Full text of "Notes on the churches of Derbyshire"

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A DERBYSHIRE AUTHOR. 

The death is announced of Dr. John Charles Cox. 
I/T/.D.. F.S.A., which took place in a nursing: home 
rt ^yden.nam on Sunday, in hi 76th year. He was 
Df>rbyshin\ and was educated at 
and Queen ? CV.IIeep. Oxford. He was at 
one time re^or of Burtan-I-Sireet ;vnd Hoklenby. 
but Tb", Tii"'-,' inform > -)s ilia.t. in 3917 ho wa* 
1 into the Church of Rome. In his eqrly 
days he waj a politifiau with very advanced view?, 
associating himself with the late Mr. Joseph Arch 
in his campaign for the betterment of the agricul- 
tural labourer, and even standing as Parliamentary 
candidate for Dewsbury. All his life ho had been 
keenly interested in archa?olofry, and wa* a valued 
member of many societies. He waa the author, 
among-t other historical works, of the " Historv 
of the drarcbefl of Derby shire," which he dedi- 
' Gladstone. Another of his books 
59 fl lasting: \~a.\n* is his "Three 
rbvshiro Vnnols," and whid> he 
undertook a-t the instigation of Quarter Sessions, 
v.'.io desire! rrrords arrnn^ring in some 

and giving to the public. 



NOTES ON THE 



CHURCHES OF DERBYSHIRE 



NOTES 



ON THE 



<iprFS of 




PV 



J. CHARLES COX. 



Member of ihf British Arclucological Association, F.R.H.S., ttc. 



VOL. I . 
THE HUNDRED OF SCARSDALE. 

WITH THIRTEEN HELIOTYPE PLATES AND NUMEROUS OTHER ILLUSTKA TIO.Nb. 



''TIME CONSKCKATliS J " 
AND WHAT IS GKAV WITH AGE BECOMES RELIGION." 



Schiiltr. 



CHESTERFIELD : 
PALMER AND EDMUNDS, 

LONDON : BEMROSE AND SONS, 10, PATERNOSTER 
BUILDINGS; AND DERBY. 



MUCCCLXXV. 



IDA 



v. I 



THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED 
TO 

THE REV. J. H. JENKINS, B.A., 

VICAR OF HAZELWOOD, 
AS A SMALL EXPRESSION OF THE HIGH ESTEEM 

AND AFFECTION 
WITH WHICH HE IS REGARDED BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



7O4781 



INTRODUCTION. 




|S these preliminary paragraphs are essential to the right 
understanding of the scope and purport of the following 
pages, and as they also contain information which is 
common to every church in the Hundred of Scarsdale, it is to he 
hoped that they will not be treated in the perfunctory fashion 
which is too often the fate of prefaces and introductions. 

\Vhen I first commenced to write the " Notes on the Churches 
of Derbyshire" for the columns of the Derbyshire Time*, I had 
not the slightest idea of their reproduction. But after a con- 
siderable number had appeared, it was suggested to me from 
several quarters that it might be well if they were reprinted in a 
compendious form. The proprietors of the Derbyshire, Times 
cordially concurred in this suggestion, and the result was that I 
undertook to re- write and extend the articles, commencing with 
those relating to the Eastern Division of the County. 

This necessitated a far more careful treatment of the subject 
than had been originally bestowed, and my endeavours to exhaust 
all reliable sources of information, and to substantiate every 
statement, have involved a much greater expenditure of time and 
trouble than was anticipated. This must be my excuse for the 
delay which has occurred in the production of this volume, an 
excuse which will not be available for the conclusion of the work, 
a-; the ground that has been already traversed has given me 
opportunities ot collecting no little material relative to every 
church in the county. 

Although articles on all the churches described in this volume, 

O 

: 'with the exception of one or two of the less important chapelries,) 
appeared in the Derbyshire Times, it will be found that very 
nearly two-thirds of the pages are entirely new or completely re- 
written. 



viii DKKBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

It has been my aim to gather together, in a condensed and 
available form, all that relates to the early history of the ancient 
churches and chapelries of the county, excluding as rigidly as 
possible that which had no immediate bearing on the subject. 
1 1 was found necessary in many cases, not only for the elucidation 
of arms and monuments, but also in connection with the history 
of the advowsons. to pay some little attention to the manorial 
records of the different parishes. In these cases, although the 
published volumes of Pilkington and Davies, of Irysons and 
Glover (together with numerous other works incidental to the 
history of the county) were always consulted, yet no statement 
has been accepted simply on their authority, but the basis of 
their assertions has been sought out, to be verified or corrected, 
and numerous fresh particulars have been brought to light which 
had escaped their observation. For this purpose the very ex- 
tensive series of publications, issued by the Record Commission, 
commencing in the year 1800, has been thoroughly searched. 
These cumbersome publications, especially the earlier ones, are 
usually only to be found in public libraries, but, whilst writing 
these pages, I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a nearly 
complete series, that had belonged to the late Master of the Rolls 
(Lord Romilly), which are the more valuable from occasional 
corrections made, I believe, by his lordship's hand. I have thus 
been enabled to make a much freer and more complete use of 
these returns than would otherwise have been possible. 

The transcripts and abstracts of the Close, Patent, Fine. Pipe, 
Charter, Quo Warranto, and Hundred Rolls, as well as the Testa 
de Nevill, have been diligently examined ; but information has 
been more specially obtained from the two series of Inquisitions, 
in connection with which a brief explanation will not be out of 
place. The Inquisitiones j)ost Mortem, or (as they are sometimes 
banned] Escheats, commencing in the early part of the reign of 
Henry III., were taken by virtue of writs directed to the Escheator 
of the district, to summon a jury, who were to inquire on oath 
what lands any person died seized of, by what rents or services 
the sain.; wro held, who was the next heir, and of what age ; also 
wlirtli.'i- ill.- truant was attainted of treason, or an ali.>n,in which 
case th- lands passed into the king's hands. The 7/>y/ /*;//,/,. v 
ad Quod Damnum, commencing in the first year of Edward 11., 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

were taken by virtue of writs directed to the Escheator of the 
district, when any grant of a market, fair, or other privilege, or 
when any license of alienation of lands was solicited, to inquire 
of a jury whether such, grant or alienation would be prejudicial 
to the king or others. By a singular blunder, a large number of 
the latter class of Inquisitions were included by the Record 
Commissioners in the former series ; but this error is not corrected 
in these pages, as the documents are arranged at the Public 
Record Office in accordance with the classification of the Com- 
missioners, and a correction of the title would confuse anyone 
desirous of consulting the originals. In a considerable number of 
instances, in fact in all where there could be the least doubt as to 
the full meaning or accuracy of the transcript or abstract, the 
original documents have been consulted ; and the reason why- 
I have been careful to give the references in detail in the foot 
notes, has not been to make any display of research, but in 
order that any one, interested in a particular parish, might be 
able with ease to consult the special Inquisition or other docu- 
ment, or to obtain a full official copy from the Public Record 
Office. The nature of these Inquisitions, and the information 
likely to be found in them, may be gathered from the instances 
quoted in extevso in the Appendix. 

Brief mention must also be made of another class of documents 
bearing immediately on the history of the benefices, the chief 
of them being the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV., the Valor 
Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII., the various documents relative to 
the Chantries and Church Goods of the date of the Reforma- 
tion, and the Parliamentary Survey of 1650. 

Pope Nicholas IV. (to whose predecessors in the See of Rome 
the first-fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices had for 
a long time been paid), granted the tenths, in 1288, to Edward 
I. for six years, towards defraying the expenses of a Crusade; 
and, that they might be collected to their full value, the King 
caused a valuation roll to be drawn up, which was completed (so 
far as the province of Canterbury was concerned) in l'2[)l, under 
the direction of John, Bishop of Winchester, and Oliver, Bishop 
of Lincoln. There are two copies of this Taxation Roll at the 
Public Record Office, both of which appear to have been written 
in the reigu of Henry VI., and there is a third of much greater 



X DKK'MYSIIIHK CHURCHES. 

antiquity amongst the Cottonian MSS. of the British Museum. 
These three copies were collated, and printed in 1802, with the 
various readings, by the Record Commission. At the dispersion 
of the Savile MSS.. another Taxation Koll of the benetices, taken 
in 12D2 :>, was sold, and appears to have passed into private 
hands. I have not been able to trace it, but it was stated at the 
time of the sale that the value of the benefices was about one- 
third more than that given in 1291. The part relating to the 
Hundred of Scarsdale, will be found in the copy amongst the 
Cottonian MSS., under Tiberius C.X., folio 259b., and on page 
21ii of the Record Commissioners' publication. I prefer to 
give the reference here, once for all, so as to save all needless 
repetitions in the foot notes ; and the same remark is appli- 
. cable to the other documents now under consideration. 

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas held good, and all the 
from the benefices, as well to our Kings as to the Popes, 
were regulated by it until the twenty-seventh year of Henry 
VIII., when a new survey was completed. This took place 
on the eve of the Reformation, when the first-fruits and tenths 
ceased to be forwarded to Rome, and were transferred to the 
public exchequer of the nation. This transference held good, 
except for a short period during the reign of Philip and 
Mary ; in 1703 the receipts were appropriated, under the 
title of Queen Anne's Bounty, to the augmentation of the 
smaller livings. The original returns used to lie at the old 
First Fruits Office, but are now with the rest of the Public 
Records in Fetter Lane. These returns were published in 
detail by the Record Commission, in six large folio volumes. 
They contain so many interesting particulars that no excuse 
is necessary for having quoted them in full. The entries will 
be found in the text itself, under the different churches; with 
the exception of those preceding Chesterfield, which are given 
in the Appendix, It should be recollected by those consulting 
the Valor E/cdesiasticuB, that in the case of a vicarage, further 
details relative to the rectory will probably be found under 
the particular monastery to which the greater tithes had been 
appropriated. 

The following is the introductory paragraph from the Valor 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

relative to the Deanery of Chesterfield, with the names of the 
Commissioners for that district : 

"DECANATUS DE CHESTREFELDE. 

" Coventre et Lichfelcl Dioc' in Com' Derbie of in Arrhidiacoiiatu Derbie predicto. 

Veri Ainnii distmcti pleui ac clari Valores omnium Monestorionim I>i,<,niitatiim 
Rpctoriaruin Yicariarum Cantarianini ac alianuu promotionum Spirituiilium ibidem, 
una cum earum deductioiiibus per Statutnin inde editum et provisum allocatis. ut 
plenius patet per billas sive scripta incumbentium per sacramentum eorunidem 
eoram uobis Godfrido Foliambe Milite, Francisco Cokayn, Johanne Leeke, et 
Edwardo Eyre, armigeris, ac domini Reu'i* ibidem Commissioiiariis exhibits apud 
Brampton vicesimo die mensis Mail anno reprni domini Regis Henrici Octavi Fidei 
Defensoris Domini Hibernie et in terra Supremi Capitis Anglicane Ecclesic vicesimo 
eeptimo." 

The Deanery of Chesterfield corresponds almost exactly in 
area with the Hundred of Scarsdale ; in fact it was termed in 
1291, "Decanatus Scarvesclale." The only extracts given in these 
pages from the Valor, which are not taken from the Deanery 
of Chesterfield, are those relating to the Chapelries of Dethk-k 
and Lea, which are there entered under the Deanery of Ash- 
bourne. 

About ten years after the completion of this last Survey, 
Henry VIII. decided on appropriating the revenues belonging 
to Colleges' and Chantries. As a preliminary measure to their 
sale, he appointed a Commission, in the 37th year of his 
reign, to re-value this property, and to take an inventory of the 
chattels. The particular heads under which the Commissioners 
had to classify their returns, are specified in the Appendix to the 
Chapelry of Dethick. The whole subject of the suppression of 
the Chantries, as conceived in the reign of Henry VIII. and 
finally carried out in the reign of Edward VI., is most ably and 
exnaustively dealt with, in the introduction to the volumes of 
the Cheetham Society which treat of the Lancashire Chantries. 
The reports, or " Certificates," furnished by Henry VIII.'s Com- 
mission with respect to the different chantries, are preserved at 
the Public Record Office, and consist of rolls of parchment with 
the answers arranged in eight parallel columns. Roll No. 13 
includes the counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire ; 
that portion relating to Derbyshire occupies seven large skins 
written on both sides. The initial clause of this roll, giving the 
names of the Commissioners for these Counties, is as follows : 
"The Certificate off Sir John Markeham, Knighte, William Cow- 
per, Nicholas Powtrell Esquyers, and John Wyseman, Gentil- 



Xll DERBYSHIRE CHURCH KS. 

man, Comyssioners of our Souvereygn Lorde the Kynge in the 
Counties beforesaid of and for the survey of all Chauntries, 
Hospitalles, Collegies, Free Chapelles, Fraternities, Brotherheds, 
Guyldes, and salaries of stipendarie prists within the said 
Counties accordyng to Certeyn Articles herunder written by 
the vertue of the Kings Maiesties Comyssion to them directed, 
ilut.'d the xiiij day of the monythe of Februarye in the xxxvij 
yere of the Reygn of our said moste dradde souvereygn Lord 
Henrye the viij of the grace of God of Ynglonde Fraunce and 
Yrelonde Kinge Defender of the faithe and in erthe under God 
of the Church of Englonde and Irelonde the Supreme hede, As 
hereafter more playnelye apperitlie." 

There is also a second " Roll," or rather paper book, No. 14, 
which is merely an abstract of the previous one. It contains, 
however, most of the important points of the original, and is the 
one from which the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott supplied a list of 
the Derbyshire Chantries to the Reliquai-y (Xo. 41, October, 
1870). I have, for the sake of brevity, made use for the 
most part of the condensed roll, but have not unfrequently 
quoted from the fuller record, both in the text and the notes, and 
have also given more than one transcript at length from Roll No. 
13 in the Appendix, so that an idea may be formed as to the 
amount of information they respectively contain. There are also 
manuscript volumes containing " Particulars for the sale of Col- 
ledges and Chantries," from which an additional item may 
occasionally be gleaned, and the same Office contains the In- 
ventories of Church Goods taken in the reign of Edward VI ; but 
nothing more need here be said of the Inventories, as none of 
those relating to the churches of East Derbyshire appear to have 
been preserved. 

The Library of Lambeth Palace contains a most interesting 

O 

series of ecclesiastical documents of the time of the Common- 
wealth. In pursuance of various Ordinances of the Parliament, 
a conij>li-t<> survey of the possessions of Bishops, of Deans and 
riiaptrrs, and of all benefices, was made in 1650 by spr.-ially 
ap|..iinted Commissioners. The original surveys were rran>- 
mitted to the Trustees nominated for the management of this 
property, who held their meetings at, a lio is,- in Broad Street, 
in the City, where these documents remained until after the 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

Restoration. On the 13th May, 1662, these Surveys were handed 
over to the Archbishop of Canterbury, " who is desired to take 
care for the preservation thereof, and to dispose of the same to the 
respective bishops, Deans, and Chapters, who are therein con- 
cerned, if he shall think fit," Some of the returns, in accordance 
with this order, were dispatched to the Sees of which they 
respectively treated, but the great bulk of them have remained 
at Lambeth Palace to the present day, where they are bound up 
in twenty-one large folio volumes, numbered in the catalogue of 
MSS. from 902 to 922. The whole of the Derbyshire Survey 
is here, and is contained in the sixth of these volumes. That 
part relating to the Hundred of Scarsdale extends from page 450 
to 477. 

The following preliminary note to this portion of the Survey 
gives the names of the Commissioners and Jury for the Hun- 
dred ; the details of each benefice, including the character of 
the clergyman, as it appeared in the eyes of the Roundheads, are 
given under each of the churches. 

" The Inquisition was taken at Chesterfield on the 14th 
of June, 1650, before the following Commissioners : Thomas 
Saunders, Lyonell Fanshaw, Francis Revell, William Wolley, 
hklward Manlove, Nathaniel Barton, William Bothe, John Spate- 
man, Hugh Bateman, and Robert Hoghe. A jury of thirteen 
' good and lawfull men. of the Hundred of Scarsdale ' were sworn 
to make the returns, viz., William Newton, Godfrey Watkinson, 
John Bunting, Richard Hodgkinson, Robert Bowman, William 
Blythe, John Richardson, George Stubbius, Godfrey Stubbins, 
Robert Ross, Thomas Curtiss, John Clay, and Thomas Ludlam." 

County historians, as well as ecclesiologists, appear for the 
most part to have overlooked these surveys ; though occasional 
extracts have been taken from a much abbreviated and in- 
accurate summary, based on these documents, which forms No. 
459 of the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum. The Lam- 
beth Library also contains many of the original presentations to 
benefices made during the Commonwealth (MSS. 944 947) ; 
two of these relating to the Hundred of Scarsdale Shirland and 
Whit well are quoted in this volume. It is singular that com- 
paratively so little use is made of this fine library and .its unique 
collection of manuscripts, especially as it is now open to the 



XIV DEKBYSHIKE CHUHCHES. 

public on three days in the week. I am glad of this opportunity 
of Acknowledging my indebtedness to Mr. S. W. Kershaw, M.A., 
the courteous librarian. 

In that grandest of all literary storehouses, the British 
Museum, there is an abundance of unpublished material relative 
to this county. In addition to the information scattered up 
and down through the Cottonian, Lansdowne, and Harleian 
Collections, there are also several minor collections, treating 
more specifically of the county of Derby, and which are all 
included in the very wide class of " Additional MSS." 

My object in this introduction, as I have already stated, being 
to enable others readily to follow up the subject if so disposed, 
1 will very briefly refer to the volumes containing information 
with respect to the churches. It is the more important to do 
so, as none of the smaller collections, except the Wolley, are 
indexed : or there mi^ht even be a tedious search through the 

* o o 

catalogues for the collection itself. The large collection, formed 
by Mr. Adam Wolley, of Matlock, for a projected county history, 
at the close of last century, and during the early years of the 
present one, is comprised in over fifty volumes, from 6066 to 
6718 of the Add. MSS. These volumes, bequeathed in 1828, are 
only indexed after an imperfect fashion ; those containing 
the most information respecting the churches are 6066 to 6675 
inclusive, and 0701, which is the volume of church notes taken 
by Mr. Reynolds, of Plaistow, about the year 1750. 

The Rev. Alfred Suckling took some notes of a few Derbyshire 
churches, with the arms blazoned in colours, and other accurate 
sketches, in the summer of 1823 ; these will be found in Add. 
MSS. 18,478, and 18,479. 

The Collectanea Hunteriauea, of the historian of Hallamshire, 
purchased by the British Museum, in 1862, comprise many 
volumes, but those connected with this subject are numbered 
Add. MSS. 24,447; 24,400; and 2MO(i. 

Mr. Samuel Mitchell, of Sheffield, who issued a prospectus, in 
1855, of a History of the Hundreds of High Peak and Scarsd.-de, 
but who died, in 1869, without accomplishing his object, be- 
queathed his collections to the British Must-um; a good deal of 
condensed information, chiefly relating to the churches of the 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

High Peak, will be found in Add. MSS. 28,111, and there are 
some most useful pedigrees in 28,113. 

The whole of the manuscript collections, upon which the 
Messrs. Lysons Uised their Ma</na Britdnn'ni, are also in the 
M useiun. Some of the volumes consist entirely of correspondence, 
addressed to them by the clergy and others from the different 
parishes, those relating to Derbyshire being numbered Add. MSS. 
9423 U4:>o. No. 9448 will also be found to be worth con- 
sulting, as Messrs. Lysons did not avail themselves in their 
printed works of all the material that they had gathered together. 
No. 94G3 possesses special interest, as it consists entirely of Derby- 
shire church notes, with frequent pencil sketches of architectural 
details. 

This vast horde of MSS. also contains some of the earliest, as 
well as the latest, information of value to the ecclesiologist. 
Amongst the former, may be mentioned various copies of the 
ancient Monastic Charttilaries, which I have in all available cases 
consulted, whenever they bore upon the churches under con- 
sideration; these are chiefly to be found in the Cottoniau Library. 
(There is an alphabetical list of the Chartularies in Add. MSS. 5161, 
as well as a more exhaustive one in the first two volumes of 
Nichols' Collectanea) Of the latter, the interesting collection of 
original Briefs, from 1754 down to their abolition, in 18i'8, should 
not be forgotten. This collection was presented to the Museum, 
in 1829, by Mr. J. Stevenson Salt, and contains many particu- 
lars relative to the rebuilding of Derbyshire churches, but a 
more complete list will be found amongst the Derbyshire County 
records now in process of arrangement. 

The Harleian MSS. abound in Heraldic Visitations. The 
Visitations of Derbyshire, in 1569 and 1012, contain numerous 
church notes, and different copies of them will be found under 
Harl. MSS. 1,093, 1,486, 1,537, 5,809, and 6,829; but the fullest 
church notes are contained in number 6,592. This volume is 
Wyrley's copy of Flower's Visitation of 1569, with additions 
taken by himself, in 1592 ; and all that relates to the churches of 
the Hundred of Scarsdale is given verbatim in the following 
pa-vs. No small trouble has been taken to identify the various 
coats of arms mentioned in the differentVisitations, and to account 
for their former presence in their respective church windows. 



XVI DKRHYSHIKK OflURCHES 

The mention of the Visitations brings me to the College of 
Arms ; and I would here wish to acknowledge the rare privilege 
accorded to me, of thoroughly examining Dr. Pegge's Collections, 
and the Church Notes of Francis Bassano. Lysons makes a lew 
quotations from the latter, hut, with that exception, his notes 
(taken about 1710 and treating of almost every church in the 
county) have not in any way been hitherto made public. The 
collections of that excellent Derbyshire antiquary, Dr. Samuel 
Pegge, are comprised in eight folio volumes of very closely 
written manuscript. These volumes, too, have been but very 
sparsely consulted up to the present time, though a brief analysis 
of the contents of each volume was given in the third volume of 
Nichols' Collectanea. The first four volumes contain parochial 
history, alphabetically arranged, the fifth, parochial miscellanies, 
the sixth, Derbyshire biography and pedigrees, and the seventh 
and eighth, miscellaneous papers, chiefly relating to the same 
county. These have all been gone carefully through, page by 
page, and I believe that nothing of importance, relating to the 
fabric or history of the churches, has escaped me 

The multitudinous collections of the diligent Dodsworth, in 
the Bodleian Library at Oxford, are in a great measure derived 
from the National Records; and, now that the originals are so 
easily accessible to the public, these compilations are, to no small 
extent, superseded. Moreover, Mr. Samuel Mitchell collected the 
cream of them, so far as Derbyshire is concerned, and Mr. Henry 
Kirke published in the Reliquary, for April, 1872, all the Church 
Notes of this county, with but few exceptions, that can be thence 
gleaned. The Ashmolean MSS. contain various Heraldic Visita- 
tions, amongst others, Flower's Visitation of Derbyshire in 15G9, 
which is numbered 793, but this is the same as in the Harleian 
MSS. The most interesting feature of this collection, in connec- 
tion with our subject, is number 854, which contains the Church 
Notes of Elias Ashmole, taken in Derbyshire, in 1602. He only 
visited two churches mentioned in these pages, Chesterfield and 
Staveley, but there is much in connection with the churches of 
other parts of the county. I had the pleasure of a leisurely 
inspection of these latter notes at the house of Mr. John Joseph 
i Kings N. \\ton, who possesses a manuscript copy. 
This gentleman, who so generously placed his library at my 



INTRODUCTION. xvii 

service, will perhaps pardon me for congratulating him on the 
possession of so unique a series of local literature. Not only 
does Mr. Briggs possess a copy of Elias Ashmole's Visitation,, lnit 
also of Philip Kinder's quaint outline sketch of Derbyshire 
history, from the same library, and of William Wolley's Histoiy, 
completed in 1712, the original of which is at the College of 
Arms. And no other word than magnificent can do justice to 
the various volumes, rich in original sketches of the greatest 
fidelity, gorgeous in binding, and brilliant with the illuminator's 
art, which treat of the abbeys, castles, crosses, but more 
especially of the monuments of Derbyshire. 

Had these pages aimed at an exhaustive treatment of the 
subject, it would have been well to comply with the suggestions 
that reached us from more than one quarter, of including the 
detailed description of every monument within the churches, 
down to the present time. But the great addition that would 
thus be made to the size of the volumes, and consequent increase 
in their price, precluded my taking this into consideration, even 
if there had been no other objection ; for I found, after careful 
calculation, that a simple transcript of all the interior monumen- 
tal inscriptions of the churches of Scarsdale would in itself cover 
more than 500 pages of the size of the present volume. It was 
necessary to draw the line at some definite point, and I have 
drawn it at that epoch, nearly corresponding with the conclusion 
of Henry VlII.'s reign, when the Renaissance style commenced. 
But there is no rigid adherence to this rule when anything 
specially remarkable in a later monument seems to demand 
comment or description. I have also made an exception in 
every case with monuments that have disappeared or have been 
defaced. All information with respect to such monuments, of 
whatever date, which can be gleaned from competent sources, is 
here included. 

It has been with no little diffidence that I have treated of the 
Architectural Periods, as displayed in the construction of the 
respective churches, for there is considerable difference of opinion, 
even amongst the most competent ecclesiologists, with respect 
to the different epochs of " transition," when the styles are wont 
to overlap one another. I think, however, that it will be found 
that I have nut expressed myself with too great confidence, in 



XV111 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



;iin^ dates to any details of doubtful chronology; if I have 
erred.it has not been for lack of consulting the best authorities, such 
as Rickman, Bloxam, AVillis, Pugin, Parker, Brandon, Fergusson, 
and Sharpe, nor for lack of a wide-spread personal knowledge of 
our parisli churches in different parts of England, which is of far 
more value than the closest study of books or engravings. As 
it is hoped that this volume and its successors will be books of 
popular reference in the county, 1 have confined myself to the 
simple and generally known divisions of English architecture, 
originally adopted by Mr. Eickman, viz., (1) the Saxon, from 800 
to 1066 ; (2) the Xorman, from 1066 to 1145 ; (3) the Early 
English, from 1145 to 1272 ; (4) the Decorated, from 1272 to 
1377; and (5) the Perpendicular, from 1377 to 1509. These 
divisions are generally accepted as sufficing for popular puposes ; 
but of the more detailed and technical divisions of later writers, 
there are none so correct in nomenclature, and so accurate in the 
separation of style, as the seven periods of Mr. Edmund Sharpe. 
The first and second of his periods are the same as given above ; 
but the third is styled the Transitional, from 1145 to 11.90 ; the 
fourth the Lancet, from 1190 to 1245 ; the fifth the Geometrical, 
from 1245 to 1315 ; the sixth the Curvilinear, from 1315 to 
1360; and the seventh the Rectilinear, from 1360 to 1550. It 
is much to be wished that our various archaeological and archi- 
tectural societies could come to some understanding by which 
the use of such terms as "Decorated "and "Perpendicular" might 
be abandoned for a more expressive and accurate nomenclature; 
but, until this is done, it is not to be expected that they will be 
forsaken in a work like the present. The same reason that has 
caused me to retain these terms, has also induced me to give a 
brief glossary of some of the technical expressions used in these 
pages, which are as few and as simple as necessity would admit. 

Owing to the profusion of proper names, and the frequent use 
of old-fashioned orthography, a volume like this is peculiarly 
liable to errors, attributable to either author or printer ; but I 
had hoped, by care, to avoid the necessity of any list of errata, 
and to have contented myself with reproducing the following 
couplet, address,,! to tho reader, which I found the other day in 
ik just two ci-ntiiries old : 

'Thi* ,,,-M Imtli had its faults, the Printer, too 
All mo,, whilst here do erre, aud so may you." 



INTRODUCTION. XIX 

But indisposition of long continuance caused the correction of 
proofs to be more than once interrupted, and necessitated much 
of it being accomplished when away from home and from all 
books of reference. This must be my apology for the length of 
both Addenda et Corrigenda. 

It is mournful to think that several of those to whom I was 
under obligations in the production of these pages are now no 
more. Of these may be mentioned the Rev. George Antrobus, 
vicar of Beightou, who was specially interested in the account of 
his own and adjacent churches ; and that eminent genealogist, 
Mr. William Swifr, of Sheffield, who was not more distinguished 
for the accuracy of his knowledge, than for his generosity in 
transmitting it to others engaged in similar pursuits. 

I have acknowledged my indebtedness for specific pieces of 
information to various ladies and gentlemen in the notes to the 
text, but I desire here to thank the clergy generally for the 
promptness and courtesy with which they have responded (with 
a single exception) to my inquiries for information with regard 
to their respective churches. M}- thanks are also specially due 
to Mr. S. Rollinson, architect, of Chesterfield, who has so success- 
fully carried out the careful restoration of several of the Scarsdale 
churches ; and to Mr. Llewellyun Jewitt, F.S.A., the editor of 
that invaluable shrine of the treasures of the past, the Reliquary. 

With respect to the illustrations, I wish, in the first place, to 
state that it is owing to the kindness of Mr. Jewitt, in lending 
several of the cuts from his admirable series of papers on the 
Church Bells of Derbyshire (now appearing in the Reliquary), 
that I am able to present my readers with a plate containing 
several of the most striking bell-founders' marks to be found on 
the Scarsdale bells. The remainder of the illustrations are all 
originals. The thirteen heliotypes are from plates by that well- 
known photographer, Mr. Keene, of Derby, specially taken for this 
work ; and my thanks are due to my brother-in-law, Captain W. 
de W. Abney, R.E., a director of the Heliotype Company, for the 
trouble he has taken in connection with their reproduction. 
The rest of the plates have been produced by Messrs. Bemrose 
and Sons' process of Fac-simile Printing, from drr.wings by 
Mr. Bailey and others, a process which seems peculiarly suited for 
the illustration of architectural details. With such an abundance 



XX DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of delicate and beautiful illustrations of mediaeval architecture, as 
is afforded by the Scarsdale churches, it was a difficult and in- 
vidious task to select those objects most worthy of reproduction ; 
but I would fain hope that the number, as well as the quality of 
the plates, will prove satisfactory, especially when the price of the 
volume is taken into consideration. 

The time has happily long since gone by when any apology 
was expected for writing on antiquarian subjects. In fact only 
those who are prepared to attack the whole science of history, 
can afford to sneer at the most painstaking researches in even 
the humblest of her bye-paths. For what is even national 
history but an aggregate of small details ? And who can deny 
an important place in our national history to the churches of our 
once common faith ? Critics may very possibly detect in these 
pages errors of omission or commission, which have escaped my 
attention, and I shall be only too glad to have all such mistakes 
pointed out either publicly or privately. But it is only those 
occupied in similar studies who can form a just idea of the 
time and trouble that is requisite for an investigation of this 
description, and I am confident that they will not deny me the 
satisfaction of admitting the thoroughness of my efforts to gain 
veracious information. Yet it would be idle to pretend that this 
expenditure of time has been of the nature of a task. It has, on 
the contrary, been an enjoyable relaxation from other pursuits, 
and the writing of the last word of this volume would cause me 
a pang of regret if it were not that I am already engaged in the 
succeeding portions of the work. A writer of last century truly 
remarks, " there is an exquisite pleasure in rescuing the memory 
of past days from the dust scattered over it by time, of which 
none but those engaged in the pursuits can have any idea." 

J. CHARLES COX. 

Hazehvood, November, 1875. 



XX111 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

ALFRETON 8 

BIDDINGS 14 

ASHOVER 17 

DETHICK 88 

LEA 47 

BARLBOROUGH 51 

BARLOW 63 

BEAUCHIEF ABBEY 73 

BEIGHTON 83 

BLACKWELL 93 

BOLSOVER 99 

BRAMPTON 109 

CHESTERFIELD 121 

BRIJIINGTON 176 

NEWBOLD 1 78 

TEilPLE NORMANTON 182 

WALTON 188 

CLOWN 193 

DRONFIELD 201 

HOLMESFIELD 215 

CORE 218 

ECKINGTON 221 

ELMTON 235 

HAULT HUCKNALL 241 

HEATH 253 

KILLAMARSH . 261 



XXIV DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

LANGWITH 267 

MORTON 273 

BRACKEN'FIELD 277 

NORMANTON, SOUTH 283 

NORTON 291 

PINXTON 303 

PLEASLEY 311 

SHIREBROOK 317 

SCARCLIFFE 321 

SHIRLAND 331 

STAVELEY 345 

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE 367 

DUCKSIANTON 878 

TIBSHELF 883 

WHITWELL 391 

STEETLEY 899 

WHITTINGTON 405 

WINFIELD, NORTH 415 

WINFIELD, SOUTH 437 

LINBERY 445 

WINGERWORTH 449 

APPENDIX 459 

GLOSSARY 481 

INDEX OF PERSONS 487 

INDEX OF PLACES... . 493 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 
CilKSTERFIELD CHURCH, S. W. (FROM IM'IKi K ). 

ALFRETON CHURCH, THE PORCH 8 

ASHOVER CHURCH, E 17 

DETHICK CHAPEL, w. 38 

BOLSOVER CHURCH, s. E iW 

CHESTERFIELD, DETAILS OF THE REREDOS 188 

BELL-FOUNDEKS' MARKS 170 

1. The mark of Ralph Heathcote (this mark appears at Droufield aud 
: cliffe). 2. The mark attributed, but probably iu error, to Kichard 
Mellour (Bolsover, Dronfield, Mortou, aud Shirlaud). 3. The mark of 
Gilbert Heathcote ; this eugraving is from a bell at Beeley, but it was 
formerly on the large bell of the old peal at Chesterfield, i. The mark 
of Heury Oldfield (Blackwell, Bolsover, Clown, Dronfield, and Hault 
Hucknall). 5. The mark of George Oldfield (Ashover, Bolsover, Hault 
Hucknall, South Normauton, and North "\Viuiield). 

DRONFIELD CHURCH, THE CHANCEL, s 201 

THE SEDILIA OF DRONFIELD AND WHITWELL 202 

ECKINGTON CHURCH, w 221 

HAULT HUCKNALL CHURCH, s.w 241 

HAULT HUCKNALL, NOMMAN TYMPANUM, AND PORTION OF OLD SCREEN... 243 

HEATH, INCISED SLAB IN THE OLD PORCH 257 

THE FONTS OF ASHOVER, NORTON, STAVELEY, AND NORTH WINFIELD 292 

SHIRLAND CHURCH, s. K 331 

WHITWELL CHURCH, w. DOORWAY 391 

STEETLEY CHAPEL, INTERIOR E 899 

STEETLEY CHAPEL, DETAILS < CHANCEL ARCH 401 

NORTH WINFIELD CHURCH, s. E 415 

THE APSE OF STEETLEY ; NORTH DOORWAY, ASHOVER ; AND WINDOW 

OF NORTH AISLE. NoKTH WlNFIKI.l) .. \'1'1 




HE carliebt inentiou of Alfreton is iri the charter of 
endowment of Burton Abbey by \Vulfric Spott, in the 
year 1002, when the manor, or a portion of it, was 
bestowed upon that inona But at the time of the Domes- 

day Survey, which appears from internal evidence to have not 
been completed in Derbyshire till 1087, the lands at Alfreton had 
reverted into lay hands, and were held by Ingram under Roger 
de Busli. The Domesday Book contains no reference to a church 
at Alfreton, and the first notice of one occurs at the endowment 
of Beauchief Abbey in the reign of Henry II. t This Abbey 
founded, between the years 1172 and 1176, by Eobert Fitz 
Rauulph, who was lord of Alfreton and Norton. He gave to the 
Abbey the churches of Alfretou and Norton, in Derbyshire, 
Edwalton in Nottinghamshire, and "NVimeswold in Leicestershire. 
Eobert Fitz Ranulph was immediately descended from Ingram, and 
his descendants subsequently adopted the name of their principal 
manor of Alfreton. We cannot discover any details of the church, 
as it now exists, that would connect it with the early Norman 
era, or that could be assigned to an earlier date than the latter 
end of the twelfth century, and we may therefore fairly assume 
that Robert Fitz Ranulph was himself the founder of the church 
that he bestowed on the Prernonstratensian Canons of Beauchief. 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, consists of a nave, 
side aisles, south porch, western tower, and chancel, with a \ 
on the north side. Seven years ago it underwent a considerable 
restoration and enlargement, but two engravings, now before us, 

* Thorpe's Diplomat arium Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, pp. 543 9. 

fThe Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey \vas in the possession of Richard Da^ 
Lanerch, Denbighshire, in IT'.'O. There is a copy of it amongst Pegge's MS. Collec- 
tions, vol. 7, pp. 89180. 

" Echvaldeston " or " Edwaldyston," as it is -written in the charters, has been 
translated by Lysons, Glover, &c., into Elvaston, in Derbyshire ; but there seems 
no doubt that Edwalton, in Nottinghamshire, is the correct rendering, more especially 
as the church of Elvaston belonged to the priory of Shelf ord. 



4 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

enable us to form a cursory judgment of its appearance prior to 
the alterations. One of these is from the Gentleman's Magazine for 
1785, and the other is a woodcut in Glover's History of Derbyshire, 
published in 1833. Both of these give a south-east view of the 
church, though under the former, by a strange perversity of the 
printer, is " Alfreton, N.E." At the time of the restoration the 
north aisle was entirely rebuilt and considerably widened ; an extra 
bay was added to the east end of the nave and to both the side 
aisles ; and the chancel, in order to retain its former size, was 
extended to a corresponding distance. The roof of the nave was 
also raised to a high pitch, having formerly been almost flat. 
Some of the old tie-beams were removed to Nottingham, and have 
been utilized in constructing the entrance to the Children's Hospital 
in that town. The engravings show that there was formerly an 
entrance to the south aisle, at the east end, at the top of a flight 
of steps, leading, we suppose, to a loft or gallery. 

On entering the church, it appears that one of the oldest 
portions is the archway from the nave into the tower. It is a 
high, narrow archway, of the style technically termed " stilted," 
i.e., the centre, or point from which the curve of the arch is 
struck, is above the line of the impost or capitals, and the 
mouldings between these two levels are continued vertically. 
Stilted arches are of unfrequent occurrence, and are usually met 
with at the end of the Norman style or beginning of the Early 
English. This pointed archway, from the mouldings of its capitals, 
may certainly be attributed to the Early English period, but quite 
at the commencement of that style. The moulding of the south 
capital shows the nail-head ornament, whilst that on the 
north side has the same, but under it the addition of a well- 
defined cable -pattern moulding. The old chancel arch had, we 
were told, some traces of Early English work about it, but the 
only other memorial of that period now apparent is the head of a 
sepulchral cross, found under the pavement of the chancel during 
the alterations, and which now occupies a conspicuous position in 
the external wall below the east window of the chancel. It is the 
upper portion of an incised slab or coffin lid, and the device con- 
sists of a floriated cross within a circle, the cross being thrown 
into relief by cutting away the remaining part of the stone within 
the circle. A precisely similar pattern to this one may be found 
amongst the Bakewell slabs, and also at more than one church in 
the county of Nottingham. It belongs to the commencement of 



ALFRETON. 5 

the thirteenth century, or to the end of the twelfth. This stone 
may very possibly have marked the last resting place of the first 
interment within the church of Alfreton, perhaps of its first 
priest, as only priests or founders found sepulture in the chancel. 

Of the Decorated period, the arches separating the nave from 
the side aisles afford evidence. These are now five in number on 
each side, but the easternmost ones were added in 1868, when 
the chancel was put back in order to afford additional accommoda- 
tion. It was at the same time found necessary to take down the 
archways and columns between the nave and the north aisle, but they 
were restored exactly as before, and the half column or pilaster at 
the west end was not disturbed. The columns are circular, sup- 
ported on octagon bases, and having plainly moulded capitals, below 
which they are encircled with a single fillet. Their approximate 
date seems to be about 1320. The columns on the south side are 
octagon, and both the bases and capitals are of similar construc- 
tion ; probably they are some thirty years later than those on the . 
other side. 

The south doorway, which is of a plain character, having no 
shafts in the jambs but the moulding of the arch continued down 
to the plinth, also belongs to the Decorated period. The outer 
doorway of the porch is of a similar style, but surmounted with a 
dripstone terminating in two quaintly carved human heads. Above 
the doorway is a boldly projecting moulding or cornice, which 
closely resembles in its details some of the work on the spire of 
Bonsall church. On the under side of this cornice are four- 
leaved flowers and foliage, whilst on the upper margin are a 
number of small escutcheons. Above this again is a somewhat 
elaborately ornamented niche for the patron saint, now tenantless, 
adorned with a crocketed canopy and finials. On each side of it 
is another small shield cut in the centre of a quatrefoil panel. 
The interior of the porch still shows the old oak timbers of the 
roof. 

The tower is a fair specimen of early Perpendicular work. The 
doorway below the west window, with its dripstone and terminals, 
might, if taken by itself, be ascribed to the preceding style, and 
the fine tracery of the bell-chamber windows partakes of the 
Decorated period. But the buttresses, west window, embattled 
parapet with its four crocketed pinnacles, and general appearance 
point distinctly to the later style. It was probably constructed 
about the commencement of the fifteenth century. 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The windows of the south aisle afford specimens of the inelegant 
tracery occasionally produced by the architects of the Perpendicular 
period. They are all three-light windows in obtusely-pointed arch- 
ways, and, with the exception of one inserted when the church 
was lengthened, remain as they were originally designed. It is 
evident from the old engravings that the east window of the chan- 
cel was formerly filled with Perpendicular tracery. This window 
was renewed about twenty years prior to the general restoration, 
and it has now been moved to occupy the position of west window 
to the north aisle. The original dripstone with its battered ter- 
minals still surmounts it in its new position. This north aisle, as 
has been before remarked, was pulled down during the alterations. 
It was of good solid masonry, but with square-headed windows, and 
was generally supposed to have been rebuilt at the time of the 
building of the new hall, which closely adjoins the churchyard. 
We do not know the precise date of the building of the hall, but 
Mr. Eeynolds, to whose notes we shall presently refer, writing in 
1758, says : " The old hall stood in a direct line betwixt the 
present one and the church, at about the middle distance. It was 
most of it pulled down and the present one begun building before 

1 can remember, but the new hall was finished and the old one 
quite demolished within my memory." Amongst the masonry of 
the north aisle were found fragments of the former windows suffi- 
cient to prove that it had previously been lighted in a similar style 
to the aisle on the opposite side. The square -top clerestory win- 
dows, now five in number on each side and filled with neat 
tracery, appear quite plain in ' the old engravings. This was 
generally the fate with clerestory windows of the Perpendicular 
period during the era of "Churchwarden" improvements, but it is 
not easy to conjecture why there was this special enmity to tracery 
in the upper windows. 

A good example of Perpendicular work is afforded by the vestry 
on the north side of the chancel. It is entered by a doorway from 
the chancel, and its inner area is about fourteen feet by nine. It 
is lighted by two small windows one of two lights at the east end, 
and one of a single light with a cinquefoil head just opposite the 
door. It appears that this window was not formerly glazed, or if 
so it was further protected by a shutter, for strong iron hinges 
and an iron staple yet remain fixed in the wall. The small 
windows sometimes found in chancels and vestries, that were for- 
merly closod with shutters, have given rise to no little archa?ological 



ALFRETON. 7 

bickering and dispute, a subject into which we shall not on this 
occasion enter. The roof of this vestry is worthy of note, as it is 
arched with stone and rubble work. The ribs of the two transverse 
stone arches are plainly shown, but the intervening rubble work 
has unfortunately been concealed with plaster. When the white- 
wash was being cleared from the walls at the time of the restora- 
tion, and sound stone substituted for that which was decayed, a 
small recess was found in the west wall of the vestry completely 
built up. It contained a large key and some small fragments of 
rusted iron. The key is now preserved at the vicarage, and though 
of some age does not appear to be of pre -reformation date. The 
placing of a key in such a locality can scarcely be accounted for, 
except by the supposition that it was the mischievous trick of a 
mason employed in some former repairs. The east end of the 
vestry was formerly flush with the end of the chancel, though the 
latter is now carried on some distance beyond. It was found 
necessary in the alterations of 1868 to take down all the chancel, 
except that portion of the north wall that formed one side of the 
vestry. A moment's inspection shows that the vestry was built at 
a date subsequent to this chancel wall, for it has a string-course 
running along the side of the wall about three feet from the ground 
inside the vestry, which proves that it was originally an exterior 
wall against which the vestry had been built. The moulding of this 
string-course proves that it was erected prior to the Perpendicular 
period. 

Against this piece of the old wall, inside the chancel, is fixed 
the one memorial of this church that calls for special notice in 
these " Notes." But before describing it, it would be well here to 
introduce the notes on Alfreton Church that were taken by Mr. J. 
Reynolds, of Plaistow, near Crich, on the 16th May, 1758. These 
notes have not been before printed, and are here reproduced from the 
original MS. in the British Museum. He tells us that tftthat time 
the roof was covered with lead, except the chancel, which was slated. 
There were three bells, but a note inserted in the year 1781 says 
"now five." In the north-east corner was a chantry, founded by 
the Lords of the Manor and dedicated to St. Mary, the revenues of 
which at its suppression in the time of Edward VI. were 5 Os. 8d. 
" The rails and ceiling separating this chantry from the church 
are yet standing quite in tire, there is also a hole through the wall 
which affords a prospect of the altar in the chancel out of this 
chantry. The pavement of the said chantry is of common pavers 



8 DERBYSHIKE CHURCHES. 

and only one monument against the East wall with this inscription 
in gilt letters on a bluish kind of a table now scarcely legible. ' Hie 
jacet corpus Antonii Morewood generosi, qui oinisit spiritual, &c., 

9 June, 1636 ; ' above escutcheon of two coats quarterly, Morewood 
and Stafford. Opposite this chantry in south-east corner seems to 
have been another, the rails and ceilings whereof are now whole, 
but as to what it has really been tradition is silent. No vestige of 
monument here, but filled with pews like the rest of the church. 
At the upper end of the middle alley is a Brass plate, frequfnte 
pede trita, affixed upon an Alabaster paver with an inscription in 
round hand, all that is legible being : ' Exuviae Joh. Oldfield 

Evang. Min 1682 set. 55.' He was a dissenting Minister. 

He lived in the town and was an excellent Gramariau, skilled in 
the Greek tongue, as I've been told by several ancient persons 
when I was a boy.* At the lower end of the middle alley a 
large paver of common stone with marginal inscriptions hi very 
ancient characters of a pretty large size, but so worn, dirty, and 
bad light, that no whole word could be read. The Reverend Mr. 
Cornelius Home, then Vicar of Alfreton, when I took this account, 
who accompanied me, said he'd get the stone cleansed from the 
dirt, and then we would take another view, but this has not yet 
happened. There is but one monument in the chancel, an old 
defaced chest tomb in the north-east corner within the Communion 
rails, and joining to the walls, having four escutcheons, one at 
west, and three on south, but quite smooth and no charges, the 
charges I suppose having only been painted. Over the said tomb 

*As Mr. John Oldfield was a man of prominence amongst the ministers ejected at 
the Restoration, a word or two respecting him will not be out of place. He was born 
near Chesterfield, and educated at Bromfield School. He had great reputation as a 
scholar " both in the tongues and in mathematics." The living that he held in 
this county, and from which he was ejected in 1662, was the small one of Carsington, 
then worth 70 a year, but though pressed to accept Tamworth and other valuable 
preferments, he was persuaded to remain in Derbyshire from the attachment of his 
congregation^ Calamy says of him : " This good man had many removes after he 
was ejected^ct God told his wanderings, and he had songs in the houses of his 
pilgrimage^Ble was one of great moderation ; which he thought himself obliged to 
testify by going sometimes to church. And yet he was many ways a sufferer for his 
Nonconformity. He for sometime preached once a fortnight at Rodenuke, where a 
meeting being discovered by two informers, they swore against him upon presump- 
tion that he was the preacher, though as it fell out, it was not his day. However he 
was prosecuted with much eagerness. Whereupon Esquire Spademan (a worthy 
gentleman who was owner of the house where the meeting was) and Mr. Oldfield 
made their appeal, and gave so clear proof of his being ten miles distant at the time 
he was sworn to, that he was cleared : and the informers being afterwards prose- 
cuted, were found perjured. Upon which one of them ran away, and the other stood 
in the pillory at Derby, with this inscription affixed, a base perjured informer. He 
spent the latter part of his life at Alfreton, from whence he took many weary steps 
to serve his Master, and was very useful in that neighbourhood ; but at last wits 
forced by his infirmities to cease from his labours, and departed to his everlasting 
rest. June 5, 1682. .5Stat. 55." (Calamy's Rjec'ed Ministers, vol. 2, p. 172.) Mr. Old- 
field was the author of several theological publications. Readers of Mrs. GaskelTs 
inimitable novel, Xorth and S<mfh, will recollect the quotation from Oldfield's 
eloquent address on his ejection. 



ALFBETON. 9 

is a brass plate (the inscription we give below), and above this is a 
brass escutcheon, two coats impaled, 1st, Azure, a chief indented, 
Or, Orniond; 2nd Azure, two chevrons, Or, Chaworth. Beneath 
appear vestiges of three escutcheons, formerly fastened there."* He 
further adds, in conclusion, that there is no painted glass nor arms 
in any of the windows. 

This church was also visited by Francis Bassano, some fifty 
years earlier, and he, too, describes the " raised stone monument 
four feet high " on the north side of the chancel. He further 
notes in the body of the church a flat stone in bad characters 
" Orate pro aninia Joins Cotes qui obiit quinto die mensis Novem- 
bris. A.D. MCCCCXLVII." This is probably the tornb that Mr. 
Keynolds failed to decipher. 

From these accounts we are able to judge as to the amount of 
damage that has been done to the interior of the church during 
the past hundred years. The chest tomb in the north-east corner 
of the chancel has utterly disappeared, nor do there appear to be 
any traces of the tomb of the Dissenting minister, or of the 
"large grave with very ancient characters" that Mr. Eeynolds 
unfortunately failed to decypher. The "railings," or probably screen 
work, that separated the chantries frorn the rest of the church are 
now no more, nor could we hear of any recoUection of their ex- 
istence. The destructive tendencies of the church improvers of 
the last century, did far more damage to our parish churches than 
was effected by the troopers of the Commonwealth. The saw of 
the village carpenter and the pot of the whitewasher, under the 
direction of the petty parochial authorities who dearly loved to find 
jobs for their relatives, have, in the time of peace, brought about 
a considerable share of that disfigurement of ecclesiastical buildings, 
which the popular mind of the present day always attributes to 
the civil wars, if not to the very arm of Cromwell himself. 

The chantry at the end of the north aisle is thus described in the 
Chantry Roll : " The Chauntrye of our Ladye of Alfreton founded 
by lords of the manor who ben patrons. ' \ijli. viijs. viijc/. 
clere \jli. xiij.s. besyds xiij,?. for the fyndyuge of a lanipe yerlie ; 
ij.s\ \uj<I. for fyndynge of a taper ; xliij*. for lands given by Jo. 
Ormonde for iiij x)t xix yeres for fyndynge of a lampe brennynge 
nighte and daye before the hyghe alter, and to kepe his obitt, by 

*-Add. MSS., 6701. This is a thin folio volume amongst the Wolley MSS., contain- 
ing Mr. Reynolds' notes on the following churches: Staveley, Alfreton, South A\ 'in- 
field, Crich, Chapel-en-le-Frith, DVonheld, Spondon, Elvaston, Darley, Norton, 
Chesterfield, Edensor, and Beeley. 



10 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

will dated j Oct. A.D. M lo diij. Rob. White Chauntry prcste. It 
hath a mancyon prised att viijs. by yere. Stock Ixs. vijc/." 

AVe cannot learn that there was any trace left of this chantry 
at the end of the north aisle, even before the recent restoration, 
except that what was then the most eastern pillar of that side 
of the nave, was enlarged by a kind of additional half pillar built 
against it, upon which were some remains of painting. This has 
now been cleared away. Nor was any "hole" or hagioscope for 
viewing the altar then observed. The monument to Anthony More- 
wood, noticed by Mr. Reynolds, stih 1 exists, and there are others of a 
more recent date to the same family at the end of the same aisle. 
The Chantry EoU does not mention the existence of any second 
chantry at Alfreton Church. But this does not of necessity prove 
that there was only one, for the enumeration of chantries in the 
time of Edward VI. only mentioned those which had then any 
existing endowments. Older established ones, whose endowments 
had expired or been lost, were not taken into account. But how- 
ever this may have been, there was undoubtedly a side altar at the 
end of the south aisle ; for during the alterations the remains of 
a piscina were found, under what was then the window nearest the 
east, in the south wall of that aisle. This piscina had been cut off 
level with the wall to make way for pews, and was far too 
much mutilated for restoration. The screens that separated these 
chantries from the church had quite disappeared, as we have already 
remarked ; but, when removing the old pews, a portion of old oak 
carving was found at the west end of the nave, which has clearly 
at one time formed part of a screen, perhaps one of these chapels. 
It is a good specimen of early Perpendicular work, and there is just 
enough remaining to allow us to form a judgment of the care that 
had been bestowed upon the carving of the tracery. This fragment 
is now preserved at the Vicarage. 

Let us now return to the chancel, to the Ormond-Chaworth monu- 
ment. It consists of a large slab of gritstone built into the 
north wall, across the centre of which is fastened an oblong plate 
of brass bearing the inscription. Above it is the escutcheon, still 
existing as described by Eeynolds, on which are impaled the arms 
of Ormoud and Cha worth, or rather of Alfretou adopted by 
Chaworth. Above this again are the matrices or indentations that 
show that there were formerly two kneeling figures with scrolls 
proceeding from, their mouths, and between them another plate of 
metal, perhaps a sacred emblem, such as that of the Trinity, which 



ALFRETON. 1 1 

is not unfrequent on brasses of this date. Below the inscription 
there are also other matrices of three escutcheons, and by each 
escutcheon it seems that there has been a small figure \vith a further 
inscription attached to it. The inscription is in Latin, and bristles 
with an unusual number of capricious contractions. We will, 
therefore, content ourselves with giving it in an English dress : 
" Here lies John Ormond, Esquire, and Joan his wife, the daughter 
and heiress of William Chaworth, Knight, the son and heir of 
Thomas Chaworth, Knight, the sou and heir of William Cha- 
worth, Knight, and of Alice his wife, daughter and heiress 
of John Caltofte, Knight, the relative and heir of John Brett, 
Knight, and of the daughter of Katharine, sister of the said John 
Brett; and the said William Chaworth, the son of Thomas, is 
also the son and heir of Isabella, the wife of the said Thomas, one 
of the daughters and heiresses of Thomas Aylisbury, Knight, the 
son and heir of John Aylisbury, Knight, the sou and hen- of Thomas 
Aylisbury, Knight, and Joan his wife, one of the daughters and 
heiresses of Ralph, Lord of Bassett of Welldon ; and the said Isa- 
bella is also the daughter of Katharine, the wife of the said Thomas 
Aylisbury, Knight, son and heir of Lawrence Pabeuham, Knight, 
and Elizabeth his wife, one of the daughters and heiresses of John, 
Lord of Eugayne ; which said John Ormoud died the 5th day of 
the month October, in the year of our Lord 1503, and in the 
19th year of Henry TIL, King of England; and the said Joan 
died on the 29th day of the month August, in the year of our Lord 
1507 On whose souls may God have mercy Amen." 

They had issue three daughters, their coheirs, Joan, wife of 
Thomas Dinham, natural sou of John, the last Lord Diiiham ; 
Elizabeth, wife of Sir Anthony Babiugton ; and Anne, wife of 
William Mering, of Nottinghamshire. 

The Dodsworth MSS., in the Bodleian Library, supply the 
following : " On the side of the tomb it appeareth, John Ormond 
had three daughter-. 
" 1. Johanna uxor Thomas Denham de Eythorp, in Co. Bucks. 

Gules 3 lozenges or, charged with 2 ermines, which quarters 

with yules 3 horse shoes (or such like) impaled with azure 2 

chevrons or. 

" 2. Eliz. ux. Antonie Babington de Dethick. 
" 3. Anna uxor W. Meering de Meering, in Co. Notts. 
"Everyone of them impaled with azure 2 chevrons <->r. " 

The descendants of Robert Fitz Ranulph, the probable founder 



12 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of the church at Alfreton, took the name of "de Alfreton," and 
on the death of his great grandson, Thomas de Alfreton, the 
manor descended in 1269 to his nephew Thomas de Chaworth. 
This Thomas was a considerable benefactor to the Abbey of 
Beauchief, and was of sufficient importance, according to Dugdale, 
to be summoned to Parliament as a baron. Future members of 
this family, especially Thomas (the son of William and Alice 
mentioned on this monument), still further endowed the Abbey 
with lauds in Alfreton, Norton, Greenhill, Woodseats, and other 
places in Derbyshire. "William Chaworth, as we gather from this 
inscription, was the last of the family, and his daughter carried 
the manor to Orrnond in the reign of Henry VII. From thence 
it passed immediately by marriage to Anthony Babington. His 
grandson, Henry Babington, sold the manor about 1565, to John 
Zouch, of Codnor. The son of John Zouch sold it to Robert 
Sutton, of Aram, in Nottinghamshire, by whom it was sold to 
Anthony Morewood, whose tomb we have already noticed in this 
church. The advowson of the church seems to have remained 
with Beauchief Abbey till the time of the dissolution of the 
monasteries, when the rectory of Alfreton, together with the 
advowson of the vicarage, was granted to Francis Leake by Henry 
VIII., whose descendant, Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale, sold them in 
1673, to John Turner, of Swanwick.* The lands pertaining to the 
chantry had been granted by Edward VI. to Thomas, son of 
Anthony Babington. The rectorial tithes were sold by auction 
in 1779, by the trustees of George Turner, chiefly to the several 
landowners, and the advowson of the vicarage was purchased by 
the Morewood family. 

Below the east window of the chancel is a handsome and effective 
reredos, chiefly composed of Derbyshire alabaster. This, though 
only a recent addition to the church, is not devoid of interest to 
the antiquary, for amongst the marble is worked up a large slab 
of alabaster, much worn and in rough condition, that formed part 
of the pavement of the chancel previous to the alterations. It was 
about six feet in length, and was evenly cut on three of its edges, 
one being left in its rough-hewn state. No trace of an inscription 
was visible, and from these and other reasons it was conjectured 
to have been the old altar stone that had formerly been fixed with 
one of its sides built into the wall. 

The octagon font at the west end of the nave is modern, the 

*Add. MSS. 6705, f. 73. 



ALFRETON. 13 

old one having utterly disappeared, a mere basin being in use 

previous to the restoration. 

The bells are five in number, and the following is a copy of 

their respective legends : 

1st bell. "To the glory of God I sing and triumph to the King, 
the marriage joys I tell, and tolls the dead man's knell. Kaised 
by subscription, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Founder, Nottingham." 
This is in Roman capital letters, and occupies two lines round 
the haunch of the bell. 

2nd bell. " I.I. E.H. All men that heare my mournfull sound, 
repent before you lye in ground. 1627." The legend is in one 
line in black letter. Below it are the initials, " G. B., D. M." 

,8rd bell. " The gift of John Turner, Esq., of Swanwick, 1687, 
and recast, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Founder, Nottingham. Tho. 
Haslain, Churchwarden." Two lines of Roman capitals. 

4th bell. " Gloria in Excelsis Deo ihc." This legend is in finely 
worked Lombardic capitals, the initial G of "Gloria" contains a 
fylfot cross. Below, on a shield, is the bell mark, being a 
fylfot cross surmounted on the sinister side by the letter H, the 
preceding initial having apparently been missed. We have met 
with this bell mark in several belfries, and think that the 
missing letter is G. This bell-founder's mark is engraved from 
one of the Bousall bells in the Reliquary of October, 1873. A 
bell with the same inscription and founder's mark at Baslow 
bears the date of 1620. 

5th bell. " The churches praise I sound always. Raised by sub- 
scription, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Nottingham, founder." In 
two lines in Roman capitals. 
There is also a small "sanctus" bell, without any inscription, 

fixed against the east window of the bell chamber, but it has no 

rope attached. 

The church of Alfreton was valued in 1291 at 10, according 

to the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas ; the Valor Ecclesiastic us of 

Henry VIII., estimates it at 7 18s. 9d. ; and the Parliamentary 

Commissioners of 1650, describe Alfretou as an endowed vicarage 

worth 16 per annum. 



14 . DEKBYSH1RK CHUKCHES. 



of & fittings. 




HE manor of Biddings (Ryddings, Eyddyng, or Kydinge), 
within the parish of Alfreton, was formerly held with 
Alfreton, by the Chaworth family.* Eiddings was an 
ancient chapelry, but we have failed to learn when it was founded, 
or at what time the chapel, of which there is now no trace, was 
disused and demolished. In short, little more is known of it than 
that it was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. The will of Hugh 
Revel, of Shirland, executed in May, 1504, contains the following 
item : " And I will that the Mary Maudelen Chapell, of Eyddyng, 
have my Chalez, now in the kepynge of Eic. Page, for ever, and x 
kye to maunteyn the stole of the said chappell of Mary Magdalen, "t 
The structure was evidently out of repair in 1650, for the Par- 
liamentary Commissioners reported " Eyddyng is a Chappell in 
Alfreton parish, fitt to be disused." 

*Inq. Post Mortem. 37 Hen. 6, No. 25. An inquisition of 20 Ed. 2, also mentions 
" Rydcting " as part of the estate of Walter and Margaret de Goushull, but this 
appears to have been land in the parish of Barlborough. The term is not uncommon 
as a field name in various parts of England, and is derived from the Danish Rydde, 
to grub up, to clear. A place newly cleared of wood is to this day termed Riddings 
in some parts of Derbyshire. 

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 125. 





E. 



ASHOVKK. 17 




HEN the Domesday Surv r ey of Derbyshire was taken, a 
church and a priest are mentioned at Ashover. The 
next notice that we find respecting the church is in the 
reign of Stephen, when it was given by Eobert, Earl Ferrars, to 
the Abbey of St. Helen's, at Derby.* The manor of Ashover was 
divided into four portions about the close of the thirteenth century, 
and it would seem that the lord of one of these manors purchased 
the advowson from the Abbey; for on the feast of St. Hilary, 
1302, the Newhall Manor, together with the advowson of the 
church, was given by Margaret de Beresby, widow, to Adam de 
Eeresby, her youngest son. The family of Keresby came from 
Lincolnshire, and obtained a footing in Derbyshire by marriage 
with a co-heiress of Deincourt in the reign of Henry HI. They 
were a family of distinction and on several occasions filled the 
office of High Sheriff. The advowson of the church, and the 
Manor of Newhall (afterwards called Eastwood Hall), remained in 
this family till 1623, when they were sold by Sir Thomas Reresby, 
in order to provide portions for his daughters, to the then rector 
of Ashover, the Eev. Immauuel Bourne.+ By inter-marriage with 
the Bournes the advowson subsequently became vested in the 
Nodder family. 

The Church is dedicated to All Saints. In more than one 
Directory for the county it is said to be dedicated to St. John 
on what authority we know not. The Liber Regis, however, as well 
as the county histories of Pilkington, Davis, and Glover, and 
earlier authorities, are unanimous as to its being under the pro- 
tection of All Saints. 

The church consists of a nave, with two side aisles, a chancel, 

*Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. 3, p. 61. 
t Add MSS. 6675, pp. 411. 



18 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

a south porch, and a tower surmounted by a spire at the west 
end. Of the church that existed here in the Norman period we 
can find no trace in the actual structure ; the most ancient portion 
seems to be the doorway inside the porch. This is of the early 
English period, though late in the style, circa 1270. The jambs 
of this doorway are cut into several receding mouldings, and have 
on each side two small shafts. The capitals of these shafts differ 
in their mouldings, and are but roughly carved. The dripstone 
round the archway terminates on each side in a small corbel head, 
whilst a third surmounts the apex of the arch. From the very 
irregular way in which the courses of the stones that form this 
doorway now lie, it seems probable that it was taken down and 
re-set when the south aisle was built. There is nothing else about 
the church that can clearly be set down to this architectural 
period. 

Nor is there much to be seen of the next style the Decorated. 
If, however, we go round the church to the north side aisle, we 
shall find a good specimen of this period in the small north door- 
way, now unfortunately blocked up. It has an ogee- shaped arch 
with pierced projecting tracery, and the dripstone is surmounted 
by a finial. This aisle has evidently been built during this period, 
probably about 1350. Its western end distinctly shows the eleva- 
tion of the former high pitched roof, and, upon going into the 
interior of the church, thirteen corbel stones, some distance below 
the present roof, may be seen above the arches that divide it from 
the nave. These stones formed the support for one side of the 
original roof. The five arches, too, which separate it from the 
nave, supported by octagon pillars, are plain specimens of the 
Decorated style. It should be noted that the archway nearest the 
chancel is lower and wider than the others, which seems to indi- 
cate that an addition was made to the east end of this aisle 
during subsequent alterations. 

The windows of this aisle are later insertions, and are plain 
square-headed examples of the Perpendicular period, except a 
hideous round-headed one, attributable to the churchwarden era. 
The remainder of the structure is also of the Perpendicular style, 
though differing somewhat in date. The whole of the south aisle 
^with the exception of the doorway already noticed), the four 
arches that separate it from the nave, the clerestory windows of 
the nave, the chancel with its east and side windows, together with 
the flat roofs throughout the church, and the exterior battlements 



ASHOVEK. 19 

of the nave and chancel, are all of the same period apparently 
about the close of the fifteenth century. 

Local tradition attributes the building of the tower and spire to 
the Babingtons, and makes their date coeval with that of the 
south aisle. On turning to the pages of Glover, the county his- 
torian, we find that he quotes from the MS. book of one Leonard 
Wheatcroft, who was clerk of the parish, poet, tailor, and school- 
master. Writing in the year 1722, Wheatcroft says that the spire 
was originally built about the year 1419. Probably he had some 
good data for arriving at this conclusion, and it is one which we 
think may be safely accepted. This, too, would be about the date 
when the Babiugtons first became connected with Ashover, and the 
beautiful windows of the bell-chamber, with their fine tracery, 
point to an early period of the Perpendicular style, when it had 
happily not forgotten the lessons taught by the Decorated. Although 
the south aisle was probably built by the Babingtous, still its 
windows, as well as most of the other windows of the church, 
are doubtless considerably later in style than the tower and spire. 
Subsequent members of this family, or perhaps the Eollestons, may 
have made these alterations. It is somewhat remarkable about this 
tower that it has no west window of any dimensions, as though it 
had not been intended to be opened out into the church; and yet 
there is no west doorway, whilst the only exterior one, on the 
south side, is obviously a modern addition. The parapet of the 
tower is embattled, beneath which project three lengthy gurgoyles. 
The spire is of very elegant design, and is ornamented with eight 
crocketed windows. Seven yards of this spire were blown down 
and rebuilt in 1715.* On looking up into the interior, the extent 
of this accident can easily be discerned by the comparative fresh- 
ness of the newer masonry. A few years ago several feet at the 
summit had to be again restored. The extreme height from the 
ground to the top of the vane is 128 feet. 

There are various interesting details in the interior of the 
church. Foremost among these is the font, placed at the west 
end of the north aisle. The base is of stone in an hexagonal 
form, and is of a comparatively modern date. The upper part, 
however, is circular and constructed of lead. It is two feet one 
inch in width, and about one foot in height. It is ornamented 
with twenty upright figures of men clad in flowing drapery. Each 
figure holds a book in his left hand, and stands under a seini- 

* Pegge's Parochial Collections, vol. 1. 



20 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

circular arch supported on slender pillars. These figures are almost 
precisely similar, and are rudely executed in bas-relief. Beneath 
them is a narrow border of fleurs-de-lis. The age of this font has 
been much over-rated by Lysons and Glover, who attribute it to 
the Saxon period. Lead fonts are very uncommon. The two best 
known instances in this country are those at Walmsford, Northamp- 
tonshire, and Dorchester, Oxfordshire. In each of these examples 
the font is circular, and is embossed, like that at Ashover, with 
figures standing beneath semi-circular arches, but the best authori- 
ties consider their date to be late in the Norman style, about 1150. 
It is possible, then, that this font may have been hi the church of 
Ashover when it was given by Earl Ferrers to the Abbey of 
Darley, but this is the very earliest date to which it can be safely 
assigned.* 

At the east end of each of the aisles is a projecting stone bracket 
that formerly supported the image of a saint. These serve to 
point out the position of the side altars. The bracket in the north 
aisle consists of a female head, and is placed about eight feet from 
the ground. It is said that this great height was occasionally 
adopted when the image was of unusual value or beautiful work- 
manship, in order to preserve it from the too fond reverence of 
the worshippers. The doorway to the rood-loft staircase, though 
now blocked up, can be plainly discerned through the plaster in 
the south-east angle of this aisle. The rood-screen itself, which 
separates the nave from the chancel, is very perfect, and is a 
really beautiful specimen of the carved woodwork of the Perpendi- 
cular style. It is said to have been erected by Thomas Babington. 
Over the doorway of the screen, facing the west, is a shield bearing 
the arms of Babington argent, ten torteaux, four, three, two, one, 
yules ; a label of three points, azure impaling the arms of Fitz- 
herbert : argent, a chief, countervail, over all a bend, sable. On the 
other side is a shield, with the Babington arms impaling Between 
two bars, three fusils. t This rood-screen bore a good deal of the 

* This font has attracted considerable attention from archaeologists. Special 
mention is made of it in the treatises relative to fonts by Gough, Simpson, and 
others. It is engraved in the second volume of the Topographer lor the year 1790, 
where an unfulfilled promise is made of a further notice of the church at Ashover. 
The following is, we believe, a complete list of the leaden fonts to be found in 
Kiiplaiid: Ashover, Derby; Barnetby, Lincoln; Avebury, and Churton, "Wilts; 
\\oulston, Childrey, Long Whelliugton, and Clewer, Berks ; Clifton, Warborough, 
and Dorchester, Oxford; Brundall, and Great Plumstead, Norfolk; Wareham, 
Dorset; Brooklaud, Kent; Pitcombe, Somerset; Siston, Cambridge; Tidenham, 
Gloucester; Walmsford, Northampton ; Walton, Surrey ; and Pyecornbe, Sussex. 

t It is rather humiliating to have to confess to failure in all our attempts to satis- 

; ly identify this coat, but we find some consolation in the failure of others. 

Dr. Pegge (Vol. 5., p. 95) erroneously reads it as " three fusils in fesse,'' and then 



ASHOVEli. '-1 

original gilding and painting, until it was unfortunately cleansed 
at the repairing of the church in 1843. At the same time the 
rood staircase, with its two doorways, was blocked up, and a 
hagioscope, or squint, that opened out of the east end of the south 
aisle, was treated in a similar fashion. The reason for these 
barbarities it is difficult to conjecture. It is worthy also of note, 
that up to that date, several funeral garlands were to be seen sus- 
pended from the screen. The beautiful old custom of carrying 
garlands before the corpses of unmarried females, which were 
afterwards suspended in the church, lasted longer in Derbyshire 
than in any other part of the country. Five of these garlands 
may still be seen in the church of Ashford-in-the- Water, and one 
at South Winfield.* An interesting description of this custom is 
given in the first volume of the Reliquary. 

In the north wall of the chancel are two shallow recesses, 
formed by ogee- shaped arches, about six feet in width, and five 
in height. It is not usual to find two of these recesses. One or 
both of these were made use of iu the pre-reformation days on 
Good Friday, when the crucifix, or a figure of our Lord, was 
placed under the Sepulchre arch, where it remained continually 
watched until Easter Day. From the centre of each of these 
arched recesses a bracket, eighteen inches in length, projects some 
six inches. These doubtless played some part in the ceremony, or 
may have served as supports for small sculptures connected with 
our Lord's burial. We have not elsewhere observed any instances 

conjectures that it belonged to Montague. Search has been specially made for us 
through all the alliances of the families of Babington and Fitzherbert by a gentleman 
of high attainments in heraldic lore, but hitherto without success. That eminent 
local genealogist, the late Mr. William Swift, of Sheffield, wrote to us in February, 
1872, " In conjunction with a friend equally interested with myself in these studies, 
I have tried to discover the name of the family bearing the fusils in f ess impaled with 
Babington referred to in the Notes on Ashover Church. We did not succeed, and, 
not during to succumb to such a failure, I thereupon wrote to one of the officers in 
the College at Bennet's Hill, giving him such a cue as might possibly have enabled 
him to answer me, but he, too, is silent up to the time of my writing. The fact is, not 
much reliance can be placed on the impalements or quarterings of the Babington's, who 
were fond of heraldic display, and indeed they had some grounds for such attachment. 
But they did not confine themselves to the strict rules of heraldry. The arms quoted 
have long ago appeared in print by this description ' Two wooden escutcheons, one 
Babington impaling Fitzherbert, the other Babington impaling three fusils conjoined 
in fess between two pair of gemelles.' The coat undoubtedly belonged to Fitzherbert, 
but there is, as I just hinted, this great difficulty in Babington's heraldry, ' an im- 
paled coat of the date of Henry VIII. is just as likely to bo that of the wife's female an- 
as of the wife herself. The practice was carried even further, for example the 
- of Loiigvillers married Mallovel the heiress of Mallovel married Stanhope 
and the heiress of Stanhope married Babington. At Dethick Babington is made to 
impale Longvillers.' And so the coat in question most probably belongs to some 
ancestor of the mother of Edith Babington, nee Fitzherbert, who was a Marshall, of 
Upton, co. Leicester." Mr. Swift here quotes from Nichols' Collectanea Topo- 
(jraphica ct Gencalogica, vol. viii. p. 330. At vol. ii. p. 99, of the same work reference 
is also made to this coat, there described as " Babington impaling three fusils in fess 
between two bars (an unknown coat)." 

* See Notes on South Wiufield. 



22 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of brackets thus situated, and another conjecture occurs to us, ^^z., 
that they may have been used to hold the lights or lamps for the 
sepulchre. In Cromwell's injunction, in the year 1538, we read, 
' ' The clergy were not to suffer any candles or tapers to be set 
before any image, but only the light by the rood-loft, the light 
before the Sacrament of the Altar, and the light about the sepulchre ; 
these were allowed to stand for ornamenting the church, and the 
solemnity of divine service."* 

Between these two archways is a doorway leading into a small 
vestry of later date than the rest of the chancel. There is also a 
doorway on the south side. About three feet from the east end of 
the chancel, on the same side, there projects, from the face of the 
wall, the basin of a small piscina. There is no niche in the wall 
over it, or behind it, and from this circumstance, as well as the 
flutings with which it is carved, we are inclined to think that this 
is a piscina of late Norman date, and coeval with the font. 
Norman piscinas are, however, of such rare occurrence, that we only - 
offer this as a conjecture, in the hope that it may attract the 
attention of archaeologists who may in future visit this church. 

The monumental remains are of much interest. At the east end 
of the chancel, within the communion rails, are two good brasses. 
The one on the North side is supposed by Glover to represent one 
" Robert Eyre, a friar." The figure of the priest is all that is 
now left, though the large sized slab, in which it is inserted, bears 
traces round the margin of a lengthy inscription, as well as shields 
of arms or other emblems on each side of and above the head. 
Owing to the minuteness with which brasses were finished, and the 
close attention paid by the artist to the prevailing costume, it is 
usually an easy matter to decide within a year or two the date of 
any brass to the memory of a knight or civilian ; but, in the case 
of ecclesiastics, so little variation was made in their costume, that 
an approximation to the date is all that can usually be given. 
This brass appears to have been executed about the conclusion of 
the fifteenth century. The figure is clad in eucharistic vestments. 
Round the neck is the richly embroidered collar of the amice 
showing above the chasuble which rests in ample folds on the arms. 
The chasuble has also a highly ornamented border. Below the 
chasuble is seen the inner vestment or alb descending to the feet. 
In front, at the foot, it is ornamented with a square of embroidery, 
called orphreywork, but the tight-fitting sleeves which appear fiom 

Collier's Church History, vol. 2, p. 250. 



ASHOVER. 23 

under the folds of the chasuble are plain. From between the 
chasuble and alb are seen the fringed ends of the stole, which is 
elegantly worked, whilst a maniple of the same pattern is worn 
depending from the left wrist. The hands are joined together on 
the breast, and the head is uncovered, displaying the tonsure or 
shaven crown of the clergy. 

Bassano's church notes confirm the suggestion of Glover as to 
the surname of this ecclesiastic, for a portion of the inscription 
then (1710) existed: " ye stone hath beene laid round with brass, 
but ye greatest part of it is rent off ; on what remains is inscribed 
'Hie jacet Philippus Eyre, Capellanus, quondam Eector hujus 
ecclesia?, et filius Koberti Eyre, qui obiit decimo die meusis 
Jauuarii.' " The shield to the right hand bore, on a chevron four 
quatrefoils (Eyre), and that to the left " three pillars." Between 
the shields was a chalice with the letters IHS "upon a globe 
issuing out of it," as Bassano styles it ; the " globe " being doubt- 
less intended for the eucharistic wafer. 

After much research among the pedigrees of the widely-branching 
family of Eyre, we think we may safely conclude that we have 
identified the priest whom this monument commemorates. Eobert 
Eyre, of Padley, married Joan, the heiress of the family of Padley, 
and had by her a large family. One pedigree represents it as 
fifteen in number, and another as thirteen. They certainly had 
ten sons, Eobert, Nicholas, Hugh, Eoger, Philip, Richard, Henry, 
Ealph, Edward, and Stephen, and three daughters, Joan, Elizabeth, 
and Margaret.* This brass is to the memory of Philip, the fifth 
sou, and the arms read by Bassano as "three pillars " must be 
the maternal coat of Padley Arg., three pairs of barnacles, Sa. 
which, if represented as nearly closed, might easily be considered 
to resemble pillars. f We do not know the exact date of the 
rectorship of Philip Eyre, but it was about the close of the 
fifteenth century. John Eeresby was rector of Ashover in 1510, 
when he stood as godfather to one of the Foljambes. 

On the opposite side of the chancel is a well-preserved brass to 
the memory of James Eolleston, of Lea, and his wife Anna, the 
daughter of John Babington, of Dethick. The inscription, which 
runs round the margin of the stone, is to the following effect : 

*Harl. MSS. 1093, and 1486. There are also pedigrees of Eyre amongst the 
WoUey, Mitchell, and Hunter MSS. 

t The shield with the "three pillars " was on the slab in Dr. Pegge's days. He 
does not attempt to describe it, but gives a rough sketch, which confirms us in the 
supposition that it was intended for the arms of Padley. Pegge's Collections, vol. o., 
p. 95. 



24: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

" Hie jaceiit Jacobus Rolleston de le ley amdger, et Anna uxor 
ejus, filia Johaunis Babyngtou de Dedyck, armigeri, qui quidam 
Jacobus Eollestou obiit . . . die inensis . . . Anno Dili 
Millessimo 5* . . . et predicta Anna obiit quinto deciuio die 
Februarii Anno Dili Millessimo 5* vii, quorum aniuiabus propicietur 
Deus. Amen." The spaces here left for the day, month, and 
year of the husband's decease, show that this tomb was erected 
during the lifetime of James Eolleston to his own memory and 
that of his wife. This was not an unusual custom, and it is curious 
that there are very numerous instances extant in which the 
descendants, as in this case, neglected to fill up the vacant spaces 
when death had taken place. The centre of the stone is occupied 
with brass effigies of the knight and his lady, whilst below them 
are the representations of their nine daughters and four sous. At 
the four corners are the cavities or matrices where escutcheons 
were originally placed ; but these have all disappeared. The 
effigies merit a word or two of description, as they are good 
examples of the armour and dress of the period. The knight is 
clad in plate armour, but with his head and hands uncovered. The 
upper part of the body is protected by a cuirass. From the 
pauldrons, or shoulder-pieces, rise passe-gardes for the defence of the 
neck. To the bottom of the cuirass are buckled long pointed 
tuilettes for the protection of the thighs, whilst behind them appears 
a skirt of mail. The feet are clad in the round-toed clumsy 
sabbatons, a great contrast to the pointed sollerets to which they 
immediately succeeded. All these particulars are eminently cha- 
racteristic of the armour of the first few years of the sixteenth 
century, and it is somewhat strange to find that the sword, though 
girded at the left side, falls across the front of the left leg, instead 
of crossing behind the legs as was customary at this period. The 
cross haft of the dagger also appears below the right elbow. The 
lady is dressed in a long flowing robe with tight sleeves, which 
fits closely to the figure above the waist. It is confined at the 
waist by a broad ornamented belt, with a long pendant, and 
reaching almost to the feet. She wears the angular head-dress 
that prevailed in the latter part of the reign of Henry VII. and 
for several subsequent years. It is pointed stiffly over the forehead, 
and descends in embroidered lappets over the shoulders and back. 
It was usually made of velvet. The nine girls below their mother 
are faithful miniatures of her appearance, but the boys are dressed 
in long plain tunics. 



ASHOVER. 25 

The pedigrees* only furnish the names of the four sons and 
one of the daughters. Kalph, who married Margaret, daughter 
and heiress of Eichard Bingharu ; Thomas, who married Elizabeth 
(or Agnes, as one authority has it), daughter and heiress of John 
Turvile, of Newhall; Henry; William " clericus ;" and Matilda, who 
married Eaiph Blackwell. Probably the other daughters died 
spinsters, or in their infancy. 

The family of Eollcstou came from Eolleston in Staffordshire. 
In the fourteenth century, a younger son of Sir Ealph Eolleston 
purchased the manor of Lea from the Frechevilles. Shortly after- 
wards, William Eolleston married a daughter of Eoger de Wynfield, 
of Edelstow Hall ; and by this alliance his great grandson, the James 
Eolleston of the monument, eventually became also entitled to the Old- 
Hall Manor, one of the four manors into which, as we have already 
stated, Ashover was divided. The two manors of Lea and Old-Hall 
ivmaiued in the family till the latter end of the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, when this branch of the Eollestons became extinct, and 
the estates passed to the Pershalls of Horsley, Stafford. 

The date of the death of James Eolleston is not known, but he 
was a witness to the will of Thomas Babington in 1518. 

We have reason to believe that this monument was removed to 
the chancel from the north aisle during certain alterations, which 
were made about the year 1798. From the interesting details given 
of this church about the commencement of the last century by Bas- 
sauo, and from an account by another hand of about the same date, 
preserved amongst the Wolley MSS., it appears that the east 
end of the north aisle was railed off from the rest of the church, 
and was styled the Eolleston quire. Here were the various monu- 
ments to that family, of which the one we have described alone 
remains. One of these was " a marble stone, on which a peece of 
brass with an image, at whose head hath laine a peece of brass 
forme of a shield." Another was a large alabaster stone, bearing 
the portraiture of a man and his wife, and at their feet the follow- 
ing inscription : " Hie jacent corpora Francisci Eolleston armigeri 
et Marie uxoris ejus, filie Johis Veruon militis, qui paldictus 
Franciscus obiit iii die Augusti Anno Dni 1587. Et predicta Maria 
obiit . . . die . . . " 

The Francis Rolleston commemorated by this slab would be the 
son of Thomas Rollestou and Agnes Turvile, and grandson of James 
Rolleston, whose monument is in the chancel. He married Maria, 

Harl. MSS. 6592 and 1093. 



26 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

daughter of Sir John Vernou, and they had issue "George Eolles- 
tou de la ley, pensioner to Queene Elizaheth." 

Besides the Kolleston monuments there was also in this aisle 
another alabaster slah to the memory of Thomas Bahiugton and 
his wife Isabella. Thomas Babington, the son and heir of Sir John 
de Babington, of East Bridgeford, Notts., married Isabel, daughter 
and coheir of Eobert Dethick, of Dethick, in the parish of A^hover. 
In his youth he sold his family estates to his brother, Sir William, 
who was Chief Justice of the King's Bench, in order to leave him- 
self more free to engage in the wars against France. It is said 
that the sword and bow which he bore at Agincourt were long 
preserved at Dethick. The family chapel at Dethick had no rights 
of sepulture attached to it, and hence it came to pass that lie and 
his descendants, as lords of Dethick, were buried in their parish 
church of Ashover. Thomas and Isabella had issue two sons, the 
eldest of whom, Sir John Babington, married Isabella, daughter of 
Henry Bradburne, of Bradburne and the Hough. A window to his 
memory is noted under the account of Staveley Church, and there 
is a tomb to his wife at Ratcliff-on-Soar. They had issue two sous 
and six daughters, one of whom, Anna, has already been mentioned 
as the wife of James Rolleston. The eldest son was Tbonias 
Babington, of whom more anon. 

At the east end of the south aisle was the " Babington Quire," 
enclosed by handsomely-carved screen-work, in the which were two 
doors, provided with lock and key, one from the south aisle, and 
one from the body of the church. Over the former of these doors 
were the arms of Babington impaling the unknown coat now on 
the screen, and over the latter Babington impaling Fitzherbert. 
The partition forming this quire has long ago been destroyed, but 
these two escutcheons were preserved and hung against one of the 
pillars which divides the south aisle from the nave. But in 1843 
they were placed upon the rood-screen, which has been already 
described. The year before this restoration G. T. C. writes : 
" The Babington chantry occupied the eastern bay of the south 
aisle, and enough of the wooden screen remains to show that it 
resembled the Babington pew, of about the same date, in the north 
aisle at Eothley." * This quire, or chapel, was founded in 1511, by 
Thomas Babington, when he also erected the rood-screen and the 
singing gallery over it, the endowment of which was valued in 1547 

Nichols' Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. viii., p. 330. 



ASHOVEK. 27 

at 5 Os. 4d. per annum. The following is a verbatim copy of the 
description of this chapel in the Chantry Roll : " The Chauntry of 
Babington founded by Thos. Babyugtoii, Esq., for a prieste to synge 
e within the paryshe church and to pray for his soule, etc., by 
foundacyon dated Ao. Dui. Md. xi and by the kyngs lycense Ao. 
iijo. liegis nunc cjs. iiijc?. clere iiij It xvijs. vj. besyds viij li. xxrf. 
payd in rents resolute to Thomas Babyngton esq., for the wagis of 
a priste at Dethecke iiij li. for the price of breade and herryngs 
pyveii to everye householder there vj Sondayes in Lente everye of 
them j(/ arid lykewyse on Good Frydaye and S. Valentynes days to 
everye one of them ob. eyther of the dayes ; about his obitte yerlie, 
and S. Yaleutyiies daye to priests and clerkes vs. Eich. Sewdall 
Chauntrye prist. It hath a mancyon prised at ijs. by yere. Stocke 
iiij //. xixs. viijc/." 

Thomas Babington, on the death of his wife Editha, erected a 

:ificent monument to the joint memories of himself and his 

wife, within this chantry. Editha was the daughter of Ealph 

Fitzherbert of Norbury, by Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John 

Marshall of Upton, Leicestershire, and sister of Sir Anthony Fitz- 

rt, the celebrated judge. This monument still remains, and 

consists of a table monument of alabaster, supporting two elaborately 

carved effigies. 

The east end, or foot, of this monument has been most barbarously 
built into the wall, and it is very difficult to examine some of its 
details from the strange way in which it is boxed up by the sur- 
rounding pews. It is now almost impossible to trace a word of 
the inscription which formerly ran round the margin. The man's 
head is uncovered, and he has straight hair. The head rests on 
a pillow, supported at each side by a small figure of an angel. 
He is clad in a long plaited gown down to his feet ; round the 
\a a double chain composed of plain square links. On the 
right hand side is attached to his girdle a gypciere or purse, which 
was usually worn by civilians of that period. His hands are folded 
on his breast, and each fourth finger is adorned with a ring, whilst 
the feet rest on an animal of which it is hard to say whether it is 
intended to represent a lion or a dog probably the former. The 
lady is clad in a close-fitting robe, fastened at the neck by tas- 
selled cords, which are curiously twisted over the front of the figure. 
On the head is the angular head-dress with pendant lappets. She 
has a ring on the fourth finger of the left hand, and another on 
the little finger of the right. These effigies are both painted all 



28 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

over, with the exception of the hands and faces, in dull colours 
red and green predominating. This colouring is evidently not quite 
modern, hut it is equally evident that the pigments are vastly 
different from those which must have heen originally used. The 
three sides of this monument, that are to some degree exposed, are 
beautifully carved with rich crocketed canopies, beneath which 
stand numerous small figures representing the fifteen children of 
Thomas and Editha Babingtou, and their respective marriages. 
On the south side there are six of these canopies ; beneath each 
of the end ones are three figures, and the four others cover 
two apiece. At the head there are two single figures, and a double 
one in the centre, and these are flanked on each side by an angel 
bearing an uncharged shield. On the north side there are again 
two canopies, one covering three figures, and the remainder two 
apiece. All the female figures are clothed alike and adorned with 
chains and jewels. The males have for the most part pouches on 
their right side, and shields in their left hands, but one is in 
armour of mail, with a surcoat over it, and on his breast a cross 
Henry. This must be intended to represent the second son. The 
following is a list of the fifteen children and their marriages : 

1. Sir Anthony Babington. He had two wives, the first being 
Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Orniund, of Alfreton (she 
died in 1505), and the second Catherine, daughter of Sir John 
Ferrers, of Walton and Tamworth. He died in 1544, aged 69. 

2. John B. Knight of Ehodes, in which Order he held various 
important offices, the last being that of Grand Prior of Ireland, to 
which he was appointed in 1527. There was formerly a slab in 

the south aisle of Ashover, inscribed "John Babington 15 " 

This we may safely assume to have been his tomb.* 

3. Balph B. He was rector of Hiutlesham, Suffolk, and sub- 
sequently of Hickling, Notts. He took the degree of LL.D. at 
Cambridge in 1503, and died in 1521. He was buried in the 
chancel at Hickling. 

4. Bowlaud B., otherwise called Richard. He settled at Nor- 
manton, near Derby, and married Jane Eidge, of Kinway. He died 
in 1548, and was buried at St. Peter's, Derby. 

5. Humphrey B. He settled at Temple Eothley, in Leicester - 

* Nichols thinks that this slab could not have heen to his memory, as his duties 
as a Preceptor would have been likely to have kept him abroad; but Nichols was 
apparently not aware of the different offices held by John Babington, nor of the 
duties and obligations pertaining to them. See Porter's History of the KnigJits of 
Malta. 



ASHOVER. 29 

shire, and married Eleanor, third daughter and co-heir of John 
Beaumont, of Wednesbury, Stafford. He died in 1544. 

6. Thomas B. He was rector of Yelvertoft, and died at 
Cambridge in 1511. 

7. "William B. He married Joan, the eldest daughter and co- 
heir of the above-mentioned John Beaumont; and secondly, Mary, 
daughter of John More. 

8. Robert B. He died in the Temple, London, and is there 
buried . 

9. George B. died in infancy. 

10. Elizabeth B. died in infancy. 

11. Anne B. She married, first, George Leche, of Chatsworth, 
and secondly, Eoger Greenhaugh, of Teversall, Notts., who was 
also lord of the manor of Kowthorn, in the parish of Ault Huck- 
nall. She died in 1538, and is buried at Teversall. 

12. Catherine B. She married George Chaworth, of Winerton, 
Notts. 

13. Dorothy B. She married Eobert Eolleston, of Swarkestone. 
(The Rollestons of Lea and of Swarkestone were the same family.') 

14. Jane B. She married George Meverell, of Throwley, Staf- 
fordshire. 

15. Elizabeth B. She married Philip Okeover, of Okeover, 
Staffordshire. 

Thomas Babington died on the 13th March, 1518, so that we 
know that this tomb was erected prior to that date, though the 
exact year of the death of Editha has not been ascertained. By his 
will, of the month previous to his decease, Thomas Babington 
directs that his wife's tomb be not broken on his account, but that 
he be laid by its side. This injunction accounts for the existence 
of a separate memorial to him. Against the wall, immediately 
above the foot of this monument, is a slab of dark marble, worked 
at the top into a kind of canopy of foliage, and in the centre of 
this slab is fixed a small oblong brass with the following inscrip- 
tion: "Here lyeth Thomas Babyngton, of Dethick, Esq., son 
of John, son & heyre to Thomas Babyngton, and Isabella hys 
wife, daughter and heyre to Robert Dethick, Esq., whych Thomas 
deceysed the 13th day of March, 1518. On whose souls Jhu 
have mercy." This inscription is rather vaguely expressed, and 
has caused Glover to jump to the ludicrous conclusion, that the 
Thomas Babington, whose tomb we have been describing, was 
married to Isabella Dethick as his first wife. So far from this 



30 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

being the case, Isabella was his grandmother ! There can be no 
doubt that this brass is not in its original position, as mural 
brasses were then unknown. It is also palpable that it has not 
originally been connected with the slab on which it is now found. 
This slab is covered with a thick coating of white plaster, and upon it, 
for the information of those who could not decypher the black- 
letter brass in its centre, has been painted in sprawling letters, a 
transcript of the inscription ! The effect is at once incongruous 
and ridiculous. The notes taken at the beginning of the last 
century come to our aid. Bassano describes this slab as "a 
stone in the waU, which hath contained in it a large piece of brass, 
which was rend off & stole away in ye time of ye Grand Rebellion." 
And Mr. Wolley, writing just at the close of the same century, 
says, that it formerly had a piece of brass fixed to it, nearly 
three-quarters of a yard in length and two feet in breadth, but 
that it then bore no plate of any description. But on the pave- 
ment, close to the south side of the large monument, there was 
formerly a brass "representing the figure of death," i.e., a skeleton 
brass, and at its feet another brass with the inscription relative 
to Thomas Babington, already quoted, and which is now affixed 
to the slab on the wall. The skeleton brass had disappeared before 
Mr. Wolley wrote (1798), and the brass with the inscription having 
by accident been broken, "a gentleman of the parish, 'mindful of 
the honoured dead,' wishing to have it properly secured, caused the 
plate to be taken up for that purpose, when, much to his surprise, 
the following inscription was found engraved in the same kind of 
church-text on the under side of it : 

' Hie jacet Eobertus Prykke arrnig. quondam serviens Pantrie 
dne Margarete regina Anglie, Tothes (sic) Eobtus et Margarete 
liberi sui, qui quidem Eobtus pater obiit xxiij die mense Maii, 
A Dni Mcccc L quorum aniniabus propici^tur Deus. Amen.' 
It, perhaps, may be proper to observe that neither this Eobert 
Prykke (Serjeant of the Pantry to Queen Margaret), nor any 
other persons of his name are known to have had any connec- 
tion with the parish of Ashover ; neither does the name, to the 
best of my knowledge, occur in any ancient records relating 
to the place, or as witnesses to any deeds or conveyances of 
property in the neighbourhood. It is, therefore, presumed that 
this inscription was either engraved by the direction of some of 
Prykke's friends, or on account of its not being paid for, never 
delivered ; or otherwise, that the engraver, employed by the exe- 



ASHOVER. 3 1 

cutors of Thomas Babington, being in want of such a piece of 
brass, took the liberty of borrowing this from ^some neighbouring 
church."* It is thus evident that this palimpsest brass to the 
memory of Thomas Babington was placed upon the slab against 
the east wall of the south aisle (in the place of a former unknown 
inscription) some time subsequent to this description of Mr. Wolley's. 

It now remains to notice another class of memorials, which were 
specially abundant and interesting in this church so late as 1710, 
but which have since been ruthlessly destroyed we allude to the 
heraldic glass in the windows. There was just a small trace of 
one or two escutcheons remaining before the last " restoration " in 
1843, but since that time they have completely disappeared. But, 
before describing them, we will revert for a moment to the family 
history of the Babingtous, as it will be found explanatory of much 
of the blazonry. Sir Anthony Babiugton, the eldest son of the 
Babingtons whose monuments we have just been considering, 
married twice. His first wife, Elizabeth Ormond, was connected 
with a great number of ancient families, and was rightly entitled 
to a considerable amount of heraldic display. Robert de Chaworth, 
of an old Welsh family, married, in the reign of Henry I., the 
sister and heir of William de Waterville. Their grandson, William 
de Chaworth, married Alice, daughter and co-heir of Eobert de 
Alfreton, who was the grandson of Eobert Fitz Ranulph, of Alfreton 
and Norton, and founder of Beauchief Abbey. Sir William Chaworth, 
sixth in descent from this match, married, in 1398, Alice, daughter 
and hen: of Sir John Caltoft, by Katharine, daughter and heir of 
Sir John le Bret. Caltoft represented Bassingbourne and Bisset ; 
Bret represented Heriz of Wyverton, the elder coheir of Barons 
Basset of Dray ton, Riddel, and Bussy of Weldon. Thomas, son of 
Sir William Chaworth, was twice married, his second wife being 
Isabel, daughter and coheir of Thomas de Aylesbury, by Katherine, 
daughter and heir of Sir Lawrence Pabenham. Aylesbury repre- 
sented Keynes, a coheir of the Barons Basset of Weldon, Riddel, 
and Bussy of Weldon, whilst Pabenham represented a coheir of 
the Barons Engaine, Montgomery, and Grey. 

William Chaworth, son of Thomas, married Elizabeth, daughter 

* Palimpsest brasses, i.e., brasses engraved on both sides, have been noted in 
numerous instances since the days of Mr. Wolley. A third and more honourable 
supposition with respect to this brass is, that the executors of Eobert Prykke, or the 
eiiui;tver himself, were dissatisfied with the inscription from some flaw or omission, 
and had another executed, leaving this to be utilised on some subsequent occasion. 
On the general subject of palimpsest brasses, see Boutell's Monumental Brasses, 
pp. 147-154, and Haines' Manual of Monumental Brasses. Vol. ii., pp. 45-."il 



32 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

and coheir of Sir Nicholas Bowet of Repinghall, who represented 
Zouch of Harringwprth. 

Of the issue of this marriage, the son, Thomas, died without 
offspring, and his sister and heir, Joan, married John Orrnond, the 
brass to whose memory is described in the notes on the church at 
Alfreton. 

By this marriage there were three daughters and coheirs, one of 
whom, Elizabeth, became the wife of Sir Anthony Babington.* She 
died on the 28th November, 1505, and is buried in Katcliffe Church, 
where there is an alabaster slab to her memory. 

Sir Anthony Babington married for his second wife, Katheriue, 
daughter of Sir John Ferrers, but, as the armorial bearings relative 
to this match and its numerous alliances are to be found chiefly 
at the chapel at Kingston, Notts., it would be foreign to our 
purpose to give any genealogical details. 

In the middle pane of the south window of Babington's quire 
was Babington and Dethick (arg., a fess vaire, or and gu., between 
three water bougets, sa.) quarterly, impaling Fitzherbert of Norbury 
and Marshall of Upton (Barry of six, arg. and sa., a canton, 
erm.) quarterly. 

In another pane of the same window was Babington, Dethick, 
and another coat undiscernible, quarterly, impaling quarterly of 
fifteen : 

1. Or, a chief, gu. (Ormond). 

2. Barry of eight pieces, arg. and gu., three martlets, sa., (Cha- 

worth.) 

3. Az., two chevrons, or (Alfreton). 
4 Arg., eight mullets pierced, sa. 

5. Gu., a fess between ten billets, or (Bret). 

6. Az., a frette, or. (Maudevile ?). 

7. Arg., a bend vaire, az. and gu. 

8. Arg., two lions segreant, gu. 

9. Gu., a fess between six cross crosslets, or, three, two, one. 

(Engaine). 

10. Vaire, three bars, gu. (Keynes). 

11. Paly, or and gu. (Grey). 

12. Az., a cross, arg. (Aylesbury). 

13. Gu., ten bezants, a canton, ei-m. (Zouch of Harringworth). 

* This skeleton pedigree, showing the various families that were absorbed into the 
immediate ancestors of Lady Elizabeth Babington will be found of frequent service 
throughout these pages. Nichols' Collectanea, vol vii., p. 257: vol. viii.. p. 339. 
Harl. MSS. 154, 246, 1400, etc ; Add. MSS. 6667, and 6707. 



ASHOVER. 33 

14. Arg., three fusils in fess, each charged with a bezant. 

15 * 

It is obvious, then, that this window was inserted by Sir Anthony 
Babington in commemoration of his first marriage with Elizabeth 
Ormond. We have appended to the coats the names of the families 
to which they belonged, so far as we have been able to trace them. 
Numbers 4, 6, 7, 8, and 14 do not belong, as we might have 
expected, immediately to the families of Riddel, Basset, Heriz, &c., 
all of whose bearings have been consulted, though they are sure to 
be in some way connected with some of the very numerous alliances 
of the Ormonds or Babingtons. 

In another window of the south aisle, but outside the Babiugton 
quire, was Babington impaling gu., seven mascles, 3, 2, 1, or 
(Ferrers), commemorating Sir Anthony's second marriage ; and the 
same coat also appeared in one of the clerestory windows on the 
south side. 

The clerestory windows must have been all treated as memorials 
to this family and its numerous alliances. Bassano notes in one 
of them the words " George Leeche . . . Babynton . . . 
wyfe;" and in another, the names and escutcheons of Philip 
Okeover, or his wife, Elizabeth Babingtou. These memorials to two 
of the sisters of Sir Anthony are to be taken simply as such, and 
not implying the burial of the persons named at Ashover; for 
Anne Babington, as has been already stated, was buried with her 
second husband at Teversall, and George Leeche, who died in 
1505, at Edensor. 

A clerestory window on the north side bore, in one pane, a 
quartered coat, 1st and 4th arg., a cinquefoil, az., on a chief, 
gu., a lion passant guardant, or (Bolleston) ; 2nd and 3rd vert, on 
a bend, arg., three crosses flory, sa. (Winfield); impaling or, three 
chevron ells, vaire (Turvile). The ancient connection between the 
Rollestons and Wiufields has been already given, and it further 
appears that the mother of James Rollestou, of the Lea, was Jane, 
daughter and heir of Rafe Winfield, of Ashover.f 

The marriage between Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Turvile 
has also been noticed, which is commemorated by this coat. The 

* These fifteen quarterings are copied from Bassano; the account in Add. MSS. 
6667 varies very slightly, except in number 8, which there reads, Argent, a lion ram- 
pant, gules. In Nichols' description of Ashover Church, based upon these two 
accounts, there are two blunders in the transcript of these coats, viz., in number 2, 
where for ''mullets" read "martlets," aud in number 4, where for ' three " read 
" eight." Nichols' Collectanea, vol. ii., p. 100. 

f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. viii., p. 326. 



34 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Visitations give seven generations of this old family previous to its 
becoming absorbed in that of Eolleston. In the middle pane of 
the same window was the quartered coat of Eolleston and Winfield 
impaling Babington, and in the third pane the quartered coat by 

itself, under it " Ora statu Thoma3 ejus ac paren 

" This inscription makes it possible that Thomas Eolles- 
ton, as well as his son Francis and his father James, obtained 
burial in the church at Ashover. 

The east window of the north aisle, in the Eolleston quire, also 
contained several coats. In the middle pane was quarterly, 1st 
and 4th, an., on a bend, arg., three cross crosslets fitchee, sa. 
(Eeresby) ; 2nd, Barry, gu. and arg., a canton, erm. ;* 3rd, gu., 
three goats, arg. (Gotham.) In another pane was Rolleston. 
Margaret Babington, one of the daughters of Thomas, son and heir 
of Sir Anthony Babington, married Thomas Eeresby, of Thribergh, 
Yorkshire, and of Eastwood Old Hall, in Ashover. Thomas was 
the son and heir of Eobert Eeresby, by Anne, daughter of Eobert 
Swift. The family of Eeresby possessed Eastwood Old Hall in 
the reign of Henry III., and sold it in the time of James I. 

The east window of the chancel contained, according to Bassano, 

this inscription "Brian Eood hujus Sector hanc novam 

fabricam fieri fecit;" according to another account, ". . . . Eoos 
rector hujus ecclesia? hanc novam fabricam fieri fecit." 

Judging from the extensive remains of painted glass that existed 
here one hundred and fifty years ago, it is probable that All Saints, 
at Ashover, was unsurpassed by any church of the county in the 
beauty and interest of its windows. The removal and defacing of 
all images, ordered by Edward VI., in 1548, was interpreted to 
mean the destruction of all the figures of saints in the windows ; 
but many images both of glass and stone escaped or were replaced, 
until the year 1643, when Parliament, by an Ordinance " for the 
utter demolishing, removing, and taking away of all monuments 
of superstition or idolatry," completed the work. But special ex- 
emptions were made, " that this Ordinance shall not extend to any 
Image, Picture, or Coate of Arms in Glass, Stone, or otherwise, in 

* This second quartering we give in the text in the exact words of Bassano. But, 
as an instance of the capricious and uncertain phraseology of heraldic descriptions 
of those days, it may he noted that the same coat on a pew is described by Bassano 
as " Barry of 30 pieces in a canton 3 fusils," and in the Add. MSS. it reads " Barry 
of six canton verry," and on the pew, " Barry of four pieces in a canton three 
fusils." Probably Nichols is right in rendering ii'^ Arg., three pair of gemelles, 
Gu., on a canton, Gu., three fusils conjoined in fess." All are equally at a loss as to 
what family the coat pertained, but it is explained on a subsequent page. 



ASH OVER. 35 

any Church, Chappell, &c., set up or graven ouely for a monument 
of any King, Prince, or Nobleman, or other dead person which 
hath not been commonly reputed or taken for a Saint ; but that 
all such Images, Pictures, and Coates of Armes may stand and con- 
tinue in like manner and forme as if this Ordinance had never 
been made."* It is not unlikely that the glory of the Ashover 
windows remained till this latter date, for, from the hint of 
Bassano, we know that it was visited and despoiled of some of 
its brasses at the time of " ye Grand Rebellion," and, in the 
destruction of the images on glass, much of the heraldry would 
also suffer. And now the indifference and ignorance of subsequent 
"improvers" have swept away even the last vestige of these speak- 
ing relics of the past. 

The church underwent some extensive repairs in 1799, and Mr. 
Wolley, writing at the time, says " It will give you pleasure to 
be informed that the gravestones, painted glass in the windows, 
and the carved arms on the pew doors, will all be carefully pre- 
served and replaced." But so far as the painted glass was con- 
cerned, this good intention does not appear to have been carried 
out, for several years previous to the restoration of 1843, another 
visitor could only find a single mutilated coat of Dethick. This 
latter visitor says t "The nave and aisles are heavily pewed with 
oak, and the names of the proprietors, according to the custom of 
the country, are carved upon the pew doors." This is another 
custom of which but very few traces remain in Derbyshire, and 
which subsequent alterations have almost destroyed at Ashover. 
The Eeresbys, in whose family the advowson of the church long 
rested, naturally had their pews in the chancel, and on one of 
these were the initials T. E., M. E., and Eeresby impaling Babing- 
ton. On another pew was a quartering, 1st, Eeresby, 2nd, arg., 
three pair of gemelles, gu., on a canton, gu., three fusils con- 
joined in fess ; 3rd, arg. on a fess double cotised, gu., three fleurs- 
de-lis, or (Normanvile) ; 4th, gu. three goats, arg. (Gotham). 
Over the coat the crest of a goat passant, and on another part 
of the same pew the word " Eeresbie." These quarterings may 
be thus explained from the pedigree of the Eeresby family given 
in the Yorkshire Visitations. Ealph Eerssby married Margaret, 
daughter and hen-ess of Ealph Normanvile, and their great-grand- 
son Thomas Eeresby married Cecilia, daughter and co-heiress of 

* "A Collection of all the Publicte Ordinances from 1642 untill 1646," p. 308. 
t G. T. C. of Nichols' Collectanea. 



36 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Richard Gotham, of Gotham. The second coat of this quartering 
was also borne by Normanvile at the time of the alliance above 
named, and it formerly appeared with the Reresby quarterings in 
the church windows of Chesterfield, Hope, and Rotherham.* 

One other family memorial in the nave deserves notice. It is a 
mural monument to the memory of the Dakeyn family, and is 
placed over the last arch on the north side. It consists of a plain 
black coloured stone with the following inscription in white letters : 

" Gulielm Dakeyn. Norroy. Pater Richardi nat. Hartingt Sepult 
London, obit. 1530. Oct. 19." Here the stone is divided as though 
the upper portion had been part of an older monument, and then 
follow the words, Stubbin Edge, and the names of four other Da- 
keyns, viz: Richard, 1581, aged 81; Arthur, 1632, aged 59; 
Henry, 1671, aged 57 ; and Arthur, 1720, aged 77. On looking 
at this monument it is at once apparent that the upper portion is 
several years later than the date 1530. The reason that causes 
us to draw atention to it is the untruth which it commemorates. 
" Norroy " (or king of the north) was tho title of the third king- 
at-arrns of the Herald's College, and he had the same jurisdiction 
north of the Trent which "Clarencieux" had on the south. It 
does not, however, appear that William Dakeyn ever was Norroy 
King-at-arms, and it is most likely that this was a forgery of his 
grandson, William Dakeyn, in order to give more authority to his 
various inventions. William Dakeyn was apprehended by warrant 
from the Earl of Essex, Earl Marshall, on 31st December, 1597, 
for issuing false pedigrees and grants of arms " under hand and seal 
of Clarencieux. "t He had previously been condemned to the pillory 
and loss of one ear for a similar offence, but on this occasion he 
was treated more leniently, for he was let off upon giving security, 
and making a full confession of his various forgeries, which are 
still preserved in a volume at the College of Arms. 

The tower contains a peal of five bells. The following are their 
inscriptions in the order in which we decyphered them : 

I. " All men that heare my mournfull sound 

Repent before you in the ground. 

R. B...G. C. Wardens, 1630." On the top of the bell are the 
initials T. B. faintly cut, and the founder's mark, below the legend, 
is that of George Oldfield. 

*Harl. MSS. 6070, f. 177. Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iii., p. 349. Add. MSS. 23, 
ill, f. 101. See, also, the account of this coat under Chesterfield. 

fLyson's Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9448, f. 174. If this is correct it seems 
that he forged both as Norroy and Clarencieux. 



ASHOVER. 37 

II. " Sweetly toling men do call 

To taste on meats that feede the soule." 

This legend is not unfrequently found on church bells. The 
date on this bell is 1625, and on the top are the initials G. H.* 

III. " My roaringe sounde doth warning give 

That men cannot heare always live." 

The date of this is also 1625, and the initials I. T. are on the 
top. 

IV. "Abraham Redfiu, C. W., 1751. Tho. Hedderley, Founder." 
The scroll work round the shoulder and rim of this bell is beauti- 
fully finished. 

V. " The old bell rung the downfall of Bonaparte, t and broke 
April, 1814. J. and E. Smith, Founders, Chesterfield. George 
Eaton, and S. Banford, churchwardens." 

Fixed between the mullions of one of the windows of the bell- 
chamber is the old Sanctus bell. It is destitute of inscription or 
date, and is simply ornamented with a cable moulding. Its 
original situation was in a roughly constructed bell-cot, formed of 
three stones, which can be plainly seen on the gable of the east 
end of the nave ; the upper stone being pierced with the socket 
which supported it. 

In 1291 Ashover Church was valued at 23 6s. 8d. per annum, 
and in the King's Books at 24 3s. lid. The Parliamentary 
Commissioners describe it as a parish church and parsonage of the 
value of 136 ; Mr. Emauuel Bourue was then minister, and is 
praised as "an honest and able man." 

This is not the place to descant on the romantic situation of the 
picturesque village of Ashover, but, by whatever route the traveller 
approaches it, one of the most charming features of the landscape 
is the light and graceful spire of the parish church, tapering above 
the foliage of the trees in which it is nestled, and we hope these 
"Notes" may induce him to pause and make a closer inspection 
of the many objects of interest with which this church is connected . 

* These initials most likely stand for Godfrey Heathcote. We do not recollect 
meeting with the name of Heathcote, of Chesterfield, in any work on campanology, 
but a deed of 2 Elizabeth speaks of "Radus Hethcote nuper de Chesterfeld, beLl- 
founcler." Add. MSS. 6667, f. 307. Godfrey Heathcote, ironmonger (and probably 
bell-founder), was Mayor of Chesterfield several times at the commencement of the 
seventeenth century. See Glover's History of Derbyshire. 

tThis bell is probably unique. We sent this inscription to Notes and Queries (4th 
S. ix. p. 466), but could not hear of any other English church-bell bearing the name 
of Bonaparte. 



38 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



of 




HE precise date at which chapelries were founded can usually 
be settled with much more precision than is the case with 
the mother-churches, and the chapel of Dethick, an off- 
shoot of the mother-church of Ashover, is no exception to the rule. 
This chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and not to St. John, 
as Lysons has it, was founded in 1279 by Geoffrey Dethick, and 
Thomas, the Prior of Felley in Nottinghamshire. This Priory of 
Felley was instituted by Ealph Brito about the year 1154. The 
Chantry Eoll, of the time of Edward VI., thus describes this 
chapel and its foundation : " The Chappell of St. John Baptyste 
in Detheke founded by Jeffrey Dethyck and Thomas somtyme Prior 
of Fellye did bynde himself and the Covent to paye v marks yerelie 
owte of the lands in Ashover towards the provydynge of a prest 
to saye Devyne service, for his soule, etc., dated A. Dom. 
MCCI^XXIX., Ixxiiis, iiijc?. Thurstan Palfriman, chaplyn. It is 
distaunte from the Paryshe Churche iij myles aud Sir Jeffreye 
Dethyke, Knight, dyd opteyn a lycense of the Bysshoppe of Coventrye 
and Lychfeld to have devyne service and to receyve sacraments of 
the Churche for hymn and his famyly dated iiij Febr. A. Dom., 
MCCXXVIII. The incumbent hath a lodgynge of the valewe of 
vjs. vnjd. The goods etc. is borrowed of the heyres of the sayd 
Dethyk." It seems then, that though it may be correct to speak 
of the chapel as founded, i.e., endowed, in 1279 (probably by the 
will of Sir Geoffrey) a license for the celebration of divine service 
was obtained fifty years earlier, which will be the date when the 
erection of the chapel was commenced, or at all events decided upon 
in the mind of the founder. In the last year of the reign of Henry 
IV. (1312) a chantry was founded in this chapel by Koger de 
Wyngerworth, of the value of twenty shillings, the income being 
derivable from two messuages, consisting of a hundred acres of land 
and four acres of meadow, in " Selyoke and Halose." 




V 



DETHICK. 39 

The chapel consists simply of a nave and chancel under a single 
roof, and an embattled tower at the west end. This tower, which 
we shall shortly describe more particularly, is an interesting example 
of late Perpendicular, bearing on the west front the date, 1532. 
It is obvious that the building was thoroughly restored at this 
time, when the walls were raised, and upper or clerestory windows 
inserted. It is most unusual to meet with these windows where 
there are no side aisles. There are three of them on the north 
side and four on the south, being square-topped, two-light windows, 
with cinquefoil heads. On the south side, at the east end, there 
is a large three-light window of the same pattern. There is also 
a small deeply- splayed lancet window on each side of the chapel ; 
these two windows doubtless formed part of the original building 
erected by Sir Geoffrey. The simple pointed doorway, too, 
on the south side, and the corresponding one on the north, 
now built up, sbow by their general character, and especiaUy 
by the dripstone with which they are shielded, that they belong to 
the early English period.' Perhaps also this may be the case 
with the piscina niche to the south side of the altar. The lower 
masonry of the side walls is of a ruder construction than that in 
which the clerestory windows are inserted, and we may safely 
conjecture that the older portion of these walls, as well as the doors 
and windows just described, are a part of the chapel for which 
a license was obtained from the Bishop in 1228. Their style much 
more corresponds with that which was in vogue about 1230 than 
in 1279, when it is popularly supposed that the chapel was built, 
for at the latter date the Decorated style was succeeding to the 
Early English. The chancel window, the top of which has been 
somewhat clumsily restored of late years, is the only example of 
true Decorated that we noted in the building. In the north wall 
of the chancel is a large square recess, partly closed by slabs of 
stone, used formerly as an almery or receptacle for the sacred 
vessels, &c. ; but besides this there is no other point of inteiv-t 
iii the interior of the church, nor any monumental remains, as 
neither the building nor churchyard had any right of sepulture 
pertaining to them. The roof is almost flat, supported by heavy 
transverse beams after the style that universally prevailed at the 
close of the Perpendicular period. The timber is now all new, 
-toratiou after the old pattern, in consequence of a fare that 
occurred at Christmas, 1872, having just been accomplished. The 
narrow high archway, that leads under the tower at the we.-t < -ml 



40 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of the church, has a peculiar appearance, as only one of the jambs 
or sides has been chiselled into mouldings. The reason of this 
curious defect is, however, obvious, it being a necessity to give 
sufficient strength to carry up the circular stairway on the south 
side of the tower ; for the tower is very narrow in proportion to its 
height, and its design did not permit of the steps being placed 
in a turret which would form an excrescence on the outside. 

It now remains to give some details respecting this tower with 
its elaborate armorial bearings. The tower is crested with a light 
battlement, on one of the stones of which is the date, 1866, pointing 
to its recent renewal ; and it is surmounted at the south-east angle 
by an elegant open turret. There is a small doorway at the west, 
above it being a pointed window of three principal lights with 
debased Perpendicular tracery. The bell-chamber windows are of 
the same design, but of only two lights, and below them is arcade 
work consisting of similar windows filled up with masonry. Between 
them runs a broad frieze or belt all round the tower, upon which 
are sculptured numerous armorial bearings. Though the tower 
has not yet stood for three-and-a-half centuries, many of these 
shields are partially defaced, and some almost entirely. We have 
spent considerable time in the rather . laborious work of deciphering 
the bearings, but are happily aided in our task by a description of 
them taken last century, when they could be read with greater 
ease. This description is preserved amongst the Wolley MSS., and 
it was utilized and amended in the account of Ashover and Dethick, 
published by Nichols, from which we have already quoted. Bassano 
also visited Dethick about the year 1710, but though he was generally 
so careful in detailing everything connected with his science, he 
appears to have found these elaborate coats too much for him ; 
and in his account of the church (not hitherto published), he contents 
himself with describing those on the lower part of the tower as 
foUows : 

" Dethick Chappell, south side of steeple, Bezants a label of 3 
poynts, Babington, to which is impaled 7 mascles, 3, 3, 1, with a 
label of 3 points. 

" Supporters griffin and unicorn. On north side of steeple 
same, but worn. On west side over door, ' Anno verbi incarnati, 
1530.'" 

The elaborate heraldic display on the tower will be chiefly ex- 
plained by a reference to the account of the Babington family and 



DETHICK. 41 

their alliances, in the description of Ashover Church, but a brief 
additional note or two are required. 

As early as the reign of Henry III. Dethick belonged to an 
ancient family who took their name from the manor. In the reigu 
of Edward III., Sir Geoffrey Dethick and his brother married the 
two coheiresses of Annesley.* But in the reign of Henry VI., 
the elder line, resident at Dethick, became extinct by the death, 
in battle, of Eobert, eldest son of Sir William Dethick, and of 
Eobert's only sou, Thomas. The eldest sister and coheiress of 
Thomas Dethick married Thomas Babiugton, the younger sister 
marrying Pole, of Heage. Roger, the second son of Sir William 
Dethick, settled at Derby, and from him were descended Sir 
Gilbert and Sir William Dethick, who successively held the office 
of Garter King-at-Arms. William, the third son of Sir William 
Dethick first mentioned, married the heiress of Curzon of Breadsall ; 
and his two younger brothers, John and Reginald, married two of 
the co-heiresses of Meynell of Newhall. 

Dethick thus passed into the hands of Babiugton, by the marriage 
between Isabella Dethick and Thomas Babington, at the commence- 
ment of the fifteenth century. The precise date is not known, but 
it occurred sometime prior to 1431, as is proved by the following 
extract from the records of 10 Henry VI., quoted by Nichols. 
" Finis inter Thomam Babington armig. et Isabellam uxor. ejus 
querentes, et Thomam Chaworth rnilitem, et W. Babingtou mili- 
tem et W. Ugarthorp armig. deforcientes de Maner. de Deth. et 
Lutchurch, cujus uuo prato et ij messuag et iij bovat. terra? in 
Whittingtou, et de advocatione cappeUa Sancti Johan. Baptiste 
de Deth, etc." 

The eldest son, Thomas, transmitted the estate to his sou and 
heir Henry, and Henry's son and heir was the unfortunate Anthony 
Babingtou who was executed for high treason in 1586, having 
taken part in a plot for the rescue of Mary Queen of Scots, 
who was then in captivity at W^infield Manor House. The 
Manor of Dethick would then have been escheated to the crown, 
but Anthony, knowing the dangerous nature of his conspiracy, 
had previously made it over to his younger brother, George, 
together with other lauded property. George Babington, however, 
soon became involved through his extravagances in pecuniary 
difficulties, and the estate was sold to Wednesley Blackwall, 
Esq., and eventually became the property of the Hallowes. 

