNIBUS GHRISTO FIDBLIBUS presentee literas inepectur^ Johanes Yotton.
Decans, et CAPITULUM LICH. ECCLIE, SALUTEM IN DNO SEMPITERNAM,
NOVERIT UNIVERSITAS nos Ecclesie parochiale de Baukewelle in Pecco, Coven et
Lich Dioces Patronos et Hectores _oculiB pietatis considerautes Vicarie ejusdem
perpetue dotaconem et provents, solodo, pro idonei Curati in eadem sustentatione —
luime esse sufficientes ; nee non, et devotionem venerabil vir£ Henerici Vernon,
milit~ac aliorum parochiauorum nostrum ibidem, qos ut filios carissios in Dno
amplexamr; — predicti, ad cultum di vbi ampliaxid, aiarqne saluti ipsorum paro-
chianor nostorum consults providentes pro vicarie ejusdem fiustentatione uberion
imperpetum obtinenda, — pro nobis et successoris nostris sic duximus ordinand ;
IMPBIMIS, qud nullus ad dictam Yicariam sue Ecclesiam admittat, nisi sacerdoB
hoste conversationis et literature^ competent ; et qud quivis sic admissas ad
Vioariam predicta, antiqua_ inductr in ejusdem aliqualem possession, jrabit, tacts
saorosanctis Evangelijs, qud in vicaria predicta, corporal et personlit residebit con-
tinue, nisi ex causa legitima, per Decanum et Capitulum Lich pro tempore appro-
banda, et he sb pena privacionis dicti beneficij sen Vicarie, — quam penam ipso facto
incurrat. _

Jurabit etiam, qud mutuum amore et concordiam inter Decan et Capitulum Lich et
parochian^B de Baukewelle, pro viribus conservabit et procurabit, — erit qud obedies
dictis dnis, Decano et Cao, ac eorum successoribus, in omnibus canonicis Ileitis qui
maudat. _

Omnibus autem vicaris sic admisus, juratus, et induct. Vic. suo percipiet imper-
petuum, omnes oblationes de dicta Parochia provenieutes, tam in fest. majoribus qum
minoribus, sponsalibus, purificationabus, piis defunct., cum ceragio et candelle die!
purificationis, et denarios Sci Pet.

Item decimas lini, cannabi croci, herbarum, pomorum, ovorum, porcellorum,
anserum, apportata et oblata ad crucem, in die paracephes, et vig. pasche, et die
pasche.

Habebit, etiam, idem vicaris omnes decimas garbarum et feni provenieutes de Villa
de Burton, pro quibus antecessors vicarii de Baukewelle, Decano et Capitulo predictis
pensione anuuam XL. s. dum terre ibid culte erant, solvere tenebantr, actualiterque
solvebat. Id etiam Vicaris in Binfrulis nupcijs solet here ix d., et po missis omnium
nupciar, alios iii. d., ex consuetudie autiqua. It«m de quovis fovente domicilium, i. d.
veniente ad Eccia, Anglice, a^i hahjhrede hal/peny, et a wex halfpeny. It. an offeringe
peny. It. in die Omnium Sctorum, recipere solet de quibs parochian oblat suis i. d.,
silicit in Die Natal Domini, i. d. Jt. in die pasche de eisdem solet i. d. Habeat etiam-
Vicaris ibidem, ut solito fuudnm vl solum, quod ol fut. Hoberti, Clerici, cum domibus,
gardino, et clausura adjacent., ad. uss. sues, et Capellanor et DiaoanX)r et Subdiaco
quales ibi esse solebant. Do et Ecclesie servientiu. CUMQUE oil. instituebat, ut
Bufficies psalleriu et exhibico .cujuslibt presbiteri, ut qot stipendiarij ibidem sma V.

684 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES,

marcar aauuatim, in toto ; et Btipendiam Diacoui annuatim, ad uuam marca taxabir,
et aubdiaconi ad decern solidoB, ultra moiifiam tenue cum. Yico obtmendam ; nostri
predecessores, Decauus et Capitulum Licbfeldenses, considerantes quarompro utilitate
parocbiorum viilarum ibidem, longe lateq a Matrice Ecclesie de Baukewelle, et a
Bemice distantium, ceperunt divertd capelii infra procinctum dicti parochie de Bauke.
wello multiplicari, ad iustantem et humile petitioue dictorum parocbiorum conde-
Bcedcruut et iu partipe subsidim quinque capellauor, vizt. — apud Basselow, Longsdeu,
Tadiugdon, MoniaBb, et Bylegh, sive prejudici dee Matris Ecclesie ministrantium
boDorifice in Diviuis, sex marcas anuuas, imperpetuum, concesBerunt Vicario apud
Bauke welle, cum unico Sacerte, ac unico Clerico interim inserviente omnesque
parocliia ibidem per suos procuratores p. ee, Buisque, heredibs et sacccssoribs. quibus
cunque, concesseruut et promiserunt_q de cetero Decanu et Capitulum Lichfeldes
tamquam suos dictos Rectores et Fates Bpirituals in omnibus recognoscet, et illis iu
parti bus de Pecco segatos et devotos cognoscet, et in omnibus ezhibunt, et qud de
cetro, nibil omo ultra predictas sex marcas occasione alicujus oneris eisdem Capellis
incumbent, petere, cxigere possiut, aut etiam vindicare, et qud consuetudines hactens
usitat sn modo Decimandi ibidem observer, debet precipue incipiendi. Decimationcs
agnorum et lane, singTil. an in festo Sancti Barnabe Apli. ao circa mortuarior pres-
taciouem modum solitum fidelit. observabunt ; renuciaverunt etiam dicti Procucatore
nomine omnium parocbiorum, specialiter et expresse, omnibs aliis petitionibs, et
demandis, ac litibus, pretemptat; volentes et concedentes procuratorio nomine qo
supra, et si aliquod premissorum omiserint, ve^in aliquo contravenerint, tunc omnes
gracie et concesBioues els facte pro nullis perts. Heant concesserint qud dicti Decaus
et Capitulum pro se, ac dicti procuratores pro se et communitati^ predca, beredibus et
Buccessoribs suis quibuscunque, qud judex a sede Aplica delegats, Prior de Cauewell
qui pro tempore fueit, cujus jurisdictionem expresse prorogabunt, in hac parte dictas
partes imperpetuum compeller posBit de piano, sine strepitu et figura judici, ad
observationem omnium premissor per censuras Ecclesiastis qualescunque. Ad quorum
omnium et Bingulorum articulorum observacionem, dicti procuratores pro se et
parocbian. predictis, in animabus suis et alior, corporaliterprestiterf juramentum.

QUIBS OMNIBS NON OBSTANTIBS, quarumvis vicaria predicta de Baukewelle
per dictos quinque capellanos in mult suo onere allevietur, et hucusque Decans et
Capitulum circa eorm sustentac in sex marc, ultra solitum continue remansernt
onerati ipsi tamen paternali afftione suis parocbianis, et Vicarie dee Matris Ecclesie
de Baukewello ulterius confitentes et ad instancias speciales prenobil Tri Heniici
Vernon, milit, concedunt pro se suisque Buccessoribs, qud de cetero vicarij de Bauke-
welle futuri omnes et singuli, in forma premissa admissi. jurati, et inducti, ultra
obvenciones eis debitas ut predictas, etiam recipient alias obvenciones dicte Ecclesie
infra totam parocbiam de Baukewelle, que diet. Decano et Capitulo Licb a tempore
cujus contrarij memoria bomi non existat continue pertinuert, et bucusque solute sunt
jur, dicti Ecclie que que specialiter bic exprimuntur, vizt.— a laiighton peny de quovs
babente bortum. Item a ploughe peny de quovs, tenente aratr infra totam parocbium.
It. a shrifte peny. Item pro quvs vacca et vitulo i. d. ob. Item pro omnijpullo equo.
It. pro lacte omnium XX ovium matricu ii d. It. an hand peny, de quovs serviente.
Pro bijs a vicaria predictis recipiend., que antea Decano et Capitnlo Lich continue
pertinuert, omnes vicarij ibidem futuri sol vet annuati, imperpetu, sex marcas quirqne
capellan, sacerdotibs, in diet. Capells sic prejndico matric Ecclesie congme in divins
servientibs ; viz.— Capellano Capelle de Basslow, quindeci soh Capellano Capelle de
Longsden, quindeci sol. Capellao Capelle de Tadington, quindeci sol. Capellano Capelle
de Moniasb, quindeci sol.^t Capellao Capelle de Beigbley viginti sol. debit teris, viz. —
infeste purificaoiiis Be Me Virginis, et Natalis Bi Joban Bapti, per equales pooions, in
plenam deonarcoem dictorum, Decan et Capituli, et solutionem quslibt dictis quinque
Capellan ulteris faciendS, juxta qud in eorum admissis ipsi Vicarii primits juravert
ant jurat, si istas nobis Ordinacoes debuerint, que etiam Vicarii si aliqum ad
boc jurati, admissi fuerent ad predicta supplenda omnia, omni tempore futuro per
censuras ecclesiasticas ad juramenta, pari forma compell&t per dictos Decanum et
Capitulum. Et qud etiam duos Capellaos et dicos. Cler. oli vocatos diaconi et sub-
diaconi, secum commensales exhibebunt, in testimonium invenr clerical amce
honestat et luiaria Ecclesie ibid, ac panes, miBsales, uuum, Bolita sustinebit.

APPENDIX. 585

t^t he ordinacues nostre Decau et capituli Licli imppni. stabil. permauet, in con-
firmacoe ejuadem perpetuam, supplicavinis huiniliter reverend, patrem et Domiuuxn.
Will. Di Gra, Coveu. et Lich. Epus, tanquam omnia premissa confirmantem suc^
concensn et auctate sigillum appouere ; et dictum nobile vir Henricam Veinon
Militem etiam sunm sigillum apposuit, et nos Dccans et Capitelin Lich. anti dicti,
cum omni alacrite spiritui ad omnium id. parochianor carissimor commodum et
pofectum, sigillum nostr commune presentibs et apponi fecims in vicarie prelate
perpetuu robr, stabil, et incolumie.

Dat. Lich. in Domo nostre Capitellari, Anno Dni MiUesimo, quadringentestimo, et

nonagesimo quarto die Mensis Junij. [From a document in the church

chest at Bakewell. The above is a corrected copy that appeared in the Reliquary^
vol. iv., No. 16. We were not able to find the original of this at Lichfield.]

No. II.
Cantaria apud Herthul in Parochia de Bankewell.

NovERiNT univerHi ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit quod cum coutencio mota
fuibset inter domiuos Decauum et capitulum Lichfeld' ex una parte et domiuum
Eicardum de Herthull mihtem ex altera super cantariam in capella ejusdem
militis apud Herthull', habendam, dicta contencio inter Decanum et capitulum
et militem prenominatos amicabiliter conquievit in hunc modnm. Videlicet quod
idem miles solvet annuatim de camera sua matrici ecclesie de Baucwell' unam
marcam argenti apud Bancwell', scilicet iu festo purificacionis beate Marie sex
solidoB et octo denarios, Et in festo nativitatis beati Johaunis Baptiste sex solidos
et octo denarios. Idem etiam miles de loco certo a dictis Decano et capitulo
approbandum infra biennium vel triennium ad ultimum providebit, ubi dicta marca
solvi poterit perpetuo. Dicti etiam Becani et capitulum omiios decinias garbanim
et feni de villa et toto territorio de Herthull provenientes cum principali legato et
denariis beati Petri et omnibus sliis que dicta matrix ecclesia de Bancwell habere
consuevit in confeccionem presentis instrumenti plene percipient. Cetera vero
omnia de dicta villa proveniencia ad susteutacionem cappellani in dicta capella
ministrantia de cetero remanebunt. Idem vero capellanus necnon omnes homines
de dicta villa de Herthull dictam matricem ecclesiam de Banckwell et ejusdem
ecclesie capitulum sequitur sicut consueverunt. Et dictus capellanus pro cura dicte
matricia ecclesie presentabitur. Et dictis Decano et capitulo Lichfeld cauonicam
obedienciam ropromittet et sacrameutum fidelitatis prestabit. Si vero contigerit
dictum militem vel heredes suos in solucionc dicte niarce iu toto vel iu pane ali-
quando cessare Cantaria dicte capelle, ex tunc cessabit. Et omnes decimas tarn
majorea quam minores necnon et omnia alia t>t.iritualia dedicta villa proveniencia
dicta matrix ecclesia quousque sibi plenarie satisfactum faerit sine omni diminu-
cione percipiet, ut ante omnia premissa perpotue finuitatis robur optiueant tarn
dicti Decanus et capitulum quam dictus Bicardus miles presenti scripto ad modum
cirograffy confecto sigilla sua alternatim opposueruut, Actum in Ecclesia Cathe-
dral! de Lichfeld' iiij*® Kalendas Januarii, Anno gracie M.CC quinquogesimo nono
in presencia magistrorutn Petri de Radenovere (?) Kadulfi de Chaddeaden
thesaurarii Lichfeld', Bicardi de Mepham Archidiaconi StajSEord', et Henrici de
Wysohawe, domini Roberti de Herthull, militis^ Rogeri de Draytone, clerici,
Henrici de Thoye et aliorum. — [Harl. MSS., 4799, f. 10. Magnum Begistrum
Album, f. 93 »]

No. III.
Cantaria de Monihacs ter in septimana.

UNiVERiJiH Sancte matris ecclesie filiia ad quos litere presentes pcrveneriiit
Robertus de Salocia et Matthcus filius Odouis de Estone eternam in domino
fialutem. Noverit universitas vestra nos dedisse et concessisjBo matrici ecclerfie

586 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

de Bancwell in purani et pepetnam elemoseriain unam bovatam terre ciun uno
tofto in yilla de Moniaseoh cum omniboB pertinenciis et asiamentis et cmn onini
libera communia liberam et qoietam ab omni seculari servicio et ezaccione, pre-
dicta vero ecclesia de Bancwell inveniet cantariam capelle de Moniassche per
proprium capellanum ter in ebdomeda scilicet die dominica et die mercnrii et die
Veneris, concessimas etiam coiiimuni assensn hominom ejusdem ville quod quod
libet mesuagium predicte viUe de Moniasche dabit nnom obolom singolis annis
ad laminare inveniendum in capella de Moniassche preter luminare quod matrici
ecclesie de Bancwelle dare consuevit. Nos eoiam et homines nostri de Moniassche
affidavimus in manu domini Galfridi CoTentrensis episcopi quod prefata ecclesia
de Bancwell occasioue hujus cantarie in decimis vel devencionibus Tel aliis
consuetudinibus nullum pacietur detrimentum, omnibus autem festivitatibus
anni scilicQt die nativitatis domini et die Pasche et die omnium sanctorum
homines de Moniassche matricem ecclesiam suam de Bancwell prout alii paroch-
iani adhibunt ut autem hec nostra concessio rata et inconcussa permaneat earn
sigillorum nostrorum opposicione roboravimus. BLiis testibus, magistro Rogero
decano Lincoln', magistro Roberto, Archidiacano Salopie, magistro Raduifo de
Essebume, magistro Ascelino Roberto filio Radulfi, Ricardo de Hurthulle, Adamo
de Edenesoner, Ricardo de Pecc6, Willelmo porcario, magistro Waltero Malet.--
[Uarl. MSS., 4799, 1 26., Magnum Begwtrutn Album, f. 168.]

No. IV.

AUENACIO TEBBE D£ MONIASOHE INTEBDIGTA.

OuNiBus Christi fidelibus presentes literas inspecturis Willelmus filius Alani,
salutem in domino. Noverit universitas vestra quod cum viri venerabiles
RadulfuB, Decanus et capitulum ecclesie Lich' mihi et heredibus meis concessis-
sent et dedissent in feodum et hereditatem unum mansum et unam bovatam terre
cum pertinentiis in manias tenenda et habenda de sis et eorum successoribus per
hberum servicium decem soUdorum annorum (sic), Ego ex certa et expressa ac
fideli pactione obligavi me et heredes meos eisdem decano et capitulo et eorum
successoribus in perpetuani quod uec ego nee heredes mei dictum tenementum
particulatim unquam possimus diminuere nee per partes in aliquem vel aliquos
transferre, sed illud in perpetuum integrum conservabimus et indivisum. Hiis
quibus de gradu in ^radum jm-e debebitur hereditario nee illud integrum judeis
aut viris religiosis seu cuicunque alteri dare, vendere vel invadiare aliquando
possimus nisi do eorumdem et successorum suorum assensu espresso. Et si per me
aut aliquem heredum meorum secus in aliquo circa dictum tenementum actum
fuerit, aliquando irritum sit et iuaue et viribus penitus careat quicquid in hac
parte actum fuerit, liceat ex tuuc predictis decano et capitulo et eorum suc-
cessoribus dictum tenementum libere iugredi et in suo pacifice dominico tenere
absque mei seu heredum morum aut cujuscunque per nos in toto vel in parte
inde feofati reclamaciono. In cujus rei testimonium huic scripto pro me et here-
dibus meis sigillum meuni apposui. Hiis testibus, domino Raduifo ecclesie Lich-
feld', decano, Thoma de Wimoudham, ejusdem ecclesie precent-ore, magistris
Petro de Radenovere, et Willelmo de Attleberge dominis Willelmo de Stausted,
Willelmo de Neutone, Johanne de Sparham, Walkelino pretacte (? predicte) eccle-
sie canonicis, et aliis. — [Harl. MSS., 4799, f. 27. Magnum Registrum Album,
t 162.]

