The Old Halls, Manors and Families of Derbyshire

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THE

OLD HALLS, MANORS,

AND

FAMILIES

OF

DERBYSHIRE.

BY J. T.

VOLUME I.

THE HIGH PEAK HUNDRED.

LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, & CO., LTD.
BUXl^ON: C. K. WARDLEY, Higk Peak Ncivs and Advertiser Offices.
DERBY: FRANK MURRAY, Moray House.

MDCCCXCII.

11

jSru '^2z'l. ;.X

^

(_ 2. •'I 'fi^-^A

r

TO

CECIL GEORGE SAVILE FOLJAMBE, ESQUIRE, M.P., F.R.S..

AS
A REPRESENTATIVE OF ONE OF THE OLDEST OF THE PEAK FAMILIES,

AND OF
A FAMOUS LINE OF MEN WHOSE DIGNITY IS RECORDED ON OUR NATIONAL ROLLS,

AND

WHOSE MUNIFICENCE HAS ENTRY ON THE RECORDS OF OUR CHAPELRIES,

THIS VOLUME IS WITH DEEP RESPECT DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

|OR£ than two hundred years ago old Philip Kynder — a scion of the Peak family who built
Hayiield Church in the reign of Richard 11. — wrote his quaint HUtory of Derbyshire. He
speaks of the county as *' The amphitheatre of renowned persons. The glorious Cavendish of
ye illustrious family of ye Cavendishes who gave the World a girdle in two Solar revolutions.
Anthonie Fitz Herbert of ye familie of Norbury, who gave life and law unto ye common lawcs of England
and in comparison putt ye Codes and Digests into a bagg. Bradford ye crowned martyr yt cutt ye triple
crowne and rent ye Roman pale asunder. Ripley of Ripley an other Hermes in his twelve gates
concerning ye Philosophers stone ; he suffered death for making a Peare tree to fructifie in winter. Mr.
Sentlo Clyfton of ye familie of Bradley, a renowned Antiquarie who left many MSS. But alas ! we must
command them^ like many of Tully's orations w'th this unhappie Elogie Reliqua denderantum. They are
all wanting and much desired, none extant."

The careers of these " renowned persons " have suffered more from the compilers than the strata or
flora or fauna of the county. To get anything like a glimpse of the careers of the ** renowned persons "
of the Peak Hundred alone, there is no exaggeration in saying that hundreds of volumes and many
thousands of pages have to be waded through. No county has been so sadly fleeced of its honors as
Derbyshire. Men whose homesteads are yet standing, whose memorabilia are so much of the nation's
history, have had the orthography of their names altered to make them Frenchmen,* or are said to be
natives of Lancashire, Cheshire, or Notts. And yet, forsooth, such reprehensible inaccuracy has been
recapitulated again and again without exciting indignation or comment.

We purpose, therefore, to set down something of the domestic lives of these men, of their
memorabilia, and of the buildings they inhabited, and made famous by their chivalry and statesmanship,
their genius and acumen. The pathetic interest of these buildings lies in their reception-rooms having
been converted into sculleries, their drawing-rooms into dairies, their private chapels into cowsheds.

There are other associations. At Snitterton Manor House dwelt the man who chose to be
disinherited, and his heirs, for ever, rather than break with the woman he loved ; at Ford Hall lived one
of those two thousand clergymen who were expelled their livings on black St. Bartholomew's Day of
1 662 ; at Newton Grange lived the gentleman who saddled sixteen horses for the wars of Henry VI., and
filled each saddle with a son of his loins : Their mother {n&e Agnes Haswell) must have known the
swell of a maternal heart at the mount. At Hopton Hall lived that Roundhead so memorable in the
Civil W-ars ; at Hartle Hall lived one of the warriors who fought against Hotspur and Douglas on the
field of Shrewsbury ; to Holme Hall came courting the brother of the regicide Bradshawe.

These homesteads, as simply relics of past ages, would be of great interest ; but we would enhance
this interest ; we wish to resuscitate facts incrusted with centuries of forgetfulness ; we wish to glance at
the exploits of those men who dwelt beneath their roofs ; at the quaint conditions on which some of
them held their estates; the singular tenures of the lands, whether for holding the towel when
Royalty washed its hands, the yearly production of a rose, or the annual payment of threepence. We wish,
also, to glance at the ladies whom these men brought home as their brides, and at those cruel feudal.

* KM^ardcteon^'WhUahoDgh.''

• • •

m

X OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

laws of wardship which respected not the throes of a human heart, but treated a lady as a chattel for
disposal.

A vast debt of gratitude is undoubtedly due to dear old Lysons for the many facts he extracted from
the Rolls of the Country which relate to the old Peak families ; but these facts are so meagre, taken
individually, that they only create a desire to know more or to have known nothing. Since Lysons wrote,
there have been the researches of the Camden Society and the affiliated Societies — Surtees, Harleian,
Chetham, Index — which have brought to light many a gem of intelligence long buried in dismal lumber
rooms.

We purpose to deal with the ancient homesteads located along the route from Buxton to Ashbourne;
from Darley Dale to Glossop Valley ; we desire to jot down some of the vicissitudes of the old families,
and we believe that some of our facts will present a novel appearance, and, from their startling character>
have a relish, whether to the student or general reader. We purpose to sketch these old edifices ; to give
the arms of the families, together with particulars gathered from various Visitations of the Heralds, and
from private sources.

Several gentlemen — living representatives of the old families — have courteously allowed the writer to
peruse private documents, which will enable him to make these particulars a record of those alliances
M'herein there was a touch of human affection.

We purpose to dig out, if possible, every Baron of the Exchequer, Knight of the Garter, Bishop,
Admiral, Lord Mayor, Peer, or Poet, whose home was by the Derwent, Wye, Dove, Lathkill, Goyt, Sett,
Etherow, and Kinder. Were there not any Peakrells among the Crusaders led by Coeur de Lion, or
among the forces of De Montford when he struck at the despotism of the Throne ? Were there not
certain Derbyshire lads in those famous Parliaments of the Piantagenets ? Certainly forsooth ; and what
is curious, the Knights of the Shire during this reign were invariably a Foljambe whose home was at
Wormhill, and a Cokayne whose hearth was at Ashbourne. Among that celebrated Assembly at
Clarendon, in 1164, in which Henry II. made Thomas a Beckett eat humble pie, and swear inwardly,
were there no men whose dwellings were somewhere along the Wye ? Yes ; but such . facts have
apparently been of little consequence.

There have been thirty-five Baronial houses holding lordships in the Peak since the Conquest, and
how few of us know anything of that old baronage which, prior to 1485, meant equality with the King, a
baronage gained by chivalry and militar}' prowess. The aristocracy, which arose with the Tudors,
consisted of subservient creatures of the Throne, greedy of gain, covetous even to infamy. Then, again,
the first Baron ever created by letters patent was a Derbyshire landlord. * Chivalry and the old nobility
came in with William, the Norman, and fell with Warwick at the battle of Barnet ; but we have among
us still some descendants of the old Peak gentry who were located around Buxton before the General
Survey of 1086. There was a Bagshawe, of Bowden Edge, prior to the Conquest ; there is a Bagshawe
there now. True, many families are gone, leaving no trace ; therein will lie the pathos of our facts, yet
there are other facts to which we refer with pride. There was a Foljambe at Wormhill seven hundred
years ago ; there is a Foljambe, and a lineal descendant, on the Rolls of Parliament of 1892. There was
a Cotterell, of Priestcliffe, in the thirteenth century, whose representative (paternally not maternally) is
still among the gentlemen of England. There was Nicholas Eyre, of Hope Valley, when Henry III. was
covenanting marriage with four women at once, and breaking with them for a fifth ; and so well has the
issue of Old Nicholas obeyed the Scriptural command to increase and multiply, that we have known his
descendants in every rank of society from an Earl to a fishmonger. There was a Longsdon, of Little
Longstone, while the first division of the first crusade was being led by Walter the Penniless ; and the
late rector of Eyam, now resident in Bakewell, is in a straight line from so remote a founder. There was
a Vernon, of Haddon, before the Magna Charta had been thought of, and close by the banks of the Dove
is the residence of his living representative.

^ * Sir John Beanchamp.

INTRODUCTION. xi

We intend to give the shields of the old families with their quarterings (whether four or forty), thus
forming a General Armoury for North Derbyshire ; there are curious episodes attached to some of these
quarterings.

We shall glance incidentally at those monasteries — Augustinian, Cistercian, Pramonstratensian —
which benefitted by the possession of Peak lands ; at the old forest, the forest laws and officials. We
shall snatch a look at some of those arbitrary, though quaint, statutes which directly applied to Derbyshire ;
as in the reign of Richard II. if a labourer was starving for bread and could get work out of his own
parish he was not allowed to do so ; yet the Peakrell was exempt from this barbarous edict.

From other sources we shall gather some information of the industries of the middle ages. We
intend to direct attention to those Rolls of the Country so valuable to the historical student, so interesting
in their perusal, but which unfortunately are only referred to by the curious. With the aid of the Heralds*
Visitations of various other counties, and the Harleian Society's publications, we shall endeavour to track
the footsteps of those Derbyshire lads who left the Derwent and Wye behind them in the days of
Elizabeth, and founded fresh branches of their houses by the Thames, Tamar, and Humber. Neither
shall we forget those famous cavaliers who fought so valiantly ; nor those Puritan clergymen who forfeited
their benefices for conscience sake. We shall strive to state our facts clearly but tersely, that those who
run may read them, yet shall they lose none of their interest to the student.

No person, excepting a student of Derbyshire History, can imagine for a moment the great difficulty
in acquiring any particulars of the old Peak families. The sources where we should expect to find
information, either ignore them, or confuse them with families of the same name of other counties, or
speak of them so incidentally that it amounts to absurdity. The most splendid attempt at a National
Biography ever pursued is the voluminous work commenced by Leslie Stephen, and which has now
reached the twenty-fifth volume, yet our old house of Foljambe has no mention. Again, the places where
facts are met with often exceed credibility. We pick them up in works which relate to other counties, as
Leicester, Northumberland, Essex ; in the registers of remote country villages, or on the documents of
city Corporations. Our attempt to bring various facts together which relate to the Peak families may be
criticised as being patchy. But given enough patches, which other students as earnest as ourselves may
eventually collect, and then the labour of stitching and designing them into a work of worth, importance,
and art, may be undertaken by a more skilful hand than ours. We simply claim credit for the collection
of the first batch of patches. J. T.

March, 1892.

®ije 9t0ij ^sak gunbrr^br^

IV

O'a

CONTENTS.

BAKEWELL, Parish of
Haddon Hall
Bakewell Hall
Hartle Hall
Holme Hall
The Greaves, Beeley
Ashford Rookery and Little Longstone Manor House
Fynney Cottage and Flagg Hall
Bubnell Hall
Hassop Hall

Longstone, Beeley, and Darley Halls
Buxton Hall

CASTLETON, Parish of
Peveril Castle

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH, Parish of
Ford Hall

Whitehough and Bradshaw Halls
The Ridge, Marsh, and Slack Halls

DARLEY, Parish of
Cowley Hall
Snitterton Manor House
Snitterton Hall

EDENSOR, Parish of

Chatsworth House . .

EYAM, Parish of
Bradshaw Hall
Leam, Foolow, and Eyam Halls . .

GLOSSOP, Parish of
Mellor Hall
OUerset Hall
Long Lee, Beard, and Simmondley

HATHERSAGE, Parish of
North Lees Hall
Stony Middleton Hall
Padley Hall
Derwent Hall

Page.

S

9

«7

23
29

35
41
47
54
59
63

69

77
85
93

lOI

109
>i5

123

'43

15'

'57
163

'7'

'77
183
190

XVI

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

HOPE, Parish of
Highlow Hall
Stoke Hall

Aston, Shallcross, and Offerton . .
Hazelbadge Hall

TIDESWELL, Parish of
Woraihill Hall
Wheston Hall

YOULGREAVE, Parish of

Stanton Old Hall, The Bowers, and Stanton Woodhouse
Winster Hall and Middleton Castle

APPENDIX.

Principal Families

Manors

Lords of the Manor . .

Manors and Their Tenure

Castellans of Peak Castle

High Peak Dignities . .

Armoury . .

Heraldic Quarterings

Heralds' Visitations . .

Knights of the Shire . .

Sheriffs

INDEX

Page.

203
209

215

225
23>

241

247

«55
255
256
258
260
265
266
272

274

275
277

281

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•

HADDON HALL.

gabWn Sail.

VFIRY famous family of England has its romance, and the history of the House of Vernon is a
series of romances. In the thirteenth century there was a Ralph Vernon, Rector of Hanwell,
|| and Baron of Shipbroke,* who quietly set aside his vow of celibacy and made a match of it with
Cecilia Crew (Lysons says there was no marriage certificate), and became the father of- a son,
who has given to the pedigree of the Shipbroke branch of his race that air of mystery and delicacy usually
spoken of with incredulity and whisper. This son inherited the possessions of his father, and lived for
one hundred and fifty years — all authorities so allow,! which is only the curious part of the business.
They allow, too, that he espoused Mary Dacre, and had legitimate issue ; but it appears there was a buxom
widow (Maud Grosvenor) by whom he also had issue, and this issue, on the death of the grandson of this
venerable Baron, came in for the Barony, for there was a law suit by which they contested it and got it,
for the legitimate line was adjudged Haslington. We will have a gossip of these matters perchance under
Hazlebadge.

Many sweet tints of an exquisite little romance have obscured the memorabilia of Haddon Hall and
prevented them being known ; but a knowledge of them only tends to invest its precincts with still greater
interest, and lends an additional beauty to her whose love has hallowed its threshold. We will glance at a
few of them.

It was from the portals of this splendid old baronial residence that the Vernons, of Sudbury, Tong,
Stokesay, and Hodnet went forth. We have before us the shield of this illustrious family, with its
hundred quarterings, in which we recognise those of twenty-three Baronies, twenty-three Earldoms, one
Dukedom, and one of Princely distinction. Their vast estates came to them by alliance with the heiresses
of the Avenells, Camviles, Stackpoles, Pembruges, and Swynfens. We would correct an error made by
many very learned authorities that Sir William Vernon, in the reign of Henry VI., married Margaret Pipe ;
this lady was Margaret Swynfen, heiress of the Pipes. Both Lysons and Burke are ver>' clear on this fact,
though we believe it tripped the celebrated Dugdale.

Was it not in keeping with the traditions of both their houses that the affection of Dorothy Vernon
and John Manners should be given to one another } The splendour of the House of Manners rose from
heiresses even theij. Eleanor Roos had brought them the Baronies of Vaux, Trusbut, and Bel voir, with
its glorious Castle, together with a coronet. Anne St. Leger (niece of Edward IV.) gave them
relationship with the Plantagenets ; Royal augmentation to shield, afterwards enhanced by an Earldom ;
and so Dorothy piled on her Derbyshire estates, and her womanly heart. How the Earldom of Rutland
devolved upon their grandson was an incident which partakes of the marvellous. He became heir-
apparent when there was scarcely the remotest prospect of such an event. Briefly instanced the facts are
these: — In the year 1613, the two sons of the sixth Earl mysteriously died, leaving him childless. The
doctors could assign no reason, but it was ultimately discovered (so say certain State papers) that the boys
had met their death from witchcraft. How Margaret and Philippa Flowers confessed their guilt and were
hanged at Lincoln ; how their mother said if she was guilty she hoped she might die, and immediately
fell dead ; and how King James and the Parliament of England were so satisfied of these women's crime

* Woodnoth's " Collections," and Lysons' *' Cheshire."

f Vide " Baronagium," Vol. V., p. 493 ; Lysons' " Cheshire," p. 648.

6 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

that they passed the memorable statute against such occult practices, is to be found in our law books.*
Among the committee of the Lords who framed this most superstitious of statutes were twelve bishops,
and among the members of the Commons who passed it were Sir Francis Bacon and Sir John Coke.
There is another incident of the House of Manners, told by old Leland, which is as incredible, but which
will serve to illustrate the fact that this patrician house has a pedigree back to the old Earls of Mercia,
who were petty sovereigns before England was a kingdom or Normandy a dukedom. Alfred the Third
(of Mercia) being on a visit to the castle of D'AIbini (which stood, we believe, on the site of Belvoir),
appeared so enamoured of his three daughters as to excite a suspicion in their father that he had
entertained designs against the virtue of one of them, though he was at a loss to discover which.
However, he one morning entered the apartment of the King, leading his eldest daughter naked with one
hand and holding a drawn sword in the other ; he was followed by his wife, leading the second daughter,
and his son the third, both in like manner naked. And D'Albini, having informed the King of his
apprehensions, required him immediately to declare if they were well founded, in which case he was
determined to put them all to death before his face. But if, on the contrary, his intentions were
honourable, he required him to make choice of one of them for his wife. The King was so affected with
the solemnity of this expostulation, that, determining to quiet the apprehensions of D'Albini, he
immediately declared his resolution to make the second daughter his Queen. f

Edmund Lodge, the Norroy King at Anns, dug out from the Talbot Papers several letters of great
interest relating to Derbyshire history, one of which we will transcribe, as it is signed by Roger Manners,
the brother of Dorothy's John, and states the fact that one of the ladies of this illustrious family ran away
with the gentlemen she was fond of, to the great displeasure of Queen Elizabeth. The letter is dated
20th September, 1594: —

"I most humbly thank your Lordship and my Lady for this fat stag, which is very well baked; but that the pasties be so great that
I have no dish that will hold them. Mr. Bucknall thanketh your Lordship for the stag's head, which he is contented shall be placed on
his head whensoever he doth marry; in the meantime he will place it, not in the stables, but upon the entry of his house instead of a
porter, and so he saith it shall be a monument.

"Touching the matter of my Lady Bridget's marriage. Her Majesty taketh it for a great offence, and so as I hear, she mindeth to
punish, according to her pleasure fiat. I am now not so discontented that my credit is no greater with the Countess (of Bedford), unless
her Ladyship would be advised ; she hath almost marred a good cause with evil handling, and truly she never vouchsafed to send to me in
that cause, nor once to speak to me thereof when I was last with her Ladyship, so as I am ignorant of what course she holdeth therein;
and yet my Lady Bridget, in her journey to my Lady of Bedford's, did vouchsafe to take a lodging in this poor cottage, where she was to
roe very welcome, and when it shall please them to command me I shall be ready to do them service. I thank your Lordship for your
Irish news. I am so long a countryman as I am clean forgotten in Court, and seldom hear hence, wherewith I am nothing displeased, and
yet about a fortnight hence I mean to go towards London, and to go by my Lady of Bedford's to see my Lady Bridget. Thus recommending
my duty to your Lordship and my honourable good Lady, I wish to both all honour and contentation."

The beauty of Dorothy Vernon's love comes out splendidly when compared with the spurious fidelity
of a lady who was mistress of Haddon exactly a century later. She was Anne Pierpont, daughter of the
Marquis of Dorchester and wife of John Manners, ninth Earl of Rutland. Her children were pronounced
by an Act of Parliament bearing date 8th February, 1667, to be illegitimate. Three years later there was
another Act passed which allowed the Earl to marry again. How memorable this last Act was can only
be thoroughly realised by the historical student, for the Canon Law of the Church prohibited a divorced
man the solace of a second union, and this setting aside the Canon Law by legislation was only the
second instance in the history of the nation.

The earliest document relating to Haddon is one written in the reign of Richard L, and signed by
his brother John, which gave authority to Richard Vernon to fortify his house with a wall, a portion of
which is still to be seen. This was almost seven centuries ago, and immediately after the death of Sir
William Avenell, whose daughter and co-heiress, Avicia, Vernon had espoused. Her sister Elizabeth
married Ralph Basset, feudal Lord of Sapcote. History is silent about the Avenells, excepting their
bequests to the Church. They gave One Ash to Roche Abbey and Conksbury to the Monks at Leicester.
They were probably mesne tenants under the Peverells, and afterwards tenants in chief of the Crown. The

*« State Trials," and Nichol's ** History of Leicestershire."
+ " Itinerary," Vol. VIIL, p. 70 b.

SoMBRSBT : Prick not your finger as you pluck it off,

Lest bleeding, you do paint the white rose red,
And fiall on my side against your will.
VbkMom : If I, my Lord, far my opinion bleed.
Opinion shall be surgeon to my hurt.
And keep me on the side where still I am.

^i Henry VL, Act ii., Scene 4.

WADDON HALI.., 7

Vernons were Lords of Vemon in Normandy before the Conquest, and after the victory of .Hastings they
were made Barons of Shipbroke,.in Cheshire. The motto was and is Vemon semper virei, and one of the
family seems very likely to have verified.it in himself, for, according to Edmondson and other heraldic
authorities, he lived thro^igh five generations and then thought proper to die. This was in the reign of
Edward II. Quaint old Fuller renders and punctuates the motto : — Ver non semper floret ; and adds, " So
ill it is to trust in the spring of human felicity." Burke recounts there were fourteen generations of
Vernons who were Lor<Js of Haddon. Lysons shows fifteen, because Richard Vemon, the first holder,
had only a daughter by Avicia Avenell, whose son by Gilbert le Franceys retained his mother's name.
This fact Burke suppresses, but why should he do so }*

The Inq. Post Mort., 4 Edward I., shew a moiety of the Manor of Nether Haddon with Robert de
Derley. We believe the de Dcrleys at the time were holding a moiety of the town of Nether Haddon, as
we glean from the Quo Warranto Rolls ; but without the de Derleys were tenants under the Bassets, which
is improbable, the entry is. difficult of explanation.

The Vernons were more distinguished as warriors than statesmen. During the Wars of the Roses
they were staunch adherents to the House of York, which fact Shakespeare has immortalised in his
description of the quarrel between the Earls of Somerset and Warwick. The scene is in the Temple
Gardens, and the hostile nobles, who have plucked diflferent coloured roses as future badges, Vemon thus
addresses : —

Stay, Lords and Gentlemen, pluck no more
Till you conclude that he upon whose side
The fewest roses are- cropped from the tree
Shall yield the other in the right opinion.
Somerset : Good Master Vernon, it is well objected ;

If I have fewest, I subscribe in silence.
Vernon : Then, for the truth and plainness of the case,
I pluck this pale and maiden r.ose here.
Giving the verdict on the white rose side.

When the battle of Bosworth utterly crushed the cause of the Yorkists, the Vernons were not
disturbed in their possession of Haddon, but were actually (within a few years) made the governors of
Prince Arthur.f The Plumptons, of Hassop, had poured out their blood for the House of Lancaster, yet
the monarch they had helped to place upon the throne allowed his nefarious ministers, Empson and
Dudley, to ruin them. ' The Bassets, of Bubncll and Blore (relatives of the Vernons), fought valiantly for
Henry Tudor, but he did not give them back their Barony of Sapcote, for it remains in abeyance to this
day. These are facts that never extort a remark from the compilers of Derbyshire history.

In the south-west angle of the chancel of the Chapel at Haddon there is an ecclesiastical curiosity
too frequently overlooked by even lovers of the place. We refer to the "Squint." We know of no other
in the Peak of Derbyshire. Some of our readers may not be aware that a squint allows a view of anyone
in the building, and yet the beholder cannot be seen. How often may not John Manners have appeased
the yearnings of his heart from here by a look at his Dorothy.? We find from the Register of
Chapel-en-le-Frith that the Vernons, of Hazlebadge, one of the branches of the Haddon family, were not
extinct until the end of the seventeenth century. The present noble resident at Sudbury is not only the
representative of the Vernons, of Haddon, but, says Forster, of a branch older, and moreover (which is
extraordinary) of "three out of the eight Barons of the Palatine of Chester, created by Hugh Lupus,
Earl of Chester, viz., Venerables, Baron of Kinderton ; Vemon, Baron of Shipbroke ; and Warren, Baron
of Stockport."

There is a fact which illustrates the lovable character of Dorothy Vemon that her greatest admirers
too often forget. Her husband was a squire simply, and remained so until twenty years after her decease.

Haddon, with its various styles of architecture, whether Norman, Early English, Decorative,
Perpendicular, or Renaissance; with its gobelin tapestry and fixtures of the Middle Ages, makes us feel

Lysons •• Mag. Brit.," Vol. V., p. 53.
i See Article on Hazelbadge.

8 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE. ^

thankful that none of its noble owners have ever patronised the improver, and thankful, too, for their
courtesy in allowing such an inestimable pleasure as a visit to its old baronial halls.

This building is of very great interest to the student of antiquity, from its state of preservation,
illustrating so thoroughly the baronial mansion of the Middle Ages, with its Chapel, Banqueting Hall,
and State Bed-chamber. Ra}'ncr, in his History and Antiquities of Haddon Hall, tells a rich stor}' of old
times (the stor>' was told to Rayner by William Hage, the Guide, **a descendant of John W^rd, who, in
1527, was deer-keeper to the Lord of Haddon" . . . "who was turned out of the family six times
for drinking too much, and at length died drunk. His son, however, succeeded him in his office; and his
posterity in the female line have continued in the service of the proprietors of Haddon Hall to the present
time." We believe this guide is still alive, at a very advanced age, living at Clay Cross).

"A great butcher, who used to fit the family at Haddon with small meat, a fat man weighing eighteen
stone, named John Taylor, from Darley Dale, came at Christmas time, when they were keeping open
house; and the old Earl's wife would not let the butter go into the larder till she had seen it, so it
remained in the old family hall (the Banqueting Hall) and stood there for some hours. The butlers (of
whom there were two, one for the small-beer cellar and the other for the strong) had for several weeks
before missed two pounds of butter every week, and they could not think what had become of it, or who
had taken it, so they determined to watch, one butler spying through the little door, and the other
through the great door, when presently the great butcher came as usual for orders for small meat ; and
after looking round he lays his fingers upon the butter, and pops one pound of butter within his coat on
one side, and another pound on the other side. This was observed,- and the butler from the istrong beer
cellar came up to the butcher saying, 'Jack, it is Christmas time — I have a famous jack of strong beer and
you shall have it before you go. Sit you down by the kitchen fire.* He sat there awhile, when the
butler, handing him the flagon, said, * Don't be afraid of it, I will fetch some more.' And as he sat
near the fire, the butter on one side melting with the heat, began to trickle down his breeches into his
shoes. * Why Jack,' said the butler, * you seem a great deal fatter on one side than the other. Turn yourself
round, you must be starved on one side.' He was obliged to comply, and presently the butter ran down
that side also ; and afterwards, as he walked up the Hall, the melted butter ran over the tops of his shoes.
The Earl, says Hage, made a laughing-stock of it, but if such a thing was to be done in these days, the
man would be turned out of the family." This nobleman was the grandson of our Dorothy, and his lady
was Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Montagu.

The old doorway yonder leads into the Court-yard, where the squires and the host of retainers
wearing the liver)' of their lord were wont to congregate ; where the neighbouring knights and ladies met
before an hawking expedition : How it makes us want to know them as Pepys and Evelyn have made us
familiar with the Cavaliers of the Stuarts ; yet what a link with past ages is its masonr>' : It was standing
when an English was spoken which would be unintelligible to us ; when John of (launt was dangling after
Elizabeth Swynford ; when it was a crime to wear satin or damask, or silk, or chamlet, or taffeta, or velvet,
or a coat with sleeves, or " any fur, whereof the like kind groweth not in England, Calais, Berwick, or
the marshes of the same."

BAKEWELL HALL.

.1

•Ml

gakemell gall.

AKP'AVELL was among the possessions given bv the Conqueror to his so-called illcgitmate son
Peverell. These possessions, we believe, consisted of one hundred and sixty-two Manors.
This would be some two years after the victor)* of Hastings. Does the evidence of dates go
for nothing } When the Conqueror landed on the coast of Sussex he was about thirty-nine
years of age. If Peverell were the son of William I., he could only have been a stripling at the time ;
would scarcely have been entrusted with the governorship of the ^^idlands, nor have been given one
hundred and sixty-two Lordships. There was a standard bearer to Robert, Duke of Nonnandy (father of
the Conqueror), named Randulph Peverell, whose wife was Maud, the daughter of Ingleric, Ihe Saxon, to
whom Robert, the Duke, was

A little less than kith, and a litilo more than kind.

This lady was undoubtedly them other of Peverell, and we cannot help thinking that he was the brother,
and not the son, of William I. Both were illegitimate. Dr. Cox, in his Derbyshire Churches^ Vol. I., p.
99, piles up the difficulty by telling us that Peverell I. died " seventh year of the reign of Stephen, i 142."
What a jolly old man he must have been ; how the Peak venison must have agreed with him. Only the
year previously (1141) was fought the battle of Lincoln, and among the Barons of Stephen there was a
Peverell — biit surely this wa.s not the doughty old buck with a hundred summers on his head } Were
there not three Peverells — father, son, and grandson ? One whose name is linked with, and who held the
Castles of the Peak, Bolsover, and Nottingham ; one who so richly endowed the Prior}- of lA*nton ; and
one who hoodwinked the Earl of Chester. How the third one is said to have poisoned this nobleman,
and formed a liaison with his wife, how he' fled to the Continent and died in exile, and how his estates
became forfeited, is known to ever)' historical student; but how thoroughly contemptible was the
character of the Earl he is said to have poisoned may be new. Randulph de Meschines was the Judas of
his time. His sword was drawn for Stephen at the battle of the Standard, and he a.ssisted to take this
monarch prisoner on the field of Lincoln when Maud, the Empress, was victorious. When she, in her
turn, was heroically defending Oxford, he was among the beseigers. Alike false to Nonnan and
Plantagenet, he was despi.sed by the adherents of both ; and only within a few days of his a.ssassi nation
was excommunicated by the Church. His lady was granddaughter of Henr}' L, and cousin to Henry H.;
hence Peverell's fear must have arisen from his amour with Royalty, and not from his mixing a sleeping
draught.

The Lordship of Bake well remained with the Crown for about fifty years, when King John gave it to
Ralph de Gemon, whose son, or grandson, secured to Bakewell a market. Within the extensive Parish of
Bakewell there are at least twenty Lordships, eight of which are, at this moment, with a lineal descendant
of Old Ralph, who is one of the most illustrious Peers of Cireat Britain, whose sires have been Peers before
him for ten generations. Whether as nobles or men, there are no nobler men than the House of
Cavendish, Dukes of Devonshire. Bakewell remained with the de (Jernons for about one hundred
and eighty years, when (the last of the senior line — Sir John — dying without male issue in 1383) one
of the daughters and co-heiresses (Joane) took it to her husband, John Botetourt. The brother
of this gentlemen was created a Peer by Edward H. This nobleman died, leaving no son, and the
offspring of John, and the heiress of the de (Jernons, being a daughter, the title fell into abeyance.

12 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

and remained so for three luindred and fifty-eight years. There was a John Botetourt of this
family who was an admiral and warrior in the Scottish wars undt*r Edward H., but whether
he was the Lord of Bakewell, we cannot trace. The daughter of the Bakewell Botetourt
married Sir Richard Swynburne, whose daughter, Alice, brought Bakewell to John Helyon. Whether
Helyon was a grandson of Walter, the Justice of King's Bench and Common Pleas under Edward L, no
one has cared to tell us. Again, Bakewell was only held for one life; and passed with heiress (Isabel) to
Humphrey Tyrell ; whose daughter, and heiress, passed it to Sir Roger Wentworth, and joined with her
husband in selling it to that splendid type of a courtier, Sir Henry Vernon, in 1502. From the death of Sir
John de Gemon to the purchase by V^emon was a period of one hundred and nineteen years only, anJ
the Manor of Bakewell changed hands six times, and each time, less one, by heiress, and some sixty-three
years later, it finally passed by heiress, for it was in the pocket of the famous Dorothy. There is an
item about the Lordship of Bakewell in the Inquisitions Post Mortem for 1249, which is funny: I Sir
John de Darley is shewn seized of it, whih,' the positive Lord of the Manor was Sir Ralph de (iemon :
we simply state two facts which we cannot reconcile.

About the time that the fourth Earl of Devonshire was thinking of pulling down old Chats worth
House, and employing Talmon to build him the magnificent Palace of the Peak, Thomas Bagshawe, of
The Ridge, determined upon rearing for himself a Hall by Bakewell, -with grounds sloping down to the
Wye. The Ridge Bagshawes were exclusively a Derbyshire family. With every successive generation,
the firstborn of the lads (his younger brothers following suit; selected his wife from the girls of the
.shire : the lady never came north of the Mersey or south of the Trent — either a Tunstead, of Tunstead ;
or Eyre, of Nether Hurst ; or Blackwell, of Blackwell ; or Shalcross, of Shalcross ; or Cokayne, of
Ashbourne; or Greaves, of Beeley ; or Brereton, of Hurdlow; or Allestree, of Alvasttm ; or Ashton, of
Hathersage ; or Statham, of Wigwell ; or a daughter of some hona-fidt Derbyshire house. Neither did
the girls of the Ridge Bagshawes deviate from the example set them by their brothers. Their husbands
were selected from the StafTords, or Poles, or Bradbur)'s, of Bankhead; or Ollerenshaws, or Lvnacres, or
Wrights, of Longstone. As far back as the beginning of the fifteenth century, Edward Bagshawe, of
The Ridge, e.spoused Agnes Jenkin, of Barlow. In 1739, Benjamin, the last of his line, husband of
Catherine Statham, of Wigwell, was gathered to his fathers. We believe that the two sisters of the
builder of Bakewell Hall did break through the rule — one mating with the Rev. John Clayton, of Little
Harwood, Lancaster, and the other with Edmund Pott, of Prestbury.*

Thomas Bagshawe, who took up his residence at Bakewell in 1686, was "a lawyer of great repute,"
and younger brother of Henr)', the barrister, of Chapel-en-le-Frith. Thomas had little hopes of
succeeding to the paternal estates when he located him.self here. His brother had five sons, but brother
and sons died, and Thomas succeeded. He had married Mary Alle.stree, of Alvaston, who gave him nine
sons and two daughters ; yet all his .sons predeceased him, and onl\ one of them left issue, which issue
(four sons) died childle.ss. His younge.st daughter, Rachel, who was bapti.sed at Bakewell, i8th August,
1685, became the wife of William Fitzherbert, of Tissington, Recorder of Derby, and having survived her
father, brothers, and nephews, passed the estates of the Ridge Bagshawes to the Fitzherb.Tts. About
two miles north-east of Chapel-en-le-Frith Church is the glen — once, undoubtedly, picturesque — where
the Bagshawes were located before William the Conqueror, as a child, had masteretl the rudiments of
militar)' theft. About the same distance east of the Church is The Ridge, where they had their homestead
for six hundred years. When Thomas Bagshawe built Bakewell Hall the prosjierity of his house
perchance was never greater, nor the extinction of his race more remote, from the goodly number of
children given him by his wife, and yet, some fifty years later, they were all gone, and tlu^ir property too.
The builder of this Hall earned for himself a most unenviable immortality by his representing to the
College of Heralds as a truth what was a malicious falsehood. When his relative John, of Hucklow and
Litton — whose sires were of Abney— (brother of the Apostle of the Peak\ became High Sheriff of the

Vide •• Bagshawes, of Ford," by W. H. G. Bagshawe, Esq., for private circulation.

BAKKWKLL HALL. ,3

County, in 1696, he asserted that the Abney Bagshawes had no right to their shield, and he endeavoured
to bribe the heraldic painters to refuse to emblazon the Sheriff's carriage, or, failing this, to at least
disfigure the charges. Some of our readers may not see the rascality of such an act — the explanation is
simple. Society, in those days, said every gentleman had his escutcheon, and to be a Sheriff you must at
least be a gentleman. The Sheriff applied to lh(» College of Arms for j)roof of his coaty which was not
only furnished, but was accompanied with the infonnaticm that the Abney branch of the family was senior
to that of The Ridge : — " Now you may affirm Bagshawe, of Abney, the first Bagshawe in Derbyshire —
nay, I think, in England — that bore anns, and will not prove inferior to very many that bc^ar up high of
other names.*' — Letter dated 3rd June, 1708, vide A Memoir of William BagshawCy the Apostle of the Peak,
by the same author. There is a copy of a letter written by the proud builder of Bakewell Hall to
Mr. Samuel Kccles, of Clement Inn, London, in The Reliquarw Vol. VHL, p. 234, which portrays how

he still adhered to his assertions : —

** Bakewell, loth February, 1710.
"Mr. Eccles,

" I thank you for your great despatch with Mr. Bassano and the perfect account thereof, as also that you

will attend the King at Armes. And I doubt not that on search of the office books you will find the coate of our family,

allowed in all the visitacoDs of Norrey (as I take it) King at Armes in these parts. And in ye first visitacon after ye

restoration of King Charles 2, the coate we clayme allowed to my elder brother, Mr. H. Bagshawe, and rejected or at

least not allowed to Mr. Richard Bagshaw's grandfather. William Bagshaw. who, as I remember then, pretended to be

descended from Bagshaw of Farewell, near Litchfield, who was no relation to us. nor was Bagshaw of Abney of any such

relation, nor could any of them shew any colour of title to the coate of our family or ever pretended to it. I 6nd my

great grandfather Henry Bagshawe marryed the daughter and heiress of Thomas Cokayne, 40 Eliz., and the coate

quartered and depicted on glass on ye windows at the Ridge, with the coates into which my ancestors marryed, as the

Poles, the Barlows of Barlow, Tunsted, Blackwall of Blackwall, Shallcross, Blackwall of Alton. Cokayne, and severall

others. I could send you the Tymes of several of these marryages if necessary. And I' find the coate in this manner,

auncyently drawne with the motto and verses following : —

[Here is drawn the Arms and MoUo.]

" Ut cornu flatus minimo floresque rosarum,

" Tempore sic pereunt formaque fama viruno.

" Faile not by next to lett me know what money I shall order you in this matter and you shall instantly thereon have

an order for your receiving of it.

" From. your very loving friend and servant,

"THO. BAGSHAWE."

The next tenants at the Hall, after the decease of Squire Bagshawe in April, 1721, were the Barkers, of

Darley. We must not confuse the Barkers, of Dore and Cjlapwell, with those of Darley, for there was no

relationship between them. Those of Glapwell were of a very ancient stock and held a baronetcy ; while those

of Darley who came to live at the Hall (Burke says he cannot trace them further back than four or five

generations) will be remembered by posterity from the services of one of the sons, rendered to the nation at

the most critical moment of the present century, and from another, whose knowledge of Oriental languages

was found of great value during the Crimean War.

John Barker, who was the grandson of the gentleman who purchased the Hall from the Fitzherberts,

first chose the avocation of a banker's clerk, and at the age of twenty he held the position of cashier in the

great house of Thellusson, of Philpot I^ne, London. He did not stop, however, to watch the millions —

which his employer had piled up to compete with the Bank of England — di.sappear into the pockets of

the Chancery lawyers ; he preferred being Private Secretary to the English Ambassador in Turkey.

Within eight years of his leaving Philpot Lane he became Pro-Consul of Aleppo, in Syria, and soon after

was made full Consul. This was in the year 1803. His career is fraught with incident. He had to fly

for his life, vet could safelv entrust his wife and children with the Dervishes at Harissa. Two years later

he re-entered Aleppo amid magnificent display, the flourish of drums and trumpets, and the shouts of an

enthusiastic multitude. On the ist of March, 181 5, Napoleon escaped from Elba, and landed at Cannes.

Barker was in possession of the fact, and acting upon it, before the news had sent a thrill through

European society, with a speed almost worthy of the present day, he forwarded the startling intelligence

14 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRK.

on to India, and through his agency, alone was Pondicherrj' not surrondereil. to the French. Whether his
holding office under the Fast India Company as well as the nation prevented such distinguished services
obtaining some cordon hleu^ we cannot say ; but surely his promotion to Consul-General in Kgypt had
nothing to do with it. Neale speaks of him as " a perfect gentleman, an accomplished scholar, a
sagacious thinker, a philosopher, and a philanthropi.st." His villa at Suldiah, near Antioch, on the river
Orontes, must have been the delight of any Injianist, for there he collected from all parts of the world a
specimen of any rare or choic(^ plant, shrub, or tree. His introduction of rare Kastern trees into England
was in 1844. Fifty-eight years of his life were spent in the East, principally in Syria ; and it was at
Betias, on Mount Rhosus, where he was struck down by apoplexy, on the 5th October, 1849, in the
seventy-ninth year of his age, and there his bones lie, under the walls of the Armenian Church. His son,
William, was a great Oriental linguist, and at Eton was Professor of Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and
Hindustani. During the Crimean campaign he was appointed by (iovernment as Chief Superintendent of
the I^nd Transport Depot at vSinojM?, where he died 28th January, 1856. He will be known to posterity
from his History of the Cn'medy Odessa and its Inhabitants^ Turltish Tales, Lares and Penates, and his
Grammar of the Turkish Language.

Bakewell Hall is now held by the Rev. Leonard Slater, B.A.. who, we believe, is a scion of the old
Barl borough family.

We believe that we have met with an item or two about the forgotten families of Bakewell Pari.sh
which will be of interest. We find that some of the descendants of Roger dc Oemon, who left Bakewell
behind him for Suffolk, did not take the name of Cavendish, but retained their own. In the reign of
Elizabeth there was a Sir Richard Oernon, father of another Richard Unghth in descent from Roger), M.P.
for Denbigh in 1572, who played the principal character in an event of constitutional importance. He
suggested to Her Majesty the necessity of a new office in the Court of Common Pleas, to make out writs
of Supersedeas, which Bess created, and put him in it. But the Judges ignored both him and the office.
Gemon got the sign manual of the Queen. This they ignored. She sent an autograph letter. This
they ignored; when Bess became furious. She sent again, and this time she selected the Lord Chancellor
as messenger, when the Judges said the whole thing was not constitutional, and the Queen let it glide.
We believe that the brother of de (lernon was Thomas, the famous navigator.

There was a mesne manor within the Manor of Over Haddon, and within the mesne manor stood the
Hall of the Suttons, who were lords of the soil. Thomas Sutton, who feebly tottered down to Bakewell
at the age of eighty-four, leaning upon tht* ann of a niece, three or four degrees removed, to declare his
pedigree before St. George, Clarencieux King-at-Arms in 161 1, was the last of his line. His ancestor was
the founder of Brasennose College, in Oxford. The Suttons, of Over Haddon, were from the Suttons
in Cheshire, and, what is curious, both houses became extinct together; still, from the feinale branches,
the blood of the Suttons runs in the veins of the Viscounts Galwav and the Earls of Lucan. What finer
subject for the lower line of the Academy than this old gentleman, in his low broad hat and ruffles,
embroidered frock and hose, which dated from the days of Elizabeth, broken in fortune, but with all the
pride of the great House of Sutton in his look, accompanied by a fair girl of sixteen, dressed in the Stuart
abandon, confronting the starchy St. George. The manor passed to the Cokes, of Tnisley, about whom a
great deal can be learned from the Melbourne Papers and Gardiner's History, but they, too, are gone; then
it came to the Lambs, Viscounts Melbourne; they all have passed away, and now it is held, or was but
recently, by the Cowpers, Earls Cowper.

The paramount Manor of Over Haddon passed with the heiress of* the Avcnalls in 1 195 to the
Vernons, whose heiress Dorothy brought it about 1565 to the illustrious family of Manners.

HARTLE HALL.

gartU galL

J^S there another old Derbyshire family with such memorabilia for the historian ; with so many
• vicissitudes; with so many dramatic espisodes, as the Cokaynes? They have mated with families

which gave their children maternal descent from the Plantagenets ; they were Knights of the Shire
for generations; they had their stately homes in five or six different counties; they were
honoured by Royalty and raised to a Peerage ; they held the Lordships of various and extensive Manors
with a huge rent-roll — and now ! The founder of the patrician line — Sir William, the famous Lord
Mayor, with his immense wealth, his vast estates, his children allied to the noblest houses of the nation —
must have felt secure in the splendour of his line being perpetuated. Yet where are wealth, estates,
coronet, and splendour now ? The true splendour of the House of Cokayne lies with the Ashbourne,
and not with the Rushton branch, in spite of their coronets. Extravagance and prodigality were
characteristic of each, but with this difference : — There w^as a dignity with the Ashbourne house, for
intelligence was in their wine cups, a munificence in their extravagance, a generosity in their excesses ;
while the careers of the Viscounts Cullen (less the first and last) were a series of dissipations, low,
sensual, grovelling.

About three miles south-west of Bakewell Church, on an upland called Priest's Hill, surrounded by
dale, and valley, and glen, and near to where the Bradford, joins the Lathkill, just before its confluence
with the Wye, we find old Hartle Hall. There is but a gable left of the original structure, but sufficient
to remind us of one of the most famous of Derbyshire families. That there was a homestead of the Lord
of the Manor as far back as Henry HL is beyond doubt. We know, too, that when the Manor passed
from the De Ferrers it came to the Kdensors, and so by marriage to the Herthills.

More than five hundred years have gone by since Edmund Cokayne won the rich heiress of the
Herthills and made the Hall one of his homes. In the dowry of this lady were the Manors of Middleton-
by-Youlgreave, Ballidon, Hartle, and part of Tissington, together with Polesworth and Pooley Hall, in
Warwickshire. His sires had been located at Ashbourne ever since the Conquest, and the distance
between Hartle and Ashbourne would argue this union to have been one of affection. Were there not
quite as eligible men close at hand ? The neighbours of the Herthills at the time were the wealthy
families of the Helyons, of Bakewell ; Columbells, of Darley ; Leches, of Chatsw^orth — not to mention
the Shirleys, of Snitterton ; Wendesleys, of Wensley ; Bassetts, of Bubnell ; Staffords, of Eyam ; or
Foljambes, of Tideswell.

The founder of the Cokaynes, we are told, was a relative of the Conqueror ; but the splendour of
their house needs no doubtful kindredship with Royalty to enhance it. Its glory lies in those famous sons
whose names are on the Rolls of England. In that Pariiament which first crippled the temporal power
of the Pope and passed those memorable statutes of Praemunire and Provisors was John Cokayne, the
father of Edmund ; while his own first-born became that celebrated Baron of the Exchequer who sat on the
Bench for thirty years during the reigns of the three Lancastrian Kings.* From him sprang the famous
Lord Mayor, who became the first (Governor of the province of Ulster and founder of Londondeny,
and whom King James was delighted to honour. The illustrious marriages of his children are unique.

♦•' Lives of the Judges." Foss, Vol. IV., p. 304.

1 8 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Three of his daughters espoused earls, a fourth was Viscountess Fanshawe, whilst a fifth became the
mother of peers. But what a picture of Esau and Jacob does this family present to us I The senior
descendants of Edmund and the heiress of Hartle were improvident, and in the last days of Elizabeth
(1599) they sold Hartle to the Manners, Ballidon to the Ashleys, Middleton to the Fulwoods (from whom
it passed to the Batemans), and Tissington to the Fitzherberts. Eighty years later the ancestral halls of
Ashbourne, Pooley, and Hartle were no longer their's, the entail of what estates remained to them was cut
off, and the last senior representative died in lodgings.* But even while they were converting their lands
into money in support of their loyalty to the House of Stuart, and to sustain a hospitality and munificence
that were ruinous, the cadet branches of their line were living in opulence and enjoying a peerage.

There are some items of the ennobled branch which are food for the student and the gossips. At
the time that Charles Cokayne was created Viscount Cullen by Charles L, at Oxford, in 1642, he was
Lord of the Manors of Elmsthorpe, in the county of Leicester, and Rushton, in Northamptonshire, which
had been purchased by his father, the Lord Mayor. The wife of this nobleman was Mary O'Brien, whose
sires had been Kings and Princes of Ireland from Brian Boroihme, monarch of that country (who fell at
the battle of Clontarf, in 10 14), till the landing of Strongbow, in 1171. Under English dominion they
became Marquises, Earls, and Barons, and the present Lord Inchiquin is the lineal descendant. The
issue of this union was Bryan Cokayne, second Viscount, whose life gives us a little drama. At the age
of sixteen he was betrothed to the " beautiful Elizabeth Trentham," whose father was Lord of Rocester,
and whose likeness was painted by Lely, while her loveliness was a theme for the gallants at Court — after
which he went on the Continent. While in Italy he jilted an Italian lady (said to have been a Countess),
who loved him with all the passionate fire of her country. On the ver>' day of his marriage with his
affianced, and they with their guests were sitting down to the banquet in Rushton Hall, the victim of his
sports abroad turned up, and, in the midst of the assembly, uttered a terrible curse, prophespng misery and
want, clenching her curse by drinking to their perdition. His lady was heiress of the Manors of Rocester
and Castle Headingham, besides other lands in Staffordshire, Essex, and Oxon ; but circumstances
verified the curse. From his dissipation the. estates were mortgaged to their full value ; she sold her
own to the last acre. The fourth Viscount got a private Act of Parliament to sell Elmsthorpe and his
Leicestershire property ; while his wife left him, and he found a grave at the age of thirty. In the
Gentlemafts Magazine for 1802 there is a panegyric on the many virtues of the fifth Viscount, who held
his title eighty-six years. Yes ! His own people admit that for the first forty years of his life he kept
** no other company of any sort but dogs, horses, and his own grooms and stable boys." f Yes 1 The
sister of the Bishop of Kildare refused his offer of marriage from his intemperance. His
associates were from the vilest of his fellow-creatures ; his proclivities were horse racing and gambling ;
his nuptials excite disgust. Both his wives were scarcely sixteen when hr married them ; one scarcely laid
in her grave when he espoused the other ; but, as decrepitude set in, he gave the devil the cold shoulder,
and so they numbered him with the saints. By his second wife he was father of the Honourable William
Cokayne, who held the Manor of Grindlow, in the Peak, in right of his wife, Barbara Hill. In Vol. III.
of the Topographer and Genealogist there is an article written by (i . E. Adams, Esq., who is the present
Norroy King at Arms of the College of Heralds, and a Cokayne maternally, in which it is asserted that
Charles Cokayne, fifth Viscount Cullen, held ** (Jrinlow, in Derbyshire " — (which he never did) — ** which
was left in 17 14 by Frances, Countess of Bellomonl, sister of the third Viscountess Cullen, to his father,
her nephew, the fourth Viscount, in whose descendants it remained till the co-heiresses of the last
Viscount sold it in 1827 to the Coxes." This assertion from such a source is amazing, if not
reprehensible. There cannot be the slightest particle of a doubt that the Cokaynes got it from the Hills,
and not till th(? last half of last century ; yet here the Xorroy King at Arms would have us believe that
they held it from 17 14 till 1827. Lysons, White, Bagshawe, and various other compilers, distinctly state

• His will was proved under £70. *' Lcsli«> Stephen's National Bioji;."
f • Topoi^rapher," Vol. III.

HARTLE HALL. 19

that it was the property of that eccentric lawyer, Serjeant Hill, whose daughter, Barbara, married the
Hon. William Cokayne. If the manor had been the gift of the Countess of Bellomont, would such a
fact have escaped Lysons ? Did he invent a cock-and-bull stor}' about the Hills possessing it ? To find
one of a junior but ennobled branch of the Cokaynes holdin g Grindlow so recently is somewhat curious
when we remember that the senior or Ashbourne line, after being Peak landlords for two hundred years,
disposed of their estates in the last days of the sixteenth centurj'.

There are two incidents connected with Hartle Hall, one historic, the other domestic, which invest
the spot with more than ordinary- interest. These incidents we will briefly state.

On the 23rd July, 1403, was fought the battle of Shrewsbury, and among the slain was Edmund
Cokayne (whom the King had knighted that morning). Sir Hugh Shirley, and Sir Thomas de Wendesley —
all neighbours, and all fallen in the ranks of Bolingbroke. Among the prisoners there was another
neighbour — Sir Richard Vernon — who was thereupon beheaded as a traitor. When we remember that
the mother of Cokayne was Cecelia Vernon, and that his son had married Shirley's daughter, there is a
pathos about this little cameo of history. It was at Hartle, perchance, where he had buckled on his sword
and snatched his last kiss.

The other incident shows us a curious fact — that in both cases where a Cokayne mated with a Vernon,
the firstborn of such union was doomed to a violent end. In the year 1488, Thomas Cokayne was living
at Hartle with his wife, Agnes Barlow (whose nephew, Robert, became the first husband of Bess of
Hardwicke). From here he went on a visit to his parents at Pooley Hall (a splendid residence of the
family which the heiress of Hartle had brought), where he met Thomas Burdett. These young gentlemen,
when going through Pooley Park, quarrelled, and Cokayne fell mortally wounded — it was thought by
accident. His body was brought to Youlgreave for interment, where his tomb stands in the east end of
south aisle of the Church, on which there are armorial bearings, recounting various alliances of the
family. Within the Church at Ashbourne lie the ashes of the valiant old knights who gave to the house
of Cokayne its splendour, which by comparison only is tarnished in the descendants of the plutocratic
Lord Mayor, who wore coronets.

There is a simple question which our research has forced upon us : Why is it more difficult to get at
an}'thing like an accurate pedigree of the Cokaynes than of the whole three hundred of the old Derbyshire
families? Have all authorities caballed together to render such a thing impossible? Take one item.
Sir John Cokayne, the celebrated Baron of the Exchequer, who, during the last seven years of the reign
of Henry IV., was also Judge of Common Pleas as well as Chief Baron, is said, by all authorities we have
met with, to have been the son of Edmund, who fell at Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth, daughter and heiress
of Sir Richard de Herthill. We believe, however, that there is a document in the hands of Mr. Andreas
E. Cokayne, of Bakewell, which impugns such a statement, by showing the famous Judge to have been
the hroiher^ and not the son of Edmund. Then again, such authorities as Foss, in his Lives of the
Judges^ and Leslie Stephen, in his National Biography^ say distinctly that the Chief Baron married
Isabel, daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley, who also fell at Shrewsbury. Mr. Cokayne says as distinctly that
he did not. The life of the Chief Baron, as it appears in a recently published volume by Leslie Stephen,
was written by J. M. Rigg, Esq., and is well worthy of perusal. He says that the Judge was the " son of
Edmund Cokayne, of Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, and Pooley, in Warwickshire, by Elizabeth, daughter
and heiress of Sir Richard de Herthull, was recorder of London in 1394, and appears as advocate in a
suit, before the Privy Council in 1397, between two grantees by letters patent of the governorship of
Rothelan Castle, in Wales. In 1400 he was created Chief Baron, was summoned to the Council in the
following year, and created a Justice of Common Pleas in 1405. In May, of this year, he was accused in
Parliament of having seized, by force, the Manor of Baddesley Ensor, in Warwickshire, and of keeping
the owners out of possession, and was ordered to appear, in person, to answer to the charge. Of the further
proceedings in this matter there is no record. The Manor, however, remained in his possession, since by
his will, which he made before starting to France with the military expedition, sent to the aid of the Duke

20 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

»
of Orleans in his struggle with the Duke of Burgundy, in 141 1-12, he entailed it upon his son John. . .

On the accession of Henrj- V., he retained the office of Justice of Common Piea.s, but vacated that of

Chief Baron. His patent for the former office vas again renewed on the accession of Henry VL" This

writer concludes his article with words which are a corroboration of Foss, but which are said to be

incorrect by Mr. A. ¥., Cokayne, of Bakewell. ** His wife, Isabel, was the daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley,

who was killed at Shrewsbury, fighting on the side of Henry I\'. By her he had four sons. A lineal

descendant of the Judge, Charles Cokayne, of Rushton, in Northamptonshire, was raised to the peerage of

Ireland as Viscount Cullen, in 1642." The mar\ellous part of the business is this : Among the gentlemen

who contributed accounts of the Cokaynes, some three years ago, to the Xaiional Biof^ra/ih\\ was the

present Norroy King at Arms — G. K. Cokayne, Esq. (formerly Adams). Could not this authority have

prevented such egregious blunders being prrpetrated in the work to which he was contributing }

There is one member of this family wi» are ever pleased to get in company with ; jolly old Sir Aston.
Say you he has been dead this two hundred years. Not so, hi* yet lives in his poems, in his comedies of
**Trappolin" and the "Obstinate Lady;" ah, in his tragedy of **Ovid.'* We should wish to have
known him at his " beloved Pooley," to havi* listened to his stories of Venice and Florence, to have
heard him render one of the best sonnets, to have had his authority for the relationship of the C'okayncs,
as he had them by rote from the Conqueror downwards. It was the knight's father who sold Hartle to the
husband of Dorothv Vernon.

The associations of the old gable, who will take the trouble to recover them .'' Those who could,
perchance, will not ; tho.se who would, cannot. Still it reminds us of men who held State appointments
under the Plantagenets, who were knighted for their valour by the Tudors, and who rose to a peerage under
the Stuarts.

1

HOLME HALL.

". !

goime 'QaiL

J HE earliest reminiscences of this splendid old homestead introduce us to the man who played his
W^^ part in that memorable struggle usually termed the Great Rebellion, and whose brother was the
C^|2r President of the Tribunal which condemned Charles I. to death. This Jacobean residence was
built by Bernard Wells in 1626, whose co-heiress married Henry Bradshaw, of Marple, and
Robert Eyre, of Highlow. Such is the statement made by both T^ysons and Glover ; but these celebrated
writers have not told us of many facts — interesting to Derbyshire men, which are hid away behind, or
contained in the statement — a few of which we will endeavour to enumerate. In the year 1622 King
James expelled the Bradshaws from those lands in the High Peak which they had tenanted from the
Crown for centuries. His motive for such an unprincipled act was an immediate want of a few hundred
pounds, and so the acres went to two of his London friends. The Bradshaws were among the very
oldest families of the Peak ; there they had lived for five hundred years, and in accordance with their
motto — Qui 77/ content^ tieni assez. They managed to retain or re-purchase some portion, together with
the old Hall on the slope of Eccles Pike. Very soon after, we find them settling at Abney, Windley,
Holbrook, Belper, and other places.* Anthony Bradshaw of Belper, temp James I., was a descendant of
Henry of Alden**asley, living there 1483, who was a scion of the Peak family. Can we wonder that they
retaliated on the Stuarts when a revolution placed power in their hands ? Alas ! Derbyshire knows them
no more ; for the Bradshaw, of Barton Blount, is only so by letters patent. Peter Bradshaw, who was
thus summarily dispossessed, had two brothers, Francis «nd Henr}'. Francis married one of the
co-heiresses (Anne) of the Eyam Staffords, and thought, by such distingished alliance, to have enhanced
the glories of his race, but how his family fled to Lancashire, never to return, will be mentioned elsewhere.
Henry became the founder of the Marple branch of his house, so memorable in our Annals as having
produced the man who. passed sentence of death on a King of England. In 1606, Henr>' Bradshaw
purchased the Marple Estate from Sir Edward Stanley, whose mother (if we mistake not) was Margaret
Vernon, of Haddon, sister of our Dorothy. Marple was held by the Vernons by free forestry. William
Bradshaw, the father of Henry', was tenant at Marple as early as 1541, and espoused Margaret Clayton, of
Stryndes Hall. This William, though a second son, succeeded his sires at Eccles Pike. The Marple
residence of Henry Bradshaw (and his wife Dorothy, daughter and co-heiress of George Bagshaw of the
Ridge) was Wybersley Hall. He was succeeded by his son Henry, who married Catherine, daughter
and co-heiress of Ralph Winnington, of Offerton. At this time, a neighbour of Henry and Catherine
was Bernard Wells, of Marple Hall, who was really owner of both edifices. This gentleman was a
scion of a (iloucestershire family, settled at Ashton-under-Hill. He had purchased certain lands in
Derbyshire and Cheshire, and had married Barbara Marshall, of Tideswell. When Bradshaw lost his
wife — (in her accouchement) — his eldest child was only of tender age, so it was no wonder that the
motherly heart of Barbara Wells went out to the little ones, and by such bereavement the friendship
between the two families became so strengthened. The three sons of Bradshaw were Henry, John, and
Francis ; the three young Wells were Mary, Anne, and Bernard. The career of John, the President of
the Regicides, is known to most students. Henry alone concerns us, from his love for Mary Wells,

Glover, Vol. II., p. 102.