* Xirho!-' C.'ih-ctanea. vol. viii.. p. 323. 



42 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The chapel of Dethick was, of course, held by the owner of 
the manor through all its vicissitudes, indeed it almost formed 
a part of the extensive mansion of the Babingtons, from which 
it was only separated by a few yards. The tower was erected 
by Sir Anthony Babington, mentioned above, who died in 154-4 ; 
and the various inter-marriages of the family which we have 
just enumerated will explain the reason of the presence of the 
different coats of arms. The escutcheons are not described at 
length, when they have already been given under Ashover. 

On the south side of the frieze or belt that encircles the 
tower, are three shields. 

I. Babington impaling Fitzherbert. 

II. Babington, impaling quarterly 1st and 4th, Dethick with a 
label ; 2nd and 3rd effaced, but Dethick usually quartered the 
coats of Allestree of Turnditch, and Stafford of Grafton, with 
which families they had intermarried, though it is now quite 
impossible to trace these bearings. The label on the Dethick 
coat was probably used to mark the heiress of the elder branch. 
It was subsequently dropped. 

III. Babington impaling Dethick. 
On the west side are four shields, 

I. Babington impaling Dethick. 

II. Babington impaling Alfreton. There are supporters to 
this shield that are described by Wolley as "indistinct, ap- 
parently two baboons," and Nichols adds that " the supporters 
used by Sir Anthony Babington were two baboons upon tuns, 
in the false wit of the age Baboon-tun." The wainscote of 
the hall of old Babington House, at Derby, was ornamented 
with carvings of these baboons, an engraving of which is given 
in Simpson's History of Derby. 

III. Babington impaling Ferrers. This shield also has in- 
distinct supporters. " Apparently . the lion and the dragon, the 
Eoyal supporters of the time of Henry VIII." The royal sup- 
porters were often used, says Nichols, by men of rank to denote 
attachment to the reigning monarch. Sir Anthony Babington 
has introduced them upon Kingston Chapel, Notts. This use 
of the royal supporters is a strange heraldic liberty, and was 
probably done in those days without express permission. 

IV. " Babington, with a crescent in chief, higher than the 
label, impaling a bend between 6 cross crosslets, Longvillers." 

On the north side are four coats, all much defaced. 
I. Babiugton impaling Dethick. 



DETHICK. 43 

II impaling Babington. The first half of this 

shield, which is quite illegible, except that it appears to have 
borne a quartered coat, is supposed to have borne the quarter- 
ings of Rolleston of Lea. 

III. Sa., on a chief, or, a demi-lion rampant yu. (Markham), 
impaling Babington. 

IV. Babington impaling This cannot now be de- 
cyphered, but it is suggested that it was, paly of 5, or and 
azure, the arms of Constable of Kinolton. 

On the east side there are also four coats. 

I. Babiugton impaling, sa., a lion rampant, armed and lan- 
gued, <jti., within an orle of cinquefoils, arg. (Clifton). 

II. As the first. 

III. Indistinct, apparently as the first, but Nichols thinks 
that it is possibly the arms of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir 
Anthony, who married Sir George Pierpoint ; as the Pierpoint 
coat was arg., a sernee of cinquefoils, and a lion rampant, sa. 

IV. Babington, on a chief the cross of St. John of Jerusa- 
lem. Sir Anthony's brother John was, as we have already 
stated, a knight of St. John. Sir John Babington was a 
knight of much fame in the order, and held several of the 
most important offices. He was Preceptor of Dalby and Rothley, 
and Eeceiver General of England. He was appointed Grand 
Prior of Ireland on the 15th of June, 1527, which office he 
exchanged for the still more honourable one of Turcopolier, just 
a year later. The Turcopolier was the commander of the 
Turcopoles or light cavalry, and to him was entrusted the coast 
defences of the island of Rhodes and subsequently of Malta. 
It was an office specially reserved for the head of the English 
contingent of the knights of St. John. The office must, how- 
ever, have been a sinecure when held by Sir John Babington, 
for the knights were expelled from Ehodes in 1522, and did 
not obtain possession of Malta till 1530. On the 7th of January 
of that year, Sir John resigned the high office of Turcopolier, 
and was appointed to the Bailli of Aquila, Aquila or Ecle 
being a preceptory situated about seven miles from Lincoln. 
Here it appears that lie died, three years after the erection of 
the tower at Dethick, viz., in 1533.* 

We have now completed the description of all that can be 
decyphered on the frieze round the tower, but on the south 

* Porter's History of i'i,' Kniylitu of Multa, vol., ii., pp. 290, 294, 299, 323. 



44 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

side, some ten feet from the ground, is a large shield of 
Babington impaling Ferrers (Sir Anthony's second wife). Wolley 
speaks of the royal supporters being used here, but in this 
case one of the supporters is, to all appearance, an unicorn, 
and we thought that this animal was not used as a royal 
supporter till the time of James I. The 'lion,' too, has a 
greater resemblance to a bear than to the king of beasts. The 
crest is a wyvern's head between two wings displayed, and 
above it is the Babington motto Foy est tout. Over all are 
the letters A.B., H.C. The shield rests upon a tun, having 
allusion to the last syllable of the family name. Nichols men- 
tions another favourite device of the punning heralds of this 
family, a babe issuing from a tun, a device that forms a 
curious cornice at Kingston. The inscription over the west 
door, as already quoted from Bassano's notes, is still just legible 
though several of the letters have almost crumbled out of 
existence. 

The Chantry Eoll, describing the chapel of Dethick, does not 
enumerate any vessels or other properties, but says "The 
goods etc. is borrowed of the heyres of the sayd Dethyk." The 
Babingtons were probably a sufficiently influential family to 
forbid the Commissioners to take an inventory of the goods of 
the chapel, which they regarded as their private property, and 
hence they appear, too, to have saved them from sequestra- 
tion, for there was far more of ecclesiastical furniture in Dethick 
chapel in 1558, than was the case with many a larger church, 
as is proved by the will of Thomas Babiugton.* This will is 
dated the 10th of November, 1558, just about the time of the 
accession of Queen Elizabeth and the re -establishment of the 
Protestant faith. The will bears traces of this time of religious 
change, for the writer is evidently puzzled whether to style the 
ecclesiastic in charge "priest" or "minister," and solves the 
difficulty by the use of both expressions. In it Thomas Babing- 
ton bequeaths to his heir "The belles, and the cloke (clock), 
the bowks, and vestments, the challes of sylver, and the orna- 
ments and inclothment of my chappell of Dedyke, and my 
sellinge Kyiiige of gold that was left unto me by my grand- 
father (ancestor?) Thomas Babington, and I also dowe geve 
ordere and wylle that he that ys my said eare, being of the 
adge of xxi years shall for the spayse of 16 years at leaste 

*Acld. MSS., 6668, f. 99. 



DETHICK. 45 

next after my desseasse earlye fyude kepe Lave sustayne at the 
chappell of Dedyke one boneste and abelle preste and nienester 
to selebrat and dowe devyne servis daylye thear, and that my 
sayd eare shall fynde the said menester or preste competent and 
couvenyent meat drinke and lodgiuge fyer and fuelle and to 
him yearlye 4 li of lawful moneye over and besydes the sayd 
meat and drinke lodginge fyer and fuell duriuge the sayd 16 
yeares at leaste, and I wylle that Sir Mylles Whitworth shall 
be the sayd preste yf be so wylle and so long leve, and yf my 
said eare so dowe not but reffuse or ueglecte to fynde and 
sustayue the said preste or to paye him as ys afforsayd, then 
I wyll all sutcho tenements with the apptirteuances in Alfreton 
or thereabouts taat belongs to the chantree of Alfreton, whearof 
Sir Robert Whit was chantre preste, and also .... tenements 
in Sornercots with the appurtenances to my executor for xx 
years after my decease to support the Dedyke preste." 

There is no trace of heraldic glass now left in the windows 
of the chapel, but it was formerly well supplied, although 
much mutilated at an early date. In Wyrley's copy of Flower's 
Derbyshire Visitation (1569), with additions taken by himself in 
1592, he says of the arms at Dethick : "The glass is much 
broken, but heare have I set downe of the fragments the re- 
maynder." * 

I. Babington impaling Dethick. 

II. Leche impaling Babington. 

III. Babington impaling arg., on a saltire, az., five water 
bougets, or, (Sacheverell). 

IV. Sa., a chevron between ten martlets, arg. (Benefeld.) 

V. Ary., a cross flory, so., within a border engrailed, gu. 
(Walton). 

VI. Babington impaling Ferrers. 

VII. Quarterly 1st and 4th Chaworth ; 2nd and 3rd paly of 
six, or and <ju., a bend surtout, arg. (Longford.) 

The alliances signified by these escutcheons have been already 
explained, with the exception of Sacheverell, Benefeld, and Walton. 
Thomas Babington, sou and heir of Sir Anthony, the rebuilder 
of this chapel, married Catharine, daughter of Henry Sacheverell, 
of Morley. We are unable to account for the presence of the 
two other co;. 

A later Visitation, taken in 1611, mentions, that "Thomas 

Harl. MSS., 6592, f. 87. 



46 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Babington, of Dethick, had nine sons and six daughters, as in the 
chappell window at Dethick aforesaid, whose names as they are 
there expressed doe folowe." Then follows a list of the children 
and their marriages, corresponding in the main with that already 
given under Ashover.* 

It only remains to note that the tower contains a single bell, 
eighteen inches in diameter at the mouth, and bearing no inscrip- 
tion beyond the date, 1836. Close to the tower is a horizontal 
metal sun-dial, fixed on the top of a stone pillar. It has no date, 
but bears the maker's name, " Ealph Gosling." 

*Harl. MSS., 1093. 



LEA. 47 



of Hca. 




JHE hamlet of Lea, which closely adjoins that of Dethick, 
and forms part of the same township, is partly in 
the parish of Ashover, partly in that of Crich, and 
partly in South Wiufield. In the reign of King John, the manor 
of Lea belonged to Robert de Alveley. He left two daughters, his 
coheiresses, the eldest of whom conveyed her moiety of the manor 
to Ferrers, of Stockesley, in Staffordshire, and it was subsequently 
sold by her son to Sir Geoffrey Dethick, through whom it came 
into the hands of the Babingtons. The younger daughter conveyed 
the other moiety to one of the De la Leas, which was afterwards 
purchased by the Frechevilles, who in their turn sold it, in the 
fourteenth century, to the Rollestons. 

A chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was founded here by Robert 
Alveley, in the reign of John ; and that moiety of the manor of 
Lea in which the chapel was situate, was for a long time dis- 
tinguished by the name of Leachurch (Lutchurch). In the twelfth 
year of Henry IV., Roger de Wingerworth founded a chantry in the 
chapel, endowing it with xxs. issuing from three messuages, forty 
acres of land (arable), and four acres of meadow in Stanley. This 
chapel is thus described in the Chantry Roll : " The Chauntrye 
of Legghe founded by Robert Alveley for a pryste to mayntayne 
Godds Service at the chappell of the Leighe because there is no 
pareyshe church nere by j myles a halfe, and there to pray for 
the founders soule, etc. There ys many hamletts adjoynyng to 
the chappel xlviis. clere livs. viijrf. iiij. in rents resolute. Thos. 
Roughbotham chauntrye preste. It is distant from the Paryshe 
churche iij myles. It hath a mancyon house and lands prysed att 
xiijs. iiijd. by yere, stock liij. xd." 



48 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Amongst Keynolds' Church Notes we find the following passage 
relative to this chapel: "Upon Mr. Nightingale's barn (standing 
by the yew tree at the town head) in Lea, in the parish of Ash- 
over, co. Derby, which formerly was a chappel, and is still called 
the chappel barn, is this inscription wrote upon each side of a 
window (which I copied off in 1768) ' Anno Domini 1478. Thys 
chapel was made.' "* Lysons, writing in 1817, speaks of this 
inscription as " still visible," but we failed to find either inscrip- 
tion, or window, or any other certain trace of an ecclesiastical 
building. An old inhabitant showed us the barn, traditionally 
spoken of as the chapel, and said that he recoUected, as a boy, an 
old oak reading desk standing in one corner ; but the building, if 
we hit upon the right one, has now been completely changed in 
character, and is divided into two stories, the lower one being, at 
the time of our visit, appropriated as a kennel for sporting dogs. 

* A rough pen-and-ink sketch is given of this window (Add. MSS. 6670, f. 267), 
from which it appears that it was a pointed Perpendicular window of two principal 
lights. 




|HE first historical mention of Barlborough occurs in the 
will of Wulfric Spott, 1002, to which we have occa- 
sion to refer in several of our descriptive notices of 
the Derbyshire Churches. By this will the manor of Barl- 
borough, like the adjacent ones of Clown and Eckington, was 
bestowed on Morcare, and did not form part of the endowment 
of Burton Abbey, as asserted by Lysons. At the time of the 
Domesday Survey it was held by Robert under Ralph Fitzhu- 
bert. It is supposed that this Robert was ancestor of Robert 
de Meinell. One of his co-heiresses brought the manors of 
Barlborough, Killamarsh, and Whitwell to Sir Matthew de Hather- 
sage in the reign of John ; and in the latter end of the 
reign of Henry III., the co-heiresses of Hathersage brought it 
in moieties to the families of Goushill and Longford. 

The moiety belonging to the Longfords continued in their 
family for several generations. In 12 Edward I. Oliver de 
Longford is described as possessed of a manor at Barlborough, 
and in the 32ud year of the same reign mention is made of 
one John de Longford as the owner. The Inquisitions also of 
30 Edward III. and 3 Henry IV. prove that it continued 
with the Longfords. Indeed it was not till 1610 that it left 
the family, when, at the death of Sir Nicholas Longford, it 
was conveyed by one of his co-heiresses to a younger branch 
of the Poles of Wakebridge. The last representatives of this 
marriage, two maiden ladies, both died in the year 1755. 

The history of the other moiety is not so easy to trace, 
but it was held in 20 Edward II. by Walter de Goushill and 
his wife Margaret, by Thomas de Goushill in 48 Edward III., 
and apparently remained in the family till about the close of 
the fifteenth century, for Anthony Wingfield who had married 



52 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

a co-heiress of Sir Robert Goushill, suffered a recovery in 
1513. In 1521 Thomas, Earl of Derby, died seized of a manor 
at Barlborough, his uncle Edward Stanley in 1523, and Sir 
William Holies, sometime Lord Mayor of London, in 1542. 
Queen Mary, in 1544, granted the manor, that had belonged 
here to the Stanleys, to Dame Anne Stanhope ; and Sir Thomas 
Stanhope sold it in 1571 to Sir Richard Pype, another Lord 
Mayor of London, who died seized of it and of the advowson 
of the rectory in 1587. These various changes all appear to 
relate to the moiety inherited by the Goushills, but there are 
other records relative to manors at Barlborough that are not 
BO easy of explanation. A survey of Barlborough, taken in 
1630, describes three parks, and this probably points to the 
subdivision of the manor into three moieties at sometime in 
its history. In this way and this only, can we account for 
the fact that, though one moiety of the manor was in the 
hands of the Longfords throughout the sixteenth century, and 
though the history of the second moiety at the same period 
can be accurately traced, Francis Rodes, who was made one of 
the Justices of Common Pleas in 1585, purchased an estate, 
described as the Manor of Barlborough, of the Seliokes about 
the same time. That there was some dispute, however, 
about the manorial rights, is made evident by a lawsuit on the 
subject between Humphrey Pype, son of the above-named Lord 
Mayor, and Sir John Rodes, the son of Francis Rodes. Even- 
tually it seems that Sir John Rodes purchased Pype's moiety, 
in whose family the manorial rights and the advowson of the 
church still remain. This third manor, purchased of the Seliokes 
by the Rodes, who had for several generations lived at Staveley 
Woodthorpe, was probably the one described in the reign of 
Edward I. as " the manor of Ada de Grydeling and the park 
of Barlborough," which was then held by William de Faucon- 
berg, and in the next reign by John de Stuteville. This 
estate of the Seliokes had previously belonged to the Constables 
of Yorkshire, to whom, we think, it came by marriage, but we 
have failed to ascertain in what way. Stephen Constable of 
Catfoss in Holderuess is said to have been " seized of the 
manor of Balbroke (Barlborough), now in possession of Sir John 
Rodes." * 

* Vincent's Derbyshire (College of Arms), 156. The previous information about 
the manor is taken from the various Inquisitions, Quo Warranto and Patent Eolls, 
the references to which would be too numerous for quotation. 



BARLBOROUGH. 53 

We have been thus particular in trying to trace out the 
respective owners of the divided manor, in order to explain the 
cause of the armorial bearings on the church, which we shall 
presently describe. 

The Domesday Survey speaks of this manor and that of 
Whitwell being held conjointly, and chronicles the then exist- 
ence of a church and a priest, but whether situate at Barl- 
borough or Whitwell it is impossible now to say with certainty. 
Although a fine cruciform church must have been erected at 
Whitwell not many years after the Conquest, we failed to find 
any trace of the existence of a building prior to the advent of 
William, and are inclined to think that the claims of Barl- 
borough as the older church are superior. Barlborough was 
evidently the more important place when the Survey was taken, 
for not only is it mentioned first, but the name in the original 
document is traversed by a red line, which was used by the 
Norman scribes to particularise places of more especial note. 
Moreover, though the present building may not show any suffi- 
cient trace of early work to justify our surmise, there is a 
memorial in the churchyard, against the north side of the 
tower, which points to early sepulture upon this spot. This 
memorial is a rude stone coffin, originally formed of one block 
of stone hollowed into a trough, and with a circular receptacle 
for the head at the wider end, but now broken into four 
fragments. It measures, in its outside dimensions, six feet nine 
inches by two feet four, and apparently is not of later date 
than the eleventh century. This coffin, according to notes 
taken by Dr. Pegge, was exposed at the foot of the tower 
nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, though it was then on 
the south side and unbroken. 

The church is dedicated to St. James, of which there is no 
reasonable doubt, though certain modern Directories of Derby- 
shire, without any apparent cause, persist in ascribing it to St. 
Matthew. The building consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, 
and embattled tower. The nave is separated from the north 
aisle by four serni- circular archways resting on three pillars, 
two of which are octagon, and the other is channelled into a 
quatrefoil shape. These afford clear proof of the erection of a 
substantial church here in the later Norman days, in the reign 
probably of Henry II. or Richard I. ; and this church must 
have been again much altered or rebuilt a little more than a 



54 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

century later. The archway leading from the nave into the 
chancel is supported by corbels terminating in well-defined 
foliage, and belongs to the Early English period of architecture. 
It also seems as if parts of the present tower were then 
erected, and this is not only indicated by the small pointed 
light on the south side, but by the general appearance of the 
masonry of the lower part of the walls. 

On the west front of the tower we find two stones engraved 
with the following arms Barry of six, a canton, ermine ; and 
Paly of six, a bend. These are the respective arms of 
Goushill and Longford, who married the co-heiresses of Hather- 
sage, the former sole owner of the manor, and doubtless, also 
of the advowson of this church. Now Sir Matthew de Hather- 
sage was. living in 1248, and it seems probable that it was 
about the close of the thirteenth century that these two families 
rebuilt the church in the style of that period, the Early 
English, and engraved their armorial bearings as a memento 
on the walls. Though the manor was divided between the 
heiresses of Hathersage, it does not appear that this was the 
case with the advowson of the church, for the inquisition at 
the close of the reign of Edward I. particularises John de 
Longford as the owner of the church.* The main characteris- 
tics of this tower are of a much later date, but the stones 
with the arms of the refounders of the church would naturally 
be preserved. The square-headed west door to the tower and 
the window above it are comparatively modern innovations, for 
we find from the interior that the west window has been 
blocked up, and the present light only occupies a portion of 
that space. The summit is ornamented with four pinnacles and 
intervening battlements of debased Perpendicular, or possibly 
still later style. Of this style, too, are the windows that light 
the north aisle, and the whole of the chancel, including the five- 
light east window, the south doorway, and the two south windows. 

Over these two south windows of the chancel are four more 
coats of arms cut in stone. The first has the arms of Goushill 
repeated. The second is a quartered coat, 1st and 4th, a bend 
upon a pale ; 2nd and 3rd Quarterly. The first bearing of the 
first coat, though incorrectly given, probably owing to the exigen- 
cies of space that could not be conquered by the stone hewer, 

*Inq. post Mortem, 32 Edward 1., No. 24. 



UAKLBOHOUGH. 55 

appears to be intended for Longford, and the other for Solney, of 
Newton Solney. This family died out in the course of the four- 
teenth century, when the co-heiresses married Sir Nicholas Longford 
and Sir Thomas Stafford, their arms being Quarterly, arg. and 
flu. The third coat is, a chevron fretty between three fleurs-de-lis. 
Dr. Pegge attributed this coat to Sherley, a family of Kent, but 
was unable to assign any reason for its presence here, nor have 
we, though we have spent no little time in the search, been able 
to find any alliance between the Sherley s and the Lougfords, or 
Goushills, or any other families connected with Barlborough. The 
Sherleys bore gu., a chevron counter-compony, arg. and sa., be- 
tween three fleurs-de-lis, or ; bub this coat seems to us to corres- 
pond more nearly to one used by Delves, of Cheshire, &c. arg., 
a chevron fretty, or, between three fleurs-de-lis, sa. William 
Babington, of Chihvell, who was Sheriff of Derby and Notts, in 
1456, was seized of lauds at Barlborough. His daughter and 
heiress, Etheldena, brought his estates to Sir John Delves. She 
died in 1503.* This is the most satisfactory solution that we can 
offer in connection with this escutcheon. The fourth shield bears 
another quartered coat 1st and 4th, a cinquefoil between eight 
cross-crosslets (Constable of Fresbmarsh) ; 2nd and 3rd, two bars 
of five lozeuges (Constable of Catfoss). 

The connection of the Constables with Barlborough has been 
already mentioned, but it remains to be explained that Stephen 
Constable of Catfoss, who bore the fusiled bars, married Eliza- 
beth, daughter and heiress of George Constable of Freshmarsh, 
the older branch, and therefore bore his wife's arms in tjhe 
first place. There is yet one more armorial bearing to note. 
To the left hand of the east window of the chancel is a shield 
charged with a mullet. This is the coat of Ashtou. The con- 
nection of the Ashtons with Barlborough is thus explained in a 
note from J. C. Brooke, " Somerset," dated Herald's College, 
16 April, 1781, to Dr. Pegge, the well-known Derbyshire 
antiquary " Alexander Ashton lived at Barlborough, in Derby- 
shire. He married Helen, daughter of Otwell Culchath, and 
had fame as of Kinwoldmarshe (Killamarsh), living 1569. 
Both Killamarsh and Hathersage, where the Ashtons had pro- 

* Pedigree of Babington, from a roll drawn by the College of Arms in 1627. 
A John Delvys married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Sothill, and widow of John 
Frecheyille ; John Frecheville died in 1509, and his tomb is still extant at Staveley. 
Can this be the same Sir John Delves who married Etheldena Babington for his 
first wife? The Frechevilles, also, at one time held property in Barlborough. 
Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 4. 



56 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

perty, anciently belonged to the Goushills. It looks as if there 
was some connection between them."* 

It follows, then, as a fair conclusion from the presence of 
these numerous coats of arms, that this chancel was rebuilt, 
and probably the church generally restored, in the first half of 
the sixteenth century, by the Constables, Ashtons, and Long- 
fords (and perhaps of the Delves), preserving on it also the 
earlier arms of Goushill and Longford. 

It would have been well for its comeliness if the church 
had undergone no later " restoration ; " but the round-headed 
square-paned windows of the south side of the nave, and the 
flat-ceiled roofs of the interior of both nave and chancel, 
speak plainly of the abominations of the pseudo-Italian of the 
last century. Nor have we long to seek for the authors of 
this "beautifying," as it was generally termed. A small mural 
brass at the east end of the north aisle records that : 

"In hopes of a blessed resurrection are hereunder deposited 
the remains of Mrs. Margaret Pole and Mrs. Mary Pole, two 
maiden sisters, whose lives were employed in the exercise of 
piety and works of charity, in which they had a special regard 
for . the House of God, and his living temples, the poor ; 
whereof, as to the former, the handsome addition made to 
this sacred edifice, and the new seating of another in an ad- 
joining parish [Killamarsh ?] ; and as to the latter, an alms- 
house erected in this town are generous instances ; as they 
always joined together in these good works, so in their deaths 
they were not long divided : Mrs. Margaret Pole died 7th 
August, and Mrs. Mary Pole 17 September, 1755. "t 

The recital of this inscription has brought us to the interior 
of the church, of which we need only say in general terms 
that its appearance is quite spoilt by the ceiled roofs, and the 
ugly western gallery which blocks up the archway into the 
tower. There are hardly any memorials of sufficient age to 
warrant our commenting upon them, though perhaps we may 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. i. According to Flower's Visitation in 1569, the 
Ashtons of Killamarsh were descended from Sir John Ashton, a natural son of 
Sir John Ashton of Ashton-under-Lyne, and bore a baton sinister across the mullet. 

t The Rector of Barlborough informs us that it is generally understood that the 
front of Barlborough Church was rebuilt by Mr. Gilbert Eodes, the same gentleman 
who was concerned in the rebuilding of Elmton Church. He died in 1768. He 
adds, however, that the date in the register of the " first child baptized in the new 
church " and that of the Misses Pole is confirmatory of the view in the text. It is 
quite possible that the two ladies restored one part, and Mr. Rodes another. The 
parapet and pinnacles on the church were placed there in 1776. 



BARLBOROUGH. 57 

except that to Sir Richard Pipe in the chancel, which hears 
the following inscription: "Hie jacet Eicardus Pipe miles, civis 
quondam et major, London, et hujus rectorias solus patronus, qui 
ultimum diem clausit 19 die Mensis Sept. A D. 1587 ; et setatis 
sure 72." 

Bassano, an heraldic painter of Derby, who visited this 
church in the year 1705, says in his manuscript notes that 
" within the altar rails, south above Pipe's tomb, hangs an 
helmet with Pipe's crest upon it," but this has now long since 
disappeared. 

There is, however, one monument in this church that is worthy 
of detailed notice, and which has already excited no little interest 
and comment. Bassano speaks of it as reared up against the east 
wall of the chancel, and several subsequent accounts describe it as 
" near to the communion table ; " but this memorial must now be 
looked for at the east end of the north aisle. The monument is 
sculptured in low-relief, and is let into the floor nearly level 
with the pavement. It consists of an effigy of a female, and the 
dimensions of the stone are six feet ten inches by two feet seven. 
The figure, which is much mutilated, is dressed in a close-fitting 
gown, and over it a long mantle fastened across the breast by a 
cord secured by two studs. She has her hands raised. On each 
side of the head is a shield, the dexter one illegible, and on the 
sinister a bend. At the feet, too, is another shield supported by 
two talbots collared and belled. Bassano says that at his visit to 
the church the shield at the dexter corner bore a saltier (Nevile), 
and the one at the sinister a bend between six martlets (Furnival), 
whilst at the feet were the same arms impaled. He also records 
that the following was all of the inscription then legible. "Hie 
jacet . . . Johanne fil . . . her . . . WiUielmi Four- 
nival Tho. ..." He takes it to be the 

memorial of Joan, wife of Sir Thomas Nevile, lord of Furnival, 
in right of his wife, who was heiress to William Lord Furnival, 
and the last of the name in direct line ; he died in 1383. 
Furnival's Inn, London, was his residence in town. Joan had only 
one daughter, who carried the great Furnival estates to John 
Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury. She was married in 1384, and 
buried at Worksop about the year 1395. Her husband died in 
1406, and was buried on her right hand in the centre of the 
chancel of the old Priory at Worksop. The upper portion of his 



58 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

effigy is still extant at that church. * It is supposed that this 
monument was removed a few years after the Reformation, when 
great havoc was being made there. Judge Eodes, who was senes- 
chal to the Earl of Shrewsbury, is said to have obtained permission 
for its translation to its present site, hi order that it might grace 
the church of his newly-acquired property at Barlborough, the 
undivided patronage of which he had just secured. What is now 
left of the marginal inscription is very difficult to decipher. "Wil- 
lielmi Fournivall " is still quite distinct, and the words immediately 
preceding it, "heir et uxor," but the remainder is too illegible to 
hazard the committing of it to paper. Pigot, the ancient rhyming 
chronicler of Worksop Priory, thus speaks of the position that this 
tomb formerly occupied : 

" Dame Johane is berved aboven the hye quere 
Next Thomas Nevill that was her husband 
In alabaster, an ymage, Sir Thomas right nera 
As he is tumulate on her right hand, 
And by her daughter Molde, we understand, 
Went out the Furnivalls, as by their name, 
As Lovetofts by Dame Molde afore did the same." f 

Close to this ancient tomb of Lady Furuival is the upper 
portion of the old font. It is a large octagonal stone about 
eighteen inches high, and two feet three inches in diameter, with a 
basin ten inches deep. It is a pity that this old stone should 
not be restored to its original use in the place of the modern 
makeshift that now does duty. In the hollow of this font 
there is a small octagon- shaped stone, a model, as it were, of 
a larger font. It stands ten inches high by eleven in diameter, 
and has a basin eight inches deep. Two small lips or handles 
project from the sides about half-way up. We have little 
doubt that this stone vessel formerly served the purpose of a 
moveable stoup, to contain the consecrated water. It is usual 
in our churches, where stoups are left, to find them in the 
shape of basins or receptacles built into the wall at the en- 
trance to the doors, but it was not infrequent for them to be 
movable vessels of different materials and placed on stands or 
pedestals as occasion served. Bloxam quotes from an inventory 
of Church goods of the year 1500, "a stope off lede for the 

* Hunter's Hallamshire, p. 57. An engraving of this monument, and of her ances- 
tor's at Worksop, are given in the new edition by Dr. Gatty. See also the new work 
on Worksop, <tc., by Robert White, where there is an admirable pedigree of the early 
Lords of Worksop. 

t The Ehyming Chronicles of Worksop consist of twenty-nine stanzas, of which 
this is a fair specimen. The Chronicle is given in full in Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. 
ii., p. 937939, from an ancient manuscript in the possession of the Talbots of Graf ton. 



BARLBOROUGH. 59 

holy water atte the Church dore." We have ourselves dis- 
covered another of these detached stone stoups, of a slightly 
different pattern, which we believe to have belonged to the old 
chapel at Newbold, near Chesterfield. Dr. Pegge, writing about 
the middle of last century, speaks of "a hole in the wall for 
holy water" at the end of this aisle, by which he probably meant 
a piscina, but there is no trace of one now remaining.* He 
also describes certain arms in fresco at the east end of the 
north aisle, viz. : " a bend between 6 escallops, impaling a 
saltire ermine ; crest of ye 1st an angel, of ye 2nd a bull's 
head coupe." This would represent an alliance of Sir Peter 
Frecheville, who died in 1634. He married for his second 
wife Isabell Nevile, arms gu., a saltire, erni. (the widow of 
Richard Harpur of Swarkston.H On a beam in the nave, at 
the east end, he noted seven coats, two of which he describes 
as " gu., a cross potent, anj., and arg. a cross, gu." In a 
south window was, "Quarterly; arg,, 10 fusils, 5 in a row; 
gu., in ye fess point a cinquefoil, or, surrounded with 6 cross 
crosslets of ye same." These are the arms of Fauconberg and 
Cooke respectively, whose connection with the manor of Barl- 
borough has been already mentioned. On one of the old pews 
were the arms and crest of Eodes, with the motto, " Occident, 
Occidens," and hi another place the initials J. E., coupled with 
the date 1636. These would, doubtless, be the initials of Sir 
John Eodes, son of Judge Eodes ; he was High Sheriff for the 
county in the 38th of Elizabeth, and died in September, 1639. 
Bassano and Pegge both notice a shield bearing two chevrons 
on a beam in the north aisle. This, according to the tinctures, 
might be either the coat of Musard, ancestor of the Frechevilles, 
or of Alfreton, but the former is more probable in this situation. 

One of the reasons that caused that eminent antiquary and 
clerical pluralist, Dr. Pegge, to give such an extended notice of 
the church and manor of Barlborough, probably arose from the 
fact, not mentioned hi any account that we have seen of his 
life, that he was once presented to this living, at a time when 
there was a dispute as to the patronage. A vacancy occurred 
in 1733, and a dispute arose between Mr. Francis Pole of Park 
Hall, and Sir John Rodes, who was a Quaker, and therefore 
esteemed by certain illogical persons as incapable of exercising 

*Pegge's Collections, vol. v., pp. 17, 32, etc. 
f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 5. 



60 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the rights of patron. Mr. Pole appointed Dr. Samuel Pegge, 
and Sir John Eodes selected Kev. Francis Bowler. The Bishop 
issued a Jus Patronatus, and a jury was sworn and gave a 
verdict in favour of Sir John Kodes on the 29th of August, 
1733, Mr. Pole deciding not to appear or persist in his claim. 
The following is a list given by Dr. Pegge, of the rectors and 
patrons of Barlborough up to this date from the time when 
the advowson came into the hands of Sir Kichard Pipe. 

F. Nevill, presented by E. Pipe, 1574. 

James Stephenson, 1597. 

Bryan Heperstal, 1616. 

J. Brocklehurst, presented by Dame A. Kodes, 1662. 

Phineas Maw, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1682. 

James Cooke, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1699. 

Francis Bowler, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1733. 

There must, however, be an error or at all events an in- 
completeness in this list, for at the inquisition taken at Ches- 
terfield, 14th June, 1650, before the Parliamentary Commis- 
sioners, Mr. Brocklehurst, who is characterized as "an honest, 
able preacher," held the living of Barlborough, which was then 
worth " about fower score pounds." The church at Barlborough 
was valued at 10 in the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV., 
and at 10 Is. 5d. in the time of Henry VIII. 

It only now remains to note the bells, which are five in number. 

I. This bears the inscription in coarse gothic characters, 
" Sum rosa pulsata mundi Maria vocata." The inscription is 
preceded by the stamp of a cross pate, and followed by a 
crown, but it has no other marks. 

II. Similar characters and stamps as the first bell, and the 
inscription " Hujus Sti Jacobi. 

III. The inscription in well executed Lombardic characters is 
" Gloria in excelsis deo. Ihc." The bell founder's mark is a 
fylfot cross in a shield surmounted by the letters G.H. There 
is no date, but the approximate date may be gathered from 
the years that appear on other bells with identically the same 
inscription and bell founder's mark. These vary from 1609 to 
1620 or thereabouts. We have noted similar bells to this, 
among other places, at Whitwell, Dronfield, Eckington, Alfreton, 
Baslow, Bonsall, and Denby. 

IV. Has no inscription or mark whatsoever. 

V. " JM. Halton made me. Anno M.D.C.C.X.X.V." 



Parloto. 




|NTIL the last few years Barlow (or Barley, as it was 
more usually termed) was merely a parochial chapelry, 
attached to Staveley, although it was distant six-and-a- 
half miles from that place, and completely cut off by the interven- 
ing parish of Whittiiigton. We have failed to learn anything of the 
early history of Barlow Church or Chapel, but the probability is 
that the advowson was attached to the lordship of the manor. 
At the time of the Domesday Survey this manor was held by 
Ascuit Musard. In the reign of Edward I., the family of Abitot, 
or Apetoft possessed the manor,* but in the 18th year of Edward 
II., we read that Eobert de Barlow held Barlow, under Kalph de 
Frecheville, on the tenure of military service and attendance in the 
manor court. Lysons supposes that that branch of the Abitot 
family which settled at Barlow, adopted the name of the manor 
as their distinguished surname. 

The church, which is of small dimensions, and is dedicated to St. 
Lawrence, merely consists of a nave and south porch, with a chancel 
of modern birth. The Domesday Book makes no mention of a church 
at Barlow, but early in the Norman period one must have been here 
erected. The high but narrow doorway inside the porch, with its 
semi-circular head, is a proof of this, and so also is one of the 
deeply splayed single-light windows in the north wall. When the 
church was restored, a few years ago, it was found that much of the 
masonry of the walls was put together in the rough way common to 
the Norman period. In pulling down the east end to make way for 
the chancel, the remains of five small round-headed windows were 
found, as well as a plain piscina in a semi-circular niche twelve 
inches high, the basin itself being about eight inches in diameter. 

* Jordimus de Apetoft held the manors both of Barley and Dronfield Inq. post- 
mort., 2 Edw. I., No. 11. 



64 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Norman piscinas are but rarely seen, and this has happily been 
preserved in the east wall of the vestry, which now forms an 
adjunct to the north side of the chancel. The Norman style has 
been well carried out in the new chancel and vestry. Several 
traces of fresco painting, chiefly consisting of scroll work of a 
chocolate tint, were laid bare at the time of the alterations, but 
they were not sufficiently durable to stand exposure to the at- 
mosphere. 

A window on the south side shows plain tracery, early in the 
Decorated period. On the same side is a projecting chantry or 
chapel, at the east end of which is a small two-light window with 
a quatrefoil head, which is a good specimen of the same style, circa 
1340. The south window of this chantry has five lights and affords 
a curious example of debased Perpendicular. Another instance, 
though perhaps of the "Churchwarden" era, may be seen in the west 
window. The porch has a pointed archway resting on plain corbels, 
and seems to date from the Decorated period. Immediately to the 
west of the porch is an external staircase leading to a small 
gallery over the south chantry, which has been suffered still to 
exist. The west end of the church bears a clumsy-looking bell- 
turret, covered with shingles, which affords shelter to a single bell, 
destitute, we were told, of any inscription. 

The most interesting memorial contained in Barlow Church is 
now fixed against the east wall of the nave, to the right of the 
archway leading into the chancel. It consists of a slab of grit- 
stone, five feet five inches in length, and tapers in breadth from 
nineteen inches at the top to thirteen at the bottom. It is orna- 
mented with a raised cross of elegant design, with foliage springing 
from each side of the stem. On the dexter side is a Norman- 
French inscription of two lines in Lombardic characters. The 
inscription is very much worn, but enough remains legible to 
prove that it is to the memory of Julia, wife of Adam Fraunceis, 
and it apparently concludes with a promise of pardon of a certain 
number of days to those who might offer a prayer for her soul. 

This interesting stone was found built into the east wall of the 
church, during the late restoration, where it formed the base of 
the then east window. It was fortunately noticed by the Vicar in 
time to save it from mutilation. Norman-French inscriptions pre- 
vailed in England from the time of the Conquest up to about the 
year 1360; and, judging only from the style of the cross, we are 
inclined to place the date of this memorial in the latter half of the 



BARLOW. 65 

thirteenth century. This supposition is confirmed by the information 
that we have been able to gather with respect to Adam Fraunceis. 
The Derbyshire family of Frauuceis, Franceis, or Frauncis, resided 
at Allestree in the reign of Edward II., and in the succeeding reign 
they purchased the manors of Foremark and Ingleby in this 
county. It seems probable that the progenitors of this family, 
though we have found it impossible to precisely follow the descent, 
were originally possessed of estates in the neighbourhood of Barlow, 
and that another branch, descended from a younger son of Adam 
and Julia, settled in Louden, where they speedily became wealthy 
citizens, possessing much property in Cheapside and elsewhere, 
as can be proved from the early inquisitions in which their name* 
repeatedly occur. Amongst the Wolley papers is the copy of a 
deed between Adam, tli3 son of Robert Fraunceis " de Barley 
Wodesetes,- and James, the son of Jordan de Abetot, by which 
the former, in consideration of a certain sum of money, grants to 
James and his heirs a bovate of land in Barlow, formerly held 
by Serlo Bay Hi. The deed is not dated, but from the names of 
the witnesses (Hugo de Linacre, Thomas de la Leys, Henry de 
Newbold, &c.) it may be assigned to the reign of Edward I., and 
is probably of the year 1283.* 

From Reynolds' Church Notes we find that he visited Barlow 
Church on 14th April, 1757. f He describes "in the north-east 
corner a large chest tomb bearing round the edge in old text, ' Orate 
pro anima Eoberti Barley, nuper defuncti qui obiit in die assnmpsionis 
beatce Ma rice Virginis. Anno Dom. Millesimo CCCCLXVII Item orate 
pro bono statu Margaretce uxoris suce ? ' ' It is further described as 
bearing a man and woman drawn on the top, with five uncharged 
escutcheons on the south side, and two at the west end. The 
character of this tomb must have been altered a short time sub- 
sequent to this account, probably when the church was re-pewed, 
for prior to the recent alteration the top slab, which is ah 1 that 
remains, was fixed against the wall in the north-east corner. It 
now once more rests in a horizontal position, somewhat raised 
from the floor, under the large window of the south chantry. The 
inscription round the edge is as fresh as in Mr. Reynolds' day. 
The slab is of alabaster, and is incised with full-length figures 

* Add. MSS., 6668, fo. 212. In the Pleas at London, in the Middlesex Iter. for 
tho '2iJnd of Edward I., mention is made of a suit by " Mestre Adam le Fransseys 
e les antrcs nomes en le bref exequitouns Gylbert le Franseys demanderunt par bref 
de dette ver un Michel dens C. Mars e x livres," &c., &c. Year Books of the reign of 
Ed-ward I., p. 599. 

t Add. MSS. 6,670, fo. 391. 

r 



66 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of a man and woman placed under pointed canopies. These two 
figures afford a good study of the costume of the period. The man 
is clad in plate armour, and wears his helmet. On the feet are 
pointed sollerets, over which are buckled spurs, the rowels being 
crossed ; the sword is suspended at the left side, while the hilt of 
the miserecorde. or dagger, shows on the right ; the hands are bare, 
one of them grasps the hand of his lady, and the other is placed 
on his breast holding a gauntlet. The head of the lady is orna- 
mented with the celebrated mitred or horned head-dress, then in 
vogue, against which the satirists of the day so vigorously wrote. 
She wears a long close-fitting kirtle or gown, and over it a flowing 
mantle fastened with cords across the breast. But the most charac- 
teristic portion of her costume is the singular garment called tho 
sideless cote-hardi. It consisted of but little more than a narrow 
strip both behind and in front of the figure, but united over the 
shoulders and from a little below the waist. Thus the sides of the 
under dress, and the cincture by which it is confined are visible, 
as in this instance, through the openings. 

This tomb is briefly mentioned by Bassano about 1710, when 
it was in the chancel ; and also in Lysons' Collections a century 
later, when it was set up against the east wall. 

In Glover's History of Derbyshire (1838) an inscription is given 
from another monument, as though then in existence, to the memory 
of a celebrated member of the same family " tiic jacet Robcrtus 
Barley et . uxor ejus quidem Robertus obiit 2 die Februarii 

Anno Dom. 1532, quorum animabus propitietur Dens. Amen" This 
inscription is also repeated in Baternan's Vestiges (1848), yet not 
the slightest trace of either stone or inscription now remains. 

But neither Glover nor Bateman can be depended upon for 
giving inscriptions that were extant in their own days, and the 
probability is, that this monument had ceased to exist long 
before their time, and the inscription copied from the Visitation 
of 1611. In the notes taken at this Church, in that year, by 
Richard St. George Norroy, King-at-arms, this inscription is given, 
and also the one to Eobert Barley and his wife Margaret, which 
is still extant. The five escutcheons that Reynolds mentions, as 
pertaining to the latter of these inscriptions, were then legible, 
and are described as follows : 

1. Arg., three bars wavy, sa., a chief per pale, erm. and 
gu. (Barley). 

2. Barry of six, arg. and gu., impaling Barley. 



BARLOW. 67 

3. Barley impaling, arg., three cocks, gu. (Cokaine). 

4. Barry of six, arg. and gu., on a canton of the last, a 
fleur-de-lis, or (Vincent of Braytlrwell). 

5. Two bendlets, with a crescent for difference, (no tinctures, 
perhaps, for Newton) impaling Barley. 

There were also the arms of Barley in one of the windows.* 
It is a difficult matter to trace the early pedigree of Barley of 
Barley, so as to precisely account for the presence of these 
different arms on the tomh in question ; but there is no diffi- 
culty in accounting for the fourth coat, as John Vincent, of 
Braythwell, co. Ebor, who was slain at the battle of Wakefield, 
89 Henry VI., married Agnes, daughter of Barley of Barley, in 
the sixth year of the. same reign. Probably this Agnes was 
daughter to Robert Barley whom the monument commemorates. 
John Vincent had, by Agnes, a son, Bryan, who married Beatrix, 
daughter of Sir Thomas Cokaine of Ashborne. The intermarriages 
between the Barleys and Cokaiues were numerous and intricate ; 
but the impaled coat of Barley and Cokaiue on this monument 
refers to the marriage of Robert Barley, the eldest son of Robert 
and Margaret, the daughter of Sir Henry Delves of Duddington, 
Cheshire, whose effigies are on the tomb, with the daughter of 
Sir Thomas Cokayne. This Sir Thomas Cokayue had himself 
married Agues, the daughter of Robert Barley of another gene- 
ration, and sister to the Robert commemorated on the tomb, so 
that the alliance in question was one between first cousins. The 
second coat (Barry of six, ary. and yu.) was probably also in- 
tended for Vincent, the canton being worn off at the time of 
the Visitation. If this was the tomb, as we conjecture, of Robert 
Barley who married the daughter of Sir Henry Delves, the im- 
paled coat of Barley and Delves would originally have been at 
the head of the tomb, and those escutcheons in the front, which 
were read at the Visitation of 1611, to commemorate the alliances 
of their children. f A few broken fragments of old incised slabs, 
which no ingenuity could put together, were buried under the 
altar of the new chancel, and among them may have been the 

*Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 33. There is another copy of this Visitation (Harl. MSS. 1486, 
f. 58) which differs from that quoted in giving a second coat of Barley on the tomb, 
and omitting that of Vincent. 

fDugdale's Yorkshire Visitation, 166. Harl. MSS. G070, f. 234. Add. MSS. 28,113, 
pp. 4 and 8. ( Elections, vol. vi., p. 1>9G. The different pedigrees reL;: 

the Barleys and their alliances show various discrepancies, and cannot be made to 
thoroughly harmonise, but we believe the statements in the text may be relied upon, 
as they have been revised by a competent genealogist. 



68 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

pieces that once formed the memorial of the Kobert Barley who 
died m 1532. The wife of this Kobert Barley, for whom a vacant 
space seems to have been left on the inscription, was not destined 
to find a resting place in the humble walls of Barlow chapel, 
but at the collegiate church of All Saints, Derby, when she had 
attained, by her fourth marriage, to the dignity of Countess of 
Shrewsbury. Fuller thus writes of her first marriage : " This 
beautiful and discreet lady was married at fourteen years of age, 
to Robert Barley of Barley, in com. Derb. Esquire, who was also 
very young, and died soon after (viz., on the 2nd of February, 
1532, 2-4 H. VIII.) but his large estate was settled on her and 
her heirs." The manor of Barlow remained in this family till 
the reign of James I., when James Barley left issue two daughters, 
his co-heiresses, who married Linney and Bullock. Of the younger 
branch that settled at Dronfield Woodhouse, mention is made in 
the description of the church of Droufield. 

Though there is now only this single tomb to the family of 
Barley, their memorials were formerly numerous. Bassano says, 
that there were, in his days, several flat gravestones of the 
Barleys in the south-east corner of the church, " now seated 
over ; " and another account, a century later, speaks of the effigy 
of a lady with an angular head-dress, and nothing remaining of 
the inscription but the date, " MDC." * One of these burials 
within the church is specially recorded by Mr. Arthur Mower, of 
Barley, in an old memorandum book, still extant, and from that 
source we find that one portion of the church was called the 
"Lady Quire" probably the south-east corner. 

" 1558. Mrs. Jane Berisfort, wife of Mr. Denis Barley, and 
mother of Mr. Peter Barley, of Barley, Esq., died the Thursday, 
being 18 April, about 8 of the clock aforenoou, and was buried 
on Friday in the ladys quire at Barley, and dined all neigh- 
bourhood and all young folks, and dealt penny dole to the poor.t 
Mr. Denis Barley made a funeral dinner for his wife 12 May and 
Sonday in ye year aforesaid, and there was at the dinner Mrs. 
Fretchille, widow, Mrs. Foljambe, Mr. Linacre and wife, Mr. 
Brown, Mr. Bullock, Mr. Stevenson, and dyvers other substantial 
folks." 

*Lyson's Collections. Add. MSS. 9463. 

fThe funeral feasts of our ancestors were often on an incredibly large scale. This 
fashion prevailed to such an extent during the sixteenth century, that it caused a 
foreigner to remark of us that, it cost more to bury a wife than to portion a daughter. 



BARLOW. O'J 

A few years later occurs the following entry : 

" 1588. Mr. James Barley did pave the Ladys Quire, and 
made him a new pew in it afore Whit Sunday."* 

The Church Kegisters, which commence in 1573, also contain 
an extract from the same source, which reads as foUows : 

" I find in an antieut manuscript belonging to George Mower, 
of Woodseats, Esquire, as followeth, viz. : 

" Mem. That the lead off Barley Church were taken off by Mr. 
George Barley, the year of our Lord God 1563, and had to the 
value of 6 Fodders t and more, and promised for to lay so much 
on again. "T. Walker, min : ibirn. 

" January the 29th, 1739." 

Near the centre of the floor of the nave are two slabs, about 
five feet in length by eighteen inches broad, which are incised 
with full-length sepulchral crosses. In one instance the arms of 
the cross are rounded at their" terminations, and in the other 
they are pointed, but in both cases they lack any further symbol 
or inscription. Crosses having the heads formed of various 
arrangements of circular lines are considered to be of earlier date 
than those of the plainer Latin device, and we are inclined to 
attribute these stones to the fourteenth century. 

This ancient structure had a narrow escape from complete 
demolition in 1784, when a Brief was granted to obtain funds 
for a new building. This Brief speaks of " the parochial chapelry 
of Barlow being a very ancient structure," in very bad and ruinous 
condition, roof rotten, steeple in great danger of giving way ; the 
whole building, indeed, "in daily danger of falling down, so that 
the inhabitants cannot attend but at hazard of their lives." It 
is further reported that the chapel and steeple are incapable of 
being repaired, and that the whole must be taken down and re- 
built at an estimated cost of 1020 4s. Id.J This Brief, like so 
many others, evidently failed to produce the requisite sum, and 
therefore the building was only patched. From the prominent 
mention of the steeple, it may be assumed that the predecessor of 
the present clumsy beh 1 turret was of more imposing dimensions. 

On the south side of the churchyard may be noticed the steps 
and part of the plinth of the old cross, to which a horizontal sun- 
dial is now attached. 

Add. MSS. nr,7l. f. 341. 

fTlie fodder or father was an old weight equivalent to about 19 cwt. It seems to 
have been only used in connection with lead. In the inventory taken in 1539, at the 
dissolution of Repton Priory, mention is made of "39 fother of lead 4 the fother." 
The term is still used in the sale of lend. 

* The original of this Brief is deposited in the British Museum. 



petifljipf 




HE Abbey of Beauchief, or de hello capite, is popularly 
supposed to have derived its name from the "fair-head" 
of the martyred Archbishop, Thomas a-Becket, to whom, 
in conjunction with the Virgin Mary, the Abbey was dedicated, 
and a representation of whose murder appeared on the conventional 
seal. But the wording of the charter of the foundation " locum qui 
dicititr Beuchef in Dorheseles," conclusively disproves .this assumption, 
and we have to adopt the more prosaic conclusion that the Abbey 
was named after a head of land overlooking the dale, which had 
been styled by the Normans Beauchief, on the same principle as 
the place-names of Beauchamp, Beaumont, and Beaurepaire (now 
Belper.) The scribes of the twelfth century appear to have been 
unusually arbitrary, even for them, in the spelling of this name, 
for in the very charters it appears under seven different guises 
Beuchef, Beauchef, Beuchyffe, Beuchelf, Beachiff, Baucheff, and 
Bewcheffe. The Abbey was founded by Robert Fitz-Eanulph, who 
gave to it the churches of Alfreton and Norton in Derbyshire, Edwal- 
ton in Nottinghamshire, and Wirneswold in Leicestershire.* He 
also endowed it with lands at Norton, and both his son and grand- 
son were among its subsequent benefactors. Robert Fitz-Banulph 
was a man of high position in the Midland Counties, for he was 
for several years Sheriff of the united counties of Nottinghamshire 
and Derbyshire, an office previously held both by his father and 
his brother William. 

* We have not only availed ourselves in this sketch of the information to be found 
in Dugdale and Tanner, and in the invaluable History of Beauchief Abbey, by Dr. 
Pegge, but have also consulted the Chartulary of the Monastery, a copy of which is 
preserved in the seventh volume of Pegge's MSS. Collections. There is, too, in 
the Cottonian MSS. (Caligula, A. viii. ff. 427) a valuable thirteenth century 
calendar of benefactors of the Abbey, with continuations. Dr. Pegge's posthumous 
work on the Abbey, published by J. Nichols, in 1801, is of no little rarity, a note by 
a later hand in the MSS. at the College of Arms, informing us that the greater portion 
of the stock was destroyed by an accidental fire shortly after publication. 



74 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

By another popular error, the founder of this Abbey was long 
held to have been one of the four knights engaged in the murder 
of Thomas a-Becket. Dugdale, the historian of English monasteries, 
appears to have been the first to commit this error, and he was 
followed by Tanner, Fuller, and a host of minor writers. Dugdale 
says: " Robert Fitz-Eanulph, Lord of Alfreton, Norton, and Marn- 
ham, was one of the four knights who martyred the blessed Thomas 
a-Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and afterwards founded the 
monastery of Beauchief, by way of expiating his crime, in the reign 
of Henry the Second." This mistake has, however, been conclusively 
disproved by Dr. Pegge in his History of the Abbey ; though Glover's 
History of Derbyshire, and Ehodes' Peak Scenery cling to the error. 
The four knights who really committed the murder were Eeginald 
Fitzurse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, and Eichard Brito. 
As to the date of the foundation of the Abbey, Bishop Tanner 
writes positively of the year 1183; this may have been the date 
when it was completed or consecrated, but the original charter 
points to an earlier date. This charter, though undated, is wit- 
nessed by Albinos, Abbot of Darley, who died in 1176, and as 
Becket was not canonized till 1172, the year of the foundation lies 
between these two periods. The Abbey was placed in the hands 
of a Premonstratensian abbot and canons, who were probably 
brought here from Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire. The Premonstra- 
tensians, or white canons, were first instituted in 1120, and reached 
England in 1143, so that Beauchief must have been one of their 
earliest landed properties. A hundred years later, in the reign of 
Edward I., they had, in England only, no less than twenty-seven 
monasteries. The following is a list of the Abbots of Beauchief, 
so far as they are to be gathered from Dugdale and other 
authorities : 

Jordanus 16 Henry III. 

Gilbert 1237. 

Stephen temp. Henry III. 

Ealph 1285. 

Roger before 53 Henry III. 

Wilh'am de Folkinghain circa 1812. 

Eobert de Eadclyffe 24 Edward III. 

John Norton 1393. 

Eobert 22 Eichard II. 

William Gresley obiit 1433. 

John Girdon . 1443. 



BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 75 

John Downham 1458. (In this year Downham, toge- 
ther with seven of his monks, was deposed for 
divers notorious crimes.) 

John Swift 1458. 

John Swift II 1472. 

John Norton II 1478. 

John Norton III 1496. 

John Greenwood 1561. 

John Sheffield 1562. 

Sheffield was the last abbot, and he was probably dead before the 
dissolution of monasteries, as no annuity to him is mentioned in 
the Beauchief accounts. At the time of its suppression in 1536, 
the revenues were valued at 126 3s. 4d., and the site was 
granted in the following year to Sir Nicholas Strelley for 223. In 
the reign of Charles II. the estate came by marriage to Edward 
Pegge, whose descendants still possess it. 

The whole of the Abbey was dismantled and left in ruins at 
the time of its dissolution, and its destruction was rendered still 
more complete by the erection of Beauchief Hall in its immediate 
vicinity by Edward Pegge, the monastic buildings affording a con- 
venient quarry of stone already hewn. The bells of the church, 
five in number, were moved, it is said, to the parish church of 
Darfield, in Yorkshire, but only two out of the six in that belfry are 
sufficiently ancient to have been at Beauchief. These two bear the 
following inscriptions : Ut Campana bene sonat Antonius monet 
Campana tonit in multis annis 

The only remains of the Abbey now extant, beyond the nu- 
merous grass-grown hillocks that mark the extensive foundations 
of the old buildings, are the western tower and a patched-up 
portion of the nave of the church. We cannot glean much about 
the size, and condition, or architecture of the Abbey, but it is 
said that the various buildings covered an acre of ground. The 
Abbey was surrounded by a small park of two or three hundred 
acres, and on the north side were the fish pands an invariable 
adjunct of our ancient monasteries. It also appears that there 
were attached to it the usual offices pertinent to monastic esta- 
blishments. The Chapter House is mentioned in a deed of 1461, 
and in the inventory, taken on the 2nd August, 1536, the follow- 
ing distinctive parts of the building are enumerated chapell, hall, 
buttrye, kyttchyn, bakhous, Abbats chambre, Koger Eyres cham- 
bre, Greene Leyff charnbre, chapell chambre, gatehous chambre, 



76 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

and sekmau chambre. The inventory also speaks of a pair of 
organs, of candlesticks, crosses, and a multitude of vestments. We 
also know that the church contained, amongst others, altars 
specially dedicated to the Holy Cross, to St. Mary, and to St. 
Catherine. 

William Bullock, the impropriator of the tithes of the ad- 
joining parish of Norton, made a demand for the tithes of 
Beauchief in the middle of the seventeenth century, and from 
the statement of his case we learn that "here at Beauchiefe, 
together with the abbie, was likewise built up a very spatious 
church having a faire chancel, where was an altar, and a large 
steeple where were five bells, and likewise a coemeteriurn or 
churchyard where (as also in the church) corps were interred 
whilst it was an abbie and since." It would appear that this 
" very spatious church " was in thorough ruin in the seventeenth 
century, and that a small portion of the nave was repaired 
by Edward Pegge at the time that he built his mansion. From 
that time to the present it has been used as the church of the 
district. The tower, even now, forms a stately and picturesque 
object in the landscape, and its appearance must have been much 
more striking before it lost about one third of its height. Ehodes, 
in his Peak Scenery, says that it is supposed that the tower has 
been somewhat curtailed of its fair proportions, but adds, " the 
parapet with which it is surmounted is, in my opinion, an 
existing evidence against the correctness of such a supposition." 
But had Mr. Ehodes ventured to the present summit of the 
tower, his opinion would have been quickly changed, and, 
without such an ascent, an eye versed in the proportions of 
ecclesiastical architecture must at once miss a portion of its 
original altitude. The views published by the brothers Buck, 
in 1774, give a large engraving of Beauchief Abbey as it 
appeared in 1727. The upper stage of the tower was then in 
existence, though in a decaying state. It is represented with 
two pinnacles, those on the west side remaining, and the 
pointed bell-chamber windows have two principal lights, with a 
quatrefoil piercing above them. The elegant diagonal buttresses 
at the western angles of the tower, the large west window 
with its reeded mouldings and remains of geometrical cusping, 
the two traceried lights to the turret stairway, and the ogee- 
shaped doorway on the north side, all point to the Decorated 
period, probably early in the style about 1330, as the time of 



BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 77 

rection. The large doorway, however, below the west 
window, with its isolated shafts now broken away, partakes of 
the early English style, and must have formed part of an 
older tower of the previous century.* Extending north and 
south, in a line with the tower, there have of late years been 
built up two tolerably perfect doorways, removed there from 
other parts of the ruin. That on the north is a round-headed 
Norman archway, and that on the left of the Early English 
style, with three small shafts in the jambs on each side. We 
have before us, as we write, six different plates of Beauchief 
Abbey, engraved during the last hundred years, and none of 
them pourtray any doorways in the position these two now 
occupy. But one, bearing the date 1787, shows a piece of 
ruin a few yards to the south of the tower containing two 
doorways, and these remains no longer exist. Doubtless, then, 
they were removed thence to their present position. Several 
of these engravings show on the east side of the tower 
the projecting weather-moulding stones of the old high-pitched 
roof, now hidden by ivy, the angle of which is level with the 
present summit of the tower, thus affording an additional proof, 
if one were needed, of its greater original height. The roof of 
the present church is very low, not even nearly so high as 
the archway out of the tower, which has had to be built up 
at the top. There is no window in the north wall of the 
church, and the one on the south is a s ami -circular Norman 
one, which, with the doorway already mentioned, seems to be 
the only trace of the first abbey built by Kobert Fitz- 
Ranulph. Examining this window from the exterior, it appears 
as if it had originally served as a doorway ; but be this as it 
may, there is no doubt of its construction being Norman. The 
east window has four main lights, and is a fair specimen of 
early Decorated. It has, of course, been moved here, but per- 
haps occupied the same position in the old chancel. 

There is little worthy of note in the ulterior of the build- 

* Mr. Gordon M. Hills, who described the Abbey to the members of the British 
Archzeological Association, in the spring of 1874, says of this tower : " It is a very 
fine and massive structure, 26 to 27 feet square in plan, built early in the thirteenth 
century, to which the massive buttresses were added in the next century. It had a 
very fine west window of this later period, now blocked up, etc." Journal of the 
Archceological Association, vol. xxx. p. 4'2(i. It certainly may be true that the base of 
this tower is of the same size, and contains much of the same masonry as when it 
was erected in the thirteenth century, but the string course mouldings and joints of 
the masonry are continued from the buttresses into the central part of the tower in 
such a way as to prove that it must have been almost entirely rebuilt, with the 
exception of the western doorway, during the fourteenth century. 



78 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

ing, which is most unpleasantly damp and mouldy. The tower 
now contains a solitary bell swinging from a beam at its sum- 
mit. It can be seen from the basement, as the tower has 
now no intervening flooring. A trap -door from the roof gave 
us a tolerably near view of the bell, and it appeared destitute 
of all inscription. The great pew on the south side of the 
church, as well as other of the fittings, are those that were 
placed here when the Pegges succeeded to the estate, as is 
proved by the frequent repetition, carved in the oak, of the 
arms of Strelley and Pegge. Their arms are respectively, Paly 
of six, ary., and az. : and arg., a chevron between three piles, 
sa. These arms are repeated upon monuments on the walls 
and in the pavement to various members of the Pegge family, 
there being no traces whatever of any earlier sepultures. Al- 
though there are now no remains of their monuments, we 
know that several distinguished and wealthy persons were here 
buried. Amongst them may be mentioned Thomas de Furni- 
val, of Worksop, the fourth of that name, who died on the 
14th of October, 1339. 

"We do not, as a rule, transcribe in these pages any memo- 
rials of a post-reformation date, but as the inscription on the 
monument to Edward Pegge has not appeared to our know- 
ledge .in any hand-book, and as he was the restorer of this 
church to its present condition, it may be thought worth while 
here to reproduce it : 

" M.S. 

Edwardus Pegge de Bello Capite in agro Derbiensi armiger, 
Edwardi Pegge de Ashbourne filii natu majoris, uxorem duxit 
Gertrude, unicam Gulielmi Strelley in Comitate Nott. Armigeri 
filiam, atque ex ea filios suscepit 5, filiasque 9, Anrtaru, 
Madam, Gertrude, Gervas, Goodeth, Elizabethan!, Edwardum, 
Dorotheam, StreUey, Christopherum, Saram, Catherinam, et 
Francescam, iteratis nuptiis habuit Annani sororem Gulielmi 
Clarkson de Kirton in agro Nott. armigeri. Hie ille vir, bonus 
spectat probitatis pietatisque, domi pater optimus, sedulusque 
pacis conservator foris, diem obiit supernam mensis 

Decembri A. Dni, 1679, Mi. 58, atque inter utramque uxorem 
hie subtus jacet. Sepulcbrale hoc marrnor parentum memoriae, 
denegetum nimis diu, Francesca Pauli Webster vidua numerosae 
prolis sola jam superstes anno 1731 fieri fecit." 



BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 79 

There is an interesting memorial of the old Abbey Church of 
Beauchief, preserved at the seat of the Foljambes, at Osberton, 
in Nottinghamshire. It is a representation in alabaster of the 
murder of Thomas a-Becket, and is slightly mutilated. It is sup- 
posed to have been the Abbey altar-piece, and it is also concluded, 
from the arms on the three escutcheons below it, that it was 
presented to the church by Sir Godfrey Foljambe after his second 
marriage with Avice Ireland, about the year 1350." 

In William Wyrley's copy (taken in 1592) of Flower and 
Glover's Visitation of 1569, occur the following notes respecting 
this Abbey. " The abbey of Bello Capite, commonly called 
Beachie or Beuchiffe, was founded by Eobert, the son of Ealf, 
which lyvcd in the tyme of W. Co. This Eobert was Baron 
of Alfreton in Darbishier and Norton in the mores in 
Staffordshier, he had issue Will. Lord of Alfreton and Norton, 
whoe had issue Wil. Baron of Alfreton, whoe had issue Eobert 
Lord of Alfreton, whoe had issue Thomas that died without 
issue, and 2 daughters, Ales married to Will, the sonn of Wil, 
the sonn of Eobert Chaworth, the other daughter Amicia, was 
married to Eobert Lathum of the countie of Lancashier ; sythene 
the submersion, it cam to Sr. Anthonie Styrley Knight, whos 
sonn Anthonie esquier now possesses it, in the Euines of the 
glasse these three escutchyons, it is placed in the northwest 
angle of Darbyshier near unto which ryseth a little ryll that 
runneth into the Don, it is seated after the manner of the 
Eeligiouse houses verie comodiouslye." f The arms are Alfreton 
(two chevrons), and a semee of fleur-de-lis, and three lions 
passant guardant for France and England. 

The report of the Parliamentary Commission of 1650 con- 
tains the following reference to Beauchief Abbey : " Beachiffe. 
An Abby place without cure of souls. Wee think these places 
(Totley, Dore, and Beauchief) fitt to be united and made a 
parish, and the minister to officiate in Beachiffe and Dore alternis 
risi hits." 

There are several old traditions connected with this Abbey, still 
current in the neighbourhood. One of these tells how Oliver 

* The same arms (Foljambe and Ireland) appear on a mural momiment in the 
south aisle of Bakewell Church, where Sir Godfrey founded a chantry. He died in 
1375. A small but accurate engraving of this altar-piece appears at page 104 of 
lI"o;/-xo/>, the DI//.-CI-IJ, nut! S/imrood Forest, & beautifully illustrated work, recently 
published by Mr. "White, of Worksop. 

fHarl. MSS. 6592, f. 110. The ' submersion' means, we suppose, the dissolution 
of the monasteries. 



80 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Cromwell blew off the top of the tower with cannons planted on 
Bole Hill, though the upper portion of the tower, as we have 
already seen, was in its right place nearly a century after the 
days of the Commonwealth ! whilst another legend narrates, how 
" Big Tom of Lincoln " originally hung in this tower, and was 
stolen by night, being conveyed away by a team of six horses, 
with their shoes reversed to baffle pursuit. 




on. 



pigeon. 




HE first historical notice of Beighton occurs in the will of 
"Wulfric Spott, 1002, by which he largely endowed the 
Abbey of Burton. Lysons, following Dugdale, says that 
the manor of Beighton was given to that monastery ; but this is 
erroneous, althoitgh Beighton is mentioned in the will. The 
words are: "I bequeath to Morcare the land at Walesho, and 
that at Theddlethorpe, and that at Whitwell, and that at Clown, 
and that at Barlborough, and that at Duckinauton, and that at 
Mossborough, and that at Eckington, and that at Beig/tton, and 
that at Don caster, and that at Morleston." * 

There is but little difficulty in tracing the successive lords of 
the manor of Beighton from the Conquest downwards, but there 
is no proof that the church was ever held by the same persons 
as possessed the manor. No mention is made of a church here 
at the time of the Domesday Survey, and the earliest notice that 
we have found of it is in the year 1345, when Edward III. granted 
the advowsou of the church of Beighton to " Johannes Darcy le 
Pier.''t The Darcy s had a few years previously become possessed 
of the adjacent manor of Eckington. Philip Darcy died seized 
of this advowson in the following reign, and John Darcy in the 
reign of Henry VI. J But in the year 1455 it passed out of this 
family, and was given by Sir James Strangeways and Elizabeth 
his wife to the Priory of Mountgrace, in Yorkshire. Elizabeth, 
the wife of Sir James Strangeways, was the eldest daughter and 
co-heiress of Philip Lord Darcy. She was a wealthy heiress, and 
brought to her husband, amongst other property, the manor of 

* Diplomatariinn Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, p. 545. 

t Rot, Pat., 18 Edw. III., M. 2. 

J Inq. r ost Mort. 22 Ric. II., No. 17 ; 10 Hen. VI., No. 40. 

Rot. Pat., 34 Hen. VI.: Pegge's Collections, Vol. v., p. 181. 



5-i DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Eckington. At the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII. 
granted the rectory and advowson of Beighton to Eobert and 
William Swift, of Eotherham. 

The Church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of nave, 
north and south aisles, south porch, chancel, and enihattled 
tower at the western end. Although there does not appear to have 
been any church here at the time of the taking of the Domesday 
Survey (1087), yet from the details which were brought to light 
during the recent restoration, it is obvious that no great space of 
time elapsed under our Norman kings before one was here 
erected. The archway into the chancel was a pointed one, but 
the restoration necessitated the removal of the plaster with which 
it was encumbered, and it was then found that there was an older 
arch above it. This older arch proved on examination to 
be a fine semi-circular one of the Norman period. It was unfor- 
tunately in such a state of decay as to compel its being taken 
down, and but little of the original now remains. The old propor- 
tions and mouldings have, however, been followed, and the arch 
with its triple line of zigzag ornament presents a bold and effec- 
tive appearance. Owing, too, to the rest of the interior having 
been carefully cleansed of plaster and whitewash, the freshness 
of the stone does not look incongruous, and an tinin quiring ob- 
server might easily imagine that he was looking upon the original. 
We failed to observe any other trace in the edifice itself of the 
building which stood here in the days of the Normans. In the 
course of the recent restoration it was also found necessary to 
take down the walls of the chancel, and the south aisle, to the 
foundations. In these pages instances will often occur of the ruth- 
less way in which our forefathers treated the actual memorials of 
the dead, by breaking up the very grave-stones for the purposes of 
building. This sad barbarism was indulged in by former 
church-architects at Beighton. Several stones sculptured with 
incised foliated crosses had been used for window-sills and other 
purposes. They were much broken up, and the only one that 
was found tolerably entire was used as a sill for the south window 
of the chancel. As this stone had been cut to the requisite 
shape, it was thought best to preserve it by appropriating it to a 
similar use, and it may now be seen in a window of the north 
aisle. These stones were destitute of inscription, but we are in- 
clined to attribute them to a date nearly coeval with the original 
structure. The utilizers of these monuments of the dead do not 
appear to have been scrupulous in merely applying them to 



BEIGHTON. 85 

ecclesiastical purposes a use which an elastic conscience might 
possibly condone for another of these stones is still to be seen 
under some heavy masonry in the cellar of the Vicarage. 

Another relic, perhaps of the same date, received an honour- 
able burial some eight years ago at the hands of the late vicar. 
The old font, of rude construction, had been long used to receive 
water from a spout on the outside of the church, and, as it was 
too far decayed to be worth recovering, it was saved from further 
desecration by being consigned to the earth, a decent example 
that might well be followed in other places.* This font was sup- 
posed to have been of the same date as the oldest part of the 
structure ; but this is highly improbable, as a visitor in 1816 
describes it as " a plain octagon," a shape never used by the 
Normans. t Glover in speaking of this church, in his History and 
Gazetteer of the County of Derby, says : " On an oak beam in the 
roof the date of 1100 is visible, which is only thirty-four years 
after William the Conqueror desolated the country." The whole 
of the roof, however, has now been renewed, and no such date 
was discovered; but on the boss of one of the beams was a date 
that looked like 1500. This date is probably the correct one, 
as the old roof was flat and of the Perpendicular period ; its 
indistinctness may have misled Glover, and the fact of wood- 
work of the Norman period being still extant is in itself highly 
improbable. 

The capitals of the side pillars or jambs of the archway into 
the tower are of the Early English period, and of curious design 
a human head with widely extended mouth. The use of 
animals in this style is generally regarded as a proof of the 
lateness of the work, and this seems to have been executed 
about the end of the thirteenth century. It may reasonably be 
conjectured that at this date a new tower or spire was added to 
the church, of which this is the only part extant. 

The new tracery of the windows of the aisles is an exact fac- 
simile of the old work both in drawing and size ; whilst the 
old was actually replaced in the chancel. These latter windows 
are of the Decorated style, but the remainder are for the most 
part plain specimens of the Perpendicular period, to which date 
also belongs the tower, as shown by the west window, belfry 

* In the course of our Derbyshire rambles we have met with old church fonts 
utilized for the following amongst other purposes as a vase for garden plants, 
as the washing basin of a village school, as a drinking trough for cattle, as a pickling 
bowl for pork, as a sink in a public-house, and for a purpose which cannot here be 
named. 

tLysous. Add. MSS., 



86 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

windows, and pinnacles. The date of the roof has been already 
mentioned. Its condition was such as to necessitate the removal 
of the whole. The bosses, which were carved with the shields of 
the Diocese and local families, were preserved, but such was their 
state of decay that they have since almost crumbled to pieces. We 
have also been informed that there was on the beams of the old 
roof an image of a late period, supposed to represent the patron 
Saint, the Virgin Mary. The roof has now been wisely raised to 
what was probably its former pitch in the decorated period, and 
the walls above the side aisles have been pierced with quatrefoil 
clerestory windows to give further light. 

Previous to its restoration the church was in a fearful state of 
dilapidation, the chancel actually falling down. The church had 
been re-pewed at the commencement of the century, and this had 
been effected, as we might imagine, hi a most unsightly manner. 
It is supposed, too, that at this time the floor of the church was 
raised till it was nearly half-way up the columns, for what object 
it is almost impossible to conceive. To restore it to its original 
level, hundreds of loads of gravel had to be carted out of the church ! 
A western gallery that completely blocked out the tower had also 
to be removed. 

Many interesting details were found in the course of the altera- 
tions. Chief amongst these is the old altar stone. The slab was 
found buried in what was used as the vestry at the end of the 
north aisle. It is quite perfect, and still bears the marks of con- 
secration the five crosses. The dimensions of the stone are six 
feet three inches by two feet eight, and it is now utilized for its 
original purpose, having been placed on an oaken frame-work made 
out of timber from the old roof. In the north wall of the chancel 
is a piscina, and the low window-seat of the adjacent window answers 
for the sedilia, being divided by some modern stone work. On the 
opposite side is the almery* for the holy vessels. It is a plain 

*When these notes first appeared, a critic quarrelled with the orthography of 
"almery," suggesting "aumbry," to which suggestion the following reply was made. 
"The spelling almery has been adopted advisedly. I do not know that I can refer 
to a better authority than Parker's Glossary of Gothic Architecture, and it will be 
there found that he prefers Almery, though he also gives as other forms, Aurnery, 
Aumbry, Ambry, Ambre, and Ambrie. It was not, however, on this authority alone 
that I determined to use that form of spelling, which is, perhaps, the least usual in 
the Northern counties, but I adopted it after a patient investigation into its etymology. 
It would be easy to fill pages with a disquisition on the origin and meaning of this 
word, and its supposed derivations, but suffice it to say that I became convinced of 
its connection with alms and almsgiving when used in connection with ecclesiastical 
buildings. I therefore decided to retain the ' 1 ' as a proof of what I thought to be 
its origin, and this the more so, as Skinner and other early etymologists derive the 
word, when deprived of the '!,' from arms and not alms, saying that it denoted a 
place where arms were deposited during a feast, in case of a sudden surprise ; and 
surely this is not a desirable association to link with the temples of the Prince of 
Peace." 



BEIGHTON. 87 

square recess, and has now been renovated, fitted with a door, and 
put once more to its original use. 

At the east end of the south aisle there lias evidently been a 
side chapel or chauntry, which is shown by a plain piscina and a 
niche for a saint. There is also, in the projecting wall to the north 
of this side altar, a large square opening, which was filled up with 
stones and rubble until the recent alterations. This has served the 
purpose of a squint to certain worshippers who would have otherwise 
been obstructed in their view of the side altar by this projecting 
wall. 

Tradition speaks of there having been another side altar at the 
end of the north aisle, but of this, though highly probable, there is 
no trace to be found. In the Chantry Rolls there is a record of 
one at Beighton, whose altar must have been in one or other of 
these aisles. 

" The Chauutrye founded by dyverse persons which gave lands 
unto Our Ladye's alter for fyndynge a priste to synge or saye masse 
daylye and other devyne servyce cvis. ije?. clere ciiijs. \d. besydes 
vs. iiijof. rente resolute. Hen. Jervis chauntrye prist. Stock iiijs. 
ixrf." 

Francis Wortley seems to have obtained a grant of these chantry 
lands, for, at his death (25 Elizabeth), the inquisition gives him 
five messuages, five tofts, five gardens, three hundred acres of 
land, one hundred acres of meadow, and " parcell of the chantry 
of St. Mary," at Beighton, held of the Queen." 

Amongst the rubble of the walls of the chancel and south aisles 
much old broken glass was found. The best of the fragments were 
placed in the foliations of the windows of the north and south 
aisles. 

The church is by no means rich in ancient monuments, but there 
is one of interest in the chancel. At the far end of the chancel, 
on the north side, there is let into the floor a large slab of gritstone, 
incised with a boldly-defined floriated cross. The cross stands upon 
a pedestal of three steps, the highest one being inscribed with the 
monogram I.H.S. Round the margin of the etone runs the follow- 
ing inscription : "Orate pro anima domini Johannis Tynker quondam 
vicari de Beighton : cujus corpus hie jacet et anime propitietur Deus. 
An D. Milessimo quadragintessimo octogessimo." This stone, com- 
memorating John Tynker.t a former rector of Beighton, who died 

*Pegge's Collections, vol. i. 

t" Tynker" in Glover, but spelt "Tindri- " by Bussnuo. 



88 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

in 1418, formerly stood endways in the vestry, but at the time of 
the church's restoration it was very properly moved to what must 
have been, owing to his ecclesiastical functions, the actual place (or 
very nearly so) of his original sepulture. The incised parts of 
sepulchral slabs of this description are usually filled up with black 
mastic, or some dark-coloured composition. It is, however, worthy 
of note that the interstices of this stone appear to be simply filled 
up with lead. 

There is another old monumental slab just under the arch that 
divides the chancel from the vestry. When removed at the time of 
the alterations it was found to be in several pieces and much 
dilapidated. It is a rude stone with shears engraven on it. The 
inscription cannot now be traced, but Glover tells us that it is to 
the memory of Eichard Boswette (or Dowcette) and Johanna his 
wife, and that it bears the date of 1501. Lysons says that there 
is "in the parish church an ancient monument without date for 
Eichard Bosville," and then adds that "Bassano's volume of church 
notes mentions the monument of Edward Dowcett, Esq., 1501." This 
surely is a strange confusion of one and the same monument. 

On referring to Bassano's notes, taken about 1710, it appears that 
the vicar's monument was even then in the chancel, and the In- 
scription on the other old slab, which then stood in the south aisle, 
against the south wall, was : " Hie jacet Edwardus Dowcett armiger 
et Johanna uxor ejus, Mill : quingenteshno primo. Quorum anima- 
tum propicietur Deus. Amen." Lysons' MSS., on the contrary, 
(1816) gives the name as " Eicardus Boswell," but explains that 
the inscription was much hidden by pews, so that it will be safer 
to accept the earlier reading. 

Bassauo mentions, too, a brass to the memory of William Jessoppe, 
vicar of Beighton, 1667, and gives some further details, from which 
we extract the following. The east end of the north aisle was then 
divided off from the rest of the church, and termed " Linacre's 
quire." * Upon one beam of the roof he noted a shield with two 
chevrons, which might be either the arms of Musard of Staveley, 
or, two chevrons, az., or (which is more probable) the arms of 
Alfreton adopted by Chaworth, az., two chevrons, or. On a beam 
over the Liuacre quire was a cross fleury, and on another " five 

* The ancient family of Linacre formerly possessed property in Beighton through 
alliance with the Hackenthorps of Hackenthorp, a hamlet of this parish. The 
marriage by which this property came to the Linacres was that of William de Lyn- 
acre (the son of Roger de Lynacre by his wife Matilda, the daughter of Eichard 
Glnpwcll) with Cecilia, only daughter and heiress of John Hackenthorp. Harl. MSS. 
1093, f. 102. 



BEIGHTON. 89 

water-bougets, oue iii ye fess poynt," which may have been intended 
for the arms of Sacheverell, ary., on a saltier, az., five water- 
bougets, or. This is the more probable as there is no coat bearing 
simply five water-bougets in Pap worth's exhaustive work on British 
Armorials. 

In the churchyard he observed a cross of three greeves (steps) 
with a high standing-stone. Of this cross, which stands near to 
the porch on the south side of the church, only two of the steps 
now remain. 

The copy of Flower and Glover's Visitation, made by William 
Wyrley in 1592, contains the following reference to Beighton : 
"Bighton on mile distant from this Eckington. In the Church 
this one escotchiou of the famelie of Lynacar sa., a chevron between 
three escallops, arg., on a chief, or, three greyhounds' heads, erased, 
of the field." * 

No mention is made of Beighton in the Taxation Roll of Pope 
Nicholas, but the vicarage was valued at 6 11s. 10d. in the King's 
Books. 

The Parliamentary Survey of 1G50 reported of Beighton, that it 
was a vicarage worth twenty marks per annum. The inipropriate 
tithes, valued at threescore pounds, were held by Mr. George Pier- 
point, who had to find the minister. 

Mr. W. Jessop was then incumbent, and of him the Commissioners 
report that he is " reputed uncleane and scandalous." 

The tower contains a peal of five bells, all bearing the date of 
1887. 

*Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 111. 



llarfctopll. 




JF the church at Blackwell there is but little to say, as there 
are hardly any fragments left of the old building. The 
church of Blackwell was given by "\Yilliam Fitz Rauulph 
to the Priory of Thurgarton early in. the reigu of Henry II. 
(1154 1189). Edward IV. confirmed this grant by a charter, 
dated Westminster the 8th of May, hi the 17th year of his 
reign, and the tithes remained in the hands of that establishment 
until the dissolution of the monasteries. * But the inquisition 
taken at the death of Sir William Babington, Chief Justice of 
the Common Pleas, in 1445, has an entry, which is rather puz- 
zling, relative to Blackwell, though it certainly seems to imply that 
the advowson of this church was not then in the hands of the 
Priory of Thurgarton. The manor of Black weh 1 was then divided 
into two parts, the one called Sulney and the other Trussebut. 
Sir William Babiugtou died siezcd of half of the former of 
these manors, and also, in the words of the inquisition, of " Blak- 
well alias Trussebut maner' et advoc' 5 eccliar.' " The number 5 
and the contraction of the word following make it difficult to 
explain this entry. Sir William Babington also held the advow- 
sous of the adjacent churches of Piuxton and South Normanton, 
but they are entered in the usual form of "advoc 'eccliae'." It 
is impossible that there could ever have been five churches at 
Blackwell or five ecclesiastics required to serve there ; and we 
think that the most probable explanation is, that Sir WilHam 
had purchased of the Priory of Thurgartou, for himself and his 
heirs, the right of the five next presentations to the church of 
Blackwell. t 

* Mitchell's Derbyshire Collections. Add. MSS. 28, 108, f. 297. 
t Inq. post Mort. 33 Hen. VI., No. 33. 



94 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Werburgh,* was rebuilt 
in 1827-8, and consists of chancel, nave, and side aisles, and 
lofty western tower. The style is a very poor and feeble imita- 
tion of what is vaguely denominated " pointed gothic." The only 
portion of the old building that seems to remain is the pillars, and 
perhaps arches, on the north side of the nave. It is quite clear 
that the bases of these pillars are old, though it is of course possi- 
ble that they also were taken down and put up again. From docu- 
ments in the church it appears that Archdeacon Butler complained 
of the dangerous state of the church in 1823. In a letter 
dated Shrewsbury, August 4, 1823, he writes to the churchwardens 
that it is "in a very dangerous state. To attempt a temporary 
repair would be a heavy and useless expense," and he recom- 
mends them to take it down bodily and rebuild it. In a second 
letter dated August 26, he by no means approves of the proposed 
repairs : " The church has been suffered to go into a state of the 
most ruinous decay. It is unsafe, nay highly dangerous for the 
parishioners to assemble in it in windy weather, and any attempt 
at temporary repairs will only subject them to further expense, as 
it is impossible to do it effectually. The parishioners are highly 
to blame, and have nothing but their own neglect to thank." He 
then promises to help them to obtain a Brief towards the expenses, 
and reminds them of the nearness of stone and lime. After much 
further correspondence had been interchanged, and estimates pre- 
pared for patching up the old building, the Archdeacon's patience 
became exhausted, and on June 5th, 1824, a peremptory order 
was issued. We, have, however, when looking at Blackwell 
Church as it now is, a lingering grudge against Archdeacon Butler, 
and cannot help wondering if something might not have been 
done to retain any parts of the ancient fabric. From what we 
could learn in the neighbourhood, it would seem as if the old 
tower, and much of the body of the church had been of Norman 
design ; and this is confirmed by the language of the Brief,t which 
was granted in the 6th of George IV. That document speaks of 
the church of Blackwell as " believed to be one of the oldest in 

* St. Werburgh was a Princess of Mercia, and Abbess of the Convent of Ely. She 
died in 699, and was buried at Hanbury in Staffordshire, but, on the approach of the 
Danes to Eepton (within a few miles of Hanbury), two centuries later, her body was 
removed to Chester. In addition to the church of Blackwell, and that at Derby, 
there are only six churches dedicated to her memory, and in each instance they are 
supposed to be of very early foundation. The Normans sternly suppressed, where- 
ever it was possible, any veneration for the Saxon saints. 

t The original of this Brief is at the British Museum. There is also a copy of 
it, with a plan of the church, among the Derbyshire county records. 



BLACK WKLL. 95 

our comity of Derby." The Brief also states that the contem- 
plated expenses for the new building, according to the estimate 
of David Hodkin, " an able and experienced workman," would 
amount to 1050 10s. Od., exclusive of old material. 

Mr. David Hodkin was evidently anxious that his work should 
be conspicuous, as is shown by the following letter to the church- 
wardens, written, we suppose, when the work was about finished 
" I hope you and the parishioners will think with me that the 
tower will remain in an unfinished state if the four pinnacles are 
not put on, and you will always wish they had been done when 
you see the effect so much different. The situation of the church 
will cause them to be shewed at so great a distance. I cannot 
take leave without a repetition of begging of you to raise your 
spirits and say with one voice we will have them done and look 
as respectful as any of our neighbours." 

But the tower is still uncrowned with pinnacles, notwithstanding 
this piteous appeal. It contains, hoAvever, three of the old bells. 
The inscription of one, which is cracked, is not very legible ; we 
only deciphered the words " ubi est sonus." The second one has 
the bell-mark of Henry Oldfield, and bears the legend 

"Jesus be our spede, 1587." 
The third reads 

" God save his Church, 1611." 

In the south-east of the churchyard is part of an ancient cross, 
that points to very early sepulture at this place. It is coeval with 
the cross in Taddington churchyard, which it closely resembles. 
It stands five feet out of the gound, and measures at the base six- 
teen inches by twelve. The east and west sides are carved with 
interlacing knot-work, and the north and south with circular braids. 
The cross when perfect has been in two pieces, for at the top is 
a square cut socket, about four inches deep, for the reception of 
the upper part.* 

The only other information that we have been able to find 
with respect to the old church of Blackwell, is amongst the church 
notes of Bassano. He visited Blackwell about the commencement 
of the last century, when he noted the keys of St. Peter cut on 
a large square stone above the belfry windows on the north side 
of the tower. Inside the church, in the midst of the chancel, was 

* We have no intention of entering upon any dissertation in the attempt to prove 
the date of crosses of this design, which would be valueless unless very lengthy and 
exhaustive, but the presence of this cross, taken in connection with the dedication 
of the church, points to this site of ground having been used for worship several 
generations prior to the Norman invasion. 



96 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

a large tombstone bearing the following inscription : " Here lyeth 
William Ludlarn, Priest, sometime Vickar of Blackwell, who was 
buryed 25 January, 1541." This stone is not now to be seen, 
and was probably lost when the church was rebuilt. Nor is the 
" broken piece of an antient monument, a lyon lying at the feet 
of a man," extant, which then formed the side of a stile going 
out of the churchyard. 

The church of Blackwell was valued at 6 13s. 4d. in 1291, at 
5 4s. 2d. in the King's books, and at 14 by the Parliamentary 
Commissioners. 



lolso&pp. 




N 






SSolsobpr. 




|HE Manor of Bolsover formed a portion of the large estates 
given by William the Conqueror to his illegitimate son, 
William Peverel. It is probable that he was not only 
the first to erect a castle here, on the site of the present one, but 
that he was also the original founder of the Church. He died in 
the seventh year of the reign of Stephen, 1142. The first historical 
mention of the Church is that it was given by William Peverel 
the younger to the Abbey of Darley* in the reign of Henry II. 
(1154 1189). This William Peverel had been an accomplice in a 
successful plot to poison Eanulph, Earl of Chester, shortly before 
the death of Stephen, and on the accession of Henry II. the manor 
and castle of Bolsover, together with all the other estates he held 
under the crown, were forfeited. This then, it seems, would be 
at the time when he handed over the Church, probably without 
any choice, to the Abbey of Darley. He himself fled to the 
monastery of Lenton, where he was shorn and habited as a monk, 
but he subsequently escaped out of the country. 

In the first year of the reign of John, by a charter dated at 
Worcester on the 17th of April, the king granted " to God and 
the Church of Bolsover, in free and perpetual alms," the tithes of 
hay of the manor of Bolsover, and all the houses and lands which 
had been taken from Robert Avenel, the former parson of the 
church. From the two charters immediately preceding, the king 
also granted certain lauds and mills to the then parson of Bolsover, 
one Master Alan, who appears to have been on intimate terms with 

* The chartulary or register book of Darley Abbey is preserved in the Cot- 
toniau MSS. (Titus, c. ix.). There is also a transcript made by Mr. Cole in 1780 
from another ancient copy, which was then in the possession of Dr. Farmer, of 
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. This latter is described by Mr. Cole as being a thin 
vellum volume, in the hand of the time of Eichard II. Add. MSS. 5822, f. 150. See 
also, -with respect to references to Bolsover in the chartulary, Add. MSS. 6668, f. 935, 
and 6675, f. 293. 



100 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

John. He is described in the first of these charters as " dilectus et 
farniliaris clericus noster."* The tithes of hay were also confirmed to 
the church in the reign of Henry III.;t but it appeal's from the register 
book of Barley Abbey that the vicarage of Bolsover was endowed 
with only the tithes of lambs and wool, and the obventions of the 
altar except the chief mortuary. Perhaps this endowment of the 
tithes of hay was forfeited or lapsed to the Abbey about the close 
of the reign of Henry III., when Bolsover Castle, which had been 
granted to the Earls of Chester, reverted to the Crown. 

In the year 1215 the castle of Bolsover fell into the hands of 
the insurrectionary barons, being carried by assault by William de 
Ferrers, Earl of Derby. At the same time he re-took also the castle 
of the High Peak, and was rewarded by being made governor of 
both these fortresses. We then read that William de Ferrers con- 
firmed the grant of the church of Bolsover to the monastery of 
Darley. 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of a nave, 
chancel, south aisle, south porch, and tower at the west end, 
surmounted by a low broached spire. 

The semi-circular archway, leading from the nave into the chancel, 
is the principal remnant of the old Norman building, for the church 
has undergone many and considerable alterations in later times. 
Much of the walls, both of the chancel and the nave, may very 
probably be the same that were standing here in the days of 
William Peverel, but neither windows nor doorways show any 
trace of that style of architecture, unless it may be in part of the 
tympanum over the small south door into the chancel, on which 
is carved a representation of the crucifixion. The doorway itself 
is post-reformation, as well as parts of the carving, but the part 
bearing the crucifix seems to have belonged to a much earlier 
date. 

The tower was built during the early English period of the 
thirteenth century. Judging from the windows of the bell-chamber, 
it seems that it was erected early in that style, when the small 
Norman lights were not quite forgotten. The west doorway of the 

* Eotuli Chartarum. 1 John, memb. 11. 
t Rotuli Chartarum. 19 Henry III, memb. 

J "When the British Archfeological Association were in Derbyshire in 18-51, a visit 
was made to Bolsover, and an opinion is hazarded in the Journal, vol. vii., p. 317, 
that this sculpture of the crucifixion may be of a date anterior to the Conquest. But 
there seems no reason to assign it to an earlier date than that of the Norman period. 
A good illustration of this sculpture and the upper part of the doorway is given in 
the Journal. 



BOLSOVER. 101 

tower is a fair specimen of the style, and to the same period may 
perhaps be attributed the doorway into the nave on the north side 
of the church. The spire, which is somewhat low, rises imme- 
diately from the wall of the tower, and is not surrounded by any 
parapet or gutter a style of spire that is usually distinguished as 
broached. Though the spire appears to be of a rather later date 
than the tower, we need not conclude that it did not form a portion 
of the original design ; for it often thus occurred, as in modern 
days, that many years intervened between the erection of a tower 
and its completion by the addition of a spire. 

The east window of the chancel is an effective specimen of the 
Decorated period (circa 1320), and is similar in design to the one 
occupying the same position in the adjacent church of Whitwell. 
To this style, too, must be attributed the south porch, as well as 
the four arches that separate the nave from the south aisle, sup- 
ported on octagon pillars with plainly moulded capitals. 

Two windows that light the north side of the nave are of the 
Perpendicular period, in which style several small alterations or 
additions appear to have been made ; but the whole of the body 
of the church, and especially the chancel, with its flat plaster roof, 
has suffered grievously, both inside and out, under the hands of 
churchwardens of the last century. When these blundering, but 
probably well-meaning, folk had effected all the barbarities which 
the parish funds would allow, it was but seldom that they failed 
to conspicuously emblazon then- names for the benefit of posterity. 
Accordingly on a slab over the porch we find the names of Thomas 
Robinson and Thomas Poynton, Churchwardens in 1773. To them, 
therefore, may be safely assigned a considerable share of the 
blemishes that now disfigure the church of Bolsover. Little did 
these two good men think, when they gazed with pride on their 
names sculptured over the doorway of their parish church, how 
much their taste would be despised before a hundred years had 
elapsed. 

The chancel contains at least one object of great interest to the 
antiquary. Fixed against the north wall is a large slab of stone, 
about five feet long by three wide, rudely carved in very high relief. 
This stone was discovered about the year 1704, at the north door 
of the church, where, with its face downwards, it had served as 
a step.* 

* An engraving of this stone is given in Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of 
Derbyshire, p. 193. See also Gentleman's Magazine for 1786, p. 298; and Pegge's 
Collections, vol. v., p. 91. 



102 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The sculpture, which is much mutilated, represents the Adoration 
of the infant Jesus by the wise men from the east. Mary is repre- 
sented as sitting upon a bed composed of straw, holding on her 
knees the child Jesus. The head of the infant is wanting. The 
three figures standing near the bed are probably intended to repre- 
sent the wise men bearing their offerings of gold, frankincense, 
and myrrh. The hands (and whatever they carried) of two of 
these figures are broken off, but the centre one, who seems to be 
kneeling behind the bed, is swinging a censer, representing, we 
suppose, the offering of frankincense. In the background two 
camels' heads, with a singularly human cast of countenance, pro- 
trude their long necks over the manger. The sculpture was for- 
merly richly coloured, traces of which still remain visible, and it 
probably served as the altar-piece of the original church here 
erected by William Peverel; for, from the costume of the figures 
and the general style of the workmanship, it may safely be assigned 
to a date as early as the first half of the twelfth century. Glover, 
followed by Bateman and subsequent writers, supposes from the 
situation in which it was found, that this stone was put there as 
a place of safety during some of the frequent attacks that were 
made on Bolsover Castle. But this seems, for many reasons, 
about the most improbable suggestion that could well have been 
devised to account for its position. This cumbersome mass of 
stone would be the last thing that would be likely to be taken as 
spoil by any marauding army ; and it certainly is most singular 
that the inhabitants of Boleover, in their desire to preserve their 
altar-piece, should first have mutilated it by knocking off the head 
of the principal figure, and otherwise damaging it. If, too, they 
wished to conceal it, we cannot believe that they were so " thick 
in the yed " as to put this large slab, newly torn down from its 
position, in a place so open to observation as the entrance to the 
church itself! Does it not seem much more reasonable to con- 
jecture that this sculpture, once highly reverenced and doubtless 
superstitiously worshipped, was dragged down, disfigured, and placed 
in the most contemptible position a place where the foot of the 
former worshipper must perforce tread upon it at the time when 
the Reformation spread through the land? This may have been 
done, as it was in very numerous instances throughout England, 
by the free will of a suddenly awakened people, or it may have 
been enforced by the edicts against superstitious images issued by 



BOLSOVER. 103 

Henry VIII. 's minister, Cromwell, in 1538, and by Edward VI. 
some ten years later. Even if it escaped all this, it could not fail 
to come under the sweeping order of the Parliament in August, 
1643, repeated in May, 1644, by which it was enacted that: "All 
Crucifixes, Crosses, and all other Images and Pictures of Saints in 
any Churches, Chappells, or other place of Publick Prayer, shall be 
taken away and defaced." 

On the south side of the chancel there is a large slab, forming 
part of the pavement, roughly incised with the full length figures 
of a man and a woman, and having four smaller figures below 
them. Bound the margin is an inscription, which is much defaced. 
Part of this stone is covered by the chancel seats. 

Bassano, who visited the church about 1710, makes mention of a 
raised or altar tomb, which then stood on the south-west side of 
the chancel, on which was the portraiture of a man with a dagger 
by his side, and a woman, having five children kneeling below them. 
Round the margin was the following inscription: "Hie jacet Wil- 
lielmus Woodliouse * et . . . . qui obiit v die mensis Martii, 
A.D. MCCCX." Lysons' manuscript notes,t taken a century later, 
mention a slab of sandstone in the chancel, much defaced, bearing 
the effigy of a merchant and his wife, and an inscription com- 
mencing "Hie jacet dns Thomas." But probably both of these 
descriptions refer to the stone now in the chancel, the inscription 
on which has been read in different ways, owing to its indistinct- 
ness. 

At the east end of the south aisle, against the south wall, is a 
sepulchral recess, covered by an ogee-shaped arch, but much defaced. 
A door in the east wall of the aisle opens into the Cavendish chapel. 
On a stone over the outer entrance to the chapel is the date of its 
erection, 1G18, and above it are the Cavendish arms and crest. 

It is of small dimensions, about eighteen feet by fifteen, and choked 
up with most costly and extravagant monuments of a would-be 
Grecian order, composed of various-coloured marbles. The two 
principal ones are to the memory of Sir Charles Cavendish, who 
died in 1617, and Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, who died 
in 1691. 

Though not coming within the scope of these " Notes," we cannot 

* The family of "Woodhouse settled at Glapwell in the year 1400. The heiress of 
Thomas Woodhouse, about the latter end of the 17th century, married Hallowes. 

tAdd. MSS., 9463. 



104 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

resist quoting the following admirable inscription from the tomb of 
Sir Charles Cavendish : 

"CHARLES CAVENDISH TO HIS SONS. 

" Sonnes, seek not me among these polished stones ; 
These only hide part of my flesh and bones ; 
Which did they here so neat and proudly dwell, 
Will all he dust, and may not make me swell. 

" Let such as have outliv'd all praise 
Trust in the tomhs their careful friends do raise ; 
I made my life my monument and your's, 
To which there's no material that endures, 

" Nor yet inscription like it. Write hut that, 
And teach your Nephews it to emulate ; 
It will he matter loud enough to tell 
Not when I died, but how I liv'd farewell."* 

The font at the west end of the church is interesting from the 
admixture of the styles. Round the summit, which is of circular 
shape, runs a cable moulding, that taken alone would point to the 
Norman period ; but lower down it assumes an octagon shape, each 
of the sides bearing a fleur-de-lis in relief, except the one facing 
due east, which bears a shield charged with a Latin cross. The 
font itself, independently of the base, is two feet three inches high, 
and two feet six inches in diameter at the top. 

The ulterior of the church is much disfigured with heavy south 
and west galleries. 

The tower contains a peal of four bells, inscribed as follows : 

1. "Hie carnpana sacra fiat Trinitati beata?." The founder's 
mark is that usually attributed to Richard Mellour, of Nottingham, 
who flourished at the close of the fifteenth century. The initials, 
N.D., appear on each side of the shield bearing the bell mark. 

2. " AH glori, honor, and prayse be given to God. 1585." 

3. " Te Deum Laudamus. A.D. 1585." This, as well as the 
preceding one, bears the bell mark of Henry Oldfield. 

4. " Henry Ba(r)low. 1616. God save his church." The bell 
mark is that of George Oldfield. 

It appears there was a chapel in the old castle of Bolsover, for 
William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, settled an annual rent charge 
of a mark of silver upon the chaplain. Whether there was any 
intra-inural interment at this chapel or not cannot now be deter- 
mined, but the presence of two very ancient gravestones, built into 
the wall which supports the west side of the ten-ace of Bolsover 
Castle, seems to favour the supposition. These two stones bear 

* Full details of all the inscriptions in this chapel will be found in Collin's History 
of the Cavendishes, pp. 22, 23. 



BOLSOVER. 105 

crosses in relief of a very singular, and, so far as we know, unique 
design ; the shaft, which is considerably thicker towards the base, 
being supported on an inverted crescent. The head of each cross 
is formed of a cross patee. A careful engraving of these stones is 
given by Major Eooke in Dr. Pegge's account of the castle, where 
it is suggested that they are memorials of Christians who fell in 
action during the assault on the castle in the thirteenth century.* 
Might not the cross rising from the inverted crescent be intended 
to typify the triumph of the Christian over the Saracen, and thus 
point to the sepulture of those who had been previously engaged 
in the Crusades ? 

The annual value of the church of Bolsover was estimated, in 
1291, at 13 Gs. 8d., and in the lung's Looks at 5 19s. 4d. The 
Commissioners of 1650 reported that the vicarage was worth 10, 
and that the impropriated tithes, formerly belonging to the Earl of 
Newcastle, and out of which there was an augmentation to the 
minister of 50, were worth 87. Thomas Foulkes then held the 
vicarage and was returned as " disaffected." 

At Glapwcll, also, a township of this parish, there was an ancient 
chapel, of which no traces are now extant. We know of its exist- 
ence from the Chartulary of Darley Abbey, which records an 
agreement, made about the year 12GO, between the Abbot and the 
inhabitants of Glapwell about roofing the chapel. They agreed to 
give five acres of land, as an endowment, to keep it in repair.t 
Probably it fell into disuse and was demolished at the Keformation, 
for no mention is made of it by the Commissioners of 1650, who 
reported in favour of the township of Glapwcll being united to 
the neighbouring parish of Hault Hucknall. 

* A Sketch of the History of Bolsover and the Peak Castles (1785), p. 8. 
tCottonianMSS. Titus, c. ix., f. 116. 



pampfon. 




[HEBE was a chapel at Brampton, about the year 1100, 
for it was at the commencement of the twelfth century 
that William Eufus appropriated the church of Chester- 
field, with its two dependent chapelries "Wingerworth and Bramptou, 
to the deanery of Lincoln. The present embattled edifice con- 
sists of a nave, chancel, side aisles, south porch, and low western 
tower, from which rises a short contracted spire. It is dedicated 
to St. Peter and St. Paul, and not to the latter saint alone, as 
is conclusively proved by the foundation deed of the chantry here 
established. Glover, following Hall's History </ Chesterfield, says 
that the present church is supposed, from an inscription on one 
of its walls, to have existed in the year 1153. This mistake is 
copied from a statement made on hearsay by Dr. Pegge, which 
was published in the Topographica Brittanicw-' in 1787, and which 
probably arose from the fact that there was formerly a tablet in 
the church giving the particulars of the re- dedication in 1253. 
The church was rebuilt and consecrated the day after the festival 
of St. Margaret (July 21st), 1253, by Breudou, Bishop of Ardfert, 
suffragan to Eoger de "Weseharn, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. 
Ardfert was an ancient see of 'the Irish Church, united to the 
diocese of Limerick in 1GGO. Eoger de Weseham was consecrated 
Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in 1245, and held that see until 
12.")G, when he resigned on account of the infirmities of old age, 
which had for several years incapacitated him from his duties.t 

* The actual words arc : " It is said there is an inscription on the walls of Bramp- 
ton Chapel importing its erection in lloo." A Sylloge of the remaining authentic 
Inscriptions relative to the erection of English Churches, p. 67. 

t There are various references to Brampton in the different volumes of Pegge's 
Collections in the College of Arms. At page 139, of vol. 5, the account of a re- 
dedication of the church in 1253 is given in full, being copied from a book amongst 
the records at Lincoln Cathedral, entitled Cartce tanyentes Dccimarum EccV 
ledtce Alariee Lincoln. The deed, in which this naiTation occurs, relates to the 
reservation of all rights to the mother church of Chesterfield, and is witnessed, 
amongst others, by Hobert " Capellauus de YVyugerworth,' 1 and by Stephen " Capel- 
lauua de Brampton." 



110 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Of the church that existed here prior to the year 1253 there is 
at least one relic iu the round Noionan doorway that leads into 
the church under the south porch. From the inside, however, 
this appears to be an Early English doorway, and it affords a 
curious instance of the blending, or rather the actual interlacing 
of the two styles. The church erected in 1253 would, of course, 
be Early English throughout, but beyond the half of this doorway 
we noticed only one other trace of the style. This is to be found 
in the base-stone of the small lancet window at the west end of 
the south aisle, which is part of the original window. The curious 
way in which the lower portion of that window was left, when the 
top was cut off by a large square opening that served for a win- 
dow, previous to the recent restoration, may be seen in the old 
engravings of the church.* 

The porch, which has a stone roof and an ogee-shaped archway, 
is about a hundred years later, being of the Decorated period. 
To this period, too, belongs the tower and spire, and certain but- 
tresses of the chancel. The east side of the tower, and the gable 
of the nave bear traces of the former high-pitched roofs that then 
covered the church. Much of the actual walls of the church may 
also be of this date, but the windows are now ah 1 of the Perpen- 
dicular period. The battlements of the nave, aisles, and chancel 
are of the latter date. The spire is of an octagon shape, and is 
broached at the base ; that is, it joins on to the tower without 
the intervention of any parapet. It is ornamented with two tiers 
of canopied windows. 

On the exterior walls of the church are several curious stone 
figures, some of the Early English period, and others of later date. 
The principal ones are two effigies under canopies in the south 
wall of the south aisle, representing St. Peter and St. Paul. The 
latter is a bearded effigy holding a book and a sword, the former 
holds a key and a book, and, on the top of the pinnacles of his 
canopy, birds rest. There are three other heads and one small 
figure on the same side of the church. At the east end of this 
aisle, over the window, is a diminutive figure of the Virgin and 
Child, whilst near it is a larger representation of our Saviour 
seated under a canopy, with pierced hands and feet. Two hands 
hold the canopy, which is clearly of Early English design. 
Over the priest's door in the chancel is a corbel head, with foliage 
proceeding from the corners of the mouth, a design very similar 

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 336. 



BRAMPTON. Ill 

to a head carved in wood over the east window of Wingerworth 
Church. One of the eastern buttresses of the chancel bears in 
relief the letter M, and the other has the cross daggers and a 
key sculptured on a stone. There is an heraldic rose at each end 
of the dripstone over the east window, but these stones are quite 
unconnected with the rest of the masonry, and have formed part 
of some earlier design. 

The interior of the church, tih 1 five or six years ago, must have 
been singularly uninviting, for it was blocked up with large west 
and north galleries, and the tower archway was completely built 
up with masonry. Now, however, the tower is opened to the church 
itself, and the pointed archways that separate the aisles from the 
nave on each side are free from obstruction. At this time, too. 
the Perpendicular tracery was restored to the windows of the 
clerestory and the south aisle, which had previously been con- 
verted into mere plain square-headed openings. Much of this 
modern disfiguring of the church was probably done as late as the 
third year of the reign of George IV., when a brief was obtained 
for repairing the church. 

The preamble to this brief states that the church of our 
parish, or free chapelry, of Brampton is an ancient structure, is 
greatly dilapidated, arising from damps and age, and the interior 
parts, having been injudiciously arranged in the original planning 
of them, will not accommodate the larger part of a now much 
increased population ; in order to repair the church and benefi- 
cially new model the interior, it becomes necessary to take down 
the pulpit and reading desk, together with the galleries, pews, and 
seats, and to rebuild and raise the same in a regular and uniform 
manner, removing certain pillars, but supporting their places by 
the erection of arches, to unroof and raise the north part, and to 
make additional windows on the south front, to repair pavements 
and burial ground, drains, spouts," &c., &c.* The estimated cost 
of these alterations, drawn up by Jos. Hobson, builder, of Dron- 
field, was 669. 

At the east end of the north aisle, in the north wall, is a deep 
piscina of a single drain with a trefoil head to the niche. The 
doorway leading to the rood-loft was found, during the alterations, 
at the end of this aisle, but has been blocked up again. The 
chancel has a flat Perpendicular roof, now whitewashed and divided 
into squares by intersecting beams of oak. The two windows on 

* The original of this brief is at the British Museum. 



112 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the south, as well as the east window, have Perpendicular tracery, 
the latter of a very singular but ugly design. There is a modern 
vestry on the north side. 

Fixed against the wall, at the west end of the nave of the church, 
is a remarkable sepulchral monument, which is deserving of detailed 
mention. It belongs to the semi-effigial class of memorials, and is 
considered such a good specimen of that style that it rarely escapes 
mention in any treatise bearing on Christian sepulture. As we 
write, six different engravings, of more or less accuracy, of this 
memorial lie before us, and there are, we believe, as many more 
to be elsewhere found.* This stone was discovered in digging a 
grave at the commencement of the last century, and has since been 
carefully preserved in the church itself. It belongs to that class, 
in which the parts of the figure represented are sunk below the 
surface of the stone, and made to appear as if they were disclosed 
to the view through apertures, formed for that purpose by the 
removal of portions of the coffin lid. Through a quatrefoil open- 
ing at the upper end of the stone, appears the head and shoulders 
of a female sculptured in bas-relief. At the bottom of the slab is 
a narrow oblong opening, through which are seen the feet and 
lower part of the drapery. On the sinister side of the quartrefoil 
is a cross floree, marking the commencement of the inscription. 
The inscription is in large Lombardic characters, and is written in 
three lines lengthways on the flat part of the stone. It is quite 
perfect, and reads as follows : Hie jacet Matilda le Cans, orate pro 
anima ef pat' nost' Above the stone is a small slab, of the date 
of 26th October, 1801, which says, that it perpetuates the memory 
of Matilda Le Caus, one of the family of Sir Thomas Le Caus, 
who, it appears, by ancient records, was son of Ralph de 
Brampton, lord of the manor of Caushall, in this township, about 
the year 1216, in whose family it remained for more than 200 
years. Thomas, the son of Ralph de Bramptou, took the surname 
of de Caus, or Cauz, about the year 1216. This family were lords 
of the manor of Caus, or Caushall, hi the township of Brampton, 
until the extinction of the male line in 1460. The monument may, 
of course, be to the memory of a Matilda le Caus, the wife or 
relative of some proprietor of this manor, and unknown to history ; 
but we see no good reason to doubt the suggestion of Lysons that 
it commemorates a person of no less consequence than Matilda, 

* Cutt's Incised Slabs, Boutell's Christian Monuments, and the local works of 
Lysous, Glover, Ford, and Bateman. 



BRAMPTON. 113 

the heiress of the barony of Cauz, who died in the year 1224. We 
are inclined, too, to dispute the assertion that the head-dress of this 
figure is of too late a period to be attributed to the commence- 
ment of the reign of Henry III. ; but, if this was the case, it need 
create no difficulty, for the monument might not have been erected 
to her till several years after her decease. It seems clear, too, 
that the family of Caus, of Brampton, did descend in the female 
line from the baronial family of Caus in Nottinghamshire, and what 
is more likely than that they should have commemorated the high 
rank of their founder by a monument, which in those days must 
have been regarded as an unusual and costly display of art. The 
immediate connection, also, of this lady with Derbyshire, in her 
lifetime, is proved by an entry in the Forest Book, of Matilda de 
Caus owing a fine, in the fourth year of Henry III., for seisin of 
the customary of the forests of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 
which belonged to her by right of inheritance. We omitted to 
mention that the figure holds between the hands a human heart. 
The arms of Caus were, per chevron, or and gu., three human 
hearts, counterchanged ; but there is no necessity to connect the 
holding of a heart with the family arms, as this disposition of the 
hands is frequently shown in monumental effigies of this period. 
Semi-effigial monuments, especially of this description, are but 
rarely met with, and are found for the most part in the Midland 
Counties. In the floor of Kedleston Church are the heads of a 
knight and lady within quatrefoil openings ; and during some 
recent alterations we had the pleasure of discovering the upper 
portion of a somewhat similar slab, with a man's head, in the 
church of North Winfield. Another memorial of this description, 
and of almost identical design with that at Brampton, was found 
during the repairs of Hartington Church in 1857. * 

At the west end of the north aisle is an alabaster slab, one 
margin of which has been cut away, and another portion partly 
covered by the seats. It has a marginal inscription in black letter, 
of which only the commencement can now be deciphered, " Hie 
jacet Thomas Ball . . . " It appears to be a memorial of the 
fifteenth century, but it has been subsequently utilised, for it now 
bears in the centre of the stone these two modem inscriptions : 
" Anna uxor Roberti Owtrem sepulta rait undecimo die Jimii, Anno 
1705." " Here also lieth the body of Samuel Owtrem, of Cutthorp. 

* A sketch of the Hartington memorial appeared in the Eeliquart/, October, I860, 
p. 128. 



114 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

He died 22nd June, 1763, aged 90 years." Bassano, visiting the 
church about 1710, mentions this monument as "ye effigies of a 
man with a chalice on his right side and a book opened on his 
left," and though the inscription was not then perfect, there was 
more of it remaining " Hie jacet Thomas Ball, Capellan', qui obiit 
ix die mensis Octobris . . . ; ' 

Various other alabaster slabs, more or less defaced, are described 
by Bassauo, all of which have now totally disappeared. One, bear- 
ing the portraiture of a man and woman, had an inscription, of 
which only "Hie jacet Philippus" remained ; another showed the 
lower portion of a central figure and three children, with the words, 
" Qui quidem Philippus obiit 28 die mensis," and the following 
quartered coat : 

" 1st and 4th, arg., on a chevron 3 caterfoyles, sa. 
2nd and 3rd, a cross iugrailed, between 11 cups silver." (?)* 

On a third slab he describes the effigies of a man and woman 
and their six children, "upon it, very dimly inscribed, is ' Eobtus 

Br . . hohne et Alicia uxor ejus iii die feb. A n . D. 

MDXXV.' " 

Bassano further noted, in the east window of the north aisle, the 
following firms : " Az., a bend between 6 escallops, or, impaled 
with arg., a frett, sa. In another part of the window arg., a 
chevron between 3 escallops, gu. A third pane contained arg., 
upon a bend, az., 5 bezants charged with as many crosses potent, 
sa." 

The first of these coats, if properly blazoned, is Frecheville im- 
paling Vemon, but, though we know that Frecheville held lands at 
Brampton in the reign of Henry VIII., there is no account of an 
alliance between these families. It seems, therefore, probable that 
Bassano read the arms rightly, but made an error about the tinc- 
tures ; for Foljambe and Frecheville bore the same arms, only in 
different colours. If this is the case, the impaled coat signified the 
marriage between Henry Foljambe and Benedicta, the daughter of 
Sir William Vernon, of Nether Haddon, which took place in the 
reign of Henry VI. There are numerous deeds extant relating to 
property at Bramptou held by the Foljambes.f 

The second coat is that of Breton, of Walton ; and the third is 
one which we have not yet identified. 

* This coat belongs to Eyre, but we are unable to identify the second and third 
quarterings, which appear to be incorrectly stated. The Eyres were possessed of a 
small property at Brampton in the fifteenth century. 

t Collectanea Topographies et Genealogica, vol. 1, pp. 350, 853, 356, etc. 



B HAMPTON. 115 

There are some cumbersome arid ungainly monuments of the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to the memory of the Clarkes 
of Somersall, in the north aisle, but they do not conie within the 
scope of these notes. Beneath one of them is affixed a small brass 
to the memory of the first of the family who settled here. It is 
thus inscribed : " Mors est niihi vita. Hie jacet Nichus Clarke de 
Somersall in Brampton. generosus, qui obiit prime die Marcii Anuo 
Dni. 1589." The history of the travels of this plate, and a com- 
panion, is rather curious. Dr. Pegge, writing about the middle of 
the last century, describes this brass as being then at Somersall 
Hall, Brampton, the scat of the Clarkes. He also notes another 
plate at the same place, which was inscribed as follows: "Hie 
jacet Olivorus Shawe, quondam Vicarius hujus eccl' qui obiit xxiii. 
die Septembris Ao. Dni. MCCCCCXLIII. Cujus ale' ppicietur De." 
Dr. Pegge adds that in all reason both of these belong to Brampton 
church.* After the death of the fourth Earl Scarsdale, Sutton Hall 
was purchased by Godfrey Clarke in 1740, and became his principal 
seat. The brasses appear to have moved with him, for Mr. Keynolds 
has the following memorandum, under date 6th June, 1775 "Being 
then at Sutton-in-the-Dale, in order to fetch away some things 
which I had bought at the Hall on Friday, the 2nd instant, I 
found amongst the rubbish in the library the two brass plates men- 
tioned by Dr. Pegge, of which he gives the inscriptions. Both 
these I delivered to the late Mr. Clarke's housekeeper, at Suttou 
Hall, aforesaid. ''t Elsewhere, Mr. Reynolds, not knowing whence 
the plate had come, suggests that Oliver Shawe had been a former 
vivar of Sutton. The former of these plates has eventually, as we 
: . been restored to its proper position ; but we are afraid 
that the brass to the vicar is yet at large. A few years ago, it 
turned up at a lawyer's office in Chesterfield, and a suggestion was 
made that it should be placed in the parish church of that town 
as one of the vicars of , Chesterfield. Fortunately this suggestion 
was not adopted ; and it is to be hoped that it may yet be returned 
to the church of Brampton. 

In the churchyard, near to the priest's door, is a portion of a 

sepulchral slab, about three feet by two. It has been effectively 

sculptured with foliage, and belongs to the early English period. 

specially interesting to note these traces of early sepulture at 

Bramptou, for there was much dispute with the mother- church of 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 8, p. >>. 
7> .1.5, (. 71. 



116 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Chesterfield about the burial of their dead. It seems that the 
inhabitants of Brampton did not inter round their own chapel till 
some time in the thirteenth century. In the reign of Henry III., 
during his war with Simon de Montford in 1264-6, we read of 
their repairing portions of the wall of the Chesterfield graveyard, 
adjacent to their own part of the burial ground, in which they 
would not allow others to be buried. But the monument of Matilda 
le Caus seems to point to occasional earlier burial at Brampton, at 
all events within the church. There are some curious Latin notes 
at the end of the earliest of the Chesterfield registers, copied therein 
by the Kev. Matthew Waddington, who was vicar of Chesterfield 
from 1616 till 1638, wherein are enumerated certain claims on the 
part of that vicarage upon the neighbouring chapelries and hamlets. 
These claims seems to have been confirmed by a decree of the Star 
Chamber, on the llth November, in the seventh year of Charles I. 
The inhabitants of Brampton, with those of the adjacent hamlets 
of Wigley, Wadshelf, Loades, and Pocknage, had, after the privilege 
of baptizing and burial at Brampton had been granted, to make an 
offering of a farthing for each inhabited house on the festivals of 
All Saints, Epiphany, and the Assumption, to the vicar of Chester- 
field. They were required to supply, in then- turn, the sacramental 
bread for the mother-church. But the most singular custom was 
that they were bound to take for burial to Chesterfield, every year, 
the corpse of the first person who died in any of these hamlets 
after New Year's Day ; and the vicar of Chesterfield was to receive 
all the fees and mortuary oblations that would have been paid had 
the corpse been buried at Brampton. This custom seems to have 
continued down to the year 1828, as may be proved from entries in 
the Chesterfield registers ; but it was subsequently resisted by the 
inhabitants of Brampton, and made the subject of litigation. The 
dispute eventually resulted in the retention of the corpse, but in 
payment of certain fees to Chesterfield ; and we believe that two 
shillings is still paid to the vicar of Chesterfield for the first person 
who dies at Brampton after New Year's Day. 