No. V.

Origin ALIA Boll. 22 Edward hi. Roll 47.

In compote R. Thoresby )
de Hanaperio Anno xxijo (

- NiciioLAUs DE CoNOEBDONE ct Johanucs frater eius flnoni fccerunt cum
Kege per centum solidos solutos in Hanaperio suo pro liccncia

APPENDIX, 587

habenda quod ipai quinque marcatas redditus ezeuntes de omnibtiB
terris et tenementie ipsorom Nicholai et Johannis in Stenerdale Moui-
assh et Cheilmardoue coucedere pbssint et assignare cuidam Capellano
Habendum ad mauum mortuam. Teste Bege apnd WeBtiuonasteriam
tercio die Julli.

No. VI.
Inq. ad quod damnum; 11 Edward II. No. 97.

Inquisicio facta in quadam placea vasti infra forestam de Pecco que vocatnr
Feirfeld die Lune proxima ante festum Sancti Luce evangeliste Anno regni Regis
Edwardi filii Regis Kdwardi vndecimo coram Philippo de Say et Johanne de
Thwayt per literas patentee dicti domini Regis assiguatis ad inquirendum de vastis
in foresta predicta vnde dominus Bex potent approiari, Et de dominicis terris
alienatis, Et de feodis militum, Et advocacionibus Ecclesiamm ad Castrum de
Alto Pecco pertinent! bus, per Walterum Waldeshef custodem foreste predicte, Et
per Thomam filiura Thome le Bagged, Bogerum de Melner, Bicardum le Bagged
de Chisseworth, Bicardum Broun, Thomam Foleiaumbe, Bicardum Danyel,
Bicardum le Archer, Nicholaum Foleiaumbe, Adam Gounfrey, Willelmum Hally,
Petrum de Shattone', Bobertam le Heire, et Nicholaum de Baggeshaghe Fores-
tarios de feodo in foresta predicta, Et per Philippimi de Stredleghe, Willelmum
de Grattone, Bobertum le Bagged, et WUlelmum del Haghe, Viridarios foreste
predicte, Et per Bicardum de Paddeleghe, Johannem de Smaleleghea, Bobertum
del Cloghe, Bobertum de Wardelowe, Bicardum de Buckestoncs, Alanum del Halle,
Benedictum de Shakelcros, Alanum del Halle (sic, a second time), Johannem
Broun, Johannem de Bradewell, Bobertum de Baggeshaghe, Badulfum filium
Nicholai, Begardatores foreste predicte, Et per Willelmum de StafTord, Hugonem
de Bredbury, Bicai'dum del Cloghe, Willelmum le Bagged de Bouworthe, Bicardum
de Baggeshaghe, Galfridum filium fabri, Willelmum on le Kyrkeyerd, Bobertum le
Taillour, Johannem filium Tele, Johannem de Chinley, Nicholaum de la Forde, et
Thomam Martyn probos homines Juratos et super sacramentum suum oneratos
in premissis, Qui omnes predict! Jurat! dicunt super sacramentum suum quod
dominus Bex habet quoddam vastum in Feirfeld in foresta predicta quod continet
in se MUle et quiugentas acras terre Et quod dominus Bex potest se approiare de
Quingentis acris vasti iliius et valet quelibet acra vasti illius. ij. solidos ad
ingressum et. vj. denarlos per annum ad arentandum. Et quod dominus Bex habet
vuum vastum in Longedendalo quod vocatur Maynestonesfeld et quod dominus
Bex potest se approiare de centum acris vasti Et valet quelibet acra. xij. dena-
rios ad ingressum et iiij. denarlos per annum, Et quod in Longcdendale dominus
Bex habet centum acras vasti in diversis locis de quibus Quiuquaginta tres acre
arrentate sunt ad vltima placita foreste ex licencia et voluntate ballivorum de Alto
Pecco tunc temporis sine warranto, Et de residuis que sunt Sexagiuta septem
acre dominus Bex potest se approiare Et valet quelibet acra. xij. denarios ad
ingressum et quatuor denarios per annum, Et quod in Campana dominus Bex
habet viginti quatuor acras, vasti que arentat^ sunt post vltima placita foreste
in comitatu Derbiensi, ex licencia Ballivorum qui pro tempore fucrint sine
waranto Et quod dominus Bex Johannes fuit verus advocatus Ecclesiarum de
Bachequell Tydeswell et Hope cum capellis ad easdem Ecclesias annexis que
quidem Ecclesie appropriate sunt decano et capitulo Licheffeldensi et Priori de
Lentone et conventui eiusdem de quarum advocacione et appropriacione idem
decanus et capitulus Licheffeldensis Prior et conventus de Lentone dicunt se
habere cartas progenitorum Begis nunc sed si habeant ignorant Dicuntr eciam
quod dominus Henricus Bex avus Begis nunc approiavit se de quadam villa que
vocatur Boudone in qua plures sunt Hameletty, Et quod post approiamentum
huiusmodo factum quedam capella fundata fuit in solo predict! Begis Henrici per
homines tunc temporis habitantos Et vocatur Capella del Frithe Et postea per
quendam Epiacop'um Conventriensem et Licheffeldenseni Alexandrum nomine
concessa fuernnt eidem Capello Sepultura et Baptistarium tempore eiusdem
Begis, Et modo est Ecclesia parochialis Et quod Decanus et capitulus Liclie-

588 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHE8.

ffeldensis et Prior de Leutoue et conventus eiusdem Eoclesiam illam teuent in
ProprioB vsus de qua advocacione et . appropriacione si habeant verum Titalam an
Hon iguoraut, Et quod de feodis Militum et de dominicis terns vsurpatis et occu-
patis uichil siount, In cuius rei testimonium onmes predicti Jurati huic Inquisi-
cioni sigilla Bua opposuerunt.

No. VII.

Inq. Post Mobt. 6 Richard II. No. 41.
Memb. 8.

Inquisicio capta apud Tiddeswall xvj die Junij anno regui regis Ricardi second^
post conquestum sexto coram Wiilebno de Sallowe Escaetore domini Regis iu
Comitatu Derbiensi virtute breris domini Regis eidem Escaetori directi et huic
Inquisicioni cousuti per sacramentum Nicliolai del Leghes Stephaui Martyn Jobau-
nis del Tunstcde Thome Amot Johannis de Prescluf Willelnii de Bagsha^he
Thome de Kyndur Ricardi de Stauedone Nicholai de Wardlaw Thome iilij
Alani Johannis Hebbe et Rioardi filij Thome de Lyttone . Qui dicunt super sac-
ramentum Buum quod Willelmus de ffumiuall Chiualer obijt seisitus coniuuctim
cum Thomasia vxore eius iam superstite de quadragesima parte Tnins feodi militid
que Nicholaus de Padley Johannes de Stafford Isicholaus filius Willelmi de
Nether Padley et Nicholaus de Stauedone tenuerunt inter eos de predictit»
Willelmo et Thomasia vxore sua iam superstite que valet per annum ij. b. vj. c'.
vt de Manerijs de Eyum et Mideltone in comitatu predicto . Item dicunt quod
predictis Willelmus et Thomasia vxor eius coniunctim ffeoffati in aduocacioue
ecclesie de Eyum cum pertinencijs assignata Juhanue que fuit vxor Thome ffur-
niuall in dotem que valet per annum x. Marcas. Et dicant quod non sunt plura
feoda militnm nee aduocaciones ccclesiarum pertinentes predictis Willelmo et
Tliomasio in comitatu predicto In cuius rei testimonium predicti Juratores huic
Inquisicioni sigilla sua opposuerunt Data loco die et anno supradictis.

Memb. 28.
Inquisicio capta apud Eyum octano die Maij anno regni regis Ricardi secundi
post conquestum sexto coram Willelmo de Sallowe Escaetore domini R^gis in
comitatu Derbiensi virtute brevis domini Regis eidem Escaetori directi et huis
Inquisicioni consuti per Bacrameutum Stephani Martyn Johannis del Tunstec
Nicholai del Leghos Nicholai de Wardlawe Thome Amot Henrici de Padley
Ricardi de Leghetun ..........

Nicholai de Kossyngton Nicholai de Baumford et Ricardi de Stadun Juratorum
Qui dicunt super sttcramoutum suum quod Willelmus de ffurniuali Chiualer de-
functus nulla teuuit terras nee tenementa in comitatu predicto de Rege capite die
quo obijt set dicunt quod idem Willelmus cum Thomasia vxore eius modo super
Btite coniunctim ffeoffatus est ex ffeoffamento Edmundi del Claye .
Maneria de Eyum Midelton Baumford et Brassyngton cum pertinencijs suis iu
dominico buo vt de feodo die quo obijt videlicet Manerium de Eyum de Duce
Lancastrie vt de honore de Alto Pecco .......

Et est ibidem quidam situs niauerij qui valet per annum vj. d. Et sunt ibidem
due bouate terre que valent per annuqi xx. s. Et est ibidem quoddam Molen-
dinum aquatioum quod valefc per annum . . . • . . ' et

tenementa in manibus tenendum ad voluntatem et reddunt inde per annum
centimi solidos ad terminos sancti Martini et Pasche equaliter Bt dicunt quod
placita et perquisita curie . . . . , < . de Willelmo de

Cheddworthe per semicium vnius sparvarij . Et est ibidem vna bonata terre quo
valet per annum xiij. s. iiij. d. Et sunt ibidem terre et tenementa in manibus
tenenciuni ad voluntatem et reddunt inde per annum ad terminos sancti Michaelis
et Pasche equaliter . Et dicunt quod placita et perquisita curie ibidem valent per
annum vj. d. . Et dicunt quod teiTe et tenementa in manibus tenendum in
Baumford tenentur de ..... . annum et reddunt

inde per annum centum solidos ad terminos Bancti Michaelis et Pasche . Et
placita et porquisita curie ibidem valent per annum viij, d. Kt dicunt quod terre
et tenementa in Brnssyngtone ...... tenentur

APPENDIX. 689

lie Ducti Laucastrie per Beruicium xij denariornm per annnm ot reddant iode per
annum centum solidos ad terminos [sancti] Michael! s et Fasche eqiialiter . £t
pl<icita ct perquisita curie ibidem valent per annum. .....

Willelmus de ffiirniuall nulla alia terras nee teuementa tenuit in dominico nee in
servicio do Rege nee de aliquo alio in comitatu predicto die quo obijt . Et dicunt
quod predictuB WillelrauB obijt duodecimo die Aprilis vltimo preterito . £t dicunt
quod Johanna filia predicti Willelmi vxor Thome de Neuille propinquior beres
eius est et etatis xv. annorum et amplius. In cuius rei testimonium predicti
Juratores huic Inquisicioni sigilla sua apposuerunt Data die loco et anno supra-
dictis. [Much of this Ifiquisition is illeffible.']

No. VIII.
Charteb Roll, 7th John (1206), No. 7, Memb 8 dors.

Johannes, Dei gracia etc, Sciatis nos concessisse et has carta nostra coufirmasse
venerabili patri nostro G. Coventrie Episcopo et successoribus suis in perpetuam
elemosinau ecclesiam de Hoppe cum capella de Tydeswell et cum omnibus aliis
ad ecclesiam vel capellam pertinentibus et decimis et oblacionibus et omnibus
obventionibus in terris & pasciAs et omnibus aliis cum jure scilicet advocationis &
cum omni alio jure quod in ecclesia ilia vel capella seu earum pertineutiis inte-
gritate & libertate in perpetuum possidendas ut secundum disposicionem ejusdem
Episcopi et omnium successorum suorum omnibus fnturis temporibus ecclesia ilia
& capella sui vel quibiis voluerint personis debent in perpetuum assignari vel in
prebcndam vel in honorem alicujus ecclesiarium suarum vel Coventrie vel Lich-
feldie vel in alios usus pro voluntate ipsius Episcopi Que omnia concessimus
bone memorie Episcopo Hugono predecessori prenominati Episcopi G. dum esse-
mus Comes Moreton sicut carta nostra quam tunc ei inde focimus qnam habent
rationabiliter testatur Quare volumus etc, quod predictus Episcopus G. et succos-
sores sui habeant & teneant predictam ecclesiam cum capella & omnibus perti-
neutiis eoram & cum omnibus aliis predictis bene et in pace libere & quiete
integre & honorifice iu omnibus locis & rebus cum omnibus libertatibus & liberis
consuetudinibus ad ea pertinentibus sic predictum est.

Testibus, Domiuis W. Londouiensis, J. Norwici, Episcopis, G. filio. Petri
Comitis Essexiro, W. Marc Com Pembrok, W. Com Sarr, Alberc de Veer, Com
OxouicB, Roger de Lascy Constabulario Cestrie, Saho de Quency, W. de Briwerr,
Sim one de Pastesh. Data per manus H. de Well Archidiaconi WellsB apud Augr.

die Augusti anno etc, vij.

No. IX.
Certifioacio de Priore Lentone citato.

Relioioso viro Priori de Charleya Lincoln' diocesis Religiosi viri domini Abbatis
Monasterii de Gemdone dicte Lincoln' diocesis Jndicis unici sub forma infra-
soripta a sede apostolica delegati commissario sive subdelegato, officialis cfomini
Archidiaconi Stafford' salutem, obedienciam, reverentiam et honorem. Mandatura
vestrum recepi sub eo qui sequitur tenori Prior de Charleya Lincoln' diocesis
Religiosi viri domini Abbatis monasterii de Gemdone dicte Lincoln' diocesis
Judicis unici sub forma que sequitur, Johannis Episcopus servus servorum dei,
dilecto filio Abbati monasterii de Gemdone, etc. iit supra . A sede apostolica dele-
gati commissarii, Discreto viro officiali domini Archidiaconi Stafford salutem in
auctore salutis, auctoritate qua fungimur in hac parte vobis committimus et firmi-
ter injungendo mandamus quatinus citetis seu citare faciatis peremptorem priorem
et conventum de Lentone Eboracensis diocesis quod compereant coram nobis in
ecclesia Sanote Margarete Leycestrie quarto die Juridico proxima post diem sancti
Kenelmi proximo futurum dominis Decano et Capitulo Ecclesie Cathedralis Lich-
feld super eo quod omnes decime tam majores quam minores et precipue decime

590 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

garbaram de qoodam loco qui vocatur Fayrefeld infra fines limites seu decimates
ecclesie parochialis de Hope qoam iidem dominns Decanns et Capitulum cum
Buis juribus et pertinenciis in ubus proprios optinuerunt a din etc. et adhuc opti-
nont nomine Ecclesie Lichfeld' antedicte notor' constitutas quatitercumque pro-
Yenientes quas quidem decimas garbarum de dicto loco proYeniencium dicti prior
et conventuB per se et buob occuparunt et disportarunt minus juste ut asseritur ad
ecclesiam de Hope predictam et ipsos Decanum et Capitulum ipsius ecclesie
nomine de jure communi ab olim pertinuerunt et pertineant in presenti ut pre-
tendunt. Necnon super eo quod dicti prior et conventus dictos Decannm et Capi-
tulum et ecclesiam suam predictam possessionem vel quia juris percipiendi dictas
decimas garbarum de dicto loco provenientes, spoliarunt spoliari ve mandarunt
aut spoliacionem hujus nomine suo factam ratam habuerunt pariter et acceptam
de justicia responsuri ulterius que facturi et recepturi in premissis et premissa
contingentibus quod justicia suadebit. Et quid inde feceritis nos dictis die et loco
certificetis per literas vestras patentes. Harum seriem continentes. Datum apud
Carleye xij Ealendas Julii anno domini m°.ccc.xx iiij*. Quod quidem mandatum
Yestrum in omnibus reverenter sum (sic) executus. Datum Lichfeld xij Kalendas
Augusti anno domini supradioto. — [HarL MSS., 4799, f. 60.]

No. X.

MiSSIO IN POSSESSIONEM DECEMARUM DE FaIRFELD.