24 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRK.

which resulted in their union, and from the part he enacted in a memorable crisis of Kngland*s histor)-.
When, in the year 1626, Bernard Wells left Marple altogether and settled down at his recently finished
Hall by Bakewell, it made no difference to Henry Bradshaw, not a whit ; he came again and again, until
at length he took away Mary as his wife, with Wybersley and Marple Halls in her dowr)'. The marriage
settlement is dated 30th September, 1630. It was during these visits that incidents occurred which have
made the old edifice dear to students of history, as well as antiquarians. There is every* reason to believe
that on more than one occasion when Henry Bradshaw came to Holme his brother John came with him.
Is it not of great interest to know that there have been gatherings within the walls of Holme in which
there were two men and brothers, one of whom sat on the trial of the Seventh Earl of Derby, and judged
him (however erroneously) worthy of death, and the other sentenced a Monarch of England to the
scaffold ? It may not be generally known that the reward of the regicide was the Chancellorship of the
Duchy of Lancaster; grants of land belonging to the Earl of St. Albans, to which Parliament added a gift
of five thousand pounds. In the Ashmolean Museum, at Oxford, is the President's " high -crowned hat,
plated with steel to ward off the blow," as Kenneth hath it. Kugge tells us, in his Diurnal^ " this morning
(30th Januar}', 1661) the carcases of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw (which the day before had been
brought from the Red Lion Inn, in Holbom) were drawn on a sledge to Tyburn, and then taken out
of their coffins and, in their shrouds, hanged by the neck until the going down of the sun. They
were then cut down, their heads taken off, and their bodies buried in a grave under the gallows." We
believe, however, that mine host of the Red Lion had piled up his dollars by allowing the bodies to be
surreptitiously replaced by others, and the hideous spectacle at Tyburn, which Pepys says (in his Dian)
his lady went to see, was simply a ghastly farce.

Scarcelv had Man' Wells left Holme and become a wife, when her husband had to buckle on his
sword, for Charles I. was at war with his people. He fought under Fairfax, became Lieutenant-Colonel
in Ashton's Regiment of Foot, and at the Battle of Worcester (where he was wounded) commanded the
Militia. By this time, Mary Wells was dead and Bradshaw had taken a second spouse in Anne Bowden,
of the Peak.* Henry Bradshaw was as much the enemy of Cromwell as of the Stuarts. He had no
sympathy with the Independents; indeed, his name stands first on those Rolls that were before Parliament
for the establishment of the Presbyterian religion. At the Restoration he was summoned to the Bar of
the House of Lords, charged with the murder of Earl Derby, but acquitted or pardoned. It is worthy of
note that the principal bail for his appearance at the time was Cromwell Meverell, of Tideswell. The
events, however, in which he had taken part, helped to ha.sten his death, and within eighteen days of his
liberation he was buried at Stockport. In a volume of the Historical Manuscripts Commission there is a
copy of his petition to the Lords, in which he declared he never subscribed the warrant for the Earl of
Derby's execution, but used his influence to prevent it; and that his presence on the trial was compulsor}-,
by order of Cromwell.

The Marple estates of the Bradshaws eventually passed to the daughter of Henrj* and Mar}' Wells —
her brothers, one of whom was Sheriff of the County in 1701, all having died without issue. This lady was
consecutively the wife of William Pimlot and Nathaniel Isherwood; and the estate, after being held by her
son by Pimlot, came to another son by IsherwcKxl, whose descendants are still in possession. The present
senior representative of the Peak Bradshaws is Charles E. Bradshaw-Bowles, P'.sq., of Aston Lodge,
Derby, who holds deeds of the family which date from 1330. We would acknowledge the courtesy of this
gentleman in supplying us with various items of information of this old Peak family.

What curious facts research yields up! It appears that the Bradshaws had a vellum pedigree made
out in 1 64 1, which sets forth that the name of Bradshaw is now an ancient one in this countrv, but came
in with the Saxons, and that their ancestor was " Uchtred, the great Saxon Thane," from whom all the
Bradshaws in England are descended. He stoud out agaynst the Conqueroure and bore arms agaynst
him, yett upon his submission to the sayd Duke of Normandy, being then King of England, it pleased the

• Eitrwaker's " Eaht Cheshire," Vol. II., p. 65.

HOLME HALL. 25

sayd Conqueroure to restore him to lyfe and Irving, judging him to be a man of gieat wytt and a noble
spyritte, and a bould courage not easily daunted, but bould and courageous, in the face of his enemies.*''
Uchtred, the Saxon, was undoubtedly Lord of various Manors in Derbyshire (as Elton, Cowley, Barlow),
Lancashire, and other counties, which are shown in the Domesday Book; but if the Thane were the
ancestor of the Bradshaws, what a curious question suggests itself. Do the two old Derbyshire families
of Foljambe and Bradshaw .spring from the same Saxon ancestor or no ? One with a maternal and the
other with a paternal descent. We kno\y that the first of the Derbyshire Foljambes, in the time of the
Conqueror, married with a daughter or granddaughter of old L^chtred, which makes the a.s.sertion on the
Bradshaw vellum both of interest and t^uriositv.

As we have said, Bernard Wells had another daughter, named Anne, who.se beauty or dowr}' was
sufficient to make Robert Eyre find his way to Holme from the residence of his .sires at Highlow. Let us
be ju.st to both Eyre and Bradshaw. Neither of them knew that their wives would become heiresses, so
that if their marriages were love matches it only invt-sted Holme Hall with dearer associations. But did
any father in this world ever allow two such op{)osite characters to cross his threshold to become his
sons-in-law ? Eyre and Bradshaw wen^ the antithesis of each other — one was for sweeping away the
Anglican ritual ; the other paid heavily, like any other recusant, to worship God after the manner of his
fathers — one considered that the welfare of the Statr needed neither King nor House of Peers for its
government ; the loyalty and conservatism of the other brought down upon him the ruinous exactions of
those in power. The Eyres were the embodiment of chivalry ; the Bradshaws of liberty and justice.
Many who have noticed the brass to the memory of Bernard Wells in Bakewell Church have little thought
of the sorrows his heart mu.st have known during those years in which the countr}' was ruled by tyranny
or fanaticism, for every event seemed but to bring miser)- to the homesteads of one of his children.
When he died, in 1658, Holme Hall became one of the residences of his daughter Anne and her
husband Robert. His son Bernard had died ten years previously, and been buried in the Chancel of
Eyam. This young gentleman is mentioned in Wood's Traditions of the Peak. His affection was given to
a certain Anne Moreton, of Hazleford — the Maid of Derwent — whom he was for()idden by his father to
marr\' : How he .stole to her lattice window one night and persuaded her to fly with him, and how, in
crossing the ford of the river, he lo.st his foothold and she perished in the stream, is told in the Traditions.
This fa(*t occasioned us to search for the resting-place of the two girls — one lies at Hope, the other at
Stockport.

Among the domestic incidents connected with Holme Hall is one that is rather touching. The
first born of Anne and Robert was a son, whos(» career at Trinity College, Cambridge, bid fair to be
very brilliant, but which suddenly closed by his falling dead in his chambers. It was behind the
altar-tomb in Hathersage Church that his sorrowing parents laid him to rest. On his .slab they have
written (in Greek capitals) the beautiful Christian legend, Hon philei Theos apothneskei neos (whom God
loves dies young). There is a pathos about each particular line of the families who have held Holme
Hall, for all, we believe, are gone — Wells, Eyre, Birch, Barker, Gisbome. About the middle of last
century it was the residence of John Twigge, who was Sheriff of the Countf^ in 1767, and his wife,
Frances Foljambe, whose only son, Thomas Francis (M.A., Rector of Kelsey, in Lincolnshire, and of
Tickhill), died without issue in 182 1. In the early part of last century the senior Eyre, of Holme and
Highlow (William, barrister of Grey's Inn), forsook the halls of his fathers, repudiated his own name, and
assumed that of Archer. His wife was Eleanor, daughter of Sir Walter Wrottesley, whose mother was
Eleanor Archer, of Welford, Berks. His son and heir (John) married Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, by whom
he had a daughter, Susanna, married to Jacob Houblon, whose second son, Charles, adopted the name
his great grandsire had relinquished. On the death of John, the halls at Highlow and Holme, with other
property, were sold by order of Chancery. Highlow was purchased by the Duke of Devonshire ; Holme
by Robert Birch ; it afterwards became the property of the Barkers, and finally was conveyed by purchase
to Thomas John Gisbome, whose lady was Sally Krechmer, of St. Petersburgh.

D

26 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Among the illustrious names of the county few stand out so prominently as that of Gisbome, whether
as rectors or prebends of the Church, presidents of the College of Surgeons, Members of Parliament,
Colonial governors, or mayors and aldermen. But it is the princely munificence of one of their house
that has rendered their name a household word. We can turn to one hundred chapelries in the County
of Derby, and find among the principal benefactors the name of Francis (iisborne. This gentleman was
rector of Staveley, where his father had been before him, and their united terms of ofiice yield a period of
one hundred and five years. We should not forget, either, that he bequeathed two sums of sixteen
thousand pounds each to the infirmaries of Sheflfteld and Derby. Dr. Thomas (iisbome was twice
president of the College of Surgeons, was brother of Francis ** the munificent," and son of James, of
Staveley (who was uncle to John, of Yoxall, from whom so many illustrious sons). The sons of this family
were graduates at St. John's College, Cambridge, for consecutive generations. There was John, ** the
man of prayer," author of the Vales, of HWr/* and Reflections^ written while living in Darley Dale; there
was his brother Thomas, of Yoxall, author of an Inquiry Comerninf^ Jjnr as One of the Divine Attributes^
and other abtruse subjects, the friend of the great Wilberforce ; and there was Thomas, his son, who
represented North Derbyshire in the Reform Parliament, who supported the Ballot, the Abolition of
Church Rates, and the Extension of the Suffrage. In one feature the name is to be envied — we would
sooner have our's stamped on the hearts of the poor than around the altars of our Cathedrals or on the
scrolls of heralds. Among the old homesteads of Derbyshire, the (iisbornes have held (irrespective of
Holme and Staveley Halls) The Ridge, Romely, Marsh, and Lilchurch.

There is still one item of interest to the student — among the many which link themselves with
Holme Hall — to which we will direct attention. Few of us mav remember that the ladv who was wife of
John Twigge, the sheriff, was one of the last of the Foljambes. All those various branches of her house
which had sprung from Sir Thomas, who died in 1358, were gone; she herself was buried from Holme
before her thirty-ninth year, while there was a special Act of Parliament that the issue of her sister should
retain the name of Foljambe. Had her son, the rector of Kelsey, perpetuated his line, his descendants
would have quartered the arms of Foljambe. We believe that the rector was lord of the manor of
Broadlow Ash, which he inherited from his grandfather Nicholas (who purchased it from the Boothbys),
and which he devised to Francis Thornhaugh Foljambe. His relative of Bonsall left an estate there to
the Milnes, though apparently he had a brother living at the time.

Holme Hall is situated on the eastern bank of the Wye, just without the town of Bakewell, on the
Ashford road. Tourists (from the high wall in front of it) pass it, without the least suspicion of there
being an edifice of such architectural beauty, enhanced by hoar)* age and historical memories.

THE QREAVES, BEELEY.

®lje ^rcatie0, geeletj*

O much interest centres in those Saviles who were resident at Hill Top for almost a hundred and

fifty years, and so little is known of them, except to the curious, that we may be pardoned if we

enter into some few particulars. They were the direct line of the old Yorkshire family, who were

settled at Thomhill in verj' remote times. One of their cousins became Earl of Sussex ; another

was the celebrated Marquis of Halifax, Minister of the two last Stuart Kings, and memorable if only for

his vehement denunciations of the Press censorship.

When William Savile appeared before Dugdale, the herald, at the house of Mr. Bennett, in Bakewell,
on the 13th August, 1662, he described his sires as of Blaby, in Leicestershire, and not Thomhill, in
Yorkshire.* Hereby hangs a tale. Among the courtiers who attended the public marriage of Henry
Vni. and Anne Boleyn, and was dubbed knight for his pains, was Henry Savile, lord of thirty Manors,
beside large moieties in fourteen others. His wife had taken as her maid a young lady named Barkston,
and the consequence was a liaison between the knight and the maid, and the origin of the Howley Saviles.
But fate made some amends to the offspring by allowing them to outstrip their relatives in honours and
position. One, however, retired to Leicestershire, and hence the Beeley Saviles. We cannot but feel
some sympathy with those men who held this old homestead and ignored their identity from motives of
honour. During their tenancy of the Greaves, their cousins were holding three baronetcies, three
banonies, one viscountcy, two earldoms, and one marquisate. But the Beeley Saviles did not aspire to
be peers of the realm, nor Lords President of the Council, nor to lay their ashes in York Cathedral nor
Westminster Abbey ; they did not boast of their illustrious lineage (they had a pedigree back to Edward
HL, as we shall see directly), but chose rather to remain as simple squires, hiding from the world the
fault of their ancestor.

Whether the ancient and illustrious family of Savile were descendants of the Anjou branch of the
Dukes of Savilli, and whether their founder was in the train of our first Plantagenet monarch (as asserted
by certain heralds), is ver}' doubtful. At the Coronation of Richard L, in 1 189, we meet with one of them
anyway. Their illustrious alliances can be seen from their quarterings. The mother of the gentleman
who was knighted by Henry VHL was Anne Paston, whose mother was Joan Beaufort, daughter of the
Duke of Somerset, whose grandfather was John of Gaunt. The Saviles had their mansions at Bradley,
Copley, Eland, Howley, Lupset, Methley, Newhall, Thomhill, Tankersley. They still hold three
coronets, and seats in the Upper Chamber. The Saviles have enriched our literature, if only to instance
that famous knight and bibliophile whose edition of Chrysostom cost him eight thousand pounds. How
he was one of the most munificent patrons to the republic of letters ; how Oxford erected a magnificent
monument to his memory in Merton College ; how his great work extorted from his lady the remark, " I
would I were a book, too, and then you would a little more respect me," is known to most students. It
is not beneath remark that it was one of the Saviles who wrote the once famous ditty, "Sally in our Alley."
When William Savile purchased the Manor of Beeley in 1687 from the Greaves, his cousin, the
celebrated "trimmer" and Marquis of Halifax, was the lord of the manor of Eyam. We have mentioned
this fact to direct attention to another. Eyam passed with the heiress of the Marquis to Richard Boyle,

* Visitation of Derbyshire -Dugdale, i66a.

30 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Earl of Burlington, and again by heiress to the Cavendishes. Beeley was purchased bv the same noble
house in 1747, and so the Derbyshire estates of the Saviles (whether legitimate or illegitimate) had passed
to the same owner. When (Jeorge, the last of the Beeley Saviles, died in 1734, he left the Manor to his
niece, who had married one of the Gilberts, of Locko. It was evidently sold by the Ciilberts in twelve
lots (to the Normans, Browns, and Wrights'), which the Duke of Devonshire bought up. However
irrelevant to our subject, there are two quaint answers of the famous cousin of the last of the Beeley
Saviles, reported by Bishop Burnet, that are well worth mention. When the divine tasked him with
disbelief — "He hoped that Ood would not lay it to his charge, if he could not digest iron as the ostrich
did, nor take into his belief things that might burst him." Burnet asked him how he could reconcile his
philosophy with his numerous titles — **If the world were such fools as to value such things, a man must
be a fool for company, he considered them but as rattles; yet rattles please children, so these might be of
use to his family." Local histor)' records a brave act of this nobleman's mother: In 1645, while Sheffield
Castle was held by Sir William Savile for the King, Sir Thomas Fairfax made his mem<»rable attack.
"Ladv Savile, who was most enthusiastic in her lovaltv, lav in the Castle in an advanced slate of
pregnancy, and application was made to the besiegers to pennit a midwife to enter, a request that was
brutally refused, except on condition of the capitulation of the garrison. To this I^dy Savile would not
hearken, expressing herself as willing to sacrifice her life, and that of her infant, rather than be the means
of giving up so important a fortress to the enemy, and she was safely delivered whilst the cannon balls
were flying around her and shattering the walls of her apartments."

William Savile, who declared his pedigree before Dugdale, marrieil Dorothy, heiress of the Matlock
Stevenson s, and had two sons, (ieorge and John, who both died with issue. The father t»f this gentleman
was Steward to the Earl of Rutland. His ashes lie in Bakewell Church, where his integrity is set forth : —

No Epitaph nede make the just man fam'df,
The i;ood are praised when they are only named.

In a letter of Secretar}' Sir John Coke to Sir John Coke the younger, dated 2nd January, 1640, this
gentleman is referred to : — '* I shall be glad to know whether you hear anything from Mr. Savile
concerning the exchange or purchase of our Peak lands." These were situated in Over Haddon.*

Among those scholars whose enthusiasm for the study of Oriental literature prompted Archbishop
Laud to found the Arabic professorship at Oxford was John (Ireaves, a scion of an old Derbyshire family
located at Beeley from the reign of Henry III. How he travelled to Holland to attend the Arabic
lectures of (iolius in the University of Leyden ; went on to Rome, Padua, and Florence in quest of
knowledge and books ; visited Egypt to take the measurement of the Pyramids, and astronomical
observations that called forth the praise of Halley ; how he came back loaded with rare manuscripts
purchased from eastern monasteries, and enriched our literature with his own profound erudition, are but
so many extraneous items of the interest which centrt\s in the old homestead that is the subjei t of our
paper.

In those remote days of tournaments and vassalage, when England had no representative Parliament,
and the Barons were measuring their stn^ngth with the Throne to rescue the nation from despotism, the
family of Oreaves were living at Hill Top, in the Chaj)elry of Beeley. For four hundretl years were they
resident there, and the old edifice they tenanted in the days of Elizabeth, called the (Jreaves, remains to
us in the days of Victoria. Situated within a mile from Chatsworth, on a verdant uplaml of the Derwent,
it is indeed singular that so few know even the position of thi* old building. Almost three centuries have
elapsed since the Greaves sold it to the historic Howley Saviles, whose tenancy alone was sufficient to
make the edifice famous. Apart from its antiquity and sixteenth century carvings — of which there are
specimens in the old drawing-room — its profusion of wainscoting and miniature courtyard ; apart from
having been the earliest home of the Greaves of which there is any record, and the residence of the
Derbyshire Saviles, it should arrest attention. The present building undoubtedly replaced a previous one,
for the cellars which run under a portion of the courtyard — the entrance to which is now made up —

* Hist : MSS. Commission XII. Report, Part II., p. C49.

THK GRKAVES, BEELEY. 3r

present to the eye a much older description of masonr}' than Tudor. Then the west front of this structure,
together with the south wing, has disappeared. We cannot help thinking but that the (Georgian window
(which would be the centre of the building if intact as well as of the courtyard) has replaced the principal
threshold of bygone days. We know from the evidence of genealogy and heraldry that it was from Hill
Top that the (ireaves of the different counties of England went forth ; and their settlement in eleven
shires is very easy of trace. Of these branches that of Hampshire has surpassed the other by professional
distinction, whether of science, divinity, or medicine. A family which the College of Heralds allow^s to
be of "great antiquity," with the proud motto of '^Aquila not capiat mucasy' must have favourable mention
on those rolls which have yet to be dug out of our national archives, waiting perchance for the brilliant
researches of a Dr. Cox. We refer simply to the period previous to the establishment of the Protestant
religion, for their careers subsetjuent to that event stand out clear, marked, and famous.

In the year 1560, the (ireaves became Lords of the Manor of Beeley. They purchased it from
Nicholas, brother of Lord Vaux, whose mother was the heiress of the Cheneys and had it in her
dowr)-. One of the celebrated incidents of the battle of Bosworth was the personal encounter
between John Cheney, lord of Beeley, and Richard Plantagenet, King of England. Struck down by
the axe of Richard and left for dead, he yet lived to be rewarded by Henr}' VLL with a peerage
and the garter. In the encounter, the helmet of Cheney had been smashed, but near to lay the
scalp of a recently slaughtered bullock, with which Cheney covered his head on that terrible August
day, and hence the crest of his race. The (Ireaves of Beeley, like the Eyres of Hassop, were faithful
adherents to the house of Stuart, and under the Commonwealth paid dearly for their loyalty. How
piteously^ in some instances is seen in the case of the venerable rector of Brailsford, who had
married a daughter of Sir William Kniveton. He was expelled from his living after holding it for
forty years, and but for his successor allowing him a small pittance from his stipend he would have
starved. Before the Restoration came poor (ireaves was dead. Their support of the Royal cause
seems to have both scattered and impoverished, if not ruined, them. They sold the Manor to the
Saviles, and the last of the I^eeley (ireaves was buried in the chancel of the Church within ^vq
years from the flight of James 11. After they removed from Hill Top, they were of Stanton
Woodhouse and Birchover, of Rowsley and Stajiton, and various other places in the county. From
the Stanton branch sprang those of Mayfield, whose representative in our own time — the worthy J. P.
and M.D. some of us may have known. There were sons of this old family who prospered
gloriously. They have held, and, we believe, still hold, the Halls of Wadsley and Ford, in the county ;
Hemsworth imd Banner Cross, in Yorkshire ; Hesley, in Nottinghamshire ; besides a dozen other
stately homes in other parts of the kingdom. We are told (in The Reliquary, we think) that
Colonel (ireaves — who had charge of Charles I. at Holmsby House, and incurred censure by
delivering the Monarch up to Ensign Joyce — was a member of this family. We are told also that
the famous Annotator of the Pentateuch and Dean of Armagh was another member. We disbelieve both
statements, for, irrespective of there not being proof of relationship, there is the evidence of their
armorial bearings, which are as distinct as possible. What is far more likely, that the present Lord
Graves — whose heraldic charges, crest, and motto are identical with the (ireaves', of Beeley — is a
descendant of some son who left the old homestead at Hill Top in remote times. What a gleam of
splendour such a fact (if substantiated) would throw, for within the last hundred years seven admirals of
the English Fleet were members of this family. One scion of the Beeley house has been begrudged his
honours even by Sir Bernard Burke : Among the physicians of Charles II. was Sir Edward Greaves, Bart.,
but the UlsiiT King at Arms has ignored him. Bah ! he sprang from a Derbyshire house, no one will
criticise the omission.

The memorabilia of the Manor of Beeley are worthy of note, but we will simply state its possession.
Under Edward the Confessor it belonged to Godric, the Saxon, and at the Conquest became Royal
demesne. In the reign of Richard I. it was held by the De Beeleys. This family gave Harwood to the

3z OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Abbey of Beauchief, where the monks soon had a grange. The next holders of the Manor of whom we
know anything were the Cheneys^ and then began its illustrious ownership. At the famous meeting of
Henry VIIL and Frances L at Ardras, or the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the knight selected as the
champion of England to fight all French comers was the lord of Beeley. The last Cheney who held a
peerage was one of the nobUmen who sat on the trial of Mar}' Queen of Scots. It is indeed singular that
of the nine tarls, one viscount, and fourteen barons who formed that tribunal, there should- be but one
represented at the present moment by direct issue of his body, and curious to say, that nobleman is the
Premier of England. The Cheneys who resided at Ashford and Monyash as recently as the last century
were offh hoots of this famous family, as is also the present squire Edward Renshaw Cheeney, of Gaddesby
Houst\ Nicholas Vaux no sooner held the Manor than he sold it. Then the Greaves held both
homestead and lands, but for how long? They had other re.sidences at Stanton and Birchover, and for
thes(» they forsook Hill Top and disposed of it to the Saviles. They had a Court Leet over Beeley, which
they sold to thi- Manners, of Haddon, with whose noble descendants, the Dukes of Rutland, we believe, it
still remains. Rather more than a century and their lordship, land.s, ever}'thing had passed from them,
and the last of the senior line of fifteen generations pa.ssed away too. That indefatigable antiquarian,
Mr. John Sleigh, rummaged out an old document, which implies great services rendered by the Greaves
to the Crown, and sets forth large grants of land in con.sideration of very small pa}'ment, but they never
held the lands, neither was the deed, from its e.xtreme improbability, ever meant to be valid. As divines,
justices of the peace, sheriffs, lawyers, or scholars, the Greaves have added great honour to the county.

The CV)urt Leet, which, if we mistake not, the Manor of Beeley still possesses, is a vestige of the
ancient law of frankpledge, by which the preservation of the peace was secured, every man of twenty-four
years being compelled to find a bond for good behaviour or go to prison. As ever}- ten householders
wx^re individual security for each other and their families, this bond was no difficulty. Courts Leet, now
used for local purpose simply, were originally vested with criminal jurisdiction. The Manorial Court was
the low(\st form of judicial organisation, the lord having magisterial power only, but where the Manor
had a Court Leet there came prelates, peers, clergymen, freeholders — no one was exempt who was above
the age of twelve and under sixty. This was prior to the reign of Henry III., for by the Statute of
Maribridge (1267-8) the nobility and clergy became exempt, and so the authority of these courts passed
over to the Quarter Sessions, though long afterwards we find .several Derbyshire landlords claiming to
have a gallows whereon to execute their criminals. This is a feature of Constitutional histor}-, both
graphically and minutely described by Bishop Stubbs.*

The next tenants of the old homestead of the (Jreaves, after the Saviles, were the Lees ; and surely
their name will go down to posterity for more reason than one. Witness their ruthless hands about the
porch of Beeley Church when churchwardens, and witness the hideous disfigurement of the wainscoting
at this Elizabethan residence. We have never seen rooms in which the wainscoting is richer, excepting
the edifice was baronial, and then by comparison the Greaves would have the favourable opinion. In the
drawing-room it covers the four walls, the ceiling alone is visible. This beautiful black oak, which, when
polished, must have presented a glorious sight, has been completely covered with coats of paint. We do,
indeed, feel thankful that the dear old edifice is now tenanted by a gentleman and his family (Mr. Edwin
Morten), who are just as anxious to preserve as some of their predecessors have been to spoliate and
destroy. Among the upper chambers there is one denominated the " Unicom Room," from the royal
arms (Stuart period) over the mantelpiece. Within this room, perchance, many a goblet has been quaffed
" to the King over the Water," and its appearance suggests many an incident that has no doubt taken
place. We must, indeed, acknowledge our obligation for being allowed to inspect the interior of an old
homestead that is a veritable one of the days of Queen Bess, and linked with so many historical
associations of the Saviles.

• Constitutional History, Vol. I., p. 93, 117, 431, 453.

ASHFORD ROOKERY AND LITTLE LONGSTONE
MANOR HOUSE.

^^T|P^UST without the pretty little village of Ashford, some two miles north of Bakewell, at the south-west
angle of the Buxton road, is a quaint old building denominated The Rookery. Situated in a
lovely vale, surrounded by hills thickly wooded, the Wye in front of it bounding onward to join
the Derwent, truly the view from its threshold is picturesque. Its earliest inhabitants we can
trace were the family of Milnes, say in the sixteenth century, now ennobled ; it has since probably been
the home.stead of scions of two other baronial houses, the Fynneys and Cheneys. The family of Milnes
furnishes a capital illustration of the advantages gained by the yeomen classes, from a line of kings
(Tudors) who encouraged commerce rather than agricultural pursuits. In the reign of Elizabeth we find
the Milnes leaving their sheep-shearing and farming and establishing themselves as traders at Tapton,
Aldercar, and Ashover, as well as at Bawtry, Yorkshire. They became mayors and aldermen, members of
Parliament, justices of the peace, and doctors of law ; while some of their children had Royal sponsors at
christening ; we rather fancy these particular Royal sponsors had accounts with the Milnes which were
never balanced, except with a balance in favour of the Milnes. Three times have their daughters mated
with the Viscounts Galway, and at the present moment the senior representative, Robert Offley Milnes,
holds the coronet of Houghton in the Peerage of Great Britain. The grandfather of the present peer was
M.P. for Pontefract ; was offered a seat in the Cabinet by Perceval in 1 809, as either Chancellor of the
Exchequer or Secretar}- of War, and it was his refusal which gave Palmerston ** admission to the Ministry."
His son (the late peer, Richard Monckton Milnes) was ennobled in 1 863, but he will be best remembered as
a munificent patron of literature, and by his Pa/m Leaves^ Monographs^ and Life of Keats. Among the other
tenants of The Rooker>' we find a branch of the Bullock family. The vicissitudes of this house incline us
almost to believe in the aphorism of Burke — ^that gainers by the spoliation of the IMonasteries never
prospered. The Bullocks were settled at Darley, Unstone, Norton. Their name appears on the list of
Derbyshire gentlemen 12 Henr}' VI. (1433). They held Darley Abbey for eighty years ; were Lords of
the Manor of Norton ; one was Sheriff of the County in 1616 ; another was selected by Charles II. to
be a Knight of the Oak, with an annuity of a thousand pounds, but the Order and the annuity too, went to
the dogs. Old Hutton tells a marvellous stor}' about one of the Bullocks, whose name was Noah. Having
christened his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, as can be proved by the registrj' of St. Alkmund, he
built himself an ark on the Derwent, and lived in it with them, but what they did there must not be told in
Oath. Anyway the coins he tendered in payment were always beautifully bright. Another one, and in
this case a resident at The Rooker>', who was partial to intoxication, would sit on horseback for hours to
drink huge quantities of beer, preferring such a position to the cosy hostelry of the village, or his own
drawing-room. This was the gentleman who, having fallen over the shafts of a cart one night in Vicarage
Lane, procured an axe and divested the vehicle of such appurtenances amid a volley of oaths so quaint
that they have come down to posterity.

The Manor of Ashford has ever had either king, prince, or noble for its lord ; yet until held by the
illustrious hou.se of Cavendish its possession seemed fatal. The Plantagenet who called it his, fell by

36 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

the assassin or was slain ; the Hollands, Earls of Kent and Dukes of Exeter, were beheaded or murdered,
or begged their bread ; the Nevilles, Earls of Westmoreland, had to fly to save their necks. The last
Holland, Duke of Exeter, was the most powerful of the Lancastrian nobles ; was a grandson of John of
Gaunt ; had a precedency to the House of Lords ; could bring into the field ten thousand retainers. At
the battle of St. Albans he was made a prisoner, was confined in Pontefract Castle, and while there met
his cousin Anne, sister of Edward IV., to whom he was soon after married. The momentary success of
the Lancastrians at the battle of Wakefield made her sever herself from her husband, and demand from
Pope Pius II. her divorce, which this Pope positively granted, and then she espoused St. Leger, and by
him had a daughter Anne, who mated with Sir George Manners. Hence the royal quarterings on the
chief of the Rutland shield. Holland fled from the disastrous field of Bamet to the continent, where, in
the capital of Burgundy, Comines the historian saw him shoeless and with clothing in tatters cr>ing
" Bread, bread, give me bread for Jesu's sake." The Manor of Ashford at the survey was royal demesne,
and remained so till 1 199, when King John gave it to Wenunwyn, lord of Powisland, whose descendants
had a grant of free warren here, but it was again with the Crown in 1319, when Edward II. granted it to
his relative, Edmund Plantagenet, whose heiress, the ** Fair Maid of Kent," passed it to the Hollands,
from whom it went to the Nevilles. Both the Piantagenets and Hollands had a mansion here, the site of
which is appropriated now by the lads of the village on the fifth of November for their bonfires. Less
than ten years after Bess of Hardwicke — say 1549 — had persuaded Sir William Cavendish of the advantages
of a married life — she had, as his wife, persuaded him to purchase Ashford from the Nevilles. The Manor
of Sheldon has ever passed with Ashford less a slight alienation to the Pickfords in the reign of Henry

in.

When the celebrated Francis Talbot, fifth Earl of Shrewsbur}% became a widower by the death
of his Countess, Lady Mary Dacres of Gillesland, it was to the quiet village of Little Longstone that
he came a wooing a second time. This fact may be new to many readers, particularly as Burke says
the Lady was of Holme, County Chester : The truth is the Shakerleys of Little Longstone were a
branch of the Cheshire house, and, of course, it is in keeping with Derbyshire honors — ^shift them
to some other county. When we recollect that she was the daughter of a squire simply, while he
held not only the senior Earldom of England, but was the link between the old Barons and the
recently fledged aristocracy of the Tudors — was the nobleman to whose sword even the Tudors
themselves owed so much — there is surely some truth in the romance which surrounds this union.
But before we speak of this romantic incident or others of a much more sensational character we
will notice one or two of those families who were lords of the soil, as also the ancient race, whose
name will ever be associated with the Manor House. According to Domesday Book the Manor of
Little Longstone, under Edward the Confessor, belonged to Colne, the Saxon, and during the
Norman monarchs to the de Ferrars, Earls of Derby. After the forfeiture of the eighth Earl, it was
given by Edward I. to the Mountjoys, though there had been a temporary holding by Robert
Fitz-Waltheof. In the fifteenth century the Blounts possessed it by heiress of the Mountjoys. The
famous old Derbyshire family of Blount has furnished many pages of English history — some as bright as
noonday, others as black as night ; some which the pen of Shakespeare has made familiar and immortal ;
some which the annalist pronounces unfit for publication and ignores. One fact should ever be
remembered kindly, that when the Grocyn first introduced the study of Greek at Oxford, about 1 491, to
which there was frightful opposition, the Blounts were amongst the first to perceive the value of such a
study and to encourage it. The safe navigation of the Conqueror's ships was due to a Blount, who
afterwards fought on the field of Hastings together with his two brothers. One of them was Count of
Guisne in Picardy. It was the navigator to whom William I. gave the Barony of Ixworth, which his
descendants held for two hundred years, when the sixth Earl fell at the battle of Evesham, defending the
standard of de Montfort, and so the peerage became attainted. Sir John Blount, who espoused Isolda
Mountjoy, and thus came in for several Derbyshire manors, among which were Little Longstone and

ASHFORD ROOKERY AND LITTLE LONGSTONE MANOR HOUSE. 37

Winster, had a second wife — Eleanor Beauchamp — by whom he had a son Walter, who became one of
the most celebrated warriors of the reigns of Edward IIL, Richard IL, and Henry IV. Sir John had a
son John by the heiress, who gave to this half-brother Walter his Derbyshire estates, to which the warrior
added by purchase the vast estates of the Bakepuzes. This gallant soldier, who won his spurs under the
Black Prince, and whose prowess assisted to gain the victories of Nesbit Moor and Homildon Hill for
Henry IV., allowed this monarch to persuade him (so did other Derbyshire knights, as to wit, Sir John
Shirley) into wearing the Royal dress at the battle of Shrewsbury. The scene as given by Shakespeare
will have interest :

Lord Suflford's death.

\Ttuy fight ^ and Blomti it tiaim..
Hotspur : O Douglas, had thou fought at Homildon thus.

I never had triumph'd o'r a Scot.
Douglas : All's done, all's done ; here breathless lies the King.
Hotspur: Where?
Douglas: Here.
Hotspur : This Douglas ? No. 1 know this face foil well.

A gallant knight he was, his name was Blount,

Semblably furnished like the King himself.
Douglas : Now by my sword, I will kill all his coats ;

I'll murder all his war4robe, piece by piece.

Until I meet the King.

Blount : What is thy name, that in the battle thus
Thou crossest me ?
What honor dost thou seek
Upon my head.
Douglas : Know then my name is Douglas ;

And I do haunt thee in the battle thus.
Because some tell me that thou art a king.
Bloumt : They tell thee true.

Douglas : The Lord of Stafford dear to-day hath bought
Thy likeness, for instead of thee. King Harry,
This sword hath ended him, so shall it thee
Unless thou yield thee a prisoner.
Blount : I was not born to yield, thou haughty Scot,
And thou shalt find a king that will avenge

A lineal descendant of the knight was the author of the famous Tenuresy but his cousin Thomas
has filled in the most thrilling page of history, though it cannot be told, further than when a prisoner he
was cut up alive by orders of the King's Chamberlain, Sir Thomas Erpingham, and amid such inhuman
butchery, could yet taunt his adversary to madness, even when he had ceased to be recognisable as a
human being. The great scandal of the last Blount of Thurveston, who held the Earldom of Devonshire
in 1605, and Lady Rich may be told some other time. There arc still two offshoots of the Blounts who are
holding baronetcies.

In 1474 the Blounts sold their Manor of Little Longstone to Richard Shakerley, whose old homestead
in this ilk was standing in our own time. This gentleman married the heiress of the Levetts. His sons
allied themselves with the Balguys, Bagshawes, and Revels of Higham, while his granddaughter combed
her hair for a coronet. That Grace Shakerley did marry Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, is a fact
known to any student of genealogy, and for the romance, we submit that the fact is some evidence of its
truth. Long years before (when she was but a girl, and he but young, though Justice of the High Peak
Forest at the time), he had seen her as Queen of the May. From the courtesy he had paid her that day,
she had given him her young heart. Poor girl ! She did not know he was married, nor he dream that
his innocent gallantry would be mistaken for affection ; and after two decades of summens and winters he
came to claim that May Queen, who, he knew, had been faithful to the love she had given him twenty
years before. The son of this very nobleman, and successor in the title, was the husband of Bess of
Hardwicke, and it was when Bess had become a Countess that she bought the Manor of Little Longstone
from the Shakerleys. There was a moiety of this manor held by the Longsdons in the twelfth century,
which we believe is still with that family. We know that the Longsdons were resident here as far back as
the reign of King John, as there was a lawyer at Bakewell called Longsdon Par\'a, from his place of
abode. He is said by some to have been a priest, and not a lawyer, bnt he had a wife and children, and
priests were not such sociable animals in those days. The old Manor House was certainly built by a
Longsdon, and it is of this ancient line of men that there is a thrilling story told. On the 3rd March,
1658, there was a skirmish between some Parliamentary troops and adherents to the House of Stuart in
the neighbourhood of Sheffield. Among the leaders of the former was Thomas Longsdon, who, at the
time, was the last of his race. He had married Elizabeth Berley, of Middlewood House, Bradfield. She
was with her husband when the skirmish commenced. This lady's undaunted pluck is proved by the
incident. Placing herself where she could watch the encounter, she saw her husband fall from his horse

38 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

mortally wounded, and, instead of fainting, rushed to his assistance, lifted his body in her arms, mounted
his horse and galloped away to where she could place him under surgical skill. With a heart bursting
with grief and rage, she rode back to his company and led them on to victory. This earned her the name
of *' Captain Bess." It was a gallant deed for a lady near to her accouchement, for within a fortnight
after she had become a mother and a widow, as is proved by the register of Longstone Church, for she
came there to have the boy baptised. Her husband was buried beneath the east window of St. Peter's,
Sheffield. This son perpetuated his line, and thus we have, at this moment, those squires among us with
an unbroken pedigree of eight and twenty generations. It is asserted that the Longsdons had a Charter
of Free Warren between Matlock and Mam Tor from the Conqueror, ** to hawke, hunte, fishe, and fowle,
cut down tymber and digge uppe stone quarries," the consideration, says Mr. Sleigh, in Vol. IX. of The
Reliquary^ " being that the family was always to keep a bull, a boar, and an entire horse for the public
use, and to furnish two gentlemen in armour." " Certain it is that in proof of this allegation, pieces of
ancient armour, swords, and halberds have decked the walls of the Old House at Little Longstone within
the memory of living men, but, like too many of their fellows, they have found their way into the melting pot
as old iron, and for aught we may know form a component part of one of our great iron roads. An old
morion is actually remembered to have fallen so low from its high estate as to have been used for the
pitch kettle at the annual sheep gathering."

When Richard St. George, Norroy King-at-Arms, made his Visitation to the Peak in 1611, Stephen
Longsdon, of Little Longstone, appeared before him and disclaimed the title of gentleman, "as not
knowing how he might justify the same," and St. George tells us he "proceeded against him according to
my commission." But Longsdon found out his error, and asserted his right, when he was allowed the
use of the arms and crest of his ancestors.

During the sixteenth centur>' the young ladies of Little Ix>ngstone very judiciously mated with the
neighbouring squires, and even with scions of the aristocracy, while their brothers ver}* ably followed
their example. We find that the Beresfords, of Newton Grange, from whom springs the present Marquis
of Waterford, came courting the girls of the Longsdons, while the Fynneys, of Ashford, won their hearts
and doweries too, for the old residence next to the Manor House still bears the evidence of the fact, as it
is recorded on a stone just beneath the point of the gable. The lads of the Longsdons went to Hassop
among the Eyres, and the Leches of Chatsworth, to select their wives ; but two hundred years before the
Eyres were Lords of Hassop, members of the Longsdons were being summoned by Edward I. for a
purpose which, perchance, was one of the wisest ever conceived by a King of England. It was the
assembling together of those gentlemen of the county who were tenants in capite to the Crown, that they
might render to him an account of its state and condition, its extent and productions. Two of the
Longsdons had been summoned from their knowledge of the Peak. And as gentlemen in the thirteenth
century, so their descendants remain in the nineteenth — kind, courteous, intelligent, benign — gentlemen )'

all through, as if Nature had created a family of men to illustrate her own conservatism. i

FYNNEY COTTAGE AND FLAGQ HALL.

$t)nn^t) C^ottrt^e anh iiagg^ ^alL

^ANY of us remember Francis Eyre, Earl of Newburgh, while living at Hassop, and some of us
will remember Charles Eyre, who was a carter of coals and other commodities, living in the
^HS<W1^ village of Brough. The Earl prided himself, and justly, as springing from Sir Robert, one of
the Agincourt heroes, but Sir Robert w-as a junior member of the founder of this house, which
is not denied, but attested by authorities ; while the carter believed he sprang from a senior line, the
members of which had never troubled themselves beyond the welfare of their cattle and the frugality of
their wdves. We mention this as an apparent vicissitude of one Derbyshire family, as we shall have to
draw attention to a much more extraordinary one which exists of another at the present moment. The
vicissitudes of the family of Fynney, though ver>' similar to the Eyres, are much more significant. The
Eyres were never Wardens of the Cinque Ports for generations ; were not Peers of the Realm in the
fifteenth centur^s nor do they or their descendants still hold a coronet ; no member of their house ever
held one of the Great Seals, and was considered sufficiently dangerous to the Crown as to be cast into
the TowTr. The romance of the Fynneys, of Ashford, Longstone, Stoney Middleton, and Flagg by
Chelmorton, lies in the fact that they descend from a line of their house, senior to the one which held
and still holds, maternally, the Peerage of Saye and Sele ; they spring from the one who wore the
coronet of Dacre /jun uxoris) for six generations, and whose shield was emblazed with twenty-nine
baronial quarterings, beside those of three earldoms. We will rapidly glance at the illustrious members
of this family who were Ministers of the Crown, and took part in several memorable events from the
Conquest to the Commonwealth, and then at those stalwart yeomen, whose knowledge of kine and turnips
was superior to their knowledge of Parliamentary precedents.

Few people unacquainted with the mysteries of genealogy would imagine that the name of Fynney
was simply an adaptation of Fiennes, but this is set at rest for ever by indisputable evidence. Among the
barons of the Conqueror was John de Fiennes, who was made Warden of the Cinque Ports, and whose
descendants held the appointment (according to Edmondston) for four hundred years. Among the slain
at the battle of Acre in 1190 was the fifth baron, but the prominent figure is Geoffrey Fiennes, who was
one of those nobles who met King John at Runnymede and made him knuckle down to their demands in
signing the Magna Charta. What names should be so well remembered by Englishmen as those twenty-
five barons and their compatriots, yet how many of us could enumerate them ? When Edward II. was
covering himself and the country with ignomy, John Fiennes told him of his imbecility at the peril of
his head, for he fled to the Continent. With Henry VI. this family found exceptional favour, and among
the Royal gifts was the Peerage of Saye and Sele. The power of the first peer was too great to please the
Yorkists, and they cast him in the Tower, from whence the rebels of Jack Cade dragged him and finished
his career with the axe. Burke, Edmondston, Collins, and other authorities show him to have been the
second son of his father, and thus we get at the fact that the Derbyshire Fynneys were the offshoots of
the line of his elder brother. It was the grandson of this nobleman who took hufi* at his mother marrying
a second husband, and threw the peerage into abeyance by refusing to take up his title. For a century and
a half there was no Lord Saye and Sele, and then James I. did a funny thing. He made out a fresh
patent of nobility, and gave it to the very man who, by his birthright, already held it. Is not this
romance in real life with a percentage ? A word about Nathaniel Fiennes, and then for the senior line of

F

42 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Derbyshire. We must not, however, forget the girls, for they " stuck their caps " most prodigiously high.
One was the w^ife of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, the most powerful noble of Edward I. ;
another espoused Edmund, Lord Mortimer, who, having been accessory to the murder of Edward 11^
usurped the kingly power. If we mistake not there was a third, who had Bartholomew Hampden for
husband, and thus the blood of a Fiennes was in the veins of the immortal John who fell at Chalgrove.
Nathaniel Fiennes was a member of that section of the Long Parliament known as " the Root and Branch
men," from their desire to abolish Royalty, the Church, and the Bishops. He was given the Great Seal
by Cromwell, and made one of his brown paper lords. His elder brother was holding the coronet, which,
curious to say, again became in aheyance for one hundred and seven years, yet at the present moment the
nobleman who wears it is Frederic Twistleton Wykeham Fiennes.

How the Derbyshire Fynneys are the senior branch of this house can be seen at a glance. The first
Lord Saye and Sele had, as we have said, a brother older than himself. It was the son of this brother
who acquired the peerage of Dacre, and whose grandson William first held lands in this county, from
whom they descend. Any one strolling from the acclivity of Monsal Dale to the village of Longstone
must have noticed the old edifice and neat little homestead as shewn in the illustration, and also that
underneath the point of the gable are the initials I. F., and the date 1575. The initials, we are told, stand
for John Fynney, and the date for the year the building was erected. Both assertions present a difficulty.
According to Mr. John Sleigh, the first F>'nney who settled at Longstone was not bom till the 2iid March,
1596. Either the date is false or the antiquarian has omitted something. We say, omitted something, from
certain facts which apparently warrant the remark. The edifice stands on the lands that belong, or did
but recently, to that ancient worthy and Derbyshire family — ^the Longsdons. These lands were given by
Robert Fitz-Waltheof, and they have held for centuries. There are undoubtedly several marriages
between the Fynneys and the Longsdons, and the date is rather assumptive evidence that there was one
who built his homestead on the lands belonging to his wife's relatives. The fact (which Mr. Sleigh
admits) that James F>Tiney, bom in 1596, married Mary White, of Ashford, but took up his abode at |

Little Longstone, rather suggests that this was the very residence he brought her to. An>'way, our query
may occasion the squire to disprove our belief that there was a James or John F)Tiney who mated with
one of the Longsdon girls prior to 1596. Members of this family were certainly living at Ashford in the
days of Elizabeth, and for two hundred years later; for the heiress who married Dr. Denman in 1761 is
designated as of Ashford, though she brought him property in Stoney Middleton. Why this lad/s dowry
was never assailed has been a puzzle to us, for she was certainly baptised at Ashford, 20th October, 1740,
whereas her mother was not married till ist May, 175 1. What shifting positions the Fynneys have held !
When the junior but baronial branch were without their coronet and living heaven knows where, the
senior branch were well-known squires in Taddington Dale ; when the former came back to their ermine
and scarlet, the latter were putting on fustian and hobnail boots. Thus, those yeomen who were residing
at Flagg Hall within the last three years, and whose anxiety lay with their crops and their cattle, were the
senior representatives of the men who were lords of Fiennes before the Norman Conquest, and the name
they held was their own, without the aid of letters patent or Act of Parliament.

The difficulty presented by the date on the gable of Fynney Cottage is self-evident. If correct, the
structure would be Elizabethan ; but there are the Jacobean mullions and balls, besides other
characteristics. The explanation may be that of frontal alterations simply — we rather think such is the
case — but anyway it has been one of the homesteads of the men whose sires mated with the Fitzhoughs
and Bouchiers, and whose idios^ncracies are unique in our annals, but still somewhat perpetuated (until
the other day) by one sitting among the peers of England, and a senior member bringing his cattle to
Bakewell Market. The Fynneys of Flagg retained one great trait of their ancestors in making judicious
alliances with families from which they derived other advantages besides ^ivives with pretty faces.

There are several members of this family to whom we may give particular mention elsewhere, as John
Fynney, Doctor of Divinity, whose sermons were published in 1746, and Fielding Best Fynney, surgeon,

I

FYNNEY COTTAGE AND FLAGG HALL. 45

who contributed to the Philosophical Transactions for 1777, and the Memoirs Med, for 1789 ; while we
cannot refrain from uttering the fact, that both the Staffordshire and Cheshire branches of the family have
found able writers to tell us many interesting and historic incidents about them, yet where can we glean
anything of the Derbyshire house ? It was to the Cheshire branch that Samuel and John belonged, who
went to America with William Penn, the great Quaker. It was of the Cheshire branch that another
Samuel was a member who became " miniature painter to Her Majesty " Queen Charlotte, and compiled a
manuscript history of his family, an epitome of which can be found in Earwaker's East Cheshire.

Considerable confusion frequently arises, and inaccurate statements are often made, when speaking
of a particular lordship— as Over Haddon, Little Longstone, Chelmorton, Edensor — simply from the fact of
the manor having within it a subordinate lordship. Take Blackwell, which was with William Peverell,
who gave it to the priory of Lenton, with whom it remained for four hundred years, when it was given by
Edward VI. (in 1552) to Sir William Cavendish, whose illustrious descendant is now lord. But there were
the Blackwells of Blackwell, who were located here for generations, and who were lords of a subordinate
manor of Blackwell. One was a knight in the reign of Edward I., and the cavalier who was the last of his
race was a knight, too — ^poor Sir Thomas {temp. Charles II.) whose loyalty had led him to lose all and
contract debts to the extent of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds. The very monarch for whom he
had thus involved himself ordered this subordinate manor to be seized for the creditors, and it was sold to
the Hopes, Earls of Haddington. We should like to know who gave to Charles II., or any King of
England, authority to cut off an entail, and make it saleable property. It has since merged into the
paramount manor, and is with His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. Hiere are brasses in Taddington
Church dating back to the fifteenth century to the memory of the Blackwells. One of these brasses we
would recommend to the historical student and those ladies who gather ideas of neatness of dress from
such sources, besides the pretty legend thereto. Agnes, the wife of Richard, in the reign of Henry VII.,
is shown wearing the clothing only assumed or donned by a lady who had taken the oath of perpetual
widowhood, the clothing proclaiming at once faithfulness after death and notice to suitors to keep their
distance.

Among those manors which came to the Talbots at the spoliation of the monasteries were Brushfield,
Monyash, One Ash, Glossop, Beard, and the minor lordship of Chelmorton. When Gilbert, Earl of
Shrewsbury (stepson of Bess of Hardwick) died in 16 16 these possessions were carried by his co-heiresses
to their husbands, the Earls of Kent, Pembroke, and Arundel. Brushfield was purchased by Sir W.
Armine ; One Ash was sold to Sir Thomas Gargrave. The Gargraves were a knightly house, who came
in for extensive grants of Abbey lands in Yorkshire, but who, within a century afterwards, sank into
obscurity. The grandfather of the purchaser of One Ash was Speaker of Queen Elizabeth's first
Parliament and President of the Council of the North. He was a favourite of Her Majesty and her
minister Burghley ; he had a grant from Bess, of the Old Park, Wakefield, but he adopted the glorious old
Priory of Nostell for a residence. This was the gentleman who conducted poor Mary of Scots from
Bolton to Tutbury. One Ash passed with the daughter of Sir Thomas to Richard Berry, physician to
Oliver Cromwell, who contrived to possess himself of the whole Gargrave property. Sir William Armine,
who bought Brushfield, was undoubtedly a baronet, for he paid to James I. the sum of one thousand and
ninety-five pounds for the title, yet he is ignored by Burke. His career, too, is memorable ; he was a
staunch Parliamentarian, and friend of both Eliot and Hampden. He was appointed by the Crown, in
1627, a Commissioner to collect an arbitrary loan in Lincolnshire, but this he refused, and was put in the
Gatehouse at Westminster. When the Rebellion broke out he urged the advance of the Scottish army,
and for his zeal he was tendered a vote of thanks by the Commons '' for his many and great services to
Parliament.'* When he died the whole Council of State attended his funeral, but such is the mutability of
events ; his daughter was made a peeress by Charles II. The Armines were of Osgodby, County Lincoln,
very remotely, as one of the lads was Master of the Rolls in 13 16, and some ten years later was
consecrated Bishop of Norwich.

44 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

How the Manor of Monyash was in moieties from 1616 till 1735 will be seen in the Conspectus, yet
the tenure of these moieties makes us acquainted with relationship between families which cannot be
shown in a Conspectus. In 1616 the Earls of Kent, Pembroke, and Arundel held the manor in thirds.
In 1638 the Earl of Kent sold his share to the Saviles, of Beeley. The Earl of Arundel conveyed his
third to the Earl of Pembroke, who disposed of both thirds to John Shalcross in 1640, who, in turn, parted
with them in 1646 to Thomas Gladwin, of Tupton Hall. So now the manor was in halves with the Saviles
and Gladwins. The Savile half past by heiress to the Gilberts, of Locke. The Gladwin half past by
co-heiress to Sir Talbot Clerke and Dr. Henry Bourne. The Clerkes were the first to sell in 172 1, the
Gilberts next in 1735, and the Bournes immediately after (1736), and the purchaser in each case was
Edward Cheney. Sir Talbot Clerke, who married Barbara Gladwin, was of Launde Abbey, in
Leicestershire, and a scion of the Willoughby house. County Warwick. He and his cousin John were
both holding baronetcies. It was the ancestor of his cousin who took Louis d'Orleans, Duke of
Longueville, prisoner at Terouenne, or battle of the Spurs, and got an augmentation of arms. The
descendant of the warrior is the present worthy baronet, Sir William Francis Clerke, of Hitcham, Bucks.

In 1634 Robert Dale, of Flagg, entered his pedigree in the Herald Visitation. No earlier fact of the
family is evidently obtainable. There was a Thomas Dale some few years previous, who was a naval
commander and twice governor of Virginia; brought to England the celebrated "Pocahontas," but
nobody knows if he was of this county. Between Robert and the late Major Thurstan Dale there were
seven generations, but the evidence of tombstones show^s them to have been located in the Peak long
before the winds of Chelmorton blew upon the cheeks of Robert. We believe they were builders of Flagg
Hall. They were certainly munificent, as the poor of Parwich and Brassington know ; were of a militar}-
turn, for one was killed in action ; one was through the whole of the Peninsular campaign, and several oi
the lads have held their commissions. We shall meet with other homesteads of this family.

8UBNELL HALL.

gubneil gall.

LONG the whole course of the Derwent — ^from its separation with the Wrongsley till its
confluence with the Trent — ^there is no edifice, not excepting glorious old Haddon, that
has the historic associations of Bubnell Hall. These associations are linked with every
landmark of our constitution, from the reign of the Conqueror till the overthrow of
feudalism at the battle of Bosworth. To be conversant with these associations is to be familiar
with our constitutional history for four centuries subsequent to the Norman subjugation, with our
foreign policy, with all the brilliant military engagements of the same period. Bubnell Hall, says
Lysons, was one of the residences of the baronial house of Basset. But how many of us know
anything of the famous memorabilia of this family.^ They were the intellectual factor of the
Norman period ; they were among the earliest justiciaries the nation had ; they played conspicuous
parts in all the great Councils in which liberty and justice struggled for recognition. When the people
took the side of Monarchy, in the fight between Henry I. and the Barons, led by Robert of Belesme, they
were the legal advisers of the Crown ; when the Barons, a century later, took the side of liberty against
the tyranny of the Throne, they were among the champions of right ; when Henry II. summoned the
clergy to Clarendon, in 1 164, to that famous Council in which it was clearly enunciated to the horror of
Thomas i. Becket that an ecclesiastic was amenable to common law, their voice was raised in support*
They were at Runnymede, and their name is on the Magna Charta as a witness ; their brains are
recognisable in the Charter of the Forest ; and when Simon de Montfort issued his summons for the first
semblance of a representative Parliament England ever had, two of the gentlemen summoned were Ralph
Basset, of Sapcot, and his cousin and namesake, of Drayton. Now it so happened, as we shall see
directly, that Bubnell belonged to one of these men. The Bassets rose into power under Henxy I. Ralph,
the Chief Justiciar of that period, was a man whom the King (so says Dugdale) " raised from a very low-
condition, and conferred on him a very ample estate, exalting him above Earls and other eminent men.'''
There is an excellent reason to be assigned for the rapidity with which the Bassets acquired wealth and
power. They were lawyers intuitively, for the law of frankpledge, of which our courts leet are a remnant,
was undoubtedly the work of Ralph Basset in its application, if not embodiment, and Henry Beauclerc
was a King quick to perceive that their brains were of more worth than their courage. Still, their names
are on the rolls of heralds ; their bravery has favourable mention in our annals, and in the pages of
Froissart. They were Crusaders with Richard I. in the Holy Land, and one of them was Geoffrey, " the
Troubadour." They were with the first and third Edwards in their glorious campaigns, and shared in all
those famous victories from Dunbar to Cressy. Among the first men created Knights of the Garter after
the institution of the Order was a Basset. One of them was given large possessions in Oxfordshire for
** his special services in divers wars." Down in the West of England, near to the valley of the Tamar,
there is still the residence of a living representative of the man whose name is on the Roll of Battle
Abbey.

The Bassets, of Bubnell, are ever designated by the old writers and by the County Compilers as of
Blore. Good ! Whom were the Bassets, of Blore ? Neither Dugdale in his Baronage, nor Lysons in his
Derbyshire^ nor Burke in his Extinct Pee? ages, throw one ray of light upon such a question ; nor whether
they were an offshoot of the Drayton, or the Weldon, or the Sapcot, or the Wycombe, or Hedendon

48 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

branches of this famous family. Research has had its reward, and we have not only satisfied ourselves
whom they were^ but that they held Bubnell long before they held Blore, and have gathered facts and
incidents that must, of necessity, commend them to our notice ; indeed, two items would suffice. They
defeated the rapacity of Pope Innocent IV., and poured out their blood at Evesham, when it was a case
of Liberty versus Monarchy.

By a conjunction of somewhat singular incidents, the Bassets held Bubnell during exactly the same
period as the Vernons held Haddon ; both the Bassets and Vernons having acquired their Derbyshire
estates by marriage with the Avenell family, in the reign of Richard I. ; and both becoming extinct in
that of Elizabeth, when Bubnell went to the Copwoods (the Hall anyway), and Haddon to the Manners.
In the year 1195, Simon Basset, second feudal lord of Sapcot, was one of the Justices Itinerant of the
County Derby, and then it was that he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Avenell, who held
Nether Haddon by tenure of Knight service. At the same time William de Vernon, son of Warine, fourth
Baron of Shipbroke, married her sister Avina, or Avicia. These ladies were co-heiresses. The feud,
which afterwards existed between the Vernons and the Bassets, arose over the partition of the
extensive lands Avenell died seized of, in Derbyshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northumberland ; but
among the moiety of Elizabeth was Bubnell. In 1205, when Simon died, we have an early instance and
a. beautiful illustration of a Derbyshire woman's love, for she paid eighty marks to that ignoble being,
called King John, that she might remain a widow and retain her lands at Bubnell. The issue of the
marriage was a son, Ralph, who became the coadjutor of Simon de Montfort in his efforts to mould the
constitution of England on that representative basis on which it remains to this day. In the celebrated
controversy between Henr}' III. and his barons to define the rights of Englishmen and destroy the
favouritism shown by that monarch to foreigners to the injur)- of his own subjects, we find Ralph Basset
in the front rank, nay more, when on the nth of June, 1258, what is called the " Mad Parliament," but
more correctly the " Plucky Parliament," met at Oxford, the name of Basset stands first on the list of
twenty-four Commissioners appointed to draw up a constitution ; first on the list of twelve appointed by
Parliament ; and second among the twenty-four appointed as Commissioners of Aid for the King, thus
bespeaking the confidence reposed in their integrity by King and barons. When Henr>' III. went to
France to get the advice of Louis IX. in assisting him to resist the demand of the peers, he left the
kingdom in charge of a Basset, which simply says how great must have been the statesmanship, tact, and
integrity to have accepted so difficult a task at such a critical time. The rejoinder of Fulk Basset (who
was Bishop of London) to that monarch is characteristic of his race. Fulk had wielded the English
clergy into their determination to resist the demand of the Pope, to send him a large portion of their
income. Said Basset, " The Pope and the King may indeed take away my bishopric, for they be stronger
than I ; but let them take away my mitre, and my helmet will appear." But it is the Bassets, of Sapcot
and Blore, the owners of a Hall at Bubnell for nearly four centuries, with whom we have to deal, and of
whom we know sufficient to make the old ivy-clad edifice interesting to any lover of Derbyshire lore.

When at sunrise on the morning of the 4th of August, 1265, Simon de Montfort found his small
forces on the plains of Evesham surrounded by the troops of Henry UL, and formed them into that
immortal circle which perished in a righteous cause, Ralph Basset, lord of Bubnell (with his cousin, of
Drayton), was among that front rank of barons who were the last representatives of that Norman peerage,
held by tenure and prescription, which titles by writ. When de Montfort saw the tremendous odds
against him he cried to one of the Bassets to save himself by flight, but the answer came, ** If you perish
I shall not care to live." What is very singular, but no less true, for the fact is recorded by Foss, that
the estates of Basset (of Bubnell) were not escheated by this assumed treason, for, when Henry III. saw
Basset's widow and beheld her beauty, he removed the attainder.