Brampton has, however, been long esteemed a separate parish. 
It is even said to have been so considered in 1547, when the 
Chantry Boll was taken. 

Hugh Ingram, who is supposed to have married one of the co- 
heiresses of Caus, founded a chantry in this church. It is thus 
described in the Chantry Boll : " The Chauntrye of or Ladye of 
Braunton founded by Hughe Ingram, whose inherytaunce is comen 



BRAMPTON. 117 

to Fras. Erie of Shrewsburye for a priste to say masse in or Ladye 
Chappell, liij//., vjs., viij</. Thos. Soinersell* Chauntry Prest. It 
hath a rnancyon house prised att \s. viijd. by yere. Stock xlijs. xjcf." 

The original deed by which this chantry was endowed is still 
preserved at Lincoln. By that deed Hugh Ingram set apart thirty- 
five acres of land : " Deo et Capellse apostolorum Petri et Pauli 
Brampton." This chantry was well endowed, for, in addition to 
the acres bestowed by the first charter, it shortly afterwards had 
twenty-nine more acres bestowed upon it by different benefactors, 
including eleven acres from Hugh de Linacre. The founder also 
made a free gift of fifteen acres to William, Dean of Lincoln, by 
way, we suppose, of purchasing consent for the foundation of the 
chantry. This William was William de Lexinton, who was Dean 
about the year 1260 ; and the chantry was probably founded in 
the year 1264. 

The Deans of Lincoln appear to have looked very closely after 
their Derbyshire emoluments. In the reign of Henry III., and 
again in 1324, the Dean of Lincoln is actually described as being 
Parson of Brampton. t 

The following are the legends on the four bells in the tower : 

1. " Jesus be our sped." 

2. " Jesu nomen in ." 

3. " God save this church." 

4. " Jesus be our sped."J 

Over the gable at the east end of the nave is the bell-cot for 
the sanctus bell. We were told that a former incumbent removed 
this bell to the adjacent parsonage. 

In the churchyard, Bassano mentions " a handsome cross of two 
greeves (steps), and upon ye middle stone is a large sundial." 

When the Parliamentary Survey of Livings was taken, in 1650, 
the Commissioners reported of Brampton, that it is "a parochial 
chapelry in parish of Chesterfield. In vicarial tythes 20s. It is 
thought fitt to be made a parish church. Sir E. Leech is the 
impropriator, and bound to find a minister at Brampton. Mr. H. 

* The Somersalls, of Somersall, were an old Derbyshire family. Godfrey Somer- 
Ball was Governor of Peak Castle in the reign of Edward VI. 

f From manuscripts of Mr. Godfrey Foljambe, of Wigley, quoted by Dr. Pegge. 

J There is an incompleteness in the inscription on the second bell, for which we 
cannot account, nor are we able to say anything as to the bell-founder's marks, for on 
both the occasions when we visited Brampton Church the key of the belfry was kept 
at such a distance from the village as to be unavailable. For the inscriptions, as they 
are given in the text, we are indebted to a friend. 



118 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Hybbert is incumbent, an able, honest preacher. There is augmen- 
tacou of 4:0 per annum granted to Brampton." 

A hasty burial took place in this church, under the high altar, 
of which there is now no memorial. According to an old meino- 
randum book of one Arthur Mower, of Barlow, " Mr. Godfrey 
Foljambe, of Moorhall, departed from out of this world on Monday 
at morn, about 1st cock-crowing, 15 November; and was buried at 
Brampton, in the chancel under the high altar, where it stood the 
same day towards night, for it could not be kept. Anno Dom. 1591."* 

*Add. MSS. 6G71,f. 341. 





rimingfon. 
JQpfofioIb. 

TQormant-on. 
Malfon. 




|T the time of the Domesday Survey Newbold formed part 
of the demesne of the Crown. It was a manor of con- 
siderable extent, and comprised within its limits six 
hamlets Wbittington, Brimington, Tapton, Boythorpe, Eckington, 
and Chesterfield. The ancient chapel at Newbold may probably 
have been, at one time in its history, strange as it may now seem, 
the mother church of Chesterfield. Though no mention is made of 
a church at Chesterfield in the Domesday Book, one must have been 
erected there almost immediately on the conclusion of that survey, 
for William Eufus, who died in the year 1100, gave the church of 
Chesterfield, together with its chapels, to the Dean and Chapter of 
Lincoln. This gift was probably made, as was often the case, at 
the time of the church's erection. The Eev. George Hall, in com- 
piling his History of Chesterfield, published in 1823, made the 
singular mistake of asserting that " in Domesday Book it is said 
Matthew Hathersage gave six acres of land in Newbold-field to the 
church at Chesterfield, on the day of dedication, in the year 1233." 
As the Domesday Survey had been completed about a century and 
a half before that date, the strange blunder is at once detected, 
and would have been hardly worth notice, had not Glover, in his 
History of Derbyshire, published ten years later, slavishly copied it. 
A strange bungle has arisen over the question of the original date 
of the dedication of Chesterfield church, for Dr. Pegge, one of the 
most careful of antiquaries, led -us astray by stating in his History 
of Beauchief Alley, on the authority of the Chartulary at Lincoln, 
that it was dedicated in the year 1234. But when Ford's local 
history was published in 1839, a copy of the original receipt con- 
cerning these six acres of land was published in a note, and runs 
as follows : 

" I, Hugh of Walton, have received from William de Thomaco, 



122 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Dean of Lincoln, six acres of arable land in the field of Newbold, 
those (acres) namely which Matthew de Hathersage gave to the 
church of Chesterfield on the day of dedication, the same church 
to be had and held. Witness. Hugo de Linacre, &c., &c. Dated 
at Chesterfield, on Wednesday the day after the Assumption of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, in the year of our Lord, 1284." It is 
curious that this receipt should have misled Dr. Pegge and also 
the compiler of Ford's history. All that it means is, that Sir 
Matthew Hathersage made a gift to the church of Chesterfield on 
the anniversary of its dedication, which was an usual date upon 
which special bequests were made. The original dedication day 
must have been at least as early as the times of William Eufus. 
Then again, as if to further complicate the puzzle, the church, 
until within the last few months, bore the date 1037 inscribed upon 
a stone over the entrance of the south transept porch. Several 
theories have been started to account for the obvious incorrectness 
of this date as applicable to any portion of the present structure, 
the one most generally accepted being that it was copied from the 
older transept, pulled down to make room for the present one. 
But there is no reason to believe that a church existed here at all 
in the year 1037, and, if it did, the architects of those days were 
the last persons in the world to think of blazoning the date of 
their achievement on the outside of the structure. Ford, sug- 
gesting that the curved part of the figure 2 was mistaken for an 0, 
and the downstroke of the 4 for a 7 when the copy was made, 
attempts to make the date tally with the 1234 of the Lincoln 
Chartulary. But then, as we have already stated, the Lincoln 
Chartulary never did assert that the church was dedicated in the 
year 1234. The most probable solution of the difficulty is to be 
found in the suggestion that has occurred to us, that the was 
originally a 6, and that the upper part of the stroke perished from 
exposure to the weather, or was smoothed off by some wicked wag. 
This date, 1G37, would about correspond with the probable date of 
the erection of the porch leading into the south transept, which 
has just been removed. This porch had a quaint entrance, with 
an ogee- shaped but very flat archway, but was otherwise clearly 
referable to the seventeenth century. Making inquiries as to the 
whereabouts of this inscribed stone, we found that it was cracked 
in two when being taken down, and that it was subsequently 
removed to the builder's yard at Staveley. Probably before these 
lines are in print it will have been finally broken up, or otherwise 



CHESTERFIELD. 123 

utilised, and will no longer vex the souls of local archaeologists. 
The stone had, however, been in dire disgrace for some time pre- 
vious to its removal, for we learnt that its figures had been all 
roughly chiselled off, and only the trace of them left behind. 

Another point of dispute in connection with this church is the 
style of its dedication. By some accounts it is said to be dedicated 
to All Saints, but by others to St. Mary. "We are not aware, 
however, of any good grounds for attributing it to the latter dedica- 
tion. On the contrary, Bacon's Liber Reyis, the accepted authority 
on disputed dedications, Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, and the 
most trustworthy of the Gazetteers and local histories, unite in 
ascribing it to All Saints. The church itself also bears witness to 
(ho truth of this statement, for a brass in the south transept, of 
the date of 1500, to which reference will be subsequently made, 
mentions " the parish of All Saints, in Chesterfield." Moreover, at 
the foundation of both the Guilds, and in other documents of the 
fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, it is spoken of as 
dedicated to All Saints, whereas we have not met with a single 
pro-reformation statement of its dedication to St. Mary.* 

Of the church that existed here in the days when the Norman 
style of architecture prevailed, no trace now remains, either in tho 
building itself or in the monumental remains, unless we except an 
incised slab, described and pictured by Ford, that may have been 
of that period, but which seems to have disappeared during the 
alterations in 18-42 3. The church, as it at present stands, is of 
a cruciform shape, and consists of nave, side aisles, north and 
south transepts, and chancel with aisles and chapels on each side. 
From the four arches at the intersection of the cross rises a well- 
proportioned square tower, surmounted by a plain parapet and four 
octagonal pinnacles, from amid which springs that architectural 
singularity, the twisted spire of lead-covered timber. The propor- 
tions of this large church are justly balanced, and would have, if 
it was not for the spire, a most symmetrical and harmonious effect. 
The height of the spire, exclusive of the weather-cock, is 230 feet. 
The total length of the church is 170 feet 11 inches, and the 
breadth across the transept, 109 feet 6 inches. 

The oldest portion of the present building is to be found in the 
transepts. A new doorway has just been built to the south tran- 

* There are copies of four charters, each of which specifies the church of All Saints 
'thoW.il:. ' 1. M>S. lii'f.T, \'}>. '.;'7-711. The dates of these charters 

i from 31 Bdw. III., tu 32 Heu. VIII. 



124 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

sept, from which the porch has been removed as already described, 
and the details of the new doorway precisely follow the character- 
istics of its decayed predecessor. The old doorway, as is shown by 
the stones placed inside the transept, and by the bases not yet 
removed from the churchyard, was a fair example of early English 
work, the jambs being cut into shafts bordered by the character- 
istic tooth or four-leaved flower ornament. Inside the transept, 
too, there is a remnant of this period in the half-pillar against the 
south wall, from the capital of which springs one of the arches 
that separate the south transept from the south chapel. Round 
this half-pillar, or pilaster, cluster eight small shafts, that have 
two projecting bauds between the capital and base. The arch that 
springs from it is of later work, consonant with the main portion 
of the building. The north transept also bears traces of early 
English work. The two archways which separate the north chapel 
from this transept are both supported on the outer walls by 
pilasters consisting of a single disengaged shaft of early English 
work, divided in the centre by a single band. The capitals of 
these shafts are carved into well-defined foliage. There are several 
corbel heads or brackets projecting from both the west and east 
walls of the north transept, which point to the existence of a roof 
of very different pitch and construction to the present one. Those 
on the east wall appear to belong to this period. These traces, 
then, of early English work in the two transepts, are sufficient to 
tell us that a large cruciform church was erected here in the thir- 
teenth century, probably about 1250, in the place of the Norman 
church of "William Eufus that previously existed. The remains, 
too, are sufficient to enable us to say that this church of the thir- 
teenth century was not carried out on an entirely uniform plan, 
and was probably not completed at one time. It seems as though 
the north transept was of earlier construction than the one on the 
south. Nor must we here omit to mention the corbel-table that 
supports the exterior cornice of the wall on the south side of the 
Foljambe chapel. The heads and other mouldings that form this 
corbel-table are clearly attributable to the early English period, 
and form an additional proof of the great size of the church in the 
thirteenth century. 

By far the most considerable portion of the present fabric must, 
however, have been erected in the succeeding century, when the 
Decorated style was in vogue. The nave, side aisles, south porch, 
parts of the transepts, and the fine central tower, all formed part 



CHESTERFIELD. 1 25 

of one grand uniform design ; but this design was not carried out 
at the east end of the church, owing, we suppose, to that portion 
being in good repair from recent restorations. We have already 
seen how parts of early English work were left in the transepts, 
let us now see what further alterations were made previous to the 
reconstruction of the main body of the building. The Decorated 
period of English architecture prevailed chiefly throughout the 
fourteenth century, in the reigns of Edward II. and Edward III., 
though some of the earliest specimens were erected in 1290. There 
was considerable change throughout the continuance of this style, 
and the parts of Chesterfield Church that belong to this period 
differ in design, and were built on three if not four separate occa- 
sions. The earliest of these may, we think, be found in the south 
or Calton chapel, and in the central pillar that supports the two 
arches which divide the chapel from the transept. This pillar 
would probably be erected at the time when the early English 
work began to give way, or when this chapel, as it now stands, 
was erected. The pillar differs decidedly from ah 1 the others in the 
church, and is grooved into alternate rounded and filleted mould- 
ings. The chapel is a lofty apse-shaped building, and is lighted by 
three tall windows of two lights each, the upper portions being 
filled with Decorated tracery of a regular design. The two south 
windows, also, of the adjacent Foljambe chapel, of three lights 
each, are of a Decorated pattern at one time in frequent use, and 
though the east window of this chapel is now of Perpendicular 
design, the former higher span of the window arch, when it was 
of the same design as the south windows, can be plainly seen from 
the exterior. Then again, the central pillar of the north transept, 
supporting the two arches that divide the transept from the north 
chapel, is of this period. It is of octagonal shape, and has a 
unique-looking capital, which is sculptured into a double row of 
foliage with a human head on the east side, and another defaced 
on the west. This transept and chapel were much knocked about 
and barbarously "restored" in the last century, but, over a 
modernised round-headed north doorway into the chapel, is a fine 
window of four principal lights with elegant Flamboyant tracery. 
This window represents the Decorated style when in its prime, and 
though of no large dimensions, is in our opinion the gem of the 
church in point of design. The large east window of the chancel 
is now fiDed with Decorated tracery, but this dates back no further 
than 1842 3, when it superseded one of Perpendicular construction ; 



126 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

and during the present year a fine window of the same style has 
been put in the south of the south transept, succeeding to one 
which was of Perpendicular date. On each side of the chancel are, 
two archways that divide it from the Foljambe chapel on the 
south, and the corresponding one on the north. These arches, sup- 
ported by central octagonal columns with plainly moulded .capitals, 
are of the Decorated period, and tolerably early in that style. 
Now all these details of Decorated work that we have been enume- 
rating, are doubtless of earlier date than the general design of that 
period when the body and tower of the church were constructed. 
They were probably built at different times by different benefactors 
"to the church, and if we were asked to assign approximate dates to 
the various portions, we should place the transept pillars about the 
year 1300 ; the chancel archways and perhaps the Foljambe and 
south chapel about 1 320 ; and the Flamboyant north window 
about 1350. 

The whole of the nave, north and south aisles, south porch, tower 
(and probably spire), together with a portion of the south transept, 
form part of one design, of the reign of Edward III., and cer- 
tainly not earlier than 1350. In fact this rebuilding was carried 
out throughout the whole structure, except in those eastern parts 
where the fabric was sound, having only been erected a few years 
previously. The nave is separated from the side aisles by six 
arches on each side, supported by five pillars. These piers are 
formed of four clustered pillars, and have plain capitals of three 
courses of rounded mouldings. The west arches are supported by 
half pillars or responds of the same description,, and those at the 
east end rest on handsome corbels. There are five side windows 
to each of the aisles, of three principal lights, all of the same 
device, and another window like them, but of larger dimensions, 
in the west wall of the south transept. From the exterior we 
notice that these windows are divided by buttresses of two courses, 
surmounted by pinnacles, which correspond in position to the piers 
of the arches in the interior. These windows are set deeply in 
the walls, and the jambs are carved into delicate and well pre- 
served mouldings. The simple hood-mould that runs round the 
windows is continued horizontally along the walls until it joins the 
buttresses, a feature unusual in Decorated work. The tracery in 
the upper part of the windows is somewhat stiff, and indicates an 
approach to the more definite times of the Perpendicular era. The 
details of the jarnbs of the two west windows of the aisles exactly 



CHESTERFIELD. 127 

correspond with the others, but the tracery shows that they have 
been restored during the Perpendicular period. The tracery of the 
large west window is of a more flowing description, but it is a 
modern insertion. In the Eev. Alfred Suckling's Church Notes is a 
beautifully finished pen-and-ink sketch of Chesterfield Church from 
the north-west, which shows this window filled with debased Per- 
pendicular tracery, having two lines of transoms. * The west bay 
of each of these aisles is occupied by doorways of similar pattern. 
The third doorway into the nave below the large west window, 
which has recently been rather clumsily restored, is also of the 
same design. These doorways are good specimens of the late 
Decorated work. The jambs are cut into three filleted shafts, 
divided by filleted mouldings. The fillets are continued up the 
capitals of the shaft, and by intersecting the horizontal mouldings 
present a curious cross-like effect. The doorway on the south side 
is covered by a handsome porch, the entrance into which is sur- 
mounted by a richly-ornamented, canopied niche, and the gable 
bears a stone cross. In the north-east corner of this porch is a 
low ogee-arched doorway, which opens on a stairway leading to the 
roof of the porch, and also to the leads of the side aisle. This 
stairway is contained in a projecting turret, surmounted by a 
pyramidal pinnacle. Returning to the interior of the church, we 
note the four very effective arches of ample height and span, 
and the massive piers upon which the weighty fabric of tower 
and spire are erected. The coup d' ceil is, of course, marred 
by the side and west galleries of the nave, though it is only 
fair to state that they are perhaps as little ungainly as it is pos- 
sible for galleries to be ; and we cannot help also remarking, 
though it may be hypercritical, that the effect of the design as a 
whole would have been improved if the openings from the side 
aisles into the transepts, on each side of the piers of the tower, 
had taken the form of pointed archways instead of half-arches, 
which only give the appearance of being buttresses. 

The tower, springing from the intersection of the nave, chancel, 
and transepts, is supported at the angles by shallow buttresses of 
three courses. The lower part of the tower, below the bell-chamber 
windows, is divided into two stages by horizontal lines of receding 
moulding. Between these two lines are the small single-light win- 
dows, two on each side, that give light to the belfry proper or 
bell-ringing chamber. Above these are the fine double windows of 

Add. MSS. 18,478. 



128 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the tower, of good proportion, and of a tracery usual to towers of 
this date. Ahove these again are the parapet and pinnacles. The 
parapet is unpierced and not divided into battlements, hut it is 
adorned with a chaste hand of running moulding, very similar to 
that in a like position on the tower of the parish church of Crich. 
And now we have reached that singular eccentricity the spire, 
which must not be passed over in a hasty manner. Of its date 
we cannot speak with absolute certainty, but it may, in the first 
place, be remarked, that from the construction of the tower it is 
indubitable that it was intended to carry a spire, and secondly 
that there are no apparent traces of the existence of a previous 
spire in the present situation. Spires formed of timber and 
covered with shingles or lead are not very uncommon, especially 
in the south-eastern counties. They are, as a rule, devoid of all 
ornament or work by which they can be appropriated to any par- 
ticular style of architecture, and are more usually found upon 
towers of the Perpendicular period than upon those of earlier date. 
But still they are not unknown, in other instances besides Ches- 
terfield, upon towers of the Decorated style, and in more than one 
such instance they have been attributed by competent authorities 
to that period. There seems, then, no good reason for doubting 
that this spire was erected at or about the time when the tower 
and principal portions of the church were built, an hypothesis 
which places its date between the years 1350 70. The spire is of 
an octagonal shape, and is built of timber and covered with lead. 
The lead is applied in diagonally-placed parallelograms, and is so 
arranged as to divide each of the eight sides into two distinct and 
chanelled planes, giving the spire, irrespective of its crookedness, a 
most unique appearance. Theories innumerable, and conjectures 
without end have been offered on all sides as to the crookedness 
of this spire, and, perhaps, the strangest of all is the one that 
consists in denying that it possesses any real crookedness, and that 
the appearance of it arises from an optical delusion brought about 
by the strange way in which the lead is disposed ! It is really 
wonderful to think how anyone blessed with ordinary eyesight, to 
say nothing of a spirit of investigation, could have arrived at such 
a conclusion, and, though the opinion has been backed by men of 
great authority in all matters pertaining to ecclesiastical architec- 
ture, they have probably only derived their views second hand from 
some ardent inhabitant of Chesterfield, who refused to see the 
enormity, on the principle that actuates a mother in denying the 



CHESTERFIELD. 129 

squint of her offspring, though it is patent to all the world ! But, 
whatever was the basis of their opinion, there it stands in Kick- 
man's Gothic Architecture, " the apparent leaning of the spire arises 
partly from the curious spiral mode of putting on the lead, and 
partly from a real inclination of the general lines of the wood- 
work of the spire ;" and Parker, in his Glossary of Architecture, 
says " the lead is so disposed as to give the appearance of the 
spire being twisted." Glover also, in his history of the county, 
adopts this view, speaking of " the leaning appearance" and he has 
been followed by the compilers of several gazetteers and directories. 
If anyone still holds to this notion of an optical delusion, which 
might be held by looking at it from only one direction, let him 
walk round the church and view the spire on aU sides ; if he 
is still in doubt, let him ascend the tower and walk round the 
parapet, keeping his eyes above him ; and should he, perchance, 
remain yet micon verted an apparent impossibility let him climb 
the ladders in the interior of the spire that lead to the " crow 
hole " a few feet from the top, and put his head out of the door- 
way on the south side, that he will there find, and, if he descends 
with the impression still on him that the leaning or crookedness 
is only apparent, he will be the most astounding sceptic that the 
world has ever seen. We are not in a position, from any observa- 
tions of our own, to say more, than that we are assured of the 
crookedness, and of a considerable inclination to the south-west ; 
in fact we would defy anyone to have any doubt upon either of 
these points, irrespective of external appearances, if he would 
simply content himself with a visit to the interior of the spire, 
and a careful examination of the interlacing of the different 
timbers. There seems no reason to doubt the accuracy of the 
measurements quoted by the Rev. G. Hall. He tells us that 
in January, 1818, the ball on which the weathercock is fixed 
was found to lean towards the south six feet from the perpen- 
dicular of its base,, and four feet four inches out of its perpendi- 
cular towards the west ; therefore, its greatest deviation from the 
perpendicular of its base is nearly midway between these two 
points, or nearly at south-west. Amongst the different theories 
adopted, by those who believe in the reality of the twist and 
inclination, to account for its shape, may be mentioned the follow- 
ing: (1) intentional eccentricity of construction, (2) struck by 
lightning, (3) heavy pressure of lead, (4) warping by the action 
of the sun. The first of these theories is hardly worth a word of 



130 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

argument, for though there are those who contend with a good show 
of reason that the leaning tower of Pisa and other peculiarities of 
architecture in that famous city were purposely so erected,* there is 
something so monstrous, not to say uncanny, ahout the shape of 
the Chesterfield spire, that it is impossible to conceive any one 
in their senses sitting down to plan such a device, and almost 
equally impossible would it have been to have carried out such 
a device, even if it had in the first instance been planned. 
Ehodes truly remarks of this supposition, " No man who ever 
lived would voluntarily erect an object of deformity, a thing that 
in its form and outline was offensive to the eye, and in opposi- 
tion to every principle of taste. "t Nor is the second conjecture, 
though more probable, much more tenable ; for surely if a timber 
spire had been struck with lightning, some visible traces of the 
action of the electric fluid would have been left in the scorching, 
or, at all events, discolouring of the beams ? And if the spire 
had ever received a sudden shock of such violence as to cause so 
marvellous a displacement of its timbers, it is difficult to believe 
that it could have remained for centuries in its present condition. 
In our opinion the true solution is to be found in a combination 
of the third and fourth theories. It seems probable that the 
various beams, of which the framework of the spire is composed, 
were put up in an insufficiently seasoned condition, and insecurely 
rivetted together without due allowance being made for the great 
weight of the requisite mass of lead. The clinging pressure of 
the lead might thus cause a certain irregular subsidence in the 
timbers, and this would be greatly assisted by the powerful warp- 
ing action of the sun beating through the lead on to the green 
parts of the woodwork. That the real explanation is to be found 
in a combination of these two causes seems the more probable, as 
a close examination of the beams proves two faults firstly, that 
many of them (especially the smaller ones) are unmistakably 
warped ; and secondly, that the joints have gaped and given way 
in places where there is no appearance of this having been caused 
by warping or contraction. That the action of the sun has been 
one of the most powerful agencies at work, is further shown from 
the fact that the timbers are the most displaced and twisted from, 
their original position on the south side the side most exposed 

* See an admirable explanatory article on the intentional irregularities of various 
buildings at Pisa, by W. H. Goodyear, in Scribner's Monthly, August, 1874. 

t Khodes' Peak Scenery, part iv., p. 36. 



CHESTERFIELD. 131 

to the influence of its rays. There is no necessity to imagine 
that this subsidence and distortion took place suddenly, still less, 
as some have supposed, that it only came about of late years ; 
the most reasonable supposition is that it assumed very nearly, if 
not precisely, its present singularity within two or three years of 
its erection, but that the displacement went on gradually during 
that period. 

In the year 1817, it was generally supposed that there was con- 
siderable danger of the spire falling, and various reports were 
published, all of an alarming nature, by different surveyors. Messrs. 
Hodkin and Toinlinson, of Chesterfield, reported that they examined 
the steeple on the 26th of November, 1817, and were of opinion 
that "if it be suffered to remain unsupported a few years, it will 
certainly become in a dangerous state, and it is very probable that 
it will fail at or about the middle of the steeple, and fall towards 
the south or south-west." Mr. W. Wilkinson, of Mansfield, in the 
following month reported it to be in a dangerous condition, and 
advised that the most effectual, safe, and economical course would 
be to take it down and erect one of stone. In the same month 
the steeple was also inspected by Mr. E. W. Drury, of Sheffield, 
and he also recommended that it should be immediately taken 
down, maintaining that it was eminently unsafe and dangerous, and 
' that it would be impossible to repair it, even at any expense, so 
as to ensure it standing many years." These reports were of so 
serious a nature that a vestry meeting was called in January, 1818, 
for the purpose of considering the demolition of the spire, but this 
proposition was energetically opposed by some of the inhabitants, 
and it was decided to take a further opinion. Mr. James Ward, of 
Sheffield, was accordingly called in, and on the 24th of January, 
reported that, with slight repairs, it might stand almost indefinitely 
" the foundation or basis of the carpenters' work was firm and 
good, which rendered it morally (sic) impossible that it should ever 
fall, until the base itself gave way." This report being confirmed 
by three practical carpenters, was ultimately adopted, and the steeple 
Buffered to remain. Mr. Ward has, so far, turned out to be a 
true prophet, though with another portion of his report, in which 
he speaks of being " convinced that the steeple had never given way 
in the least since the day it was first erected, or it would have 
fallen down instantaneously," we totally disagree. Ours is only an 
unprofessional opinion, but there certainly seems to us no reason 
why the spire should not stand for as many more centuries as it 



132 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

1ms at present existed, provided that the requisite repairs, both in 
lead and timber, are properly carried out as occasion requires. The 
covering of lead has been from time to time repaired and renewed, 
and there may very likely be none of the original coat now left. 
Of late years the plumbers have left their names to posterity in the 
material of their work. The earliest instance of this, that we noted, 
occurs at the base of the spire, where may be read " J. Harvey, 
T. Sales, C. W. (churchwardens), 1771. J. Shepley, plumber." 

And if opinions have varied to so remarkable an extent as to the 
cause of the shape of the spire, there has been at least an equal 
diversity of opinion as to its comeliness and desirability. There 
are some people who, persistently holding to the theory of its in- 
tentional construction in the present form, are lost in admiration 
at the cunning of the artificers, till they believe it to be an actual 
ornament and in itself beautiful. There are others who see in it 
nothing but a hideous deformity, and desire its speedy demolition. 
But there is a third class, and surely to this belong, if not the 
majority of Derbyshire men, at all events the majority of the 
residents in the hundred of Scarsdale, who perceive in it a most 
singular and unique curiosity, who reverence it for the many cen- 
turies that it has withstood the blast, who have grown fond of it 
from its quaintness and originality, and who would not on any 
account have it displaced, even to make room for the most elegant 
and appropriate structure of stone that a Street or a Gilbert Scott 
could devise. It is, however, but fair to state that it is seldom if 
ever admired by the stranger or the casual observer, and it requires 
a somewhat intimate acquaintanceship, before any love for its eccen- 
tricities is developed. Many an unkind speech and rude jest has 
been passed upon its deformities, but they only serve to endear it 
the more to the bulk of the intelligent inhabitants of the district. 
Perhaps the most brusque description of it that we have seen in 

print, was penned, just one hundred years ago, by T Q , 

who made a tour of the Midland Counties in 1772, and published 
his impressions of Chesterfield in the Gentleman's Magazine during 
the year 1774. He says, " Chesterfield is a large town with 
nothing worthy of notice but the church, and this only for its 
ugliness ; it is old, and built of bad stone, but rendered most 
disgusting by its wooden spire (covered with lead) being so much 
warped that I discerned its crookedness at three miles distance. 

I am surprised any authors can affirm this appearance 

of crookedness to be only a deceptio visus ; its reality is so obvious." 



CHESTERFIELD. 1 3 tf 

It lias been praised, too, in prose, and praised in poetry, though 
poets have found it a difficult subject upon which to invoke the 
muse. A local poet from Brimington recently rhymed the praises 
"of the church with the old crooked spire,"* and in a far more 
ambitious effort, published in 1822, we read : 

" Its ponderous steeple, pillared in the sky, 

Rises with twist in pyramidal form, 
And threatens danger to the timid eye 

That climbs in wonder. When the rolling storm 
Scowls dark aiid dreadful o'er its apex high, 

And spends its fury in the torrents borne 
Down the dark welkin, then she sees it lower, 

And stands unshaken by the tempest's power. "f 

It is but due to the poet to say that this verse describing the 
spire is, as is perhaps appropriate, by far the most wooden of his 
many stanzas. But even poetry has not always been kind to the 
steeple, and Ford quotes some lines, from the pen of Mr. John 
Munnings, which are anything but complimentary : 

" Whichever way you turn your eye, 
It always seem to be awry; 
Pray, can you tell the reason why ? 
The only reason known of weight 
Is that the thing was never straight: 
Nor know the people where to go 
To find the man to make it so ; 
Since none can furnish such a plan, 
Except a perfect upright man; 
So that the spire, 'tis very plain, 
For ages crooked must remain ; 
And while it stands, must ever be 
An emblem of deformity." 

Our gossip about the spire has extended to a greater length than 
we intended, but our excuse must be that it is, whether admired 
or not, one of the most singular curiosities of church architecture, 
not only in Derbyshire, but in the United Kingdom ; and though 
we have concluded with Mr. Muimmgs' satirical lines, we are far 
from sharing his opinions. J 

After the re-construction of the main portion of the church in 
the fourteenth century, it would appear that about another century 
elapsed before any further alterations were made. Though the 
high pitched roofs of the Decorated period frequently included the 

* Derbyshire Times, February 24th, 1866. 

\Chesterfield Church; a Poem, by Samuel Bromley. This is a pamphlet of 
twenty-five pages. 

I The spire, from its exposed situation, has on several occasions suffered from 
storms. One of the most serious of these storms occurred on 3rd October, 1701, 
when the weather-cock was blown off and considerable damage done to the upper 
part of the spire. This was the time when the wind blew so strongly at London 
Bridge that the tide was forced back till people were able to cross on foot. MS. of 
Mr. H. Lowe, of \Vhittington, quoted by Dr. Pegge. 



134 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHKS. 

body and aisles in a single span, we can decide, from the traces 
of the pitch of the old roof on the walls of the tower, that this 
was not the case at Chesterfield. Probably, therefore, the original 
design included clerestory windows above the side aisles-, but of 
much smaller dimensions than the present ones. These windows, 
six on each side, show by their tracery that they are attributable 
to the Perpendicular period, and are about one hundred years 
later than the body of the church. It may very likely have hap- 
pened that about the year 1480 it became necessary to repair the 
decaying timbers of the roof ; for over and over again it has been 
found, from a close inspection of the timbers of old church roofs, 
that they have been made to do duty repeatedly in successive 
roofs of different constructions. The architect, then, of the four- 
teenth century, may have very likely used the beams that had 
formerly constructed the early English roof; and hence the ne- 
cessity, a hundred years later, for its re-construction. The architect 
of the fifteenth century would naturally make use of the style 
then in vogue, which possessed also the additional attraction of 
giving more light and more scope for the display of coloured glass. 
At the same time the tracery of the two west windows of the 
aisles, and of the large west window of the nave, would be altered. 
Then, too, some repairs wei'e done to the north transept, though 
of what extent it is difficult to decide, owing to its transformation 
in 1769; but there is a window in the west wall, adjoining the 
nave, of the same construction as the clerestory windows of the 
main building. 

The chancel and its side chapsls seem to have next required 
renovation ; and we accordingly find that the east windows of the 
chancel, of the Foljambe chapel, and of the corresponding chapel 
on the north side were filled with Perpendicular tracery, in which 
the transom, or horizontal mullion, makes itself very conspicuous, 
and points to about the year 1500. The east window of the 
chancel was taken out at the alterations in 1848, and another 
large Perpendicular window has recently disappeared from the 
south end of the south transept, then- places being in each instance 
supplied with tracery after the Decorated style. There is also a 
three-light square-headed Perpendicular window over the doorway 
leading into the modern lean-to vestry on the north side ; and 
another similar one, but now blocked up, facing the east, which 
formerly lighted the small chapel opening out of the north transept. 
These may be of still later date, as well as the three large square- 
clerestory windows in the west wall of the south transept. 



CHESTERFIELD. 185 

The following alterations made in the church during the last 
century are for the most part noted in the parish registers. In 
1718 the chancel was enlarged and newly seated. In 1738 a 
gallery was erected on the north side to correspond with a much 
older one in the south. In 1769 the north transept was rebuilt, 
after the present hideous fashion, at an expense of .372 6s. 7d. 
In 1774 the west part of the roof of the church was taken down, 
newly timbered, and fresh leaded. In 1790 the body of the church 
and chancel were whitewashed, the pillars in the body of the 
church painted "for the first time," by assessment, and the cross 
aisle and chancel painted " for the first time," by subscription of 
the inhabitants of the town. A thorough renovation of the inte- 
rior took place in 1842-3, involving the removal of the cumbrous 
old galleries and pews, and the substitution of an oak roof em- 
blazoned with heraldry for the flat plaster ceiling. A good idea of 
the interior of the church previous to this restoration may be 
gained from the plate in Ford's History of Chesterfield. It will 
there be noted that the nave was lighted by two handsome brass 
chandeliers of ri'iKiisfnin-e design, which were the gift of Mr. Godfrey 
Heathcote in 1760. These now hang from the roofs of the Foljambe 
chapel, and the corresponding chapel or aisle on the north side of 
the chancel. A small endowment was left by the donor for keeping 
these chandeliers in order, and they are supplied with candles, and 
illuminated once a year, viz., at the evening service on Christmas 
Day. During the repairs several interesting discoveries were 
brought to light. " On the south side of the transept arch was a 
painting which had long been covered with whitewash ; it repre- 
sented a vase containing a plant covered with leaves. Near it was 
a figure of a person in canonicals ; the whole subject was sur- 
rounded by a gilt border. On the opposite side of the arch there 
had been a painting of the crucifixion; on the right side of the 
cross was a female figure, probably intended for the Virgin Mary ; 
on the left side was an ecclesiastic ; below this painting were the 
figures of two more ecclesiastics. Over the north-west door was 
a text painted in black letter, of no great antiquity, which was found 
to cover the remains of a much older painting, of which the zig-zag 
border and a wreath of fleur-de-lis were alone to be distinguished."' 

* We quote from a scarce pamphlet published at Chesterfield in May, 1843, imme- 
diately after the re-opening of the parish church. At page 6 is given a list of the 
twenty-four escutcheons on the new roof. The first six, commencing from the east, 
are those of the six Sovereigns in whose reigns it was supposed that the church was 
built, enlarged, or restored, viz., William II., Edward II., Edward III., Henry III., 
Henry VII., and Victoria. The next six are those of prominent contributors to the 
restoration, the Duke of Devonshire, Sir H. Hunloke, W. Evans, Esq., M.P., and 
Hon. G. H. Cavendish, M.P. ; of the donor of the great pipe of the organ, Godfrey 



136 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

At the east end of the church two recesses were uncovered, both 
of which had served as niches over piscinas. One of these has 
pertained to the high altar, and is placed in the projecting piece 
of wall on the south side which divides the chancel proper from 
the Foljarnhe chapel; the other is to the south side of the east 
window of the north chancel-chapel where another altar doubtless 
stood. The first of these niches is pierced with open carving of a 
good design, and the second has a plain trefoil head, but both 
appear to belong to the Decorated period. There is yet a third of 
these piscina niches in the Calton chapel, below the centre one of 
the three windows ; it is of some little width but not otherwise 
remarkable, and may be also attributed to the same period. He-re 
there are several corbel stones, or brackets of varying design, which 
have at one time served as supports for images of different saints. 
In this chapel, too, is the old parish chest. It is a massive 
oblong structure of oak, but so bound round with iron bands and 
staples that but little of the original material is displayed, and, 
with its six locks, it presents an appearance of absolute impregna- 
bility. But the parish registers themselves tell a different tale. 
Inside the cover of the register book for 1642-1711 is fastened the 
following printed handbill : 

" Sacrilege. 

" Forty Guineas reward. 

" Whereas some evil disposed person or persons did last night, 
Wednesday 31st August, or during this morning, Thursday 1st 
September, feloniously and burglariously break open aud enter the 
Parish Church and Vestry room at Chesterfield, and steal from 
thence amongst other articles the following plate ; two silver cups 
with the word ' Chesterfield ' engraved upon them, one silver dish 
with following inscription ' Deo Triiini, dicata, Chesterfield, 1736,' 
and one silver plate inscribed with the words ' Chesterfield Church, 
1781 ' Notice is hereby given that any person or persons giving 
information to the churchwardens of Chesterfield as shall lead to 
the conviction, &c., &c. 

" 1st Sept., 1808. " G. Bossley, vicar. 

i( E. H. Harwood, ) 

Churchwardens. 
" Joseph Bee, 

" Bradley Printer. " Th6s. Turner, Parish Clerk." 

Heathcote, Esq. ; and of the founder of the lectureship, Godfrey Foljarnhe, Esq. The 
remaining twelve were those of the present and two preceding Archdeacons of Derby 
(Butler, IJodgson, and Shirley) ; of the present and two preceding vicars of the parish 
(Wood, Bossley, and Hill); of the present and two preceding Archbishops of the 
Province (Moore, Manners-Button, and Howley); and of the present and two pre- 
ceding Bishops of the Diocese (Eyder, Butler, and Bowstead). 



CHESTERFIELD. 137 

The matter is more fully explained by a written insertion in 
another of the registers, where it is stated that, " the first race- 
day at night (August 31st), some thieves picked the lock of the 
door opposite the clerk's house, went down the north aisle, picked 
that lock at the bottom, tried the chancel door opposite, which was 
bolted inside ; they then picked the other chancel door lock and 
the vestry, four double locks on the chest padlocks, wrenched two 
clasp locks open (which they could not pick) with the sexton's 
pick-axe, drank one bottle of wine, and took four with them ; took 
the two silver cups, the large silver dish, and the small plate, and 
got off the same way; but left two large flagons in the chest." 
These two flagons were presented to the church in 1723, one by 
Mr. Thomas Dowker, of Gainsborough, and the other by his sister 
Mrs. Margaret Wilson, of London, the children of Mr. Thomas 
Dowker, Alderman of Chesterfield. 

Nor must we omit to mention, though it may scarcely seem to 
come within the scope of these notes, another quaint object of 
interest, that lies on one of the altar tombs in the Foljainbe 
chapel. Tradition has it and the tradition is veritably believed by 
many an inhabitant of Chesterfield that this large bone is a rib 
of the celebrated Dun Cow, of Dunrnoor Heath, which was killed 
by Guy of Warwick. A similar bone, having a similar legend, is 
preserved at the gatehouse to Warwick Castle. The presence of 
one of these ribs at Chesterfield is accounted for by the statement, 
that the Dun Cow's bones were dispersed over the country in 
memory of Guy's wondrous feat. The bone is seven feet four 
inches in length, and its circumference varies from twelve to four- 
teen inches. Near one end is engraved, in old English characters, 
" Thomas Fletcher." The Foljambes sold the manor of Walton to 
the Ingrains in 1633, and about three years later it was again sold 
to the Fletchers, and hence the appearance of this name in the 
church. The bone is, in reality, the jaw bone of a small whale, 
but whether this fact was known or not, when deposited here by 
Mr. Fletcher, it is impossible now to say. 

The church contains much interesting old woodwork. There 
are two old screens, in the north and south transepts respec- 
tively, both of the Perpendicular period, though the former is 
more ancient by several years. The screen in the north transept 
separates that transept from the chapel opening out of it on the 
east side, now occupied by the warming apparatus ; but previous 
to the restoration of 1843 it formed the rood screen that divided 



138 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the chancel from the nave aud transepts.* There is nothing 
unusual in its construction, but the carving below the top cornice 
requires some little explanation. There are eight figures in all, 
six of them representing angels bearing on their breasts the 
emblems of the Passion, viz. : (1) The scourge and hammer, 
(2) the lance and nails, (3) a shield of the five wounds, (4) the 
vesture, (5) the cross, (6) the crown of thorns. The remaining 
two figures are a lion and an eagle, each bearing a scroll. These 
latter are emblematic of two of the evangelists, and were probably 
accompanied by a man and an ox when the screen was complete. 
The other screen is in the south transept, and extends the whole 
length, cutting off the transept from the Foljambe and Calton 
chapels. It is a good specimen of late Perpendicular work, 
the upper portion branching out into a wide coved cornice, after 
the fashion of the elaborate screens of the fifteenth century, often 
met with in the west of England. There are two doorways in it, 
and over one of them two uncharged escutcheons, but these look 
like comparatively modern additions, and the whole of the screen 
has been much patched and repaired at different times. In two 
places on this screen, on the east side, are the words " Thomas 
Fletcher,"f engraved in old English characters, the same name 
that occurs on "the rib of the Dun Cow." 

We now com,e to the description of the fine old woodwork, 
forming the reredos at the back of the altar, from which we shall 
naturally pass to a consideration of the monuments. A cursory 
glance at this woodwork is sufficient to show that it has pre- 
viously been used -as a screen, but we find from the pamphlet, 
descriptive of the alteration of the church in 1843, that this 
material was formerly used in the construction of the Foljambe 
pews, which used to stand at the eastern end of the nave on the 
south side. There can, however, be no doubt that this beau- 
tiful work originally formed a screen fencing off "the Foljambe 
quire " or chapel, and then it seems likely that it was divided 
into portions to form "the Foljambe pews" some time subse- 
quent to the Eeformation, when the nave was being for the first 
time fitted up with those family accommodations. It is probable 

* The rooA-loft of this screen was extant in 1783. Pegge's Collections, vol. iv. 

f There are rmmproris entries in the early registers of North Winfield parish rela- 
tive to certain Fletchers. In the year 1653, there is an entry of the death of the wife 
of Thomas Fletcher, therein described as of Egstowe and Tupton ; and as if to show 
some sort of a connection between the Foljambes and the Fletchers, we find that the 
former name was borne by the latter as a Christian name, for in June, 157-1, the 
baptism of " Anna, filia Foljambe Fletcher," is recorded. 







CHESTERFIELD, DETAILS OP THE REREDOS. 



CHESTERFIELD. 139 

that the whole of this most interesting woodwork was not pre- 
served, as it is very unlikely that it would exactly suffice to fill 
up the space below the east window of the chancel. The cornice 
is formed of a running pattern of vine leaves and tendrils, and at 
frequent intervals appear small shields, about two inches square, 
growing on the stem in the place of the legitimate foliage. These 
shields are twenty-seven in number, twenty of them bear the 
Foljainbe arms a bend between six escallops and the remainder 
have a badge or device, which is difficult to describe without a 
sketch, but which may be roughly rendered as, a Latin cross with 
a trefoil termination to the lower limb. We cannot speak with 
confidence as to the device, but it has been suggested to us that 
it may have belonged to the Bretons or Loudhams. Below this 
cornice the reredos is divided into eighteen panels, and in the 
upper portion of each appears an escutcheon flanked for the most 
part by the same device just described, alternating with the 
whilom Foljambe crest a man's leg couped at the thigh, spurred. 
The eighteen escutcheons, bearing now no trace of blazonry, 
are carved as follows : 

I. Barry of six (Bussey), impaling Foljambe. 

II. Foljambe. 

III. Foljambe, impaling a mullet (Ashton). 

IV. Foljambe, impaling on a saltire engrailed, nine annulets 
(Leeke). 

V. A chevron between three escallops (Breton), impaling on a 
bend five cross-crosslets (Loudham). 

VI. A saltire ermine (Nevile), impaling Foljambe. 

VII. Foljambe impaling Leeke. [Flanked by Foljambe crest, 
and Loudhani on smaller shields]. 

VIII. Foljambe impaling Ashton. [Flanked by Breton, and a 
chief indented]. 

IX. Foljambe impaling Loudham. 

X. Loudham. 

XI. Foljambe. 

XII. Breton. 

XIII. Loudham. 

XIV. Foljambe. 

XV. Breton. 

XVI. Foljambe. 

XVII. Foljambe. 

XVIII. Breton. 



140 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The Barry of six on the first shield is for Sir Miles Bussey, 
Knt. (Barry of six, arg. and az.), who married Mary, eldest daugh- 
ter of Henry Foljambe and Benedicta Vernoii. The mullet in 
the third shield is for Thomas Foljambe, who married Jane, 
daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Ashton, Knt., the parents of 
Henry Foljambe above mentioned. The fourth shield is for the 
marriage of Sir Godfrey Foljambe with Katherine, daughter of 
Sir John Leeke ; this Sir Godfrey was eldest sou of Henry and 
Benedict Foljambe. The fifth shield, Breton impaling Loudhain, 
is for the ancient family of Bretons, who held the manor of Walton 
from a very early period down to the reign of Edward III., when 
Isabella, sole daughter and heiress of Sir Kobert le Breton brought 
Walton by marriage to Sir John Loudham ; their only son dying 
without offspring, Margaret, eldest daughter and co-heiress, brought 
Walton, about 1388-9, to Thomas Foljambe, son of Sir Godfrey 
Foljambe, of Darley, &c. The sixth shield, perhaps, represents 
the marriage of Thomas Nevile, of Kolleston Holt, Notts., with 
Katherine, second daughter of Sir Godfrey Foljambe of the fourth 
shield. The remainder of the shields merely bear repetitions of 
these arms with the exception of the eight, where the bearing a 
chief indented appears. This coat might belong, according to its 
tinctures, to a large number of families. Benedict, the eldest 
daughter of the above Sir Godfrey, was married to Sir John 
Dunham, whose arms were, az., a chief indented, or, but it is 
scarcely likely that his coat would be represented by the side of 
Foljambe impaling Ashton. From these armorial bearings we can 
ascertain, with tolerable precision, the date of the erection of the 
screen. We have here the arms of Godfrey, Mary, and Benedicta, 
three of the children of Henry Foljambe ; but those of the two 
younger daughters who married Towneley and Colville do not 
appear, and they were therefore probably not married at this time. 
This supposition would make the date of the screen about coeval 
with the death of Henry Foljambe, 1503-4, to whose memory 
it may have been erected. It may, however, be somewhat later 
than this, as we have no proof that some of the arms are not 
missing, which might have included those of Towneley and Col- 
ville. If we are right in our supposition with regard to the sixth 
shield representing the marriage of Godfrey's second daughter, 
who was not born till 1509, there is no occasion to defer the date 
of the whole or main part of this woodwork, as a close inspection 
satisfies us that it is not all of one date, but that several frag- 



CHESTERFIELD. 141 

inents have been ingeniously fitted in of a later style of work- 
manship. 

Amongst the MSS. we have consulted with respect to Chester- 
field church, the most interesting are those of Bassano, the 
heraldic painter, whose church notes were taken about the year 
1710. This is the right place to introduce what he says respect- 
ing the Foljambe quire, and though it is rather puzzling to under- 
stand the position it then held, and whether it was then divided 
up into pews or not, there can be no doubt that he refers to the 
same carving which now constitutes the reredos. " Near by (to 
the Mayor's pew) in ye body of ye church eastward is a fa ire 
quire belonging to Walton Hall, called Foljambe's quire, for ye 
family to have service. On a border between ye supporters on 2 
sides and west end are Foljambe arms often, viz., a bend between 
six escallops, also a chevron between three escallops, which is first 
placed, both which in some places seem to have a chief indented ; 
and upon a bend 5 crosslets a label of six points, which coat is 
also often a saltire ermine.'" Further on in his account, Bassauo 
speaks of "a very large quire of the Foljambes of Walton, in 
south of chancel. In Keynolds' church notes,* taken about 1770-80, 
mention is made of " a fair quire called Foljambe's quire nearly 
to the Aldermen's seats," and Reynolds subsequently prefaces 
his description of the Foljambe monuments by speaking of the 
raised tomb with the brasses torn off as being " at the entrance 
to the Foljambe quire." It seems as if both these gentlemen must 
speak of two Foljambe quires one in the body, and the other in 
the chancel of the church. 

Lysons, who visited the church about 1814, notes in the "south 
aisle of nave Foljambe pews, richly ornamented with vine foliage, 
over which has been a gallery, apparently the rood-loft. "t 

Of the other old woodwork in the church a word must be said 
about the roof of the Foljambe chapel, the only part where any 
interesting portions of the old roof remain. This roof is now 
nearly flat, and cuts off the top of the east window. It has been 
much knocked about, and patched up from time to time. Angels 
with extended wings mark the ends of some of the ribs, and it is 
possible that we have in these figures a portion of what the roof 
was in the time of Decorated design. Some of the bosses also, at 
the intersection of the beams, are carved, and a curious double 

* Add. MSS., 6701. 

t Lysons' Collections, Add. MSS., 9463, and 9448. 



142 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

knot, the badge of the Wake family, may be here noticed. The 
manor of Chesterfield, at the death of William Briwere in 1232, 
went by marriage to Baldwin de Wake ; and Margaret Wake, the 
last heiress of this ancient family, conveyed it by marriage to 
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, the younger brother of 
Edward II. 

The old pulpit of black oak is handsomely carved, though not of 
gothic design. An entry in the registers for the year 1788 says : 
" the pulpit and desk was decorated anew, the old ornaments having 
been up 87 years." It appears to be of the date of James I., and 
to much the same period may be attributed the old communion 
table, which now stands in the north part of the chancel. 

The pre-Keformation monuments are of considerable interest, but 
are not so numerous as might have been expected from the size 
and importance of the church. A large number have disappeared 
from time to time as various alterations have been made in the 
building ; and though the public generally attribute the demo- 
lition and disfigurement of monuments to the times of war and 
tumult, especially to the civil war of the seventeenth century, those 
who have made a study of matters ecclesiological are well aware 
that the work of destruction went on at an astonishing rate during 
times of somnolence and peace. There can be no doubt that, even 
within the last fifty years, a far greater destruction of monuments 
has taken place than occurred during the struggle at the commence- 
ment of the Commonwealth. Chesterfield church was restored with 
much care and at a great outlay in 1843 ; but during the process 
of that restoration several old memorials were lost or mutilated. 
Amongst these was an incised slab, of which we can now learn 
nothing, though we have carefully searched every part of the pave- 
ment of the church. This slab bore an incised triple cross springing 
from a calvary of three steps ; on the dexter side of the cross-stem 
was a pair of pincers, and on the sinister a hammer. These 
emblems indicate that the stone was a memorial to an armourer 
a man of some importance in the olden times. It is very unfortu- 
nate that this stone is missing, as, judging from the sketch and 
two or three descriptions, it was probably of the twelfth century, 
and thus formed a link connecting the present building with the 
original Norman structure, of which no trace is now left. This 
stone, when last described (1889), was at the west end of the south 
aisle.* 

* There is a small outline engraving of this slab in Ford's History of Chesterfield, 
p. 108. 



CHESTERFIELD. 143 

Another monument of great interest that we cannot now trace, 
was the memorial to John Pypys, chaplain to the Guild of the 
Holy Cross. It consisted of an alabaster stone, ou which was 
engraven the effigy of a priest habited in a cope, with a chalice on 
his right hand and a book on his left. An inscription ran round 
the margin, which Ford, writing three or four years before the 
restoration of the church, describes as almost entirely obliterated. 
Bassano gives the inscription in his time as follows : " Hie jacet 
Dorninus Johes Pnpus capellau Gilde See Crusic, qui obiit viii die 
meusis Juli, anno Dni Millo ... xi, cujus anime onmipotens 
Deus propitietur Deus. Amen." The full date is said, from another 
source, to have been 1411.* This stone was in the chancel near to 
the communion rails. Alabaster gravestones frequently disappear 
during alterations, under the hands of acquisitive masons, as they 
are valuable when ground up for cement or other purposes. 

Against the south wall of the south transept is a small brass 
plate, about twelve inches by eight, recording the death of another 
chaplain, about a century later than the preceding one. The 
following is the inscription : " Hie subtus huniantur ossa Domini 
Johannis Verdou, quondam Eectoris de Lyndeby in Comitatu Not- 
tinghamiae Ebor Dioc. et Capellani Cantari Saiicti Michaelis 
Archaugeli, iu Ecclesia paroch. Omnium Sanctorum de Chesterfield, 
qui obiit secuudo die mensis Maii, Anno Domini M.D., pro cujus 
am'ina, sic quasso, orate, et ut pro vestris animabus orare volueritis." 

\\ c now turn to the consideration of a monument in the body 
of the church, to which it is impossible to assign an owner with 
any certainty. In the south aisle of the nave, between the first 
and second windows from the east, is a handsome canopied recess, 
beneath which lies the effigy of a priest. Until 1843 this monu- 
ment was so much concealed by the high pews, that it escaped the 
notice of several who described the church ; but, in the Gentleman's 
M'l'j't-J,,' for 1789, R. G. describes it as being the effigy of a priest, 
opposite the Foljambe's seat, with arms and crest in the south wall, 
and bearing this inscription : " No bollbrdys (or Eowbrdys) Godfray 
rlols B." Mr. Malcolm, writing in the Gentleman's Mayazine, a few 
years later, gives an engraving of this recess and effigy, but describes 
it as " an arch containing a female figure, with angels supporting 
the head ; the hands and other parts are effaced." He adds, " I 
was not successful In any enquiry who it was that is interred 
there." Now when Glover compiled his History of Derbyshire, in 

* Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii., pt. 2, p. 39. 



144 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

1833, be appears to have been anxious to put in as mucb as 
possible about Cbesterfield churcli, and be therefore transcribed 
almost entirely the contents of these two articles from the Gentle- 
man's Magazine, but without any acknowledgment of the source 
from which he obtained the information. Hence he commits the 
ludicrous mistake of describing two tombs under an arch in the 
south wall one of an ecclesiastic, one of a lady whereas they 
both refer to the same memorial ; Mr. Malcolm mistaking the 
priestly robes for those of a female. And further than this, Mr. 
Bateman, writing hi 1848,* repeats the blunder, putting it in words 
of his own, and thus confirms the idea of two memorials in this 
south wall instead of one. Though we cannot tell with any pre- 
cision who is buried here, there can be no doubt that this recess 
was constructed for the re-founder of the church, at the time when 
the present body of the building and the tower, &c., were erected 
in the fourteenth century. Mr. Samuel Bromley, in his poem on 
Chesterfield church, from which we have already quoted, says of 
this tomb : 

" Under the south wall, in the deep foundation, 
In immobility among the stones, 

The Founder lies, in constant preservation 
From the foul tool encroaching on the tombs ; 

He might, like Shakspear, curse the generation 

That should with wicked hands ' disturb his bones.' 

For many a century he's lain inclosed 

In aweful darkness where he is reposed." 

And though this conjecture is probably right, the founder's or 
re-founder's identity has been still further 'mystified by having an 
effigy placed beneath the recess, which is not his own, and which 
was never intended for that position. A close inspection of this 
effigy of the priest, and the slab on which it rests, convinces us 
that it has been fitted in here at some subsequent period, for the 
figure is too long for the position, and the sides of the recess have 
been cut away to make room for it. Either the effigy of the 
founder had been destroyed before the present figure was placed 
there, or else the memorial to the founder was simply a slab, 
inscribed or otherwise, which may still exist beneath it. There are 
other reasons, irrespective of the size of the figure, why we may 
fairly conclude that this effigy" is not in its proper position. Priests, 
as a rule, were buried facing the west, and their memorials are 
similarly disposed ; and it is also very exceptional to find an eccle- 
siastic buried elsewhere than in the chancel. Moreover, if any 
ecclesiastic of the middle ages had been a man of good family and 

* Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, pp. 197-200. 



CHESTERFIELD. 145 

sufficient wealth to enable him to take the principal part such as 
would entitle him to a founder's tomb in a work of such magni- 
tude and importance as the re-building of three-fourths of this large 
pile, there can be no doubt that he would have been an office-bearer 
of more or less magnitude in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and his 
memory would not have been perpetuated in the eucharistic vest- 
ments of a simple priest. History, too, would not, in all probability, 
have been silent if the re-founder of this church had been an 
ecclesiastic ; the history of those days was chronicled by the pens 
of ecclesiastics, and the munificence of their own class seldom 
lacked chroniclers, especially in cases like Chesterfield, where the 
church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. 
This priest is clad in an alb and ample chasuble ; his feet rest 
upon a lion, and his head, the hair of which is slightly wavv, has 
been supported by two small angels, only one of which remains.* 
We are inclined to place the date of this effigy in the earlier half 
of the fourteenth century, which would thus make it of older con- 
struction than the arch where it now lies. It is not unlikely that 
the effigy was placed here to keep it out of harm's way when the 
time arrived for the first " pewing " of the church. 

But though we have succeeded, at all events to our own satisfac- 
tion, in deposing this priest from any claim to be considered the 
founder, we are as yet no nearer to a knowledge of who the founder 
may be. The description in the Gentleman's Magazine of this 
memorial is somewhat ambiguous in expression, and, until we had 
referred to the Lysons' Collections, we conceived that the fragmen- 
tary inscription, quoted above, was either on this tomb or on the 
wall within or near the recess, and that it would therefore help to 
determine the name of the founder. Biit on looking at Lysons' 
account of the Foljambe pews, it becomes evident that this inscrip- 
tion, in " text hand," was on a portion of the pews or their 
cornice. The inscription is there given as : "no bolbrdys. Godfrey 
ffol'. B." Nothing, therefore, can be deduced from this inscription, 
but the proximity of the Foljambe pews to the founder's tomb at 
this end of the south aisle ; though this may very fairly be regarded 
as pointing to some connection between them. 

After carefully considering the various families of note who were 
at this time connected with the manor of Chesterfield and the 

* There is an engraving of this effigy in the 7th vol. of the Journal of the Archaeo- 
logical Association, p. 315. It is here also remarked that the effigy is not in its 
original resting- 1 



146 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

adjacent manors, and ascertaining by an exhaustive process whose 
tomb it could not have been, we are led to the conclusion, as the 
most likely conjecture, that this is the burial place of Sir John 
Loudliam, of Walton,* who obtained that manor and other lands 
near Chesterfield by marrying Isabel, the sole heiress of Sir Robert 
Breton. This Sir John Loudharn was born at the commencement 
of the reign of Edward II., and died at the beginning of the reign 
of Edward III. (circa 1377), so that the time when he flourished 
would correspond with the period when the church was re -built. 
Thomas Foljambe, the second son of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, married 
the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Loudham, and thus 
first became connected with Chesterfield about the year 1388. 

The Foljambe monuments, that now remain in the church, 
are collected together in the chapel to the south of the chancel, 
and are inclosed within iron rails.f Three memorials have long 
ago disappeared, viz. : one to Thomas Foljambe, who married the 
heiress of Loudham, of whom we have just been speaking ; another 
to his son Thomas, who married the heiress of Sir Thomas 
Ashton, and died 1451 ; and a third to his eldest son Thomas, 
who married a Longford, but died without issue, 1469. 

On the north side of the chapel is a fine altar tomb, surmounted 
by a slab of dark-coloured marble, which bears the matrices of 
two figures, four shields, and a marginal inscription in brass. The 
brass figures (or at all events that of the lady) have been long 
missing, but the inscription read as follows in 1611: "Hie jacet 
Henricus Folejambe Armiger .... Dominus .... Decimo nono 
cujus anime propitietur Deus. Amen." With the omission of one 
word this inscription was still here in 1710 when Bassano visited 
the church, and he also gives the reading of the shields, but with 
some obvious errors. The shields were Foljambe, Vernou, Loud- 
ham, Breton. Reynolds (circa 1770) speaks of the brass inscrip- 
tion round the margin being missing except at the ends, and also 
of " a brass portraiture of a man, the brass of the woman torn 
off" implying that the brass of Henry Foljambe then existed. If 
this was the case it must have been replaced, for previous visitors 

* Our conjecture is confirmed by Dr. Pegge's opinion that the founder's tomb was 
to the memory of one of the lords of Walton, and not of Chesterfield proper. We 
had not noted this opinion of that most careful antiquary amongst his own papers, 
but it is quoted by the Kev. Joseph Hunter, Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 56. 

f In oar description of these memorials, we are indebted not only to the various 
authorities already quoted, but to the interesting series of papers entitled, Monn- 
inenta FaJjnmbeana, which have recently appeared in the Reliquary from the pen of 
Mr. Cecil G. Savile Foljambe, and to further communications kindly made to us by 
the same gentleman. 



CHESTERFIELD. 147 

speak of both figures as missing. Bassano, on the contrary, seems 
to imply that it was the knight and not the lady which was torn 
off in his time. On the sides of this tomb are many small sculp- 
tured figures of knights and ladies under rich canopies, represent- 
ing the seven sons and seven daughters of Henry Foljambe and 
his wife Benedicta (Vernon), whose effigies were formerly on the 
upper slab. The names of these children were Godfrey, Thomas, 
Henry, Eichard, John, Gilbert, Eoger, Helen, Margaret, Joan, Mary, 
Benedicta, Elizabeth, and Anne. An agreement was entered into 
between the sons and wife, and "Henry Moorecock, of Burton, 
in Staffordshire, to make a tomb for Henry Foljambe, husband 
of Bennett, in St. Mary's Quire, in the Church of All Hallows in 
Chesterfield, and to make it good as is the tomb of Sir Nicholas 
Montgomery at Colley, with 18 images under the table, and the 
arms upon them ; and the said Henry in copper and gilt upon 
the table of marble, with two arms at the head and two at the 
feet of the same, and the table of marble to be of a whole stone, 
and all fair marble. They paid in hand 5, and the other 5 
when all is performed ; the 26th of October, the 2nd Henry VIII."* 
It is probable that this contract refers only to the stone work of 
the tomb. 

Next to this altar tomb, on the right hand side on the floor, 
is a slab on which are brasses of a knight and his lady.t This 
is the tomb of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, eldest son of the last men- 
tioned Henry, and his wife Katherine, daughter of Sir John 
Leeke. The knight is in mail armour, his head resting on his 
helmet, and his feet on a stag. His surcoat bears the quartered 
arms of Foljambe, Loudham, and Breton. The lady wears the low 
pointed head-dress, with falling lappets, of the sixteenth century, 
and is clad in a long mantle which bears the arms of Leeke. 
The gown is confined at the waist by a girdle fastened with a 
clasp of three roses. Bound the neck is a chain supporting a 
cross. These figures were on the floor of the chancel, within the 
communion rails, until the restoration of 1843. The Topographer^. 
falsely ascribes to Dr. Pegge a statement that these are the effigies 
of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, who died in 1889, and his wife Isabel, 
daughter of Sir Simon Leeke (Leche), 1308. The custodian of 
the church directs the attention of the visitor to an old entry at 

* Nicholl's Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. i., p. 354. 

t There is an engraving of this brass in the Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1797. 

J Topographer, vol. 3, p. 335. 



148 DEKBYSHIKE CHURCHES. 

the end of one of the registers giving this version of these brasses, 
but it is not in the handwriting of Dr. Pegge, who on the con- 
trary attributes them to the right persons in his MS. collections 
and states that they formerly stood on an altar tomb in the 
chancel. The family MSS. at Osberton confirm this, and give 
the following inscription that was round the edge of the tomb : 
" Off your charity pray for the soul of Sir Godfrey Foljarnbe, 
Knight, sometime one of the Honorable Council for the most vic- 
torious Prince King Henry the VIII., and for ye soul of Dame 
Kathrine his wife, daughter of .... Leek .... which Dame 
Kathrine deceased the xxiiii. day of May in the year of our Lord 
MCCCCCXXIX. and the said Sir Godfrey deceased year XX day 
of December 1541." At the head of the tomh were figures of St. 
John and St. Michael : at the foot St. James and St. John : 
on one side figures of his three sons and their wives thus sub- 
scribed ''Jacobus prim: fil:= Alicia Fitzwillm Godefrid 2 fil := 

Marg : Fitzwillim Georgius 3 fil : = " : on the other side 

his three daughters and their husbands " . . . .=Anne Foljamh 
Thomas Nevill=Katherine Foljamb Johannes Dunham=Benedicta 
Foljamb.* 

Against the east wall is a mural monument to Sir James Fol- 
jamhe, who died 1558, eldest son of Sir Godfrey, whose brass we 
have just described. This monument was erected by his grandson, 
and, together with the other mural monuments to the Foljambes, was 
designed at a time when artistic taste, especially as to what was 
fitting in a Gothic church, was rapidly declining, and though doubt- 
less costly and elaborate at the time of their erection, are a dis- 
tinct blemish to the general beauty of the chancel. Bateman 
truly speaks of them as " specimens of cumbrous style and horri- 
ble taste." The kneeling figures of Sir James, his two wives, and 
thirteen children are all represented. It bears the following in- 
scription : 

Deo Opt : Max : et Posteritati 

Sacrum. 

Jacobo Foljambe equiti aurato, Filio natu maximo, et hseredi Godefridi Foljambe 
equitis, pietate, morum, integritate, rnajorum stemmatibus, propriisque suis virtu- 
tibus, ornatissimo viro, suaviter et sancte in terris mortuo, quinto Calend : Octobris 
Anno Verbi Incarnati MDLVIII. Godefridus nepos hoc ei mouurnentum amoris 
causa, quern memoria colit, ut debet, sempiterna devotissime consecravit. Bino 
Jacobus conjugio felix, Aliciae, scilicet, uepotis et cohseredis Southamptoiiiffi 
Comitis Gulielmi Fitzwilliam, herois iuclyti, uiiius filiarum Thomse Fitzwilliam de 
Aldwarke et Constantiro filiae Edwardi Littletoni de Staffordiensi Comitatu, Eques- 
tris Dignitatis Viri. Pulchra, numerosaque prole auctus fuit. Sois ferme. 

* The two omissions in this inscription may be thus supplied : George, the third 
son. married Dorothy, daughter of Arthur Barlow ; and Francis Lowes was the hus- 
band of Anne, the third daughter. Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, pp. 360, 361. 



CHESTERFIELD. 149 

The arms on this tomb are incorrectly blazoned, having been care- 
lessly repainted by some one ignorant of heraldry. 

Another mural monument against the east wall, ornamented with 
strange emblems of death, does not appear to have had an inscrip- 
tion, but is supposed to be to Godfrey Foljambe, next brother to 
Sir James, who died in 1559. He married Margaret Fitzwilliam, 
the other daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, of 
Aldwark, but died childless. 

The central mural monument against the east wall, together 
with the altar tomb below it, are to Sir Godfrey, eldest son of Sir 
James Foljambe, who died 1585. He is represented in effigy on 
the altar tomb, together with the effigy of his wife, Trothea 
Terwhit. The mural monument is inscribed as follows : 

Deo Opt : Max : et Posteritati 
Sacrum. 

Godefridus Foljambe de Walton, Equestris ordinis, atque dignitatis vir, Jacob! filius 
ex priore ejus conjuge, Alicia Fitzwilhelmorum heerede, genitus; qui innocentia, 
integritate, fide, religione, hospitalitatisque laude, ornatissimus fuit. Vitae hones- 
tissiine laudatissimjeque actae diem supremum clausit in manerio suo de Walton, 
decimo Calend : Januarii, et Christi Kedemptoris Nostri Anno MDLXXXV. Super- 
stite turn ac sublati conjugis mortem deflente, uxore amantissima Trothea, Gulielmi 
Terwhitti Equitis filia; cujus anima ex corporis vinculis, tanquam ex carcere, felix, 
ut in coelum fulgeat, evolavit. Reliquiis, vero, hoc loco sitis ; Godefridus, films 
unicus, idemque obsequentissimus, officii et pietatis in parentem tarn amantissimum 
non immemor, post funebria justa, msestissimis uberibusque cum lachrimis persoluta, 
hoc conditorium pro munere extremo posuit. Sois ferine. 

The altar tomb and mural monument against the south wall are 
to Godfrey Foljambe, who died in 1594, the only sou of Sir God- 
frey Foljambe, of the last described monument. This tomb was 
erected in his lifetime, about two years before his death. The 
inscription has been missing for many years, but is here supplied 
from the MSS. at Osberton : 

Gens olim dictus fatisque recentibus ingens, 

Fama abiit laudati jacens et morte beata, 
Luna vices varias orbem sol semper eundem 

Obtinet hie firmum denotat ille levem, 
Ut sol fulgebant justi : Tu, fulgide Fuliamb, 

Virtute atque fide firmus ut haec tua sors 
Sois ferme. 

En avus atque pater jacet hie et filius una 

Clara conspicuus conjuge quisque sua, 
Fili grate Deo, patriae atque parentibus ergo, 

Tu coelo fulges : Hoc tibi fulget onus 
Fulgens jam vere tarn vere dicere Fuliam, 

Jam bene conveniens nomen et homen habet. 

On the floor there is also a large alabaster slab, on which is 
engraved a man in armour, with a marginal inscription. Hardly 
a word of the inscription can now be deciphered, but fragments of 



150 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

it are given by different hands during the last century, and the 
whole verse ran as follows : 

" Patruus vel hie patrem natumque interjacet, 
Georgi qui Foljambe nomine notua erat, 
Vixerat innocuus .... probitatis culfeor est 
Occubuit placide comrniserante Deo." 

It is to George Foljambe, of Brimington, who died in 1588. He 
was the second son of Sir James Foljambe, who died in 1558. 

Finally we must notice in this chapel the unique kneeling figure 
of a knight in armour, at present placed on the altar tomb to 
Henry Foljambe, but with which it has no connection. This figure 
originally knelt on a square pedestal about four feet high, at the 
foot of the Henry Foljambe tomb. It has been sadly mutilated, 
and now lacks the hands. Bassano (1710) says, "At foot of this 
tombe upon a pillar of equal height has stood ye image of a 
kneeling man in armour with double chaine, but it has broke 
down and lyes by ye pillar in pieces, only ye legs and knees 
remain in proper places." Reynolds (circa 1770) describes it as 
being in the same condition, but between that period and 1794 it 
must have been pieced together, for it is described and engraved 
in the Gentleman's Magazine for that year as perfect on its pedestal, 
with the exception of the hands. The way in which the helmet 
with closed vizor is put on gives the figure a strange appearance, 
as if it had a double neck or chin ; and it has been conjectured 
that the helmet was the work of some restorer, who thus replaced 
the lost head, neglecting to chisel away the old chin. The head 
does not, however, appear to be of more modern work than the 
figure itself, and a more probable supposition is that the head has 
been supplied from some other mutilated effigy. At a later date 
the figure must have been again removed from the pedestal (which 
has quite disappeared), and placed on the end of the tomb where 
it now stands. There is some little difficulty in deciding to what 
scion of the house of Foljambe this monument belongs, but the 
most probable suggestion is that the figure represents Sir Thomas 
Foljambe (son of Francis Foljambe, the eldest son of Sir James 
Foljambe by his second wife Constantia Littleton), which Sir 
Thomas married Anne, daughter of Sir James Harrington, and 
was buried at Chesterfield, the 15th of January, 1604. The style 
of armour corresponds with this date. These five Latin stanzas 
wore formerly inscribed on the pedestal on which the figure 
knelt: 



CHESTERFIELD. 151 

Patris illustris, generisque clari, 
Unicus charus plus et modestus, 
Indolis purse tenueris ab aunis 

Filius hie est. 

Vixit et vivo valuit parente, 
Ter novem donee viguisset aunos, 
Orbus huic aegri superest parenti 

Anxius haeres. 

Haeret ac mosret gemebundus alte 
Luget et languet siinul atque vellet 
Commori si fas, genitoris implet 

Funera pletru. 

Turn vides terrae via quae sit omnes, 
Quod sibi impendet properare fatum, 
Sponte sacratum tumulum paravit 

Ipse paratus. 

Lector hinc discas juvenis seuexque, 
Vivas et cures validus mortis, 
Quae venit gressu tacito sed aavi 

Providus horam. 

Of monuments that have now disappeared, mention may be made 
of one in the south transept, described by Eeynolds as " a raised 
tomb near 8 feet high to John Woodward ;"* and as the " Free stone 
altar tomb for ' . . . Burgensis de Chesterfield 1599'" by E. G., 
in church notes taken in 1789, when the brasses of the bur- 
gess and his wife were perfect. We believe that these brasses 
remained till the work of the restoration of 1842-3 began, when 
they were lost. This tomb stood in the north transept, where 
there is now a large slate slab in the floor, having the matrices of 
two figures a man and woman in civilian dress, and an inscrip- 
tion below them, from which probably the brasses in question were 
torn. If this, however, is the slab, it must have been further 
utilized very shortly after the visit of E. G., for it now also bears 
the following initials and dates, deeply incised " A. A., E. A., 
1790 T. A., 1805 T. A., 1817." 

At the entrance to the Calton chapel is the matrix of what must 
once have been a fiue brass, in fact by far the most handsome in 
the church. On a large slab of Purbeck marble are the traces of 
a full-length effigy of an ecclesiastic in a cope, with a legend on a 
scroll round his head, the whole enclosed in a crocketed canopy 
and again by a marginal inscription. Metallic remains still cling 
to the stone in different parts, but they are only fragmentary. 
We can offer no suggestion as to whom this monument has been 
intended to commemorate. 

* The inscription that was on this tomb is supplied in Dr. Pegge's notes. "Hie 
jacet Johannes Woodward unus Aldermanorum Burgi de Chesterfield, qui obiit xxvi 
die mensis Junii, Anno Dni. 1599. Et Margareta uxor ejus." At their feet were 
seventeen children, five boys and twelve girls. Pegge's Collections, vol. 5. p. 157. 



152 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Bassano also tells us of a brass plate which was in the house 
of Mr. Richard Calton, of Chesterfield, in the year 1706, but which 
must have originally been in this chapel. This Richard Calton 
was only nephew to the Richard Calton mentioned on the brass. 
The inscription was as follows : " Hie jacet corpus Georgii Calton 
de Stanton fil. Ric. Radulphi Calton de Stanton predicta. Quiqui- 
dem Radulphus frater erat mina natu Roberti Calton de Calton 
(Saxonica Caltduin) Generosi, et idem Georgius obiit 3 Sept. A. 
Christi Salvatoris unici mundi 1667. Ric. Calton fil. ejusdem 
Georgii obiit 7 Nov. 1673." Above the inscription was an impaled 
coat thus described: "Barry of sis pieces, in chief 3 plates, or," 
and " A saltire engrailed between four crosslets." He goes on to 
explain, that, on a level piece of ground called Calton pasture, 
before Chatsworth on the west side, formerly stood the mansion 
called Calton. 

Next in importance to the actual monuments themselves, rank 
the heraldic displays in the old painted windows of the churches, 
for throwing light on the connections between the ancient families 
and the benefactors to the particular church or parish. In "Wyr- 
ley's* copy of Flower's Derbyshire Visitation of 1569, with addi- 
tions taken by himself in 1592, we find not only an elaborate 
account of the heraldic glories of the windows of Chesterfield 
Church,- but also interesting notices of the various old monuments 
that have long ago completely disappeared, as well as a quaint 
introductory paragraph, all of which appear to us worthy of repro- 
duction, more especially as they have never before been published. t 

" Chesterfield, the fayrest town in all the peake countrie in 
Darbishier, sayd to be placed in Scarsdale, famous for feirce 
incounteres made in the verie towne in the tyme of the civile 
wares of Henry the third, wear was taken Robert earle ferreres, 
Baldwyne Wake, and John de layley, 1265. But John Daynile, 
comended for a wyse man and a valyent, stryking downe Gilbert 
Hansard with his launce, delyvered him selff. Chesterfield did 
annciently beloung to the earles of ferreres, of whos warlyke 

* William Wyrley was a native of Staffordshire, descended from an ancient family 
seated in that county as early as the reign of Edward II. He published in 1592 a 
treatise on The True Use of Armorie, which is one of the very scarcest books of the 
16th century. Wyrley was appointed Eouge Croix in 1604, and died in 1617. 

t Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 108. The arms in the Visitation Book are simply tricked, 
i.e., etched in outline with the initial letters of the tinctures, many of them so 
hastily drawn that there is difficulty in reading them with precision, but in this task 
we have had the valued assistance of Mr. W. de G. Birch, of the MS. department of 
the British Museum, and Palaeographer of the British Archaeological Association. 



CHESTERFIELD. 153 

prowes our cronicles often make mention. It is placed near to a 
ryver which I take it the call Doley or Iber. 
In the Church thes Armes following 

1. Az., a lion rampant guardant between eight fleur-de-lis, arg. 
(Holland, Earl of Kent). 

2. Barry of six, or and yu., in chief three torteaux (Wake). 

3. England, within a bordure, arg. (Edmund Plantagenet, of 
Woodstock). 

4. England and France impaled. 

5. England, within a bordure, arg., impaling Wake. 
G. Barry of six, arg. and az. (Grey). 

7. Paly of six, or and yu., a bend arg. (Longford). 

8. Loudham. 

9. Az., a fess dancette, between ten billets, arg. (Deincourt).* 

10. France and England, quartering, a label of three points, 
em/. (Edward Plantaganet, 1339-1341). 

11. England and France, quartering. 

12. England and France, quartering, a label of three points, 
erm. (John of Gaunt). 

13. Gu., a cross moline, arg. (Beck). 

14. Arg., a cross moline, yu. (Colvile). 

15. Erm., a fess between six oak (?) leaves, gu. (Fitz-langley ?). 

16. Az., a cross maschy (?) voided, arg. 

17. Az., three mitres, or (Bishopric of Norwich). 

18. England, a label of three points, each charged with as many 
fleurs-de-lis (Lancaster). 

19. Az., a saltire, arg., a torteau for difference (York). 

20. Az, a cross moline, quarterly-pierced, arg. (Mollynes). 

21. Foljambe impaling Loudham. 

22. Arg., a griffin segreaut, sa. (Meverell), impaling erm., a chevron 
and canton, gu. (Touchet ?). 

23. Az., a fess dancettee between ten billets, or (Deincourt). 

24. Gu., a saltire, arg. (Nevile). 

25. France and England, quarterly, within a bordure, arg. (Plan- 
tagenet). 

26. Az., a cross fleury between four martlets, arg. (Edward the 
Confessor. 

27. Gu., on a saltire, arg., a crescent for difference, sa. (Nevile). 

* This coat is in all probability intended for Deincourt, as well as number 23, and, 
if the tinctures are rightly given, affords yet another variation in the arms of this 
family, who were singularly capricious in their heraldric bearings. Papworth's 
British Armorials, pp. 27, 28. 



154 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

28. Gu., a cross botonne, or (Bockiugbam). 

29. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, on a chevron three quatrefoils ; 2nd 
and 3rd, a cross engrailed between four pomegranates (no tinc- 
tures, but intended for Eyre and Whittington). 

30. Gu., three lozenges in bend, between two double cotises, arg., 
each lozenge charged with a fess dancettee between three billets, sa. 

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

82. Or, a chevron, gu. (Stafford). 

83. Az., three crowns in pale, or (Leigh). 

84. Foljambe. 

35. Eeresby. 

36. Fitzherbert. 

87. Arg., on a fess, az., three crosses rnoline, or (Mortymer).* 

88. Or, on a fess, gu., three water-bougets, gu. (Bingham). 

39. Arg., on a pile, gu., a crescent for difference (Chandos). 

40. Chaworth, impaling, three roundles, a label of as many 
points." (No tinctures. Courtney, ?). 

The long list of arms given above are unidentified in the Visita- 
tion Book, but we have supplied the names of the families to which 
they belonged, in brackets, so far as we are able ; nor is it specified 
in which of the numerous windows any of these coats appeared. 
A few words as to the history of the manor of Chesterfield will 
account for the presence of the majority of these shields in the 
windows of the parish church. The manor was originally held by 
the Peverels; but, after the murder of the Earl of Chester, posses- 
sion was resumed by Henry II. In 1204 John granted the manor 
of Chesterfield and the whole wapentake of Scarsdale to William 
Briwere. Briwere's only sou died childless, and his large estates 
were divided amongst his five daughters ; the manors of Chester- 
field, Brimington, and Whittington, falling to the lot of Isabel, who 
was married to Baldwin Wake. Baldwin Wake was possessed of 
very large landed estates no less than one hundred and forty- 
eight manors, inclusive of those of Chesterfield and Boythorp, 
being ascribed to him at his decease, f 

From the Wakes these manors passed to Edmund Plantagenet, 
Earl of Kent, by his marriage with the heiress, Margaret Wake. 
Thence Chesterfield passed, as we learn by inquisitions of the 
different reigns, through the Hollands, Earls of Kent, up to the 

* Above this shield are the words "Dns Jo: Herstock," implying, we suppose, 
that they appeared in this position on the window ; but we have not been able to 
find any connection between the words and the coat. 

flnq. post Mort., 10 Edw. I., No. 6. 



CHESTERFIELD. 155 

year 1442, when the descent of the manor became much involved 
by a multiplicity of heirs, owing to the death of Thomas and 
Joanna Holland without issue. The following elaborate decision 
with respect to the manor was arrived at by an inquisition, held 
at Derby, on the 26th of November, in the 21st year of Henry VI., 
which is worth quoting in an abbreviated form, not only as illus- 
trating the heraldry just quoted, but as a proof of the intricate 
relationship existing between the principal noble families in the 
fifteenth century. The jurors decided That Joanna, late Countess 
of Kent, was seized of the manor of Chesterfield, etc., which Thomas 
de Holland, Earl, and Alice, his wife, gave to their son Thomas 
and Joanna and their heirs; that Thomas and Alice died, and 
Thomas the son died ./>., and the said Joanna surviving was then 
solely seized ; that the reversion descended to Edmund, Earl of 
Kent, son and heir of Thomas, the late Earl, who also died s.p. ; 
whereupon it descendeth to (1) Eichard, Duke of York, son and 
heir of Anne, a daughter of Eleanor (Countess of March), eldest 
sister and co-heir of said Edmund, late Earl of Kent ; (2) to Jocosa, 
wife of John Lord de Tiptoft, another daughter and heir of said 
Eleanor ; (3) to Henry Grey, Knight, son and heir of Joanna, third 
daughter and heir of said Eleanor; (4) to John, Earl of Somerset, 
son and heir of Mary, late Duchess of Clarence, another sister and 
co-heir of said Edmund, late Earl; (5) to Alice, wife of Eichard 
Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, daughter and heir of Eleanor, third sister 
and heir of said Edmund, late Earl ; and (6) to Ealph Nevile, Earl 
of Westmoreland, son and heir of Elizabeth, fourth sister and heir 
of said Edmund, late Earl of Kent.* It will thus be seen that 
the rightful heirs to Joanna, Countess of Kent, were declared to be 
her two neices, and four great nephews. Eventually, Chesterfield 
came to Eichard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, through his wife Alice ; 
but their line also failed, and we find in the fourteenth year of 
Edward IV., that Eichard, Duke of Gloucester, and Ann his wife 
(cousin and heir of Alice), gave the manor and wapentake of 
Chesterfield and Scarsdale to the King, in exchange for certain 
properties in Yorkshire, including the town and castle of Scar- 
borough, f There were numerous and close alliances between the 
Neviles, and other holders of the manor, and the families of 
Stafford, Beauchamp, and Mortimer, sufficient to account for the 
presence of their arms ; but it would be foreign to our object to 

* Exch. 21 Hen. 6, No. 36. 

t Cotton's Abhreriiifion of Records, p. 697. 



156 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

pursue the history of this manor any further, but content ourselves 
with that which throws a light on the history of the church and 
its embellishment at different periods of its existence. 

The coats of Loudhani, Foljambe, and Colvile (through inter- 
marriage with Foljambe), are readily accounted for in connection 
with the manor of Walton. 

Longford held the manor of Boythorpe in the fifteenth century ; 
and about the middle of the same century, one of the younger sons 
of Eyre, of Padley, married the heiress of Whittington, and settled 
at Holme Hall, on the manor of Dunston and Holme. The Dein- 
courts, besides their great possessions in the neighbourhood, held 
for a long period a subsidiary manor at Brampton ; and, though 
we cannot now trace the landed connection of Bingham, Chandos, 
Meverell, and Chaworth, with Chesterfield, we know they had 
property closely adjacent, and were probably, at one time or another, 
benefactors to the church. 

The close identity of ecclesiastical interests between Lincoln and 
Chesterfield, owing to the Dean of Lincoln being the rector, may 
probably account for the arms of Bockingham, as John Bockingham 
was Bishop of Lincoln from 1362 to 1398. The same reason would 
also apply to the coats numbered 13 and 17, being the arms of 
Beck, of Pleasley, and of the Bishopric of Norwich. The celebrated 
Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, to whom reference is made on 
several occasions in these pages, was first promoted to the Deanery 
of Lincoln, and from thence to the Bishopric of Norwich in 1336.* 
Benefactions would probably be made by him on his different pro- 
motions, and hence the appearance of these arms. The coat 
numbered 33, which we believe we have rightly appropriated to Leigh, 
(not the Derbyshire Lea or Lee,) was probably to the memory of a 
former chaplain of the church. Eoger de Leghe, chaplain of the 
church of All Saints, at Chesterfield, held one toft and five acres 
of land in the parish during the reign of Kichard II. t 

With only four exceptions we have now accounted for the whole 
list of forty coats, and pass on to the remainder of the Visitation. 

The long list of single shields is followed by two escutcheons bear- 
ing Longford, and harry of six, ar<j. and set. (Bussey). Above these 
coats is written, respectively, " Eadulfe Langford militis," and 

*When Anthony Beck was promoted from the Deanery of Lincoln to the Bishopric 
of Norwich, the Pope took the profits of the Deanery, including the churches of 
Chesterfield, Ashbourne, and Wirksworth, into his own hands, and they thus re- 
mained till October, 1338. Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 77. 

t Inq. post Mort. 4 Ric. II., No. 109. 



CHESTERFIELD. 157 

" John Bushie militis ; " whilst below them is, " Radulphus Lang- 
ford et Johanes Bushie, patroni conjuncti istius ecclesiaa." This is 
not a little surprising, as it is generally supposed that the patronage 
of the church of Chesterfield and the greater tithes always remained 
in the hands of the Dean of Lincoln, and we have not been able 
to ascertain that even a single presentation to the vicarage was 
sold, so as to entitle any layman to describe himself as patron. 
It will be noticed, however, that the word " istius" and not " hujus" 
(tht and not this) is used in this inscription on the old window, 
and probably the former part of the inscription, when it was 
perfect, specified some particular church or place otherwise than 
Chesterfield. Entries at the First Fruits Office prove that the 
families of Longford and Bussey held the alternate patronage of 
the adjacent church of North Wiufield in the fifteenth century,* 
and the foundation charter of the chantry of North TA'infield 
(4 Henry) speaks of "the worshipful and noble men, Nichol Long- 
ford, Knt., and John Bushy, Knt., Lords of ye Mannor of North- 
wynfield and Patrons of ye parish church, "t Besides being part 
owner of the manor of North Winfield, Sir Nicholas Longford, 
the father of Ralph, possessed extensive landed property in the 
county, including much within the rectorial manor of Chesterfield, 
so that it is only natural that his arms should appear in the 
windows. J The Busseys, also, held large estates in this neigh- 
bourhood subsequent to their alliance with the Foljambes. In the 
14th of Henry VIII. , Sir Godfrey Foljambe (the fourth) gives to 
Miles Bussey and others the manors of Briniington and "Whit- 
tington as well as lands in Chesterfield proper. 

To this follows, on the next page of the Visitation Book, four- 
teen impaled coats, all relating with but two exceptions to alliances 
of the family of Fitzherbert of Norbury. Apparently, these arms 
were all in one window, which was probably placed here by Sir 
Ralph Longford, on the marriage of his daughter Dorothy with 
Nicholas Fitzherbert, who was then the heir to this wealthy and 
very ancient family. The names are inscribed by the side of the 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 211. 

f Add. MSS. 5152. This is the original charter. See the account of the church of 
North Winfield. 

I Sir Nicholas Longford, besides his estates in Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire, 
died seized of the following property in this county : the manors of Longford, New- 
ton Solney, Parkhall, and Alfreton, and part of the manors or messuages at Piuxton, 
Normanton, Bakewell, Barlborough, Killamarsh, "Whitwell, Hathersage, Bubton, 
Hollington, Howsley, Morton, Pilsley, North Winfield, Hasland, Duckmanton, 
Ashover, Brampton, and Boythorp. Inq. post Mort. 21 Edw. 4, No. 52. 

<j Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, p. 355. 



158 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

shields, and are as follows : Savage and Fitzherbert, Marshall and 
Fitzherbert, Babiugton and Fitzherbert, Fitzherbert and Brad- 
borne, Cotton and Fitzherbert, Cokayne and Fitzherbert, Pole and 
Fitzherbert, Lister and Fitzherbert, Fitzherbert and Longford, 
Fitzherbert and Babington, Fitzherbert and Bothe, Comberford and 
Fitzherbert, Longford and Trafford, and Longford and Ferrers.* 
We are able to give the marriages represented by each of these 
coats, with the exception of the first, as we have failed to trace 
any alliance between Savage (or Daniel) and Fitzherbert, t though 
doubtless one not mentioned in the pedigrees took place. 

Nicholas Fitzherbert of Norbury, who died' in the reign of 
Edward IV., married for his first wife Alice, daughter of Henry 
Bothe of Derby, by whom he had issue 

I. Kalph Fitzherbert of Norbury, who married Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter and heiress of John Marshall of Upton. 

II. John Fitzherbert of Etwall, who married Margaret, daughter 
of Eobert Babiugton. 

III. Joan, who became the wife of John Cotton, of Hampstall. 
Ralph, the eldest son of Nicholas, had issue 

I. John Fitzherbert of Norbury, who married Bennett, daughter 
of John Bradborne of Hough.J 

II. Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the celebrated judge. 

III. Dorothy, the wife of Thomas Comberford, of Comberford, 
Warwick. 

IV. Editha, the wife of Thomas Babington, of Dethick. 

V. Agnes, the wife of Richard Lister, of Eowton, Salop. 

John, the second son of Nicholas, had, with other issue, two 
daughters Jane and Barbara, who were married respectively to 
John Pole of Eadborne, and to Thomas Cokayne of Ashborne. 

John Fitzherbert of Norbury, the eldest son of Ralph, had issue, 
by his wife Bennett, Nicholas who married Dorothy, daughter of 
Sir Ralph Longford. But there were no children to this marriage, 

* We have not encumbered the page with the description of these arms, as so 
many of them have already been given. Those that have not previously appeared 
are: arg., a pale lozengy, sa. (Savage); arg., on a bend, gu., three mullets, or 
(Bradborne); az., an eagle displayed, arg. (Cotton); erin., on a fess, sa., three 
mullets, arg. (Lister); arg., three boars' heads erect, sa. (Bothe) ; and arg., a griffin 
segreant, gu. (Trafford). 

' f There is some doubt about the marriage of Henry Fitzherbert (father of Nicholas 
mentioned in the text), who flourished in the reigns of Henry IV. and Henry V., and 
possibly he married one of the Cheshire Daniels, from whom the Savages took their 
later arms. 

\ Not " Bradbury of Hoo in the Peake,' ; as given in the Topographer, vol. 2, p. 226. 



CHESTEEFIELD. 159 

and Norbury with the family honours reverted to his uncle Sir 
Anthony. * 

The impaled coat of Longford and Ferrers represents the mar- 
riage of Sir Kalph Longford with Isabel, daughter of Sir Thomas 
Ferrers ; and that of Longford and Trafford represents the mar- 
riage of their son Nicholas with Margery, daughter of Sir Edward 
Trafford.f 

To these arms succeed single ones of Deincourt, Lister, and 
Montfort (Bendy of eight, or and az.). The powerful family of 
Montfort had considerable influence in Derbyshire ; in the reign 
of Henry III., Simon de Montfort was governor of Peak Castle, 
and Peter de Montfort of the Castle at Horsley. Then follow the 
words " An old raonimeut of Ayncourt in mayle with a side vest- 
ment of whyte, a danc and billetes sables thereon, offering up 
his shield. A cross-legged moniment of the same armes, viz. A. 
a daunce and billetes sable." There is now no remnant or tradi- 
tion of these two ancient effigies, or of the third one mentioned 
below. Another shield of Longford is then tricked, with the com- 
ment that it is " verie old," and it is foUowed by a quartered 
coat, 1st and 4th gu., a chevron vaire, arg. and sa. (Kniveton) ; 
2nd and 3rd, arg., a chevron, gu., between three martlets, sa. (Bagott). 
Henry Kniveton of Bradley, in the reign of Henry VI., married 
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Bagott of Blythefield. To 
this succeeds a shield of six quarteriugs, and above it is written 
" Eaff Kesbie." These quarterings are Reresby, Deiucourt with a 
label of three points, Norman vile, a second coat borne by Norman vile 
(described in a Reresby quartering at Ashover), Gotham, and the 
coat borne by the wife of Sir Adam Reresby. J The connection of 

* There are slight discrepancies between different pedigrees of this family, but 
we believe the above to be accurate. There was further issue to the marriages 
quoted, but those alliances only are given which serve to explain the heraldry of the 
Visitation. There was also an early alliance between the Longfords and Fitzher- 
berts iu the reign of Edward III., when William Fitzherbert (grandfather of Nicholas 
temp. Edward IV.) married Alice, only daughter of Nicholas Longford ; and a later 
one, when Dorothy, the youngest daughter of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, was married 
to Ealph Longford. Dorothy took for her second husband Sir John Porte, of Etwall. 
See Harl. MSS. 5809 ; also 6592, ff. 4, 20, and 2218, f. 53. 

t Harl. MSS, 1093, f. 30. 

J Sir Adam Reresby, Lord of Thribergh and Ashover, 9 Edward II., was the son 
of Ealph Reresby by Mary, heiress of Normanvile. His wife must also have been 
an heiress according to the pedigrees, and bore arg., three bendlets, gu., but her name 
does not appear in full in any one of them. Harl. MSS. 1420, f. 53, gives her name 
as Thegne, do. 1394, f. 42, Thegive, and do. 6070, f. 178, Therhegton. From Harl. 
MS. 1394, where there are numerous early deeds of the Normanvile family, it seems 
that the second coat (arg., three pair of gemelles, on a canton, gu., three fusils con- 
joined in fess) introduced into the Reresbv quarterings from the Normanvile family, 
was that borne by the mother of Margaret who married Ralph Reresby. See also 
Collins' Baronetage, vol. ii., p. 290. 



160 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the two famous families of Kniveton and Keresby with Chester- 
field may only have been that of benefactors to the church, though 
both can be proved to have at one time held portions of land 
within the rectorial manor, and both were connected with the 
Deincourts. The alliance of Foljambe and Vernon was also noted 
by their two escutcheons, and over them " Henricus Foljambe 
Dns de Walton." Wyrley's minute account of the memorials of 
this church concludes with the mention of another effigy: "Thear 
is hear another cross-legged moniment which they say to be 
Braylsford, but ther is noe note thereof remaining." 

There appears to have been much destruction of this heraldic 
glass shortly after Wyrley's visit, for at the Visitation taken August 
20th, 1611, there were only twenty-four escutcheons remaining.* 
Bassano makes no mention of the windows, and Reynolds notes 
only a few, but specifies git., a saltire, arg., in both the west 
windows of the aisles to the nave. These were the arms of 
Nevile. In the year 1442 Richard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, be- 
came possessed, as has been already mentioned, of the manor of 
Chesterfield in the right of his wife Alice, one of the co-heiresses 
of Earl Edmund. The existence of these arms in that particular 
part of the church is interesting, as it gives rise to a reasonable 
presumption that the alterations of the Perpendicular period in 
the nave were made by the Neviles. It will be remembered that 
it was pointed out that the tracery in the two west windows of 
the aisles was altered at the time that the present clerestory was 
erected. R. G., who visited the church in 1789, notes, in the 
Gentleman s Magazine, a satirical representation in glass of a mitred 
fox preaching to geese, and a cock, which we believe to have 
been in the East window of the Foljambe chapel. 

There were, however, still fewer remnants of the ancient heraldic 
glory of these windows left when the time came for the restora- 
tion that was completed in 1843.f But the east window of the 
chancel then contained the two most interesting of all the histori- 
cal coats described by Wyrley, viz., the arms of Plantagenet and 
Wake. These were removed to make way for the new window to 
Archdeacon Hill, and in the pamphlet describing the restored 

* Harl. MS. 5809. Topographer, vol. 3, p. 344. 

t Glover's account of the church (1833) mentions also " a bear collared, quartering 
three peons" (sic), which he describes as being the arms of the first Vicar of Ches- 
terfield. This is a most singular mistake, for the first Vicar of Chesterfield was 
appointed early in the twelfth century, and the coat in question was doubtless 
intended for the quartered arms of Thomas Beresford, of Fenny Bentley, and Agnes 
(daughter and heiress of Robert Hassall) his wife ; and they were married in the 
fifteenth century. See the account of Sutton Scarsdale Church. 



CHESTERFIELD . 161 

church, from which we have already quoted, it is lamented that 
they had not been replaced. Fortunately, however, they were not 
destroyed, and may now be seen in the upper tracery of the south 
window of the Foljambe chapel. They have been there inserted 
by an ignorant hand, for the arms of Wake are inverted and 
resting on the top of Plantagenet. In the same place may also 
be seen two more of the old shields, gu., a cross moline, arg., and 
arg., a cross moline, gu., and this is all that now remains of the 
ancient heraldic glazing of All Saints', Chesterfield, whose windows 
once shone with the many coloured record of generation after 
generation of its time-honoured families. 

Although there are only two chantries mentioned under Ches- 
terfield, in addition to the Guild, hi the Chantry Koll, we find 
accounts of the foundation of three ; but this omission probably 
arose from the endowments of the oldest chantry having been 
already appropriated or lost at the time of the compilation of 
chantry property in the reign of Edward VI. 

The one not mentioned in the Eoll is the chantry at the altar 
of St. Mary Magdalen. It is mentioned in the Patent Bolls, under 
the date of the 1st of May, 1381,* but, according to the registers 
at Lichfield, it must have been founded before 1364. It was situ- 
ated within the chapel of St. Michael, and Dr. Pegge supposes it 
to have been founded by Koger de Chesterfield. In 1384, William 
Langstaff de Lincoln, priest, was admitted " ad perpetuum cantari- 
um ad altare Ste Marie Magdalene," in the church of All Saints, 
Chesterfield, by Eichard de Chesterfield, clerk and patron, being 
vacant by the death of " Roger de Lyeghes." Possibly, however, 
as Pegge suggests, there may have then been only one altar 
common to the two saints, though separate endowments. Ralph 
Durant is mentioned as patron in 1431, and in 1450 Nicholas 
Durant ia registered as presenting to the chantry of St. Mary 
Magdalen. 

With respect to the chantry of St. Michael, the following is the 
entry in the Chantry Roll : 

" The Chauntrye of St. Micliaell founded by Roger Chesterfield for 
ij prests to synge att the alter of St. Mychaell to maytayne Godds 
service and to praye, etc., by foundacon xxiiij Nov. A.D. M 1 iiij c iiij u 
xU vijo? clere xliij^ vs xrf with xiiijfo' receyvyd of the revemieux of 
the late monastrye of Thurgarton by vertue of a decre owte of the 

* Pat. Eot. 4 Richard II., pars 2, m. 1. 



162 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Courte of Augnientacyons dyrynge the Incumbents lyffes, and viijs 
imployed uppou obytts. Phil Durante and Eych Hyle (who is 
absente) Chauntrye prist. It hath a mancyon howse prised at \s 
by yere. Stock xvis ujd a chalys the Vycar there had in custody e 
and roune awaye with it ij yeres paste." 

Lysons says that this chantry was founded in 1357, and is not 
in error, as stated by Mr. Walcott, for the Chantry Eoll is un- 
doubtedly itself in fault.* The Eoyal License was granted to Roger 
de Chesterfield, to alienate messuages and lands for the foundation 
of this chantry in the 31 Edward III., and a further license to 
alienate lands in Chesterfield and Newbold, for the same chantry, 
was granted in 4 Eichard II. to Richard de Chesterfield and Robert 
de Derby, t An inquisition of the same year in which the license 
was granted, shows that Eoger de Chesterfield left twelve acres of 
land in Chesterfield, and tenements and land to the value of 10 
in Eckington, to a certain chaplain ; another inquisition, a few 
years later, ascribes to the said Eoger and others large endowments, 
including a mill and a hundred acres of land in the parishes of 
Crich, Ash over, and Matlock, for the same purpose ; whilst a third 
attributes to Eichard de Chesterfield and Thomas Durant the gift 
of a messuage in Chesterfield to certain chaplains, for the alienation 
of which, according to another roll, they had to pay a fine of ten 
shillings.^ According to the registers at Lichfield, the chantry of 
St. Michael was new-founded and re-ordained in 1370 by Eichard 
de Chesterfield, the then patron, who presented Henry de Foston 
to the charge. In 1421 Ealph Durant presented William Worsley ; 
and in 1450 Nicholas Duraut presented John Balme. We have 
already seen from his brass that John Verdon, who died in 1500, 
was priest of this chantry. It may here be remarked that Eoger 
and Eichard de Chesterfield were brothers, and both of them eccle- 
siastics ; the former holding a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln. 
Thomas Durant married their sister, and hence the patronage of 
the two chantries of St. Mary Magdalen and St. Michael passed to 
that family. 

The Chantry Roll also contains the following entry with respect 
to the united Guild of the Blessed Lady and the Holy Cross : 

V 

* Reliquary, vol. xi., p. 86. 

t Copies of these Charters, and of others relative to the Guilds, were made from 
the documents in the Chesterfield Corporation Chest by Mr. Wolley, in 1790. 
Add. MSS. 6667, ff. 697 to 713. 

JInq. post Mort. 31 Edw. HI., No. 2, 30; 35 Edw. m., No. 2, 46; 46 Edw. III., No. 
2, 33 ; Kot. Orig., 46 Edw. III., No. 36. 

Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, pp. 98, 99. 



CHESTERFIELD. 1 63 

" The Gylde or Slessyd Ladt/e and the Holy Crosse, founded by 
Jo. Maunsffelde and other to fynde prests to say and celebrate 
masse and other Divine service, and to praye for the soule 
of K. Bycharde, who graunted his lycence for the corporacon 
thereof; also for help and mynystracoyn of all maner of sacra- 
ments and sacramentales within the parishe and other charytable 
dedes for the paryshe is verye large beynge therein a greate 
cure to the nombre of MM. people, and is devyded into manye 
hamletts and villages dystannte some iij. myles or more, so that the 
Vycar and his parishe priste in the tyme of Lente and Easter and 
some other tyemes cannot suffice to the mynsystracon of behoffe- 
full matters. The deane of Lyncolne being persone and hathe the 
most parte of the proffitts of the Parishe. xv/i. xs. clere xxxiiifo'. 
vii.s. xic/. besyds iiijZt. xviijs. xi. in rents resolute, xxvis. viijs. for 
the baylyffes fee xliib. fyndynge of yerlye obyts, and moneye for 
reparacons of the tenements and cotages and fyndyuge of bread 
wyne and waxe for the mynystracyon of Sir Rich. Newbolde, Sir 
Will. Bagge, Sir Rich. Bonsall, and Sir Will. Hethecote, and Sir 
Rich. Whiteworth, Stypendarie prists. E verye of them hathe a 
mancyon prised att iiis. iijd. a pece. Stock ix&. xjs. xjd." 

The Guild of St. Mary was commenced on the 1st of January, 
1218, for the object of holding certain services, and the better to 
assure the liberties of the town. The statutes and regulations of 
this guild are of much interest.* The members had in the first 
instance to swear to uphold the rights of the church, and of the 
lord of the place, and to guard all their liberties, within town and 
without, and to give trusty help thereto whenever it may be needed. 

" A chaplain shall celebrate services on days named, and shah 1 be 
paid what the Alderman, Steward, and Dean, think right. 

" Each brother shall bequeath in his will, towards masses for the 
souls of his brethren, twelve pence out of every pound of his chattels ; 
but he need not bequeath more than forty shillings in all. If he 
have less than twenty shillings let him do what he likes with it. 

" On the death of any brother, xiii. wax lights shall be found by 
the guild, to set round his body, and shall be kept burning until he 
is buried ; and each brother shall pay a penny at the time of burial, 
or else make offering afterwards for the soul, as the Alderman thinks 
best. 

" If, in the haps of life, heavy losses befall any brother, whether 

* We take the account of these statutes from English Guilds, oue of the publica- 
tions of the Early English Text Society for 1870. 



164: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

by fire, by murrain, by robbery, or by any other mishap so that 
such loss come not through his own lust or gluttony, or dice-play, 
or other folly each brother shall give him, in relief of his loss, at 
the first, twopence ; and again, if he needs it, twopence more ; and 
yet a third time, if necessary. 

" If any brother, through age, or loss of limb, or leprosy, comes to 
so great want that he cannot support himself, the brethren, who 
are able, shall, in turn, supply him with needful food, or shall 
find for him a house of religion where he may stay during life. 

" The deaths of past Aldermen, and of Hugh of the Peek (either 
founder or benefactor), shall be yearly kept by the brethren, even 
to the end of time. 

" If any brother shall have wronged another in any way, by 
violence, either with malice aforethought, or through ignorance, or 
by backbiting, or by foul words ; or shall have sworn at his brother, 
or evil-spoken of him, or in any other manner wronged him; and 
if this shall be proved by two of the brethren, and he is unwilling 
to make fitting amends for the wrong, on the friendly suggestion 
of his brethren ; then he who has been wronged may seek redress 
howsoever he likes ; and the other, for his rash presumption, shall 
be put out of the guild, or punished in such a manner as the 
Alderman and his brethren shall think well. 

" Every brother shall, in every strait and trouble, have the help of 
his brethren towards defending himself, in due course of law, against 
any adversary whomsoever. 

" If any brother has undergone damage, or loss, or cost, for the 
common welfare of the guild, or the liberties of the town, the 
brethren are bound to make good to him such damages, and shall, 
with others of the town, give him counsel and help. 

" The Alderman, with the counsel and help of the brethren, shall 
uphold and defend all the liberties belonging to the town against 
all disturbers and hinderers of those liberties ; and xii. men, or as 
many as are wanted, must be chosen by him, or by the steward of 
the guild when he himself has not leisure, and be sent before the 
Justices, or elsewhere, upon the business of the town, wherever 
need shall be. 

"The Alderman shall look after the house as well as he is able ; 
and the Dean shall take care that summonses are duly sent to the 
brethren. The Dean shall also receive the fines, and hand them 
over to four scribes (? stewards), who are bound to keep the goods 
of the guild, and to improve them as much as they can ; and they 



CHESTERFIELD. 1 65 

may keep them for a whole year, if they well use them. After- 
wards, the goods shall be entrusted to others, as the guild thinks 
fit. All who hold the goods shall swear that they will duly restore 
them on a day named, and that they will use them for the profit 
of the guild. 

" Whoever makes known the affairs of the guild, and it is proved 
by two brethren, shall be put out as perjured, and his example 
shall be held up to everlasting scorn. 

" All the brethren shall meet twice a year, to look into and order 
the affairs of the guild, and to take any account of those who have 
in hand the goods of the guild. 

" The Dean and the Steward shall find wax lights when necessary, 
taking four or three brethren to advise with them ; and shall, once 
or twice a year, give an account of their expenses over the lights. 

" Two brethren shall be chosen to receive all rents and payments 
due to the guild, and to pay what is due from the guild. And 
the Alderman, and the Dean, and the Steward, shall have a roll, 
containing the names of those who pay yearly rents, and what and 
when each pays, and what has to be paid thereout to others. 

"Charters, muniments, etc., shall be kept under the seal of the 
Alderman and the Dean, and under the common seal of the guild. 

"The chaplain shall keep vestments and books, giving an inventory 
of them. 

" Each brother shall on Friday, in Pentecost week, give Id. to- 
wards alms, and another for wax. 

" Every incoming brother shall, on his entry, pay to the clerk Id. 
and to the doorkeeper Id. 

" When any brother is summoned to come to any meeting touch- 
ing the affairs of the guild, and he does not come, being in town 
and not sick, he shall pay Id. to the light." 

This guild was possessed of extensive landed property, and the 
influential families of the neighbourhood vied with each other in 
obtaining admission to its ranks. Thus in the third year of 
Henry V. Thomas Foljambe was Alderman of the Guild, and in 
the reign of Henry VII. the roll of the fraternity contained, 
amongst others, the names of Robert Barley (Alderman), Henry 
Foljambe and Benedicta his wife, Godfrey Foljambe, John Fol- 
jambe, Peter Frechevile and Matilda his wife, Roger Eyre and Ellen 
his wife, William Barley and Christian his wife, and John Lyuacre 
and Katherine his wife.* The Guild was endowed in the time 

* Nichol's Collectanea, vol. i., pp. 345, 352. 



166 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of Richard II. by Thomas Durant aud others with fifteen-and-a- 
half messuages of land and twenty-two acres of pasture in the 
immediate vicinity of Chesterfield, in addition to the returns from 
four markets. In the reign also of Henry IV. lands were left, by 
John Cm-son and others, in Chesterfield, Dronfield, and Boythorp, 
to the Alderman, brothers, and sisters of the Guild, towards the 
support of two chaplains.* 

On the 2oth September, 1393, the Royal license was granted to 
William de Horbury (clerk), Richard Porter (vicar of Chesterfield), 
Robert Cause, Henry de Maunsfeld, Hugo Draper, William de Lowe, 
John de Assh, and others, to found the Guild of the Holy Cross 
in the church of All Saints at Chesterfield. It seems that the 
original endowment consisted of seven messuages, five shops, six 
acres of land, and three of pasture, all in the parish of Chester- 
field.t 

There was also an ancient Guild of the Smiths at Chesterfield, 
and Mr. Toulmain Smith, the author of the work on English 
Guilds from which we have already quoted, says that it existed 
separately up to 1387, and was then amalgamated with the guild of 
the Holy Cross. But there is either a mistake in this date, or else 
the royal license of the 16th of Richard II. is only a refounding or 
confirming of an older license. Mr. Smith remarks, as a striking 
peculiarity of this guild, previous to its union with that of the 
Holy Cross, that it had no patron saint, and he conjectures 
that some local circumstances may have made the priests unpopular 
in Chesterfield. Even the Guild of St. Mary treated the priestly 
services with a slightness and coldness that were very unusual in 
these institutions, but this one does not so much as invoke the 
patronage of any saint, and is simply the Guild of the Smiths 
(fabrorum). In many of its rules it closely resembles a modem 
Trades Union, of which these Guilds were in truth the prototype. 
The allowance to a sick brother was a halfpenny a day ; brothers 
fallen into poverty to go singly to houses of wealthy brothers, and 
be entertained there and given a halfpenny ; brethren were to 
defend an imprisoned brother ; and rebellious members were to be 
fined and excommunicated without appeal. 

The Church, also, possessed a chantry specially attached to the 
Guild of the Holy Cross, as appears from the Chantry Roll : 

* Inq. post Mort. 16 Eic. II, No. 146. Pat. Rot. 16 Ric. II, pars 2, M. 28. Inq. ad 
quod damnum 5 Hen. IV, No. 34 ; and 7 Hen. IV, No. 4. 

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 711. Inq. post Mort. 16 Ric. II, No. 2, 89. 



CHESTEEFIELD. 1 67 

" TJie Chauntrye att the alter of the Holye Crosse founded by Hugh 
Draper to synge inorowe masse and other divyne service cvjs. viijc?. 
owte of the revennux of the late monasterye of Beachylff.* Will. 
Kynge Chauntrye Prist, paid by the Eeceyver of the Corte of Aug- 
mentacyous. Chalys etc. founde by the towne att ther costs." 

This Church probably possessed several side altars in addition 
to those specified in the Chantry Eoll. Wills pertaining to the 
Foljambe family make mention of the Lady chapel, and the chapel 
or altar of St. George. It appears that the Lady chapel is the 
principal burial place of this family. Henry Foljambe, of Walton, 
by his will, dated 15th August, 1485, appoints his body to be 
buried in the church of Chesterfield "before our Lady; "he fur- 
ther leaves to the Guild 6s. 8d., and to the Vicar his best horse. 
One of the executors was Sir John Puppys, the chaplain to the 
Guild of the Holy Cross, whose tomb we have discussed. Roger 
Foljambe, of Linacre Hall, by his will, dated 19th January, 1526, 
directs "my body to be buried near my brother Gilbert in our 
Lady quire, in the church of All Saints, in Chesterfield," and 
seven marks were left by the same document to priests, to pray 
for his soul " at our Lady's altar " for four years. Sir Godfrey 
Foljambe of Walton, by will of the 23rd Henry VIII., directs, 
" my carcase to be buried in the chappell of St. George besides 

my lady my wife, in Chesterfield My funeral mass and 

dirge, with all other suffrages and obsequies to be done and minis- 
tered for my soul according as worship requires after my degree ; 
my sword, helmet, with the crest upon the head, and my coat of 
arms to be hanged over my tomb, and there to remain for ever."t 

The Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) is content to 
mention merely the total value of the different rectories and vicar- 
ages there enumerated ; the church of Chesterfield, with its chapels, 
being valued at 73 6s. 8d., and the vicarage at 6 13s. 4d. ; but 
the Valor Ecclesiasticus^ of Henry VIII. gives full details of the 
vicarage, charities, and guilds, which we here reproduce, as they 
contain many interesting particulars. 

* The Valor Ecclesiasticus (27 Hen. VIII.) mentions an appropriation of eight 
marks a year, out of certain lands in Chesterfield, Brampton, Wadshelf, Wigley, 
Heath, and Newbold, " Aldermanno de Chestrefeld et confratribus ejus pro sustenta- 
cione cujusdem capellani matutinalem missam quotidie celebrantes." 

f Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, pp. 351, 358; vol. 2, p. 83. 

JFor full particulars as to the date, names of the commissioners, etc., of the Valor 
Ecclesiasticus for the Deanery of Chesterfield, see the preface. 



168 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



CHESTREFELD VICAR.' 
Dominus Decanus Lincoln' Patronus ibidem. 

Dominus Oliverus Flyut vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur. 

In primis mansionem cum duobus parvis croftis continentibus tres s. d. 

rodas terre per annum - xviij 

Item in decimis agnellorum - - xlvij x 

Item in decimis lane lv 

Item in paschali rotulo vij ij 

Item in oblationibus - xlij iiij 
Item in decimis minutis videlicet in porcellis ancis ovis canabo et 

lino xv iiij ob' 

Item in mortuariis communibus annis - vj viij 



Summa - - xv x viij ob> 
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie proscenagio et procuragio - x vij 

De claro xv j ob' 

Decima pars - xxx q' 

CHESTREFELD CANTARIA. 
Jacobus Durant Patronus ibidem. 
Dominus Philippus Durant dominus Robertus Eyre cautariste ibidem habent ut 

sequitur. 
In primis mansionem xiiij. cum cotagia in Chestrefeld predicta B. d. 

duodecimi acras terre ibidem in redditu per annum ... iiij 
Item de priore et conventu de Thurgreton in perpetua pensione viij 

Summa - - xij 

Unde resoluta annuatim decano Lincolnensi pro capitali redditu - v iij 

Item resoluta Gilde Sancte Crucis ibidem pro capitali redditu vj 

Item resoluta annuatim in obitu domini Richardi Chestrefeld et 
domini Rogeri Chestrefeld capellanoruin ac f undatorum cantarie 
predicte ex ordinatione - vij 



Summa resoluta - xij ix 

De claro - - xj vij iij 

Decima inde 



xxij viij ob'q' 



CHESTREFELDE GILDA SANCTE CRUCIS. 
Aldremaunus de Chestrefeld et Confratres ejusdem Patroni. 
Dominus Willielmus Hethcote cantarista ibidem habet mansionem 
cum gardino per annum --------- 

Item in annuali redditu - iij 



vj 



d. 

iiij 
viij 



Summa 
Decima inde - 

CHESTREFELDE GILDA BEATE MARIE. 
Aldermannus de Chestrefelde et confratres Patroni ejus dem. 
Dominus Henricus Trigg Dominus. 
Hugo Haywodde et Dominus Willielmus Ragg cautariste ibidem 

et quilibet corum habet mansionem per annum iijs. iiijd. summa 
Item in redditu soluto per aldermannum et confratres dicte gilde 

per annum cuilibet cantariste predicto v u 

Summa - 
Decima inde 

CHESTREFELD CANTARIA. 
Aldermannus et confrates sui Patroni. 
Dominus Richardus Newbolde cantarista ibidem habet annuatim 



XXX] 



in pecumiB 



Decima inde - 



vuj marcos. 

s. d. 
x viij 



CHESTEKFIELD. 169 

In addition to the particulars relative to the various chantries 
formerly extant in this church, which may be gleaned from the 
Valor Eccltsiasticus and the Chantry Rolls, an ancient charter in 
the Chesterfield corporation chest makes mention of yet another 
endowment for the singing of masses and other ecclesiastical pur- 
poses. According to this charter, William de Calall, Henry de 
Maunsfield, Adam de Brown de Chesterfield, William de Lowe of 
the same, and Eobert Elie, of Newhold, granted in the 9 Eichard 
II., to John del Loft and Maud his wife, a messuage in " Hally- 
wellgate," which they had of gift of the said John del Loft, for 
their lives, paying to the said W r illiam de Calall, &c., and their 
heirs and assigns, one red rose at the feast of the Nativity of St. 
John the Baptist, and keeping the messuage in good and sufficient 
repair. And William de Calall, <fcc., granted for ever a certain 
yearly rent of lOd. out of the said tenement, for maintaining of an 
obit for their souls, and for the souls of John and Maud del Loft, 
and of Joan, late wife of said John, and of Margaret, former wife 
of said John. The mass was to be celebrated in the church of 
Chesterfield on the Lord's day next after the feast of the Conversion 
of St. Paul ; lOd. was to be then distributed for the supper made in 
memory with the church and town ; 2d. to the clerks serving God 
and the Blessed Mary within the church ; 4d. for ringing the bells ; 
and 4d. in oblations to every chaplain celebrating mass.* 

It now remains to make a note or two respecting the bells. Up 
to the year 1700 the tower only contained six bells, but in that 
year another was added by the will of Mr. Paul W T ebster, and a 
few years subsequently the eighth was added by public subscrip- 
tion, t At the end of one of the old registers is an entry to the 
effect that in the year 1774 the peal of eight bells was rehung, 
the sixth bell being newly cast. Another entry tells us of the 
curious way in which the salary of the first organist of Chester- 
field church was raised. The organ, built by Schnetzler, for 500, 
was opened on the 21st of October, 1756, and the organist was 
maintained partly by the pew rents of the west gallery, then erected, 
and partly from the extra fee of two shillings charged to those who 
required the great bell tolling on the occasion of a funeral. " Others 
and paupers " had to be content with the tolling of the fourth or fifth 
bell. But in 1788 an order was made that henceforth the great 
bell should be rung for all persons. 

Add. MSS., 6667, f. 713. 

I Hunter's Collectious. Add. MSS. '24, 447, f. 137. 