Pbiob de Charleya Lincoln' diocesis religiosis viris domini abbatis monasterii de
Gemdone dicte Lincoln' diocesis Judicis unici sub forma que sequitur, Johannes
Episcopus serYUS serYorum dei dilecto filio abbati monasterii de Gerondone etc.
ut supra a sede apostolica delegati Commissarius discreto Yiro Officialis domini
Archidiaconi Stafford, salutem, in auctore Salutis, cum nos in causa que coram
nobis auctoritate nobis in hac parte - commissa Yertitur seu Yerti speratur inter
dominos Decannm et Capitulum Ecclesie Cathedralis Lichfeld' ecclesiam paro-
chiale de Hope inpropios usus optinentes ex parte xma et Keligiosos Yiros priorem
et ConYentum de Lentone ex parte altera occasione decimarum tarn majorum
quam minorum et precipue decemarum garbarum de qnodam loco qui Yocatur
Fadrfeld infra fines limites seu decimaciones dicte ecclesie parochialis de Hope
quam iidem Decanus et Capitulum cum suis juribus et pertinenciis sibi optinue-
runt a diu etc. Nomine suo et ecclesib sue Lichfeld et adhuc optinent canonice
ut dicitur apropriari constituto que quidem decime de dicto loco de Fairfeld ad
ecclesiam de Hope predictam et ad ipsos decanum et capitulum ipsius ecclesie
nomine de jure communi ab olim pertinuerunt et pertinent ipsis Beligiosis jtriore
et couYentu ante dictds easdem ad se pertinere pretendenibus de quo quidem loco
de Fairfeld ante dicto, iidem Beligiosi decimas garbarum minus juste ut asseritur
per se et suos perceperunt rite et legitime procedentes dictis pridri et couYentui
coram nobis ad certos diem et locum in dicta causa legitime citatur et nullo
modo comperentibuB perce dictorum decani et Capituli coram nobis sufficientur et
legitime eisdem die et loco comparente et contumaciam dictorum Beligiosorum
non comparencium ut premittitur accusante et in penam contumacie eorumdem
dictos dominos suos in possessionem decimarum de dicto loco de Fairfeld mitti
causa rei servande a nobis cum instancia postulante dictoque negocio summatim
examinato facta que nobis fide que de Jure requiritur in hac parte. Super hiis
que juxta juris exigenciam ad hujus modi missionem faciendum requiritur in hac
parte ac peticionem partis dictorum decani et capituli juri consonam attendentes
dictos decanum et capitulum et eorum procuratorem ipsorum nomine propter pre*
fatam contumaciam dictorum Beligiosorum coram nobis contractam ut premittitur
in possessionem decimarum de dicto loco de Fairfeld causa rei senrande miserimus
et mittendos fore decrcYerimus justicia sua dente nobis auctoritate qua fungimns
in hac parte commitimus et firmiter in jungendum mandamus quatinus dictos
decanum et capitulum seu coram procuratorum ipsorum nomine in possessionem
dictarum decimarum causa rei serYaude mittatis seu inducatis Yel mitti seu in-

APPENDIX. 691

dtLci faciatis contradictores et rebelles per quascanque cenBurns ecclesiasticaa
Buspeusiouis et excomxmiuioacionis compessendo. Et quid indefeceritis nos cam-
partem dictorom decani et capituti congrue iueritis requisiti reddatis cerciores per
litteras vestras pateutes harum seriem continentes. Datum Leycestriam decimo
Kalendas Angusti. Anno dominl Mocco»xxiiij«.— [flarZ. Af.SiS., 4,7y9, /. 51].

No. XI.
Mandatub db bxequendo missionem.

Officialis domim Archidiaconi Stafford' discretis viris vicariis ecclesiarnm de
Bancwelly Hope, et Tyddeswelle, salutem, in omnium salvatore. Literas ReligioHi
Yiri domini prioria de Charleya Lincoln' diocesis nuper recepimus quas vobis et
cuilibet vestrum sub sigillo suo mittimus exequendas vobis firmiter iujungentes
qnatinus in ecclesiis antediotis et earum capellis necnon locis aliia quibuB et
quando videritis expedire solempDiter ipsas publicetis et quilibet veBtrum publlcet
et dictum mandatum in omnibus btub capitulis omni favore ammoto contra irape-
dientes exequami^e legittime et exequatur. Datum Lichfeld' vij Idus Septembris
anno dom^ini M<»CCC. vioessimo quarto. — [Harl. MSS., 4,799, f.52].

No. XII.
Ordinacio Vicoarh de Tides WELLE.

Mkicorandum quod mense Julii Anno gracie M.CC quinquagesimo quarto taxata
fuit perpetua vicaria in ecclesia de Tiddeswelle auctoritate Decani et Capituli
Lichfeld, ad quorum communam speotat ipsa ecclesia et ordinatum est quod con-
sistat in minoribus decimis, oblacionibus proventibus et obvenciouibus altaris qui
inferius exprimuntur preter decimam lane et agnorum cum pertinenciis, videlicet
decima albij tocius parochie, decima duorum molendinorum cum utroque prin-
cipali legato oblacionibus tocius anni, decima stipendiariorum porcellorum et
aucarum, lini, canabi, cartilagii, mellis et gardinorum et eciam denariorum beatri
petri et carucagio quod datur annuatim de consuetudine per totam parochiam
scilicet de qnalibet caruca duos denarios et obolum, et eciam in decima feni
TiUularum de Littone et Whestone, et habeat vicarius illud mansum quod Radul.
fus Bolnet aliquando tenuit in Tiddeswelle de ecclesia et predictis porcionibus
contentus ministrabit vicarius qui pro tempore fuerit in propria persona in officio
sacerdotali et habebit secum semper unum presbyterum et unum subdiaconum
, exdoneoB quos suis sumptibus exhibebit. £t ministrabit lumen in ecclesia
honeste quia alteragium percipiet ad onera autem ecclesie ordinaria vel extraordi-
naria reparacionem cancelli librorum aut vestimentorum preter predicta onera
ministrandi et lumen in veniendi non tenebitur vicarius nee ad ea contribuet
nisi velit nee procurabit Decanum in aliquo in sua visitacione nee tamen ad
ecclesiam ob aliam causam declinaverit, majoribus fructibus, possessionibus et
ceteris bonis ad predictam ecclesiam spectantibus cum decima lane et agnorum
ut premisBum est cum omni moda jurisdiccione parochiali in manibus dictorum
decani et capituli semper salvis. In predictorum memoriam huic memoraudo
privatum ecclesie signum est appensum. Datum Lichfeld in crastino octaves
Sancti Laurencii anno supradicto procrastino coUata fuit predicta vicana infra
Bupradicta domino Alano de Luceby presbytero consimile memorandum remansit
tunc in ecclesia sub signo precentoris et debet inde copia fieri vicario decima
molendinorum supradictorum taxatur salva monachis de Lentone parte ipsoa
contingente et stante compositione inita inter ecclesiam et easdem, salva Dccano
et Capitulo decima minere. — [Harl. MSS.^ 4,799, f. 4 **].

692 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

No. XIII.

TiDDESWALL ViCAR*.

Dns. Edmandas Eyre vicarias ibidem manet apud Gryn' in com Stafford;

habet commibns annis.

In rotlo paschali iii r

In diebus oblationarum xxx

In casualibiiB x

In decimis feni x

In decimis molendin* x

In decimis minutis vj viij

In dnabuB rodis glebe cnm mansione iiij

Unde resolut. dno pro cap. red ij

Dfe claro vij ... vj

Xm indo xiiij

TlDDJ^SWALL CaNTAR*.

Her' Johis Foljambe et Nich. Stafford Mil. Patroni.
Dns. Xpofer. Litton & Xto, Syndaeby, cant*. B. Marie £9 9 4

No. XIVa.
Ordinacio Vicarie de Yolgreye per episcopuu facta.

Universis gancte mattis Ecclede filiis ad quos pref^ens scriptmn perveneiit, Alex-
ander misenicione divina conventi et Lichfeld' eccleaiaram minister hnmilis,
et etemam in Christo salutem. Ad universitalem Testram Tolnmus pervdnire quod
nobis dilecti in domino filii Abbas et conventus Leycestrie ordinacionem ecclesie
de Yolgrave quam quidam predecessorum nostorum eis concessit in usus proptios
possidendam plenarie nostris manibus commisissent. Nob in decessonim nostrorum
vestigiifl inherentes collaciones et confirmaciones quas a predecessoribus nostris
de predicta eccleftia noscautur habere nequaqnam duximus irritandas auimo pietatis
et caritatis intuito pocins confirmandas. concedentes eisdem ecclesiam memoratam
cum capellis decimis et terris et aliis rebus omnibus ad earn de jure spectantibus
in usus proprios porpetuo possidendam. Salva tamen ejusdem ecclesie vicaria
competenter (sic) quam quidem fecimus sic ordinari de consensu dictorum Abbatis
et conventus, videlicet quod vicarius qui pro tempore fuerit habebit omnes obla-
clones et proventus alteragii ecclesie de Yolgrave, decimis tamen minere, lane, et
agnorum exceptis. Habebit etiam idem vicarius omnes dccimas garbarum et feni
de villa de Grattone et duas partes decimamm garbarum et feni de villa de
Smereliul, sustinebit, etiam, idem vicarius omnia honera dicte ecclesie debita et
consueta et associata (sic) sibi sumptibus suis dilobus (sic) capellanos et . uno (sic)
diaconns in predicta ecclesia personaliter ministrabit. Ne autem super possessione
dicte ecclesie de Yolgrave possit quovismodo dubitacio suspicari supradictos
Abbatem et conventus induci fecimus exhabundanti per archidiaconum loci in pos-
sessionem ejusdem ecclesie corporalem. Salvo nobis et successoribus jure pontifi-
cali et parochial!. Salva etiam Conventr' et Lichfeld' ecclesiarum auctoritate. Et
ut nostra confirmacio futuiis temporibuB perpetuo robur optineat firmitatis earn
preseutis scripti munimine et sigilll nostri apposicione duximus roborandam. Hi is
testibus, domino W. Lichfeld' ecclesie Decano et aliis. — [Harl. MSS.j 4799, f. 44.]

APPENDIX. 693

No. XIVb.
Chanc. Inq. 32 Edw. III. (2 nrs) no. 56.

Inquisicio oapta apud Bankewell coram Philippo de Lyfcteleye Escaetore domini
Begis in comitatu Derbiensi vilj° die Augnsti anno regni regis Edv^ardi tercij post
conquestum Anglie xxxij* secandum tenorem brevis huic inquisicio ni consuti Per
sacramentam Willelmi de Borough Henrici Pouterel Johaunis Boniour Willelmi
ffleccher Willelmi de Aldeport Willelmi de Assop Ricardi le Webstere Ricardi
le Smythe Willelmi de Melbourne Stepbani Mean Edwardi le Plommer et Alez-
andri le Taillour Juratoram Qui dicuat per sacramentum saum quod non est ad
dampnum nee preiudicium domini Regis neo aliorum licet dominus Rex concedat
Godefrido ffoliaumbe et Willelmo de Sapurtone quod ipsi duas bouatas terre et
dimidiam cum pertinencijs in Grattone dare possint et assignare custodi altaris
beate Margarete in capella beate Margarete de Elton e pro salubri statu ipsorum
Godefridi et Willelmi dum vixerint et pro animabus suis cum ab hac luce migrau-
erint et animabus patrum et matrum ac antecessorum suorum ao omnium fide-
Hum defunctorum in capella predicta singulis diebus selebraturo Habendum et
tenendum eidem custodi et successoribus suis ibidem singulis diebus in capella
predicta sicud predictum est celebraturis imperpetuum Et dicunt quod predicte
due bouate terre et dimidia tenentur de Thoma de Shirleye per seruicium
iiij*» solidorum per annum et valent in omnibus exitibus iuxta verum valorem
earundem vltra seruicium predictum. xix. s. per annum. Et dicunt quod predic-
tus Thomas de Sherleye est medius inter dominum Regem et prefatos Godefridum
et Willelmum de predictis duabus bouatis terre et dimidia Et dicunt quod Quad-
raginta librate terre et redditus remanent eisdem Godefrido et Willelmo apud Assop
Cliftone et Sapurtone in comitatu Derbiensi vltra donacionem et aasignacionem
predictas et tenentur de Henrico Duce Lancastrie et Ricardo de HerthuU chiualer
per seruicium militare. Et dicunt quod predicta tenementa eisdem Godefrido et
Willelmo vltra donacionem et assignacionem predictas sic remaneucia sufficiunt ad
omnes cunsuetudines et servicia tam de predicta terra sic data quam de alija terris
et tenementis eisdem retentis debita facienda Et ad omnia alia onera sustinenda
prout in brevi domini Regis plenius requiritur In cuius rei testimonium huic
inquiaicioni predicti Juratores sigilla sua apposueruut.

No. XIVc.

Inq. post mobi. 20 Edward IV. No. 88.

Inquisicio capta apud Derby in Comitatu Derbiensi decimo nono die Mensis De-
cembriB Anno regni Regis Edwardi qiiarti post conquestum An<^lie vicesimo coram
Edmundo Perpount Escaetore domini Regis in Comitatu prcdicto virtute brevis
dicti domini Regis eidem Escaetori directi et haic Inquisicioui cousuti per sacra-
mentum Henrici Columbell de Derley Gentilman Henrici Tykhull de Cuaddesdene
Gentilman Galfridi Pylkyntone de Stantone Gentilman Johannis Asaheby de Cheles-
tone Gentilman Johannis Smalley de Alwastone Gentilman Willemi ffraunces de
parua Chester Gentilman Roberti Tykhull do Dale Gentilman Johannis Stapul-
forde do Alwastone Nicholai Auger de Chaddesdene Nicholai Bratleshawe de
Wyndeley Willelmi Condy de Lutchurche Roberti Lokke de Spondene Nicholai
Lokke de eadem Georgii Lyster de parua Chester Willelmi Mory de Chillastone et
Thome Tyklyng de Kyrklongley Qui dicunt super sacramentum suum quod Willel-
mus Plomptone miles in dicto brevi nominatus diu ante obitum suum fuit seisitus
de Maneriis de Okkebroke Chaddesdene Derley Stayntone EdyuRore Pyllesley
HasBoppe Wormylle Chilmardone Castiltone Rowlonde Caltone leys fflaxfilde
Wardlowe Bakewell Bely Twyforde Lokhawe cum ptinenciis in Comitatu predict©
Ao de dnobus messuagus cum pertinenciis in Spondene in Comitatu predicto Ao
de vno messuagio cum pertinenciis in Broughtone in Comitatu predicto ac de
duobus messuagiis et duobus gardinis cum ptinenciis in TydeswaUe in Comitatu
predicto Ac de vno messuagio cum pertinenciis in Newbolde in eodem Comitatu

2o

594 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Ac de aduocacione sine nominacione yxuiib Cantaiie Sancte Gmcis in ecclesia de
Bakewell in Comitatn predicto Ac de advocacione sine nominacione Tnios alterins
Cantarie beate Marie in eccleeia de Eltone in eodem Comitatn ac eciam de aliis
terrifl et tenementis in Onestone Martynside Combes Bottfelde et Hnrdelowe in
eodem Comitatn Et sic inde seisitne per cartam enam indentatam Jnratoiibns
predictis enper capcionem huius inqmsicionis in enidenciis ostensam dedit et con-
cessit predicta Maneiia Messaagia terras et tenementa vna cnm dictis adnocacioni-
bus sine nominacionibos Cantariamm predictamm cnm pertinenciis Magistro
Hicardo Andrewes Decano ecclesie Cathedralis Eboracensis Willelmo Enre Clerico
Johanni Nortone Militi Banulpho Pygott Johanni Ardyngtone de Axdyngtone God-
frido Grene et Bicardo Knarsboronghz Habendum et tenendum prefatis Magistro
Bicardo Andrewes Willelmo Johanni Banulpho Johanni Godfrido et Bicardo here-
dibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum quo pretextu iidem Magistri Bicardns
Andrewes Willelmus Johannes Bannlphus Johannes Godfridus et Bicardns fnerunt
inde seisiti in dominico suo vt de feodo et sic inde seisiti predicta Maneria Mes-
Buagia terras et tenementa vna cum aduocacionibus sine nominacionibos Canta-
riarum predictamm per eorum cartam indentatam Jnratoribus predictis super
capcionem huius inquisicionio in euidenciis similiter ostensam tradiderunt et
dimiserunt prefato Willelmo Plomptone habMidum et tenendum eidem Willelmo
Plomptone ad terminum vite sue absque impeticione vasti Et post decessnm
eiusdem Willelmi Plomptone omnia predicta Maneria Messnagia teire et tene-
menta vna cum dictis aduocacionibus sine nominacionibus Cantariamm predic-
tamm cum pertinenciis remanerent Boberto Plomptone filio Junior! predicta
Willelmi Plomptone et heredibos de corpore ipsius Boberti exeuntibns Et si
contingat ipsum Bobertum Plomptone sine herede de corpore suo exennte obira
quod tunc omnia predicta Maneria Messugia terre et tenementa ac predicta adua-
caciones sine nominaciones Cantariamm predictamm cum pertinenciis remanerent
rectis heredibus predioti Willelmi Plomptone imperpetuum quo pretextu idem
Willelmus Plomptone fuit seisitus de dictis Maneriis Messuagiis terns et tene-
mentis cum aduocacionibus sine nomincaoionibus predictis cum pertinenciis in
dominico suo vt de libero tenemento Et de tali statu inde obiit seisitns remanere
inde in forma predicta Et vlterius dicunt. . [Here follow

particulars of lands at Ockbrook, Chaddesden, Spondon, Edensor, Hassop, Chel-
morton, etc., etc.] Et vlterius iidem Juratores dicunt super sacramentum sunm
quod dictus Willelmus Plomptone in brevl predicto nominatus nulla alia sine
plura Maneria terras sen tenementa tenuit de dicto domino Bege nee de aliqno
alio in Comitatu predicto die quo obiit Et dicunt vlterius quod predictus Willel-
mus Plomptone obiit quintodecimo [die] Mensis Octobris Anno dicti domini Begjs
nunc vicesimo Et quod Margareta vxor Johannis BoclyfiF et Elitobeth vxor
Johannis Sothill sunt consanguinee et heredes propinquiores eiusdem Willelmi
Plomptone Militis videlicet filie Willelmi Plomptone Armigeri filii predict!
Willelmi Plomptone Militis Et quod predicta Margareta est etatis viginti et vnins
annomm et amplius Et quod predicta Elizabeth est etatis nouemdecim annorum
et amplius In cuius rei testimonium tam predictus Edwardus Perpount Escaetor
quam predict! Juratores sigilla sua huic Inquisicioni apposuerunt Data die et aimo
supradictis.