The splendour of the house of Basset waned with the darkness that shadowed and embittered the last
moments of Edward III. They shared in the glory of Poictiers and Cressy, and iij the defeat at
Rabymont, for which the last Baron Basset, of Sapcot, was censured. There are some curious items in

BUBNELL HALL. 49

this Lord's will which shows us that ease and elegance were not unknown to the barons of the Middle
Ages. " One great velvet bed " — we thought that the baron of the fourteenth century slept on harder
material — " four silver basons with two ewers, whereon his arms were graven, six silver dishes, two silver
pots and four chargers, all with his arms ; as also a cup with cover gilt, having one ring on the side
thereof."

In 1378, Bubnell passed to the Bassets, of Blore, about which time the moiety of Nether Haddon,
which the Bassets had held, passed to the Vemons. Indeed, we are not so sure that it was not then that
the Manor of Bubnell was not acquired by the Vemons in some way, and merged into Baslow. We find
it stated over and over again that King John dispossessed the Bassets of Bubnell, and gave it to the
Nevilles, who by marriage conveyed it to the Talbots. There are deeds extant which show this to be
false. We admit that the Bassets did incur the ire of John, for they were no admirers of such a
despicable being ; we admit that he divided the manor between the Vemons and Bassets when the two
families quarrelled ; but the confusion has arisen from the Manor of Baslow being in moieties for about
four centuries. The Vemons are said to have been given Baslow by Henry de Curzon about 1330, and to
have held it till their famous heiress Dorothy took it to her husband. Yet the Inquisitions Post Mortem
show it with the Talbots in the reign of Henry VI., which is a confirmation that the manor was in moieties.
At the General Survey both Bubnell and Baslow were Royal demesne. Simon Basset, who acquired
Bubnell with his wife, Avicia Avenell, had a brother Ralph, who settled at Cheadle, in Staffordshire, and
whose descendant married the heiress of Sir Henry Brailsford, whose wife was the heiress of Audley, lord
of Blore ; thus the Bassets, of Sapcot, who first possessed Bubnell, and the Bassets, of Blore, with whom
Bubnell will ever be associated, were cousins.

The Barony of Sapcot has been in abeyance for five hundred years (one of the heirs general is Squire
Pole, of Radbome, we believe), but we should not be surprised to see it again held, for in our time there
has been the celebrated case of Beaumont, another old Derbyshire family, who regained their titles after .
an abeyance of three hundred and thirty-three years.

In 1583 Bubnell Hall was held by Richard Cop wood, in right of his wife Margaret, the daughter of
Sir William Basset and Anne Cokayne, whose father was Sir Thomas, of Ashboume. Lysons has it that
this lady was of Ashford, but we think this must be a printer^s error, as we cannot trace that the Cokaynes
had a residence at Ashford, though they were yet holding Hartle Hall. Margaret, the wife of Copwood,
was the last of the Bassets who dwelt at Bubnell. Her son. Basset Copwood, to whose memory there is a
brass in Bakewell Church, was bom and died here. The Hall was the gift of her nephew Ralph, the last
of that illustrious line of men, so dauntless in courage, either in field or council, and whose statesmanship
is stamped into our most memorable Charters. His heiress mated with Sir William Cavendish, Earl and
Duke of Newcastle; whose Memoirs many of us have read without remembering that she was a Basset.

As we look upon the old edifice, situated in one of the most lovely spots in Derbyshire, the mind
wanders back to those remote da)rs while yet Norman-French was the language of the nobility. The
Bassets had right of free warren long after they had ceased to be lords of the manor. How many of those
old barons brought their brides here, while they laid aside their armour and followed the chase ? Was it
at Bubnell where the son of Avicia Avenell had the row with his cousin of Haddon ? There is more than
one tradition told, which links itself with the ivy on the old homestead. When the muster roll of Falkirk
was called, the Basset who had fought at Dunbar was missing; this is historical fact, but tradition has it
that there was a certain lady, of the De Gemons, of Bakewell, whom he had espoused secretly, and whose
sudden death made him break faith with his king. We have been at some pains to verify this tradition^
but we cannot, further than he was absent from Falkirk, and that his answer satisfied Edward I.

G

HAS80P HALL.

^a^&op gall.

IX HUNDRED years ago William TEyre was holding lands in the Hope Valley by virtue of his
being the official in charge of the King's venison around the valley, or rather from having the
custody of the Forest of Hope Dale. These lands were held in capit6 from the Crown. Hope
is the earliest home of the family, even as Bowden Edge is of the Bagshawes, and Wormhill
of the Foljambes. From the time of Henry HI. till the reign of Edward HI. their residence here is
clear, but how long before or after there is little more than supposition. With the union of Nicholas
Eyre and the heiress of the Archers of Highlow about 1360, their list of marriages with beauty and
property begins. We will simply glance at a few of them, and some of their illustrious alliances, as there
is matter of interest to be gathered ] though to follow their pedigree as given by Burke in his Commoners,
Landed Gentry ^ and Peerage^ yields some curious and thrilling facts if only from their union with families,
perhaps the most historically real in our annals. The estates of the Eyres are forming, at the present
moment, one of the most celebrated cases in the High Court of Justice ; with which there are connected,
so we are told, facts of a most sensational and incredible character. The father of Nicholas Eyre had
Joana Barlow for wife — ^at least so says Burke, and he adds that she was of the Chorlton-cum-Hardy
family. Of course, she could not be one of our Barlows ; they were not sufficiently distinguished ! At
any rate this marriage goes to prove that the famous family of whom Burke says she was a member was
a branch of the Derbyshire house, for in those days Chorlton was a long distance to go courting ; neither
were there any sixpenny telegrams to send a love message, whereas there were not ten miles between
Hope and Barlow Hall near Dronfield. The acquaintance of the Eyres and the Chorlton Barlows reasons
very loudly that the famous and historical Lancashire Barlows were offshoots of the ignored men living
among the hills on the road to Chesterfield. We all know that Robert Eyre, the famous son of Nicholas,
who won his spurs at Agincourt, won also the hand of Juan, the heiress of the Padleys, whose son Roger won
a lady who was at once the heiress of the Whittingtons and Bakewells. After the purchase of Hassop, of
which we shall speak in a moment, we find one of the lads (Stephen) who mated with the heiress of the
Blackwells ; whose son Rowland secured Gertrude Stafford with her quarter of a million ; whose son
Adam had the heiress of the Barlows of Dronfield Woodhouse ; whose son Rowland was the husband of
the heiress of the Hulmes of Leek. Then, by way of a change, some of the boys had the daughters of
Earls for helpmates — a Crawford, or a Fitzwilliam, or a lady of the Lindseys, Digbys, Packingtons,
Willoughbys, or Phipps. But the girls of the Eyres topped the boys altogether by having live Earls for
partners, Manvers, Kinnoul, Massarene, Oxford. Surely it was loyalty linking with loyalty when a Digby
mated with an Eyre. The chivalrous defence of Newark is surely equalled by those four Digbys, brothers
and knights all of them, who fell side by side on the field of Towton, and one of them was father of seven
sons who all fought for the same dynasty on the field of Bosworth. Lttss than two centuries ago the
Eyres were lords of twenty manors, while almost within living memory they held more than twenty
thousand acres round about Highlow, Rowter, and Hassop, with an Earl's coronet to boot ; and now, the
lands and coronets are gone, nay, more, the Rowter and Hassop branches are extinct. They had stately
homes at Rampton, in Nottinghamshire ; at Welford Park, in Berkshire ; at Lindley Hall, in
Leicestershire ; at Loughton, in Yorkshire ; at Hassop, in Derbyshire ; at Slindon, in Sussex ; at Egham,

54 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

in Surrey ; besides seats in Middlesex and Northumberland, King's County, and the Counties Gal^'ay,
Tipperary, and Cork. Their names are in the Extinct Peerage, and but yesterday they were peers of the

realm.

No one has apparently mooted the question whether the Wiltshire Eyres were from the same founder
as the Hope family. Mark the singular facts. The shields of both houses are identical in trick and
tincture ; their crests the same, and accompanied with a similar romance of a loss of a limb on the field
of battle, though there is a slight difference of narrative. The Derbyshire Eyres say it was at Hastings
where their ancestor saved the life of the Conqueror; those in Wiltshire that it was at the siege of Ascalon
where Richard L owed his preser\'ation to their forefather. Both families have held peerages, have
intermarried with the aristocracy, have founded branches in Ireland, and, what is so singular, the pet
names given to their sons are the same, and even the motto borne by the Eyres of Hassop — Si je puis —
was and is, we believe, still borne by the Wiltshire house ; yet Burke has no observation to prevent so
simple and interesting a question from cropping up. The tendencies of the two families have been
somewhat different. Members of one have been Admirals of the Red and the Blue and the White, and
battalion officers in the Army ; members of the other have held at least three seats on the Bench, one
of which was that of Lord Chief Justice of England.

Stephen Eyre, who was the eleventh son of Sir Robert and Joan of Padley — (living 3, Henr}' \TI.,
i^gg^^^was the founder of that Hassop branch whose exploits in the Civil Wars give a tinge of chivalr\' to
our annals. The last of this branch expired on the 22nd November, 1853, ^^ ^^^ person of Mar)'
Dorothy, Countess of Newburgh, and wife of Charles Leslie, Esq. Stephen married into the family of
Dymokes, of Lincolnshire, who were then, as they are now, the Champions of the Kings of England.
Some of us may not possibly know what is meant by " King's Champion," and from the interest which
centres in the office and family, we may be pardoned for a moment's digression. When a Monarch of
England is crowned it is the duty of a Dymoke to ride into Westminster Hall and challenge the world
against the right of his Sovereign. He is mounted on his charger, clad in armour, with all the necessary
trappings of his horse embroidered with ttvo lions passant (the arms of his race), together with other relics
of past pageantr)'. He is supported on either side by noblemen and heralds on foot, and having advanced
a certain distance, he throws down his gauntlet, uttering the while his challenge to mortal combat with
anyone who denies his Sovereign's right. The challenge runs after this manner: — "If there be any
manner of man, of what state, degree, or condition soever he be, that shall say and maintain that our

Sovereign , this day here present, is not the undoubted and rightful inheritor to the imperial crown

of this realm, and that of right he ought not to be crowned King, I say he lieth like a false traitor, and
that I am ready the same to maintain with him whilst I have breath in my body, either now at this time or
at any time whenever it shall please the King's highness to appoint, and thereupon I cast him my gage."
For this duty he gets a gold cup. It was Catherine Dymoke, the wife of Stephen Eyre, who purchased
the Hassop estates from Sir Robert Plumpton in 1498, and whose wealth was the nucleus of their later
great possessions.

The long-contested ownership of the Hassop estates has vested them with more than ordinary
interest, and when it is remembered that the historical data of the families who have held them would
furnish materials for a novelist, there becomes even a greater desire to gather some particulars of the past
owners.

Hassop is the Hetesope of Domesday Book, and was Royal Demesne, while the probability is that it
was a portion of the Peak Forest. During a period of six centuries, however, the possession of the manor
is clear, being held consecutively by three of the most famous families who were ever Derbyshire
landlords — ^the Foljambes, Plumptons, and Eyres. From the documents relating to the Foljambe Chantn'
in Bakewell Church we get at the fact that their principal residence was a Hall at Hassop, and this in the
reign of Edward III. The heiress of the first branch of the Foljambes, which became extinct in 1388,
was a ward of King Richard II., who sold his wardship to Sir John Leake for fifty marks; he in tura

HASSOP HALL. 55

selling her again for one hundred to Sir William Plumpton. When this child ^was only eleven months old,
her convenant of marriage was made out. This would be two months after the death of her father, who
had passed away at the early age of twenty-one. He was only a stripling of ten when he succeeded his
grandfather, the founder of the Bakewell Chantry; she, too, was not thirty, though mother of three sons
and two daughters, when she died. Sir William took excellent care to secure this ward for his own son's
wife (and in her dowry was Hassop, with a dozen other lordships and moieties in twenty townships) as we
learn from the Plumpton Correspondence^ * published by the Camden Society, and that she was affianced
before her fifth birthday. The present Squire Foljambe is a lineal descendant of this lady's cousin Henry,
whose wife was Benedicta Vernon, of Haddon.

The Plumptons first come before our notice with a love episode, wherein an innocent man was
condemned to the scaffold. There is something tragic and thrilling about this incident. In the year
1 1 84 Roger de Guilevast Granvil, who was one of the Justiciaries of the Midland Counties, had the
wardship of a lady whom he intended to marry to a relative, but whom he learnt had plighted her troth
secretly with Gilbert de Plumpton. To successfully effect young Plumpton's ruin the Judge swore he was
guilty of robbery and of ravishing his ward. Sentence of death was passed and immediate execution
ordered, but how he was secured from the hands of the hangman is best told in the words of the old
document: —

"I forbid you," said the Bishop of W^orcester, who was a spectator, "on the part of God and the
Blessed Mary Magdalen and under sentence of excommunication to hang this man on this day, because
to-day is the day of our Lord and the Blessed Mary Magdalen, wherefore it is not lawful to contaminate the
day." t

"Who are you.-^ What madness prompts you that you have the audacity to impede the execution of
the King's justice?"

"Not madness, but the clemency of heavenly pity urges me; nor do I desire to impede the King's
justice, but to warn you against an unwary act, lest by the contamination of a solemn day, you and the
King incur the wrath of the Eternal God."

Immediately after liberation, the King discovered what was going on, and the youth's acquittal
followed.

The Plumptons, before the Foljambe marriage, had held baronial rank and extensive possessions, but
they were ever involved in some dispute. The first-bom of this union married his wife without witnesses
and before sunrise, jeopardising the rights of his children: They were pronounced illegitimate by the
Church, and but for the Priest and lengthened litigation they would have lost their inheritance. The
splendour of the house of Plumpton finished with a debtor's prison. In one item they are unique among
the old Derbyshire families ; their possessions were spoil for the cupidity of Henry VII., from the villanies
of the creatures, Empson and Dudley. Thus we gather the motive which prompted them to sell the
Hassop estates to Catherine Eyre in 14,98.

With Catherine Eyre began the glory of Hassop and the splendour of her house. She allied her sons
to the wealthiest families around, and when her grandson marries the prodigiously rich Gertrude Stafford
we come to those Jacobean times when the present structure was reared. The building is by no means a
specimen of even the debased school of architecture, but its glories of a different sort endear it to our
memor>'. It was within a few yards of its portals that Rowland Eyre, in 1643, gained his first military
engagement with the Parliamentary troops. The hall he turned into a garrison, and then had to pay
twenty-one thousand pounds to redeem his own property. It was this cavalier's father who pulled down
the old mansion and reared the present one.

How the Eyres became peers as Earls of Newburgh seems to be a fact not so well known as we
thought it was. At the commencement of last century, Charlotte Maria Livingstone was Countess of

* At p. 8, there is a pedigree of the various branches, of which this Udy was the maternal ancestor.
\ " Correspondence," p 9.

56 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Newburgh in her own right when she married Lord Radclyffe, brother to the Earl of Derwentwater. The
Earl was executed for drawing his sword in the cause of James Stuart, the Chevalier St. George, while the
husband of the Countess was made a prisoner and placed in Newgate. He was then unmarried, but the
union took place at Brussels, 24th June, 1724, as he had managed to escape from England. The loyalty
of Lord Radcljrife to the fallen dynasty still led him to meet the man he considered his king (Charles
Stuart, the young Pretender) in 1745, when, before he could do so, though on the high seas at the time,
he was captured, and this time he suffered the fate of his brother. He had by the Countess three sons
and four daughters, the youngest of which daughters (Mary) mated with Francis Eyre, of Warkworth and
Hassop. The first-bom of Lord Radcl}'fre (James Bartholomew) succeeded to the Peerage of Newburgh,
as did 3lso*hts son, Anthony James, who died without issue ; when Francis Eyre, the son of Francis and
Lady Mary Radclyffe, was allowed the earldom. Burke has pointed out that the House of Lords tripped
themselves in this instance. We cannot see it. We admit there was a direct representative of the
Livingstones living on the Continent at the time, and that the I^rds were under a mistaken notion that an
alien was debarred from holding an English peerage ; but if the title of the Countess Charlotte Maria
was good, so was that of the Eyres. The descendant of this representative, Sigismund Marquis Bandini
Guistiniani, though an Italian, now holds the coronet. Francis Eyre, who became Earl of Newburgh,
married Dolly, the daughter and co-heiress of John Gladwin, of Mansfield, Notts, Attomey-at-Law, and
Steward to the Duke of Portland.

On a cold November morning (22nd) in 1853, at Hassop Hall, died Lady Dorothy Eyre, Countess of
Newburgh, and wife of Colonel Charles Leslie. By a codicil to her will, dated seven o'clock on this very
morning, Lady Dorothy bequeathed the Hassop estate to her husband absolutely. By virtue of this codicil
and other documents the Leslies claim to be lords of Thomhill, Calver, Rowland, and Hassop. A few
facts of this family may not be unwelcome to the historical student. Their remote ancestor was a certain
Bartholomew, a Hungarian, who settled in Scotland about 1067. From an incident sprang all the future
greatness of this house. The Queen of Malcolm III. (who was the sister of Edgar Atheling, whom the
Norman cheated out of the English CroiMi) was crossing a river in Fifeshire, when she would have been
drowned but for the aid of the Hungarian. When in the water he seized her Majesty by the buckle of
the belt around her waist, and made for the opposite bank ; but she, feeling his hold relaxing, uttered the
two words which remain to this hour the motto of the Leslies, ** Grip fast," and so gave him courage^
and three buckles on a bend is their escutcheon. Among other good things with which he was rewarded
was one of the Queen's Maids of Honour for a wife, and from this union sprang those various branches
of which the most illustrious is the one which has held the Earldom of Rothes for four hundred years.
Another branch - held the Earldom of Leven till 1641, when the heiress linked her coronet and herself
with the Earl of Melville.

LONQSTONE, BEELEY, AND DARLEY HALLS.

S;on00tone, gceUtr. ctntf ®arUn flails.

IR THOMAS DE WENDESLEY was knight of the shire in the Parliaments of 1382-4-9 and
1393. The victory of the Constitution, says Bishop Stubbs, was won by the knights of the shire.
" They were the leaders of Parliamentary debate ; they were the link between the good peers

and the good towns ; they were the indestructible element of the House of Commons ; they were
the representatives of those local divisions of the realm, which were coeval with the historical existence of
the people of England, and the interests of which were most directly attacked by the abuses of Royal
prerogative." On the Rolls of Parliament there is an incident recorded of Sir Thomas, which reads very
curiously after the eulogy by Stubbs. About the year 1403 Godfrey Rowland was living at Longstone
Hall, when Wendesley (only a few days or weeks before he was slain at Shrewsbur}'), together with the
Vicar of Hope and others, made a raid upon his homestead, and stole articles to the value of two hundred
marks. They took Rowland prisoner, canying him to the Peak Castle (which had become at that
time a house of detention for criminals), where they kept him for six days without food, beside
committing the vile outrage of cutting his right hand off. The petition by which Rowland solicited
redress from the Commons is recorded, but the motive which prompted the Darley knight to resort to
burglary and mutilation has no mention. Presuming he had not fallen at the battle of Shrewsbury, there
can be no doubt but that Sir Thomas, as a Lancastrian, would have been shielded by Henry IV. It would
indeed satisfy a curiosity if any light could be thrown upon so dastardly an act by a brave soldier and a
reverend gentleman. The heiress of Rowland married with the Staffords, of Eyam.

There is something very remarkable about the fact that there should be a member of an old
Derbyshire family still among us who is a lineal descendant of the man who actually dwelt on the same
spot almost five hundred years ago. We believe, moreover, that the one family have held possession
during the whole time ; though there has been the tenancy of the Carleils. The Wrights were located at
Longstone in the reign of Edward III., and from the extensive lands of which they were owners, would
have been lords of the manor, if Longstone, like Little Longstone, had ever been a manor, but it never was
more than a berewick of Ashford. A wing or gable (Bell Court) of their Elizabethan homestead of many
gables, undoubtedly remains, and the interior bears evidence that a considerable portion has weathered
almost the same period. The grand staircase is a treat, being constructed with width, space, and taste.
There are recesses which from their extent partake of the nature of corridors. In one of them there is a
window with mullions and slight tracery, which we feel sure was formerly three lancet lights under one
arch; but the old mullions have been chiselled, and thus unfortunately robbed of their appearance of
antiquity. On the walls of these recesses or landings there are paintings, principally portraits, evidently
by good masters. Those that are not portraits have considerable interest. Our attention was drawn to
one by Bogdani, the celebrated Hungarian bird artist of some two centuries back. We never should have
expected to have found one in Longstone. This was the painter who was purely self-taught, made a
fortune by his art, was defrauded of it, and died in some London slum. There are several of his works in
Hampton Court. In some of the upper rooms of Longstone Hall the moulding of the wainscoting is very
fine, exhibiting curious designs, interspersed with shields bearing the arms of those families with which
various members of the house have allied themselves, generations back. One of the girls, if we mistake
not, was married to one of the Lords Coventry in 1788; while we know that one of the sons married a

6o OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Miss Northcote, who was great-aunt to the late Earl of Iddesleigh. The quartering and charges of these
shields reminds us of the nooks and comers in which the Wrights have settled. We find them at Aldercar
and Wooton Court, In Warwickshire; at Maperley, Nottinghamshire; at Watcomb Park, Devonshire; at
Castle Park, Chester; and heaven knows where. The wainscoting of Longstone Hall has met with the
same fate as the wainscoting of The Greaves — all its beauty covered with paint, and, what is singular, of
the same colour.

Among the various members of the Wright family whose names are preserved on State Records,
Rushworth's Memorials^ Hutchinson's Memoirs^ or the pages of Whitelock, we will only mention one, who
was made of a bit of real English stuff. When Admiral Ascue fought the Dutch fleet in the Downs, in
June, 1652, one of our ships was commanded by Captain John Wright. All his officers were wounded or
killed in the engagement, a ball took off one of his own legs, yet in spite of such trifles, he drov^ the
Dutch vessel he was attacking on to the shore, and burnt her, after which he performed the feat of
bringing twenty of the enemy's ships into the Lee Roads as prizes. At the Restoration, only his disloyalty
was remembered, and he was imprisoned for eight years, in Newark. His ashes lie, together with his
wife's, in the chancel of St. Peter, Nottingham.

The Wrights had their homestead on the site of Longstone Hall when Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of
Kent, was lord of Ashford ; the Plantagenets have been extinct for four hundred years ; the Wrights still
hold the dwelling, and yet Sir Bernard Burke ignores them in his Commoners of England. Some things
an very strange ! A family which has seen the English throne held by four different dynasties, the
crown worn by twenty-five different monarchs, must have some glorious associations.

The appearance of the front of Longstone Hall would never suggest to the mind that within its
portals there were so many traces and evidences of days long ago. In acknowledging the courtesy of the
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Bullivant {n^ Wright) in allowing us to inspect the moulding and wainscoting, we
would also add that compliment is due to someone for accomplishing the difficult task of preserving intact
all traces of antiquity, without interfering with the air of ease and elegance which the home presents.

?

BUXTON HALL.

gwseton SrtU.

|ROM those remote days wben the Roman Legions were busy constructing their roads through the
Peak of Derbyshire (making Buxton important as a centre from whence there was a divergence
of great arteries), till the brain of Edward I. was busy conceiving the Hundred RolIs»
information respecting the vicinity of Buxton cannot be gleaned, less a slight mention, by the
Monkish Chroniclers, of the vast herds of deer in the Forest, or a Royal visit to the Peak Castle recorded
on the Pipe Rolls. "At an Inquisition taken at Derby on the Wednesday after the Epiphany of 3 Edward L
(1274), the jurors say that the vill. of Buxton is held in capita of the King for 39s. 4d., by William de
Buxton, Henry de Foxlowe, and four others." If this historic fact be made a multiplication sum, the
weekly rental of each of the gentlemen will be found to be about three halfpence. Some quarter of a
century previously (1250), the Pipe Rolls inform us that "Matthew de Hathersage 20 marks fine for
having Buckstall Forest by the pledge of Reginald de Fowlowe and four others." These items are of
considerable worth, for they establish the fact that the Buxtons and Foxlowes were no small change even
then. Is it not singular that both Lysons, in his Derbyshire, and Burke, in his Armoury y ignore the
heraldic coate of the Foxlowes? There was a family of Foxlowe living at Taddington (probably a
descendant of old Reginald) in 1650: They had a residence at Tideswell, and their alliances — irrespective
of their being lords of several manors — are evidence of their importance. William Fowlowe, of Tideswell,
married Grace Longden, whose uncle was William Bagshawe, the Apostle of the Peak, and had Samuel
of Staveley Hall, whose son William mated with Mary, daughter of Lord John Murray, of Banner Cross,
whose heiress she was also. The sister of William succeeded to his estates. She had married Williani
Bagshawe, M.A., Vicar of Wormhill, whose daughter Mary was the mother of W. H. G. Bagshawe, the
present Squire of Ford Hall. We thus get at how this gentleman quarters the Murray arms. The village
of Buxton of the thirteenth century would be just without the Forest ; indeed in the Inquisition already
quoted it is so stated. Whether the baths were of any repute cannot even be surmised, for the derivation
of the word Buxton, according to Dr. Pegge, quashes such a supposition, though Lysons adheres to
"Badestanes," stone baths. The gentlemen who were located around Buxton in the thirteenth century —
within a radius of five miles — were the Brownes, of Marsh Hall; the Bagshawes, of the Ridge; the
Foljambes, of Wormhill ; the Cotteralls, of Taddington ; the Bradshawes, of Eccles Pike ; the Dakeyns, of
Fairfield; the Blackwalls, of Blackwell; the Shallcrosses, of Shallcross. Are there no vestiges of the old
homesteads of the Buxtons and Dakeyns left ?

The earliest correspondence, giving any particulars of Buxton, dates from the letter written by Sir
William Bassett to Tom Cromwell, the Chancellor, Earl of Essex, recounting how he had sealed up the
Baths, broken the images, taken away the crutches and other bequests of the charitable, for the use of
those poor creatures who crawled to the Well of .St. Ann in those days in the hope of restoring vitality to
their limbs. This was when Heniy VIII. had just assumed the supremacy of the Church — say 1538.
From that date particulars of Buxton are in abundance. Even as we should turn to the Buxton Advertissr
to find the names of the visitors on a given day in July, 1 89 1 , so we can turn to Lodge's Illustrations (and
other authorities) and find on a given day in July, 1577, Roger Manners, brother to Dorothy's John ; Sir
William Fitzwilliam and Lady Harrington, were among the visitors.

»»

»»

64 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

The Old Hall, with which Dr. Jones — a Derby physician — was so delighted in 1572, its four stories,
great chambers, offices, sleeping accommodation for thirty, had then but recently been erected by George
Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, husband of our famous Bess. Lysons has it that the Hall was ** taken down
in 1670; Lewis (the Topographer) says it "underwent considerable alteration and enlargement in 1670,
The building, now denominated Old Hall Hotel, is evidently a portion of the Talbot edifice, encased with
masonry of "a subsequent period, with sundry additions. From the courtesy of the extremely obliging
proprietor, Mr. J. H. Lawson, we were allowed to inspect certain apartments which confirm such a belief;
and to descend to the va.ults (in which this gentleman keeps his huge stores of rich old ports and sherries
of fifty years maturity). Here all doubt and scepticism vanish ; for the depressed arches and massive
architecture suggest that they were portions of a structure prior to the Elizabethan age. The pillars -of the
entrance to the Hotel appear to be vestiges of the original structure ; for weather and masonry have
apparently conjoined to establish the fact ; as we see the Elizabethan workmanship repudiating its being
enfiled with the alterations of 1670. The spot is associated with Scotland's unfortunate Queen, her
sufferings and indignity, for we have it from the Earl of Shrewsbury's own letters that she was not allowed
to be seen of anyone " more than her own pepell and suche as I appoynt to attende ; she hathe nott come
forthe of the house synce hur comynge, nor shall nott before hur departynge." From the Talbot Papers
and Lodge's IllusirationSy many particulars, not wearisome from quotation and worn into shreds, may be
gathered of this poor creature. On the last visit (if incarceration can be termed a visit) she wrote on one
of the windows of the Hall (adapting a couplet of Caesar's to her own use) : —

Buxtona, quae calidae cclebrabere nomine Lymphs.
Ford mihi potthac non adeunda rale.

Dr. Pearson, in his Obsen*ations on the Springs of Buxton^ says " the old well was situated under the
third pier from the comer of that part of the arcade which runs along the side of St. Ann's Hotel to the
Bath Passage, the basin of which and the foundation of Sir Thomas Delve's arch are said to be buried
beneath the pavement." The truth of this assertion came to us very forcibly when in the vaults of the
Old Hall, where the influence of the well can yet be felt. The Sir Thomas Delve who built the arch
spoken of, in 1709, had come to Buxton with an infirmity, and had been cured, hence he built the arch
over the spring of St. Ann's Well in gratitude. His ancestor was one of those four knights who, with
Lord Audley, led the first charge at the glorious victory of Poictiers. The Delves were of Delve Hall,
Uttoxeter, temp, Edward L, and of Dodington, Cheshire, temp, Henry IV. ; one was knighted by Henry
VL and fell at Tewkesbur>' ; one was beheaded by Edward IV. ; one created a baronet by James I. in
1621. A sentence in Dr. Jones' Buxtones Bathes Benefyte (1572) curiously shews that the ladies of Buxton
and visitors thereto had an opportunity of displaying their dexterity with the ball, though not in a tennis
tournament or with rackets : " The ladyes, gentlewomen, wyves, maydes, maybe in one of the galleries
walke ; and if the weather be not agreeable to their expectacion, they may have in the ende of a bench
1 1 holes made, into which to trowle pummetes or bowls of leade, bigge, little, or meane, or also of copper,
tynne, wood, eyther violent or soft, after their own discretion ; the pastjme, troule in madame is termed.
Lykewise men feeble, the same may also practise in another gallery of the newe buyldinges." "The
Manor of Buxton," says Lysons, " is parcel of the King's Manor of High Peak, on lease to the Duke of
Devonshire." This will introduce us to the Duchy of Lancaster (so far as Buxton, Castleton, and
Chelmorton are concerned anyway), with which we shall deal when giving a conspectus of the Peak
Manors, and from which we shall gather how Edmund Crouchback was given the immense possessions
of the De Ferrars and De Montforts by Henry III. his father; how Edward II. dispossessed his relative
and gave them to his favourites ; how they reverted back under Edward III. ; and how crafty old John of
Gaunt got the blind side of Blanche Plantagenet and came in for the whole. To Buxton come the feeble
to be healed by its waters ; to Buxton flew many a Christian (as we shall show in the case of one of the
ladies of the house of Foljambe) in the worst days of religious persecution to escape death at the stake.

^ari^lr of ®tt0tlct0tt*

^ev^vH (^asiHe*

PEVERIL CASTLE.

^cticrtl Ca0iU

[OSITIVE information respecting the boundaries of the Peak Forest can be obtained from an
Inquisition taken 3 Edward I., 1274. "Beginning the south side of the river Goyt, and so
along that river to the river Ederowe, and so by the river Ederowe to Langley Croft, near
Longdendale Head, and so by a certain byway to the head of Derwent, and from the head
of Derwent as far as Mittemford, and from Mittemford to the river of Bradwell, and from the river of
Bradwell to a place called Rotherlawe, and from Rotherlawe to the Great Cave at Hazlebache, and from
the Great Cave to Little Hucklowe, and from Hucklow to Tideswell, and to the river Wye ascending to
Buxton and the springs of Goyt." These were the boundaries of the thirteenth century and subsequent to
the Charter of the Forest, while it is asserted that originally they extended from Glossop to Bakewell,
from Hathersage to Buxton. Two hundred years had gone by since the first Peverell was High Steward,
and living in his Castle of the Peak. At the close of the twelfth century the severities of the Forest laws
had become inhuman, and even diabolical. "Cruel mutilation," says Bishop Stubbs, "and capital
punishment not to be redeemed by any forfeiture are a leading feature of a code so tyrannical that even
its authors screened its brutality by a circumlocution." All Forests "were outside the common law, or
right of the kingdom ; they were not liable to be visited by the ordinary Judges of the Curia Regisy but by
special commission and by special officials ; they had laws and customs of their own, and these were drawn
up rather to insure the peace of the beasts than that of the King's subjects." These laws have a definition
liable to escape detection. They were clearly the enunciation of a despot who sought to make all law
subservient to his will ; they were the initiative of a King who would rule as an autocrat. The barons were
not blind to this definition, and hence their struggle for the Charter excites the greater admiration, for the
Forest laws struck at all grades of society with the same monstrous injustice and barbarity. King John
even asserted his authority over the fowls of the air; and under his sway the Master Forester was
independent of, and not amenable to, the Chief Justiciar. The frightful burden of the Forest laws, apart
from their severity, lay in them making it imperative on every freeholder to attend all the Courts of the
Forest. This is how we meet with the names of those men on the Inquisitions held at Wormhill, who
were not officials, as the Staffords and Bradburys.

The circumference of the Peak Forest is supposed to have been sixty miles. The principal animals
were the red deer, wild boar, bears, harts, wolves, and wild bulls. To kill any one of them was more
heinous than murder, nay the semblance of killing was specifically defined and visited with execrable
torture. The Swainmote met three times a year and the Justice Seat once in three years. Let us listen
to the charges! He was seen drawing a bow: this was the crime of "Stable Stand." He was seen with a
dog following a wounded animal: this was "Dog Draw." He was caught with the dead animal in his
possession: this was "Back bear." He was seen with the marks of killing upon his clothes: this was
" Bloody Hand." These offences, as well as all business of the Forest, payment of salaries, adjustment of
disputes, evidently had a settlement at the Swainmotes, usually held at Wormhill. It must be exceedingly
interesting to some of us to know that among the freemen who sat on the Inquisition, held at Wormhill
in 13 18, there were William de Stafford, Hugh de Bradbury, Richard de Clough, William le Ragged,
Richard de Bagshawe, William del Kyrke, Robert le Taylour, John de Chinley, Richard de la Ford, and
Thomas Martyn.

70 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

There were nine principal offices (some of which required more than one official) connected
with the Forest: — ^The High Steward, whose appointment was from the King by letters patent, whose
position was honorary, but whose power was unassailable by any law. 2. The Master Forester, whose
position was also honorary, but not by letters patent. 3. The Receiver: he was a paid official, whose duty
it was to enforce the payment of all rents and fines due. He had two assistants, called the bailiffs of the
franchise and winland. 4. Constable of the Castle : this must have been a nominal position, otherwise it
would not have been honorary, for there is evidence extant which shews the Castle to have been the place
of detention for prisoners. 5. Ranger: this was an appointment from the King, and no doubt lucrative,
beside the nominal emolument. He was collector of all moneys, both attachment and assessment, and
the office comprised that of Bowbearer, for which there was a salary. 6. Beremaster: this official had to
see to the weighing of all ore, for which he was paid by a percentage or profit, yet the appointment was by
letters patent from the King. 7. Woodmaster, and 8; Bailiff of the Forest: were both appointed by the
King, yet the difference was this, that while the Woodmaster was a paid official, the Bailiff had often to
pay up, as we find there was a Foljambe holding that position in 1274 who paid four hundred marks for
the fines of the Forest for nine years. 9. Forester in Fee: of all the offices this was the most enviable to
anyone beneath the rank of noble. It was hereditary, and gave the holder of it lands in perpetuity.
There would be no difficulty in tracing that many of our landed gentry at the present moment hold their
estates by virtue of their ancestors having been Foresters in Fee. The Eyres held this office for
generations ; so did the Foljambes, Bagshawes, Meverells, Needhams, Woodroffes.

The old Keep of the Peak Castle, which is all of its splendour that remains to us, has occasioned
antiquarians to differ materially in their opinion. In Volume VI. of the Archczologia there is a learned
article attributing its erection to the period of the Saxon Heptarchy, from the herring-bone masonry of
its foundations ; yet its Norman architecture is as evident to anyone as it was to Dr. Pegge. Can it ever
have been a castle and a homestead of the Peverells, seeing its ballium would be useless for the mustering
of forces or retainers, and yet certain authorities venture so to describe it, in the heyday of its glory "^
Can the entry on the Pipe Rolls be correct, that Henry II. stayed here once on a time? Can the ballads
be true which tell of tournaments held and of lovely maidens who dwelt here.'^ Tradition has it that
Gaurine de Meez did battle within this castle with a Scottish Prince for the hand of Mellet Peverell. If
they fought within the ballium they tossed for sides and De Meez won it. Yet in Domesday Book is the
entry of its being Peverell's Castle in the Peak, and from national records we know that when De Montfort
defeated the troops of Henry III. at Lewis, he considered the Castle of such importance that he demanded
the custody. Twice has it been among the gifts of a royal wedding day — when King John, then Duke of
Montaigne, married Isabel Clare, and when Joan Plantagenet, sister of Edward III. became the wife of
David II. of Scotland. Twice has it been a stronghold of barons resisting a monarch's despotism. Twice
was it given by Edward II. to favourites — Piers Gaveston and John, Earl of Warren. Up this slope, one
morning in 1222, William de Ferrars led his troops to capture it for the King. Surely there is a mystery
about the old place; yet about its historical memorabilia there is none. The glory of the Peak Castle lies
in its being held at the commencement of the thirteenth century by men — whose disloyalty was their
honour — ^against the most sensual tyrant who ever wielded the English sceptre. How difficult to conceive
that those barons who wrested the Magna Charta from John ever held any councils here ? There would
be two upper chambers in the Keep then; did they ever shelter De Vesci or De Ros, watching,
perchance, for Mowbray or Suteville ? The nucleus of those barons who swore to make King John abide
by the law (and which is too often forgotten) were of the North. The spirit to conquer an execrable
ruler first arose north of the Trent. Who first took issue with this last of our Angevin Kings; refused
to follow him in his wars, or to pay his ruinous taxes? Northmen and barons, all of them: — Eustace de
Vesci, Nicholas de Stuteville, William de Mowbray, Robert de Ros, Peter de Bruis, Oliver de Val, John de
Lacy, Symon de Kyme, Gilbert de la Val, Oliver de Vaux, Richard de Perci, Thomas of Multon.

What wrongs these barons had suffered at the hands of King John are to be found in DugdaU, In
some cases the sanctity of their hearts violated, their daughters poisoned, their castles destroyed, their

PEVERIL OASTLE. 71

lands devastated. There is a horrible romance about the Magna Charta which cannot be told, but which
make a kindly feeling go out to those men who swore on the altar of Bury St. Edmunds to enforce law
and liberty.

No more, despicable character can be found among our sovereigns than John. He defied the Church
and was excommunicated; he defied his barons and covered himself with ignominy ; hetlefied the Pope
and the nation was placed under interdict. Then was all worship silent in the sacred edifices, and the
dead left unburied in the churchyards. His coronation oath was doubly imposed for the keeping of the
laws to which he swore, but broke immediately. He acknowledged the hospitality of his peers by
hoodwinking them ; he summoned those barons he had wronged to retake those provinces in France which
were lost by his own imbecility ; he divorced his wife because she bore him no children ; he put the
Chancellorship up for sale and sold it for so much. The nation was kept together by his Chief Justiciar,
Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, and the clergy by Walter Hugh, the Archbishop, and when both these men were
dead, he said one could salute the other " in hell, for by the feet of God now for the first time am I
Lord and King of England." Necessity compelled him to make his peace with the Pope, whose vassal he
became, and from whom he held his kingdom as a fief. Here comes out the diabolical character of John.
No sooner had he bound himself by signature or oath than he got his master, the Pope, to annul it. Here
comes out the character of the bishops and barons, to whom tyranny and servility were alike despicable.
John's vassalage separated , the man from the priest, while his mis^rule changed the Norman into
Englishman.

The barons (so-called rebellious) were holding the Peak Castle in 12 15, so say Pegge and Lysons, so
say State Records. Good ! Was this before the Charter was signed or no ? At the beginning of May
they were at Stamford, in Lincolnshire, thence they went to Brackley, and on to Oxford. Here their demands
were submitted to the King, who peremptorily refused them. Then on to Northampton, Bedford, and
' Ware ; and on the 24th May, 1 2 1 5, the City of Lpndon opened its gates to the forces under Fitz- Walter,
"the Marshal of the Army of God and the Church." This was Sunday; on Monday, the 15th of the
following month, was the famous scene at Runnymede.

We all know that there were twenty-five selected to see the enactment of the Charter, of which
twenty-four were barons, with the Lord Mayor of London, or Mayor rather, for the further dignity had
not been conferred. The surname of this famous magistrate is not given on the Charter, only his
civic designation, as there are several of the barons under their titles simply. Nor is the name of the
Mayor given by England's greatest Constitutional historian. Bishop Stubbs. But a pleasing research
gave the names, one here, one there, which will, we are sure, be of interest. Moreover, we have given
the shields of these men, less one (Mumbezon), of whose arms there is no possible trace. The Earls of
Gloucester and Hertford bore the same coai in trick and tincture, as also Bigod and Lanvally.

John de Lacy.
Richard de Perci.
Robert de Vere.
Richard de Clare.
William de Mowbray.
Robert de Ros.
John Fitz-Robert.
Hngo Bigod.
William de Huntlngfield.

It will be seen that the list contains three Clares and two Bigods. The truth is there are four Clares,
for their leader, the most determined enemy of John, was Robert de Clare, called Fitz- Walter. The Clares
had learned early to be Englishmen ; had held offices of distinction under Henry Beauclere ; when Henry II.
ordered the descent upon Ireland the command was given to Richard de Clare (Strongbow); when
Longchamp had his quarrel with the Crown, Robert " the Marshall" stood by the Bishop, and from this
quarrel was the Peak Castle given into the custody of the Bishop of Ely, Hugh de Novant. The selection
of Fitz- Walter as general of the barons' army was not only from his oath to rescue the nation from a
despot, not only from his having private injuries to avenge, but from his known prowess. His chivalry

Robert Fitr- Walter.
William de Clare.
Robert de Vesci.
Geoffrey de Say.
Saer de Quincy.
Henry Bohan.
Roger Bigod.
William de Fortibus.
William Marescal, junr.

WiUiam Mallet.
William de Lanvaley.
William de Albine.
Gilbert de Clare.
Richard de Muntfichet.
Roger de Mumbecon.
William Hardel, the Mayor.

72 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

was conspicuous in a chivalrous age. His bravery called forth from the miscreant King, "By God's truth
he deserves to be a King who hath such a soldier of his train." Fitz- Walter had once a daughter (Maud)
whose beauty attracted the King and whose honour resisted him, only to be poisoned by the wretch in
revenge. This is an item of the romance of the Charter. The wrongs of de Vesci, with which this
being called a monarch assailed him, are too filthy to mention. How often have we heard it said that
these barons extorted the Charter for the protection of the patrician classes simply. We will quote the
document itself: — "No free man," says the 39th clause, "shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized, or
outlawed, or exiled, or anywise destroyed ; nor will we go upon him, nor send upon him, but by the
lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To none will we sell, to none will we deny or
delay right and justice." Within two months from the signing of the Charter, Pope Alexander IH., at the
wish of John, pronounced it to be void, which brought out the bishops in their splendid characters of
Englishmen, apart from their sees. They threatened John with excommunication if he broke the laws,
and though he in return swore to seize their goods, cut off their noses, and put out their eyes, he dared
not to brave their interdict, and the mandate of the Pontiff was ignored by them. The baseness of John
occasioned the barons to still hold their strongholds, and with his son, Henry HL, they had their struggle
for the repeal of iniquitous laws, until De Montfort secured a representative Parliament.

Peak Castle was one of the two castles in the Honor of Peverell. The court of this honor was held at
Nottingham till 31st December, 1849, when it was abolished after existing for almost eight hundred years.
Within this honor there were one hundred and twenty-seven towns and villages in Northamptonshire, one
hundred and twenty in Derbyshire, besides some detached places in Leicestershire and Yorkshire,
including Sheffield and Rotherham. The principal high stewards of the honor are given in the
Conspectus.*

The Manor of Castleton, we are ever led to understand, was given by Edward IH. to his son, John of
Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, of which duchy it is still a portion on lease to the Duke of Devonshire. We
will distinctly show elsewhere that John of Gaunt acquired it (and his dukedom too) from the lady he led
as his first wife to the altar. During the reigns of the Tudors, the manor, with the castle, was held under
the Crown by the Eyres, Thomhills, Gallins, Someralls, Eyres, and Foljambes consecutively. Of its
original glory we should like to know something; of its historical memorabilia we should like to know
more ; while its associations with so many famous men, about whom we may know more when the spirit
of inquiry can be kindled, and with so many incidents of Derbyshire history which are worth the search to
discover, make the old Keep an object of the greatest interest to the antiquarian and historical student.

As Pepy says in his diary, " Good lord, but the times do change ! " How vividly we realise the
expression when we look at the long list of names on the Inquisitions of the Forest that have come
down to us, and remember how few representatives there are among us now. Indeed, we find it difficult
to say whether astonishment or grief predominates. At the last Herald's Visitation in 1662, when the
celebrated Dugdale was the Herald, there were only five Peak families proved their shields: — The
Meverells of Tideswell, Bagshawes of The Ridge, Ashenhursts of Glossop Dale, Tunsteads of Tunstead,
and the Staffords of Botham Hall, — ^and even these are gone. Where were the Bradshawes, Barleys,
Bradburys, Bowdons, Cloughs, Daniels, Gounfreys, Hallys, Hychleys, Mellors, Needhams, Radcliffes»
Savages, Strattons, Strelleys, Woodroffes ? Yes, and fifty other families.

We know that the High Peak Forest was divided into three wardships: — Longdendale, Edale, and
Champaign: we know that the boundaries of these wardships were marked by crosses, of which some
remain. We cannot help thinking, therefore, that those venerable stone emblems of Christianity in the
churchyards of Bakewell and Eyam may have been the boundary marks of portions of the old Forest,
while yet the Christianity of our forefathers had a dash of Druidism about it, denoting spots that were
sacred to their worship.

* Vide Conspectnft of Families in Appendix.

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O Commoner of England, perchance, has a more illustrious pedigree than Mr. William Henry
Greaves Bagshawe, J.P., of Ford Hall. The student with his knowledge of Freeman's
Normans, Gardiner's Plantagenets, Froude's Tudors, Gardiner^s Stuarts, Mahon's Georges,
together with the pages of Macaulay, Lingard, and Hume, will find himself put on his mettle
if required to give the historical memorabilia of those families from whom this gentleman can claim
descent. One line goes back to Edward I., King of England, and Margaret, daughter of Philip III., of
France; two commence with Edward IH. and Philippa, of Hainhault; three spring from James I., II., and
IV., of Scotland; while another tacks him on to John of Gaunt, and the Beauforts. There is still another
which links him with all the old Royal families of Europe. These separate lines pass through the
Hollands, Earls of Kent; the Fitz- Alans, Earls of Arundel; the De Bohuns, Earls of Hereford; the
Woodvilles, Earls Rivers; the Devereux, Earls of Essex; Bourchiers, Earls of Eu; the GrejSy
Marquises of Dorset; the Hastings, Earls of Huntingdon; the Riches, Earls of Warwick; the Pagets, now
Marquises of Anglesey; the Gordons, Eatls of Huntly; the Hamiltons, Earls of Arran; the Stewarts,
Dukes of Lennox ; and other houses equally memorable in the pages of our annals, as the Humes and
Caldwells, baronets both.

What a thrilling historical brochure the careers of these ancestors would furnish. The link with
Edward I. is through Joan, the " fair maid of Kent," whose father was Thomas of Woodstock, son of that
monarch. This nobleman was condemned to the block by Queen Isabella, the mother of Edward III.,
because he was oftensive to her paramour Mortimer, and kept pinioned from early mom till sundown (for
no Englishman could be found to execute him), while the gaols were rummaged to find a wretch to do the
butchery. The fair Joan had three husbands — ^the last being the Black Prince, to whom she stood in the
relationship of aunt, and by whom she was the mother of Richard II. (positively third cousin to her own
child). Some authorities say there was only one marriage certificate in the whole business, though
Dugdale admits the contracts. The romance is this : She first married or contracted herself to Sir Thomas
Holland, Earl of Kent, in whose absence abroad William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, got her to make
another union, which Holland, on his return, petitioned the Pope, Clement VI., to set aside, " in which,"
says Dugdale, " The Earl of Salisbury acquiesced."* She was subsequently Princess of Wales. The
vicissitudes of the Hollands are piteous ; they held the Baronies of Woodstock and Wake, the Earldoms of
Kent and Huntingdon, and the Dukedom of Exeter. Of the seven noblemen who were the holders, three
were executed, one slain in battle, and the last descendant of Joan, though a Duke with his ten thousand
retainers, was reduced to beg his bread, as told by Comines. The fourth Earl of Huntly, Chancellor of
Scotland, was slain at Corriche in 1562, and the attainder actually pronounced over his corpse ; the fifth
Earl was sentenced to death ; the seventh beheaded by the Cromwellians ; while we all have heard of Lord
George and his riots of 1780. It was one of the Bourchier ladies who occasioned Parliament to resort to
an expedient they had never before attempted — ^the severance of the marriage tie by statute. The careers
of the three Devereux, Earls of Essex, would satisfy the most covetous monger of scandal. The first
married Lettuce Knollys, whose knowledge of anodynes numbered him with the saints before his time,
when she wedded with that execrable wretch Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, to whom also she gave

•" Baronage," VoL I.

78 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

the happy dispatch. The second Devereux, favourite of Elizabeth, suffered on Tower Hill ; while the

third allied himself to a woman, whose crimes and iniquity besmear the " State Trials :"* There was

Penelope Devereux, the divorced wife of Lord Rich, who married Charles Blount, of Thurveston, Baron

Mountjoy, and caused a cry of horror from the righteous, because she had broken the ecclesiastical laws.

Two members of the Stewarts or Stuarts, Dukes of Lennox, were Damley, who was roasted alive, and poor

Lady Arabella, who married the man she loved, and was in consequence made a State prisoner in the

Tower, where she died a maniac. The pedigree of Squire Bagshawe could be made to yield an

unpublished chapter of English histor>% so amazing in its facts that it might be taken for fiction. Then,

again, the life of his great-grandfather, the famous Colonel, whose mother was Frances Hardwar, and

whose wife was Catherine Caldwell (both ladies having a Royal descent), is quite a little romance. His

birth was subsequent to his father's death, and at the age of six he was an orphan, living at Ford with hb

uncle, whose heir he was. As a youth he enlisted in General Anstruther's regiment of foot as a private,

and after six years of servitude, in which he rose to the rank of quartermaster-sergeant, it took very

considerable influence to obtain his discharge. This was in 1738. Two years later the third Duke of

Devonshire gave him an ensign's commission without purchase. His career is of great interest, from

the siege of L' Orient, where he lost a leg, till he became second in command in India, where he lost an

eye. He was in the East when Lawrence and Clive were laying the foundation of our Indian Empire, and

but from ill-health he would no doubt have shared in the famous victory of Plassy. His wife was the sister

of Sir James Caldwell, Bart., of Castle Caldwell, County Fermanagh, whom the Empress Maria Theresa

treated a Count of Milan for his military and diplomatic services ; and gave him a ring from her finger ;

an addition of arms (the Imperial eagle) ^ and other Royal favours. The Caldwells signally distinguished

themselves in the Stura campaign, in the defence of Quebec, and in the capture of Seringapatam.

From a work written by Mr. W. H. G. Bagshawe, J.P., for private circulation {The Bagshawes, of

Ford\ we gather many interesting facts of the Colonel. His letter, written to William Bagshawe, of the

Inner Temple, which relates to the loss of his limb, is so much history.
•• Dear Coz.—

*' When I last wrote to you I thought we were sailing directly for America, but as we passed Plymonth a boat
put out with an express for the Admiral, so the fleet turned into that port, and while we were obliged to be there, the wind
being against us, the order came for a descent on the coast of France, where we failed in our design on Port L'Orient, but
the knowledge the fleet has gained, two forts demolished, with their garrisons taken prisoners, a fishery destroyed, together
with one of the best men of war the French possessed, I really think are a very sufficient equivalent for the expense of
going thither. I have been till now so ^eak that it was a pain to me to write, so that the public has acquainted you with
my misfortune before I was fit to do so, though I wrote to Uncle the day after I was brought ashore, but I did not recover
that fatigue for two days. I thank God I have reason to hope that I am now past danger from the loss of my limb, yet I
can scarcely do anything without help, notwithstanding this is the forty-seventh day since I sustained my injury. Indeed,
I have sufiered more than the ordinary misery of such a loss, for I was obliged to be carried the day after the amputation
eleven miles, lying upon a bolster between two poles, and eight of these miles in the night through woods that caught hold
of me from time to time, and over the worst road I think that could be travelled ; after this, several days upon a rolling sea
more agonising than the former. My life is next to a miracle, nay, I may say a miracle, for when I received the shot which
took away my leg I was talking to a strange gentleman, who came up to me as I was waiting to see a detachment of men
enter our battery in order that I might make a report to the General. There was no person near me but him, and no
likelihood of anyone coming that way, as it was much exposed to the cannon of the town. This gentleman proved to be a
surgeon, and if all the world had been surgeons and he not one I must infallibly have bled to death, for no other individual,
even if it had been possible for them to have seen the accident, could have arrived in time enough to give me assistance.
Twice since have I been in danger of bleeding to death, and twice when all our physicians and surgeons said it was ten to
one against me. I lay, on one occasion, six hours with all my limbs as cold as clay and a dead sweat upon them, and I
gasping at one time and at another hardly able to breathe fast enough. However, I can now sit up six or eight hours in
the twenty-four, and eat my breakfast and dinner very heartily. My wound also grows more easy, and in a fortnight, I
believe, will have a skin over all the fleshy part of it."

The first tract of our vast Indian Empire was gained by the pluck of the regiment of which Bagshawe

was the Colonel, f True, he was not with them when they took Calcutta and stormed the Hooghly ; nor

• " Gardiner's History," Vol. II. t '• Primus in Indus."

FORD HALL.

79

when they attacked the vast hosts under Surajah Dowlah ; nor when they beat the French out of their
headquarters at Chandernagore ; nor when they gained the proud motto which they still retain ;* but he
had trained them, he had brought them to that efficiency which was demonstrated by results almost
incredible, and which to this hour seem to partake of the marvellous.

There are many interesting facts of the Bagshawes of Ford, which can be obtained from the Pedignt^
and, as we have been granted permission by the learned writer to make an extract, if necessary, we will
avail ourselves of his courtesy.

" Ford Hall at this time (1758) required some substantial repairs,- which were commenced during his (Colonel
Bagshawe's) absence in London by 'taking off the battlements' of the house and lowering them 'into the court/ as
Mr. Evatt duly informed him. Preparations for planting were also begun with much vigour. Captain Morgan kindly
promised all the acorns that could be gathered at Stanton Woodhonse. and large orders for young trees were despatched
in various directions. The process of hoiiiig the ground was, however, considerably retarded by the remains of ' a set
causeway,' which gave the gardenen great trouble, and is conjectured to have been the pavement of a Roman road."

" On the loth November " (1758) " Colonel Bagshawe tells Mr. Wright, of Longstone :~The insolence of the poachers
in this parish has arrived at an uncommon pitch. They keep dogs in defiance of the law, and being old in the trade, it is
grown difiEicult to detect them, but as I have shewn some inclination to put a stop to their practices, they have, I apprehend,
determined to be revenged on me :— About the 27th October, in the night time, I had a hog sheep worried by their dogs ;
on the 8th inst^ in the- night time. 1 had a ewe sheep worried ; on the same occasion they threw down in one place, a rood
of walling, and which I suppose was also done about the 8th. I beg you will afford me what assistance you can to
discover these villains, who by security will be encouraged to proceed to greater villanies."

From the Pedigree, p. 237, we get a picture of the Peak by Sir Thomas Caldwell, the brother of
Mrs. Bagshawe : —

" This country is extremely populous, and almost every family is possessed of a small freehold of their own. They
have no corn nor hay stacked abroad, but make it up in large houses built of stone, which comes out of the quarry shaped
liked brick, and lies together so true that they do without lime or cement. They cover those houses with large thick flags
which they lay together with moss instead of lime. All sorts of cattle are kept in the house day and night, six months of
the year. Lead and wool are the staple commodities of the country. It is said that the lead mines bring into it three
hundred thousand pounds yearly, and there are many people who have flocks of two thousand sheep. These things, with
its being in the neighbourhood of many great trading towns, make it a very rich district. This small county has, within
sixteen years, furnished Ireland with four Lords- lieutenant, viz., Chesterfield, Harrington, and two Devonshires. The
natives are rather slovenly in their dress, but within doon have everything very neat, and are, in their way, very civil and
good-natured."

The flfth and last surviving son of the Colonel married Annie Foxlowe, who brought him Banner
Cross, together with that memorable white hunter's horn mentioned by Blount in h\s Ancient Tenures, once
the property of John of Gaunt — by virtue of which lands are held and coroners appointed. This lady, too,
is said to have had a descent (by Hunter) through several noble families from the Conqueror.

The most famous of the Bagshawes who have held Ford Hall needs particular mention.

Among those two thousand noble ministers of the Church of England who were expelled their livings
on the 24th August, 1662, because they could not conscientiously subscribe the Act of Uniformity, were
two members of the old Derbyshire family of Bagshawe — one was vicar of Ambrosden, in Oxfordshire ;
the other was incumbent of Glossop, in the Peak.

Edward Bagshawe, the vicar, will be remembered by the scholar from his having been under-master
with that classic bully, Busby, at Westminster Schools ; from his voluminous writings, his quarrel with the
celebrated Baxter, and his imprisonment in the Tower. His enemies said '' he sided tooth and nail with
the fanatics, and made a great figure amongst them." Let any one read his work. Concerning God's
Decrees^ and say if it contains the conclusions of a fanatic. When he died Baxter uttered the memorable
sentence that has since become historic : " While we wrangle here in the dark, we are dying and passing
to the world that will decide all controversies, and the safest passage thither is by peaceable holiness."

William Bagshawe, the famous Nonconformist, whose residence at Ford Hall has made the old
edifice a kind of shrine for a pilgrimage, attained for himself a more imperishable immortality still, from a
life devoted to the spiritual and temporal wants of his fellow'creatures ; and his memory yet lives in the

* " 39th Regiment."

8o OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

hearts of the people as well as their brains. A few particulars of this pious and large-hearted Christian,
who held Ford Hall for at least forty years, together with some reference to the Abney Bagshawes, cannot
fail to be of interest. When the Lyttons, of Litton, in the parish of Tideswell, sold their home^ead and
manor, in the year 1597, to the Alsops, and went to live at princely Knebworth, Lytton Hall, together
with the lands, came by purchase (almost immediately) to the Bagshawes, of Abney. The purchase was
effected, we believe, by Nicholas Bagshawe, who disposed of Abney to the Bradshawes about the same
time that the Lyttons severed themselves from Litton. The son and heir of Nicholas (Henry, whose wife
was Anne Barker) died in the lifetime of his father, leaving a little one, who became the second founder
of his house. William Bagshawe, says Ashe, ** Being left an orphan, fell into the hands of some relations
who defrauded him of a remainder of an estate, once considerable, and made some attempts upon his life ;
but it pleased God, the Father of the fatherless, to incline the hearts of others to shew pity to him, and
the losses he had sustained were afterwards abundantly repaired by success in the lead mines." He held
the Manors of Hucklow, Ford, and Wormhill, beside considerable moieties in the parishes of Glossop and
Chapel-en-le-Frith. As remotely as the reign of Edward L, the Ford estate was with a family who had
taken their name from the place and were bailiffs of the forests in 1304. The heiress married with the
Brownes, of Marsh Hall, as we shall see elsewhere. The Cresswells were here in the early part of the
sixteenth century, which certain conveyances of messuages prove, and from their purchase of an adjacent
moiety, which was with the Vemons, of Hazelbadge. The heiress of the Cresswells sold Ford to Robert
Ashton, of Stoney Middleton, in 1648, who soon conveyed it to William Bagshawe, of Litton and
Hucklow. Ford seems to be a spot whence the associations of the old Peak families radiate.