170 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

In 1819 the old peal was dislodged and a new peal of ten bells 
took their place, cast by Thomas Mears, at a cost of between four 
and five hundred pounds. The bells are one and all simply in- 
scribed with the name of the founder and date. The following 
were the inscriptions upon their predecessors : 

I. " Multi numerantur aniici, (many friends are numbered.) 
Geo. Swift, P. Wildebore, Churchwardens, 1718." 

II. " Haec campana est ex dono Pauli Webster. Geo. Swift, P.W., 
C.W. Laus Domini iiostre mobilitate viget (The praise of the Lord 
flourishes by our motion.) 1700." 

III. " Sweetly tolling, men to call, 

To taste on meats that feed the soul. 
George Oldfield. 1612." 

IV. " Jesus be oure speed. 1612." 

V. " God save his Church. 1612." 

VI. "John Wood, vicar: H. Withers, E. Marsden, Churchwar- 
dens. Thomas Hilton, of Wath, founder. 1774." 

VII. " George Shaw, Peter Dowker, friends to this bell. Anthony 
Legat, Wil. HoUand, Wardens. 1661." 

VIII. "I.H.S. Hfec campana sacra fiat Trinitati beatae. (Let 
this bell be made sacred by the Blessed Trinity.) " 

These inscriptions from the old bells are copied from Ford's His- 
tory of Chesterfield, and to the account of the last bell is added the 
note, " The oldest bell in the steeple." We can confirm the cor- 
rectness of this note from an excellent source, as Dr. Pegge gives 
a drawing of the founder's mark on the large bell.* This mark 
consists of a shield with a cross in the centre between the initials 
G. H. ; and below these letters are respectively placed a fylfot 
cross and a section of a bell with the clapper exposed. A simi- 
lar mark occurs on the second and third bells of the little 
church of Beeley in this county, both of which are without date, 
but one of them bears a pre-Eeformation inscription " Sancte 
Georgii orate pro nobis."t Besides the peal of ten bells the belfry 
also contains a small bell 15 inches in diameter and about 18 
inches in height. Eumour has it that it was formerly used as the 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. ii. 

t An engraving of this bell-mark is given by Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt in the 
Reliquary for October, 1872. It is probably the bell-mark of Godfrey or Gilbert 
Heathcote of Chesterfield. These two names were borne by several genei'atious of this 
family in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The simpler bell-mark of G. H. 
or B. H. with a fylfot cross in the base is of frequent occurrence in Derbyshire bel- 
fries. These were probably used by the descendants of G. H., whose more elaborate 
trade-mark is described in the text. See the note to the Ashover bells, p. 37 ; also 
the description of the Barlborough bells, p. 60. 







BELL-FOUNDERS' MARKS, 



CHESTERFIELD. 171 

curfew bell, some stoutly affirming that it fulfilled this office in the 
days of the Normans. But though it is destitute of ornament or 
inscription, it is clearly of far later date than the first William. 
During the time that Chesterfield served as a depot for French pri- 
soners at the commencement of the century, this hell was used to 
summon them to their quarters at nightfall. The name, however, 
by which this bell is generally known the Pancake bell tells of 
another interesting old custom ; and the custom of ringing it for 
fifteen minutes, commencing at a quarter to eleven, on Shrove- 
Tuesday, still prevails. Shrove-ti&e implies the time when it was 
imperative on every one to confess to his parish priest, and by him 
to be shriven. To call the parishioners to this their annual duty, 
one of the church bells was rung on the morning of Shrove- Tuesday 
in a manner that would especially attract attention. After shriving 
had gone out of fashion the ringing of the bell was continued, but 
the name was changed to that of " pancake bell," and is supposed 
to indicate the best time for commencing the preparation of these 
dainties. Chesterfield is one of the very few towns where the ring- 
ing of the pancake bell still prevails. 

We will conclude this notice of All Saints', Chesterfield, with 
briefly narrating two incidents immediately connected with this 
venerable edifice. In the reign of Henry III., Robert de Ferrers, 
Earl of Derby, not satisfied with the defeat of the confederated 
barons at Evesham in 1265, again took up arms against the king 
in the spring of the following year. He assembled his followers 
at his castle of Duffield, and was speedily joined by Baldwin de 
Wake (lord of Chesterfield). In order to effect a junction with 
the men of Yorkshire under John D'Ayville, they marched towards 
Chesterfield, where a sanguinary battle took place. The Earl of 
Derby was driven into the town of Chesterfield, which was speedily 
beset by the troops of Prince Henry, who threatened to destroy 
the place unless the Earl was given up. The Earl meanwhile, who 
was suffering from an attack of gout, had fled to the church, and 
there concealed himself amongst some bags of wool, which had 
been deposited there by the traders at the Whitsuntide fair. A 
woman treacherously betrayed him, and he was seized and con- 
veyed in irons to Windsor. The total confiscation of the Ferrers 
estates was shortly afterwards decreed by the Parliament, and the 
castle at Duffield rased to the ground, his life only being spared.* 

* There is a good account of this battle in Glover's Derbyshire, vol. i, p. 393. It is 
the same engagement referred to in Wyrley's introductory account of the town of 
Chesterfield already quoted. 



172 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

To the student of mediaeval times there is nothing strange in this 
presence of wool in the church, for not only were the naves of our 
parish churches frequently used for the storage of goods, especially 
in troublous times, but here also were held the manorial courts, 
and frequently the actual fairs and markets, as well as the revels 
connected with the wakes.* 

The second incident occurred more than three centuries later, 
and is of singular interest as affording an instance of a post- 
reformation interdict. The following entry occurs in the parish 
registers: "1598. Eobertus Eyre generosus sepultus, per violen- 
tiam ab Hercule Foljambe, xvdie Dec." The said Eobert Eyre was 
an excommunicate recusant, and upon his burial at Chesterfield the 
church was interdicted, or according to another account, " inhibited 
from all burials " up to the 14th of the following January, when 
the ban was removed. During this interval the dead were buried 
at Whittington and other neighbouring churches. Hercules Fol- 
jambe had only returned from the West Indies two months 
previous to his onslaught upon Eobert Eyre, which indirectly 
brought about the interdict. He was the son of Sir Godfrey Fol- 
jambe, and heir of his brother Godfrey Foljambe, of Moor Hall, who 
died in 1591. The foreign achievements of Hercules Foljambe are 
best summed up in his own words in a petition to King James, 
wherein he affirms : " That for 40 years he had been employed 
in the Netherlands in field and at sea, and in the West Indies in 
the time of George, Earl of Cumberland, at the surprising at Port 
Eico, where he was Serjeant-Major General of the army, and, by 
the providence of God, preserved the Earl from drowning, and had 
gracious promises from her Majesty of reward and preferment, hav- 
ing consumed above 10,000^. in these employments ; but the Queen 

* In connection with the former use of churches for secular purposes, it may not 
be out of place to quote a paragraph from a review of ours on Mr. Longman's Three 
Cathedrals of St. Paul, which appeared in the Examiner of December 27th, 1873, 
as it refers to a subject on which there is such a strange lack of sound information, 
even among professed antiquaries :" Ever since the Reformation, Englishmen 
have treated their churches with infinitely more of reverence (occasionally, perhaps, 
mingled with a contemptuous indifference) than was the case with their Catholic 
forefathers. The devotion of churches to secular uses in the Middle Ages was not 
only not regarded as reprehensible, but there is no reasonable doubt that the main 
object and intention of building the large naves to our churches was for the very 
purpose of utilizing them as town halls, courts of assize, market houses, granaries 
and storehouses in troublesome times, and even as suitable buildings for the holding 
of fairs and revels. Spiritual tribunals, justices' sessions, and manorial courts were 
all held in the naves of the churches ; and the bodies of our majestic cathedrals were 
used without exception, at certain seasons of the year, for the accommodation of 
huxters' stalls, stages for morris-dancers, and the performance of miracle plays, and 
served as pleasant places for a morning gossip or a mid-day promenade. There was 
nothing exceptional about the use to which old St. Paul's was put, and it was not 
till after the much-abused Reformation that the incongruity of things secular and 
spiritual under the same roof began to strike men's minds." 



CHESTERFIELD. 173 

presently after died, whereby he was prevented of her Majesty's 
gracious promises, to his utter disabling and impoverishing his whole 
estate, and he being exceeding aged petitions for 100 oaks out of 
Bell and Birksland, in the Forest of Sherwood."* 

The Parliamentary Commissioners who sat at Chesterfield on the 
14th June, 1650, reported that the vicarage of Chesterfield was 
worth 24, but that a further sum of 40 was payable out of the 
irnpropriation of the tithes of Attenborough, Notts., from the gift 
of Mr. Godfrey Foljarnbef to a licensed preacher who should deliver 
at least four sermons hi every month in the parish church. At 
that date the lectureship and the vicarage were not held by the 
same person. One Thomas Brettland, " an honest able man," was 
lecturer, and the vicar had lately deceased. 



Within the ancient borough of Chesterfield, and hi its immediate 
precincts, were several chapels and religious buildings, independent 
of the parish Church of AH Saints, but they have ah 1 disappeared. 

Prominent amongst these was the Hospital of St. Leonard's, 
primarily devoted to the care of the lepers of the district. | We are 
unable to write with certainty as to its first establishment, but it 
was probably founded in the first half of the twelfth century. In 
1195, John, then Earl Morton, granted a rent charge of Q on the 
manor of Chesterfield to the hospital, in lieu of the dues from the 
fairs and markets in that borough, with which it had been origi- 
nally endowed. In the first year of his reign as king, John granted 
" simple protection " by charter to the lepers of Chesterfield ; in 
the seventh year the income from the manor is registered at G 
10s. ; and in the ninth year of his reign (1207), by a charter dated 
26th of July, he formally confirms " to God and the Blessed 

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 137. Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 73. 
Nichol's Collectanea, vol. ii., p. 85. 

tThe will of Godfrey Foljambe is dated 24th February, 1594. The particulars 
relative to his most valuable bequests are given at pages 131-143 of the Report of the 
Charity Commissioners on Derbyshire, in 1827, vol. X.VTLL 

J Leprosy formerly abounded throughout Europe, and especially in England, but 
has now been driven back to the East, except in the extreme south and a small por- 
tion of Norway. It chiefly affected the lower orders, owing to their greater lack of 
cleanliness. Chaucer speaks of a special costume for the lepers, and of their carrying 
a cup and clapper the one for the collection of alms, and the other to warn people 
of their approach. He further describes a "spittell hous " half a mile from the town 
for their accommodation. ( The Testament of Crest 

Voltaire, in one of his epigrammatic gibes, says : " All that we gained in the end, 
by engaging in the crusades, was the leprosy ; and of all that we had taken, that was 
the only thing that remained with us." But leprosy had spread even as far north as 
England before the undertaking of the first crusade. Du Cange's Glossary, v. Fusus. 



174 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Leonard, and to the infirm of Chesterfield," the grant that he had 
originally made hi 1195.* In 1225 we read that one Gilbert was 
chaplain of the infirinai-y at Chesterfield, by which title this hospital 
was doubtless signified, t By the arrangement of John in conferring 
a rent-charge from the manor, the advowson or patronage of St. 
Leonard's Hospital (that is to say, the appointment of chaplain and 
other officials) became attached to the manor of Chesterfield, and 
various Inquisitions show that it was considered of sufficient im- 
portance to be especiaUy enumerated when the manor changed 
hands. J In the Taxation Roll of 1291, the Hospital of St. Leonard 
is returned at the annual value of 6 13s. 4d., but when the Valor 
Ecchsiaslicus was taken in the 27th year of the reign of Henry VIII. 
the Commissioners declined to estimate its value, as a trial was then 
proceeding " inter Georgium comitem Salopie et Dominum Johan- 
num Blithe Coventriensem et Lichfeldeiisem Archidiaconum " with 
respect to its emoluments. The Chantry Roll of Edward VI. reign 
further explains this matter, by which it appears that, although the 
hospital for many centuries had been annexed to the manor, Henry 
VII. gave it for life to John Blythe. The Chantry Roll says : 
" There hath been an hospytall called St. Leonard's granted by K. 
Hen. VII. to Ser Jo. Blythe Clerk for term of hys lyffe by letters 
patent xxv. Aug. in xxiij. yere of hys reygne. By vertue of an acte 
of Parlyamente Margaret late countess of Salsburye (who held the 
manor of Chesterfield) toke it from Jo. Blythe by the space of xxiij. 
yeres paste and dyd graunte the lordship in exchaunge to George 
late Erie of Saloppe, so Frauncysse now Erie of Saloppe is in 
possessyon of the hospytall." Lysons remarks, " we suppose the 
site of this hospital to have been at a place called Spital, near the 
Rother, about half-a-mile south-east of the town, which belonged 
formerly to the Jenkinsons, and was sold by the co-heiresses of 
Woodyear to the late Sir Thomas Windsor Hunloke, Bart. The 
house was many years occupied by the family of Bourne, and now 
by Mr. John Charge, Attorn ey-at-Law, who married one of the 
daughters of the Rev. John Bourne." There can be no doubt that 
this supposition is correct. 

In the reign of Edward III., Thomas Wake died seized of the 

* Pipe Kolls, 10 Ric. I. ; Rot. Chart. 1 John, M. in dorso 26, and 9 John. M. 8 ; Cal- 
end. Rot. Chart. 7 John, M. 8, 86. 

t Rot. Lit. Claus. 9 Hen. III., M. 9. 

J Inq. post Mort. 26 Edw. III., No. 54 ; 30 Edw. III., No. 2, 25 ; 9 Rich. H., No. 
54 ; 10 Hen. IV., No. 51. Abbrev. Rot. Orig. 29 Edw. III., No. 28. 
Lyaons' Derbyshire, p. 81. 



CHESTERFIELD. 175 

manor of Chesterfield in conjunction with the Hospital of St. John 
the Baptist.* There is no other record of the existence of a 
hospital thus dedicated at Chesterfield, and we are inclined to think 
that it is an error of the scribe for St. Leonard. 

There was a chapel dedicated to St. Helen on the site of the 
present Grammar School, of which we have failed to learn anything 
in pre-reformation days. It is mentioned in a deed of the 2 Eliza- 
beth, by which the Queen grants to George Howard, inter alia, 
" half an acre of land near the chapel of St. Helen, in Chester- 
field, "t A Free Grammar School, specially endowed by Godfrey 
Foljambe, was founded at Chesterfield soon after the Eeformation, 
and it seems probable that the Queen granted the fabric of the 
chapel of St. Helen's for that purpose. At all events, the chapel 
itself, by whomsoever granted, was turned into a school-room, and 
other buildings for the masters added. J But in 1710 the old chapel 
was finally demolished, and new schools erected. 

There was formerly, also, a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas, 
which was situate in Holywell Street. Lysons speaks of the remains 
of it forming part of a barn and stable, but Ford's History of Chester - 
fnl<], published in 1839, says that these remains had recently been 
converted into small dwellings, the property of Mr. Margereson, 
slater, purchased of the Duke of Devonshire, in 1833. He adds 
that "this venerable building has undergone great alterations at 
different periods, so that nothing of its primitive state can be traced 
except on the south side, where there are still the remains of a 
small gothic window." 

There was yet a third chapel at Lord's Mill Bridge, but of this 
there are no traces whatsoever. Lysons states that it was dedicated 
to St. James, but we are not aware of his authority for this state- 
ment. " A chapel of the Assumption, by the bridge," was founded 
by Eichard, Earl of Salisbury, with a chantry, July 8th, 1446, and 
this was probably the chapel in question. 

* Inq. post. Mort. 23 Edw. III., No. 75. 

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 307. 

I Lysons' Collections. Add. MSS. 9M8, f. 213. 

Pat. Rot. 24 Hen. VI., pars 2, M. 10. 



176 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 




CJapclvg of iSrimtngton, 



fjNE of the ancient chapelries of Chesterfield, as has been 
already mentioned, was that of the adjacent hamlet of 
Brimington, lying about two miles north-east of the 
mother church. The manor of Brimington is mentioned in the 
Domesday Survey as a berewick of Newbold. It was afterwards 
held for several generations by those who possessed the manor of 
Chesterfield, but this was not always the case subsequently, when 
it passed successively through the families of Breton, Loudham, 
and Foljambe. Of the old chapel we have failed to glean any par- 
ticulars beyond the bare fact of its existence, and that it was 
probably dedicated to St. Michael, which is the dedication of the 
present church. Nor are there any remains of the old building. 
It was pulled down in 1808, and completely rebuilt at an expense 
of 842 13s. lid., with the exception of the tower, which had 
been previously rebuilt by Joshua Jebb in 1796. On this tower 
there was an inscription "D.D.D. J. Jebb, 1796."* The mean- 
ing of the first three initials is not at once apparent, but we are 
inclined to take them for " Domino dono dedit," i.e. " gave this 
gift to the Lord." In 1846 application was made for a faculty to 
again pull down and rebuild the church, and this was carried out 
in the following year. The tower was at that time considerably 
raised, and probably then lost the inscription, which is not now 
extant. 

Brimington is thus described in the Parliamentary Survey of 
1650: "Brimington is a chapel of ease to the parish of Chester- 

*Pegge's Collections, vol. 4. Dr. Pegge also makes note of the severe visitation 
from, the plague that came upon Brimington in 1603, at which time " Goodacre 
bridge was pulled down to prevent communication, and never rebuilt." The victims 
were interred at Brimington, but their deaths are recorded in the Chesterfield 
registers. 



BKIMINGTON. 177 

field. This hamlet is devyded into two parts. It is worth in land 
5 markes, and to the minister allso the viccarall tythes are worthe 
foure pounds tenn shillings per annum. We think fitt that Brim- 
ington being butt a myle distant should be united to Whytington. 
Thomas Bennett is present incumbent, and reputed scandalous." 

According to the Liber lietjis this chapel was of the clear value 
of 10. 

This chapelry was destitute of the rights of sepulture until a com- 
paratively modern date. One of the earliest inscriptions in the 
church is to the memory of Henry Audsley, vicar of Chesterfield, 
who died on the 4th December, 1723. 

Glover makes mention of a strange addition to the biirials in 
this consecrated ground in 1800, when the body of Thomas Knowles, 
who was hung at Derby for forgery on the 5th of September in 
that year, was interred in the churchyard. 



178 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH l>. 



Cljapdrg of Nctofcollr. 




p,T the time of the Domesday Survey, Newbold formed part 
of the demesne of the Crown. It was a manor of great 
extent, and comprised within its limits six bere wicks or 
hamlets Whittington, Brirnington, Tapton, Chesterfield, Boythorpe, 
and Eckington. The ancient chapel at Newbold was probably, 
therefore, at one time in its history, strange as it may now seem, 
the mother church of Chesterfield. In the reign of John, Newbold 
ceased to belong to the Crown, being given by that King, together 
with many valuable manors, to his favourite, William Briwere. 
Briwere's son dying without issue, his vast estates were divided 
among his five sisters, Newbold falling to the lot of Isabel, who 
took for her second husband Baldwin Wake. Then- descendant, 
Hugh Wake, in the reign of Henry III., made over the manor 
in its entirety to the Abbot and Convent of Welbeck, who had for- 
merly possessed certain rights therein. In the reign of Edward I. 
the Abbot of Welbeck obtained the right of free warren over the 
manor of Newbold, in addition to those of Duckmanton, North 
Winfield, and Gresswell.* 

It is said, however, by Lysons, that Newbold, at the time of the 
dissolution of the monasteries, was a parcel of the possessions of 
Beauchief Abbey. But according to the Valor Ecde.siasticus, 27 
Henry VIII., the annual value of the lands held by that abbey in 
the lordships of Chesterfield, Brampton, Wadshelf, Wigley, and 
Newbold only amounted to 7 10s. 10d., so that it could only 
have been a small fraction of the manor that was then in their 
hands. After the dissolution Newbold was granted to Sir William 
West, whose son Edmund sold it in 1570 to Anthony and Gervase 
Eyre. 

* Calend. Eot. Chart 19 Edw. I., No. 49. Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III. 



NEWBOLD. 179 

The chapel is a plain building, with an inside area of thirty- 
six feet by fifteen. The east and west windows, as well as two 
on the south side, are square-headed Perpendicular ones, of two 
lights each ; the north wall is unpierced. The main doorway on 
the south side is of the same period, and so also is the roof, wliich 
is of a simple character, being supported by five tie-beams that rest 
on the walls. The centre bosses, however, are well carved and in 
good condition. The four angles of the building are ornamented 
with pinnacles of a modern and debased design. 

The most interesting feature of the chapel is the priest's door- 
way on the south side. This is of very small dimensions, being 
only five feet three inches high and two feet broad. The top 
is formed of a semi-circular tympanum, ornamented with flowing 
foliage much defaced. Several of the jamb stones, also, bear traces 
of the original sculpture, a kind of horse-shoe moulding. Many, 
too, of the stones that now compose the waUs show, both on the 
exterior and interior, that they have formerly been used in an early 
Norman edifice. We especially noticed one stone, that had clearly 
once formed the head of a smaU single-light Norman window. No 
long time could have elapsed, from the taking of the Domesday Sur- 
vey, before a chapel sprang up on this site. The interior is now 
latterly desolate, the windows being not even glazed. Its only 
furniture is a modern wooden altar and raised dais at the east end. 
The Catholic branch of the family of Eyre still retain possession 
of the chapel (though their adjacent estates are in other hands), 
and occasionally use it as a burial place. 

Owing, we presume, to some unfortunate outbreak of Protestant 
malice, the chapel was nearly demolished, and all the monuments 
destroyed in the reign of "William III., the ancient tombstones 
being used for chimney-pieces, doorways, and other secular pur- 
poses.* The only inscription preserved is one of exceptional interest. 
It is as follows : " To the memory of the Honourable Anthony 
Browne, eldest son of Francis Viscount Montacute, of Cowdray, 
in Sussex, Major in the Volunteer Kegiment at York, who was 
wounded in the leg hi a sally from thence, 1644. He married 
Bridget Maskew, daughter of James Maskew, of York, Esq., who, 
together with his two sons, was killed at Marston Moor, fighting 
for their king and country. He left two sons and two daughters 

* We gather from Dr. Pegge's collections that he was of opinion that the same mob 
which gutted the chapel of Newbold in the reign of William III., committed a like 
outrage on another Catholic chapel of the Eyres at their seat at Padley. We shall 
revert to this subject in our next volume on the churches of North Derbyshire. 



180 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

John, Gervase, Christian, and Martha. He departed this life 

May 6, 1666, aged 46 years. 

Requiescat in pace. 

" 'Tis very well known he'd a great deal of trouble, 
He suffer'd with patience, 'cause God made him able, 
He liv'd a good Christian and wish'd to get heaven, 
And hoped that through Christ his sins would be forgiven." 

This inscription was fortunately copied by his daughter, Martha 
Browne, a few years previous to the demolition of the monument. 
Ford tells us (1839) that the tombstone of Gervase Browne, 
second son of Anthony, was to be seen in the chapel not many 
years ago. From the same source we learn that Khodes Hibbert 
of Newbold, who died at a very advanced age, remembered the 
grave of Anthony Browne being opened in the presence of the Kev. 
Mr. Morewood, of West Hallam, and others. The leg that had 
been broken was found seamed at the fracture.* The personal 
history of this gentleman abounds in romantic incidents. 

It seems that, notwithstanding his father and two younger bro- 
thers were fighting on the Parliamentary side, Anthony was a deter- 
mined Boyalist. He was taken prisoner during the sally from York 
when his leg was broken ; but, on recovering, he escaped by killing 
the guard of his prison. He was now obliged to disguise himself, 
and he took refuge with the Eyres of Newbold, living under the 
feigned name of John Hudson. On the restoration he resumed his 
proper name, but failed to obtain the confiscated estates of his wife, 
or any other recompense, from the fickle Charles II. t 

After the sacking of this chapel by the Protestant mob, the 
building appears to have relapsed into a state of complete dese- 
cration, being used as a cowhouse and barn up to a recent date, 
when it was cleared of its incumbrances, but not otherwise restored, 
by the representatives of the Eyres. The Bev. J. Hunter, who 
visited it in July, 1843, says : "I went to the chapel of Newbold, 
and found it standing without any inclosure in a field, and filled 
with husbandry utensils.":}: 

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 356. 

t A most interesting paper on the descendants of Anthony Browne, who on more 
than one occasion attempted to make good their claim to the title and estates of 
Viscount Montacute, appeared in the Reliquary, April, 1865. Anthony Browne's 
widow took a farm, under the Hunlokes, at Lings, in the parish of North Winfield, 
and the family resided there until recently. The late Francis Browne, of Lings, was 
familiarly known as " Moutacute Browne," and his likeness, as well as that of his 
children, to the portrait of the first Viscount was most striking. His letters, too, 
some of which we possess, are certainly not characteristic of the ordinary yeoman. 
The present representative of the family lives at Staveley. There can be little or no 
doubt that the attempts made to secure the title and estates would have been suc- 
cessful if it had not been for lack of funds and bad management. We are led to 
suppose that the title could even now be recovered, but not the estates. 

| Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 80. 



NEWBOLD. 181 

There are a few references to this chapel in the registers of the 
parish church of Chesterfield. One of these is the instance of the 
burial of one of the same name, though apparently not of the same 
family, as Anthony Browne : " September, 1678. Michael Browne 
de Newbold, sepult. apud Newbold capell. xvijdie." 

We have been told that this chapel was dedicated to St. 
John, but have not found any authority for the statement, and our 
informant may probably have been misled by the dedication of 
the modern church of Newbold. 



182 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Cljapdrg of Etmpl* 




|HE Manor of Temple Normanton belonged to the Knights 
Templars, who gave to it its distinguishing affix. This 
Order of Knights was originally established in Palestine, 
and had allotted to them by the King of Jerusalem, as a residence, 
a portion of his royal palace, adjacent to the site of the Temple of 
Solomon ; hence they soon became known as Knights of the Temple, 
and subsequently Knights Templars. The date of their foundation 
is about 1118, and we read of them in England as early as 1135. 
In England they quickly gained landed possessions, a large propor- 
tion of which still bear the name that identifies them with this 
ancient order. Such are Cressing Temple and Temple Eoydon in 
Essex, Temple Chelsing and Temple Dinsley in Herts, Temple 
Newsham in Yorks, Templecombe in Somerset, Templeton in Devon, 
&c., <fec. An Inquisition of the lands of the Templars, taken in 
1185 (the year of the construction of the Temple Church), by 
order of Geoffrey, makes mention of Normanton as part "de Baillia 
de Lincolnscire."* In consequence, however, of various enormities 
this wealthy order was dissolved by order of the council of Vienne, 
and its possessions were, by the command of the Pope, made over to 
the rival Knights Hospitallers, more commonly known by their 
subsequent title of Knights of Malta. This transference of property 
was decreed in 1312, but there was much delay in carrying it out, 
and many estates fell into secular hands, chiefly into those whose 
ancestors had formerly bequeathed them to the Templars. t 

There is a report still extant in the Kecord Office at Malta, 
which gives a most careful and detailed account of the whole of 
the possessions of the Knights Hospitallers in England in the year 

*Dugdale's Monaaticon, vol. vi., pt. 2, p. 827. 

t Porter's History of the Knights of Malta, vol. i., chap. 7. 



TEMPLE NORM AN TON. 183 

1838.* Amongst their original estates are two in Derbyshire 
Yeaveley and Barrow which produced the yearly income of 95 6s. 
and 36 2s. respectively. There is also a long list of the recently 
transferred estates of the defunct order of the Temple, but we fail 
to find mention of Temple Normanton, or indeed of any land in 
Derbyshire. But at the end of this list, twelve manors and a 
water-mill are enumerated, which had been in the possession of 
the Templars, but of which the Hospitallers had failed to obtain 
possession up to that date. Amongst these is the Manor of " Nor- 
manton in the Vale," of the value of 10, held by Lord de Eoos.t 
Now it would seem probable that this is another name for Temple 
Normanton. Though Temple Normanton is, and has been for a 
long period, its most commonly accepted name, the hamlet has 
often been distinguished from the two other places of the same 
designation in Derbyshire by other prefixes. Thus we have met 
with it under the titles of Little-Normanton, Nonnanton-Parva, and 
North-Xormanton, and we believe we recognise it under the further 
title of Nornianton-in-the-Vale. A close consultation of gazetteers of 
different dates fails to discover a Normanton of this particular 
name elsewhere in the country ; and though it may be said that 
the hamlet is not on low ground but rather overlooking the vale, 
the same objection might be made to Sutton-in-the-Dale and other 
place-names of a like description, which simply seem to imply 
proximity to a vale or dale. If this conjecture is the right one, 
Norniantou-in-the-Vale must have been given up by Lord de 
Eoos subsequently, as it afterwards was undoubtedly the property 
of the Knights Hospitallers. It is described in the reign of 
Edward as " Norman ton-juxta-Chesterfield," lately the property of 
the Templars but then of the Hospitallers.:}: It seems that the 
manor remained in their hands until the tune of Henry VIII., 
when the order of the Knights Hospitallers sided with the Pope 
and resisted the divorcement of Katharine. This resulted in a san- 
guinary persecution, and the eventual destruction of the Order ; and 
at last in April, 1540, an Act was enacted vesting in the Crown the 
whole of their possessions, castles, manors, churches, and houses. 
But by a royal charter, bearing date 2nd April, 1557, Philip and 
Mary re-established the Order, and re-endowed it with all the 

* This report has been printed by the Camden Society, and forms the 65th volume 
of their series. 

fThe family of de Eoos held various estates in Derbyshire in the reigns of 
Edward I., II. ~ arid HL, and Richard II. See Inq. post Mort. pastim. 

J Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edward III. 



184 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH l.S. 

manors and other possessions of which it had been deprived, so 
that Temple Norrnanton once more reverted to the Knights Hos- 
pitallers.* This re-endowment was, however, of short duration, for 
Queen Elizabeth, in 1559, again abolished the Order and escheated 
their property. In 1568 the manor was granted to George, Earl 
of Shrewsbury, and was subsequently purchased of the Shrewsbury 
family by the Leakes. 

The chapel at Temple-Normanton is a plain oblong building with 
a clumsy bell-turret of wood and lead on the west gable. Its 
dimensions are about forty feet by twenty. It is entered by a 
square-topped doorway on the south side, on the lintel-stone of 
which is cut the date 1623. The two windows on the south side, 
and the two-light one at the east end are also square-headed, and 
may be attributed to the same date. Modern Directories speak of 
this chapel as being built in 1623, and doubtless it was extensively 
rebuilt then, but one had existed here several centuries before that 
date. In fact it would be strange if this was not the case, seeing 
that the manor was owned (and probably occupied, not farmed out) 
by a body of stern religious zealots, such as the Templars were in 
the early part of their history. If the place was of sufficient im- 
portance to be christened by their name, it would surely possess a 
building for their religious services. In the north wall there still 
remains a deeply splayed very small window with a rounded top, 
the light itself being only about one foot by three inches, and in 
this may be recognised one of the rude Norman windows that are 
found in chapels of early primitive construction. The top-stone 
of this window, viewed from the exterior, can be exactly matched 
by one built into the wall in the old chapel at Newbold. In this 
window, then, we see a portion of the old building as it was when 
the Knights Templars held here their service in the twelfth century ; 
and in the pointed window of two chief lights at the west end, we 
find one of the Decorated, or fourteenth century style. And what 
is more likely, than that the Hospitallers, when they obtained pos- 
session of this chapel, formerly in the hands of their rivals, should 
restore it in the style then in vogue. The gable stone at the east 
end shows the base of a cross that has formerly adorned it, and 
there are traces of a similar feature at the west end. The upper 
half of the high-pitched roof is hidden by a plaster ceiling, but 
five horizontal tie-beams of a plain description show below. Many 
of the pews contain a substratum of solid old oak, and the chapel 

* Porter's Knights of Malta, vol. ii., appendix IS. 



TEMPLE NORMANTON. 185 

has evidently once been seated throughout (probably in 1623) with 
massive but plain oak benches. To the backs and sides of these 
benches the woodwork of the present higher pews has been ruth- 
lessly fastened. The chancel is separated from the body of the 
building by a wooden screen of plainly-moulded uprights, certainly 
not older than the date over the door. In the south wall of the 
chancel is a square niche, w 7 hich may have once served as an 
almery. There appears to have been intra-mural but not extra- 
mural burial in this chapelry, for the chancel is paved with numerous 
monumental stones ; but we shall not here record the inscriptions, 
as the oldest only date back to the commencement of the last cen- 
tury. The font is a modern one. Of this chapel it may truly be 
remarked that " the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow 
a nest for herself where she may lay her young," for the west 
wall has recently given way many inches from the building itself, 
and left a gaping crevice. This crevice the birds have utilized, 
and the chapel at the time of our visit was melodious with the 
twitterings of the young. Alterations or repairs are, however, 
already in contemplation ; we trust that they will not involve the 
complete demolition of the present building. 

Lysons says that the chapel at this place is supposed to have 
been originally a domestic one, belonging to the lords of the manor 
of Tupton, in the adjoining parish of North Wiiifield ; but as he 
gives no reasons for this supposition, it is not easy to accord with 
it. It would be very unusual to have a domestic chapel at a 
distance from the manor house considerably exceeding a mile. 
It has already been pointed out that the probable origin of a 
chapel on this site was the granting of the land to the Knights 
Templars ; and we are in possession of the copy of an old memo- 
randum, not before published, which gives negative evidence 
against this being used as the domestic chapel of Tupton 
Manor. This evidence is very slight, but the memorandum, taken 
from the Common Place book of Koger Columbell, of Darley Hall, 
who died in 1665, is sufficiently curious to warrant its insertion : 
" Mem. Godfrey Foljambe of More hall, myself, my brother blunt 
were at Tupton in the lady Constance Foljambe house the 28 Sep. 
1589, when all the morning prayers, savinge the ii lessons omitted 
for want of a byble and the collect for the daye for want of skyll 
to find it out, was distinctely redd with the latinie also by Nicholas 
Hardinge ; hir man servant and Elianor Harrington hir waytinge 
woman beinge present, who reverently and obediently behaved them- 



186 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

selves during all the service tyme, as we aforenamed with Edward 
Bradshawe, John Browne, and John Hawson are to witness when- 
soever we shall be called by other or otherwise as by a byll under 
our hand according if (?) my sade cousen Foljanibe of More Hall 
appeareth."* This reading of prayers according to established 
form before witnesses would be done in order to save the heavy 
penalties with which the recusant Catholics or suspected recusants 
were visited. The Lady Constance Foljanibe would be especially 
careful at that particular date to have witnesses of her conformity 
to the established religion, as she had only been set at liberty six 
days before the date of this memorandum, from a confinement for 
conscience's sake, of about two years duration. A letter is 
still extant from Francis Leake to the Earl of Shrewsbury, dated 
February the 2nd, 1587, in which he states " I was this day at 
Tupton, where I found the Lady Constance Foljainb. I did impart 
to the Lady Foljamb my comitione to comite her to the chardge of 
my cousen Foljamb. Her answer was that she was, by age and the 
sikeness of the stone, not abell to travell either on horseback or on 
foot, and so desired me to let your Lordshipp understand ; where- 
upon she as yet rerneanthe at Tupton till your Lordshippe's plea- 
sure be further knowne." The Earl replies that it is essential 
to commit her, and, on February 16th of the same year, receives 
a letter from Godfrey Foljambe stating that he had apprehended 
" the Lady Constance Foljambe, my grandmother, and now have 
her in my custodie, whom by God's help I shall safely keep." The 
Protestant zeal of this unnatural grandson was not altogether dis- 
interested, for we learn that when he set her at liberty twenty 
months later, by order of the Council, he retained for his own bene- 
fit "her living, goods, and chattels." On September 22nd, 1589, 
the Lady Constance wrote to the Earl of Shrewsbury thanking him 
for her release, t She was the second wife of Sir James Fuljambe, 
who died in 1558, and was buried at Chesterfield 22nd July, 1600. 
Her grandson Godfrey Fuljambe was descended from the first wife, 
Alicia. Godfrey Fuljambe, of Moor Hall, was descended from a 
younger branch. The Lady Constance's residence we believe to 
have been at Tupton Hall (though shortly afterwards it was in the 

Add. MSS. 6702, f. 79. 

fThe Talbot Papers, quoted in Lodge's Illustrations of British Histori/, vol. ii., 
pp. 373-375. We have not seen the Talbot Papers, which are preserved at the Col- 
lege of Arms, but we feel sure that Lodge is in error in describing this Godfrey 
Foljambe as " Sir." It does not appear that he was knighted, and in contemporary 
copies of the correspondence between him and the Earl of Shrewsbury, amongst the 
Lambeth Palace MSS., he is spoken of as a simple esquire. See also Nichols' 
Collectanea, vol. ii., pp. 73-78. 



TEMPLE NOKMANTON. 187 

hands of the Brailsfords), and if the chapel at Temple Normanton 
was the domestic one for the manor, it seems probable that this 
historical service would have been there performed.* 

In Bacon's Liber Regis this chapelry, valued at 7 12s., is de- 
scribed as pertaining to the parish of Eckington ; but this must 
be a mistake, as it appears to have always formed part of the very 
extensive parish of Chesterfield. In the sixth volume of the Par- 
liamentary survey of livings, made in 1650, which records are pre- 
served at Lambeth, occurs the following : " Normanton parva is 
a chapel of ease in the parish of Chesterfield, in viccarall tythes 
worth 20s. per annum. The Chapel is fit to be disused and the 
village united to Chesterfield." 

* We have allowed this to stand in the text, as an excuse for bringing in the inte- 
resting details illustrative of Derbyshire life in the reign of Elizabeth ; but, since it 
was originally in print, we have discovered, in the manuscript correspondence of Lysons 
(Add. MSS. 9423, f. 107), the error upon which the statement is based, that this chapel 
was the domestic one of the lords of the manor of Tupton. The Rev. G. Bossley, 
vicar of Chesterfield, writes to Mr. Lysons, under date 24 February, 1816 " formerly 
the chapel of Temple Normanton was not endowed, and was then considered as an 
ancient domestic chapel belonging to the family of Lord of Tupton." Lysons, in 
utilizing this letter in his History of Derbyshire, has evidently mistaken the family 
name Lord, for lord of the manor ! This is a curious instance of the origin of his- 
torical blunders. 



188 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



of 




|HERE was an old chapel on the manor of Walton, of which 
Lysons, writing in 1817, Bays that the waUs were stand- 
ing a few years ago. We find, from the Lysons cor- 
respondence, that the actual words of his informant, the vicar of 
Chesterfield, were " Some parts of the walls were standing till 
within the last three or four years, when they were entirely taken 
away, so that no vestiges whatever are now to be found. " :J The 
date of this letter is 24th February, 1816. 

The manor of Walton was for several generations in the hands 
of the ancient family of Breton. Eoger le Brito, or le Breton, 
lord of Walton, was a witness to the foundation charter of Lentou 
Monastery, to which he gave the tithes of his manors of Walton 
and Calow, temp. Henry I. His great-grandson, Sir Eoger le 
Breton, according to Dr. Pegge, obtained a license for a chantry 
in his chapel at Walton, in the reign of Henry III. Walton re- 
mained in the family of Breton in direct male descent for five 
generations after the Sir Eoger who obtained the chantry, when 
Isabel, sole heiress of Breton, conveyed the estate to Sir John 
Loudharn, and their daughter in turn to Thomas Foljanibe.t 

Doubtless the chapel was a domestic one attached to the manor, 
but we can gather that it did not form an actual portion of the 
old Hah 1 of Walton, for every trace of that building was more 
than two centuries ago destroyed. An anonymous memorandum 
amongst the Wolley MSS., written about the year 1648, says 
" The ancient seate Walton nere Chesterfield, wherein the great 
contynewall housekeeping was mayntayned before in Mr. Foljambe's 

* Add. MSS. 9423, f. 107. 

t These particulars are from a MS. pedigree of Mr. Cecil G. Savile Foljambe. We 
have not succeeded in obtaining any confirmation of Dr. Pegge's statement as to the 
chantry, but it is difficult to believe that so careful an antiquary was in error. 



WALTON. 189 

tyme, is utterly ruyned, plucked downe, aud sould, no materiall, 
as ys reported left, nor almost any mencyon made were so greate 
liospytality, and that in my tyme used." 

But though there is every probability that this chapel was a 
domestic one, it nevertheless found a place in the Valor Ecclesias- 
ticus of 27 Henry VIII., and was possessed of special endowments 
worth 3 8s. Od. per annum, but which were only secured for the 
lifetime of the then chaplain, one William Walton. It is described 
as a donative, of which Sir Godfrey Foljambe was the lord and 
patron.* There is no reference to the chapel in the Parliamentary 
Survey of 1650. 

* Sir Godfrey Foljambe was himself one of the Commissioners for taking this re- 
turn, which may account for its enumeration among the benefices. 



Cloton. 



(Jloton. 




jjN the will of Wulfric Spott, by which Burton Abbey was 
endowed, mention is made of the manor of Clown ; it 
was not, however, left to that monastery, as stated by 
Lysons and subsequent writers, but to Morcare.* The notice of 
Clown in the Domesday Book contains no mention of a church, 
and the first historical note of its existence seems to be in the 
reign of Henry III. (12161272), when the church of All Saints 
at Clown was confirmed by that monarch to the Priory of Work- 
sop, f According to the Liber Regis, and to subsequent authorities, 
the church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It therefore seems 
probable that we have here an instance of a church changing its 
dedication at the time of its restoration or re-consecration. 

The church of Clown, however, was not altogether appropriated 
to the Priory of Worksop, as implied by Glover, but only the 
advowson, together with a portion of its revenues. At least this 
appears to be indicated by the Taxation Koll of 1291, wherein 
Clown is entered as an " ecclesia " (not vicarage) worth 6 13s. 4d. 
a year, and the Prior of Worksop as deriving a pension of 2 
from the same parish. According, also, to Mitchell's Derbyshire 
Collections,! the convent of Worksop received a pension of that 
amount from the parson of Clown, of which a recovery was suffer- 
ed, 29 Henry VIII., on the very eve of the dissolution of the 
monasteries. This pension (according to Mr. Mitchell) arose from 
the gift of Robert de Mennill (son of Gilbert de Mennill) and 
Eobert his son, of all their rights in the church of All Saints 
at Clown, and was confirmed by Edward IL, at Lincoln, on the 
4th February, in the ninth year of his reign. 

* See Beighton Church, p. 83. 

f Glover's History of Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 303. 

; A <1<1. MSS., 28, 108, f. 303. 





194 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

In the sixth year of Eichard II., Sir Koger Folville and Eliza- 
beth his wife, held forty acres of glebe land at Clown, under the 
church,* and two years subsequently (1385) we learn that one 
Kichard de Eawcliffe was parson. 

The following is a verbatim extract from the Valor Ecclesiasticus 
(27 Henry VIII.) with respect to this parish : 

CLOWNE KECTOEIA. 
Prior de Wirkesopp Patronus. 
Dominus Willielmus Ynskipp rector ibidern liabet communibus aniiis ut sequitur. 

B. d. 

In mansione et glebis xx x 

In decimis garbaram et feni -------- iiij vij 

In decimis lane et agnellorum -------- xij 

In decimis minutis ---------- iij 

In oblatiouibus ----------- x 

In Paschali Rotulo xviij vij 



Summa - - vij xi v 

Undo resoluta est annuatim arckidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et 

procuragio ---- x vij 

De claro - - vij x 

Decima inde - xiiij j 



The Parliamentary Commissioners, in 1650, estimated the value 
of the living of Clown at three score and ten pounds. Mr. John 
Burton was then the incumbent, and is described as "an honest, 
hopefull man." 

The Church consists of a chancel, nave, south porch, and western 
tower. Though the present building is much modernised, enough 
old work remains to prove its existence in the Norman days. The 
south doorway under the porch, and the archway from the nave 
into the chancel, are both of good Norman work, and in a fair 
state of preservation. Shafts are cut out in the jambs, the capitals 
of which are ornamented with geometrical patterns. The style is 
of the reign of Stephen (1135 1154). On a window-seat in the 
chancel is a circular stone, moulded in front, that has formerly 
been the drain of the old Norman piscina. It would be well if this 
stone could be again built into the walls, to save it from future 
Vandals, as piscinas of that date are but very rarely found. At 
the west end of the nave, too, is the original Norman font. The 
font itself, which is twenty-two inches in diameter, and thirteen in 
height, is a perfectly plain rounded stone. The base, which is also 
circular, is moulded in bands like the base of a column. Its total 
height is about forty inches. 

*Inq. post. Mort. 6 Rich. II., No. 40. 



CLOWN. 195 

One more instance of this style remains iu the chancel, the 
priest's doorway on the south side having a semi-circular head, 
thoiigh it appears, when viewed only from the exterior, to be of 
much more modern date. On each side of this doorway there has 
been a small lancet window of the Early English period, though 
that nearest the nave has been diminished and blocked up, until 
only a small square opening has been left. The roof of the chancel 
is ceiled, but the tie-beams and a portion of the struts of the old 
roof show themselves below the whitewash. The high-pitch roof of 
the nave is open to the rafters ; two of the tie-beams with their 
struts, which are boldly carved and moulded, are clearly part of an 
old roof, as well as much of the remainder. 

The style of carving, and the construction of the roof, inclines 
us to attribute it to the Decorated period of the fourteenth century. 
It has a strong resemblance to the church roofs at Hault Hucknall 
and North Winfield. 

The tower at the west end was added in the fifteenth century, 
when the Perpendicular style was in vogue. It is supported by 
diagonally-placed buttresses, and the embattled summit is ornamen- 
ted with four crocketed pinnacles. The windows of the bell-chamber 
are good plain specimens of the style. The tower is entered by a 
small pointed doorway under the west window, and the basement 
opens into the body of the church by a lofty archway spring- 
ing from two well-carved corbels. We should have written " ought 
to open," for the archway is now bricked up, and further concealed 
by a gallery at the west end of the nave. The tower contains 
three bells, access to which is obtained by a turret staircase of 
unusually small dimensions. 

The following are the inscriptions : 

I. "Revd. George Bossley, Eector, 1812. J. Goody, J. Dewis, 
Churchwardens. Smiths, Chesterfield." 

II. " Geo. Wilkesonne, Will. Williamson, Wardens, 1616." This 
bell is cracked, and has been disused for some years. 

III. " God save his church. 1591." This bell bears the founder's 
mark of Henry Oldfield. 

The north wall of the nave has, we suppose, at some time in its 
history, shown symptoms of falling outwards, but such a catastrophe 
has been now rendered impossible by the erection of two clumsy, 
but massive buttresses. They project ten feet from the wall at the 
base, and are three feet in width. They graduate off in nine suc- 
cessive stages, and seem almost to invite a visit to the roof. On 



196 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

mentioning this to our cicerone, he told us that all the lead from 
the roof was stolen one night about thirty years ago. It has since 
been roofed with slates. One of these buttresses has blocked up a 
doorway that formerly existed on the north side of the church. 

Three tall two-light windows, of very debased Perpendicular, light 
the south side of the church, one bearing on its keystone the date 
1714. A stone above them is thus inscribed : " Mr. Basseldine, 
benefactor to this wall and church, 1.51" The porch, which is 
about as degenerate a piece of architecture as the liveliest imagina- 
tion could picture, informs its admirers that " This porch was 
rebuilt by Mr. Basseldine, 1720." Good Mr. Basseldine had not 
the smallest intention of placing his light under a bushel, and we 
find several traces of him in the interior of the church. Against 
the north wall of the nave is a large table of the Commandments, 
supported by Moses and Aaron, and with various other embellish- 
ments around them. At the base is painted Mr. Basseldine's name 
in conspicuous letters, with the date 1724. The artist's name, "B. 
Bouttats," is also given. Again, in the chancel, against the north 
wall, is a large picture of the Ascension in a black frame. At the 
bottom we read, " Charles Basseldine, his gift, 1725." This picture 
is certainly a marvellous composition, and is intended, we fancy, for 
a copy of one of the weU-known paintings on this subject. We 
suppose its almost ludicrous irreverence did not strike its admirers 
of the last century. The keys of St. Peter, which he has dropped 
in his astonishment, are prominent in the foreground. But Mr. 
Basseldine's last and best work, not chronicled till after his death, 
is commemorated on a small plain slab on the opposite side of the 
chancel, " Here under lyeth ye body of Mr. Charles Basseldine, 
benefactor to this church 50, a founder of a school, and gave to 
it 6 per annum for ever, to teach twelve of the poorest children 
of the parish of Clown. Who died March 23rd, 1736, aged 84." 

The church contains no pre-reforrnation memorials, but a large 
gritstone slab in the centre of the chancel is to the memory of a 
rector of the parish already mentioned William Inskip who must 
have been installed here some years before the first establishment 
of the Keformation by Henry VIII. He held this rectory during 
the troublous ecclesiastical times of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, 
and Elizabeth. It would be interesting to know how these changes 
affected this little out-of-the-way Derbyshire village. We are afraid 
Mr. Inskip must have somewhat shared in the opinions of the 
vicar of Bray. His tomb is thus inscribed : " In memory of 



CLOWN. 197 

William Inskip, parson of Clown 54 years, was buried the 30th 
day of November, 1582." Under the communion table is another 
slab bearing a lengthy Latin inscription to the memory of a daugh- 
ter of George Halley, M.A., a former rector of this parish, who 
died 19th August, 1680. The small east window of the chancel 
appears to have been re-constructed at about the same time as the 
windows on the south of the nave. In the centre light there is a 
small female figure in old stained glass of a deep blue, but lacking 
the head.* For those interested in more modern ecclesiastical fur- 
niture may be noted a semi-circular bracket table, fixed in the south- 
east angle of the chancel, which is apparently of Jacobin date, and 
has perhaps served as a credence table. 

The space above the chancel arch at the east end of the nave is 
panelled with oak, and upon this rests a large emblazonry of the 
Royal arms. But the wood itself has been painted with heraldic 
emblems, now much worn the rose, thistle, harp, &c. This is, of 
course, of post-reformation date, though still of an earlier period 
than is now usually found. On the subject of setting up the Eoyal 
Arms in churches, Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, says: 
" The king's arms are placed with great propriety in churches, the 
kings of England being acknowledged to be the supreme head, in 
the temporal sense, of the National Protestant Church ; and yet I 
do not know of any express injunction for thus putting them up. 
However, they were very generally introduced at the Beformation."t 
Against the beams of the western gallery are now fixed several 
carved wooden bosses that have been recently removed from the 
panelling at the east end of the nave ; but that can hardly have 
been their original position, and we should conjecture that they have 
at one time formed part of the rood-loft screen. Two of them have 
shields in the centre, on one of which are displayed two keys in 
sal tire, surmounted by a crown, which were once the arms 
of the Bishopric of York ; and on the other the arms of the see 
of Lichfield Per pale, arg. and git., a cross potent quadrate, between 
four crosses patee, all counter- charged. 

On the south side of the churchyard are two memorials worthy 
of note. One of these is a low headstone cross, near the tower, 

* When the Rev. J. Hunter visited this church in 1801, he noticed this figure, which 
was then headless, and adds that on another pane of glass was the word " fecit." 
Add. MSS. 24, 466. 

f Anoni/iniana, p. 293. The earliest instance on record of the setting up of the 
Boyal Arms in the place hitherto occupied by the rood, occurred in February, 1547, 
at St. Martin's, Ironmonger Lane, London. See Notes and Queries, 4th S. vol. xii., 
pp. 354, 437, and 5th S. vol. i. p. 98. 



198 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

roughly carved, and destitute of inscription. It closely resembles 
one of the old headstones found at Bakewell, and may at any rate 
be ascribed to a pre -reformation date. It was suggested to us that 
it may formerly have served as a gable cross, but it is not 
nearly sufficiently well cut to have occupied so prominent a position. 
The other memorial is a flat, or rather slightly coped gravestone. 
It is mutilated at each end, but now measures five feet nine inches 
by twenty-three inches at the top, and twenty- one at the bottom. 
Its surface is incised with three bands of diamond- shaped figures, 
and on it is rudely carved or scratched the year 1650 and certain 
initials. But the stone is far older than this. Indeed, on com- 
paring it with the work on other slabs, whose approximate date 
has been ascertained, we are inclined to place it as early as the 
twelfth century. 



ftponfiflb. 




1 

s 




I 



jDronfiplb. 




|HE parish church of Dronfield is dedicated to St. John the 
Baptist. There are no less than three hundred and fifty- 
nine pre-reformation churches thus dedicated throughout 
England, for St. John the Baptist comes fifth on the list of favourite 
patron saints, " All Saints " being excepted. 

The first mention that we find of this church is in the reign of 
the first Edward, when the advowson was given to the neighbour- 
ing Abbey of Beauchief by Sir Henry de Brailsford.* Sir Henry de 
Brailsford died seized of the manor and church of Brailsford, of 
the manor of Wingerworth, of the manor of Unston in the parish 
of Dronfield, and of the church of Dronfield. t We can only 
conjecture that the appearance of the church of Dronfield, in this 
inquisition as part of the property of Henry de Brailsford merely 
implies that it had been his property, or rather perhaps, that it 
was only bequeathed to the Abbey on his decease. Though the 
advowson thus early became the property of Beauchief, the titles 
were not appropriated to that monastery until 1399, and the 
Vicarage of Dronfield was endowed four years later.J 

The Taxation Eoll of 1291 estimates the annual value of Dron- 
field church at 40 ; thus making it by far the most valuable 
piece of preferment in the deanery of Scarsdale, and only surpassed 
by a single other benefice in the whole of the country. 

At the time of the taking of the Domesday Survey (1086), 
Unston was the most important of the royal manors in this 
district, and "a church and a priest" are mentioned in the account 
of that manor. There is no record of a church at Dronfield in 
those days, and, as we find that almost the whole of the present 

*The Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey. 

flnq. post. Mort. 25 Edw. I. 

J Pegge's History of Bemtchief Abbey. 



202 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

church is of the Decorated period, and fail to perceive any traces 
of an earlier building, it may be fairly conjectured that the structure 
was originally erected by Sir Henry de Brailsford, when the older 
church at Unston had fallen into decay.* 

The church consists of a nave, side aisles, and chancel, together 
with a tower at the west end surmounted by a spire. There is 
also a two storied vestry on the north of the chancel. The aisles 
are separated from the nave on each side by four arches supported 
by plain circular pillars. The windows of both the side aisles are 
of the early Decorated period and display various designs. Those 
on the north of the north aisle are of singular width, considering 
that they only consist of two lights. The whole of these windows 
are unfortunately much hidden from view, in the interior, by the 
side galleries. Above these windows is a long line of trefoil open- 
ings which are glazed. These were added at the time of the 
alterations in 1855, when 1000 was spent in repairing and 
repewing the church, in order to give more light to the galleries. 

The chancel, though of the Decorated period, is later in the 
style and has been subsequently added, though at no long interval, 
to the body of the church. This is proved by finding the chancel 
several feet wider on each side than the archway from the nave. 
This is a very unusual arrangement. To obviate the obstruction 
of view which would be thus caused, a low pointed opening about 
three feet wide has been made on each side of the archway, thus 
serving the purpose of squints. In the south wall of the chancel 
are three sedilia of equal elevation, they are ornamented with 
crocketed finials and are most beautifully executed, though the 
sharpness of their outline is much marred by successive layers of 
whitewash. About three yards beyond these is a single piscina. 
To the north of the east window a bracket for an image may be 
noticed. Against the walls are two long benches or pews of old 
dark oak, the poppy-head ends being carved in the fleur-de-lis 
pattern. The oak of the pulpit is also well carved, but is of post- 
reformation design. The side windows are fine specimens of 
Decorated tracery, and may be compared with those of the chancel 
of Sandiacre Church, but the large east window of seven lights 
with its horizontal transoms is of the most debased style of the 
Perpendicular. The east window of Eckington Church is of almost 

* We do not intend to imply with any degree of certainty that there was no church 
on this site till the time of Sir Henry de Brailsford, as the mention of a " Presbyter 
de Dronfield " at an earlier period shakes such a theory, but it does seem probable 
that there was no church here of any size at a prior date. 




BrKni>; 4 5ois.Tc Smile Pisces 



DRONFIELD. 203 

exactly the same design. The west window under the tower affords, 
on the other hand, a good instance of Perpendicular tracing. To 
the same period belong the square-headed clerestory windows of 
the nave, the embattlements of the tower, and the vestry. 

This vestry and sacristy is worthy of note as being one of the 
few instances in which an upper chamber is to be found. The 
most correct term to be applied to vestries is the old name 
Diaconicum, so called, because it was peculiarly committed to the 
Deacon of the place, and within it were kept the plate, vessels, 
vestments, and all other things belonging to the church which had 
been dedicated to holy uses. The upper chamber would probably 
be the dwelling place of the deacon or sacristan. This upper room 
is gained by a turret staircase, which formerly gave access also to 
the roof of the chancel. The turret is crowned with a conical 
shaped roof ornamented with crockets. The room contained at 
the time of our visit, two wooden chests. The oldest was very 
solid, and was fastened by no less than seven iron hasps, but it 
proved to be empty. On opening the second one we found it to 
contain the five large folio volumes of Poole's Synopsis Criticorum, 
of the date of 1674, and the celebrated Apology of Bishop Jewel. 
This work was ordered to be placed in every parish church for 
general reading, and to guard against theft it was to be chained 
to the desk or wall. This copy bears the date of 1569, and the 
chain is still attached to its cover.* At the bottom of the chest 
containing these volumes were the seven padlocks belonging to the 
other chest. 

With respect to these chests in the vestry it may not be out of 
place to here quote the ninth rule, from the orders, drawn up by 
Sir Thomas Fanshawe in 1638, to regulate the free school 
founded at Dronfield by Henry Faushawe in 1579. 

"Item I ordain that the covenant and writings, which do or 
shall concern the possessions of the said school, together with the 
common seal now by me appointed for the corporation of the 
governors of the said school, shah 1 be from time to time kept in a 
chest, which shall remain in the vestry of the parish church of 
Dronfield aforesaid, under six locks and keys, one of which keys 
the Vicar of Dronfield for the time being shall keep, and each of 

* More or less mutilated copies of this work are frequently met with in parish 
chests throughout the country, and there is one in fair condition, with the chain 
attached, in the parish church of Shirland. The Dronfield copy cannot now find 
many readers, as we were told that no one had even climbed the stairs for some ten 
years. 



204 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the churchwardens for the time being shall keep one, and one 
other key shall be kept by my kinsman Lyonell Fanshawe, Esq., 
until such time as I shall otherwise dispose of the same." * 

The effective band of moulding, running round the parapet of 
the chancel, is of similar design to that round the parapets of the 
towers of both Chesterfield and Crich. 

The spire which is 132 feet high, is well proportioned, and 
springs gracefully from the tower. It is lighted with two sets of 
windows of the Decorated style. This spire was considerably 
damaged in a severe storm in December, 1818, as appears from a 
presentment made to Quarter Sessions on the 3rd of April, in the 
following year, in order to obtain a Brief for its repair. The 
presentment says "On 16th of December last past, the church of 
Dronfield was struck by lightning-, which struck down part of the 
spire, and very much damaged the remaining part of the spire, 
with much of the walls, windows, roofs, and ceilings of the church 
itself, together with the chancel, and that, the roofs were previously 
in bad repair, it becomes necessary to take down the shattered 
remains of the spire, which now must be rebuilt, the leaden roofs 
taken off and recast, damaged windows renewed, new ceilings 
made," &c., &c.f 

From a south-east view of the church, which appeared in the 
Gentleman's Magazine about this date, it appears that there were 
then three clerestory windows, square headed and destitute of tra- 
cery on the south side, which were probably matched by a like 
number above the north aisle.J 

The church notes of J. Keynolds, taken at Dronfield on 27th of 
September, 1770, are of considerable length and interest, and we 
shall extract from them all that bears upon pre- Reformation de- 
tails, comparing them, as we proceed, with the notes of Bassano, 
taken about sixty years earlier. " The church here is built of stone, 

and the roof covered with lead The chancel is built higher 

than the church, and almost as large, and is the prettiest piece of 

Gothic architecture of its kind that I know of in the county 

In a small arch betwixt the church and the chancel, on the right 
hand the passage between them (being not far from the S.E. cor- 

*Add. MSS. 6670, fol. 354, 

t The original of this Brief is at the British Museum. The estimate therein given 
for the repairs of Dronfield church amounts to 256 5s. 

J Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1819, p. 305. 
Add. MSS. 6701, ff. 29 to 42. 



DRONFIELD. 205 

ner of the church), within a seat or pew is, seemingly, a very 
ancient tomb of alabaster, raised pretty high above the floor, 
having the effigy (or figure) of a man in armour, lying on the top 
thereof, with a dagger by his side (but no helmet on his head) rest- 
ing his feet against a dog couchant. His hands conjoined over his 
breast and elevated in a praying posture, and two angels carved 
upon the south side and one upon the west end (all the rest of 
the said tomb adjoining the walls or arch) with escutcheons before 
them, but no charges at all embossed on any of them, neither is 
there any inscription (nor the vestiges of any) to be found any- 
where about this tomb. But as the said tomb has evidently been 
cut less to fit the said small arch it now stands in, very likely the 
inscription was wrote round the margin of the lid of the stone and 
is now on that account cut off." Bassano tells us that this is the 
tomb of Sir Kichard Barley, Knt. There was no inscription in his 
days, but he adds, " Mr. Kichard Hall did verefie to me that he 
had read a portion of ye inscription on it, viz., ' Sir Kichard Bar- 
ley, Knt., of Dronfield Woodhouse, and was now repaired by James 
Barley, of Barley, Esq., in ye yeare 1593.' " 

Reynolds continues : " Near the middle of the chancel floor is a 
stone with 8 plates upon it. That plate next the S.W. corner 
having on a wreath a gryphon's head erased upon it, Fanshawe's 
crest. That on the N.W. corner, on a wreath on an armed leg, 
embowed at the knee and spurred, being the crest of Eyre. That 
plate betwixt the above 2 plates, contains 2 coats impaled 1st a 
chevron between 3 fleur-de-lys, Fanshawe ; 2nd, on a chevron 8 
quatrefoils, Eyre. The 2 next plates contain one the portrait of 
a man, and the other (which is the more northerly one) that of a 
woman ; upon the man's portrait is written, in antique characters, 
' Obiit xxij. Februarie, 1578.' Upon the woman's, 'Obiit xv. Junii, 
1573.' And underneath it is read this inscription in eodem cha- 
ractere 

'" Hie jacent Johanes Fanshawe, de Fanshawe-gate, et Margareta 
uxor ejus, filia .... Eyer, qui obierunt circa aetates suas septua- 
ginta et quatuor annorum, et habuerunt filias et filios viz, Eliza- 
betham et Thomam gemellos. Ehzabetha obiit circa aetatem suam 
quatuor annorum, Thomas est Kernemerator Elizabeth Regine de 
scacario suo, Margaretam uxorem Rici Castle, rex Henricus qui obiit 
natus circa aunos quinque, Robertum viventem apud Fanshawe 
Gate, et Godfridum unum clicor' (clericorum) predicto scacario ; 
sculpta vicesimo die Junii anno domini milessimo quingentessimo 



206 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

octogessimo.' That plate next the S.E. corner contains the por- 
traits of 3 grown persons and a child ; upon the child is written, 
in eodein charactere, ' Obiit xii. Maij. 1545.' That next the N.E. 
corner contains the portrait of a woman and child standing before 
her ; upon the child is written, ' Obiit xiij. Febrii 1537.' 

" On a large blue stone near the middle of the chancel, are the 
portraits of 2 men (drawn upon brass plates) in long vestments 
ad tales demissa, and underneath their feet the following inscription, 
both written upon the same plate, but stopping in the middle thereof, 
the more southern inscription being ' Hie jacet Thomas Gomfrey 
de Wormehul quondam rector eccle' de Drounfeld q' obiit xi die 
Mensis Octob. anno dni MCCCLXXXX nono, et sub ipso jacet 
dominus Rogerus Braylisforde dudum Eector dicte ecclesias de 
Drounefeld.' The inscription more northerly is thus ' Hie jacet 
dns Eicus Gornfrey quondam Eector eccle' de Badenhull et p'ben- 
dam de Somerchal in capella regis de Penkeriche, et frat' dci 

Thome qui obiit .... Anno dni Millimo CCC Quorum 

aniinarum ppicietur deus. amen ' ' (The word rendered by Mr. 
Eeynolds Badenhull, ought to read Tatenhull.} " Between the two 
portraits before mentioned there has been a hunter's horn, stringed, 
inlaid in the stone, but the brass is now torn away .... 
" In the church windows are no arms, but in the chancel are the 
several coats following 

" In the westernmost window on the south side, now only two 
coats, but on 10th June, 1756, there were three, namely 

" 1. Grey de Codnore. 

" 2. Lord Deyncourt.* 

" 3. De Alfreton, afterwards Chaworth. 

" In the middlemost south window are no arms, but a painting 
something like a fidler. 

" In the large east window, and first on the higher or upper part 
of the same, five coats, to wit 

" 1. Or, a two-necked eagle displayed, sable. German Empire. 

" 2. Paley of 6 pieces, or and gules. Eayniond Bereugarius, Earl 
of Provence. 

" 3. Gules, an orle, or, over all an escarbuncle of 8 staves, noue 
et fl curette of the second. 

" 4. Azure, semi de fleurs-de-lys, or France, antient. 

* The Deincourts held the manor of Holmersfield from the time of the Domesday 
Survey up to the reign of Henry VI, as well as certain lauds in the manor proper of 
Droufield. 



DEONFIELD. 207 

"5. Gules, 3 lions passant gardant in pale, or England. 

"In the lower part, formerly four coats, now only three, namely, 

" 1. Cheque, or and azure. Warren, Earl of Surrey. 

" 2. Gules, 3 lions passant gardant in pale, or in chief label of 
3 points of France. Henry of Lancaster, son to Henry Earl of 
Lancaster, whose father was Edmund, surnamed Crouchback, son 
to K. Henry 8d. 

"3. Is demolished. 

"4. Or 3 chevronels, gules, de Clare." 

Bassano's report of these windows does not differ much from that 
of Eeynolds. He contents himself with describing the coat, fol- 
lowing that attributed by Reynolds to Raymond Berengarius, as 
" Gules, a Catherine wheel, or"* and gives two additional coats in 
the lower part of the east window " A z., a bend arg., cottized or, 
between 6 Lyoncells or," and, " Or, a lyon rampant, azure. "t He 
further makes mention of a coat in one of the north windows, " Or. 
upon 2 barrs gules, 8 water bougets arg" (Willoughby), and in 
the middle part of the east window, " Christ on the cross, three 
apostles on one side, three on another." 

There was also a fair amount of glass left in the nave in his 
days, which, having escaped the misdirected zeal of the Puritans, 
feU a victim to the more destructive effects of slothful indifference. 
In the east window of the south aisle were 

" 1. Or a Lyon Rampant, gules. % 

" 2. Gules 3 Lyons gardant or, a label of 5 poynts Lozenge and 
de Us. (Henry of Lancaster). 

" 3. Arms of England. 

" 4. A Lyon Rampant double queve arg. 

" 5. Az., a bend duble cottized arg., between 6 Lyoncelle or. 

" Above in middle partition is ye image of Christ on the cross. 
In partitions of each side are James, John, Mary, and Mary Mag- 

* This coat is probably intended for Navarre. Cotton MSS. Tiberius, D. 10. 

fThe former of these coats is that of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, 
Essex, and Northampton ; it appears on the tomb, in Westminster Abbey, of Eleanor 
Bohuii, Duchess of Gloucester, who died in 1399. The latter coat was borne by 
several families, but here it is doubtless for Percy. John de Orreby was lord of the 
manor and patron of the church of Droiifield in the year 1355. He married Joan de 
Percy. Add. MSS. 6670, f. 354, Inq. post Mort. 5. Eic. II, No. 47. He had probably 
purchased the presentation from Beauchief Abbey. Ralph Percy held the manor of 
Droiifield in the reign of Henry IV. Inq. post Mort. 1 Henry IV, No. 6. 

{ This coat might belong to a large number of families. Perhaps it here signifies 
Charleton, a quartering of the Talbots. Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, once held the 
manor of Totley in this parish. Or it may be for Walter Blount, who possessed such 
large estates all round Dronfield in the reign of Edward IV. 

As., a lion rampant double-tailed arg. was borne by Cromwell (Harl. MSS. 6137), 
and the manor of Dronfield was held by the Cromwells in the fifteenth century. 



208 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

dalene." In a south window of this aisle was " Erm., on a chief 
gules a label of 5 poynts," being the arms of Bullock, who possessed 
considerable property at Norton in the sixteenth century, and also 
at Unston in this parish. 

Bassano also noted an arch or canopy in the south wall, where 
formerly, according to tradition, stood an image of the Virgin Mary, 
and he mentions a well, close to the churchyard in St. John's lane, 
called St. John's Well, from which "they usually fetch water now 
for baptizing infants." In the vestry was " ye organ case of former 
organ." 

It might be urged with respect to the lamentable disappearance 
of the painted glass from this church, that it was probably destroyed 
by the lightning in 1818, but this excuse cannot be pleaded for the 
churchwardens of those days, for when Lysons visited this church 
on the 7th of September, 1808, the only coloured glass it possessed 
were four coats of arms in the east window of the chancel Dein- 
court, Grey, Germany, and another.* 

The figure " something like a fidler," mentioned by Mr. Reynolds 
as being hi a south window of the chancel, obtains special mention 
in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1757,t where an engraving of it is 
given, and an argument based upon it as to the age of violins and 
their use in this country. The writer observes " this uncouth 
thing at Dronfield can be called no more than the rudiment of a 
violin. There is no neck, but it rests partly upon the performer's 
breast and partly upon his knee, and moreover was steadied, as I 
conceive, by a hand through a strap at the back. As there is no 
finger board it could not be stopped, and with four strings could 
only produce four notes, which yet, I suppose, were sufficient at 
that time of day for expressing a chant or a psalm tune." The 
writer further considers that this figure, though not in its original 
place, had always belonged to the chancel and was of the same age 
with it. From the engraving given of this figure it must have very 
closely coincided, both in size and style, with the quaint figure of 
a musician with a hurdy-gurdy in the south aisle at Staveley. 

There now remains in the east window of the chancel a confused 
medley of fragments of coloured glass, apparently brought there from 
all parts of the church, and inserted hi a haphazard fashion. A 
few fragments of some of the escutcheons mentioned above can 
be identified, and the lower portion of the unclothed legs of a 

Lysons' Church Notes. Add. MSS. 9403. 
t Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxvii., p. 560. 



DRONFIKIJ'. 209 

man perhaps a portion of the figure of the patron Saint, St. John 
the Baptist. 

We will now make a note or two explanatory of the ancient monu- 
ments described in detail by Reynolds, and of their present condition. 
The tomb of Sir Richard Barley still occupies the awkward position 
in which Reynolds noted it. The date of the monument, judging 
from the details and workmanship, is of the first half of the fifteenth 
century. Sir Richard Barley was the sou of Sir George Barley, by 
the daughter of Clement Curzon, of Croxton ; he married a daughter 
of Sir J. Sacheverell, of Hopton.* James Barley, who repaired the 
tomb in 1593, was a direct descendant, six generations intervening. 
He married Joan, daughter of Nicholas Strelley, of Beauchief, and 
was living when the Visitation of 1611 was made.+ His only children 
were Francisca and Rosamond, then aged respectively nineteen and 
sixteen. They subsequently married Liuney and Bullock. He sold 
the family estates at Barlow in 1593, to George, Earl of Shrewsbury. 

The Fanshawe brasses are in much the same condition now as 
when described by Reynolds. It is supposed that the Fanshawes, of 
Fanshawe Gate, had been settled there for several generations, but 
the Herald's Visitations take us no further back than to the father of 
John Fanshawe, commemorated by the brass, and even his Christian 
name is not supplied.^ Nor does the pedigree supply the blank on 
the brass as to the father-in-law of John Faushawe, but we have 
lined, after considerable trouble, that Margaret was the daughter 
of Rowland Eyre, of Hassop. Henry Fanshawe, of London, younger 
brother to John, of Fanshawe Gate, held the office of Remembrancer 
of the Exchequer, and when he died in 1568, was succeeded in that 
office by his nephew Thomas, as is stated on the inscription quoted 
above. Thomas Fanshawe died at his house in Warwick Lane, Lon- 
don, on 19th February, 1600, and was buried in the south aisle of the 
parish church of Ware, Hertford. Robert, the second son, who re- 
mained at Fanshawe Gate, married, firstly, Diana Eyre, of Bradway, 
and secondly, the daughter of Edward Barber, of Rowsley. Godfrey, 
who was one of the Clerks of the Exchequer when the monument 
was engraved, " bought, and lived at, the Hospitall of IUford." The 
parish registers abound with entries relative to the Fanshawes, from 
1561 to 1734. From that source we find that Richard Castle was 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. vi. p. 290. 

t Harl. MSS. 1093 ; and 6592, f. 23. 

I The Visitation of London (c. 2-1), 1G23-4; Harl. MSS. 6592, f. G5. 

These particulars are taken from Note* >-al and Historical of- 'the 

Fanshawe Family. Privately printed, 1808-9. 

P 



210 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

married to Margaret Fanshawe, 011 24 July, 1564, and that Edward, 
son of John Fanshawe, but not mentioned on the brass, was baptized 
19th April, 1575, and died in the same year. 

On the brass to the Gornfreys, the two priests are represented in 
copes, and not in eucharistic vestments, as was more usual. 
The borders of the copes are ornamented with quatrefoils. This brass 
is said to be the only instance extant of two brothers commemorated 
on the same plate. Eoger de Braylesford was Eector of Dronfield 
from 1280 to 1312, and died 011 the 20th of April, 1336. He was 
succeeded by Eoger Brancequill, of Bakewell, who resigned in 1365, 
and was followed by Thomas Gomfrey, who was admitted to the 
Rectory in 1365.* The probable reason for the presence of a bugle 
horn on this monument, which seems somewhat incongruous on the 
tomb of ecclesiastics, is, that it signified that lands were held by the 
deceased by cornage tenure, or horne-yehl, the service of which tenure 
was to blow a horn on the approach of the enemy. This old service 
of horn-blowing was not uncommon in the northern counties, and was 
afterwards commuted and paid in money under the title of Cornaijium.^ 
That the family of Gornfreys were landholders in the neighbourhood 
is proved from the fact that one Gomfrey held a messuage of fifteen 
acres at Worm hill, in 1304.J An inquisition that was taken during 
the rectorship of Thomas Gomfrey, relates to the endowment of a 
chantry within this church. Thomas Gomfrey, Ealph Barker, 
William Cook, and Thomas Eycher give to the altar of St. Mary, in the 
Church of St. John the Baptist, of Dronfield, seven messuages, two 
hundred and forty acres of land, and rents to the amount of 42s. 2d., 
within the manors of " Dronfield, Stubley, Wodhous, and Colley." 

John Ascherby succeeded Thomas Gomfrey, and was the last 
Eector of Dronfield; for in the same year of his appointment, 1399, 
he resigned the rectory to the Canons of Beauchief, to which Abbey 
the tithes were for the future appropriated. The Vicarage of Dronfield 
was specially endowed by the Abbey in the year 1403. In the History 
of Beauchief Abbey, we are told that Thomas Gomfrey was presented 
to the Eectory of Dronfield by " John, son of Adam Forester, of 
Wormhill, true patron for this turn ;" || and the lord of the manor of 

* See the list of Rectors and Vicars of Dronfield in the Reliquary, July, 1874, 
from the pen of Mrs. Smith, the wife of the Vicar of the Parish, to whom also we are 
indebted for several particulars contained in these pages. 

fHaines' Manual of Monumental Brasses, vol. i. p. 130; Cowel's Interpreter. 
I Pegge's Collections, vol. v. p. 217. 
Inq. post Mort. 16 Ric. H., No. 113. 
|| Pegge's Beauchief Abbey, p. 93. 



DRONFIELD. 211 

Dronfield is elsewhere mentioned as patron in 1355 ; but yet Sir 
Henry de Brailsford gave the church to Beauchief Abbey in the reign 
of Edward I. The solution of this apparent contradiction is to be 
found in the practice that even then prevailed of selling the next pre- 
sentation, a species of merchandise not unfrequently traded in by the 
monasteries. 

There are many other memorials in this church to the Fanshawes, 
Eyres, Burtons, Morewoods, Eotherhams, Wrights, &c., but they 
are all of post-reformation date, and not of sufficient interest to be 
dealt with in these pages. 

At the end of the south aisle there is a small plain piscina, and it 
is probable that here stood the altar of the chantry of St. Mary, which 
WMS founded during the rectorship of Thomas Gornfrey. This 
chantry was founded in the year 1392, and was most amply endowed 
by Ralph Barker and others.* The Barkers were a wealthy family, 
and originally of Dore ; the family became extinct in 1789 on the 
death of Sir Robert Barker. A second chantry, or, more strictly 
speaking, a donative, or independent endowment, was founded by 
William Aston, of London, in 1457. They are described as follows in 
the Chantry Roll : 

" DRONFIELD. The fraternitye or Guylde of or Ladye and S. 
John Baptiste founded by well dysposed persons in gyvyng lands to 

the same for as much as the patronage of the towne was irn- 

propriate to the late abbeye of Beauchyff and j vicar appoyuted by 
the sayde abbotte ; and the parisshe beiuge greate in conipasse 
abought xx myles and having M howselynge people and manye 
liamletts distaunte ij iij or iiij myles that ij or iij honest prists 
within the parish e churche shude celebrate and mynynstre all sacra" 
ments and sacrarnentalls and other dyvyne service and to helpe 
otherwyse in tyme of necessite, for the creacyon of the Guyldes is 
a lycence of the Kyng dated xxix Julye A reign Hen. VII. xxvij 
xi/i. xis. \iijd. clere xii/t. xviijs. \jd. besyds Ixiijs. viijrf. in rente 
resolute, j vj.s. viijd. for a baylyffes fee, j for the kepyuge of an obitte 
and gyvynge of almess to pore people. Sir Rob. Hawks and Sir 
Christ. Haslam prysts. There ys a mancyon house prised att vs. by 
yere. Stock iiij//. iijx. viijrf. 

" The D om.it yve of Dronfeld founded by Will. Aston citiseu of 
London by will dated xxxv Henry VI for j pryste to mayntayue 
God's Service, and everye Wednesdaye and Frydaye to say Dyvyge & 

* Lysons states this on the authority of Hicron'x Collections, and it is confirmed \>y 
the Inquisition which we have already quoted. The Commissioners who drew up the 
Chantry Roll do not refer to the original foundation of the chantry of St. Mary, but 
its development into a Guild at a later period. 



212 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

to praye etc. clere iiij/i. xiijs. iiijj. recyvyd of the Churche Vardeiis 
of St Martyns in Ludgate London. Will. Yngham pryste." 

A statement similar to this, and only slightly varying in phrase- 
ology, is to be found in another copy of the Certificates relative to 
chantry property, taken by a Commission in the 37 Henry VIII. It 
would be mere repetition to reproduce this second account, but in 
the few additional particulars there given, it is mentioned that William 
Bowre was " Alderman of the Guyld" hi the reign of Henry VII., and 
that " there is neyther chalys nor other ornamentes " belonging to the 
Donative. It is also specially observed, both of the Chantry and the 
Donative, that neither of them are in separate buildings, but are 
administered within the Parish Church of Dronfield. 

It is said that the chantry-house for the two priests of the Guild of 
St. Mary, stood on the site now occupied by the Green Dragon Inn. 

According to Dr. Pegge, the endowment of the atlar of St. Mary, in 
1392, was not the original one ; but, with our present information, we 
are inclined to think he is in error, especially as the Guild was not 
founded until the 27 Henry VII. Unfortunately Dr. Pegge does 
not give his authority, but the following is his statement : " Dron- 
field. Guild of St. Mary. Founder unknown. Established 1349 
for the support of two chaplains and a light at the altar of the 
Virgin Mary." * 

John Blackwall was chantry priest of Dronfield in 1506, accord- 
ing to an indenture dated at the Chapter House, Beauchief Abbey, 
on the Feast of the Purification ; f and Eobert Hancock priest of 
St. Mary's Guild, on the 5th September, 37 Henry VIII.J 

The entries relative to Dronfield in the Valor Ecclesiastic-its (temp. 
27 Henry VIII.) are sufficiently interesting to merit reproduction 
in an unabbreviated form. 

DBONFELD VICAEIA. 
Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus ibidem. 

Doruinus Willielmus Cocks Vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis in Mansione cum gardino tofto et glebis - iij iiij 

Item in annuali pensione de abbate de Bello Capite - - - x 
Item in decimis minutis communibus annis ----- v iii 



Summa x ix viij 

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - vij vij 

De claro x ij j 

Decima inde xx ij 



* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv. 

t Add. MSS. 6667, f 673. 

J Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f. 332. 



DRONFIELD. 213 

DROXFELD CANTARIA IBIDEM BEATE MARIE. 

Ex dono Aldermanni et coiifratrum sed quis ejusdam sit fundator penitus ignorat ut 

dicit. 

s. d. 
Dominus Johannes Mylner cantarista ibidem habet in primis in 

mansione per annum -- -- v 

Item de Aldremanno et confratribus de Dronf eld in annuali redditu vj xii j iiij 

Summa vj xviij iiij 

Decima inde xiij x 



DRONFELD CANTARIA. 

s. d. 

Domiuus Robertus Cartlege cantarista ibidem habet annuatim de 
rectore et gardianis Sancti Martini Londonensis infra Ludgate 

in redditu iiij xiij iiij 

Decima inde ix iiij 



There is also a further entry iu the Valor Ecclesiasticus relative 
to the appropriated rectory of Dronfield, under the inventory of the 
possessions of the monastery of Beauchief. From this it appears 
that the church at Dronfield, with the tithes of corn, hay, lambs, 
and wool, the oblations, mortuaries, and Easter dues, brought to 
the Abbey a sum of 40 14s. 6d. ; the deductions from this sum 
were 10 for the Vicar of Droufield (then William Cocks), 12s. 4d. 
for the Archdeacon of Derby, and 6s. 8d. for the Bishop of 
Coventry and Lichfield. 

The Parliamentary Survey of livings, undertaken in 1G50, reports 
of Dronfield vicarage that it was then worth 24 per annum, but 
received an augmentation of 50 out of the impropriate tithes of 
Bolsover. The incumbent was " Mr. Richard Coughland, an able 
honest minister."* On his death the Rev. Richard Mandersley 
was appointed, and he was amongst the ministers ejected on St. 
Bartholomew's Day, 1662. The vicarage of Dronfield then remained 
vacant for many months, and eventually, towards the close of 1663, 
a petition was sent to Dr. Hackett, the Bishop of Lichfield and 
Coventry, from the inhabitants, asking for the appointment of a 
regular minister according to the order and discipline of the Church 
of England. In this petition it was asserted, that the parishioners 
of Droufield had not had " a preaching minister by the space of 
fourteen mouths last past, nor have had the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper administered unto them, accordiuge to the rites and 

* Parliamentary Survey of Livings, vol. vi, p. 426. The name of this minister 
was " Coyhlane," according to the list of rectors and Vicars of Dronfield in the 
Reliquary, and it there also said that he died in 1619. But the Commissioners who 
reported on Dronfield. sat at Chesterfield on 14th June, 1650, so there is an error on 
either one side or the other. 



214 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

usuale ceremonies of the Church of England or the ecclesiastical law 
in that behalf appointed, by the space of ten years last past.* 

The tower contains a peal of six bells, which bear the following 
inscriptions : 

I. "I. Bright, Gent., Vigilate et Orate, 1730, and recast by 
stibscription 1851. John Taylor and Sons of Loughborough faceruut.'' 

II. "I. Bright. Gen., Non mihi sed Deo gloria. MDCCXXX." 

III. " Jesus be our speed." This inscription is in Lombardic 
capital letters. The founder's mark, between the initials H.D., is 
that usually attributed to Eichard Mellour of Nottingham, who 
flourished about the commencement of the sixteenth century. 

IV. "Inc. gloria in excelsis Deo." This inscription is also in 
Lombardic type. The founder's mark consists of the initials E.H , 
with a fylfot cross. The bells with this mark, which are dated, 
are of the commencement of the seventeenth century. This is the 
mark that we have previously attributed to Ealph Heathcote. 

V. " Hffic Campana beata Trinitate sacra fiat." The inscription 
is in black letter but with Lombardic initials, and the founder's 
mark the same as number three. 

VI. "Nos sunius construct! ad laudem Domini 1615. The in- 
scription is in Koman capitals, and the mark that of Henry 
Oldfield. 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. v, p. 129. 



HnLMKSFIELD. 215 



Cfjapelrg of 




|OLMESFIELD, now an independent vicarage, was an ancient 
parochial cbapelry of Dronfield, but we are not able to 
give any information as to its first institution. Nor can 
tbe study of its architecture belp us in arriving at its approximate 
age, as the old building was pulled down, and a new one erected 
on its site in 1826. 

The manor of Holmesfield was in the hands of the Deincourts 
when the Domesday Survey was taken, and continued in their pos- 
session till the reign of Henry VI., when it passed by marriage 
in moieties to Cromwell and Lovell.* Subsequently the whole 
seems to have come to the Lovells, but on the attainder of Fran- 
cis Lord Lovell, who was present at the battle of Stoke, June 16th, 
1486, the manor was granted by the crown to Sir John Savage. 
Sir John Savage sold the chapel of Holmesfield to the copyholders 
on the manor. Dr. Pegge contends that it was a mistake to speak 
of this chapel as a chapel of ease to Dronfield, as it was pos- 
1 of an independent endowment of its own, to the amount of 
forty acres of glebe laud. 

There has been some doubt as to the dedication of the old 
chapel, but that it was named after St. Swithin is established by 
the following extract from the will of Edmund Outram, of the 
year 1505. 

" In the name of God, Amen. Li the year of cure Lord Jesus 
Crist MCCCCC and V, and vi of October, I Edmond Outrim in 
hole mind make my testement in this manner. First I bequeith 
my sowl to Allniyghty God to oure Lady Sent Mary and all the 
Saintes in Heaven And my body to be beryed in the Church 
yard of Sen John Babtis of Dronfyeld. Item I bequeth my best 

* Domesday Survey, Inq. post Mort. 38 Edw. TIL, No. 11 : 5 Bic. II. No 20'7 
Hen. IV., No. 30; 1 Hen. VI., No. 24 ; and 83 Hen. VT., No. 34. 



216 DKHHY8HIRE CHURCHES. 

- to be my priucepall. Item I gyve and apoyeut a Croft 
called ye Stubbing to keep and uphould the services of oner Lady 
of Pytty in Dranfyeld Church afore said for Ever. Item I gyve ii 
Dolles of Land in the Touen fyeld unto the Chappel of Sawnt 
Swythne of Holmesfyeld for Ever to pray for my souel and my 
wyfe and my children for my father and my moder souelles and 
my brother William souell. The pryes of the said Chappell to 

rehearse ouer names every Sunday in the Dominicall 

Bedes."* 

The plague, which was so destructive at Belper and elsewhere 
in the county in the year 1609, reached Holmesfield, and the 
curate, Mr. W. Townsed, who died of this fatal sickness, was buried, 
according to the Dronfield registers, in the chapelyard on the 24th 
March. 

The following document, not hitherto published, between the 
celebrated John Frechevillef and the principal inhabitants of Holmes- 
field and district will be read with interest. "October 8th, 1649. 
John Frecheville Esquire and Robert Brome Gent., servant to ye 
said John Frecheville, did bargain and sell to Michael Burton of 
Holmesfield Esq., Thomas Wright of Unthank Esq., Anthony 
Croft of Holmes Gent., Robert Mower of Woodseats Gent., James 
Wolstenholm of Cartledge Gent., Richard Outrern of Wallsteeds 
Yeoman, Thomas Haslani of Horsley Gate yeoman, Robert Sikes 
of Knowles and George Mower of Holmesfield yeoman, and their 
heirs, for 141 13s. 4d. paid by the inhabitants of ye chapelry of 
Holmesfield, and in consideration of 308 6s. 8d. abated to John 
Frecheville Esquire by the Parliament, out of ye fine which he 
was taxed and assessed for his delinquencies (and which the Parlia- 
ment gave to ye said inhabitants for and towards the purchasing 
of 30 per annum for ye Benefit of a minister to serve at Holmes- 
field), the tythes of ye moiety of Staveley Rectory, late ye inherit- 

* The document from which we have copied the above has been kindly lent to us 
by Mrs. Smith (the wife of the present vicar). It is written on a small piece of 
paper, in a hand that might be contemporary with the date of the will, and may be 
either a rough draft of the commencement of the original will, or a copy of that 
portion relative to church endowments. The blank left in the manuscript before the 
words " to be my princepall " makes the first supposition the more probable. The 
' principal ' of old wills was equivalent to heirloom, and consisted of the best beast, 
piece of furniture, etc., which was left to the eldest child, and not liable to partition. 
We have failed to decipher the word or words preceding "Domiuicall." Bede is 
Aug. Saxon for a prayer, and we suppose that "Dominical Bedes " is an equivalent 
for Pater Nosters. 

t John Frecheville was most active on the side of the Koyalists. The Wolley 
MSS. (quoted in Nichol's Collectanea, 4, 213) say " the sequestration laid on this 
worth}- person was great ; but, as I have been informed, was something mitigated 
by friendship, by some of the opposite party." At the restoration he was created a 
peer, by the style of Lord Frecheville of Staveley, Musard, and Fitz-ralph. 



HOLMESFIELD. 217 

ance of Sir Peter Freclieville, father of ye said John Frecheville."* 
It is probable that Robert Brome was made a party to this as a 
trustee of the will of Sir Peter Frecheville. 

Holinesfield, in the Parliamentary Survey of 1G50, is described 
as a " chappell of ease and a member of Dronfield, upon the minis- 
ter whereof there is lately settled 33 10s. There is noe minister 
for the present, and wee think fitt that all Barlowe, which now 
belongs either to Dronfield or Staveley should be united to Holmes- 
field, and both their chapells to be continued, and an able minis- 
ter to officiate for them both (them in i-isibus, untill a church can be 
built in some convenient place." But the new church was not 
built until nearly two centuries after this recommendation. The 
Brief of 1819, from which we have already quoted under Dronfield, 
deals also with the two chapelries of Dronfield. Of Holmesfield 
it says, "the chapel is a very antient building and so ruinous it 
must be wholly taken down and rebuilt." The estimated cost of 
the new building, according to the same document, was 1451 12s. 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 118. 



218 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



of 




|HE early history of the parochial chapel of Dore is equally 
uncertain with that of Holmesfielcl ; and in this case, 
also, remains of the old building are wanting by which 
we might be guided to a conclusion. The chapel was rebuilt in 
1828, and an endowed school is now erected on the site of the 
ancient structure. 

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 recommended the uniting 
of Dore, Totley, and Beauchief into a single parish, with a minis- 
ter to serve alternately at Dore and Beauchief. 

Mr. Stanley, the ejected minister of Eyam, who acted an equally 
noble and self-sacrificing part as his successor, Mr. Mompesson, 
at the time of the plague, first commenced his ministrations at 
Dore, of which chapel he was the preacher for three years." 

The tithe of Dore was given to the minister by Cornelius Clarke, 
Esq., of Norton, by his will dated July 2nd, 1683, and in another 
will dated 1686, he left him also the tithe of Totley. t 

The Brief of 1819, from which we have already quoted, does 
not speak in high terms of the ancient chapel. " The chapel at 
Dore is a very ancient and low mean building with a rotten roof, 
and requires a raising of the side walls to support a necessary 
new roof with new windows and an addition to be made for the 
Communion table." The cost of these alterations, according to an 
estimate prepared by Joseph Hobson, of Dronfield, builder, and 
Eobert Unwin, of the same place, architect, was to be 208 15s. 

The present church of Dore is dedicated to Christ, but this 
was a form of dedication so very unusual in pre- reformation days 
that we cannot accept it as that of the old chapel. 

* Mr. Stanley's fame in this respect has been unjustly overshadowed hy those who 
were jealous of virtue in a Nonconformist, but when some narrow spirits called on 
the Lord-Lieutenant to remove him from Eyam, where he still continued his labours, 
the Earl of Devonshire replied " That it was more reasonable that the whole 
country should, in more than words, testifie their thankfulness to him, who together 
with his care of the town had taken such care, as none else did, to prevent the infec- 
tion of the towns adjacent." 

t Pegge's Collections, vol. v. p. 121. 



{jfrfeingfon. 




|HE parish church of Eckington is dedicated in honour of 
I St. Peter and St. Paul. These names in combination occur 
"some two hundred and six times throughout England as 
patron saints of pre-reformation churches. This favourite combina- 
tion would at first sight seem to have arisen from these two saints 
having been universally regarded as the chief of the apostles, and 
though this theory probably contains a certain amount of truth, it 
is more likely that these saints were thus coupled together from the 
traditional days of their martyrdom being one and the same. The 
twenty-ninth of June is St. Peter's Day, and, according to some 
accounts, that was the day on which St. Paul met his death in the 
year 65, though others say that it was in the month of May, 66. 
A like cause explains the not unfrequent conjunction of St. Philip 
and St. James. 

Eckington is first mentioned in the will of Wulfric Spott, 1002, 
to which allusion has already been made in these pages. By this 
document it was left to Morcare, and not to the Abbey of Burton 
as usually asserted. Mr. Thorpe, in his translation of this will, 
says that this is the Eckington in Worcestershire, but from the con- 
text of other undoubted Derbyshire names there can be no doubt 
that he is here mistaken.* At the time of the Domesday Survey 
the manor belonged to Ealph Fitzhubert.t As we have before 
remarked, no injunction was made upon the compilers of this sur- 
vey to enumerate the churches, and it not unfrequeutly happens, 
throughout the kingdom, that priests are mentioned, but no churches, 
as attached to particular manors. It has generally been understood 

* Diplomat or in in AngUcum jEvi Saxonici, p. 545. See description of Beighton 
Church, p. 83. The reader, too, who refers to Mr. Thorpe's valuable work, will find 
that he was curiously ignorant of the place-names of this county. 

* Another portion of the manor of Eckington formed, according to Domesday Book, 
one of the berewicks or hamlets of the extensive royal manor of Xewbold. 



222 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

that the mention of one indicates the presence of the other. "NVe 
demur, however, to this conclusion in the case of Eckiugton, where 
a priest only is mentioned, for almost immediately below it in 
the original document, amongst the manors belonging to Ralph 
Fitzhubert, is the case of Barlborough, where both a priest 
and a church are enumerated ; and as these two manors were 
in all probability enrolled and described at the same time, we 
fail to see any reason why the scribes should have omitted the 
church of Eckington, if one was then in existence. We offer as a 
conjecture, which must be taken for what it is worth, that the ori- 
ginal Saxon church in this place, being constructed, as was then 
usual, of wood, had been destroyed in the troublous times which 
immediately preceded the taking of the Domesday Survey. 

The church, which is of large dimensions, consists of a nave, 
chancel, and north and south side aisles, whilst at the west end 
is a tower surmounted by a spire. The edifice has been sadly 
defaced by post-reformation alteration and repairs, but upon enter- 
ing the church the early date of its erection is at once obvious. 
The nave is separated from the side aisles on each side . by five 
semi-circular arches supported by massive pillars. These pillars 
are round, with the exception of the two nearest the tower, which 
are octagon. These arches are somewhat narrow, and struck us 
as being very similar in their proportions, though lacking the orna- 
ment, to those in Melbourne Church in this county. These are 
specimens of plain early Norman work, and seem to place the date 
of the first erection of this church at the end of the eleventh or 
commencement of the twelfth century, not many years subsequent 
to the time of the Domesday Survey. Ralph Fitzhubert, or his 
immediate successors, probably commenced the work. Another 
piece of Norman work is to be found in the west doorway into 
the tower. This doorway is semi -circular, and on each side are 
four rounded columns. It is unfortunately much mutilated, and 
has been clumsily repaired with stucco and cement. 

The archway into the chancel is a good specimen of the next 
period the Early English. The capitals are effectively carved 
with foliage similar to those in a like position at Norton. The 
archway, also, leading into the tower from the nave, now blocked 
up by a gallery, is of the same date. To this period the tower 
must also be assigned. Above the Norman doorway on its western 
side are two lancet windows, and above them another very small 
one. Near the summit of the tower there are, also, on each side, 



ECKINGTON. 

three lancet windows of some little size, which served for the pur- 
pose of emitting the sound from the hell-chamber. Immediately 
underneath the parapet of the tower is a clearly cut moulding, con- 
sisting of the four-leaf or tooth ornament alternating with the hall- 
flower, a round hollow flower of three petals enclosing a ball. 
Tliis ball-flower is supposed to be almost peculiar to the Decorated 
style, but there are a few exceptions of earlier date, and we have 
no hesitation in considering this as one of them ; unless, which 
is hardly likely, this parapet and moulding were added at the time 
of the erection of the spire. The spire dates about the middle of 
the fourteenth century, and is of the Decorated style. It has a 
somewhat squat appearance, and is ornamented with four small 
windows. It is clearly of later date than the tower, and the 
corbel stones, which' still project from the interior of the walls 
above the bells, point out the place from which the roof originally 
sprang. 

At the basement of the tower, on both the north and south sides, 
are pointed archways, carefully filled up with masonry. It seems 
highly improbable that they can ever have served as windows, or 
led to any other part of the building, and we can therefore merely 
conjecture that they were for the purpose of strengthening the 
tower. 

If we now return into the body of the church we shall notice 
that, above the Norman arches already mentioned, there are on 
each side five clerestory windows. These are all square headed, 
and of the plainest modern description, except the three nearest 
the tower on the north side, which still retain their Perpendicular 
tracery. In one of these are some very slight remains of old 
yellow glass. There are also two windows of the Perpendicular 
peiiod in the north aisle, and one large one with six lights of a 
very debased style, much resembling that at Dronfield, at the east 
end of the chancel. With these exceptions, the windows of both 
the aisles and chancel are as incongruous as it is possible to 
imagine. The interior is painfully disfigured with galleries, and, 
as was usual in the "dark ages" of church architecture, the erec- 
tors of these excrescences seemed to be proud of their work and 
inscribed their names for the admiration of posterity. The gallery 
at the west end was erected in 1725, and those which block up the 
north and south aisles in the years 1746 and 1704 respectively. 
A vestry plastered with stucco, and surmounted with a red-brick 
chimney, was also added to the north of the chancel in the year 
1742. 



224 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

There are few objects of interest within the church. The font, 
under the west gallery, which has an octagon top standing upon 
a circular base, seems to be of modern construction. The chancel 
contains no less than nine old dark-oak chairs, which look as if 
they had hardly been made for the position they now occupy ; and 
on the sides of the pulpit are two good bits of old Perpendicular 
carving. Eckiugtou possesses, however, one very interesting fea- 
ture, which we believe to be unique of its kind an elaborate squint 
or hagioscope. 

The use of the squint, as we have previously explained, was to 
enable certain worshippers, whose view might have been otherwise 
interrupted by intervening pillars or walls, to see the altar when 
the host was elevated and at other tunes during the service. The 
squint in this instance is of a very elaborate character, and it is 
difficult to, describe it without a diagram. It is at the east end 
of the north aisle, in the wall which forms the support of the north 
side of the chancel arch. There is also, we should remark, a chapel 
on the north side of the chancel, which is now principally occupied 
by the organ. The openings of this squint are so arranged that 
anyone standing by this pillar would not only be able to see through 
to the high altar at the east end of the chancel, but also by look- 
ing to his left to see through the pillar and another wall so as to 
have a view of the altar in the north chapel. These openings are 
so narrow that it would be difficult for more than one or two to 
avail themselves of them, and we therefore are inclined to think 
that here was the station of one of the church servants, whose duty 
it was to ring the Sanctus Bell at different parts of the service of 
the Mass this bell being placed, as was often the case, at the 
apex of the gable at the east end of the nave. 

Though the walls of the chancel are covered with monuments to 
the families of Sitwell, Newton, Wigfall, and others, there are none 
of sufficient age to warrant our noticing them here, nor could we 
with truth say that they are any ornament to the church. 

At the bottom, however, of the easternmost window of the north 
aisle we noticed some old letters in coloured glass. The inscription 
has almost disappeared, but the name " Eoger Darci" can still be 
plainly read. 

A few words about the successive holders of the manor of 
Eckington are here necessary to explain the connection of Eoger 
Darci with this Church, and will also serve to illustrate the arms that 
were formerly in these windows, and which we shall shortly 
enumerate. 



ECKINGTON. 225 

The barony of Fitzhubert consisted of twenty -five manors in this 
county, in addition to several sokes or lordships. The Stotevilles 
inherited half of this barony, of -which half the manor of Eckington 
formed part.* In the 54th year of Henry III. William de Stuteville 
obtained a grant of free warren over the manor of Eckington, and 
various Inquisitions up to the reign of Edward II. show the connec- 
tion of that family with both the manor and Church of Eckiugton.f 
There is no doubt that the advowson of the Church went with the 
manor, but the first mention we have found of it was early in the reign 
of Edward II. (1310), when Eleanor, the wife of Robert Stoteville, 
died seized of both manor and church. Again, in the 16th year of 
the same reign, we find Stoteville seized of the same, as weU as of 
the adjacent manors of WhitweD, Barlborough, and Duckmantou. 
The Stotevilles, having forfeited their estates in 1340, Edward III. 
granted the manor of Eckington (or rather, as we think, a portion of 
it), and a mediety of the Rectory to John, Lord Darcy, who was 
steward of his household. In 1349, Lord Darcy made a presenta- 
tion to his mediety of the rectory, and we believe that the other 
mediety was held by the Longfords, who held certain lands at 
Eckingtou, even in the reign of Edward I., and who are entered iu 
Inquisitions of the reign of Edward III., as though actual lords of 
the whole manor the true solution being, as we think, that both the 
manor and rectory were for a time divided between the Darcys and 
the Longfords. I John, Lord Darcy, married Emilina, daughter and 
heiress of Walter de Heron, and died on 30th May, 1348, leaving 
two sons John, who succeeded to the Eckington estates, and Roger, 
from whom were descended the Darcys, of Essex. This, then, we 
conceive to be the Roger Darci commemorated in the window. It is 
unfortunate that we have no more of this inscription left, but even 
when Bassano visited the church, upwards of a century and a half 
ago, there was only one other word extant, and that the insiguficant 
one " quondam." 

Other items, connected with the fourteenth century history of this 
church, tell us that one Richard Brome was a chaplain at Eck- 
iugton in the 16th of Edward III, and that three years later the 
King gave to Roger Frene, " parson of hah the church of Ecking- 

*Dugdale's Honasticon, vol. i. p. 268. 

t Calend. Rot. Chart. 54 Hen. III., No. 6 ; Inq. post Mort. 10 Edw. I., No. 6; 
1 Kdw. II., No. 7; 16 Edw. II., No. 61. 

t Inq. post Mort., 32 Edw. I., No. 24 ; 30 Edw. III., No. 31 ; 30 Edw. HI., No. 33 ; 
17 Kdw. III.. X... -2L>. 

Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 57. 

Q 



226 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

ton," two messuages, and two bovates of land, in Mosborough, 
which had formerly been held by John de Musters.* In the last 
year of the century, Philip Darcy died seized of the manor and 
advowson (probably only a mediety) of Eckington (as weh 1 as the 
advowson of Beighton), and in 1412, Elizabeth, his widow, and hi 
1422, his son John, were seized of the same.f In the reign of 
Henry VI., the co-heiresses of Philip, Lord Darcy (son of the last 
mentioned John), were married to Strangeways and Conyers ; 
Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, to Sir James Strangeways, and 
Margery to Sir John Conyers. The manor of Eckiugton and the 
church advowson formed part of the marriage portion of Elizabeth ; 
but hi 1540 they were sold to William, Lord Dacre, and on the 
attainder of Leonard Dacre, became forfeited to the crown. The 
rectory of Eckington has henceforth remained in the gift of the 
crown.! 

The two medieties of this living were made one in 1456, when 
Reginald, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, at the request of Sir 
James Strangeways and Elizabeth his wife, the patrons, and with the 
consent of William Orele, A.M., Rector or Portionarius of one niediety, 
and Thomas Kirkby, Rector or Portionarius of the other mediety. 
agreed that the survivor of the holders of these two medieties should 
take both, and that there should be forever after but one institution. 

This church at one tune possessed a considerable display of 
heraldic glass in its windows. In William Wyrley's copy of Flower 
and Glover's Visitation of 1569, taken with additions in 1592, occurs 
the following notice of the arms then extant in the Church of Ecking- 
ton : " Eckiugton is placed at the farthest extend of Darbieshier 
into the north, near to the Rother and the Mease brokes. In the 
church the s Armes following: 1| 

"1. Barry of eight, gu. and or, a canton, erm. (Goushill). 

" 2. Arg., a chevron, az., a label of three points, erm. (Swillington). 

" 3. So,., a bend between six escallops, or. (Foljambe). 

"4. Az., a bend between six escallops, arg. (FrecheviUe). 

Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 19 Edw. HI. 

flnq. post mort. 22 Ric. II., No. 17; 13 Hen. IV., No. 36; 10 Hen. VI., No. 4 
Another Inquisition of the reign of Henry V., styles the widow of Philip Darcy, 
Alicia. But this is an error, for Philip Lord Darcy, Admiral of the Fleet, married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Grey, of Hetou. 

J Dugdale's Baronage. We are also indebted to a MS. pedigree of the Darcys 
(chiefly based on Thoroton's Nottinghamshire. Hunter's South Yorkshire, and 
Thoresby's Ducatvs Leodiensis), which was kindly supplied to us by the late Mr. 
Swift, of Sheffield. 

Pegge's Collections, vol. vi., p. 81. 
Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 111. 



ECKINGTON. 227 

' 5. ,s'., three escallops, ar<j. (Strickland) ; impaling, az., a bend, 
erm. (Philpot).* 

"6. Az., three cinquefoils between nine cross-crosslets, arg. 
(Darcy). 

" 7. Arg., a maunch, sa. (Hastings). 

"8. Arg., a fesse, gu., between three bucks, sa. ( ). 

"9. Castile and Leon, quarterly ; impaling France and England, 
quarterly, a label of three points. 

" 10. France and England, quarterly, a label of five points. 

" 11. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, az., three cinquefoils between eight 
cross-crosslets, anj., (Darcy) ; 2nd and 3rd Barry of six, az. 
and or (Meynell). 

" 12. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Sa., two lions passant in pale, or 
(Strangeways) ; 2nd and 3rd quarterly as the last shield above 
mentioned. 

" These two in one windowe 
fenestr fecer beth feltion. 

" Arg., on a bend between two cotises, yu., three roundles 
(Felton ?) 

" Sa., two lions passant in pale, paly of four, arg. and gu. 
(Strangeways.) 

"The picture of a priest in the same windowe, on his vestment 
wrought, sa., two lyones passant, arg." 

We have added the names of the families bearing these coats 
as far as we were able, and it is easy to account for the presence of 
the great majority of them at Eckington. In addition to the 
claims of Longford on the manor proper of Eckington, it should 
also be noted that the manor of Killamarsh, formerly part of this 
parish, was held by Hathersage in the reign of Henry VIII. 
Thence it passed by marriage in moieties to Longford and Goushill. 
A sister and co-heiress of the last heir male of Longford married 
Hastings. Kobert de Swillington, lord of the manor of Crich, 
South Wiufield, and Tibshelf in this county, held certain lands 
in Eckington in the reign of Henry V. Henry Foljambe of Walton 
was a landowner of the same parish, and so also were the 
Frechevilles.f Probably different members of these families were 

* The first of these coats was also borue by Bisse, Craven, Eastcott, and Shelton. 
There was a marriage between Strickland and Philpot in the fifteenth century, but 
we have not been able to satisfactorily account for the presence of this impalement 
at Eckington. 

t Nichols' Collectanea, passim. There was also a marriage between Darcy and 
Frecheville at the close of the sixteenth century, when John, son and heir of Michael 
Harry, son of John Baron Darcy of Ashton, married Rosamond, daughter of Sir 
1'eter Frecheville of Staveley. 



228 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

at one time benefactors to their parish church. The connection 
of Darcy and Strangeways with the manor and advowson has been 
already fully explained. John Lord Darcy, the son of John Lord 
Darcy, by Emeline de Heron, married Elizabeth, daughter and 
heiress of Nicholas Meynell. The quartered coats, numbered 11 
and 12 above, refer to this match. Hugh de Meynill of Hilton, 
Yorks, bore arms similar to those there described in the year 
1203. The arms that have now for several centuries been borne 
by the Meynells (Vaire, ary. and sa.,) are not their own, but were 
assumed by a subsequent Hugh Meynell, when he married the 
heiress of Ward.* 

Almost all these shields appear to have been demolished before 
1710, for Bassano only describes two quartered coats in the east 
window of the south aisle. Bassauo further speaks, in the same 
place, of the east end of the north aisle as the " Linacre quire," 
and in his volume of pedigrees, also preserved at the College of 
Arms, says " in the east end of the north aisle of Eckington 
church was quire belonging to Linacre family, where was their place of 
sepulture. But I take Brarnpton Chesterfield for their most 
antient burying place, because the mansion of Liuacre their 
antient seat is within Brampton." f 

The Eev. John Hunter, who examined this church on May 25th, 
1801, mentions that the east window of the chancel then contained 
''the arms of England, Foljambe, aud other fragments of old 
armoury, and some modern emblems, believed to be the coat of 
Dr. Griffiths, formerly rector, presented by the Prince of "Wales in 
1739." + 

Lysons' church notes of 1815 also mention the arms of 
England and the lilies of France in the east window, and further 
note that a copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs was chained to a desk 
in the chancel. 

The Gentleman's Magazine, for October, 1795, gives an engraving 
of Eckiugton Rectory, with an inaccurate representation of the 

* Darcy Pedigree. Harl. MSS. 4031, f. 127. 

tPegge's Collections, vol. vi, p. 81. 

t Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24,466. 

Lysons' Church Notes, Add. MSS. 9463. There is a further notice of Eckiugtou 
iu the Lysons' Correspondence (Add. MSS. 9448, f. 237), which had escaped our 
attention when writing in the text as to the name "Roger Darcy," in the north 
window. The letter in question, dated 6th January, 1817. speaks of the inscription 
as " Rogerus Darcy, Eector de Ekynton." If this is a correct reading, it throws some 
doubt on our appropriation of the inscription to Roger Darcy of the reign of Edward 
III., who was a layman ; unless indeed he held the revenues of the rectory as a lay 
rector. We cannot find any other Roger Darcy of later date mentioned in the 
lees, but priests were frequently omitted. 



ECKIXGTOX. 

church to the right hand. The engraving is ncfompauicd by a 
short account of Eckingtou from the pen of Mr Malcolm, but all 
that he finds to say of the church is, that it is -'a good old 
building, clean, and in good repair." 

The Taxation Boll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291, value- 
the Church of Eckington "cum membris " at 40 per annum. 
The Valor BcdegMuticut, of the 27 Henry VIII., mentions Sir James 
Strangeways as patron, and Richard Hill as Rector. At that time 
the rectory, after the deduction of the Archidiaconal fees, was 
valued at 40 13s. 4d. 

From the same source we gather the following particulars 
relative to the guilds in this Church. 

EKYNGTON GILDA BEATE MARIE. 

Fundata per dictum Jacobum Strange-ways Militem et confratres ejusdem Glide. 
Dominns Robertas Farneham oapellanus dicte glide habet in 

pecuniis per annum 

s. d. 

De claro v 

Decima inde x 



EKYNGTON GILDA SANCTE CRUCIS. 
Fundata per dictum Jacobum Strangwis Militem. 
Dominus Johannes Lee capellanus ejusdem glide habet in Ekyng- 
tonpredicta xij cotagia xvj acras terre et prati ix gardina et duas 

clausuras ibidem per annum 

s. d. 

De claro iiij viij viij 

Decima inde viij x ob' 

These particulars would lead us to suppose that these guilds or 
chantries were both founded by Sir James Strangeways ; but accord- 
ing to the Chantry Roll, they were conjointly established as early as 
the reign of Richard II. Probably Sir James Straugeways re- 
established them on a wider basis and extended their endowments. 
The Chantry Roll says : 

" The Gylde of or Blessed Ladye and the Holye Crosse founded 
by well disposed persons who gave lands and tenements for finding 
of ij prysts to celebrate masse, and to praye for the bretheru and 
system, and also to helpe towards the mynistrynge of Sacraments 
and other Divine Service, for the parisshe is large and divyded into 
many hamletts some n or in myles dystannte so that when the 
Visitacyon of God cometh emongiste them the person and his parishe 
preste is nott suffyent in tyme of iiecessite to mynystre there. For 
the purchasing of which lands they had lycence of K. Richard II. 
dated xvi. Sept. A. Regni xvi. clere \(i. \d. besydes xxxvs. xjj. in 
rente resolute. Jo. Lee and Christ Greene Chauntrye prists. Stock 
Ixij.s 1 . viij./." 



230 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

There is some curious confusion as to the names of these guilds, 
for in extracts made from the First Fruits' Office, we read of 
Christopher Greene being chantry priest of St. Mary's Guild, at 
Eckington, on the llth August, 85 Henry VIII., and of Eobert 
Hyde being chantry priest of Trinity* Guild in the same church on 
the 2nd November, 34 Henry VIII. 

Hunter also quotes a deed, circa 1530, by which Sir James Strange- 
ways, Gustos of the Guild of the Blessed Mary, Henry - - and 
Henry Wigfall, Guardians, and Edward Eyre, George Killinghall, 
William Kotherham, and William Stringfellow, Confratres, makes a 
grant to George Linacre, of Phmiley.t 

When the Commissioners of the Commonwealth visited Eckington 
in 1650, they reported "there is one Mr. Gardiner pleading to be 
the present incumbent, who is now Proctor in Cambridge. One Mr. 
Fairfax is Curatt at Eckington and approved off."i 

It is not our practice in these pages to enter into any of the later 
history of Church patronage, but an exception may here be made 
in favour of a quotation from the memoranda of Bishop Kennett, 
which explains the extract from the Parliamentary Survey. He 
says " the perpetual advowsou was in the Crown, and granted 
for 99 years by King Charles II. to Lord Frecheville, of Staveley, who 
sold the remainder of the term to Dr. Gardiner, whose son, W. 
Gardiner, when in possession, mortgaged the right to Mr. Cook, who 
on the death of Mr. Gardiner presented Mr. Griffith. The sou of 
Mr. Gardiner brought his bill in Chancery in hopes of relief 
against the mortgagee, but not being able to raise money to discharge 
the debt of 800, he lost the equity of redemption and the turn of 
presentation, and is now a poor drunken curate. "|| 

Bishop Kennett, who visited Eckiugton on September 10th, 1723, 
also writes: "At the beginning of the last register (1707) is a 
catalogue of all the na-mes of the successive Churchwardens, and the 
works done by them : 

" 1707. They altered the bell frames, and hung the bells anew. 

* Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f . 332. 
t Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f. 124. 
JParl. Survey of Livings, vol. vi., p. 464. 

It is said that Dr. White Kennett, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, obtained preferment 
to the Deanery of Peterborough, and subsequently to the Bishopric, by preaching 
the funeral sermon of the first Duke of Devonshire, at All Saints', Derby, on Sep- 
tember 5th, 1707 The sermon, dedicated to the second Duke, was extravagant in its 
eulogy of the deceased, who had not lived the most correct of lives, and was most 
severely handled in The Hazard of a Death-bed Repentance, and other publications 
of the Nonjuring party. But these attacks had rather the effect of accelerating than 
retarding Kennett's promotion. 

II Lansdowne MSS. 972. 



ECKINGTON. 231 

"1712. The 1st bell was bought, the steeple pointed, and the 
weathercock set up. 

" 1713. Set up the sun-dial. 

" 1714. Put up window on north side, for light to the pulpit. 

"1715. Set up the fane. 

"1717. Opened the north door, and made the new one. 

" 1718. Whitened the church, and set up the bequest board. 

" 1719. Set up 2 pinnacles on the upper roof of the south side." 

The tower contains a peal of six bells.* The tenor, which weighs 
eighteen cwt., bears the inscription Gloria in Excelsis Deo, Anno Dni, 
1614. It also bears the monogram I.H.S., the initial letters Gr. H., 
and the founder's mark. Another bell, which is destitute of any 
inscription or date, has the same marks with the addition of some 
fleurs-de-lis, and a cross with four nails between the arms. A third 
with the same founder's mark is inscribed Gloria in Excelsis, 1609. 
A fourth bears Gloria soli Deo 1634. The two others are of the year 
1805. There is also in the bell-chamber a small bell much resembling 
what we have more than once in these pages described as a sauctus bell, 
but in this instance it bears the date of 1737, and the initials B.H.F. 
It seems probable that it originally served the Catholic purpose of a 
sanctus bell, but was re-cast at the date above-mentioned and placed 
in its present locality to be used as a service bell. At the time of the 
Keformatiou the use of all bells during Service time was strictly pro- 
hibited, with the exception of " Sermon bells," which were allowed to 
be rung for a few minutes before the sermon, thus affording proof that 
in those days it was no unusual thing for part of the congregation to 
attend only to hear the sermon, or, what is perhaps more important, 
to leave before it commenced. Many of the sanctus bells were 
then removed from their position over the gable of the nave, and 
were placed in the belfry to serve as sermon bells.t 

The following quaint lines may be found on a blank page in an 
old register of this parish, 1666 1695 : 

" Our grandfathers were Papists, 
Our fathers Oliverians, 
We their sons are Atheists, 
Sure our sons will be queer ones." 

* Information reaches us, as these pages are going through the press (August, 1875), 
that it has been decided to have these bells broken up and re-cast into a peal of 
eight. 

f See the Index to the Parker's Society's Publications, v. Bells. 



lUnifon* 



Clinton. 




church is an unsightly Georgian structure, dedi- 
cated to St. Peter, and consists of a chancel, nave, and 
bell turret. But a very old church, dedicated to St. 
lYur, formerly stood upon this site. At the time of the Domes- 
day Survey, mention is made of a priest and a church at Elm- 
ton. Elmton was one of the five manors held by Walter Deincourt at 
that period, and it continued in the same family till the death of 
William, Lord Deiucourt, in 1422. The church of Ehnton was 
given to the priory of Thurgartou, in Nottinghamshire, by Pialph 
Deincourt, the founder.* In the first year of the reign of George 
III. (1760) a Brief was granted for the rebuilding of this church, 
and it appears from a date over the porch to have been completed 
in the year 1771. 

The original Brief is now in the British Museum, t and from it 
we take the following interesting extracts, relative to the condition 
and size of the church that was pulled down last century. " Whereas 
it hath been represented unto us, as well upon the humble petition 
of the minister, churchwarden, and major part of the principal 
inhabitants of the parish of Elmton, in the county of Derby, as 
also by certificate under the hands of our trusty and weU beloved 
William Fitzherbert, Thomas Wright, George Venables Vernon, 
Philip Gell, and John Simpson, Esquires, our Justices of the 
peace for our said county of Derby, made at their General Quarter 
Sessions of the peace held on the loth July in the thirty- fourth 
year of the reign of our late Royal Grandfather, That the parish 
church of Elmton aforesaid is a very large and spacious structure, 
consisting of Three Isles and one Cross Isle with the Steeple and 

* Ealph Deincourt was the son of Walter. He founded Thurgarton in the reign of 
Henry II. Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, TO!, i p. '212. 

t The petition of the inhabitants to Quarter Sessions asking the justices to apply 
for the Brief, in accordance with 4 Anne, cap. 14, is among the Derbyshire County 
Eecords. 



236 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Tower in the centre thereof : That notwithstanding large sums of 
money have been laid out and expended for several years past in 
repairing both the said Church and Steeple, they are by length of 
time become very ruinous and decayed : that part of the steeple 
and west end of the Church are fallen down, and so much of the 
Church and Steeple as remained are so crooked and bulged in the 
foundation and walls that they cannot any longer be supported 
but must be wholly taken down and rebuilt, &c., &c." The Brief 
then proceeds to state that a sworn estimate has been made of 
1288 as the necessary outlay for pulling down and rebuilding the 
church, that the inhabitants of Elmtou being " chiefly tenants at 
rack rents and burdened with numerous poor " are unable to help 
themselves and finally appoints Gilbert Rhodes, Eichard Bagshaw. 
John Simpson, and Joseph Briggs, Esquires, the Eev. John 
Griffith, D.D., the Rev. Francis Bower, Chaworth Hallowes, 
Samuel Yates, and John Richardson, clerks, John Nerborn, Thomas 
Stevenson, and John Stevenson, gentlemen, and the Churchwardens 
of Elmton, to act as trustees for the money collected. 