No. XV.

ESSBBUBN IN PBOPBIOS USUS DEGAN' LiNCOLN* APPBOPB', BTO.

NovxRiNT universi quod cnm venerabilis in Chiisto pater H. del gratia Conrenf
et Lichfeld' Episcopus de assensn Capituli Lichfeld potestatum snam ordinandi
de Ecclesia de Essebnm cum capell* et eorum pertinentiis discretis vins
dominis W. Decano lichef et W. precentori Lino' ecclesie commisserit nt
ipsi vice sua Decani et Capituli Lino' Ecclesie concurrente consensu ordineni et
statnant depremissis prout eidem Domino viderint expedire. Ipsi auctoritate pon.
tificali Buffulti et predictomm capitulomm oonsensu munit! invocata spiiitna
santi gracia in premisso negotio ordinando in hnno modum salnbritw. Proce-
dendo statuemut videlicet Quod Dominus Deoanns Line' qui pro tempore fnerit

APPENDIX. 595

qninquaginto marcas ad duos terminos videlicet yiginti quinque marcas iufra
ootabas Pentecost' eC viglnti quinque marcas infra octabas Sancti Martis de ec-
clesia de Essebum apud Essebum per manum vicarii de Essebum nomine Pen-
eionis percepiet annuatim Decanus etiam Line' qui pro tempore fuerit et ejus
BucceBBores ad sex capellas, videl^ de Keniveton de Mapleton de Torp de Bentley
de Bradeley de Edolveston loci Diocesano cum eas vacare contigerit personas id-
oneas presentabunt tanuam earumpartium Salvis pensionibua diotarum capella-
namm quas Decanus Lina' conBuevit precipere de eisdem Decani etiam Lincoln
qui pro tempore fuerint personas idoneas ad Vicariam Ecclesie de Esseburne
cum eam Vacari contigerit Domino Conventr* et Lichfeld Episcopo presentabunt,
ita quidem quod Vicarius presentatus et admisBus et ejus BuccesBores presentati'
et admissi proventus et obventiones omnes Ecclesie de Esseburne et capellanarum
de Peverwich et de Aleshopp tam in decimis majoribns et minoribus quam in
oblacionibus quibuscunque tam in terris et tenementis quam in firmis terrarum
et Homagiis, tam in exitibus quam eschaetis et omnibus aliis comoditatibus in pe-
petuum percipient nomine Vicario, Salvis quinquaginta marcis quas institutus
Vicarius et ejus successores instituti et admissi sub Juramenti astrictione Decanus
Line' qui pro tempore fuerint in Instdtutione sua facienda persolvent terminis
statutis Vicario de Esseburne et ejufi successores omnia onera Ecclesie de Esse-
burne et trium capellanarum supradictaruum imperpetum tam in spiritualibus
quam in temporalibus sustinebit In Ecclesia de Esseburne per se ipsum person-
aliter cum duobus capellanis et uno Deacono et uno Subdiacono honorifice deser-
Tiendo et honeste et in tribus capellis videlicet Peverwich, Hokenastun, et Aleshope
per capellanos idoneos tam in hospitalitate seccanda apud Esseburne quam in
divinis officiis in dicta matrici Ecclesia et ejus tribus jam dictis capellis salubri-
ter Bustinendis. Et ut hec eorum ordinatio auctoritate majori sujffulta futuris
mane at temporibus inconcussa presentem paginam sigillorum venerabilis patria
domini H. Coventrens' et Lichefeld' Episcopi, nee non et Decani Line' et etiam
Capitulorum Line' et Lichfeld' Ecclesiarum suorumque appositione signorum
roborari' fecerint. Actum quinto Idas Januarii in majori Ecclesia Lichefeld'.
Anno gracie miUesimo ducentesimo Quadragesimo. — [Carte tangenies Decanaiua
ecclesie beate Marie Lincoln* f. 22 ; Add. M88., 6,671, /. 665.]

No. XVI.
Obdinaoio sufeb Vicabia de Essebubn.

Univebbib sancti matris ecclesie filiis ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit Hugo
miseratione divina Coven, et Lich. ecclesiarum minister humilis, Saltem in Dmni
Bempitemam, ad universitatem vestre notitiam volumus pervenire quod cum con-
tentio mota fuisset inter Johannem de Brecham et Walterum de Keyiam pres-
biteros diversis temporibus ad Vicariam ecclesie de EsshebourA presentatum iidem
tandem per diutinas altercaciones inter ipsos habitas de volantate et assensu
Decani Lincoln se noBtre ordinatione absolute in omnibus subjecerunt, jurantes
in verbo domini, inspectis evangeliis, quod gratanter acceptarent quicquid nos in
predicto negotio duceremus inter ipsos ordinare. Nos autem de concilio Capituti
nostri Lichfeld' rata mauento ordlnacione auctoritate nostra facta per Decanum
Lichfeld et Precentorem Lincoln, de quinquaginta marcis memorato Decano
Lincoln' annuatim de eadem ecclesia nomine Pensionis solveudis. In nomine
domini ordinamus ut predictus Johannes ecclesia predicta cum cura animarum,
nomine perpetue vicarii obtineat, predictas quinquaginta marcas solvendo ut
omnia alia onera ejusdem ecclesie ordinaria ex extraordinaria plenarie sustinendo
habito . . . etiam respectu ad jus quod prefatus Waltemus (sic) in eadem vicaria
obtinuit quod gratis in manus nostras resignavit, ordinamus eidem Waltero xxx^
marcas de eadem ecclesia annuatim nomine simplicis beneficii percipiendas per
m,anus Vicarii qui pro tempore fuerit ibidem medietate scilicet ad festum beati
MichaeliB, et alia meditate ad Pascham, apud Esseboum itaque quotienscunque
oessatum fuerit in Bolucione predictarum xxx* marcarum, terminis statutis solvat
cessans tres marcas nomine pene predicto Waltero, unam princ' debito rata

596 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

nihilominxis manente ordinacione, salyis nobis et succesBoribus nostris Eccleda
jure pontifical! et parochioli et Sacrosanctis Ecclesiis Coyentren' et Lichfeld
debita obedientia et reverentia. Est antem hec ordinantio perpetne firmitatis
Tobnr optineat earn preaentis scripti pagina et sigilli noetri Testimonis robora-
vimuB. Datum apnd Stoke in crastino Octabe Apostolomm Petri et PaiUi, Pen*
tificatns noBtri anno secunda. — [Add. MS*S., 6,671,/. 669.]

No. XVII.
SuBicissio Lincoln' supeb EccLEsns de Kniyeton et Mapiltone.

Im dei nomine amen presenti pagina pateat TiniYeisis quod nos Philippna de
WUuby DecanoB Lincoln' et capitulnm ejnsdem eccleaie Cathedralis ad beneficia
multa multipliciter graciosa, que Yenerabiles patres domini Coventr' et Lichfeld'
Episcopi nobis temporibus retroactis mimifica largitate fecerunt et xnaxime qne
pius pater dominus Rogerus de Meulent nunc Coventr' et Lichfeld episcopus de
ecclesia de EsBebume in proprios nsus Decanatus Lincoln' libere deinceps reha*
benda nobis contulet Hiis diebus, affectione magna respectum habentes et insuper
attendentes quod nei sua liberalitas esse copiosa debeat vel dampnosa auctoritate
venerabilis patris nostri domini Oliveri nunc Lincoln' episcopi ac unanimi con-
sensu omnium nostrorum et yoluntate communi nos et capellas de Enivetone et
de Mapeltone que sunt de spectantibus ad ecclesiam predictam de Essebume et
ad nos racione ejusdem ecclesie ac omne jus quod habemus in eisdem capellis
cum onmibus suis juribus et pertinenciis disposicioni et ordinacione predicti
domini nunc Coventr' et Lichfeld' episcopi sponte pure et absolute submittimuB
per presentes. Ita quod quicquid idem dominus episcopus de eisdem capellis de
Enivetone et de Mapeltone cum onmibus pertinenciis suis sive pro indempnitatis
cujuslibet conservacione sive pro honoriB adieccione que sibi et ecclesie sua
Lichfeld' grata vicissitudine offerimus pura mente alte et basse pro sue voluntatis
beneplacito nno modo vel alio duxerit ordinandum id totum per onmia et singula
ratum habebimus et acceptum que omnia* nos fideliter observare et in nullo con-
travenire in verbo veritatis et sacerdocii solempniter promittimus per presentes
beneficio (sic) restitucionis integrum ac omni excepcioni supplicacione inpetracioni
quarumcumque literarum in quacumque Curia appellacioni et omni utriusque
juris re medio si quod forsan nobis competere posset contra aliqua depredictis re-
nuuciantes expresse. Li cujus rei testimonium commune sigillum capituli nostri
Lincoln' una cum sigillo venerabilis patris nostri predicti presentibus duximus
apponendum. Datum et actum in capitulo nostro Lincoln' viij Idus Aprilis^
Anno Domini M^ CC, octogesimo none hanc ego, etd. — IHarl, MSS,, 4|799,/. 45.]

No. XVIII.
Obdinacio Episcopi Lichfeld* de Ecclesia de Kniyeton.

BooEBUs permissione divina Coventr* et Lichfeld' episcopus dilectis in Christo
filiis Decano et capitulo ecclesie nostre Lichfeld predicte Salutem, graciam et
benediccionem. Cum reverendus in Christo pater dominus Oliverus dei gracia
Lincolniensis episcopus ac venerabiles viri Phillippus decanus et capitulum ec-
clesie ejusdem se et capellam de Enyvetone nostre diocesis que ad ecclesiam de
Essebum quam idem Decanus racione sui decanatus in usus proprios optenit
spectare consueverat, ac etiam totum jus quod ipsis in eadem quo quomodo com-
petere potuit ordinacioni et disposicioni nostre sponte, pure et absolute totaliter
Bubmiserunt, promittentes firmiter per suas literas patentes in verbo veritatis et
sacerdocii se gratum et acceptum in perpetuum habituros quicquid de eadem
ordinandum duximus prout in literis submissionis hujus sigiUis suis signatis
plenius et expressius continetur nos prefate ecclesie Lichfeld' sponte nostre In
Christo karissime sicnt tenemur in crementa prospera afiectantes attendentes

APPENDIX. 597

eciam onera gravia que Tobis in eadem residentibns imminent que diei et estus
pondera sustinetis et in eadem tanqoam coltores agri dominici deo jugiter deser-
Yitis ut onera ipsa supportare facilius valeatis ac divine laudis organa nostris
temporibuB in ecclesia eadem quod intimis visceribua cupimus augeantur capellam
de EniTetone predictam cum omnibus Juribus et pertinenciis ad eandem in aug*
mentum commune vestre vobis concedimus magistro Petro de Wintone in rectore
ejusdem cedente vel eciam decedente perpetuis temporibus possidendam Et quid
nsibus yestris futuris temporibus taliter applicetur Tirtute submissiouia predicte
disponimus ac etiam tenore presencium ordinamus. Itaque quod post decessum
vel cessionem P. nunc rectoris predicti liceat yobis possessionem ingredi capelle
ejusdem consensu nostro yel successoris nostri cujuscunque super hujus (sic)
minime requisite, Salva tamen yicaria in capella eadem per nos aut successores
nostroB juxta vires et facultates ipsius in ceteris porcionibus ordinanda. In cujus
rei testimonium sigillum nostrum presentibus est appensum. Datum apud Taten-
hulle, zyij<* Kalendas Novembris, Anno domini M<> CC. nonogesimo et Consecra-
tionis nostre zzxiij^. [Ibid.]

No. XIX.
CoNFiBicAcio Episcopi ET Capituli Lingoln* DE Obdinaoione Ecclesib

DE EnIVETONE.

Univbbsib Sancte matris filiis presentes literas inspecturis vel audituris, Oliverus,
permissione divina Lincolniensis Episcopus, Phs [Pbilippus] Decanus et capitulum
ejusdem loci Salutem in domino sempiternam, literas venerabilis patris domini B.
dei gracia Coven tr' et Lichfield' Episcopi inspeximus in hec verba, Hogerus permis-
sione divina etc. ut supra in mediate con tine tur nos igitur hujus concessionis applica.
cionem et ordinacionem rata habentes pariter et acceptas ea unanimi consensu
sigillorum nostrorum munimine roboramus. Datum quo ad nos episcopum Lino'
predictum apud Bugedon vj Idus Novembris, Anno domini supradicto. Et quo ad
nos Decanum et capitulum Ecclesie predicte Lincoln' tercio. Idus Novembris anno
domini prenotat banc habentem in se formam et tenorem Prioris litere vidi Ego, etc.
llbid.]

No. XX.

Unio Capelle de Mapleton ad Egclesiam de Esseburn.

TJmiversis Sancte Matris Ecclesie filiis presentes literas inspecturis vel audituris J.
decanus Ecclesie Lychefeld et ejusdem loci capitulum, salutem in domino sempit-
emam noveritis nos literas venerabilis patris nostri domini B. dei gratia Coventr' et
Lych' Episcopi inspexisse, sub eo tenore qui sequitur. Bogerus permissione divina
Coventr* et Lych' Bpiscopus dilectis sibi in Christo Philippo, decano, et Capitulo
Ecclesie Lincoln', salutem, in auctore salutis, cum nuper Ecclesiam de Asseburn
nostre dioc' decanatui Ecclesie vestre Lincoln in usus proprios Canonice ab antique
concessam et perpetuo appropriatam, quam Ecclesiam decani Ecclesie vestre qui pre
tempore fuerant per appropriationem hujus modi inquiete possederant temporibus
din tins post mortem domini Petri de Wynton, qui Ecclesiam ipsam ad presenta.
tionem bone memorie Henrici quondam illustris regis anglie aliquamdui tenebat
ut rector, Decano vestre Ecclesie Lincoln' ab eadem Ecclesia de Asseburn per
nostram sententiam aut alterius indicis Ecclesiastici non amoto statum vestrum
ac Decanatus vestri in hao parte redintegrantes et decuit quatenus de facto
immutatus sue interruptus extiterat, vobis et vestro Decanatui Line' de cetero
rehabendum concesserimus, libere et quiete vos ad id et cetera beneficia tam per
nos quam per nostros antecessores vobis impensa respectu habentis super Capellam
de Enyveton et de Mapilton quorum jus patronatus ad Ecclesiam de Asseburn
ante dictam, et ad vps ea ratione spectare dinoscitur, et super toto jure ad vos
seu vestrum Decanatum super eisdem Capellis spectante, nostre ordinacioni et

598 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

dispoflitioni yenerabilis patris domini Oliveri nunc Lincoln' Episcopi ad hoc in
erveniente consenBu pare sponte oo libere sabmlsistis promittentes tob ratmn
habitaros et firmum quicquid per nog super capellis eisdem fnerit ordinatnm.
Nos igitur snbmissionem hujus modi admittentes vestmmque considerantes affec-
tum. Quern zelo in time caritatis ad Ecclesiam nostram Lychfeld' hactenus
habuisse comperimus vestrum honorem et commodum in hac merito affectamus,
pensantes itaque una cum vestre gratitudinis maritis onerosa dispendia que
occasione dicte presentationis et ad missionis dicti Petri de Wynton ad Eccle-
siam ante dictam sustinuisse dictim in quod que taradiu commodo ejusdem
Ecclesie caruistis aliis que legitimis causis existentibus que ad infra scriptia
merito nos inducent dictam Capellam de Mapelton cum omnibus suis juribus et
pertinentiis Ecclesie supradicte de Assebume a vobis vestroque Decanatui ratione
ipsius Ecclesie perpetuo annectimus, et uuimus, ac in usus proprios futuris tem>
poribus possidendis, auctoritate pontificate concedimus, ac etiam confirmamus
Statuentes, ordinantes, disponentes et etiam concedentes, ut, cedente Tel decedente
Rector' ipsius Capelle de Mapleton, liceat Decano vestre ecclesie qui pro tem-
pore fuerit ant vobis ipsis forsan tunc Decanatu vacante, Capellam ipsam de
Mapleton et ejus possessionem per dictam appropriationem, concessionem, et
annexionem cum omnibus suis juribus et pertinentiis, libere ingredi et tenere
nostro aut cujuscunque alterius consensu minime requisito. In quorum omnium
Testimonium, Sigillum nostrum presentibus est appensum. Datum apud Crokesle,
tertio Kalen' Novembris, anno domini millesimo ducentesimo octogesimo none.
Et pontificatus nostri tricesimo secundo. Nos igitur premissa rata habentes et
Arma ea presenti scripto cum sigilli nostri appositione confirmamus. Datum
Lych' ij idus Octobris, anno domini millesimo ducentisimo nonogesimo. — [Carte
tangentea, etc., Lincoln' ff. 32, 33 ; Add. MSB., 6671, f. 677.]