It was at Lytton Hall that the Apostle of the Peak was bom on the 17th of January, 1628. We
rather fancy that his religious proclivities were fostered by his mother, who was an Oldfield, and aunt — ^if
we mistake not — ^to that John Oldfield who was shut out from the Church on that black August day. At
an early age Bagshawe was sent to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he took his degree before
he was eighteen. Having determined to enter the Church, he studied theology under Rowlandson, of
-Bakewell, and Bourne, of Ashover. How Bourne was driven from Ashover in 1642, on account of his
Presbyterian doctrines; how he was rewarded by the Puritan Government with the Rectory of Waltham,
and that of Ayleston, County Leicester, where he died ; how he was a famous preacher at Paul's Cross and
St. Sepulchre's; how he tried to smash up the Quakers and got it warm from George Fox, and how he
conformed to the Act of Uniformity, unlike his pupil, in 1662, we may show in a future article. Bagshawe
became an assistant minister at St. Peter's, Sheffield, and three years later was ordained at Chesterfield.
His first sermon was preached in the old Church of St. Margaret, Wormhill. His first and only living
was at Glossop, which he held for eight years. When persecution came, all the nobility of his character
was at once apparent. Then was seen how deeply he had grafted his teaching in the hearts of the people.
His labours were among the poorest and most neglected in the wildest parts of the Peak district. From
Chinley to Monyash no weather was too severe, no moorland cot too far removed. They built him
chapels at Malcalf, Chinley, Ashford, and Ford. A little anecdote told by Ashe will illustrate how
successful were his labours during the six-and-twenty years which elapsed between his expulsion from
Glossop and the Act of William III., which gave toleration to the Nonconformists. There was a home of
a cobbler that Bagshawe had frequently to pass, and the divine invited the "man of the last" to attend his
gatherings. He received as reply : " I have no time to spare, for I have a wife and family to maintain."
Having ascertained what would be the pecuniary loss of the man if he came, he gave him the money.
The next time the divine came that way, he found he was being followed by the cobbler. " What, are
you going ? I thought thou couldst not spare time to hear preaching because thou hadst a wife and
family to maintain, and I cannot afford to pay thee every time." "You shall never pay me any more.
I'll never stay behind again. It was the best money I ever addled."

The officials who were sent to arrest him for his preaching never sought to execute their warrants.
The fact that when he died they buried him in the chancel of the church at Chapel-en-le-Frith, shows

FORD HALL. 8i

the respect of Episcopalians as well as Dissenters. Of the many theological works of which he was the
author (rather more than fifty, we believe) his Spiritualibus Pecci is, perchance, the most valuable, as it
furnishes us with the names of those Derbyshire men who, like himself, were Nonconformist clergymen,
whom persecution failed to deter from their labours of piety and charity. There are two, if not three, of
the divine's works in the Sheffield Free Library, published about 1695, while he was yet living, and, what
is so interesting, by a firm of that town. Many admirers of Bagshawe forget a fact which knits him closer
to our affections. From his entering the Church he gave offence to his father, and forfeited, by so doing,
the most valuable portion of the property that would otherwise have been his. And yet he requested his
father " to charge the estate, that was to be left to himself, with a sum of money for the use of his sister
Susannah, as an addition to her fortune, although his share of the property was not a third in real value of
what was devised to one of his younger brothers." The father, sensible of his partiality, replied, " Son, I
have left you too little already." But as Clegg (the biographer of Ashe) observes, there has been a
blessing on that " little," which has increased amazingly, while the greater estates are gone. They passed
to the Riches of Bull House. It is worthy of note that one of the nieces of the apostle became the
maternal ancestor of the Beaumonts, of Bretton Hall, Yorkshire ; of the Smiths, Lords Carrington ; and of
the Bumabys, of Baggrave Hall, County Leicester. Private documents at Ford show there has been a fast
friendship between the family and the noble house of Cavendish, Dukes of Devonshire, for the last two
centuries ; and we find a grandson of the divine riding into Derby with a party of eight hundred strong, to
plump for Lord Charles, at the election of 1734. .

Although it is clear that the Bagshawes were located at the Ridge in the days of Stephen, and in the
immediate neighbourhood generations before, the reliable genealogy begins with those men whose names
are on the Inquisitions held at Wormhill in 13 18; and apparently about this time the Abney branch
separated itself. When the dispute arose between the two families, almost four hundred years later, the
College of Heralds pronounced the Abney house to be the senior line, though the Ridge family declared
they had no relationship. It is indeed singular that the Abney Bagshawes should have come so near to
the homestead of their ancestors as Ford, after four centuries of absence ; and singular too that the Ridge
family should have become extinct so soon after, while the Abney branch should have acquired still
greater possessions, added honours to their race with each successive generation by illustrious marriages,
and be still dwelling among us. There were two sons of this family who were dubbed knights; Sir
William, living in the days of Bluff Hal, and Sir Edward, residing in Ireland during the Commonwealth,
but nobody knows a syllable about them. We remember to have seen some letters of Sir Edward in the
Historical Manuscripts Commission Reports. We cannot trace that the Ridge Bagshawes were ever
members of Parliament, or ever sheriffs of the county ; only as forest officials with a marvellous descent.
Yet pride was their characteristic, as is evidenced by an episode of the Squire who built Bakewell Hall.*
There were sons undoubtedly who went forth from the Ridge and established themselves in other counties,
who gained for themselves an immortality, and whose names are to be found in Wood's Athena^ or the
State Records. It was meet, with their length of pedigree, that the heiress should have mated with the
Fitzherberts, of Tissington. One item is singular. The father of the builder of Bakewell Hall, and
grandfather of the heiress, married Barbara Greaves; the father of the present senior member of the
Abney branch (the worthy J. P., owner and resident at Ford) was Henry Marwood Greaves.

The treasures of Ford Hall would need a catalogue to enumerate them. Family portraits, old china,
rare books ; old uniforms that were worn by men when the fate of kingdoms hung upon their diplomatic
or military success. Among the portraits there is one of Francis Gisbome the munificent (or flannel
Gisbome by some), of which we believe there is no other extant. Over one of the entrances to Ford Hall
there is the shield of the Bagshawes, quartering Child, with an escutcheon of pretence over all. This
escutcheon is of particular worth to the student of Derbyshire history, as it shows Wingfield quartering
Honypott, Bovill, Gousell, Hathersage, Fitzalan, Peverell, Albany, Meschines, Lupus, Plantagenet,
Warren, Marshal, De Clare, Macmurrough, and Pargiter.

* Vide Article on *< Bakewell Hall." t

82 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

The church at Chapel-en-le-Frith is linked with the Abney Bagshawes of almost six centuries ago,
and furnishes an instance of their abhorrence of injustice. The officials of the Peak Forest about the year
1225 got permission to build themselves a chapel at this place, as Hope was then the nearest house of
worship. No sooner had they done so than the Prior of Lenton claimed the advowson and the tithes.
The foresters said if it belonged to anyone, it was to the Deanery of Lichfield. The point was an
exceedingly nice one. The land had been held by the Peverells, but forfeited from the murder of the
Earl of Chester. The Priory asserted it was given to them before the forfeiture, while the King (Henry
IIL) declared it had reverted to the Crown, and so the case came on for hearing at Derby, with a verdict
of two-thirds for Lenton and one for Lichfield. To this the officials again and again protested, which is
witnessed by the Inquisition held at Wormhill, 2 Edward H., and among the names on that document
are those of three Bagshawes, two of Abney and one of the Ridge. To this day the Manor of
Chapel-en-le-Frith owns no lord, and the freeholders retain the nomination of their Vicar.

The numerous works of art on the inner walls of Ford demand something more than a passing
mention. Here are portraits of the first and second Dukes of Athole, the second Duke of Devonshire,
Lord Edward Murray, Lord John Murray, Lord P^ulett, Lord James Cavendish, Sir James and Sir John
Caldwell, Sir Michael Newton, the Countess of Findlater, the Countess of Belmore. Along the corridors
there are portraits also of many members of the Bagshawe family, and of the Caldwells, Gisbomes,
Greaves, Foxlowes, Murrays, Newtons. But it is the collection of manuscripts, rare books, engravings by
Houbraken, within the library of Ford Hall, to which the heart of the student goes out with a longing.

WHITEHOUQH AND BRADSHAW HALLS.

piJttteJTOtt0jj anb grabeJjam gaii^.

HY cannot the assertions of certain historians, which tend to filch away the honours of
Derbyshire families, be taken issue with, be exposed, denounced ? Why should there be any
lethargy in such matters? Is it creditable to any of us? Warburton, in his Conquest of
Canada^ deliberately declares that the naval commander, David Kyrke, whose defeat of
Admiral Roguemont and capture of Quebec gained him a knighthood from Charles I., was a French
Calvanist Refugee. Thus are our old families robbed of their glory, their old homesteads stripped of
their associations, and, what is so inexplicable, without one voice being lifted to oppose such inaccuracies
or vindicate the memory of men whose brilliant achievements added honour to the county. If Warburton
had referred to the Heralds Visitations he would have seen his error. The mother of David Kyrke was a
lady of Normandy, — ^Elizabeth Groudon — ^and so the learned author confuses the line maternal with the
paternal.

"In 1628," says this writer, "Sir David Kertk, a French Calvanist Refugee in the British service,
reached Tadoussac with a squadron, burned the fur houses of the free traders, and did other damage;
thence he sent to Quebec, summoning Champlain to surrender." Stop! This assertion contains three
untruths, against which we will raise our voice, if no one else has thought proper to do so. The year was
1629; Kyrke was not knighted till 163 1 ; and, so far from being "a French Calvanist Refugee," his father
was bom at Greenhill, Norton ; his grandfather was Thurstan, of Whitehough, Chapel-en-le-Frith, where
his sires had been located for three hundred years anyway.

The homestead of the Kyrkes was at Whitehough Hall, where they were seated very remotely, which
is evidenced by the earliest documents of the Forest, and which they retained for fifteen generations.
They were not ofiicials until a later period, but among those Freeman who attended the Inquisition at
Wormhill in 1 3 1 8 was William del Kyrke. The present structure is undoubtedly Elizabethan, and was
formerly a goodly specimen of the sixteenth century architecture as a yeomen dwelling, though now
hideously disfigured. The oaken beams, with which the building abounds, are covered with whitewash,
so are the mullioas of the windows within, and the massive door of the Hall has been unhinged and lies
buried beneath a heap of rubbish in the back premises. From whitewash and improvers. Good Lord,
deliver us I A glance at this family, whose names are written with such indelible ink on the Rolls of
England, from the fame and infamy of some of its sons and daughters, is interesting to the general
reader as well as the historical student. It was from the threshold at Whitehough that the Kyrkes, of
Cookadge, in Yorkshire, of East Ham, in Essex, of Martinside, Eaves, and Coombs, went forth. Very
early in the reign of Elizabeth, say 1559, Arnold Kyrke was living at Whitehough Hall with his three
sons, Edward, Arnold, and Thurstan, which his wife, Agnes Thurstan, had given him. Edward succeeded
to the paternal estates ; Arnold became possessed of property at Martinside, where his descendants were
living until some time in last century; and Thurstan acquired wife and land, by finding his way to
Birchet, among the Blythes. The Blythes held Birchet in the time of Henry VIII., from Richard (the
younger brother of the two bishops) espousing the heiress. They were at Greenhill (Norton) in the
next generation, from whom it passed to Thurstan Kyrke. Now it appears that Edward, of Whitehough,
came courting to Norton at the same time, and from thence he took his bride. We mention this because
a very learned and able writer in Vol. II. of the Derbyshire Archceological and Natural History Transactions^

86 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

says she was Margaret Bagshawe, of the Ridge. We say she was Ellen Camme, of Norton. The proof
must have escaped the notice of the gentleman (whom we admire both for his erudition and courtesy), for
the Bagshawe pedigree shews Margaret to have married William Wright, of Longstone. The pedigree,
in Vol. VIIL* of The Reliquary^ of a branch of the Kyrke family (by a Kyrke), states her to be Ellen
Camme (place not given), while reference to the Norton register gives the fact that the Cammes were an
old family of that ilk, doing a neat business in the scythe and sickle line. Why this same writer ignores
Joan Kyrke, one of the daughters of Gervase, it is difficult to conceive. Her husband was Richard
Shuttleworth, of Gawthorpe, and on the Shuttleworth genealogy she is distinctly acknowledged. Sir
Bernard Burke begins the pedigree with Arnold, in the reign of Henry IV., whose granddaughter
married Sir Richard Salisbury. We prefer to begin with Gervase, who espoused Elizabeth Goudon,
because from this union spring those men whose deeds are recorded by Hume and Macaulay ; and those
women whose loveliness is still preserved to us by the brushes of Vandyke, Lely, and Holkar. The career
of Gervase Kyrke points to a bitter romance, which will never be told. In his will there is no mention
of his parents, no allusion to his birthplace or ancestors. To gather such information we have to turn
to the tomb of one of his children. In the West's Chapel, St. Aldate's Church, Oxford, there is a
monument setting forth that Mary, the wife of John West, was the daughter of Gervase Kyrke, " of
Greenhill, in the parish of Norton, County Derby." We know, too, that when he left the meadows of
Beauchief Abbey behind him he went on to Dieppe, in Normandy, where he was located for forty years —
so says Mr. S. O. Addy, in his Norton^ — and where he married his wife, Elizabeth Goudon. It needs no
stretch of imagination to perceive a cruel wrong here. He was his father's heir, but his brother
succeeded to the estates, while he passes his life in Dieppe, and ends it in London ; for he was buried in
that church where Milton had been baptized some three years previously. He had a long line of ancestors,
famous both paternally and maternally, but he never mentions them. There were his cousins, the
Seliokes, of Hazelborough; the old church at Norton, where he had knelt and prayed as a child, yet no
syllable about his boyhood. His mother was Francesca Blyth, of Greenhill, whose great-grandfather was
Richard, the brother of the two Bishops of Lichfield and Salisbury, but all is silent, even about those
men from whom he immediately sprang, who were Forest officials. Will the ingenuity of an Edison ever
conceive a phonograph that shall extract from the glorious old wainscoting of the Derbyshire homesteads
those scenes between father and son which ended in the disinheritance and the severance of human ties ?
His mother died when he was but seventeen, which must have been the age at which he left Greenhill,
or there would be no accounting for his residence in Basing Lane, London, seeing he died when
sixty-one. Had the death of his mother ought to do with his going forth } Just then the Blythes were
purchasing the last moiety of Norton from the Eyres and becoming lords of the manor. In the year
1629 Sir William Alexander (subsequently Earl of Stirling), Richard Charlton, William Berkeley, and
Gervase Kyrke, started a company in London, and procured a charter from Charles I. to trade and fish
*' the south side of the River Canada." An expedition was fitted out and the command given to David
Kyrke, together with his brothers Thomas and Lewis, all sons of Gervase, to trade with the Iroqois
Indians for their furs and peltries. David had been twice before and was aware of the prosperity of the
colonists. It appears that towards the close of the sixteenth century, the French Protestants began to
settle themselves in this part of the New World; and in 1603 a navy captain of France, named Samuel
Champlain, took possession of the territory in the name of his monarch, establishing a description of
government among those of his countrymen who had fied from religious intolerance. Their transactions
with the natives for furs were yielding them a rich harvest until a Company of Merchants was formed by
Cardinal Richelieu, and given the charge of the Colony. The Company consisted of one hundred
members, with a capital of one hundred thousand crowns: " To be proprietors of Canada," — so ran their
charter — "to govern in peace and war; to enjoy the whole trade for fifteen years (except the cod and
whale fishery), and the fur trade in perpetuity; untaxed imports and exports. The King gave them two
ships of three hundred tons burden each, and raised twelve of the principal members to the rank of

WHITEHOUGH AND BRADSHAW HALLS. 87

nobility." This was in 1627. When the English expedition under David Kyrke reached Canadian waters,
the ship of Kyrke was attacked by the French Admiral. This was a contest between a war vessel and a
trader, but the victory was with the English, and the Admiral was brought a prisoner to England. By the
bravery of Kyrke were the French ousted from their Canadian settlements (this was an age when piracy
with gallantry had a respectable show), and the English put in possession. The Company throve, while
he was given the Governorship of Newfoundland. After he had been knighted, given an augmentation of
arms, which were the arms of the French Admiral he had conquered, and appointed a Governor, he
married Sara, daughter of Sir John Andrews, of St. (^les-in-the-Fields, Middlesex, whom he took out to
the regions of the seal and the cod. His father, Gervase, did not live to see the success of the Company
he had founded ; from which the Earls of Holland and Pembroke, with other noblemen benefited ; nor
to see his son David bring the French Admiral a prisoner, and knighted by the King for his services;
yet the simple inscription on the tomb in St. Aldate's plainly tells us that his heart went out at times to
his old Derbyshire home, ot the fact would not have been recorded. The Governorship of Sir David (of
Newfoundland) is memorable from a fisheries question having then first arisen. In one of his letters
written from here to Archbishop Laud, there is a sentence which is very quaint. He says that the climate
agrees " with all God's creatures except Jesuits and Schismatics." His brother Lewis during the Great
Rebellion fought under the standard of the King, and for his bravery at the battle of Roundaway Do¥m
was rewarded with a knighthood. Thomas became Vice-Admiral. But there is a question which every
lover of history would wish to see definitely answered, and which naturally attracted the attention of the
writer in Vol. H. of the Derbyshire ArchcBologtcaL Had Sir David Kyrke a brother George or no? That
able antiquarian, Mr. John Sleigh, J. P., in an article he contributed to Vol. VI. of The Reliquary, says he
had, and further, that he was the fourth son of Gervase. We are informed by Mr. S. O. Addy that
Colonel Chester (a very great authority on the point) is of a contrary opinion. George Kyrke was the Groom
of the Bedchamber to Charles I. ; he attended that monarch to the block, and stood by his side when
the Royal head was severed from the body. His wife was the Court beauty, Anne Killegrew, Lady of the
Bedchamber to Queen Henrietta, and whom Lely and Grammont have immortalised. The careers of his
three children, Percy, Mary, and Diana, have given to the house of Kyrke an entry on the roll of time,
and associated the name with cruelty and infamy. From the Memoirs of Grammont (as well as from the
pencil of Lely) we have a picture of Mary. She was Maid of Honour to the Queen of Charles II.
(Catherine of Braganza). " Very sparkling eyes, tempting looks, which spared nothing that might engage
a lover, and promised everything which could preserve him. In the end, it very plainly appeared that her
consent went along with her eyes to the last degree of indiscretion." Grammont acknowledges that he
was one of her lovers, and made her presents of " perfumed gloves, pocket looking-glasses, elegant boxes,
apricot paste, essences, and other smallwares of love." It appears from both the pages of Pep/s diary and
Grammont's Memoirs that there was a ball given at Court in January, 1663, in honour of the Queen's maids,
and that during the evening an infant was found on the carpet, but to whom it belonged no one knew.
The next day Mary Kyrke disappeared, and when heard of she had assumed the name of Warmestr6,
together with widow's weeds. In her loneliness she was found by Sir Thomas Vernon, of Salop, who
married her; but from his halls she was discarded, and died in great poverty at Greenwich. Her sister,
Diana, was also Maid of Honour, but somewhat more discreet. She actually espoused the " senior subject
of Europe," Aubrey de Vere, the twentieth and last Earl of Oxford, whose ancestors, says Macaulay, were
nobles of the realm, "when the family of Howard and Seymour were still obscure; when the Nevilles
and Percys enjoyed only a provincial celebrity, and when the great name of Plantagenet had not yet been
heard in England." The daughter of this union became the wife of Charles Beauclerc, first Duke of St.
Albans, and thus the blood of a Kryke, of a De Vere, and of Royalty become commingled. Percy
Kyrke, the brother of these Maids of Honour, covered himself with infamy by the horrible attrocities after
the battle of Sedgmoor. He was colonel of a regiment then called the ist Tangiers — now the Second of
the line — on whose colours there was borne, and still (we believe) is, a paschal lamb. He strung up his

88 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

prisoners at Taunton without the least semblance of a trial. " He ordered the wretches to be hanged at
his door, while he caroused with his companies to the health of the King, the Queen, or his colleague,
the Chief Justice ; and as -he observed the convulsive agonies of the dying he ordered the trumpets to
soimd, so that they could have music to their dancing.'' Hume speaks of him as a fiend, and tells a story
of him so revolting and cruel that we can only refer the reader to the historian. We believe, however,
with Macaulay, that the most hideous of the crimes attributed to Percy Kyrke have no foundation. The
great blot on his memory — worse than his Taunton massacre — lies in his not relieving Londonderry six
weeks earlier than he did. Why did he lie off and allow its brave defenders to subsist upon tallow and dead
dogs ? No reasoning in this world can exonerate him. We can only see a fiendish delight on his part
of revelling in the fact that such accumulated horrors were contributed by his inactivity. He married
Lady Mary Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and lies buried in the Abbey at Westminster.

Whitehough Hall ceased to be a residence of the Kyrkes at the end of the last century, but, if we
mistake not, there is a very distinguished member of this family living close by, or at least holding the
Eaves. This gentleman is well known in both literary and legal circles, and still holds Government
appointments. His grandmother, Mary, was daughter and heiress of Edward Vernon, of Small Dale, the
last scion of the Hazelbadge branch of that famous house. The disinclination to recognise George Kyrke
as the son of Gervase, of Norton, and grandson of Thurstan, of Whitehough, appears to us to arise from
his being the fafher of the being who was friend of Judge Jeffreys, and through whose inactivity or idleness
the brave defenders of Londonderry subsisted upon such shabby rations.

On the slope of Eccles Pike stands a gable of the ancestral home of the Derbyshire Bradshaws.
When the Bradshaws first branched off from the parent stock of Lancashire; when they first located
themselves around Chapel-en-le-Frith ; when the Bradshaws, of Windley, left the Peak behind them ; are
questions which ought to have answers somewhere. The researches of the Historical Manuscripts
Commission have convinced us that many of the Peak families have sojourned in the Derwent Valley for a
longer period than any compiler has ever stated. From the courtesy of Mr. C. E. Bradshaw Bowles,
M.A., of Aston Lodge, Derby, who is the senior representative of the Peak house, we have before us a
correct and authenticated pedigree of his sires for more than five hundred years. This gentleman has
many of the old deeds, charters, conveyances of the Bradshaws in his possession, which go back to 1333.
The items of interest are legion. John de Bradshaw, of Bradshawe, was living here with his wife. Cicely
Foljambe, before Henry IV. had assumed his right to the throne of England, and divided the nation into
the factions of York and Lancaster. This would be five hundred years ago. Fifth in descent from John
and Cicely was Francis (Sheriff in 1630), the last of his race who resided at the Old Hall. His father was
of the Inner Temple, London ; had espoused Anne Stafford, of Eyam, the wealthy heiress ; had purchased
the Manor of Abney from the Bagshawes in 1593; had succeeded to the Eyam residence of the Staffords.
The wife of the Sheriff was Barbara, daughter of Sir John Davenport, but he died without issue, and so his
brother George came in for the Bradshaw, Abney, and Eyam estates. This gentleman selected Eyam as
his residence, but when the plague broke out in this village he fled to the house of his son at Brampton^
County York, where he died. This son mated with Elizabeth, heiress of the Vescis, and had two sons —
Francis, who predeceased his father, and John, High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 17 17, whose daughter (his son
George, Recorder of Doncaster, died without issue) and heiress Elizabeth married Joshua Galliard, of
Bury Hall, County Middlesex, descended from Henry Galliard, Sheriff for Norwich in 1599. There was
one son of this union, whose two daughters became his co-heiresses. Anna inherited the Eyam estate^
and brought it to Eaglesfield Smith; and Mary came in for Bradshaw and Abney, which she took to
Charles Bowles, of East Sheen, County Surrey, Sheriff of that County in 1 794. We believe this family were
originally of Haigh and High Thorp, County Lincoln, and afterwards of Kent; of which shire one was
Sheriff in 1 658. In the last century one of the lads became a wealthy city merchant, and purchased Wanstead
Grove, Essex, and the Manor of Burford, Salop. Humphrey, the son of Charles and Maiy Bagshaw,
married Harriet, natural daughter of the second Earl of Onslow, whose son Charles (Vicar of Woking)

WHITEHOUGH AND BRADSHAW HALLS. 89

espoused Mary, daughter of Sir George Eyre, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., Vice- Admiral of the Red ; whose son,
Charles Eyre Bradshaw Bowles, has in his possession the actual deed of Conveyance of Abney from the
Bagshawes to the Bradshaws, in 1593. He has also among other precious relics the Bible of George, who
fied from Eyam. We have given the heraldic coat of Squire Bowles, showing the quarterings of
Bradshaw, Stafford, Rowland, Vesey, Francis, Galliard, Huxley, Wakefield.

Not a century ago there were eleven Old Halls within a radius of three miles from the Church of
Chapel-en-le-Frith, that had been the homesteads of the Forest officials, while yet the chase was in its
glory, and the lairs of the beasts not far distant — ^Bowden, Bank, Bradshaw, Slack, Stoddard, Ford,
Lightbirch, Marsh, Martinside, Ridge, Whitehough. Only three remain — Ford, Slack, and Whitehough,
though as gables or wings we have Bradshaw, Marsh, and The Ridge. All knowledge of this portion of
the old Forest must radiate from the Church dedicated to Thomas k Becket. Six hundred and seventy
years have gone by since the voice of prayer first arose from its precincts, and, though misshapen by the
despicable taste of some of its vicars (lancet windows being replaced by hideous square ones, frescoes
covered with unseemly whitewash), still from the memory of those men who built it do we gather the only
glimmer of light that exists to assist us in pursuit of the required knowledge. Their repeated protests
against the claims of the Priory of Lenton enable us to perceive a fraud. Whether they purchased the
land from, or had it granted by William de Ferrars, there was a fraud. Who gave the De Ferrars any
such right to sell or bestow? Such right belonged to the Peverells, but this being forfeited, the land had
either reverted to the Crown or remained with the Priory, to whom the Peverells had given it. Yet the
protest was a just one, and when the case was heard at Derby, in the year 1241, the King (Henry HI.)
must have acknowledged it, or the advowson would never have remained with the Foresters. From their
being a commimity of freeholders, with homesteads situated in the Forest, holding their own advowson,
it is very singular that to learn anything of these men should require such diligent search. Then, again,
the Forest absorbed four of the twelve parishes of the High Peak Hundred. Still we know so little about
it. If the Hundred Rolls of Edward L showed the mesne tenants as well as those in capit6, what
interesting facts we then should have. This much at least we do know. In the thirteenth century the
principal freeholders were the Bagshawes and Foljambes; later on we meet with the Bradshaw s,
Shalcrosses, and Browns ; and then come in the Bowdens, Kyrkes, Bradburys, Taylors, and Mosleys. Of
these families the only ones which remain to us, having their homesteads and holding positions of
distinction, are the Bagshawes and the Kyrkes. Thus the old halls and individuals have kept touch.
True, with the gentleman resident at Ford Hall, one can look back through a vista of seven centuries,
along a line of twenty-five generations — even before the Hundred Rolls were conceived — and then find
his ancestors among the freeholders of Chapel-en-le-Frith.

The Manor of Abney, at the Survey of 1086, was Royal demesne; in the reign of Edward IL, it was
with the Archers, of Highlow; and soon after it was with the Bagshawes, who were the senior line of the
Ridge family. In 1593 it was purchased, as we have stated, by the Bradshaws, of Bradshaw and Eyam.
In 1735 it passed by heiress to the Galliards; and again by heiress, in 1789, to the Bowles.

^Of

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^

ii ^8 m^» J M t^t i tjlmntif

.JL^mnt.

• THE RIDGE, MARSH, AND SLACK HALLS.

SDlje ^tbr0e, i^ar^Jt, anh ^iack $aii0.

HEREIN lies the difference? Our flesh creeps at the idea of the Sotxth Sea Islander
murdering his parents when decrepitude sets in, because age and infirmity cannot be
tolerated; yet we Englishmen — civilised, refined, educated, with a prudish conception of
decency — brutally destroy those old homesteads, not only of historical interest, but to which
our maternal ancestors imparted a sanctity, by wifely devotion and motherly love. Both acts — ^the
murder of parents and the destruction of edifices — belong to the barbarian. There appears to have been a
wanton brutality about the pulling down of The Ridge Hall. Here were located the Bagshawes when the
last of our Norman monarchs was holding his kingdon by sufferance; and were still here when the first of
the present dynasty was being persuaded to be King of England and leave Hanover behind him. In the
grounds at The Ridge there ^e several vestiges of the ancient building which sheltered so many
generations of the Bagshawes : here a broken mullion, there a fragment of a broken pillar, utilized as
grotto embellishments. The outer wall of the east gable is all that is left of the venerable pile, which had
many gables and windows, illuminated with the coa/s of the houses with which they were allied. We have
particulars of three sons of this family who secured for themselves a literary immortality — Christopher, the
Romish Doctor of Divinity; Edward, the controversionalist; and his namesake, the political writer.

Christopher Bagshawe will be best remembered by the reader of ecclesiastical histor}'. He was a
student at St. John's, Cambridge, while Queen Bess was yet marriageable and hoping not to die an old
maid. This would be about 1566. Nine years later he took his degree of M.A. at Balliol College, Oxford.
While here, that spirit of pride which ever characterised him (and his house, too) made its appearance.
He quarrelled with the afterwards famous Robert Parsons, and got him expelled ; he was elected principal
at Gloucester Hall, and had to resign. Flinging aside his Protestantism, he went over to Rome, where he
was attached to the English College ; but from here he was ejected by Cardinal Boncompagno. Returning
to Paris, he acquired the sobriquet of "Doctor Erraticus." Soon after he is again in England, where he
is arrested and put in The Tower, and later still is a prisoner with many others in Wisbeach Castle. One
of his works is entitled A True Relation of the Faction begun at Wisbich by Father Edmonds, alias Weston, a
Jesuit, 1595, and continued by Father Walley, alias Garnet, the Provincial of the Jesuits in England, and by
Father Parsons in Rome, 1601. Attached to Dr. Featley*s Transubstantiation Exploded, is a "publique and
solemne disputation held at Paris with Christopher Bagshawe, D in Theologie and Rector of Avie Marie
College." Wood, in his Athence, makes Bagshawe die in Paris in 1625, whence all his published works
are dated. He seems to have left his mantle behind him, to be picked up by some of his race, as we
shall see.

Edward Bagshawe, the controversionalist, — ^so memorable for his quarrels with Baxter, UEstrange,
and others ; for his long terms of imprisonment, on account of his religious tenets ; and from his being one
of the ministers of the Church of England who was expelled by the Act of Uniformity — ^received his early
education at the Westminster Schools, where later in life he was to be second master under the "terrible"
Dr. Busby. His vindication of himself against Busby, says the present Dr. Gosart, is now a rare work,
and among the curiosities of literature. He went to Christ Church in 1646, "where he was refractory and
self-conceited," and "conspicuous for his insolent bearing towards the Vice-Chancellor." Here he took
his B.A., but it was at Cambridge that the M.A. was conferred. In 1659 he was ordained by Bishop

9+ OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

•

Brownrigg, and became Vicar of Ambrosden, which he held till the Bartholomew Day of 1662. There
cannot be any doubt but that Bagshawe suffered tremendously for his religious opinions, and his love of
disputation of which he was so thorough a master. Hien again the ''Conventicle Act" made it criminal
for five persons to be congregated together for the worship of God, and seven years' transportation for the
third offence. The "Five Miles Act" made it equally criminal for a Nonconformist minister to come
within five miles of any city, town, or borough. Bagshawe was consigned to the Gatehouse; then The
Tower; then South Sea Castle; then Newgate— only by a fluke that he did not die in Newgate; for at the
time he was out on parole at his house in Tothill Street, Westminster. Baxter (whom we admit he
attacked very bitterly) designated him as an Anabaptist and fifth monarchy man, but the works of
Bagshawe show the epithets to be undeserved. One of his works in particular, Satntshtpy no Ground /or
Sovereignty^ is proof that he was no fanatic. Not only cruelly persecuted by law for his conscience sake ; not
only enduring years of imprisonment in loathsome gaols; he seems to have embittered against himself both
Churchman and Nonconformist. Immediately he was expelled from Ambrosden he was appointed
chaplain to the Earl of Anglesey, but one of his pamphlets removed him from his study to the Gatehouse..
They buried him in Bunhill Fields, and the inscription on the tomb, written by the celebrated Dr. John
Owen, sets forth, among other things, his deliverance "from the reproaches of pretended friends and
persecutions of professed adversaries." He was the son of the famous Puritan Member of Parliament for
Southwark, who afterwards became Royalist. Edward Bagshawe, the elder, as this gentleman was termed*
was a lawyer of the Middle Temple, where he was Lent Reader in 1639. Then it was that he delivered
two discourses, entitled "A Parliament may be held without a Bishop," and "Bishops may not meddle in
Civil Affairs." His discourses set Laud against him, but the burghers of Southwark in return elected him
as member. The proceedings of the Long Parliament made him a partisan of the King to whom he fled
at Oxford, but being taken prisoner was confined in Southwark gaol. It was while here that he wrote his
treatises defending the revenue and the doctrine of the Church. He also corrected his speeches made
in Parliament on "Episcopacy," and the "Trial of Twelve Bishops." Some of his writings are printed with
Rushworth's collection. He had another son besides the Vicar of Ambrosden, also a clergyman, wha
willingly abided by the Act of Uniformity, and who held consecutively the Prebendaries of Southwell, of
York Cathedral, of Fridaythorp, and Durham. He "enjoyed a high reputation as a pulpit orator," which
may be assumed from his "Sermon preached at Madrid, on the occasion of the death of Sir R. Fanshawe»
1667," to whom at one time he was chaplain. Here we have^a son of an old Peak family as chaplain to
a scion of a Scarsdale House.

For eighteen generations were the Brownes living at Marsh Hall, of which edifice there is still a wing
standing. With the exception of The Ridge having been the seat of the Bagshawes for six hundred
years, Marsh Hall stands alone among the historical old edifices of the Peak Hundred, from having given
shelter to such a long line of men. There is a pathetic interest centring in it : What became of this
family ? They were here at the commencement of the present century, for it was then that they sold
their estates to the Gisbomes. What a tight grip necessity must have had to force them to sell such a
relic of their house 1 Here their sires had brought home their brides from among the Vemons of
Haslington, the Meverells of Tideswell, the Eyres of Alfreton, the Bagshawes, the Shalcrosses, and a
score other old families; while their remote ancestor, Richard, who had married Matilda, the heiress of
the Fords, in the reign of Edward I., and acquired the property, had only adopted as a residence what
had been a homestead of the sires of his wife. The Brownes were Foresters in fee themselves, and we
can trace them as officials as far back as 13 18. They appear among the Peak gentry of 1570; they were
granted a confirmation of arms and a crest by William Flowers, Norroy King-at-Arms, in 1581 ; they were
holders of certain moieties in Darley, beside the lands from their office and dowry of bride, and now they
are gone, no one knows whither. Research seems to meet a check from delicacy in trying to find out
anything about them, for their motive for rushing into obscurity must have arisen from what is only the
natural pride of a gentleman when adversity comes upon him. The old homestead stands about half-a-mile

THE RIDGE, MARSH, AND SLACK HALLS. 95

from the Church at Chapel-en-le-Frith, in a southerly direction. From the extensive use of the whitewash
brush, which is by no means the greatest indignity it has suffered, its appearance makes an indignation
arise that is difficult to suppress. Surely such historical mansions should not be allowed to pass into the
hands of men who seem possessed of souls which were never brushed before delivery.

The principal landowners around Chapel-en-le-Frith, during the last six hundred years, so far as
authentic information can be obtained, have been the Bagshawes, Foljambes, Brownes, Shalcrosses,
Bradshawes, Bowdens, Kyrkes, Bradburys, Taylors, Mosleys, Degges, Slacks, and Gisbomes. The
Foljambes had virtually ceased to be Peak landlords in the seventeenth century, while even the site of their
homesteads became forgotten. The Bowdens were an old Cheshire family, located at Bowden, in that
county, as early as the thirteenth century, and it is somewhat curious that they should have purchased
Bowden Edge, in the parish of Chapel-en-le-Frith, from the Leghs, about 1457. They were living at
the Hall, and held the estate till 1668 anyway, and their old residence was standing within living
memory; but with the death of Nicholas in 1668, or soon after, it passed by purchase to the Degges, and
so to the Hibbersons and Slacks. The Bowdens of Clown, says Glover, were descended from this
£imily, but this is simply assumption, without the slightest proof to support it. Within the church at
Chapel-en-le-Frith there was a marble tomb to their memory, on which was their quartered coat (Bowden,
Woodrofe, Bamby); there was a chantry or quire bearing their name, but the tomb has long since
disappeared, while the quire is 'diiferently designated. We refrain from expressing our opinion of the
destruction or removal of memorials, whether stone or brass, from this church, further than observing that
within its precincts are the ashes of famous Puritans, to whom in the flesh Gothic architecture was a
vestige of Popery, elaborate carving a description of idolatry, and armorial bearings so much pomp and
vanity. The'^urchaser from the Bowdens was a most singular character : He was a lawyer of no mean
ability, and Recorder of Derby ; was called to the Bench, and refused to come there, for which he was
fined a hundred marks ; was appointed Lent Reader of the Temple, and treated the appointment with
contempt, for which he was mulcted in two hundred pounds and disbenched. He was Sheriff of the
County in 1675, and is said to have served it in his barrister's gown, with a sword by his side.* Sir
Simon Degge was a scion of an old Staffordshire family located at Strangesall, Uttoxeter, in the reign of
Richard H. Nine years before he was called to the Bar he suffered imprisonment for being a Royalist. At
the Restoration he became Judge of West Wales and Justice of the Welsh Marches, and was knighted at
Whitehall in 1669. The bookworm will kindly remember him from his Parson's Councillor and the Law of
the Tithes^ as well as his Observations on the Possessors of Monastery Lands in Staffordshire^ which he attached
to his edition of Erdeswick. The Degges were of Bowden for four generations.

Even as in the last century several of our oldest Peak families became extinct (in the senior male line
anyway), so others, some two centuries previously, separated themselves from their ancestral homesteads,
as the Leches of Chatsworth, Milnes of Ashford, Cokaynes of Hartle, Lyttons of Tideswell. In those
days many lads of Derbyshire houses donned their knapsacks and shaped their course towards the great
dty, where they eventually amassed fortunes and acquired municipal honours. The founders of houses
long settled by the Thames, Tamar, Humber, Severn, Mersey, Ouse, can be traced as having left the
Derwent behind them when the feudal customs of the mediaeval ages were breaking up under the sway of
the Tudors, and agricultural pursuits abandoned from encouragement given to commercial enterprise and
brilliant adventure. To track the footsteps of these lads, whether north, east, south, or west, take the
Herald^ Visitations \ from about the reign of Henry VII. till they were discontinued. From such sources
we not only track them, but gather particulars which no history of the county supplies. In the Visitation
of Shropshire for 1623, by Vincent, there is a splendid pedigree of the Blounts, shewing the ancestry of
the Eckington Blounts, together with others of the Bagshawes, Needhams, Twyfords, and Vemons. The
Visitation of London for 1633-4, by St. George, yields up most interesting facts. Robert Bateman, who
declared his pedigree before this herald, and who was a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers,

* Lyson's Mag. : BriL : VoL V. csxi. f Vide Heraldic ViaiUtions in Appendix.

96 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

said his father was Robert of Hartington, and his mother Ellen Topleyes of Tysington, County Derby.
Gervase Blackwell, of the Worshipful Company of Skinners, declared his father to be of Dethick HalJr
and his grandfather of Wendesley, near Darley. Anthony Bradshawe, of the Ancient Guild of Goldsmiths,
asserted his father was William of Derby, and his mother Anne Whinyates of Chellaston. In this Visitation
we meet with Francis Columbell, whose home had been at Darley, whose mother was Margaret Needham
of Thomsett, and whose grandmother was Benet Foljambe of Morehall, by Chesterfield. We find a
Burdett as an ironmonger, a Beresford as a haberdasher, a Shalcross as a draper, and a Sleigh as a
mercer. Here, too, John Milward, of the Eaton, Dove Dale, and Snitterton family, is designated " one of
the captaines of the ye Cittie of London " and governor of the silkmen of England, Wales, and Ireland.
What, too, is not only interesting but curious, we come across branches of such old and supposed extinct
families as the Darleys and Leches, while both the Darley and Columbell, who declared their arms^
belonged to the Guild of Merchant Taylors. The value of the Visitations of St. George lies in the fact that
he would not allow the possession of arms to old families, who had held them for generations, without
the proof was perfectly clear. There were other scions of Derbyshire houses who swore their pedigrees
before this herald, as a Bradboume, Cokajme, Fitzherbert, Harpur, Horton, Leake, Meverell, Newbold,
and a Pott of Stancliffe. From a glance at the same herald's Visitation of Hertfordshire we find branches
of the Bradbuiys, Fanshawes, Lyttons, Needhams, Rotherhams, Seliokes, and Vemons. William Bradbury
of Braughing, told St. George that his father was Robert of OUerset, while we know from other Visitations
that he was a relative of the Bradburys of Essex, whose shield had eight quarterings. Turning to the
Visitations of Vorkshire we meet with the Banks, Blyths, Burdetts, Chaworths, Dakins, Derleys, Eyres,
Plumptons, and Thomhills. We gather from here that one of the Dakin girls married the second son of
Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex.

If those writers, who have expressed such surprise at the marvellous manner in which so many of
the old Peak families became extinct or disappeared from among us, had distinctly stated that they
referred to the senior lines simply, and then had troubled themselves to dive among the farmhouses of
Chapel-en-le- Frith and the Glossop valley, giving a look into any wheelwright's shop on the way, they
would have found that a number of the families supposed to have become extinct have not, in a junior or
collateral, if in a senior line. Moreover, if these writers had troubled themselves to make it distinctly
imderstood that some of the families who are still with us, presumedly in a senior line, hold their
surnames by letters patent, they would have conferred a benefit upon the student and saved very much
confusion. The farmhouses of the Peak are the places where the compiler of the vicissitudes of
Derbyshire families, earnestly bent upon his work, will gather an abundance of information, and find
himself among men whose sires have historic mention. In some instances these farmhouses are the
veritable homesteads once held by the Bradshawes, Brownes, Beards, Kyrkes, Greaves, Hydes, Sacheverells,
and Dake3aies. Among the wheelwrights of this tract of country we found Needhams, Bagshawes, and
Beards, and not so far either from the spots with which these names have been connected for centuries.
We noticed, too, a Cokayne, who spelt his name with the orthodox termination. Among the sturdy
yeomen we found Bowdens, Bagshawes, Beards, Bradburys, Buxtons, Staifords, Shalcrosses, Ashtons, and
others, with names equally famous in the Peak. We met with an aged farm labourer, busy repairing a
partition wall of a field, who told us his name was Buxton, which prompted us to enter into conversation.
We gathered he had some knowledge of the memorabilia of this house, and on our rough sketching the
family shield he at once recognised it. There was gentility in the old man's features. How graphic such
a vicissitude would have become if handled by a Burke.

^ artdit of 5 t^trletr*

ContUti SftlU

^nittieirti^n 2$titnmr $<^ttj»je^

^nitt^vton Sail*

N

COWLEY HALL.

©otuUtr fflall*

|j;N the year 1235, Heniy III. gave to "Cotterell the Norman" two oxgates of land in Taddington
•^ and Priestcliffe, in the County of Derby. So runs the earliest record we can find of that old and

forgotten Derbyshire family, who were lords of Taddington a century later, and built the Church.

They held a moiety of Darley also. They are still among the gentlemen of England,* and, like
the Foljambes and Ford Bagshawes, have a pedigree back to Edward III., both through John of Gaunt and
Edmund of Woodstock. They have been conspicuous for their bravery in our naval warfare, from the
youth who so heroically perished in the action against the Dutch, in Solebay, 1672, to the late Admiral,
whose breast was covered with Orders and decorations for valour. The Cotterells are of unique interest
to the student. The man who found his way to Taddington Dale, designated " The Norman," was one of
a religious sect whose history is written in blood — the Albigenses — a branch of the Paulicians, who merged
out of the Manichoens. This sect takes us back to the early days of Christianity. They were among the
first — ^if not the first — opponents of the Roman hierarchy; they despised its dogmas, they repudiated its
multiplicity of sacraments. In 1198 Pope Innocent III. took horrible measures for their extermination,
and the inhabitants of every village, town, and city who favoured their tenets were put to the sword
without regard to age or sex. Even the language of the Albigenses — ^the musical proven9al of the
Troubadour — ^was stamped out for ever. When Beziers was taken, it was found that there were as many
Catholics as Albigenses, but the diabolical order was given by Abbot Arnold "to slay all;" for, said he,
"God will know His own." It was probably from Beziers that Cotterell escaped. Yet Dugdale in his
MimasHcon tells us of the munificence of the Cotterells to the Church.

From certain State papers known as Originalia — being records sent from the Court of Chancery into
the Exchequer, of grants of the Crown — we gather much information of this family. " In the year 1311,
4 Edward II., John, son of Henry de Derleye, and Matilda, his wife, levied a line with the King for a
moiety of the manor of Duleye (Darley), which was held of the King in chief, and which moiety had been
taken into the King's hands because they had purchased it from William Cotterell without the King's
licence." This same William, says Dugdale, " gave a hall, called Gysours Hall, in the City of London,
in the parish of St. Mildred, with divers other tenements and hereditaments in Fleet Street and meadows
called Siketsfields (1336)." His grandson was granted by Richard II. (1397), "the above mentioned
igrants of Henry III. in socage for the rent of ten shillings per annum." A few years previously (138 1) the
same monarch granted Thomas Cotterell "lands and tenements in the lordship of Lappeley, in the County
of Stafford, at a rent of twelve shillings." They had grants of lands from Queen Bess in Nottinghamshire
and Berkshire, while from her successor they acquired their Lincolnshire estates. Walpole, speaking
of their homestead in the last century, says, "Well, if I had such a house, such a library, so pretty a
place, so pretty a wife, I think I should let the King send to Herenhausen for a Master of the Ceremonies."
The Cotterells held this office for about two hundred years. Among our translators of foreign literature,
Charles Cotterell is celebrated for his rendering of De Costes' Cassandra^ from the French ; and Davila's
History of the Civil Wars, from the Italian. In the library of Squire Cotterell Dormer, of Rousham, near
Oxford, there is a most valuable collection of manuscripts of the family. In Report II. pp. 82-3 of the
Historical Manuscripts Commission there is an enumeration of these documents which excites a craving

* Bfr. Charles Upton Cotterell Dormer, of Rousham Hall, Coimty Oxford.

102 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

to be among them, as they relate to events of history of which no historian has told us anything. Among
the children of Sir Charles were Anne, wife of Robert Dormer, and Elizabeth, the beautiful and accomplished
spouse of Sir William Trumbell, Secretary of State to William HL Another of the lads became Bishop
of Ferns and Leighlen, while the third was president of the Society of Antiquarians. This old family
were of Taddington, while yet the name of the noble house of Cavendish was De Gemon, with a
neighbourly residence at Bakewell; yet who remembers* them now? Even Lysons is almost silent about
them, and ignores their heraldic coat altogether, while they themselves have voluntarily assumed a name,
as if to prevent anyone knowing anything of them.*

How busy the " improver " has been in the Manor of Darley during the last hundred years or so.
Edifices built as remotely as 132 1 (of which the original document of contract between the builder and
Sir John de Derlegh is still extant) ruthlessly pulled down that he might erect the gimcrack structures of
his own foolish brain. One of them stood not so far from the Church, and was the homestead of that
knight whose figure lies beneath the window of the south transept, and who was lord of the manor more
than five hundred years ago. Even the figure was reprehensible in some way with these beautifiers of sacred
precincts, for it is only within our own time that it was not hid away by their soulless artifices. The figure
is of exceptional interest, for it not only represents the man who was the very last holder of the manor in
its entirety, and that by Covin, but it shews a Crusader in his mail and surcoat overall, which is curious.
The surcoat had long been abandoned by the Crusader, for history says Sir John Chandos was the last
who donned it, and he had fallen at the battle of Lussac; yet here is the lord of Darley shewn as wearing it.

Even as the Eyres held the Manor of Wormhill by an annual payment of threepence, so the lord of
Darley made his possessions safe by a yearly amount of thirteen shillings and fourpence, which, by Royal
command, was appropriated for the repairs of the Peak Castle. The Inquisitions Post Mortem, 33
Henry III. (1249), shew Andreas de Darley as holding the manor, and what is curious, as being seized of
Bakewell, too. Between this gentleman and the Crusader there were five generations, and how judiciously
does record shew them to have selected their wives. Sir Henry, whose name appears on the Hundred
Rolls of 1284, went courting to Haddon, and won one of the Vemons; their son, St. Nicholas, brought
home a daughter of Sir Richard de Herthill ; their grandson. Sir Robert, chose his betrothed from among
the Fitzherbert ladies, of Norbury ; while the fifth in line, and brother of the Crusader, carried of a
Frecheville, of Criche, whose father was a Baron.

In the reign of Edward II. (1309) the Manor of Darley was in moieties between the Darleys and
Kendalls, hence the Crusader got himself into the black books by making some sly bargain with the heirs
of the Kendalls by which he held the whole. The two moieties were termed the " Old Hall " and
'' Nether Hall," after the residences upon them. From the death of the knight in 1 370-1, the possession
is tolerably clear, besides being accompanied* with exceptional particulars. Sir Godfrey Foljambe
purchased the Old Hall, while the heiress of the Darleys (Agnes) married Thomas Columbell, of
Sandiacre, and adopted Nether Hall as a home. The name of the lady whom Sir GocUrey espoused gives
to the lover of Derbyshire history considerable pleasing research. Burke says she was Avena Ireland ;
Thoroton asserts she was a Villiers; while Glover wisely asks how can she have been either, as the
impaling of her shield in Bakewell Church shows six fleur-de-lis, three, two, and one, which was
undoubtedly that of a Darley. But both Glover and Thoroton were in error, as we have shown elsewhere,
for the lady was one of the Irelands, of Hartshome, whose shield in trick and tincture was identical with
the Darleys. A few years later (1388) the Old Hall moiety passed to the Plumptons by heiress, and it
was while they were in possession that it became a bone of contention which lays bare phases of human
malice existing between relatives because of property, and makes us acquainted with infamous scoundrelism
maintained in the name of the law. Have our annals a more memorable knave than Richard Empson,
the legal adviser of Henry VII. } Did he not revive some musty crochet of the law about heirs general,
and did he not reduce scores of old families to abject penury by filching from them their lands, and was

* Evelyn : Diary II. 281.

COWLEY HALL. 105

not the Manor of Darley among them ? The story of how he reduced the Plmnptons to a debtor^s prison,
as told in the Camspandence* of that family, makes one almost gloat in the fact that his head afterwards
rolled in the sawdust on Tower Hill. The means he used to dispossess the Plumptons, of Darley, alone
concerns us. This infamous business can be told in a very few words. Sir Robert, of Hassop fiemp,
Edward IV.), had two neices : Margaret, married to Robert Rocliffe, and Elizabeth, the wife of John
Sotehill, of Leicester. These ladies, knowing that their uncle had neglected to get the late King
(Richard HL) to sign some documents which secured to him his vast estates, and thinking some portion
of them ought to be theirs, at once perceived that the crochet of Empson would enrich them and gratify
their spite. The lawyer brought the case on in the Autumn Assizes of 1501, packed the jury with the
dependents of the Sotehills, and laid claim to Darley, Stanton, and Hassop, and got a verdict less Hassop,
which some three years previously had been sold to Catherine Eyre. The Rocliffe moiety of the Old Hall
Manor was very soon sold to the Columbells, while the Sotehill share of the plunder, after passing through
the hands of the Drurys, Needhams, and Seniors, was purchased in 1631 by Sir John Manners, of
Haddon. It will be seen that the Columbells were virtually now in possession. For eleven generations
were they living at Nether Hall. The tenure has a curious feature, too, but not infamous — say, rather
facetious. Peter Columbell, whose will is dated 20th October, 161 6, left his goods to his son Roger, on
condition of his refraining from smoking tobacco, for, if he was caught by brother or sister with a pipe in
his mouth, the forfeiture of the property was the mulct laid down. When we recollect that the wife of
this Roger was the lady we mention under Snitterton Hall, who had given up everything for the sake of
her husband, there was little fear of his being caught if he sometimes set the injunction of the will at
defiance. It must have been the grandfather of this gentleman (of the same name, Roger) who reported
to the Council of Queen Elizabeth, in 1587, that Padley Hall was ''a house of evil resort," because poor
Sir Thomas Fitzherbert worshipped God in a different way to himself.f In the year 1673 the last of his
line passed away (there was a branch settled in London, as we find from the VisttaSion of St. George,
1633-4), and his heiress took the lands to the Marburys, but the death of the man she had married
brought them back to her. She gave them out of love to his memory to his relations, the Thackers, who
sold them in parcels to various purchasers, among whom was Mr. Richard Arkwright, who bought
Nether Hall, and became lord of the manor. During the present century two famous names have become
linked with this lordship — Heathcote and Whitworth. One is to be found among the projectors of the
Bank of England, on the lists of famous Lord Mayors, and on the Rolls of the Peers of Great Britain ;
the other is known to our enemies as attached to a gun rather destructive to their interests.

Ten different families have held the Manor of Cowley since the Conquest : the De Ferrars, CoUeghs,
Cadmans, Needhams, Seniors, Bagshawes, Fanshawes, Fitzherberts, Walls, and Arkwrights. What a goodly
sprinkling of real old Derbyshire houses. The Fanshawes were of Dronfield as far back as five hundred years
ago; the Needhams appear on the Hundred Rolls of 3 Edward i. (1274); the Walls were resident in Darley
Dale for six centuries ; the De Ferrars had ceased to be lords of Cowley before the Hundred Rolls were
compiled ; while the Bagshawes were of Bowden Edge prior to the De Ferrars acquiring the lordship.
Coronets, coifs, and gold spurs have been plenteously worn by some of these families. Four have held
peerages, of which three are extinct ; two baronetcies ; and three produced famous judges, whose careers
are related by Foss. But Burke and Leslie Stephen tell us of political and domestic incidents of some of
them that make such names imperishable in the memory.

How many of us remember that the monarchs of England were shorn of their prerogative of imposing
taxation upon the nation by a De Ferrars? To have secured a constitutional right in a feudal age is
worthy of a kind thought. This family held their Derbyshire estates for nine lives in succession, yet what
do we know of them? Just a few facts that are of interest to the curious. The first one was on the

* Camden Sodetj Publications, Vol. IV.

f Roger, who made the report to the Conncil, was husband of Prances, daughter of Sir Peter FrecheviUe, of StaToley. His mother was
Bennett Foljambe, of Skegby ; his grandmother was Elizabeth Stockwith, a Lincolnshire heiress ; his great-grandmother was a Rollesley, of
Rowslej t and great-great-grandmother Beatrice Bradbovne. In Lee's ** Visitation of Lincolnshire," for 1592 (by Metcalf, 1883), is the best
of the Colombells we have seen.

104 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

General Survey of 1086, and founded Tutbuiy Priory; the second fought at the Battle of the Standard, and,
with his Derbyshire lads, secured the victory; the third choose an ox hide for a cof&n, and was buried in
the Abbey of Meervale; the fourth held seventy-nine knights' fees, and espoused Margaret Peverell; the
fifth rebelled against Henry H., and lost his castle of Duffield; the sixth led on the third Crusade, and fell
before the walls of Acre in the Holy Land ; the seventh had a diamond wedding, or seventy-five years of
wedded life — Thomas Sl Beckett, the Patron Saint of Chapel-en-le-Frith, being the priest of his early
marriage; the eighth suffered from gout, like his sires, and was drowned at St. Neots*; the ninth was
the colleague of De Montfort in securing a representative Parliament, fighting gallantly at Lewes and
Evesham, and was deprived of his estates in consequence; the tenth no longer (like his fathers) lord of
two hundred and nine manors, was still sufficiently powerful to compel Edward I. to concede the
memorable feature in an Englishman's liberties, that no taxation can be imposed upon him "without the
consent of Parliament." In the year 1269 the Manor of Cowley was given by Henry III. to Gilbert de
CoUegh. How it passed to the Cadmans there is apparently no trace, but with the next possessors, the
Needhams, we come to an egregious blunder made by the whole of the compilers. They tell us, that in
the reign of Elizabeth, the heiress married Otwell Needham, and brought it to him in her dowry. Now
markl This lady gave to her husband twelve sons and a shower of daughters, which Dr. Cox admits.
One of these daughters was named Dorothy, and married John Dakeyne, of Snitterton, in 1541; this
would be when Heniy VIII. was thinking of cutting off the head of Catherine Howard, and the Princess
Elizabeth would be in short skirts and primitive pinafores. The heiress of the Cadmans must have been
a venerable dame.

Otwell Needham was the senior member of the Thomsett family, and ninth in descent from the
founder. Lysons says that this old Derbyshire house was of Cheshire origin. This statement Dr. Cox
denies, but does not tells us where the inaccuracy lies, for he simply makes a counter statement that John,
the youngest son of Thomas Needham, of Thomsett, in the time of Edward HI., was a famous lawyer,
and settled in Cheshire. We would remind the learned Doctor that there was a William de Needham,
lord of Staunton in that county, living there in 1 102 ; and we would add, that if he is not prepared to shew
(which he has not) that the Thomsett Needhams were not William's descendants, then his apology is due
to the shade of dear old Lysons.

How the vicissitudes of this family were a counterpart of the vicissitudes of another famous
Derbyshire house is not only strange, but remarkable — ^we refer to the Cokaynes, of Ashbourne. John
Needham, the lawyer, was made a Knight and Judge of Common Pleas by Henry VI. ; John Cokayne
was Chief-Baron of the Exchequer under the same monarch. Both became sires of illustrious sons who
mated with the daughters of the aristocracy and founders of patrician houses. In both cases the
distinction lay with the junior branches. Simultaneously with the elder Cokaynes selling Middleton-by-
Youlgreave to the Fulwoods, the elder Needhams were disposing of Cowley to the Seniors; simultaneously
with the junior Cokaynes becoming Viscounts Cullen, the junior Needhams became Viscounts Kilmorey.
If we wanted a senior representative of either of these old houses at the present moment we should find
them among the business men of the Peak.

Richard Senior, who purchased the Manor of Cowley from the Needhams in 1615, and resided at the
Hall, was evidently an early example of a fox-hunting squire, though of doubtful reputation. He is
ignored in the Vtsitaiions of St. George and Dugdale, neither has Burke any mention of him. Old
Leonard Wheatcroft, poet, tailor, schoolmaster, and clerk of Ashover Church, in the reign of Charles II.,
has left us the squire's portrait, together with the proof that he held the Cowley home of the Needhams:

That's Cowley Hall, when oft I beard the cry
Of large mouthed doggs, who did not fear to kill
What was their master's pleasure, word, and will ;
His name was Sinner, whoever did him know,
He's dead and gone, now many years ago.

*01d Hatton has it (Hist, of Derby, p. 69), that "Being too mach afflicted with the gout to use bis feet, he rode in a chariot; and by
the carelessness of the driver was overturned in passing the bridge at St. Neots and killed in 1254.'*

COWLEY HALL. 105

The heiress of this gentleman brought the edifice and manor to the Fanshawes.

Amongst those " honest old Cavaliers " who mustered around the standard of Charles L there was
no nobler type than Richard Fanshawe. How he was stripped of his estates through his loyalty to the
house of Stuart ; reduced to penury and suffered imprisonment ; how his noble wife (a Fanshawe
maternally) went to his prison window every morning to cheer him ; how she lived with him in a garret
at Oxford, subsisting on bread and water ; how the King, while in exile, created him a baronet, and at
the Restoration sent him Ambassador to the Court of Spain, where his lady was offered an annidty of
thirty thousand ducats if she would turn Catholic — is told by this loveable creature in her own Memoirs^
which are confirmed by a score of authorities. Several members of the family were Clerks of the Crown
under the Tudors. One of them was Remembrancer of the Exchequer, of whom Queen Elizabeth was so
proud that she gave him Dengey Hall, in Essex ; another was created a viscount by Charles I. ; Lady
Fanshawe (whose husband held Cowley) was daughter of Mary Fanshawe, of Fanshawe Gate ; while her
father was Sir John Harrison, who lost one hundred and thirty thousand pounds by his loyalty to the
Stuarts. The pluck of the Fanshawes is a characteristic which yet adheres to them. One of them who
died so recently as 1 867 was a general in the Russian army and aide-de-camp to the Emperor Nicholas :
Burke tells us that he took part in the campaigns of the Caucasus and Finland, was one of those who
passed the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice, was present at the battles of Anapa, Smolensko, Borodino, Witepsk,
Tarontino, Borisson, Beresina, Molodaczno, Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, Kulm, Brienne, Fere-Champenoise,
the taking of Paris, and the siege of Adrianople. For distinguished services and brilliant acts of bravery,
he received the golden sword of honour, with the inscription, •* For bravery;" the Order of St. Radimore,
with the sword ; the Cross of St. Anne, of the second class ; the Prussian Cross ; the Cross of Leopold, of
Austria ; the Cross of Maximilian, of Bavaria ; the Cross of Prussia, " For merit," and was successively
named Knight of the Grand Cross and Bands, St. Kadimar, the White Eagle, St. Anne, and St.
Stannislaus.