We "could have forgiven them erecting buttresses, even larger 
and more clumsy than those to be found at the neighbouring 
church of Clown, if only they had preserved to us a portion of 
the old cruciform church. 

One memorial of the old church still remains under the com- 
munion table. Mr. Bateman, writing in 1848, describes it as a 
slab with a cross fleury engraved on it, and this inscription in text 
hand: "Orate pro auima Roberte Berbi."* The first half of 
this inscription can be plainly noted written across the stem of the 
cross, but the name we failed to decipher. It seemed that there 
had been a marginal inscription at one time all round the stone, 
but " decbr " and " obiit " were all that we could read. 

This slab, one or two gurgoyles, and an ancient piscina are all the 
relics now remaining of the fabric demolished in 1760. This piscina, 
we are told, stands in the house of a cottager named Sykes, where 
it is now preserved in good condition, though it was formerly used 
as a mortar in which to bruise corn. It is described as being 
of a large square shape, standing about eighteen inches high.t 

* Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, p. 208. 

t The Vicar, Rev. Rowland P. Hills, to whom we are indebted for this information, 
farther informs us that the registers contain no reference which could throw any 
light on the size, condition, etc., of the old church. It is generally supposed that the 
old building .siuuil boinewLiit further back than the modern one. There is also a 
tradition current in the neighbourhood that there was once a priory at Elmton. 
This probably arose from the connection of the church with the priory of Thurgar- 
ton, and it is possible that there may have been at one time a cell or residence at 
Elmton for one or more of the canons of that foundation. 



ELM TON. 237 

The church of Elmtou could not have been appropriated to 
Thurgarton by Ralph Deincourt, but merely the advowson presented 
to that monastery, for the Taxation Roll of 1291, describes it as 
an " ecclesia " worth .8 per annum, and not as a vicarage. But 
the tithes must have been subsequently appropriated, for the 
V'l/nr Ecclfsiasticus of Henry VIII. reports it to be a vicarage, with 
the Prior of Thurgarton as patron. The following are the parti- 
culars of the value of the vicarage at that period : 

ELMETON VICARIA. 

Prior de Thurgreton Patroness ibidem. 

Dominus Robertus Codgrave Vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. A. 
In priinis in Mansione cum glebarum tertia, parte ad rectoriam 

pertiuente xxvj viij 

In tertia parte garbarum et feni xxxiij iiij 

In decimis minutis ....----.. v j jijj 

In deciinis tertie partis lane et agnellorum - - - xviij 

In paschali rotulo .---..-... xx 

In Oblationibus iij jiij 

In mortuariis et aliis casualibus -..-... iiij 

Summa v xi viij 

Uncle resoluta est archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - x vij 

De claro v viij 

Decima inde x i ob'. 



According to the Parliamentary Commission of 1G50, the vicarage 
was worth 5, and the impropriated tithes amounted to 60 per 
annum. These latter were held by Mr. Francis Rodes, who found 
the minister. The minister was Mr. Deane, " an insufficient man " 
Probably the old church was even then out of repair, for the Com- 
missioners add, " wee thinke fitt that Elmeton be united to Clowne, 
as also that part of Cresswell which belongs to Elmeton." 

The turret at the west end of the church contains three bells. 
The old ones were taken down in 1845, and recast by C. and S. 
Mears, of London. Each bell bears the name of the founders, 
and the year of its recasting, and, in addition to this, the first is 
inscribed "William Hatfield de Rhodes, Patron;" the second, 
"William Senior Salman, Clerk, M.A. , Vicar. Robert Roberts, 
Robert Butcher, Churchwardens, George Cropper, Parish Clerk;" 
and the third, " John Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield. Robert Augus- 
tus Shirley, Archdeacon of Derby." 



IjauH IjurfcnalflL 




||HE parish of Hault Hucknall comprises the hamlets of 
Staiusby, Astwith, Hardstaff, and Eowthorn. Though no 
mention is made of Hault Hucknall itself in the Domesday 
Book, the manors of Stainsby, Hardstaff, and Eowthorn are therein 
described; the last of these was then in the hands of Eoger de Busli, and 
the two former were held by Eoger de Poictou, who also owned the ad- 
jacent manors of Heath and Sutton. It is mentioned under Stainsby 
(Steinesbi') that " there is a priest, with three bordars * and one acre of 
pasture ; " there are no remains of any church at Stainsby, and pos- 
sibly this was the priest who served the church of the closely adjoin- 
ing manor of Hault Hucknall, which may have escaped mention at 
the time of the survey. It is also just possible that the mention of 
a priest without a church, in this and some other instances in the 
Domesday Survey, may imply the priest of a domestic chapel 
attached to the manor house. But be this as it may, the manor 
of Stainsby certainly supported a chaplain in the fourteenth century 
and subsequently, when it was in the hands of the Savages. Geof- 
frey de Langholt and Henry de Stokes in the reign of Edward III., 
and John Morsell in the reign of Eichard II., are mentioned as 
chaplains in different Inquisitious.t Moreover, the feast day, or 
wakes, is regulated by St. Peter's day in this township, in contra- 
distinction to the remainder of the parish, which lends support to 
the tradition of a distinctive chapel at Stainsby. 

Lysons states that the church of Hault Huckuall was appro- 
priated to the priory of Beauchief, but in this he is mistaken, for it 
undoubtedly at one time formed a part of the endowment of New- 

* The bordars of the Domesday Survey were cottage holders, who held their home- 
steads (bords) with small parcels of land, on condition of performing certain services 
for the lord. 

flnq. post Mort. 2 Edw. Ill , No. 115 ; 50 Edw. III., pt. '2, No. 31 ; and 8 Ric. II., 
No. 44. 



242 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

stead Priory, Nottinghamshire.* The manor of Rowthorn was also 
in possession of this Priory for several centuries. The usual authori- 
ties are silent as to the dedication of this church, and Dr. Pegge 
expressly states his inability to ascertain it, but we know of no 
reason to doubt the accuracy of the current impression, that it is dedi- 
cated to St. John the Baptist. 

The church consists of a nave, two side aisles, south porch, and a 
tower, near the centre of the building, between the nave and chancel. 
On entering the church we soon perceive sufficient Norman remains 
to justify us in the belief that there was, at any rate, a church here at a 
time not far distant from the date of the Domesday Survey. The nave 
is separated from a narrow north aisle by two semi-circular Norman 
arches. The west window of the north aisle is a small round-headed 
light, about two feet long by six inches broad, and deeply splayed on 
the inside. The other windows of this aisle are much later. At the 
east end of the nave, opening under the tower, is a fine Norman arch- 
way of considerable span. It is ornamented with bold mouldings of 
the beak-head and chevron patterns, and with other curious devices, 
amongst which may be noticed the figui-e of a camel, two quaint figures 
of men, a chalice, a knot resembling the Stafford badge, and various 
human faces. The base, too, of the tower seems to be part of the old 
building, and after passing underneath it, the chancel is entered by a 
high narrow archway with a rounded top entirely destitute of orna- 
ment or moulding, t 

On the exterior of the church several stones will be noticed by the 
practised eye, which show by their moulding that they have formerly 
served in a Norman building. But the most interesting relic of the 
old church is the upper part of a now built-up doorway at the west 
end of the nave. It consists of the tympanum or semi-circular stone, 
which so often formed the upper part of a Norman doorway. This 
tympanum is most quaintly carved with rude mythological figures. It 
was considered of sufficient importance, even last century, to merit a 
description and an engraving in the Gentleman's Maijazine.^ It appears 
to be in much the same condition now as when then described. To 
the observer's right is a tall quadruped with a long tapering neck, 

* Pilkington's Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 243. The absence of all mention of Hault 
Hucknall in the Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey (Pegge's Collections, vol. vii., Col- 
lege of Arms) is a conclusive proof of Lyson's error. 

t We have heard the opinion expressed by a sound archaeologist that this arch may 
very likely be one of Saxon structure. We do not, however, feel competent to express 
an opinion unless the masonry was laid bare throughout, and are inclined to regard 
the supposition as unlikely. 

| June, 1799. 



HAULT HUCKNALL. 




^T DOORWAY. 




FRAGMENT OF OLD SCREEN. 



Ionic i ires Fic'-Smnle Ptoctii Deity 



HAULT HUCKNALL. 243 

somewhat resembling a giraffe, but the head terminates in a beak, and 
each of the legs in claws. The tail twists back between the legs and 
behind the back, above which it seems to terminate in a cross set in a 
circle. In the right hand corner is another much smaller quadruped 
with ears. Down the centre of the stone is a Latin cross with a long 
stem ; on the left hand is a centaur, corresponding in size with the 
giraffe-like figure opposite, in one hand it holds a palm branch, with 
the other it grasps the cross. If these figures or those described below, 
are intended to have any allegorical or other meaning beyond the fact 
of being, perhaps, emblematical of the power of the cross, we must con- 
fess that we are completely puzzled. But comparing it with sculp- 
tured stones of a similar date and in similar positions, which we have 
elsewhere seen, we imagine that the subjects merely arose in the 
caprice of the artist and the capabilities of the stone.* 

Immediately below this is a second oblong stone, which has, we think, 
been built into a position for which it was not originally intended. It 
is now in two pieces, but has evidently once formed a single block. To 
the right is a large winged dragon with a protruding forked tongue. 
The tongue almost reaches an upright cross, on the other side of which 
is a man bearing on his left arm a kite- shaped shield, and in his right 
hand an extended sword. Below his right arm is what appears to be 
another shield, resting on the ground. 

The three-light pointed west window, above these sculptures, is a good 
specimen of the Decorated period, to which time, too, belong the three- 
pointed arches which separate the nave from the south aisle. The 
high-pitch roof of the nave, as well as of the chancel (though the latter 
is partially hid with plaster) is also of the Decorated style. It is con- 
structed of light-coloured oak, with some bold tracery above the tie 
beams. In its general features it closely resembles the recently ex- 
posed roof of the nave of the adjacent church of North Wiufield, and 
was doubtless contrived by the same architect. 

During the Perpendicular period the church underwent a considera- 
ble change, by far the greater part of that which now exists being 
attributable to that date. The south porch, all the square-headed 
windows of the south aisle and south chapel, together with the east 
window of the chancel, the roofs of the aisle, the upper storey of the 
tower, with its embattled parapet and crocketted pinnacles, and the rest 
of the battlements and pinnacles that ornament the south side and the 
chancel, are all of the last style of Gothic ^architecture. 

* So far as Derbyshire memorials of a like nature are concerned, this tympanum 
may be well compared with the tympana of the churches of Hognastoii and Parwich, 
and with the curious figures incised on the font at Tissington. 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

At the end of the south aisle there are two steps down to the lower 
level, and the aisle is then continued past the tower in the centre, 
and parallel to the chancel, with both of which are communicating 
archways. One, or perhaps, two chapels are thus formed. Here, 
against the south wall is the upper part of the old font, circular, mas- 
sive, and plain. Its diameter is two feet six inches, the depth of bowl 
thirteen inches, and the total depth nineteen. In the modern vestry, 
to the north of the chancel, is a banished pilaster abomination which 
long acted as its substitute, and close to the main entrance is a hand- 
some solid modern font made after a Norman design ; but still we can- 
not but regret to see the original one, with all its hallowed associations, 
lying here unused. Here, too, is a massive old oak bench (that makes 
us still more regret the high pews of a greater part of the interior), to- 
gether with a handsome fragment of oak carving, a portion, we sup- 
pose, of a former screen. Here, also, is a post-reformation memorial 
which cannot be passed over in silence. Beneath a plain black marble 
slab are the bones of that fine old philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, whose 
thoughts being a century or more in advance of his contemporaries, 
gained him the title of atheist. Notwithstanding the aristocratic air 
that he breathed, his principles were sternly democratic.* His princi- 
pal philosophic work was the celebrated Leviathan, but he is better 
known to Derbyshire readers as the author of a descriptive Latin poem 
called " De Mirabilil/us Peed." It is said that shortly before his death 
he desired that his sole epitaph should be " The Philosopher's Stone," 
but the following inscription is now above his remains : 

" Condita hie sunt ossa Thomas Hobbes, Malrnesburiensis, qui per 
imiltos annos servivit duobus Devoniae Coniitibus patri et filio. Ver 

* This sentence stands as it originally appeared, but it is only fair to the memory of 
Thomas Hobbes to give the following jeu d' esprit, from the pen of a literary gentle- 
man well qualified to write on metaphysical subjects, which appeared in the ''Local 
Notes and Queries " of the Derbyshire Times, immediately after the publication of the 
notes on Hault Hucknall Church : 

'' I, Thomas Hobbes. cannot submit to misrepresentation of any sort, especially fit 
the hands of one who seems favourably disposed towards me. I therefore beg, .Mr. 
Editor, that you will inform the writer of the Notes on Derbyshire Churches, that I 
am not altogether the fellow he takes me for. When I foresaw the coming of the 
great rebellion, I took myself to Paris, and there taught mathematics to the young 
Prince Charles : this was not the action of a ' democrat.' Again, in my Leviathan, I 
so set forth the right of the king, as well spiritual as temporal, not only by general 
reasonings, but by the authority of the Holy Scriptures, as to make it evident that 
there would not be any permanent peace anywhere in the Christian world, unless his 
doctrine were received, or there were a sufficiently strong army to establish peace by 
force. Democrat John Milton thought and spoke otherwise. In one passage I 
made a fair comparison of the respective advantages of Monarchy, Aristocracy, and 
Democracy; and with most incontestable justice assigned the palm to Monarchy. I 
was no democrat, as democrats were held in those days ; what I might be now, if they 
woxild lift up that piece of marble, which weighs so heavily on my breastbone, that I 
can hardly form two ideas, is another question. If you want to know what I was, read 
me. There ! 

THOMAS HOBBES (Deceased)." 



HAULT HUCKNALL. 245 

probus, ct fama eruditionis domi forisque bene cognitus. Obiit Anno 
domiiii 1679, meusis Decembris die 4, setatis suse 91." 

At the east cud of tko south chapel is a heavy sarcophagus-like 
tomb to the memory of Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, and wilt- 
of "\Villiam, tlie first Earl of Devonshire. She died in 1G28. Above 
this memorial is a four-light window containing some good remnants 
of old glass. In the upper part of the first light is a draped femalr 
figure with the hands clasped, of which the head is missing ; in the 
second light is a figure of Christ on the cross, of which the head, 
arms, and waist are still perfect, above the head is a star having 
an rye in the centre ; the third contains a man with long hair and 
a glory round his head ; and the fourth is a figure of a man (of 
which, part of the crown above the head is left) with an arrow iri his 
right hand. Beneath the barbed point of the arrow the figures of 
seven small children are clustered.* Below this series of figures has 
run an inscription, showing that this was a memorial window. All that 
is now left are the disjointed words "bono Joins cccc vicessimo." 
Below this again are four small compartments at the base of the win- 
dow. In the one to the left are two female figures kneeling at desks 
with open books. They wear pedimented head-dresses, and have 
royal coats of arms embroidered on their mantles. Part of the charge 
is missing, but it now is as foUows : Quarterly of four: 1 and 4 
grand quarters, France and England quarterly ; 2, three lions ram- 
pant ; 3, blank. The second light has an impaled shield, the dexter 
side arg., a saltire, az. ; the sinister side blank. The third has a man 
in a blue mantle kneeling at a desk, and the fourth two figures 
similarly placed and clad. The blue in these figures is particularly 
rich and deep. This must be the window described in the Visitation 
of Derbyshire by the Norroy King of Arms, Eichard St. George. He 
visited the Church of Hault Hucknall on the 22nd of August, 1611, 
and gives the following account of the arms then extant hi the win- 
dows : "England, on a chief, az., a religious building, a woman 
holding a crosier, or. Under it ' Orate pro bono statu Ricardi 
Pauson Vicarii istius ecclesiae.' 

" Upon a man kneeling these arms Quarterly; 1st and -4th ///. 
a pale lozengy, sa. (Savage) ; 2nd, or, on a fess, az., three garbs pro- 
per ; 3rd, a chevron between three martlets. Under it ' Orate pro 



* We have consulted the Rev. F. C. Husenbeth's work on the Emblems of Saints, 
and other authorities, but can meet with no description that exactly tallies with this 
crowned figure, with the arrow (or barb) and children. If it was not for the children, 
\>f should suppose it to represent St. Edmund, the Martyr Kin^r. 



246 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

bono statu Joliis Savage inilitis et Elizabetha uxoris ejus, qui me 
fieri fecerunt. A.D. 1527.' 

" Upon a woman kneeling Quarterly : 1st and 4th, France and 
England on a fess within a bordure, Gobone (Somerset) ; 2nd, Her- 
bert ; 3rd, Woodville. 

" Under the arms of Hardwick impaling a broken coat ' Orate pro 
bono statu Joins Hardwick Generosi et uxoris ejus.' "* 

The John Hardwick here mentioned would be the father of Eliza- 
beth, Countess of Shrewsbury. He died in 1528, and left issue by 
Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Leake, one son and four daughters. 
The son, John, married three times, but died without issue. The 
daughters and co-heiresses were Jane, married to Godfrey Boswell ; 
Mary, married to Richard Wingfield ; Alice, married to Francis Leche, 
of Chatsworth ; and Elizabeth, who brought the manor of Hardwick 
to her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, from whence it has 
descended to the Dukes of Devonshire. 

The manor of Stainsby came into the family of Savage in the reign 
of King John,f and continued to be held by them till about 1580, 
when John Savage conveyed it to Lord Chancellor Bromley, by whom 
it was in turn conveyed to the Cavendishes. The arms of Savage, of 
Stainsby, were, arg. , six lions rampant, sa. ; but about the middle of 
the fourteenth century Sir John Savage married Margaret, daughter 
and heiress of Sir Thomas Daniers (or Daniel), of Clifton, in Cheshire, 
afterwards called Eock-Savage. Sir John Savage removed to 
Cheshire, leaving a younger branch in possession of Stainsby ; but 
after a time the Derbyshire estate reverted to the elder branch. Sir 
Thomas Daniers had married the daughter and heiress of Robert 
Chedel, of Chedel, whose arms were arg., a fess indented, gu., and 
Sir John Savage used his own coat impaling Daniers and Chedel 
quartered. Doth the Daniers and the Savages at the time of this 
match were entitled to various quarterings of important families, and 
amongst others, that of Walkinton, gu., a chevron between three 
martlets, or ; for Sir John Savage, of Stainsby, the grandfather of 
Sir John who married Daniers, married Alice, the heiress of that 
family. The descendants dropped the Savage arms, and assumed 

* Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 7 ; 1486, f. 10; and 5809. Topographer, vol. iii., p. 324. 

f Eot. Chart. 1 John, pt. 2, No. 16 (when the Savages bore the name of Walkelin, 
or Walkelin de Savage). Rot. Lit. Glaus. 16 John, pt. 3, No. 3 and 4 (Robert le 
Savage held both Stainsby and Rowthorn); 4 Hen. III., No. 6. Inq. post Mort. 
3 Edw. I., No. 13 ; 4 Edw. I., No. 16 ; 5 Edw. II., No. 48 ; 43 Edw. III., No. 2, 26. 
Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III. Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 44 Edw. III., No. 7, etc., etc. 
Anyone consulting the Indexes to the numerous early folio publications of the Record 
Commission with regard to the manor of Stainsby might be deceived, as several 
entries are erroneously made under Notts, instead of Derbyshire. 



HAULT HUCKNALL. 247 

those of Daniers, as the more honourable. Sir John Savage, the 
fourth in descent from the Daniers match, married Dorothy, daughter 
and heiress of Sir Ralph Vernou, of Shipbrook, whose arms were, 
or, onafess, az., three garbs, proper.* Their son, Sir John, married 
Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir. Ealph Bostock. In one of the 
Harleian manuscripts occurs the following note : " In an old pedigree 
which I have seen I find Sir John Savage, Knight of the Garter, 
married Veruon, and Sir John his son, Knight of the Garter, slane at 
Bollen (Boulogne) married Bostock to beare these arms, and not 
the lions, quartered, 1st and 4th, Savage, fusilly ; 2nd, Vernou ; 3rd, 
Walkintou.t This, it will be noted, is precisely the coat described 
in the Visitation, as being above the inscription mentioning Sir John 
Savage and Elizabeth his wife. Sir John, who married Elizabeth, 
and who erected the window in Hault Hucknall Church in 1527, was 
the son of the previous Sir John by Anne Bostock. His wife Eliza- 
beth was of Eoyal lineage, and hence the arms that even now remain 
hi the window. Elizabeth was the daughter of Charles Somerset, 
Earl of Worcester, and Herbert and Woodville were two of the 
principal quarterings to which the Somersets were entitled, but it 
would be needlessly straying from our subject to enter upon the 
elaborate and noble genealogy of that family. 

It was their son, Sir John Savage, who sold the estates at 
Stainsbv.J He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Manners, 
Earl of Rutland, and died in 1597. 

On the floor of the chancel, in front of the Communion rails, is a 
slab of gritstone into which is let an oblong brass plate, with an in- 
scription in raised letters. Above this is the matrix from which a 
small brass figure has been at some time torn. The effigy must have 
been twelve inches long by five-and-a-half in breadth. It is to the 
memory of the vicar, Richard Pallison (or Pauson), whose name 
formerly appeared on one of the windows. The following is a literal 
copy of the inscription : " Orate pro aia domini Ricardi Pallison 
vicarii istius qui obiit die qua vocavit eu dus post anuu dm Milesimu 
quingentesimu tricesimu sextimu Cujus aie ppicietur de A." It 
seems from this singular way of stating the date of his death, which 
we have not noticed elsewhere, that the vicar died on some day sub- 

*Harl. MSS., 2094, ff. 40, 42, etc. 
t Harl. MSS., 4031, f. 260 note. 

J Further references to the family of Stainsby will be found under the Churches of 
Sutton Scarsdale and North Wiufield. The manor also of Hardwick, in this parit-li , 
held by Savage in the thirteenth century. 



248 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

sequent to the year 153G. If then we rightly interpret this brass, it 
must have been laid down at a later date, when friends had forgotten 
the precise time of his decease. The word "ecclesiffi" seems also to 
have been omitted between "istius" and " qui." The word is sup- 
plied in the Visitation of 1611, but the inscription, both there and in 
Bassano's notes, is given most erroneously. 

Close to this slab, forming another paver of the floor, is the old 
altar stone, with the small incised crosses of consecration. 

Of other details in the interior, it only remains to note that there is 
a small recess or almery to the right hand at the east end of the south 
chapel, and another in a similar position at the east end of the north 
aisle, pointing in each case to side altars. Against the south wall, 
too, of the chancel is a piscina without any supervening niche, simply 
formed of what looks like the hollowed capital of a small Early 
English pillar. The shaft through which the drain probably ran 
has disappeared, and it now projects from the wall without any other 
support. 

A portion of the plaster, with which the walls are thickly covered, 
has recently been removed from above the rounded arches on the 
north side of the nave, and some remains of chocolate-coloured 
diapered patterns exposed. 

The tower contains a peal of five bells, which bear the following 
inscriptions : 

I. " Jesus be our spede, 1590." The bell mark has the initials 
H. 0., of Henry Oldfield, so common in Derbyshire. 

II. " God save his church, 1615." 

III. "D. Hedderly Founder," and below the haunch, the initials 
D. H. 

IV. " I.H.S. Nazarenus Hex Judreorum, 1664." The bell mark is 
that of George Oldfield. 

The Taxation Eoll of 1291, describes the Church of "Hokenhall" 
as being worth 8 per annum ; and though not then apparently a 
vicarage, a considerable portion of its tithes (6 13s. 4d.) were even 
then appropriated to the " Mon. de Novo Loco" (Newstead). 

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, of 27 Henry VIII., speaks of the Prior of 
Newstead as patron, and of " Dominus Eichardus Palsou " as vicar. 
The endowments of the vicarage of Hault Hucknall at that date are 
thus particularised : 

s. d. 

In Mansione cum crofto et dnabus acris terre - - x 

In decimis feni xxxiij iiij 

In decimis lane et agnellorum xvj 

In decimis minutis xxij 



HAULT HUCKNALL. 249 

B. A. 

In oblationibus ........... xiij iiij 

In pascbali rofrulo ---- sxvj viij 

In decimis molendini .-..---.. ij 

Summa - - vj iij iiij 
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro senagio et procuragio - iij 

De claro vj iiij 

lu 1544 the impropriate rectorial tithes were granted to Francis 
Leake, who held a large number of similar benefices. When this 
church was visited by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650, they 
reported that the vicarage was worth 29 10s. Od. per annum, and 
that one Thomas Wilson was the incumbent, " a cavalier, drunkard, 
and insufficient." The hamlet of Senor also provided 13s. 4d. in 
vicarial tithes, but the Commissioners recommended that it should be 
united to North Winfield. 




I HE parish church of Heath, alias Lowne or Lund, was 
given to the Abbey of Croxton at the time of its founda- 
tion in 1162, and the great tithes continued to be ap- 
propriated by that abbey until the time of the dissolution of the 
mooasteries. Subsequently the advowson was given by Queen 
Mary to the burgesses of Derby. The manor, also, of Heath was 
ecclesiastical property, for it was bestowed by Eobert de Ferrers 
on the monks of Gerendon, in Leicestershire. When the monks 
were deprived of their property it was probably granted to the 
family of Shrewsbury, for the Earl of Shrewsbury was possessed 
of the manor of Heath in 1588. 

The benefice of Heath was one of the numerous sinecures held 
by Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, and he made the following 
contribution to the history of the parish when Mr. Nichols was 
compiling his records of Leicestershire : * 

Whittington, June 17th", 1793. 

DEAR SIB, The best account I can give you of my vicarage of Lowue, ulias 
Heath, is as follows: In Domesday-book it is called Lune; and in the Valor, 1291, 
at Lichfield, Lound, from which last I presume Lowne may be a corruption. It 
consisted formerly of two parts; hence in Domesday -we read "in Lune duabus 
habet Stainulf," &c., that is in both Lunes, &c. Lowne and Heath are mentioned as 
distinct places, fourteen of Elizabeth, when licence was granted to Gervase Nevill 
to alienate the manor of Rowthorne and all the messuages in Eowthorne, Glapwell, 
Heath, Lound, Harstofte aud Tibshelfe " to Robert Roakby and his heirs : and again, 
fifteenth of Elizabeth, when James Hardwicke had licence to alienate the manor of 
Eowthorne with its appurtenances in Hucknall, Heath, Lound and Tibshelfe" to 
Nicholas Hardwicke. Hence we plainly see how the alias comes in. Lound is ex- 
pressly called a church or rectory in the Valor of 1291 ; but had been before that 
appropriated to the abbey of Croxton, co. Leicester, though I cannot tell when nor 
by whom. The rectory continued with the abbey till the dissolution of that house 
il-'ir>t Fruits' Office, 1535), but Queen Mary, Anno 1 granted the advowson to the 
bailiffs and burgesses of Derby in these terms : " Advocatiouem, donationem liberam 
dispositionem, aud jus patronatus vicarire ecclesiae de Lowue, alias diet Hethe," but 
when it came out from them to the Cavendishes, who have it now, and have had it 
fur many years, is to me unknown; but I should suppose by exchange, as an object 
desirable to them, being so near to Hardwicke, and all the parish excepting two 
farmes belonging to them. However, one of this family retaining the advowson, 
returned the great tythes by giving them to the then vicar and his successors ; so 
that Heath is now a rectory, or if you will, a vicarage endowed. If Lune of Domes- 
day were out of the way, I have a conceit that Lound might be a corruption of Lond, 
as if one of the diviMons of this parish might be Land or arable and the other 
Brueria, or heath, and it is certain that at this day they will often call this place 
The Heath. I am, Sir, 

Your truly affectionate and obliged Servant, 

SAMUEL PEGGE. 

* Nichols' Leicestershire, vol. ii., pt. 1, p. 151, note. Pegge's Collections, vol v. p. 17- 



254 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

To this it may be added that the Valor or Taxation Eoll of 
1291, estimates the value of "Lund" church at 4 13s. 4d. The 
Valor Ecdesiasticus of Henry VIII. gives full particulars respecting 
the endowments of this vicarage, among which may be noticed 
the very unusual feature of an augmentation of grain from the 

greater tithes. 

LOWNE ALIAS HEETH VICAEIA. 
Abbas de Croxton Patronus. 

Dominus Nicholaus Strilley vicarius ibidem in communibus aunis habet ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis in Mansione iiij 

Item in decimis feni _-_-.---- iij 

Item in paschali rotulo ...-.---- xxiiij 

Item in oblationibus .__.-.--- iiij viij 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- vi viij 

Item in decimis minutis et Mortuaries ------ \ij iiij 

Item in augmentatione videlicet tria quarteria frumenti (wheat) 
vj quarteria secalis (rye) sex modios ordei (barley) decem quar- 
teria avene (oats) et quinque modios pisarum (pease) lix viij 

Summa v ix iiij 

Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - x vij 

De claro iiij xviij v 
Decima inde ix x ob'. 



The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 valued the living at 
55 per annum. Mr. Thomas Keyes was then incumbent, and the 
Commissioners, by way of an exception, abstained from expressing 
any opinion as to his character. 

There is no church mentioned at Heath at the time of the 
Domesday Survey, and it was probably erected in the first instance 
only a short period before the foundation of the Abbey of Croxton. 
The old church was situated about a quarter of a mile east of the 
present village of Heath, and it must have stood in solitary state 
for many a long year before its demolition. But here, doubtless, 
was the village of Lowne or Lund, and it was not till the cultivation 
of the moorland or heath commenced, that the houses gradually 
climbed to the summit of the hill, and took to themselves the 
name by which they are now almost invariably designated. This 
church, dedicated like its successor in honour of All Saints, was 
pulled down, with the exception of the porch, in 1852, and the 
new one built in the midst of the village. 

We have not succeeded in gaining any knowledge of the old 
fabric prior to the year 1710, or thereabouts, when the church 
was visited by Francis Bassano, the heraldic painter of Derby, 
and from his manuscripts we extract the following notes, not hitherto 
published, as illustrative of the condition of the building at that 
date. " Over the porch door is a crucifix in stone. Within the 



HEATH. 255 

porch 011 the east side is Christ on the cross cut in stone. The 
church was new seated in 1701. The pulpit, with canopy newly 
rebuilt, to which charge the Vicar, Edward Revell, gave ten pounds. 
Cut on one beam of the north aisle 4 fusils in pale ; on another 
beam a porcupine. In a south window of the church is 4 fusils, 
gules, a crescaut. In a west window the monogram (B. M. inter- 
laced) for beata Maria. Overhead out of the church into the 
chancel 4 fusils in pale varry of 6 pieces gules lyon rampant 
within border ingrailed, or, (impaling) aryent, a saltire ingrailed, 
and upon a chief, azure, 3 cinque-foils, and over them an Earl's 
coronet (Shrewsbury). Towards the south end of this line is another 
impaled coat in colours argent, 4 fusils in pale, gules ; impaling, 
a chief varry and a bend.'' 

This information is chiefly heraldic, but fortunately there are two 
sketches extant, one in water colours and the other in pen and 
ink, of the old church. * 

Both of these sketches give a south view of the church, the 
one in water-colours containing more details, and from these it 
appears that the old church consisted of a nave, chancel, north 
aisle, tower at the west end, and south porch. The roof of the 
nave was covered with lead and that of the chancel with stone. 
There were two square-headed Perpendicular windows, lighting the 
nave on the south side, and, from this and other details, it is 
evident that the nave was extensively altered, and probably re- 
roofed, at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth 
century. A pointed window in the south wall of the chancel was 
of the Decorated style prevailing in the early half of the fourteenth 
century. The tower at the west end, adorned at the summit with 
pinnacles of anything but a gothic design, was, we are told, rebtiilt 
some fifty years before its final demolition, and its general appear- 
ance in the sketches fully bears out such a supposition.f 

The porch still stands in the old churchyard in its original posi- 
tion, and out of the materials of the old building a small adjunct 
has been erected, about twice the size of the porch, which is used 
as a mortuary chapel. This chapel is lighted by a three-light 
square-headed window at the north end, perhaps one of the windows 

* These sketches are in the possession of the Kev. H. Cottingham, the Vicar of 
Heath, and Hault Hucknall, to whose courtesy we are indebted for several particulars 
relative to both these churches. 

fThe Rev. J. Hunter, who visited this church about the commencement of the 

E resent century, says " The upper part of the steeple is made of wood, and has a 
;aded spire like Chesterfield, but not very high. It appears very ancient." Hun- 
ter's Collections, Add. MSS. '24,447, f. 24. 



256 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

from the south side of the old nave. Built into the east wall is a 
small stone, upon which is rudely chiselled the following inscrip- 
tion : 

"John Hill, 
Henery Bean, 
Chorchwardens, 
1622." 

This must point to the date at which certain alterations, more 
or less extensive, were made in the old fabric. Indeed, repairs and 
alterations seem to have been frequent up to the time of its final 
overthrow, for in 1846 the church of Heath is described as "recently 
improved." * The roof of the mortuary chapel is evidently con- 
structed of beams and rafters that were used in the old building, 
and we think it most probable that they formed part of the roof 
of the chancel To one of these beams a shield is affixed, partly 
broken, and upside down, bearing three fusils in pale, and another 
one has a unicorn's head erased carved in relief. The shield of three 
or four fusils in pale, more correctly described as a pale fusilly, be- 
longs to the family of Savage of Stainsby, and is to be noted cut 
in stone, on the south aisle of North Winfield Church. This must 
be the same shield noted by Bassano. The similar coat formerly 
in the window, belonged also to the Stainsbys, having a crescent 
for difference, to mark a younger branch of the family. The Savages 
being for many centuries opulent lords of the adjacent manors of 
Stainsby, Kowthorn, and Hardwick, were probably benefactors to 
the Church, of Heath, and hence their arms within its precincts, t 
A unicorn's head, erased, was the Savage crest, or rather the 
Daniel crest adopted in the fourteenth century ; and the porcupine 
noted by Bassano, was the crest of another of their alliances.^ The 
impaled coat of Shrewsbury surmounted by an earl's coronet, 
described by Bassano as being over the chancel arch, is still pre- 
served at the vicarage. It represents the impalement of Shrews- 
bury with Hardwick George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury was 
married to the celebrated " Bess of Hardwick " (her fourth hus- 
band). She was the daughter and heir of John Hardwick. George 
Talbot died in 1590. 

Over the window of this building is another piece of wood carv- 



* Bagshawe's Directory of Derbyshire, p. 649. 

t See the account of tlie Sa 
'orth Winfield. 

JHarl. MS S. 2094, f. 40, etc. 



t See the account of the Savage family, under Hault Hucknall, and also under 
North Winfield. 



if 'II 











Mill 

fM- -'.i 



SLAB 



HEATH 






HEATH. 257 

ing from the old church. Upon its surface is represented, com- 
mencing from the right, an angel with open wings, holding an 
uncharged shield a winged heast with "a face as a man" a quatre- 
foil flower or rose a winged lion another angel with shield. This 
is a portion we should suppose of the lower part of the old rood 
screen, and when perfect would have also pourtrayed a winged ox, 
and a winged eagle ; these being the four emblems of the evangel- 
ists, taken from the Apocalyptic visions. The round stone font of 
the former church has recently been placed in this chapel, but the 
mouldings show it to be of post-Reformation date. The flooring is 
chiefly composed of monumental stones, though there are no in- 
scriptions that take us back further than the commencement of the 
last century, but there is built into the west wall an oblong sepul- 
chral slab of much interest. This incised slab, found, we believe, 
wheu the old church was pulled down, is evidently as old as the 
original foundation of the church, i. e., of the twelfth century. It 
is difficult to describe it without an illustration, but \ve believe it 
to be unique, or nearly so, of its kind, and we search in vain for 
anything resembling it in the works of Cutts, Boutell, and others, 
who treat of these early sepultures. We know of no other instance 
of so early a date in which any attempt has been made to describe 
the human figure on an incised sepulchral slab. A portion of the 
top of the slab, with the summit of the central cross, seems to be 
missing. Of this central cross the stem consists of two incised 
lines lacking any base or " Calvary." The right and left arms of 
this cross are circles containing a mullet or star of six points. 
Below the one on the dexter side is another circle with a star of 
four points. Below this again, the feet on a level with the base of 
the cross, is a rudely conceived figure in a long dress with a 
crowned head, holding a sceptre or staff surmounted by a cross. 
On the sinister side of the central cross are two equally rude 
figures facing each other, the one extending a bag or purse to the 
further figure, whose head is either graced with a very aquiline 
nose, or else is intended to be that of a bird. From between them 
rises a Latin cross, at the top of which is incised a circle, divided 
into quarterings, two of which might be described in heraldic 
phraseology, that did not exist when this stone was carved, as 
fretty, and the other two each contain three crosses. We hope by 
this description to direct the attention of antiquaries to this stone, 
and perchance obtain some reasonable solution of its meaning. 
It now remains to notice the porch, which was not disturbed 



258 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

from its old position when the nave, chancel, and tower, were all 
removed in 1852. Over the entrance may still be noticed the small 
stone crucifix, much defaced and worn, that attracted the attention 
of Bassano in 1710. The pointed arch of the entrance, as is shown 
by the mouldings of the capitals of the jambs, is of the Decorated 
style, which places its date not later than the fourteenth century, 
but the materials of the porch are of a conglomerate character, 
and, perhaps it was put together as it now stands, in the Perpen- 
dicular period, when the nave was re-modelled. Two battered heads 
that have served as brackets or terminations to a drip-stone, pro- 
ject one on each side of the entrance, and are as old or older than 
the archway, whilst the crucifix, from its large hands and rude 
construction, may be included with the remnants of Norman work. 
The sides and jambs of the inner doorway that lead into the church 
are composed of stones, one and all ornamented with the chevron 
moulding peculiar to Norman art, though there is a considerable 
dissimilarity in the pattern. These stones were not originally 
carved for their present position, but have at one time formed a 
portion of a round Norman arch of no little magnitude, similar to 
that at the adjacent church of Hault Hucknall, and leading, pro- 
bably, like that one, from the nave to the chancel. Against the east 
side of the porch is built in the larger crucifix, also mentioned by 
Bassano. The stone, upon which this figure is cut in strong relief, 
tapers towards the feet, and is about four feet in height, by about 
three feet in width across the arms. To assign a use or original 
position for this stone is not a little difficult, for both its shape 
and subject forbids us to entertain the idea of its having served as a 
coffin lid, and its shape seems also to forbid the supposition that 
it once formed the reredos of an early altar. We cannot help 
thinking we have hit on the right conjecture in assigning it to the 
position of keystone to the old archway leading into the chancel, 
of which the stones with the chevron mouldings may have formed 
component parts. 

The three bells that were in the tower of the old church have 
been removed to a similar position in its successor. They are in- 
scribed as follows : 

I. "Anno Domini, 1847. God save His Church." 

II. " Ihc. Gloria in excelsis Deo," round the haunch in Lorn- 
bardic capitals. Beneath the " Ihc," is the founder's mark G.H., 
with a fylfot cross below. 

III. " God save His Church. 1704," in Eoman capitals, round 
the haunch. 



KiHaraarsIf, 




|T the time of the taking of the Domesday Survey, there 
appear to have been two manors at Killamarsh ( Chine - 
wold Mar esc), one belonging to Ascoit Musard, and the 
other to the King's Thanes. Of the succeeding owners of these 
manors no consecutive account has been preserved ; but in the 
reign of King John a manor was held in Killarnarsh by Philip 
de Dovecote, and also in the following reign by Cecily Meynell. 
There is also record of Hugh, the son of William de Kinwald- 
niarsh, holding a manor here in the time of Edward II. Sub- 
sequently there is no record extant of any other manor than 
that which was held in the reign of Henry III. by the family 
of Hathersage,* and which passed in moieties to their repre- 
sentatives the Goushills and the Longfords. Nicholas, son and heir 
of Sir Nicholas de Longford, Knight, held four messuages, forty 
acres of land, ten acres of meadow, and forty shillings rent with 
the appurtenances of the King in capite by the service of finding 
a horse of the value of five shillings, a sack, and a pryk (or spur), 
for the space of four days whenever it should happen that the 
King's Army made war in Wales.t Ealph de Longford died seized 
of a moiety of this manor in 1513, and Sir William HoUes died 
seized of the other moiety in 1542.} There seems to have been 
no church here at the time of the Domesday Survey, but one must 
have been erected shortly afterwards. We may certainly conclude 
that there was one when Philip de Dovecote held the manor. 

* Calend. Rot. Chart. 33, Henry III. No. 1. 

fBlount's Antient Tenures (first edition) p. 17. Fines 1 Ric. II. The same 
tenure prevailed at an earlier date than the instance quoted by Blouut. See Abbrev. 
Rot. Orig. 33 Edw. I. No. 14, where the spur is rendered stimulo ; 30 Edw. III. 
pryk ; 47 Edw. III. prik; etc., etc. See also Lysons' Derbyshire, p. 144, note, where 
he says that it is elsewhere spelt brochea. 

J We might have written many pages on the descent of the manor of Killamarsh, 
embodying a good deal of matter that has not yet been published, but we thought it 
better to abstain, as it has no immediate bearing on the history of the church. 



262 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Killamarsh was formerly but a parochial chapelry of Eckingtoii, 
and the living was annexed to the rectory of the mother church 
until 1843, when by an Order of Council, dated June 10th, in pur- 
suance of the plans of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, it was 
declared to be an independent rectory. The Taxation Boll of 1291 
only takes account of Killamarsh under the humble title of Ecking- 
toii cum membro, nor has the Valor Ecclesiat-ticus any distinctive 
notice. The Parliamentary Commission of 1650, reported that 
Killamarsh was a parochial chapelry worth 50 a year, and that 
it ought to be united with the hamlet of Spinkhill, worth 10, and 
made an independent parish church. 

The church, dedicated to St. Giles, consists of nave, chancel, 
south porch, and embattled tower. The porch is entered by a 
rounded wooden doorway, but the doorway into the chancel itself 
is a good specimen of Norman work, and is ornamented with a 
double row of chevron mouldings. The jambs are worked into 
semi-detached pillars or shafts, whose capitals are carved with clearly 
cut foliage. The nave is a plain building, unlighted on the north 
side, and having windows of the Perpendicular period on the south 
side. The roof possesses some features of interest. Judging from 
the mouldings we should date it circa 1450; It is a pointed roof 
supported by six tie-beams, the bosses in the centre of which are 
handsomely carved. The wall plates are embattled and further 
adorned with four-leaf flowers, with which also the struts are orna- 
mented. Similar carving may be noticed on the roof of the porch. 
Large stone corbels project some distance from the wall, but are 
of no actual use, as the tie-beams rest immediately on the wall 
itself. The chancel is a modern erection in the Decorated style, 
with a high pitched roof, having been built by the rector shortly 
after its separation from Eckiugton. It is completely out of har- 
mony with the rest of the church. In a small window in the south 
wall of the chancel is some fine old glass representing the Virgin 
and Child. The figure is about two feet six inches high, and 
appears crowned, holding a sceptre in the right hand. The Infant 
holds a lock of her hair in both his hands. On a scroll which 
runs across the figure is inscribed " Sancta Maria." We were 
told that this glass was formerly in the east window of the old 
chancel, but this is not likely to have been the case, as it was in 
a south window of the chancel when Bassano visited the church 
about 1710. In the east window of the chancel there was then a 
shield bearing az., 3 mullets of 6 points, or. This was a coat at 



KILLAMARSH. 263 



erne time borne by Whittington, of the adjacent manor of 
tiugton. 

In the window of the nave nearest the porch there are several 
diamond-shaped quarries of old glass, in yellow and white, bearing 
trefoils, fleur-de-lis, &c. 

At the time of the rebuilding of the chancel two old monu- 
mental slabs came to light, which are now preserved by being 
built into the wall of the vestry on each side of the fire-place. 
They are neither of them quite perfect, and are about four feet in 
length by fifteen inches at the top. The floriated cross at the head 
is similar in design in each of them, and is thrown into relief by 
cutting away the remaining part of the stone within the circle to 
the depth of about half-an-inch. The stem of the cross merely 
consists of incised lines. One of these slabs has the symbol of 
the shears inscribed on the sinister side of the cross, and the 
other one has a broad-headed axe laid across it. The former sym- 
bol has already been discussed in these pages, and it is usual to 
attribute the latter memorial to the grave of the village carpenter. 
This is done by Bateman in his Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derby- 
shire, in describing a somewhat similar slab among the interesting 
collection of these memorials at Chelmorton ; but there can be little 
doubt that these slabs marked the resting place of men of more 
importance than a mere woodman or carpenter. It is more natural 
to suppose that it represents the weapon of a man-at-arms or a 
knight. There is another instance of this kind among the Bake- 
well slabs, and a knight using an axe precisely similar in shape 
occurs in the Komaunt d'Alexandre (1344). * There are also 
several like instances among the figures of the celebrated Bayeux 
tapestry. On the west side of the porch, part of the stone bench 
appears to be formed, judging from the moulded edge, of a frag- 
ment of an old stone coffin lid ; and also a portion of the step 
out of the porch. The date of the slabs in the vestry cannot well 
be put later than the thirteenth, and may possibly pertain to the 
twelfth century. 

The font is modern, and there are no details of much interest 
in the church, though perhaps a word might be said of the un- 
usually early bequests inscribed on the Parish Charity Board which 
is affixed to the walls. The earliest is that of William Hewitt, 
cutler, who left in 1480 a rent charge of 15s. yearly out of the 

* Cutts' Manual of Sepulchral Slabs, pp. 43, 60. Boutell's Christian Monuments, 
p. 99. 



264 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Town Close. Then comes William Hewitt, 1599, clothworker in 
London, who left 5 4s. yearly out of land in Cawthorne, York- 
shire ; this money to be given to 24 poor people at Id. per Sun- 
day. There are numerous other bequests of the seventeenth and 
eighteenth centuries. 

A west gallery blocks up the archway into the tower and hides 
the west window. The tower is a fair specimen of the Perpendi- 
cular style, with good bell-chamber windows. The parapet is em- 
battled, and has four crocketed pinnacles at the angles. Two 
gurgoyles project from the summit, one on the south side repre- 
senting a muzzled bear, a device which also occurs in a similar 
position on the church at Wingerworth. 

Against the south wall of the church, on the outside, is a modern 
slab, the inscription of which is now almost illegible, but is per- 
haps worth preserving. It is thus given in Lysons : " To the 
memory of John Wright, a pauper of this parish, who died May 
4th, 1797, in the hundred and third year of his age. He was of 
middle size, temperate, and cheerful, and in the trying situation 
of darkness, poverty, and old age, bore his infirmities with such 
Christian meekness as excited the benevolence of good men, and 
is here recorded as an instructive lesson to others, Eev. C. Alder- 
son, B.C., P.P.P., Anno Dni 1797." 

Part of the shaft of the old cross is still upright in the church- 
yard, standing on two steps, reaching an altitude of five feet. 
Bassano describes this as "a large plain cross in a footing of 
three stepps." 

This church was in a very dilapidated state in the early part of 
the seventeenth century, but was begun to be put into good repair 
in the 14th of Charles II., as Bassauo tells us, and he further 
adds that, at the time of his visit, "the south side was well repaired, 
and the remainder will be presently." 

The tower contains a peal of six bells, presented by the rector 
at the time of the restoration of the chancel. 



ILangfoifl}, 




|HE Domesday Survey is silent as to Langwith, but there 
is a record extant of a church in the village of Langwith 
as early as the reign of Henry II. (1154-1169), when 
Ralph Deincourt gave the advowson, together with that of the 
adjacent church of Elmtou, to the newly-founded priory of Thur- 
garton, in Nottinghamshire.* 

The manor of Langwith acquired the name of Langwith-Bassett, 
by which term it is even now sometimes designated, early in the four- 
teenth century, when it was held by a family of that name.f Alice, 
the widow of Ralph Bassett, was seized of it in the reign of Henry 
IV.J It is also termed Over Langwith, and Upper Langwith, in 
order to distinguish it from the adjacent parish of the same name 
in Nottinghamshire. 

The advowson of this rectory could not have been a very valuable 
piece of preferment, for in the Taxation Roll of 1291 the church of 
Langwith is entered as paying to the Prior of Thurgarton 13s. 4d. 
a year, and no other value attached ; in another copy of this return 
it is described as " indecimabilib," i.e., titheless, or tithe free. The 
following is the entry relative to Langwith in the Valor Ecclesiastic us 
of 27 Henry VIII. : 

LANGWITH RECTORIA. 
Prior de Thurgreton Patronus ibidem. 

Dominus Nicholaus Wylde rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut Requitur. 
In mansipne cum glebis ----------xij viij 

In decimis garbarum et feni ---------xl 

In decimis lane et agnellorum --------- xiij iiij 

In paschali rotulo ----------- xiij iiij 

In oblationibus ----------- v viij 

In decimis minutis ----------- ij 

In mortuariis communibus annis --------iij iiij 

Summa - - vjmarc' xs. viij<. 
Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - - x vij 

De Claro - - - vj marc' j 
Decima inde - - viij 



* Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, p. 110. 
t Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edward m. 
Inq. post Mort. 14 Hen. IV., No. 5. 



268 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650 reported that the living 
of Langwith was worth .34 per annum, and " fitt to be united 
to Scarcliffe, and also that part of Houghton which is a member 
of Plesley. One James Trotton is present incumbent, scandalous 
and disaffected." 

The manor of Langwith also contributed to the emoluments of 
other ecclesiastical foundations besides that of Thurgartoii. In the 
reign of Henry III., Henry de Lessinton, Dean of Lincoln, had 
the right of free warren over this manor, as well as over the adja- 
cent ones of Scarcliffe and Patterton ;* and in the time of Henry VI. 
the Prior of Newstead held two messuages, two tofts, two bovates, 
one hundred and sixty acres of arable land, and five of meadow 
within the lordships of " Langwath, Milnhous, Patterton, Bowe- 
thorn et Bateley."t 

The present church, dedicated to St. Helena,:}: is a small build- 
ing, consisting only of a nave, chancel, and south porch, with a 
small tower or rather bell turret at the west end, but it contains 
specimens of the four different styles into which English church 
architecture is usually divided. 

The plain round archway into the chancel is of the early Nor- 
man period, and shows, we should suppose, that a church existed 
here some years previous to the reign of Henry II. There is 
another archway almost precisely similar at the west end, from 
which we may conclude that a west tower was part of the original 
Norman design this archway opening into it. 

The chancel, from the two lancet windows in the south wall, 
appears to have been rebuilt in the Early English period during 
the thirteenth century, but the east window, as well as one of 
similar size and design on the south wall of the nave, are some- 
what later, being plain examples in the early Decorated style. To 
this period (circa 1320) we are inclined, too, to attribute the high- 
pitched oaken roof which is in fair preservation. It is supported 
by two tie-beams, the king-post and side struts being carved into 
a bold tracery. The corbel terminations of the wall plates are 

* Calend. Rot. Chart. 36 Hen. III. 
t Inq. post Mort. 20 Hen. VI., No. 38. 

I Certain modern directories ascribe it to the Holy Cross, and the feast of this 
parish is regulated by the date of that festival (September 14th). The Empress 
Helena is said to have found the true cross on May the 3rd, 326. She erected a 
church at Jerusalem to contain this relic, which was consecrated September the 
13th, 335, and the first exposition of the cross occurred on the following day, being 
Sunday. The custom was continued annually, and the festival has been observed 
on this day, ever since, both by the Greek and Latin churches. This explains the 
apparent discrepancy in the dedication and the feast day. 



LANGWITH. 269 

ornamented with quatrefoils. The porch, also, seems to be of 
this date. It has a pointed stone roof, and is adorned with two 
crocketed pinnacles. Over the entrance is a small opening now 
glazed, hut it has probably once served as a niche for the figure 
of St. Helena. 

A three-light square-headed window, on the south of the nave, 
gives evidence that this church was further restored or repaired 
when the Perpendicular style was in vogue. It would be at that 
time, too, that the present west end to the church was built, which 
is surmounted by a small square tower. The battlements and 
pinnacles seem to be comparatively modern. It contains two 
small bells, both of which bear the name of Hedderley, the Not- 
tingham bell-founder, and the date 1772. 

The interior affords one object of much interest. In the south 
wall of the chancel is a recess, occupied by a coffin- shaped incised 
slab, six feet long by two broad at the upper end. The head of 
the cross is richly foliated, and the stem, formed of two incised 
lines is unusually slender, being less than one inch in width. On 
the dexter side is engraved a chalice, and on the sinister an open 
book. There is no inscription, but its date must be about the 
commencement of the thirteenth century. From the chalice it 
may be inferred that it commemorates an ecclesiastic. The occur- 
rence of the two symbols the chalice and the book on the same 
stone is unusual, though one instance of much later date is to 
be seen at Chellaston in this county, and another was formerly to 
be seen within the altar rails at Pleasley. The assumption has 
been drawn that, where they both occur together, the interment 
of a deacon is commemorated, but a closer examination of the 
different examples precludes the certainty of this explanation, for 
an instance is known where they are represented on each side of 
a priest in eucharistic vestments.* Nor is it likely that this exam- 
ple is the tomb of a deacon, for, from its position in the wall, it 
is clear that it is to the memory of a founder or benefactor of 
the church. The foot of this slab is concealed by one end of a 
pointed arch which rests upon it. This archway, which rises to 
some height in the south wall, and which encloses that part of 
the wall pierced by the smallest of the lancet windows already 
mentioned, can hardly have been inserted in this strange position 
for any other purpose than that of giving additional strength to 

*BoutelTs Christian Monuments, p. 57; Cutts' Incised Slabs, p. 86, plates v., ix., 
xii., xxiii., and xliii. 



270 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

a weakened part of the edifice, for it seems impossible to imagine 
that it could ever, in this position, have been opened out. 

Bassano visited this church, which he terms Langwith Bassett, 
about 1710, but the only object he notes is the incised slab in 
the chancel. He thus describes it: "Near to the altar, adjacent 
to south window, is a monument raised about three feet. The 
face flourished, and a bowle or chalice only upon it, -which may 
denote the sepulture of a Priest." 

At the east end of the south side of the nave is a plain square 
recess over a piscina, an indication of the former presence of a 
side-altar. 

The font at the west end is a modern one, but a loose semicir- 
cular stone at its base, which may have formed part of a step to 
the former one, has originally served as a sepulchral memorial, 
for it bears on it the pedimental base of an incised cross, techni- 
cally called the " calvary." 



fiorfon* 



(IBrarfcpnfipltb. 



orfon. 




jS Morton is cue of the Derbyshire parishes mentioned in the 
Domesday Survey as possessed of a church arid a priest, it 
is rather disappointing to find so little of interest or an- 
tiquity connected with the present building. The first mention of 
Morton occurs in the will of Wulfric Spott, dated in the year 1002, 
by which the Abbey of Burton was endowed. Morton and the ad- 
jacent manor of Ogstou (Oggodestun) were both bequeathed to the 
abbey. At the time, however, of the Domesday Survey (1087) they 
were held by Walter Deincourt.* Morton was held by the Dein- 
courts till 1442, when the Deincourt property, on the failure of male 
issue, passed by marriage to Cromwell and Lovell ; and this manor 
eventually came, with Button and other estates, into the hands of 
the Leakes, in which family it continued until the death in 1736 of 
Nicholas Leake, Earl of Scarsdale. The advowson of the church of 
Morton remained during this period in the hands of the owner of the 
manor. The body of the church was entirely rebuilt in 1850, and it 
contains no monuments, or other objects of interest, of any antiquity. 
Nor need we have much fear that any interesting details have of late 
been lost, for not only does Lysons, writing in 1817, say of Morton, 
" the parish church contains nothing remarkable," but the earlier 
manuscript collections are equally silent. Dr. Pegge, however, who 
visited the church in 1766, gives us a few particulars relative to the 
old structure. He noted a north aisle to the church, and thought 
that appearances pointed to there formerly having been one also on 
the south side; adding "Under the east window of the north aisle 
there is an appearance of an altar tomb, but so covered I could not 
be certain." He also copied the following from a brass in the 
chancel : 

* For a further account of the Deincourt family, bee under North Winfield. The 
chief seat of this important family was for several generations at Park Hall, on the 
confines of this parish. The parish of Morton was, however, held in moieties during 
part of the time when it was under the Deincourt sway, for in the reign of Henry 
1\. Nicholas de Longford was seized of a part of the manor. Inq. post Mort., 3 
Hen. IV., No. 32. 



274 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

" Here lietli the body of the virtuous and religious matron, Mar- 
gery, wife of Edward Nickson, pastor of this parish, 

" Quarn pie obiit ( salutis 1566 

Die 11 Augusti anu t ffitatis 43. 
" Thy rest gives me a restless life, 
Because thou wast a virtuous wife, 
But yet I rest in hope to see 
That day of Christ and then see thee. 

" E. N. Maritus maestissimus.''* 

In copying this a mistake of a century has clearly been made in 
the year of her decease, for Mr. Edward Nicksou held the living of 
Morton at the time of the Parliamentary Survey in 1650. Of Morton 
the Commissioners then reported, that they thought it " fitt to be 
united to Shirlaiid, being within a myle distant." Morton itself was 
then valued at 34, but the rectory, inclusive of Trinity Chapel, was 
worth 70. 

The Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291), values the church 
of Morton at 5 13s. 4d. 

When the Valor Ecdesiasticus was compiled, 27 Henry VIII., the 
following particulars are recorded respecting this benefice : 

MOKTON RECTORIA.. 

Radulplms Longford Miles et Johannes Bushie Armiger alterius vicibus patroni 

ibidem. -( 

Dominus Robertus Siiape rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis in Maiisione cum glebis xl 

Item in decimis garbarum et feni de Morton .... xlvij 

Item in decimis garbarum de Brakenfeld Oggneston et "Woolley - iij vj viij 

Item in duobus messuagus in North wynfeld ----- vj viij 

Item in paschali rotulo - xl 

Item in oblationibus per annum- - xj viij 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- xx 

Item in decimis minutis .-.. vij iiij 

Item in mortuariis - xx 



Summa - - - xij xij 

DEDUCTIONS S. 
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragia 

aunuatim -..----.--- xj j 



De claro xj ix xj 

Decima inde - - xxiij 



* Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 37. This brass is now in the vestry, where there is 
also one to a daughter of Ralph Heathcote. Dr. Pegge, in another part of his Collec- 
tions, mentions that it was commonly reported that Morton used to be the mother 
church to Shirland, "and when old Sleigh visited Mr. Heathcote (the rector of Morton) 
and would drink heartily, he used to say he came to suck his mother's milk. Sleigh 
never had any University education, but was parish schoolmaster at Chesterfield, and 
when Mr. Foolow left the Chapel School (the Grammar School), he supplied a while 
there till the new master came." 

f Ralph Longford and John Bushie were also joint patrons of North Winfi eld. 
They were also commemorated at CuejierSeld. Saa ante page 157. 



MORTON. 275 

Of the two messuages mentioned above in the parish of North 
AYvnfeld, the Parliamentary Commissioners wrote : "There are two 
farms in North Wiufeild towne, belonging to William Beardall and 
James Peudleton being formerly for the parish of Moreton and 
thought fitt to be united to North Wiufeild. with tythes issuing, and 
certain tythes held by parishioners of Moretou are thought fitt to be 
paid to Sheiiaud." 

The uncertain boundaries of the ecclesiastical divisions in the ad- 
jacent parishes of North Winfield and Morton, gave rise to several 
disputes respecting their tithes. In one of the old register books of 
North Winfield is a copy of the following agreement : * 

" The Art. of agreement between William Barton minister of Northwingfield and 
Edmund Wirkson minister of Morton in the county of Derby as followeth Whereas 
sundry grounds lying within a certain circuit called the double ditch one halfe within 
the parish of N. W. and halfe within the parish of M. and the tyth corn hay 
hemp and flax are under tyth that is to say are equally to be divided between the 
respective parsons of the said parishes : It is hereby covenanted and agreed between 
the persons above named that all the grounds lying on the north side Padley Wood 
within the said double ditch shall pay the whole tyth of corn hay hemp and flax to 
Mr. Barton and all the grounds lying on the south side the said wood shall pay the 
whole tyth of corn hay hemp and flax to Mr. Wirkson during the natural lives of the 
said persons. 14th July 1653." 

The tower at the west end is all that remains of the old buildings. 
It is a low embattled tower, with eight crocketed pinnacles, and may 
be considered as a fair example of the late Perpendicular style, pre- 
valent at the end of the fifteenth, or early in the sixteenth century. 
It is supported by diagonally- placed buttresses. The tracery of the 
west window is of a debased style, and it appears as if the base of the 
mullious had belonged to the tracery with which it was originally 
filled. There is a curious architectural freak in the doorway below 
this window, for the moulding of the jambs or sides of this doorway 
stops abruptly some two feet short of the ground. 

The bell-chamber contains three bells, one of which bears the 
simple inscription, " God save His Church ; " the second only the 
date " 1631," whilst the third (which is badly cracked) has a Lom- 
bardic S alternating with an equal-limbed cross repeated five times 
round the haunch. The third bell also bears a bell-founder's mark, 
from which we can arrive at its approximate date. We have met with 
a similar device at Chaddesden, Mugginton, Dronfield, Kniveton, and 
several other places in this county, and it is not uncommon in 
Nottinghamshire. The device is a shield charged in the centre with a 
cross, the base of which is forked and surrounded by a circle. On 

* This agreement was published with various other matters taken from the North 
Winfield registers, in an article we contributed to the Reliquary, July, 1872. 



276 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the dexter Ride of the cross is the letter R, and on the sinister side is 
a bell, and in chief are two crowns, supposed from a similar blazoning 
on the municipal shield, to represent the town of Nottingham. This 
bell-mark is attributed to Richard Mellour, an opulent bell-founder of 
Nottingham. He was mayor of that town in 1506, and died a few 
years afterwards. His wife, Dame Agues Mellour, founded the 
Nottingham Free School. 

The church of Morton is dedicated to the Holy Cross, in which 
name there are fifty-nine of our old dedications, and fourteen 
under the synonymous phrase of the Holy Rood. 

In the report of the Charity Commissioners (1827) mention is 
made of an annual sum of 6s. 8d., supposed to have been given 
for the repairs of Morton Church, still received by the churchwar- 
dens, but the origin of which is not known. 



BRACK OKI ELD. 277 



of Bracfcenfidtr. 




|E read of Brackenfield in the days of King John, when 
that manor and Ogstou were held hy the family of Heriz. 
Brackenfield was at that time known as Bracken/t?ai>. 
The termination thwaite, which has also died out in more than one 
other Derbyshire place-name of this locality, is of no small interest, as 
it tends to prove the existence, in this county, of a small colony of 
Norsemen or Norwegians, as distinct from the general incursion of 
the Danes. It continued in the family of Heriz, till the beginning 
of the reign of Edward III., hut shortly afterwards passed to the 
Willoughbys, with whom it continued for many generations." In 
1369 Sir Richard "Willoughby held Brackenfield under the Dein- 
courts ; and about this time also Ogstou became the property of 
the Revels, with whom it remained till the commencement of the 
last century, when it was brought by marriage into the hands of 
the Turbutt family, who now own the two manors. Sir Richard 
Willoughby was one of the justices of the Common Pleas in the 
reign of Edward III., and some tune Chief Justice of the King's 
Bench. He acquired the Derbyshire estate of Kisley by marriage 
with the heiress of Morteyne. Brackenfield was a township in 
Morton parish, and a short distance out of the village was the 
ancient chapel of ease Trinity Chapel. This chapel was formerly 
only served four or five times in the year, by the rector of Morton, 
but having been augmented by Queen Anne's Bounty, it became a 
separate benefice more than one hundred years ago. It was 
severed by a deed of 1758 between Bishop Cornwallis and Ralph 
Heathcote, rector of Morton, and Thomas Hinckman, curate. On 
December llth, 1758, it was augmented with 200 by Queen Anne's 
Bounty, and then the service was to be every third Sunday. It 
was further augmented with another 200, in June of the following 

* Inq. post Mort. 3 Edw. III., No. 57 ; 13 Henry VI., No. 2f.. 



278 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

year.* Brackenfield has now been for some years a distinct parish, 
and a new clmrch was built in the year 1856, since which time 
Trinity Chapel has remained in a desolate and deserted condition. 
It is rather singular that a recommendation to build a new 
church here was made two centuries ago by the Parliamentary 
Commissioners. They report " Trinitye chapell with Brackenfield, 
Ogston, and Wolley, members of the parish of Morton, wee think 
fitte to be made a parish, and that there be a church built in some 
convenient place in Brackenfield Green." It is a small plain build- 
ing, roofed with stone, and having an open bell turret for two bells 
on the west gable. The east gable is surmounted by a cross, but 
it is of modern device. Its internal dimensions are about 38 feet 
by 16, and ten feet of its length are partitioned off to form a chan- 
cel. It is built upon the steep slope of a hill, and the floor is far 
from level, as it steadily slopes down to the east end. The roof is 
of a high pitch and supported by four slightly curved tie-beams. 
All the windows are square-headed and divided by straight stone 
mullions without any tracery. The east window has four lights, 
one in the south wall of the chancel three, another on the south 
side two, a high one at the west end, and the one on the north 
side have also two apiece ; of these all but the two first are now 
blocked up. There is a plain porch on the south side, provided 
with stone seats, and both the doorway of the porch and that 
leading into the chapel are square-headed. The walls and general 
features of the building are still in good repair, the outer masonry 
being large and carefully hewn, and its appearance points to a 
thorough, and probably complete renewal in the sixteenth century. 
The interior fittings, which have not been removed, have naturally 
suffered much from disuse. Rows of plain solid oak benches occupy 
the nave, and the chancel contains three pews on each side, all 
being in a greater or less state of dilapidation. In the wall under 
the south window of the chancel, about a foot from the ground, is 
a square recess or alrnery ; whilst at the east end, on the northern 
side of the window is a large oblong recess some four feet from the 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 29. 

Mr. Richard Turbutt writes to Mr. Lysons, in March, 1816: "Formerly the 
rector of Morton had the cure of the two churches (Morton, and Trinity Chapel, 
Brackenfield), and service was performed only four times in a year at the chapel. 
But it has at different times received the Queen's Bounty from Sir Robert Willmott, 
of Chadesden's family and mine, by which it has become a separate benefice. The 
rector has always nominated. I exercised that right the other day, and the bishop 
approved, but from what Sir Robert Willmotfc says. I think he questions my right 
.... No rites of marriage or burial are ever performed there, baptisms sometimes, 
but at the discretion of the minister. The Registers are kept at Morton." Lysons,' 
Correspondence, Add. MSS., 9425, fol. 247. 



BRACKENFIELD. 279 

ground, the lower part of which is filled up with a corbel stone or 
bracket This probably was the niche for some small figure or 
image, or it may have served as the credence table. The font, 
which stands near the entrance, is, as might be expected, a modern 
contrivance of stone on a fluted column ; for Trinity Chapel, so 
long as it was merely a chapel of ease to Morton, possessed neither 
the right of baptism or sepulture. 

The most interesting feature of this chapel is the old screen, 
that divides the chancel from the rest of the building. This screen 
is of oak throughout, with a doorway in the centre, and divided on 
each side into six pointed lights or openings, the upper part being 
filled with open tracery. The screen is of the Perpendicular period 
and, apparently, not late in the style. On the spandril of the 
doorway facing west are two escutcheons carved in the wood, but 
they are, like the rest of the screen, much worn and the worse for 
age. They are now destitute of any colouring. 

The dexter shield bears on two bars three water bougets, impal- 
ing a cross moline. The sinister shield has the same coat, impal- 
ing on a bend three mullets. The arms of Willoughby of Risley, 
with the proper tinctures, are : Or, on two bars yules, three water 
bougets, argent ; and we might naturally expect to find them in this 
position. The coat impaled with Willoughby on the first shield is 
that of Beck of Pleasley, whose arms were yules, a cross moliue, 
anjcnt ; for the nieces and co-heiresses of Anthony Beck, married 
Harcourt and Willoughby. Anthony Beck was the most celebrated 
Bishop that ever occupied the episcopal chair of Durham, and was 
specially honoured by the Pope with the empty but coveted title of 
Patriarch of Jerusalem. Anthony Beck died on 3rd March, 1311, 
though Lysons in his History qt Derbyshire makes the strange mis- 
take of giving the year of his decease in 1340. One of Bishop 
Beck's executors was "Robert de Willughby, chevaler ; " and 
Thomas de Willoughby was appointed collector of his debts.* 

The arms impaled by Willoughby on the sinister shield are those 
of Bradborue. Thomas Willoughby, the son of Hugh Willoughby, 
by his wife Anne, daughter of Richard Wentworth, married Isabel, 
daughter of John Bradborne, of Hough (or Hulland) near Ashborne. 
The Bradbornes were an ancient family of Derbyshire, and con- 
nected from time to time with the most influential of the county 
families. Isabel was the daughter of John Bradborne, by his wife 
Anna Vernon, and was one of fiv;- s ; -r ITS who married respectively, 

* Begittrnm Palatinum Dunelmense. See alho notice of Pleasley Church. 



280 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Fitzherbert, Columbell, Langford, Willoughby, aud Okeovcr. We 
read of this Thomas Willoughby in the 38th year of Henry VI., 
and the 4th of Edward IV.* There can be no doubt that this 
screen was erected at the time of, or shortly after the marriage of 
Thomas and Isabel, which places its date about the middle of the 
fifteenth century. The screen is, then, older than any of the pre- 
sent structure (though possibly not the actual masonry) of the 
chapel, and it is very unfortunate that it should be thus suffered 
to fall into decay. Could it not find a resting-place in the new 
church at Brackenfield '? Unless it is removed, or the windows of 
the old chapel re-glazed, it will not be many years before it has 
quite crumbled away. A portion of the open-work tracery is even 
now missing. 

The foundations at the east end of the chapel project some way 
beyond the present walls, and apparently point to the greater 
length of its predecessor on the same site. 

The will of Hugh Bevel, of Shirland, dated May, 1504, men- 
tions the following item : " Also I will that the Trinitie chapel 
have my chalez, the which is now in their possession, for ever." f 

We must not omit to mention that an early number of the 
Reliquary contained a brief description of this chapel, from the pen 
of the late Mr. Gladwin Turbutt. The article is illustrated by a 
good engraving of parts of the old screen, and also of a carved 
shield from the end of one of the pews, on which were the impaled 
coats of Willoughby and Beck. Mr. Turbutt mentions a legend, 
current in the neighbourhood, that the two bells of this chapel 
were stolen by Oliver Cromwell \ 

*Harl. MSS. 1098, fol. 133. 
tAdd. MSS.6667, fol. 64. 




]HE manor of South Normanton, at the time of the Domes- 
day Survey, was held by Edwin under William Peverel. 
At an early period it belonged to the family of De Alfreton, 
by whom it was granted, together with the adjacent manor of 
Pinxton, to Ralph le Poer. The heiress of Poer brought it to Le 
Wyiie. In the time of Edward II. (1307-1326) Eobert le Wyne 
held Normanton and Pinxton of Grey, and Grey of the king. 
William le Wyne, in the year 1342, sold the manors of Nor- 
manton and Piuxton, together with the advowsons of both the 
churches, to Sir Alured de Solney, of Newton Solney in the 
pari*h of Repton, for two hundred marks of silver. There is a 
deed extant, early in the reign of Richard II. (1377-1399), by which 
William Taillo and Adam Torald de Newton Solney, Capellauus, 
yield to John Bollowe, parson of Sheyle, Robert de Langham, and 
Lawrence de Frodleye, the manors of Pinxton and Norrnantori, 
with the advowson of Pinxton, the advowson of Normanton being 
specially excepted. In the 14th year of the same reign, Thomas 
Foljanibe and Robert Langham release Pinxtou and Normanton 
(excepting the advowson of the latter) to Thomas Stafford and 
Alice his wife, and to Nicholas Longford and Margaret his wife. 
These two last deeds seem to show that the property was held 
in trust during the minority of the two heiresses of Solney, or 
else for a time leased out of the family. Sir Thomas Stafford 
and Sir Nicholas Longford, by their marriage with Alice and Mar- 
garet, the co -heiresses of Solney, inherited the manor of Norman- 
ton in moieties. The Staffords speedily sold their moiety to Sir 
William Babiugton of Chilwell, and thence it descended through 
the Sheffields, and was sold to George Revel, of Carlingthwaite 
Hall, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The Longfords' share of 
the manor was purchased in 1567 by the immediate ancestors of 
D'Ewes Coke. 



284 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The exact descent of the advowson of Normanton Eectory after 
it left the Solneys cannot be traced, but in the 6 Henry IV. it 
was made over to Robert de Legh (or Leigh), Knight, and in the 
11 Henry VI. " Eobert de Legh de Adelyngton" sold it to Sir 
"William Babiugton. Thus both the moiety of the manor and the 
advowson were again held by the same person. Sir William Bab- 
ington died seized of the advowson, 33 Henry VI., when it seems 
to have reverted to Leigh. The presentation was again sold in 
the reign of James I. by Sir Bryan Leigh, and passed through the 
Revels to the Eardley Wilniots.* 

Though no church is mentioned here in the Domesday Survey, 
the building itself proves that one was erected in the days of the 
Normans. The earliest allusion to a church in this parish that 
we have met with is a reference to "Adam Capellanus de Nor- 
manton " in the year 1220, which Dr. Pegge attributes to South 
Normanton.t 

In the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas (1291) this church (North- 
munton) is valued at 6 13s. 4d. per annum. According to the 
Valor Ecdesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., the rectory, after deducting 
the archidiaconal fees, was worth 9 los. 4d. At that time " Sir 
William Lee de Adlyngton " was patron, and Milo Hudleston the 
rector. The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 estimated it at 
40, and further add " Mr. Peeter Poste is present incumbent and 
reputed scandalous." 

The church is dedicated to St. Mary,J and consists of a nave, 
chancel, north aisle, south porch, and an embattled tower at the 
west end. The old doorway on the south side, with its semi-circular 
arch, is all that now exists to prove that a church existed here 
during the time when the Norman style of architecture prevailed. 
The porch itself is of the Decorated period, and dates from the 
fourteenth century. It is of a good size, but the jambs at the 
entrance are much worn and out of the perpendicular, whilst the 
courses of the stone show that it has been raised and otherwise 
altered from its original design. On entering the church we find 
that the three pointed archways supported by two octagon pillars 
with plain capitals, which separate the north aisle from the nave, 

*Dodsworth's Collections. Add. MSS. 6667, ff. 54-115. Nichols' Collectanea, 
vol. L, p. 343; vol. viii., p. 318. Calend. Eot. Chart. 41 Edw. IV., No. 3. Inq. post 
Mort. 33 Hen. VI., No. 23. 

fPegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 18. He neglects to mention from whence the 
quotation is taken. 

I Certain modern directories, with their usual perversity, ascribe the church to 
St. Michael, but we are not aware of the slightest foundation for this assertion. 



SOUTH NOKMANTON. 285 

are of the same period. Several corbel stones, too, project from 
the walls both in the nave and aisle a little below the present roof, 
showing from whence the former high-pitched roof sprung. From 
this, and other indications, we may gather that the greater part, 
if not the whole, of the church was re-built when the Decorated 
style was prevalent, probably in the reign of Edward II. 

Since that date the church has undergone many alterations. The 
windows appear to have been mostly inserted in the Perpendicular 
period, though, with the exception of the west window of the aisle, 
and one in the south wall of the chancel, there do not appear to 
be any which have escaped further alteration or debasement. The 
pointed east window is divided into three by two straight niullions 
which run up the entire height, whilst one on the south side is 
half filled up with naked bricks. The tower, however, is a good 
specimen of the Perpendicular. It is supported on the west by 
two diagonally-placed buttresses, which are ornamented on the second 
set-off with small upright shields. This peculiarity, together with 
its general similarity of feature, points to the same architect who 
built the tower of South Winfield church, and it would thus fix 
the year of its erection somewhat later than 1440. The west and 
bell-chamber windows are fair specimens of the style, though a 
small modern doorway under the former detracts from its appear- 
ance. The parapet is embattled, and there are four crocketed 
pinnacles at the angles. These are obviously additions of recent 
times, and date back, we were told, no further than the beginning 
of the present century. The tower contains a peal of five bells, 
having the following inscriptions : 

1. " Sir Eardley Wilmot, 1813. T. Hears, of London, fecit." 

2. " W. B. & Co., 1774. D. Coke, Sector. T. W., Church- 
wardens. 

3. " The Eev. Guy Bryan, 1813. D. Mears, of London, fecit." 

4. The shoulder of this bell is ornamented with fleurs-de-lis, crosses, 
and the monogram I H C. It also bears the founder's mark of 
George Oldfield of Nottingham, thus proving it to be of the seven- 
teenth century. 

5. " Geo. Dobb, of Normentun, 

Gave this bell for to be rung, 

1654." 

Returning to the interior of the church we note the singular cir- 
cumstance of there being two piscina drains in the south wall of 
the chancel. One is in a small niche ornamented with a trefoil 



286 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

head, and is nearly level with the floor. Within the niche is a 
small stone shelf, which served the purpose of a credence-table, 
to receive certain of the sacred vessels that were used in the ser- 
vice of the mass previous to their being required at the altar. 
The other one is a simple square-cut drain let into the corner of 
the wide sih 1 of the window nearest the east end. The first one 
is of the Decorated period, and must have been placed in the Avail 
at a time when the level of the floor of the chancel was consider- 
ably lower than it is at present ; its use being subsequently found 
most inconvenient would account for the construction of the second 
one to take its place. There is also in this corner a plain stone 
bracket for a saint, and there are a few fragments of old yellow 
glass in the east window. 

The font in use (at the time of our visit) is close to the south 
entrance, and is a pedestal contrivance of a comparatively modern 
date. The fine old font, though not in use, and filled with rub- 
bish, is happily still preserved, and has found a resting-place 
inside the church at the east end of the north aisle. It is of an 
octagonal shape, and stands on a similar base. The height of the 
whole is three feet six inches, and it is two feet four inches hi 
diameter across the top. On one face is carved in bold relief a 
six-pointed star or mullet, on a second a trefoil, and on the re- 
maining six a quatrefoil. It has a handsome effective appearance, 
and belongs, we believe, to the Decorated style, of which there are 
comparatively few specimens. 

The north aisle has evidently been lengthened at the east end 
to form a chantry, or special side altar, to which there is also 
access by an archway into the chancel, but there is no informa- 
tion respecting it in the Chantry Rolls. The east window of this 
aisle is blocked up by a large and costly marble tomb of the 
weeping-cherub order. It bears a lengthy Latin inscription to the 
memory of Eobert Eevel, who died in 1714, and his wife Ann, 
daughter of Kobert Wilmot, of Osmaston. There are no other 
monuments of sufficient age to warrant any description in these 
pages, but over a large square-headed window in the south wall of 
the nave, acting as a lintel, is a large slab bearing an incised 
cross. Some of the plaster and whitewash has split off, and 
exposed part of the head and stem. It appears to be of early 
design, and is possibly of the twelfth century, representing a burial 
coeval with the church that existed here in the Norman period. 

The south wall of the chancel has been propped up on the ex- 



SOUTH NOEMANTON. 287 

terior with a large clumsy buttress, formed partly of bricks and 
partly of stone. It partially conceals an arched sepulchral recess 
which has been ornamented with crockets and other work of the 
Decorated period. 

When Bassano visited this church, about 1710, he noted in a 
low window on the south side of the chancel the following arms 
dry., a cross patee, sa., which he attributes to Banaster. But 
though he is right in thinking that the ancient family of Banaster 
bore this coat,* there was 110 connection whatever, so far as we 
are aware, between Banaster and either the church or manor of 
Normaiiton. This coat was, however, also borne by Leigh of Adling- 
ton, and we might naturally expect to meet with their arms in a 
church of which they were for some time the patrons.f 

*Harl. MSS. 6589. 

f We believe this to have been the same family of Leigh connected with one of the 
Chesterfield chantries, and whose arias we noted in the description of the heraldry 
of that church. 



JQorfoiu 




|HE first historical mention of Norton is as early as the 
reign of King E their ed, in the year 1002. This occurs 
in the will of "VVulfric Spott, hy which he very wealthily 
endowed the Abbey of Burton, especially with manors in Derby- 
shire, such as Stretton, Ogston, Winfield, Morton, Breadsall, Mor- 
ley, and many others. Lysons, misreading the Monasticon, added 
Norton to this list, but the actual words of the will are, " I give 
to Ufegeat the land at Norton, on the condition that he may the 
better be a friend and support to the convent (Burton)." In fact, 
the manor has always been in civil hands ; in the Domesday Sur- 
vey it is described as being held by Godeva and Bada hi the tune 
of Edward the Confessor, and was then held by Ingram (under 
Eoger de Bush), the ancestor of Eobert Fitz Eanulph, by whom it 
was subsequently inherited. 

There is no mention of a church at Norton at the time of the 
Domesday Survey, and it seems probable that it was originally 
built by Eobert Fitz Eanulph, who was lord of Alfreton and Norton. 
He founded Beauchief Abbey, in the reiirn of Henry II., between 
the years 1172 and 1176, and bestowed upon it the churches of 
Norton and Alfreton, in this county ; Edwalton in Nottinghamshire ; 
and "Wimeswold in Leicestershire. 

The church is one of the two hundred and twenty-two old dedi- 
cations to that favourite saint of English church -builders St. 
James. A modern directory erroneously speaks of it as dedicated 
to the Holy Cross, but this error seems to have been caused by 
confusing it with the parish church of Morton. It consists of a 
nave and chancel, with side aisles, and a tower at the west end. 
On entering the church we at once see the evidences of the original 
building of Robert Fitz Eauulph in some work of the late Norman 
period. The side aisles are separated from the nave by semi-circu- 



292 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH KS. 

lar arches, supported alternately by round and octagon pillars. On 
each side, about the centre, is a single arch of extreme width, 
measuring about eighteen feet between the pillars, but it is evident 
that these wide arches are not part of the original plan, as they 
have been formed by cutting away the centre pillar, to afford more 
space for pews. The small arch nearest to the chancel on the north 
side is pointed, and thus forms an exception to the late Norman 
style. The corresponding arch on the south side terminates in a 
corbel stone, which consists of a quaintly carved head. 

Although there are but slight traces of the next period to be 
found hi the actual structure, yet we have a highly interest- 
ing specimen of Early English art in the handsome font, 
which stands under the gallery at the west end of the church. 
This font stands upon four groups of pillars, three in each, the 
interstices being filled with the characteristic toothed ornament. 
The sides of the top are well carved with different devices. On the 
side facing the east is a very curious figure, somewhat resembling 
the cockatrice of fable. It is a bird with a reptile's tail, whilst 
the face has a human expression. The head is represented as 
looking upwards with a humiliated expression on its countenance. 
Figures of this description are occasionally, though rarely, found 
upon fonts both in this country and on the continent. We sup- 
pose it to represent Satan expressing his anguish at the rite of 
Christian baptism. * The other sides are adorned with foliage and 
human heads. The date of this font we should place about the 
year 1220, when the Early English style was in its perfection. To 
the same period we are inclined to attribute the archway leading 
into the chancel ; the handsome carvings of the capitals and its 
side pillars appear to be of this date, though it is possible that it 
may be much later. The carving of these capitals consists of well 
defined leaves, with their ends slightly curled over, a design that 
is met with in the best specimens of the ai'chitecture of this 
period. 

Almost the whole of the rest of the church is of the Perpendi- 
cular period. The windows of both the north and south aisles are 
square-headed and of a plain description. The north aisle has 
been rebuilt and somewhat widened within the last few years, but 
the windows are identical in size and design with those that pre- 
viously existed. The whole of these side aisles, as well as the 
nave and chancel, are embattled and adorned with occasional pin- 

* Compare the fonts at Ashford and Youlpreave. 







Y/TNF 



IELD 



STAYCI.CY 



taax 4 5nu lac - Surie Puctij Dedj 



NORTON. 293 

nacles. The windows of the chancel are also of the same period, 
the east window of five lights being of an unusual width. The side 
aisles, instead of terminating where the nave ends, are extended 
(in a somewhat greater width) parallel with the chancel ; thus form- 
ing two side chapels, connected by archways with the chancel 
itself. The chapel on the north side is now blocked out from the 
church, and is used as the Sunday School ; the corresponding one 
on the opposite side is the Blythe chapel. The east windows of 
both of these aisles are of the same Perpendicular description. 
The south side of the church is destitute of a porch, and the door- 
way is mutilated, the side pillars being wooden instead of stone. 
At the end of the south aisle, immediately beneath the corbel-head 
already mentioned, is a niche with a trefoil-head, which has for- 
merly held the figure of a saint. This tends to point out the 
existence of a side altar in this position. Above the arches of the 
nave are the clerestory windows, four on each side. They are of 
a very plain description, and have been evidently inserted in the 
place of older ones at a comparatively modern period. 

With the exception of the Blythe monuments, there are now no 
other ancient details of interest within the church. The interior is 
much disfigured with old-fashioned high pews, and the large 
gallery at the west end, which reaches nearly to the roof, com- 
pletely blocks up the fine archway leading into the tower. 

The monument to William Blythe and his wife is in the south 
aisle or chapel of the chancel. This memorial is beautifully 
designed, and is formed of slabs of alabaster, with two effigies of 
that material reclining on the surface. The man is clad in the 
long robes of a civilian, with full sleeves, and his head, which rests 
upon a cushion, is uncovered. Under the right arm is a bag or 
scrip, and the feet rest upon a dog. The woman wears a close- 
fitting robe, and has upon her head the head-dress with falling 
lappets, usually worn by ladies at the close of the fifteenth cen- 
tury. The sides of this monument are enriched with figure- in 
bas-relief under elaborately crocketed canopies. There are seven 
figures on the north side, now much mutilated, but they anjvar to 
have been angels holding shields before them ; the other side is 
almost entirely hidden by an elevated mass of masonry which 
covers the Shore vault. Some of the coats of arms can be still 
deciphered. On the north side are three cinquefoils between nine 
cross crosslets fitchy (Austin), and, per pale, gu. and arg., a cross 
potent counterpotent and quadrate between four crosses patty 



294: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

counterckanged (See of Liclifield), impaling, erm., three roebucks 
trippant, <ju., attired, or (Blythe). On the other side is Blythe 
repeated, and a coat impaling Blythe, of which the small fragment 
that is left seems to be a diminutive cross, but it is in reality 
the top of a sceptre, being all that remains of the arms of the 
See of Salisbury the Blessed Virgin and Child, in her left hand 
a sceptre.* 

It has been generally supposed that the family of Blythe came from 
Leeds about the end of the fifteenth century. William Blythe, the 
father of the Blythe commemorated by this monument, is described 
as being of Leeds in the Herald's Visitation ;f but it is now con- 
sidered that this was a false rendering for Lees (Norton Lees), 
where the family of Blythe held property as early as the reign of 
Edward III. William Blythe married the daughter of an Austin, 
of Birley, and had by her five sons :J Thomas, Roger, John, Geof- 
frey, and_Eichard. Thomas, the eldest son, married the daughter 
and heiress of Skelley, one of their sons becoming Archdeacon of 
Lichfield, and another Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
Eoger died s. p. Eichard married Catherine, daughter and heiress 
of Birchett, of Birchett. 

John Blythe was educated at Cambridge. He is mentioned as 
being Warden of King's Hall in 1488, and he was Chancellor of 
the University in 1494. Besides these offices he held many lucra- 
tive appointments in the Church. He was prebend of several 
cathedrals, and was Archdeacon of both Stow and Huntingdon in 
the diocese of Lincoln, though it does not appear that he ever 
resided in that diocese. In 1485 we find him Archdeacon of Bich- 
niond in Yorkshire, and in 1492 he was appointed Master of the 
Eolls. Finally, on the 23rd of February, 1494, he was consecrated 
at Lambeth, to the Bishopric of Salisbury. He died on the 23rd 
of August, 1499, and was buried in his cathedral. His brother 
Geoffrey appears to have been equally fortunate in his share of 
Church emoluments. He succeeded John as Warden of King's 
Hall, John having vacated that patent in his brother's favour a 
year before his death. After enjoying various Church dignities, he 
was consecrated Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in the year 1503, 

* For this explanation of the fragmentary coat we are indebted to the late Mr. 
Swift, of Sheffield. 

tHarl. MSS. 1093, fol. 127. 

I Reliquary, April, 1865. 

History of Salisbury Cathedral, p. 209 ; Hardy's Le Neve, vol. ii., pp. 302, 600 ; 
Whittaker's Richmond, p. 37. 



NORTON. 295 

and retained this bishopric for thirty years up to the time of his 
death. The monument we have just described was put up by 
Geoffrey to the memory of his parents. In 1524 he also founded u 
chantry where mass should be said for the benefit of their souls. 

This Chantry is thus described in the Chantry Eoll : 

" The Chauntry beynge a Donatyve founded by Jeffreye Blvthe, 
somtyrne Bysshoppe of Coventre and Lychfeld to praye for the soule 
of Hen. VII. etc. cxjs. viijc?. clere cxj.?. viijc/. with cvjs. viijJ. pur- 
chased of the Abbott and Convent of Derbye, and now payd oute 
of the Corte of Augmentacons and vs. for his mancyon house with 
a garden which the Vicar of Norton did let to ferine. Bob. Aleyn 
Chauntry Preste. Stock viijs. j chalyce and ij vestments. "Will. 
Blythe the "patron thereof keypth." 

The " mancyon house," belonging to this chantry, was, after the 
Reformation, turned into an alehouse, but was pulled down at 
the commencement of the century. It stood on the western 
side of Norton Green, and Geoffrey purchased the land from 
the parish for ten marks on condition of their keeping up a 
stock of ten kine. The vicar- was responsible for this, and 
in default was to forfeit his weekly allowance of nine gallons 
of ale, and nine keyst of bread, which he received from Beauchief 
Abbey, till the stock was made good. 

An alabaster slab, to the memory of Eichard Blythe, who mar- 
ried Katharine Birchett, may still be seen on the floor of the 
chancel, though much obliterated and disfigured. We can, however, 
give the greater part of the inscription from a transcript that was 
made on the 18th of July, 1781 "Orate pro aminabus Eicardi 
Blithe et Kathariiiae uxoris ejus quiquidem Eicardus obiit xxiiij 

die .... vicessimo quarto pp .... Amen." * William 

Blythe, mentioned in the Chantry Eoll, would be the eldest son of 
Eichard, and nephew of the Bishop. There was another nephew 
of the same name, son of the eldest brother, Thomas, but he was 
not connected with the manor of Norton, having come into a large 
fortune with his wife, and residing at Barnby, Yorks. Nor can 
there be any doubt that Bishop Geoffrey, at the same time that 
he erected this tomb, also built the chapel, which forms the south 
aisle of the chancel, for the purposes of a chantry to the memory 
of his parents, and probably restored the church throughout. The 
buttresses on each side of the doorway into this chapel, are ornamented 
with shields carved on the stone. That on the left hand has the 

* Peso's C ollectioiiB, vol. iii. 



296 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

arms of Blythe, whilst that on the right is now defaced, and was 
in that condition even when Bassano visited the church ahout 
1710. But that gentleman was assured by Mr. Tricket, who was 
then vicar, that it formerly bore Coventry and Lichfield. 

The original oaken roof of this chapel is in a fair state of pre- 
servation. The bosses are effectively carved with various devices, 
amongst which may be noticed, alpha and omega, I.H.S., a rose, 
the arms of Blythe, and the initial letter B. 

In Hunter's Collections, * there is an Interesting correspondence 
preserved between the Vicar of Norton and his Bishop relative to 
the interior arrangements of this church, in the first half of the 
seventeenth century. A letter to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry 
from the vicar, Richard Edwards, under date 27th December, 1637, 
states that when he first came the reading pew stood at the 
upper end of the church on the south side, the middle alley being 
five feet wide and eight feet long, and the pulpit on the north side 
over against it. A few years after, the churchwarden with his as- 
sent, removed the reading pew to the north side against the pulpit. 
John Bullock, his " worthy patron aud lord of the manor," pro- 
cured a grant from the Bishop, of the place where the reading pew 
had stood, for a seat ; but in the meantime some of the parishioners 
had put a seat there, four feet wide, which Mr. Bullock occupied. 
But about 1629 Mr. George Gill, having married a gentlewoman of 
good worth, got permission to place a seat there, and now that the 
church was undergoing repairs a dispute had arisen between Mr. 
Gill and Mr. Bullock. John Bullock in answer to interrogatories, 
said that " the pretended quire is no part of either the church or 
chancell, but founded in Henry 7th time by Bishop Blythe, your 
lordship's predecessor, and dedicated by him, together with the 
chantry there, for a siuginge masse-priest. Both of which were 
dissolved by a statute of Edward VI. and granted away from the 
Crown, w r hich quire hath continued by name of the Blythes (as 
their lay fee) ever since, and by them repayred and used for a 
burying place. The sayd Bishop's father arid mother being there 
entombed, and the sayd Bishop himselfe, his brother of Salisbury, 
and all the rest of the said Blythes children pictured about the 
sayd tombe, untill about 14 years since, that Charles Blythe now 
living sold the said quire together with the Manor of Norton unto 
mee, reserving a burying place therein for himself and family. Which 
quire I finding in great decay of that side adjoining my chancel (to 

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24, 477, f. 16. 



NORTON. 297 

the ruin of the say cl side thereof) I offered to the parish to repaiiv. " 
This offer appears to have been ungraciously received by the parish, 
especially by Philip Gill, upon which, Mr. Bullock, " advising with 
workmen," seems to have completed the repairs on his own responsi- 
bility. How Mr. Bullock and Mr. Gill eventually settled their differ- 
ences is not related. 

Mr. Charles Blythe, from whom Mr. Bullock purchased the Manor 
of Xorton, was the fourth in direct descent from Richard Blythe, the 
brother of the bishops. He died in 1045. John Bullock died two 
years later, and was interred in the church at Norton, but his tomb, 
which was noted by Bassano, in 1710, has disappeared. The Bullocks 
had purchased other lauds in the parish, nearly a century before 
Charles Blythe sold the manor. 

Though there are no other ancient monuments visible in the church, 
it i> supposed that certain memorials are concealed under the Hasel- 
barow pew. Dr. Pegge was informed by Mr. Newton that " he once 
saw under the Haselbarow seat two or three of the Seliokes, in effigy 
at full length, but they are all now boarded up." But a later 
authority mentions that a tomb in bas-relief of a Selioke under a pew 
was broken up during alterations of the present century.* The 
Seliokes, of Haselbarow Hall, in this parish, were a very ancient 
family. Ten generations are recorded in the Visitation of 15G9. 
They continued on that estate till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when 
it was sold to the Stories. William Blythe, of Birchett, son of 
Eichard, married one of the Seliokes. 

From Bassano's notes, as well as from another manuscript source, 
a few further particulars can be obtained with respect to this church 
at the commencement of the last century. t There were then two 
stones in the south aisle, on which there had been portraitures in 
brass. One of these was the wife of Major Spencer, of Attercliff. 
She was the daughter of Leonard Gill, Esq., of the Oaks, Norton, 
and dying in childbed, was represented with the infant in her arms.J 
The Oaks was occupied by the GUIs, who succeeded to the Morewoods 
in the seventeenth century, and it subsequently passed by marriage 
to the Bagshawes. The other brass had the portraits of John 
Parker, of Norton Lees, and his wife. Thomas Parker settled at 
Norton Lees, as early as the reign of Richard II., by marriage with 
the hen-ess of Gotham, and John Parker was the last of his direct 

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24,466. 

tAdd. MSS., 6701, fol. 60. 

J Haines' Manual of Monumental Brasses, vol. i., p. 220. 



298 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

male descendants, and died in the reign of Charles I. Anne, the 
daughter and heiress of John Parker, brought the estate to Francis 
Barker. 

There was also an elaborate coat of arms emblazoned in the east 
window, which has now disappeared. We take the description of 
this coat from- Bassano's notes, and add in brackets the families to 
which the different bearings probably belonged : 

" A quartered coat, 1st and 4th, az., two chevrons, or (Alfreton, for 
Chaworth) ; 2nd and 3rd, arg., an escutcheon with an orle of sex de 
foiles, sa. (Caltoft) ; 
with which is another quartered coat impaled 

" 1. Arg., a fesse, gu. (borne by many families, but probably here 
Weldon). 

"2. . 

" 3. Az., a chevron, or, within an orle of bezants (Zouch).* 

" 4. Or, three pales, yu. , within an orle of bezants (Basset) .f 

" 5. Az., a crosse, arg., quarter-pierced" (Aylesbury). 

These arms are of much interest in connection with the history of 
the manor of Norton. Thomas, Lord Alfretou, the great grand-son of 
Eobert Fitz-Eanulph, the founder of Beauchief, and lord of the manor 
of Norton, died without issue, and this manor passed with one of his 
sisters and co-heiresses to William Chaworth. :[ From the Chaworths 
it passed in the fifteenth century to John Ormond, and thence in 
moieties to Dynham and Babington. Subsequently both moieties 
were purchased by the Blythes. 

When William Chaworth married Alice, co-heiress of Alfreton, he 
assumed the latter arms. Sir William Chaworth, the sixth in descent 
from this match, married, in 1398, Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir 
John Caltoft. Their son and heir, in whose life-time the coat of arms 
in the east window was probably put up, married Elizabeth, who re- 
presented a co-heiress of Zouch, of Harringworth. The presence of 

* The arms of Zouch varied much in tincture, at a time when tinctures were fre- 
quently changed for " a difference." The field was usually gules, but not only did 
the field vary, for the chevron is found argent and ermine. Papworth's British 
Armorials, p. 465, etc. 

t The arms of the wide-spreading family of Basset were in almost endless variety, 
and altered with much apparent caprice. The arms of Basset, Lord Weldon, are 
more than once given as above, but within a bordure besanty. That excellent 
herald, William Wyrley, in his rare treatise, The True Use of Armorie (1592), takes 
the family of Basset to illustrate the old way of "differencing." Of this particular 
coat he remarks" Ealph Basset, the eldest sonne of Richard, which Eichard and 
Mauld Kydell, and to whom his mother gave the baronie of Weldon, bare gold three 
pals red, a border of steele studded with gold compassing the same about." 

Inq. post Mort. 29 Edward I., No. 109; 31 Edw. III., No. 4 ; 37 Henry VI., No. 25. 



NORTON. 299 

the other coats on this shield will be explained by referring to the 
pedigree of Elizabeth Babiugton in the account of Ashover Church.* 

The gift of the church of Norton to the Abbey of Beauchief simply 
implied, in the first instance, the gift of the advowson. When Pope 
Nicholas' Taxation Roll was taken in 1291, Norton is described as an 
"ecclesia" (not a vicarage) worth 8 Os. Od. per annum. But sub- 
sequently the rectorial tithes were appropriated by the monastery, 
and Norton made a vicarage. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 27 Henry 
VIII., gives the following details with respect to the vicarage and 

chantry of Norton : 

NORTON VICARIA. 
Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus. 

Dominus Thomas Gilberte Vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur. 

B. d. 

In primis in mansione cum glebis et pertinenciis - xx 

Item in corrodio de monasterio de Bello Capite et valet per annum liij iiij 

Item in paschali rotulo communibus annis xl 

Item in decimis minutis ut ancarum porcellorum lini et ovorum - vj viij 

Item in oblationibus - - - - - -.- - - - xiij iiij 

Summa - - v xiij iiij 



de quibus nihil oneratur. 
NORTON CANTERIA. 

Fundata per Galfridum Blithe nuper Coventrensem et Lichfeldensem episcopum. 

s. d. 
Dominus Robertus Alanus cantarista ibidem habet in mansionef 

cum gardino per ibidem --------- v 

Item de monasterio de Darley in comitatu Derbie in pensione - v vj viij 

Summa - - v xi viij 



The same authority gives the clear annual value of the rectory of 
Norton, then in the hands of the Abbey, as 7 16s. Id. The Abbey 
also possessed other properties within the parish, which brought them 
in an additional income of 13 19s. 2d. 

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 reported the vicarage of 
Norton to be worth 23 15s. Od. per annum. The incumbent was 
one " Mr. Kellani Maiuwaring, who hath formerly been sequestered in 
another countye, and is scandalous. ": 

The tower, which is of no great elevation, is entered by a modern 
doorway on the south side. Its summit is embattled and ornamented 
with turrets. Judging from the windows of the bell-chamber, we are 

* See ante, Ashover Church, p. 32 ; also p. 11 for the account of the tomb of John 
Ormond, at Alfreton. 

fThe chantry house (or mansion) -was situated on the west side of Norton Green. 
Lysons makes a singular blunder in describing it as the chantry cha/>el, and says 
that after the Reformation it was desecrated and turned into an alehouse, but finally 
pulled down by Mr. Joseph Offley. The chantry chapel was within the church; the 
house pulled down by Mr. Offley was merely the house built by Bishop Blythe for the 
residence of the chantry priest. 

Parliamentary Survey (if Livings, vol. vi., p. 468 (Lambeth Palace MSS.) 



300 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

inclined to think that the tower is of little earlier date than the body 
of the church, which appears to have been rebuilt in the time of 
Henry VII. The ascent to the bells is by no means an easy task, as 
the tower is destitute of a staircase, and the ladders lack many a 
rung, whilst the trap door, through which one has finally to squeeze, 
is of very smah 1 dimensions. The clerk amused us much with narrat- 
ing the experiences of a former fat adventurer who had stuck fast in 
this aperture for a considerable period. After all one's trouble the 
climb is but poorly repaid, for the bells, which are six in number, 
bear the date of 1810. They were cast by James Harrison, of Barton. 
In the churchyard, which is well kept, may be noticed the lower 
portion of the shaft of the old cross, standing iipon four circular 
steps. 



finpfon. 




CON SIDEB ABLE part of the parish of Pinxton lies in 
the county of Nottinghamshire, but the church aud vil- 
lage are in Derbyshire. Lysons says that the manor is 
supposed to have been the Snodeswic, which was given by Wulfric 
Spott, as au appendage to Morton, to Burton Abbey ; and the 
Esnotrewic of the Domesday Survey, which was held by Drago 
under William Peverell. The manor of Pinxton was subsequently 
held for many generations in connection with the whole or a moiety 
of the adjacent manor of South Normantou, and we refer the reader 
to the account of South Normautou church, for the various re- 
ferences to the history of the advowson of this rectory that we 
have been able to coUect. It will there be seen that Nicholas and 
Alice Longford sold their share of Pinxton and Normanton to Sir 
William Babington, of Chilwell, at the commencement of the reign 
of Henry VI., and this share seems to have included the advow- 
son of Pinxton, for Sir William Babington died seized of half the 
manor of Pinxton and the advowson of the church before the end 
of the same reign.* Sir W T illiam Babington was Chief Justice of 
the Common Pleas, and filled various other legal offices in the 
reign of Henry. According to Nichols he was buried at Lenton 
Priory, 1455, "having lived 99 years in godly life and conversa- 
tion.'^ The advowson descended from the Babingtons to the 
Sheffields, and subsequently continued to belong to the various 
holders of the manor. There is no reason to doubt that there 
was an independent benefice at Pinxton as early as the thirteenth 
century ; and it is, therefore, very strange to find it altogether 
omitted from the Taxation Boll taken in 1291. It is not, however, 
omitted from the next roll-call of the clergy and their benefices 

*Inq. post Mort, 33 Hc-u. VI., Xo. 23. 
tNichol's Collectanea, vol. viii., p. 319. 



304 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 27 Henry VIII. where it is thus 
described : 

PYNKSTON RECTORIA. 
Sheffeld Patronus ibidem. 

Dominus Christoferus Roodes rector ibidem habet in communibus anuis ut sequitur. 

In maiisione cum gleba et pertinenciis ------ xx 

In decimis garbarum et feni liij iiij 

In paschali rotulo ----- xxxiij 

In decimis lane et agnellorum .-----'- vj viij 

In oblationibus ------ v 

In decimis carbonum iiij 

In decimis molendini iiij 

In decimis minutis ij viij 

Summa - vi x viij 



From this total a deduction for archidiaconal fees was made of 
10s., leaving a clear income of 6 Os. 8d. 

The Parliamentary Commissioners reported of " Pinkestone," in 
1650, that it was fit to be united to South Normanton and Soiith 
Normanton to be enlarged " if there be iieede." Mr. Ralph Ehoades 
was then the incumbent. 

The church is dedicated to St. Helen, and is a most singular 
structure. It may confidently lay claim to the palm for ugliness 
among all the churches of the Hundred of Scarsdale. The more 
modern part of the church consists of a chancel and nave, with a 
porch at the west end. On the south side of the chancel is a 
fragment of the old church with the tower. The round-headed 
windows, and general aspect of the main part of the building, clearly 
point to the style that was in vogue about the middle of last cen- 
tury. The actual date of the rebuilding is probably indicated on 
one of the beams of the roof of the nave, which is incised with 
the letters " F.L." and the year " 1755." Some of these beams 
appear to have formed part of an earlier roof of the Perpendicular 
period The old font is still preserved close to the western door. 
It is of large dimensions, and of a plain octagonal form on a well- 
moulded base. It stands a little over three feet high, and is 
twenty-nine inches in diameter across the top. The basin is 
twenty-two inches in diameter and twelve deep. 

In the paving of the aisle of the nave may be noticed several 
fragments of early incised slabs, all apparently of the thirteenth 
century or thereabouts. On one of these, that lacks the head, is 
the stem of a sepulchral cross, having on the dexter side a pair 
of shears, and on the sinister a sword. This fragment is of much 
interest to those who study these early memorials. In the first 
place the form of the shears is peculiar ; they have double-pierced 



PINXTON. 305 

handles, like modern tailor's scissors, a shape that we have not pre- 
viously noticed, and which we fail to find depicted in any of the 
manuals of incised slabs with which we are acquainted. Doubt- 
less when originally sculptured, their shape would point to some 
well-known distinctive branch of the lucrative trade of woolstapler 
or clothier. Again, a controversy at one time existed among anti- 
quaries, to which allusion is elsewhere made in these pages," as to 
the meaning of the symbol of the shears ; for it was contended by 
some that they were merely an emblem of the female sex. The 
combination, however, of symbols on this slab a combination 
hitherto unnoted affords an additional argument against the cor- 
rectness of this surmise. The sword and shears seem to point out 
that the deceased, though a wool merchant, or of a wool mer- 
chant's family, bore arms in the field. Beyond these fragments 
there are no early memorials. One of post-Keformation date, from 
the chancel floor, is perhaps worthy of reproduction from .the 
quaint way in which the words are divided and the absence of 
proper space between them : 

" MARCH121674 
THENWASHEEE 

IXTEREDTHE 

BODYOFMARYKEL 

SALAGED32" 

A modern semi-circular archway opens from the south side of the 
chancel into a portion of the old edifice. The east side of this 
chapel, as it were, which is but about six feet across, is lighted 
by a comparatively modern square-headed window of three lights, 
and the west end by a small lancet window of the Early English 
period in the thirteenth century. Of the same date is a stone 
bracket with boldly cut foliage against the south wall. 

A small doorway, not six feet high, opens into the basement of 
the tower. The tower is in itself peculiar for its oblong shape, 
its east and west sides being much less in width than the north 
and south. It is of a later date than the lancet window, as is at 
once shown by the Decorated tracery of the pointed east window, 
which alone gives light, the other sides being unpierced. It is evi- 
dent, both from the interior and exterior, that the upper part of 
the tower, though composed of old material, has been rebuilt 
perhaps at the time when the body of the church was re-erected. 
This is plainly shown by the square-topped windows of the bell- 

* See the subsequent account of the Church at Pleasley. 

X 



3'06 DERBYSHIEE CHURCHES. 

chamber, the lintels of which, as may be seen from the inside, 
have done duty in the base of some earlier windows. 

The tower contains two bells. The only one in use bears the 
inscription, " Thomas Hears, of London, fecit, 1803." The other 
one, which is woefully cracked, is of considerable age. It has 110 
bell-founders' mark or date, but the inscription, in black-letter, 
runs as follows: "Ave gratia plena dominus tecum." 

The south waU of the tower is supported by two buttresses, 
which only reach to the first story. This tower, and its adjacent 
fragment of old work, are not a little puzzling; but the most likely 
conjecture that occurred to us was this, that the part of the old 
church that now opens out of the chancel, occupied the same rela- 
tive position to the body of the original church, to which it served 
as a transept, or chantry for the side altar, at the time when the 
Early English lancet windows were in vogue ; that the doorway, 
that now leads into the tower, then opened on the churchyard ; 
and that the tower was an after-thought, the church having pre- 
viously only had a western bell-turret, and that it was built on to 
the end of this chantry as the most convenient and least expen- 
sive place. This, too, might account for the peculiarity of its 
oblong shape, for had it been built of an equal square with the 
previously existing wall, it would have been so large as to be quite 
out of proportion with the rest of the church. 

When Bassano visited this church, about 1710, he made a few in- 
teresting notes relative to it, though it had then no monuments, 
arms, or inscriptions, save a shield cut in wood over the chancel 
archway, upon which were the emblems of our Saviour's passion. 
As to the quaint disposition of the church he remarks, " what seems 
observable here is that ye steple stands on ye south side of ye 
church, which seems to have been builded at several times." He 
records the tradition that Sir Hugh Pinkinson was once the lord 
of this manor, that from him it went to the family of Cliffords, 
and that here was born Fair Kosamund. It is interesting to note 
that, though one hundred and fifty years have elapsed since this 
was written, the tradition, with respect to Fair Rosamund having 
been born in a castle close to this church, is yet whispered about 
in the neighbourhood. Rosamund was the daughter of "Walter, 
Lord Clifford. Bassano further describes the hillocks, and traces of 
walls that then remained to the south and west of the churchyard. 
Certain of these hillocks were opened in 1686, when searching for 
coal ; and several old lead pipes were discovered, which had served 



PINXTON. 307 

in former days to convey water to the ancient mansion. But a 
more interesting discovery than this was made about the same 
time on the east side of the churchyard, when there were found 
" Imagies of ye Virginn and 12 apostles, fully portrayed and curi- 
ously cut in alibaster, with gold upon them then faire to be seen." 
What has become of these interesting relics ? 




F the manor of Pleasley (or Plesley) no mention is made in 
the Domesday Survey. One of the earliest aUusions to it, 
with which we are acquainted, is in the abstract of pleadings 
of the year 1213, when Ralph "Willougliby had a freehold in Pleseley.* 
The Willoughbys came originally from Lincolnshire, but obtained a 
standing in this county by marriage with one of the co-heiresses of 
Serlo de Plesley, who died in 1203. But the interest of the 
Willoughbys at that time appears to have been rather in the park of 
Pleasley, than in the manor proper. This park of Pleasley, generally 
termed Warsop Wood, was subsequently held for several generations 
by the family of ROOS.+ 

In the reign, however, of Edward I., both the manor and church of 
Pleasley were held conjointly by Thomas Beck, who also obtained a 
special grant of free warren. J The Beck family settled in this county 
at an early period, for shortly after the Conquest we find one Ernulf de 
Beck, lord of the manor of Hilton, in the parish of Marston-on-Dove. 
Thomas Beck, of Pleasley, held the important office of Lord 
Treasurer to Edward L, and was also appointed by the king to the 
Bishopric of St. David's on the subjection of Wales. || Pleasley must 

* Placitorum Abbreviatio, 14 John, Eot. 13, in dorso. 
tlnq. post Mort. 46 Ed\v. III., No. 8; 9 Hen. VI., No. 48. 
J Calend. Eot. Chart., 13 Edw. I., No. 105. 

$Dugdale's Ifonasticon, vol. i., p. 355. For the early pedigree of Beck or 
Beke, see Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., pp. 331-345. 

At the time of the first establishment of Christianity in Britain there were three 
Archbishops, whose sees were situated at London, York, and Caerleon, the last being 
transferred to Mynyw, in 519, on account of its too great proximity to the Saxons, 
and afterwards called St. David's, from the Archbishop who effected the removal. 
To twenty-six of his successors did the title remain, but Archbishop Sampson, 
alarmed at the plague, removed with all his clergy, to Dol, in Brittany, and the sub- 
sequent possessors of the see of St. David's were merely styled bishops. In 1115, 
Bishop Bernerd submitted to the metropolitan of Canterbury, and lost for the Welsh 
Church its independence. Several of his successors, however, including the cele- 
brated Giruldus Cambrensis, stoutly resisted the jurisdiction of Canterbury, and the 
final claim was made by Thomas Beck, when in 1284 a general visitation of the 
"Welsh dioceses was made by John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury. The ap 
peal was disallowed, and Peckham avenged himself on liishop Beck, by depriving 
the resident priests of the Cathedral of their cauonries, because they had adhered to 
the primitive custom of marriage. Wilkius, vol. ii., p. 106. 



312 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

have been a place of some little importance at this period in its 
history, for the bishop obtained in the year 1284, a grant of a market 
here, as well as a fair for three days at the festival of St. Mark.* 

On the death of the Bishop of St. David's, his brother Anthony 
succeeded to his estates, and died seized of the manor and advowsoii 
of Pleasley in 1311. f The Becks seem to have been a family that 
basked in royal favour. Anthony was the second son of "Walter Beck, 
Baron of Eresby, in Lincolnshire. He accompanied Prince Edward 
to the Holy Land, and was one of his closest friends. On his return 
to England in 1274 with Edward, who was then king, Anthony 
entered into orders, and was rapidly preferred. He obtained 
successively a prebendary at Dublin, a canonry at Poiitefract, and a 
prebendary at Kipon. In 1275 he was made Archdeacon of Durham, 
and prebend of St. Paul's, London. As to secular appointments, he 
held during all this tune the office of royal secretary, and was also 
keeper of the wardrobe, and constable of the Tower. On the 9th of 
July, 1283, he was elected Bishop of Durham, and was not enthroned 
till two years later ; when, owing to a dispute between the Archbishop 
of York and the Prior of Durham, as to the right of performing the 
ceremony, he received the mitre from the hands of his brother, 
Thomas Beck, the Bishop of St. David's. He was also held hi great 
favour by Pope Clement V., who conferred upon him the high-sound- 
ing but empty title of Patriarch of Jerusalem. He died in 1311, after 
a most memorable episcopate.]: 

On the death of Anthony, the manor of Pleasley was divided into 
moieties between his two nieces, the daughters and co-heiresses of 
John Beck, Lord of Eresby, who married respectively into the families 
of Harcourt and Willoughby. The advowson of the church went 
with the Willoughby moiety, for we find that Robert Willoughby died 
seized of it in the tenth year of Edward II. The Willoughby s' 
moiety (with the advowson) remained in that family for several 
generations, || but subsequently passed, according to Lysons, to the 
Leakes ; and, on the death of Nicholas, last Earl of Scarsdale, both 
manor and advowsou were purchased by Henry ThornhiU. But the 

*Not St. Luke, as Lysons has it. See Quo "Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III., where the 
grant of Edward I. is repeated with full details. 

flnq. post Mort., 4 Edw. II., No. 45. 

{ See the sketch of Anthony Beck's life in the preface to the Registrum Palati- 
num Dunelmcnse. His life yet remains to be written; and, if thoroughly and ably 
done, would form a biography of surpassing interest. 

Inq. post Mort., 10 Edw II., No. 48. 

|| Inq. post Mort., 30 Hen. VI., No. 18. There is a good abstract of the history of 
Pleasley manor amongst the Wolley Collections. Add. MSS. 6674, ff. 138 to 144. 



PLEASLEY. 313 

Earl of Shrewsbury was patron of the living in the reign of 
Henry VIII. 

The church of Pleasley was valued at 10 per annum in 1291, ac- 
cording to the valuation taken for Pope Nicholas IV. The Valor 
Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the following particulars respect- 
ing the benefice at that date : 

PLESLEY EECTOEIA. 
Georgius Comes Salopie Patronus. 

Domirms Nicholaus Herryson. rector ibidem kabet communibus annis ut sequitur. 

JL 1 s. d. 
In mansione et glebis - xij 

In uno tenemento et uno cotagia xiij 

In decimus garbarum et feni vj v 

In decimis lane et agnellorum - xl 

In decimis minutis -- v 

In oblationibus - x 

In paschali rotulo ---------- xxx 



Summa - - xj 



This left a clear annual value, after deducting the archidiaconal 
fees, of 10 4s. 5d. But the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, 
estimated its value at 100 a year. At the time of their visit Mr. 
John Beayse was the incumbent, whom they report to be " a delin- 
quent of dangerous principles." 

The church of Pleasley is dedicated to St. Michael, and consists 
simply of a chancel, nave, south porch, and western tower. That a 
church existed here in the Norman period is evident from the arch- 
way that divides the nave from the chancel. The arch is handsomely 
moulded and ornamented with the alternate billet pattern. The 
jambs, which are slightly out of the perpendicular, are twelve feet 
apart. This is the only remnant of Norman work, and seems to be of 
the reign of the first Henry. 

The cast window of the chancel has two principal lights, and is of 
small dimensions for such a situation. It is an early plain specimen 
of the Decorated style, about the commencement of the fourteenth 
century. 

Two similar windows light the south side of the nave, whilst one, 
a little more elaborate in design, with a trefoil head, is in the south 
wall of the chancel. These windows, however, seem to us to have 
been inserted in the walls at an earlier date, and we are inclined 
to think that the greater part of the walls of the body of the 
church are the same that were erected when the Early English 
style prevailed. Three small lancet windows of this date are on 
the north side, two in the nave and one in the chancel, and there 
is also one on the south side. These windows are all widely 
splayed on the inside, the walls being of considerable thickness. 



314 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The archway into the tower is open to the church, and is sup- 
ported by two plain corbels. There is an ascent of three steps to 
the base of the tower, and here is placed the font. It appears 
to be of modern construction, except, perhaps, the wide circular 
base. 

The tower is of the Perpendicular period. The west window is 
of limited size, and has a doorway beneath it. Inside the belfry, 
in the west wall, may be noticed two stones bearing portions of an 
incised cross, which has been broken up for building purposes when 
the tower was being erected. This chamber is lighted, too, on the 
south, by a deeply-recessed window; and the lintel is formed of a 
large fragment of what has doubtless once served for a coffin lid. 
The slab is now about two feet wide by four in length. Down the 
centre of the exposed surface are the double incised lines which 
formed the stem of a cross, on the sinister side of which is the 
rudely -executed symbol of a key. As in our descriptions of Derby- 
shire churches we shall on several occasions again meet with this 
symbol, it will not be amiss to write a few words on this disputed 
point. The popular theory is, that the key on monumental slabs 
indicates the profession of a smith or a locksmith ; but this notion 
seems to be clearly untenable, when the other emblems with which 
it is often found in association are taken into account. Thus, for 
instance, among the slabs at Bakewell, is one upon which both a 
key and a pair of shears are depicted ; and the conclusion ought 
therefore to be drawn, that the individual whom it commemorated 
combined the unlikely trades of a smith and a woolstapler. Another 
suggestion, which has found some favour, is that the key, as well 
as the shears, is only the emblem of a female interment. But here 
again, the combination in which these emblems are found, together 
with other reasons that will occur to the student of incised slabs, 
seems to forbid this supposition. The third theory (first suggested 
we believe by Mr. Boutell in his Christian Monuments), and one that 
strongly commends itself, is that the key points out the official 
station of the persons commemorated, such as a town magistrate, 
or other office of local importance. This supposition of magisterial 
office will be found to be quite in harmony with the symbols that 
are found in combination with the key. Mr. Boutell well remarks 
" that a key was regarded as the symbol of local authority is sig- 
nificantly declared by the mayor offering the keys of the town over 
which he presides to the sovereign on the occasion of a royal visit 
a custom continued from the ' olden time ' to our own days. A 



PLEASLKY. 315 

well-known instance of the use of the key as an official symbol is 
its being worn by the Lord Chamberlain of the royal household."* 

The summit of the tower is embattled, and has at the angles 
four short crocketed pinnacles. These pinnacles are all stoutly 
secured with iron clamps, and other iron stays may be seen at the 
north-west angle of the tower. These are the traces of the repairs 
necessitated by an earthquake, which, according to Lysons, made 
"a large chasm" in the church steeple on Sunday, the 17th of 
March, 1816. According to a description given to us by an aged 
eye-witness of the scene, this term erred on the side of exaggera- 
tion, but it is true that " a slight fissure " was then made, and 
that the pinnacles were shaken. We were told that the only other 
damage done by the earthquake in that neighbourhood was the 
shaking of the chimneys of the adjacent rectory. This earthquake 
appears to have been generally felt throughout the midland counties. 