Sn!iirF2.

IniFf of JPFFKonx.
Inipf of JPIarFs.

INDEX OF PERSONS.

N.B. — Where two or more names of the same family occur on one page^
they are for the most part entered under the head of *^ family.''

A.

Acton, family, 608
Adams, Bey. Sherland,

190, 191, 446; Michael,

191, 445, 446; Bichard,
174

Adda, 128

Adderley, Charles, 165, 684

Agard, family, 181, 184

Aldan, 123

Ainsworth, family, 219

Alan, William f'itz, 107;

Master, 141
Alhini, arms, 25 ; family, 26
Aldrid, Henry, 174, 897, 399
Alen, Ghervase, 476
Aleyn de Grene, Kobert,

546
Aleyn, Hobert, 646
Alexander, Bishop, 140
Alfreton, arms, 552
Alisanndfe, family, 287*8
Alsop, family, 401; An-
thony de 428; Mr. W.,
441 ; Thomas, 443 ; John,
808
Alsope, Bobert, 668
Alton, John, 499
Allen, John, 216, 601;

family, 808
AUsop, Bichard, 66
Andrew, John, 104; BeT.

Samuel, 292, 295
Angus, Earl of, 23
Anse, Henry, 526
Anslem, Archbishop, 868
Annesley, arms, 898
Ap-guilliam, John, 288;

Eatherine, 286
Appleton, family, 21
Aquitaine, Duke of, 288
Archer, Bichard, 179: John,

821
Ardglass, Earl of, 806
Ardron, l^ioholas, 190
Arkwrigbt, Bichard, Esq.,
69, 619, 673-4; J. (5.,
Esq., 578; Peter, Esq.,
674; Sir Bichard, 671,
574
Armiger, Thomas, 291, 800
Armstrong, Hugh, 452
Armyne, Mary, Lady, 671
Arnold, Edward, 674

Arundel, Countess of, 200
Arundell, arms, 887-8
Ashboum (Essebum), Sit

Bobert de, 411,506, 665;

John de, 526
Ashby, Nicholas, 658
Ashe, Mr. John, 144
Ashenhurst, family, 211,

214 ; arms, 211
Ashmore, John, 662
Ashtou. family, 237; Mr.,

246, 340; Benjamin, 248 ;

Samuel 838; Bobert, 174
Ashurst, Edmund, 234
Ashworth, Mrs. Elizabeth,

419
Assheton, Henry de. 468
Afitley, arms, 827, 882;

Giles, 828
Aston, William de, 288;

Johannes, 429
Athill, arms, 438
Audeley, arms, 393
Audley, Nichol, Lord, 801
Ayenell, family. 64, 88;

WiUiam de, 21, 87, 844-

5; arms, 20, 22-4

B.

Babington, Anthony, 118,
657: arms, 183,385; Bow-
hmd, 641

Badily (Badley), Bey. John,
214

Badlesmere, arms, 24;
Christopher, 352

Bagot, Bey. G., 419

Bagshaw, family, 239; B.,
858 ; Bobert, 806 ; Nich-
olas, 100, 812 ; Mary, 842;
Bey. W., 144; Mr,, 44;
Thomas, 239

Bagshawe^ Henry 142 ;
Benjamin, 241

Baggott, Sir John, 412

Bakewell, Henry, '284

Balfour, arms, 188

Balguy, Thomas, 100 ;
family, 248, 244-6, 268-4;
arms, 244, 264 ; Jaryis,
265 ; Henry, 248

Ballerhouse, John, 662

Ballidon, Boger de, 468
Bamford, Nicholas, 468 ;
Bobert, 548: William, 542
Hampton, tamily, 300 ;

Paulinus, 301
Banks, T., Esq., B.A., 891
Bankes, John, 56
Baradon, arms, 23, 24 ; Gil-
bert, 28, 24
Barber, arms, 827 ; Mr.,
266; Gyles, 136; Wil-
liam, 148, 273 ; Thomas,
136
Bargraye, Bicharde. 626
Barke, Mr. Balph, 68
Barker, Bey. John, 59;
Francis, 174 ; Dr. Bich-
ard, 490
Barley, Thomas, 102 ;

Bobert, 328
Barlow, Bobert, 56 ; Agnes,

328 ; arms, 386
Bamby, arms, 143
Barowe, Adam de, 1«84
Barwell, James, 156
Barret, Johannes, 430
Barrett, William, 190
Bassano, family, 896
Basset, family, 65, 59, 74,
227,451; Sir William, 80,
886; Nicholas, 418; Si-
mon, 64, 87; arms, 382,
894
Bassett, family, 468
Bateman, Mr., 82, 35, 111, '
167, 221-2, 319, 844-5, 481,
483-4, 622, 663; Mr. T.
W., 216; family, 348;
Bey. John, 484 ; W., 866 ;
Sir WiUiam, 398; Hugh,
898 ; Sir Hugh, 484
Bates, Bey. Charles Cecil,

180, 188
Bawkestones (Buxton,)

Henry, 79
Bealott, family, 146
Beard, family, 169, 161,211,

214; Mary, 848
Beaufort, Duke ofj 387
Beauchamp, family, 479;

arms, 24, 479, 652
Beckett, Sir Thomas k-,

146, 204
Becon, Thomas, 401
Beighton, W., 60

602 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Bek, Dean Anthony, 366 Bradley, N., 492; John, Cavenaish, fcimily, 49, 181 ;

Belvoir, family, 25 ; arms, 356-7 arma, 181 ; Sir William,

23-4 Bradshaw, Thomaa, 652; 184, 268, 317, 344, 671;

Bennett, Ed., 443; Richard, John, 195; family, 101, Charles, 277

46 194, 341 ; William, 304, CecU, Thomas, 72

Beresford, family, 401, 650 ; Francis, 193 ; Bar- Cedd, 123

464-5, 467-8; William, hara, 193 ; Robert, 412 Ceollach, 128

408 ; Thomas, 422 ; James, Brad well. Hugh, 2H1 Chaloner, Rev. John, 650

466, 626, 563 ; arms, 467, Brailesford, arms, 393 Champaine, arms, 390

665, 663 ; Edward, 469 ; Brailsford, arms, 264 ; Sir Champion. John, 136

Hugh, 668; George 331; John, 264 Chancey. Mr. Charles, 876

John, 228 Brampton. arms, 801 ; Chaney, Mr. Charles, 396

Berkley, G., 50 ; family, family, 302 Chapman, Humphrey, 61 ;

24,387 Brandreth,Mr.Riohard,648 Nicholas, 265; W^idow,

Bermingham, arms, 24 Braunde, Henry, 539 153 ; Richard, 44, 76 ;

Bemake, arms, 229 ; family. Bray, Samuel, 202 ; Wil- Matthew, 261

248 liam, 475 Chappell, Anthony, 342

"Bess of Hardback," 571 Brecham, John de, 364-6 Charlesworth, de, family,

Beton, arms, 183 ; family, Brereton, W., 28 205

182-3 Breton, family, 17, 89 ; Charlton, arms, 24

Beyley, Robert de, 291 arms, 39 Cheetham, James, 219 ;

Billesden, William de., 316 Bromsgrove, William, 317 Thomas, 220

Bishop, John, 136 Brome, arms, 386-7 Cheney, John, 163; arms,

Bhickwall, family, 101, 116- Brown, Edward, 9; Sir 163-4

18, 566-7 ; arms, 117, 556- Thomas, 9; Randolph, Chester, Earl of, 127, 139 ;

7, 663 ; Anthony, 601 ; 143 ; Ralph, 165, 351 ; Bishop of, 129

Richard, 109, 562, 568 ; J. Bower, 300 Clarke, Robert, 229, 236 ;

Ralph, 19, 162 ; Thomas, Browr e, John, 50 ; Thomas, Mary, 235 ; N. W., 265

618, 652, 568, 672; Nic- 69, 3'J7 ; William, 543 Clay, Robert, 419 ; Peter, 69

hola.s, 102 Bruce, Lord, 191, 277 Clayton, Joseph, 348, 350

Blagge, Edmund, 212 Brydelington, Robert de, Cleat«n, WiUiam, 306

Blount, Walter, 100 ; John, 625 Clynton, family, 450; arms,

118; family, 533; arms, Bullock, John, 452; Mr. 451-2; arms, 479; family,

893, 533 ; Charles, 662 279 479

Blundus, Alexander, 665 Bundell, arms, 893 Cockayne, Sir John, 400;

Blunt, arms, 393 Bunting, Mr. Anthony, 664 Chief Baron, 3Sd ; arms,

Blyth, Jeffrey, 464 Burdett, family, 328 327, 382-3, 385-7, 398-4;

Bocking, Ralph, 264 ; Burdeys, Mr., 243 family, 96, 323, 327-8, 329,

Thomas, 258, 2h2 Burnet, Bishop, 305 343, 367, 380-9, 408, 439,

Bolton, family, 508 Burrow, Benjamin, 527 451, 633; Renald, 68;

Boothby, family, 391-2; Sir Burton, Michael, 562-3 Thomas. 20, 322; Sir

WilUam, 399; Sir Brooke, Butcher, Will, 266 Aston, 868, 641, 542;

400 ; family. 390 Butler, Archdeacon, 220 Wilham, 430; Jolin, 601

Boothouse, Rev. Nathaniel, Buxton, family, 428, 438, Cockfield, arms, 393

895 6,460,513 446; Thomas, 430; W., Cockys, William, 475

Borowes, Thomas, 847 434 ; Edward, 453 ; Eliza- Coffin, Thomas, 234

Borrow(Burrow)family,4l3 beth. 452; Samuel, 643; Colle, 316; Robert, 318>

Bosville, John, 263 Ralph, 85 ; H., 492 313-4, 351

Botetourt, family, 16, 387 ; Bynney, Stephen, 463 Collier, John, 215

arms, 387 Byrde, George, 336 Columbell, family, 54, 153,

Bothe (Booth), John, 657 159, 160-2; arms, 161;

Bott, Mr. WiUiam, 449 0 ohn, 152 ; Henry, 68, 330,

Bouden, Richard, 142 C. 413; Roeer, 142, 249, 495

Bouer, George, 297 Comberford, Richard, 475

Bouge, arms, 390 Cadman, Nicholas, 166 Conaway, Joseph, 350

Boville, family, 109, 118 Calvert, John, 70 Cougson, family, 109; Nic-

Bowden (Bowdon), arms, Calvore, Ralph de, 187-8 holas, 107

143, 145 ; family, 144 Camville, arms, 22, 24, Connayes <Cunneys), John

Bower, de, family, 288, 293, 555 ; Sir William de, 188, 190

296, 299, 301 Cantelupe, arms, 552 Conyngham, Robert, 526

Bower, Ralph, 200; Mary, Cantrell, John, 56, 68-9, Cook, Thomas, 396

281 173; Mr., 347; Ralph, Cooke, Mr. Roger, 490

Bowman, Edmund, 817; 657 Cooper, G., 221; John, 143;

Nicholas, 143 ; Mr, 171 ; Capellanus, Roger, 316 W'illiam. 208

John, 320 Carson, WilHam, 339 Copwood, family, 30

Bowue, Henry, 418 Carrington, Samuel, 395 Cornhill, William de, 6,

Bradbomo, arms, 394, 433, Carryer, Richard, 543 257

888 9, 393 ; family, 370, Cartwright, Charles, 527 Cotes, family, 451 ; arms,

376, 386, 388-91, 411-13, Catesby, Thomas, 499 831,451; John, 331

427,433,479; Roger, 429 Cathewell, John, 316 Cotterell, family 116,157

Bradburu, arms, 373 Cans (do Cauceis), 427 ; Cotton, family, 390; arms,

Bradbury, Thomas, 210 ; Sir Geoffrey de, 442,448 ; 382, 390, 393 Richard, 389;

Raphael, 331 ; arms, aSl Matilda de, 482 Rowhind, 366

INDEX OP PERSONS.

603

OoventiT, Sir Thomas, 543
Coyny, Robert, 64
Craven, Robert., 98, 104
Orech, Johu, 531
Cressi, Radus de, 581
Creswell, Thomas, 131;

Ralph, 135; Jacob, 848
Cretyiig,W., 152
Cromwell, Oliver, 143, 554 ;

Lord, 74 6, 306; Richard,

490-1
Crotiat, George, 44
Cryer, Mr. Samuel, 129, 131
CuUen, Lord, 386
Corzon, arms, 893

D.

Dabridgecourt, Sir John,

382
Daken, John, 66
Dakin (Dakeyne), family,

272
Dalburv, Alice de, 381
Bale, Mary, 3i2; Richard,

840
Daniel, John, 286, 310;

WilUam, 291; Richard,

141, 291; family, 800;

arms, 301; Sir William,

802
Darley, familv, 88, 156, 157,

158, 159, 160, 280; John

de, 157, 168
Daventry (Dauntre), Wm.,

189
Davie, Henry, 174
Davy, Nicholas, 174
Dawson, James, 397
Dayrel, Nicholas, 423
De Lisle, Brian, 48 ; arms,

24
Deincourt, arms, 23, 263-
Delves, Sir Thomas, 72
Denham, Sir John, 305
Denman, Lord. 245
Derby, Earl of, 139, 177,

401, 406, 427, 442
Detbick, arms, 393
Dettliffe, R., 434
Deville, arms, 327, 328, 386,

387
Devonshire, Countess of,

277 ; Earl of, 75. 98, 179,

181, 213, 277; Duke of,

66, 76, 77, 183, 188, 245,

265, 317, 345
Dickens, Ellis, 100
Diuma, Bishop, 123, 171
Dobson, William, 39,5, 453
Dowkyn, Richard, 80
Dravcott, Anthony, 631,

641 ; family, 233
Drinkwater, Thomas, 205
Duckett, Christopher, 391
DnrverRal. arms, 20, 22-4
Dymock, Sir Robert, 19, 21
Dymoke, Katherine, 10 i,

234
Dynham, Oliver, 526

E.

East, Thomas, 72
Eaton, Francis, 543

Edensor, family, 282, 461;
arms, 327, 328,885-7,393,
433; Thomas de, 96;
Richard, 430, 433

Edward IV., 411 ; VI., 430

Edwards, John, 166, 174;
John, 317

Eggo, WUliam, 526

Elliott, John, 60

Elswig^e, John, 66

Erasmus, 204, 335

Erdeswick, arms, 331, 332

Ergom, Ralph de, 525

Errington, G. H., Esq.,
878, 383-4

Espec, arms, 23, 24; Sir
Walter, 25

Esseburn, Robert de, 506

Essex, Earl of, 334

Essheton, W. de, 134

Eston, Matthew de, 105,
107, UO; Adamde, 140

E trick, Anthony, 369

Evans, Mr., 506 ; George,
619 ; The late William,
657 ; Rev. Charles, 557

Evermghara, arms, 31, 101 ;
Thomas, 190 ? Henry, 31

Extraneus, John de, 48;
Roger, 187

Eyre, family, 31, 64, 60,
101-3, 193,228,231,231-6,
238, 249, 2.5:3, 263, 316,
855-6; arms, 31, 101,229,
231-6, 239-40, 247, 263,
452 ; Jane, 5,60 ; Thomas,
104, 848; Robert, 58, 190,
240, 2t8, 262; Stephen,
118; Edward, 164, 2o8;
Catherine, 299; Sir John,
67; Edmund, 286; WU-
liam, 660

F.

Falconer, arms, 390
Fallowes, Mr., 113
Farran, Rev. Frederick, 133
Fam worth, Earl of, 382,

464 ; Ellis, 460
Fawne, Thomas, 661 ;
family, 661, 666, 667;
arms, 561
Feathers tone, Ralph, 441
Fern, Joseph, 524, 526
Feme, William, 56; family,
422-3 ; Agnes, 655 ;
Joseph, 56; John, 655;
Henry, 165, 174
Ferns, R., 221
Ferrers, family, 65, 139,
890, 427, 434-6, 473, 482,
666 ; arms, 382, 387, 393 ;
Henry de, 177, 346, 443,
450, 652,; William, 177,
178; William de, 401,
640; Sir Humphrey, 387,
413; Robert de, 474
Fetherston, family, 427
Findern, arms, 393-4
Fitzherbert, John, 328 ;
Thomas, 234, 249 : family,
250, 384, 412-13, 450-53;

Sir John, 159; Barbara,

385; arms, 385, 894, 452;

Sir WiUiam, 449
Fitzhubert, Ralph, 227, 439
Fitzhngh, arms, 555
Fits warren, arms, 394
Fitzwilliam, Sir W., 72;

arms, 233 ; Thomas, 233 ;

Elizabeth, 234
Flaville, arms, 890; Sir

William, 390
Fletcher, Mr. John, 356 ;

Sir Thomas, 464-6
Flockton, Mr. William 28,
Floyd, William, 306
Foderingye (Forderingeye),

Walter de, 151, 625
Foljambe, Henry, 79, 80;

Godfrey, 49, 110; arms,

17, 89, 85, 299, 893:

Thomas, 89, 110; Cecil

G. Savile, 298; family,

10, 11, 15-17, 42, 79, 157,

286, 288, 299, 308, 346-7 ;

Peter, 264; James, 287;

John, 291, 296, 298, 307
Ford, Joshua, 563
FortesGue, Sir Francis, 24
Fostou, Henry de, 526
Fow^ler, A,ugU8tin, 77
Frances, Gilbert de, 55, 87
Francis, William, 419 ;

arms, 393, 452 ; family,

450
Frecheville, arms, 393, 665 ;

Baron, 159; Joanna, 286 ;
French, Robert, 261
Frith, Jasper, 147
Froggart, John, 69
Froggatt, Richard, 62;

Thomas, 248 ; Robert. 60
Fulcher, family, 177-8 ;

Alice, 299
Full wood, Christopher, 336 ;

family, 343
Furuival, family, 188-90,

442; Thomas, 228

G.