Cowley Hall again changed hands in 17 18, when Thomas Bagshaw, of Bakewell Hall, was the
purchaser. This tenure was remarkably short, for in three years it was conveyed again by heiress to
William Fitzherbert, of Tissington. Here we have another of those glorious old Derbyshire families.
Their name is on the roll of Battle Abbey ; they became lords of Norbury in 11 25, and, what is singular,
one of the attesting witnesses to their charter of possession is Robert de Ferrars, who was lord of Cowley.
Sir Henry Fitzherbert was Knight of the Shire in 1294, which was the year in which Parliament first
met — in the sense as we understand it. What Judge of Common Pleas was more famous than Sir Anthony,
the author of De Natura Brevium ? What family suffered more from religious persecution ? Were not
the rents of their lands insufficient to pay the fines for worshipping God with a ritual differing from the
Anglican Church ? Did they not forfeit the Manor of Padley from the same cause ? Yet what family
more heroically defended the very Crown which had so mulcted them, when in its turn it was attacked ?
Witness their defence of South Wingfield and Tissington against fearful odds. They have held a peerage
(St. Helens), and still hold a baronetcy. They retained Cowley for twenty-eight years, and then sold it
to George Wall, yeoman, of Darley Dale.*

The Walls had been knights of the plough for twenty generations ; had attended to their sheep
shearing and tilling for six centuries, and, while the ambitious aspirations and improvidence of their
neighbours had brought only ruin, they had lived on in quietude and perpetuated their race. There is
something sad about the widow of the last representative of such a long line of men selling Cowley to the
Arkwrights in 1 79 1 .

Within the Cowley homestead of the Cadmans and Needhams there are a few vestiges of by-gone
days, but the hands of the Sorbys, who were resident here some few years ago, have given the same
appearance to the building as we can imagine a lady of four score years would present if given a maiden's
countenance. But the associations cling to it so long as there are any vestiges whatever, and dead

* Vide Articles on Norbary and Tissington. Vol. II.

io6 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

indeed must be the soul if such associations cannot endear it. There has been a homestead at Cowley
for at least four hundred years, and from its contiguity to Haddon, from its facilities for the chase, from
the De Ferrars having some interest in the not-far-removed lead mines, there may have been some
description of shooting-tower here long before. How glibly we do all speak of these Barons, as if we
know anything of them ! Only that they founded Abbeys and Priories, but apparently in expiation of a
troubled conscience ; only,' that beneath their armour they wore a dress of leather, and in their girth a
dagger of mercy, to despatch the quicker the life of a foe ; only, that they encased their elbows with
poleigns, their knees with genouiullires, their legs with jambeauz, and their arms with brassarts.

<^

SNITTERTON MANOR HOUSE.

^nttterton gtHanor gou0^.

ITTLE ROWSLEY is one of the four manors within the parish of Darley. Lysons adds
Wendesley or Wensley also, though he admits it was a moiety of Matlock during the Norman
I period, while the Inquisitionum Post Mortem for 1579 show it as a manor of Wirksworth. Of
these manors — Cowley, Darley, Rowsley, and Snitterton — ^the last three were Royal demesne at
the Survey; though, before the reign of Richard I. Little Rowsley was held under the Crown by the family
of Rollesley, who took their patron3rmic, evidently, from the manor. Henry RoUesley, the first of this old
and extinct Derbyshire house of whom there is any trace, had a son Jordon living here while Coetkr de
Lion was yet King, whose only issue, being a daughter, persuaded her husband to take her name.*
Nicholas, who was the fifth in descent from Jordon, married an heiress of the Hoptons, whose great
grandson and namesake espoused an heiress of the Cheneys. The fifteenth in descent from Henry died
in boyhood, and so the Manor of Little Rowsley passed to Sir William Kniveton, who married the lad's
sister, Matilda. This was towards the close of the sixteenth century. The father of Matilda, and virtually
the last of his race, espoused Mary Shakerley, of Little Longstone, while his mother was Elizabeth Eyre, of
Holme, near Chesterfield. The Knivetons of (Rowsley and) Mercaston are another old family that are
gone; they were of that ilk for fifteen generations, while the elder line were of Bradley very remotely. Sir
William, who married Matilda Rollesley, was created a baronet by James I. in 161 1; was knight of the
shire in 1603; was sheriff of the county in 1614. His mother was a co-heiress of the Leches of
Chatsworth. The Manor of Little Rowsley was sold by his son. Sir Gilbert, to Sir John Manners, of
Haddon, while the whole of the paternal estates were conveyed away by the third baronet, who was a
zealous cavalier ruined by his loyalty, and the line had become extinct about 1706. This family
differenced their heraldic coat as much as the Chaworths. In the reign of Edward I. they had two; a
chevron between 3 knives; and Gules^ a bend vaire^ argent and sable. A century later they bore, a bend vaire
between 6 crosses formee^ while the arms of the baronets were. Gules ^ a chevron vaire^ argent and sable. The
lady of the last of the Suttons of Over Haddon was Anne Kniveton.

There is an entry in the Historical Manuscripts Commission which relates to Little Rowsley, and
which makes us understand how thoroughly obnoxious to the people must have been the taxation imposed
upon the nation by Charles I.: "The cessment of Over Haddon, Great Rowsley, Little Rowsley, and
Darley, for Ship Money, made by George Columbell, senior; George Columbell, junior; John Taylor,
Henry Bradley, John Stevenson, Hugh Newton, George Broadhurst, William Goodwin, and George
Hatfield, the total amount being ^^44."

Those Wendesleys who were lords of Wensley were sometime lords of Cold Eaton and Mappleton,
and were evidently a knightly family of military prestige, of county influence, irrespective of their landed'
estates, besides being tenants in capit6 to the Crown. They were knights of the shire four times in the
reign of Richard H., and twice in that of Elizabeth; they were at Wensley for four hundred years; one of
them was among those crusaders who, after reaching the walls of Jerusalem, found themselves incapable
of taking the city. Richard de Wendesley, who married Lettuce Needham about the middle of the
sixteenth century, was the last of his line. This was the gentleman who purchased the Chantry of

*This fact is curious when we remember that Avicia Avenell, of Haddon, married Richard Vernon and had a daughter, who wedded
with Gilbert le Franceys and persuaded her husband to do the very same thing. Lysons* *' Derbyshire," p. 38.

no OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Snitterton from the Warners. His wife sold a moiety of Wensley in 1591 to the Harpurs, and in 1603
disposed of the other moiety in four parts: one to Richard Senior, one to Roger Columbell, and two to
John Manners. The Wendesleys had a knack of letting this manor, as we find it being held under them
by the Foljambes, Harpurs, and others.

Although there is no vestige of Snitterton Chantry left, nor is the site of it known with certainty ;
still, there is a gable left of the edifice, where remotely dwelt the lords of the soil.

^^ Honor Viriutus Premium^* was the motto of the earliest tenant of this old manor house. Fidelity
seems to have been a characteristic of the different men who have owned it or been its tenants, whether as
the Shirleys in pouring out their blood for the house of Lancaster, or as the Sacheverells in looking after
the interests of Henry VHL while keepers of the Abbey estates, or, as in the case of John Dakeyne, by
honourably adhering to a plighted troth which carried with it the disinheritance of himself and his heirs
for ever. In the days of Queen Elizabeth there used to issue forth from its portals a youth whose steps
were bent towards old Chatsworth, for the purpose of paying his devoirs to one of the Maids of Honour to
the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots. It is asserted that this lady was a daughter of the Earl of Rothes;
this we cannot verify, but of their ultimate marriage there is no doubt, for it was their firstborn who was
cruelly deprived of his birthright. The Derbyshire Dakyns were the original stock from whence those of

— Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and London sprang. Glover, in his Derbyshire^ together with a writer in the
Topographer and Genealogist^ have it that our Dakeynes were descendants of the Norfolk knights who came
in with William the Conqueror, and who settled around Chelmorton about the temp, of Edward III. This
is incorrect, for it is against evidence. There were the Dakyns of Fairfield, while the great grandfather of
that monarch was having a rough time of it with his barons. How curiously this family has altered the
orthography of its name with the change of locality is worth note, and the fact is corroborated by the
College of Heralds. Those of Chelmorton, in the reign of Edward IV., spelt it Dawkin; those of
Hartington {temp, of Henr>' VII.), Dalkin; those of Biggin Grange {temp, of Henr}' VIII.), Dakyns, which
they further altered to Dake}Tie; those of Snitterton {temp, of Elizabeth), Dakyn, while their present
representatives in Sheflleld— one of whom has made the name a household word from his endowment of
an institution for the relief of deserving women struggling with penury — adopt the Hartington termination
with an additional vowel, Deakin. It was of the Chelmorton branch, after their settling in Yorkshire —
Linton and Harkness— of which Arthur Dak3rns, a general in the army, was a member. Every
Englishman would like to know more of this brave soldier than he does. Why William Flowers, Norroy
King-at-Arms, in 1563, granted him the extraordinary device of "Stryke Dakyns, the Devil's in the
Hemp," is a question that has been asked by thousands. Denham, in his Slogans of the Norths is the only
writer that has attempted any explanation. He states that generals fought then afloat as well as on shore,
and assumes that Dakyns performed some marvellous feats of cutting the cordage of an enemy's vessel at
a critical moment, when victory or defeat depended upon the act, and that it was an encounter with the
Spanish fleet. But why so.? Had not the English both taken and lost the port of Havre in the very year
previous to the grant ? and if there is no other evidence than assumption, the greater probability is, some
desperate struggle with the French. Anyway, the deed, whatever it was, made the Dakeyne of Biggin
Grange claim the motto from St. George, the Herald, when he made his Visitation to the Peak in 161 1.
He, however, made them difierence the flaunches of their shield with griffins. We believe that the
document by which this grant was made is in the keeping of one of our most particular friends, though
formerly it was with the Gladwins, of Stubbin Court. Seeing that the gentleman who was disinherited by

[ his father in 161 3 was not of Stubbin Edge but of Bonsall, and seeing that it was his younger but more
fortunate brother who was so designated ; seeing, further, that the descendants of this brother became
extinct after the third generation ; while there were scions shot off" from the disinherited man who settled
themselves in Darley Dale and Holt House; in Gradbach, County Stafford; in Manchester, County
Lancaster; in Attercliffe, County York; in Bagthorpe, County Nottingham; we cannot satisfy ourselves
but that the Dakeynes should retain the ancient coat of their sires, for the flaunches charged with griffins

SNITTERTON MANOR HOUSE. iii

were given to a branch which has passed away and from which they do not spring. We should not forget
that the Dakeynes (Deakins) of Attercliffe and Bagthorpe are fron the firstborn of John, who was cut oflF
by his father; while those of Derbyshire are not, but from his third son.

It is from the will of John Dakyn, who espoused Dorothy Needham, in 1541, and took up his abode
at Snitterton Manor House, that we learn some items of local interest at that period. He calls Robert
Fitzherbert, of Tissington, his brother. He applies the same term to Riqhard de Wendesley, of Wensley,
close by. Such relationship with one, can be substantiated by reference to genealogy, but we cannot trace
any such close tie of blood with the second, though it goes to prove the predeliction of Derbyshire men to
marry with the daughters of their neighbours. If there were any relationship with the Wendesleys, as
stated by the will of John Dakyn, it is curious that the widow of Wendesley had power to sell her estates
to the Harpurs, Seniors, Manners, and Columbells. Lysons calls this lady (and, of course, the compilers
have copied him) the heiress of the Wendesleys. The term may be correct, but we doubt it, as she had
no relationship by blood, only by marriage certificate. Her maiden name was Lettuce Needham. Are
not domestic incident and historical association sufilicient to invest an old edifice with interest ? Richard
Dakyn had a Royal Maid of Honour for his wife, and disinherited his son. The Manor House had been
held by men whose names are preserved on the Rolls of the Nation, but very few tourists ever shape their
course south of Darley Bridge to look at the old gable. We admit that we went purposely to satisfy
ourselves if it was stillr-stamiing,- for, further than an allusion to it in Dr. Cox's Churches 0/ Derbyshire^ we
cannot find the slightest mention of it anywhere. The Maid of Honour who married Richard Dakyn
(according to the Brailsford manuscripts) was Katherine Leslie, daughter of the Scotch nobleman who was
present at the nuptials of Mary Stuart with Frances II., of France, and died at Dieppe on his way home.
Some authorities say her name was Strange ; we believe with the writer in the Topographer that she was
Catherine Strange, and relative of the Earl of Rothes. When her son incurred his father's anger she was
dead, and her husband had taken a second wife in Elizabeth Hunloke, of Wingerworth. The romance of
the Manor House lies with this discarded son. There is something appealing to the human heart, if not
noble, about a man forfeiting so much for the woman he loves, particularly when she is so far beneath
him in social position that even her surname is kept back from the family genealogy. Still the disinheritance
was accompanied with immortality, for the College of Heralds still proclaim it, the student of Derbyshire
history kindly remembers it, and in generations to come the act that called it forth will yet be spoken of
in accents of pity and admiration.

In the volumes of the Historical Manuscripts Commission there are various references to the Dakeynes.
From the Melbourne Papers we transcribe a letter written, if we mistake not, by a grandson of John, the
disinherited, which is of interest, if only as illustrating servants' wages in those days. It is written by John
Dakeyne to Thomas Coke, of Melbourne Hall, and dated i6th September, 1704 : — " I came hither to-day
to wait upon you, and also to desire that I may serve you in any post or place in the country or London
you have to dispose of. Business relating to the law is much less than formerly. That is my profession,
and I could easily embrace more of that or other concerns that may be offered. I am glad my daughter
has the happiness to wait upon yours at Wing. I hope she gives good satisfaction in her place, and if you
think fit, I desire her wage may be something augmented, being as I hear but three pounds per annum. I
had the favour to be one of your Clerks at the election." Thus we see, that a lady of this old family, and
daughter of a lawyer, was a menial, with a wage of a decimal above a shilling a week.

The Manors of Snitterton, Cowley, and Wensley were purchased, if we mistake not, by that marvellous
type of industry, ingenuity, and indomitable perseverance. Sir Richard Arkwright. The extraordinary
career of this gentleman, and how certain writers have attempted to question his inventive genius, or the
originality of such inventive genius, will be found under the article on " Sutton Hall."

SNITTERTON HALL.

^niiUvton Sail*

HERE can be no doubt that the Sacheverells acquired the greater portion of their property and
heraldic quarterings by the union of John (who was slain at the battle of Bosworth in 1485) with
the heiress of the Stathams in the reign of Edward IV. Three generations previously, the
heiress of the Hopwells had thrown in her lot with the family; at least, so say Dr Cox and
Camden, the Herald. Over this daughter of the Hopwells, old Lysons stood on his mettle and denied her
identity ; while Dr. Cox sits upon Lysons by maintaining this identity. We will simply state the facts as
produced by these two celebrated authorities. Camden's pedigree of the Sacheverells, as given in his
Visitation of Warwickshire, for 16 19, is pronounced by Dr. Cox (Vol. IV. Derbyshire Churches) to be the
most reliable genealogy of that family to be found. Good! Now the learned Doctor shows (and justly, for
the monuments in Morley Church verify his statements) that Sir Thomas Statham, who died in 1470
(grandfather of the heiress Jane) was the son of John, who died in 1453. The Camden pedigree
distinctly states that John was the son of Sir Thomas. It is on the authority of the Camden pedigree that
the marriage with the heiress of the Hopwells is based. Old Lysons says he cannot find any trace of
any such marriage, and, further, that the shield of the Hopwells was not argent, three hares playing bagpipes
gules, but quite different. Such a coat, he adds, belonged to the Fitz-Ercalds.* There is a pedigree given
by Thoroton, in his Nottinghamshire, which should be brought in as a witness. The researches of Dr.
Cox very emphatically show, however, that the inscriptions on Church monuments are more reliable than
all the Visitations of Heralds » There is another union of the Sacheverells of much greater importance for
the moment — ^the union with the heiress of the Snittertons. By this union the Sacheverells are said on
all sides to have come in for the Manor of Snitterton. But this extraordinary young lady, whoever she
was, makes a greater sport with the student than she made when she trod the lanes of Darley. She was
living, according to Lysons, about the middle of the fifteenth century, for her husband was William of
Ible, Knight of the Shire in 1461. According to Camden she espoused Patrick Sacheverell while Edward
I. was King. The discrepancy is about two hundred years in time. She was really a Shirley, says
Lysons, and her arms. Gules, a snipe argent, gorged with a coronet or. We see but one solution of the
difficulty, that there were two ladies living at distinct periods, with distinct arms — for those of Shirley
were a paly of six, or and azure a canton ( ? a quarter) ermine — whom the Sacheverells married, and that,
from the Snitterton Shirleys, calling themselves Snittertons and adopting the Snitterton arms, has arisen
the difficulty; for the two statements cannot be otherwise reconciled, without we repudiate Camden in the
same way as Dr. Cox has repudiated Thoroton.f

After the Manor of Snitterton ceased to be Royal demesne and a berewick of Matlock under the early
Norman monarchs, we find a branch of the Warwickshire Shirleys in possession and having a residence
here. This family at the time of the Conquest was located at Etingden. holding seventeen hides of land,
which were three times the quantity supposed to be held by an earl ; and, what is singular, they were not
dispossessed by the Conqueror. Writers (among whom is Glover, the Herald) assert that the first

* Mag. Brit., Vol. V., p. CIII. There is something provoking about this shield. The words of Lysons and Burke (General Armoury)
are identical, that " it has usually been assigned to Hopwell," but belonged to Fitz-Ercald. Cos says (Vol. IV., p. 333), " It has been usual
to attribute the hares and bagpipes to Fitz-Ercald," while they should be assigned to Hopwell.

+ " Churches," Vol. IV., p. 332.

ii6 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Derbyshire Shirley was Ralph, who became sheriff three times in the reign of Edward I. This is clearly
an error, for this gentleman's great-grandfather held five knights' fees in the shire ; besides, his mother
was Matilda Ridel, daughter of the Lord of Hathersage. The career of the sheriff is of great importance
to us. His wife was Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Walter Walderchef, of Fairfield, bailiff of the
forest, cup bearer to Edward II., favourite of Edward III., and whose lineal descendant at this moment is
Sewallus Edward Shirley, tenth Earl Ferrars in the Peerage of Great Britain. The son of the Sheriff
espoused Isabel Basset, and in their issue vested, and still vests, the Barony of Drayton, together with a
romance. This lady was bom under a cloud which prevented her knowing who her mother was, and so
the Barony has remained in abeyance for almost six hundred years. To this hour, bofh historical and
heraldic scholars quarrel over the dame — one holding she was legitimately bom, the other contending
there was a hitch, while Sir Bemard Burke comes in between and says the proof is "almost" good
enough.*

How a knowledge of these old homesteads yields up not only historical but domestic incidents of
love and friendship is curious ; indeed, with the three great families who held Snitterton Hall in
succession, there is an abundance of interesting particulars. One were knights as early as the twelfth
centuiy, barons in the thirteenth, and from distinguished marriages quartered the Royal arms of
Plantagenet and Valois; another, who were buyers and sellers of monaster}' lands, and obtained a
knighthood on the Field of the Cloth of Gold,t has a real romance of human love throwing aside wealth ;
while a third, who also held their gold spurs and a judgeship, fought conspicuously among the Cavaliers.
Yet this old edifice, linked with the Shirleys, Sacheverells, Milwards, Adderleys, Femes, Turners,
Falkners, Elsies, Sybrays, and other families, is positively unknown to people living within a mile of its
threshold. When approaching from Darley Dale we attested the fact by inquiring from two householders
separately and getting the answer in each case that they could not direct us ; one adding he had never
heard of such a hall. Situated within two miles from Matlock and one from Darley, in a glorious part of
the Derwent Valley, being almost the boundary mark that divides the Hundred of High Peak from the
Wapentake of Wirksworth, having reminiscences that vie with more celebrated buildings, together with
architecture that commends itself to the beholder, such a fact is unintelligible.

The Shirleys, who were located at Snitterton for generations, adopted as their patronymic the name
of the manor, but it never adhered to them. As famous military men the Shirleys stand out in our
annals. Among the heroes of Cressy and Poictiers was Sir Thomas, while one of the leaders on the
field of Agincourt was Sir Ralph. One of the knights, whom Henry IV. bamboozled into donning the
Royal tunic at the battle of Shrewsbury, to become a target for the Douglases and Hotspur, was Sir Hugh.
In six different counties at least did this family hold lands — Derby, Leicester, Warwick, Northampton,
Stafford, and Sussex. It was one of the last branch who made himself so celebrated by his travels into
remote comers of the earth, and excited the wrath of James I. by his fame. Like so many of the old
families of Derbyshire, the male issue of the Snitterton Shirleys failed about the middle of the fifteenth
century, and the heiress passed the lands on to John Sacheverell of Ible. By the way, it is not generally
known that Earl Ferrars is not only a Shirley, but a descendant of De Ferrars ; J and thus two extremely
old Derbyshire houses are represented in this nobleman. There was a junior member of the Snitterton
Shirleys who was one of the Foresters in fee for the Edale portion of the Peak Forest under Bluff Hal.

The Sacheverells were of Hopwell and Morley, but held Ible (which is about four miles south-west
of Snitterton) from the Shirleys. By this marriage they acquired it, and afterwards sold it to the Vemons
in 1498. Their name is said to be derived from Sau-Cheverell, a town in Normandy, which in turn is
from de saltu caprioU, the leap of a goat. The most illustrious member of this house was probably Sir
Henry, who was created a Knight of the Bath (and was present at the coronation of Henry VIII., 24tli
June, 1509). Such a fact we cannot find in the compilers, but we shall append a list of those Derbyshire

* '* Extinct Peerages," p. 37.

f Derbyshire Knights on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, Sir Richard Sacheverell, Sir John Burdett, Sir Godfrey Foljambe.

{Vide Article on Burnastoo. Vol. s.

SNITTERTON HALL. 117

gentlemen who have had this honour bestowed upon them since the institution of the Order to the
present time.*

The Sacheverells stood very high with Henry VTH. He made one a captain of his bodyguard
(another of which bodyguard was Sir Geoffrey Foljambe» of Walton, by Chesterfield), took him to France,
knighted him at Toumay, was anxious for his acquiring municipal honours in Derbyshire, and did not
forget him when he played football with the Monasteries. They had an hereditary mania for bu3dng
and selling Church (and other) property, and advantageously too. They purchased Darley Abbey for
twenty-six pounds — the whole of the building, including aisles, altars, candlesticks, organ, timber,
pavement, roof, gravestones, and brasses — ^which they sold to the Bullocks, with a considerable balance
no doubt in their favour. After they had tenanted Snitterton for four generations — ^if Lysons is right, or
twelve, if Camden is right — ^they sold the building, and a moiety of the manor, together with the old
Manor House (a gable of which is yet left), to Colonel John Milward, and then purchased Stoke Hall
from the Bullocks, which, in the language of the gutter, looks like a swop. The other moiety of the
manor they disposed of to the Shores. While they were yet living at Snitterton, the heiress of the
RadclifTe-on-Soar Sacheverells used to visit her relatives at the old homestead, and so became acquainted
with Roger Columbell, the lord of Darley. The acquaintance of the young people ripened into love, but
her father threatened to withhold the proverbial shilling. Anyway, they cared nought for the threat, and
were married. True enough, the lands and money which should have been her*s went to her cousin.
Sir William Hutchinson, but he, be it remembered, to his credit, had scruples about the receipt thereof,
and so split the difference.

At the dissolution of the Monasteries there was a Chantry in Snitterton attached or near to the
Manor House. This the De Wendesleys bought; while the Brownes, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, purchased
the Chantry lands. From the fact that our Sacheverells, De Wendesleys, and Brownes, have passed
away, and have no lineal descendants, there is a mysterious colouring given to Burke's aphorism. One of
the Sacheverells, who was physician to Charles IL, had properties which became sequestered under the
Commonwealth, and expected to regain them from Royal favour ; but the Stuarts never remembered their
obligations to other people. It is said that the disappointment brought the physician to an early grave.

The possession and tenancy of Snitterton Hall by the Milwards enables us to bring to light two or
three facts which escaped such celebrated authorities as Lysons and Glover, and even the indefatigable
Dr. Cox. They are of interest to the Peakrell. On the 19th May, 1426, when Henry VI. was made a
Knight of the Bath, so was Ralph Milward. The father of the Colonel who bought Snitterton was Chief
Justice of the Palatine of Chester^ while Robert, the brother of the Colonel, was in 1669 one of the
Lords of the Privy Seal. The Judge was trustee, if we mistake not, under the will of Thomas Eyre, of
Hassop, in 1636; he is distinctly mentioned in a volume of the Topographer^ and in one oi Notes and
Queries, but no one links him on to Snitterton. Then again there is the poem, written two centuries ago
by Leonard Wheatcroft, clerk of Ashover Church, in which the fact is corroborated :

A Knight the father, and a Squire the son ;
One heir is left, if dead that name is gone.
This heir being young, with ladies durst not play,
So he in sorrow, quickly went away.
Leaving no heir o' the name, no, not one;
So farewell Milwards, now of Snitterton.

John Milward, the Royalist colonel who purchased Snitterton, was a scion of the great Eaton-
Dove Dale family, whose paternal home was at Chilcot. His father had also bought the Manor of Thorpe
from the Cokaynes, and indeed, if we mistake not, they were relatives of the Ashbourne knight. In the
poems of Sir Aston Cokayne, published in 1658, there are several sonnets to the Milwards, one in
particular addressed to his " sweet cousin ** Isabella.

With the death of the Colonel in 1670, his estates descended in moieties to his three daughters,
though, apparently, the senior co-heiress retained Snitterton with the Manor House. The eldest, Felicia,

*Vide Appendix.

ii8 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

married Charles Adderley, who sold his share to Henry Feme, Receiver-General of the Customs, whose
heiress married Turner of Derby. We mention this fact to remind the lovers of Derbyshire history of
two extraordinary cross Chancery suits, in which Feme was virtually plaintiff and defendant both, over a
claim to the Manor of Bonsai, of which he assumed he was lord. The Shore moiety of Snitterton passed
consecutively to the Hodkinsons and Banks, but the lordship now rests with the Arkwrights.

The Hall has known many owners since the Milwards, whose tenancy would be tedious to follow.
We wondered if it was garrisoned during the Civil Wars for the king-like Hassop.

Here is an old edifice that echoed with shouts while yet the King of the Peak was living at Haddon ;
the homestead of Cavaliers who fought at Edgehill and Naseby; the rooms in which gathered the
Dakeyns, Cowleys, Needhams, Brownes, Wendesleys, Sacheverells ; where Sir Aston quoted his own
epigrams over his wine ; and it is neglected and forgotten. But not intentionally. Oh, no ! It is the
fault of those compilers who tell us of Stratas, of which they know little ; of Flora, of which they know
less ; of Fauna, of which they know nothing. Let us know something of the domestic traits of our sires,
of those men whose pluck, whether in the House of Commons or on the field of battle, we are justly
proud of; of those women whose love and fidelity have hallowed the old homesteads of Derbyshire.

^ari^lj af (^h^n^ov.

®(}ctt«mj(virt^ $<>tt0«>

OHATSWORTH HOUSE.

^\^at0wovi\fj Smt0e*

OW many Peakrells or scions of old Peak families have worn the satin tippet of a Chief
^ Baron of the Exchequer, or the taffata tippet of a Justice of Queen's Bench ? A Bakewell,
Bradbury, Bradshawe, Cokayne, Manners, Vernon, Cavendish, Foljambe. How many have
had their necks encircled with the gold collar of Lord Mayor? Two Batemans, one Bradbury^
one Cavendish, two Cokaynes. How many have borne upon their shoulders the epaulets of an Admiral ?
One Cavendish, two Eyres, one Vernon. How many have buckled just below the knee that little bit of
blue velvet edged with gold, which is the most coveted honour in Europe? Ten Manners and nine
Cavendishes. Each Duke of Devonshire has held this knighthood ; the first Duke of Rutland did not.
Above all, how many have enriched our literature with the labours of their researches, their classical and
philosophical studies? These gentlemen shall have particular mention elsewhere; suffice it now to
notice the memorabilia of one noble family. We do not assume for a moment that the answers we have
given to such questions as must have arisen in the minds of many students are accurate, but we assert
that they have an approximate accuracy, which is deserving of being tested. These are questions which
should not be difficult to answer, yet is it so.

On the site of princely Chatsworth stood the homestead of Chetal, the Saxon, who was lord of the
manor before the Norman Conquest ; the ancient name of Chetesvorde (or, as Lysons says it should be,
Chetelsvorde) bearing evidence of such a fact. Could we have known Lysons we would have submitted
that this was simply .the omission of the letter " 1 " by that dexterous scribe whose penmanship still
excites curiosity after eight hundred years. Some three centuries subsequent to the Norman subjugation,
there arose the half stone and timber residence of the Leches,* which Sir William Cavendish purchased
from the Agardsf about 1556-7, and evidently pulled down to build the edifice of which there is a

* A branch of this old family is still represented in the male line by Mr. John Hurdlestone Leche, J.P.D.L.,of Garden Park, County Chester.
In the reign of Henry V., they had two residences in the county, Chateworth and Belper ; they were trusted Officials of the Crown, as Lord High
Treasurer, personal attendants of the King, and there are some good stories of them. Burke has told this one taken from an old writer :~" Tha
present coate oi this ancient family, one whereof living in Barkshire near Windsor in ye time of King Edward III., three Kings were entertained
and feasted in his house— one ye King of England, one ye King of France, and one ye4fiiig^f Scotts, which two Kings were at that time prisoners
to King Edward ; which King Edward to requite his good entertainment and other favours, gave him three crowns on his chief, indented gules,
ye field ermine, which coate is borne by the name and family dispersed into many other countrays as Bedfordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire,
Derbyshire, Cheshire and Lancashire and many other places at this day." Sir Roger Leche was a chum of Henry V.— military treasurer— was
St Aginconrt and the seiges of Harfleur and Rouen; was Governor ot Monceaux. When Henry VIH. had his pantomimic French war. Sir Ralph
Leche played his part. From Earwaker's " East Cheshire " we gather this fact. In 1408^ " grants were made to Sir Roger Leche Knt of the
custody of the lands and tenements late belonging to Sir Rich Vernon, of Harlaston, Knt., during the minority of Richard, his son and heir,
together with the Office of Forester of the Forest of Macclesfield, which the said Rich held in fee." Francis Leche, who sold Chatsworth to tho
Agax^s, married the sister of Bess of Hardwicke, and died 2550.

f About the time that the Agards were disposing of Chatsworth to the Cavendishes, there was a youthful member of the family cutting oat
for himself a career which has made his name familiar to both antiquarian and historical students. To him we owe the Catalogues of those
Records, to which he had access as Clerk of the Exchequer. He was a fellow-member with Camden, Stowe, Coape, Seldon, Spelman, Cotton,
of that famous Antiquarian Society, founded by Archbishop Parker, in 1572, and which was smashed up by that Royal poltroon James I. His
contributions, read before this Society, are preserved to us in Heame's " Collection of Curious Discourses." His vast researches are in a great
measure in manuscript yet ; some in the Bodleian at Oxford, some in the British Museum. " Five folio volumes containing numerous and
valuable extracts from ancient records, some in print and some in manuscript, with charters and deeds of various dates from the Conquest
onwards, collected by Agard, are now among the Stowe MSS. recently purchased from the Earl of Ashbumham for the British Museum." The
ashes ot Arthur Agard lie under the cloisters, just by the Chapter House, Westminster Abbey. The Agards held that marvellous hunter's Horn,
now the property of Mr. W. H. G. Bagshawe, J.P. In Beckwith's edition of Blount's ** Tenures," 1784, we read that '* Walter Agard claimed to
hold by inheritance the Office of Escheator and Coroner, through the whole honor of Tutbury, in the County of Stafford, snd the Bailiwicke of

124 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

painting extant. Some two years before the glorious Revolution (1687), the design by Talmon for the
present Palace of the Peak was accepted by the fourth Earl of Devonshire. Of its splendour and the rare
collection of works of art within its halls and corridors, we do not intend to make one observation,
though we may briefly refer to the exquisite carvings in the Chapel, so long attributed to Grinling
Gibbons, as it is time the public mind was disembued of an error which arose from the egotistical
assumption of that eighteenth century pedant, Horace Walpole.

Many of us associate the Cavendishes with the Peak only from the time when our famous Bess, then
a comely lass, persuaded her husband. Sir William (who had already been married twice, and father of
eight children), to dispose of his Suffolk estates and settle in Derbyshire. This would simply be about
three hundred and thirty years ! but Edmondson's Baronagium adds on three centuries to this, in clear
and succinct characters, which must be of particular interest to those who dwell within a radius of ten
miles from Bakewell, if not to the whole of historical students.

Robert de Gemon^Temp. of William I.

I
Mattkewa-Hodicnw SacWlle.

I

I
Ralph -Sister of Sir William Brews.
j

I
^Ralph-
d. 1248.

William-EIianor.
d. 1259.

I
tGeoffreya
Second son.

I
Roxer» Heiress of John Potkins,
d. 1328. 1 Lord (Mf CaTendish,

I County Suffolk.

I All the descendants took the name of Cavendish.

Sir John— Alice.
30 Edward III., Chief Justice of King's
Bench. 4 Richard U., Chancellor of Cam>
bridge. Killed same year by the mob at

, I
tStf Ibhn— Joan CloploB.
In the King's bodyguard. Knighted V

for slaying Waft Tyler, 1379. Whence the noble family of Cavendish.

Moor Hall, the ancestral home of the De Gemons, stood somewhere near to the junction of the
Stannage and Sheldon roads, or within a mile from Bakewell Church. We believe there are men yet
Kving who can remember some gable or vestige of the building. We do not envy those whose minds
allow them to pull down such venerable and historical edifices. Although some of the splendour of the
illustrious family of Cavendish must be attributed to their union with the heiresses of the Potkins and
Hardwickes, it should be added, in fairness, that they are singularly free from such unions (as a noble
kouse), as we can only trace three others during six hundred years — the Righleys, of York ; Hoskins, of
Middlesex ; and Boyles, Earls of Burlington.

Chatsworth House, having weathered two centuries, is certainly among the old Halls of the county,
and the most magnificent of them, too ; but from so many writers having made it a theme for their muse,

Leyke, for which office he could produce no Evidences, Charters, or other Writings, but only a White Hunter's born, decorated in the middle and
at each end with silver gilt, to ^)Hiich also was affixed a Girdle of fine black silk adorned with certain Buckles of Silver, in the midst of which are
pkced the arms of Edmund (Crouchback, the first Earl of Lancaster), second son of King Henry III." (The assertion of the arms is incorrect, as
Beckwith clearly shews in a note. The arms are those of John of Gaunt, according to this author.) *' From Agard the Horn descended by a
marriage with the heiress of that family to the Stanhopes, of Elvaston, and was lately purchased of Mr. Charles Stanhope, of Elvaston, by Mr.
Samuel Fowlowe, of Staveley, in Derbyshire, who enjoys the posts above mentioned by this tenure and in virtue of his being in possession of the
horn. The posts or offices conveyed by the horn were those of Feodarj, or Bailiff in fee, that is, hereditary Steward of the two Royal Manors of
east and west Leeke, in Nottinghamshire, Escheatcrt Cprontr and Clerk of. ike Market of the honour of THthury, the second of which office,
y\%^ escheator, is now in a manner obsolete."

*Lonl of Bakewell. 40i Moor Hall, by Bakewell. : Second Son.

CHATSWORTH HOUSE. 125

we should not have mentioned it, only that we wish to direct attention to a fact that tends to make an
illustrious and honoured Derbyshire family still more Derbyshire^ and because we believe we can cite an
association of the edifice which will possess some degree of freshness, and which should be treasured up
as a touching incident of a noble heart. Moreover there are memorabilia of the Cavendish family which
the compilers have ignored. We all know that the Earl of Devonshire, who built Chatsworth House, was
created a Duke by William HI., in 1694; ^^^ ^^ ^^Y ^^^ ^^^ ^ aware that the second Duke married
Rachael Russel, daughter of the English patriot ; neither may we all remember that this lad/s sister,
Catherine, married John Manners, second Duke of Rutland. Thus the two sisters were wives of
noblemen whose estates were in contiguity, but the singular incident tinged with pathos lies in the fact
of both ladies being, in the month of November, 171 1, in child-bed, when the Duchess of Rutland lost
her life, though her child was the future Viscountess Galway. Old Lady Russel (who had just lost her
son, the Duke of Bedford), "after seeing this daughter in her coffin, went to the Duchess of Devonshire,
from whom it was necessary to conceal the fact, when assuming the appearance of cheerfulness in answer
to her daughter's inquiries as to her sister's state, said, *I have seen your sister ou/ of bed to-day.* "

Among those ancient oaks of the old park at the back of Chatsworth House (saplings, perchance,
when Thomas Leche was physician or leech to Edward HI.), one almost expects to meet with the shade
of Msister Chetal, in his roc and mantil and breche, looking for his domicile. If the first De Ferrars had
been a draughtsman as well as a land surveyor, he might have endeared himself to future generations by
giving us rough sketches (as marginal notes of his great book) of those Saxon gentlemen of the Peak, such
as Godric, of Beeley ; Levenot, of Edensor ; and Chetal, of Chatsworth ; or anyway of their homesteads ;
as it is, we only know their names, the particular manors of which they were lords, and that they were
fifteen in number. How the estates of these men were pickings simply for the De Ferrars and Peverells
is seen at a glance : —

BKFORB THE AT THB

CONQUBST. SUKVSr. MANORS.

Chetal ...^ De Ferrars ..^...^ Chatsworth, Grattcm, and moiety of Hartle.

Colle M De Ferrars ^ Yoolgreave.

Colne MM.MM ... .........M. M... • ...»».. . .M. .M.. . De Ferrars ....MM. .^.m ....^ ..>^..^ m^««..^ Longstone.

JSnvVl ■■■■■■■■■maaiaii iniii ■■■■■■.■■■■■ ■.■■■■■>■■■■ *^""y». • mJ w X I I CSl ie ......».....•»•■...■.».».— —^a««>XAlllCmOwr>

Godric ...m». ^..........m.m Royal Demesne Beeley, moiety of Stanton.

(Stanton to De Ferrars.)
^ *>

r A e veieu ».....♦.. .....^■.« .....».......■.■.■■♦».— ..i.«..^as€ieton.

Lerinc —^^ .m.m m. .mm.m. .m.m.m.m...m. Fe verell .,., ...^.M.»»...Glo8Sop, BradveUf moiety of W^nster.

(Winster to De Ferrars^

Levenot De Ferrars Edensor* Middleton-by-Youlgreave.

\ Fitzhttbert Hathersage.

Lewin Peverell Hacelbadgef Litton.

Raven De Ferrars Moiety of Stanton, moiety of Winster.

SvNun __ii, _,ix,jm-in-imnimii miir- - ^tpyiLi A/euiesue . .. ............ ...... ...... ..•«.. .. .A Duey .

Siward „.^... Royal Demesne Wormhill.

No wonder the De Ferrars founded Tutbury Priory, or the Peverells so richly endowed Lenton I One
feature of the Peak lands is very curious — in their having had at least thirty-five diflerent families of the
aristocracy for lords since the Conquest ; that there should have been a period, when, with the exception
of the Foljambes and Vemons, the landlords were exclusively baronial ; yet at the present moment there
are virtually only two houses holding coronets, the Manners and the Cavendishes, though true, the
Howards still hold Glossop, the Cowpers the mesne Manor of Over Haddon ; and the Curzons Litton.
Of the other thirty-one of the old aristocratic lords of the Peak, there are only seven that are even
represented in the Peerage now — Boyle, Bridgeman, Grey, Needham, Shirley, Savile, Talbot ; while the
only Peak families, proper, who hold coronets, are the noble houses of Cavendish, Needham, Manners,
Vernon, Milnes. At the dissolution of the Monasteries the Talbots came in for the lion's share of the
lands in the Peak, but how curiously the vicissitudes of this family verify the aphorism of Burke is

Gumebum
Hundlne ...

126 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSfflRE.

marvellous : No son succeeded father in the Earldom of Shrewsbury for almost two centuries ; the Earl,
who was Bess of Hardwicke's last husband, was considered the richest subject of Queen Elizabeth, but,
forsooth, when he died, his will could scarce find an executor from poverty. His successor had three
daughters, and thus the breaks began, which continued to within almost living memory. The mention of
Bess brings us back to Chatsworth.

Apart from her marvellous character, the career of this famous lady is a study, if only taken historically.
The age in which she lived was the most extraordinary, perchance, in a decade of centuries, and she
seemed to be the link that joined the extremities of the age. She had one idea which never forsook her
through life, the union of two things : bricks and mortar to yield grandeur, of human beings to yield
wealth. She was a girl when Heniy VHL found that a sharp axe suited his ends better than a Divorce
Court, and when he was reigning as a despot. IThen she was busy with her own marriages, and she was
yet planning the alliance of huge blocks of marble and stone when James L found he was not allowed to
play first fiddle in an English Parliament. As a girl, she married a boy, whose early death gave her his
wealth ; as a young widow, she flung her cap at an old gentleman of Suffolk, and wheedled him over to
Derbyshire ; again a widow, she bamboozled the children of her third husband out of their patrimony ;
again a widow, she mated with the senior Earl and richest noble of the realm, and got good Queen Bess
to confirm her judgment in allowing him a description of pocket money. She came in for her brother's
estates — for wealth, from the Barlows, Cavendishes, Loos, and Talbots. She mated her son, Henry, of
Tutbuiy, with his step-sister, Grace Talbot ; while her step-son, Gilbert, of Shrewsbury, was married to her
daughter Maiy. Having other daughters, she aspired to blood Royal, and wedded one to Lord Lennox, of
the house of Stuart ; and then offered to buy the wardship of young Lord Wharton as a desirable match
for another. On her monument, in the Church of All Saints, Derby, we would point out an untruth, which
makes her the mother of three sons and three daughters. Every student of genealogy knows she had
eight children ; of whom five were girls.

This lady was perfectly aware what she was doing when she went to ** The Black Fryars in London,"
on the 3rd November, 1 541, as Elizabeth Barlow, widow, nSe Hardwicke, and came away Mrs. Cavendish.
Her husband had been one of the Commissioners through whose hands the sequestered property of the
monasteries had passed ; he had given great satisfaction to Henry VIH. by his forcing the Orders into
surrender, and got several good slices of land as a recompense ; he had just been made Auditor of the
Court of Augmentation, accompanied with other grants of land in Herts, "formerly belonging to the
dissolved monasteries." In 1546 he was knighted, made a Privy Councillor, and Treasurer of the King's
Chamber. On the accession of Edward VI. he came in for further recognition of Rojral pleasure ; when
Mary came to the Throne, he veered round from Protestant to Catholic, and was appointed her Royal
Treasurer. Then it was that Bess coaxed him into converting his Suffolk estates into money, and
purchasing fresh ones in Derbyshire. Sir William has been said, by innumerable writers, to have been
usher to Cardinal Wolsey, and to have written his life. Thanks to the Rev. Joseph Hunter, we know
differently. Hunter adduced evidence (extremely ingenious and not to be controverted) which overthrows
the statement altogether. He directs attention to a sentence in the book, and then clinches it with a
well-known fact. The sentence is uttered by Wolsey, wherein he says that the writer left "wife and
family and home to serve me." Wolsey died in 1530. At that time Sir William was not married to his
first wife, Mary Bostock, and his first child was not bom till 1534, so that he could not have left wife and
family. There are other items of considerable interest which are all in confirmation. Sir William had
an elder brother, Richard, who had gone forth from their London residence in the Parish of St. Albans,
Wood Street, and became usher to Wolsey, to whose influence Sir William owed his introduction to
Court. Their father was Clerk of the Pipe. It is well known that, when Wolsey fell, Richard Cavendish
clung to him in his adversity, and never left him till he expired in Leicester Abbey. In that very year
Sir William was one of the Commissioners of the Crown to demand the surrender of the Church lands.
Yet Burke, Dod, Forster, and other writers of Peerages^ will persist in asserting that Sir William was the

CHATSWORTH HOUSE. 127

usher and faithful servant of the Cardinal : Could he have been in the death chamber at Leicester Abbey
and at Shene Abbey at the same time, demanding it to knuckle under? The two events occurred
together, and it is a historical fact that he put the Abbot of Shene through his facings. Richard came
back to Court just to receive from Henry VHI. " six of Wolse/s best cart horses, with a cart to carry his
stuff and five marks for his cost homewards ; also ten pounds of unpaid wages, and twenty pounds for a
reward,'* and then he retired to his manor at Cavendish Overhill, in Suffolk. He is known never to have
sought further Court favour, never to have abjured the old faith, but to have given himself up to
literature. His ambition seems to have been crushed by two events — ^the disgrace of Wolsey, and the
execution of his wife's uncle, Sir Thomas More. Since Hunter's ingenious evidence it has been dug out
that he compiled the life of his master in 1557, and that many copies in manuscript were sold before it
ever reached the press. The screw of necessity must have pinched, for he sold his manor for a few
pounds and passed away. All record of his line after the third generation is lost. What a contrast the
two brothers present I Richard shrinking before the first blow of adversity, without one effort to benefit
by his great master's degradation, preferring a provincial oblivion to the prospect of Royal favour and a
coronet ; William lending himself as a ready instrument to further the ends of a rapacious monarch, and
receiving, without one qualm of conscience, moieties of the spoil he had helped to filch ; one clinging to
old rituals and old memories the other using prayer book or breviaiy as policy demanded.

There have been several members of this noble family who have distinguished themselves by their
scientific researches and contributions to our literature. The discoveries of Henry, the celebrated
chemist, who ''probably uttered fewer words in the course of his life than any man who lived to four
score years, not at all excepting the Monks of La Trappe;" who held no communication with his female
domestics but wrote his orders and left them on the table, and who left a fortune of one million one
hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds, we shall notice when we come to enumerate the famous
literary and scientific Peakrells. There is a scion of this house to whom a debt of gratitude is due from
the nation at large — and will be due from all future generations — ^that not one in ten of even educated
men know anything about or have even heard. Let us explain. Sir Heniy Cavendish, second baronet
and father of the first Lord Waterpark, was Member of Parliament for Lostwithal, in Cornwall. Many of
us have read and believed that the Parliament from loth May, 1768, till 13th June, 1774, was one wherein
the proceedings were never reported, as in history it is termed "The Unreported Parliament." If we
recall the names of some of its famous members, we shall then understand the importance of such a fact.
There was Burke, with the mantle of Demosthenes upon him; Sheridan, Thurlow, Fox, Blackstone, and
a coterie of orators that were never before nor since within the walls of St. Stephen's ; there was the great
Chatham, with his last sentences foretelling we should lose America by a ridiculous and futile taxation;
there was the Granville Ministry, flinging the Member for Middlesex into the Tower for an expression of
opinion, and the Judges of England declaring they had no power to do so. Now the speeches uttered in
this Parliament, which for "splendour of diction" were never surpassed, were more ably reported than any
previous ones had ever been, and this by Henry Cavendish. This gentleman was an adept at the Gumey
system of shorthand, writing with marvellous rapidity, and thus these reports are valuable, if only from
their accuracy. But where are they? In the British Museum, and consist of forty-eight quarto volumes
of manuscripts. Why they have never been printed and the world had the benefit it is very difficult to
conceive.

Most visitors to Chatsworth come away with the idea that they have seen exquisite carving by Grinling
Gibbons. Even in spite of the challenge of Lysons, and evidence produced by Cox and Jewitt, writers
will persist in recapitulating this egregious blunder. Can any living man point to any proof of any work
in Chatsworth being by Gibbons ? We say proof that will stand powder and shot. Lysons said truthfully
that no one had ever heard of Gibbons ever having been at Chatsworth, or doing any work for Chatsworth,
until egotistical Walpole walked in one day and pronounced the carvings to be by Gibbons ; this was more
than half a century after the erection of Chatsworth, and during this period no one had heard the name of

128 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Gibbons mentioned as the carver. As Professor Jewitt said, those who have hitherto considered the
carvings as the work of Gibbons " will, perhaps, learn, with some little surprise, that they are the creations
of the genius of Watson." Most of us have seen the marvellous pen over the door of the dining-room
leading to the South Gallery. Walpole was in ecstacy over this, and pronounced it to be Gibbons, a
thousand times over. This pen was the work and present of Watson to the first Duke. If Walpole had
simply shewn himself an egregious ass, it would have been of no consequence, but, unfortunately, he has
robbed an artist, equally as skilled as Gibbons, of his fame, and propagated a falsehood, which better men
than himself have believed as a truth. Again, the original memoranda of Watson, written almost two
hundred years ago, some of which we have seen, leave no doubt but that the exquisite carvings in
Chatsworth House, so justly admired, were the work of his hands.

Why one of the cleverest carvers in wood and stone that ever existed should not have had a
biographer to tell us something about his career is very easy of explanation ; but why the injustice of
assigning his work to another should not have been thoroughly exposed we cannot understand. Hie
original memoranda of Watson, or some of them, are extant, wherein are the entries of the work executed ;
the agreement of price to be paid for the work, and the time taken for its completion. The wrong done
to this artist, and the blunder which accompanied the wrong, can be clearly charged to Horace Walpole,
Lord Orford, but unfortunately such a monstrous error recapitulated by millions of tongues during thie
last six generations of men has become gospel, and only such outspoken asserters of the truth as Lysons,
Dr. Cox, and Professor Jewitt have dared to challenge the falsehood. Is it not astonishing, says the
celebrated author of the Magna Britannica^ that "No writer before Lord Orford published his Anecdotes of
Painting ever spoke of the works of Gibbons at Chatsworth," the presumption being against it, " whilst
there is no proof for it." If these masterpieces had been the work of Gibbons would they have remained
in statu quo for fifty years to be discovered by an old gossip from Strawberry Hill, whose opinion once
given must be taken as a good Catholic would the infallibility of the Pope ? But let us come to proof.
There is a volume of artists' receipts still preserved by the noble family of Cavendish, in which can be
found the signatures of those men whose genius was called into acquisition to give to Chatsworth its
splendour. Is there one of Grinling Gibbons there ? No I a thousand times no. There is a description
of Chatsworth by Dr. Leigh, published in 1700, "soon after all the principal apartments were finished,"
and while Watson was still adding to the exterior masonry his beautiful conceptions, but no mention of
Gibbons. There is Mackey*s tour through England in 1724, "the result of actual observation," but
(when speaking of the works of art in Chatsworth) there is not a syllable about Gibbons, which seems to
intimate, says Lysons, " that the carving was not then shown as his work." There is the Memoirs of the
Cavendishes by Dr. Kennett, written in 1737, in which there is another description of Chatsworth, but not
a word about Gibbons. Walpole speaks pointedly and enthusiastically about the pen, and says that no
one but Gibbons could have executed such a masterpiece. We know positively that this assertion is a
falsehood. When we confront the believers in Walpole's judgment with such a fact we are told exultantly
that there is an entry in the volume of artists' receipts of fourteen pounds fifteen shillings paid to Thomas
Lobb, the carpenter, for cases which conveyed some carved work, statues, and pictures from London, and
that the carvings were by Gibbons. Very good ! This is your turn, now our turn. Show us the entry of
the amounts paid to Gibbons for them, and which amounts would be of four figures or thousands if the
work were his. These people forget that Gibbons, as a lad, asked a hundred guineas for a small carving
when he was unknown* and living in a slum at Deptford Would the large amounts which Gibbons — a
veritable worshipper of gold — ^have demanded from the first Duke of Devonshire for such work have had
no entry } Again, the assertions of Walpole recoil upon him and make him a laughing-stock when tested
by a logical statement of facts : Gibbons must have worked incognita, or the discovery of Walpole was no
discovery whatever; Gibbons worked gratuitously or there would be some entry in the volume of
receipts ; Gibbons must have possessed the power of being in two places at once, as it can be clearly

• Evelyn's " Diary."

CHATSWORTH HOUSE. 129

shown that he could not have been at Chatsworth, nor have done work for Chatsworth during the
particular time when the carving was actually done. On the assertions of Walpole, the biographer of
Gibbons (Cunningham) based his facts (so far as Chatsworth is concerned), and says with a flourish,
" had the masterpieces of Chatsworth been Watson's Watson would not have remained in Derbyshire to
lead an obscure life and be buried with a doggrel epitaph." Mark how assumption is supplemented by
ignorance : Watson, from the expiration of his apprenticeship with Mr. Oakley in London, till he was cut
off in his fifty-third year, was almost entirely employed by the noble family of Cavendish, hence he was
bound by his agreements (copies of which are extant) to remain in Derbyshire. Watson has not received
justice from the hands of those who even wished to do him justice. Both Rhodes and Glover say that
he received munificent remuneration for his work. If these writers had made any of the poor fellow's
agreements into a multiplication sum they would have found that the sum realised anything but
munificent remuneration : We find the quotient in some cases fivepence per hour, and in many fourpence.
Indeed, when the man worked by the day he was satisfied with three shillings and tenpence.* This
would indeed be munificent payment. Take any item from his agp-eements and see if we exaggerate.
Here is one : "And the said Samuel Watson doth hereby further agree to carve the modillions and roses
in the intabliture of the north front, every modillion and rose at the rate of ten shillings both together."

"All the wood carving in England," says Cunningham, "fades away before that of Gibbons at
Chatsworth." Stop I Let us reason logically. Shew us the proof for the words " that of Gibbons." No,
you cannot ; you are reasoning from false premises, from the assertions of Walpole, which remain
uncorroborated. First it was asserted, after Walpole had pronounced his infallible judgment, that
Gibbons worked at Chatsworth. This has long been exploded. Then Watson was said to have been an
assistant of Gibbons (Walpole says so), but this is so flagrant that it almost provokes bad language. In
the Memoranda of Watson there is no mention of Gibbons, and he is most particular in stating for whom
he was working and how long the work took.t A characteristic of the Watsons for generations was to
be satisfied with what they were without ambition to benefit by the marvellous gifts with which nature
endowed them. Gibbons, when scarcely in his teens, asked Evelyn (when that courtier found him in a
Deptford slum) the large sum we have stated for a piece of carving he was working at ; Watson, as a staid
man, asked only five pounds for a Corinthian capital. There is a large sympathy goes out for Watson,
not only from the cruel robbery of his fame, but from his modesty in not recognising his wondrous talent,
and from his sufferings from what we should term a bronchial disease, which cut him off so soon after
his inimitable work at Chatsworth was finished.

* White V^atson, the antiquarian, told Lysons that three shillings and tenpence was positively the daily wage of the canrer.
t In the possession of Mr. James Bradbary, of Bakewell (whose wife was Sarah Watson, grandniece of the antiquarian), there is a
quantity of the ** Memoranda," and we believe that some years ago Mr. Barlow Robinson, of Derby, acquired some by purchase.

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IGEL DE STAFFORD was one of those Normans who came in for a goodly share of Saxon
plunder soon after the victory of Hastings. He got thirteen manors in Derbyshire, and one
hundred and thirty-one in other counties. Some writers assert that Eyam was one of them.
The evidence is clear that the Staffords never held the lordship. Before the Conquest it was
with Caschin, from whom it was seized at the Conquest as Royal demesne, and afterwards given by
Henry I. to the second Peverell, under whom it was held in soccage by the Morteynes, who, some fifty
years subsequent to the flight of the third Peverell, became superior lords by gift of King John. The
last of the Morteynes (Sir Roger) sold it to Thomas, Lord Fumivall, about 1307, and it has since passed
by heiresses to the Nevilles and Talbots; by gift to the Saviles, and again by heiresses to the Boyles and
Cavendishes.

In the fourteenth century there were no bigger men between Stoney Middleton and Sheflfield than
the Fumivalls. The purchaser of Eyam — who was Lieutenant of the County — was ennobled by
Edward L in 1295, in whose campaigns he distinguished himself. His name is on the Rolls of
Caerlaverock and Falkirk. The first of the Fumivalls was Gorard, who came in the train of Richard L
when he returned from Palestine, whose descendants were essentially crusaders and warriors. They are
immortalised by Shakespeare for their military prowess. They increased their estates by marriage with
the heiress of the Luvetots, Fitz- Johns, Verdons, Dagworths. Their Manor House was the one located
at Park Wood Springs, while they had a park at Welbeck, and a London residence on the site now
occupied by Fumival's Inn, Holbom. Their Peerage extended to four lives, but, the fourth Baron,
having no male issue, his coronet and lands (among which was Eyam) went in the dowry of his daughter
Joan to her husband, Thomas Neville, brother of the first Earl of Westmoreland. This lady was a wife,
heiress and fatherless, before she was sixteen, as is proved by the Inquisitions Post Mortem for 1383.

No family of England ever held such power as the Nevilles. They were to this country what the
Douglases were to Scotland; they were a House of Peers in themselves; they held the Baronies of
Fauconberg, Latimer, Bergavenny, Neville, Fumivall, Essex; the Earldoms of Salisbury, Warwick,
Montacute, Monthermer, Northumberland, Kent, Westmoreland ; the Marquessate of Montague, and the
Dukedom of Bedford. The mother of King Edward IV. was Cicely Neville ; the wife of Richard III.
was Anne Neville. They allied themselves with the Hollands, Dukes of Exeter ; Mowbrays, Dukes of
Norfolk ; Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham ; but with the last breath of Richard, the King-maker, at the
battle of Bamet, the splendour of the House of Neville had vanished, leaving only the Earldom of
Westmoreland (the last Peer died in Spain positively starving) and the Barony of Abergavenny, which is
still represented by a Neville in our Upper Chamber.

Thomas Neville, Lord Fumivall (Lord of Eyam), and his wife, Joan, had a daughter Maud, married
to the celebrated Sir John Talbot, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury, who brought Eyam to her husband.
Neville was a nobleman of great distinction in the reign of Henry IV., for Parliament entrusted him with
a subsidy for disbursement. Among other things, he left to Talbot "his best bed and the fumiture
thereto."

The Talbots, like the Howards, claim Saxon ancestry, and as Norfolk is the premier Dukedom, so is
Shrewsbury the premier Earldom. Here the similitude ceases, for while the Howards have been statesmen

136 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

and courtiers, the Talbots have been soldiers and monks. The Talbots first rose to distinction under the
Norman monarchs, and their peerage was conferred upon them by Edward IH. Twenty-eight coronets
have been worn since the one bestowed upon them by Henry VI., which is the greatest number (with one
or two exceptions) ever worn by a family. . Some thirty years ago occurred the famous Shrewsbury case,
in which the claimant for the title and estates acquired his rights from an ancestor who flourished some
four centuries back. How this case teemed with curious facts is by no means generally known. We do
not refer to the prodigious search of registers through such a long lapse of time whether in England or
abroad, nor to the deciphering of time-eaten tombstones, but to incidents that should be noted by any
student. The remarkable breaks in the family strike the most casual observer as singular. When the
seventeenth Earl died (the last of the direct male line), in 1856, unmarried, and occasioned the celebrated
contest for succession, the title had never passed from father to child for almost two hundred years.
When the son of the sixth Earl (who held Eyam), who had been custodian of Mary Queen of Scots, died,
his successor had to go back two centuries on their genealogical tree to find the link that tacked him on ;
but even this was not the first instance. When the Talbots held but a Barony there were the same
curious breaks. The first claimant on record was the most remarkable character in the whole of English
history. Need we say that we refer to the hero of forty fights (who was Lord of Eyam), to him who, on
one occasion when his troops fled, confronted the whole of the French army until disabled and taken
prisoner. This was Sir John Talbot, whose wife was Maud Neville. JkmAer singular incident which
came out in the trial of 1856 was that a senior line to the present peer was traced to a poor family, who
had been living in the vicinity of Seven Dials, London, and had gone no one knew whither. From what
we have learnt in our search, we should not be surprised if, one of these days, we should have the most
celebrated of all romances played out in the Halls of Westminster in which (as it was with the Barony of
Willoughby in the last century) a sturdy yeoman from across the sea shews descent from a man whose
race was supposed to be extinct. There is a little romance connected with this house which is worth the
telling. During the reign of Elizabeth there was a John Talbot, of Salwarp (a descendant of the very
ancestor from whom the present Earl of Shrewsbury claims his right to the peerage), who was in love
with Mistress Olive, daughter of Sir Henry Sherrington, of Lacock Abbey, Wilts. The old knight did
not believe in men with empty purses, if they were related with the proudest houses in Christendom ;
lands yielding good rent rolls and well filled coffers were the credentials to his favour. He had forbidden
Talbot seeing the girl, and took measures to prevent their meeting. But what are bars, bolts, locks,
parental prohibition, when the love of two young hearts has been plighted ? The young people had
their secret whispers beneath those venerable cloisters which still remain to us. Here Sir Henry
surprised them one evening, and their trysting place was henceforth closed to them. When a woman's
heart and brain are in unison, such a difliculty is not much. She sent her lover a letter to tell him she
would converse with him from the roof of the abbey. This was rather a hazardous position for a young
lady, but love is no calculator of consequences: They little thought that such an interview would put an
end to all their difficulties. Both being true to such appointment, she called out to him that she would
leap down if he would catch her. He, thinking the expression was not seriously meant, lovingly bade her
do so. She, however, did leap, and alighted on his breast. He fell, dashing his head to the ground with
such violence as to deprive him of consciousness. She, thinking he was dead, screamed so dreadfully
that her father and the household were soon on the spot. The leap did marvels with the old man, for he
said, since she had dared to leap such a distance to be at her lover's side she should have him altogether.
This loving couple will be remembered, not simply because of their attachment for one another, but from
the fact that it was one of their descendants (Henry Fox Talbot) who, not so many years ago, made the
splendid discovery of photography.