On the north side of the church is a small doorway, now blocked 
up, which was formerly called the Stoney Houghton door, being 
the door on that side of the church which was nearest to the 
hamlet of that name. The church now bears a high-pitched roof 
of slate, which was substituted for a flab one of lead, about thirty 
years ago, when the vestry to the north of the chancel was erected, 
and other alterations and repairs effected. At this time the external 
sepulchral recess on the south side of the chancel was opened, but 
contained neither stone coffin nor other remains, but merely a coffin- 
shaped slab. It seems probable that it was originally built in the 
wall, as a receptacle for one of the founders, or rather re-founders, 
of the church ; but that it was never used, owing to his elsewhere 
finding a place of sepulture. 

This church seems to have been singularly destitute of monu- 
mental or heraldic remains. Bassano passes over Pleasley without 
any notice, but, amongst the various manuscript collections of a 
later date that we have consulted, two references have been found 
relative to this church. Hunter visited Pleasley on the 10th of 
August, 1802, when he copied the following inscription from a stone 
in the nave : " Here with his ancestors lyeth the mortall part of 
John Stuffyu of Shirebrook, Gent., who at his house there in the 
month of January A.D. 1695, yielded up his loyall breath, aged 80 
years. He left issue by Mary his wife, daughter and sole heiress 
of John Feme of Hopton, Gent. John Stuffyn of Shirbrook soune 
and heir of Hopton of the inheritence of his mother, & Mary, & 

* Boutell's Chrixti ' i Monuments, p. 84. See also. Cutts' Manual of Sepulchral 
Slabs, p. 42. 



316 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Bridget. (William and Hercules died without issue.) " To the copy 
of this inscription is appended a further note, in which he says, 
" I visited this church again 2 August, 1848. I did not observe 
this inscription. It has I fear heen destroyed in the late restoration 
of the church." * 

The Stuffyns, of Shirehrook, were an ancient and well-connected 
family, who held lands there in the time of Edward II. t In the 
reign of Edward III. they held the manor of Brirnington, hi the 
parish of Chesterfield, and subsequently obtained by marriage, as is 
recorded in this description, the manor, or rather a portion of the 
manor of Hopton, which was afterwards sold to Sir Philip Gell. 
John Stuffyn, of Hopton, the last male heir, died the year after 
his father's decease (1696), according to Bassano, who mentions 
his monument in the parish church of Wirksworth. He also 
describes the monument that was then in the chancel, but much 
defaced, to the memory of John Feme, of Hopton. The heiress 
married Hacker, of Trowell, in Nottinghamshire. 

A short description of the church, written about 1815, mentions 
that there was then within the rails an incised slab, bearing a cross 
fleury, a book, and a chalice, so that the " restoration " seems to 
have been of an unusually destructive nature. The same account 
speaks of " a double chancel, one beyond the other ; the first arch, 
circular and depressed, with billet mouldings, has been crampt ; the 
pilasters have square plain mouldings ; the inner arch circular and 
quite plain."J 

Over the entrance to the porch is a plain mural sun-dial, about 
two feet square, bearing at the top the date 1772, but not other- 
wise inscribed. 

The tower contains three bells. The first has a rudely- executed 
inscription in large Gothic letters, a portion of which is apparently 
omitted, but may have been intended for " Sancta Maria." The 
conclusion of the inscription is marked by a cross pate ; in this 
and in the character of the letters it resembles the two first bells 
at Barlborough. The second : " God save the Church, 1818." 
The third: "God save the King. C. J., M. H., Wardens, 1675." 

The parish accounts for the year 1724 contain the following 
entry : " For hanging ye great bell 2." 



* Collectanea Hunterianea. Add. MSS., 24, 466. 

t Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 27. " Hugo Scufl 
id one bovate of land at Shirebrook. 

\ Lysons' Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9448, f. 272. 



t Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 27. " Hugo ScufFyn " died seized of one messuage 
arid one bovate of land at Shirebrook. 



SHIREBKOOK. 317 



<f)apclrg of 




UST on the verge of the county, three miles to the north 
east of Pleasley, is the township and Chapelry of Shire- 
brook. Very little, in short almost nothing, is known 
of the history of the chapel of Shirebrook. Lysons simply 
remarks, "there is a chapel of ease at Shirebrook, at which 
divine service is performed once a month by the rector of Pleas- 
ley or his curate." Nor can we judge as to its proba- 
ble age, for in 1843 a neat stone building was erected at a 
cost of 1000, in place of a "venerable structure."-- The 
chapel was kept in repair by a rate levied on the inhabitants of 
the township ; at least so we judge from finding that the accounts 
of Shirebrook were kept separate from those of the parish. It is 
also curious to note that the building was as often termed 
''church" as "chapel" in the accounts of last century, and that 
the guardian of the fabric was designated c/m>v/iwardeu. Mr. John 
Booley was churchwarden for Shirebrook in 1703, and his year's 
expenses were : s. d. 

"Disbursement for bread and wine 3 6 

Rich. Hudson for ridding dirt out of chapell 4 

2 fox heads . .20 



5 10 " 



In 1754 the building underwent considerable repairs, and the 
endorsement on the back of the yearly accounts "Mr. Henry 
Heath's accounts for the Church of Shirebrook for the years 1754 
and 1755 ; at ye same tune the steeple was pointed and new 
leaded" proves that it was possessed of some sort of a steeple, but 
perhaps, only a bell turret. The expenditure on the chapel itself 
for that year \\ as as follows : 

* Bagshawe's Gazetteer of Derbyshire, p. 661. 



318 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

s. a. 

" A Beesani for the Chappel 1 

P d for wood and worck 

Done at the Church 616 

P d to joiners and masons there 8 

P d to Eichard Clayton for ale druuck when 

Church was repard 18 ,, 

The parish registers of Pleasley contain the following memoran- 
dum relative to this chapel, which was copied many years ago by 
Mr. Wolley * 

" That John Stuffyn, gent., whose ancestors for several genera- 
tions had considerable estates in Shirebrook in this parish, were 
the sons of the Church of England, and very serviceable and bene- 
ficial to the neighbourhood did some time before his death give a 
pulpit cushion and cloath to the use of the Chappell of Shirbrook. 
He dyed November 23, 1696, and sometime after his decease his 
widow and relict, Mrs. Sarah Stuffyn gave a very fair Bible in 
quarto for the same pious use. And within five years after John 
Hacker, jun., nephew of the aforesaid John Stuffyu, and son of 
John Hacker of Trowele, in com. Notts., gent., by Mary, daughter 
of John Stuffyn of Stuffyn, and Mary Ferns, his wife, gave good 
Holland for a Cloath for the Alter at Pleasley ; which said John 
Hacker is now owner of Stuffyn, by the gift of his said uncle John 
Stuffyn." 

The Taxation Eoll of 1291 does not ascribe any chapel to 
Pleasley, nor is it mentioned in the Valor Ecdesiasticus of Henry 
VIII. The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, say: "Shir- 
brook is a chapel of ease, in the parish of Plesley. The chapel 
is thought fitt to be disused and the village connected to Plesley. 
One William Thorpe officiates at Sherbrooke, who was formerly 
sequestred out of Carsington in the hundred of Wirksworth." 

* Add. MSS. 6697, f. 362. 



reprliffp. 




HEEE is no record of a church at Scarcliffe when the 
Domesday survey was taken ; nor at Paltreton, a hamlet 
in this parish, which appears to have then been the more im- 
portant manor of the two. These manors were then held by Ralph 
Fitzhubert, and in the time of his grandson, Hubert Fitzralph, a 
church was built at Scarcliffe, and a chapel (of which no traces 
now remain) at Paltreton. The Abbey of St. Helen's, at Derby, 
was founded by Robert, Earl Ferrers, in the reign of Stephen, but the 
Canons removed in the following reign to Darley, where they estab- 
lished the Abbey of St. Mary about the year 1135. Amongst the 
earliest endowments of the Abbey of Darley was the advowson of 
the church of Scarcliffe, together with the chapelry of Paltertou, 
which was the gift of Hubert Fitzralph. Hubert was thrice married, 
a fact which is specified in the charter granting the advowson of the 
church of Scarclifi'e to the Abbey, " pro salute anime mee, et Sare 
uxoris race, et Edeline quondam spouse mee, et Sare postea uxoris 
mee."* His grandson, Ralph de Frechville, confirmed these grants 
" on the Saturday next before the feast of St. Gregory the pope, 
at "NVyuefield, in the year 1243," as well as the gift of " his 
mother Julian, of a Bovate of laud hi Scardecliffe."t Although 
Pilkington, followed by Davies, attributes the dedication of this 
church to All Saints, its true patron, according to the Liber Regis, 
is St. Leonard, and this we found to be the impression at present 
prevailing in the parish ; but the original chartulary of Darley 
Abbey, the highest possible authority, speaks of it as the Church 
of St. Giles " Ecclesia Saucti Egidii de Scardeclif" at the time 
when Hubert Fitzralph made an augmentation to the glebe lauds. 

"The Chartulary of Darley Abbey; Cotton MSS. Titus C. ix.. f. 115. Another 
chartulary of Darley Abbey appears to have belonged, in 1780, to the Master of Em- 
anuel, Cambridge, and \v.is then copied by Mr. Cole, who describes it as a thin vellum 
volume, iu the hand of the reign of Richard II. This copy is amongst the Cole Col- 
lections. Add. MSS.. .,-_!_!. f. l.Vt. Nichols' Collect an en (vol. i. p. 200) mentions three 
other copies, one in the Bodleian, and two others in private hands. 

fAcld. MSS., 6097, f. 159. 

Y 



322 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

It is just possible that the church was dedicated to St. Leonard at 
some future period when the building was being remodelled. * 

The church consists of a nave, north aisle, chancel, south 
porch, and a modern tower at the west end. The porch is a 
plain building, without windows, having a pointed roof and 
doorway, but it covers a very good Nornian entrance. The jambs 
of this inner doorway are ornamented with shafts not detached, but 
cut out of the same stones as the other parts of the work, which 
affords a proof that it is not late in the Norman style. The 
opening reaches no higher than the level of the springing of 
the arch, the tympanum, or serni- circular stone, being ornamented 
with a variety of geometrical patterns arranged with much 
caprice. The surface is divided into small squares, filled in with 
various devices, the intersection of diagonal lines, two intersect- 
ing triangles, &c., &c. We have occasionally seen patterns of 
a like description in a similar position (e.g. the porch of Tissiugton 
Church), but the tympanum is more usually ornamented with rudely 
sculptured figures of animated life. On entering the church we at 
once notice further traces of the original fabric presented by Hu- 
bert Fitzralph to the monks of Darley. The north aisle is separated 
from the nave by four round arches. These arches are supported 
by three Norman pillars of different construction, one being circular, 
another octagon, and the third formed of a cluster of four smaller 
ones. Though the archway into the chancel is a pointed one, the 
jambs appear to be of older construction, and may, we think, from 
their mouldings be safely assigned to the original Norman building. 
The priest's small door, on the south side of the chancel, is also a 
good specimen of old Norman work, though the fresh-cut appearance 
of the moulding inclines one, at first, to a belief in its modern origin. 
It was, however, according to our informant, merely freed from 
plaster, and scraped, a few years ago, when much of the church 
was renovated and put in order. In the south-east corner of 
the chancel, against the south wall, may be noticed a small Xor- 
man piscina. The drain itself is in a square stone projecting from 
the wall, and above it is a diminutive rounded niche nine inches 
wide by seven high. During a subsequent alteration this piscina 
seems to have been discarded, and, perhaps, hidden by the altar 
furniture, another being constructed a little further down in the 
wall. This second piscina has a square opening above it, and 
forms a component part of the string-course that runs along the 
side of the wall. 

* On the subject of re-dedication see the account of the church of North Winfield. 



SCARCLIFFE. 323 

A small lancet window, on the soiith side, connects the chancel 
with the Early English period of the thirteenth century ; another one 
of larger dimensions heing now blocked up with masonry in the op- 
posite wall. 

Below this small window lies an ancient monument of some 
celebrity, of which Lysons gives an accurate engraving. We regard 
it as perhaps the most interesting memorial that Derbyshire possesses. 
It consists of the full length effigy of a lady, holding a child on her 
left arm. It is doubtless of the Early English period ; and 
there are but few monuments of that date in such perfect 
condition. The head, which rests on a lion, is adorned with 
a well wrought coronet, denoting the high rank of the wearer. 
The hair is gathered up at the sides of the face in plaited braids. 
She wears a long plain tunic or dress with tight-fitting sleeves, and 
confined by a girdle at the waist. The tunic is fastened at the neck 
by a brooch, formed of an open circle with a central pin. Below it 
is an embroidered band crossing the breast, which secures the long 
flowing mantle that hangs down behind nearly to the feet ; a fold of 
the mantle is brought forward in front and upheld by the right arm. 
The left arm is passed round the child, whose feet rest on a sort of 
foliated bracket. The infant's right hand reaches up, in a coaxing 
attitude, to the face of the mother, and in the left hand is held a 
long scroll. This scroll is delicately engraved with the following 
stanza, in rhymed Leonine verse : 

" Hie sub humo strata, mulier jacet tumutala 
Constaiis et grata,, Coustaucia jure voeata, 
Cu genetrice data proles requiescit humata, 
Quanquam peccata capiti ejus fiint cumulata, 
Crimine purgata cum prole Johaiine beata 
Yivat, prefata, sanctorum sede locata. 

Amen." 

A fragment of the upper part of the scroll is broken, leaving a gap 
in lines one and four, but these omissions are restored from Ihe 
complete inscription given by Lysons. The feet of the effigy rest 
on a defaced nondescript animal. Fixed to the wall above the monu- 
ment is a slab with the following inscription : 
" Left by the Lady Constantia 

" Five acres of land purchased for the purpose of ringing curfew 
at Scarcliff for ever. Three acres and three roods now in the occu- 
pation of John Coupe and let at the annual rent of three pounds 
seven shillings and sixpence, and known by the names as follows 
Moor close, one acre three roods ; Twenty Lands, one acre and 
eighteen perches ; and Honey Croft three roods and twenty-two 



324 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

perches. Also one acre and one rood known by the name of Cock- 
Stye now in the occupation of John Jeffrey and let at the annual 
rent of one pound two shillings and sixpence, 1832." 

This hequest of the Lady Constantia gave rise to the legend (for- 
merly current with respect to the original of this monument), that 
she and her infant lost their way in the neighbouring woods, and 
were in danger of perishing from cold and fatigue, when the 
welcome sound of the curfew bell of Scarcliffe church reached her 
ear, and guided her to human habitations. In gratitude she left 
this land, that the curfew bell might continue its daily toll for 
ever.* 

It has been assumed, and the assumption seems highly probable, 
that this lady was one of the baronial family of Frecheville, who 
had held for a time the manor of Scarcliffe. Anker de Frecheville, 
about the year 1175, married the heiress of Hubert Fitz-Ralph, 
and thus became possessed of the manor of Scarcliffe. His grand- 
son of the same name, who also held Staveley, joined with the 
rebellious barons at the close of Henry III. reign. In conjunction 
with Simon de Montfort, Hugh de Spencer, and others, Anker de 
Frecheville held the town and castle of Northampton. The king as 
a requital seized his lauds at Scarcliffe, which were sequestered, and 
divided between the Prior of Newstead and Eobert de Grey.f 

We must now return to our description of the church. The only 
other relic of the Early English period, that we saw, was the base 
of a shaft or small pillar that now stands on the north side of the 
churchyard. It was found, quite recently, built into the masonry 
of the wall at the west end of the north aisle, when a doorway 
was being pierced into a lean-to of the modern tower, originally 
intended for a school-room. 

The Decorated style is also represented on the north side of the 
chancel by a two-light pointed window with trefoil head. Finally, 
to make up the full complement of the styles, examples of the 
Perpendicular period are to be found in the east window of the 
chancel, and in the windows on each side of the small lancet- 
shaped one in the south wall. The south side of the nave also 
possesses a window of that date, but the rest of its light is obtained 

*Bassano, writing in 1710, says of this monument, that it is in honour of a " queen 
or lady, who, being big~with child and benighted, was by ye ringing of ye bells 
brought to Scarcliffe, where she was delivered of a son, and both dyed in ye yeare 
1000." He adds " I could not read ye scroyle." 

t Anker de Frecheville was seized of Scarcliffe 53 Henry III. (vide Inq. post Mort.. 
No. 20 of that reign). Two Inquisitions record the manor as held by the Prior of 
Newstead 16 Edw. I., No. 40 ; and 20 Hen. VI., No. 28. 



SCARCLIFFE. 325 

1-0111 debased openings of post-Reformation date. The north aisle 
is very narrow, being only six feet in width. It is lighted by three 
plain square windows, and has above it the like number of small 
clerestory windows. 

In the east wall, at the end of this aisle, projects a stone bracket 
for a saint, with a sculptured margin. High up in the south-east 
corner is the doorway of the rood-loft, opening on to the nave. 
There is no appearance of there having formerly been any stone 
staircase leading up to this doorway ; wooden steps or a ladder were 
probably here used, of which there is evidence to be found in certain 
other churches. A small piscina in the south wall, at the eastern 
end of the nave, points to the former existence of a second side 
altar in this church. 

The font, under the west gallery, is of a plain octagonal shape, 
free from any ornament. The font itself, without the base, now 
measures nineteen inches deep by twenty in diameter, but it has 
lately been sensibly reduced in size, when being re-cleansed, pre- 
paratory to occupying its original position. Its fate for many a 
long year was to act as a support to one end of the lady's effigy 
in the chancel; but its temporary successor, a basin mounted on a 
pilaster, now lies disjointed amidst dirt and refuse at the bottom of 
the tower. The font is surmounted by a pointed cover of oak, with 
the year 1688 inscribed on one of the panels. 

In the vestry is a large old chest, deserving of notice, if only for 
its magnitude. The bottom, sides, and lid are made of four 
massive planks of oak, ten feet long by two feet broad. It has 
only one lock ; but several key-holes, now disused, show its superior 
security in the days of its prosperity. On the lid, amongst various 
scratches and incisions, are cut the initials F. H. and the year 
1671, but it certainly numbers, unless we are much mistaken, more 
years than two hundred. The Derbyshire traveller should compare 
this chest with one under the tower of the almost crumbling, old, 
out-of-the way church of Monyash, which is of the same dimensions, 
and encircled with iron champs every three inches. 

The old tower, which was surmounted by a spire, much re- 
sembling, we were told, that which still ornaments the church of 
Bolsover, was considered unsafe, and too far out of repair to allow 
of restoration. Accordingly in 1842 it was taken down and a new 
tower built. We feel sure that the improved taste, which the last 
thirty years have brought about in matter- ecclesiastical, would 
have caused the new tower (if the necessity for its removal existed) 



326 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

to resemble as closely as possibly the former one ; nor would it 
ever have permitted the present incongruous arrangement of masonry 
to be put together. It appears, however, to be most substantially 
built; and will, doubtless, for many a generation answer its main 
purpose of providing an elevated perch for the bells. The bells are 
four in number, and bear the following inscriptions : 

I. " Sancta Maria ora pro nobis." The inscription is in small 
Gothic letters of rough workmanship. The bell-founder's mark con- 
sists of a cross and the initials E. C. Shirland possesses a bell of 
the same founder. 

II. " God save his church. T. S. G. S. W. Bevill, W. Hall, 
Wardens, 1698." 

III. " Gloria in excelsis Deo. I.H.S." The founder's mark is a 
shield bearing a filfot cross, with the initials E. H. (Ealph Heath- 
cote) above it. 

IV. The fourth has a rhyming legend in Lombardic characters : 

" Hinc venio retro 

Cum silis noie Petro." 
It also bears under a crown the initials E. B. 

Though the sanctus beh 1 has disappeared, the bell-cote on the 
gable of the nave still remains. The inside measurement of the 
niche is about two feet by one. 

The inhabitants of Scarcliffe must have been much devoted to the 
science of bell ringing ; for, when the common lands were enclosed 
in 1726, four acres were set apart, the rent of which was to pro- 
vide the parish with bell-ropes. 

It does not appear that the gift of the church of Scarcliffe to 
Darley Abbey implied more in the first instance than the gift of 
the advowson. The Taxation Roll of 1291 describes Scarcliffe as 
an "ecclesia" (not a vicarage) worth 12 per annum. But the 
rectorial tithes were subsequently appropriated to the abbot and 
canons, and Scarcliffe made a vicarage. From the endowment of 
the vicarage, in the chartulary of the abbey, it seems that the 
vicar of Scarcliffe held all the obventions of the altar (except the 
chief mortuary), and the tithes of lambs and wool. When the 
Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII. was taken, Thomas Peace held 
the vicarage of Scarcliffe, which is described as being worth 5 a 
year, inclusive of an augmentation of 40s. from the abbey of 
Darley. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, Sir 
Francis Leake obtained a considerable share of the spoils in this 
part of the county. Amongst other matters Henry VIII granted 



SCARCL1FFU. 327 

to him the rectory of Scarcliffe, and also Scarcliffe Grange, then 
in the possession of William and John Pearse. In addition to the 
rectorial tithes, Sir Francis Leake thus came into possession of 
eighty-nine acres and two tofts in Scarcliffe, as well as the advow- 
son of the Vicarage.* The Commissioners of the Commonwealth 
estimated the living at twenty marks per annum, adding that " one 
Dodson officiates, very scandalous." 

Of the ancient chapel at Palterton not a trace remains ; and there 
is hardly any historical mention of its existence, beyond the fact 
that it was given by Hubert Fitzralph to the abbey of Darley. Dr. 
Pegge, however, says that it was dedicated to St. Leonard, and 
this may have made some confusion between the dedication of the 
chapel and the mother church. t 

* Patent Roll, 36 Henry VIII, Pt. 21, No. 760. For a copy of this grant we are in- 
debted to the Rev. A. T. Blytlie, Vicar of Scarcliffe. 
t Pegge's Collections, Vol. IV. 



irlenb. 




[HE earliest mention of the church of Shirland in connec- 
tion with the manor, is in the first year of the reign of 
Edward II. (1307), when Reginald de Grey, who possessed 
the manor, held also the advowson of the church. It is more than 
probable, however, that a church existed on this manor (if not on 
the actual site of the present one) previous to this date ; for in the 
year 1250 John de Grey obtained a grant for a market in this 
manor on Wednesdays, and a fair for three days at the festival of 
St. Peter ad vinciila ; and we may safely assume that a place, which 
was of sufficient importance to be a market town, would also have 
been in possession of a church for many years. In fact the manor 
was in the possession of the Grey family as early as the reign of 
King John, and shortly became the chief residence of one branch 
of this important family, who were afterwards termed de Wilton, 
from the principal seat of their barony. The great families of those 
days were never without a church on the estate of their residence, 
so that there is good reason to believe that a church was here 
erected in the days of John (1199-1216). The manor of Shirlaud, 
to which the advowson of the church continued to be attached, 
remained in the Grey family tiU the middle of the reign of 
Edward IV., when the estate was sold to Talbot, Earl of Shrews- 
bury. :: In the seventeenth century, when the manor was divided 
among the heirs general of that family, it was arranged that the 
r- -i>ective holders of the moieties should present to the living in 
rotation. 

Though the patron saint of this church is, without doubt, St. 
Leonard, the village wakes depend upon the festival of St. James. 

* There are numerous entries in the Iiiq. post Mort. rolls to the manor of Shir- 
land and the Greys. The earliest we have noted is of John Grey in the reign of 
lli'iiry III., and the last of Margaret, wife of Hichi'.rd Grey de VS'ehon, who had 
Shirland assigned to her as her (lower, in the 30th year of Henry VI. 



332 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

St. James' day (July 25th), regulates also the wakes at Alfretcm 
and other adjacent parishes, but we are not at present in pos- 
session of any data to account for this somewhat unusual occur- 
rence. There are three other churches in Derbyshire dedicated 
to St. Leonard, viz., Thorpe, Monyash, and Scarcliffe. The memory 
of this humble-minded hermit seems to have been formerly re- 
garded with much favour in England, for more than one hundred 
and forty churches still retain their dedications in his name. 

The church consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, tower at the 
west end, and south porch. The general aspect of the present 
building shows that it is all of one style the Perpendicular. The 
parapets are throughout embattled, and the tower is also orna- 
mented with four crocketed pinnacles. The windows do not call 
for any particular remark, and are all square-headed except the 
east window of the chancel. The pointed roof of the porch is 
formed of stone and supported by ribs of the same material a 
feature which is eminently characteristic of the Derbyshire porches 
of this date, more especially in the northern division of the county. 
Over the doorway is a plain square recess or niche, of small dimen- 
sions, once doubtless occupied by a figure of St. Leonard. The 
side aisles are separated from the nave on each side by three 
pointed arches, supported by octagon pillars having plain capitals. 
Beneath the tower is a western gallery, but as it does not project 
into the body of the church it can hardly be regarded as an eye- 
sore, more especially as the west window, which is not of large 
dimensions (having a doorway below it), is not in the least obscured. 

We are inclined to place the date of the present edifice about 
the middle of the fifteenth century ; and when we find that the 
manor of Shirlaud was purchased by the Shrewsbury family in 
the reign of Edward IV. (1461-1483), we feel little doubt that 
Shirland owes its well-proportioned church to that family, who 
would naturally look to the rebuilding of the church on their coming 
into the estate. 

In the north wall of the chancel is a fine monumental recess, of 
greater age than the present building. The recess itself is eight 
feet in length and fifteen inches deep. The top slab is now only 
a piece of gritstone, but the front one is of alabaster, and adorned 
in relief with twenty-one escutcheons (originally twenty-two), many 
of them much mutilated. It is covered by an ogee-shaped arch 
with cinquefoil cuspings, ornamented with crockets and finials. 
Beneath this canopy there was formerly an effigy of a knight in 
armour. 



SHIRLAND. 333 

In the June number of the Gentleman's Magazine, for the year 
1793, is a short account of the church of Shirland. A brief des- 
cription is given of this monument together with an engraving, 
from which it appears that the centre portion of an effigy in plate 
armour then remained. All trace of this has now disappeared, and 
we think that the depth of the recess must have been greater than 
it now is, when it accommodated an effigy. When Lysous visited 
this church about 1814, there were some " mouldering remains " of 
this effigy, and the sexton attributed it to the family of Withering- 
ton.* It is clear, however, from the armorial bearings that this is 
a memorial to one of the Grey family, and it seems very probable 
that it is to the special memory of Sir Henry Grey, who was sum- 
moned to Parliament as a Baron in the fiftieth year of the reign 
of Edward III., by the style of Henry Grey de Shirland, Chevalier. 
He died in 1396. The connection of the Greys with Shirland origi- 
nated in the reign of John. In 1212 Sir Henry de Grey of Turroc, 
in Essex, held " six knights' fees of the honour of Peverel, which 
came to the king by escheat in the counties of Derby and Notting- 
ham, viz., in Henoure one, in Normauton one, in Shirland one, 
in Codenoure and Touton one, in Eadcliff one, and Beeley one." 
Sir Henry's eldest son Richard, settled at Codnor, and became the 
ancestor of the Greys of Codnor, the last of whom died without 
issue in 1496. To the second son, John, the estates at Shirland were 
bequeathed. He was ancestor of that branch, who were afterwards 
usually called Lords Grey of Wilton, though they had for some 
generations an important seat at Shirland. These two brothers, 
Richard and John, were staunch upholders of King John in his con- 
tention with the barons, and also of his successor, Henry III., from 
both of whom they obtained many favours. We are told that in 
the thirty-sixth year of Henry III. that monarch " called all the 
Londoners together and bade the bishops excite them to take a 
voyage with him to the Holy Laud, when but few of them would go ; 
to this. Richard, and John his brother, readily consented, and the king 
ki^-i (1 them and called them his brothers." This was two years after 
he had granted to John the charter for the market at Shirland, or 
rather at Higham. Reginald, whom we have already mentioned as 
holding the advowson of the church that his grandfather had pro- 
bably held before him, was the eldest son of John de Grey. Regi- 
nald also held the adjacent manor of Stretton. He was frequently 
at the court of Edward I., and when that king left the realm for 

* Lysons' Collections. Add. MSS. 9463. 



334 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

bis expedition into Flanders, he specially nominated Lord Reginald 
Grey as one of the prince's counsellors. Sir Henry Grey de Shir- 
land was his immediate descendant.* 

Amongst those shields on the monument which can still he de- 
ciphered, are two charges that were borne by different branches 
of the Grey family a barry of six, in chief three torteaux ; and a 
lion rampant within a border engrailed. Other charges are a plain 
barry of six ; a barry of six with label of five points ; three piles 
meeting in base a canton, ermine; ermine, a chevron; a saltirc, 
engrailed, &c. None of the tinctures can now be traced, though 
the colours were doubtless originally depicted on the marble. 

Dr. Pegge, in notes taken about a century ago, gives a descrip- 
tion of these escutcheons, premising that they had then been much 
disfigured with whitewash. To this description, divided into two 
rows of eleven each, we have added, in brackets, the families to 
which they probably belonged ; but it is impossible to ascertain this 
in many instances, owing to the absence of the proper tinctures. 

" Upper Eow : 

" 1. A bend cotized between 6 lions rampant. t 

" 2. Per fess dauncette.J 

" 3. Three bezants and label of 5 points (Gourtenay). 

"4. A chevron. 

" 5. Quarterly, 1st a bendlet, 2nd frette, 3rd as 2nd, 4th as 1st. 

" 6. Barry of 6 (Grey of Codiior). 

" 7.- Barry of 6, a label of five points (Grey of Shirland). 

" 8. Barry of 6, on the chief bar 3 bezants (Grey, Earl of Kent). 

" 9. Barry of 6, a bendlet (Grey of Eotherfield). 

" 10. A lion rampant within bordure engrailed (Talbot). 

" 11. A saltire engrailed (Botetourt). 

" Lower Row : 

" 1. Barry of 6, label of 5 points (Grey of Shirland). 

" 2. Three piles meeting in base, a canton ermine (Bryan). 

" 3. A cross fleury. 

" 4. A bend between 6 martlets (Furnival). 

" 5. Barry of 6, on the alternate 6 fleur-de-lis, 3, 2, 1 (Hailard). 

" 6. Barry of 6, over all a bend charged (Poyuings). 

* There is a good account of the Greys of Codnor in Glover's Derbyshire (vol. ii., 
pp. 308-312). 

t These arms we did not decipher on the monument, and the only ' bend cotised 
that we noticed appeared to be between two double-headed eagles displayed. 

J This coat might belong to nearly a dozen different families, according to the 
tinctures, but we have not been able to connect it with one that would account for 
its presence on this monument. 



SHIRLAND. 335 

" 7. Ermine, a chevron (Tuchet, Baron Audley, who held estates 
at Markeaton). 

" 8. Barry of 6, a bend chequy (Sir M. Poynings). 

" 9. Barry of 6, a bendlet (Grey of Rotherfield). 

"10. Barry of G, a bend engrailed (Roos). 

" 11. A fess between 2 chevrons (Grey of Norfolk)."* 

It will be noted that a considerable number of these shields 
bear the arms of different branches of the Greys ; and the others, 
that we have identified, all represent families with which the Greys 
were intermarried in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Num- 
ber ten in the upper row is the coat of Henry Grey's wife, Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Thomas Lord Talbot ; whilst number eleven is 
the coat of his mother Maud, who was the daughter and co-heiress 
of John Botetourt of Weoby. With respect to the lower row, 
Robert de Grey, of Codnor, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress 
of Sir Guy de Bryan (number two), and their daughter and sole 
heiress married Richard Lord Poynings (number six), who died 10 
Richard II. John de Grey, of Rotherfield, married, 85 Edward III., 
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir M. Poyuings. The other intermarriages 
here represented, took place at an earlier date.t 

On the opposite wall of the chancel is fixed a slab of alabaster, 
three feet by two, on which are carved four kneeling figures. Each 
figure kneels upon a tasselled hassock in front of a small desk, upon 
which lies an open book. The two figures to the left are women 
in long mantles, with square-cut dress and close-fitting sleeves. 
From the front of the girdle hangs a chain bearing a round orna- 
ment, or pomander box for containing scent. The other two are 
men wearing wide mantles with hanging sleeves. Above the desk, 
that is on the extreme right, is placed an upright cross. In the 
article of last century in the Gentleman's Magazine, to which we 
have already referred, a sketch is also given of this memorial, and 
it is described as being on the same side of the chancel as the 
monument of Sir Henry Grey. During the restoration of this 
church, a few years ago, a new vestry was built, which opens into 
the chancel on the south side ; and this seems to have necessitated 
its removal to the opposite wall. The slab is destitute of any in- 
scription, or armorial device, but it has been conjectured that it is 
to the memory of certain members of the Grey family, and we 

*Pegge's Collections, vol. iv., and vol. v., p. 153. 

t liuuks' Dormant and Extinct Peerages, vol. ii.. p. 230. etc. Harl. MSS. 0589 and 
6317. 



336 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

have alluded to its former position as slightly confirmatory of this 
supposition. Dr. Pegge is inclined to assign it to the memory of 
Keginald Grey, who died 1 Edward II., his wife Maud, and their 
children, John and Joan. 

There are no other objects of interest in the chancel, and it lacks 
even any trace of a piscina, but against the right-hand pillar of the 
archway, as we return into the nave, should he noticed a small 
desk bearing a copy of Jewell's Apology attached to it by the original 
chain fastening. It is a folio copy of the year 1609. This cele- 
brated work was ordered to be placed in every parish church of 
the kingdom. The only other copy that we have met with in the 
churches of the Hundred of Scarsdale, is one bearing the date 1569, 
which is in a chest in the upper vestry at Dronfield. 

Under the east window of the north aisle is affixed a large 
alabaster table-tomb. On the top slab two full-length figures are 
incised. Eound the margin of this stone runs a much-worn black 
letter inscription. The further side of this monument is built into 
the wall, so that the commencement of the inscription is wanting, 
but the lost part appears to have been only of a formal character. 
The following is as accurate a copy as we could obtain from the 
margin of the three sides : Jokes Revdl de Shirlande miV qui obiit 
die Novembris Anno Dni, MCCCGG tricesimo sept imo et Harga.reta 
uxor ejus obiit die Mensis Ano Dni MCCCCC quorum animarurn pro- 
pitietur Deus. Amen. This inscription shows, from the omission of 
the date, that the monument was erected before the death of the 
wife. Dr. Pegge (who gives this inscription but in a slightly varied 
form, and reading 'vicessirno' instead of ' tricessirno'), commented 
on the fact of no spaces being left for the insertion of the date 
of the wife's death, which he attributes to the ignorance of the 
designer. The knight is represented without helmet or gauntlets, 
and in plate armour, but a skirt of mail shows below the cuirass. 
On his feet, which rest upon a dog, are the wide-toed sabbatons, 
with small rowel spurs attached. His sword is suspended from 
the left side. The lady wears a long flowing mantle, but the arms 
are in close-fitting sleeves, gathered into small knots on the lower 
edge, and terminating in wide cuffs. The head is adorned with 
the pedirnented head-dress, with the front lappets turned in towards 
the face. Beneath the knight, are the small incised figures of three 
boys ; beneath the lady, five girls. The west side of this monument 
has consisted of three panels worked into quatrefoils with a shield 
in the centre of each, but one has gone, and its place is now filled 



SHIRLAND. 337 

up with a plain square of stone. The escutcheons, like the rest of 
the monument, are battered and much the worse for wear, but one 
bears on a chevron three quatrefoils pierced (Eyre), and the other 
the same charge repeated, impaling what appears to be chequy, 
on two bars, two water bougets. On the south end there are also 
two shields, one the same as the first mentioned on the west side, 
the other the arms usually assigned the Derbyshire Revels : Arg., 
on a chevron, git., three trefoils, erm., within a border engrailed, sa. 
There are two more escutcheons on the slab at the north end, but 
they are now destitute of any device. 

The ancient family of Kevel came into this county from War- 
wickshire. John Revel, the first who came into Derbyshire, settled 
at Ogston in the fourteenth century. William Eevel, the last heir 
male of this branch, died in 1706 ; his sisters and co-heirs married 
Turbutt and Jenkinson. Hugh Revel, a younger brother of the 
above-mentioned John, settled at Carlingthwaite, Carnthwaite, or 
Carufield, as it is now called, in South Normanton. The legitimate 
line of this branch, also, became extinct in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. 

From the Chantry Roll we find that a chantry was founded in 
this church by the Revel family in the fifteenth century. 

" SHYRLANDE. Thos. Revell of Hygham by wyll ij Aprill A.D. 
MCCCC Ixx iiij bequethed C marks for the byenge of lands for a 
prests wags to synge and saye masse perpetuallye for his soule, etc. 
Roberte Revell by Wyll xij Maye, Miiu'ciiijxxxv. willed the issues of 
his londs in Thathwayte, and in the will to fynde a prest to syng 
in the chappell of Shyrland. Viii li. iiij s. clere iiii li. Christ. 
Haslam Chaplyn. He hath a chambre by thappoynment of Rob. 
Revell. He occupieth j chalys and ij vestments whc be Mr. Revells." 

The further provision made for the repose of the souls of the 
Revel family, we find specified in the wills of the sons of the 
founders among the Woolley MSS. Robert, eldest son of the 
founder of the chantry, by will dated 12th of May, 1490 (and not 
1495, as in the . Chantry Roll), gave "issues and profits of ah 1 his 
lands in Thathwayte and the Hill (North Wiufield), to fynd a priest 
to say and singe masse in the churche of Sherlaude by the space 
of foure score and nineteen yeares, and if a mortmayue mought be 
gotten in the meantime then to continue for ever or else be sold."* 
And again, a few years later, his brother and heir, Hugh, the 
second son of the founder, made an elaborate will, dated 15th May, 

*Add. MSS. GG67, f. 138. 



338 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

1504, containing several curious provisoes relative to the cliurch of 
Shirland. 

The great caprice that was shown in the spelling of those times 
is strikingly apparent in this literal excerpt : 

" I Hugh Eevell hole of ruynde and seke in body make rny 
testament in manner and forme foloyng, first I beqweth my soule to 
Almighty God, our lady, hys blessed modir, and all the company 
of heven, and my body to be bered in the parishe chvrche of Saint 
Leonard of Shyrlaund besyde my wyff, and for my principale * my 
best gwyk (quick) beest accordyng to the custom of the countre, 
also I beqweth to the parson of the sayde chyrche for tithes negli- 
gently forgotten xs. Item, I beqweth to the wardens of the said 
chirch xs. to be a banner cloth of Saint George with a shaft to 
beyr hit on. Item, I beqweth to the saide wardens xls. to ii. vest- 
ments and xs. to be a masse boke. Item, I will and beqweth to 
my executors xx/i. to be ii. marble stones to cover the bodies of 
my father and my modir and my wife and those to be made as 
gudley as that money will suffyce be the advise of my executours. 
Also I will that my feoffes of ah 1 my lands and tenements doo dayly 
and yearly find and cause to be fonde two prestes to say and syiig 
divine servyce in the saide Chirch of Shyrlaud for the soules of my 
fadir and my modir, my soule, and wyff s soule, my brother Eobt. 
soule, the soule of Roger Freke, my brdir and my systers soules, 
my kynnesfolks soules, the soules of all our benefactors, and all 
Crysten soules, and those ii. prests to be~ fonde of and with the 
issues revenues and proffets of my lauds and rents in Egstowe 
Goselands lying in Shyrlaund, Thathwayt with all my houses lands 
and tenements in the same, and ii. houses leying in the Hyll within 
the pishe of North Wynfeld with the appertenanees, whereof one is 
in the holding of William Ludnaru and an odir is in the holdyng of 
Rob. Alkoe with a rode off lands leying in the est end of Shyrland 
Chyrch within the park to byld a Chantre howse upon."t The 
will continues at great length to give the appointment of these 
priests, first to his son Tristram ; in default of Tristram making the 
appointment, to his second son Rowland ; thirdly to the Abbot of 
Darley ; and fourthly, as the last eventuality, to the Mayor of 
Nottingham. 

* A " principal " was the old legal term for an heirloom. According to the cus- 
tom of certain manors, some special object was never inveutorised after the decease 
of the owner amongst his other chattels, but accrued to the heir. At Shirland it 
appears that the best beast held this position, on other manors we read of the best 
bed, best table, &c. 

t Add. MSS. 6667, f, 64. " Sir John Dawson, parson of Shirlaund," was one of the 
executors of this will. 



siIIKLAXD. o39 

To an early volume of the Eelitjuary, another interesting document 
was contributed, by the late Mr. Thomas Bateman; from which it 
appears, that in the reign of Elizabeth, a Eoyal Commission was 
appointed to enquire about the Chantry at Shirland. The Com- 
missioners were Sir John Manners, Sir John Havpur, Sir Brian 
Lascelles, Sir Eobert Eyre, Edward Stevenson, and Thurstaii 
Bainford. Amongst the principal queries they were to solve were 
the following. "Was there any house called the Chantry House '? 
Was there any land at Upton alias Tupton, Shetland, or Swath- 
wike alias Thautwayte belonging to the Chantry ? ' Whether do 
ye know or have credibly herd saye that about the tyrne of the 
dissolution of Chaun tries that one Eevell then of Sherland entred 
uppon the possessione of the said Chaun trye and took the Chauntry 
preist or preists to his house to board, and presently uppoii the 
same toke in ah 1 suche leases as wear made by the said Chauntry 
preist or preists and grantes newe leases in his owne name to suche 
as had them before of the Chauntry preist or preists ? If he or 
they did, to whom wear such lease or leases made?" And also to 
inquire whether a witness Beardall had perjured himself, and 
acknowledged it when dying? 

The Eevel Chantry was at the end of the north aisle. There are 
no piscinas in either aisle, but a recess in the wall at the east end 
of the south aisle may have been used as an ahnery, and points 
to the former existence of another side altar in that position. 

According to the Eevel pedigree in the Visitation of 1611, Thomas 
Eevel, who founded the chantry, married Alice, daughter and co- 
heiress of Dowrnan of Higham. Of the issue of this marriage was 
Eobert, who died without issue, Hugh Eevel of " Carenthway " 
(Carnthwaite, Carnford), and John Eevel of Ogston, who married 
Margaret, daughter and sole heiress of " Eoger North of Boben- 
hill." : From the last marriage came John Eevel, who took to 
wife Margaret, daughter of "Eobert Eyre of Northwells " (North 
Lees), whose monument we have described at the end of the north 
aisle. Of their three sons and five daughters portrayed on the 
monument, it is probable that the greater part died in their infancy ; 
at ah 1 events we cannot find them mentioned in any Visitation. 
The only one named is Eobert Eevel, who married Eleanor, 
daughter and heiress of Anker Frecheville of Staveley.* 

* Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 88. Robert Eyre, of North Lees, was the son of William 
K viv of the same place, who was the second son of Nicholas Eyre of Hope. Eobert 
married Margaret, daughter of Inkersell of Brimiugton (Mitchell's Collections, Add. 
MSS. 28,113, f. 70). We are still at a loss to explain the impaled coat of Eyre and 
, at the north end of the Revel tomb, which we think has been incorrectly ren- 
dered by the sculptor. One branch of the family of Roos bore a fess chequy, be- 
tween two water bougets, but this does not appear any help in the identification. 



340 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

In the clerestory windows, abo've the arches of the nave, a few 
fragments of old glass have been preserved. One of these windows 
on the south side contains a portion of a black letter inscription, 
the name "Joins" being clearly distinguishable. Another on the 
north side has the words " pro bono statu," thus pointing to the 
former existence of one or more memorial windows in this church. 

The tower contains a peal of five bells. Three of them are 
dated, but have no founder's mark. They bear the following in- 
scriptions : "God save his Church, 1G18": "God save His Church, 
1710": and " Floreat ecclesia, MDCCXIII." A fourth is inscribed 
with the favourite legend " Jesus be our speed." Below the shoulder 
are the initial letters H. D. beautifully wrought on each side of the 
founder's mark. The founder's mark consists of a Latin cross with 
a circle round the base between the letters E. M., each of which 
is surmounted with a crown. This is the device attributed to 
Eichard Mellour of Nottingham. The one we describe last is un- 
doubtedly the oldest, bearing an inscription which points to Catholic 
days, " Sancti Johes ora pro nobis." This inscription is in small 
Gothic letters of rude execution. The component letters of two of 
the words are widely separated. The bell-founder's mark is difficult 
to describe without an engraving, but it principally consists of a 
cross between the initials E. C. There is the same mark on a 
bell at Scarcliffe, which also bears a similar inscription, " Maria " 
being substituted for " Johes." 

On the stones that cover the recesses of the east and west bell- 
chamber windows may be noticed the marks of an incised cross. 
On measuring, we ascertained that these two stones had formerly 
made a single slab about six feet long by two broad. It is a plain 
incised cross with a pedimented base, the ends of the limbs being 
slightly floriated. There is a space of four inches between the two 
parallel lines which form the stem. This points to the existence of 
an earlier church here, for this memorial slab appears to belong to 
the thirteenth century. 

The exterior of the east end of the chancel should not escape 
observation. The general appearance shows that much of the wall 
has belonged to an earlier building, probably of the Decorated period. 
The base stone of the east window, which is now filled with late 
Perpendicular tracery, is older than the mullions which spring 
from it. 

The church of Shirland was valued at .6 13s. 4d. in the Taxa- 
tion Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291. The following are 



SHIRLAND. 341 

the particulars of the endowments of this rectory from the Valor 
JScdeiicuticut, 27 Henry VIII. : 

SHIRLAXD RECTORIA. 
Geoi'gius comes Salopie Patronus ibidem. 

Doiniuus Thomas Alanus rector ibidem habet in communibus annis at sequitur. 

In primis in mansioiie cum douio coluuibina cum gleba - - xvij 

Item iu duobus croftis --------- iij 

Item in decimis feni --------- xx 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------ xxij 

Item iu oblationibus --------- xij 

Item in paschali rotulo -------- xxviij 

Item iu decimis garbarum --------iij 

Item in decimis minutis videlicet in porcellis anceribus canabo 

et lino ----------- iiij 



Summa - - viij vj 
Uude resoluta arcnidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio x vij 



De claro vij xv v 

Decinia inde - xv vj ob' 

The Parliamentary Commissioners, of 1650, valued the living at 
5G, and were unusually complimentary to the incumbent, Mr. John 
Payne, whom they reported to he " honest and able." 

Many of the presentations to benefices during the time of the 
Commonwealth are preserved amongst the manuscripts at Lambeth 
Palace. Here we found the original presentation to Shirland, 
written on half a sheet of foolscap, and signed and sealed by Geo. 
Savile. It runs as follows : " To all persons who have or shah 1 
have sufficient authority in this behalf greeting, I, Sir George 
Savile, of Thomhill in the county of York, Barronett, the true and 
undoubted Patron of the Rectory of Shirland in the county of 
Derby, doe present Joseph Stock, late minister at Ottley in the 
county of York, to the said Rectory, being now voyd, and to my 
presentation of full rights belonging, Desiring you to adrnitt the 
sayd Joseph Stock to the Rectory of Shirland aforesayd, and to 
invest him Rector there, and that you likewise invest him with all 
rights, members, and appurtenances whatsoever. In witness whereof 
I have set my hand and seall the 29 day of September, 1G56."* 

From a copy of the Terrier of Shirland, of the date of October, 
1795, we take the following quaint item: "Item, the parson of 
Shu-laud receives from Sam. Liudley, of Toadhole Furnace, which 
his predecessors have paid before him time beyond the memory of 
man, a fat goose at Christmas, and a good gammon of bacon at 
Easter, "t 

* Add. MSS. 6G71, f. 533. 
t Lambeth MSS. 944, No. 28. 




jT the time of the Domesday Survey, the manor of Staveley 
was held by Ascuit (or Hasculphus) Musard, and there 
was then a church arid a priest on the manor. The 
manor, together with the advowson of the church, remained in that 
family for nine generations.* Ascuit' s son, Richard, held both 
church and manor in their entirety, but his grandson, also named 
Ascuit, gave " to God and the blessed poor of the Hospital of St. 
John of Jerusalem, half the Church of Staveley." This deed is 
witnessed, amongst others, by Eichard, Bishop of Coventry, which 
gives us the approximate date, for he held that see from 1162 
1182. We ascertain subsequently, that this "half of the church" 
did not refer to the advowson, but to the rectorial tithes, hah* of 
which thus remained alienated from Staveley, till the dissolution 
of the estates of the Knights Hospitallers. We have direct proof, 
from the various Inquisitions, etc., that each of the subsequent 
heirs of the Musard estates, Ralph (I.), Robert, Ralph (II.), Ralph 
(III.), and John, held also the advowson of the church of Staveley. 
This brings us to Nicholas, Baron Musard, the last of the heirs 
male. He was heir to his nephew John, who died s. p. Nicholas 
had been presented to the rectory, or rather half rectory of Staveley, 
by his father, Ralph Musard (II.) Nicholas had several children, 
but as he was in orders they could not inherit,t and, therefore, on 
his death, in the 29th year of Edward I., the estates were divided 
between his three sisters and their issue. The eldest sister, Amicia, 
had been married to Anker de Frecheville, Baron of Crich, but they 

* The fourth volume of Nichols' Collectanea contains an elaborate pedigree of the 
Musard and Frecheville families, with detailed evidence. As we have drawn the 
greater part of our information respecting the connection of these two families with 
Staveley from this source, we refer our readers to those pages for the authorities 
consulted. We have, however, been able to glean some additional details, that are 
not to be found even in those apparently exhaustive papers. 

t " Nota, qxiod predictus Nichus fuit Rector Ecclesie de Staveley, et proles nomi- 
nata fuere oinnes bastard!." Lansd. MSS. 207, f. 171. 



316 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

both had died before Nicholas, so that her share came to her sou, 
Ealph Frecheville. The second sister, Margaret, was the wife of 
John de Hiberuia, and their heir was a son of the same name. 
The husband of the third sister, Isabella, is not known, but her 
daughter and heiress was married to "William de Chellardestone 
(or Chellaston). Not only was the manor of Staveley thus divided 
into three, but the advowson of the church was similarly shared. 

But this tripartite division of the church did not long continue ; 
for an Inquisition, taken at Staveley 9 Edward II., records the 
granting to Ealph Frecheville by his cousin, John de Hibemia, of 
his moiety of both manor and church.* Ealph Frecheville thus 
became possessed of two-thirds of the advowson. At that time the 
church was said to be worth six marks yearly in all its issues. 

A few years later (1325) there was a vacancy in the rectory of 
Staveley, and a dispute arose as to the right of presentation. 
Ealph Frecheville, and Margaret his wife, claimed the presentation, 
but John Cromwell, and Idonea his wife, denied the right, and 
alleged that Ealph Frecheville, when the church was vacant on 
the death of Nicholas, presented Eobert de Woodhouse ; that on the 
next vacancy, through resignation, in the reign of Edward II., 
Ealph Frecheville, as holding the second moiety by the grant of 
John de Hibernia, presented John de Horton ; and that William de 
Chellaston, and Joanna his wife, had made over their hereditary 
rights to the third moiety of the advowson, etc., to Walter de 
Langton ; Walter de Langton in his turn to Eobert de Clifford ; and 
that finally Eobert de Clifford had granted it to John Cromwell, 
and his wife Idonea, for the term of the wife's life.f 

But though the second moiety speedily came into the hands of 
Frecheville, the remaining third of the advowson continued with 
the Cliffords for more than two centuries, as can be proved by 
numerous Inquisitions and other documents of each successive reign. 
Finally, on the attainder of John, Lord Clifford, this third portion 
of the manor and church was forfeited to the Crown, and granted 
by Edward IV. to Sir John Pilkington. It seems to have been 
again escheated, for Henry VIII., in 1544, granted it to Sir Francis 
Leake, who in the next year conveyed it to Sir Peter Frecheville. 
Sir Peter thus became possessed of the whole advowson, as he 
previously held the other two-thirds by inheritance. 

Sir Ealph Frecheville, who married one of the co-heiresses of 

*Add. MSS., 6,697, f. 56. 

t Plac. de Banco, t. Mich. 19 Edw. II., rot. 97. Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 28. 



STAVELEY. 347 

Musanl, was summoned to Parliament as a Baron in the 29th year 
of Edward I. ; but the like honour does not appear to have been 
repeated to his descendants for several generations. Staveky was 
the chief seat of this powerful family. Sir Peter Frecheville, of 
Staveley, was knighted in the reign of Edward VI. for his services 
at the battle of Musselborough ; and his great grandson, Sir John 
Frecheville, who did signal service for Charles I. as a staunch 
Royalist, was at the Kestoratiou created a peer, under the title of 
Lord Frecheville, of Staveley. In 1681, a year before his death, 
he sold the estate, together with the patronage of the church, to 
the family of Cavendish. He died at the age of 76, and was the 
la^t of that ancient family. 

The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, consists 
of nave, chancel, north and south aisles, south porch, and tower at 
the west end. The south aisle is also continued parallel with the 
chancel, thus forming the Frecheville chantry. Very considerable 
alterations and additions were made at the time of the recent 
restoration. The church previously had no north aisle, and the 
present one is spacious and admirably designed, the windows being 
filled with tracery of the Decorated period, in precise imitation of 
some of those that adorn the highly interesting church of Dorches- 
ter, hi Oxfordshire. The chancel, too, was thoroughly restored in 
the same style, and a much higher pitch given to ah 1 the roofs. 
The old porch, in a ruinous condition, had been removed some five- 
aud- twenty years ago, and a new one now occupies its place. The pre- 
vious one, from an engraving of the church given in the Gentleman' a 
J/(/'/"~'f for 1820, appeal's to have been erected (in place, doubtless, 
of a still older one) hi the seventeenth century, and had a square 
sun dial over the doorway. The tower, too, was considerably 
strengthened by Iron stays, and otherwise repaired during the 
restorations ; but the whole alterations were admirably carried out, 
and there was as little interference as possible with old details. 
There is, therefore, no difficulty in ascertaining the precise extent 
of the alterations. Of the church, as it existed when the Domesday 
Survey was taken, there is now no trace extant ; unless it be in 
the fragments of incised slabs, that are worked up in the window- 
sills of two of the windows of the south aisle. These stones 
appear to be the oldest in the building, and may possibly be 
among the very earliest sepultures. The font, too, which is Norman, 
might by some be attributed to a date as early as the Domesday 
Survey, and it would be interesting to think that the original 



348 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

stone was now in use ; but to us it appears, from comparing it 
with other specimens, to be about a century later, i.e., of the 
latter half of the twelfth century. This fine specimen of an early 
font, unique in several of its details, was happily rescued of late 
from an ignominious position in the grounds of the old rectory. The 
font stands three feet high, and the base eighteen inches. The top 
part is circular, but bevilled down round the lower edge, and at 
one of the angles thus formed is a man's head with a forked beard, 
wearing a crown fleury, from the centre of which rises a brush- 
like erection. The central support is a large round pillar, but it is 
further supported at each angle, by four small columns only two- 
aud-a half inches in diameter. The basin of the font is circular, 
two feet two inches in diameter, and ten inches deep. We may 
here mention, that in a cottage garden, within a stone's throw of 
the church, is a small circular stone basin, about a foot in diame- 
ter, richly carved with four cherubs' heads in high relief, and with 
five-leafed flowers between. It is now filled with moss, and broken 
from its base ; and, though much knocked about, is a nice piece of 
carving of the Kenaissauce style, probably about the date of the 
Frecheville window, ^^ r e think it likely that this basin at one time 
served as font to the church, though a plainer marble basin was 
removed to make way for the original one, now so happily restored 
to its proper place. 

Of the Early English period, that followed after the Norman, 
there are not many traces ; but the basement of the tower, with its 
irregular buttresses, appears to have been then originally designed ; 
and the remains of a small lancet window of that date, and other 
details, were found when recently removing the obstructions that 
separated the chantry from the south aisle. Nor must we omit to 
attribute to this period the south doorway, the jambs of which are 
ornamented with capitals of well-defined foliage, unmistakably 
pointing out the Early English style. A new head to this doorway 
had to be found at the time of the alterations. The soiith aisle is 
separated from the nave by five pointed arches, supported by four 
octagon pillars, with plainly moulded capitals and bases. These 
are of the Decorated period, but are not of a precisely similar date, 
the two nearest the west end being the oldest. Two low arches, 
with an octagon pillar of a similar style, divide the chancel from 
the chantry. The interesting discovery was made above these 
arches, during the recent alterations, of a row of five small cleres- 
tory windows, so unusual in a chancel. These windows, of three 



STAVELEY. 349 

lights each, had been effectually built up, but are now again used 
to give light. Perhaps this blocking up of the clerestory windows 
was not an offence of very long standing, for we learn from the 
Collections of Dr. Pegge, that much of the chancel was pulled down 
and rebuilt in 1786. At that time a stone was found in the wall 
with " a chevron ermine between three St. Andrew crosses," being 
the arms of Greenwood ; and Pegge adds that he has failed to ni,d 
any connection between this family and Staveley, unless it may 
have been that a Greenwood was once rector.* Bassano, too, in 
his notes (circa 1710) says that " at the east end of the chancel, 
on a cross of stone, is a crucifix;" but whether this was within or 
without he fails to say. In the late or debased Perpendi- 
cular style the church underwent much alteration; indeed this 
must have been the general feature of the church previous to its 
restoration, with its low-pitched roofs and pinnacled embattlements. 
The windows on the south side of the church, both to the chantry 
and south aisle, are now all of this period, being square-headed 
windows of three lights, with but little or no tracery. The upper 
part of the tower, with the belfry windows, is also of late 
Perpendicular, though not so late as the battlements and small 
pinnacles, which bear the date on the south front, cut plainly into 
the stone, of 1G81. A doorway should also be noticed, with a 
round -head, into the chantry on the south side; the door of which 
has the year 1696 marked upon it in large-headed nails. An en- 
graving by Malcolm, of Staveley Hall, gives also an east view of 
the church, and the tower is represented as surmounted in the 
centre by a small octagon spire, or rather spirelet, apparently made 
of wood coated with lead, after the fashion of the "extinguisher" 
on Wirksworth Parish Church. Our confidence, however, in the 
accuracy of this representation, is shaken, by the fact that Malcolm 
altogether omits the battlements, which must have then existed. 

To revert to the interior of the church before the restoration, it 
was disfigured by three galleries, one over the south aisle, one 
blocking up the fine archway into the tower at the west end, and 
another small singing gallery, strange to say, across the chancel 
archway. The chancel was then partitioned off from the nave by 
a substantial screen, with windows and door in it; over which was 
this third gallery. This gallery must have been the successor of 
the old rood-loft that stood in a similar position, but from what we 
can gather, it had little or none of the old woodwork, or any ap- 

* Pegge's Parochial Collections, vol. iv. , Staveley. 



350 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

pearance of antiquity about it. A letter of the Eev. Fletcher Dixon, 
dated October, 1816, says "the rood-loft at Staveley, which re- 
mained pretty entire since the Reformation, was taken down about 
twenty-five years ago, to let more light into the church."* Bassano, 
writing of this church, says " At upper end of body of church is 
seat belonging to Hall, and above it is a large molding, being upper 
beam of ye rood-loft, and on wood is cut ye paternal coat armour 
of Frecheville, a bend between six escaUops, held by an angel on 
his breast. Upon end of an old seat in ye chancell, Frechville 
impaling a bend between six martlets." 

The brief description of the chantry, as it existed hi 1757, is also 
worth transcribing from Reynolds' notes " South aisle parted in 
two from north to south by iron rail or palisade, just by chancel 
door, and more eastern part is the burying place of Frechevilles. 
The entrance into this burying place is on your right hand just as 
you come up at the communion rails." In the south wall of 
the south aisle, just where the aisle terminates and the chantry 
begins, is a small piscina which has at sometime been mutilated 
and cut level with the wall, probably to make room for pews. 
This, of course, affords a proof that a side altar formerly stood on 
this spot. 

One other object worthy of note remains in the interior of the 
church. It is a richly carved recess, probably monumental, now 
built into the outer wall of the north aisle. It formerly occupied 
a similar position in the north wall of the nave. It is about five 
feet in length, and a similar height in the centre, consisting of an 
ogee-shaped arch ornamented with crockets, and supported at each 
side by crocketed pinnacles. The face of these pinnacles is divided 
into two compartments one above the other. That to the right 
hand is occupied by a man in a single short garment with his 
hands folded, and below him is a man with a crown, holding 
in front of him a shield and a long sword. That to the left has 
two female figures, the upper one in a plain long dress, and the 
lower one in a square cut head dress surmounted by a crown, 
holding a book in her hands. These figures are all very small, 
and so rudely cut that we should have ascribed them to an early 
date, had not the other details of the sculpture unmistakably 
poiuted to nothing earlier than the Decorated period of the four- 
teenth century. The upper half of the interior of the arched recess 
has had a device painted on it, displaying no little skill. This 

*Lysons' Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9,423, f. 303. 



STAVELEY. 351 

was laid bare during its removal, but is now much faded, and 
hardly anything remains but the outline of the figures. The centre 
figure, from the nimbus, is unmistakably Christ, and two winged 
angels appear to be removing clothing from his shoulders. By some 
this is said to represent the Resurrection, but others have sug- 
gested the Baptism of the Saviour. The former appears to be the 
more likely subject in this situation, but then the hands of the 
central figure do not now bear any marks of the nails, but these 
may have faded away. We have little doubt that the lower part 
of this recess has been originally occupied by a small effigy, or, 
what is more likely, by a demi-effigy, and that it is of a monu- 
mental nature. It is now supported in the wall by a large base- 
ment stone that projects some inches beyond it, and on the surface 
of this stone are holes that have evidently once sustained iron 
bars. From this circumstance it has been conjectured that the 
contents of this sepulchral recess were railed off, and that they 
were possibly the valuable or bejewelled relics of some saint. But 
this conjecture cannot be maintained, for it is clear that the sup- 
porting stone is of a different nature to the rest of the monument, 
and, from the moulding of its edges, can be shown to belong to a 
much later age. 

On the apex of the eastern end of the roof of the nave is a bell- 
cote, containing the sanctus bell its proper position. This bell, 
which we were told is uninscribed, occupied a similar position on 
the old roof of the nave, before the church was restored, as we 
find from the plate of the church in the Gentleman s Magazine,* to 
which we have already referred. It is a most exceptional thing to 
meet with the sauctus bell in its true position, most of those that 
are still extant having been transferred to the belfry. 

A short article, descriptive of the church, accompanies the plate 
in Urban's Magazine. From this we learn that the church had 
been lately paved, a new gallery built, and " the whole interior 
beautified." The largely increased area of the church, since the 
late alteration, is clearly shown, for we are told that it then con- 
tained " an ichnographical site of about forty yards by twelve." 
Mr. Gisborne, the then rector, whose name appears on the bell, is 
much praised in this article, for though 87 years of age, he always 
met the corpse at the churchyard gate, and refused shelter at the 
grave side. Mention is also made of a headstone in the church- 
yard to the memory of one Robert Sampson, a tombstone bard 

* Gentleman's Magazine, December, 1820. 



352 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

and itinerant dealer in pottery, whom Urban's correspondent much 
extols.* 

In the churchyard, near to the south porch, is the old cross, 
now restored, the original portions of which are the base and the 
greater portion of the shaft. The cross-head and the two steps 
are new. At the time of Bassano's visit it must have been nearly 
if 'not quite perfect, for he speaks of " a faire cross of 4 greeces 
(steps) with a proportionable middle stem." 

It now remains for us to describe the interesting monumental 
remains still extant within the church, and to supplement this 
description with as much information as we can coUect, respecting 
the numerous memorials that have either decayed or been 
demolished. 

The church of Staveley, being the property of so illustrious a 
family as that of Frecheville, naturally attracted much attention 
from the Heralds in their Visitations. Various copies of the Visi- 
tations of 1569 and 1612 are preserved amongst the Harleian MSS. ; 
and we have also consulted Ashmole's Church Notes of the 18th 
August, 1662, the notes of Bassano taken about 1710, those of 
John Eeynolds, taken on the 18th November, 1757, and the 
voluminous collections of Dr. Pegge.t 

From the "Visitation of Darbysheire, by Richard St. George, 
Esquire, Norroy King of Arms, 1612, together with Visitation made 
1569," we take the following description of the elaborate blazonry 
that then occupied the windows of this church : 

"In Staveley church, being the lordship of Sir Peter Frecheville, 
Knight, taken the 24th day of August, 1611. 
" These in the east chancel windowes : 
"1. Cheeky, orandaz., a fess, gu. (Clifford). 
" 2. Gu., three lions passant gardant, or. (England). 

* Robert Sampson was born at Inkersall Green, in the parish of Staveley. He died 
on May 28th, 1804, aged 59. The following is his epitaph, written by himself : 
" Mortal ! behold an emblem of thy fate, 

Place thy affection on a future state ; 

Revolving time will leave thee breathless soon, 

Night takes ns home, if not called hence at noon. 

Here lies a poet, famous once for verse, 

Now awful silence bids no more rehearse ; 

Here let his relics undisturbed remain, 

In peaceful dust, till they're restored again." 

There is one of his epitaphs in Chesterfield churchyard, to the memory of Elizabeth 
Mead, aged 15, who drowned herself in Walton Dam, August 29th, 1789, owing to a 
false charge of theft. See Local Notes and Queries, Derbyshire Times, January 27th, 
1674. 

t The Notes of Reynolds, and a portion of the Heralds' Visitations were published 
in 1834, in the first volume of Nichols' Collectanea, but we have in each instance 
consulted the original manuscripts. Add. MSS., 6.701 : Harl. MSS., 5,809, 6829, 
1,093, and 1,537; Ashmolean MSS., 854. 



STAVELEY. 353 

" 3. Az., a bend between 6 escallops, arg. (Frecheville). 

" 4. Barry of six, arg. and az. (Grey, of Sandiacre). 

" 5. Az., billety, a fess indented, or. (Deincourt). 

"6. Arg., a chevron between three cross-crosslets fitchy, so,. 
(Findern). :;: 

" These six in the south windowes : 

" 1. Sa., six annulets three, two, one. (Leake). 

" 2. Sa., on a bordure, arg., eight cinquefoils of the field. (Darcy). 

" 3. Arg., three livery pots, gu., a border, sa. besanty. (Mon- 
boucher). 

"4. Or., on a fesse, gn., three water-bougets, ary., over all a 
bend, sa. (Bingham).t 

" 5. Paly of six, or and gu. on a bend, sa., three water-bougets, 
arg. (Byrton).* 

" In another window : 

" Quarterly : Babington and Dethick, and beneath ' Orate pro 
bono statu Dni Johis Babiugton, qui istam feuestram fieri fecit.' 

" ILL another window two coats : 

" 1. Arg., a bend between six martlets, sa. (Tempest). 

"2. -Vw., five fusils in fess, gu. (Bosville). 

" Beneath them this inscription : ' Orate pro bouo statu Thome 
Tempest arniigeri, et . . . . uxoris ejus, qui istani feuestram 
fieri fecerunt.' 

"In another window two coats: 

"1. Frecheville. 

"2. Arg., on a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or. (Leake). 

" At the bottom of the window, under the first coat, one in 
armour kneeling ; upon his surcoat, the bend and 6 escallops ; his 
huyre yellow ; his hands closed and erect. Underneath this in- 
scription ' Orate pro anima Johis Frechevile Arniigeri, et pro 
aiabus omnium antecessorum.' 

"In the next pane, his wife kneeling at an altar (as likewise 
her husband), her hands erect, upon her gowue saltoyre and an- 

* Perhaps this coat is a mis-reading for Cachehors, who held the manor of Staveley- 
Woodthorpe. The heiress married Bodes iii the fourteenth century. 

f The arms of Bingham. of Nottinghamshire, were of common occurrence in the 
churches of that county, where they were extensive landowners. These arms, with- 
out the bend, are still to be seen in North \V infield Church. They were landowners 
in Stavdi y in the sixteenth century. 

* The arms attributed to Mousire de Byrton in Jenyn's Ordinary (Harl. MSS. 
ti,.jtS'J; ; but we are not able to account for their appearance here. 

^ Enn. is probably a mis-reading for unj. Elias Ashmole read this coat, ' Erin., 5 
fusils, sa.," a bearing we cannot rind in l j apworth or elsewhere, and which leads us 
to think that the glass was damaged, ami partly illegible. 

2 A 



354 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

nulets. Under-written ' Orate pro bouo statu Elizabeths uxoris 
ejus unius benefactorum. ' 

" In the same pane behind him, his son kneeling at an altar in 
a red robe, yellow hayred. Underwritten ' Orate pro bono statu 
Petri Freeh vile filii dicti Johis.' 

" Behind her a daughter kneeling in a red gowne. 

' ' In the next windowe 

" Arg.j three magpies, proper. (Bakewell). 'Orate pro aniina 
Johis Bakewell, Capellani qui istam fenestram fieri fecit.' ' 

We have appended to these different coats the names in brackets 
of the families to which they belonged. Their presence in these 
windows may be thus briefly accounted for : Clifford held a share 
of the manor of Staveley for more than two centuries ; Ralph 
Frecheville married Isabella, daughter of William de Grey, of 
Sandiacre, in the reign of Edward III. ; John Deincourt held land 
in Staveley in the reign of Henry III., which appears to have re- 
mained in the family for several subsequent generations; John Freche- 
ville married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Leake, of Sutton, in 
1498 ; their son, Peter Frecheville, married Elizabeth, eldest daughter 
of Sir Richard Tempest; Sir Thomas Tempest, of Bracewell, High 
Sheriff of Yorkshire, 8 Henry VIII., son of Sir Richard, married 
Rosamund, daughter and co-heiress of William Bosville, of Chevet ;* 
Rosamund, the grand-daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Frecheville, 
was married to John Darcy; Catharine, youngest daughter of Anker 
Frecheville, was married to John Bakewell,^ she died 16th August, 
1517 ; the marriage between Frecheville and Monboucher is mentioned 
below ; the family of Goushill were landowners in the neighbouring 
parishes of Eckington and Barlborough ; and Sir John Babington, 
of Dethick, who was killed at the battle of Bosworth, 1485, was a 
benefactor to the church, and is supposed to have held land in 
Staveley. 

Gervase Holies, the Lincolnshire antiquary, who visited this church 
about half a century later, further mentions the arms of Freche- 
ville in a south window, with the words " Radulphus Frecheville" 

*Betham's Baronetage, vol. ii., p. 346. 

t By a deed of the year 1497, witnessed by Richard Frecheville, parson of the 
church of Staveley, John Bakewell, chaplain, grants to Anker Frecheville, and others, 
all his lands at Staveley and elsewhere in trust, to perform his last will. Nichols' 
Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 204. John Bakewell, chaplain, to whose memory there was 
formerly a window, was not, of course, married, and his name-sake, who married 
Catherine F., was, we believe, his nephew. The date of Catherine's death is taken 
from an old Missal " belonging formerly to Staveley Church, now (1706) in the custody 
of Mr. Richard Hall, of Dronfield." This Missal was presented to the church by 
Robert Bertram, who died in 1438. There were various entries of the Frecheville 
family on the fly leaves. Add. MSS. 6668, f. 301. 



STAVELEY. 355 

below tliem ; but the whole of this fine display of glass has long 
since disappeared, and there does not appear to have been a single 
ancient coat left, when Bassauo visited the church in 1710. The 
orders passed by the Commonwealth for the demolition of painted 
glass in churches, specially exempted all that was of an heraldic 
or memorial nature ; but various battles and sieges raged so fiercely 
round old Staveley House (which was in close proximity to the 
church), between the Eoundheads and the Eoyalists, that nearly the 
whole of this blazonry probably then disappeared. The only frag- 
ments of old glass now remaining are two small pieces, in yellow 
and white, in the east window of the chantry ; one of them represent- 
ing an old man with bare feet grinding a hurdy-gurdy, and the 
other a man's head with wavy hair. These fragments are of greater 
age than any of the heraldic devices that we have been just 
describing, and are coeval with the Decorated period of architecture. 

There are two old monuments on the north side of the chancel, 
of peculiar interest, for they both consist of effigies in brass to the 
memory of the same man. The earliest of these is an altar tomb, 
having 011 the top a full-length figure in brass of a knight in 
armour. He is clad in plate armour, with his feet resting on a 
belled talbot. Over his armour he wears a tabard, on which are 
displayed the arms of Frecheville. His sword is girt in front of 
his left thigh, and the hilt of the dagger is shown on the right. 
The hands are clasped uplifted, but the upper .portion, together 
with the head and shoulders, is missing. Two scrolls proceed from 
the head, bearing these inscriptions respectively " Sta Trinitas 
unus Deus miserere nobis." " Deus ppicius esto mihi peccatori." 
Above the figure is an emblem of the Trinity, occasionally found 
on brasses of this date, consisting of a representation of God the 
Father as an aged man seated under a canopy, holding before 
him a crucifix, upon one arm of which a dove, the emblem of the 
Holy Spirit, is alighting. At the four corners of the slab are four 
escutcheons also in brass. They represent Frecheville, impaling a 
lion rampant ; Frecheville impaling, on a bend between 6 martlets 
3 roundlets (Wortlcy), and the third and fourth simply Frecheville. 
One of these latter is now very indistinct, and is described in 
Holles's Visitation as Lealre, but sufficient remains to disprove 
this. At each end of the tomb there has originally been a brass 
escutcheon let into a quatrefoil cut in the stone, but these were 
"rend away" even in Bassano's time. On the front there have 
been also three shields, of which two are now remaining, viz. : 



356 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Frecheville impaling a liou rampant, and Freclieville. Bound t he- 
margin the following inscription is let in, in a brass scroll, pro- 
fusely ornamented between the words with grotesque figures of 
animals and bits of foliage. The inscription is not now perfect, the 
words supplied from the Visitation of 1611 being printed in italics. 
Space was left at the time of the erection of this monument for the 
precise date of the death, but this was not filled in. " Orate pro 
animabus Petri Fre>-hwell Dni de Staveley in com. Derb. armigr. qui 

obiit .... die men sis .... Anno Domini Millhns CCCC 

Et Matilde uxoris ejus. Quorum aniuiaruni propicietur Deus. 
Amen." This monument is to the memory of Peter Frechevillr. 
who was mentioned above as being knighted at the battle of Mus- 
selborough, and Matilda (Wortley) his wife. She died in 1482: 
and, curiously enough, the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian 
Library, tell us of a separate monument to her memory, described 
as " being on the ground." It bore the following inscription : 
" Hie jacet Matilda ffrechvile quondam uxor Petri ffrechvile, An. 

Dom. de Staveley qui obiit 12 Kalend A. 1482." There 

is now no trace of this monument, and we must conclude, with re- 
gard to the altar tomb, that it was erected to their joint memory, 
some tune after the wife's decease, by her husband. However, on the 
death of Sir Peter Frecheville, his survivors or executors do not 
appeal* to have been content to simply fill in the blank date on 
this costly and handsome tomb, but they must needs perpetuate his 
memory by a second brass, affixed to the wall immediately above 
the altar tomb. This monument represents Peter and Matilda 
kneeling at desks facing one another. The knight is clad in mail, 
but with bare head and hands. His long sword rests on the spurs 
of his sabbatons. Behind him are eight boys, kneeling in long 
gowns trimmed with fur, wearing straight long hair. His lady is 
clad in a long gown, also fur trimmed, and wears a peaked head- 
dress with falling lappets. Behind her kneel seven girls similarly 
attired. Above them is a figure of the Virgin and Child, to which 
two scrolls lead up from the mouths of the knight and his lady. 
These scrolls are now missing, but we can supply the words, as 
they were extant when Bassano visited the church. They were 
inscribed as follows: " Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis," and "O 
mater Dei memento mei." Below the figures we read this inscrip- 
tion : " Here under fote lieth the bodys of Peyrs Freychwell and 
Maude his wyf, and sume tyme squk-r uiito the noble and excellent 
priiu-o King Henry the VI.. and lord and patron of this chirche 



STAVELEY. 357 

Peyrs decessyd the xxv day of Marche, the yere our lord MDIII. 
On whose soullys Jhu have mercy. Ameri." 

This Peter Frecheville was the son of Gervase and Margaret 
Frecheville. Of the fifteen children, which, according to the niural 
monument, were born to him and his wife Maud, many must have 
died in their infancy, as they are not noticed in any of the Visita- 
tion pedigrees. We now only know the names of seven. John, 
the eldest son and heir, whose tomb w r e shall immediately notice; 
Nicholas, who held Park Hah 1 , Deuby ; Ealph, who had property 
at Brirnington, and whose will is dated loll ; Plichard, rector of 
Staveley; Anker, who married Isabel, daughter and heiress of 
Thomas Wakefield, of Newark; and two daughters, Agues and 
Eleanor, who are incidentally mentioned in a pardon of the Pope's 
of the year 1467.* 

The next tomb to be noticed is a large slab of alabaster, raised 
slightly from the ground, and placed under one of the two arches 
that separate the chantry from the chancel. Upon this slab the 
effigy of a man in armour is boldly pourtrayed, and an inscription 
runs round the margin. The effigy is bare-headed, with hands 
clasped, and sword by his side ; the feet are now broken, but the 
small spurs remain, and Bassano and others describe the feet as 
resting on a talbot or greyhound. This figure represents John 
Frecheville, the son of Sir Peter Frecheville, whose monument we 
ha\i' just described. Above his head are the arms of FrecheviDe. 
The inscription is as follows, that part which is now missing has 
been supplied from the Visitation of Gervase Holies, and is printed 
in italics: "Hie jacet Jobs Frecheville armiger qui diem suum 
clausit extrernuin vicessimo mensis Januari Anno Dni Hillirn D. nouo, 
Cujus aie propicietur Deus. Amen." 

Eeynolds, writing in 1757, mentions several broken alabaster 
pavers "lying before the Communion rails," but all illegible. The 
inscription on one of these is given at the Visitation of 1611 : 
" Hie jacc t Margareta Frecheville uxor .... Frecheville quoe ob. 

viij. Ides (1336);" and at the head Frecheville impaling 

Monboucher. Another stone also then bore Frecheville impaling 
Fitzralph. Bassano (1710) describes yet another " alabaster stone 
close to the north door of chancell, bearing Frecheville impaling 2 
chevrons (Musard)," and four others all illegible. This slab, 
described by Bassano as bearing Frecheville impaling Musard, would, 
in all probability, be the interesting memorial of the first of the 

*Harl. MSS. 1537, f. 57. Laiisdowne MSS. 207. f. 145. 



358 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Staveley Frechevilles, viz., Anker de Freclieville, Lord of Crich. 
He, in the reign of Henry III., married Ainicia, the eldest sister 
and one of the co-heiresses of Nicholas Mtisard, who was Lord and 
Eector of Staveley. The issue of this marriage was Ralph Freche- 
ville ; who, by Margaret, daughter and heiress of John Beaufey, had 
Anker Frecheville, who married Margaret, daughter of George 
Monboucher. 

At the restoration of the church, the remains of those slabs were 
placed in the chantry ; but all the armorial bearings were quite 
obliterated, and only a few words, almost illegible, of marginal 
inscription can be traced upon one. " Que luce (?)" was all that 
we could decipher. Reynolds, too, makes mention of "several 
bluish flat stones, formerly crosses, but edges and figures wanting." 
One of these still remains in the pavement of the chantry, and it 
is evident, from the indent or matrix, that it originally consisted of a 
demi-effigy with inscription below it, terminating in a cross. Brasses 
of this description are generally of the fourteenth century. Another 
one, that shows the matrices of a marginal inscription, and of a 
centre figure with another inscription below it, has been subse- 
quently re-used to commemorate a later sepulture, and now bears 
the word " Resurgant" in Roman capitals at the foot, and the date, 
1653, at the top. This chantry, or " Frecheville quire," contains 
the monuments, handsome of their style, to the last of that family ; 
but it would be foreign to the purport of these "Notes" to give 
detailed descriptions of these post-Reformation memorials. Suffice 
it, then, to say that they consist of a large marble sarcophagus, in 
memory of John, Lord Frecheville, the last of that ancient family, 
who died 1682, aged 76; and a handsome monument to his daugh- 
ter Christian, wife of Lord St. John of Basing, who died in child- 
bed of her first son in 1653. The mother is represented in white 
marble in a recumbent position, with the child in her arms. The 
head is considered to be a fine piece of sculpture. Behind Lord 
Frecheville's sarcophagus is a window of coloured glass, bearing 
in the centre the arms and quarterings of the last of the Freche- 
villes, surrounded with cherubs and wreaths of roses. The motto 
is " Qui aime le roy, aime sa patrie;" and at the bottom is the 
inscription " Dom Johannes Frescheville Baro de Staley posuit. 
1676." The colours of this window are peculiarly delicate, and it 
is a fine specimen of the Renaissance style, but yet it looks strangely 
incongruous within the walls of a gothic church. It is said that 
this window was imported from France, and Bassano mentions that 
it cost 40, a very large price in those days. 



STAVELEY. 359 

Various interesting relics that had escaped the fury of the civil 
wars, and the zeal of the Puritans, have since fallen victims to the 
almost more destructive sluggishness of the "churchwarden era;" 
for Bassano tells us that "Here hangs hys (John Frecheville's) 
Pennon and Streamer, spurs, gauntlets, helmet, and crest, with tassels 
of silk, bossed with gold ; with all ye achievements of Sir P. Freche- 
ville, knight, who was knighted at Muselborrow battle, in Scotland, 
great grandfather to John Lord Frecheville. Upon ye Pennon is 
the same quartered coats as in ye window, exclusive of escutcheon 
of pretence. Upon ye head end of ye Streamer is ye Arms of 
England, below is Frecheville crest in several places, and ye motto 
yr same as in ye window." 

Immediately below the monument to the Lady Christian is a very 
interesting slab to an ecclesiastic. The figure is clad in a single 
long vestment or cassock, and is incised in low relief. From the 
left hand proceeds a scroll bearing the words " Memento Johis," 
and the other arm supports a pastoral staff, the crook of which is 
elegantly' carved and turned inwards. Over the head is a canopy, 
or rather semi-circular ribbon, ornamented with four-leaved flowers. 
Bound the margin is a well carved inscription, the words being 
divided by foliage. The words in italics are almost quite illegible, 
and are here supplied from the Notes of Holies. " Hie jacet Do- 
minus Johannes Warton quondam rector istius eccJesie cujus anime 
propicietur Deus. Amen." 

We have endeavoured to form a complete list of the rectors of 
Staveley, but have failed to fill up the considerable gap which 
intervenes between John de Horton, mentioned above, and the time 
of Henry VI., when Peter Eothery held the rectory. The pastoral 
staff with the crook curved inwards appears to denote that Johannes 
Wavton, formerly rector of Staveley, was at one time an Abbot of 
some ecclesiastical foundation ; but it is curious that that fact should 
not be recorded in the inscription. The general appearance of this 
memorial seems to point to the fourteenth century as its date. It 
perhaps should also be noted that this inscription has more than 
once been read "Warsop" and not "Wartou;" but a careful com- 
parison of the letters with the remainder of the inscription con- 
vinces us that the final letter is not a " p ", at all events it does 
not in any way correspond with the " p " in " propicietur." In 
another part of this chantry, so rich in monumental remains, is 
a far older incised slab, of the nature of many of those that have 
been already described under other ohurchps. The slab is of grit- 



360 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

stone, and tapers in shape, being one foot ten inches in width at 
the head, and one foot three at the base. Its length is six feet 
nine, and it is incised with a cross having a siniply-fornied circular 
head. To the dexter side of the stern of the cross is a long sword 
with a cross-shaped hilt. There is a diamond-shaped incision above 
the head of the cross; and in the "calvary" of four steps, at the 
base, is a five-leaved flower. Midway in the stern of the cross is 
the matrix of a small oblong brass which is now missing, affording 
proof that this stone also has been used for a doubly commemo- 
rative purpose. We are inclined to put the date of this stone in 
the twelfth century. The head of another incised cross is almost 
entirely concealed by the base of a large canopied niche, that is 
fixed against the wall in the south-east corner of this chautiy. 
The base of this niche is now raised about a foot from the ground, 
and at first sight it appears as if it was intended for a sedile; but 
a closer inspection shows that the stone forming the base is carved 
into two pediments, and that the pointed crocketed canopy is also 
divided into two parts, clearly proving that it was designed for the 
reception of the figures or statues of two saints, when it woiild 
probably be fixed at a higher altitude than it now occupies. Near 
to it, but in the south wall, projects a stone corbel or bracket 
formed of a rudely designed human head. 

The belfry contains a fine peal of eight bells. We give the in- 
scriptions, though none of them have any -claim to antiquity. 

I. " Given to the Church by the Eevd. Francis Gisborne. Ed- 
ward Arnold, St. Neots, fecit, 1782." The weight of this bell is 
also lightly incised on the top of the shoulder, 18 cwt. 3 qrs. 32 Ibs. 

II. " The Duke of Devonshire gave 50 for recasting the five 
first bells. The parish bore all other expenses, 1782." The weight, 
marked in the same place as on the previous one, is 12 cwt. 2 qrs. 
3 Ibs. 

III. " Eevd. Fletcher Dixon, curate. Eichard Flint, John Law- 
rence churchwardens. Edward Arnold, fecit, 1782." Weight 10 cwt. 
qr. 7 Ibs. 

IV. "Eevd. Fletcher Dixon curate. Eichard Flint, John Law- 
rence, churchwardens. Edward Arnold, St. Neots, fecit, 1782." 
Weight 9 cwt. qr. 14 Ibs. 

V. "Whilst thus we join in cheerful sound, May love and 
loyalty abound, 1782." Weight 7 cwts. 3 qrs. 21 Ibs. 

VI. " Edward Arnold, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, fecit, 1782." 
Weight 7 cwt. 3 qrs. Ibs. 



STAVELEY. 361 

VII. "This bell was given by the Revd. Francis Gisborne, 
Kector of Staveley, 011 William the Marquis of Hartington coming 
of age, the 21st of May 1811. T. Mears, of London, fecit." 

VIII. " This bell was given by the parishioners of Staveley and 
C. on William the Marquis of Hartiiigton coming of age, 21st May, 
1811. T. Mears, London, fecit." 

The Rev. Fletcher Dixou, mentioned on two of these bells, was 
brother-in-law of the Rev. Francis Gisborue, the rector. He was 
subsequently appointed vicar of Duffield. 

There is a curious tale about the recasting of these bells, which 
wus narrated to us by one who now acts as the janitor of the 
church. Our informant told us that he had it from his grand- 
father, Mr. Garfitt, who was then in charge of the bells ; but it 
must surely have been his great-grandfather, when we reflect on 
the date. The whole of the Staveley bells, eight in number, were 
sent to a far distant foundry (St. Neots) to be recast in 1782. and 
when the note advising of their departure on the road home reached 
Staveley, Mr. Garfitt was despatched to meet them. He fell in 
with the waggon or waggons, in which they were being conveyed, at 
Leicester ; and escorted them to Staveley in triumph. In due course 
they were hung in position ; and, to the public generally, their tone 
(for which Staveley tower had always been noted) was satisfactory. 
But the critical ears of the bell-ringers and some of their musical 
friends detected something slightly amiss in two of them, and com- 
plaint was made at the foundry of St. Neots. From the corres- 
pondence that thereupon ensued it was discovered, that new or 
recast bells were at the same time being sent from St. Neots to 
the church of Darfield in Yorkshire, and that two of them had been 
misdirected or changed hands on the road. Mr. Garfitt was there- 
fore despatched to Darfield ; but the good people there had got their 
bells safely in position, and not being possessed of ears so sensitive 
as those of the Staveley parishioners, refused to have them removed. 
Staveley had then to put up with the slight discord, until, we 
suppose, the year 1811, when the two defaulters were recast by 
Mears of London, in unison with the rest of the peal. We think 
we have recorded this account just as it was told us, and we are 
sure that our informant will not think us discourteous if we express 
an opinion that there is something apocryphal about it. For, on 
referring to our note book, we find that eighteen months ago we 
were told by a very old inhabitant of Killamarsh, that their bells 
had found their way to Darfield belfry, not under exactly similar 



362 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

circumstances, but with only a slight variation ! And clearly there 
is something mysterious about these Darfield bells, for it was to 
that belfry also, that the old bells of Beauchief Abbey are said to 
have been taken. 



The Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291, values 
the church of Staveley at 10 per annum. The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 
27 Henry VIII., gives the following particulars of the rectory, from 
which it appears that the Cliffords still held one presentation to 
two of the Frechevilles. 

STAVELEY EECTOEIA. 
Domino Heurico Clifford qualibet tertia via et Petro Fretchville duabus vicibus Pa- 

tronis ejusdem. 

Dominus Johannes Hewett rector habet ibidem. s. d. 

In mansione cum gleba ......... xl 

In decimis garbarum .......... yj 

In decimis feni x 

In paschali rotulo ------ xl 

In decimis lane et agnellorum xxx 

In decimis minutis et oblationibus xiij iiij 



Summa xij xiij iiij 

Unde resoluta est archidiacons Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - vj 

De claro - xij vij iiij 
Decirna inde xxiiij ix 

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 reported that the rectory 
of Staveley was in two medieties, one of which, to the value of 
80 per annum, was appropriated to the minister ; but the other, 
valued at 100, was impropriated to Mr. Frecheville, " whereof 
30 was lately settled to the chapel of Holmesfield." * The Com- 
missioners add that Mr. George Mason, the incumbent, was an 
" able minister." The mediety of the rectory, here described as 
impropriated by Mr. Frecheville, was that portion which had been 
given, as already stated, to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. 
On the dissolution of the property of that Hospital in the reign 
of Henry VIII., this moiety passed to Sir Francis Leake, and he 
conveyed it, together with a portion of the manor of Staveley, to 
Peter Frecheville, for the sum of 286, on May 1st, 37 Henry VIII. 



Attached to the manor of Staveley was a Free Chapel, in no way 
dependent on the rectory. This chapel was founded by the Mu- 
sards in the thirteenth century, and was dedicated to St. John the 

* See the account of Holmesfield Chapelry. 



STAVELEY. 363 

Baptist.* It appears that the aclvowson of this chapelry, which 
was possessed of an independent endowment as early as the reign 
of Edward I., was held in medieties in correspondence with the 
divisions of the manor and rectory ; for we sometimes find the pre- 
sentation in the hands of the Frechevilles, and sometimes of the 
Cliffords.! 

"When the Chantry Commission was appointed, in the reign of 
Henry VIII., the commissioners included this chapel in their report. 
The following is their condensed account in the Chantry Roll from 
which we have usually quoted in these pages : 

"Staley. The Free Chapel founded by Musserd auncestor of Sir 
Peter Frachitell Knt., nowe patron, to serve the cure of the manor 
of Staley, liiis. iiijd. Thos. Bromhead preste. xvd., resolute rentte 
to my lade of Cumberlande. It is a parisshe churche and hath a 
mancyon house worthey to he letten yerely xvj*-. Our chalis was 
stolen xij. rnonethes past. Stock iijs. j</. Clere value liijs iiijj. 

From another and more extended copy of the Chantry Roll,:}: 
there appears to be no doubt that this chapel was possessed of 
full sacramental rights of every description, and was, in fact, a parish 
of itself. But this did not spare it from confiscation ; and the land, 
pertaining thereto, amounting to about fifty acres, was handed over 
to Sir John Pinent and Thomas Reve, who in their turn, " pro 
quad. sum. pecun." conveyed the property to Sir Peter Freeh eville 
on December 24th, 15-i8. There is now no trace whatever re- 
maining of this chapel, nor is the site known with any precision. || 

* * 

About a mile and a half from Staveley is the hamlet of Wood- 
thorpe. Here Peter Frecheville by his will, bearing date 16th 

* It is true that one Inquisition styles it the Chapel of St. John, but, though this 
dedication is adopted by the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott, the preponderance of evidence 
in favour of John the Baptist is overwhelming. 

t Inq. post mort. 2 Edw. II., No. 10; 13 Ric. II., No. 14 ; 14 Ric. II. (Anker Freche- 
ville); 12 Hen. IV., No. 6. Lansdowne MSS. 207, f. 162. Additional M3S. 5937, 
f. 51. 

J Certificates of Colleges, &c , Roll 13, No. 35, at the Public Record Office. 

See Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 207. 

[| It is said in Dr. Pegge's Collections (vol. iv. ) that this chapel was founded by 
Lady Amicia Frecheville, who obtained leave for its erection in the lifetime of her 
kinsman, Nicholas Musard, the rector. 

Dr. Pegge gives a subsequent jotting respecting this parish in another volume, 
where he relates that 011 " May llth, 1694, Francis Glossop of Neather Hanley in 
Staveley parish, dyed ; who (as was discerned) did put 57s. in the poor mans box in 
Staveley chancel, about 10 years agone, at one time." The Doctor copies this from 
a manuscript book of Mr. H. Lowe, of WMttington, as well as the information that 
Stavdcy wakes were held in 1693 on Trinity Sunday, though they had always pre- 
viously 'been held on the Sunday before Midsummer day. Dr. Pegge also states that 
there was a Guild of St. Mary at Staveley in the reign of Edward VI., but we have 
met with no corroboration of this statement. 



364 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

March, 1632, caused certain recently erected buildings to be con- 
verted into an bospital or alms-houses for eight poor men and 
women, and he describes its situation as on " the south side of the 
chapel." This, it appears, was a chapel previously erected by him, 
and he makes special provision in his will for the constant atten- 
dance of the aged pensioners therein. " They should moreover 
pay to some honest deacon, or other ecclesiastical person to be 
chosen iu manner aforesaid, for his pains in duly and decently 
reading morning and evening prayer, according to the book of 
Common Prayer, every day in the week to the said poor people in 
the chapel aforesaid, the like yearly sum of 4 quarterly as afore- 
said. . . . Such deacon or reader should from time to time 
have his lodgings in a chamber or upper room, situate in the west 
end of the said almshouse."* 

* See the Charity Commissioners' Report, 1827. There is a long account of the 
later Frechevilles and of Staveley Hall in the Reliquary (vol. iii), from the pen of the 
late Mr. Swift, of Sheffield. 




|UTTOX-IX-THE-DALE, thus caUed to distinguish it from 
Suttou-on-the-Hill, a village of South Derbyshire, is now, 
for the most part, known as Sutton-Scarsdale, from the 
Hundred in which it is situated. Both these villages formed part 
of the large landed property with which "Wulfric endowed Burton 
Abbey in the year 1002. We have failed to find any early mention 
of the church at Button, but the manor, which was in the hands 
of Roger de Poictou at the time of the Domesday Survey, was 
granted to the family of De Hareston in the thirteenth century. 
In the next century, the heiress of Eobert de Hareston brought the 
estate to the Greys of Sandiacre,* and from them it passed by 
subsequent marriages to the Hillary s, and thence to the Leakes. 
The Lekes or Leakes derive their descent from Allan de Leka of 
Leak in Nottinghamshire, who was living in 1141. The first of 
that family who settled at Sutton-Scarsdale was William, a younger 
son of Sir John Leake, of Gotham, who came there in the early 
part of the fifteenth century. 

The church at Sutton-Scarsdale, dedicated to St. Mary, consists 
of a nave, chancel, north aisle, south porch, and an embattled 
tower at the west end. There does not appear to be any clear 
trace, about the building, of a date earlier than the Decorated 
period of ecclesiastical architecture, in the first half of the four- 
teenth century. The nave, chancel, and south porch seem to be 
mainly of that style, the east window of the chancel and two of 
the south windows of the nave being filled with Decorated tracery ; 
but other lights are of later insertion, and point to the Perpendi- 
cular period. The north aisle, also, and the tower, have evidently 
been built when that style was in vogue, though all the large 

*Inq. post mort. 33 Hen. III., No. 16; 3 Edw. III., No. 47; 4 Hen. IV., No. 1, 
etc., etc. Quo Warranto Roll, 4 Edw. III. 



368 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

windows of the former must be attributed to a much more debased 
age. This aisle, which runs along the whole north side of the 
church, so as to make a second chancel or side chapel, is separated 
from the nave and chancel by five pointed arches resting on octagon 
pillars with plainly moulded capitals. At the east end of the aisle, 
below the window, is a small corbel bracket with an embattled edge 
and terminating in a human face. It has, doubtless, served as a 
pedestal for the saint of the side chapel. The roof of the aisle is 
divided into squares (now filled up with whitewashed plaster) by 
intersecting beams. The alternate bosses down the centre are 
carved into armorial shields, which are still perfect, though there 
is no trace left of the tinctures or proper colours. 

The first of these, beginning at the east end, is Leake (arg., on 
a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or), impaling Savage (cm/., a 
pale fusilly, sa.). 

The second, Leake impaling Foljambe (sa., a bend between six 
escallops, or). 

The third, Foljambe impaling Leake. 

The fourth is the same as the first. 

The fifth, which is difficult now to read, but which Bassano 
describes as "Barr-wayes of 6 pieces, upon 3rd a crescent, upon 
5th two crescents," is for "Waterton, impaling Leake.* 

The centre window on the north side of this aisle contains two 
interesting fragments of old glass. The one consists of the figure 
of a man, with long curling hair and a smooth face, set in a back- 
ground of red glass, the upper part of the body encased in plate 
armour, and the arms of Leake on the cuirass ; the other is a 
quartered coat of arms : 1st and 4th arg., a bear rampant, sa., 
muzzled, collared, and chained, or (Beresford) ; 2nd and 3rd per 
chevron, arg. and or, three pheons, sa. (Hassall), with a crescent 
for difference. 

Though this is all the painted glass now in the church, it had 
formerly several memorial windows to the Leakes and their connec- 
tions. A good many interesting fragments must have disappeared 
of late years, for in an account of this church, published in 1791, t 
and again in the manuscript notes of Lysons taken about twenty 
years later, J there are descriptions of a man in a surcoat of the 

* Accordiiig to Glover's Ordinary, the arms of Waterton of Walton, Yorks., are 
Barry of 6 erm. and gu., over all 3 crescents sa. 

I The Topographer, vol. iii., p. 341. 
I Add. MSS. 9463. 



SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 369 

Leake Arms, and of a lady with a pointed head- dress, having on 
her robes the arms of Foljarnbe, and other particulars. When 
Bassano visited the church in 1710 he reported, that the glass 
seemed tolerably perfect in the north and east windows ; but it is 
from the Herald's Visitations in 1569 and in 1612 that we learn 
so many details of the former condition of these windows ; details 
of much interest in connection with the family history of the 
Leakes, who possessed this manor and the advowson of the church 
for so many generations. ' 

In the east window of the north aisle was the following inscription 
to Sir John Leake, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir John 
Savage, from which we learn nearty the precise date of the rebuilding 
of the north aisle, and the chancel : 

" Orate pro animabus Johis Leeke viri nobilis, Domini de Button 
in le Dale Arm., et Elizabeths uxoris ejusdem, qui hujus ecclesiaB 
partem borealem una cum choro principal! in omni opere in lapide 
turn ligneo cum vitreo tumque plumbeo et ferreo fieri fecit de novo. 
Quiquideru Johannes penultimo die Martii A. Domini 1505 ab hac 
luce migravit ad Domiuum." 

Below the inscription was Leake impaling Savage. Their eldest 
son and heir, John, married Jane or Jennett, daughter of Henry 
Foljanibe of Walton ; and their eldest daughter, Catherine, married 
Sir Godfrey Foljambe, brother of Jane. This accounts for the 
impaled coats of these families on the roof of the aisle. Eleanor, 
or Ellen, the second daughter of Sir John Leake and Elizabeth 
Savage, married Eobert Waterton, of Walton, Yorkshire, which ac- 
counts for another of the shields on the roof. This daughter, and 
her elder brother John, together with James Beresford, were com- 
memorated in the centre window of the north aisle, the fragments 
in which we have already described. The inscription was " Orate, 
quresumus, pro animabus Johis Leeke et Ellenaa, et necnon pro 
animabus Magistri Jacobi Berisford sacrum legiirn Baccalarii .... 
Chesterfeild, ac dictorum Johannis et Elena? oratoris obsequentis- 
simi." The mention of James Beresford in connection with these 
two children of Sir John Leake, seems to point to his having at 
one time been domestic chaplain and probably tutor in the family. 
The quartered arms of Beresford and Hassall, still extant, show 
the parentage of James Beresford. Thomas Beresford, a younger 
son of John Beresford, of Beresford, Staffordshire, married Agnes, 

* Harl. MSS 1093, fol. 21 ; 1486, fol. 24 ; and 5800. Some of these inscriptions are 
also to be found amongst the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian Library. 

2n 



370 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

the daughter and heiress of Eobert Hassel, of Hassel, Cheshire, 
and settled at Fenny Bentley, near Ashbourne, in the fifteenth 
century. They had a family of sixteen sons and five daughters. 
There is an elaborate monument to their memory in the 
chancel of Fenny Bentley church. James appears to have been 
the youngest but one of the sixteen eons ; he subsequently attained 
to the degree of LL.D.* 

Sir John Leake's second son was Thomas, -who married Maude, 
daughter of James Kolleston. Another window in this aisle was to 
his memory, and thus inscribed : " Orate pro bono statu Thomae 
Leeke, filii Johis Leeke et Elizabethse consortis suae, ac fratis Johis 
Leeke ; " and below it were the arms of Leake, with a crescent for 
difference. 

There was yet a third daughter of Sir John Leake, Elizabeth ; 
but there is no record of her memory having been enshrined hi 
these windows. She was married in the first instance, in 1502, to 
John Frecheville, of Staveley, when he was only thirteen years old ; 
and, secondly, to Brian Hastings.t It is very possible that her 
father had completed the restoration of the north aisle and chancel 
before she was born, or, at all events before she was of sufficient 
age to warrant any special memento of her name. 

In another window was a further memorial to John Leake and 
his wife Joan, in connection with his maternal uncle, Thomas 
Savage, Archbishop of York. It read as follows: " Orate pro 
felici statu Honorabilissimi patris in Christo Thomas Savage, Ebor. 
Archipraesulis meritissimi ; necnon prospero statu Johis Leeke filii 
et haeredis Johis et Elizabethan, et Johanna? Consortis suae." Below 
it were the impaled arms of the See of York with Savage, and 
of Leake with Foljambe. Thomas Savage was the second of the 
nine sous of Sir John Savage, of Stainsby, etc., by Katharine, 
daughter of Thomas, Lord Stanley. Thomas Savage was con- 
secrated Bishop of Kochester in 1493, Bishop of London in 1496, 
and Archbishop of York in 1501. His sister Elizabeth, as stated 
above, was married to Sir John Leake.j 

Though the prayers of the worshippers at Button were asked for 
this Archbishop, his remains were not deposited here, but in his 
Cathedral of York ; special directions having been given that his 

* Harl. MSS. 1093, fol. 49. Glover's Derbyshire, vol. ii, p. 44. 
t Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 206. 

1 For further particulars as to the Savages, of Stainsby. see the account of the 
Churches of Hault Hucknall and North Winfield. 



SUTTON IN-THE-DALE. 371 

heart should be buried at his birth-place, Macclesfield. We know 
not whether this injunction was carried out. He died at Cawood 
on the 2nd of September, 1507, and it is said of him that his 
chief delight was "in the sound of the huntsman's horn, and the 
baying of his hounds." 

In the east window of the chancel, and in the south windows, 
there was formerly some older glass than that which we have been 
considering, consisting of coats of arms relating to the occupants of 
the manor of Sutton, prior to Leake. In 1235, the manor was 
granted to Peter de Hareston. The heiress of his successor, Kobert 
de Hareston, brought it to Eichard de Grey, of Sandiacre. Alice, 
daughter and heir of "William de Grey, married William Hillary ; 
their son John took the name of Grey about 1890. His daughter 
and heir, Alicia, brought the manors of both Sandiacre and Sutton 
to the Leakes, by marriage with John Leake, in the reign of 
Henry IV., and thenceforth the chief seat of the Leake family was 
at Sutton. John Leake, who first obtained Sutton, was grand- 
father of his namesake who married Elizabeth Savage. 

The east window of the chancel contained : 

1. Barry of six, anj. and az. (Grey, of Codnor.) 

2. The same with label of three points, gu., charged with nine 
bezants.* 

8. Barry of six, arg. and az., on a bend, gu., three leopards' faces 
jessant de lis, or.f 

4. Barry of six, arg. and az., over all a cinquefoil, or.$ 
In the south windows were three ancient coats : 

1. Sa., three leopards' faces jessant de lis, arg., within seven 
cross-crosslets fitchy, of the second. (Hillary.) 

2. Cheeky, arg. and gu.^ (Roos, or Vaux.) 

8. Or, two bars, gu., in chief two martlets of the second. 

We must not omit to .mention an alabaster gravestone in the 
chancel, bearing on it an effigy in plate armour, with helmet and 
crest under the head. A considerable portion of the inscription 
round this stone is given in the Topographer, and in Lysons' MSS. 
Notes, but it was complete at the visit of Bassauo, and we accord- 
ingly give it, as it read in 1710 : " Hie jacet Johannis Foljarnbe 
filius et pro ternporo heres apparens Godfridi Foljainbe, qui obiit 

* The arms of a younger branch of Grey, according to Glover's Ordinary. 

tThis is another bearing of Grey, Harl. MSS. 1,459; probably a compromise be- 
tween the coats of Hillary and Grey. 

I This is most likely Grey again, with the cinquefoil for a difference. 
Paly, arg. and gu., in Harl. MSS. 1,486. 



372 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

apud Sutton-in-le-Dale vicessimo septimo die mensis Octobris, A.D. 
Milesshno quadringentessimo nonogessimo uono. Cujus auiine pro- 
picietur Deus. Arnen." This was John, the eldest son of Sir 
Godfrey Foljambe and Catharine Leake, who died in his mere boy- 
hood, for his parents were not married till 1490. He was suc- 
ceeded as heir by his brother, the future Sir James Foljambe, who 
was not born till twelve years after John's death.* We could not 
find this slab at the time of our visit to the church, and there 
seems a strong probability that it was taken up, and not replaced, 
at a recent date, when the late Mr. Eobert Arkwright had the 
the whole of the pavement relaid. 

The whole of the internal arrangements of this church are pecu- 
liar ; the pulpit, for instance, being placed against the north wall 
of the aisle. Near to it are fixed tablets bearing the Belief and 
the Lord's Prayer, and at the bottom of the former is an inscrip- 
tion saying that " This Church was repaired and beautified by 
Clement Kynnersley, Esq., in 1807." It would most likely be at 
this date that the windows ol the aisle were altered to their pre- 
sent barbarous condition, and that the crocketed pinnacles of the 
exterior of the tower and body of the church were so clumsily re- 
newed. 

The nave does not contain much of interest ; the archway into 
the tower is plastered up and hidden by a west gallery ; and the 
small priests' door, on the south side of the chancel, though of 
good proportions, and with neat hood-mould on the exterior, is 
built up, and the recess occupied by a stove, whose clumsy pipe is 
a most unsightly object. The niche in the wall of the chancel, 
which has formerly served for the piscina, is now fitted with an 
iron safe for deeds. At the time of our visit the door of the safe 
was ajar, but the sole document there treasured was an Act of 
George the IV., for the prevention of Irregular Marriages! To the 
left of the east window is a ponderously ugly monument, to the 
memory of Francis Pierrepont, grandson of Eobert, Earl of King- 
ston, who died in the year 1707. We only mention this monument 
as it is of interest in connection with Elizabeth, Countess of Shrews- 
bury. The third great mansion which that lady built in this 
county was situated at Owlcote, or Oldcote, in this parish. This 
estate passed with the Countess's daughter Frances, to Sir Henry 
Pierrepont, whose descendant Francis, commemorated by this monu- 

The elaborate notice of the Foljambe family in Nichol's Collectanea, erroneously 
speaks of Sir James Foljambe as the eldest son of Sir Godfrey. 



SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 373 

merit, was the last of that branch of the family. There are now 
no remains of this mansion, and it is supposed that it was taken 
down at the death of Mr. Francis Pierrepont. 

Near the font (which is a modern one) there is a slab, forming 
part of the pavement, which bears an incised cross. It has a 
pedimented or "Calvary" base, the stem is formed of two parallel 
lines, and the head is circular and slightly floriated. In the centre 
of the floriations is the letter T in lloman capitals, but this is 
evidently a modern and wanton addition. To the left hand of the 
stem of the cross is a curious figure, intended, we believe, to repre- 
sent a knife, or more likely the head of a halberd or bill. This 
symbol is one that is very rarely met with on incised slabs, and 
the student of this branch of antiquarian lore will not be sorry 
to have another instance mentioned that seems to have hitherto 
escaped notice. We only know of three instances recorded in the 
manuals dealing with incised slabs, viz., at the Castle Chapel, New- 
castle, at Papplewick, Notts, and at Lichfield Cathedral.* If it is 
intended for the head of a halberd, it merely marks the grave of a 
soldier, of what grade it is difficult to say ; but should it represent 
a knife, it may perhaps be the symbol of an " Ecuyer trenchant," 
or the official " kerver " of some great family, which was a post 
of honour. From the general appearance of this slab, which has 
been cut round the edges to fit its present position, we should say 
that it could not be of later date than the thirteenth century, and 
therefore older than any part of the church as it now stands ; it is 
in itself a proof of there having been an earlier building on this 
site, for this stone has not been cut to mark any out-door sepul- 
ture. Another stone adjoining this one, and of similar size, is also 
well worthy of attention, though perhaps a century or two later in 
its date. It bears round the margin a short inscription (of which 
part is missing owing to the cutting off of one end of the slab), 
in Lombardic capitals of two inches in length. Each character is 
separated from its neighbours by equal intervals of some three 
inches, and there is no punctuation whatever. That which is 
legible is as follows, each dot representing a missing letter 
HICIACETIS....LLA.HITE. Making allow- 
ance for a superabundant letter in the Christian name, a matter 
of no great moment in those days, we read this as "Hie jacet 
Isabella White." But history seems to be silent as to who was 

* To these may also now be added another one, used in the lintel of one of the 
outh clerestory windows of North Wiiifield, which we had the pleasure of discover- 
ing during a recent restoration. 



374 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Isabella White, though her simple memorial has lasted to our days. 
In the aisle of the nave there are three much more modern incised 
crosses, which should not escape the attention of the curious in 
these matters ; for in most instances the cross, as a sepulchral sym- 
bol, fell into complete disuse after the Keforrnation, and has only 
recently been revived. One of these is without date or inscription, 
a second is to the memory of Jane Kedfearue of Duckrnanton, who 
died in 1648, and the third is to one of the same family, who died 
in 1654. 

The tower is a well-proportioned example of the Perpendicular 
style of the fifteenth century. The parapet is embattled, and the 
angles are adorned with crocketed pinnacles, all of which are 
clumsily worked modern imitations, except the one in the north- 
east angle. The tower contains a peal of four bells. The first 
one is apparently inscribed Resonabo in honore Dei, but the legend 
is not very legible, and part of it is in Lorubardic and part in 
Gothic characters. The second bears God save the King, 1666, an 
inscription common to nine-tenths of the bells that were cast 
shortly after the Restoration. The third reads In Honore St. 
Gabrielis, and has also a bell founder's mark, which we could not 
decipher. This is, we should suppose, the oldest bell; and the one 
that was left to the church, at that time in our ecclesiastical his- 
tory, when the spoiling of church bells was considered a necessary 
adjunct to a reformation in religion. The tenor is inscribed with 
God save the Church 1623 ; and the founder's mark (not often met 
with in Derbyshire, but which occurs at Hartington) consists of a 
quartered shield, in the upper quarters of which are the initials 
P. H., and in the lower ones two sprigs of foliage. 

Although the present fabric of the church gives little proof of 
great age, there can be no reasonable doubt that a church existed 
here at least as early as the twelfth century ; and that the advow- 
son was, as a rule, held by the successive possessors of the manor. 
There are, however, but few references to it in history. According 
to Pope Nicholas' Taxation Roll, taken in 1291, the rectory of 
Button was worth 4 13s. 4d. per annum. 

By a charter of the year 1329, William de Grey de Sandiacre 
suffered a fine of 60s. for license to lease his manor of Sutton-in- 
the-Dale to Robert Hillary, parson of the church of Button Colfield 
(Warwickshire), and to Richard de Grey de Sandiacre, parson of 
the church of Sutton-in-the-Dale.* 

* Abbrev. Rot. Orig. 17 Edw. HI., No. 68. 



SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 375 

"\Vlien the Valor Ecclesiasticus was drawn up, 27 Henry VIII., 
Francis Leake was entered as the patron of Sutton, and Robert 
Towneud as the rector. The clear value of the living, after deduct- 
ing archidiaconal fees, was then estimated at 7 16s. 5d. 

Amongst the later references to the church of Sutton, may be 
mentioned the settlement of a yearly rent issuing out of lands at 
Dore, by Francis Leake (Lord Deincourt) in trust, for the repair of 
a tomb of his ancestor. A copy of this deed, dated 1G39, is with 
the Wolley papers, and by it he binds the trustees to "employ the 
*aid rent upon the repair of a tombe, erected by mee the said Lord 
Deincourt, in the north side of the church of Sutton in Dale, 
and also upon the repair of the said north aisle, built by my 
ancestors." The surplus, if any, of this fund was to be kept till 
it reached to 50, and then to be distributed to the poor of Sutton- 
cum-Duckmantou. * 

At the Parliamentary Survey of Livings in 1G50, the Commissioners 
reported of Sutton that it was worth 25 annually, and that one 
" Thomas Taylor is present incumbent, who is scandalous and hath 
beene found in armes against the Parliament." 

There is an interesting legend in connection with the porch of 
this church and "the dole of St. Nicholas." There are various 
versions of this tradition, and the one we shall quote is, for the 
most part, that given by John Ashbury, who lived as cook with 
Lord Deincourt (Sir Francis Leake), at Suttou, at the time of the 
Civil War. The story runs that there was once a Sir Nicholas 
Leake, who went to the Holy Land as a Crusader. Before he 
started, he and his lady broke a ring between them. Having been 
taken prisoner by the Turks, they suspected him to be of noble 
extraction, and detained him in hopes of a large ransom. After 
lying in prison many years (for it had been reported in England 
that he was slain in battle), he felt that his end was approaching, 
and prayed earnestly to the Virgin to be allowed once more to see 
his fair domains at Sutton, vowing, that if his prayer was granted, 
he would make ample provision for the poor of his parish. He fell 
asleep, and upon awaking the next morning, found himself seated 
within a church porch, which he immediately recognised as the 
porch of his own church of Sutton. After being repeatedly spurned 
from his own doors, on account of his ragged apparel and haggard 
appearance, he at length obtained admission by sending the half 

* Add. MSS. 6700, fol. 192. This tomb, notwithstanding this specific endowment 
for its repair, has completely disappeared. 



376 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

ling to his lady. She at once recognised him ; lie recovered, and 
lived many years in prosperity and happiness. In gratitude to the 
Virgin for his miraculous journey, and in fulfilment of his vow, Sir 
Nicholas Leake left hy will eight hushels of wheat to he baked 
into loaves, and given to the poor of Sutton, Duckrnanton, and 
Temple Normanton, on St. Nicholas' day, for ever. Francis, Lord 
Deincourt, further increased this dole, so that in his days there 
were often eighteen and twenty loads of wheat haked and dealt out 
to all applicants. The loaves weighed two-and-a-half pounds, and 
were stamped with the initial N. They were considered a rarity, 
and frequently sent as a present to friends. In 1832, according 
to the Derbyshire Courier, Captain Clay, of Hill Houses, North Win- 
field, had in his possession one of these loaves, which had been 
baked in the year 1735. This legend is still extant in the neigh- 
bourhood, and one oral version which reached us, and which has 
not hitherto found its way into print, adds that the heir of Sir 
Nicholas, a few years after his death, neglected to comply with the 
provisions of his will. But, on the morrow of St. Nicholas' day, a 
deep well, situated between the church and the hall, overflowed in 
a marvellous manner, and did most serious damage, the waters 
continuing to rise rapidly. The conscience-stricken heir imme- 
diately ordered the ovens to be heated and the dole baked, where- 
upon the waters as rapidly subsided.* 

Of Francis, Lord Deiucourt, it is recorded, that, " having suf- 
fered much for his loyalty in the times of the unparalleled rebellion, 
in which "King Charles lost his life, he became so much mortified 
after the horrid murder of his rightful sovereign, that he apparelled 
himself in sackcloth, and causing his grave to be digged some 
years before his death, laid himself down in it every Friday, exer- 
cising himself frequently in divine meditation and prayer. He 
died at Sutton, April 9th, 1655, and was buried in the church. "t 

The appearance of this church, half enwrapped in ivy, is de- 
cidedly picturesque when viewed from certain localities, but it is 
sadly dwarfed and overshadowed by the very close proximity of 
Sutton Hall, a large Grecian structure, erected about 1740, by 

* The accuracy of this legend is somewhat seriously impugned by the fact that 
there was no Sir Nicholas Leake who ever held the estates of Sutton, though there 
may have been a knight of that name among the younger sons. This difficulty is got 
over by Mr. Bichard Howitt (who has embodied the tradition in a ballad), by attri- 
buting the dole and the miraculous journey to Lord Deincourt, but this is a strange 
confusion, as we know from contemporary evidence that the dole had been in ex- 
istence long before the days of Lord Deincourt. This ballad forms one of The 
Ballads and Songs of Derbyshire, collected by Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt. 

fDugdale's Baronage, vol. ii., p. 450. 



SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 377 

Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale. Several other instances occur to our 
mind of the very near neighbourhood of church and hall, e.g., 
Kedleston, in this county, but we doubt if there is any other 
instance in the whole of England where they so closely approxi- 
mate. In fact, it would be impossible for the hall to be closer 
than it is on the north side, unless it were built against it, for it 
is only separated by a few feet, a passage leading out of the hall 
into the north aisle. As it is, the north side of the tower, and the 
west end of the north aisle, are actually used as supports for some 
of the outbuildings (washhouses we believe) which are built against 
them ; and it will scarcely be credited, that the tower has been utilized 
to form one side of a red-brick chimney to these outhouses, which 
runs up the exterior of the tower to its very summit. At the 
time, too, of the building of the present hall, part of the grave- 
yard of this parish church must surely have been appropriated, as 
all public access to the church is now cut off both on the north 
and east sides. 



878 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 




of Suditmanton. 



have placed this parish under Sutton-in-the-Dale, as 
it has for more than three centuries ceased to have any 
church of its own ; and the vicarage of Duckmanton 
was so far consolidated with the rectory of Button, that it lost its 
distinctive title, and the living became known as the benefice of 
Sutton-cum-Duckinanton. 

Lysons states that the manor of Duckmanton (Ducemaunestune) 
was given by Wulfric Spott to Burton Abbey, by his will of the 
year 1002 ; but this is an error, for it was in reality bequeathed by 
him to one Morcare, in connection with several other manors in 
the neighbourhood.* At the time of the taking of the Domesday 
Survey, this manor was the property of Ealph Fitzhubert. It 
appears from Thoroton, that Geoffrey Fitz-Peter purchased the 
manor of Sir Richard de "Wyverton for Welbeck Abbey ; but the 
exact history of the manor at this period is rather puzzling, as 
Sir Richard Basset also gave a portion of the manor to the same 
Abbey, and both these knights held under Leonia de Reynes, whose 
son, Henry de Stuteville, confirmed Duckmanton to that establish- 
ment.f In the reign of Edward II., it appears as if the manor 
was again held by the Stutevilles ;J but according to an Inquisition 
of the reign of Richard II., John Tyrswell and others held eight 
messuages, twenty-five bovates of land, and rents to the amount 
of 24s. for the Abbey of Welbeck. In 1291 the Abbot of Welbeck 
obtained a license for free warren over the manor of Duckmanton. || 
Though the Domesday Survey makes no mention of a church, 

* Thorpe's Diplomatarium Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, p. 545. 

t Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii., p. 602 ; Thoroton's Nottinghamshire (folio edition), 
p. 451. 

I Inq. post Mort., 16 Edw. II., No. 61. 
Inq. post Mort., 20 Eic. II., No. 122. 

II Calend. Eot. Chart., 19 Edw. 1., No. 49. 