Gamson, Robert, 162
Garlick, Nicholas, 260-2;

family, 166, 211; arms,

211
Garrett, Francis, 336
Gell, Sir Philip, 397, 400,

402, 459 ; Philip, 44, 485 ;

Ralph, 258, 662; family,

265, 460, 506. 608, 656-60 ;

arms, 265, 659-60; Mr.,

620
Geoffrey, Vicar of Aah-

bourn, 363
Gemon, Margaret, 299 ;

Ralph, 16; Sir J., 16;

family, 20
Gerrard, arms, 24
Gilbert, family, 329-30, 508;

arms, 330, 608 ; John 70,

817 ; Nicholas, 336
Gisboume, Colonel, 308
Godman, William, 540
Godward, W., 621
Goodread, Thomas, 397,

604

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Goodwin, Richard, 121;

Herbert, 463; Thomas,

601
GoBling, Elizabeth, 866
Gotham, arms, 963
Gonshil], 228
Gowrye, Lord, 337
Granby, Marqnia of, 26
Grainger, H, 66; family,

80, 322-3
Grange, Christopher, 5x6

899
Greayes, C. S., 78; John,
61; Mr., 248; Valentine,
841
Green, Richard de, 15
Greene, Ralph, 119
Greenham, Mary, 281
Greenhaugh, Roger, 183
Greensmith, family, 159,

161, 174
Gregory, Joshua, 60 ; Rob-
ert, 173
Gretrakes. WyUim, 810
Gretton, William, 269-71
Grey, arms, 394 : F. R., 77 ;

Lord Reginald, 382
Griffin. 46-49, 97; Bar-
tholomew, 469 ; E.) 560
Griffith, Rhees, 21
Gnmdy, John, 59; Mary,
59

H.

Hacket, Bishop, 279
Hadfield,Joseph,216; John,

135,214
Hague, family, 212-18
Haines, Matthew, 896
Halifax, Marquis of, 189,

238
Hall, Joseph, 180; Robert,

130-1, 185; Henry, 185;

John, 131 ; Thomas, 131,

135, 565: Isaac, 132 ;

Roger, 135
Hallam, John, 247; Jaryis,

262
Hallowes, Francis, 336
Hallows, Joseph, 167
HaUy, William, 187
Hameltone, WiUiam de, 436
Hancock, Anthony, 342
Hand, William, 897-400
Handyman, Symon, 475
Hamilton (Rector of

Thorpe), 533
Harbord, George, 442
Hardinge, Daniel, 335
Hardistee, Mr., 397
Harewold, Radnlphns de,

428
Harford, Richard, 142
Harland!, Christopher, 891
Harper, Henry, 418
Harrington, I^dy, 78
Harris, William, 52
Harrison^ James, 202 ;
James, 182 ; family, 310;
Will, 500; Michael, 584

Hart, Peter, 652

Harthill, arms, 827, 331,
382, 888, 385-7, 393 ; fam-
ily, 96, 159, 328, 329, 843,
439, 451 ; Sir Richard de,
95, 882, 489; Adam de,
22

Hartington, aims, 382 ;

family, 479
Hartley, Stephen, 76; Hugh

485
HartweU, Thomas, 395
Harward, Rev. J., 563
Hasilhurst, Robert, 370
Hassall, arms, 467, 5i6, 663;
Robert, 467; family, 468
Hathersage, arms, 23; fam-
ily, 227, 241
Hawksworth, John,* 265 ;
t « William, 266 [
Hay, Richard Del, 152
Haydoche, Thomas, 489
Haye, John, 262
Hayes, Rev. Thomas,' 261
Ha3rward, family, 121
Hayward, Robert, 460
Haywood, Thomas, 499
Hazelton, John de, 525
Hazilbech, Richard de, 463,

466
Heath, Mr. Ralph, 286
Heathcote, Georere, 70,
404; Ralph, 51, 205, 806;
Joseph, 353 ; Messrs.,
321; Mrs., 565
Heape, Hugo, 816
Heaton, PhiUp, 286
Hedderley, G., 521; Thom-
as, 46, 60, 100, 183, 320,
853, 447; Mr., 265; John,
111; Daniel, 248, 265, 297,

353, 621.
Heydocke, Thomas, 468
Helion, fwrnily, 16
Heneage, George, 541
Henshaw, William, 44
Herberjour, Sir William,

157
HerLs, arms, 655
Herrington, Robert, 185
Heyre, Hugo, 316; Sir

Hugh, 557
Heywood, Robbert, 806
Hibbert, Damaris, 207;

Nicholas, jun., 387
Hieron, John, 398, 400
Higdon, Ralph, 179
Higginbottom,Mr.William,

144
Higgs, Griffin, 104
Hill, Mrs. Ma^ 885; Mas-

ter James, 486
Hilla, Ricus de, 476
Hinckeyman, Thomas, 527
Hol^on, John, 896
Hodges, Thomas HaUett,

519
Hodgkinson, Edmund, 619 ;

Joseph, 356; William,

173 ; Denis, 173
Hodnet, arms, 22
Holcombe, G., 527

Holecombe, Rev. George,

521
Holland, arms, 24; Henry,
26 ; Thomas, 341 ; family,
16
Hollingworth, Mary, 843
Hollingshead, Mr. John,

464
Holme, Ralph, 495
Holmes, George, 513
Honey, Thomas, 476
Hopkins, Stemhold, 133
Hopkinson, family, 423 ;

John, 431
Horab3rn, Lawrence, 367,

871, 404
Horrabrin, Malin. 594
Horsfall, family, 219
Howard, family, 200, 206-7;

arms, 202
Howe,FranceB,136; George,

135 ; Christopher, 202
Hnbbersty, Rev. Nathan,

550
Hudson, Richard, 546
Hulme, James, 148
Hungerford, Nicholas de,

541
Hunt, Richard, 19 ; Joseph,

194
Hurt, Thomas, 118, 668 :
family, 439, 508; Nicho-
las, 440, 561, 566 ; Charles,
485 ; Rev. John, 528 ;
Francis Edward, 550
Hutton, Philip, 243
Hybald (Hybalt), family,

164
Hybert, Nicholas, 836-7
Hyde, John, 213-14; Sam-
uel, 217
Hvden, J., 156
Hykeling, Hugh. 528
Hyll, Edward, 464-5

I.

InkyrseD, John, 190
Inskip, William, 418
Ix«Iand, Sir Thomas, 17 ;

Avice, 346 ; arms, 17 ;

family, 42
Ireton, family, 178; Robert,

881; arms. 393
risle, Bryan de, 478, 479;

Hugh de, 479

Jackson, Valentine, 430;
Jacques, John, 317
James, Archbishop of Glas-
gow, 182
Jewell, Bishop, 886-7
Johnson, George, 61
Johnson, Sir Richazd, 68
Jones, Dr., 72-3, 75
Mr. J. R., 171;
beth, 174, 400
Joweson, Roberti 287

INDEX OF PERSONS.

605

E.

KelsalL Mr., 400

Kelstedis, William de, 159

Kendall, WUUam, 167;
family, 79, 156

Kenworthy, Thomas, 321

Eevelac, Hoen de (Wallen-
sis), 47

Key, Thomas, 413

Keyiam, Walter de, S64

Kilwarby, Robert, 110

Kinder, Philip, 209; family,
210

Kirk, 892

Kirke, Agnes, 142; Mr.
Henry, 142, 143

Kirkland, John, 619

KniTeton, William, 164 ;
Robert. 829, 391 ; family,
830,369-70,508; Sir Wil-
liam, 881; arms, 893, 394,
508; John, 412 ; Matthew
de, 505; Richard, 317,
412

Knott, John, 202

Knowles, John, 520

Kyme, arms, 22, 24 ; Philip
de, 28

L.

Lambome, Robert de, 189
Lancaster, arms, 898, 552,

555
Lathbtiry, arms, 393
Lawcock, Mr. George, 448
Lawson, Christopher, 69
Leacroft, Ellen, 499; Mr.

T., 499
Leake, arms, 110, 898 ; Sir

John, 110, 465
Leaner, Mr., 842
Leche, arms, 180, 183, 264,

893; George, 183; Sir

Roger, 209 ; family, 180,

181, 184, 209. 264
Lee, Robert, 68
Leeke, Samuel, 398, 400
Lees, John, 65
Leffh, Richard, 568
Leigh, Sir Thomas, 264;

arms, 264 ; Alkmond,

499
Lekebome, Hugo de, 316
Lester and Pach, Messrs.,

621
Levett, aims, 99: Roger,

100
Leyinge, Thomas, 406, 407
Lewes, Thomas, 429
Lexington, Henij de, 411
Lingard, John, 186
Linsey, Robert de, 873
" Little John,*' 236-0
Litton, Sir Robert, 118;

Christ, 286; Ulfreton de,

291; (Lytton), family,

808
Loe, Vincent, 385

Lomas, Robert, 60 ; Rich-
ard, 348
Lomas, Mr., 339
Longdon, George, 56
Longford, Nigel de, 241 ;
Sir Ralph. 21, 22 ; Wil-
liam, 330 ; arms, 23,382,
894, 433, 634 : family, 228;
Sir Nicholas. 389, 412
liongspde, Roger, 365
Loudham, family, 17, 89;

arms, 17
Loundes, Mr., 400
Loundey, William de, 526
Lovell, arms, 393
Lowe, Andrew, 316; An-
thony, 316 646, 566 ;
John, 320 ; Humphrey,
328; Edward, 558; fam-
ily, 560-1, 66tt-9; arms,
561, 669; George. 135
Lowthe, William, 626
Lucas, T. B. , 50
Luceby, Maude, 286
Ludlam, Robert, 250-2
Ludlow, Sir John, • 92 ;

Beuedicta, 555
Luxmore, J. R., 60, 112
Lygon, William, 484
Lyllyborne, Thomas, 518,

526
Lyndford, William de, 110
LjTidope, Roger, 646
Lytton, Sir Robert, 567

M.

Machon, Robert, 287
Machyu, Rychard, 317
Mackworth. arms, 393
Madden, Edward, 618
Maddocke, Thomas, 50
Madock, Robert, 498
Mainwaring, Sir Thomas,

128
Mallet, Francis 367
Manlove, Edward, 395
Mann, Hugh, 317
Manners, arms, 24, 27 ;

family, 23-30, 89 ; John,

66, 60, 96, 249, 267 ; Mr.

Roger, 72 ; Sir John, 55,
■ 164

Maple, Thomas, 829
Marbury, Dame Catherine,

174; family, 161; Wil-

liam, 169
Marchington, William, 190
Marmion, arms, 387
Marmiun, William, 478
Marple, family, 58
Marpley, Mr. R., 848
Marriott, John. 400
Marrowe, family, 385
Marshall, Richard, 81 ;

Thomas, 147
Mason, R., 621
Masson, John, 228
Mather, Ralph, 839
Mathon, Francis, 564
Matthewman, Robert, 56

Matthews, Marshall Ed-
wards, 143

Mawkin, William, 513
Maynarde, John, 546

Mear8& Stainbauk, Messrs.
156, 321 : Messrs., 147,
469,535; Thomas, 43, 60,
424, 563

Mellor, Anthony, 114, 120 ;
family, 218-19, 498-9;
Henry, 102; Richard,508;
Robert, 184 ; Roger, 166 ;
Thomas, 142, 501

Melville, W. R., 520, 527

Mercer, Mr., 40O

McTerell, family, 85, 301-2 ;
804-6, 308, 312 ; arras, 301 ;
Robert, 85, 312 ; Thomas,
828

Meyuell, family, 450, 671 ;
arms, 451-2; Mr., 433-4,
466-7, 486, 498, 534 ; WU-
liam de, 440

Middleton, family, 808 ;
Marmaduke, 485 ; Tho.,
297

Miles, Mr. Thomas, 431,
441

Milward, arms, 165, 533;
family, 165-6, 402, 439,
633 ; Edward, 664 ; John,
441; George, 400; Tho-
mas, 391

Mitchell, Mr., 66, 194

Moleut, Bishop, Roger de,
79, 605, 511, 650

Mompesson, Catherine, 195

Monboucher, Sir Bartholo-
mew, 25

Montacute William, 188,
228

Montague, Lord, 27 ; Lord
John, 3U1-2

Montgomery, John, 91 ;
Nicholas, 412 ; Pembroke,
Count, 190; Roger de, 573

Montforde, Simonde, 127

Monyash, Henry de, 297

Moorewood, John, 398

Mordaunt, arms, 31

More, Thomas, 190

Moreton (Morton), John,
190 ; Thomas, 190

Mortaigne, Earl of, 5, 106,
241-267

Mower, Robert, 56

Motmtjoy, Lord, 100

Morteyne. family, 187-8

Morewood, family, 101, 193

Mower, Samuel, 460

Moysco, Roger, 190

MuBchamp, Geoffrey de, 6 ;
257 ; Robert de, 25

Myddleton, Henry, 72

Mylton, family, 661

N.

Nadauld, Thomas, 60
Naden, Mr. Wilham, 271
Nanton, John, 418

606 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Kawton, Thomas, 646 Peada, 123 Ridware, anxis, 882, 390 ;

Naylor, Col., 238 Pecke, Simon, 408 family, 390

Nedehame, Robert, 463 ^egee, Chxistopher, 108 ; Rigby, Ralph, 194

Needham, arms, 219 ; Mr. Edward, 895 ; family, Roaaes, Ralph, 107

Elias, 130 ; family, 162, 608 ; Parson, 146 Roberts, Wilham, 842

166-7, 281 ; Otwell, 206; Peke, Thomas de la, 134 "Robin Hood." 286, 287

William, 211 Pembmfrge, arms, 20, 22, 24. Rockingham, Lord, 27

Neyille, arms. 49; family, 90,882,655 ; family, 9,24; RoclifF, 157, 168

49, 65, 442 ; Thomas, 189 ; Sir Folk de, 21 Roe, Rey. George. 216

Hugh de, 479 Peverell, family, 127; Wil- Rogers, Geryase, 441; Jo-

Newburgh, Earl of, 60-1, liam, 6, 189, 140, 141, 187, nathan, 282

282-3 199, 809, 844 ; William, Rolf, John, 228

Newdigate, family, 246 the younger, 8, 79 RoUesley, arms, 163-4 ;

Newman, Barthia, 340 Phenney, Mrs. Ann, 861 family, 163-4, 667 ; John,

Nichols, Mr., 889; Rey. Pickering, Elizabeth, 848 68,164

Mr., 243 Pidcock, B., 848: Vicar, RoUeston, arms, 565;

Nicholson, Thomas, 269, 826 ; William, 876 Thomas, 667

271 Pierrepoint, family, 26 Rolyeston, Roger de, 105

NicolB, Joseph, 66 Piatt, William, 606 Roose, Thomas. 62

Nickson, Eomand, 142 Plompton, family, 11, 167, Roos, arms, 28, 24; family,

Nightingale, Peter, 519 161, 234, 847 ; Sir Robert, 26

Nor bury, Roger de, 168, 167 Roper, Samuel. 177, 178

199, 429 Pole, arms, 398 ; Edward, Rose, Daniel, 239, 244, 266 ;

Norman, Charles James, 60 817, 418 ; John, 200 Jonathan, 248, 280, 281

Normanyllle, arms, 263, 655 Poleswell, arms, 882 Rossell, arms, 661, 669 ;

Northampton, John, 412, Porte. Dame Elizabeth, 117 family, 561 ; Jands, 562

468 Porter, Thomas, 268, 468 Rossington, arms, 827, 328,

Noyant, Hugo de, 6, 267 Potts, John, 166 829-81, 886-7,898 ; family,

Nuttall, Sam., 841 Pott, John, 162 826, 827, 880

Poynton, Edmund, 264 ; Rossyndale, Robert de, 199

Q Thomas, 200, 206 Rosyngton, John, 816

Prince, Rey. Samuel, 419; Rowbotham, Lawrence, 207

Gates, Robert, 852 t*^""^*^' ^^^T^^'^'^t^^o go^^^^ ^^Tan, 11

Offden William 568 Prowdeloye, Alanus, 681-2 Rowe, arms, 831; John,

ofdfi^W. &. n 85 , P^ce, Sir Hen^ 412 881 ; Roger^830. 881

100, in, 128, 196 297 ^m^ ™«' 22 24, 40, 90; Rowland Godfrey, 18 ;

424 469 483 608 • Henry ^^ ^^ * J*""®"- 21 ; John, 499

86, 166, 469 ; Mary, 121; Margaret, 89 ; Sir Robert, Rowlandson, John, 9 ; Mr..