The first Talbot who was Lord of Eyam will be ever memorable, not only as the victor in so many
engagements, but from his being defeated by Joan of Arc at Patay, in 1429 — ^where he was taken prisoner
and kept in a French prison for four years — from his capture of Bordeaux at the age of eighty; and from

BRADSHAW HALL. 137

his attempt to relieve Cbastillon, where he fell. The Talbots have held two dukedoms, and, singular to
say, one was so created by William III. for his part in the Revolution, and the other by James II., for his
drawing the sword against William III. The wife of this nobleman was " Belle Jenyns," sister of the
famous Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.

£yam passed with the eldest co-heiress (Mary) of Gilbert, seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, who espoused
the Earl of Pembroke. Lysons says this lady gave it to her grandson, Sir George Savile. Now this
lad/s only child died in infancy, so to grandchild she never could have given it. He was her second
cousin, and we take it, Sir William, father of Sir George, not Sir George. The greatest of the Saviles
(Marquis of Halifax) who held Eyam we have spoken of under Beeley, but the tribute paid him by
Macaulay is worth citing: — "The memory of Halifax is entitled in a special manner to the protection of
history. For what distinguishes him from all other statesmen is this, that, throughout his life, and
through frequent and violent revolution of public feeling, he almost invariably took that view of the great
questions of his time which history has finally adopted. He was called inconstant because the relative
position in which he stood to the contending factions was perpetually varying. As well might the
Polar star be called inconstant, because it is sometimes to the east and sometimes to the west of the
pointers. To have defended the ancient and legal Constitution of the realm against a seditious populace
at one conjuncture, and against a tyranical Government at another ; to have been the foremost champion
of order in the turbulent Parliament of 1680, and the foremost champion of liberty in the servile
Parliament of 1 68 5 ; to have been just and merciful to Roman Catholics in the days of the Popish Plot,
and to Exclusionists in the days of the Rye House Plot ; to have done all in his power to have saved both
the head of Stafford and the head of Russell ; this was a course which contemporaries heated by passion
and deluded by names and badges might not unnaturally call fickle, but which deserves a very different
name from the justice of posterity."

In the year 1700 the Manor of Eyam again passed by heiress — Dorothy Savile — ^to Richard, Earl of
Burlington. Even as the Talbots were soldiers and monks, the Boyles have been literary men and
bishops ; and the name is familiar to us from the labours of Richard, the philosopher, who refused a
peerage. They have held the Baronies of Clifford, Dungarvon, Broghill, and Bandon Bridge; the
Viscounties of Blesington, Shannon, and Boyle ; the Earldoms of Burlington and Orrery. One was
Archbishop of Tuam ; another was Archbishop of Armagh. The motto of the Boyles is, " God's
Providence is my inheritance." They were originally of Hereford, but at the end of the sixteenth century
there was a certain Richard, a barrister in the Middle Temple, who became the founder of their greatness.
He was Clerk to Sir Richard Manwopd, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, but, like a many of his generation,
he went to Ireland to seek his fortune. It is said — or rather he said so himself (for it stands in his own
writing, we believe) — that he landed in Dublin with twenty-seven pounds, which was all the wealth he
possessed. Here he picked up a lady with five hundred a-year, which, from her early death, became his
own. By the Rebellion in Munster he lost all, and came again to England, when the Earl of Essex gave
him Government employment in Ireland, with whom he returned. He had amazing commercial ability,
opening markets for industry which others ignored. The rapidity with which he acquired wealth
occasioned his persecution by Sir Henry Wallop, who cited him before the Star Chamber for peculation.
Said Queen Bess, who was present, " By God's death, these are but inventions against the young man,"
and she made him Clerk to the Council of Munster. We fancy Boyle must have been a handsome fellow.
Shortly after, he bought twelve thousand acres of Raleigh's Irish estates at one shilling and eightpence an
acre, unproductive lands, which he made to yield abundantly. Cromwell said of him that had there been
a Richard Boyle in every Province, there would have been no Rebellion. Four of his sons were
ennobled, and himself too ; seven of his daughters became Peeresses, and two of his descendants still
hold coronets, with seats in the Upper House. With the heiress of the third Earl of Burlington the
Manor of Eyam passed to the Cavendishes.

Although the historic family of Stafford never were lords of Eyam, yet from a branch of this family
having a residence here for about four centuries, from their holding the Manors of Rowland and Calver,

s

,38 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

and from having certsdn moieties of land at Eyam, they will ever be associated with it. Never had
township or village more illustrious residents, for the blood of both Norman and Saxon aristocracy flowed
in their veins. On the Roll of Battle Abbey we find the name of Toenei, cousin to the Conqueror. From
him — who changed his name to Stafford on the possession of English lands — sprang the various branches
of this famous house. Under the Lancastrian Kings they held the Earldoms of Devon, Wiltshire, and
Stafford, together with the Dukedom of Buckingham, beside the mitre of Canterbuiy. Under the Tudors,
however, their splendour expired by the sword and the block. The career of the last senior representative
is a theme fit for the novelist. His claims to the Peerage of Stafford were admitted by the House of Lords,
but his coronet was refused by Charles L because the poor fellow was a labourer, and so he died
heartbroken.

On the flight of the third Peverell in 1 157, the Manor of Eyam temporarily reverted to the Crown,
when the Duke of Montaigne (afterwards King John) gave certain lands in Eyam, Foolow, and Bretton
(so say the compilers), together with the Manors of Calver and Rowland, to Richard Stafford, on condition
(so says Rhodes)* that his descendants kept a lamp burning constantly, before the altar of St. Helen, in
Eyam Church. The local historian. Wood, says there was a document found in Highlow Hall, which
assigned a different reason, but he does not say what. There was a fact occurred just at that time which
no writer seems to have noticed. One of the Staffords married Petronilla de Ferrars, and the gift may
have arisen from such union, as the De Ferrars came in for the spoil of the Peverells. The Staffords
undoubtedly held Tideswell in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and were located at Eyam from the
reign of Richard I. to that of Elizabeth, a period which exactly corresponds with the tenure of Haddon
by the Vemons, and of Bubnell by the Bassetts. For thirteen generations were they dwelling at Eyam in
all the patrician splendour of those days, and yet all we know of them is that they secured a market to
Tideswell, that they preferred (like scions of the aristocracy of recent years) to take their wives from the
families of the Foljambes and Eyres; and that when Humphrey Stafford died (about 1580), he had
accumulated property to the extent of a million, which was divided among his four daughters. The two
sons of Humphrey had been cut off in their youth, which fact reminds us of another, that the name of
Humphrey was ominous to his race. In all the branches of his house we can only trace four other
holders : one slain by Jack Cade, the rebel ; one fell at the battle of Northampton ; one in the fight at
St. Albans ; one was beheaded by Edward IV. Of his four co-heiresses we have a few interesting
particulars. Anne married Francis Bradshaw, of Eccles Pike, and succeeded to the Eyam estates, with
the old Hall of her sires, which building her husband pulled down, and erected the one we are going to
mention ; Gertrude mated with Rowland Eyre, of ballad fame, and became the mother of the hero whose
chivalrous defence of Newark reads like Coeur de Lion's onslaught among the Saracens ; while the other
two allied themselves with the Morewoods and Savages. There is a brass in Longstone Church to the
memoiy of Gertrude and her husband which sets forth, among other things, their bequests of twenty-two
shillings each to the poor of Longstone, Hassop, Rowland, and Calver, '*to be paid three days before
Christmas and three days before Easter for ever." This brass is a curiosity. It is set up in a Protestant
Church to the memory of two Roman Catholics, and escaped the sacriligious hands of the fanatical
Puritans.

As we approach Eyam from Tideswell, on a slight upland to our left there is a wing or gable of the
edifice from which the Stafford Bradshaws fled so precipitously when the Plague made its appearance in
1665. Some idea of its former splendour can be conceived form the fact that there were people living not
many years ago who had seen within this building (now use^ as a bam and cattle shed) costly tapestries
" lying in a heap in the comers of the chamber, where it rotted away." Over the windows are labelled
heads, with knees ; the middle knees forming crenels, and just above the upper crenel is the crest of the
Bradshaws, a stag at gaze, under a vine tree, fructed proper. From the adjoining land it is possible to trace
the outline of even the previous strocture of the Staffords. No writer who mentions the marriage of Anne

* Peak Scenery.

BRADSHAW HALL. 139

Stafford with Francis Bradshaw expresses anj surprise at their union. To us it is inexplicable. The
Derbyshire Bradshaws had adopted the Presbyterian faith, while the Staffords clung tenaciously, in spite
of the persecution of the Crown, to the Church of Rome. Either she had abjured her religion, or her
husband considered that a woman with a quarter of a million in her dowiy should be allowed to worship
Grod after her own fashion.

The one act of John Bradshaw, the regicide, seems to have extinguished the splendour of his race,
yea, even the very desire to perpetuate the memory of such splendour. While he was yet exercising
power vested in him by a fanatical oligarchy, the various members of his house were holding the Halls of
Barcroft, Marple, and Wybersley, in Cheshire ; Haigh, Halton, Pennington, D'Arcey Lever, Haslington,
and Worsley, in Lancashire; Eyam, Windley, Holbrook, Barton, and Abney Manor House, in Derbyshire;
Kington, Magna, and Mamhall, in Dorset ; besides others in the counties of Warwick, Gloucester, and
Kent. The Bradshaws of Chapel-en-le-Frith were lawyers and politicians, but, unfortunately for them,
they were partizans of, and employed by those who had not clean hands. When Henry VIH. ordered
those imfamous trials of mockery on Catherine Howard and the Earl of Surrey, Henry Bradshaw was
Counsel for the Crown. When Edward VL tried poor Seymour the persecution was entrusted to Bradshaw,
Attorney-General. When Northumberland had persuaded the same King to make over the Crown to Lady
Jane Grey, Bradshaw signed his name as Chief Baron to the nefarious document as a witness. After
Sergeant John Bradshaw, some century later, condemned Charles L to the block, no branch of this family
(and really it is singular) appears to have perpetuated his race and prospered. True, one of the ladies
became Countess of Balcarras, whose representative we believe is still living, but, say the Lancashire
people, it was because she mingled her blood with that of a Lindsay. There is something almost startling
about the fact that of the twenty branches of the house of Bradshaw, which were flourishing in the
seventeenth century, there should be no direct male issue of any of them, and certainly very curious that
in the veins of the regicide ran the blood of a Champeyne, Foucher, Foljambe, Eyre, the very essence of
loyalty, to manufacture a Republican.

To refer to the Staffords for a moment. Not one of the compilers has troubled himself to find out,
or even assume, from which branch of this illustrious house the Eyam family sprang. On the field of
Hastings were two brothers, Robert and Nigel, who both adopted the name of Stafford, and what is
curious, came in for one hundred and thirty-one manors each of Saxon England, though Nigel's share
was augumented by thirteen Derbyshire lordships. Among these Derby lordships were Drakelow and
Gresley. The ancient family of Gresley are undoubtedly descendants of this baron, but the point is, did
the Staffords of Eyam spring from him also, or were they from Robert ? The grandson and namesake of
Robert died without issue, when his sister, Milicent, wife of Hervey Bagot, became his heiress, and
her children retained her name. The son of Milicent and Bagot, married Petronilla de Ferrars, and here
we fancy, we are getting at something. Not till the union of Petronilla do we find the Staffords located at
Eyam. All the authorities (even Dugdale) are silent about the youngest son of this lady beyond his birth ;
but we take it that the Eyam Staffords were either descendants of this son or of the Drakelow house.
We have stumbled across this small item : that there was a daughter of the ducal house, and fifth in
descent from Petronilla, named Mary, who espoused a John de Stafford, but whence he came Dugdale
does not say. On referring to what meagre pedigree there is to be got of the Eyam Staffords, we find
there was a John living, whose wife may have been Mary.

We think sometimes that the tenancy of a saint in one of these historic homesteads would bring no
pilgrims nor diligent searches for associations, but that they would still be given over to the pigs and the
ducks.

The Staffords could never have been given Foolow by King John, as the compilers say, for the
Inquisitions Post Mortem for 12 Edward I. (1283) have it that William de Mortayne died seized of it.
The Staffords probably possessed it by purchase.

-^^tr

LEAM, FOOtOW, AND EYAM HALLS.

Scam, iooiott^, anb ClBtjam gaU$.

|H£ original and memorable Statute of Labourers was passed in 1 349, memorable not only from
being the outcome of the horrible Black Death, which carried of one-third of the whole
population, leaving an insufficiency of hands to perform the work of the nation ; not only from
being the landmark of the first instance when the labourer dared to assert his worth and ask
for better remuneration, but from the inhumanity of the statute, to which, we believe, the Peakrell was
exempt. This statute had eight clauses. If any labourer under the age of sixty — or anyone who could
not clearly show that he held employment of a superior grade — refused to work (and this work was
agricultural), he was sent to prison. If he left his employer under any pretence, the same punishment
followed. If he requested and deserved a higher rate of wage, it was to be peremptorily refused. If the
master winked at the statute and paid his labourers in excess of the scale fixed by Parliament, he forfeited
three times the whole amount. If the workmen were artificers, the statute applied. If any help were
given to those who refused to acknowledge this law and thus be without work, the offence was heinous.
If excess of wage in any case were paid, the King had power to seize the payment. The sixth clause is the
only just one: that food should be at reasonable prices. This statute failed in its purpose and had to be
backed by many supplemental statutes. In 1353 it became law that it was a crime for the workman to
>eave his own parish, but exception was allowed for the Peakrell, or he was not amenable anyway. It
would be most interesting to dig deeper into this historical fact. We were thinking of this period of the
Black Death, and of the ratio of decimation^ when we were approaching the village that was almost
depopulated by the Plague of 1665. We do not wish to recapitulate in any way any fact which is to be
found in Wood's History^ and so ably stated by a graphic pen; we wish simply to mention certain
individuals and certain edifices.

There were many famous and noble men among those* two thousand two hundred and
fifty-seven ministers of the Church of England, whom the Act of Uniformity expelled their livings in
1 662 ; but none nobler than Thomas Stanley, rector of £yam. Of his early career we only know that
he was bom at Duckmanton; first officiated at Handsworth, then Dore (three years), then Ashford
(eight years), then £yam, where he became rector in 1644. How after fourteen years of a Godly
ministration (that exacted a good word from the Parliamentary Commissioners), he was compelled,
perchance by necessity, to accept a curacy in his own rectory; how he so fearlessly exposed himself
to assuage the mental and physical agonies of the dying villagers during those awful thirteen months,
wherein five-sixths of the inhabitants perished from the Plague; how his name is still lovingly
remembered, may be familiar facts ; but we cannot find one writer who will allow himself to ask a
few simple questions. During those thirteen months, when £yam became a veritable Golgotha, two
men, of the noblest type in which Nature moulds humanity,, worked shoulder to shoulder amid the
horrors around them, with the liability before them that the pestilence might seize them amid their
work of tenderness and piety ; with the same claim upon the admiration of posterity ; and these two
men, rector and curate ; yet in the recital of the horrors of those months by the immortal Mompesson
there is no mention of Stanley. If there had been but one kindly mention, one little tribute ! but no, not

• Vide Calamy's *' Nonooniormltt Memorials,** Vol X.

144 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

even a syllable. Indeed, even at this ghastly time, there were those who could solicit the Earl of Devonshire
to remove Stanley because of his nonconformity. The reply of this nobleman was a just tribute to the
worth of Stanley.

The heroic wife of Mompesson, who chose to sacrifice her life rather than be wanting in her devotion
to her husband, was a daughter of that old and honourable Northumbrian family of Carr, who, at the time
were located at Cocken Hall, Durham. This lady was either sister or cousin of Sir Ralph Carr, M.P. for
Newcastle in 1679, whose line was extinct, but the Cocken Hall estate was purchased by **a kinsman of
the name, and is still enjoyed by his descendant," says Burke. The son and grandson of this noble
woman became Masters of Arts and Rectors, while she is still represented in the distaff line (or was but
the other day), by a brave officer of the Royal Bengal Fusiliers — Henry Fisher Heathcote.

Eyam has been baptised the Athens of the Peak. One of its earliest literary characters is said to
have been John Nightbroder, who founded the house of Carmelites at Doncaster in 1350 ; while the name
of Anna Seward, poetess, is placed at the head of a goodly list, in which come Cunningham, so largely
quoted by Rhodes, in his Peak Scenery ; Richard Fumess and his Rag Bag ; William Wood and his
History 0/ Eyam, while the father of the poetess published an edition of Beaumont and Fletcher. Could
Miss Anna Seward have been satisfied with the fame she acquired by her Sonnets, it would have been
well, for the praise was in excess of the merit ; but her ridiculous affectation of after years, leaves a
painful impression never to be forgotton. Her Letters marred everything. We will use the words of
Chalmers when he was writing of these Letters: "They may be justly considered as the annals
of vanity and flattery, and in point of style exhibit every defect which bad taste could produce."
Contemporary with Miss Seward was William Newton, " The Peak Minstrel," and poetical carpenter of
Monsal Dale. He is often mentioned in her correspondence, and she inscribed one of her poems to him,
but when it came to acknowledging him in society, mark her own words : " That being of true integrity,
that prodigy of self-taught genius, Newton, the minstrel of my native mountains, walks over from
Tides well, his humble home, to pass the day with me to-morrow. To prevent wonder and comments
upon my attention to such an apparent rustic at the public table, I have shown two charming little poems
of his which are deservedly admired here."* The mother of Miss Seward was Elizabeth Hunter, whose
father was Head Master at Lichfield School when Dr. Johnson was a lad there. The lexicographer and
the Eyam poetess often met in after years in literar>' circles, but dear old Sam never found favour, for he
was no vendor of flattery.

Amid the lovely scenery of Woodland Eyam, on an upland, with the Derwent gliding beneath its
walls, is Learn Hall. From the possession of the estate we get at one of the wrinkles of who's who
among the Derbyshire families. The homestead was with the Middletons, whose line (so far as male
heirs were concerned) became extinct by the death of Robert in 1736, when the heiress married Jonathan
Oxley, of Sheffield. This gentleman made Marmaduke Carver his heir, who took out letters patent in
1792, and in 1808 was Sheriff of the County as Marmaduke Middleton Middleton. His son John
espoused Mary Anne Athorpe, of Donnington Park, Yorkshire, and adopted his wife's name and arms,
per pale nebula, argent and azure, 2 mullets in /esse counterchanged. The estate, we fancy, has passed to
this gentleman.

Whether the Middletons of Leam were relatives of the Middletons of Nottinghamshire, who were
lords of Gratton, or were offshoots of the family who produced the Justices Itinerant under the first three
Edwards in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, we cannot state for facts, though there is some
evidence to make us think so. At the present moment we know a family in Sheffield, in the humblest
path of life possible, who are in the distaff line lineal descendants of the old Middletons, of Leam Hall,
but this is one vicissitude of many that have come beneath our notice.

Offshoots of one of the most aristrocratic houses of England were living at Eyam and holding
Foolow and Bretton for generations ; yet what have the compilers told us about them ? But again and

* " Gentlemen's Magazine/' Vol. Iv.

LEAM, FOOLOW, AND EYAM HALLS. 145

again have they reiterated that King John gave Foolow and Bretton to the StafFords. Now the
Inquisitions Post Mortem for 12 Edward I. (1283) say that William de Morteyne died seized of Foolow,
and there are heaps of evidence to verify this entiy. Then how did the Staffords become possessed of it?
They certainly acquired it from the Morteynes, but the particulars of such a fact would give many other
circumstances.

If there is an old edifice in the county which appeals at once to the historical student and the
antiquarian, it is Foolow Hall : And yet there is no building in the kingdom probably which has been so
absolutely ignored. There is no mention to be found of it, even in the pages of those writers to whose
researches most of us owe so much. Here are oriel windows, but what a burlesque has some architect
of the sixteenth century made of such a beautiful conception. The Peakrell and the Oriel never pulled in
the same boat evidently. What is known as the heavy Jacobean mullion was known in North Derbyshire
long before James the Canny was sitting on our Throne. The oriel was a conception of our remoter sires
for the purposes of prayer: The word is derived from orare to pray, as a place for devout meditation. In
later years they were used by the adherents of the Stuarts, to inculcate sedition and hatch conspiracies.
Foolow Hall was a residence of the Staffords, but whether built by Humphrey, the last of the Eyam house,
we cannot trace. If there is but one tittle of truth in Wood's Madam Stafford^ it must have sheltered a
human form as nearly approaching to the angel in soul as intellect allows possible.

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|H£ Rojal Manor of Longdendale, of which the extensive Parish of GIossop was a portion, has
evidently been the bugbear of the compilers. Not one, with the exception of Lysons, has had
the courage to face it, or the courtesy to admit that their research was simply limited. Even
Lysons is almost provoking. He tells us how it was given by Henry I. to the Peverells ; how
Henry II., on the flight of the third Peverell, granted it to the Abbey of Basengewerke ; how Henry VIII.,
at the dissolution of Monasteries, made it a present to George Talbot, fourth Earl of Shrewsbury (surely
this statement needs amending, as we shall see directly), in 1537 ; ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ co-heiresses of Gilbert,
seventh Earl, took the Manor of GIossop, with Chunal, Dinting, Hadfield, Pldfield, Simmondley,
Whitfield, Ha3rfield, and Charlesworth to the noble family of Howard, whose dukedom was under
attainder at the time. Now the fourth Earl of Shrewsbury had been dead years in i537>* ^^ ^^ Lysons
is in error, either in devisee or date, though this is probably a mere slip of the pen — George being written
for Francis ; still there are other items of much more consequence. What about the huge slice, known
(until very recently) as Bowden Middlecale, which reached from the Scout to Mellor, and comprised the
hamlets of Beard, Ollerset, Whittle, Thomsett, Great Hamlet, Phoeside, Kinder, Chinley, and Bugsworth,
not to mention Chisworth or Ludworth ? We know very well that the three co-heiressess of the seventh
Earl of Shrewsbury played a kind of catch me, kiss me business with the manors of the Peak — as to
wit, Monyash was split up between their husbands, the Earls of Arundel, Pembroke, and Kent, but these
ladies never had it in their power to make ducks and drakes of Bowden Middlecale. Herein is the
kernel of the difficulty which has frightened the compilers. But with the vast researches of Lysons there
should not have been much difficulty in making plain how Bowden passed. True, Lysons undoubtedly
saw where he was treading, for he tells us that Whitfield was purchased by John Foljambe from
Thomas le Ragged in 1330, but how Master Ragged got it, or John disposed of it, he is silent. Chinley
could never have been given to the Talbots, for James I. sold it, or some portion of it, when he was
hard up.

Why the magnificent scenery of the Goyt Valley is known to so few Englishmen, we are at a loss to
understand. There is railway conmiunication (more or less) along the whole course of the river, from its
source among the declivities of Axe Edge to its junction with the Etherow. To alight at Marple, and
return by way of Mellor, Thomsett, Birch Vale, and Hayfield to Chapel-en-le-Frith (the whole distance
being scarcely ten miles), will repay a thousandfold, there are so many objects of interest on the way.
Within the church at Mellor is the oldest pulpit in Christendom; it was in use when John Wycliffe was a
student at Oxford, and we learn from 'Dr. Coxf that it was but recently rescued by the Rev. M. Freeman
from a limbo of rubbish to which it had been consigned by some soulless churchwarden. Here also is a
font of the days of King Stephen — seven hundred and fifty years ago. What varied accents of our
language must have been uttered before it — Saxon, Norman-French, Middle English, with the Latin of
the priest I

Not five minutes' walk from the church (but so nestled among the hills that it would never be found
without a knowledge of its position), is old Mellor HalU linked with the Mellors, Radcliffes, Staffords,

*> Burktffe ** Peerage." This noblemen died, i6cli July, 1598. f ** Chorcliei off Derbyshire," Vol. II.

151 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Chethams, Bridges, Moults, and Cravens. The approach is by crossing a meadow and over a stile that
admits to a lane, apparently reserved for the strolls of those who think to make life brighter for one
another. On a slight acclivity to the right is the ancient homestead. We wondered if Bob Radcliffe
came this way when paying his devours to Emma Mellor in the days of Richard IL

From the Hundred Rolls — 3 Edward I. (1274), we learn that there was a Robert de Meluer, of Mellor,
who was tenant in capita to the Crown. From the Inquisition of the Forest, held at Wormhill in 1 3 1 8,
we gather there was a Richard de Meluer of the same place, who was an official of the Crown, holding
lands in perpetuity. With this gentleman's son Roger the senior line became extinct, when the co-heiresses
married with the Radcliffes and Staflfords. Lysons says that the founder of the family was Simon, of
Stavely, and that they were living at Mellor in the reign of Henry III. (1216-72). There was a junior
branch, however, which settled at Iderichay, and were there for thirteen generations at least, but in 1795
the senior male line ceased of the elder scions, and the co-heiresses mated with the Cresswells and Cocks.
There was a junior member of this house who located himself at Derby, whose present representative is
the Rev. Thomas Vernon Mellor, Vicar of Iderichay and rural dean. This gentleman and his son, Henry
Vernon Mellor, are (so it is thought) the only descendants and survivors of Mellor of Mellor. The first
Mayor Derby ever had was of this house, and Henry Mellor made his year of mayoralty doubly memorable
by dying in his robes. A pedigree of this branch is to be found in Glover's Derbyshire^ Vol. II, p. 584,
from which we glean that they selected their brides from the Alsops, Bradshaws, Maddocks, Bradbuiys,
Sleighs, Wooleys, Webstersy Wilmotts, Catesbys, and Hopes. The shields of these ladies shew the
greatest display of birds we remember as heraldic charges in any family — doves, owls, eagles, choughs,
and martletts.

Among those public records relative to " Proceedings in Chancery from the reign of Richard II. to
that of Elizabeth,'* will be found various instances in which a Mellor was plaintiff or defendant ; the
particulars of which are most interesting to the curious. Some of these cases involve most exceptional
points, as to whether it is trespass for the cattle of one man to graze upon the land of another, when such
lands are not cultivated by the owner nor productive of benefit ; and whether a field track can be said to
be a public road. These cases give us an insight into the minds of the Feakrells three or four centuries
ago.

Robert Radcliffe, who espoused the heiress of the senior line of the Mellors, was a scion of the
famous Lancashire family living at Radcliffe, on the banks of the Orwell, before the Conquest. Their
name (so it is said) was taken from the red cliff on the opposite bank of the stream, hence the perversion
by some early writers to Rougemont. William Radcliffe, who was Sheriff in 1 195, had a great-grandson,
from whom sprang the various branches of the house, and who was really the founder of its ultimate
splendour. He was a companion of Edward I. in his great victories, and became Lord of Radcliffe, with
right of free warren and chase over his demesne lands. The descendants of his second son acquired the
Barony of Fitzwalter, the Earldom of Sussex, and the Earldom of Derwentwater, of such tragic celebrity.
His third bom was that gallant knight whose military achievements earned them the motto of " Caens,
Crecy^ Calais^** who was the father of the first Radcliffe resident at Mellor, and whose wife was Joan
Holland, sister of the Earl of Kent. The Hollands were relatives of the Plantagenets, but no one has
accredited the Peak Radcliffes with such distinguished connections. This family had held Mellor Hall for
over two hundred years when St. George, the Herald, made his ''Visitation" in 161 1 ; for their Derbyshire
pedigree shews ten generations, but what became of them afterwards is all conjecture, though there are
Radcliffes to this hour living around the old homestead in a veiy different sphere of life.

The manor which was in the dowry of Enmia Mellor, the heiress, * was a subordinate or mesne
manor. We have said that this lady had a sister who mated with the Staffords. Now, whether there was
any contingent remainder — ^for the possession of the Hall and manor — ^in favour of the Staffords, or
whether there was a purchase from the Radcliffes, we cannot trace ; anyway, it was a Stafford, of Stockport,

* This lady owned two thontand acres at Mellor and died without lasne. Information sent as by the Rev. T. V. Mellor.

MELLOR HALL. 153

who sold the residence* (the one still standing) to the Chethams in 1686 and the lands in 1704. We get
at the interesting fact, however, that these Staffords were a branch of the famous and aristocratic £yam
house, and were still perpetuating an illustrious Peak family, usually said to have become extinct in the
days of Elizabeth. The offshoot of the fourteenth century had lived on, while the parent stock had
perished. In our own time we remember a Mellor of Mellor who was a wood steward, a Stafford of the same
ilk who ^as a stonemason, and a Radcliffe who was a cotton spinner. We do not say that these men were
descendants of the famous Peak families, but we submit that the fact is curious, and that it would not be
anything marvellous for them to be descendants of junior members of these families who had branched
off three or four hundred years ago.

The Chethams of Mellor were descendants of the brother of that "good Humphrey Chetham,"
whose philanthropy forced the Crown into offering him a knighthood, which he refused ; whose love of
knowledge, together with his benevolence, is proclaimed by a Library and Society where the poorest
student can have access to records of priceless value; whose princely munificence (though chiefly
directed to Manchester), together with such exalted nobleness of character, has added splendour to the
nation. How he left his property to his nephew George, whose grandson, while holding Mellor Hall,
died without issue ; how the heir was a stripling in the army, whose uncle (a poor ignorant fellow) was
induced, for a trifling sum, to sign away the lad's rights by a most infamous and nefarious scoundrel and
relative, Edward Chetham, barrister-at-law, living at Castleton ; how this same barrister tore- out the leaf
of the Register in Salford Church which was a proof of the soldier's legitimacy, and defaced documents
by acids; how this legal scoundrel at last blew his brains out in a room at Castleton in 1789, is too
well known to need any recapitulation. We believe that this marriage, after a period of over one hundred
years, has at length been proved by the discovery (suggested by a parish clerk) that it was by special
license, of which there was other entry beside the Church Register. Knowing that this family has gone
on generation after generation struggling for their bread in the workshops of Cottonopolis, we should,
indeed, like to know if they have succeeded in establishing their right.

Mellor Hall was sold to the Bridges in 1797, from whom it passed to the Moults, while the lands
were purchased by the Oldknows in the following year. When we sketched this old edifice it was
tenantless, and, we were told, for sale, but it is now held by Mr. J. Craven. Its appearance shows the
hand of the improver, but there are portions of it that tell a very different tale. This gentleman very
courteously proffered — even without any solicitation — ^to allow the writer to inspect the old deeds, relating
to the property, which courtesy he has availed himself of, with many thanks.f

The charm of the spot to the student lies in its association with facts of which he strives to know
something. Here was the very beginning of the Forest, as stated in the Inquisition of 1274. For fifteen
miles south, and twelve miles east, did its sylvan shades extend, but all that remains of it now are the
historic mansions in which its officials dwelt. Here was the earliest homestead of the Mellors of which
there is any record, and where they were living before the Charter of the Forest had been obtained by the
swords of the Barons. The scenery, or rather the formation, of the land, between Mellor and Hayfield
will give a better idea of the old Forest than all the books ever written : The distance is six miles. What
a glorious sight, and how exciting, too, must have been a stampede of the animals. No scamper along an
American plain, but rugged and precipitous paths apparently leading to the clouds. Of those Old Halls
of the Peak — homes of the Forest officials — which mark the spots where the earliest of the Peak families
were located, how many have we remaining ? Who knows where the Savages lived at Castleton, or the
Daniels at Tideswell, or the Foljambes at Wormhill, or the Needhams at Thomsett, or the Rossingtons
at Youlgreave, or Tunsteads at Tunstead, or Woodroffes at Hope ?

* Hugh and his son Tristram cut o£f the entail and disposed of it to the Chethams.— Ibid,
f See Addenda— Mellor.

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OLLERSET HALU

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IR THOMAS BRADBURY, one of the Worshipful Company of Mercers of the City of London,
Sheriff, 14 Henry VH. (1498), and Lord Mayor in the year that Bluff Hal became King, is
memorable from having died in his mayoralty. This gentleman was buried in St. Stephen's,
Coleman Street. He was an offspring of the old Peak family located at Ollerset, in the Glossop
valley ; indeed, his grandfather and father were bom at OUerset, for which fact there is indisputable
evidence ; his grandmother was a daughter of the Davenports, of Bramhall, County Chester, and his
mother was the heiress of the Rookhills, of Braughing, County Herts. The Bradburys, of Littlebury,
County Essex, were a branch of the Braughing house, as is proved by the Herald's Visitations.

When William Bradbury left the valley of the Goyt behind him and founded the Braughing branch
by marriage with the heiress of the Rookhills, it was in that troubled period of the Wars of the Roses.
This fact, together with the one that his father was Robert, of OUerset, and that his son was Thomas,
the knight from whom the Littlebury branch, is found in Vol. XXII. of Harl : So. Publications. But this
fact is again clenched by Herbert's Livery Companies^ Vol. I., p. 248, and Herbert had access to all the
City Records, for he was Librarian of the Corporation. The shields of the Essex Bradbuiys shew that
the lads followed the example of their sire, William, in marrying heiresses. Herbert tells us that Joan
Bradbury, widow of Sir Thomas, was very munificent in her gifts to the poor, and that among other
bequests she gave to the Mercers' Company lands to the value of twenty pounds a year "for the
maintenance of certain superstitious uses and the performance of works of charity. . • . The
remarkable circumstance which justifies a particular mention of the occurrence here is that the land
purchased on this occasion was no other than that now immensely valuable tract which is covered by
New Bond Street and its neighbourhood, and then called ' Conduit Mead,' a property which, had this
Company retained it, would more than quadrupled the value of all their present estates."

The earliest mention of the OUerset house is in the Inquisition of the Forest for 1318, when Hugh
de Bradbury, a sturdy yeoman, protested against the payment of tithes to the Priory of Lenton ; and the
last entry we can find of them being at OUerset is for the 17th May, 1662, when there was much ado
among godfathers and godmothers, for it was the christening of the heir beneath the ancestral roof.
There was Uncle and Squire Joddrell, of Yeardsley, who had brought a mug of sterling worth in his
pocket ; there, too, was Grandmother Bradbury, who was the starchy Dorothy Bowden whom Grandfather
Edmund had won half a century before ; but these items concern only those descendants who still remain
among us. The earliest trace of this family yields a curious fact. The Bradburys are associated with
Just the same counties as the De Gemons (who changed their name to Cavendish). They both first
appear in Essex, then in Derbyshire, then a branch of both houses turn up in Sufifolk. This is curious
in the item of Essex, for it was in that county that the most opulent of the Bradburys resided long
afterwards in the Tudor period. At the very time that the Peak De Gemons were becoming extinct, so
were the Suffolk Bradburys ; and even as the Suffolk De Gemons perpetuated their line, so did the Peak
Bradburys. After an absence of three centuries the De Gemons came back to us, settling at Chatsworth,
just when we find the senior Bradburys locating themselves at Youlgreave. There is more than coincident
here ! The Bradburys may have been the squires of the knightly De Gemons. One fact fits such a
supposition marvellously : the Bradburys first appear at OUerset just when Roger de Gemon had left

iS8 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Moor Hall, Bakewell, and espoused Mary Potkins, the heiress of the Lord of Cavendish, in Suffolk. We

submit as an assertion to be worked out by the student of Derbyshire history, that the tenure of the

Bradburys at OUerset was, in the first place, owing to a gift, or due to the interest of the De Gemons.

The Bradburys were at OUerset for four hundred years; here before Roger Bacon had discovered

gunpowder; before Chaucer had written his Canterbury Tales; here while poor blind Milton was dictating

his Paradise Lost; and down to the reign of that imbecile Stuart who laboured to make our Constitution a

despotism.

Setting out from Chapel-en-le-Frith with the intent of sketching the old homestead, we followed up

the valley of the Goyt with its wild but grand scenery and rugged paths, leaving behind us Bugsworth,

Chinley, and Beard. Inquiiy for the position of OUerset Hall brought the answer, "It is all in ruins

now." There were the ruins sure enough, the wall of the north gable with heaps of debris^ shewing

evidence of a once stately edifice. There was the carriage drive part grown with grass; the coach-house

converted into cottages; but there was a blunder somewhere. This debris was not the debris of a

mediaeval building. The slightest antiquarian knowledge of architecture was scarcely needed to shew

that a century had not gone by since the masons were at work. This fact was clenched by a resident of

one of the neighbouring dwellings telling us that her mother could remember when Squire Newton had

built the Hall, and how he had squandered his money away. But where was the Hall of the Bradburys ?

In Lysons there is the entry that OUerset HaU was a farmhouse in his time, and owned by the Newtons.

Had they pulled it down to build their gingerbread structure? Within a short distance was an old

yeoman's dwelling, but we were assured it had never been known as the Hall. The front of this dwelling

was covered with ivy, which prevented any idea being formed, and so we asked permission to see the back

part of it, to which there was no access excepting to the family. Our reward was ample. An inscription,

or rather initials and date on an outbuilding, set the matter at rest: N. M. B. in written characters, with the

figures 1529. We knew from the genealogy of the family that at this time Nicholas Bradbury and his

wife Mary were Uving here. This is the very gentleman about whom there are some very interesting

documents in the Record Office. Particular reference is Bundle 3 (7 Elizabeth), of the Inquisitions Post

Mortem relating to the Duchy of Lancaster. It appears that Nicholas was holding ''the Queen's Mill

called Berde MUl or New MUl," when Ralph MeUor purchased certain fields adjoining the Mills. Through

these fields there was (and still is) a right of way for "wain and cart horse and man.'' This right Squire

Mellor disputed, and closed the road: MeUor was son-in-law to Bradbuiy, and what so probable that the

closing of the road was "a Roland for an Oliver," as a return for objection to the hand of the daughter.

The Bradburys were at this time at the height of their prosperity, and during this prosperity the

Youlgreave and Yorkshire branches had gone forth.

While beneath the toof of this old homestead we gathered that the staircase, on which there was

some elaborate carving, had been removed but a few years since, from being unsafe through age. We

have the records of the marriages of this family for at least nine generations, and from such alliances (one

was a daughter or scion of a house who were and still are Peers of the realm) we feel more and more

perplexed, if not astonished, that the Bradburys lost their high position among Derbyshire families. We

cannot find any evidence that they became impoverished from their loyalty to the Stuarts, like the

Blackwells of Taddington. Their names are not among the Royalists whose estates were sequestered,

nor in the book of "Non-jurors." How near the Bradburys in the sixteenth century were becoming

relatives of the Talbots, Earl of Shrewsbury, may never perchance have been dug out by, or suggested

itself to, a member of the family. Grace Shakerley, wife of the fifth Earl, was aunt to Eleanor, who

married Edward, or Edmund Bradbury, of OUerset. The neice blessed her husband with a family ; the

Countess had no issue, or ties of blood must have followed. How advantageous such relationship would

have been it is useless to speculate. They mated in consecutive generations with the girls of the Beards,

Bagshawes, Tetlows, Wests, and Bowdens. The Bagshawes have held a knighthood, and are still

holding more than one lordship of a manor, besides the Halls of Wormhill and Ford. The Wests are

Earls de la Warr, Viscounts CantUupe, and Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain.

OLLERSET HALL. 159

At the very time, or very shortly before, that Nicholas Bradbury was anxious for his mill and horses,
his cousin, Thomas of Essex, was a knight and opulent merchant of the city, whom the King delighted
to honour. In the Hu/itmd Papers, wherein there is that curious list shewing the lords, ladies, and
gentlemen who waited upon the Emperor Charles V. when visiting London, and how they had to be
lodged here, there, and everywhere, there is this entry: "Item, my lady Bradburye: hall parlour. III
chambers, VI beddes, with all other necessaries." Moreover, another entry says : ** My lady Bradbuiye
was allowed one hogshead of wine and three barrels of beer for own consumption."

There are three members of this family who need particular mention.

The most singular man perchance of a singular race was Thomas, the Nonconformist. He was one
of the Yorkshire branch. When George I. came to the Throne, Bradbury was among the clergymen who
waited upon him with an address. They went in their gowns. " ^r^y, sir," said the nobleman in
waiting, " is this a funeral?" " Yes, sir," replied Bradbury, ''it is the funeral of the Schism Act and the
resurrection of liberty." The oddities of Bradbury are traditionary. He was known as the facetious
preacher. Bom at Wakefield, educated at Leeds and Atterclifife, he became an assistant to Dr. Gilpin,
one of the expelled ministers who took his degree of M.D. for the curing of diseased bodies when his
avocation was gone for the curing of uneasy souls. This was at Newcastle-on-Tyne. From here
Bradbury went to London, where he succeeded Benoni Rowe, at the Fetter Lane Chapel. He was here
for twenty years. He was afterwards preacher to the congregation at New Court, Carey Street. His
sermons were published in 1763, and from these extraordinary compositions we can imagine the man.
There is a political heading attached to each one, as to wit : " The Divine right of the Revolution," the
text being taken I Chronicles xii., 23 ; "The Primitive Tories, or Persecution, Rebellion, and Priestcraft,"
founded on Jude II. Bogne has it, that "from the great number of sacred texts applied to the occasion,
one would imagine the Bible was written only to confirm, by Divine authority, the benefits accruing to
this nation from the accession of King William III." Neal sa3rs, " I have seen Mr. Bradbury's sermons
just published, the nonsense and buffoonry of which would make one laugh if his impious insults over the
pious dead did not make one tremble." On the day that Queen Anne died he preached (so it is said) from
the text, " Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a King's daughter." One oddity of
Bradbury is thus told: "Tom generally gave audience at supper time, and the ceremony was thus
conducted. On a little table lay two pocket Bibles, one of which was taken up by Bradbury and the other
by his daughter, and each having read a portion, one of the visiting ministers was desired to pray, they
then adjourned to supper, after which Tom entertained the company with 'The roast beef of old
England,' which, it is said, he sang better than any man in England."* Bradbury will be remembered
by the bookworms from his famous lectures delivered at the Weigh-house, and from the part he took in
the memorable Arian controversy among the Dissenters. He voted in the minority, and in answer to the
hisses he turned and said, " It's the voice of the serpent, and may be expected against a zeal for the seed
of the woman." This strange combination of theology and satire lived to a marvellous old age, like many
of his race, and was buried in Bunhill Fields, not far from John Bunyan.

Whether George Bradbury, Baron of the Exchequer under William III., was a son of one of the lads
who went forth from Ollerset and settled in London about the beginning of the seventeenth century, or
was a scion of the Essex Branch, is not very clear. When but a young barrister he was junior counsel in
the famous Ivry case, and by a marvellous display of acumen he detected that certain deeds were frauds,
and at once placed himself in the front rank of his profession. The particulars of the case are in Vol. X.
of the State Trials; that execrable creature Jeffreys was the judge. These deeds gave a right to an
enormous amount of property in Shadwell, and purported to have been made out in the reign of Philip
and Mary. The title by which these Monarchs were designated Bradbury remembered they did not hold
until several days subsequent to the date of the deeds; hence the documents were spurious. Jeffreys
complimented him, but immediately followed the famous scene. Bradbury found it necessary to reiterate

* Chalmer's Biography : National Biography, by Leslie Stephen.

i6o OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

certain facts, on which Jeffreys turned on him: ''Lord, sir, jou must be cackling, too; we told you your
objection was ingenious but that must not make you troublesome; you cannot lay an egg but you must be
cackling over it/' Some four years after came the Revolution, when James II. fled, and Jeffreys became
a prisoner in the Tower. "The chief of the Bar," says Hamilton, "were summoned to consult with the
Peers upon the political crisis, and Bradbury was among the number." On the accession of William III.
he became Puisne Baron of the Exchequer, and sat on the Bench for seventeen years.

Some fifty years ago William Bradbury, of Bakewell, took up his residence in London, and founded
the Dat'Iy News and Ft'eld newspapers, and became publisher of Punch.^ A more brilliant staff of
literary men were never brought in contact than by this member of the Bradbury family — ^Dickens,
Thackery, Hood, with many more whose names are imperishable. Such facts are known to everybody,*
but there b one of pathetic interest connected with William Bradbury which may come as a surprise, even
to members of the Peak family. This gentleman had a son, Henry, who at the age of nineteen, in the
year 1850, entered the employ of the Imperial Printing Office at Vienna, bent upon learning the art of
"Nature Printing." Five years later, when but a youth comparatively, his masterly and splendid
delineations of the "Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland," together with his "British Seaweeds," came as
a marvel of art to the civilized world. Then followed his lectures on other subjects at the Ro3ral Institution,
some of which were illustrated by Leighton, now president of the Royal Academy. Another five years
and this young man of such astonishing promise (on Sunday, 2nd September, i860) passed away from
among his fellows from a rash act of his own hand.

There was a branch of thei Ollerset family who settled at Bankhead, and long sustained the dignity of
their house. Just beside the little door sacred to the priest at Chapel-en-le-Frith Church, there is a
grave of a daughter of this offshoot, and from a quaint expression upon the tombstone we ever turn aside
to look at it, as there is a dash of real, natural, human affection about it. Besides, it is two hundred and
twenty years since a loving hand placed it there, and from the depth the letters were cut they were meant
to last till the day of resurrection. To find one of the old Peak families moving in such a distinct sphere
from that of their forefathers excites even more than a passing interest.

* See Addenda— Bradbury.

s^

M,

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LONG LEE, BEARD, AND SIMMONDLEY. t

$ong gee, g^arb, anh ^tmmottMen*

^^TTK a circumference of thirty miles. Such is the extent given to the Manor of Glossop, by
WJ Rhodes, in his Peak Scenery ; eight-tenths of such area being with a jimior branch of the
ff/^ illustrious house of Howard. The other two are with the noble family of Cavendish.
What is the percentage of tourists to Derbyshire who reach Hayiield or ascend the Scout ?
How many have stood by the Mermaids' Pool, which, tradition said, had " a subterranean connection with
the far-distant Atlantic, and at twelve o'clock on midsummer eve a mermaid arose out of the pool and,
singing with enchanting sweetness, allured to destruction any reckless swain who had watched to see her
rise?"

For two hundred and seventy-five years have the Howards been lords of Glossop. Thomas, Earl of
Arundel, who first acquired it by his marriage with Lady Alatheia Talbot, about 1616, was the son of the
nobleman who was attainted by Queen Elizabeth and died a prisoner in the Tower ; grandson of the
nobleman, fourth Duke of Norfolk, executed by the same Queen for his expressions of sympathy with
Mary Queen of Scots ; and great-grandson of the immortal Surrey, who was cruelly done to death by
Henry VIII. There is a feature of this noble house, which to us is of very great interest : the many sons
who have contributed to our literature. We have them as poets ; as dramatists ; as translators ; as
philosophical and antiquarian writers ; as compilers of family records ; as topographers of foreign
countries and delineators of characters and scenes, new to Englishmen. "The character of Henry, Earl
of Surrey," says Lodge, " reflects splendour even upon the name of Howard. . . . He revived, in an
age too rude to enjoy fully those beauties which mere nature could not but in some degree relish, the
force of expression, the polished style, and passionate sentiments of the best poets of antiquity." He
was the link between Chaucer and Milton ; the first Englishman who attempted to express himself in
blank verse ; the first writer of love sonnets whose verses are polite, without a shade of indelicacy. His
short career of twenty years ; his chivalry before the walls of Montreuil ; his being thrust in the Fleet
prison for eating flesh in Lent ; his paraphrasing Ecclestasticus while a captive in the dungeons of the
Tower ; his trial and its atrocious particulars ; his being " the flower of the English nobility," have no
need to be remembered to induce a perusal of Songes and Sonnetis. We have attached a list of those
members of this patrician house who were literary men. The Berkshire Howards have been dramatists ;
those of Yorkshire, statesmen and keepers of diaries of historic value. The nobleman who is Lord of
Glossop, and who so recently brought to his Derbyshire home his illustrious bride, we wish all those
blessings of which the Creator is alone the dispenser.

What can Englishmen possibly know of the north-eastern extremity of Derbyshire; or why do they
scamper away to the Continent in their holidays in search of scenes of wild grandeur? What do even
Derbyshire men know (at least seven-eighths of us) of the valleys of the Sett, Etherow, or Kinder? Spots
where the wildest nature weds with the most perfect loveliness; where the river rushes madly on as if in
disgust at the factories on its banks, and then glides away through the glens with a cadence of ripples as
if singing its deliverance to the nymphs.

Even when an old edifice proclaims by an inscription upon its portals whose residence it was more
than two centuries ago, the compilers do not evidently consider it belonging to their province to find out
who this particular family were, or anything about them. This fact is illustrated by the inscription on

164 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

the slab over the entrance to Long Lee Hall; and yet more forcibly by the well-known hostelry at
Rowsley, the Peacock. Is there not the name of John Stevenson, 1652, over the entrance? Were not
these Stevensons lords of Elton at the very time? Had they not extensive lands in Stanton? Was not
this building their hall? Were they not the senior line of the Stevensons of Unstone and Matlock? Did
not the heiress of the Rowsley branch marry with the old and historic Holdens ? And is not her
descendant at the present moment a peer of the realm ? Reference to Burke's Landed Gentry, Peerage,
and Lysons' Derbyshire gives the affirmative in each case : and yet, forsooth, one compiler (of no mean
ability) tells us that John Stevenson was a publican. Where k)ve of Derbyshire history consists of
assumptive evidence without search such affection is spurious.

Neither in county history nor on map of Ordnance Survey Department can we find the position of
Long Lee Hall, nor of the track of country in which it stands — by the name it was known to our fathers
(Bowden Middlecale) — nor any particulars of the family, of which the builder was a member (whose
initials are over the door), and whose grave is close to the threshold of the old homestead, just within
one of the out-houses. Whether this singular being — ^John Hyde, gentleman, as his tombstone relates —
who was one of the Peak notables of the seventeenth century, was a miser, and considered the costly
outlay attending the interment of a squire in those days as ruinous; or had formed an acquaintance with
that old sinner and philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, who was living at Chatsworth at the time, we cannot
trace. Any way, the bedstead on which he died (somewhat elaborately carved, and of the time of
Elizabeth) has never been allowed to be removed, and is there in perpetuity; the chamber is traditionally
said to be haunted, and known to this hour as the "boggart room." Having asked if anything had ever
been seen, we were assured that marvellous noises had been heard, as to wit: "One night," said the
good lady who is mistress here, and who allowed us to examine the bedstead, "when I and my children
had just retired, we all heard the long clock on the top of the landing go smash down the stairs, but
when we all rushed out to see, it was ticking in its proper place."

The Hydes have been resident in the Peak for three hundred years, and have intermarried with the
Shalcrosses and other old families. From the records of Hayfield Chapelry we learn that the grandfather
of the gentleman whose apparition is said to haunt Long Lee Hall was one of the Worshipful Company
of Merchant Taylors of the City of London, and devised certain property to the company for the yearly
payment of ten pounds to the chapelry for the purposes of education, which no doubt is still most
scrupulously complied with. In the Visitation of London by St. George (1633-4), there is the pedigree
of a John Hyde, who is shewn to have a grandson John, but no one has taken the least trouble to
establish the fact that the John Hyde of the pedigree was the gentleman who devised the property for the
benefit of Hayfield Chapelry. We believe that the Peak Hydes, so long and still located among us, are a
branch of that old Cheshire house of which there are many particulars in Earwaker's East Cheshire.

Along the north bank of the Goyt, from Kinderscout to Mellor, is the tract once designated Bowden
Middlecale. Within this tract there once stood a solitary mill, situated in a romantic glen, which did
duty for centuries for all the surrounding townships. There are several mills now (it is the district of
mills), and a railway station, too, from whence it is a comfortable stroll to Beard, or Ollerset, or Thomsett,
or Scout, or the Mermaids' Pool, or Hayfield, or Long Lee. Here we are surrounded by those picturesque
spots where some of the oldest of the Peak families were located in such remote times. Here, almost
within sight of each other, were the homesteads of the Beards, Bradburys, and Needhams. In our stroll
we noticed a shopkeeper (a chemist, druggist and colourman), named Kinder; we remembered that
Hayfield Church was built by the munificence of a Kinder in 1385. Is it not probable that the colourman
may be a descendant of an ancester whose name is found on several glorious Rolls ?

The Manor of Beard, says White, was given to John, Earl of Shrewsbury, by Henry VIII. This
could not be, for there was no John Talbot who wore the coronet under that monarch ; though White is
correct in saying it was given to the Talbots, and this brings us face to face with a fact Lysons could
have rendered intelligible. If Henry VIII. gave it to the Talbots, how could the Beards, Leghs, and

LONG LEE, BEARD, AND SIMMONDLEY. 165

Duncalfs have possessed it and passed it by heiress previous to the Talbots ? The Royal gift would shew
it to be Royal demesne, while there is no evidence that the Beards were tenants in capita. We have an
idea that the tenure of the Beards, and their heirs, was under the Abbey of Basingwerke. These are the
kind of facts the compilers will not face. The senior line of the Beards became extinct about 1400,
when the heiress mated with the Leghs (she was wife of two brothers successively), and the manor was
certainly in her dowry. Beard Hall was assuredly distinct from the manor, for the homestead remained
with a junior line of the family till the days of Queen Elizabeth anyway. The old edifice is delightfully
situated about half-a-mile from New Mills, and from its position commands a splendid view of the
surrounding country. The masonry of the remains (for there is only a gable left of the original structure)
was evidently the work of William Beard, who was living here in 1570, and whose daughter, Elizabeth
'(senior co-heiress), married Ralph Ashenhurst. We do not refer to the foundations, for they are
considerably older, nor to a small portion of the interior, which has the appearance of having been
formed out of a tower with port-holes. How an old Peak family gets lost sight of can be instanced by
the Beards. The most careful and accurate of Derbyshire compilers (dear old Lysons) has these sentences:
" The grandfather of the last Beard, of Beard Hall, had four sons ; the two elder died without male issue,
each of them having an only daughter and heir ; Alice, daughter of Nicholas, married Blackwell ; Alice,
daughter of Richard, married Bowden. William, son of John, the third son, was of Beard Hall, and had
three daughters married to Ashenhurst, Holt and Yeaveley. The Ashenhursts inherited Beard Hall.
Ralph, the fourth son, had four sons, but we know nothing of their posterity." The descendants of this
fourth son are yet among us ; yes, living within a short stroll from their ancestral homesteads, but not as
lords of a manor, but as vendors of treacle and soap, and other delectable necessaries of life.

We had little hope of finding any remains of Beard Hall yet standing, for intelligence had reached
us — indeed, we were so told as we were plodding our way from Bugsworth — ^that it had been entirely
rebuilt. There was more than one pleasure awaiting us, for not only was there the old gable, but a
resident within who was a descendant of the historic Staffords, who has been repeatedly asked why he
makes no attempt to recover one of the peerages once held by that family, and which is still in abeyance.
The courtesy of Mr. Daniel Stafford and his lady we most gratefully acknowledge, while their willingness
to give information makes us their debtor, to which we would add, that if our ideas could have been as
readily grasped by some people who are tenants of other old edifices as by this lady and gentleman, we
should have gathered more facts by the way than we have. The Leghs who held the Manor of Beard
were offshoots of the great Cheshire house who had branches at Adlington, Bothomes, Bruche, Lyme,
and Ridge. The name they held was really not their own, paternally, for they were descendants of the
Venables, Baron Kinderton, one of whom, in the reign of Henry III., married the heiress of the Leghs,
and adopted her name. Their son espoused Ellen de Corona and acquired Adlington, thus the two
quarterings of their shield become intelligible. The pedigrees of Cheshire families given by Earwaker
tells us of many unions with Peak families, of which we gather but little from our own compilers. The
wife of the last Beard of Beard Hall was a daughter of the Davenports of Henbury.

The Ashenhursts were a Staffordshire house of remote antiquity. John, the grandson of the Beard
heiress, who was bom here, became that famous, or infamous Parliamentary Colonel during the Civil
Wars, whose compound treachery is known to historical students. This fact alone would have attracted
many an individual to Beard. The father of the Colonel was a J.P., who donned the profession of a
clergyman occasionally, for the entry is on record that he married seventeen couples of Chapel-en-le-Frith
lads and lasses one morning. Is it not singular that this old building, after having sheltered the Beards
and the Ashenhursts, should now be the dwelling of a gentleman whose ancestor not only fought at
Hastings, and whose name is on the Roll of Battle Abbey, but who was cousin to the man to whom the
victory gave the throne of England ? Is it not singular, t6o, that the Halls of Beard, Shalcross, OUerset,
and Mellor (all comparatively within a stone's throw of each other), all teeming with historic associations,
all within about twenty miles from Bakewell, should be so little known even to the curious.

i66 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

The following is a list of the noble family of Howard as literateurs, with works published : —

ANNE (Viscountess Irwin).—" A Character of the Princess Elicabeth ; " "An Ode on King George III. ; " *' An Answer to Lady Mary Wortley

Montagne.'*
CHARLES.—** Tanning Leather " (1674) ; " Planting of Saffron " (1678).

CHARLES (Earl of Carlisle).- " Three Embassies to the Couru of Mnsoory, Sweden, and Denmark " (x66g. Reprinted in Harriifs *' Voyages.**)
CHARLES (Third Earl).— ** To my Son, Lord Morpeth** (a poetical address).

CHARLES (loth Duke of Norfolk).— *' Thoughts, Essays, and Maxims ; " " Historical Anecdotes '* (1769).
•EDWARD.— ** The Usurper "(xeeS); •* Six Days* Adventure ''(zGyi);** " The Woman's Conquest ; " "TheManof Newmarket; ""The Changes

of Crownes ; " " The London Gentleman ; " " The United Kingdoms ; " ** The British Princes ; " " Poeou and Bsaays."
EDWARD L— ** Philosophy of Descartes ** (1701) ; ** Copernicus Conricted ** (i7cis».

FREDERICK (Fifth Earl of Carlisle).—** Poems " (Z773) ; "The Father's Revenge ; ** "The Stepmother { " «« Tragedies and Poemt.*'
GEORGE (Seventh Earl).—** Diary in Turkish and Greek Waters ; ** *« The Second Vision of Daniel " (1658).
HENRY (Earl of Surrey).— " Songes and Sonnettes** (1537)- there were seven editions in thirty years; "Poems** (1587;: "Fourth Boke of

Virgin "(1557).
HENRY (Earl of Nottingham).— '*Bspoaition of Dreams. Conferences with Damned Spirits, Ac.*' fis83>; " An Apology for the Government of

Women ; ' •• A Devotional Piece ; '* others in MS.
HENRY.— " Antiquarian Papers'* in " ArcheologU ** riSoot; "A Drill of Light Inftmtry:** *« Catholic Religion;** •• Memorials of the Howard

Family** ri834).

* JAMES.-** All Mistaken, or the Mad Couple ** ^1671) ; <* The EngUsh Monsieur " (1674).!

• ROBERT :.- " Fourth Book of Virgil *• (1660) ; •' Poems ; " " Statius's Achilles ; '* " Four New Plays " (1665) ; " The Great Favourite ; " " The Duels

of the Stags ; " •* Observations on the Reigns of Edward L. H.. HL, and Richard IL ; " " History of Edward and Richard II. ; **
«* Letter to Samuel Johnson ;" •« Five New Plays ; " *« History of Religion ; ** «• Poems ; " •• Dramatic Work."