DUCKM ANTON. 379 

there was one erected at Duckmanton in the next century, cer- 
tainly as early as the reign of Henry II. (1154-1189). Geoffrey 
Fitz Peter, the donor of the manor, also presented the church to 
the Abhey of Welbeck. The Wolley Collections contain copies of 
three charters relative to the granting and confirming of this 
church.* The first of these relates that Geoffrey Fitz-Peter gave 
and confirmed to God and the Church of St. James, of Welbeck, 
and the Canons there serving God, of the Premonstratensian Order, 
the Church of St. Peter,t of Duckmanton, with all its appur- 
tenances, in pure and perpetual alms for the souls of himself, and 
his wife, and his brother. This deed is undated, but one of 
the witnesses is " Ranulf de Glanville, Justice of our Lord the 
King." He was Chief Justice in the time of Henry II., and died 
at the seige of Acre, in Palestine, in 1191. Geoffrey Fitz Peter 
was himself made Chief Justice in 1198. By the second deed, Ivo 
Cornwall, Archdeacon of Derby, certifies that he had instituted the 
Abbot and Canons of Welbeck in the church of St. Peter, of 
Duckmanton, on the presentation of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, and 
granted to them to be the parsons of the said church, as they had 
proved to be their right before the King's Justices at the King's 
Court, in Westminster. This institution is not of later date than 
1189. The third deed, which is also undated, records, that Hugh, 
Bishop of Coventry, in remembrance of his sins and for the souls 
of his predecessors and successors, grants and confirms to the 
Abbot and Canons of Welbeck the church of Duckmanton, whose 
advowson was acknowledged to belong to them, freely and quietly, 
with all its appurtenances, to be possessed in perpetual alms, so 
that they might lawfully convert the fruits and all the obventions 
and possessions thereof to their own proper use, but that the Abbot 
of the said Monastery should provide an honest chaplain, who was 
to be presented to the said Bishop or his official, to serve the said 
church ; that the said Abbot should account to the said Bishop, or 
his officials, for all episcopal dues ; and that the said Abbot had 
firmly promised that he and his successors would celebrate the 
anniversary of the said Bishop's, and his successors' death. Hugo 
de Novant, a Norman, was consecrated Bishop of Coventry and 
Lichfield in 1186, and died in Normandy, 1199, being buried at 
Caen.J 

* Add. MSS., 6,667, ff. 378-680. See also Stevens' Continuation to Dngdale, vol. ii., 
p. 146. The Chartulary of Welbeck is amongst the Harl. MSS., No. 8640. 

f Later authorities, such as the Liber Regis, represent the dedication of this church 
to have been St. Peter and St. Paul ; but these charters cannot well be gainsayed. 

J Godwyn's Catalogue of Bishops, p. 256. 



380 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

King Jolin formally confirmed the grant of this Church, together 
with that of Etwall, to the Abhey of Welbeck, in the first year of 
his reign.* 

It is rather singular, after all this specific appropriation of the 
rectory of Duckmanton, that the church should be entered as an 
" ecclesia," and not as a vicarage, hi the Taxation Eoll of Pope 
Nicholas, which was drawn up in the year 1291. Its annual 
value was then estimated at 5 6s. 8d. 

The following is the entry relative to the vicarage hi the Valor 
Ecclesiastic-us of 27 Henry VIII. : 

DUCKMANTON VICARIA. 
Abbas de Welbecke Patroness ibidem. 

Dominus Jacobus WilkynsonVicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In Mansione et glebis - xiij iiij 

In paschali rotulo ---------- 

In Oblationibus ^j viij 

In decimis lane et agnellorum xlvj viij 

In decimis minutis - - - - -.- - - - - xiij iiij 

Summa v 



The same record, in the estimate of the possessions of Welbeck 
Abbey, values the Eectory of Duckmanton at 26 16s. 2d. 

At the dissolution of the monasteries, the King granted not only 
the manor of Duckmanton, but the impropriate rectory and the 
advowson of the vicarage to Francis Leake. 

The benefice of Duckmanton was consolidated with that of 
Button in the year 1558, and it is supposed that the church was 
pulled down about that time.f Nothing whatever is known of the 
fabric, except that it was situated in that part of the village known 
as Long Duckmanton. There are interments in the church of 
Button of residents at Duckmanton during the seventeenth century, 
which seems to indicate the disuse of the churchyard as well as the 
church. But the vicarage house remained standing longer than the 
church, for a Terrier of Duckmanton, dated 1612, says " There 
is in the vicarage house one board foure yards-and-a-halfe in lengthe 
slated and joyned on tressles, and one cubbord, both of them 
erelooms."J 

Calend. Eot. Chart., 1 John, memb. 2, 4. 
tLysons' Collections, Add. MSS., 9,424. 

J Add. MSS., 6,671, f. 481, "Heirlooms," in this instance, may be regarded a an 
equivalent for " fixtures." 




HEEE is no mention made of a church at Tibshelf in the 
Domesday Survey, when the manor was held under the 
king by William Peverel. In the reign of King John 
the manor of Tibshelf formed part of the barony of Heriz, and con- 
tinued in that family till the latter half of the fourteenth century.* 
It thence passed by marriage to Eoger Belers,f and a few years 
later, through his heiress, to Kobert de Swyllinton.J The church 
of Tibshelf was given to the small Priory of Brewood, in Shrop- 
shire, very soon after or immediately upon its foundation. We do 
not know with any precision the date of the foundation of this 
priory, but it was either in the reign of Richard I. or John. Nor 
do we know who was the donor of the church of Tibshelf to that 
priory, but. it was probably both built and presented to Brewood 
by Ivo de Heriz, the younger, who was lord of the manor of Tib- 
shelf at the close of the twelfth century. John de Heriz, son of 
Ivo, gave to the monastery of Felley, Nottinghamshire, several 
bovates of his lands at Tibshelf, to sustain two canons who should 
daily celebrate mass in the church of Felly, for the souls of him- 
self and his wife, Sarah. When the Taxation Roll of Pope 
Nicholas IV. was drawn up in 1291, the rectory (ecclesia) of Tib- 
shelf was valued at 8 per annum, and an additional 1 is entered 
under this parish as pertaining to the " Moniales de Brewode," so 
that the Priory already possessed something more than the simple 
advowson. 

In the year 1816 the rectorial tithes were appropriated to the 
Priory, and Tibshelf converted into a vicarage. || The prioress had 

* Testa de Neville, and various Inquisitions. See also Blore's South Winfield. 

f Inq. post Mort. 4 Ric. II., No. 14. 

J Inq. post Mort. 15 Ric. II., No. 61. 

Stevens' Appendix to Dugdale's Monasticon, vol ii., p. 133. 

|| Inq. ad quod damnum, 9 Ed\v. II., No. 122. 



384 DEKBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

to pay a fine of 10 to the king for the licence for this appropria- 
tion.* The following is an extract from the Registrum Album, at 
Lichfield, relative to the ordination of this vicarage : 

" The ordination of the Vicarage of Tibshelf. To all the sons of 
the Holy Mother Church to whom these present letters shall come, 
Walter,t by divine permission Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield 
Whereas we lately attending to the necessities of the religious 
women the prioress and convent of white nuns of Brewode in our 
diocese, and other urgent causes, have appropriated and assigned 
the parish church of Tibbeschulfe in our diocese, whereof the said 
religious women were the true patrons, reserving to us and our 
successor the ordination and endowment of a vicarage in the said 
church, the vicar to be presented to us by the said religious women, 
and to be by us instituted and endowed with a competent portion 
of the profits of the said church. And after the said religious 
women, upon a vacancy in said vicarage, having presented to us Sir 
"William de Gonalston near Southwell We, Walter, have ordained 
and taxed in manner following, viz. : that each vicar for the time 
being in the church of Tibshelf shall have all the fruits and profits 
of said church, the tithes of grain and hay only excepted, and shall 
also have a moiety of the lands of the said church as well of the 
better as of the worse, to be equally divided together with the head- 
lands, containing meadows or pastures, as the same lye at the head 
of the ridges of the said lands. Also the said vicar shall have a 
certain small yard of the said church situate opposite thereto, con- 
taining half an acre, for his mansion house. Also that he shah 1 
have a moiety of the hay of the said church as well as of the head- 
lands as of the tythes." This document further proceeds to charge 
the white nuns of Brewood to pay the vicar forty shillings a year 
out of their share of the fruits of the church, twenty shillings at the 
feast of St. Michael, and twenty at Easter. It is dated from 
Eccleshall, on the 7th of July, 1319. 

Lysons speaks of Tibshelf being appropriated to Brewood, in Staf- 
fordshire, and the error is excusable, for the parish of Brewood 
extends into the two counties of Staffordshire and Shropshire. More- 
over, there was a Priory in each half of the parish, the former 
county possessing a small Benedictine Nunnery that went under the 
style of " The Black Ladies of Brewood," and the latter a Cister- 

* Abbrev. Eot. Orig. 9 Edw. II., No. 20. 

t This was Walter de Langton, who held the bishopric from 1296 to 1322. His 
effigy, in Purbeck marble, is still in the cathredxal of Lichfield. 



TIBSHELF. 385 

cian Nunnery, the site of which is still known by the name of White 
Ladies. The Cistercian Nunnery, dedicated to St. Leonard, was 
also only a small establishment, being valued at the dissolution at 
the clear annual value of 17 10s. 8d., and then contained six nuns. 
According to the Va'or Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., Margaret, 
the last prioress of the White Ladies of Brewood, returned the annual 
value of Tibshelf Rectory at 5 6s. 8d., but they had to pay a pen- 
sion of 20s. to the cathedral church of Lichfield, for permission to 
hold this rectory. The same return ^jives the following details of 
the vicarage : 

TYBSHELF VICAEIA. 

Dominus Thomas Sherebroke vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In Mansione et gleba ---- xiij iiij 

In pa.scbali rotulo ... xxvj viij 

In decimis feni ---------- xiij iiij 

In decirnis lane et agnellorum xxiij iiij 

In oblatioiiibus --------- viij 

In decimis minutis et aliis proficiis ------ xjii 

Summa iiij xv x 

Uude resoluta est annuatiin arcbidiacono Derbie pro scenagio 
et procuragio ----- xvij 

De claro iiij v iij 
Decinia inde viij vj ob. 

The rectorial tithes were purchased of the king in the next reign 
by Thomas "Wieiine and Edward Slegge, but were subsequently con- 
veyed to Sir Francis Leake, who was also patron of the vicarage ; 
eventually they came into the hands of St. Thomas' Hospital. ::: 

When the Parliamentary Survey was taken in 1650, the Commis- 
sioners reported " Wee think Blackwell and Tibshelfe cum membris 
are fitt to be united, and the cure to be supported, alteruis visibus, 
by one able and honest minister. One Francis Talleme, wicked and 
scandalous." 

In 1G93 the chancel of this church was presented to be out of 
repair, and Mr. Gladwin was ordered to repair it. t 

W T e are often at a loss to conceive how the erroneous conceptions 
a-- to the patron saints of particular churches first find credence. 
There is, now and then, a certain real difficulty about their dedi- 
cation, arising from re-dedication and other causes, but these are 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv. Sir Francis Leake beld a large amount of ecclesias- 
tical property and patronage in tbis district. At his death he was seized of the 
rectory of Huckiiall and the advowson of its vicarage, of the rectory of Alfreton and 
the advowsou of its vicarage, of the rectory of Scarck'ffe and its donative, of the rec- 
tory of Duckmantou and donative of its vicarage, of the rectory of Tibshelf and 
ailvd\vson of its vicarage, and of the advowsous of Sutton and Pleasley. Add. 
MSS. liiiijT, f. -2-2L Inq. post Mort, 3 Car. T. 

t Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 173. 



386 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

rare exceptions. It is, then, very strange to find modern Direc- 
tories so constantly at fault in the special tutelage to which they 
assign the different churches; they are absolutely, as far as our 
experience goes, more often wrong than right. Tihshelf is assigned 
to St. Peter ; it is, however, in reality dedicated to St. John the 
Baptist. 

The church consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, north porch, and 
embattled tower at the west end. "With the exception of the tower, 
and part of the chancel, this is a comparatively modern building. 

The windows of the nave and north aisle are in the round-headed 
assize-court style, pointing unmistakeably to the last century. On 
entering the church by the south door, we see, on the wall before 
us, a stone bearing the following inscription : " The Church rebuilt 
1729. William Heald, Vicar. "William Parsons, Churchwarden." 
A monumental slab, against the east wall of the chancel, tells us 
that "William Heald, the Vicar, died on the 4th of November, 1735, 
aged 60. The general appearance of the interior is, as might be 
supposed, very poor and unsightly. The three arches, dividing the 
north aisle from the nave, are of a most astonishing design, and 
the fine archway into the tower is not only blocked up by a hravy 
aud far-protruding western gallery, but the top of it is also cut off, 
as the architect seemed to be unable to give the roof sufficient eleva- 
tion to include it. The archway into the chancel, as well as its 
roof, are also of the same date, together with a vestry on the north 
side ; but the east window is a square-headed example of late Per- 
pendicular, having three lights with ciuquefoil heads. There are 
also two windows of the same style and date on the south side of 
the chancel. 

There are hardly any details of interest or antiquity in the in- 
terior of the church. About the only one worthy of note is the fol- 
lowing inscription, written in a text hand, on a square brass let 
into the centre of a flagstone within the Communion rails : 

" Conditurn hie jacet 

Resurrectionum 

Quicquid caducum est 

Johannis Twentiman 

Peverendi Ecclesie 

Anglicanae Presbyteri 

Qui obiit V II Feb 

Anno J Salutis M D C L XXX III 
Christo \ Mt&iis L V II 
Sub Christo miles per Christum Victor." 

Under the western gallery is a handsome modern font of marble, 
in tli" Italian style, a memorial to a lady of the neighbourhood. 



TIBSHELF. 387 

We inquired after its predecessor, but, from what we could gather, 
it was of the bason order, and had no claims to antiquity. Looking 
round at the unsightly pews, which are, we suppose, those inserted 
in 1729, it occurred to us that possibly they might conceal other 
memorials, or that certain monuments might have been destroyed 
at the time of the re-building. But it does not seem likely, after 
all, that such was the case, for we have failed to find any mention 
of TibsheLfr in the various Heralds' Visitations, and Bassano, who 
visited the church about the year 1710 (consequently when it 
was in its old condition), finds nothing further to note than the brass 
to the Rev. John Twentimau, which we have already copied, and of 
which, by-the-bye, Bassano gives an erroneous reading. 

The tower is a fair specimen of the Perpendicular work of the 
fifteenth century, and closely resembles in its general features the 
tower of South Normanton church, and others in this neighbour- 
hood. There is a pointed window of three principal lights, with 
a small west door beneath it, and the bell-chamber has four windows 
of a similar shape and pattern. The battlements are ornamented 
with four pyramidal pinnacles at the angles, and four smaller ones 
in the intervening spaces; but these were evidently "restored" to 
their present condition in 1729. The tower contains a peal of five 
bells, only one of which has any claim to antiquity. Numbers one, 
three, and five, all bear the inscription " C. J. G. Hears, Founders, 
London, 1848 ; " number two, " John Taylor and Co., Founders, 
Loughborough, 1868;" whilst the fourth has the stamp of a cross 
pate, followed by " Ihc. Maria," the letters of the last word being 
divided by long intervening spaces. Until 1868, the belfry only 
boasted of three bells, when two more were supplied by Messrs. 
Taylor, of Loughborough, and it seems, from the inscriptions, as 
if one of these must have been the bell with the ancient legend. 

The door into the porch on the south side of the church is 
boarded up, the chief entrance being now on the north. Entrance 
can, however, be gained to the porch from the interior, when the 
iv:iM>ii for the boarding up becomes apparent. The porch with its 
stone benches, intended as a resting-place and shelter for thone 
attending the services of the church from a distance, is utilised as 
a coal-hole ; fully a ton, we should say, of great blocks of coal being 
piled up under its roof, intermixed with a few uprooted tombstones 
from the churchyard ! 

It only remains to note, that over the southern entrance is a mural 
sundinl, bearing the date of 1813. 




ffftorll. 





*// 7/7 ^ 




1HE earliest historical mention of ^Vhitwell is to be found in 
the will of Wulfric Spott, who, in the time of Ethelred, 
largely endowed the monastery of Burton with lands 
in Derbyshire. The manor, however, of "Whitwell, together with 
several of the adjacent parishes, was bestowed upon Morcare, and 
not, as Lysons states, upon the Abbey of Burton. At the time of 
the Domesday Survey, Barlborough and "Whitwell were held in con- 
junction by one Eobert, under Ralph Fitzherbert. A priest and a 
church are enumerated, but to which of the two manors to assign 
them we are left in doubt, though, we believe, the preference lies 
with Barlborough, which was then the more important place of the 
conjoint manor.* 

The history of this manor is somewhat involved. At an early 
period it was divided into two parts, if not three, and one of these 
was subsequently re-divided. It is probable that the advowsou of 
the church was subdivided in the same proportions as the manor, 
which we have seen to be the case with the church of the adjacent 
pari.-h of Stavelej*. There were also two parks at Whitwell. 

Ealph de Eye, who was lord of one part of the manor, replied 
to a Quo Warranto in Edward Ill.'s reign, that he and his ancestors 
had held a park here from time immemorial ; his descendant of 
the same name died seized of the manor and two parts of the 
advowsou of the church in 1430; and the mouunieut of a third of 
this name, who died in 1482, describes him as lord of the " ville " 
and patron of the church.t According to Lysons, Edward Eye sold 
his estates here, in the year 1563, to Eichard Whalley, whose grand- 
son conveyed it, in 1592, to Sir John Manners, ancestor of the Duke 
of Eutland. 

* See the account of the church at Barlborough. 

t Quo Warranto Roll, 4 Edw. III. Inq. post Mort., 8 Henry VII , No. 19. 



392 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Robert de Meynell, who was lord of auother part of Whit well, was 
au early benefactor to Welbeck Abbey. It is supposed that Robert, 
of the Domesday Survey, was one of his immediate ancestors. The 
heiress of Meynill brought his manor or estate at Whitwell iu moieties 
to the Gonshills and Longfords, to whom reference has already been 
made when writing of Barlborough and Eckington. The Longfords 
retained their share till the reign of Henry VIII., when it passed, 
together with Gonshills' moiety, to the Pipes, and was sold by 
Humphrey Pipe, in 1593, to Sir John Manners.* The Gonshills 
held the second park at Whitwell in 1330. 

Another portion of the laud of Whitwell was held for many 
generations by the Musards and Frechevilles. Ralph Musard held a 
large share of Whitwell in the reign of Henry IV. In the chartulary 
of Welbeck Abbey is a deed of this reign, by which Ralph Musard 
leaves certain lands at Staveley for providing an altar-light, and 
one of the witnesses to the deed is Hascuil Musard, parson of 
Whitwell. t We are inclined to think that the advowson of Whitwell 
for that turn had rested with the Musards ; that it was divided be- 
tween the Musards, Ryes, and Meynells ; that the Frechevilles 
(Musards) parting with their share, made Ranulph de Rye (1430) the 
holder of two parts of the advowson ; and that the remaining third 
was also absorbed by the Ryes in the next generation. 

At the Inquisition taken on the death of Anker de Frecheville, in 
1268, he was seized of four bovates of demesne and ten of villenage 
in Staveley- Woodthorpe and Whitwell " de libero maritagio arnica? 
(Musard) uxoris suse." The Frechevilles held these lands in 
Whitwell, as weh 1 as the manor of Stretley, till the sixteenth century. 
Peter Frecheville by his will (1579), left his manors of Whitwell 
and Stretley to his younger son, John ; thence they passed to the 
Weutworths.* 

In the year 1291 (Pope Nicholas' Taxation Roll), Whitwell with its 
chapel (Steetley) is valued at .20 per annum. 

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the following de- 
tails of the Rectory : 

WHITWELL BECTOEIA. 

Ranulpb.ua Rye Patronus. 

Dominus Brianus Sandeford rector ibidem habet in commuiiibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 
In pnmis in Mansione cum gleba --.-... ]jjj jjjj 

Item in decimis garbarum et feni x 

'Inq. postMort., 12Edw. I., No. 14; 16 Edw. H., No. 61; 3 Henry IV. No 52 
etc., etc. 

t Chartulary of Welbeck, Harl. MSS. 3640. 

Jlnq. post Mort., 49 Henry HI., No. 10; 8 Henry VI, No. 82; Nichol's Col- 
lectanea, vol. iv., pp. 14, 209. 



WHIT WELL. 393 

s. (1. 

In decimis lane et agnellorum Ij vij 

In decimis minutis - xvj viij 

In oblatinnibus --------.-- xx 

In pasckali rotulo ---------- liij iiij 

In duobus teuemeutis et duobus cotagiis- xx 



Summa xx xiiij xj 

Unde resoluta est annuatiin Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et 

procuragio ------- xj vij 

De claro xx iij iiij 

Decima inde xl iiij 



The Parliamentary Commissioners estimated the value of the 
living of Whitwell at 100 per annum. They further report Mr. 
John Rowlandsou, senior, the incumbent, " as an honourable 
preacher.''* 

In 1658, Mr. John Rowlandson removed to another living, and 
the original presentation then made is preserved amongst the manu- 
scripts at Lambeth Palace : " To the Honourable the Commissioners 
for the appointment of Publique Preachers, sitting at White Hah 1 , 
John, Earl of Rutland, Lord Roos of Hamlacke, Fresbout, and 
Belvoir, the true and undoubted Patron of the Rectory of Whitwell 
in the county of Derby, seudeth greeting Know ye that I, the 
sayd Earl of Rutland, by virtue of these presents doe prefer Joseph 
Swetuam, Minister of the Gospel, to the sayd Rectory and 
parish church of Whitwell now voyd by Cession, John Rowlandson 
ye elder, late Rector there, being removed to a better benefice, and 
so in my disposeall, Desyreing that the sayd Joseph Swetnam may 
bo admitted and invested in the full possessions of the Rectory 
aforesayd, together with the rights, profits, emoluments, perquisites, 

and appurtenances whatsoever thereto belonging In testimony 

whereof I have hereto sett my hand and scale the 22 day March, 
1658. Rutland, "t 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Lawrence, is a fine cruci- 
form building, consisting of nave, chancel, and north and south 
transepts. There are also side aisles to the nave, a southern porch, 
and a tower at the west end. The stone of which the church is 
built seems well fitted for its pin-pose, much of the Norman work 
still retaining the original boldness of outline. Whitwell quarries 
appear to have had a certain local fame ; for we learn from the 
Chartulary of Welbeck Abbey, that Robert de Meynell gave to that 
establishment a quarry in his laud at Whitweh 1 , wherever it could 

* Parliamentary Survey of Livings, vol. vi., p. 47(3. 
t Lambeth MSS., 946, No. 5. 



394: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

be found most convenient, to build the church of St. James, and 
other offices, and free ingress and egress for those that carried 
necessaries for the building. His successor, also, Walter de Goushill 
granted a right of quarry through the whole moor between Whitwell 
and Belph, and otherwhere in the common pastures of Whitwell, 
wherever it could be found, and free leave to discover, dig, work, and 
carry as the charter of Robert de Meynell had mentioned.* 

That a church of considerable size existed here in the Norman 
period, is very evident from the appearance of both the exterior and 
interior. A Norman corbel table, chiefly consisting of quaintly 
carved heads, runs round the outer walls of the nave both on the 
south and north sides ; and it is also continued on the north side 
of the chancel wall, about four feet below its present height. The 
tower at the west end, with the exception of the upper story a 
much later addition belongs to the same style. The original 
height of the tower is clearly defined, especially on the north side. 
The semi-circular western doorway of the tower, ornamented with 
the chevron pattern, and the small window above it, together with the 
west end window of the south aisle, give further evidence of the 
Norman period. 

On entering the church by the south porch, the upper part of 
the old Norman font lies right before us, although a modern one is 
now in use. It is a massive circular stone, quite free from ornament, 
but still lined with lead. It is sixteen inches high, thirty in 
diameter, and ten in the depth of the bowl. The lofty nave is 
separated from its aisles on each side by four semi-circular arches, 
supported by three rounded pillars with plain capitals. There are 
also above these arches three Norman clerestory windows on the 
north, and four on the south side. The last specimen of this style 
of architecture to be noticed, is the archway into the chancel. This 
is a really fine-sized arch, with bold mouldings, from which the 
super-incumbent plaster and whitewash have recently been scraped. 

From these various indications it seems, then, that the church 
at Whitwell in the Norman period wfis of much the same size, and 
in many parts identical with the present structure, with the excep- 
tion of the transepts. Owing to its capacity and strength, it 
appears to have escaped interference during the period when the 
Early English style was in vogue, but it underwent considerable 
alterations and additions under the style known as the Decorated. 

* Chartulary of Welbeck. Harl. MSS., 3,640. Dugdale's Jfotiasticon, vol. ii., p. 599; 
and Stevens Addition, vol ii , p. 14U. 



WHITWELL. 395 

To this style (about the middle of the fourteenth century) belong 
the transepts, as may be proved from the tracery of their windows ; 
also the south porch, and chancel, which were then entirely recon- 
structed. The two south windows of the chancel are good specimens 
of the style, three quatrefoils being grouped in the head ; so also 
is the large east window of four lights. The opposite wall is un- 
pierced with windows, and, judging from the corbel-table on the 
exterior, must in a great measure be the same that served in the 
Norman chancel ; but a door-way on this side opens into a vestry 
lighted by an effective Decorated window of small dimensions. 
From the string-courses on the exterior, it is clear that this vestry, 
or sacristy, formed part of the design of the chancel when rebuilt. 
It is of the same date as the smaller one at Kirk-Ireton in this 
county, and has probably given employment to the same architect. 

In the south wall of the chancel are two sedilia, of a beautifully 
ornate description. The tabernacle-work above the seats is carried 
to a considerable height and is most effective. The seats are on a 
different level, the eastern seat being a step the higher. Beyond 
them is a small simple piscina in an ogee-shaped arch, of the same 
period. 

Various alteration? were made throughout the church during the 
Perpendicular period. To that date may be attributed most of the 
windows of the side aisles of the nave, and the top story of the 
tower with the bell-chamber windows. The tower is surmounted 
with four crocketed pinnacles of a debased modern style, the 
chancel and the porch suffering in a similar way at the like date. 
The church also appears to have been re-roofed throughout, at a 
subsequent date to the Decorated period. The Perpendicular roof 
of the chancel, though handsome enough in itself, has been allowed 
by some strange perversion of taste, to cut off the upper portion 
of the fine east window. The corbels of this roof terminate on 
each side in two angels holding shields, a third one being now 
missing. It is difficult from the floor of the chancel to make out 
the arms with which these shields are charged, but those on the 
north side appear to bear the arms of Rye gu. , on a bend, erm., 
three ears of rye, sa. 

On the floor of the chancel, on the south side, is a stone roughly 
incised with the figure of a man. The figure, unfortunately, is 
half hidden by the steps which lead up to the east end. From the 
portion visible, it appears to represent a civilian, bareheaded, hands 
folded, and wearing a close fitting dress gathered in plaits from 



396 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

below the waist. On the opposite side near the vestry door, is a 
large gravestone of magnesian limestone. The inscription which 
runs round the margin is inlaid with pitch, which from constant 
wear has in some places run into the stone itself, and formed, as it 
were, one body, whilst in others it is altogether wanting. It is there- 
fore by no means an easy task to decipher it, but the following 
is an accurate copy, with the abbreviations omitted " Hie jacet 
Eadulphus Eye, quondam dominus hujus Ville, patronus ecclesiae 

ejusdem, necnon vasti de Whytwell et Barleburgh, qui obiit 

anno domini millessrmo quadringentesimo octogesimo duo (1482), 
cujus anime propitietur Deus. Amen." In the centre of this grave- 
stone, without a date, is a brass plate bearing some rhyming 
verses in honour of a female. Bateman* says that this stone bore 
a shield of armorial bearings, "Quarterly; 1st and 4th, Vernon ; 
2, Avenal ; 3, Durvasal ; 2, Camville ; 3, Stockpole ; 4, Pembrugge ; 
5, Vernon ; 6, Pipe ; 7, Culpepper ; 8, Bryan ; 9, Eye." Bateman 
also gives the inscription in full. His version, though slightly 
erroneous, supplies the three words that we have missed " Capitalis 
domiuus domini." 

Against the north wall of the chancel is a stone slab, carved in 
a similar way to the sedilia on the opposite side. This, however, 
can only have been a much later imitation, provided that it was 
originally constructed to receive the brass which is now affixed to 
its surface. This brass, about a foot square, has the following 
quaint inscription cut in modern characters : 

"AJX 1623, June 14. 

Tobie Waterhous aged foure yeares and sive moneths, full of grace 
and truthe, as a vessel not as ye fountaine, departed this life ye 
youngest sone of Tobie Waterhous, Doctor in Divinitie, the youngest 
sonne of Gregorie Waterhous Esq, the youngest sonne of Eobert 
Waterhous, of ye Moote Hall in Hallifaxe in Yorkshire Esq, and of 
Elizabeth Copley, daughter of Edward Copley of Southill in Bedford- 
shire, Esquire. 

Both life and grace in the sweet babe in paralells ran on, 

When sudden death did seeme to make their points to meet in one, 

But then on the did life and grace thy paralells attend, 

Whose equall length keeps equall bredth now never meet nor end." 

Above the inscription are affixed the arms of Waterhous impaling 

Copley. 

The greater part of the west wall of the north transept is taken 

up by a very large monument to the memory of Sir Eoger Manners, 

* Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire (1848), p. 236. 



WHIT WELL. 397 

knight. It is of that debased style, so utterly incongruous with 
Christian architecture, that originated in the days of Elizabeth, and 
prevailed throughout the Stuart dynasty. It is principally formed 
of alabaster and must have been most costly. In the centre is the 
reclining figure of the knight, much mutilated, especially about the 
feet. Over it is written : " In memory of the right noble, learned 
and religious knight, Roger Manners of Whitwell in the county of 
Derby, who died 17 July 1632." Below the figure are the follow- 

lines 

" A living academic was this kiiigkt, 
Divinity, the arts, the tongs, what might 
In learned Schooles exactly be profest, 
Tooke up theire lodgings iu his noble brest. 
Till death, like church dispoilers, did pull down, 
Manners true fabrique and the arts renowue." 

At the north end of the same transept is an ogee-shaped sepul- 
chral recess, with good open tracery in the archway. The recess, 
which is two feet three inches deep, is boarded over ; but we were 
told that it had been examined, and no coffin or remains discovered. 
The hood-mould of the arch rests, on one side, on a female head 
wearing a square-cut head-dress with falling lappets ; and, on the 
other side, on a man's head, bearded, and the hair in a triple row 
of curls. This recess was probably Intended, whether it was ever 
used or not, for the last resting-place of the founder of these tran- 
septs. In the east windows of this transept, as weU as in the 
east window of the chancel, are a number of disconnected frag- 
ments of old glass, from which little can be gathered, except 
that many of them have originally been used in heraldic display. 
In the south-east angle, are the pointed doorway and three steps 
that formerly led to the rood-loft. 

The south transept contains no monumental remains, but behind 
one of the pews against the south wall is a small piscina, identical 
in size and shape with the one already mentioned in the chancel. 
It is somewhat mutilated, having been barbarously levelled with the 
wall to make room for a pew-back. From the east wall project at 
intervals three plain brackets for saints. Among the carved bosses 
of the roof of this transept may be noticed one bearing a bend, 
between six escallops (Frecheville). 

The visit made by Bassauo to this church, in 1710, does not give 
us much information, but he noticed the boss with the Frecheville 
arms, which he describes as being " in the roof of St. Lawrence's 
quire." He also records in the north window of the north aisle 
"Verrie, az., and 2 lyons passant gardant, or." The first of these 



398 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

coats was for Meynell, arid the second for Pipe. The connection 
of these two families, as well as that of Frecheville, with Whitwell, 
has been already explained. 

In the churchyard, at the south-east angle of the chancel, he 
describes " even with ye grass roots an old stone effigy of priest in 
canonical vestments, head shaved." This effigy was here just a 
century later, when Lysons' Church Notes * were compiled ; but 
it was so much deteriorated by the weather, as to be styled ' ' the 
mutilated effigy of a lady in stone." The latter MSS. also describe 
an ancient Norman tympanum, over the chancel door, three feet 
six inches by ten inches, and inscribed with " Norman circles," 
and a dragon with a foliated tail. 

The tower possesses but three bells : one has no inscription 
whatever; a second " Wil. Kowbotham, B. Starkey, Churchwardens." 
and the third, " Gloria in Excelsis," round the haunch in Lorn- 
bardic capitals. 

*Add. MSS. 9463. 



STEETLEY. 399 



of 




T appears that Steetley,* which has BOW for some time been 
considered as a chapel of "\Vhitwell, was also thus esteemed 
for some time after its first foundation. For the Taxation 
Roll of 1291 does not make any separate mention of Steetley, but 
simply speaks of " Whitwell cum capella." But for a long period 
in the next century, and for some time subsequent, Steetley was re- 
garded as a separate parish, and the benefice as a distinct rectory. 
A deed of the latter part of the reign of Edward III. is extant, 
relative to the manor of Alvaston, in which mention is made of 
" Robertus de Smeton, rector ecclesias de Steteley," t and Lysons 
states that presentations were made to the rectory in the years 
1348, 1355, and 1370, by the Vavasors and Frechevilles who held 
the manor. An Inquisition, taken at Chesterfield in 1391, on the 
death of Anker Frecheville, shows that he held one messuage and a 
bovate of land at Steetley, together with the advowson of the church 
of the same place. j This property was held by him under the 
Vavasours, and was left to his younger son Gervase. It remained 
in the Frecheville family till the reign of Elizabeth, when it was 
conveyed to the Wentworths.* Both the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 
Henry VIII. , and the Parliamentary Survey of 1650, are silent as 
to the church of Steetley. 

The ancient church, now long since desecrated, is usually spoken 
of as a Saxon edifice. The earliest date, however, to which it can 

* There are six plates and a ground plan of Steetley Church in Lysons' Derby- 
shire ; a plate and description in the xxx Volume of the Archaeological Association ; 
three plates and descriptions in Worksop, the Dukern, and Sherwood Forest. Mr. 
"White, of Worksop, also published, in I860, a work on this church, fully illustrated by 
photographs. 

fNichol's Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 199. 
J Inq. post Mort. 14, Ric II., No. 14. 

; Lysons is in error in suggesting 1571, as the date of this conveyance, for the will 
of Peter Frecheville, leaving the manor of Steetley to his younger son John, is dated 
17ih August, 1579. 



400 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

be assigned is that of the first half of the twelfth century, pro- 
bably during the reign of Stephen (1135-1154). The Chartulary of 
Welbeck* proves that Steetley was held, shortly after the Domesday 
Survey, by Gley de Briton. Gley had four sous, one of whom was 
a witness to the foundation charter of "Welbeck, iii 1154. None of 
the sons left issue, and their sister Matilda brought the property to 
Eobert le Vavasor. It seems, then, probable that the church was 
built by either Gley de Briton or one of his sons. 

The building is quite a gern of early architectural art, indeed it is 
one of the most complete and beautiful specimens of Normau work 
on a small scale that can be met with anywhere in this country or 
in Normandy .f 

The church consists of a nave and chancel, each of them being 
twenty-six feet in length. The nave is fifteen feet broad, and the 
chancel somewhat narrower. The south doorway is richly orna- 
mented. It consists of three receding semicircular arches, the outer 
one of which has the chevron, the second the beak-head, and the 
third a plain moulding. The shafts supporting the outer arch are 
richly carved with medallions, which are much worn, but are sup- 
posed to represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The smaller 
doorway on the north side is blocked up. The remainder of the 
exterior of the nave, and of the chancel as far as the commence- 
ment of the apse, is of a plain description. There is a very small 
round-headed light in the south wall of the nave, and two at the 
west end, one above the other. In the south wall of the chancel is 
to be found the only alteration which this building has undergone 
diiring subsequent styles. It is a pointed Decorated window, inserted 
in the place of two smaller Norman lights. The east end of the 
chancel terminates in an apse,:}: and we here find very effective work 
on the exterior. The apse is supported by five round- edged pilaster 

*Harl. MSS., 3640. 

t In many of its features there is considerable resemblance between the Church of 
Steetley, and those of Kilpeck in Herefordshire, and East Ham, in Essex ; but there 
is really a striking resemblance between Steetley and the twelfth century chapel of 
St. Julian, at Petit Quevilly, near Rouen. The chapel of St. Julian is of the ^, 
interest ; both the apse and the chancel still retain the original groined roof of stone, 
and much of the ancient colouring, happily effected with two shades of blue, choco- 
late, and buff, has been recently exposed during a judicious and simple restoration. 
If the restoration of Steetley is seriously contemplated, careful notes should be made 
of the chapel at Petit Quevilly. St. Julian is far richer in arcade-work in the interior, 
but it lacks the special characteiistic beauty of Steetley the external stringcourse, 
pilasters, and cornice of the apse. 

J The apse, which is the usual termination to the east end of churches in Germany, 
and not unfrequently met with in France, is but of rare occurrence in England, ami 
then almost invariably among those which have retained in entirety the original 
Norman construction. This is the only instance of its occurrence in Derbyshire or 
the adjacent counties, though there is no doubt that the original terminations both to 
the chancel and side aisles of the fine old Norman church of Melbourne were semi- 
circular in shape. 



STEETLEY. 401 

buttresses, connected by a broad stringcourse, or belt, delicately 
carved with interlacing foliage. Above this unique belt, which 
encircles the middle of the apse, are three small round-headed win- 
dows of excellent design. 

On entering the church we are struck with the beauty of the 
chancel arch. It is ornamented with a triple series of mouldings, 
the first being an escalloped border over reticulated cones, the second 
the embattled, and the third the chevron moulding. The capitals on 
the north side are curiously carved with a representation of St. 
George and the Dragon, and a double-bodied lion. St. George is 
represented in armour and a conical helmet, with a kite-shaped 
shield on his left arm ; the dragon's tail is continued to a great 
length, and finally terminates in branching foliage. 

The arch into the apse is simply surrounded by the billet mould- 
ing, but the capitals of the shafts are handsomely carved with foliage. 
The apse is vaulted with stone, and is supported by four well- 
moulded ribs or groins ornamented with the beak-head design. At 
the junction of these ribs, in the centre of the roof, is an oval 
medallion carved with an Agnus Dei. The capitals of the four 
engaged shafts, from which the ribs spring, are all beautifully 
designed, the most striking one representing the temptation of 
Adam and Eve. There are some slight remains of colour in 
the roof of the apse. Both nave and chancel are now destitute 
of roofs ; the former has had no covering for about a century 
and a half, but the chancel is represented as tiled, with a gable 
roof in one of Lysons' plates, published in 1817. 

The Kev. J. Stacye mentioned, at the visit of the British 
Archaeological Association to this chapel in 1873, that " this 
apse was in a very ruinous state, but was carefuUy rebuilt by 
the Earl of Surrey, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, the then owner, 
about forty years ago. The walls were found to have had a 
coating of very fine plaster. In the surrounding yard several 
skeletons were also then found. "* The Association suggested the 
covering in of the remainder of the chapel, to preserve it from 
further decay, and we learn that this step is already in contempla- 
tion. But such an undertaking will require the greatest caution, and 
should only be undertaken by a thoroughly competent and pains- 
taking architect, or otherwise we shah 1 run the risk of having 
this exquisite gem "restored" into mere conventional smug- 
ness. Better far that its area should still continue to serve as a 

* Journal of the Archceotogical Association, vol. zxz. p. 114. 

2D 



402 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

poultry-yard (with all its concomitant nuisances), as was the case 
at the time of our visit, than that this should occur. 

The diary of Abraham de la Pryme, published in 1870, con- 
tains the following entry, under date, February 12th, 1G98 : 

"In a green meadow close in Stickley, near or in Shire 
Oaks, in or near Worsop, stands a staitly well-built chapel, all 
arched roofed, excellently enambled and gilt; the lead that 
covered the same is all stolen away, so that the weather begins 
to pierce through its fine roof, to its utter decaying." * 

On September 2nd, 1742, Steetley was visited by Bishop 
Littleton. He remarks "there was ancient chapel, now con- 
verted into a barn, which has the appearance of very great an- 
tiquity. 'Tis small and dark, having a few windows, and those 
in the upper part of the building just under the roof. The 
chancel is a kind of alcove. The roof is supported by straight 
pillars with springing arches from each of them that meet in 
the centre. The whole is an uncommon structure. "t 

We have failed to learn the precise time when this most admirable 
specimen of Norman architecture was first suffered to go to decay, but 
our inquiries elicited the following interesting reply from Mrs. Adin of 
Chesterfield, relative to its condition of late years " My father's 
family on the maternal side, held for some years the farm upon which 
the Chapel of Steetley stands, under the Duke of Norfolk. The 
chancel was used by them as a shelter, and the yard as a fold for 
sheep. That would be about a century ago. Some time prior to that, 
upon the land in the Chapel yard being ploughed up, a jar was dis- 
covered containing coins ; upon its being opened a paper or parch- 
ment was found, with the words, ' Bather the devil than Oliver,' 
written upon it. I cannot give a correct date of the circumstance, 
but it has been handed down to the present generation by tradition. "J 

* Surtees Society, vol. liv., p. 174. 

t Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS., 24,447, f. 100. 

1 Derbyshire Times, November 9th, 1872, Local Note* and Queries. 




giHington. 




HE old church of St. Bartholomew* at Whittington 

pulled down in the year 1863, and the present one erected . 
within a few yards of the original site. From a south view 
of this building, taken in 1789, by Mr. Jacob Schnebbelie,t as well 
as from later engravings, we find that it was but of small dimensions, 
consisting of nave, chancel, south porch, and a low spire at the west 
end. The windows at the east and west ends, as well as those on 
each side of the porch, arc represented as filled with tracery of the 
Perpendicular period ; but the window by the priest's door into the 
chancel appears to be early in the Decorated period : whilst there is 
a smah 1 Early English lancet in the south wah 1 of the nave. If the 
carefully-finished steel engraving in Ford's History of Chesterfield, 
1839, is accurate, it would seem as if the walls had been originally 
erected in the last-mentioned of these periods, and that the other 
windows are later insertions. The old font, however, is preserved in 
the new church, and from it we may gather that there was a church 
here before the Norman style had departed. It is circular at the top, 
but tapers into an octagon shape. The diameter is two feet, and the 
stone of which the font itself is composed, is nineteen inches high. 
Together with the base, its total height is about three feet. It is orna- 
mented round the upper margin with an escalloped moulding. 

Whittington, in the Domesday Survey, is described as one of the 
hamlets of Newbold. According to Lysons, the paramount manor, 
which had been in the Peverels, was granted by King John to William 
Briwere, from whose family it passed to the Wakes. The Boythorps, 
and after them, successively, the Bretons, Loudhams, and Foljambes, 
appear to have held under the families before mentioned as mesne 

* Pegge says that it is dedicated conjointly to St. Mary and St. Bartholomew, but 
not so the Liber Regis. 

t Gentleman's Magazine, 1809, p. 1201. 



406 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

lords ; but the immediate possession was, from an early period, in the 
family of Whittington, whose heiress married Dethick. According to 
the Inquisitions post Mortem, Roger Breton was seized of the manor 
in the reign of Edward V., Robert le Breton in the reign of Edward 
III., and Sir John Loudham in the reign of Richard II. Joan, 
Countess of Kent, held the manor in the time of Henry VI., and 
Thomas Foljambe died seized of a moiety of the manor later on in the 
same reign. He had transferred the other moiety to his son Henry 
in his life-time. Thomas Babington was also seized of it in the reign 
of Edward IV., in the right of his wife Isabel, an heiress of Dethick. 
Geoffrey Dethick was seized of the manor as early as the year 1820. 
A co-heiress of Dethick brought it, about the year 1488, to the Poles, 
who held under Foljambe. George Pole had two daughters, co-heir- 
esses, who, towards the latter part of the seventeenth century, brought 
this manor in moieties to Frith and Chaworth.* 

Dr. Pegge, the celebrated antiquary, who died in 1796, was for 
forty-five years rector of Whittington, and an interesting account of 
this church was written by him three years before his death. This 
account, which we now reproduce, is to be found in the introduction 
to a posthumous work of his son :f "The church is now a little rectory 
in the gift of the Dean of Lincoln. At first, it was a chapel of ease 
to Chesterfield, a very large manor and parish, of which I will give 
the following short but convincing proof. The Dean of Lincoln, as 
I said, is patron of this rectory, and yet "William Rufus gave no other 
church in this part of Derbyshire to the church of St. Mary at Lin- 
coln but the church of Chesterfield ; and, moreover, Whittington is at 
this day a parcel of the great and extensive manor of Chesterfield ; 
whence it follows that Whittington must have been once a part both 
of the rectory and manor of Chesterfield. Fig. 1 (referring to an 
accompanying plate) is an inscription on the Ting-tang or Saints Bell, 
drawn by Mr. Schnebbelie 27th July, 1789, from an impression taken 
in clay. This bell, seen in the annexed view, hangs within a stone 
frame or tabernacle, at the top of the church, on the outside, between 
the nave and the chancel. It has a remarkable fine shrill tone, and 
is heard, it is said, three or four miles off, if the wind be right. It 
is very ancient, as appears both from the form of the letters and the 
name (of the donor, I suppose) which is that in use before surnames 

* Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 52 ; 24 Edw. III., No. 86 : 11 Eic. II.. No. 34 ; 21 
Hen. VI., No. 36; 31 Hen. VI., No. 18; 6 Edw. IV., No. 29. See also Pegge's Collec- 
tions, passim; Add. MSS. 6673, f. 121 ; and Nichol's Collectanea, vol. i., pp. 346, 355. 

t Curialia Miscellanea; or, Anecdotes of the Olden Times. J. Nicholas, Son, and 
Bentley. 1818. 



WHITTINGTON. 407 

were common. Perhaps it may be as old as the fabrick of the church 
itself, though this is very antient. (The inscription, in Lombardic 
characters, is as follows : EICARD : L : E : FTZ : JOHAN.) 

"In the east window of the church is a small figure of a female 
saint. 

" In this window, A. a fess Vaire G. and 0. between three water - 
bougets Sable, Dethick. 

" Cheque A and G. or a bend S. a martlet, Beckering. 

" At the bottom of this window an inscription in black letter, 
ROGERO CEIC. Roger Criche was rector, and died 1413, and probably 
made this window. He is buried within the rails of the communion 
table, and his slab is engraved in the second volume of Mr. Gough's 
' Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain,' plate xix., p. 87. No- 
thing remains of the inscription but AMF.N. 

In the upper part of the south window of the chancel, is a picture 
in glass of the Saviour with the five wounds ; an angel at his left 
hand sounding a trumpet. On a pane of the upper tier of the west 
window is the portrait of St. John ; his right hand holding a book 
with the Holy Lamb upon it, and the forefinger of the left hand 
pointing to the Cross held by the Lamb, as uttering his well-known 
confession : ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin 
of the world.'* 

"In the south window of the chancel is, Barry wavy of 6 A. and 
G. a chief A Ermine and Gules. BarUy. 

" Ermine on a chief indented G. or lozenge. (Morteyne.) In the 
easternmost south window of the nave is A. on a chevron Sable, three 
quatrefoils Argent. Eyre. 

" This window has been renewed ; before which there were other 
coats and some effigies in it. 

"Jan. 1, 1793. Samuel Pegge, Rector." 

In explanation of these notes of Dr. Pegge we may add that 
"Whittington appears to have remained dependent on Chesterfield 
until the incumbency of the Rev. M. Waddington, who was inducted 
to the living of Chesterfield on May 27, 1616, when a dispute arose 
respecting the claiming of the vicarage. By a decree of the Star 
Chamber, made November 11, 1632, it was decided that Whittington 
should be independent, but pay certain oblations to the mother 
church, as well as find the sacramental bread for Chesterfield alter- 
nately with Brarnpton. But this custom appears to have long ago 
died out. 

* Both these are engrnve<l in the Antiquaries' Museum, from drawings made by Mr. 
Schnebellie. 



408 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Amongst Dr. Pegge's manuscript Collections there are also many 
other interesting particulars relative to this church, which have not 
hitherto been published.* From this source it appears that a 
rector of Whittington is mentioned in the year 1219, and that it 
was probably styled a rectory as early as 1140. With respect to 
the edifice itself, he says, " Some of ye old windows are no better 
than loopholes. The north door of the church was stopped up in 
memory of many persons now living. There are remains of other 
loophole windows, two being now perfect. (These ' loophole win- 
dows ' were probably of Norman date.) The front of the porch has 
been ornamented with pillars in ye Norman manner ; there still 
remains capital and base of that on the right hand." In the south 
wall of the chancel were berth an almery and a piscina. 

In 1785, the bells, being both of them cracked, were new cast 
in Lancashire, with this inscription, " W. Spray and Jo. Harvey, 
Churchwardens, 1785." They were first rung on Christmas-day of 
that year. The old bells weighed 317 Ibs., and were sold at 8d. 
per Ib. ; the new ones weighed 413 Ibs., and were bought at Is. 4d. 
per. Ib. 

Dr. Pegge was particular in keeping careful account of all his 
expenditure, as rector, over the church. Thus, in 1786, he notes : 
" The chancel cieled by the singers about 1780, and cost 1 Is. Od.; 
but being ill done it cost me 2 2s. Od. to repair it in 1786, and 
whitewashing cost me 5s." 

Bassano (circa 1710) notes several coats of arms in the windows 
of this church, that had disappeared before the days of Dr. Pegge's 
rectorship. These are : 
" In south window, a quartered coat, 

"1. 

" 2. 

" 3. Arg. 8 fusils in fess, guks. (Montague, Earl of Salisbury.) 

" 4. Az. a chevron, ermine. (Lodebroke.) 

" In north window, a coat illegible, impaling, arg. a chevron 
between 8 escallops, gules. (Breton of Walton.) 
" In west window, 

" Sa. a bend between 6 escallops, or. (Foljambe.)" 

With regard to the presence of these different coats mentioned 
by Pegge and Bassano (to which we have added the names of 
their respective families), in the church of Whittington, those of 
Dethick, Breton, and Foljambe, will be readily accounted for, as 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv,, et passim. 



WHITTIXCTOX. 409 

successive holders of the manor of Whittington. The families of 
both Eyre and Barley held property in adjacent manors, and were 
also intermarried with the Foljanabes. The family of Beckering 
was connected with this manor through the Loudhams, for when 
Sir John Loudham, the younger, died without issue, his sisters 
brought his estate in moieties to Thomas Foljambe, Esq., and Sir 
John Beckering. Joan, Countess of Kent, was allied to the Mon- 
tagues, and the quartered coat partially destroyed when Bassauo 
visited the church, was probably placed in the window when that 
lady held the manor. The Montagues were large lauded proprietors 
in Derbyshire, holding, in the fourteenth century, the manors of 
both Eyam and Risley ; they were allied by marriage to the Dethicks. 

The alabaster slab, to the memory of Roger Criche, is describe- 1 
at length by Dr. Pegge in Gough's great work.* He therein 
describes it as the figure of a priest in vestments, with a chalice 
in the right corner, and a book in the left, adding, "the greatest 
singularity in this gravestone is the portraiture of a little boy on 
the rector's left side towards the bottom. This certainly is very 
remarkable, since, after inspecting all the portraits on the monu- 
ments in my books, I find nothing like it. "We must have recourse, 
therefore, here to conjecture ; viz., that, as the rector of a church 
in the fifteenth century could have no legitimate children, the 
nolettus or campanarius, i.e., the youth that rang the sacring bell, 
must therefore be intended by this small figure. Perhaps he might 
die at the same time as his master Cryche, and be interred in the 
same grave with him." 

A more recent writer on Derbyshire antiquities, also, gives an 
account of this remarkable stone : 

"In the middle of the pavement of the chancel of the church at 
this place is a very remarkable incised slab of alabaster, represent 
ing a priest in his canonicals, with a lesser figure on his left 
hand ; probably intended for an acolyte. The head of the priest 
rests on a cushion with an embroidered border, to the right of 
which is a chalice, and on the left an open book. There is a 
defaced inscription of four lines above the figures, and a shorter 
one of two lines below them. There is every reason to believe 
that this slab covers the remains of Roger Criche, Vicar of \Vhit- 
tington, who died in 1414."t 

* Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. 39. 

t Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, p. 236. 



410 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

The family of Criche are known to have been settled in Derby- 
shire in the reign of Edward II. They probably were of the 
village of that name, but eventually lived for many generations at 
Stubbing Edge, Ashover. William Criche, father of Ralph, AY!IO 
was living in 1634, married the heiress of Sandford, and his second 
wife was one of the Hunlokes of Wingerworth. Cornelius Criche, 
one of the last of the family, lived to the good old age of 102, 
and is buried in the chancel of Ashover Church. The Revolution 
of 1688, which was initiated at the village of Whittington, was 
commemorated with great rejoicings at its centenary in 1788. 
Cornelius Criche was carried in a chair in the procession, as one 
who had been born before the Revolution. He died in the follow- 
ing year. 

On visiting the new St. Bartholomew at Whittington, we were 
much disappointed to be unsuccessful in our enquiries after the 
slab to the memory of Roger Cliche. It appears that this interest- 
ing relic disappeared when the new church was being erected. In 
the tower of the new church is one of the 1785 bells from the 
old building. In the brief biographical memoir of Dr. Pegge, 
written by his son, it is said that " he was buried, according to 
his own desire, in the chancel at Wliittington, where a mural 
tablet of black marble (a voluntary tribute of filial respect) has 
been placed over the east window with the following short inscrip- 
tion : 

"At the North End of the Altar Table, within the Rails, 

lie the Remains of 

Samuel Pegge, LL.D., 

who was inducted to this Rectory Nov. 11, 1751, and died 

Feb. 14, 1796; 
In the 92nd year of his age." 

This monument remained for a considerable time in a disjointed 
condition in the porch of the new church ; but, about two years 
ago, it was happily affixed to the west wall of the church, at the 
time when an enlargement of the vestry and other alterations were 
effected. 

The Rectory of Whittington was valued at Q 13s. 4d. in the 
year 1291, when the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. was com- 
piled. The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIIL, gives the following 
particulars relative to the benefice : 



WHITTINGTON. 411 

WHITTYNGTON EECTORIA. 

Decanus Lincolnensis Patronus. 

Dominus Johannes Laurence rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In mansione cum gleba ........ xv j 

In decimis garbarum --------- jijj 

In decimis feni ---------- x jj 

In paschali rotulo .......... xvj 

In oblationibus ---------- iiij 

In decimis lane et agnellorurn ------- xvj 

In decimis molendini --------- ij ii 

In decimis minutis --------- vj 



Summa - - vii xij iiij 

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio xviij 

De claro - - vij x x 

Decima inde - xv 



The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 estimated the living of 
Whittington at 60 per annum. They recorded that John Wolfen- 
dale was the incumbent, " scandalous and insufficient." 





infiplih 




to 




. 





HE old parish of North Winfield is one of considerable ex- 
tent, and comprises the townships of Clay Lane, Pilsley, 
Tuptoii, and part of Stretton, together with the villages 
of Ford, Hanley, Henmore, Williamsthorp, and Woodthorp. At 
the time of the Domesday Survey (1086), North Winfield is men- 
tioned as possessing a priest and a church, there being only forty 
enumerated in the county of Derby at that date. The manor was 
then held by Walter de Ayncurt, who also held the manors of 
Brainpton, Elmton, Holmesfield, Stoney Houghton, Morton, Ogston, 
Pilsley, Wadshelf, Wassington, and Williainsthorp. Besides all the 
manors in Derbyshire, the family of Deincourts* (for thus the name 
was subsequently spelt) were possessed, by favour of William the 
Conqueror, of large lauded properties in Nottinghamshire, Lincoln- 
shire, and elsewhere. Ralph Deincourt, sou and heir of Walter, 
was the founder of Thurgartou Priory in Nottinghamshire. To 
this religious establishment he left the whole of his benefices, in- 
cluding two in Nottinghamshire, seven in Lincolnshire, and Ehnton 
and Langwith in Derbyshire, " for the health of his soul, and of 
his sous and daughters, and for the souls of his father and mother, 
and for the soul of Basilia his wife, and of all his parents and 
ancestors." It thus appears that the clmrch of North Winfield 
was not left by W r alter Deincourt to his son Ralph ; and it would 
seem that he left it to a second son, Roger. For in the time of 
Henry II., when a charter was obtained by the Priory of Thur- 
garton, confirming the grants of their founder, many other and 

*Dr. Pegge mentions a field in the parish of North Winfield, "near the dam," 
which was called Deiucourt in his days. On that spot he assumes that the original 
mansion of the family stood, and that the family title of Baron de Ayncourt, or 
Deiucourt, was taken from this place-name. A moor in the same parish is called 
Ayn or Eyu-moor, i.e., a water or marshy moor. Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 2. 
The site of this ancient mansion is still pointed out by tradition, and attributed by 
the oldest inhabitants to the Deincourts. 



410 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

subsequent grants were at the same time confirmed, and amongst 
others one of the church of Winfield, by " Kalph the son of Eoger 
de Ayncurt."* From this date the benefice remained in the hands 
of the Priory of Thurgarton until the dissolution of the monas- 
teries in the reign of Henry VIII. 

The manor also fell into religious hands about the same period, for 
it is stated in the Chartulary of Welbeck Abbey ,f that Eoger Dein- 
court gave to the Abbey, to sustain three canons, the whole of his 
lands in North Winfield, except the advowson of the church and 
the bovate of Parkhouse, where the family mansion was situated. 
John Deiucourt, his brother, was rector of the church of North 
Winfield, and confirmed the grant to the Abbey, "for his own soul 
and the souls of Boger and his wife Alice." The Abbot of Welbeck 
obtained a grant of free warren over this manor in the reign of 
Edward I.J The last court held at North Wiufield by the Abbot 
of Welbeck was by Abbot Thomas Wilkinson in May, 10 Henry 
VIII. (1518). 

Though the Deincourts had given the manor proper of North 
Wiufield to Welbeck Abbey, they continued to hold the manors of 
Pilsley and Williamsthorp, in this parish, for many generations, as 
well as the land immediately round their seat of Park House or 
Park Hall, which was on the confines of the parish of Morton. 
John Deincourt, who died 7 Henry IV., married Joanna, heiress 
of Robert Grey of Eotherfield. His elder son dying without issue 
in 1422, and his younger one also in 1442, the male line became 
extinct. The daughters and co-heiresses, Margaret and Alicia, were 
married respectively to Ealph Lord Cromwell, and to William Lord 
LoveU.y 

But neither the Abbey of Welbeck nor the Priory of Thurgarton 

* There is some little contradiction in the pedigrees of the early generations of the 
Deincourts, which it does not seem now possible to clear up satisfactorily. See 
Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, vol. i., p. 212, vol. iii , p. 54-60, and Dugdale's Monas- 
ticon, vol. ii., p. 92. See also Blore's History of the County of Rutland, p. 150; on 
the publication of this volume Mr. Adam Wolley wrote as follows to Mr. Blore 
" In your pedigree it is stated that Ealph Deincourt, son of Roger Deincourt and 
Annora his wife, gave the church of Winfield to the priory of Thurgarton. I admit 
that the church of Winfield was given to that priory by Ralph, son of Roger Dein- 
court, but I apprehend that it was given by the Ralph, son of R. D., which Ealph I 
take to be the nephew of Ralph Deincourt, the founder of Thurgarton Priory, and 
not by Ralph Deiucourt (if there was any such person) the son of Roger and Aunora." 
The original draft of this letter, dated March, 1812, is amongst the Wolley Collec- 
tions, Add. MSS. tit>74, f. lUd. 

t Chartulary of Welbeck, Harl. MSS. 3640, f. 301. Add. MSS. 6674, f. 105. 
J Calend. Rot. Chart. 19 Edw. I., No. 49. 
Add. MSS. 6705, f. 75. 

Inq. post. Mort. 17 Ric. II., No. 16; 7 Henry IV., No. 30; and 1 Henry VI.. 
No. 24. 



NORTH WIN FIELD. 417 

maintained their exclusive rights in the manor and church of North 
Wiufield up to the dissolution of those establishments. Thorotou 
says Sir Ealph Longford possessed a moiety of the manor in 1513 
by descent from the Deiucourts, but this we have not been able to 
trace; and Thoroton does not seem to have been aware that Sir 
Nicholas Longford in conjunction with Sir John Bussey were joint 
holders of the whole manor, and patrons, in turn, of the church 
of North Winfield in the reign of Henry VII., and Sir Ralph 
and Sir John Bussey in the following reign. This is proved from the 
chantry endowment and from the Valor Ecclesiasticus. They were also 
joint patrons of Morton, and there was a window to their memory 
in the church of Chesterfield.* We can only conclude that the 
Abbey and the Priory had sold or leased their respective rights to 
the families of these two knights. There is no mention made of 
North Winfield in the summary of the property of Thurgarton Priory 
given in the Valor Ecclesiusticus, but that establishment was then in 
receipt of a pension of 15s. from Pilsley in this parish. From that 
sum a deduction of 3s. 4d. was made in favour of Sir Ealph Longford, 
and of 20d. in favour of Sir John Bussey, leaving 10s. of annual rent 
to the Priory. 

According to the Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291), the 
rectory of North Winfield (Halle wyuefeld) was worth 20 per annum. 
Under the temporalities of Welbeck Abbey, in the same record, are 
entered two bovates of land at North Winfield valued at 10s. per 
annum. 

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. , has the following entries 
relative to the rectory and chantry of this parish : 

NOETHWYNFELD RECTORIA. 

Eadulpbus Longford Miles et Johannes Busshie Armigeri alterius vicibus Patroni. 
Dominus Richardus Gwent rector ibidem non comparuit et habet 
communibus aniiis ut sequitur prout patet per billain exhibitam 

per Radulphum Gell firmarium ibidem. 

s. d. 
In primis mansionem cum glebis ------- x.xvj viij 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------ xlv 

Item in decimis garbarum et feni ------- xij ix 

Item in pascbali rotulo --------- iiij ij 

Item in oblationibus ---------- xxiiij ij 

Item in decimis minutis ut iu porcellis ovis ancis cauabo et lino - xj 

Summa - - xxi xvij x 
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - xj vij 

De claro xxj vj iij 

Decima inde xlij vij ob' 

* See the account of Chesterfield Church, p. 1 ">7. 

2E 



418 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

XORTHWYXFELD CANTAEIA. 
Fundata per Radulphum Savage. 
Dominus Johannes Wilson caiitarista ibidem Beate Marie habet ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis mansionem et certa cotagia in Xorthwynfeld cum 
quodam crofto dicte cautarie pertinente ac certas terras in cam- 
pis ibidem v iiij 

Item de priore de Lenton in pecuniis viij marc' 

Summa v xijs. 

Unde resoluta annuatim abbati de Welbecke pro capitale redditu xiiij 

De claro - - v x x 
Decima iude - xj j 



It is somewhat singular that there is no entry relative to the 
North Winfield chantry in either of the Chantry Rolls, preserved at 
the Public Record Office ; nor is it noticed by the Rev. Mackenzie 
Walcott in the list of Derbyshire Chantries that he supplied to the 
Reliquary.* But the original foundation charter, of the 4th of 
February, 1488, is at the British Museum,t and consists of a 
parchment volume entitled " The Foundation of a Chantery in the 
church of St. Helen at Northwynfeld in Corn. Derby." It is in 
fair preservation, but part of the first page is imperfect. From 
this charter we find that Henry VII. gave license to John Babyng- 
ton, Knight, and Rauf Savage to found a perpetual chantry of one 
secular priest, to be called " the chauntrie of blessed Marie Virgyn 
in the chirch of Seynt Elyn of Nortlrwynfeld." The priest was to 
have an annuity of eight marks allowed him " of the rnonasterie 
" or priorie of the Holy Spirite of Lenton in our countie of Not- 
" yngham. The priest was to pray for the good estate of the King, 
" his fully dere wyffe, Elizabeth Queene of England, and his best 
" beloved first -begotten son, Arthur Prynce of Wales and Earl of 
" Cornwalle, and of us the aforesayd John Babyngton, and Rauf 
" Savage, and also of John Savage, knight, Thomas Revell ser- 
" jeaunt of la we, Thomas Babyngton of Dethyck, John Savage of 
" Hukuall, Thomas Orstou, and Edmond Savage, preeste, whiles we 
" lif and liffen, and for the soules of the aforesaid when we shall 
" passe oute of this worlde, and also for the soules of Arnold 
" Savage Esqwyer, Agnes Leversage, and Helyn Orston, and all 
" our ancestors." 

The goods of the chantry, mentioned in the charter, are " a messale, 
price of cs. ; two portifers, yt is to say, one to be lying and another 
to be portative ; two challesses of silver and in partie gilted, weigh- 

* Reliquary, vol. xi., No. 42. 

t Add. MSS. 5152. There is also a copy amongst the records of the Nottingham 
Corporation. Dr. Pegge gives extracts from it iu his Collections, vol. viii. 



NORTH WINFIELD. 419 

ing in both xi. ounces of sylver Troy weight ; and vi. chesihles with ye 
apparells to save masse in." Mention is also made in the charter of 
Thomas Tue, the first chantry priest, of Thomas Fitzherbert the par- 
son of the church, and of " the worshipfull and noble men Nichol 
Longford, Knt. , and John Bushy, Ivut., Lords of ye manor of North - 
wynefeild and Patrons of ye parish church." 

The license concludes with the following injunction : " That these 
ordinances be not forgotten they shall on ye feast of St. George afore 
ye beginning of high mass, and on Wednesday in "Whisson weke, be 
read openly in mother tongue by ye priest of ye chantry in ye parish 
church or churchyard." 

Although North Winfield is not mentioned in the Chantry Rolls, the 
chantry is enumerated in the volumes containing the " Particulars 
for the Sale of Colledges and Chantries," where the mansion house, 
together with an apple orchard pertaining to it, then in the occupation 
of one William Wakks, a yearly tenant, is valued at Q 8s. Od., being 
sixkvn years' purchase at a rental of 8s.* The mansion was bought 
ill by the Savages at the time of the sale of this property, and a 
branch of the family resided there for several generations. The 
parish register contains the following entry under the year 1650 : 
" 5 March, Georgius Savage de Chantry House, sepultus fuit." This 
chantry-house, which adjoins the north-east angle of the churchyard, 
has now, for many years, been used as an alehouse, and is known by 
the sign of the " Blue Bell Inn." It retains many of its ancient 
featiu-es, both external and internal, just as it was built in the fifteenth 
century; but about three years ago it was unfortunately much 
modernised in appearance, by the removal of the stone mullions from 
the windows. 

Thomas Fitzherbert, rector of Northwinfield, at the time of the 
foundation of the chantry, was the fourth son of Ralph Fitzherbert, of 
Norbury, by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Marshall. He 
was a brother of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the famous judge. He held 
the rectory in 1511, as in that year he was one of the godfathers at 
the baptism of James Foljambe, eldest son of Sir Godfrey. t John 
Fitzherbert of Norbury, the eldest brother of Anthony and Thomas, 
had issue Nicholas, who married Dorothy, daughter of Sir Ralph 
Longford. Dorothy was sister to Sir Nicholas Longford, who was 
one of the patrons of North Wiufield. It therefore seems likely 
that Thomas was appointed to this living by his brother-in-law. * 

* Particulars for Sale, etc., vol. Ixviii., p. 243. Public Record Office. 
f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. i., p. 359. 

{ There were various alliances between the Fitzherberts and the Longford 
the account of Chesterfield Church, pp. l.j!->.-;>. 



420 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Sir John Babington, joint founder of the chantry, must have heeu 
the Knight of Malta, of whom we have written under Ashover and 
Dethick,* as the more celebrated Sir John, iu whose memory there 
was a memorial window at Staveley, was slain at Bosworth Field, 
in 14S5. 

The long connection of the Savages with the manor of Stainsby, 
in the adjacent parish of Hault Huckuall, has been explained at 
length in the account of that church, and Eauf or Kalph Savage 
was undoubtedly of that family. But it is not so easy a matter 
to trace the exact connection of the Savages of North Winfield 
with those of Stainsby. The south aisle of the Church was re-built 
by this family, as we may conclude from finding their arms fusilly 
in pale cut on the terminals of the wood-moulds of all the win- 
dows, probably by Ralph Savage, at the very time when he founded 
the chantry ; there were also formerly various coats of arms belong- 
ing to the Savages in another part of the church. Both these cir- 
cumstances show this branch of the family was of considerable 
importance and influence in the parish. The mention of the arms 
occurs in Wyrley's copy of Flower's Derbyshire Visitation of 1569, 
with addition taken by himself in 1592.1 " Iu the church of 
North Winkfield be thes Armes followinge, placed not far from 
the chappell. 

" I. Arg., on a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or (Leake), 
impaling arc/., a pale fusilly, sa. (Savage). 

" II. Rafe Savage. Arg., a pale fusill, sa., over all a bend sinis- 
ter, gu. 

" III. Savage, impaling gu., three legs in armour united at the 
thighs, arg. (Isle of Man). 

"IV. Savage, impaliug arg., three beudlets, gu., over all a label 
of three points (Byron). 

"V. Savage, with a crescent for difference, and over it written 
'Arnold Savage.' 

"VI. Savage, and over it 'John Savage junior, miles.'" 

The first of these coats is explained by the marriage of Elizabeth, 
daughter of Sir John Savage of Stainsby (and Clifton, Cheshire), 
to Sir John Leake, as described in the account of Sutton Church. 
Sir John Savage, the father of Elizabeth, married Katharine, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Lord Stanley, Lord of Man ; and this accounts for the 
third coat. Sir John had issue by Katharine (in addition to Eliza- 

Pp. 29,43. 

tHarl. MSS. 6592, f. 88. 



NORTH WINFIELD. 421 

beth), nine sons ; John, who married the heiress of Veruon and was 
slain at Boulogne (he would be styled "junior" in his father's life- 
time, thus accounting for the sixth coat) ; Thomas, Archbishop of 
York (see Button Church) ; Humphrey; Lawrence; James; Edmond, 
a priest (mentioned in the foundation of the chantry) ; Christopher ; 
Eichard ; and William. 

Sir John Savage, temp. Henry V., knighted at the battle of Agin- 
court, married Maud, daughter and heiress of Eobert Swynertou. 
Their eldest son was the Sir John Savage who married Katharine 
Stanley mentioned above ; but they had also, in addition to nine 
daughters, four other sons, William, Arnold, Roger, and George. 
We believe that this was the Arnold who settled at North Win- 
field, whose arms were on the fifth coat in the window, and who 
is mentioned as deceased in the charter of the chantry. The label 
on the impaled fourth coat shows that it was borne by an eldest 
son in the lifetime of his father; and we are inclined to attribute it 
to Arnold's son and heir, whom we believe to have married one of 
the Byrons of Nottinghamshire, but died without issue. The pro- 
perty at North W T iufield thereupon passed into the hands of Ralph 
Savage, the founder of the chantry, and who was of illegitimate 
birth, as is shown by the bend sinister on the second coat. There 
is good reason to suppose that Ralph was the illegitimate son of 
Arnold.* 

The Commissioners of the Commonwealth, 1650, reported the 
rectory of North Winfield to be of the annual value of '170. Mr. 
W. Barton i- was then the incumbent " honest and able." The fol- 
lowing is a list of the rectors of this parish from Thomas Fitzher- 
bert to the end of the seventeenth century, taken from the parish 
registers : 

Richard Gwent temp. Henry VIII., etc. 

Ralph Weuwright ...buried llth November, 1578. 

John Cooke buried 27th September, 1599. 

Anthony Topham ...His son Anthony was baptized 17th January, 
1630. He held the Deanery of Lincoln 
together with this rectory. 

* It also occurs to us that Ralph's mother may have been the Agnes Liversage 
mentioned in the charter of the chantry. The account in the text of the North Win- 
field Savages must not be taken as conclusive, but as founded with a considerable 
degree of certainty on the very numerous pedigrees and other evidences of the family 
that we have consulted. There was another branch of the Savages, descended from 
a younger brother of Roger-le-Savage, of Stainsby, temp. Edw. I., amongst whom 
the name of Arnold constantly recurred, but they were settled in Kent. Harl. MSS. 
2094, 3. 40, 42; 4031, f. 260; 2075, ff. 56, 57, etc.; 807, f. 65. 

t An agreement between the Rev. W. Barton and the rector of Morton will be 
found under the account of that church. 



422 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

William Barton 1650. 

Richard Beresford ...buried 5th March, 1694. 

Matthew Powell living 17U. 

The parish registers are unusually perfect aud of considerable 
interest in many of their details.* We take from them the following 
entries relative to the fabric, etc., of the church. 

"1633. Upon the first day of August, or thereaboute, their was a great clock plum 
(weight) stolen out of the steeple, which was eight or nine stone waight ; some stronge 
body did steal yt, or else it could not have been carried away, for I could not lift it 
with one hand. At the same time there was a kaye left in at Booth (?) Savage house 
(the chantry house), which did unlock the chappie door when they pleased to goe and 
ringe when I was out .... and mauie times the church doores was left open 
when I did never know of it, for by this means allso by going into the chappell win- 
dos and breaking the . . . door into the chaucell at there pleasure. The church 
was made common, and doores left open aluight inanie times. 

" 1633. This parish church steiple at North Wiiigfield white lymed in September. 

"1634. June 14. A new rail before our Communion Table made and set iii our 
chancell. 

" 1646. Ye chancell lead was bloane off at ye same time .... wiude fortie 
yardes. 

"1650. July. A new bay made in the east end of our church over the pulpit. 
Alsoe a new church doore made (still in good condition). 

"1718. This is to certifie whom it may concern, yt in ye year of our Lord 1718, 
the loft, or gallery, in North Wingfield church was erected by the churchwardens of 
this parish, viz. : John Lillyman, Thomas Clay, Ralph Wass, and Samuel Harrison, 
who, with ye unanimous consent of ye parish, for the defraying ye charge of so good 
a work, sold such seats in ye aforesaid loft, as shall be hereafter mentioned to these 
several parties, to them and their heirs for ever." 

We will now turn to the church itself, as it exists at the present 
day. It consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, and two side chapels 
on the northern side ; whilst at the western end is a lofty embattled 
tower. Of the clrurch existing at the time of the Domesday Survey, 
there are no remains hi the present structure, unless it be the dis- 
carded font, or one of the incised slabs to which we shall subse- 
quently refer. * 

At the east end of the north aisle is a Norman window, now 
blocked up ; which, if it was opened, would communicate with 
the chapel beyond, on the north side of the chancel. This is 
of the late Norman period, approaching the transition to the next 
style, as the arch is not perfectly semi-circular. It is enriched 
with some clear-cut mouldings of the tooth or four-leaved pattern, 
and the capitals of the side pillars, are well worthy of attention, as 
they are of a most unusual design, and might, if taken by them- 
selves, be attributed even to the Saxon period. Its date, however, 
appears to be about the middle of the twelfth century, early in the 
reign of Henry II. The archway connecting the north aisle with 

bated by us, on the Parish Registers of North Winfield, to 




Barest 4 5ns.Tu -SankPitctss 



NORTH WIXFIELD. 423 

the chapel at its eastern end, is also clearly Norman. It Beems 
hi.dily probable that "Ralph, the sou of Roger," previous to bestow- 
ing this church on the Priory of Thurgarton, re-built it, or restored 
it, and this seems to be the only remnant of that structure. It 
does not appear to have been interfered with in the Early English 
period ; but, subsequently, when the Decorated style was in vogue, 
and still later during the Perpendicular period, the church lost 
almost all of its original characteristics. 

On the south side is the porch. Its walls are unpierced with 
windows, but the ogee archway at the entrance is of unusual width, 
and, though now mutilated, has formerly possessed some good open- 
work tracery. Above the crocket, which surmounts the doorway, is 
a fair-sized niche, in which there is a figure, perhaps intended for 
St. Laurence", naked to the waist, but minus the head. This figure 
vidently not originally been sculptured for the niche which it 
now occupies. On each side are two niches of equal size, but now 
destitute of occupants. Within the porch over the door into the 
church is a fourth niche, which is also empty. This seems to 
point out that the porch was AU after-thought, and not in the 
original design when the church was re-built in the Perpendicular 
period. A careful examination of the porch convinces us that it is 
in the main composed of fragments that have been previously 
utilized in other parts of the building ; and it has been further 
disfigured by churchwarden restorers, who have slated the roof on 
one side, but left the stone tiling 011 the other. The south side aisle 
was re-built in 1860, but upon the same foundations as the pre- 
vious one. At the time of the re- building of the south aisle, an 
interesting piece of sculpture was exposed in the south wall near 
the east end. Including its crocketed canopy it is above four feet 
square, and represents the martyrdom of St. Laurence on the grid- 
iron. St. Laurence was Archdeacon of Rome, under Pope Sixtus 
II., and suffered martyrdom on the 10th of August, 258, for refus- 
ing to deliver up the church treasures to the Emperor Valerian. 
After undergoing various preliminary torments, he was fastened 
upon an iron bedstead or gridiron, and slowly roasted before a 
glowing fire. It is said that, much to the tyrant's dismay, St. 
Laurence found it but a bed of roses, devoid of all pain ; and upon 
the Emperor's approach to witness his pangs, he calmly requested 
that he might be turned round, as he thought one side was done 
sufficiently. He is here represented as bound on the gridiron by 
his hands and feet; there are three other figures in the sculpture, 



424 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

all in alto-relievo ; two of them, at the head and foot, appear to be 
turning him round, whilst a third stands behind, about the centre. 
All these figures are much defaced. There is a very similar 
sculpture in the church of Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire, which is 
in better preservation. There the centre figure is engaged in blow- 
ing the fire with a pair of bellows, which was probably the occu- 
pation of the centre figure at North Winfield. At the east end 
of the south aisle, behind the pulpit, is a blocked-up squint, that 
once afforded the worshippers at that end of the aisle an oppor- 
tunity of seeing the high altar. This has been plastered over level 
with the wall in the chancel ; but has been utilized as a closet for 
books, on the other side. The windows of this aisle, which are a 
re-production of the old ones, are ordinary examples of the square- 
headed Perpendicular. They are flanked on the exterior by shields 
bearing a pale fusilly the arms of Savage. 

The north aisle of this church, together with the roof of the 
nave and the clerestory walls, was restored in 1872.* The north 
wah 1 of the aisle was found, on the removal of the roof, to be so 
much out of the perpendicular, as to necessitate its rebuilding from 
the foundations. The windows in this wall were square-headed and 
of a plain description, like those of the south aisle ; but the wall 
itself, yielded evidence of having been originally constructed at a 
much earlier period. The wall, when demolished, afforded various 
small and perishing fragments of ancient incised slabs, as well 
as a few portions of previously utilized masonry, that showed by 
their mouldings a twelfth century origin. Some of the remains 
were of more interest, of which we shall notice three : (1) the 
head of an incised cross of early date (probably of the first quarter 
of the twelfth century, and possibly still earlier), the cross being 

* A small landed estate was left in 1705 to trustees for the primary object of keep- 
ing this fine church in repair, but these church lands were so shamefully jobbed, 
that the condition of the fabric and its fittings had become a bye-word. The inter- 
vention of Chancery was obtained in 1860, and since then, in 1861 and in 1872, por- 
tions of the church have been put into suitable repair. Unfortunately the new 
Bchenie did not insist upon the trustees being either residents or parishioners ; and 
as they are a self-elected and irresponsible body, they have been able, on repeated 
occasions, to set at defiance the expressed wishes of the parish in vestry assembled, 
as to the application of these funds. These church lands now bring in an income of 
from A'80 to .90, a very large revenue for a simple parish church, and this income might 
readily be doubled if only the trustees would consent to letting the land on building 
leases, etc , etc., a project to which the Charity Commissioners have no objection. 
The unfortunate reproach that still clings to this church could thus be at once re- 
moved, and the future proceeds of the fund, in accordance with the scheme, might 
then, after the parish and district churches were thoroughly repaired, be applied to 
such other purposes as the Court might direct. 

The writer of these pages was churchwarden in 1872, when he had the satisfaction 
of discovering the fine remains of the old roofs of the nave and north aisle under 
tli>' |il:i>ti-r ceiling, and of suggesting their exposure and retention. This was most 
happily and faithfully carried out by Mr. S. Rolliuson, architect, of Chesterfield. 



NORTH YVINFIKLD. 425 

formed by a circle or annulet between four diverging semi-circles, 
all unconnected ; (2) the base stone of one of the windows, about 
two feet square, which was found, on being reversed, to have been 
delicately chiselled in sunk relief into four panels filled with pointed 
Decorated tracery; a stone which, we think, originally formed part 
of the base of a rood-loft or other screen ; * and (3) a full-sized 
toad, which was extracted, in our presence, from a recess exactly 
proportioned to its body in the centre of the masonry .f The 
inner side of this wall was inlaid with several coats of plaster, 
On the removal of the outer coat, many traces of black letter in- 
scriptions (with red initials) were partially exposed ; sufficiently so 
to enable one to decide that they were scriptural texts, in the 
vulgar tongue, of the Elizabethan period. Below this again, on 
that part of the wall nearest the west end, and beneath one or two 
other layers of plaster or thick whitewash, was the original coating 
of the wall. We used the greatest pains and trouble to secure the 
exposure of a very considerable portion of the original surface ; but 
the upper coats were so adhesive, that we never succeeded in ex- 
posing more than a square foot at a time, and that only in a 
damaged condition. But various parts of a rudely-executed figure 
in armour became visible, as well as the well-defined head and jaws 
of some monster, with a staff in its throat ; BO that we have no 
hesitation in saying that here was a fresco of St. George and the 
Dragon, or some like combat. The colours used appeared only to have 
been buff, chocolate, a deep red, and black. Probably this was a 
portion of the frescoes which adorned the whole, or part, of the 
church erected here in the twelfth century ; the incised slab, 
and other fragments found in the walls, giving proof of the 
yet earlier church that occupied this site, when the Domesday Sur- 

* "It is not usual to find the chancel of a country parish church divided from 
the nave by a stone screen ; but examples remain in the churches of Broughton, 
Oxfordshire, and Ilkeston, Derbyshire, both of Decorated date." Parker's Glossary 
of Architecture, vol i., p. 332. There is also a stone screen at Chelmorton, in this 
county. 

f Derbyshire has given many contributions to the unsolved problem of the powers 
of a toad to retain life in the centre of a block of marble or coal, but this was not 
an instance in point ; for though the toad in question must have been in the position 
in which it was found for a long period, it was not incased in a single stone, but 
merely wedged in betwixt stones aud mortar. It is possible that there was a crevice 
communicating with the outer air, and that through such crevice it might have 
crawled in the days of its earliest infancy. We forwarded this toad by Her Majesty's 
mails to that prince of naturalists, Mr. Frank Buckland, Editor of Land and Wafer, 
and several paragraphs respecting it appeared in the columns of that paper. In an 
amusing letter, acknowledging its receipt, Mr. Buckland wrote to us "Your friend 
is as lively as possible after his journey, and in excellent appetite. He is now 
sitting before me on the inkstand, and eating flies from the end of my pen." But a 
yet greater honour, and more startling change of scene, were reserved for this ecclesi- 
astical toad, as it was shortly afterwards removed to the South Kensington Exhibition 
of that year, and it may, for aught we know, be living still. 



426 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

vcy was compiled. A plain pointed doorway, of the Decorated 
period, and of small dimensions, was also opened out at the west 
end of this aisle during the alterations ; but the chief improvement 
effected was in the roof, which was previously of lath and plaster, 
and in a most dilapidated condition. These laths, some time in 
the seventeenth century, had been barbarously nailed on to the 
fine old oak rafters of a fourteenth century roof. This roof is now 
once more exposed to view, every particle of the old wood that was 
sound being retained. It affords an example of a low-gabled roof, 
which is a form of very unusual occurrence in aisle roofs, especially 
in those of the north aisle. It is of the Decorated date, with 
well-carved spandrels, and effective bosses on some of the tie- 
beams. 

The north aisle terminates at the eastern end in a chantry or 
chapel, which makes, as it were, a small transept ; this is lighted 
on the north, by a large plain window of the same description as 
the other side windows ; whilst the blocked-op eastern one has 
already been noticed. To the left of this window is a large stone 
bracket for an image of a saint ; and to the right, there are ap- 
pearances in the plaster, of the place whence another bracket has 
been broken. The restoration of 1872 did not reach to this chantry, 
but the winding stairs in the northern pier that separates the 
chancel from the nave (which are entered from the south-east 
angle of this chantry), were then cleared out and found to be per- 
fect, as was also the doorway, that opened out upon the top of the 
rood-loft screen that formerly divided the nave and the chancel. 
To this doorway a door has been now supplied. At the bottom of 
this staircase, and underneath the lower steps, was ft square recess 
or closet of stone, which had probably once served as an almery for 
the sacred vessels of the adjacent side altar. The top stone of 
this almery we found to be carved on the lower side ; and, upon re- 
moval it proved to be the upper half of a memorial of the rare 
semi-effigial class, like the interesting one to Matilda de Cans, 
described at length in the account of Brampton Church.* The 
alrnery, of which this stone formed a part, had been clearly con- 
structed since the erection of the stairs, and we think it very 
likely was constructed in 1488, to retain the valuable chattels of the 

* We had intended to give a drawing of this stone, but during subsequent visits to 
the chun 1 1 wo have failed to find it. At the expiration of our year of office, the 
various interesting relics found during the repairs were collected together within 
the church, but having since been placed in the churchyard, several have disap- 
peared, and all have been considerably damaged. But what can be expected in a 
churchyard which is used as a playground by the village school ? 



NORTH WINFIELD. 4'27 

Savage cliantry then founded, which, we believe to have beeu 
formed, by the enlargement of this end of the north aisle. 

The clerestory windows of the nave, four on each side, were 
(previous to the restoration) of the " churchwarden" era, and 
destitute of all tracery, The heads are now filled with simple 
Perpendicular work. The roof of the nave was hidden by a semi- 
circular whitewashed ceiling of lath and plaster. To make way 
for this barbarity, the corbels of the old roof had been cut away, 
and several of the handsomely carved bosses in the centre of the 
tie-beams mutilated. On removing this modern obstruction, a 
considerable portion of the old roof was found intact. None of the 
old rafters or small spars were left, and the boards over them were 
also of a later date, but the ridge-tree, tie-beams, and purlins, all 
plainly moulded, were in much the same condition as when first 
erected, and so also was the most characteristic feature of this roof, 
the bold trefoil tracery above each of the tie-beams, filling up the 
space between the strut and the king-post. All these old details 
have been preserved, and the roof, though plain in character, is of 
OQQsiderable interest ; as woodwork of the Decorated period, especially 
in roofs, is so rarely met with, and we attribute this to the latter 
part of that period, circa 1350. It is therefore older than the 
clerestory walls, or at all events, than the present shaped windows, 
and also than the tower. It was probably retained when other 
characteristics of the church were altered in the Perpendicular period, 
on account of its solidity and excellent workmanship. On removing 
the plaster ceiling, it was found that the Ten Commandments, in 
black-letter of the same description as the texts on the north wall, 
had formerly been inscribed on the east gable of the nave, over the 
chancel arch. The upper half of each table that had been concealed 
in the space between the old and false roof, was almost as fresh 
as when first painted. This, and not the east end of the chancel, 
was the place in which the Commandments were originally exhibited. 
Injunctions are extant, of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, ordering the 
painting of "the Tables of the Law over against the quire arch, 
where the rood (cross or crucifix) has heretofore been." 51 

In making the alterations, it was noted that three of the lintel 
stones of the clerestory windows had formerly served as i 
memorial or coffin-lids. They still occupy the same position. One 
of these had a pair of shears on the dexter side of the cross stern ; 

* Full length daubs of Moses and Aaron were hung against the clerestory walls, 
I corner of the north aisle. Oil the back of the canvas of each is 
S. K. 1'iuxit, 17i#. 



428 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

and another, the far rarer symbol, of the knife or bill-head, upon 
which we have commented in the account of the church of Suttou. 
There are two other instances of these incised slabs in this church ; 
one in the floor immediately upon entering the south porch, which is 
much worn, but the head of the cross can still be seen under the 
hinge of the door ; and the other in the west wall of the bell-chamber 
of the tower, where it is built in between the apex of the two windows. 
The latter must have covered the grave of an infant, for its length is 
only twenty-four inches. It tapers towards the foot, being nine 
inches wide at the head, and seven at the foot. On its surface is an 
incised cross fleury, standing on a pedestal of three steps. It much 
resembles some of the smaller crosses in the porch of Bakewell 
church, and is doubtless a memorial of the early Norman church. 
Close to this interesting memento are four old paving tiles, that 
have been worked up in the masonry with their faces towards the 
wall. We removed one, but the action of the lime had been such 
as to obliterate all traces of the pattern, though sufficient was left 
to prove that they had served as ancient encaustic paving" tiles of 
a former church. They probably came from the mediaeval tile 
kiln, lately discovered at Eepton, which has been proved to have 
supplied so many of the churches of Derbyshire and adjacent counties 
with this handsome material for paving. 

The tower is a handsome and massive erection of the Perpendicular 
period, being more than one hundred feet in height. The lofty arch, 
that ought to be open into the nave, is blocked up by the singularly 
ugly and obtrusive gallery mentioned in the registers. It bears on 
the centre panel an inscription proclaiming its erection in 1717, 
and that the then curate gave 10 to the expenses. If this were 
removed, the west window of the tower would then be seen, and would 
add much to the beauty of the church. In one of the small top lights 
of this window, is a well executed figure of a monk, in yellow and 
white glass. He bears in the left hand a book, and in the right 
a rosary. The bell-chamber is lighted by eight fine windows, two 
on each side. It contains a peal of six bells. 

I. This bell has no inscription whatever, and is a poor piece of 
casting, with many bubbles. 

II. " God save his Church, 1617." Though there is no founder's 
mark on this bell, the style of ornament between the words of 
the inscription shows that it was cast by the Oldfields. 

III. "In Multis Aunis resones Campaua Johanuis," in Lombardic 
lettering round the haunch, with the initial letters crowned. In 



NORTH WINFIELD. 429 

the same line with the inscription, is a cross formed of four 
radiating fleurs-de-lis, followed by a small coin. The reverse of 
this coin is presented. It has a cross patee extending through the 
legend, with three pellets in each quarter. The legend is much 
worn, but we believe it to read " Civitas Dureme," and that the 
coin is a penny of the fourteenth century, struck at Durham. This 
is a fine old bell. 

IV. "Anthony Lyatt, Will. Holland, George Shaw, Peter Dowker, 
friends to this Bell, 1661." Founder's mark of George Oldfield. 

V. " Thomas Stevenson, Eichard Millward, John Breilsford, John 
Dobb. 1617," round the haunch. In a lower line, the word "wardens," 
and beneath it the founder's mark of George Oldfield. 

VI. " This bell was given by the parishioners of Staveley, &c., on 
Wm. the Marquis of Hartington's coming of Age, the 21st May, 
1811. J. Hears, London, fecit." It is singular to find this bell 
at North Winfield, as we cannot imagine for a moment, that the 
parishioners of Staveley were sufficiently generous to present a bell 
to North Winfield. On referring to the account of Staveley Church, 
it will be seen that the tower of Staveley has a bell with a precisely 
similar inscription, and another presented at the same time by the 
Kector. We can only conclude that a third was ordered of T. Mears 
at this date for Staveley, but being found unsuitable, was subse- 
quently transferred, either from Staveley, or direct from the foundry 
to North Winfield. 

In the third volume of the parish registers, occurs the following 
entry : 

"Eeceived the 18th of October 1749, of the then Churchwardens 
(that is to say) Will. Hopkinson, Tho. Boiler, Will. Parsons, and 
Hen. Eooth, the sum of Twenty-seven pounds and eightpence, being 
in full of all demands for casting the great Bell, fuzing Metal & 
Hanging the said Bell. I say Eeceivd the same in Full. Per me 

" DANIEL HEDDERLEY. 

" Test. Eobert Parsons, J. Snibson, Clerk." 

There is now no bell of Hedderley's in the tower, and it seems 
that the one with the Staveley inscription was afterwards substituted 
for this one cast in 1749. 

There is a tradition that this tower had originally a peal of 
eight bells. The capacity of the bell-chamber is sufficient to 
admit of its possibility. There are traces on the summit of 
the tower of the former existence of pinnacles, of some little 
size, at the four corners of the battlements. These must have 



430 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

added much to the beauty of the tower. Immediately below the 
parapet is a cornice, formed of an alternate portcullis and uncharged 
shield. The dripstone over the western doorway of the tower ter- 
minates in two heads, the one being crowned with a ducal coronet, 
and the other wearing a bishop's mitre. The ground floor of the 
tower is utilized as the disagreeable receptacle for rubbish, and as a 
sexton's tool house ; but words fail us to describe the loathsome 
excrescence that has been erected, within the last thirty years 
between the buttresses on the north side of the tower suffice it to 
say that it is a necessary adjunct to the school held in the vestry. 
And this abomination was, we believe, erected with the endowment 
money left in 1705, and has quite recently been re-roofed and 
beautified from the same fund ! At the time of the building of 
the tower, the arches and pillars at the west end of the nave seem, to 
have been rebuilt, as they differ somewhat from the others, the 
capitals being ornamented with inverted uncharged shields. Its 
date would be in the commencement of the fifteenth century ; but 
the side windows of the aisles and chancel, together with those of 
the clerestory, would be fully fifty years later. 

The chancel is in good repair. On the south side are two square- 
headed windows, of the same style and date as those in the aisles ; 
and on each side, which is ^somewhat unusual in a chancel, are 
three similar clerestory or upper windows. The east window is a 
good, though not uncommon, specimen of the Decorated style, its 
date being about the year 1320. In this window are some remains 
of old glass. The centre light contains two shields of arms, one 
above the other. The upper one in heraldic terms may be thus 
described : Or, on a fesse, three water-bougets, arg ; the lower, 
or, on a fesse, az., three crosses recercele of the field. The un- 
charged portions of the shields are elegantly diapered with foliage. 
Good designs of acorns and leaves, in yellow and white glass, 
appear in fragments in other parts of the window. " The first of 
these coats is that of Bingham or Bugge, both these families using 
the arms, and both of them also, with the Willoughbys of Wolla- 
ton and Eisley, having a common descent from Kalph Bugge, upon 
whose name the water-bougets were intended to pun. The arms 
were anciently to be seen in several churches in Nottinghamshire 1 , 
as Leke, Cosgrave, Carcolston, and Fliutham, and also in Thurles- 
ton church in Leicestershire." * Dr. Pegge, who took notes of this 

* Extract from a letter to us by the late Mr. S\vift, of Sheffield. The arms were 
also in Chesterfield Church. See page 156. 



NORTH WINFIKLD. 431 

church in 1780, states that the Binghams had landed property 
at Senor in this parish.* The second coat is that of Paveley, 
who held property in both the Winfields during the fourteenth 
century. The Paveleys were also connected by marriage with the 
Binghams. f 

A small modern doorway, on the north side of the chancel, leads 
into a large side chapel. This was formerly open to the chancel 
through a good-sized lofty arch, which still exists ; but it is now 
entirely blocked up, with the exception of the doorway. The chapel 
is nearly square and of large dimensions, and has for a considerable 
time been desecrated by being used as the parish day school.^ 
In one corner a fireplace has been built, and the exterior is in 
consequence adorned with a red brick chimney. There is a two- 
light window at the east end filled with Decorated tracery, and 
another of the same date and size on the north side. There are 
some interesting stone carvings in alto-relievo on the walls, under 
Decorated canopies. That on the north wall represents two figures 
standing up, about life size. The heads are gone and they are 
otherwise mutilated. The figure to the left has wings, and the 
subject may perchance have been the Annunciation. Against the 
east wall is another carving, in the centre of which are two seated 
figures, and on each side is a smaller one, kneeling. These, also, 
are much disfigured, and they are all covered with several layers 
of bright yellow- wash ! Under one of the school . tables, about the 
centre of the chapel, is the raised effigy of a knight. This figure 
is now almost worn smooth under the feet of the scholars, who 
use it as a grindstone for their slate pencils ; but it is evident 
that it was that of a cross-legged knight with his feet on a dog, 
and having on his head a conical nasal helmet. This is evidently 
older than the chapel in which it is now placed ; and it occurs to 
us that it may be the monument of Oliver de Ayeucourt (Deincourt), 
grandson of the founder of Thurgarton Priory, who was killed at the 
battle of Lincoln, in the third year of the reign of King John (1'202). 
These cross-legged figures were formerly supposed to represent 
actual crusaders ; but, as this has in many instances been proved 
to be erroneous, it is now usual to suppose that they were those 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 2. 

f Mr. Swift was also kind enough to write to us at considerable length on this family, 
and its connection with "WinfU-ld. See Blore's South 11'injield, and Thoroton's 
NottinijJia'-nshire (folio edition), ]>. 

* The Rev. H. Haukey writes to Messrs. Lysons, under date 16th December, 1816. 
" The school lias been kept in the vestry time immemorial." Lysous' Correspondence, 
Add. _MSS., Ui2i. 



432 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

who had vowed to join in a crusade to the Holy Laud. Others 
again consider the position indicative of certain judicial functions. 
Our own opinion (notwithstanding the voluminous essays on the 
subject) is that the position of the legs was symbolical of nothing 
at all ; hut that it was adopted, in the first instance, by a sciilptor, 
either as a graceful, or a merely capricious variation from the usual 
straight-legged attitude, and was subsequently imitated by the same 
and other sculptors, as a successful change of fashion. There always 
has been just as much of unreasoning fashion in the tombs of the 
dead, as in the garments of the living. 

In the exterior wall of the south side of the chancel is an ogee- 
shaped low archway, forming a recess, under which is another stone 
effigy of a knight in armour. This is of later date than the one 
in the north chapel, about the middle of the thirteenth century in 
the reign of Henry III. It is clad in chain armour from head to 
foot. The hands are clasped on the breast, and the left side is 
girt with a sword, partly concealed beneath a long kite-shaped 
shield, which is uncharged. One of the legs has gone, but they 
were apparently crossed at the ankle, and rested upon a lion. It 
is most unusual to find an effigy of this description under an 
external sepulchral recess;. and this particular effigy was certainly 
never contrived for the position it now occupies. There is a tradi- 
tion in the parish that this monument is to a Deiu court, and was 
brought here many years ago from Park Hall, where it had been 
discovered during some excavations on the site of the ancient seat 
of that family. We believe the tradition as to its being another 
memorial of the Deincourts, to be very probably correct ; but not 
so with the other half of the story. It is more likely to have been 
moved here from the interior of the church ; or (if it really came 
from any distance) may it not have been one of the Deincourt 
effigies mentioned by Wyrley as existing in Chesterfield Church in 
the sixteenth century, which have now disappeared ? 

On the other side of the church we find, beneath a spout of the 
north aisle, the old massive font. On the occasion of one of our 
visits it was full of water, and was being used as a wash-hand- 
bason by the lads of the church school in their dinner hour. 
From the systematic way in which they went to work soap even 
not being absent it was evident that this is the purpose to which 
it is generally applied. It is passing strange how the inhabitants 
of North Winfield have for so long suffered this ancient font to be 
defiled. In that rude bowl their forefathers have been christened 



NORTH WINFIELD. 433 

eight hundred years, and generation after generation been therein 
dedicated to God's service. Surely if anything inanimate can ever 
be venerated, this should be treated with all reverence and decorum. 
But what can we expect from a generation who are literally being 
educated in desecration, and who, during their school hours, are 
gradually reducing to dust beneath their hob-nailed boots, the 
effigies of those who received their baptism in this very font ? The 
font is of rude early construction, the base being channelled in 
flutings, and the whole of one block of coarse grit-stone. It is 
very possible that it may have been the font of the church which 
was here existent at the time of the Domesday Survey. The present 
font is an ugly octagon construction, quite out of keeping with the 
church, and bearing the date of 1662. 

There is not a little difficulty in arriving at a true conclusion as to 
the dedication of this church. Bacon's Liber Reyis gives the dedica- 
tion as St. Lawrence, and this opinion appears to have been almost 
universally accepted of late years.* The wakes, or feast, of this 
parish are also regulated in accordance with the anniversary of this 
Saint's day. But, as we have already seen, the foundation deed of 
the chantry, in the reign of Henry VII. , makes mention of the church 
as dedicated in honour of St. Helen. It was described as dedicated to 
this Empress in the year 1401, t and even so late as 1644 one of the 
Brailsford family is said to have been interred "in Ecclesie Sancte 
Helene de Northwingfield. " | Under these circumstances, especially 
considering the important nature of the chantry foundation deed, it 
would be idle to deny that the parish church of North Winfield was, 
in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, dedicated to St. 
Helen ; and as we know that no authorized change has since taken 
place, that dedication must now be accepted as the true one. How 
then can we account for the feast being regulated by St. Lawrence's 
day, and for the current opinion as to its dedication ? We believe 
that in this instance, as well as in others, the patron saint was 
changed at the time of the rebuilding of the church ; or, possibly, at 
some time when worship (which had been suspended during wars or 
tumults, or for other causes) was resumed. North Winfield church 
\vas thus probably dedicated, in the first instance, to St. Lawrence, but 
subsequently transferred to St. Helen ; though the old custom of the 

* Kelly's Post Office Directory of Derbyshire says St. Leonard, but there is no 
evidence whatever in support of this claim. The dedications, too, in this volume, 
as has been already remarked, are more often wrong than right. 

t Pegge's Collections, vol. iv. 

J An extract from a Brailsford pediprrpp. forwarded to us l>y the late Mr. Swift. 

2* 



434 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

wakes still continued on the day of the first patron, whose name has 
lingered on in connection with the fabric, down to the present time. 

Re-consecration was not of unfrequent occurrence. Even so long 
ago as the eighth century, it was ordered in the Anglo-Saxon Church, 
that a church must he re-consecrated if the altar had heen taken away, 
or if the fabric had been violated by murder or adultery.* At a later 
period, the causes that rendered re-consecration necessary were con- 
siderably extended. Nor, in all the consecrations of a later date, is it 
obligatory to conclude that it was a mere repetition of the ceremony. 
Strange as it may seem, this ceremony was not unfrequently omitted, 
owing to the expensive episcopal fees, and from other causes. The 
very first canon of the Council of London, held in the year 1237, 
under Otho, the Papal Legate, refers to the dedication of churches, 
stating, that, " having seen and understood that a great many despise 
or neglect this sacred mystery, and having met with a great many 
churches, even cathedrals, which, though ancient, have not as yet 
been consecrated with holy oil ; to remedy this neglect we ordain that 
all churches, which are completely built, shah* be consecrated within 
two years," etc., etc. But even this stringent canon did not appear 
to have produced the desired effect ; for, at a subsequent Council, held 
at London, in 1268, a further canon ordained that a Bishop not 
consecrating a church within a year of its completion, was to be 
suspended, and that he should " perform the ministry of consecration 
gratis, and without demanding anything at all except due procuration, 
lest he be struck with divine vengeance, like Simon and Gehazi."t 
At the time of these consecrations, or re-consecrations, it frequently 
happened that the name of the patron saint was changed, not from 
mere caprice or love of novelty, but because relics of that particular 
saint were obtained for inclosure in the chief or high altar. 

When St. Lawrence was deposed, as we conceive to have been the 
case, from the position of chief patron of this church, it would seem 
that his altar was removed to the east end of the south aisle. The 
sculpture of his martyrdom, already described, bears us out in this 
conclusion, and we know, of a certainty, from a statement of Dr. 
Pegge's, that there was a subsidiary altar to St. Lawrence, in this 
church, in the year 1401. At the same time, there were also altars 
at North Winfield church to the Holy Cross, and to St. Mary ; the 
former was probably placed immediately in front of the rood-screen, 
at the east end of the nave, or possibly on the screen itself, as was 
sometimes the case ; and the latter at the east end of the north aisle. 

* Excerptions of Egbert, Archbishop of York 750. Excerpt, 141. Wilkins' Concilia 
Magna Britannia, p. 110. 

t Lynwood's Constitutioiies Legating Othoboni, p. 83. 



QHtf} 





Hinfcprg, 




JHE Manor of South Winfield at the time of the Domesday 
Survey, was held by one Kobert, under Alan, Earl of 
Brittany, who himself held it under the illegitimate son 
of the Conqueror, William Peverel. We do not then read of a 
church being in existence ; but mention is made of one presbyter 
or priest. As we have before remarked in these pages, no injunc- 
tion was made upon the compilers of the Domesday Book to 
enumerate the churches ; and it occasionally happens, throughout 
the kingdom, that priests are mentioned, but no churches, as 
attached to particular manors. It has generally been understood 
that the mention of one indicates the presence of the other, but to 
this ruling we cannot altogether subscribe. We fail to see why, on 
the very same page of the original record, and within a few inches 
of the entry of South Winfield, another manor (Markeaton) should 
be described as possessing both a priest and a church, if there was 
no distinction between them. We prefer to imagine, in this instance 
as well as in many others, that the original Saxon church, con- 
structed in all probability merely of wood, had been destroyed in 
the troublous times immediately preceding the taking of this 
accurate survey, and that the priest only was left. Be this, how- 
over, as it may, the first historical mention of the church of South 
Winfield is in the reign of Henry II. (1154 1189), when it was 
given by Ralph Fitz-Stephen, the King's Chamberlain, to the Abbey 
of Darley.* At the same time he presented to that establishment 
the manors of Oakerthorpe, Pentrich, and Riplcy. But Blore says 
that Robert de Heriz, grandson of Robert, the first holder of the 
manor, " by deed, without date, remized and quit claimed to God 
and the church of the Blessed Mary at Darley, aud the canons 

* Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. iii., p. 58. 



438 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

thereof serving God, his right of advowson to the church of 
Wiiinefeld, with its appurtenances and liberties in pure and perpe- 
tual alms, for the health of his soul, and of the souls of his wife 
and his friends."* This grant was subsequently confirmed by his 
son, Hugh Heriz. The grant, quoted by Dugdale, made by Ralph 
Fitz-Stephen, probably only refers to the interest that he had in 
the church as lord of the manor of Oakerthorpe. The church of 
South Winfield is within the boundaries of Oakerthorpe. 

It seems, also, as if the right to the advowson of this church 
was to some extent in dispute and held in medieties ; for early in 
the fourteenth century, according to the Chartulary of Darley Abbey, 
Peter de Ulkerthorpe gave to that monastery his right in the ad- 
vowson of Winnefeld, with four acres, near the church. t 

The church is dedicated to All Saints, and consists of a nave, 
side aisles, chancel, south porch, and tower. It does not require a 
second glance at this edifice to convince the observer that the main 
body of the church was re-built in that most unfortunate period of 
ecclesiastical taste the Georgian era. Nor is the actual date lack- 
ing when the re-building took place. Over the entrance to the 
porch are inscribed the initials " T. H. : B. B. Churchwardens, 
1803." It is curious to note how rarely we can succeed in finding 
the precise year in which our forefathers erected the exquisite 
Gothic piles scattered so lavishly over our land, and how still more 
exceptional it is to find any traces of the names of the founders on 
the building itself ; they seem to have been content to raise a temple 
without trying to perpetuate their own fame. But when, on the 
contrary, the whole science of architecture had become but a 
miserable travesty of the past, how seldom it is that we cannot at 
once find, not only the date, but usually the names of the church- 
wardens, in full length on the most conspicuous portion of the 
structure. 

The chancel, however, is worthy of attention, though most sadly 
disfigured. The eastern angles of the wall are supported by two 
diagonal buttresses of unusual width. The east window has four 
large lights, and is now square-headed and destitute of all tracery. 
It can plainly be seen, from the exterior, that this was not its 
original condition, and that the upper portion has been filled at 
one time with tracery of the Decorated period. This has been 

* Blore's History of the Manor of South Winfield (1816), p. 16. 

t Cole's Collections, Add. MSS. 5,822, f. 150. As to the different Chartularies of 
Darley Abbey, see the account of Scarcliffe church. 



SOUTH WJNFIELD. 439 

destroyed at the time that the roof of the chancel was lowered to 
its present low pitch. The same remark holds good of the two 
windows of similar construction on the south side. Here, too, is 
the priest's door with an ogee-shaped head. The hood-moulding 
above it terminates on one side in a head, and on the other in a 
small rudely-carved human figure of most quaint aspect. We 
should place the date of this chancel in the latter part of Edward 
III.'s reign, circa 1360. At this time, probably, the rest of the 
church was of Norman construction ; but in the next century, every- 
thing except the chancel was cleared away, to admit of a structure 
of the Perpendicular period. Of this, on an external view, only the 
tower now remains ; but there are traces at the west end, of each side 
aisle, which conclusively prove that the same style was carried on 
throughout the body of the church. 

About the year 1441, Ralph, Lord Cromwell, acquired by com- 
promise, after a lengthy lawsuit, the manor of South Winfield. He 
was a man of great importance in the kingdom, and, amongst 
other high offices, held the very lucrative one of Treasurer of the 
Exchequer under Heury VI. To him is attributed the building of 
the manor house at South Wiufield, as well as the castle of Tatters- 
hall, Lincolnshire, and the church at the same place. 

Nor can there be much doubt that he was the rebuilder of the 
tower and body of this church. The tower exactly corresponds 
in style with the time at which he was lord of this manor. It 
has an embattled parapet and four crocketed pinnacles, whilst an 
equal number of gurgoyles have served as waterspouts, though 
the one on the south side has been broken off. The west window 
is a fair sample of the Perpendicular period. The tower is sup- 
ported at its angles by diagonally placed buttresses, which are 
carried almost to the top, in stages successively reduced in their 
projection. On the sloping surface of the first set-off dividing the 
stages of the buttress, at the south-west angle, is fixed a small 
upright shield. The action of the weather has deprived it of almost 
all distinctive carving, but the lines still left on its surface, seem to 
point to the arms of the Cromwell family. The north- west buttress has 
two small shields in a like position side by side, but they are now 
quite blank. This disposition of shields on buttresses is singular ; 
we have only noticed it in one other instance, viz., on the tower 
of the almost adjacent parish of South Normauton. But the sup- 
position that Ealph, Lord Cromwell, was the builder of the present 
tower, and the former body of the church, is strongly confirmed by 



440 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

certain notes descriptive of this church which were written in the 
year 1770, by Mr. Eeynolds.* He says that in each of the two 
east windows of the side aisles there was "an escutcheon contain- 
ing two coats quarterly. First and fourth, argent, a chief gules, and 
bendlet azure (Cromwell) ; second and third, cheque or and azure, a 
chief ermine. (Tatteshall)." It is almost needless to say that these 
escutcheons disappeared when the present hideous roundheaded 
windows were put in, about thirty yeai-s later. He further speaks 
of the appearance of two chantries at the end of the aisles ; that 
in the south aisle occupied by the Winfield manor pew, "railed up 
to the top of the aisles," and that in the north by the pew of the 
Strelleys, of Oakerthorpe, bearing their coat of arms and motto. 
The pews appropriated to these two lordships still occupy the same 
positions in the new aisles. Though the outer walls and windows 
of the aisles seem to have been entirely renewed in 1803, the five 
pointed arches, supported on plain circular pillars, which separate 
them on each side from the nave, were retained. 

Inside the chancel, in the south wall, may be noticed a handsome 
piscina with a double drain. The niche has a trefoil head, and is 
surrounded with good crocketed carving of the Decorated period, 
though it is much choked up with plaster and whitewash. On the 
opposite side is a plain square recess that served for an almery. 
In the floor immediately below the piscina is a flagstone, which is 
worthy of a moment's attention. It is of considerable size, and 
divided as it were into three parts by horizontal lines. In the 
uppermost division is incised a rude representation of a cross bow ; t 
in the centre one are the initials C. M. A., and the date 1634; 
whilst in the lower one is the following inscription, " Mary Toplis, 
died August 18th, 1760, aged 61 years." The same stone has thus 
been utilized to commemorate three separate interments. In the 
centre of the chancel is another large slab, inscribed as follows, 
"Here lieth the body of Mr. Peter Cotes, late Vicar of South "Wiug- 
field, who departed this life the 26th of January, 1675, being 81 years 
of age." On the walls are various modern monuments to the Haltons 
and others, which do not come within the province of these notes. 

But the chancel should not be left, without observing one of the old 
funeral garlands suspended from a beam in the south-west corner. 
These garlands were formerly carried before the funeral procession of 

*Add. MSS., 6,701. 

t This is, we believe, a unique instance of a cross-bow incised ou a tomb. Cutts, 
in his Manual of Sepulchral Slabs, p. 41, says, "that a cross-bow has not yet been 
met with." 



SOUTH WINFIELD. 441 

maidens, and subsequently suspended in the church. This beautiful 
custom lingered longer in Derbyshire than in any other part of the 
country ; but we are not aware of any other instance in the county, 
except that of Ashford-in- the -Water, where one is still preserved in 
its original position in the church. This garland is decorated with 
rosettes and other ornaments of white paper, and is formed of a 
broad hoop of wood, to which the segments of two other hoops are 
attached, crossing each other at right angles at the top and forming 
the upper part. Miss Seward, writing a description of the village of 
Eyarn at the end of the last century, says : 

"Now the low beams with paper garlands hung, 
In memory of some village youth or maid, 
Draw the soft tear from thrilled remembrance sprung ; 
How oft my childhood marked that tribute paid. 

The gloves suspended by the garland's side, 

White as its snowy flowers with ribband tied; 

Dear village ! long may these wreaths funereal spread 

Simple memorials of the early dead." 

And yet Eyaui and many another Derbyshire church has lost all 
trace of these " simple memorials." May the one at South Winfield 
be religiously preserved ! * 

A miserable pretence of a font finds a prominent place at the west 
end of the church, but the original one lies in the churchyard to the 
north of the tower. It is of simple massive character, and lacks a base. 
It is of a circular shape, one foot nine inches high, and two feet nine 
inches in diameter. The inside of the basin is of corresponding size 
and depth. In the rim are the staple holes by which the cover was 
fastened down. There can be no doubt of its Norman origin, and its 

* On reading this notice of the funeral garland at South Winfield, Mr. J. B. Robin- 
son wrote to the Derbyshire Times, giving a description of the unfortunate person in 
whose memory it hung. " This funeral garland, as was customary at the time, was 
carried at the funeral of Ann Kendall, who died on the 14th of May, 1745. She was 
a daughter of Peter and Mary Kendall, of the Peacock Inn, a noted Hostelry in the 
parish, well known to travellers on the road from Derby to Sheffield in the old 
coaching days, the change of horses being made here after leaving Belper or Chester- 
field, as the case might be. Mr. Kendall was a man much respected in the parish, 
and held the office of churchwarden. Miss Kendall is said to have been a lady of 
great personal attractions; it is also stated that she used to dress in the then 
fashionable style, with a hoop dress, which was so large, that she had to turn 
sideways to pass through the doorway when she went to church. It appears that a 
young farmer, residing in the same parish, who shall be nameless, paid his addresses 
to her, and was received as a suitor. All went right for some time, until at last 
came the old story, ' she loved him not wisely but too well ; ' the result was the birth 
of a daughter, and his refusal to marry her. This preyed so upon her mind that 
eventually she died broken-hearted. Before her death, by her own desire, the 109th 
Psalm was read to her, and this is still known in the village iu Miss Kendall's Psalm. 
It is also said, that her seducer was shortly afterwards passing the churchyard, and 
the bells commenced tolling, which so startled his horse, that it stumbled and threw 
its rider, whose neck was broken by the fall. The families of both the seducer and 
the seduced are now extinct in the parish, but the facts are still remembered by 
many of the old inhabitants. For my own part, I have a great desire that the old 
garland should remain undisturbed. To my knowledge, there has beeu one attempt 
made to remove it, money having been offered for its purchase, but I am glad to say 
it was rejected." 



442 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

very plainness points to an early period of that style. Here, then, we 
have exposed in a churchyard a Christian memorial of greater 
antiquity, hy several centuries, than any portion of the now existing 
church. This treatment of our old fonts, on which we have already 
had occasion to remark, is to our mind almost incredible. The great 
sceptical poet, Byron, could write : 

" Even the faintest relics of a shrine 
Of any "worship wake some thoughts divine." 

And how is it that the reverence of Churchmen of the present day is 
not roused, hy witnessing the studied neglect so often shown to the 
font, in which whole generations of their forefathers were for centuries 
dedicated to the service of God, at a time when England possessed 
but one common faith ? If this rude bowl is not to be again put 
into actual use, may we not plead for it a resting-place ivithin the 
church, where it may be preserved from utter decay ? 

A heavy west gallery blocks up the handsome archway into the 
tower. The capitals of the jambs of this arch are ornamented with 
several small shields, which may probably be still charged with coats 
of arms, though now obliterated with plaster and whitewash. There 
seem, too, to be traces of the original colouring of this archway, in 
places where the plaster has peeled off. 

The tower contains a peal of six bells, two of the seventeenth 
century, and they are inscribed as follows : 

I. John Hatton caused this ring of bells to be cast, 1693. 

II. Jesus bee our speede, 1693. 

III. I H S. Nazaren rex Judeorum fili Dei miserere, 1693. 

IV. God save his Church, 1731. 

V. Gloria Deo in Excelsis. Johannes Hatton, donavit, 1736. 

VI. God save his Church. Anno Dorn. 1847. 

In the churchyard are two sepulchral stones, which should not 
escape remark. Eeynolds, in his notes, to which we have alluded 
above, speaks of three remarkable gravestones to the east of the 
chancel. One, which he describes as the lid of a coffin, we failed to 
discover, and conclude that it has been broken up or buried since his 
visit. One of the others is a slightly coped slab, about six feet in 
length, which narrows towards the foot. It has formerly borne a 
plain cross in relief, the stem being formed by the ridge of the 
coping, but it is now nearly flat. This we consider to be of the 
thirteenth century. The second slab is of much the same size, but 
has sculptured on its surface, in high relief, a full length effigy of a 
knight. The head has no helmet, but appears to wear a coif of mail, 



SOUTH WINFIELD. 443 

whilst the body is clad in a mail hauberk. The hands are folded on 
the breast. The feet and lower part of the legs are broken off, but 
the legs have been crossed about the knee. This is also of the 
thirteenth century, probably about the middle, or perhaps somewhat 
earlier. Reynolds conjectures that both of these memorials were at 
one time within the church itself. This could scarcely have been the 
case with the coped coffin lid, but the effigy 7 must undoubtedly have 
been intended to be placed beneath a roof. Might it not again find 
shelter ; for, owing to the very close proximity of a public footpath, it 
runs every chance of being in a few years completely obliterated. 

When we visited this churchyard, we failed to note the slightest 
sign of an inscription on the slab bearing this effigy ; nor could we 
hear of any tradition by which to identify it. It caused us, therefore, 
some little surprise, when looking over the magnificent volume of Mr. 
J. J. Briggs on Derbyshire Monuments, to find that it is there 
described as the effigy of John Toplis. Doubtless the artist had 
some good reason for his statement, but we have not been able to 
trace the source of his information. 

Fifty years earlier than the notes of Mr. Keynolds, was the visit 
of Bassano to this church. The rood-loft was then remaining, but 
he says nothing about the chantries, and only notes in a south 
window, " Arc/., a bend, az., quartered with Cheeky, or and gu."* 
The quartering of Tateshall by Cromwell may be thus briefly ex- 
plained Sir Ealph Cromwell, son of Ralph and Amicia (sister of 
Eoger Bellow), married Matilda, the daughter of John Bernake, 
sister and heir to her brother William ; this John Bernake was son 
and heir of Sir W. Bernake and Alice, sister and heir of Eobert de 
Tateshall. f By this marriage the CromweUs gained the manor of 
Tateshall (or Tatershall) in Lincolnshire. 

The church of South Wiufeld (Suthwynefeld) is entered in the 
Taxation Roll of 1291 as an "ecclesia" worth .6 13s. 4d. per 
annum, and not as a vicarage, showing that at that time the living 
was not appropriated to the Abbey of Darley, but merely in its 
gift. But the tithes were soon afterwards made over to the Abbey, 
and the vicarage of South "Winfield was simply endowed with the 
whole of the obventions, without tithes of any description. But the 
tithes of garbs, hay, wool, and lambs had been made over to the 
vicarage before the Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII. was taken, 
so that in point of endowment it very nearly resembled a rectory, 

* These are the right tinctures ; Reynolds must have misread them. 
fAdd. MSS. 6668, f. 935. 