Maria, 279; Rev. Mr., r» v. t>- v -j ka t> i -o

279 ; W.,11 ; William,12i ^«^«' ^*°^»^' %. orva go^ley, Roger. 66

OnsloW, Artihur, 200 ?^^^^ ^^^ ?- P^tjJ^ S^'^^i^^/?.^? ^f ^ .

Okeoyei, family, 412-13, ^^f(^OYe, Robert. 308-6 Rudhall (bell founders),

486; Humphrey, 284; t> i7'rrl "' oito

Rowland, 8d9, 487 617 5^T"^ T?f^/ Sf ^ 1;^

OUyer Wm 142 143 Rutland, Duke of, 25,26.64,

Oloren8haw;Abriiam,220; »• iiVw ^^^L^^^

Rey. M., 207, 219, 220, 223; ^ . ..„ oiq SL i »-i oPiJ ^' ^'

Osbaston, Susannah, 897 ^ 'F^^& ^19 Sir John, 560 Ruyston, Richard, 847

Osborne, Mr. Willmm, 501 Rams, Mr., 216

Oxspring, arms, 232, 898, i^S^lKoM^^^ S.

Oxton, Nicholas de, 640 If,; the son of Walter, ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^

Ratcliffe, Benjamin, 221 ; 888, 891 : arms, 888, 898 ;

P. WiUiam, 340 Henry, 390 ; Ralph, 6W-8

Rathbone, Mr., 397 Salocia (Seluda;, Robert de

Padley, arms, 229, 281-6, Rawson, Richard, 10 ; Sir 105, 107

240, 268 ; family, 248 ; Richard, 91 ; Thomas, 9, Sandif orth, John. 200

Joan, 64, 232, 288, 289, 10 Saunderson, Nicholas, 27

240, 249, 253, 262, 835; Raynes, Robert, 66 ; S.,377 Sayage, family, 101, 193,

Nicholas de, 187; Ro- Redfeame, Thomas, 297; 450 ; arms, 101. 327, 828,

bert, 231 William, 142 885, 887; William, 96;

Pakington, Humphrey, 891 RereBby,annB,268; family, Humphrey, 101; Eliza-

Palfreyman, Thomas, 817 ; 231, 268 beth, 476

Wyllim. 810 Reyel, Hugh, 100 Sayenby. Alexander de, 257

Parker, Thomas, 412, 487 Reynald, Thomas, 626 Sayille, family, 30, 70, 191 ;

Parsons, Mr., 266 Reynolds, Mr., 113, 144, William, 80 ; Sir George,

PateshuU, Hugh, 363-4, 168,160 189

871, 878-4 Rhese ap Griffith, 678 Scholes, Elizabeth, 148

Payne, Edward, 162 Ridel, Geoffrey. 227 Scott, William, 144 ; Sir

Peacock, Mr., 897 Ridiard, William, 44 Gilbert, 179, 878-9, 551

INDEX OF PEB80N8.

607

Scrope, BiBhop, 22B

Scryle, Sewall de, 177

SebystoiL, John, 152

Selby, William, 228

Seleby, W. de. 479

SemprisgliAm, Ralph de,
291, 310

Setliffe, Robert, 348

Sh&kerley, family, 100, 164;
arms, 99; Robert, 100

ShallcroBS, Philip, 665

Shandoa, arms, 393

Sharp, Robert, 287

Shaw, John, 18; R. Nor-
man, Esq., 319, 320^

Shee, Ann, 565

Sheldon. Hugo, 457-8; Tho-
mas, 342

Shelmerdine, Thomas, 518,
526

Sherd, Jenn^, 236-7

Shipman, Richard, 348

Shirley, arms, 827, 328, 882,
898; family, 177; Ralph
de,177 ; Sewal de, 571 ; Sir
Hugh, 328, 3823, 571

Shirtcliffe, Nicholas, 805

Short, Dr., 78, 246

Shrewsbary, Conntess of,
180. 181,190; Earl of, 21,
65,72,75,107, 110,189-91,
194, 200, 206, 249, 442,
464, 476, 545, 571, 573;
Francis Lord, 100; Lady,
277

Shuttleworth, Ezekiel, 144 ;
Capt. James, 236-7; Mr.
Ashton, 237-8

Sidebottom, George, 130

SidweU. Robert, 173

Simon, Brother, 626

Skeffington, Clotworthy,
866

Skelton, Richard, 228

Slack, Mr. Richard, 68

Slater, John, 490

Smith, Martha, 343 ; Sam-
uel, 297; Mr. Edward, 69;
Charles, 273 ; Joseph, 76

Smedley, Mr. Joseph, 333

Smyth, John, 288; Richard,
56, 468, 545-6, 672

Solney, arms, 23, 552

Soreby, Alfred, 154

Soresby, Roger, 153

Sothill, famfly, 157, 168,

Sowter, John, 519

Spateman, John, 526, 662

Spaynyn^Ralph de, 129

Spencer, William,76; Rich-
ard, 104, 668; Timothy,
519; John, 546; family,
287-8

Spemor, arms, 22

Spicer, Richard, 500

Stackpole, arms, 20, 22, 24,
92, 566 ; Richard, 21

Stafford, arms, 194, 882 ;
family, 81, 219, 28791,
476; Humphrey, 107, 118,
193 ; John, 646 ; Madame,
193 ; Richard 301

Stainbank, Messra. Hears A,

156, 321
Stainforth, Messrs. Mears

&, 156
Staley, C, 853; Francis,

34'; Robert, 352
Stanhope, Rev. Charles
Spencer, 238; Sir John,
469, 560; Walter Spen-
cer, 238
Stanley, Thomas, 191
Stanton, William Job

Charlton, 527
SUpley, PhiUip, 301
Statham, arms, 829-30 ;
Edward, 339 ; family, 306,
806 ; Sir John, 555, 662 ;
John, 163, 301, 329
Nathan, 618
Staveley, Simon de, 219
Stavenby, Alexander de,

6, 141,364,373
Stepull, Richard de. 526
Stemdale. Mary, 292
Stevenson, Henry, 152 ;
John, 174 ; Thomas, 262
Stokes, Matthew de, 268
Stone, Thomas, 335
Stones, Robert, 458
Storer, John, 600, 568
Stoyte, Mr. Toby, 648
Strather, Sir Thomas, 26
Strelley, John de, 418
Stretton, Bishop, 199
Stmtt, Matthew, 44; Ro-
bert. 889
St. Andrews, Peter de, 234
St. Chad, 81, 123, 257, 495
St Columba, 123
St. Dionysins, 47
St. Gathlac, 646
St. Leger, Sir Thomas, 25
St. Modwyn, 380*
St. Oswald, 371-4, 463
Sackling, Rev. A., 42, 129,
131, 160, 162, 168, 170-1,
262
Sudbury, John, 190
Sundrist, Lawrence de, 526
Satton, arms, 27 ; John de,
18; Oliver, 606; Robert,
27 ; Thomas de, 190
Swetnam, Thomas, 817,

336.430
Swinburne, family, 16
Swindal, Francis, 389
Swindel, Ann, 62
Swindell, Richard, 843
Swinfen, Margaret, 19, 21
SympBon, Richard, 260 1
Synderby, Christ., 286
Swynnerton, arms, 665

T.

Talbot, arms, 673 Lord, 55,
572 ; family, 200, 442, 672 ;
Gilbert, 572 ; Henry, 671,
678 ; John, 21, 190, 645 ;
George, 190, 249

Talboys, Sir Gilbert, 21-8 ;

arms, 22, 24 ; family, 28
Tankersley, family, 110
Taples, William, 466
Tattenhulle, John de, 440,

448
Taylor, William, 66 ; Mary,

843; Henry, 153; John,

153; Alexander, 876; &

Son, 811 ; J. & Co., 183,

272-8, 312, 434, 486
Tekyll, John, 526
Tew, Rev. Edmund, 324
Thacker, Gilbert, 169, 174
Thomljmson, Richard, 646
Thomehill, Robert, 181;

Bache, 60, 336, 485
Thomhill, Mr., 349, 856;

Isabella, 321; William

Pole, 321, 823
Thome, WiUiam, 190
Thornton, Mr. S., 219
Thorpe, WiUiam, 450; Mr.,

44/; family, 61
Tibetot, family, 846
Tillard, Rev. Richard, 645
Tinmouth, Robert, 55
Tiping, Henry, 153
Tiptoft, arms, 24 ; John, 26
Tissin^n, Sarah, 460
Todeni, arms, 25; Robert

de, 25
Toft, G., 841
Tomlinson, Thomas, 44;

Mr., 400
Tomson, W.,841
Topham, Francis, 532
Toplis, B., 560; Edward,

552
Touchet, Thomas, 475
Townend, Thurstan, 258
Treamton, arms, 22
Trickett, Samuel, 431
Trott, family,.4d9; Baptist,

441
Troughear, Leonard, 272
Trusbut, family, 25
Tufton, family, 189
Tunnicliffe, John, 395
Tunsted, John, 116; arms,

117
Turie, Rev. Robert. 186, 243
Turner, Samuel, 77

de, 26
Turville, arms, 890; Rich-
ard, 890; Sir William, 891
Twyford, arms, 898
Tym, Nicholas, 132
Tyrell, family, 16
Typshelf, Roger de, 17

U.

Umfreville, arms, 23, 24
Underwood, Captain, 28;
Thomas, 407

V.

Valence, arms, 561, 669 ;
Edward, 460

608

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

VaUntine, Henry, d96-7

Vanx, family, 25

Yenables, arms, 990, 555;
Kichard, 546

Vernon, Sir John, 159 ; Sir
George, 22; Geoi^e, 9,
12; Sir Richard, 32S, 370,
882, 3^4, 389, 413; Sir H.,
II, 545 ; John, 20; family,
19, 21. 23, 26 2S, 29, 42,
54, 88, 89, 91-2, 317. 322,
412, 556 ; Richard, 59, 87,
92-3 ; arms, 90, 93, 2>). 22-
24, 40, 322, 327, 328, 382-3,
893, 554-5

Veynes, John de, 458

Vilen, Sir Payn de, 17

W.

WagstafFe, William, 200;

George, 174
Wain Wright, John, 147 ;

Matilda, 273
Walklate, Thomas, 223
Walker, Edward, 518 ;

Nicholas, 518; F., 521;

William. 56
Wallace, WiUiam, 77
Wall, George, 342; Sam-
uel, 543; William, 552;

Christopher, 552
Walthall, Peter, 60
Walton, Robert, 336
Ward, John, 173, 842, 568;

Mary, 342 ; Thomas, 600;

James, 65, 174, 341
Warde, Mr. Richard, 648
Warkenham, Hugo de, 458
Warner, Sir Edward, 165,

851, 490
Warren, Earl, 894; arms,

552
Warwick, arms, 24
Waterfall, Thomas, 564
Watkinson, Peter, 496,

500-1
Watts, Henry, 848

Watson, Mr. H., 20 : arms,
27; Lewis, 27; William,
531
Waynswright, William, 200
Webbe, William, 190
Weld, Nicholas, atte, 157
Wells, family, 31, 262;
arms, 31, 235, 263; Ber-
nard, 235
Wendesley, family, 18, 19,
162; arms, 18, 19; Rich-
ard, 118, 165. 351, 490; Sir
Thomas, 17, 30; Roger
de, 163
Wentworth, family, 16
Wennnwyn, 46-8, 97
Weseham, Roger de, 285
Weston, Anthony, 553
Wexham, Roger, 411
Weyley, William, 545
Wheatcroft, family, 174
Wheeldone, Thomas, 153
Wheldon, Henry, 174
Whitbonme,Capt. Richard.

836
Whittaker, Lawrence, 525 ;

Mr, 340
White, William, 147 ; Rich-
ard, 104; George, 266;
Samuel, 50, 247: Jona-
than, 317; Ralph, 51;
Captain, 212
Whitehalgh, James, 165
Whitelombe, Richard, 458
Whitesmith, R. S., 339
Whittington, Robert, 234
Wichiner, Henry de, 525
Wightman, Philip, 563
Wigley, Richard, 546, 672;
family, 305, 556, 558, 562 ;
arms, 563 ; Henry, 564
Wilde, John, 340
Wilkinson, John, 519
Wilkson, Ro^er, 121
Williams, Michael, 44
Williamson, Thomas, 104;

Richard, 513
WiUoughby, Sir Hickman,
856 ; Philip, 865, 605-6 ;

Hugh, 413: arms. 560;
John, 563
Willymot. Thomas, 68
WUmot, Vicar, 325
Willmott, Anthony, 564
Wilson, John, 816^7 ; Tho-
mas, 317 ; Hugh, 69 ; W.
438; Daniel, 563; Rich-
ard, 546
Wingfield, William, 50^

John, 563
Winton, Peter de, 505-6,

511
Winscombe, Elizabeth, 140
Wisdom, R., 403
Wood, WUiiam. 191, 1934 ;
Sir Charles, 238 ; Samuel,
148; George, 396
Woodcock, Thomas, 549
Woodro£Fe, family, 30 ;
arms, 143, 264 ; Ells,
261, 264
Wootton, Mr. PhiKp, 14
Womberwell, Reginidd, 18
WoUey, Dr., 342; Mr.
Adam, 67, 519 ; family,
522-4 ; WiUiam, 205, 206
Wolstenholme, Hugh, 280
WormaJl, Rey. Thomas,

261, 265
Wormhill, Roger de, 165
Wortley, Nicholas, 238

Perciyal, 560
Worrall, John, 271
Worrel, Thomas, 843
arms, 144, 264 ; Ells, 261,
284
Wright, family, 101, 103;
Dayid, 341; Dr., 135:
Thomas, 142; William,
104; G. T., 100; Miss,
230
Wyld, Edmund, 526
Wynfield, Thomas, 568

T.

Yates, James, 221

INDEX OF PLACES.

A.

Abbey Grange, 242
Abney, 258
Agiucourt, 288, 468
Alderwasley, 687, 542-8, 546,

549, 558, 560, 561, 564,

566-70, 572
Aldgate, 474, 476
Aldwark, 428, 435, 464.5
Alfreton, 458
Allen Hill, 522-3
AUer, 367
Allestree, 406
Alport, 11, 330
Alsop-in-the-Dale, 861, 364,

368, 401-5, 407-8, 423, 439,
Alton, 542-3, 555
Alvaston, 51
Appletree, 368, 542
Arlaston, 557
Arundel, 297
Askboum, 96, 118, 279, 328,

841, 861-413. 481, 439, 458,

460, 463, 464, 489-90, 505,

511-18, 531, 541-2, 558,

665, 580
Ashford, 7, 10-12, 45-52, 54,

86, 97, 112, 141, 677
Ashford-in-the-water, 154,

522
Ashleyhay, 549, 561, 566-8
Ashop, 241, 258
Ashopton, 242
Asbover, 51, 68, 231, 234,

263
Asbton, 258
Asbton Underbill, 31
ABpatria, 272
Aston, 263, 264, 890
Allow, 399, 426, 428, 430-1,

436-8, 440, 442, 447, 541,

558
Attercliff, 102
Aoray, 325
Autbmuty, 182
Ayclifie, 88

B.

Bailey Flatts, 259, 272
BakeweU, 5-123, 141, 158,
162, 167, 168, 184, 195,
196, 235, 257, 267-8,

270, 279, 286, 326, 837, 841,

846, 370, 410, 430, 434,

480, 555, 577
BalUdon, 425, 428, 434, 447,

463
Bamford, 188, 229, 243
Barlborongh, 189
Barlow, 828
Bamby, 143
Bamsley, 237
Barton, 305
Barton-upon-Humber, 132,

202
Baslow, 7, 8, 34, 53-62, 66,

76, 87, 97, 102, 106, 231
Basingwerk, 199, 200, 205,

209, 210, 218
Beard, 210, 211
Beaucbief Abbey, 188
Beeley, 7, 8,30, 63-71, 80,

97, 106, 114, 172, 173, 179,

180
Belper, 209, 413
Belvoir, 25

Bentley, 331, 364, 401, 531
Beresford, 467-8
Beverley, 18
Biggin, 543, 549, 557, 564
Birchill, 9, 11
Bircbintree, 242
Bircbover, 69, 336, 841,

865-6, 370
BlackweU, 37, 114, 116-119,

162, 601, 567, 562
Blitbefield, 4l2
Blontsbam, 418
Blore, 80, 885
Blount Hall, 118
Bolsover, 51, 801, 479
BonsaU, 24, 165, 415, 517-18,

541, 542, 563
Bootbe, 229
Bowden, 148, 144
Bowden Hall, 145
Boyleston, 370, 412
Bradboume, 87, 348, 870,

888, 389, 411-12, 425-53,

682, 666
Bradfleld, 102
Bradley, 364, 868, 370, 374,

381, 391,401,431,608,531
Bradley Asb, 367, 633
Bradsbaw, 193
Bradway, 102
Bradwell, 141, 188, 268

Brailsford, 526
Bramcote Hall, 828
Brampton, 36, 482, 562
Brassington, 188, 191, 848,

425, 428-9, 433-6, 442-7,

473
Brilley, 297
Brittany, 325
Brookfield,64,230,234
Brougb, 258
Broughton, 84
Browuehill, 259
Brownside, 142
Brufibfield, 114
Bubnell, 10, 80, 63, 54, 65
Bubnell Gate, 69
Buddesden, 418
Budsley Eudsor, 400
Burton-upon -Trent, 74
Butterton, 613
Buxton, 8, 66, 72-7, 79, 86,

141, 246-7, 269, 428, 476
Buxton Hall, 73

C.