* Sons of the Earl of Berkshire.

t This gentleman was the '* Sir Positive Atall " of ShadweU in his ** Sullen Lovers.**

t Was the *« Bilboa " of Buckingham's " Rehearsal.*

^avi&\^ of 9titJTCt0rt0e.

^oriJt geea ^alL

^totttj JUlibMcton gall*

^rtM«t| Srtli*

^jerm^nt $aU*

NORTH LEES HALL.

lloxrtJt See0 flail*

N the 25th October, 1248, the right of free warren was granted by Henry III. to Matthew de
Hathersage; this franchise applpng to Hathersage, of which manor Matthew was lord. Free
warren was a right in perpetuity, wherein the holder could convey away his lands and yet retain
to himself and his heirs the right of sport to themselves over those lands. We believe (though
we are nowhere told so) that Matthew had acquired the manor with his wife, heiress of the Meynells,
who had been demesne tenants of Ralph Fitzhubert, who, in Domesday Book, is shown as holding it.
Old Ralph came in at the Survey (1086) for twenty-four lordships in the county, and moieties of ten
others, while he held Hopwell under the Bishop of Chester.*

Was it the beauty of the Derbyshire ladies of time past that attracted the attention of the squires of
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire, or the dowries they had in their pockets.^ We trow it was
a matter of affection, but whether for the lands or the women presents a difficulty. The union of Matthew
de Hathersage and the heiress was blest with two daughters : Cecilia, afterwards the wife of Nigel de
Longford, t and Matilda, who mated with Walter de Grousell. The Gousells were of Hoveringham,
Nottinghamshire, where they had been located for several generations, but not as lords, % for we find that
Matilda Hathersage, after she became the wife of Walter, purchased lands from the family of Hoveringham,
who were in possession of that manor. Although so little is known of the Gousells, we gather that
they were extremely lucky fellows, for, after securing one-half of the extensive lands of Matthew de
Hathersage, who held at least twenty lordships, one of them married Elizabeth, an heiress of the Fitzalans,
Earls of Arundel. Robert Gousell acquired with this lady, plus her dowiy, the heraldic quarterings of the
baronial and princely houses of Peverell, Albany, Mechines, Lupus, Plantagenet, Warren, Marshall,
De Clare, Macmurrough, and Pargiter. In the reign of Henry VIII. the male line ceased, when the two
co-heiresses allied themselves with the Wingfields and Stanleys. One fact is worthy of note, that had a
given line of the Bagshawes of Ford, of last century, been further perpetuated, such particular line would
have borne upon their shield the whole of these extremely aristocratic and historic quarterings. || The
Longfords were the Eyres of the Middle Ages ; we mean, if there were an eligible match anywhere to be
made, they were on the look-out. Like the Eyres, they were a Derbyshire family pure and simple. Long
before Nigel nestled up Cecilia de Hathersage, his ancestor (Oliver), a century before, had espoused the
heiress of the Ercalds. The quarterings of the Longfords are uniquely Derbyshire, and their shield is
more than interesting, for we believe that all the families to whom the quarterings belonged are gone,
root and branch, Fitz-Ercald, Hathersage,§ Deincourt, Appleby, and Solney. When Sir Nicholas died in

• Ashover, Bamford, Barrow, Barlbrougli, Ballidon, Boiilton, Cliptnne, Crich, Dackmanton, Eckington, Ingieby, Henlege (Hanley ?), Nether
Hurst, Hathersage, Hartle, Meynell Langley. Langley Lede, Mlddleton-by-Youlgreave, Moeborongh, Newton-in-Blackwell), Ogston (a moiety),
Palterton, Pentrich, Bradbam (a third), Ripley, Scarcliff, Oakerthorp, Stretton (in Shirland), Egstow, Tunestal, Werredane (?), Willington,
Wessington, Wbltwell.

t See article on " Longford Hall "* f Appletree Hundred).

{ Vide Thoroton's " Nottinghamshire."

I Vide arude on ** Ford HaU."

I A branch of the Tennysons, relatires of the Poet Laureate, have assumed the name of lyEyncourt, and are so maternally.

172 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

1610, the Longfords had passed away, too.* Their present representative is the Honourable H. J. Coke,
of Longford Hall. The right of free warren over Hathersage must have remained with the Gousells, for
we find that in the 4 Edward HL Adam de Gousell asserted his claim, and from this asserted claim we
are told by Thoroton, Vol. HL, p. 62, of a blunder in the Gousell pedigree which otherwise would have
escaped detection.

Within the Parish of Hathersage there are four manors — Padley, Stony Middleton, Bamford, and
its own. The family of Ashton, who were lords of Padley subsequent to the forfeiture of Sir Thomas
Fitzherbert, were a branch of the famous Lancashire house. Deeds of chivalry and a knighthood for their
bravery were ever characteristic with them (and they have a pedigree from a Saxon Thane), or loyalty to
a fallen dynasty, followed by terrible and ignominious punishment. The Royal Standard of Scotland was
captured at Neville's Cross by one of the lads; another was at the battle of Huttonfield, and after he had
won his spurs, he rose to be Lieutenant of the Tower and Vice-Constable of England ; a third was an
Admiral, a Justiciary of Ireland, warden of the Cinque Ports. When the plot against the life of Oliver
Cromwell failed, Edward Ashton, to whom the most hazardous part had been entrusted, was executed,
drawn, and quartered at the comer of Mark Lane. One of the most faithful adherents of James II. was
John Ashton, and he was hanged at Tyburn, which is memorable from the fact that the non-juror
clergymen mustered in a body and attended him to the scaffold. From the pages of our annals we turn
to the Venerable Doctor of Divinity, Chancellor of Cambridge, Prebendary of Ely, and profound Classic,
Charles Ashton, a Derbyshire man, one of the very family who held Padley. We remember how Keller
has had a lot of praise for an edition of Ttrtulliany and Reading for a particular Origen^ but both these
writers got their corrections from the notes of Ashton. Yes, he was a Derbyshire man, and therefore
robbed of his glory; indeed, who would notice the appropriation. There is a marvellous story told
by Froissart of an ancestor of our Ashtons. It appears that in the reign of Edward III. the English
troops were lying before the French town of Noyeau when the following incident occurred, at least so says
Froissart. There was a knight in the English army who performed a most gallant deed of arms. He
quitted his troop with his lance in its rest, and, mounted on his courser, followed only by his page,
striking spurs into his horse, was soon up the mountains and at the barriers. The name of the knight
was Sir John Ashueton, a very valiint and able man, perfectly master of his profession. When he arrived
at the barriers of Noyeau he dismounted, and giving his horse to his page, said, "Quit not this place."
Then grasping his spear he advanced to the barriers and leaped over them. There were on the inside
some good knights of that country, such as Sir John de Roye, Sir Launcelot de Lorris, and ten or twelve
others, who were astonished at his action and wondered what he would do next. However, they received
him well. The knight, addressing them, said, "Gentlemen, I am come to see you; for as you do not
vouchsafe to come out beyond your barriers, I condescend to visit you. I wish to try my knighthood
against your's, and you will conquer me if you can." After this he gave many good strokes with his lance,
which they returned him. He continued in this situation against them all, skirmishing and fighting most
gallantly upwards of an hour. He wounded one or two of the knights, and they had so much pleasure in
this combat they frequently forgot themselves. The inhabitants looked from above the gates and top of
the walls with wonder. They might have done much hurt with their arrrows if they had so willed ; but no,
the French knights had forbidden it. Whilst he was so engaged his page came close to the barriers,
mounted on his courser, and said to him aloud in his own language, "My lord, you had better come away,
it is time, for our army is on the march." The knight, who had heard him, made ready to follow his
advice, and after he had given one or two thrusts to clear his way, he seized his spear and leaped again
over the barriers without any hurt, and, armed as he was, jumped up behind the page on his courser.
When he was thus mounted he said to the French, "Adieu, gentlemen; many thanks to you," and
spurring his steed, soon rejoined his companions. This gallant feat of Sir John Ashueton was highly

* Old Sir Nicbolms, like Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, wu a Catholic and recnsant, and fined ruinously for his faith. He died in London, we
belieye, hiding away h-om the barbarous edicts against those of his religion. At the suppression of the Monasteries, Sir Ralph Longford came
in for the lands of Colwich Abbey, in Staffordshire, of which his ancestors were the founders.

NORTH LEES HALL. 173

prized by all manner of men.* This is by no means the only gallant feat we shall have to mention, for
we have others recorded in our note book, which we have dug out, in which the principal actor was a
Peakrell or the descendant of one.

The Shuttleworths, of Hathersage, and lords of Padley, are the senior living branch of the
Shuttleworths, of Gawthorpe, County of Lancaster, where we find them as far back as the time of
Richard H. One was Chief Justice of Chester, 31 Elizabeth, and builder or designer of that splendid
Gothic structure known as Gawthorpe Hall. One jvas Bishop of Chichester in recent days, while one
line now holds a baronetcy.

How the Longfords* share of the Manor of Hathersage passed subsequent to 1481 is not clear, but
it presumedly merged into the Gousell moiety, which had been purchased by the Thorpes in 1450, from
whom it passed to the E3Tes by remainder, to the Pegges by purchase, who disposed of it in 1 705 to the
first Duke of Devonshire.

We are told by Lysons that Bamford was with Fitzhubert at the Survey, and then, taking a jump of
three centuries, he finds it with the Talbots. But the dear old chap ventures no observation as to how it
came to the Talbots. If we remember that this illustrious family got Eyam from the Fumivals, together
with Stony Middleton ; and that William Furnival, who bought Stony Middleton from Richard de Bemake
in 1307, was a great lover of broad acres, for which he paid broad pieces, there is some ground, we
submit, that the Talbots got Bamford in such wise. In 1802 the manor was with Francis Evans, from
whom to the Mellands and Primes, from whom in three moieties to Wallesby, Shuttleworth, and
Robinson.

The earliest known lords of Stony Middleton were the Chaworths, say in the thirteenth century, for
before the end of it the Bemakes were in possession. Now this is curious. The last of the senior
branch in the male line became, extinct at this time, for the heiress, Maud, married Henry Plantagenet,
nephew of Edward I. ; but these Chaworths (though a branch of the same house) were not our Chaworths,
who mated with the heiress of Alfreton, and were such munificent patrons of Beauchief Abbey. The
extinction of this line, and Stony Middleton passing simultaneously to the Bemakes, reasons, we submit,
that the Chaworths who held Stony Middleton were a distinct branch of that old, famous, baronial,
munificent Scarsdale family, with whose careers some of us may be familiar.

The position of North Lees Hall is about a mile and a quarter north of Hathersage, and lends a
mockery to its desolation, for it commands one of the most lovely views it is possible to conceive. Ten
generations of Eyres went forth from its portals to ally themselves with noble families, to establish fresh
branches of their house, to perform important duties of the nation, and to leave their names on the rolls
of the country ; but now the old edifice is deserted, left to the ravages of time, without one loving hand
stretched forth to prevent its ruin. Yet there is a nobility in its gloom, an honour in its very degradation.
It saw the income of the Tudors, the Stuarts, and the Guelphs ; it has seen the changes of four centuries,
and from its solidity of masonry it is, apparently, capable of weathering four more. Within this venerable
pile there are traces left, though they are fast disappearing, of that originality of taste and skill which
arose in the fifteenth century, in adding beauty to a homestead by the dexterous manipulation of the
carpenter and plasterer. There are two ceilings that have been splendid specimens of the plasterer's art.
The moulding is a succession of squares, divided alternately by lesser squares, angled hy fleurs-de-lis, and
again alternately centred by four of the same beautiful device. The tracery seems to us to embody a fact,
which hitherto has never been noticed — that of proclaiming the name of the lady who was its first
mistress. The design is clearly an elaboration of the heraldic charges of the Ashursts, of Keaton,
Nottinghamshire ; f for Edmund Eyre, son of Robert and Joan, of Padley, the first resident at North
Lees, married Agnes, heiress of the Ashursts, hence the tracery had a hidden grace, and the sentence
over the lower hall window is the motto of the Ashursts, " Viruii qui patitur^^ thus confirming our
supposition. But now ever3rwhere is gloom and desolation ; we failed to find within the slightest vestige

* Froissart, Vol. I. \ K cross between 4 fleurvde-lts.

174 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

'of its former splendour, excepting its broken cornices, and soffits, and ceilings. There is a spiral
staircase, however, of massive oak, which gives the idea that the carpenter was thinking of a millenium,
and wished to make no alteration during the term. When James H. fled in 1688, the Eyres, as adherents
of that monarch, forsook North Lees, perchance hastily, for, as Catholics, they could expect little mercy
from an infuriated populace that made Protestantism a badge to plunder.

The old building, shorn of every ornament that cupidity could convert to some modem use, is
piteous in its desolation.

S3

STONY MIDDLETON HALL.

^tontr iWiirM^ton gall.

OBERT ASHTON, of Stony Middleton, was Sheriff of the County in 1664-5. Whether this
gentleman abstained from providing himself with the usual gilded equipage which this office
enforces we know not; but we do know that he met the Judge of Assize at Derby on foot, and
when this dignitary of the law asked him where his coach was, he replied, ''There is no such thing
as having a coach where I live, for the town stands on one end." Sheriffdom, as Stubbs says, is one of
the most important features of constitutional history. The office is a remnant of Anglo-Saxon jurisdiction.
However anomalous the fact may appear, the truth is that England, as a country, is subsequent to
England as an aggregation of townships, hundreds, and shires. It was not the division of the country
into sections, but the agglomeration of these sectionsulnto a unity which made the nation. The township,
manor, and parish, were anterior to the hundred ; the hundred anterior to the shire, the shire anterior to
the kingdom. The Folkmoot was older than the Hundredmoot, which existed before the Shiremoot,
which was prior to the Witanagemot. The gerifa or sheriff was chief man of his hundred a thousand
years ago, and at this moment the sheriff of a county is the first man of that county, taking precedence to
any nobleman. All fiscal and local imports were paid to the sheriff, with a result only natural in such an
age ; and before the institution of those courts which branched off from the Curia Regis of the Norman,
he had a criminal, a military, and a civil jurisdiction. His office existed before Kingship, before titles
and coronets ; while the constitution was in its swaddling clothes. At the Conquest he became a Royal
official for the administration of justice within his county ; he made his toum or circuit of the shire twice
in the year, and at his court were taxes assessed (he being the financial representative of the Crown) ; the
coroners and verderers elected, and, in later times, the knights of the shire. In some counties the office
of the sheriff was hereditary, but it became electoral by the 9 Edward II. ; and then arose, what we all
know as " the pricking of the sheriffs," on the morrow of All Saints, when the Judges with the Lord
Chancellor and the Chancellor of the Exchequer meet in the Exchequer Chamber. A memorable page
in history is the " Inquests of the Sheriffs" in 1170, when Henry II. dismissed them all, removed them,
and ordered an investigation into what he considered their malpractices. They appear to have come off
with flying colours, and only three years later, when this monarch was attacked on every side by his
enemies — by the French, abroad, and by his most powerful nobles, the Earls of Derby, Chester, and
Leicester at home — it was the sheriffs (around whom the people collected) who so materially assisted him
to crush the rebellion. The sheriffs were shorn of their military functions by Henry VIII., by the creation
of a Lord- Lieutenancy. Previous to 1376 the knights of the shire were certified by the sheriff alone, and
not "selected by common choice," and one of the last acts of Edward III. was to give effect to the prayer
of the Lower House, that the freeholders should return the men of their own selection : "Le roi volt y'ils
soient esluz par commune assent de tout le cout6e." The knights had to take part in the County Court,
which was virtually the Folkmoot, over which the Justices Itinerant presided, and to which came " the
archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, knights, and freeholders, and from each township four men
and the reeve^^ (sheriff), "and from each borough twelve burghers." *

The abstracts, which we have already given of the county representatives, f afford us a glimpse at
their political careers to a certain extent. We know at what famous debates they were present ; what

* Constitutioniil Histot7. Stabbs, Vol. L f See Appendix.

178 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

famous statutes they helped to make law; with what notorious Parliament their names must ever be
associated. The abstract gives immediate answer to questions, not only interesting, but which would cost
a certain amount of research. Who represented the county in the Parliament of 1340, when the Act was
passed ''that no charge or aid shall henceforth be made but by the common assent of the prelates, earls,
barons, and other great men and the Commons of the realm of England and that in Parliament?'' John
Cokayne and Godfrey Foljambe. Who assisted to pass the Statute of Pro visors in 1351 ? John Coka3me
and John Foucher. Who were among the Commons that first impeached a Minister of the Crown for
malpractices in 1376? Edward Appleby and Ralph Stathum. Who were returned for the shire in the
following year, when the House first selected a Speaker ; first imperatively laid it down, that no money
could be raised but by their consent ; and by equitable proceedings earned the name of "Good".'* John
Pole, of Hartington, and Edward Foucher. What Derbyshire men were in the Parliament of 1341, which
witnessed the struggle between Archbishop Strafford and Edward IH. ; and which demanded an equality
with the Peers ; a confirmation of the Charters ? John Cokayne and John Curzon. Were not Edward
Leche and John Frecheville members of the Parliament of 1628 which secured the Petition of Rights.^
Were not Philip Gell, of Hopton, and Gilbert Clarke, of Somersal, there in 1639, when the dispensing
power of the Crown was abolished for ever by the Bill of Rights ? We will take a curious feature. Who
represented the shire in the "merciless'* Parliament (1381)? Oliver Barton and William Sallow; or in
the Parliament of "Bats" (1426) ? Richard Vernon, of Haddon (who was Speaker, but who came like
the rest with his butcher's stave), and John Pole, of Hartington ; or in the " diabolical " Parliament of
'459 ^ John Gresley and Walter Blount ; or in the " Parliamentum indoctum," from the lawyers being
excluded (1404) ? John Cokayne and Roger Bradshawe.

Edward Fynney (we believe of Stony Middleton) was High Sheriff in 1690. His remote ancestor
was John, the kinsman of the Norman Conqueror, who made him hereditary Constable of Dover Castle
and Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Stony Middleton came into the possession of the illustrious family which now holds it from the
marriage of Joseph Denman, M.D., of Bakewell and Buxton, with Elizabeth Fynney, of Ashford, in the
year 1761. The mother of this lady was Margaret Peploe, who, we believe, brought it to the Fynneys.
This last fact has been courteously sent us by that very learned writer and antiquarian, Mr. John Sleigh,
J.P. We believe also that the Peploes bought it from the Ashtons. What a ma.ss of memorabilia are
contained in these four names — Denman, Fynney, Peploe, Ashton.

Dr. Denman, dying without issue, left the homestead to his nephew, Thomas (then a rising barrister
with a large family), the celebrated Lord Chief Justice. The Parliamentary career of this famous lawyer
will furnish a distinct chapter for some future Hallam or Stubbs. How tenaciously he adhered to the
political views he attempted to propound would make a good study for several of the statesmen of these
days. His life is too well known to need any remark, though one or two little facts may be new. When
a boy at Eton (we believe it was Eton) his schoolfellows insisted on his making a speech, which he
refused to do, and so they branded him with a poker. From his being Solicitor-General for Queen
Charlotte, and from certain classical allu^ons in his great speech in her defence, he embittered
George IV. against him (as that monarch took the reference to Nero to himself, which was never
intended), who would not allow him to don the silk gown of Q.C. Thus Denman was debarred from
accepting many lucrative and ifnportant positions. At length Wellington asked the King to grant it, and
how he succeeded is best told in his own words : " By G — d, it was the toughest job I ever had." The
peroration of Denman's great speech on the Queen's trial has ever amazed us. Why he mixed up the
story of the woman taken in adultery with a lady he was defending, who was not guilty of the crime, we
never could conceive.* From this peroration arose the epigram : —

Most gracious Qneeo, we thee implore
To go away and sin no more;
Or, if that effort be too great.
To go away, at any rate.

* Since this was written Lord Denman has kindly informed us that his fiather always regretted this peroration.

STONY MIDDLETON HALL. 179

The grandfather of Lord Denman was a surgeon at Bake well, where he was residing with his'
wife, Elizabeth Buxton, early in last century. The father of the surgeon, who was of Bevercoats, in
Nottinghamshire, where his family it is supposed were located in the reign of Edward III., is the first of
the house of which there is any trace. The father of the Chief Justice was educated at the Bakewell
Grammar School, but at the age of twenty he went to London^ and became Apothecary to St. George's
Hospital. From here he entered the navy, and attained to the rank of surgeon. After he left the service
he applied himself to that branch of his profession in which he acquired such distinction. He graduated
M.D. at Aberdeen, and began practice for himself at Winchester. This was the critical period of his life,
for ill-fortune attended him which prompted him to again seek employment in the navy. But he simply
got an appointment to a Royal yacht. About this time (1765) he commenced his celebrated lectures on
" Midwifery," from which resulted his being selected Physician Accoucheur to the Middlesex Hospital.
Then followed a splendid practice, and so he bought his country house at Feltham. There is a portrait
of him extant, which shews a remarkable forehead projecting over his eyes. We believe that certain
treatment of patients which he first suggested is still adhered to, among which was vapour baths. His
"Aphorisms" on the use of the forceps was his great work, though he was the author of various others of
very great merit. His wife was Elizabeth Brodie, and he lies buried in St. James', Piccadilly. We have
heard it said that the birthplace of his celebrated son, the Chief Justice, was Bakewell. We would
distinctly say that it was Queen Street, Golden Square, London. There are many incidents of the life of
Lord Denman which deserve to-be i)etter known than they are, but we will simply select two. When
Denman became Chief Justice the emolument of ofiice was ten thousand pounds, though a committee of
the Commons had suggested the reduction to eight. Denman never accepted more than eight, though
the statute for the reduction was not passed until twenty years after his elevation to the Bench. There
was the celebrated case of Stockdale v. Hansard which came before him. The action was for libel.
Hansard pleaded that the report was by the authority of the House of Commons. Denman gave
judgment for Stockdale. Parliament sent Stockdale to Newgate, and arrested the Sheriffs of London who
had distrained upon Hansard. Finally the victory remained with the Judge, for the case produced the
Printed Paper Act, 3 and 4 Vict., c. 4. Here it is clear that Denman's conception of justice rose above
privilege, above authority, above law, though undoubtedly it needed a masterly grasp of right, and a
fearlessness too, to give such a judgment. Lord Campbell has since said that Denman wished to pose as
a champion of liberty, but we think the remark not only untrue but derogatory to the Chancellor.

The estate of Stony Middleton which the heiress of the Fynneys brought to Joseph Denman, M.D.,
appears to have long been distinct from the manor, for we believe that it remained with the Bemakes
after they had sold the manor to the Fumivals. Tradition says that the fifteenth century tower of Stony
Middleton Church (which adjoins the Hall) was built by Robert Eyre, not only in gratitude to God for
his preservation in the fight at Agincourt, but to mark the spot where his loving Joan, as a girl, had so
often met him in spite of bolts and mandates. This is some comfirmatioh, but the fact that the Ashtons
held it is much greater; for they no doubt acquired it with Padley, which remained with the Bemakes
and passed to the Eyres.

The Peploes were an old Lancashire family like the Ashtons. One of the lads was Bishop of Chester
in 1726. He had been Vicar of Keddleston, County Derby, though his monument in the Cathedral
asserts his ancestors to be of Shropshire. His son married Annie Birch, the daughter of the Roundhead
Colonel. The Peploes are now of Gamston, County Hereford.

One of the most celebrated of classical critics is associated with Stony Middleton. True, Bradway,
in the Parish of Norton, claims his birthplace, but his father and his family had long been of this ilk.
Ashton was one of those profound scholars who prefer their researches to be attributed to others rather
than parade their erudition. His literary contributions were in many cases anonymous. He matriculated
at Queen's College, Cambridge, where he obtained a Fellowship.

After he became Rector of Rattenden, in Essex, and Chaplain of Chelsea Hospital, he was advanced
to a Prebendary Stall in Ely Cathedral, and made Vice-Chancellor of the Cambridge University.

(

i8o OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Whiston has left it on record that he asked the great Bentley, ** Why they did not banish Ashton as they
had done him for Arianism, since he had published the grossest book extant in all antiquity, as this
treatise of Origen is known to be. He replied that the notes are orthodox. To which I answered, Will
orthodox notes make an Arian book other than Arian."

The ashes of Ashton lie in the chapel of that College (Jesus), where so many years of his life were
given to researches which have placed him in the front rank of the most celebrated critics of classical
literature.

PADLEY HALL.

^aMetr StxU*

.N this age of religious toleration, how many of us know anything of the Statute of Recusancy,
passed in the reign of Elizabeth ; or how, by its effects, some of the old Derbyshire families
forfeited their estates and fled to the Continent ; or suffered imprisonment and were left to rot in
gaol ? A recusant was not allowed to maintain any suits at law or in equity, neither could he
become a professional man, either as lawyer or doctor, nor was he permitted to travel five miles from
home without a license. He could not present to an advowson or become an executor or guardian ;
he was liable to the penalties attending excommunication, and was mulcted twenty pounds a month for
non-attendance at church. If he was convicted of recusancy and did not conform, he was banished the
country, and if he returned he committed felony with the punishment of death. In the case of a married
lady being a recusant, she could be kept in prison unless her husband dubbed up ten pounds a month for
her company. What family suffered more for their recusancy than the Fitzherberts, and, in particular.
Sir Thomas (who was lord of Padley, as also of Norbury), together with his brothers ? Among those old
families of the county which we have still with us, and whose names are either in the Peerage or Landed
Gentry^ the Fitzherberts have an unbroken pedigree of male descent from the founder with an entry on
the roll of Battle Abbey. This family has two branches, the one now lords of Norbury and Swinnerton,
and the other lords of Tissington. They were Derbyshire landlords before Henry I. had eaten of that
memorable dish of lampreys which gave him a few feet of earth in Reading Abbey. Dr. Cox, in his
Churches^ says there are not two branches, but two houses with a " totally distinct ancestry." The learned
Doctor, except he is dealing with ecclesiology, invariably allows his assumptions to trip him. What says
Vol. I. of the Genealogist ? What says Vol. IV. of the Topographer ? What says Burke, and every known
Heraldic scholar (except Dr. Cox) ? That Sir Henry Fitzherbert, lord of Norbury, Sheriff of the Count}',
48 Henry III., Knight Banneret, 3 Edward I. ; M.P. for Derbyshire 1294 — 1307, had a brother, Thomas,
from whom Nicholas (fifth in descent), who married Cicely Francis, the heiress, with a moiety of
Tissington in her dowry. Long before Dr. Cox was bom, a writer in the Gentleman* s Magazine ( 1 804,
p. 1 194) had clearly shewn that the Fitzherberts of Norbury and Tissington were the same house. Long
before the Doctor wrote his Churches, a writer in the Topographer had grappled with, and exploded the
assumption that the Fitzherberts, of Tissington, were an offshoot of the Fitzherberts, Earls of Pembroke.
Before we shew that it was while Sir Thomas Fitzherbert was residing at Padley that the Hall
acquired its celebrity, we will state a few facts which relate to the previous tenancy of the edifice. This
desecrated building — for it is now used as a cowhouse and hay store — which is situated about two miles
north of Grindleford Bridge, on the eastern bank of the Derwent, was a wing of the original structure,
and was the residence of the Bemakes, who took the name of Padley; subsequently it was with the Eyres,
Fitzherberts, and Ashtons. The Gothic ecclesiastical fittings within shew it to have been used for
religious purposes, hence it is usually called Padley Chapel. There are few spots in Derbyshire where
the beauty of the scenery surpasses this portion of the Derwent valley, while the associations of the old
edifice lend to such beauty a romance. Among the associations there is an episode of brutality,
performed in the name of religion, whereof proof can be found in our annals or Challoner's Martyrology ;
while there is a pretty tradition (made fact by the altar tomb of Hathersage Church) of a loving heart
remaining true and firm to the vows she had plighted ; and this in an age when a woman had no right to

1 84 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

her own soul. Most of us forget that a daughter, under the feudal laws, was a kind of chattel in a
household, to be given to whom her parents chose ; and if she became a ward, her guardian made her a
description of merchandise, or enhanced the splendour of his own house by mating her f nolens voUnsJ to
one of his sons. Joan Padley has had no famous writer to make the world familiar with her loving heart
like Dorothy Vernon, though both played a similar [mrt, and both were loveable women ; neither has the
Hall of her sires furnished subject for the brush of famous artists, like Haddon, but while men care to
cherish the memory of faithful women, she will never be forgotten. The beauty, amiability, and
gentleness (characteristics of Derbyshire women) of Joan Padley had won her many hearts, but she
refused to listen to expressions of affection, even when those expressions had the sanction of her father.
The truth was, she had plighted her troth with Robert Eyre, third son of Nicholas, lord of Highlow.
Now Sir Nicholas was under the ban of the Church for some dark deed (tradition says it was murder),
and Joan's father had forbidden the union of the young people. They managed to meet secretly and
repeat their vows of constancy, for the tower of Stony Middleton Church is said to mark their trysting
place. That church was certainly built by Robert Eyre after he had gained his knighthood. Just then
Henry V. was fitting out his memorable expedition against France, and requiring volunteers from the
Peak of Derbyshire. Among these volunteers was Robert Eyre. That he gained his knighthood is
historical fact, but the wherefore is tradition. In the attack on Harfleur his gallantry attracted the notice
of Talbot, the first Earl of Shrewsbury; and in the desperate encounter at Agincourt he led a charge in
the thickest of the fight, taking prisoner one of the marshals of France, for which the King knighted him
on the field. The subsequent union of Robert and Joan and their numerous children (who became
founders of numerous houses) is told by the altar tomb in the chancel of Hathersage Church.

In the Plumpton Correspondence^ published by the Camden Society, there is a letter written at Padley
almost four hundred years ago, showing how a father covenanted for the marriage of his son, and also
that there was a park at Padley. The terms of the covenant were that Arthur Eyre (the last of the Padley
Eyres) should be matched with Margaret Plumpton, in consideration of two hundred and fifty marks,
though, for the keep of the young lady, " fifty shillings were to be henceforth allowed out of each
instalment " of the payment. The letter is of interest, from its being written at Padley, from its antiquity,
and from its showing the custom of those days of assuming ties of relationship which never existed.

"To My Right Wonhipftil Brother, Sir Robert Plnmpton, Knight, These be dellTered.

" Right wonhipful brother, I raconuDend me unto yon end to my ledy yonr wife, end to my denghter and to yonn, with eU my other
cousins your cliildren, desiring to hear of yoor welfisre and theirs both, which I bsseech ynu presenre unto yonr most hearu oomfiort, e te rmui e
thanking yon and yonr good lady yonr wife of the great and worshipfol cheer I and my kinsmen had with you. Brother, you be remembered bow
the writings of the covenant of marriage of my son and your daughter, as it be not made up by the advise of learned counsel ; wherefore, if it
please you to i4»point sny day and place about the beginning of Lent to wait upon you and a learned man with me; and all such promise ss I have
made on my part shall be well and truly performed with the grace of yetu, for you shall find me ever one man. Also brother I pray you that jon
will send me by my servant, William Bowott, the bringer, the payment which I should have of you at Candlemas last pest, for I hsve put myadf
unto more charge since I was with you than I had before. For I have married another of my daughters, and I have begun to make a wall about
my park that I shewed you, I was minded to do, whieh I trust vHien yon see it you will like it well. Praying you not to foil as my trust is in you
and to give credence to this bringer. No more than Jent preserve. Written at Padly on St. Valentine's Day " (1489-1900) ** with the hand of yow
htaOus, •* ROBERT BYR.-

The issue of the marriage of Arthur Eyre and Margaret Plumpton was a daughter and heiress, Anne,
who mated with Sir Thomas Fitzherbert. This gentleman was knighted by Edward VI ., and was allowed
by his enemies to be of irreproachable character, of a kind heart and munificent disposition ; of great
scholastic attainments. His persecution by the Councils of Elizabeth is piteous ; half his life spent in
loat hsome gaols was his punishment for adhering to his religious belief.

Padley Hall acquired its celebrity during the residence of Sir Thomas ; pathetic in its detail and
interesting in its outline. We mean the residence was his without the chance of residing there, for during
the last thirty years of his life, which terminated in 1591, " with only three short intervals of freedom,"
says Dr. Cox, "he was dragged about from goal to goal, now in the Fleet, now in the county goal at Derby,
now at Lambeth, and now in the Tower, in which State prison he finally died," aged seventy-four.
During his imprisonment he was depnved of the greater portion of his estates; was accused of complicity

PADLEY HALL. 185

with the Northern Rebellion, though the temporal power of Elizabeth had scarcely so loyal a subject ;
was fleeced of his cattle; and finally, the Manor of Padley was confiscated. In February, 1587, there
were three men hiding within the walls of Padley, for whose arrest the Council of Elizabeth was
particularly anxious. Two were Catholic priests named Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam, and the
other was John Fitzherbert, the brother of Sir Thomas, who had taken over the care of the estates. The
priests had been appointed by colleges abroad as missionaries for the teaching of the doctrines of Rome
in England, on account of their indomitable spirit in enduring persecution for what they thought was the
cause of Christ. Garlick was a Derbyshire man, bred and bom, which would cause an interest to arise
about his previous life, even if that life were not tinged with romance. His childhood had been passed in
the little village of Dinting, in the Glossop valley, and his family appears to have belonged to the
yeoman class. The precocity of the boy soon exhausted such knowledge as was to be obtained at the
neighbouring school of Mellor. His more than ordinary love of culture had gained him the friendship of
the pastor, who fostered the lad's love of study by lending him what books his meagre library possessed.
His attainments soon qualified him to take up an appointment at Tideswell, and this at a time when
Pursglove was at his elbow to test his efficiency. But to him this appointment was more than life, and
why ? Years before, when a boy, as he lay on the banks of the Etherow one lovely Summer's afternoon,
there passed by the retinue of Richard Stafford, of Eyam, lord of Tideswell. The lad saw not their
prancing steeds nor gorgeous livery, it was the exquisite sweet face of a child who rode her horse so
stately. That face he had set up in his heart as a deity to bow down to and worship, and now, as
schoolmaster at Tideswell, he would have the one desire paramount of all others, to be near to her, where
he could see her, to admire, to adore. But the haughty descendant of Nigel de Stafford could never
mate with the son of a yeoman. The purity of his love ignored self, in its very possession, and when he
had become settled at Tideswell, and year followed year, all the bitterness of his hopeless affection came
upon him, and one evening as he wandered through Monk's Dale he entered the old oratory (of which
there are a few stones remaining), and before one of its deserted altars he vowed to put aside the passions
of his heart and devote himself to the service of God. Garlick was surrounded by those who strove to
strengthen his resolve. In 1582 he entered the English College at Rheims, where he was ordained
priest. In the following year he returned to England, when he was arrested and banished. Yet on
Candlemas Day of 1587 we find him an inmate of Padley Hall. The search made on that day, though
led by Columbell, lord of Darley, failed, and yet all three men were secreted about the building. The
ingeniously constructed chimneys are asserted to have been their hiding place. The following Spring the
Earl of Shrewsbury, accompanied by Columbell and Manners of Haddon, again searched Padley Hall,
and this time John Fitzherbert and the priests were arrested. In the Lent Assizes of 1588 the latter were
tried at Derby and condemned, and soon after executed. The horrible torture of cutting down before
life was extinct, and quartering their bodies, was carried out.* Challoner tells us he saw these men meet
their doom, and that, when Sympson (another priest condemned to death also) trembled to ascend the
scaffold, Garlick pushed him aside, kissed the ladder, and ** with remarkable joy and alacrity finished his
course." t John Fitzherbert was sent to London, where he eventually died, in that prison where the
Carthusian monks had met a similar fate half a century before. Among those Talbot MSS. published
by Lodge, there is a letter written by John Manners of Haddon to the Earl of Shrewsbury, respecting the
search at Padley Hall for John Fitzherbert, which is of considerable interest : —

*' Yesterday being Candlemas Day (3rd February, 1587), Mr. Columbell went himself early in the morning with sixteen or twenty of our men
to Padley, where he found Thomas Fitxherbert's wife, Anthony Fitzherbert, two of his sisters, and about twenty persons besides, seeming to be
of their household ; and made diligent search for Mr. John Fitsherbert, yet could not find him, but was informed by them that he was in

* In the case of Garlick, he recovered full consciousness and was thus quartered alive.—" Annals of Derbyshire," Vol. I., p. s6a.
f Dr. Cos quotes a local ballad of the time in his " Annals " :—

When Garlick did the ladder kiss,

And Sympson after hie,
Methought that there St. Andrew was

Desirous for to die.

When Ludlam looked smilingly

And joyful did remain,
It seemed St. Stephen was standing by

For to be stoned again

1 86 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Stafiordflhire. Thence be weot to the North Lees, and took Mr. Fenton aod aearched h:a house, but found no nspicaoas persons. He used
himself very obediently, and came with him willingly to Haddon, where he shewed a protection, and desireth that it may stand with yoar
lordship's pleasare, to have the benefit thereof, for the liberty to be in his own house, according to the same ; by which it appeared that he hath
entered into bond of two hundred pounds to be forthcoming at any time within twenty days' warning. And if this cannot be granted him, then
his humble request is that he may have respite to go to his own house for a week, to take order for his things, and chiefly to comfort his
daughter, who was brought to bed the same morning, and seemed amazed with his sudden apprehension. Also, the same morning, we imt
Robert Eyre, of Bubnell, with the constable, and seven or eight persons, to Harwood Grange, where they found Brown and brought him hither ;
but Corke and the Lady Talbot be removed hence. The said Brown offered to come to the Church, but is very loath to go to the gaoU because,
as he saith, there is an execution forth against him for debt ; who yet for recusancy was never indebted. Padley may be doubted much to be a
house of evil resort, and therefore, my lord, there will be no good redress there (in our simple opinions in those matters, unless that some may
be resident there that will be comfortable ; and some preacher placed among us here in the Peake to teach the people better."

We are told by Dr. Cox, in an article on Norbury (Vol. VIL, Derbyshire Archoeological Journal J ^ that
John Fitzherbert '' was condemned to death for harbouring priests, an*d the estates of Padley were
confiscated for a like reason ; but it was intimated that his life might be saved if the then enormous sum
of ten thousand pounds could be raised. His son-in-law, Thomas Eyre, of Holme Hall, by Chesterfield,
sold his Manor of Whittington, and with the help of others, gathered together the whole sum. It is said
that it was also stipulated that John Fitzherbert should be set at liberty, but as this was a secret
transaction the recipients of the money could not be brought to task, and he died in prison." To whom
the Manor of Padley belonged at the Survey (1086) there is no trace, but we assume it was simply a
berewick of Hathersage. After the Fitzherberts were deprived of it the Earl of Shrewsbury evidently held
it for a short time, though it soon passed to the Ashtons, of Castleton, from whom by heiress to the
Spencers, from whom by heiress to the Shuttleworths.

There is reason to believe that the Manor of Padley would never have been escheated, nor the two
priests taken, nor John Fitzherbert have died in prison, but for the fiendish scoundrelism of one of the
spies of Talbot — nay, a spy entrusted by Queen Elizabeth herself. The character of Richard Topcliffe is
hideous. He ingratiated himself with the Fitzherberts, and partook of their hospitality while he betrayed
them. He affected sympathy with the Romish priesthood, and secured their capture by his villany. He
seduced the daughters of his prisoners under pretence of securing their father's liberation, and then
forced them by threat of exposure to bear witness against their parent. We shall speak of Richard
Topcliffe elsewhere.

Another letter which Lodge found among the Talbot papers is of great interest to the Peakrell, as it
was written by poor Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, after his expulsion from Padley, to the Earl of Shrewsbury.

*' Very good Lord, ^

'* With all humble duty, I crave leave in lonly wise to open my griefs unto you. I suppose your Honour hath known me about fifty years
and my wife that was daughter and heir unto Sir Arthur Eyre. I trust I have been dutifol unto my Lords, your grandfisther, father, and your
Honour, and I have found your Honoun all my good Lords till now of late your Lordship entering into the house of Padley found two seminaries
there, all unknown unto my brother, as was confessed at their death and is well approved since by good testimony ; since which time your
Lordship also, hath entered my house of Padley and the demesnes thereof, seised all the goods of my brothers and mine, that was in that house,
amongst which I held certain evidences of wood and meadow under Levin House, called Faultcliffe, which as I am informed your Honour hath
entered upon and occupieth wholly to your use,. though I have been possessed and my wife's ancestors thereof time out of mind. Very good
Lord, these things are greater than my present poor estates can suffer or in anywise bear, I paying Her Majesty the Statute of Recusancy, being
two hundred and sixty pounds by year, which Is more than all my rents yearly rise unto. Loath am I to complain of your Honour in any way,
wherefore I complain myself first unto your Lordship, hoping you will deal so nobly and chariubly with me, as I shall be restored to my boose,
lands and goods by your Honour, so as I shall be folly satisfied, and be able to pay Her Majesty, and forever bound to pray for your Lordship's
life in all honour long to continue.

" From London "(say one of the goals) "this 38 May, 1389.

••YOUR LORDSHIP'S DAILY ORATOR."

As Lodge says, the poor fellow dared not sign his own name lest it be produced in evidence against
him. The letter was endorsed by Henry Talbot — " John Watson affirmed that he brought this letter
from Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, which was received the 3rd June."

DERWENT HALL.

ferment 9aU.

[HE estate of Derwent Chapel, or rather a portion of it, was given by King John, when Duke of
Montaigne, to the Abbey of Welbeck ; the Abbey held the remaining portion from bequests of
the Longfords. Welbeck was with the Praemonstratensian Order of Monks, and at Derwent
they had an extensive Grange. This was while the Order was yet known for their rigid
abstinence, deep piety, and graceful dress. They were the vegetarians of the Catholic hierarchy till Pope
Pius II., in 1460, allowed them to have a knowledge of a beef steak or a mutton chop. They had not as
yet acquired their skill of brewing the best stoup of ale in the county, nor their ability in consuming it,
nor their partiality for a stiff shuffle at cards, nor their habit of going to matins hard to the wind in odd
sandals and their garments inside out. Derwent Chapel was deemed so valuable by the Abbey that its
possession was secured by two Royal Charters, besides one from the De Ferrars, to prevent that family
exercising a propensity to seize other people's property.

Why the De Ferrars, Peverells, Foljambes, Longfords, and other old Peak families, who thought well
to endow the Church with their lands, chose the Cistercian or Augustinian, Praemonstratensian or Cluniac
Abbeys for their munificence; ignoring the Benedictine and Carthusian Monasteries, is very strange.
The Monks of Basingwerke, who were given Glossop in the twelfth century, were Cistercian ; so were
those of Rufford, who held Brushfield from Robert, son of Waltheof, before (and not disturbed at) the
Conquest. Lenton Priory was Cluniac. Even when Royalty gave their Peak Manors to the Church, they
passed them to the Augustinians,. as to wit : Grindlow was a gift from King John to Lilleshall.* Not an
acre was with the Benedictines. The Avenells, of Haddon, gave Conksbury to Leicester Abbey; its
inmates were Austin Canons. There was a small slice of land, by Ashopton, with the Priory of Dunstable ;
they were Dominican Friars. The fact only becomes still more curious by being followed up. Only by
a cell at Derby were the Benedictines represented in the county. Darley Abbey was Austin Canons,
while Dale was Praemonstratensian monks. Both Priories of Repton and Gresley belonged to the former,
while that of Breadsall was Austin Friars. When Wulfric Spott founded the Benedictine Abbey of
Burton, in 1002, he endowed it with nineteen manors in the County of Derby, but in the reign of the
Conqueror there were only six remaining.

Connoisseurs of rural beauty assert the prettiest of Derbyshire villages to be Derwent Chapel, and
we are not inclined to dispute their opinion. It stands at the head of the dale clustered by the hills, and
a more pastoral or primitive beauty is not to be met with. We should not have been startled if one of its
old tenants in his cassock and rochet, cloak and scapulary, had risen up before us. With this spot what
associations are linked. The mill speaks to us of a famous monastic order, whose love of literature makes
us remember it kindly ; and the old Hall, of associations which far more historical edifices cannot claim.
It was one of the Peak residences of the Balguys ; afterwards of the Newdigates of Kirk Hallam, and is
now held by His Grace Henry Fitz-Allan Howard, hereditary marshall and premier Duke of England.
These are representative families of the English gentleman, knight, and nobleman. Marvellous length
of genealogy, frequent espousal of heiress, and sons celebrated as lawyers or ecclesiastics, are characteristic
of each of them. The Balguys have a pedigree that begins while Edward I. was settling the dispute

• Dr. Cox " Churches," Vol. II., p. a68— in a note iayt it wm a confirmation of a gift, not a gift at Lysons haa it, and that the gift came
from Matthew de Stokes a few years previously.

190 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

between Baliol and Bruce ; the Howards commence with Hereward the Saxon Thane, who was outlawed
by the Conqueror; but the Newdigates go back to the Heptarchy, and yet in the year 1880 Mr. Francis
William Newdigate, J.P., D.L., was High Sheriff for the County of Derby. The famous marriages of
this family (all prior to the last two-and-twenty generations) gave to the heraldic knowledge of Dugdale
matter to emblazon and illuminate.

Six hundred years ago the heiress of the Astons brought in her dowry to Thomas de Balgi, lands in
the counties of Derby, Chester, and Lancaster; but it was the wealth of Grace Barber, some four centuries
later, that enabled Henry Balguy, in 1672, to build Derwent Hall. This gentleman was an attorney, with
a particular trait for the accumulation of money, which he fostered by establishing a private bank. He
had an eye to the picturesque when he purchased the site of the Hall from the Wilsons. In the church,
a modem edifice, erected on the site of one of the chapels of the monks, is a font bearing the attome/s
name, spelt Bauegay, and the date 1670— which font, says Dr. Cox, "up to a recent date served as a
geranium pot in the Hall gardens.'' The family of Balguy had been located at Hope, Aston, and Rowlee
for generations, and held extensive possessions in the Peak, but the old homesteads know them no more,
and the lands have other lords. The present representative is Mr. John Balguy, J. P., of Duffield.

As scholars, divines, and lawyers the Balguys have been conspicuous from the reign of Elizabeth.
When the Oxford Press published its first book in 1585, among its critics selected by the University was
Nicholas Balguy, which fact old Strype thought worth recording in his Annals of the Reformation,
There are but few instances of a prebendary of a Cathedral cr}'ing " Nolo Episcopari^^ when offered a
bishopric, yet such was the answer of Thomas Balguy when George I. wished to translate him to the See
of Gloucester. When Bishop Hoadley preached his memorable sermon before Royalty, in which he
asserted that Christ had not delegated His power to any ecclesiastical authorities, and which resulted in
the famous Bangorian controversy, John Balguy (the father of Thomas) came to the front as one of the
most brilliant and astute of reasoners. The only portions of the controversy (to which Hallam has applied
his bitterest invectives) worth reading are pamphlets of Balgu/s. Defending the Bishop against the
supporters of Apostolic succession, his logic, philosophy, and rhetoric left his opponents far behind. He
was holding the small livings of Lamesby and Tanfield at the time, but the Cathedral of Salisbury soon
heard his eloquence as a prebend, and the Church of Northallerton as its vicar. His sermons are always
cited as the best in our language, and his Essay on Redemption is a remarkable work.

Am6ng the scholars who have enriched our literature by their translations of foreign authors, Charles
Balguy, who was bom at Derwent Hall in 1708, stands in the front rank. His assimilation of the idioms
of the Italian and English languages has never been equalled, excepting by Carey in his rendering of
Dante's Inferno. His early education was obtained at Chesterfield Grammar School, when the Rev.
William Burrow, M.A., was head master; and where Samuel Pegge, the future antiquarian, was his
companion. Hence he proceeded to St. John's College, Cambridge, where so many of his race have
taken their degrees. He chose the medical profession, and as a physician practised at Peterborough, but
his contributions to the Philosophical Society, together with his Boccaccio^ have removed him from our
medical to our literary celebrities.

We find members of this house as Recorders either of Stamford or Derby, as Justices of the Peace,
or as Doctors of Law for successive generations, but they apparently never held a Judgeship. This is
where they fail to keep in touch with the other two great families connected with Derwent Hall. With
William Howard, the celebrated Judge of Common Pleas in the reign of Edward I., began the splendour
of this illustrious and historic race ; with Richard Newdigate, cousin of the immortal Hampden, we have
a Judge sacrificing position for the administration of justice, as he was removed by Cromwell, says Foss,
** for not observing the Protector's pleasure in all his commands.'* Yet we must not forget Thomas Balguy,
who was Member of Parliament for Stamford in 1 594. He was one of the men who trod upon the corns
of Queen Elizabeth, and brought her to her knees on the infamous granting of Monopolies, and who
showed to the Lords that the privilege of originating money bills lay exclusively with the Commons of

DERWENT HALL. 191

England. There is a sensational scene recorded of this Parliament, in which there is some ground for
believing Balguy to have been principal actor. The list of Monopolies was read over to the House.
" Is not bread among the number ? " cried a voice, " Nay, if no remedy is found for these, bread will be
there before next Parliament.''

We would point out a blunder made by a celebrated authority respecting the grandson of this
gentleman, who was sheriff of the county. Burke calls him John, and makes the year of his shrievalty
1663-4.. Glover quotes the Roll of Sheriffs, on which he appears as Henry, and not holding office till
168 1 ; thus the sheriff and the builder of Derwent Hall were identical ; but surely this is a point to
Glover! The sheriff for 1663 was Thomas Gresley, whose successor was George Vernon.

We are told that Henry Balguy kept his hoards of gold in a chamber at Derwent Hall. Just look on
the front of the edifice. Is there not the date 1672, and was not this the year when Charles II. shut up
the exchequer, and declared the nation could not nor should not pay its debts ? Time indeed to hoard
when the King turns dishonest. This gentleman had married the heiress of the Barbers of Rowlee,
which is a neighbouring hamlet to Derwent. They were a branch of the Barbers of Malcalf, and, like
most of the scions of Derbyshire houses, had done better than the parent stock. On the list of
landowners for the year 1570 appears the name of Edward Barber, of Rowlee. This list, which is
remarkably interesting, is to be found in The Reliquary, It was William Barber, of Malcalf, a cousin of
the mistress of Derwent Hall, who espoused the daughter of the famous Nonconformist of Ford Hall.

The pedigree of the Balguys in Peggis Collections shews the lads to have mated with the Brailsfords,
Longfords, Knyftons, Leghs, Foljambes, Bassetts, Barlows, Leches, Lowes. Indeed the sheriff had
two other wives after the decease of Grace Barber. His second spouse was. Elizabeth Allyn, of Tideswell,
and his third Anne Morewood, of the Hallowes, by Dronfield.

The Manor of Hathersage, of which Derwent was an adjunct, was held at the Survey by Fitzhubert.
In the reign of Henry III. it was with Sir Matthew de Hathersage. This fact suggests two very curious
questions. Sir Matthew had married the heiress of the Meynells, whose ancestor was a demesne tenant
of Fitzhubert. Did this lady bring the manor in her dowry } If she did, the fact is nowhere shewn
by the compilers ; or was the knight really a Basset ? Let us explain. If Hathersage were not in the
dowry of his wife, the facts for assuming him to have been a Basset are these : — Richard Basset, who was
Justice of England in the reigns of Henry I. and Stephen, espoused Maud Ridel, an heiress and
granddaughter of Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, in whose dowry were lands in Hathersage, if not the
manor; which Dr. Cox admits, for this lady endowed the Priory of Launde "with seventeen churches, one
of which was Hathersage." Now the eldest son of this union retained the maiden name of his mother ;
had two wives and issue by both, and we submit that the possession of the n^finor by Sir Matthew either
arose from relationship with the Bassets, or came to him in the dowry of his wife. The co-heiresses of
the knight brought the manor, with many others, to their husbands, Longford and Gonshill ; and how it
ultimately passed will be shewn in the conspectus. From 1705, however, it has been with the Dukes of
Devonshire by purchase.

The illustrious family of Howard has held more coronets than any other patrician house. We find
them in the Extinct Peerage as Earls of Northampton, Stafford) Norwich, Bindon, Nottingham; as
Viscounts and Barons. They still hold the Earldoms of Carlisle, Suffolk, Effingham, and Wicklow —
irrespective of the nobleman who holds the senior Dukedom of England, and whose Derbyshire residence
is Derwent Hall. No other family in the realm, perchance, has furnished such dramatic, such marvellous,
such romantic scenes for our annals. The first Duke was slain on Bosworth Field; the third was
the chief witness against his own son, the valiant Earl of Surrey, and against his niece, poor
Catherine, and only escaped the block himself by the death of Henry VIII. The fourth Duke was
beheaded on Tower Hill, but such items are intensely dramatic, read in the pages of Froude. A younger
son of the fourth Duke, created Earl of Suffolk, was father of two daughters, whose careers are romances
of thrilling character. How Lady Frances, as a girl of thirteen, married Robert Devereux, third Earl of

192 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Essex, and the union was never consummated; how she cited her husband before a public tribunal
arranged by James I., sueing for a divorce, and advancing reasons that read like a wild chimera of a
disordered brain, and so vile that they cannot be reiterated ; how she formed an amour with Robert Carr,
Earl of Rochester, whom she ultimately espoused ; how she and Carr were afterwards arraigned for the
murder of Overburie and found guilty, can be gleaned from the Siate Trials. Her sister Elizabeth
became the wife of William Kjioll3rs, Earl of Banbury. This lady, with all the remarkable beauty peculiar
to the female line of her race, was scarcely arrived at womanhood when the union took place, while the
Earl was fast approaching his eightieth year. This lady's hand, however, seems to have been given to
one nobleman and her heart to another. There was a certain Lord Vaux of Harrowden who was
devoutedly wishing for the Earl "to shuffle off this mortal coil.'* On the 25th May, 1632, the Earl died,
and, after the expiration of a calendar month, the Dowager Countess became Lady Vaux. No sooner was
she again a wife than she produced two children whom she declared were the lawfully begotten sons of
the late Earl, though no one remembered to have seen them during his life. Whether it was the
happiness arising from her union with her lover which made her neglect producing proof of their
legitimacy, or whether she thought any such proof of legitimacy unnecessary, we do not know ; anyway,
when time made such a thing -compulsory, such proof was useless, for there was going on the great fight
between liberty and Royalty, or what is known as the Great Rebellion. During the Commonwealth the
younger of these sons (for the elder had been slain in France) sat in the House of Peers, and also in the
Conventional Parliament of Charles H. This was the overture of one of the most singular episodes in
our history. How, when Parliament met in 1661, the King ordered there should be no writ issued in this
case ; how a committee of the Upper Chamber found the claimant was legitimately bom, while the Lords
brought in a bill declaring him a bastard ; how Lord Chief Justice Holt was summoned to the bar of the
Peers for giving an opinion, and the Lords, mustering in exceptional numbers, thought to awe him ; how
the brave and upright old lawyer answered as only an English Judge can and dare answer ; how the
claim was resuscitated generation after generation, until one hundred and seventy-six years had gone bv
since the death of the husband of Lady Elizabeth Howard, before the case was finally dealt with, can
also be learnt from the State Trials^ Journal of the LordSy and other sources. There is an episode in the
house of Howard which is piteous in the extreme ; the execution of Sir William, Viscount Stafford, who
was the last victim of that execrable miscreant, Titus Oates. When he protested his innocence from the
scaffold, even the most implacable enemies of Catholicism answered, " God bless you, my lord 1 We
believe you, my lord."

We do not advise any antiquarian to ask permission to see the interior of Derwent Hall, for there
will be envy in his heart when he comes away ; yea from his very entry. Oak carvings everywhere, that
date from the twelfth century, the workmanship of men whose very nationality has disappeared from the
map of Europe and become forgotten ; carvings that make us wish to sell our birthright for a single
piece. One sideboard rivetted our attention, not from its exquisite design, but from the inscription upon
it: "Rex Carolus L, Anno Do. 1646." Did this belong to the monarch who had lost his kingdom and
was so soon to lose his head ? Was it with him while a prisoner at Holmsby House ? If but given a
voice what might it not tell us? Those who are interested in the ingenious and artistic devices conceived
by our fathers in times when there was a King de facto and a King de jure for the secreting of documents
in furniture, whether table, chair, or bedstead, will be amazed, if ever fortunate enough to see the
marvellous wonders of the oaken treasures in Derwent Hall.

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HIQHLOW HALL.

gtgijlom galL

UT of the Honor of Lancaster arose the Duchy, but long before John of Gaunt had conceived
the idea of packing the English Commons or of legitimising his illegitimate children by Act of
Parliament. The Honor was originally with William de Blois, brother of King Stephen, at
whose death it came to the Earls of Chester, who held it till 1232, when it was given by
Henry IH. to William de Ferrars, seventh Earl of Derby. Some few years later the son of De Ferrars
forfeited the whole of his vast estates, when Edmund Crouchback, brother of Edward I., was given the
honors and castles of Derby and Lancaster, together with other possessions of the De Ferrars and
De Montfords, even to the goods and chattels of the former.* With Edmund Crouchback virtually
begins the Duchy of Lancaster, which would be exactly a century before John of Gaunt came to the
front. Edmund had two 30ns : Thomas, who was dispossessed of his immense possessions, and eventually
executed by Edward H.; and Henry, who married Maud Chaworth, the heiress, whose father held Stony
Middleton. The first bom of Henry and Maud was created Duke of Lancaster in 1 35 1 ; was given back
the estates which Edward IL had seized, and was made one of the first six-and-twenty Ejiights of the
Garter, for his stall plate is next to the founder's in St. George's, Windsor. The Duke espoused Isabella
Beaumont, and had two daughters : Maud, who mated with Ralph Stafford, but died without issue ; and
Blanche, the sole heiress of her father, whom John of Gaunt secured for himself. Thus it is evident that
he owed his Dukedom and Duchy both to his wife.f The Manor of Hope belongs to the Duchy of
Lancaster, but is on lease to the Dukes of Devonshire. At the survey it was Royal demesne. Within
this extensive parish there are nine manors: Abney, Bradwell, Grindlow, Hazlebadge, Little Hucklow,
Highlow, Stoke, Thomhill, and its own. The old and extinct family of Archer (assuming the Archers of
Kilkenny are not descendants of the Peak house) held Abney, Hucklow, and Highlow, after the forfeiture
of the Peverells. Their names are on the Inquisitions of the Forest, their homestead was at Highlow
generations before they were lords of the manor, for, like the Bagshawes, they are supposed to have had
Saxon origin ; their name is assumed to have arisen from their skill with the bow, but further than that
they were foresters, and that the heiress, about the time of Edward III., married Nicholas Eyre, we really
know nothing of them. The Manor of Abney passed to the senior line of the Bagshawes, where they
located themselves for almost three hundred years. In 1593 they sold it to the Bradshawes, from whom it
passed by heiress to the Galliards, in 1735 ; from whom by heiress to the Bowles, 1789. Little Hucklow
was with the Foljambes after the Archers, and but recently was with the Carleils. The Thomhills are
the most remote Lords of Thomhill traceable, though the manor was surely with the Peverells. About
1400 they conveyed it to the Eyres, with whom it remained till 1853 (there were nine years alienation to
the Slacks, 1602- 11), when Dorothy Eyre, Countess of Newburgh, willed it to her husband. Colonel
Leslie.

The Carleils, who were holding Little Hucklow and living at Longstone Hall within living memory,
were, as far back as Edward tlie Confessor, holding the Barony of Carlisle (on which the city now
stands), and here they were located until Edward I. marched north of the Tweed, when they removed to
Kinmouth, in Scotland. For three centuries nothing is known of them, and then they turn up at

*Sea Gregaon's "Portfolio of Fragments."

t All the old baronies in fee could pass by heiress, and can do so still, we believe, though there are so rery few left.

198 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Sewerby, in Yorkshire, having most extensive possessions. Dugdale was beholden to the registers of
Bridlington for even this. At the beginning of last century they were at Ecclesfield Hall, near Sheffield,
when a son married the heiress of the Mortens, of Brosterfield, in Derbyshire. The squire, who was
living at Longstone Hall half a century ago, had an only son and seven daughters. This son was within
a few days of his twentieth birthday when he died, and so a chain, which had at least thirty links, or eight
hundred years of duration, was snapped.

Six hundred years ago (7 Edward I.) John Thomhill, of Thomhill and Wamebrook, in the Parish of
Hope, espoused Marian Heton, but the parent stock of his race had been located at Thomhill, in
Yorkshire, for centuries previously, for we believe their founder was Gerbener, the Saxon. They held a
knighthood in the Middle Ages, and allied themselves with the De Fixbys and Babthorpes. Their senior
line is represented, maternally, by the Saviles, Earls of Scarborough, with whom the heiress married,
45 Edward HI. (1371). For twenty generations were they living in the Peak of Derbyshire, and surely
there is something sad about such a long line of men passing from among us. We meet with information
of this family in the most unaccountable places, the Newgate Calendar to wit. The instance, however,
recorded in such a work redounds to the honour and pluck of the house. Major Richard Thomhill, who
was tried at the Old Bailey for killing Sir Cholmley Dering, in a duel, simply and courageously defended
his own life against the attacks of a savage.* Other particulars of the Thomhills will be found under
Stanton.