444 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

nothing but the glebe land being retained by the monastery. The 
following is the entry from that relative to South Winfield : 

SOUTHWYNFELD VICAEIA. 
Abbas Monasterii Beate Marie de Darley Patronus. 
Dominus Richardus Keve Vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis in mansione cum pertinenciis vj viij 

Item in decimis garbarum et feni --..-.*. xl 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- xxx 

Item in decimis minutis xvj 

Item in oblationibus ---------- xvij iiij 

Item in paschali rotulo --------- xxiij iiij 

Summa - vi xiij iiij 

Decima inde - - - xiij iiij 



The same return, under the head of Spiritualities pertaining to 
Darley Abbey, groups the churches of Mackworth, Crich, and South 
Winfield together, valuing them collectively at 47 17s. 7d. 

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 estimated the annual value 
of this living at 55, " Mr. Peeter Coates, present incumbent, an 
honest able man." 



LINBERY. 445 



(f)apelrg of 




JHE manor-house of South Winfield was not erected on its 
present site, till the days of Ralph Lord Cromwell, in the 
reign of Henry VI. Previous to that time, the chief 
manor-house was on the other side of the valley. John de Heriz, 
the grandson of Roger who gave the church to the Abbey of Darley, 
obtained leave from the Lord Abbot and Convent, for himself and 
his heirs to have divine service performed in their chapel of Liu- 
bery, " saving all right of jurisdiction of the church of Winnefeld, 
in confessions, obventions, and all profits to the parish church of 
Winnefeld, belonging as well of me and my heirs, as of all my 
family and household, by a chaplain at the costs of me and my 
heirs in all things to be and sustained. And know ye, that I the 
said John, in the beginning of this grant, have faithfully promised 
with my corporal oath thereupon taken, that if anything shah 1 be 
celebrated in the chapel of Linbery, in any wise to the hurt of the 
jurisdiction of the mother church of "Winnefeld, it shall be seen 
unto, and that if I shall retain any chaplain yearly with me, him 
will I present to the Abbot of Darley, to whom the said Abbot shall 
minister a corporal oath for the indemnity of the mother church of 
AVinuefeld ; truly if any wise it shall happen the said church to be 
hurt by the said chantery, it shall be lawful for the Abbot to inter, 
diet the said chapel until he shall be reasonably satisfied by me, 
or by my heirs, all appeals ceasing."* There is no date to this 
declaration, but John de Heriz, the founder of this chapel, held 
the manor in the reign of Henry III. (1216-1272). He died some- 
time prior to the 30 Henry III., leaving his wife Sarah surviving, 
who subsequently married a celebrated itinerant justice, Jollan de 
Neville. 

*Add. MSS. 6697, f. 165. Topographer (1789), vol. i., p. 570. 



446 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

This chapel was situated near to the old manor-house, not many 
paces from the Peacock Inn. There were some slight remains of 
this chapel left in the year 1761, but it seems probable that Lin- 
bery Chapel was suffered to fall into decay after the completion of 
the fine new manor-house of Ralph Lord Cromwell. There was a 
chapel to this latter manor-house, which was probably a detached 
building at the north-east angle, but the traces of it now extant 
are few and uncertain."* 

* " Commencing at the N.E. angle, east of the Crypt, are to be observed the rains of 
the -walls, now some seven or eight feet high (Plate" I.), possibly forming the W. end 
of the chapel. It is stated, on very reliable authority, that still further east the 
foundations of other walls exist, which were brought to light some years ago, but 
have since been covered over again." South Winfield Manor, by Edmund B. Ferney. 
But in Plate I. of Blore's South Winfield (which is a N.V7. view from an old painting) 
there appears a building on the site supposed to be that of the chapel, that certainly 
is not a chapel, if it is correctly rendered. A more modern building may, however, 
have been then in existence on its foundation. Careful excavation might settle the 
vexed question. 




ingpptooptif. 




|HEEE was a cliapel at Wingerworth about the year 1100, 
for it was at the commencement of the twelfth century, 
that William Bufus appropriated the church of Chester- 
field, with its two dependent chapelries Wingerworth and Bramp- 
ton to the deanery of Lincoln. The Dean for many centuries 
held the rectorial tithes of Wingerworth, and also had the exclusive 
appointment of the Chaplain. Pilkington is mistaken when he says 
that Henry de Brailsford possessed the advowson of this church or 
chapel in the twenty-fifth year of Edward I.,* for on referring to 
the Inquisition, taken at that date, of the lands of Edmund, Earl 
of Lancaster, we find that Brailsford held under him the manor 
and church of Brailsford, and the church of Dronfield, hut the 
manors only, of Unston and Wingerworth. t 

The Brailsfords held this manor as early as the reign of Henry 
II. It subsequently passed to the Curzons, by whom it was sold 
in the reign of Henry VIII. to Nicholas Huuloke, an extensive 
landowner in the counties of Middlesex and Nottingham, in whose 
family it has remained to the present day. 

The following letter, relative to this manor, was addressed to 
Dr. Pegge, by Sir Henry Hunloke, December 29th, 1757: 

Wmgerwartfa manor was first hi the family of Brailsford, whose 
only daughter married Basset, of Drayton. He had three daughters 
by her, the eldest married Shirley, | ancestor of Lord Ferrers, and 
had as her portion Brailsford ; the second married Curzon, of 
Kedleston, and had the manor of Wingerworth ; the third married 
Kniveton, and had the manors of Mercaston and Bradley. These 

* Pilkington's History of Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 328. 

tlnq. post Mort.. '25 Edw. I., No. 51. Henry de Brailsford obtained a grant of free 
warren on this manor live years later (Calend. Rot. Chart., 30 Edw. I., No. 30), which 
ufirmed to his descendant Ralph de Brailsford in the reign of Edw. III. (Quo 
Warranto llolls, 4 Edw. III.) 

J Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 83. 



450 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

marriages took place in the reign of Henry IV. Wiugerworth re- 
mained with the Curzoiis till 1582, when Francis Curzon and 
John Curzon sold it to Sir Henry Hunloke, my grandfather's great- 
grandfather. "* 

There is but little information to he gleaned respecting the 
history of this chapel. In the year 1253, one Robert was " capel- 
lanus de Wyngerworth," when he was a witness to the re-dedica- 
tion charter of Brampton.t 

At a later date, various disputes arose as to the nature of its 
dependency on the vicarage of Chesterfield ; and it appeal's from a 
memorandum, at the end of the first volume of the Chesterfield 
registers, that, during the incumbency of Eev. M. Waddington, in 
the reign of Charles I., the inhabitants of Wingerworth attended 
Divine Worship, received the Sacrament, were baptized, and buried 
at their own chapel; but that the Dean of Lincoln, as lord of the 
rectorial manor, received all the tithes and emoluments of Winger- 
worth, without any deduction. Neither the Taxation Roll of 1291, 
nor the Valor Ecclesiasticm, contain any independent account of 
the benefice of Wingerworth. 

When Parliament ordered a survey of the . livings in 1650, it 
was reported that " Wingerworth is a parochial chappell in parish 
of Chesterfield. Sir E. Leech hath the irnpropriation and is to 
finde a minister ; butt it is thought fitt that the chappell should be 
disused, and that the said Wingerworth, with the part of Swath- 
wick on the north side of Wingerworth, should be united to Ches- 
terfield, except all those houses and grounds now members of 
Wyngerworth lying on the south-west of Wingerworth Moore, the 
which are thought to be united to Ashover."J 

The Liber Regis is silent as to the dedication of this church, 
and modern Directories, with their usual caprice, attribute it to 
(1) All Saints, (2) St. Michael, and (3) St. Mary. We believe 
that the first of these conjectures is the right one, as the feast is 

* Pegge's Collections, vol. vii., p. 181. Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, was 
an eminent pluralist, and held the perpetual curacy of Wingerworth from 1765 to 
the time of his death. He was presented to it by the Hon. James Yorke, who was 
then Dean of Lincoln, and appears to have spent much of his time at Wingerworth, 
as he was on intimate terms with Sir Henry Hunloke. It is therefore only natural 
to find considerable references to Wingerworth, amongst his voluminous manuscript 
collections at the College of Arms. These are chiefly to be found in vol. ii., which 
is arranged alphabetically, and in vols. v. and vii. Amongst the more trifling of 
these entries may be noted one made on Trinity Sunday, 17(55, when the Doctor ad- 
ministered the Sacrament at Wingerworth to "8 communicants, self and clerke," on 
which occasion the collection amounted to Is. lid. ; but on the same day in the 
following year the alms were only Is. 7d. ! 

t See the account of Brampton church, p. 109. 

\ Parliamentary Survey of Livings (Lambeth MSS.), vol. vi., p. 457. 



WINGER WORTH. 451 

regulated by All Saints' Day (November 1st), though Dr. Pegge, 
a century ago, considered it ruled by the Festival of St. Simon 
and St. Jude (October 28th). But, in another place, he admits 
that the dedication is probably to All Saints. 

The church consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, and tower 
at the west end. From the general aspect of the exterior, no idea 
could be gained of the real age of many parts of the building. 
We enter the church on the south side, by a shallow porch a 
modern addition which serves to conceal and also preserve a 
round-headed Norman doorway. The jambs of this doorway are 
ornamented with single shafts, almost isolated from the rest of the 
stone work. The capitals are fluted, and further ornamented with 
a narrow pellet moulding. The north aisle is separated from the 
nave by three semi-circular arches, supported on two massive round 
pillars. The capitals of these pillars seem to be very plain, but 
they are defaced with so many layers of whitewash, that a proper 
cleaning (such as that which the doorway has undergone) might 
reveal further carvings. The archway leading into the chancel is 
also of the Early Norman period. Considering its position, the 
height of this archway is very moderate it does not exceed eight 
feet. The jambs are somewhat out of the perpendicular, and their 
capitals are plain, though here again there is much super-incum- 
bent whitewash and plaster. These details afford abundant proof 
of the very early date at which a church was first built in this 
situation ; they cannot be later than the commencement of the 
twelfth century. 

Of the succeeding style, the Early English, traces are still to 
be found in the chancel. In its southern wall are three small 
lancet windows. They are quite destitute of ornament, and their 
dimensions are about four-and-a-half feet, by ten inches ; they are 
early in the style, probably in the reign of the first Richard (1189- 
1199), and they appear to be the only features of the church which 
carry us back to that period of ecclesiastical architecture. When 
the church was repaired, some thirty years ago, these windows were 
happily preserved, although much of the chancel was then pulled 
down. The pointed doorway, however, which was then introduced 
between these windows, is by no means an improvement, as it cor- 
responds with no other feature of the church, except the coeval 
porch. 

The fabric, moreover, does not possess any details that can pro- 
perly be attributed to the Decorated style a stylo which prevailed, 



452 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

for the most part, during the first half of the fourteenth century. 
There are, however, on the south side of the church, three windows 
which belong to the early Perpendicular period, or, perhaps more 
correctly, to the Transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular 
circa 1380. These are all square-topped, and are deeply recessed 
externally by about a foot from the rest of the masonry. Two of 
them have only two main lights and are of small dimensions, but 
the third is three-lighted and of about twice the size. The tracery 
in the head of these windows, though plain, is worthy of attention 
from the curious in architectural details, as it is of an unusual 
character. The general arrangement of the windows on the southern 
side may also be remarked ; for, though there is no south aisle, we 
find three square-topped clerestory windows. On the opposite side 
of the church, are three corresponding windows over the north aisle, 
which is itself lighted by three more of the same design. The 
centre one of these three was added at the time when the church 
was repaired, and has taken the place of the north door, which is 
now blocked up. The former outline of this door can be seen from 
the exterior. The east window of the chancel has also been of this 
description, though it is now destitute of any tracery whatever, and 
is simply divided into three lights by two straight mullions. These 
windows are all rather advanced in the Perpendicular period, and 
are probably about a century later than the three southern win- 
dows of which we have already spoken. At this date the church 
seems to have been thoroughly renovated, and all parts of the ex- 
terior brought into harmony. The fine embattled tower was then 
built, and its west window, with an obtusely pointed head, is a 
fair example of this period. The four pointed windows of the bell- 
chamber are also good, the two principal lights having cinque-foiled 
heads. To the south side, above a small window which gives light 
to the belfry, is affixed a plain sun-dial without a motto, and bear- 
ing the date of 1770. On each side of the tower, below the em- 
battled parapet, are two gurgoyles, which project about a foot from 
the wall. They are all of different design, those on the west side 
being the best preserved. These respectively represent the head and 
shoulders of an ape and of a muzzled bear. Between these two 
gurgoyles is a small shield, apparently uncharged. 

Rev. Dr. Pegge, writing of this church, says "Very high on the 
west side of the steeple is, paley of 6 over all a bend, so it was 
probably erected by the Brailsfords. " This is a curious mistake of 
Dr. Pegge's ; the arms that then existed on this shield are not those 



WIXGERWORTH. 453 

of Brailsford, but of Longford.* Sir Ralph Longford died seized of 
a moiety of the manor of Wiugerworth 5 Henry VIII. ; and to him, 
therefore, the erection of this tower may probably be attributed, t 

The corner stones of the battlements of the tower bear obvious 
traces of having formerly supported small pinnacles. These battle- 
ments are of considerable height, though unusually thin, and the 
action of the wind has so shaken them, that, at the time of our 
visit, they could be swayed with a simple motion of the hand. 

We may here remark that the embattled parapets are uniform 
throughout the church, on the nave, the chancel, and the north 
aisle. This part of the building is specially exposed to the action 
of the weather and the wear of time, and it is therefore frequently 
found to be the newest part of any ancient structure. Looking 
down upon the roof of this church, from the summit of the tower, 
it is apparent to the practised eye that this has been the case with 
the church at Wingerworth. This is very obvious at the eastern 
gable of the nave. 

In the bell-chamber, built into the south wall, we noticed the cir- 
cular head of an incised cross, which has originally formed portion 
of a coffin lid. This stone is about a foot square and very much 
worn. Its date is quite as early as the oldest part of the church. 
The church builders of the Perpendicular period appear to have been 
very ruthless in their selection of material, provided it was suited 
to their purpose. We are convinced that a more careful inspection 
of the inner masonry of our oldest churches, especially of towers, 
would result in the discovery of a large number of these interest- 
ing memorials, which have hitherto escaped notice. 

The details of the interior of this church are not devoid of in- 
terest. Prominent among them is the rood-loft. Not only is the 
staircase and doorway up to the rood-loft remaining, as is the case 
in so many of our ancient churches, but the actual structure upon 
which the rood was raised is still preserved. This is of wood, and 
projects about two feet from the face of the wall, immediately above 
the low archway into the chancel, to which we have already drawn 
attention. The front of the woodwork is divided into panels, orna- 
mented at the points of intersection with boldly carved roses, four- 
leaved flowers, and other devices. From the grooves, that are to be 
seen in the upper side of the front joist of the loft, it is evident 
that it has been originally protected in front by a railing. From 

* The Longford arms are, Paly of six, or and yu., over all a bend, ary. 
fThorotou's Xottinyhamts/iire, p. 344. 



454 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

this circumstance it would seem probable that this gallery was used 
by the minstrels, as well as for the support of the rood and its 
accompanying images. The steps from the rood-loft terminate 
several feet from the ground, and it is not unlikely that they led, 
as was sometimes the case, into the old pulpit. There are very 
few instances amongst our parish churches where the rood-loft is 
found over the chancel arch ; but from the lowness of the arch it 
was in this case a necessity. This loft is of the Perpendicular style, 
and was evidently put up at the time when the tower was built, 
and when the church underwent so many alterations. 

The oak floor of the belfry is ornamented on the under side 
with bosses of similar design to the carving on the rood-loft ; but 
the space beneath it is unfortunately blocked up by the organ 
gallery. The roof of the chancel, when that part of the church 
was rebuilt, was handsomely restored, and is divided into square 
panels in unison with the other woodwork just described. The 
roof of the nave is perfectly flat, being ceiled and white-washed ; 
and the general appearance of the interior of the church suffers 
much in consequence. Some of the corbel stones, on which the 
old roof of the nave was supported, project from the walls about 
two feet from the modern ceiling. The roof of the north aisle is 
of a plain lean-to description ; and here again are seen two stone 
supports of the former roof. This aisle is not much more than 
six feet in width. Besides the windows already described, it has 
also a two-light window at the east end, which now looks into a 
small vestry a modern addition to the north side of the chancel. 
In the upper tracery of this window are some small fragments of 
old glass. The design of a crown and a diamond- shaped ornament 
are repeated in yellow and white glass. 

The font at the west end of the church is of an octagon shape, 
and stands upon a pedestal. It is quite out of keeping with the 
rest of the church, and it must, from the very greatr similarity of 
execution, have been the work of the same chisel which supplied 
the neighbouring church of North Winfield with the one now in 
use. This one is undated, but that at North Wiufield has inscribed 
upon it the year 1660. 

In the east wall of the chancel, three feet from the ground, pro- 
jects a small bracket. From its shape we are inclined to think 
that it is a piscina ; but its situation on the north side of the 
altar almost forbids this supposition. It was impossible to decide 
whether it was perforated (which would, of course, have settled the 



WIS'OKKWORTH. 455 

question), as the top has been covered by an oak slab, to serve, we 
suppose, for a credence table. Across the top of the east window 
is a thick wooden beam, having, in the centre, a curiously carved 
Imman face, with leaves proceeding from the corners of the mouth. 
This must have, originally, served as the tie-beam at the east end 
of a former roof of the chancel. From being painted the colour 
of the wall, it, at first sight, seems to be of stone. 

On the chancel floor are a large number of blabs to the memory 
of the Hunloke family, but they hardly come within the scope or 
object of these pages. But there is one monument of interest in 
the north-eastern corner of the chancel. This is a stone effigy of 
a priest laid on the floor. The figure itself is about six feet in 
length. The head rests upon a plain square-cut stone, and a similar 
one supports the feet. The priest is dressed in eucharistic vestments ; 
the chasuble descends in thick folds nearly to the feet, but below 
it appears the alb, which is also visible in the tightly-fitting sleeves, 
whilst, the collar of the amice stands out some two inches from the top 
of the chasuble, leaving the neck bare. The tonsure on this figure is 
one proof of its early date, being a mere fringe of hair, less than an 
inch in width, encircling the head above the ears. The face is 
much battered. The hands are folded on the breast in the usual 
attitude of supplication ; and a chalice is carved below them. The 
date of this effigy is about the year 1,200. May it not represent 
the priest of this church under whose auspices the chancel was 
built in the beginning of the Early English period ? 

An old memorandum book of one Arthur Mower, of Barlow, records 
a burial in this church of which there is now no trace. His mother 
died at Hill Houses, Wingerworth, on the 24th of February, 1574, 
" and lyeth in the church in the north alley at the head of the alley 
on the north side, and her feet lieth as nigh of the north side of the 
gry>se (greece, or step) that goeth up into the Rood-loft as may be."* 

An unwarrantable liberty was taken with this church, about the 
end of last century, in the annexing to it of a large mausoleum 
belonging to the Hunloke family. It is attached to the north side of 
the chancel,t and battlements similar to those on the rest of the 
church surmount the walls. It has, however, much disfigured the 
outline of the church. It is entered on the north side by an iron gate, 
through which may be seen the catacombs prepared for the reception 

Add. MSS. 6G71, f. 341. 

t The chancel underwent a certain amount of "restoration" at the same time; 
had been represented to be in a ruinous condition as long ago as 1693. (Pegge'b 
Collections, voL v., p. 183). 



456 DEltKYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

of the dead. These are arranged in four tiers on each side, every 
tier having five compartments. Sixteen of these receptacles are 
already filled. 

In the churchyard, opposite to the south porch, is the basement 
stone of the old cross, having a square socket in the top, for its 
reception, about eight inches in depth. The churchyard also contains 
some fine yew trees. 

The tower contains three bells, one only, however, being in a 
condition to be rung. This is a fine old bell, of a particularly sweet 
tone, Round the shoulder runs the following legend: "Benedictum 
sit nomen I. EL S." Like many old bells it bears no date, but the 
bell founder's mark is a crown, over the initials T.E. The inscription 
is in Lombardic characters. Its brother bells are in a sad condition, 
one of them being cracked in several places right up to the shoulder, 
whilst the other has actually lost a fragment from the rim, fully six 
inches in length. The story runs, that " many years ago," an idiot 
obtained admission to this bell-chamber, and being anxious, of his 
own unaided self, to produce music from all three bells at once, took 
with him a sledge hammer. Two yielded to his blows, but the 
stouter metal of the old bell happily held out until he was removed. 
One of these bells is thus inscribed: " Hsec canipana sacra fiat 
Trinitate beata, J. B., J. D., C. wardens, 1678, H. V." The third 
has the same date and repeats the initials of the churchwardens, 
but bears a longer legend : " I H S. Nazaren rex Judeorum fili 
deorum Dei miserere." Below this inscription is the name of 
"Henry Hunloke, Bart," and a shield bearing the Hunloke arms, Az. y 
a fesse between three tigers' heads erased, or, impaling Tyrwhit, gu., 
three tirwhitts (or lapwings), or. Sir Henry Hunloke, the second 
Baronet, married Catharine, only daughter and heiress of Francis 
Tyrwhit, of Kettleby, by whom he had seven sons and six daughters. 
He enjoyed the title sixty-seven years, and was buried at Winger- 
worth, January 6th, 1715.* 

We must notice also in this bell-chamber, a fourth small bell, about 
ten inches in diameter at the mouth. This, perhaps, was the Sanctus 
bell, so often mentioned in these pages. It has probably been 
moved here, in post-reformation days, from its original position over 
the gable at the east end of the nave. 

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 333. 




pprnbip. 



255pn5e pf (Jorrigpnbe, 



APPENDIX 



Page 1, line 6, fur "1087" read "1086." 

Page 10, at the end of the first paragraph, add " The Valor 
F.c<-l,-*iaxti<:us (27 Henry VIII.) gives the following particulars rela- 
tive to this chantry : 

ALFRETON CANTABIA. 

Fundata per antecessores Johanne Fitzwilliam Anne Meeryng et Thome Babyngton. 
Dominus Eobertus White Cantarista ibidem habet ut sequitnr annuatim. 

B. d. 

In primis dicta cantaria cum pertinenciis valet per annum - xx 

Item cuncta tenementa et terra in Alfreton Carnethwaite et in 

parochia de Pynkeston per annum ------ vj iiij viij 



Summa 



DEDUCTIO. 



Cancellatur quia 
non debet ex- 
onerari. 

Cancellatur cau- 
sa predicta. 

Cancellatur cau- 
sa predicta. 



Unde resoluta annuatim ex ordiaatione ejusdem 
cantarie pro lampade continue coram sacra- 
mento ibidem ardente - 

Item in obitu Johannis Ormonde et Johanne 
uxoris ejus tercio die Octobris annuatim sa- 
cerdotibus clericis ibidem - 

Item resoluta pro manutentione unius cerei 
ardentis coram Beata Maria ibidem pro bene- 
factoribus ejusdem cantarie annuatim - 

Summa resoluta - 



mj vuj 



Xll] UIJ 



xix iiij 



De claro - - vij iiij viij 
Decima inde - xiiij v ob'q' 



Page 12, line 23, after " Swauwick" add "and to John Toplady." 
Page 13, line 3 from the bottom, erase " 1 18s. 9d.," and insert 
6 18s. 8d.. of which the following are the particulars: 



460 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

ALFEETON VICAE.' 

Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus ibidem 

Dominus Jobauues Davy Vicarius ibidem babet in conimunibus annis ut sequitur 

s. d. 

In primis in mansione cum gleba per annum ----- x viij 

Item in oblatiouibus ---------- xviij 

Item in decimis vaccarum et vitulorum xl 

Item in decimis carbonum -- xviij 

Item in pascbali rotulo --------- xl 

Item in decimis minutis ut in aucis porcellis ovis pullis lino et pomis xij 



Summa - - vi xviij viij 

Decima inde - - xiij x ob' 

The same returns estimate the value of the rectory of Alfreton, 
appropriated to Beauchief Abbey, at 11 10s. Od." 



Page 17, at the end of the first paragraph, add " Kobert, son of 
Kalph de Eerersby, confirmed to God and the altar of the Blessed 
Mary, in the church of Ashover, for sustaining the service of the 
Blessed Virgin in that church of All Saints', ' unius denarii queni 
recipere consuevi de Henrico de Knottinge pro omnibus terris et 
tenementis, quse idem Henricus de me et de patre meo aliquando 
tenuit in soka de Essover.' There is no date to this deed, but the 
witnesses' names show it to be of the reign of Edward I. Add. 
MSS. 6669, f. 135." 

Page 20, line 13, for " Darley " read " Derby." The Abbey of St. 
Helen's, Derby, was founded by Earl Ferrers, in the reign of 
Stephen. In the succeeding reign, the canons removed to Darley, 
where it obtained the name of the Abbey of St. Mary at Darley. 
Page 25, line 6 from the bottom, for " paldictus " read " predictus." 
Page 28, line 22, for " Orrnund " read " Orniond." 
Page 37, after paragraph three, add " The following particulars 
respecting the precise values of the Eectory and Chantry of Ash- 
over are taken from the Valor Ecclesiastic us, 27 Henry VIII. : 

ASSHOVEE RECTOEIA. 
Thomas Eeresby Patronus ibidem 
Leonardus Reresby rector ibidem habet in commumbus annis ut sequitur. 

B. d. 

In primis in mansione et gleba - xxvj viij 

Item in paschali rotulo - . - . vj xiij iiij 

Item in decimus garbarum ----- v j xiij iiij 



APPENDIX. 461 

s. d. 

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum vj xiij iiij 

Item pro aucis et porcellis per annum v 

Item in canabo et line ----.-.. iij 

Item in oblationibus -..- xl 

Item in decimis metalli plumbei ------- xx 



Summa - - xxiij xiiij viij 

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio xj vij 

De claro- - xxiiij iij j 

Decima inde - xlviij iijob'q 

ASSHEOVRE CANTARIA. 

Anthonius Babyngton Miles Patronus. 

B. d. 
Dominus Ricardus Sewdale Cantarista ibidem habet in primis in 

mansione viij 

Item in terris et tenementis in Asshovre xl 

Item in terris et tenementis in "Whittington Ivij ij 

Item de abbate de Osney in pecuniis ------ viij 



Summa xij xvij x 

Unde resoluta Abbati de Bello Capite pro capitali redittu - - viij 

Item resoluta Antonio Babington et keredibus suis ex ordinatione iiij 
Item resoluta in elemosiua pauperisms indigentibus de Asshovre in 

dominicis quadragesimatibus ex ordinatione iij x 

Item resoluta in obitu Thorn Babyngtou fundatoris cantarie pre- 

dicte doniesticis iudigentibus de Asshovre ex ordinatione - - v x 

Item resoluta in die ejusdem obitus sacerdotibus clericis et pro 

luminibus ex ordinatione -------- iiij 

Item resoluta in die parascenes pauperibus indigentibus ibidem in 

elemosina v x 



Summa totalis resoluta - - vij xvj vj 
De claro- - - v vj iiij 
Decima inde - x j ob'q. 



The Chantry Koll, from which the descriptions given in the text 
are taken, is (as has been explained in the preface) merely an 
abstract based on the fuller return made in the 37th year of Henry 
VIII. The Commissioners had to fill up their account of the 
chantries under eight heads, in answer to as many interrogatories. 
These are arranged in the original roll (number 13) in parallel 
columns throughout. The interrogatories were as follows : (1) For 
what purpose, when, and by whom founded; (2) the yearly value 
according to the " boke of tenthes;" (3) the yearly value as then 



462 DERBYSHIRE CHUKCHES. 

surveyed, and the resolutions or deductions ; (4) whether a parish 
church, or how far distant from one ; (5) whether void or not, and 
if there was a mansion or other lodging ; (6) what difference, if 
any, in lands or tenements, since the 27th year of the same reign 
(when the Valor Ecdesiusticus was taken) ; (7) an inventory of all 
plate and ornaments ; (8) whether any chantries had heen dissolved 
or sold without the king's license since the 27th year of his reign. 

On referring to this roll for the account of Dethick chapel, we 
find that there is an error in the condensed roll, hy which 1228 is 
given as the date (in the second place that it occurs), instead of 1278 ; 
and this error, therefore, modifies several of the statements made 
in the text. We still, however, believe that this chapel was origi- 
nally erected some years (probably about half a century) before 1278 ; 
and that the date given in the rolls is only that of the deed by 
which the chantry was endowed out of the possessions of the Prior 
of Felley. 

The entry from roll 13, No. 62, relative to Dethick, is here given 
in full, so that it may be compared with the condensed form in the 
text : 

" I. The Chappell of Saynt John Baptyste in Dethike, foimded 
by Jeffery Dethick and Thorns, somtyme Po r of Felleye, dyd bynde 
hymeselffe and the Covent of the same place by writyinge, under 
the covent seale, to paye fiyve m r ks yereleye owte of ther landes in 
Assheov r , towards the fyndynge of p r ste to saye devyne s r vice for 
ev r , in the chappell of Dethik, for his sowle, his ffriends sowles, and 
all Crystyan sowlles, as by the said w r tynge, dated Anno Dm 
millimo CCLXXIX. to the Comission r s shewed dothe appere. 

" II. Ixxiiis. mid. 

" III. Ixxiiis. iiiid. clere, w oh Eevenuex bin imployed to the 
lyvynge of Thrustan Palfriman, chaplyn there. 

"IV. The sayd chappell is no pisshe churche, butt itt is distaunte 
from the pisshe churche of Aissheow 1 iii myles, for whyche cause 
of distaunce, oon S r Jeffreye Dethyke, Knyght, there iuhabitinge, 
dyd opteyne a lycence of the Bissoppe of Coventrye and Lychefeld 
to have devyne s r vice and to receyve sacraments of the churche in 
the same chappell for hym and his famylye as by suffycyent wryt- 
ynge shewed to the Comyssyon r s dothe appere, w c h writinge is 
dated iiii th die Ffebruarii, A Dni MCCLXXVIIP. 

" V. The same is nott voyde, and the incumbent hathe a lodgynge 
therto belongynge, of the yerely valewe of vis. viiiJ., so before 
charged, 



APPENDIX. 463 

"YI. There hathe ben no more louds nor yerelye pfytts be- 
longynye to the same sythens the tynie above lymytted more than 
is byfore specyfyed. 

"VII. There is neyther goods, plate, Jewells, nor ornaments to 
the same belongyuge, otherwysse than is borowed of the heyrres of 
the said Dethyk, to the knowledge of this said incurubente uppon 
his othe. 

" VIII. There hathe been no chappells nor other lyke p r niocyons 
there dyssolved, purchased, or by aiiye other ini-ane opteyned, w th 
owght the kyngs lycence sythens the tyrne abovesayd." 

The Valor JScclesiasticns, 27 Henry VIII., gives the same total as 
to the value of the chantry, at which date " Thurstanus Palffreman" 
was also priest. The same returns credit the Priory of Felley with 
land in Asshover parish, of the yearly value of 7 13s. Od., from 
which sum 66s. 8d. (five marks) was deducted for the chantry 
priest "in capella de Theke." The laud from which this payment 
was made had only been bestowed upon the Priory a few years 
earlier. Geoffrey de Langley, in the year 1268, gave to Ralph, 
Prior of Felley, and the canons there serving God, all his lands at 
Ashover, viz. : Peynstonhirst, which he had bought of Simon de 
Maii ham, rector of the church of Ashover, and "Williamfeld, which 
he had bought of William de Ufton. Stevens' Appendix to Dug- 
dale, vol. ii., p. 133. 



Ura. 

Page 47, line 16, erase " (Lutchurch)." 

The earlier Chantry Boll contains no fuller particulars relative to 
the chantry of Lea of sufficient importance to warrant its reproduc- 
tion, but the following details appear in the Valor Ecclesuuticug, 27 

Henry VIII. : 

LEEGH JUXTA DETHEK. 

8. d. 
Dominus Humffridus Mader canterista ibidem habet decimas cum 

terris adjacentibus ibidem que valent per annum - xx 

Et in capituli redditibus de terris Alsebrok ibidem - xiij iiij 

Et multura molendini ex elemosina domini de Detheke - x 

Et de uno tenemento in Bonsall .....-- iij viij 



Summa 



464 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Page 60. The following are the particulars relative to this rec- 
tory from the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : 

BARLEBURGH RECTORIA. 
Radulphus Longford Miles Patronus ibidem. 
Dominus Johannes Whyte rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In mansione et glebis - xx 

In cotagio eidem pertinents - v 

In decimis garbarum et feiii - v 

In decimis lane et agnellorum - - - xxxj 

In decimis minutis ----- xiiij 

In oblationibus xx iiij 

In paschali rotulo - xxj 

In decimis molendinorum - - - xvj 



Summa - - x 
Unde resoluta aunuatim archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio 


xij viij 
xj iij 


De Claro - x 
Decima inde 


xvij 
xx j ob' q' 



Page 73. Add to the foot note "A paper also appeared in the 
Reliquary, April, 1867, on this Abhey, from the pen of Mr. H. 
Kirke. It contains a calendar of the Abbey, giving a list of bene- 
factors, taken from Dugdale's MSS. in the Bodleian Library." 

Page 78. At the end of the first paragraph add " Ralph Musard, 
Baron of Staveley, who died 14 Henry III., was also buried in 
Beauchief Abbey, to which he and his father had been benefactors." 

Page 78. The gap four lines from the bottom of the page has 
no meaning, the words should read on. 



ISctgfjton. 

Page 89. The following are the details of the vicarage and chantry 
of Beighton, from the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : 



APPENDIX. 460 

BEGHTOX YiCAKIA. 

Prior Montis Grade Patrouus ibidem. 

Dominus Leonardus Lyuley vicarius ibidem habet commimibus auuis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 
In priuiis mansioue cum gleba et siiib pertiuenciis - xxx 

Item in decimis feni xxx 

Item in decimis lane et agnellomm --.---- xxxiij iiij 

Item in decimis ruiiiutis .-.-..... vj 

Item in oblationibus et pascbali rotulo xxxv 

Item in decimis niolendini- viij 



Summa - - - vij ij iiij 

Uiide resoluta archidiacouo Derbie pro sceuagio et procuragio - x vij 

De claro vj xj ix 

Decima inde - xiij ii q" 

BEGHTON CANTAKIA. 

Johannes Melton Miles et Georgia* Lynacre Patroni ejusdem. 

Dominus Richardus Asshe cantarista a. d. 

ibidem babet commimibus anuis in mansione cum pertinenciis - xij 

Item de certis mesuagiis et terns cum pertinenciis in Beghton in 

anuuali redditu -- - vv ii 



v vj ij 

Decima inde - x vij ob" 



Page 98, line 5, for " Edward IV." read " Edward III." 
L'uge 93, to uote 1, add " Dugdale's 3/o/>".</ /<>, vol. ii., p. 94." 
Page 96. The Valor Ecdesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the 
following details respecting this vicarage: 

BLACKWALL VICARIA. 
Prior de Thurgreton Patronus. 

Domiuus Wilhebmus Ludlam vicarius ibidem habet in conimunibus annis ut sequitiir. 

JL B. d. 

In mausione ----- v 

In augmeutatione de priore de Thurgreton ----- xl 

In decimis feni ... vi viij 

In decknis agnellorum vij 

In decimis lane vj 

En oblationibus '--- xij 

tn paschali rotulo xij ij ob' 

Lu decimis minutis ---------- xj x 

In decimis carboiiuni ---- - iij iiij ob* 



Summa - v iiij j 

Decima iude - x v 



2a 



466 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Page 100. At the end of the first paragraph, add At a later date 
there was a further change in the endowment of this vicarage, when 
the Abhey agreed to aUow the Vicar an augmentation of 26s. 8d. per 
annum. The following particulars are taken from the Valor Ecchsias- 
ticus, 27 Henry VIII. : 

BELLE SOVRE VIC ARIA. 
Abbas de Darley Patronus ibidem. 

Dominus Radulphus Smyth vicarius ibidem habet in corumunibus annis ut sequitur. 

s. d. 
In mansione cum clausura -------- vj viij 

Item in decimis rninutis- --------- xvj 

Item in perpetua pensione de Abbate de Darley ammatim - - xxvj viij 

Item in pasckali rotulo --..-.-.- xl 

Item in oblationibus ..... ----- xxx 



Summa - , - v xix iiij 
Decima inde xj xj 

The returns of the possessions of Darley Abbey, made at the same 
date, place the rectories of Pentrich, Scarcliffe, and Bolsover, under 
one heading. Their united value is estimated at 91 Os. 2d. The 
Abbey also paid 12d. per year for keeping a lamp burning in the 
church of Bolsover " in yeme," i.e., " hyeme," or winter. This seems 
to prove that lamps and lights in pre-Eeformation days were not sim- 
ply symbolical or ornamental, but intended to be useful in giving 
either light or warmth. 

Page 104, line 13 from the bottoms/or " N. D." read " H. D." 



Brampton. 

Page 116, line 6 from the bottom, for " 1547 " read " 1546." 
Page 117. At the end of first paragraph add " The following is 
the entry relative to Brarnpton Chantry, from the Valor Ecclesiastscus, 

27 Henry VIII. : 

BRAMPTON CANTARIA. 
Dominus Decanus Lincolnensis Patrouus. 
Dominus Robertas Caskyn Cantarista ibidem habet per annum ut sequitur. 

s. d. 

In primis camerain et unum cotagium per annum - ... v j viij 

Item in redditu auuuali soluto per Georgium Comitem Salopie vel 
per ejusdem deputatum - vj marcos 



-t B. d. 

Summa - iiij vj viij 

J)cci ma hide - viij viij" 



APPENDIX. 407 



Page 151. The five Latin stanzas, formerly inscribed on the 
pedestal of the kneeling effigy, are copied from the Monmiieiita 
Foljamlit-ana in the Reliquary (Xo. 54). The version given by Elias 
Ashrnole, who visited this church on the 19th August, 1662, differs in 
two particulars ; for " a?gri " in the second stanza read "ffigre," arid 
for " senexque " in the fifth stanza read " senexve." It may be as 
well to here supply a few more entries from Mr. Ashmole's Chester- 
field notes (Ashm. MSS. 854), instead of inserting them in each in- 
stance under the page to which they more particularly refer. 

The Foljambe-Leake monument was then " on a marble in midst of 
the chancell nere the high altar ; " and the Foljambe-Vernon monument 
was under an arch next the chancel, in the chapel on the south side of 
the altar. The sides of the latter are described as having "men and 
women embossed thereon, a man and woman at the head, 6 men and 6 
women at the sides, and a man and woman at feete." So that we 
may conclude that it could be then viewed all round, and was not 
placed in the angle that it now occupies. 

In the south aisle were the quartered coats of Beresford and 
Hassall (a bear and 3 pheous) " cut in wood on sides of 2 seates 
towards ye west end of the church, very ancient." 

At the east end of the north aisle of the chancel were several 
memorials, every one of which have now disappeared; we believe, 
during the alterations of 1842-3. One of these was a brass plate 
to Thomas Bretland, who died 25th December, 1648, aged 54. The 
brass recorded that he gave by his last will 10 to the Corp.n-a- 
tion of Chesterfield, and 10 to the poor. There is no mention of 
this chanty in the Commissioners' voluminous report on the Ches- 
terfield Charities, in 1827, so that we conclude the principal was 
expended. Another brass was to the memory of Alderman Richard 
Taylor, who died in 1637, aged 56 ; and there were two other stones 
to Alderman Richard Milnes, who died in 1628, and his son William, 
who died in 1638. There are various monuments still extant in the 
church to the family of Milnes, but none of so early a date as those 
mentioned by Mr. Ashrnole. 

Page 152, line 4 from the bottom, for "Dayuile" redd "Dayvile." 

Page 153, line 16, for " Plautaganet " read Plautageuet" 

Page 153, line 23, for " maschy " read " mascly." 



468 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

Page 156, lines 22 to 25. Erase the sentence commencing " The 
celebrated," down to "in 1336." This passage contains a careless 
blunder in confusing the two Anthony Becks, and it is the more inex- 
cusable as we have elsewhere commented on a similar error made by 
Lysons. It is, however, a curious fact that not only should there have 
been two Anthony Becks of the same family, who were bishops within 
so short a space of time, but that they should also each have had 
brothers of the name of Thomas who were likewise bishops. Anthony 
Beck, the celebrated Bishop of Durham, died in 1311, and his brother 
Thomas, Bishop of St. David's in 1293. Of these two bishops there 
is an account under Pleasley Church. 

The second Anthony Beck was prebend of Lincoln in 1312, chan- 
cellor in 1316, and elected dean of the same diocese in 1329. In 
1336 he was appointed Bishop of Norwich. He died on the 18th 
December, 1343, and was buried in his cathedral. He had been pre- 
viously appointed to the bishopric of Lincoln (1320), but his election 
was subsequently nullified by the Pope. 

The second Thomas Beck, a canon of Lincoln, was appointed to the 
Bishopric of Lincoln in 1340. He held the see for seven years. See 
Stubbs' Registrant Sacrum Anglird/iuin. and Hardy's Fasti Ecdexice 



Page 157, line 16, for " 4 Henry " read " 4 Henry VII." 
Page 158, 10 lines from the bottom, insert " III. Thomas, rector of 
North Winfield." He was the third son of Ralph Fitzherbert ; see 
the account of North Winfield Church. 

Page 169. A id at the end of the first paragraph, this note. "The 
actual words of this charter leave it doubtful whether the supper was 
to be held within or without the church. At first we thought the 
former supposition so unlikely that it could not be the case ; but on 
looking further into the matter, we find it was no unusual thing to 
hold not only the parochial ' church ales ' and ' clerk ales ' in the 
church, but also the funeral banquets of private individuals. Even 
so late as the last years of Henry VIII. this custom had not died ; 
for, in Strype's edition of Stowe's Surrey of LonJun, we read that 
'Margaret Atkinson, widow, by her will, October 18th, 1544. orders 
that the next Sunday after her burial there be provided two 
gammons of bacon, three shoulders of mutton, and two couples of 
rabbits, desiring all the parish, as weD rich a<s poor, to take part 
thereof, and a fable t be set in the mi Jut of thf church, with everything 
necessarv thereto." 



APPENDIX. 469 



(Tcmplt liormautou, 

Page 183, line 6 from the bottom. After "divorcement of Kathe- 
rine," add " The Valor E'rlesiaxticm, taken in the 27th year of Henry 
VIII., estimates the property of the Kiiights Hospitallers, on the 
manor of Normanton and lands pertaining, at the annual value of 
15 4s. 4d." 



Page 193, line 2 from the bottom, for " Edward II." read " Henry 
II." Mr. Mitchell makes the mistake of giving the date and place 
of the confirmation charter of Henry II. to Edward II., who in re- 
coufirmatioii quotes in full the charter of his predecessor. The actual 
words of Henry II. relative to Clown are " Donatiouem etiam, con- 
cessionein, et confirmationern quas Kobertus de Mennill, nlius Gilberti 
del Menuill, et Eobertus filius ejus feceruut prsefatis Cauonicis de 
Ecclesia omnium sanctorum de Cluna, et de toto jure suo, quod in 
eadem Ecclesia halmerunt, in purarn liberam et perpetuam elemosi- 
uam, etc. etc. confirmanius." Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii., p. 56. 



Dronffrllr. 

Page 206, Hne 1 of footnote, for " Holmersfield " read " Holmes- 
field." 

Page 212, line 5, after "87 Henry VIII.," add this note " The 
chantry roll taken 37 Henry VIII. is the original one, upon which 
is based the more condensed form quoted on the previous page." 



Page 225, line 17, after "of his household" add the following 
" But the rectory of Eckington had been apparently divided into two, 
or at all events held at the same time by two priests, at a much 



470 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

earlier date ; for Ralph and John, ' Persona; de Ekinton,' were both 
of them witnesses to a charter of Ralph Musard's of the reign of 
Henry III, Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 16." 

Page 227. To second foot note add " Sir Peter Frecheville, by 
his will, dated 16th March, 1632, left his lands at Ecldngtou (inter 
alia) to his son John. Harl. MSS. 7602." 

Page 228, line 22, for " John " read " Joseph." 



Page 235 To first foot note add " Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii., 
p. 92." 

Page 237. At the end of first paragraph, add--" The Valor Ecdesi- 
asticus further credits the priory of Thurgarton with 66s. 8d., as the 
annual value of the rectory of Elraton." 



Page 241, second foot note. We have here thought it well to re- 
produce two of these Inquisitions, together with the preceding royal 
writs, as specimens of the documents that we have so freely con- 
sulted, and from which we have so frequently quoted throughout 
these pages. They are given verbatim, with all the contractions, 
precisely as they appear in the original documents at the Public 
Record Office. 

INQUISITION 2 nd EDWAED 3 (2 nd n?s) N. 115. 
(WHIT.) 

EBWAEDUS Dei gra Rex Angl Dns Hibn t Dux Aquif dilco sibi Simonj de Grimuesby 
Escaetori suo cit a Trentam saltm Mandam' vob qd p sacrm pbor' & leg hoim de ballia 
vra p quos rei veritas melius sciri pot'it diligent inquiratis si sit ad dampuu vel p'jud 
. . . . aut alior' si concedam' Rog'o le Sauuage qd ipe de manerio suo de Steynesby 
cu ptin quod de nob tenet r . in capite vt elicit 1 feoffare possit Galfridu de Langholt 
capellanu h'end t tenend sibi & heredibs suis de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia inde 
debita & consueta inppetuu t eidem Galfrido qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica seisina 
refeoffare possit p'dcm Rog'una & Isabellam vxem eius de man'iop'dco cu ptin hend t 
tenend eisdm Rog'o & Isabelle & heredibs de corporibs ipor' Rog'i & Isabelle exeuntibs 
de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Ita qd si p'dci Rog'us & Isabella 



APPENDIX. 471 

obierint sine herede de corpore suo exeunti tuc man'iu p'dcm cu ptin remaneat rectis 
heredibs ipius Eog'i tenend de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca inppetuu nee ne Et 
si sit ad dampnu vel p'iudiciu nrm aut alior 1 tune ad quod dampnu & quod p'iudiciu 
nrm & ad quod dampnu & quod p'iudiciu alior' & quor' & qualit & quo modo et si 
p'dcm man'iu tenef de nobis in capite vt p'dcm est an de alio et si de nob tune p quod 
B'uiciu t qualit & quo modo et si de alio tune de quo vel de quibs^ & p quod s'uiciu & 
qualit & quo modo et qntu p'dcm man'iu valeat p annu in ouiibs exitibs iuxta veru 
valore eiusdem et si que t're seu ten eidern Rog'o remaneant vlt a . man'iu p'dcm tune 
que t're & que ten t vbi t de quo vel de quibs teneant 1 vtru videlicit de nob an de alio 
et si de nob tune p quod s'uiciu t qualit' & quo modo et si de alio tune de quo vel de 
quibs & p quod s'uiciu & qualit t quo modo & qntu valeant' p annu in ouiibs exitibs 
Et inquisicoem inde distincte & apte fcam uobis sub sigillo vro & sigillis eor' p quos 
fca fu'it sine dilone mittatis & hoc bre T me ipo apud Eley xxvj. die Jauuar anno 
r. n. scdo. 

(INQUISITION.) 

INQS capt ap d Cestrfeld cora Simone de Grymesby Escaetore Dni Reg cit Trentam die 
Sabb px. p'. fm Pur be Mar anno r. ~R. E. t r cij p'. conqst scdo scdm tenore brTs Dni 
R. huic Inquis consul p scmet Robti le Sauvage del Heeth Henr le Harp de Oulcotes 
Willi Beii'eg de Sntton Ade de Pleseleye de eadm Robti le Deyce de eadm Henr filii 
Albred del Heetb Robti "Wyburgh Henr fil Robti, Robti de Braylisford iunioris Robti 
de Calale Robti fil AloFet Robti de Braylisford senioris jur 2'. dicut p sacmetum suu 
qd no e ad dampnu n c . p'iudm Dni R aut alior' si idm Dns Rex cocedat Rog'o le 
Saauuage qd ipe de Mau'o sno de Steynesby cu ptin quod de Dno R. tenet r in capit 
feoffaf possit Galtr de Langholt capelm hud t tened s 1 & hed snis de DiTo R. t bed 
suis p s'uic inde debit t cosuet ippem et eidm Galfro qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica 
seisTa refeofar possit p'dcm Rog & Isabella vx eius de Man'io p'dco cu ptin hnd t tened 
eisdm Rog'o & Isabelle t hed de corpibs ipor' Rog 5 ! & Isabell exeunt ne Dno R. & hed 
BUIB p s'uic inde debit & cosuet inppet Ita qd si p'dci Rog's t Is. obierint sn hed^de 
corpe suo exeunt tuc man'u p'dcm cu ptin remaneat rectis hed ipi* Rog'i tenend de 
Duo R. & hed suis p s'uic pdca inppef. Itm dicut qd man'iu p'dcm tenet r de Dno R. 
in capit p s'uic reddend p annu vnu espuar soru ad Seem Dni R. ad fm Sci Michis p oi 
s'uicio et valet p annu in oibs exit iux veru valore eiusdm X u Dicut t qd man'ium de 
Geinschelf in Com Essex remanet eidm Rog'o vltra man'iu p'dcm quod tenefde Willo 
de Brewes p s'uic vni. feod mllft t valet p annu in oibs exiiXX n . In cui' rei test p'dci 
iur sigifi sua appos. 

INQUISITION 8 tb RIC. 2. N. 44. 
(WRIT.) 

RICARDUS Dei gra Rex Angl & Franc & Dns Hibn dilco sibi Thome Staunton 
Escaetori suo in Com Derb saltm p'recipim' tibi qd p sacrmj)bor' & leghoim deballiua 
tua p quos rei v'itas melius sciri pot'it diligent inquiras si sit ad dampnu vel p'iudiciu 
linn aut alior' si concedam' lohi Sauage seniori qd ipe de man'io suo de Stanesby qd 
de nob tenet r in capite vt dicit r feofare possit Johem Morsell Capelanu hend t tenend 
sibi & hered suis de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia inde debita & consneta imppetuu et 
eidem Johi Morsell qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica seisina dare possit & concedere 
p'dcm man'iu~cu^ptiu p'fato Johi Sauage & Margareti vx'i eius hend & tenend eisdem 
Johi Sauage & Margareto & heredibs quos idem Johes Sauage de corpore ipius Mar. 
garete p'creau'it de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppm Ita qd si eadera Mar- 



472 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

gareta sine herede de eorpore suo p p'fatu Jobem Sauage pcreato obierit tune p'dcm 
ruau'iu cu ptiri heredfbs de eorpore ipius Johis Sauage exeuntibs remaoieat Tenend de 
nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Et si idem Johes Sauage sine herede de 
eorpore suo exeunte obierit tune p'dcm inan'iu cu ptin Robto Sauage juniori & heredibs 
de eorpore suo exeuntibs remaueat tenend de noT> & hered nris p s'uicia p'dca imppm 
Et si idem Robtus sine herede de eorpore suo exeunte obierit tune idem maii'iu cu 
ptin rectis-heredibs ipius Johis Sauage remaneat imppetuu tenend de nob & hered nris 
p s'uicia p'dca imppm nee ne et si sit ad dampnu vel, p'iuliciu nrm aut alior' tune ad 
quod dampnum & qd p'iudiciu nrm & ad qd dampnu & qd p'iudiciu alior' & quox t 
qualit & quomodo et si inan'iu p'dcm teneat 1 de nob in capite ut p'dcm est an de alio 
et si de nob tune p qd s'uiciu & qualit & quo modo & qntum inan'iu p'dcm valeat p 
annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valorem einsdm et si que t're seu ten eidem Johi Sauage 
remaneant vlfrra mau'iu p'dcm tune que t're & ten & vbi & de quo vel de quibs teneanf 
vtru videlt de nob an de alio et si de nob tune p quod s'uiciu it qualit & quo modo & 
quantu vaT p annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valore eor'dem Et inquisicoem inde 
distincte & apte fcam nob sub sigillo too & sigilla eox quos fca fu'it sine dilone mittas 
hoc bre J. me ipo apud Westm XX die Octobr anno r. n. octavo. 

(INQUISITION.) 

INQUIS' capt apud Chestrefeld coram Thoma de Staunton Esc Dni Eegis in Com 
Derb die Lune sexto die Novembr anno regni Regis Rici *cdi post conquestu octauo 
virtute bris Dni Regis eidm Esc direct & huic Inquis consut p sacrm Johis Fraunceys 
de Hertestofte Willi Fraunceys de eadm Benedict! Tailo r de ead Johis de Hanley de 
eadm Johis fil Henr del Heth Wifli Tnur de Oulcotes Simonis "Webster del Heth 
Ad de Hanley de eadm Johis de Sutton de eadm Rici Nal de Esfrwaye Radi Wake 
del Heth & Rici Emson de Norththorp Qui dicunt s sacrm suu qd no est ad dampnu 
nee p'iudiciu Dni Regis nee alior' Dnor' licet Rex concedat Johi Sauage seniori qd 
ipe de Manerio suo do Steynesby cum ptin feofare possit Johem Morsell captm Hend 
t tenend sibi & her suis de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia inde debita & consueta 
imppetuu et eidm Johi Morsell qd ipe hita inde plena t paciflca seisina dar possit t 
concedere p'dcm man'iu cu ptin p'fato Johi Sauage t M'garete vx'i eius hend t tenend 
eisdm Johi Sauage t M'garete t hered quos idm Johes Sauage de eorpore ipi s M'garete 
pcreau'it de nob & heredibs_nris p s'uic p'dca imppetuu Ita qd si eadm M'gareta sine 
herede de eorpore suo p p'fatu Johem Sauage pcreato obierit tuc p'dcm maneriu cu 
ptin heredibs de eorpore ipius Johis Sauage exeuntibs remaneat Tenend de nob t 
hered nris p s'uic p'dca imppetuu Et si idm Johes Sauage sine herede de eorpore suo 
exeunt obierit tuc p'dcm man'iu cu ptiiT Robto Sauage Robto Sauage Juniori & hered 
de eorpore suo exeuutibs remaneat Tend de nob & hered nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu 
Et si idm Robts sine hered de eorpore suo exeunt obierit tuc idm maneriu cu ptin 
rectis hered ipius Johis Sauage remaneat imppetuu Tend de nob & hered iiris p 
s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Et dicunt qd maneriu p'dcm cu ptin tenet 1 de Dno Rege in 
capite p s'uiciu cluor' solid t p vno esperuar soro Et dicunt qd p'dcm maneriu valet 
p annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valore euisdm Centu & sexdecim solid & decem 
denar Et dicunt qd nulla tre seu tenta eidm Johi Sauage remanent in Com p'dc"o vlt 
maneriu p'dcm. 
DaFloco die & anno supdcis. 

It will be seen from these two Inquisitions, that the manor of 
Stainsby was held of the king by the service of an "espervarius 
sorus," or sore hawk, i.e., a hawk of the first year, to be rendered 
to the Treasury every Michaelmas day. 



APPENDIX. 473 

Page 249. The Valor Ecdesiastieus, under the property pertaining 
to the priory of Newstead, estimates the rectory or church of Hault 
Hucknall, " cum <-n\>fUa <le Rou-tkorne," at the full yearly value of 8. 
From this was deducted a pension of 30s. to the Prior of Croxton, 
which, together with the arcliidiacoual dues, reduced the total to 6 
2s. Od. We have not succeeded in finding any other allusion to 
this chapel of Rowthorne. The manor of Bowthorne had been con- 
veyed to the Priory of Xewstead, as early as the reign of Henry III. 
by Robert de Lexington ; but common-sense interpretation of this 
entry in the Valnr K"<-l<'xi>intinis certainly points to an actual chapel 
011 the manor, and not merely to the possession of its tithes. Yet it 
is strange that there does not now appear to be even a tradition of 
its former existence. 



Page 253. Add, as a note to the first sentence " Dugdale's 
Monasticon , vol. ii., p. 604." 

Page 256, line 12 from the bottom. After "its precincts" add 
" A junior branch of the Savages was also resident in this parish in 
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries." 



Page 267, at the bottom of the page, add " It also appears from 
the Valor Eeclesiasticus that the annual pension of 13s. 4d. from the 
rectory of Langwith was still retained by the priory of Thurgarton." 
p 268, lines 10 and 18, for " Psitterton " read " Palterton." 



liorton. 

Page 295. " The Abbott and Convent of Dcrbye" mentioned in the 
second paragraph, is a mistake in the Chantry Roll for Darky, to 
which place the Abbey of St. Helen's of Derby, was moved in the 
reign of Henry II. 



474 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Page 321, line 2, for " Paltreton " read "Palterton." 
Page 324. Add to the end of the second paragraph " The land 
held in the parish of Scarcliffe of Newstead priory was valued, in 
Henry VIII. 's reign, at 15 3s. 7d. per annum ; from which 3s. 4d. 
was deducted as a pension to the Abbot of Darley." 

Page 326, line 3 from the bottom, add, after the word " Darley " 
"In addition to this augmentation, the Valor Ecclesiasticus men- 
tions that the abbey provided 12d. a year 'pro stramento ecclie 
Skarclif in hyeme,' i. e., they furnished straw (or something strewn) 
for the pavement of the church of Scarcliff during the winter 
months. The same returns estimate the annual value of the three 
rectories of Scarcliffe, Pentrich, and Bolsover in a single sum 
91 Os 2d." 



Page 337. We here give a verbatim copy of the fuller chantry 
roll, taken 37 Henry VIII., so far as it relates to Shirland (Roll 13, 
No. 68), from which that given in the text was subsequently abbre- 
viated. See the Appendix, under Dethick Chapelry. 

I. The Chaimt r ye of Shyrland so named in the Kynges Recordes of his tenthes 
nevertheles Xpofer Haslam Chaplyn there vppoii his othe saythe that itt is neyther 
Chaunfye hospytall colledge ffree Chappell hrotherhed nor Stypendarie to his know- 
ledge Also oon Robte Revell sheweth vuto us the Comyssyon's an olde wrytynge or 
Wyll of Thorns Revell of Hyghm Dated the ij do of Apriell Anno Dni m lmo cccclxxiiij 
in the whyche he hequethed C. marks for the byenge of certeyn lands to he imployed 
for a prists wags to synge and save masse ppetuallye for his sowle his frendes sowllea 
and all Crystyan sowlls and further shewed an other will in papyr of oon Rohrte 
Revell dated the xij th of Maye Anno Dni millimo iiij. iiij"xv. in the whyche the 
sayde Robrte Revell willed the issues and pfytts of all his londs in Thawtwayte and 
in the hill to fynde a p'ste to synge in the Churche of Shyrland by the space of 
iiij xl xix yeres And if a mortesmayne mought be gotten within the tyme then to con- 
tynewe for euer or ells to be solde. 

II. viijS iiij". 

III. iiij u clere p* in Redye moneye to the sayd incumbente by Robrt Revell And 
as he saythe he payethe viij 8 for his tenthes And that oon "Willm Rowhbothom som- 
tyme pryste there vppon a wrongge s'uice cawsed the same to be charged w th tenthes 
w* sayd iiijO is imployed to the lyvinge of the sayd Chaplyn. 

IV. The same is no pisshe Churche butt is served w th in the pisshe Churche of 
Shyrland. 



APPENDIX. 475 

V. The same is nott voyde neyther hathe the incumbente anye maucyon butt a 
chambre w 011 he hathe by thappoyntment of Robrte Eevell. 

VI. There hathe ben no more londs nor yerelye pfytts belongyiige to the same 
sythens the tyme above lymytted more then is byfore specyfyed. 

VII. There is neyther chalis Jewells Plate ornaments goods or cattails apperteyn- 
ynge to the same butt he occupieth oou chalys and ij vestments to saye Masse W* 
the Incumbent deposythe vppon his othe to be Mr. Revells. 

VIII. There hathe ben no Chunt r yes no r other lyke pmocyons there dyssolued 
purchased o r by anye other meane opteyned w th owght the Kyngs lycence sythens 
the tyme above sayd. 

The following is the entry relative to this Chantry or Donative, 
in the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : 

SHIRLAND DONATIVA. 

Tristramus Revell Patronus ibidem. 

Dominus Willielmus Rowbothom Dominus Johannes Feeld Capellani ibidem habent 
conjunctim ut sequitur. 

B. d. 

In primis in Thwatwaite - ------- iij viij j 

Item in Eggnescawe ---.-..... iiij ij vij 

Item in Shirlande ---------- xiij iiij 



Summa - - viij iiij 
Decima inde - xvj iiij ob' q' 



Stafcrleg. 

Page 362. The summary of the property of the Knights Hos- 
pitallers, in the Valor E--fl':*ia><ticus, estimates that portion of the 
manor of Staveley, and the mediety of the rectory, which were held by 
them, at a yearly value of 11. 



Strctlcg, 

Page 402. Since our account of Steetley passed through the 
press, service has been once more held within its waUs. We take 
the following from the Derbyshire Times, 23rd October, 1875 : 

"At Steetley Chapel, on Sunday, there occurred an event of great interest to anti- 
quarians and archaeologists. Divine service, according to the rites of the Church of 
England, was held within the ruined building for the first time after a lapse of up- 
wards of three hundred years. A few days ago a notice was issued by the Rev. G. E. 
Mason, rector of WhitweU, announcing that there would be a special service in the 
afternoon, with an address, to be followed by a public meeting, ' to consider how to 
provide means of worship and religious instruction for the immediate neighbour- 
hood.' The ' immediate neighbourhood ' comprises Steetley and Darfoulds, at wnict 



476 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

latter place a population was fast springing up, consequent upon the near completion 
of the Steetley Colliery by the Shireoaks Colliery Company. At the time appointed 
the old roofless piece of Norman architecture was unlocked, and its span was at once 
filled by persons from Whit-well, Worksop, Shireoaks, Darfoulds, and Harness Grove. 
The proceedings began by the Rev. G. E. Mason and his curate (the Rev. E. Town- 
end) taking their station just within the apse of the church, and putting on their 
ceremonial robes. The ordinary morning prayers, psalms, and lessons were then 
read and sung, with suitable hymns, after which Mr. Mason addressed those assembled 
in a very earnest manner, in which he said that he believed the time was come when 
divine worship would regularly take place within those walls. He did not think it 
strange that he should be there that day, though many of them might think so. The 
building had been consecrated, and once set apart for worship, and it would always 
remain sound to its purpose. It was three hundred and fifty years since it was left 
to fall into decay, and however much it had been desecrated it was still God's house, 
and he was able to say that it was the general desire that the building should be again 
used for God's worship. At the close of the service the public meeting was opened, 
and Mr. Mason stated the reasons why they were met that day. He had often been 
asked, since he came to Whitwell, when steps would be taken to restore Steetley 
Chapel. He had written to Mr. Gladstone, one of the Duke of Newcastle's trustees, 
about it, and Mr. Gladstone was quite willing that the work should be done, and the 
trustees would give '50 towards it. Mr. Pearson, clerk of the works, had made 
certain plans and an estimate, which were now in Mr. Gladstone's possession. He 
had further written to the lion, gentleman, asking permission to use the chapel as it 
then was, and he had received consent to do so. Certain repairs could be done in a 
very simple manner for 50, which would consist in putting on a wooden roof, cover- 
ed with a tarpaulin, as a temporary affair, which would keep out the wet. Every one 
seemed willing that this should be done, and on Mr. Mason's asking if any one could 
suggest anything, Mr. Charles Tylden- Wright stepped forward, and addressed the 
meeting to the effect that he quite concurred with what Mr. Mason had said, and in 
what he was trying to accomplish. As a co-director in the Shireoaks Colliery Com- 
pany, he would do what he could do in the matter. Mr. Mason said a good plan 
would be to have a memorial signed \ty the families in the neighbourhood, requesting 
that a restoration of the chapel should take place. The bishop of the diocese was 
deeply interested in the matter, but before any steps were taken in the direction of a 
memorial, he would consult with Mr. Wright. Amongst some resolutions which 
were put to the meeting by Mr. Wright, were the following : ' That in consideration 
of the distance which separates Darfould and the neighbouring towns from any place 
of worship, it is desirable to provide some place where the people may come to 
hear the Word of God, and to pray.' ' That in the opinion of this meeting, Steetley 
Chapel is the most convenient place for such a purpose, and therefore it is desirable 
that it should be restored as soon as possible, thus preserving from destruction a 
valuable monument of the sacred art of a bygone age ; at the same time it is not well 
that it should be restored so long as it remains private property, and therefore the 
trustees of his Grace the Duke of Newcastle should be urged to place it for sale, or 
otherwise under the Bishop of the Diocese, and then money be collected, with a view 
to an immediate restoration.' These were both carried without any dissent. Steps 
will at once be taken to cover in, as before stated, the building, when it is hoped that 
regular services will be held. A vote of thanks to Mr. Mason, proposed by Mr. 
Wright, closed the meeting." 

It will thus be seen that the restoration of the fabric has already 
commenced. Under the hand of Mr. Pearson, A.E.A., there can 
be no fear but that the work will be carefully and satisfactorily 
accomplished. It is scarcely necessary to add, that at the time we 
penned the sentence relative to the restoration, we had no know- 
ledge of his engagement in this task, and we are glad that the 
appendix gives us an opportunity of apologising, both to Mr Pear- 
son and to the rector of Whitwell, for the construction of a sentence 
which might otherwise appear offensive. 



APPENDIX. 477 



Page 421. Add to paragraph 2 " The elder branch of the 
Savages also held certain lands near Park Hall, in this parish and 
Morton, which came to them from the Deincourt family through 
the Leakes. It is probable that the Savage coats of arms, on the 
exterior of the south aisle, point to the restoration of that part of 
the church, by one of the Sir John Savages, and not by the founder 
of the chantry." 



Page 443, line 15 from the bottom, for " Belle w" read "Belers." 
Page 445, line 2 from the bottom, for "Jollan' 1 read " Johan." 
Page 446, in the note, for " Ferney " read "Ferrey." 



lossfipg. 



A GLOSSARY OF SOME OF THE TECHNICAL 
TERMS USED IX THE FOREGOING PAGES. 



APSE. The semi-circular termination to the east end of the choir or aisles of a church . 

ALMERY. A niche or small cupboard by the side of an altar, to contain the 

-ds. See foot note, p. 86. 
BALL FLOWEU. Aii ornament consisting of a round hollow flower of three petals, 

enclosing a bull. It is usually characteristic of the Decorated style, but it 

sometimes occurs at the end of the Early English style, as on the tower at 

Eckingtou. 
BEAK-HEAD. A. characteristic Norman decoration, in which a head, worked in an 

outer moulding, winds a beak round the moulding next within. 

BEYIL. The slope formed by paving of the angle of a wall, or other piece of masonry 
or timber. It is almost synonymous with a chamfer. 

BILLET. A Norman decoration, consisting of a round projecting moulding, interrupted 

at regular intervals, so as to resemble short billets or pieces of stick. 
CHAMFER. See Bevil. 

CHEVRON. A Norman decoration, consisting of a series of zigzag indentations or 
mouldings. It is sometimes found in the transition period, from Norman to 
Early English . The term is derived from heraldry. See the illustration of 
the west doorway of Whitwell. 

CLERESTORY. That part of a church with aisles, which rises on the nave arches over 
the aisle roofs. 

CORBEL. A stone projecting from a wall to support some weight, as an image, a shaft, 
or a group of vaulting shafts. It nearly corresponds to bracket. Corbels are 
carved in u jm'iit variety of ways ; the form of a head is frequently given to 
them in each of the styles, from Norman to late Perpendicular. 

CORBEL-TABLE. A row of corbels supporting a parapet or cornice. 

CREDENCE-TABLE. The small table at the side of the altar, on which the bread and 
wine were placed before consecration. This was nn early custom, but in many 
instances the place of the credence-table was supplied by a shelf across the 
niche containing the piscina. 

CROCKETS. Projecting ornaments, usually leaves or brandies of foliage, i; 
relieve the angles of spires, pinnacles, canopies, and in other places. 

2i 



482 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 

CUSPS. The projecting points forming the featherings or foliations ingothic tracery, 

arches, panels, &c. 
DRIPSTONE. See Hood Mould. 

ENGAGED. A member, which ordinarily stands free, is said to be engaged when it is 
attached to a wall, or otherwise partially loses its full projection in the sur- 
rounding members. Thus a shaft is engaged when only half or three-quarters 
of it appear ; and a tower is engaged when the aisles are carried to its extreme 
west end. 

FILLET. A narrow flat face or band, used chiefly between mouldings to separate them 
from each other, though it is often worked upon larger mouldings or shafts. 

FINIAL. The termination of a pinnacle, spire, or canopy, usually consisting of a 

bunch of foliage. 

GEOIN. The angle formed by an intersection of vaults. 
GURGOYLE. Projecting water spouts, usually carved into grotesque figures. 

HAGIOSCOPE. A contrivance, whether by perforating a wall, or by cutting away an 
angle of it, by which an altar may be seen from some part of a church, from 
which it would otherwise be hid. It is also termed a Squint. 

HOOD-MOULD. The projecting moulding which crowns doors, windows, and other 
arches. When used on the exterior it is usually termed Dripstone. 

JAMBS. The perpendicular sides of a window or door. 

JAMB-SHAFT. A shaft set in the retiring angle of a jamb to bear the arch of the 

window or door-head. 
LANCET. The usual name for the ordinary Early English window, which is long and 

narrow, and pointed at the top. In late and fine specimens the head is usually 

acutely pointed, in smaller and early windows it is almost always very obtusely 

pointed. 
KING-POST. The middle post of a roof, standing on the tie-beam and reaching up to 

the ridge. Where there are two vertical posts standing on the tie-beam they 

are termed Queen-posta. 
MULLIONS. The upright divisions separating large windows into two or more lights. 

OGEE. The term ogee is applied to a pointed arch, the sides of which are each 
formed of two contrasted curves. The ogee arch came in with the Decorated 
style, and was frequently used in canopies and small doorways. See the illus- 
tration of the north doorway of Ashover. 

PILASTER. See Respond. 

PISCINA. A water drain placed within a niche, usually on the south side of an altar, 
and used to receive the water in which the priest washed his hands, as well as 
that with which the chalice was rinsed at the time of the celebration of the mass. 

PURLINS. The horizontal pieces of timber which rest on the principals or main 
rafters of a roof, and support the common rafters. 

REREDOS. The wall or screen at the back of an altar. 

RESPOND. A half pillar or pilaster attached to a wall to support one side of an arch. 

SANCTUS BELL. A small bell used in the Roman Catholic service of the mass to call 
attention to the more solemn parts, as at the introductory words " Sanctus, 
Sanctus, Sanctus, Deus Sabaoth," whence the name is taken. It was usually 
placed in a bell-cote on the east gable of the nave. The illustration of Shirlaud 
church affords a singular instance of a double bell-cote in this position. 



GLOSSARY. 483 

SEDILIA. Scats near an altar, generally in the south wall of the chancel, for the 
officiating priests ; they are usually three in number, as at Dronfield, but 
vary from one to five. 

SET-OFF. The part of a wall or buttress which is exposed horizontally when the 
portion above it is reduced in thickness. 

SPANDRELS. The triangular spaces between the arch of a doorway, etc., and the 
square label or hood-mould over it. Spandrels are almost exclusively confined 
to the Perpendicular style. 

SPLAY. The expansion given to doorways, windows, and other openings, by slanting 
the sides. This construction especially prevailed on the insides of the small 
windows of the Norman and Early English periods. 

SQUINT. See Hagioscope. 

STILTED ARCH. An arch which has the capitals, or impost mouldings, of the jambs 
below the level of the springing of the curve of the arch. 

STOUP A vessel to contain consecrated water, into which all who entered the church 
dipped their fingers and crossed themselves. In this country a small niche 
with a stone basin was usually formed in the wall near the entrance, but the 
receptacles for holy water were occasionally movable vessels of stone, and one 
of these in the church at Bolsover. 

STRINGCOURSE. Any continuous projecting moulding, running horizontally. 

STRUTS. Struts, or braces, are those timbers of a roof which proceed diagonally from 
the base of the King or Queen-post to the principal rafters. 

TIE-BEAJIS. The large timbers of a roof, which rest horizontally on the wall-plates; 
thus tying the walls together. 

TOOTH ORNAMENT. A name given to a decoration extensively used in the Early 
English style, though occasionally met with in late Norman or transition work. 
It consists of a square four-leaved flower, the centre of which projects in a 
point. See the illustration of Norton font, and also of the blocked-up window 
at the east end of the north aisle of North Wingfield. 

TRANSOM. A horizontal mullion or cross bar, in a window or in panelling. 

TYMPANUM. The space immediately above the opening of a doorway, when the top of 
the opening is square, but has an arch over it. This space is often filled up in 
Norman work with a single stone profusely ornamented or quaintly sculptured. 

WEATHER-MOULD. The projecting stones on a surface against which a roof is placed 
to secure the junction from wet. This often remains on the towers of churches, 
or on the east end of the nave, indicating the former existence of a roof on the 
nave or chancel of different pitch from the present. 



Inbirts* 



Inbpf of ]Pprsons. 
Jn5pf of 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 



. 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." 21ms 
on page 68, Robert, James, Peter, and Denis Barley are mentioned, 
but the reference in the index is simply " Barley, family, 68." 



A. 

Abitot, 63, 65 
Alan, Master, 99 
Albinos, Abbot of Darley, 

74 

Alderson, C., 264 
Aleyn, Robert, 295, 299 
Alfreton. arms, 42, 59, 79, 

88 ; family, 283 ; Thomas 

de, 12, 298 
Alkoe, Robert, 338 
Allan, Thomas, 341 
Allestree, arms, 41 
Alveley, Robert de, 47 
Annesley, family, 41 
Arnold, Edward, 360 
Ashbnry, John, 375 

lole, Church notes, 
J. 353, 467 
in, arms, 139; Sir 

Thomas, 140, 146 
Aston, William, 211 
Audsley, Henry. 177 
Austin, arms, 293; family, 

294 
Av.net, arms, 39C; Robert, 

99 
Aylesbury, arms, 32, 298; 

family, 11, 31 



B. 

Babington, arms, 158, 353; 
family. -25-:: 1. 41- iti. 298; 
Sir Anthony. 11, 12, 461; 
Elizabeth, "299 ; Ethel- 
drena, 55; Henry, 12; 
John, 353, 354, 41>. 
Robert, 158 ; Thomas, 12, 
20, 407, 418, 459; William, 
54, 93, 283, 284, 303 

Bada. 291 

Bagge, Sir William. 13 



Bagott, arms, 159 
Bagshaw, family, 297 ; 

Richard. 236 
Bakewell, John, 354 
Ball, Thomas, 113, 114 
Baline, John, 162 
Bamford, Thurstan, 239 
Banford, S., 37 
Baunaster, arms, 287 
Barker, Francis, 298; Ralph 

210; Sir Robert, 211 
Barley, arms, 66, 67, 407; 
family, 67, 68, 205, 209, 
409; Sir George, 209; 
Robert, 65, 165; William, 
165 

Barlow, Arthur, 148 ; 
Henry, 104 ; Robert de, 63 
Barry, family, 34 
Barton, William, 275, 421 
Bassano, Franc-is I.YISS ), 
9,2-2,33-35, 40,57,59,66, 
68, 88, 95, 103, 114, '11 7, 
258, 

262, 264, 270, 287, 
298, 315, 316, 3'24, 349, 
350, 352, 354, 35"), 358, 
359, 363, 369, 397, 408, 
443 

,-ldine, Charles, 196 
t, arms, 298 ; family, 
81, 33, 298; Ralph, 11, 

Sir Richard, 378 
Bassingbourue family, 31 
Baylli, Serlo, 65 
Bean, Henr 
Beardall family, 339; 

William. 275 
Beauchamp, arms, 151 
Beaufey, John, 358 
Beaumont, John, 29 
Beayse. Mr., 313 
Beckering, arms, 407 ; Sir 
John, 409 



Beck, arms, 153, 279, 280 

Anthony, 156, 279, 312 

4G8;Ernulfde,311; John, 

312 ; Thomas,311,312,468; 

Walter, 312 
Becket, Thomas a 73, 74, 

79 

Bee. Joseph, 136 
Belers, Roger de, 383, 443 
Benefeld, arms, 45 
Bennett, Thomas, 177 
Berbi, Robert, 236 
Beresford, arms, 368, 369 

467; family,369; Richard, 

422 

Berisfort, Jane, 68 
Beruerd, Bishop, 311 
Bertram, Robert, 354 
Bingham, arms, 154, 156, 

353, 430 ; Richard, 25 
Birchett, family, 294 
Bisset, family, 31 
Black wall, John, 212; 

Wednesley, 4 1 
Blackwell, Ralph, 25 
Blythe, family, 293-296 ; 

John, 174 
Bockingham, arms, 154, 

156 

Boiler, Thomas, 429 
Bollowe, John, 283 
Bonaparte, 37 
Bonsall, Sir R., 163 
Booley, John, 317 
Bossley, G., 136, 187, 195 
Bostock, family. "247 
Bosville, arms, 353 ; 

William, 354 
Boswell, Godfrey, 246 
Botetourt, arms, 334; John, 

335 

Bothe, arms, Henry, 158 
Bourne, Immanuel, 17, 37; 

Rev. John, 174 
Bower, Francis, 236 



488 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Bowet, Sir Nicholas, 34 
Bowler, Eev. Francis, 60 
Boythorpe, family, 406 
Bradbourne, arms, 158,279; 

Henry, 26; John, 158, 

299 
Bradshaw, Anthony, 179, 

180 ; Edward, 186 
Brailsford, family, 433, 449, 

451,452; Sir Henry, 201 , 

202,211; Roger, 206,210 
Brampton, family, 112 
Braucequill, Roger, 210 
Breilsford, John, 429 
Brendon, Bishop of Ardfert 

109 
Breton, arms, 400 ; family, 

114, 140, 146, 176, 188, 

406, 407 

Bretland, Thomas, 467 
Brett, John, 11, 31 
Brettland, Thomas, 173 
Briggs, John, 236 
Bright, J., 214 
Brito. Richard, 74 
Briton, Gley de, 400 
Briwere, William, 142, 154, 

177, 406 

Brocklehurst, J., 60 
Brome, Richard, 228 ; 

Robert, 216 

Bromhead, Thomas, 363 
Bromley, Lord Chancellor, 

246 ; Samuel, 133, 144 
Brown, Adam de, 169 ; Mr., 

68 
Browne, Anthony, 179, 180 ; 

John, 186 
Bryan, arms, 334, 396 ; Guy 

de, 335 ; Rev. Guy, 285 
Buck, The Brothers, 76 
Bullock, family, 68, 209; 

John, 296 ; William, 76 
Burton, Michael, 216 
Busli, Roger de, 3, 241, 291 
Bussey, arms, 156; family, 

31, 139, 417, 419; John, 

156, 274 ; Sir Miles, 140 
Butcher, Robert, 237 
Butler, Archdeacon, 94 
Byron, arms, 420 ; family, 

421 



C. 

Caball, W. de, 169 
Cachehors, arms, 353 
Caltofte, John, 11, 31, 298 
Calton, family, 152 
Camville, arms, 396 
Cartledge, Robert, 213 
Caskyn, Robert, 466 
Caus, family, 112, 113 ; 

Matilda 1, 116, 426 
Cause, Robert, 166 
Cavendish, arms, 103 ; 

family, 347 ; Sir Charles, 

104 ; Sir William, 296 
Chandos, arms, 154, 156 
Charge, John, 174 
Chaworth, amis, 45, 88, 

154, 166, 206 ; family, 9, 



11, 12, 14, 31, 298, 406; 

George, 29 ; Robert, 79 ; 

Thomas, 41 
Chedel, Robert, 246 
Chester, Earls of, 100 
Chesterfield, Richard de, 

161,162,168; Roger, 168 
Clare de, arms, 207 
Clarke, family,_114 
Clay, Captain, 376; Thomas, 

422 

Clayton, Richard, 318 
Clifford, arms, 352 ; family, 

354, 363 ; John, Lord, 

346 ; Henry, 362 ; Walter 

Lord, 306 

Codgrave, Robert, 237 
Cocks, William, 212 
Cokayne arms, 158; family, 

67 ; Thomas, 158 
Coke, D'Ewes, 283; D., 

285 

Colton, arms, John, 158 
ColumbeU, family, 280 ; 

Roger, 185 
Colville, arms, 153, 156 ; 

family, 140 
Comberford, arms, 

Thomas, 158 
Constable, arms,43 ; family, 

52, 55, 56 

Constautia, Lady, 323, 324 
Conyers, Sir John, 226 
Cook, William, 210 
Cooke, arms, 59 ; James, 

60 ; John, 421 
Copley, arms, Elizabeth, 

396 

Cornwall, 200, 379 
Cornwallis, Bishop, 277 
Cotes, J., 9 ; Peter, 441 
Coughlaud, Richard, 213 
Coupe, John, 3'23 
Courtenay, family, 334 
Crich, Cornelius, 410 ; 

Ralph, 410 ; Roger, 407, 

409 ; William, 410 
Croft, Anthony, 216 
Cromwell, arms, 440, 445 ; 

Idonea, 346 ; John, 346 ; 

Oliver, 79, 103, 280 ; 

Ralph, Lord, 416, 439, 

445, 446 

Cropper, George, 237 
Culchath, Otwell, 65 
Culpepper, arms, 396 
Cumberland, George, Earl 

of, 172 
Curzon, family, 449, 450 ; 

John, 165 



D. 

Dakeyue, family, 36 

Daniel, arms, 158 

Daniers, family, 246, 247 

Darcy, arms, 227, 353 ; 
family, 83, 225-8; John, 
354 ; Roger, 224, 228 

Davy, John, 460 

Dayville, John, 152, 171 

Deaue, Mr., 237 



Deincourt, arms, 17, 153, 

159, 206, 273, 277, 351; 

family, 415434, 477 ; 

Francis, 375 ; John, 354 ; 

Ralph, 235, 237, 267 ; 

Walter,23o,273; William, 

235 
Delves, family, 55, 56 ; 

Sir Henry, 67 
Denham, Thomas, 11 
Derby, Eaii of, 52 
Dethick, arms, 34, 353, 407 ; 

family, 38 - 48, 409 ; 

Geoffrey, 406, 462 ; Isa- 
bella, 29 ; Robert, 26, 29 
Devonshire, William, Earl 

of, 245 

Dewes, J., 195 
Dixon, Rev. Fletcher, 350, 

360, 361 

Dobb, John, 429 
Dobbs, George, 285 
Dovecote, Philip de, 261 
Dowcett, Richard, 88 
Dowker, Peter, 170, 429 ; 

Thomas, 137 
Dowman, family, 339 
Draper, Hugo, 166, 167 
Dunham, Sir John, 140, 

148 
Durant, family, 161, 162, 

166, 168 

Durvasal, arms, 396 
Dynham, family, 298 



E. 

Eaton, George, 37 
Edwards, Richard, 296 
Elie, Robert, 169 
Engaiue, Baron, 31 
Eugayne, John, 11 
Essex, Earl of, 36 
Eyre, arms, 114, 154, 339, 

407 ; family, 339, 409 ; 

Anthony, 177 ; Diana, 

209 ; Edward, 230 ; 

Gervaise, 177 ; Philip, 23 ; 

Robert, 22, 23, 172, 329 ; 

Roger, 75, 165 

F. 

Fairfax, Mr., 238 
Fanshawe, arms, 205 ; 

family, 203-205, 209-211 
Farneham, Robert, 229 
Faucouberg, arms, 59 ; 

William de, 52 
Feeld, John, 475 
Feme, John, 315, 316 ; 

Mary, 318 
Ferrers, arms, 33, 42, 43, 

45, 158 ; family, 47, 449 ; 

John, 28, 32; Robert, 

Earl of, 17, 171, 253, 

321, 460; Thomas, 159 ; 

William, 100, 104 
Fitz Herbert, arms.42,L"4, 

158 ; family, 27, 158, 419 ; 

Ralph, 391, 468 ; Thomas, 

421 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 



489 



Fitz Hubert.Ralph, 51 , 2'21, 

321, 527, 378 
Fitz Langley, arms, 153 
Fitz Peter, Geoffrey, 378, 

379 
Fitz Ealph, arras, 357 ; 

Hubert, 321, 324 
Fitz Ranulph, Robert, 3, 

31, 73, 74, 77, 93, -291 
Fitz Stephen, Ralph, 437 
Fitz William, family, 148, 

149; John, 459 
Fitz Urse, Reginald, 74 
Fletcher, Thomas, 137, 138 
Flint. Richard, 360 
Flynt, Oliver, 168 
Foljambe, arms, 114, 226, 

368, 369, 370, 408; family, 

79 ; Chesterfield Church 

fassim, 406, 408 ; James, 
72,419; John, 371, 372 ; 
Henry, 227, 369, 407 ; 
Godfrey, 117, 118, 8fl9, 
371, 372; Mrs., 68; 
Thomas, 283, 407 

Folvile, Sir Roger, 194 

Foolow, Mr., 274 

Forester, Adam, 210 
!, Henry de, 162 

Foulkes, Thomas, li 5 

Fra uuci'is( Fraiiceis Fraun- 
cis), family, 64-66 

Frecheville/arms, 114, 226, 
353, 397 ; family, 47, 59, 
324,34-1-:: .',362, 

363, 392, 398, 399 ; Anker, 
324, 339, 345 ; John, 55, 
216, 253, 370 ; Sir Peter, 
59, 165,217,470; Ralph, 
63, b21 

Freke, Roger, 328 

Frewe, Roger, 325 

Frith, family, 406 

Fredlaye, Laurence de, 283 

Furnival,arms,334 ; family, 
57, 58 ; Thomas de, 78 



G. 

Gardiner, Dr., 230 ; Wil- 
liam, 230 

Garntt, Mr., 361 

Gell, Philip, 235 ; Ralph, 
417 

Gibson, Mr., 351 

Gilbert, Thomas, 299 

Gill, George, 296 ; Leonard, 
297 ; Philip, 297 

Gisborne, Francis, 360, 
361 

Glauville, Ranulph <!<. :>/'.! 

Glapwell, Richard. 88 

Glossop, Francis, 363 

Godeva, 295 

Gomfrey, Richard, 206 ; 
Thomas, '206, 210 

Goualstou, W. de, 384 

Goody, J., 195 

Gosling, Ralph, 46 

Gotham, arms, 35, 159 ; 
family, 34, 297 



Goushill,arms,226 ; family, 
51, 52. 54, 5(5, 227, 261, 
354, 392 
Gren, Christopher, 229, 

230 

Greenhaugh, Roger, 29 
Greenwood, arms, 349 
Grey, arms, 206, 334, 35:5, 
371; family, 283, 331, 
333-336, 347, 371 ; Baron, 
31, 32; Isabella, 354; 
Richard, 374 ; Robert, 
324. 416; Thomas, 226; 
U illiam, 354, 374 
Griffith, John, 236; Mr., 

232 
Grinmesby, Simon de, 470, 

471 

Guy, of Warwick, 137 
Gweut, Richard, 417, 421 

H. 

Hackenthorpe, family, 88 
Hacker, family, 316; John, 

318 

Hackett, Bishop, 213 
Hall, Rev. G., 129; Richard, 

2<>5. 354; William, 326, 
Halley, George, 197 
Hallowe.s, family, 41, 103 ; 

Chaworth. 236 
Halton, J. M., 60 
Hancock, Robert, 212 
Hansard, Gilbert, 152 
Harcourt, family, 312 
Hardinge, Michael, 183 
Hard wick, family, 246. 25::. 

866 
Harestou, Peter de, 371 ; 

Robert de, 367, 371 
Harpur, Sir John, 339 ; 

Richard, 39 
Harrington, Eleanor, 185 ; 

Sir James, 150 
Harrison, James, 300; 

Samuel, 422 
Harvey, John, 132, 400 
Haslam. Christoper, 211, 

474 ; Thomas, 13, 216 
Hassall, arms, 368, 369, 467 ; 

Robert, 369 
Hastings, arms, 227 ; 

Bryan, 370 
Hathersage, family, 54, 

261; Matthew, 51, 121, 

122 

Hatton, John, 442 
Hawks, Sir Robert, 211 
Hawson, John, 186 
Haywood, Hugo, 168 
Heald, W., 386 
Heath, Henry, 317 
Heathcote, Gilbert, 170; 

Godfrey, 27, 135, 170; 

Ralph, 214, 277,326; W., 

163, 168 
Hedderley, Daniel, 248, 

429 ; Thomas, 13, 37 
Heperstall, Bryui 
Herbert, arms, 246, 217 
Heriz, family. 31, 33, 383, 

437. 43,s. 415 



Her.m, Emiline de, 228; 

Walter de, 225 
Herstock, John, 154 
Herrysou, Nicholas, 313 
Hewitt, John, 362; Wil- 
liam, 263 

Hiberuia, John de, 346 
Hill, Archdeacon, 

John, 256; Richard. 
Hillary, arms, 371 ; family, 

367; Robert, 374; Wil- 
liam, 371 

Hilton, Thomas, 170 
Hinchman, Thomas, 277 
Hobbes, Thomas, 2 1 1 
Hobson, Joseph, 111, 217 
Hodkiu, David, 95 
Holland, family, 155 ; Earl 

of Kent, 152; William, 

17", 429 
Holies, Gt L 355, 

357, 359; Sir William, 

BB, 261 

Hopton, family, 315 
Horbury, W. de. Hlf, 
Home, family, 2b9 ; ' 

iielius, 8 

Hortou, John de, 359 
Howard, George, 175 
Huddleston, Miles, 284 
Hudson, John, 180 
Hunloke, Sir Henry, 449, 

456 ; Nicholas, 44'J 
Hunter's MSS., 146, 173, 

180, 197, 222, 223, 230, 

255, 315 

Hyde, Robert, 230 
Hyle, Richard, 442 



I. 

Ingham, William, 212 
Ingram, family, 3, 137, 291 ; 

Hugh, 116, 117 
Inkersell, family, 339 
Inskip, William, 194, 196, 

197 
Ireland, Avice, 79 



J. 

Jebb, Joshua, 176 
Jeffrey, John, 324 
Jessoppe, William, 88, 89 
Jewell, Bishop, 203, 336 

K. 

Kendall, Ann, 441 
Keunett, Bishop, 230 
Keyes, Thomas, 254 
Keynes, family, 31, 32 
Kighley, Henry, 215 
Killinghall, George, 230 
Kiuuersley, Clement. 
Kiuwaldmarsh, W. ., 
Kirkby, Thomas, 226 
Kniveton, arms, 1 ; Henrv, 

159 

Knotting, H.nry do. 460 
Kiiowles, Thomas, 17 



490 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



L. 

Lancaster, Heriry of, 207 
Langham, Robert, 283 
Laugholt, Geoffrey de, 

241, 470 

Langton, Walter de, 384 
Lascelles, Bryan, 339 
Laurence, John, 360, 411 
Leake, Nicholas, 273 
Leas, de la, family, 47, 65 
Leche, ai-ms, 43 ; Francis, 

246 ; George, 29, 33 
Leech, Sir E., 117, 450 
Leeke, arms, 139, 353, 420 ; 
family. 184, 312, 367-372, 
375, 376 ; Sir John, 147, 
354, 420; Sir Francis, 
327, 346, 362, 385; Sir 
Simon, 147 ; Thomas, 
246 

Legh, Roger de, 156, 161 
Leigh, arms, 154, 287; 
Bryan, 284 ; Robert, 284 
Leversage, Agnes, 418, 421 ; 
Lexington, Robert de, 473 ; 

William de, 117 
Lillyman, John, 422 
Linacre, family, 228 ; quire, 
88 ; George, 230, 465 ; 
Hugo, 65, 117, 122 ; Mr., 
68 

Lindley, Samuel, 341 
Lister, arms, 158, 159 ; 

Richard, 158 

Littleton, Bishop, 402 ; 
Constantia, 150 ; Ed- 
ward, 148 

Lodebroke, arms, 408 
Loft, John del, 169 
Longford, arms, 43, 153, 
156, 158, 453 ; family, 51, 
54, 55, 56, 225, 227, 267, 
280, 283, 303, 392, 417, 
419, 453, 464 
Longstaff, William, 161 
Lonsdale, Bishop. 237 
Loudham, arms, 139, 153, 
156 ; family, 176, 405, 409 
Lovell, Francis lord, 21 5 
Lowe, W. de, 166, 169 
Lowes, Francis, 148 
Ludlam, William, 96, 465 
Ludnam, William, 338 
Lyatt, Anthony, 429 
Lynley, Leonard, 465 



M. 

Mader, Humphrey, 463 
Maiuwaring, William, 299 
Manderville, family, 32 
Manham, Simon de, 463 
Manners, Sir John, 339, 

391 ; Sir Roger, 396 
Mansfield, John, 163 
Manvers, Thomas, 247 
Markham, arms, 43 
Marsden, 12, 170 
Marshall, arms, 158; John, 

27, 419 
Mary Queen of Scots, 41 



Maskew, Bridget, 179 ; 

James, 179 
Mason, George, 362 
Maw, Phiueas, 60 
Mears (Bell-founders), 170, 
237, 285, 306, 361, 387, 
429 

Meerynge, Anne, 459 
Meinell, Robert de, 51 
Mellor, Richard, 276 
Mellour, Richard, 104, 340 
Melton, John, 465 
Mennil, Gilbert de, 469, 

194 ; Robert, 392, 469 
Herring, William, 11 
Meverell, George, 229 
Meynell, arms, 227; family, 
41, 392 394; Cicely, 261; 
Hugh, 228; Nicholas, 228 
Millwood, Richard, 429 
Milnes, family, 467 
Milton, John, 244 
Mollynes, arms, 153 
Mompesson, Mr , 218 
Monboucher, arms, 353, 

357 ; family, 354, 358 
Monsell, John, 241 
Montacute, Francis Vis- 
count, 179 

Montague, Earl of Salis- 
bury, 408 

Montfort, arms, 109; Peter 
de, 109 ; Simon, 116, 159, 
324 

Montgomery, Baron, 331 
Moorcock, Henry, 147 
Morcare, 51, 83, 193, 378, 

391 

More, John, 29 
Morewood, Anthony, 8, 12 
Morteyne, arms, 407 
Mortymer, arms, 154 ; 

family, 155 

Morville, Hugh de, 74 
Mower, Arthur, 68, 1 18, 455 ; 
George, 69 ; Richard, 216 
Munniugs, John, 133 
Musard, arms, 59, 88, 357 ; 
family, 346, 362, 392 ; 
Amicia, 358 ; Ascuit, 63, 
261, 345 ; Nicholas, 358, 
363 ; Ralph, 464, 470 
Musters, John de, 226 
Mylner, John, 213 



N. 

Nevile, arms, 139, 153; 

family, 57 ; Isabel!, 59 ; 

Thomas, 140, 148 
Nevill, F., 60 
Neville, John de, 445 
Newbold, Henry de, 65 ; 

Sir Richard, 163, 168 
Newton, arms, 67 ; family, 

224 

Nickspn, Edward, 274 
Nightingale, Mr., 48 
Norman ville, arms, 35, 159 ; 

family, 35, 36 
Novant, Hugo de, 379 



O. 

Offley, Joseph, 299 

Okeover, family, 280 ; 
Philip, 29, 33 

Oldfield, George, 36, 104, 
170, 248, 285, 429 ; Henry, 
95, J95,214, 248; John, 8 

Orele, William, 226 

Orreby, John de, 207 

Ormoud, family, 9 ; Eliza- 
beth, 81, 33; Joan, 11; 
John, 11, 28,298,299,459 

Orston, Helen, Thomas, 
418 

Outram, Edmund, 215 ; 
Richard, 216 



P. 

Pabenham, Lawrence, 11, 

31 

Padley, Joan, 23 
Page, Richard, 13 
Paifriman, Thurstan, 38, 

462 463 

Pallis'on, Richard, 247, 248 
Parker, John, 297, 298; 

Thomas, 297 

Parsons, Robert, 429; Wil- 
liam, 386, 429 
Paveley, arms, 431 
Payne, John, 341 
Peace, Thomas, 326 
Pearse, John, William, 327 
Peckham, John, 311 
Pegge, family, 78; Edward, 

75, 76 

Pegge, Dr. Samuel (MSS.), 
53, 55, 59, 60, 73, 74, 105, 
109, 115, 117, 121, 122, 
123, 14') 148, 151, 157, 
161, 162, 170, 173, 176, 
179, 197, 209, 212, 214, 
215, 217, 242, 252, 273, 
2^4, 327, 335, 336, 349, 
352, 363, 385, 405, 407- 
410, 415, 430, 433, 450 
Pembrugge, arms, 396 
Peiidletou, Jane, 275 
Percy, Joan de, 207 
Peverel, William, 99, 100, 
102, 283, 303, 383, 406, 
437 

Philpot, arms, 227 
Pierpoint, George, 43, 89 
Pierrepont, Francis, Sir 

Henry, 372 

Pilkington, Sir John, 346 
Pinant, Sir John, 363 
Piukiuson, Sir Hugh, 306 
Pipe, family, 39, 60, 392, 
396 ; Humphrey, 52 ; 
Richard, 52, 57 
Plautagenet, arms, 153, 161 
Plesley, Serlo de, 311 
Poer, Ralph le, 283 
Poictou, Roger de, 241, 367 
Pole, arms, 158 ; family, 41, 
51, 407; John, 158; Fran- 
cis, 59 ; Margaret, 56 ; 
Mary, 56 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 



491 



Poste, Peter. 2-1 
Powell, Matthew, 422 
Poyniugs, arms, 334, 335 ; 

family, 335 

Poyntou, Thomas, 100 
Prykke, Robert, 31 
Pryme, Abraham de la, 402 
Pypys, John. 14:-:, itjj 

E. 

Eagg. William, 168 
Rauulph, Earl of Chester, 

99 

Redfearne, Jane, 374 
Kedfiu, Abraham, 36 
Keresby, arms, 3.5, 15 1, 159 ; 
family, 34, 35, 36," 460; 
Adam, 17, 159; John, 23 ; 
Margaret, 17; Thomas. 
17, 34 

Beve, Richard, 444 ; Thom- 
as, 363 

Revel, family, 336339, 
474, 475; Edward. 
George, 283; Hugh. 14, 
280; Robert, 286; Thom- 
as, 418; William, 3^6 
s, Leonia de, 378 
Reynolds, J. (MSB.), 6, 7, 
48, IM. (I* 1 ,. 11.-,. 151, ]60, 
204, 207, 350, 352, 357, 
358, 41' i, 41-2 
Rhoades, Ralph, 304 
Rhodes, W. Hatfield de, 

237 

Richardson, John, 236 
Riddel, family, 33 
Ridge, Jaiie, 28 
Roberts, Robert, 237 
Robinson, Thomas, 100 
Rodes, family, 52, 59, 60 ; 
Gilbert, 56; Judge, 58; 
Francis, 237 

Rolleston, arms, 43 ; family, 
25, 33, 34, 47 ; Francis, 
25; James, 370; John, 
23,24; George, 26; Ro- 
bert, 29 

Rood, Brian, 34 
Roodcs, C'lni-topher, 304 
Roos, arms, 83o; family, 

311 

Rooth, Henry, 129 
Rosamund, Fair, 306 
Rotherham, William, 230 
Rothery, Peter, 36(> 
Roughbotham, Thomas, 47 
Rowbotham, William, 398, 

474, 47.'. 

Rowlandson, John, 393 
Rutland, John, Earl of, 393 
Rychcr, Thomas, 210 
Rydell, Maud, Richard, 

298 

Rye, arms, 395, 396 ; family, 
391, 392, 395, 396 

S. 

Sacheverell, arms, 45, 89 ; 

Henry, 45 
Sales, T., 132 



Salisbury, Richard, Earl 

of, 155. 100, 175 
Salman, W. S.,337 
Sampson, Archbishop, 811; 

Robert, 351, 352 
Sandeford. Bryan, 392 
Savage, arms 

424; family. 241. 

247, 256, 36!)-371, 418-421; 

424, 470, 471, 477; Sir 

John, 215 
Savile, George, 341 
Scarsdale, Nicholas, Earl 

of, 12. 115, 31-2, 376 
Schnobbelie, Jacob, 405, 

406 
Selioke, family, f>2, 297 

I!. Richard, 461 
Shaw, George, 170, 429 
Shawe, Oliver, 115 
Sheffield, family, 283 
Sh.-plry, J., 132 
Slierebroke, Thomas, 385 
Sherley, family, 54 
Shirley, Archdeacon, 237; 

family 4 111 
Shrewsbury, Elizabeth, 

Countess of, i>46, 372; 
1 of, 57, 58, 117, 184, 
313 

Sikes, Robert, 216 
Simpson, John, 235 
Sitwell, family. 224 
Slegge. Edward, 385 
Smeeton, Robert de, 399 
Smith, J. & E., 37 
Smythe, Ralph, 466 
Suape, Robert, 274 
Solney, family, 54, 284 ; Sir 

Alured, 283 
Somersall, family, 117 
Somerset, arms, 246 ; John, 

Earl of, 155 
Sothill, Henry, 55 
Spencer, Hugh de, 324; 

Major, 297 
Spott, Wulfric, 5, 61, 83, 

221. 273, 291, 303, 367, 

37S, 391 

Spray, William, 408 
Stafford, arms, 42 ; family, 

8, 157, 283 ; Sir Thomas, 

54 

Stanhope, family, 52 
Stanley, family, 52; Katha- 
rine, 421; Mr., 217 
Starkey, B., 398 
Stephenson, James, 60 
Stevenson, Edward, 339 ; 

John, 236; Mr., 68; 

Thomas, 236, 429 
St. John, Lord, 358 
Stock, Joseph, 341 
Stockpole, arms, 396 
Stokes, H. de, 241 
Strangeways, arms, 237 ; 

Sir James, 83, 226, 229 
Strelley, family, 78, 440; 

Sir Nicholas, 75, 209, 

254 

Stringfellow, William, 230 
Stuffyn, family, 816, 318; 

John, 3.15 



Stuteville, family, 378 ; 
John de. :>! ; Henry de, 

Styrley, Sir Ai'tlionv, 79 
Swift, Ge<> bert, 

34, 84; William, 21, 84, 

,4, 430, 431, 433 
Swilliugton, arms, 226; 

Robert de, 227. 
Swyverton, Robert, 421 



T. 

Taillo, William, 283 
Talbot, anus, 334 ; Earl of 

Shrewsbury, 331 ; 

Thomas, Lord, 335 
Talleme, Francis, 385 
Tanner, Bishop. 7 1 
Tateshall, arms, 440 ; 

Robert de, 443 
Taylor, John, 214, 387; 
hard, 467 ; Thomas, 

375 
Tempest. arms, 353 ; 

Richard, 354 ; Thomas, 

353, 354 

Terwhit, Troth ea. 149 
Thomaco, William de, 121 
Thornhill, Henry, 312 
Thorpe, William ^ 318 
Tiptoft, John de, 155 
Topham, Anthony, 421 
Toplady, John, 4/v.i 
Toplis, John, 443 ; Mary, 

440 

Torald, Adam, 283 
Touchet, arms, 153, 835 
Towneley, family, 140 
Townend, Robert, 375 
Townsed, W , 216 

. William de, 74 
Trafford, Sir Edward, 159 
Tricket, Mr., 296 
Trigg, Henry, 168 
Trottou, James, 268 
Tue, Thomas, 419 
Turbntt, Gladwin, 280 ; 

Richard, 278 
Turner, John, 12, 13; 

George, 12 ; Thomas, 13*J 
Turville, family, 33; Agnes, 

25 ; John, 25 

Tweutiman, John, 386, 387 
Tynker, John, 87 
Tyrswell, John, 378 
Tyrwhit, Francis, 456 



U. 

Ufegeat, 291 
Ufton, William de, 463 
Ugathorpe, William, 41 
Ulkathorpe, Peter de, 438 
Unwin, Robert, 217 

V. 

Vavasour, family, 399 ; 

Robert le, 400 
Verdon, John, 143, 162 



492 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Vernon, arms, 114, 396 ; 
family, 421 ; Beuedicta, 
140 ; George Venables, 
235; John, 25; Sir Ralph, 
247 

Vincent, family, 67 



W. 

Waddington, Rev. 

Matthew, 116, 450 
Wake, arms, 153, 161; 

family, 406 ; Baldwin, 

142, 152, 154, 171, 177; 

Hugh, 177 ; Margaret, 

142, 154 

Wakefield, Thomas, 357 
Wakks, William, 419 
Walker, T., 69 
Walkinton, arms, 241 
Walton, family, 45 ; Hugh, 

121 ; William, 189 
Ward, family, 228 
Warren, Earl of Surrey, 

207 

Wass, Ralph, 422 
Waterhouse, family, 396 
Waterton, arms, 368 ; 

Robert, 369 

WaterviUe, William de, 31 
Webster, Paul, 169, 170 
Woldon, Baron of, 298 
Wentworth, family, 392, 

399 ; Richard, 279 



Wenwright, Ralph, 421 
Werburgh, St., 94 
Weseham, Roger de, 109 
West, Sir William, 177 
Whalley, Richard, 391 
Wheatcroft, Leonard, 19 
Whit, Sir Robert, 45 
White, Isabella, 373 ; 

Robert, 10, 459 
Whittington, arms, 154 
Whitwell, family, 398 
Whitworth, Sir Myles, 45 ; 

Sir R., 163 
Whyte, John, 464 
Wigfall, family, 224 ; 

Henry, 230 
Wilde, Nicholas, 267 
Wildebore, P., 170 
Wilkesonne, George, 195 
Wilkinson, James, 380 ; 

Thomas, 416 

Williamson, William, 195 
Willoughby, arms, 207, 

279; family, 277, 279, 

280, 311, 312, 430 
Wilmot, Eardley, 284, 285 ; 

Robert, 286 ; Sir R., 278 
Wilson, John, 418; Mar- 
garet, 137 ; Thomas, 249 
Winfield, family, 33, 34 
Wingfield, Anthony, 51 ; 

Richard, 246 
Wirkson, Edmund, 275 
Witherington, family, 333 
Withers, H., 170 



Wolfeudale, John, 411 
Wolley, MSS., passim 
Wolstenholme, James, 216 
Wood, John, 170 
Woodhouse, family, 102 ; 

Robert de, 346 
Woodstock, Edmund of, 

142 

Woodville, arms, 244 
Woodward, John, 151 
Worsley, William, 162 
Wortley, arms, 355 ; 

Francis, 87 ; Matilda, 

356 

Wrenne, Thomas, 385 
Wright, John, 264 ; 

Thomas, 235 
Wyne, le, family, 283 
Wyngerworth, Roger de, 

38,47 
Wyrley, William, MSS., 

45, 79, 89, 152, 160, 226, 

298, 420, 432 
Wyverton, Sir Richard, 378 



Y. 

York, Richard, Duke of, 
155 

Z. 

Zouch, arms, 298 ; family, 
32, 298 ; John, 12. 



IXDKX OF PLACES. 



A. 

Acre, 37'.) 

Adlington, 281, 287 
Agincourt, '2(i 
Alfreton, 3-14, 31, 43, 60, 

73, 74, 79, 291, 385, 459, 

460 

Allestree, 65 
Alsebrok, 463 
Alvaston, 399 
Aquila, 43 
Ardfert, 109 
Ashbourne, 67, 156, 158, 

279, 370 

Ashford, 21, :><)2 
Asbover, 17-48, 159, 1(12, 

299, 410, 449, 460, 401 
Ashton, 227 
Astwith, 241 
Attercliff, 297 



B. 

Babington Housi . U 
Bakewell, 4, 198, 210, 314 
Barlborough, 14, 61-60, 83, 

22-2, 225, 316, 354, 391, 

3<J2, 396, 464 
Barley, _'( >:, 
Barlow, 63-69, 118, 209, 217, 

455 

Barrow, 183 
Barton, 300 
Basing, 358 
Baslow, 13, 60 
Bateley,^268 
Beauchamp, 73 
Beauchief Abbey, 3, 12, 31, 

7:5-80, 178, 201, 202, 210- 

213, 241, 291, 295, 299, 

362, 460, 464 
Beaumont, 73 
Beaurepaire (Belper), 73 
Beeley, 170, 333 
Beighton, 83-89, 221, 464, 

465 

Belph, 394 
Belvoir, 393 
Beresford, 369 
Bingbam, 353 
Birchett, 297 
Blackwell, 93-96, 385, 465 
Bobenhill, 339 
Bole Hill, >-) 



Bolsover, 99-105, 213, 325, 

466 

Bonsall, 13, 60, 463 
Bosworth, 383-385 
Boulogne, 247, 421 
Boythorpe. 121, 154, 178 
Brackeufield, 297 
Bradbourne, 26, 354 
Bradley, 159, 449 
Brad way, 209 
Urailsford, 201, 449 
Bramptoii, 109118, 178, 

2-2K, 409, 415, 426, 449, 466 
Braytbwell, 67 
rm udsall, 41, 291 
Bridgeford. ilii 
Brimingtou, 121, 150, 154, 

1.-.7, 176, 177, 178, 316, 

339, 357 
Burton, 147 
Burton Abbey, 3, 51, 83, 

193, 221. 273, 291, 303, 

367, 378, 391 



C. 

Caerleon, 311 
Calton, 152 
Carcolston, 430 
Carlingthwaite, 283, 337 
Cartledge, 216 
Catfoss. 52, 55 
CausbaU, 112 
Cawthorne, 264 
Chaddesden, 275 
Cbatsworth, 29, 152, 246 
Cbedel, 246 
Chellaston, 269, 34'! 
Chebnorton, 263 
Cbesterfield, 36, 59, 109, 

115-117, 121189, 195, 

jnl. 237, 316, 352, 369, 

399, 406, 467, 468 
Chevet, 354 
Cbilwell. 55, 283, 303 
Clay Lane, l\r, 
Clifton, 246, 42i > 
Clown, 51, 83, 193-198, 237, 

469 

Cockstye, 324 
Codnor, 12, 333, 335, 371 
Colley, 147, 210 
Comberford, 158 
Cosgrave, 430 



Cowdray, 179 

i'l, ITS, 237 
Crich, 47, 128, 162, '204, 227, 

345, 358, 414 

Croxton, 20!l, 2)3, 254. 17:5 
Cuttborpe, 1 1.1 



D. 

Dalby, 43 

Darfield, 74, 361, 3U-2 

Darley Abbey, 74, 99, 100, 

105, 299, 321, 3'22, :-52i>, 

827, 338, 437, i:;s 411. 

445, 460, 406, 473, 474 
Darley Dale 110 
Darley Hall, 185 
Deiiby, 60, 357 
Derby, 41, 4'2, 55, 68, 15), 

253, 254,381,460 
Derby, Convent of, 295 
Detbick, 26, 38-46, 158, 

461-463 
Dol, 311 
Doncaster, 83 
Dorcbester. 347 
Dore, 79, 211, 218, 375 
Drayton, 31 
Dronfield, 60, 111, 2ol - 

218, 275, 336, 354, 449, 

469 
Dronfield Woodhouse, 68, 

20.3, 210 
Dublin, 312 
Duckmauton, 83, 178, '22. r , 

374, 378-380, 385 
Duddiugton, 67 
Duffleld, 171, 361 
Dunmoor Heatb, 137 
Dunston, 156 



B. 

East Ham, 400 

Eastwood Old Hall, 34 
-ball, 384 

Eckingtou, 51, 60, 83. 89, 
121, 161, 178, 1 
221231. 202. 354. 3'.f2, 
}<;'.. 470 

Ecle, 43 

Edensor, 33 

!t.m. 3, 73, 291 



494 



DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES. 



Egston. 137, 338 

Elmton. 56, 235-237, 267, 

415, 470 
Eresby, -213 
Etwall, Io8, 380 
Eyam, 218 

F. 

Fanshawe Gate, 205, 209 
Felley, 38, 383, 462, 463 
Fenny Beutley, 160, 370 
Fliutham, 430 
Ford, 415 
Foremark, 65 
Freshmarsh, 55 



G. 

Gainsborough, 137 
Gerendon, 253 
Glapwell, 103, 105, 253 
Gotham, 367 
Grafton, 42 
Greeiihill, 12 

H. 

Hackenthorpe, 88 

Haddon, 114 

Halifax, 396 

Halla-m, West, 180 

Hamlacke, 393 

Hampstall, 158 

Hanley, 415 

Hardstaff, 241 

Hardwick, 246, 256 

Harriugworth, 293 

Hartington, 113 

Haselbarrow, 297 

Hassell, 370 

Hassop, 209 

Hault Hucknall, 29, lOi, 
141-249, 253, 255, 258, 
370, 385, 420, 470-472 

Heage, 41 

Heanor, 331 

Heath, 241, 253-258, 473 

Henmore, 415 

Hickling, 28 

Higharn, 337, 339 

Hilton, 228, 311 

Hinblesham, 28 

Hognastou, 243 

Holme Hall, 156 

Holmes, 216 

Holmesfield, 206, 215-218, 
362, 415 

Honeycroft, 323 

Hope, 36, 339 

Hopton, 209, 315, 316 

Horsley, 216 

Hough, 26, 158, 279 

Houghton, 268 

I. 

Ilford, 209 
nkeston, 425 
Indies, West, 172 
Ingleby, 65 
Inkersall, 352 



K. 

Kedleston, 113, 377, 449 
Kettleby, 45(3 
Killamarsh, 51, 55, 56, 227, 

201-264, 361 
Kilpeck, 400 
Kingston, 32, 42, 43 
Kiuoltou, 43 
Kirk Ireton, 395 
Kniveton, 275, 449 
Kuowles, 216 



L. 

Langwith, 267-270, 415, 473 

Lea, 33, 43, 47, 48, 463 

Leak, 367 

Leachurch, 41 

Leeds, -294 

Lees (Norton), 294, 297 

Leicester, 361 

Leke, 43 

Lenton, Priory of, 99, 418 

Lichfleld, 161, 373, 384, 

385 

Linacre, 167, 228 
Liubery, 445, 446 
Lincoln, 109 
Lings, 180 
Loades, 116 
London Bridge, 133 
Loughborough, 214, 387 
Lowne, 253, 254 
Lyndeby, 143 



M 

Macclesfield, 371 
Mackworth, 444 
Malta, 43, 182 
Markeaton, 335 
Marnham, 74 
Marston-on-Dove, 311 
Marston Moor, 178 
Matlock, 162 
Melbourne, 222, 400 
Mercaston, 449 
Milnhouse, 268 
Moorhall, 118, 185, 186 
Monyash, 324, 332 
Morleston, 83 
Morley, 45, 291 
Morton, 273-280, 291, 303, 

415, 416, 417 
Mossborough, 83, 226 
Mountgrace, Priory of, 83 
Muggiutou, 275 
Musselborough, 347, 356, 

359 
Mynyw, 311 



N. 

Newbold, 59, 121, 162, 176, 
178-181, 184, *21, 405 

Newcastle, 373 

Newhall, 41 

Newstead, Priory of, 241, 
248, 324, 473 



Newton Solney, 55, 283 
Norbury, 276, 157, 153, 159, 

419 
Normanton, South, 93, 

283-287, 303, 337, 387, 

439 
Normanton, Temple, 182- 

187, 376, 469 
Norton, 3, 12, 31, 73, 74, 

79, '208, 218, 222, 291-300, 

473 

Northampton, 324 
Northwells, 339 
Nottingham, 214, 269, 276, 

285, 340 



O. 

Oakerthorpe, 437, 438 

Ogstou, 273, 277, '278, "291, 

. 337,339,415 

Okeover, 29 

Osmaston, 286 

Osney, 461 

Otley, 341 

Owlcote (Oldcote), 372 



P. 

Padley, 156 

Palterton, 268, 321, 327, 174 

Park Hall, 69, 416, 43-2, 477 

Park Hall, Deuby, 357 

Parwic-h. 243 

Peak Castle, 159 

Peutrich, 437, 466 

Petit Quevilly, 400 

Peynstonhirst, 463 

Pilsley, 415, 416 

Piuxton. 93, 283, 303-307 

Pisa, 130 

Pleasley, 156, 268, 269, 279, 

305, 311-318, 385 
Plurnley, 230 
Pocknage, 116 
Pontefract, 312 



R. 

Radbourne, 158 
Radcliffe, 333 
Radcliffe-on-Soar, 26, 32 
Repinghall, 32 
Repton, 69, 428 
Rhodes, 43 
Biddings, 14 
Ripley, 437 
Ripou, 312 
Risley, 277. 279 
Rolleston Holt, 140 
Rotherham, 36. 84 
Rotherfield, 335, 416 
Rothley. 4M 
Rowsley, 2<>i 
Rowthorn, 29, "241, 242, '253, 

256, 268, 473 
Rowton, 158 
Rouen, 400 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



495 



s. 

Sandiacre, 202, 253, 267, 

271, 375 
Scarcliffe, 268, 321-327, 332, 

340, 384, 466, 474 
Senor, 249, 431 
Sherwood, 173 
Sheyle, 283 
Shipbrook, 247 
Shirebrook, 315-318 
Sliirlan(l, 14, 2M3, 271, 275, 

280,326, 331-341,474,475 
Snodeswic, 303 
Somercotes, 143 
Somersall, 115 
Soutbill, 396 
Spiukliill, -2<;-2 
St. Neots, 360, 361 
St. Tbomas' Hospital, 385 
Stiiinsby, 241, 246, 247,256, 

370, 420 
Staveley, 26, 55, 63, 88, 122, 

180, 208, 216, 217, 227, 

230, 324, 339, 345364, 

370, 391,392, 4'29, 475 
Staveley Hall, 349, 356, 

364 
Staveley Woodthorpe, 62, 

353, 392 
Steetley, 393, 399402, 475, 

471) 

Stockesley, 47 
Stoke, 215 

Stoney Houghton, 315, 415 
Stretton, 291,333, 415 
Stubley, 210 
Stuffyn, 318 
Sudbury, 93 
Button Coldfield, 374 
Sutton-in-the-Dale, 115, 

160, 183, 241, 247, 273, 

317380, 385, 421 
Swanwick, 12, 459 
Swarkestone, 29, 59 



T. 

Taddington, 95 
Tamworth, 28 
Tapton, 121, 178, 139 
Tatteshall, 439, 443 
Temple Normanton, 182 

187 

Temph- Rothlcy, 29 
Teversall, 29, 33 
Thathwayt, 338. 474 
Theddlethorpe, 83 
Thorpe, 33'2 
Thriberg, 34 
Throwley, '29 
Thurgarton, Prioi-y of, 93, 

161, 235-237, '268, 415, 

416,423,431,465,470,473 
Thurleston, 430 
Tibshelf, 2-27, 253, 383 

387 

Tissington, 243, 322 
Totley. 79, 218 
Trowell, 316, 318 
Trussebut, 93 
Tuxford. 4-J I 

U. 

Unston, 201, 202, 208 
Upton, 27, 158, 339 

W. 

Wadshelf, 116, 178, 415 
Wakebridge, 51 
Wakefleld, 67 
Walesho, 83 
Walkiiigton, 246 
Wallsteeds, 216 
Walton, 28, 114, 140, 141, 

146, 156, 167, 188, 189, 

352, 368, 369 
Ware, 209 
Warsop Wood, 311 



Wanvk-k Castle, 137 
Wilmington, 415 
istrary, 2!) 
Welberk, 7 1, 128, 378-380, 

o'.l-2, 393, 394, 400, 416 

418 

-Weldon, 31 
Weoby. 
Whitehall, 393 

Ladies, 385 

Whittingtou, 41, 63, 121, 
, i:,\. 1.-.7, 177, 178, 

253, 263, 363, 405411, 

4i] 1 
Wliitwell, 51, 53, 60, 83, 

Idl, 225, 391397 

v, 116,178 
Wifiiamleld, 463 
Williamthorpe, 415, 416 
\Vimes\voM. :l, 7H, 291 

or, 171 
Winfield, North, 113, 137, 

157, 178, 180, 185, 195, 

243, 249, 256, 273, 274, 

275, 322, 337, 338, 353, 

370, 373, 376, 415- -434, 

454, 468, 477 
Winfield, South, 21, 47, 

227, 437444, 477 
Wingerworth, 109, 111, 201, 

264, 449-456 
Wirksworth, 156, 316, 318, 

349 

Wiverton, 29, 31 
Wolley, 278 

Woodseats, 12, 65, 69, 216 
Worksop, 57, 58, 78, 399 
Wynefield, 321 



Y. 

Teaveley, 183 
Yelvertoft, 29 
Youlgreave, 292 



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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 

Los Angeles 
3k is DUE on the last date stamped below. 




Form L9-50m-ll,'50 (2554)444 




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SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRAE I 



A 000 373 830 9