Calais, 92

Callinge, 336

Callow, 259, 541, 549, 655

Calton, 179

Calver, 63, 102

Cambridge, 144, 235, d95|

501,663
Cannon Hall, 237, 239
Canterbury, 63, 110, 647
Carsington, 395-6, 465-60,

513, 541-2
Casteme, 661
Castlebar, 398
Castleton, lol, 126-186, 142,

202, 279, 365
Cbaddesden, 157
Chapel-en-le-Frith, 8, 79,

129, 187-148, 193, 203,245,

259, 270, 277, 279, 282, 285,

840,578
Chapel Lane, 242
Cbarborougb, 527
Gbarlesworth, 197, 205-8

247
Cbatswortb, 10, 68, 93, 180,

181, 183-4, 209, 247
Cbebnorton, 7, 8, 83,

66, 69, 78, 78-86, 107,

610

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

110, 119, 141, 169, 809-10,
812, 464-6. 480, 677

Chesterfield, 9, 17, 49, 70,
144, 206, 206, 263, 268,
279, 321, 8878, 863, 410,
627

Chippenham, 443

Chirens, Isere, 824

Chisworth, 219

Chunall, 206

Clanmacnoise, 36

Clifton, 301, 866, 369, 401

Clown, 418

Clynnog Fawr, 62

Cobham, 296

Cockayne Hatley, 881, 882

Cockbridge, 258

Codnor, 394

Cold Eaton, 18, 402, 407

CQleclilFe, 269
' Collingham, 88

Combeoridge, 423

Combermere, 464

Conisboro', 191

ConkBbery, 344

Connaught, 380

Coombs Edge, 147

Coventry, 79, 190, 869, 378

Cowdale, 75, 86, 141

Cowley, 166, 211

Cowlow, 269

CratcliJSe Bocks, 857

Crediton, 626

Crich, 116, 169

Cromford, 841, 537, 643, 649,
652, 671-4

Cronkston, 476

Crookhill, 241, 269

Crowdicoate, 476

Croyland, 89, 647

Catthorpe, 466

D.

Dale Abbey 227, 626

Darley, 16, 19, 88, 84, 64,
68-9, 84, 86, 167, 234,
286, 816, 830, 394, 418,
435, 460, 468, 496, 617-18,
623, 526, 633, 689, 640,
684

Darley Dale, 149-174, 272,
340, 678

Darley Old Hall, 161, 166

Darwent, 239, 269, 266-7

Denby, 328, 886, 660, 661,

Derby, 14, 113, 140, 194,
206, 220, 23:^,260-1,270,
816, 320, 841, 896, 408,413,
600-1, 612. 620, 642

Derwent, 225. 241-6

Derwent Hall, 268

Derwent River, 67, 173

Derwent Woodlands, 241,
249

Dethick, 118, 183

Doewall, 476

Dore, 191, 243

Dovebridge, 370, 688

Downham, 396, 468

Drayton, 227

Dronfleld, 102

Duffield, 81, 394, 412, 648,
666

Dufflald Firth, 664
Dnnstable, 364-6, 427-8, 480,
435-6, 439, 440, 442-3

E.

Earles Booth, 476

Earl Sterndale, 471, 476,

486-6
Eatington, 177
Eaton Dovedale, 166, 683
Eccleshall, 243
Edale, 129, 180, 136, 136, 248
Edensor, 63,68, 176-184, 339
Edenstall, 306
Edlaston, 364, 401, 631
Egham, 804
Elton, 16, 326-6, 336, 338-9,

840, 343, 346^1, 68-9, 286,

813, 816, 635
Elvaston, 601
Embrooke Crange, 642
Eton, 297

Etwall, 117, 177, 328
Exhall, 26
Eyam, 31, 87, 61, 60, 101,

102, 118, 122, 186-196,

247, 267, 446, 678

P.

Fairfield, 61, 76, 79, 86,
104, 141, 266-373, 286, 679

Fallinge, 69

Fenny Bentley, 422, 468-69,
663

Femllee, 141

Fl&ag, 80, 86, 86, 107, 466

Foolow, 269

Ford, 144

Foremark, 460

Fortingal, 170

Foantains Abbey. 171

Friar'B Walk, 243

Froggat, 63 69, 173

Fill bourne, 222

G.

Gamealey, 163

Garendon, 473

Gate House (Wirks worth),
668, 662

Gisbume (Guisboro'), 304-6

GloBSop, 61, 142, 144, 197-223
217, 281, 300

Gloucester, 147, 216, 378

Glutton, 476

Gorsey Bank, 560

Gorsyhead, 269

Gotham, 284

Gotheboidesich, 474

Grange, "inPecco" (Crook-
hill), 241-3

Grange MiU, 643

Grantsden, 418

Grassmere, 204

Gratton, 816-6, 836, 848,846,
661

Graunge, 476

Greatrix Meadow, Nether,
811

Greatrix, Orer. 311
Great Rocks, S66
Greaves, 70
Greenlow, 141, 259
Gretton, 836, 347
Grindon, 408
Grindleford Bridge, 259
Grindlow, 268-9
Gryn (Grindon), 286

H.

Haddon, 7, 10, 21, 26, 64, 66,

69, 87-94, 168, 267,317,

328, 344, 646, 666
Haddon, Nether, 8, 9, 11,

86, 87, 88, 141
Haddon, Over, 11, 15, 87,

344
Hallam, West, 61
Halton, 177
Hamell, Far Side, 210

, Great, 210

, Kinder, 210

, Thomesett, 210,

219
Hanging Bridge, 366
Hardwick, 671
Harwood Grange, 69
HarthiU, 7, 22, 95-6
Harthill Hall, 828, 339
Hartington, 86-7, 61, 826,

412, 471-76
Hartshorn, 17
Hassop, 11, 16, 81, 60, 61,

98, 101, 102, 103, 104,

118, 233, 234, 865
Hathersage, 23, 31, 54, 188,

226-263, 241, 244, 247,

248-9, 259, 262-8, 266,

298, 679
Hault Huoknall, 183, 278,

410 460
Hay field, 197, 201, 203
Hazelbadge, 12, 268, 268,

463,466
Heage, 668
Heanor, 61
Heathcot», 473
Heckington, 21^6
Heywood, 63
Higham, 100

Highlow, 31, 236,259, 262-8
HiU Top, 70
Hodnet, 92
Hognaston, 46, 364, 899,

400,431,487, 460,487-92
Holdemess, 25
Holme, 9, 31, 164,234, 262-3,

866, 461,^60
Holme Hall, Bakewell, 236
Holmsfield, 563
Hoon, 177
Hope, 9, 18, 80, 81, 87, 61,

76, 103,136,141,143,281,

238, 241, 244, 268, 265-

273, 279, 285-6, 807, 838,

464-5, 664
Hope Hall. 263, 264
Hopton, 44, 266, 459-60,

606, 641-2, 649, 657, 659
Horseley Gate, 102
Horsley, 329, 410

INDEX OF PLACES.

611

(Howgh) Hnlland, 862, 870,

888-9, 401, 411 13, 488
Hucklow, 141, 294
Hucklow (Great), 144
Hull, 804
Hulme, 86, 141
Hurdlow, 85, 107, 259, 267
Hurst, Nether, 288,239

I.

Ible, 165, 518, 642, 549, 655
Idiidgehay, 219, 498-9, 541-

42, 649, 565
IlkeBtoD, 84
nam, 88, 86
Ilkley, 88

Imbrook Grange, 648
Ipsley, 164
Ireton, 178, 381
Ireton Wood, 499

E.

Eedleeton, 458

Kinder, 209

Einder'B Soowt, 884

King's Newton, 96

King Stemdale, 80

Kinoulton, 17

Kirk Ireton, 370, 412, 458,

460, 493-601, 541-^ 545,

555,557
Kirksteads, 209
Kniveton, 830, 864, 866, 891,

899, 401, 411, 431, 503-8,

51), 556, 565
Kyme, 101, 234

L.

Langley, 74

Laonde, 227-8

Lea, 557

Leake, West, 484, 527

Leicester, 92, 141, 270, 815-
17,343-4,346,851,896

Lenton, 79, 80, 85-6, 129,
185, 189-41

Lichfield, 5-8, 10-12, 16, 41,
47, 49, 53, 66-6, 68, 73,
76, 79-80, 95, 97, 104-7,
128, 140-1, 147, 151-2,
189, 257-8, 268-70, 279,
289-90, 292-8, 807-8, 810,
816, 837-8, 892, 896, 417,
429. 495, 525

LilleshaU, 268

Lincoln, 151-2, 868, 265-6,
871, 406, 411, 417, 443,
517-18, 539

Lindisfame, 128

Litton, 144, 285-7, 291, 294,
888, 308

Lockerbrook, 241

Looko, 15, 70, 561

Lomberdale House, 82, 85-
86, 89, 42, 166, 216, 240,
483,522

London, 48, 56, 60, 102, 147,
156,202,205,218-14,245,

272, 804^ 821, 830, 884,
838, 853, 873, 898, 400,
408, 424, 443, 460, 466,
474, 477, 500, 521, 636,
546, 563

Longdendale, 199

Longdoles, 366

Longford, 330

Longesdon Mikel, 18

Longnor, 870

Longstone, 7, 31, 66, 97-104,
106, 164, 819, 320, 577

Longstone, Great, 97-100,
182, 47, 48, 259

Longstone, Little, 97, 100,
300

Losooe, 898

Loughborough, 183, 272-3,
812, 434. 484, 486

Ludworth, 214, 219

M.

Mablethorpe, 233
Macclesfield, 212
Manchester, 205, 268r
Mansfield, 363
Mapleton, 829, 864, 866-8,

378, 398-9, 609-13
Mappleton, 18, 401,486
Marbur>', 159
Marebottom, 242
Markeaton, 475
Market Bosworth, 601
Marple, 81
Matlock, 51, 70, 151, 161,

165, 205, 353, 417-18, 465,

473, 616-27, 641
Matlock Bath, 518, 624, 574
Meadow Place, 816, 844-5
Melbourne, 12
Mellor, 197, 208, 206-7, 209,

218-23, 498
Mercaston, 164, 508
Mercia, 123, 378
Merivale, Abbey of, 270
Meynell Langley, 460
Mickleover, 460
Middleton, 807, 815.6, 836,

348-4, 546, 549, 562, 572
Monk's Dale, 84, 309
Monsal Dale, 98
Monyash, 7, 11, 66, 86, 97,

105-11, 141, 344
Morley, 805, 890-1
Morton, 627
Mugginton, 431, 508

N.

Needham, 166, 219, 476
Newark Castle, 104
Newbiggin, 411-12, 474,542,

565
J^ewbold, 17, 141, 206, 253,

263
NewhaU, 263, 889, 391
Newton Grange, 368, 464,

558
Norbury, 249, 869-70, 412,

452
Northampton, 85, 109, 118,

180

North Lees, 225, 249-58
Norton, 46, ip2, 122, 264
Nottin«rham, 5, 68, 222, 804,

821, 838, 341, 443, 524,

561

O.

Ookbrook, 15, 157, 206
Offcote, 867, 369
Offerton, 232, 465
Okeover, 234, 894, 436, 613
Ollerset, 331
Oneash, 107, 844
Ordeshall, 219
Osbaldeston, 538
Osmaston, 485
Ossington, 868
OutsettB, 229

Oxford, 188, 804, 848, 448,
451

P.

Padley, 187, 225, 232, 234,

238, 249-258, 268
Padley, Nether, 259
Padley, Over, 229
Padley, Upper, 231
Park Hall, 212
Parwich, 11,45, 69, 861,364,

367-8, 401, 404-10, 422,

451, 491
Peak Castle, 166158, 160,

478, 479
Peak Forest, 167, 208, 270,

275, 282
Peak, High, 18, 88, 107,

110,113,127.129,158,187,

188, 199, 279
Peak, Low, 110
Peak, The, 59, 86, 91, 22,

82, 48, 117, 122, 127, 128,

129, 134, 139, 141, 142,

144, 151, 250, 251, 264,

334, 338, 844, 402-8, 429,

478
Perrevfoot, 281
Peterborough, 89, 373
Pigtor, 269
PillBley Lees, 179
Pindal End, 258
Pitsford, 325
Phustow, 113, 144, 572
Pleasley, 466
Polesworth, 828, 829, 380,

883
Pooley Hall, 328, 829, 380
Priestcliff, 12, 114, 119, 121
Puttoe Hill, 114

B.

Badboum, 475
Bagby, 898
Bampton, 855-6
Beading, 304
Bepton, 5, 123, 546, 572
Bi8ley,187,418
Bobardyerd, 159
Bocester, 178-9

612

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Boche Abbey, 844
Rochester, 108, 432
RoBsington, 327
Botherham, 266, 804-5
Bowland, 98
BowBley, 55, 66, 90
Bowsley, Great, 9, 12
Bowsley, Little, 163-4
Bowthora, 183
Bowtor, 102, 313, 348,855-7
Byber (Riber), 206, 622,
624

S.

Sandiacre, 159
Scarcliflfe, 111, 204
Scraptoft, 662
Sheffield, 65, 188, 191, 194,

243, 250, 300
Sheldon, 8, 12, 45, 48, 51,

62, 112-13, 578
Sherwood Forest, 54
Shining ClifiF, 666-7
Shirebrook, 464-5
Shirley, 101, 118
Simondley, 205
Snitterton, 162, 165, 166,

851, 518, 534
Solney, 23
Somersall, 450
Southampton, 397, 428
Southwinefield, 268
Spernor, 22, 21, 20
Spondon, 115
Stackhouse, Fen ton, 867
Stainborough, 101, 31
Stanton, 15, 68, 315, 336,

838, 343
Stanton Hall, 821, 336
Stanton Moor, 342
Sterndale, 79, 86, 141, 478
St. Neot'e. 373
Stoke HaU, 247
Stoney Middleton, 62, 58,

188, 206, 225, 230, 243,

246-8, 259
Stowe, 190
Strathfieldsaye, 882
Sudbury, 91, 222
Sutton Hall, 465

Taddington, 7, 11, 14, 37,
38, 66, 97, lOa, 106, 107,
114-123, 162, 557, 678

Tamworth. 829, 387, 390

Tansley, 305, 618

Tapton, 206, 209

Teversall, 183

Thornehill, 258

Thomsedbank, 209

Thomsett, 166, 206, 211,
219

Thorpe, 165, 364, 867, 401,
460, 529-35

Thribergh, 268

Throwley, 283, 302, 328

Tideswell, 9, 31, 79, 84, 85,
130, 141, 260, 257-8, 268-
70, 277, 279, 283, 312, 458,
679

TisBington, 61, 221, 333,
340, 342, 368, 425, 429,
434, 440, 448-53, 491,
634

Toadhole, 174

Toadepoole, 63

Tong, 19, 21, 646

Topplehead, 80

Tor, High, 527

Toumay, 884-5

Treeton, 190, 191, 445, 446

TruBley, 396

Tumditch, 642

TunBtedeB, 287'

Tutbury, 76, 178, 434, 631

Twothorufiield, 259

V.

Vale Eoyal, 128, 1^, 184,
136, 865

W.

Walton, 17, 847
Walton-on-Trent, 898

Wardlow, 259
Waralow, 826
Welbeck Abbej, 241
WendeBley (Wenaley;, 18,

19, 118, 161-3, 165, 351

618
WestminBter, 441, 490
Whalley, 548
Wheeldontrees, 476
Wheston, 285, 294
Whitehalgh, 165
Whitfield, 211, 212
Whitell, 219
Whittington, 158
Whittlewood, 209
Whitwell, 24, 204, 496
Wigley, 656
Wigwell, 305, 639, 658, 662,

564
WiUersley, 519, 571, 574
Willoughby- in - the- Wolda,

658
Winfield, North, 320
WiuBter, 69, 313, 815, 836,

338, 340, 843, 348, 361-4,

356, 464, 465, 571
Wirks worth, 41, 110. 228,

805, 342, 859, 367-8, 379,

401, 408, 412, 417, 422,
' 457, 460, 466, 489, 495,

499, 617, 618, 526, 637,

565
Woodcote, 451
Woodhouse, 835
Woodthorpe. Hull, 300
Wolfstoncote, 474
Wormhill, 77, 85, 121, 141,

283, 291, 310-12
Wormhill Peke, 259
Wyndeley, 412

T.

Yeldersley, 103, 868
Youlgreave, 20, 46, 90, 260,

281, 818-17, 882, 888, 557,

664,686

PKINTEO BY BEXBOSE AND SONS, LONDON AND DERBY.

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