The compilers have had nothing to tell us of the Slacks ; indeed, if we mistake not, Lysons ignores
them. But what are the facts ? They were not only living in the Edale portion of the forest, but were
deputy officials for the Meverells and Shirleys early in the reign of Henry VIH. They purchased the
Manor of Thomhill in 1602, from the Eyres, but a member of the Hassop branch got them to resell it
some nine years later. In the seventeenth century three of the lads went to Ireland — one settling at
Leitrim, one in Dublin, one in Monaghan — where they founded fresh branches of their house, which
are still extant.

The Leslies, lords of Thomhill, Calver, Rowland, and Hassop (their patronymic is Duguid, being
Leslies by maternal descent simply), are a branch of the ennobled family who have held the Baronies of
Lindores and Newark, with the Dukedom of Leslie, now extinct, and who still hold the Earldom of
Rothes. It was a Leslie whose cavalry charge at Marston Moor secured Cromwell his victory ; it was
the same officer who defeated Montrose, at Philiphaugh, and eventually took him prisoner ; it was a
Leslie who was the principal actor in the murder of Cardinal Beaton, and fell at Renti attainted. It was
George Leslie, fourth Earl of Rothes, who divorced his first wife, married two others, and after their
death re-married the first one, at whose death he espoused a fifth, f This is the nobleman whose
daughter, Katherine, is said to have been the wife of Richard Dakeyne, of Snitterton.}

The principal old families of the Parish of Hope and Castleton were the Archers, Eyres, Thomhills,
Balguys, Savages, and Woodroffes. We believe that the Savages were of Castleton during the Norman
period, for one of them (Roger), in the days of King John, whose particular sport was killing wild cats,
was charged with poaching, when he asserted his right as successor to William Walkelin. The Castleton
Savages were a senior line of their house to those of Frodsam, who were an offshoot of the Steinbr6
family — ^yet another instance of the parent stock going to the dogs while the junior line rises to a coronet.
The Savages were not holding Frodsam earlier than the reign of Edward III., which Burke admits, and
from the particulars of the founder of this line we get at two interesting facts : one, that his widow
became the maternal ancestor of the Leighs, of The Ridge, which is a wrinkle in Peak genealogy, as
showing the matrice relationship between two families who frequently intermarried ; and the other, that
the Christian name of the founder was John, which the firstborn of each generation for three centuries
retained (from Edward HI. to James I.), when there was a change for luck, and certainly great luck.

* Both had dined at the Ivy, Hampden Cooit, on the 7th of April, 171 1, where Dering had brutally attacked the Major withoot any provocation.

f •« Peerage," under Rothes. : Glover's •' Derbyshire," VoL II.

— -^

HIGHLOW HALL. 199

Thomas Savage esi>oused the daughter of Lord D*Arcy, of Crich, with that nobleman's honours in
reversion, to which the Crown added the Earldom of Rivers. This peerage they held for five lives, when
the fifth i>eer, being a Catholic priest, the title became extinct. The fourth peer was father of that gifted
but intemperate man, Richard, the poet, who sometimes dined in the saloons of the nobles and sometimes
on a dunghill.

The old homestead and Manor ol Highlow passed from the £3rres in 1802. This fact is touching.
Here, their natural ancestors — the Archers — ^were living in Saxon times ; were here when the Peak was
first afforested. Here, too, were the Eyres from the reign of Edward IH. The massive masonry of
the Hall must be seen to be accredited. Here are walls that have weathered four centuries anyway. In
Vol. XL of the Historical Manuscripts Commission^ relating to the documents of the House of Lords, there
are some particulars of the case in which Thomas Eyre, of Hassop, accuses his relative, of Highlow and
Gray's Inn, of doing a bit of land-grabbing. It is the petition of Eyre, Henry Balguy, '' and divers
others, freeholders and inhabitants of the towns of Hope, Bradwell, and WormhUl, in the County of
Derby." The document is dated May 26, 1685, and is as follows: —

"Charles I., In richt of the Duchy of Laacutart was seised of the Manor and Forest of High Peak, in the Coanty of Derby,
and several waste gronnds, parcel whereof wherein are the towns of Bowden Middlecale, and Chappell en le Frith, and divers others, besides
the towns of Hopei, Bradwell, amihWonnhiU, in which last three towns, the freeholders and tenants have time oat of mind had common pasture
and tnrbary and other profits upon the waste thereof. Thomas Byre, of Gray's Inn (and Highlow) the Relator, Respondent, upon a pretended
discovery that a moiety of the waste in the said forest belonged to the Crown, obtained a lease or grant thereof; at fifty pound per annum, during
the Queen Dowager's term, and interest therein (of which nothing has been paid), and one hundred yearly in reversion, and thereon exhibited
two informations against the tenanu of Bowden Middlecale and Chappell en le Frith and other hamlets, and obtained decrees allotting him,
several thousand acres, fan beyond the valuf of the rent reserved, pretending that enough would be left tor those entitled to the rightt of
common. Not content with that, he exhibited a distinct information at the suit of Sir John Heath, late Attorney-General 46r the Duchy, on
behalf of the late King and the Queen Dowager and Sir James Butler, Her Majesty's Attorney-General, and others, againat Petitiooers and others.
Freeholders and Tenants in the towns of Hope, Bradwell, and Wormhill, suggesting that in 1639 or i(S40 the latter petitioned the late King to
disforest the Forest of High Peak, for which he was to have a moiety of the waste there, and that the same was accordingly disforested and
divided between the Crown and the Conmioners by certain agreements made forty or fifty years ago, and praying to have a moiety of the waste
of those three towns, containing over three thousand statute acres, and to have an execution oT the said pretended agreement by decree of the
Duchy Court. '

The case was heard before the Chancellor, three Barons of the Exchequer, and occasioned the judges to
form different opinions. Anyway, Eyre, of Highlow, went to windward. The case is worth perusal as
stated in Vols. XI. and XII. of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. It appears that Eyre, of Highlow,
somehow got possession of lands which belonged to Rowland Eyre, of Hassop, but when later on, there
was redistribution, fresh fences around Bradwell, Hope, and Wormhill, and when there had been
purchases made, then Rowland Eyre, of Hassop, about 1687-8, got a fresh order from the Chancellor of
the Duchy, by which purchase and fence, and crop and title deed went for nought. The names attached
to the petitions are of considerable interest to us, as we get at the men who were of note in the Peak, or
some of them, so • long ago. Thomas Eyre, William Inge, Henry Balguy, Thomas Balguy, Nicholas
Thomhill, Jo. Hurler, Jo. WagstafFe, Robert Hallom, John Booking, Anthony Hall, George Hallam,
Adam Bagshawe, Nicholas Stones, Anthony Longsdon, George Bagshawe, Richard Boner, Humfry
Thomhill, Thomas Fletcher.

The manors of the Peak which were given to the Church in the twelfth century were : Blackwell,
One Ash, Brushfield, Grindlow, Glossop. The last of the Avenells, of Haddon, gave Conksbury to
Leicester Abbey. The estate at Derwent Chapel was given to Welbeck Abbey, and augmented by Oliver
de Longford, whose mother was Cecilia, one of the co-heiresses of Matthew de Hathersage. Dunstable
Priory had lands at Ashopton, probably by gift of the same benefactor. " Blacowell in the Peak," as
Thoroton has it, was one of the manors with which William Peverell endowed the Cluniac Priory he
founded on the banks of the Len, " for the health of his own soul and Adelina his wife." This Order,
after its introduction into England in 1077, by Warren, the son-in-law of the Conqueror, never seems to
have acquired the hold of the munificence of the nobles like the Benedictines, Augustinians, or
Cistercians. Their extravagant austerity became replaced by want of sanctity and intemperance. They
had a partiality for fine linen and a profusion of rich old wines. St. Bernard said that one of the Abbots

200 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

had sixty horses in his stable, and a greater assortment of wines than one could taste at a sitting. Rafford
Abbey, which was given Brushfield, by Robert, son of Waltheof, was Cistercian ; so was Basingwerk, to
which Henry II. gave Glossop, in 1 157 ; so was Roche, which held One Ash for about three hundred and
fifty years, by gift of William Avenell, Lord of Haddon. The Cistercians, though not the most numerous,
were probably the most powerful of the Monastic Orders ; indeed, the whole of the Orders were under
their dominion. Most splendid and lavish were the bequests given them. They were a spiritual republic,
whose voice influenced the temporal matters of Europe. They were exempted from tithes by Innocent II.,
which increased the feud which existed between them and the Cluniacs ; they were the commercial
element of the monastic machinery, from being the great sheep breeders and wool dealers of the Middle
Ages. Though founded in 1098, their importance began with their Abbot, Stephen Harding, an
Englishman, in 1 1 19, whose system of government surpassed, for austerity, any other of the great Orders.
Their Abbeys of Wobum, Tintem, Fumess, Kirkstall, and Riveaux, bespeak their skill of architecture.
At the dissolution of the larger monasteries there were one hundred and one of Cistercians, while there
were only twenty Cluniac. The bequest of One Ash, by William de Avenell, is stated, with some
particulars, by Aveling, in his History of Roche Abbey^ which is of interest : —

** The grange at this place was given to the monks soon after the foundation of the abbey by William Avenal, lord of Haddon. Richard de
Vernon, with the consent of Avice, his wife, and of William, his son and heir, confirmed all the land and |»astare of his fee in this place which
William Avenal gave ; and William Basset, grandson of William Avenal, confirmed the same. Richard, son of William de Vemnn, confinned
the above, and also what the monks had in Stemdale, with the minerals, they paying to him and his heirs zss. per annam at his manor of Haddon.
He also confirmed the tenement here which William Avenal gave. Pope Urban III. also confinned what the monks held here. William, Eari
Ferrars, with ttie consent of-Agnes, his wife, before 1*39, confirmed to the monks, that way for their sheep and cattle going from theif grange
here over the moor of Hartington and Heathcote, which William, his &ther, had granted them, with some meadow ; they paying to him one
mark per annom.'*

Aveling dug out this interesting item that : —

" In the thirty-second year of the reign of the most excellent Prince Henry VIII." (1540) " the farm ol the grange of One Ash parcel of the
possessions of the late Monastery of Roche, freely resigned with all lands, meadows, feedings, pastures, moors, &c., from old time belonging is
thus demised to Edward Beressford, of the County of Derby, gentleman, by indenture under the common seal of the late monastery at 1x35. 4d.
per annum, to be paid at the terms of St. Martin and Pentecost equally vis., for the farm of the said grange, £4 6a. 8d. ; and for tithes thereto
bekmging. a6a. 8d. ; besides 66. paid to the Cathedral Church of Lichfield, for an ancient pension lor tithes of all kind of the said grange ; also 30&.
paid to the manor of Haddon always at the feast of St Martin, in the winter yearly, until it shall be adjudged by law that half the sum ou^t to
suffice ; also 13s. 4d. for common of pasture in the moor of Middleton. And that the said fisrmer at the end of the term aforesaid, or whenever
he shall quit it, shall leave four sextaries and twenty-four quarters of good and well cleaned oats behind him, for the use of the aforesaid lord, the
King, and his successiws. Now on the same terms in the tenure oi Thomas Sheldon."

What is curious about the monastic possessions of the Peak, the Order, to which such manor or
moiety belonged, invariably set up a grange. Grindlow was confirmed to the Augustinian Abbey of
LilleshuU, in Shropshire, by King John, when they immediately established a farm and extensive stabling,
thus, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, there were three granges in the Peak ; one at Derwent
with the Premonstratensians ; one at One Ash with the Cistercians ; one at Grindlow with the
Augustinians. Over the Manor of Brushfield, the Abbots of Rufford had right of free warren.

* The Order of Premonstre was introduced into England by Peter de Gousell about 1x46.

STOKE HALL.

^toke galL

L

§

•E purpose to direct attention for a moment to those Rolls of the Country which are the
sources of historical data, which repay with such interest for any perusal, but which are
seldom referred to, except by the antiquarian or the curious. Our motive has been
prompted from a belief that even the references which Lysons gives at the foot of any
page of his Derbyshire are unintelligible to many who are by no means deficient in their knowledge of
Latin, and who would not object to some explanation to render those references readable. Say the
reference is " Inquisi/ionum ad quod damnum,** what does it mean? Simply that if we want to find out
when Bakewell or Sheffield or any town was granted a market we shall have to search the Rolls bearing
this designation ; because before the grant was made in old days, it was considered necessary to enquire
into the policy of the grant, and to see if in any way it was prejudicial to the King's interest. Another
frequent reference of Lysons is the " Placita de Quo Warranto** These Rolls, says Sir Harris Nicholas,
often contain not only the boundaries of many free chases, free warrens and fisheries, and the allowance
in eyre of various franchises and liberties, but many Royal Charters both to ecclesiastical and lay
corporations not to be elsewhere found on record. The descent of manors, advowsons, &c., from the
earliest periods are everywhere apparent; many obscure passages and obsolete words in Charters are
repeatedly explained; and much learning of the laws and customs of the country, both illustrative of
the laws and customs of the country. Take the ^^ Placitorum in Dome** Now if the student wants
the particulars of the ** Dictum de Kenilworth** here they are; if he wants historical facts about the
De Montfords, here they are ; if he wants curious facts about trials by ordeal or by battle, or curious
tenures, here he can find them, though the major heading of the Roll is relative to pleadings before, and
petitions to the kings. Again, " Calendarium Rotulorum ** relate to Royal grants of privileges to cities,
towns, and corporations ; grants of markets and fairs, and of free warren ; and also relate to creations of
nobility. The Hundred Rolls not only set forth the lands held by tenants in capit6, but enumerate Royal
demesne ; and inquire into whether anyone has more than his share ; whether the demesne lands of the
Crown are ancient or newly acquired ; set forth an account of manors held and how acquired ; while
among other things not the least laudable are the inquiries into the oppressions by nobility, clergy,
and others, and executions of excessive or illegal payments as tolls. There is the " Fadera,**
another important source of information relating to treaties, leagues, capitulations, manifestoes, and
correspondences that have taken place and passed between this country and other States. But England,
as a nation, possesses a Roll in two volumes (kept beneath a strong glass case, or was but recently, in
the Public Record Office), which has no counterpart among the nations of Europe, and which, says
Spelman, '' if not the most ancient, is yet without doubt the most venerable monument of Great Britain."
We refer to the Domesday Book. So far as its name goes it is known to everybody, but the circumstances
which led to its compilation, the particular features which characterise it, the importance of a knowledge
of its contents to the historic student, are by no means too well known. If the student will refer to the
Saxon Chronicle he will see an account of the Council which ordered the General Survey to be made,
and he will read there, too, the indignation with which a writer of eight hundred years ago expresses
himself, from the Surveyors not only doing the important work of ascertaining how many hides of lands
in each county ; how much woodland pasture ; how many ploughs either in the tenanted or demesne

204 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

parts ; how many mills; the respective worth of any particular lands, whether taxed or no — but from the
Surveyors taking an account of the ducks and the pigs. The old writer brings all the rhetoric at his
command to bear, which should be read by any student. There can be no doubt but that the Surveyors
did take an account of the live stock, for in Vol. IL we find under Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, the actual
fact. There is no account for the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Durham,
and part of Lancashire, but there was a Survey of the See of Durham in 1 1 84, or a century later to that
of the Conqueror. This Survey is to be found in a work called The Bolden Booky of which an edition has
been published by the Surtees Society.

When Henry, Lord Grey of Codnor, sold the Manor of Stoke to Thomas Barlow, in 1473, he wanted
the money to' further his experiments in the transmutation of metals, and so absorbed was this nobleman
in his efforts for giving to copper the value of gold, that he forgot the woman he had sworn to wed, and
died surrounded by his crucibles and elixirs, instead of a wife and children. Whether the Greys acquired
Stoke from Edward IV., and it was an item only of the many good things he showered upon them when
he became enamoured of Lady Elizabeth Grey, there is no trace apparently. The Greys were of Codnor,
and had a castle there seven hundred years ago ; but this branch expired, and the peerage of the Codnor
house, with the alchemist. This family, led on by ambition and by alliance with Royalty, ultimately
played conspicuous parts in events which were derogatory, if not nefarious. Under the Houses of York
and Lancaster they secured coronet after coronet by enacting the Vicar of Bray, as Burke says, generations
before that individual existed. How famous some of them were, as Marquises of Dorset and Earls of
Kent ; how they lost heads and coronets, too, by aspiring to the Throne, under the Tudors, is veiy familiar.
One of the men who sat on the trial of the fourth Duke of Norfolk was Reginald Grey ; while his brother
Henry was one of the judges who pronounced sentence on Maiy Queen of Scots, shewing " much more
zeal for her destruction," says Dugdale, " than befitted a person of honour." The Greys have occasioned
verdicts in our highest Courts of Judicature memorable for future time. Take one : When Henry, Lord
Grey de Ruthyn and Earl of Kent, died without issue in 1689, his earldom went to his uncle Anthony,
while his barony passed to his sister Susan. Against this there was an appeal on the ground " that when
a barony by writ was once involved in an earldom, it should wait upon such earldom, and might not be
subsequently transferred to another family;" but the House of Lords found that "an earldom or other
superior dignity does not attract a barony in fee."

The past holders of the Manor of Stoke excite the greatest interest and curiosity. Not one of them
but suffered from his loyalty to the Houses of York or Stuart. Every page of research tells of coronets,
or mitres, or chasubles, and of men, famous and brave ail of them. What names in our peerage more
ilustrious than Grey, Cavendish, Bridgeman ? or in our ecclesiastical history than Barlow, Sacheverell,
Simpson? At the very time that the last Grey of Codnor sold Stoke his family were holding two
marquisates, three earldoms, two viscounties, and five baronies, besides claiming certain ties of blood
with Edward IV., King of England. At the time that William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, was
defeating the allied armies of Scotland and the English Parliament beneath the walls of York, his
favourite seat was at Stoke, of which manor he was lord ; but after he had allowed the rash Rupert to
persuade him to fight the disastrous battle of Marston Moor, these lands and homesteads passed to the
Sacheverells.* A century later, Elizabeth, heiress of the Rev. John Simpson, brought them in her dowry
to Henry Bridgeman, fifth Earl of Bradford, who was then a baronet simply, and fourth in descent from
that famous lawyer, who was consecutively Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas, and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. The third son of the heiress adopted her name and arms and
resided there.

More than four hundred years ago there was a hall at Stoke tenanted by the Barlows, and where
they remained for generations, and this is a fact which arouses no little curiosity. The chemical mania

* The danghter and heiress of the Duke (Margaret) married John Holies, and brought him, with her dowry, thirty-three heraldic qaarterings.
' The daughter and heiress (Henrietta) of Margaret and John mated with Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford. The armt of this lady bore seventy-fiTe
qaarterings. The daughter and heiress of Harley (Margaret) took her ninety-eight qaarterings and herself to William Bentinck, second Duke of
Portland.

STOKE HALL. 205

of Henry Grey is told by a dozen writers, and even how poor devoted Catherine Fynderne forsook home,
and honour, and everything for his sake. The valour and generalship of William Cavendish, together
with the pluck of his fair lady, is related by Clarendon in his famous Rebellion; but what of the
Barlows ? Who were they ? We have before us a pile of genealogies, in which we can trace that they
allied themselves with the baronial houses of Chaworth, Talbot, and Frecheville ; with the Cokaynes,
Eyres, Strelleys, Foljambes, Hardwicks, Meverells, and Beresfords; but the compilers of Derbyshire
history are silent about them. Was not the first Protestant Bishop of England a Barlow ? Was it not
while this family were living at Stoke that Queen Elizabeth ordered the dignitaries of the Church tP
consecrate Parker Archbishop of Canterbury, and did they not refuse ; and was it not William Barlow,
Bishop of Winchester, who relieved her out of her difficulty ? And is it not a doubt to this hour whether
•Barlow himself was ever consecrated, not to mention Parker? To whom did poor Bunyan owe his release
from Bedford gaol but to a Barlow ? Did not one of the Sacheverells send the nation frantic by a sermon
he preached at Derby ? But, forsooth, such matters are not of sufficient moment for the compilers, and
they give us in lieu a likely spot to catch a fat trout, or a scale of cab fares perchance.

We cannot help thinking but what many men whose lives have added honour to the country either
from military exploits, literary acumen, or from statesmanship were members of Derbyshire families, yet
said to have belonged to those of adjacent counties, simply from the men and the places having the same
names as, to wit : the Bradshawes, of Bradshaw, in Lancashire ; and the Bradshawes, of Bradshaw, in the
Peak ; or the Barlows, of Barlow, near Manchester ; and the Barlows, of Barlow, near Dronfield. Many
good biographical dictionaries teem with particulars about the Lancashire Barlows, but not a word — not
a syllable — about the Derbyshire Barlows. Only from wading through a mass of pedigrees, which relate
to other families, can we learn anything of them. No one has apparently troubled to inquire if the family
settled at Chorlton-cum-Hardy were offshoots of the Dronfield house, or if either one was a scion of the
other. Lysons has it, that the founder of our Barlows was one of the Abitots, who dwelt at Barlow and
assumed the name. But this was, as he admits, at an early period, when, in fact, surnames had not arisen.
One or two more facts, however, of our Barlows can be proved : that they espoused daughters of the
Frechevilles, Talbots, and Chaworths, and these girls (members of patrician houses) were not likely
characters, in those days, to marry " Bob Snooks," even if he had money. They held a knighthood, too,
in the Middle Ages, but we cannot learn whether it was from being tenants in capite to the Crown, or if
they held such tenancy. To learn anything whatever of the Derbyshire Barlows is like trying to decipher
the inscriptions on a mummy case without the aid of a Rawlinson. Then there are certain items connected
with them that tantalise. In the fifteenth century they were holding the halls at Barlow and Stoke,
together with Dronfield Woodhouse ; the residents at Barlow and the Woodhouse were each knights,
which facts should be the key to information somewhere ; but even the tie of blood between the three
branches is not obtainable. Lysons says that those of the Woodhouse were the junior line. Just so ; the
differencing of their shield with a fleur-de-lis alone would shew from the sixth branch of the founder ; but
what had become of the intervening four ? Was the Chorlton house one of them ? Then again, to which
of the Derbyshire branches did that brave fellow belong who first lent himself in the shape of a husband
to Bess of Hard wick, just to let her get her hand in ? In Dronfield Church there is a monument of the
Barlows, dating back four or five hundred years, but the inscriptions are effaced. Their three homesteads
changed hands almost simultaneously: Stoke went to the Cavendishes, Dronfield Woodhouse to the
Eyres, and Barlow Hall was sold to George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, in 1593. About this time there
was a dignitary in the Church named William Barlow, who had five daughters, whom he married to ^we
Bishops, which fact may not be known to everybody. Of course he is spoken of as of Chorlton ; but we
feel positive that research will establish the fact that the memorabilia of the Derbyshire Barlows have
never been placed to their credit.

Few residences in the county are more delightfully situated than Stoke Hall. The river, with its
bridges and weirs ; the majestic edges of Froggat, Millstone, Curbar, Baslow, Dore ; the valley through
which the Derwent glides, dotted with villages from Calver to Padley ; tracts of wild moorland adjoin to

2o6 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

cultivated pasture ; the natural heather only removed from the pansy in the cottagers garden by a fence—
what tourist has ever ascended the slight aclivity from Stoke to the Eyam Road but has been moved by
the beauty of the scene before him. At the beginning of the present century the hall was held by one of
the Arkwrights ; its present owner is Alderman M. Hunter, J.P., of the firm of Michael Hunter and Sons,
of the Talbot Works, Savile Street, Sheffield, who makes it his summer residence. We are told that the
hall is scarcely two centuries old, and that the architect was the one who designed the stables at
Chatsworth. Writers, who visited the edifice more than a hundred years ago, speak of it then as old, bat
such conflicting assertions only point the finger of reproach at any of us who are Derbyshire men, for not
showing more interest in the preservation of facts. We believe that the present structure was built during
the tenure of the Cavendishes or Sacheverells ; and in either case the assumption of White and Rhodes
would be correct. Both the hall and manor are in the parish of Hope, and not Hathersage. Hope is a
Saxon word (Hob), meaning a wild boar, and may throw some light upon the curious and extensive
boundaries of this parish, if at any remote time the haunts of this animal gave possession to a particular
church.

There is a tradition told of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, while lord of Stoke, that during
the night following his taking possession of Bradford, for the King, from the Parliamentarians, the ghost
of a lady appeared to him and said " Spare poor Bradford." And when he rose and gave the order that
no life should be taken, the spirit vanished, blessing him. History shows that he and his troops left the
town during the next day, to the joy of the inhabitants. Many of us frequently pass Stoke Hall and
never remember the man whose figure was ever foremost in those sad conflicts when liberty fought loyalty
at such a frightful cost and sacrifice.

M

.»,i /

.„.xfes-

;

^'^-"H

M

ASTON, SHALCROSS, AND OFFERTON.

^aion, ^J7alcrcr»», anh ^ffzvton.

»S it along the chancels of the Churches of the County that we must look for the tombs of our
illustrious dead ? No ! Take the family of Balguy. John, one of the greatest of theological
controvertialists, lies at Harrogate, County York; Thomas, who refused a bishopric, in the south
aisle of Winchester Cathedral ; Charles, the famous translator of Boccaccio, in the chancel of
St. John's, Peterborough. If we tread the Cloisters of Westminster Abbey or the chapels of York Minster,
if we go east into Norfolk, or south into Cornwall, or in the sacred edifices of Paris, we note the resting-
places of men, who, in the flesh, had passed their boyhood in the valley of the Derwent. The Balguys
were one of those Peak families who have obtained a niche in the temple of fame, from their literary
attainments or legal acumen, in company with the Ashtons, Bagshawes, Barkers, Bradburys, Buxtons,
Cavendishes, Cotterells, Cokaynes, Eyres, Fulwoods, Greaves, and Milnes.

The Halls of the Balguys were at Aston, Hope, and Derwent, all situated in the Peak. During the
reign of Charles II., one of the lads took up his abode in Sheffield, and became Master of the Grammar
School. Both son and grandson of this luminary, though clergymen, greatly distinguished themselves
by Philippics, that ranked them not only as brilliant rhetoricians but as philosophers and logicians. The
opponent of one was Stebbinig ; the opponent of the other, Priestley ; thus we can estimate both men by
their antagonists. The son of the grammarian, in his youth, gave no promise of his after celebrity, for
he spent it in the perusal of romances. The perusal of Livy, however, inspired him with nobler purpose.
He entered St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of B.A., at the age of twenty. He
became tutor to the family of Banks, of Scrofton, Nottinghamshire, but very soon was ordained by Sharp,
Archbishop of York. Sir Henry Liddell, of Ravensworth Castle, gave him a chaplaincy, and the livings
of Lamesby and Tanfield. When Bishop Hoadley shocked the Anglicans by his sermon before King
George I., John Balguy pitted himself on the side of the Bishop, and established himself as a master of
debate of the very first order. Among his literary labours was his work on Divine Rectitude (which he
held to be "the first spring of action in the Deity," as opposed to Groves, who asserted it was "Wisdom";
and Bayes, who believed it was " Benevolence"). Among the works of his son (who refused to be made
a bishop and died Archdeacon of Winchester) were Observations upon Church Authority, which was
attacked by the celebrated Priestley ; and Divine Benevolence Asserted,

Shalcross Hall is situated on the north-west boundary of the county, some four miles east from
Buxton, on the site of which stood the homestead of Benedict Shakelcross when he was bailiff of the
forest and attended the Inquisitions at Wormhill, in the reign of Edward II. (1307-27). The present
edifice was a veritable residence of the last of the bailiffs race, who was twice sheriff of the county, and
died in 1733. How singular that the last century should have been so fatal to the senior lines of the old
Peak families, and those families whose ancestors were forest officials in the middle ages — Bagshaws of
The Ridge and Wormhill ; Foljambes, Shalcrosses, Bradshaws, Bowdens, Meverells.

John Shalcross, the sheriff, already mentioned, had one son, who pre-deceased him, and two
daughters, co-heiresses : Anne married Richard Fitzherbert, and Frances espoused Robert Jacson, of
Ashbourne. The daughter of Anne mated with her cousin, the son of Frances, and was the mother of
those two ladies whose literary turn gave us Rhoda and the Florist^ Manual, with other works of
considerable merit. The present representative of the Jacsons is the worthy J.P. and D.L. of Barton,

2B

210 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

County Lancaster. The last of the Shalcrosses was the builder of the Market House at Chapel-en-le- Frith.
It was this gentleman's grandfather who garrisoned Chatsworth for King Charles I. There are copies of
many ancient deeds of the Shalcrosses in Vol. VL of The Reliquary. The Shalcross estate is now the
property of the Joddrells. Here is an old Peak family who were of Glossop Valley before the Black
Prince had won his spurs, and one of the lads, William, was an archer with the Prince at the victory of
Poictiers. The son of William (Roger) was squire to the body of Richard IL, and afterwards fought at
Agincourt. Francis Charles Joddrell, late of the Grenadier Guards, buried at Paris, 1868, terminated the
senior male line. The present squire of Yeardsley, County Chester, and Shalcross, County Derby, is of
maternal descent, having taken the surname by Royal license.

Offerton Hall is delightfully situated (with all the beauties of Hope Valley opening to view) about
one mile west by south from Hathersage. With few exceptions, we know of no other building in
Derbyshire where the kitchen recalls those baronial times when oxen were roasted whole, and where the
structure of the fireplace is of such huge dimensions. The chimney shaft is a square tower or lautern,
with a circumference of over forty feet ; and formed out of the stone arch are racks, on which rested the
arquebuses of olden time : there would be no difficulty in secreting a company of troops within the
lantern. The whole interior of the building has so many curious features that we will instance only a
few. The staircase is lit by triple lancet windows under one arch, which are certainly Elizabethan, if not
older. In one of the upper rooms of the west wing there are two massive oak beams, which, from their
appearance, have held a tenancy of at least four centuries. Their peculiar formation is simply a
conjunction of rafter and brace in one. We must remember that this old homestead originally belonged
to the Eyres, and is said to be one of the four which old Nicholas, of Highlow, in the reign of Henry IV.,
built for his sons. There are numerous specimens of elaborate carving, principally Jacobin, but some of
a very much earlier date : One small chair, evidently very antique, has z, fleur-de-lis for centre ornament,
which gives rise to the belief that it is a relic of the Eyres, of Padley, for one of the boys married with
the Fitzwilliams, of Marplethorpe, about 1450, whose shield was emblazoned with a fleur-de-lis at fesse
point, hence, here may be a veritable seat of a child who had Joan, of Padley, for grandmother. If there
be any truth in the tradition that Sir Henry Slingsby stayed at Offerton Hall in 1657-8, when he was
attempting to arouse the loyalty of the Peak gentry in the cause of the Stuarts, and which ended in his
execution, there would be an historical importance to this building. We looked into the room he is
supposed to have used as a coimcil chamber, and, truly, it seemed to convey an idea oi plot and conspiracy
and secret cabal.

The three old edifices to which we have directed attention are all within the Parish of Hope» and the
noble House of Cavendish are the lords of the manors in which these edifices stand. We will, therefore,
add a few sentences more to our succinct review of the literary celebrities and judicial dignities of the
Peak families with those members of this illustrious house whose careers form part of our national
biography.

Sir John Cavendish was Chief Justice of King's Bench in 1372. "It has been the subject of dispute,''
says Foss, " whether the name of Cavendish was first assumed by his father or himself^ each being said
to have acquired it by marriage with the heiress of the lord of the manor so-called in the County of
Suffolk. There seems sufiicient evidence to shew that the father bore; it, inasmuch as the brothers of
John as well as himself were called by the name ; and yet it is certain that John married Alice, the
daughter of John de Odyngseles, who died 27 Edward III., in possession of ' Kavendych maner'." Foss
reasons the assumption of name from the place of residence as apart from the manor, while a recent
writer in Leslie Stephen says, " In 1359 one John de Odyngseles, Knight, conveyed by fine the Manor of
Overhall and Cavendish to John Cavendish and Alice his wife, probably by way of what we should call
marriage settlement." Every writer hitherto has assured us that the name was acquired with the heiress
of the Potkins, who were lords of Cavendish, whom the father of the Judge espoused. Again Foss comes
to the rescue. He suggests there was more than one manor, by which he may mean a paramount and a

ASTON. SHALCROSS, AND OFFERTON. 211

mesne lordship, or the names of the parish and manor coming in conflict. Dugdale raises Sir John to the
Bench in 1365, which is certainly an error, for the Year Books for 1371 shew him still as an advocate,
though this blunder Lord Campbell has copied in \i\^ Lives of the Judges.* There are many judgments
on record that were pronounced by Sir John, but there is one worth quoting. There was a case before
him in which a lady attempted to defeat the ends of justice and commit a fraud by asserting her minority:
" Her Counsel pressed the Court to have her before them and judge by inspection whether she was
within age or not.'* Said Cavendish, "no man in England can judge correctly the approximate age, or
full age ; for all the ladies of the age of thirty years ^endeavour to make themselves appear at the age of
eighteen years." The original, which our translation may have spoilt, runs thus : '' // »' ad nul home en
Engleterre que puy adjudge a droit deins age^ ou le plus age; car ascuns femes que sont de age de XXX ans, voile
apperer d'age XVII t ans^^ The tragic end of the Judge is a matter of history, but the oft repeated
assertion that he was murdered by the rebels under Jack Straw, in the Market Place of Bury St. Edmunds,
in revenge for the slaughter of Wat Tyler by the son of the Judge, has been cleverly exploded : the two
events occurred on the same day.

There are so many members of this famous house one would like to mention. It was Thomas,
eighth in descent from Roger, who left Bakewell behind him six hundred years ago, who circumnavigated
the earth in a small craft called the "Desire'' of only one hundred and forty tons, who was the first
settler in Virginia, and the first Englishman to discover St. Helena. We have already spoken of George, the
faithful Usher and biographer of Cardinal Wolsey.f We have instanced, too. Sir Henry of Dovebridge, to
whom we owe the particulars of the " unreported Parliament " ; we will just glance for a moment at that
celebrated man who first propounded the decimal properties of air; who is said to have discovered
hydrogen, and demonstrated the exact constituents of water. Sir Henry Cavendish was the grandson of
the second Duke of Devonshire. Like Lord Macaulay and many men of vast intellect and genius, he
left Cambridge without taking a degree. Why he adapted himself to chemistry is obscure. His first
scientific work was Experiments on Arsenic. He must in all good faith be allowed to be the discoverer of
nitric acid. His Experiments on Air was read before the Royal Society, in January, r784, while two or
three years before this he had obtained his results — results which have been accredited to others — ^which
cling to the names of Priestley and Black. In the volumes of the Philosophical Transactions for
1 766- 1 809, will be found many papers which will give an idea of his vast labours and splendid discoveries.
" The mass of manuscripts which he left behind him, proves that nearly every subject which in his time
engaged the attention of the chemist or natural philosopher had been closely studied by him." Why this
profound " mathematician, electrician, and chemist," and, above all, natural philosopher, led such an
austere life ; why he regarded a woman as a being to be shunned and never under any circumstances to
be spoken to; why (so it is said) he shut his heart against all human sympathy, might have an
explanation of a sensational nature. True, in his speech he had an impediment ; his very walk was a
kind of shuffle, while a shrill cry, as Lord Brougham said, was ordinary utterance. Had he lived in the
Middle Ages, he might have been the second Englishman to have worn the tiara.

« FoM, Vol. IV. \ Vide ante *' Chauworth."

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HAZELBADQE HALL.

gcijelbab0e ®alL

? OW the Manor of Hazelbadge, in the Hundred of High Peak, came into the possession of the
Strellej family seems to be one of those questions that have never suggested themselves to
the compilers of Derbyshire history. Even the more erudite of them, such as dear old
Lysons, deem it sufficient to mention that they held it in the reign of Edward III. We have
no hesitation in saying that it accrued to them from the marriage of Sir Robert with Elizabeth, the
heiress of the Vavasours (who brought him Shipley also), whose father had held the custody of the
Honor of Peverell. Otherwise, the possession of the manor is clear from the time of Lewin the Saxon,
till the Strelleys sold it to the Vemons, in 1411, whose heiress, Dorothy, brought it to the Manners, to
whom it still pertains.

The Strelleys were courtiers of King John, and shared with De Montford in his victories and
defeats. They were holding a knight's fee for twelve generations, and married with the baronial houses
of Somerville, Vavasour, and Pierpoint, together with the Stanhopes, Kemps, and Wests. Besides their
Manor of Strelley, where their tombs are to be seen in the old church, they held Shipley, part of Repton,
and Hazelbadge. In 1536-7, Sir Nicholas, the famous Captain at Berwick, bought Beauchief Abbey
estate from Henry VHI. at seventeen shillings and sixpence an acre, getting the Abbey as a gift, while
at the same time he bought Ecclesall, too, but this was without the monarch's knowledge, and for which
he had to have a dressing down. The knight had three sons, Anthony, Nicholas, and John. His
Derbyshire estates he allotted to Nicholas, who married Barbara Thwaites, whose son, Gervase, espoused
Dorothy Bumell ; whose son, William, mated with Gertrude Eyre, of Dronfield Woodhouse ; whose
daughter, Gertrude, became the wife of Edward Pegge. About a century from their purchase of
Beauchief, the last male descendant of the Strelleys was a mechanic, working at his bench in Nottingham,
for old Thoroton tells us he knew him, and adds, he was a gentleman withal. Indeed, we have read it
somewhere, that the last of the three branches of the family — Hazelbadge, Beauchief, Nottingiham — a
female, too — had to obtain parish relief. From the reign of Heniy I. to that of Charles II. they are
among the knights and gentlemen of England, and a century later the last relict is a pauper. If the
vicissitudes of the old Peak families could be compiled, as those of the aristocracy have been by
Sir Bernard Burke, what siurprises would await us, what thrilling incidents would be related, what tales of
noble struggling with misfortune, yet perchance none more so than those of the Strelleys. More than
five hundred years ago Brough Mill belonged to the Strelleys " by the singular service of attending the
King on horseback whenever he should come into Derbyshire, carrying a heron falcon."

From Part IV. of the Twelfth Report of the Hutorieal Manuscripis Commission, we gather many
interesting particulars of Sir Richard Vernon, who purchased Hazelbadge from Sir Robert Strelley in
1411. Sir Richard was High Steward of the Forest, and apparently Constable of the Castle, as we shall
see in a moment. Hazelbadge Hall, after the purchase of Sir Richard, was not only a shooting-box for
the lords of Haddon and a residence for a junior line of the family, but as its position was at one of the
recognised boundaries of the forest, and as the Vemons undoubtedly held more than once the coveted
position (though honorary) of high steward, the hall wore occasionally the dignity of a vice-regal lodge.
Would it be absurd to suppose that within its walls Miss Dorothy may have whispered to one of the
retiuners accompanying a chase party from Haddon (who was really her John disguised) some words that

2i6 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

made his heart beat quicker ? The present structure, as we perceive from the tablatures on the gable,
was built about three centuries and a half ago by the celebrated King of the Peak, and evidently not so
long after the visitation of Bluff Hall, as alongside the date is the initial and Roman characters, H.VIII.
The middle tablature is charged with a shield per quarterly of four, surmounted with H. V., which may
have been removed from a previous edifice, or the date, 1549, may refer to alterations only, and so the
building may be much older than we assume it to be. Sir Richard, while Steward of the Forest, evidently
carried matters with a very high hand, for among the documents found in the loft over the stables at
Belvoir, in 1885, there are several which run after this manner: "Complaint to the Earl of Suffolk by
Robert Bagshawe, one of the King's tenants in the Peak, that Roger Clark, servant of Sir Richard
Vernon, came with seven men, armed with jacks and salets, and forcibly took him and imprisoned him
for three days in the Castle of the Peak, without any cause. The said Roger also made a warrant to the
Bailiffs of the Peak to raise divers amercements on him." "Complaint to the King^s Council of his
Duchy of Lancaster by William Hadfield, tenant of the King in Edale, that Sir Richard Vernon, the
King's Steward in the Peak and Fermor of the Forest of Champagn, has sued him in the King's Court
for tresspassing with his cattle. The said Richard is so mighty in the said county that the 'besecher' may
not abide the danger of his suit." "Complaint by Robert Woderofe, one of the foresters of fee of the
High Peak, that on Thursday before the feast of St. Margaret (C1440), Roger Clark came with seven men,
armed with jacks and salets, and forcibly took him and imprisoned him for three days in the Castle of
the Peak, without any cause. Whereas he and his fellow foresters of the ward of Champagn have had
liberty since the time of Prince John, Duke of Lancaster, either to occupy their claim with certain cattle
of their own or to 'agiste* the cattle of other men, the master forester will not suffer him to 'agiste' any."

We have a note or two, not included under " Peveril Castle." The beasts of the forest, plus the
* hart, hind, boar, and wolf, included the hare, while the rabbit was not considered a beast of the chase
even, but of warren, thus coming chum with the pheasant, partridge, quail, mallard, and heron. The
buck, doe, fox, and marten were beasts of the chase. Every forest is said to have possessed eight
properties : soil, covert, laws, courts, judges, officers, game, bounds. We may be sure that any of our
sires who lived within the boundaries of the forest kept no other dog but the mastiff, for such was the
law, and that the claws of each forefoot were cut off. "It is, indeed, singular," says A. L. Smith, of Baliol
College, " that those royal demesne lands of which the forests once formed the main part, after straining
the relations between the Crown and people for centuries, and assisting unduly to magnify the prerogative,
while they soon failed to add to its real strength or materially to aid the Exchequer, have at last been
made to cover the whole cost of the monarchial establishment." The revenue from this source is now
four hundred thousand pounds.

The last of the Haddon Vemons who dispensed with Hazelbadge Hall and gave it to a younger
brother, was Sir Henry, father of the three sons who founded the Stokesay, Hodnet, and Sudbuiy
branches of their house, and who died in 15 15. The career of the knight, if put into biographical shape,
would be of marvellous interest. His efficiency as a courtier has probably never had an equal. In the
desperate conflicts of the Houses of York and Lancaster he appeared as the adherent of both, and they
considered him so. If Henry VI. was king to-day, there was a Royal message for Vernon ; if on the
morrow Edward IV. made Henry a prisoner, there was a document sent to Haddon expressing the
King's pleasure. When Warwick fought his last fight at Bamet he relied upon Sir Henry to aid him.
Only three days before Richard III. fell at Bosworth, he charged the knight to attend him " with suche
nombre as ye have promysed unto us suflSciently horssed and hemeised." In the following October
(Bosworth was fought in August, 1485) there was a gracious letter from Henry VII. He was actually
squire to the bodies of Edward IV., Richard III., and Henry VII., by whom he was knighted. There is
a letter from this monarch, dated 26th April, 1492, asking from Vernon the loan of a hundred pounds.

* Hunting the hart began at the Feast of John the Baptist and ended Holyrood Day. Hunting the hind began on Holyrood Day and closed
at Candlemas. The season of the boar hnnt was from Christmas till Candlemas.

HAZELBADGE HATX. 217

" Wherefore we holding for undoubted that ye here a singulier tendreness to such things as concerns the
suretie and universal weale and tranquillite of our saide reame and subgeittes, desire and hertily praye
you that ye wil lene unto us the somme of an Cli (;£ioo) and to send it unto our Tresourer of England
by some trusty servauntes of yours to the intent that they maye receyre billes of him for contentacdon
thereof ayen." The letter, rendered into modem English, goes on to say that "we £uthfully promise you
by these our letters that you shall have repayment or sufficient assignment, upon the half-fifteen payable
at Martinmas next coming, whereunto you may verily trust, wherein you shall not only do unto us things

of and singular pleasure, but also cause us to have you therefore more especially recommended in

the honour of our grace in such things as you shall have to pursue unto us hereafter. Given under our
signet at our manor of Greenwich." Sir Henry was much honoured by this monarch, and made governor
to the Prince of Wales, and when the lad went through the ceremony of marriage with Catherine of
Arragon, Vernon figured very prominently at the espousals. From the Report of the Historical
Manuscripts Commission we gather that Ralph Sheldon, of Sheldon, in 1503, when nigh unto death,
offered to sell his lands in that ilk to Sir Henry, but the knight said "that the said Ralph might sell no
land lying on his death-bed, after the custom of the lordship of Ashford, and therefore he would not buy
his land." Here is an item of curiosity. What is meant by "after the custom of the lordship of
Ashford ? " The knight founded a chantry at Tong, in Shropshire, after the manner of a good son of
the Church, and he gave a great bell which weighed forty-three hundredweight and measured six yards
in circumference, which was only rung when a Vernon visited the town. It is at Tong where so many of
the family are buried, and among their tombs are those of Sir Heniy and of Margaret, the sister of
Dorothy. Any writer who undertook to give us a life of this eztraordinaiy old courtier would find a
marvellous amount of material at his command. He lived during the most memorable period of the
whole of English history. It was the period of the renaissance when everything changed: Caxton
introducing the printing press for the diffusion of knowledge ; Henry VII. destroying feudal tenure and
encouraging commerce ; the people getting a glimpse of Holy Writ in their own tongue ; the period when
Moore was thinking out his immortal Utopia ; when Erasmus was ridiculing the Pope, and exposing the
venality of the clergy ; when Dean Colet was struggling for the liberty of conscience against a bigoted
hierarchy.

Sir Henry had four sons : Richard, who succeeded him ; Thomas, of Stokesay ; Humphrey, of
Hodnet; and John, of Sudbury. How well these boys must have kept their weather eyes open. Neither
was distance of any consequence, though these were the days when even stage coaches were unknown.
The Ludlows, with whom Thomas and Humphrey married, were lords of several manors; while the
Montgomeiys, whose co-heiress John espoused, held Cubley, Marchington, and Sudbury. The
Montgomerys were demesne tenants under the De Ferrars at an early period, for they gave part of
their lands to the Priory of Tutbury in the reign of Henry II. They continued so under the Earls of
Lancaster ; they were living at Cubley when Thomas Plantagenet made his precipitous flight from the
Castle and lost his money chest in the river, the contents of which were found so strangely after five
hundred years. At the time that John Vernon left Haddon and the Wye behind him, the last of the
Montgomerys had three daughters and co-heiresses, the eldest of whom, and her dowry, he took to
himself. The position of his home and lands, bounded by the gliding Dove, was situated in a more
lovely part of the county perchance than the baronial edifice of his sires. His grandson, John, mated
with Mary Lyttleton, of the famous Worcestershire house, memorable for producing the celebrated judge.

How marvellously this family, since the death of the King of the Peak, has defied any malignant fate
to render it extinct is both curious and interesting. When John, of Sudbury, died without issue, in the
year 1600, and was succeeded by his brother Henry, his lady was prepared for such an emergency. She
had already been the wife of Walter Vernon, of Hodnet and Houndshill, by whom she had a son, Edward.
Now it also happened that Henry also died leaving only a daughter, Margaret ; but Margaret of Sudbury
took Edward of Houndshill for husband ; thus two of the lines of the family that had gone forth from

20

2i8 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

old Haddon in the days of Henry VIL were inseparably linked and perpetuated in their posterity. In
the next generation the Vemons, of Haslington, had only a daughter, Muriel, so the son of Edward and
Margaret (Henry) brought her home as his bride and kept up the Charter. A generation later still, fhfir
son, after two marriages, found himself without male issue, when he mated with Catherine Vernon, of
London, and this lady sent Master Fate (who was looking askance) about his business most ignominiously.
There are as many branches of the old tree now as in the Middle Ages, when there were the Vemons of
Shipbroke, Haddon, Stokesay, Tong, London, Erdswick, Holgrave, Mottram, Lostock, Hazelbadge,
Houndshill, and Middlewich. The senior line of Sudbury has even played fox and geese with their
surname. At the beginning of last century the first Lord Vernon took the name of Venables ; subsequently,
letters patent made his second son a Harcourt, for the present member for Derby undoubtedly had a
grandfather (an Archbishop of York) who was bom a Vernon at Sudbury, but died a Harcourt, and as
recently as 1847. '^^^ third lord, when his elevation to the peerage was remote, adopted the name of
Sedley, on condition of a rich wife. In more ancient days there was the same propensity, for the
Erdswicks, of Stafifordshire, who produced the well-known historian, were certainly Vemons, of Shipbroke
originally, and of a senior line to that of Haddon, but not to those of Haslington. The present Lord
Vemon is a descendant through six distinct branches of his house — Haddon, Hodnet, Haslington,
London, Sudbury, and Shipbroke — from William de Vemon, who was Lord of Vemon in Normandy
before the Conquest. We find it on record that William, who married Avicia Avenell, and acquired
Haddon, was imprisoned for some offence, but whether from a quarrel with the Bassets we cannot gather;
he was, however, in the train of King John when he went to Ireland, and subsequently became one of the
Justices Itinerant. -The pedigree of this family amply repays for scmtiny, for if we trace the present noble
resident at Sudbury through Sir Edward, of Hodnet, or Margaret, of Sudbury, it shows twenty-nine
generations, and if through Muriel, of Haslington, it yields thirty. The father of Muriel was Justice of
Common Pleas and Baron of the Exchequer; and it is said that he purchased his coif. Foss has it that
the great leaming of this Judge was well substantiated, but that there was a silence about his integrity.

Under Haddon we mentioned there was a member of this family (Sir Ralph, Baron of Shipbroke)
who lived to the modest age of one hundred and fifty years. Whether this Baron was married to Maud
Grosvenor, or merely jumped over a broomstick, we know not ; anyway he had two grandsons, both
Sir Ralph Vemons, but one with a straight line and the other with a crooked ; and Edmondson, in his
JBarrmagium, ignores the latter and perpetuates the former, while the tmth is, as Lysons says, it became
extinct, plus a daughter, who married Hamo le Strange. Now Edmondson, in his large and costly work,
beside ignoring the crooked line (who held Shipbroke, mind), resorts to an amazing dodge to hide a fact,
which can be seen by reference thereto ; he gives to Sir Richard, who married Margaret Molineux, two
fathers and two mothers, which would never be detected without a suspicion of such a thing. Edmondson
was Mowbray Herald of last century, yet he put together a pedigree that was egregiously faulty ; and
Burke, the Ulster King-at-Arms of our own time, in no way corrects him, further than in the union of
Sir William of Haddon with Margaret Swynfen, and not Pipe. The last of the crooked line which sprang
from old Sir Ralph and Maud Grosvenor was an heiress, Dorothy, wife of Sir John Savage, who was slain
at the seige of Boulogne. The last of the Savages (who held the earldom of Rivers) sold the Shipbroke
estates to the Vemons of Middlewich, who gave them to the Vemons of Hilton, in Staffordshire, who
disposed of them in 1764. The Vemons of Hilton seem to have been overlooked by Burke (as to their
honors), for they certainly produced the man who was made Secretary of State by William III., to the
rage of the House of Commons, who desired to have Wharton ; and also the famous seaman, who took
Portobello with a handful of men, and was stmck off the list of Admirals for not knuckling to certain red
tapeism.

On any wild night, says tradition, when the winds howl furiously and the rain falls in torrents, thete
can be seen in the gorge between Bradwell and Hazelbadge the spirit of a lady on horseback, the steed
rashing madly in the direction of the old Hall. They say it is the ghost of Margaret Vemon, the last 01

HAZELBADGE HALL. 219

that line of the Vemons who were living at Hazelbadge for three centuries. She had given her heart,
with its fullness of affection, into the keeping of one who had plighted his troth with another, and vhen
she discovered his treachery she had braced up her nerves to witness his union in Hope Church ; but at
the finish of the ceremony she had ridden to her home as if pursued by fiends, with eyeballs starting ^m
their sockets, and her brain seized with a fever, from which she would never have recovered, only from
the tender nursing of those around her. Her spirit, they say, on a spectre steed, still rushes madly
between Hope and Hazelbadge at midnight.

The old Hall stands by the wayside, about half-a-mile out of Bradwell, on the road &om Brough to
Tideswell. Apart from its antiquity, Tudor architecture and historical associations, it is of interest as an
item of the dowry which Dorothy Vernon brought to John Manners when she gave him herself. We
have copies of many letters which were written either by or to this fortunate gentleman. There are two
or three we will quote, as they relate to Dorothy's first bom, and to matter which cannot fail to be of
interest to the curious. Two letters are addressed to her husband, at Haddon, and the other to her
brother-in-law, Roger Manners* : —

■' Vonr uii Georgs dnth well, uul behaveth hinuelf lilw *a hoiMU nun. Yetfon di>t do will to wriu to him fur lo andHvoDr hlcualf to loun
lowrita bMlar, and loriHBirlier In i morning. Fortm honrm' nod; in morning :li bctiar Ibullbai'iD ul nflnDOoiL I woold know If jon cut
liko to butow jronr un on Sir Haaj Dude'i dao^tir, tad Uul jon eta make ihift lo pta ihsreTorg jfaooo ; Ibr itut ii the leut irill be h*d. I
would gladlr do ■omBthing for Georga'i ndTUicemflOt.''

" I ■rnntrrgUd 70a Ilka in to good part mj friondlymlnd 10 jonr ion Gaoige of whom 700 mar haTs great comfDrt. For now ronbanMBW
nial of bim in thli lime ha hath been at hii own libenj; behadi carried bioiseK free from any vice and willing 10 take adTJce and warning of Ul
friendi and I hope la lima ha will pniSl in ilndr BoffidenllT. For tha maner of Sir Huacj DarCT'a* If I bring it to paa* wiOi raefa condition) ai I
like of, and accordliig to toot mind, ran )ball bsir fnnbet from ma. Uj broiher tin law), and hli ion are afreed and hv Ifajeitj ia conleotad to
fisld 10 bi> *nll for iheuke of iheland. The bookli drawn read}' for Her Mijetlr lo sign and Mr. AttornaT'a hand and mj lord Tiaaram ■( the
book, u ai If Ton will hnj the land of taim let ma bear from jon. Tonching the Eul of Shrewtbarr, If he will (tend to the law *U will (o with
bim, bnt he pnt anything 10 compromiH, ihe !■ too well fHandad. For mj lord'i money ufe locked In bla cheat wUl do him no good. The matterm
In Ilia Low Coonliies ipeed nolhiog well. The Prince of Futna winneth Cowna daily. What I) becooie of Sit PraacU Drake, we know not.
bol hope well." t

John Manners, before the death of his wife, and almost a quarter of a century before he was
knighted, was Cuslos Roluhrvm of the county, but there was apparently a hitch. On August ii, 1580, the
Lord Chancellor — Sir T. Bromley — writes to Manners : —

" In performance of mifpromlie made to yon. aboni Trinity term, a twelve montha aitice. I lately paaaed toyon the gift of the office oi Cittfat
Xiiulrmm, in yonr connty of Derby. I have since been adTsrtiaed by bei Majeny thai abonl two years paiifld, ibe bul promjied the Hmg to
Sir John ZoDch. For tha end thai bar ptomiie may be accompllitaed, I m:a igqoired 10 write 10 yon for ibe ro-deliveranca of your commiwioa and
to grant the office lo M'. Zoocb."

Manners writes five days later to Lord [? Shrewsbury] : —

"I bare ondaritood from the Lord Chancellor and tba Lord Rutland of your goodneai ihowodto me In mji 'iiriheraKe to be appointed Cw^w
Rttitltrum in Darbyablra. I beieecb yon to be a nwan to the Qaeen that il not now be taken from ma. I waa appointed In tha commitiion under
the great ual. 1 would not enjoy any land orUring without the Qneen*i gracloni foTonr, bnt I hope it may please bar to respect my poor credit

On the same day, very singularly. Sir John Zouch writes to Haddon : —

" Before the death of the late Lord keeper I was a suitor for lb* office in question and by means ot my Lord of Bedford I got the grant thereof
if Sir Francis Leake should die in hia (ime. The Queen gave her gradoas consent. Upon the death of Sir Fran^ Leake I sent lo her Uajaaly
wiib SB much speed as I could. I have not labonred to have your commission called In again, for 1 never knew ibal yon bad any or thai you had
ippoinled a clerk of the peace, or rsceiTod the Rolls. I mean not to leave off my suit until I know her Majesty's pleasure to the contrary."

A letter written from Oatland immediately after states : —

" The LJird Chancellor says that by law Mr. Manners moat have the office. Hia Lordship has intbority by Act of Farliamant to grant it as he
has done. If this be true. It is folly for ni to strive any longer to procure bis displaaisro any further. I remember tbsl about two years paat, my

On the igth of the next month, Sir Francis Walsingham writes to Haddon: —

" The Queen desired thai the office of Ctuloi RsluUrMm in the County of Derby should be beslowed upon Sir John Zonch, not from any
mislike ol you bul because she had ordered the lale Lord keeper 10 pass a promise of il lo Sir John, when il should foil vacant. She did not
know of the Lord CbaDcellor's absolute grant thereof to yOD, and she is very well eoDlented that you should have il, beUevlag yon lo be very able
and fit to discharge thai office,"

Hazelbadge Hall has been held by the Fox family for several generations ; and to the present
resident we would acknowledge our obligation for the courtesy of inspecting the interior.

* Under date iTIb Jnne, i]S6. t Under date ]th July, ijBS.

^aH0ir <^f ®i^e0tt>ell*

^0vm\;fUi §aU*

pri;e«tan gall*

WORMHILL HALL.

le Conqueror —

ted his steps to

SaxoD. From

of men whose

acknowledged

- uttered with

, who married

ithers of this

with Matilda

not baronial,

the house of

hat they had

Qt they have

lordship of

ates of the

Its in capiti

to Thomas

ities which

lief, it is a

Charter of

wo lords P

irior lord

they aie

fidesweU

lights of

▼ere not

queror.
idaries
u, the
jrman
I with
wdl.

226 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Regard, Swainmote, and Justice Seat. The two fonner had no power to convict ; the Justice Seat was
only held triennialiy ; thus the Swainmote was virtually the Court of the Forest, for "no Swainmote, no
Forest " was the axiom of the law. How memorable was the Charter of the Forest which the Barons
enforced from Henry HI. can be realised from a knowledge of the inhuman punishment inflicted. Why
the voices of history and tradition are so silent about the Peak Forest is very curious, but we do not
believe it arises from paucity of records, rather from laxity of research. There will be a glorious find one
of these days, either at the Rolls Court or the British Museum.

" What a strange vicissitude of fortune,'' says Rhodes, '' has attended this district I Once a forest,
the haunt and shelter of wild beast, then a desert and unproductive waste ; now destined to undergo
another change — verdant fields and hedge-row trees begin to appear where desolation prevailed."* With
all deference to the memory of Rhodes, to transform "this district" into a "desert" would be an
impossibility, unless assisted by nature, for if every particle of verdure disappeared there would be
something grand about the formation of its dells and rocks. The wolves had some eye to beauty when
they selected such a spot. These animals made their final exodus from the Peak in the Winter of 1490.

What names more famous in Derbyshire history than De Ferrars, Foljambe, Plumpton, Eyre,
Bagshawe ; and in the possession of one of them can the Manor of Wormhill be traced for the last eight
hundred years.

X086 Henry De Ferrars.

Sir John Foljambe, died 1245.
X393 Sir Robert Plumpton, by heirees of Sir Godtrey. Sold by hit grandson to
1498 Catherine Byre, wife of Stephen, of Haasop.

Adam Bagshawe, b<xii 1646, died X7a4.

These nimes illustrate the sentence of Disraeli — ^That we find our oldest families among the
gentlemen of England, and not among our nobility. Those of De Ferrars and Plumpton were baronial,
and are gone ; while those of Foljambe, Eyre, and Bagshawe are yet with us. Among our aristocracy
there is the name and title of De Ros, with a supposed lineage of six hundred and twenty-six years, but
the male line of De Ros became extinct in the fifteenth century, and four different families since then
have tacked the name on to their baptismal one ; yet even while the fourth De Ros was leading the
second division of the English army on the field of Cressy, the Bagshawes were associated with Wormhill
and Bowden Edge, and had been for generations, and the present owner of Wormhill Hall is Mr.
Francis Westby Bagshawe, J.P., D.L.

The Bagshawes were among those very old Peak families whose names are on the Inquisition held
at Wormhill in the year 1 3 1 8. They were hereditary foresters in fee, and the Manor of Abney was their^s
by virtue of the office. They took their name (which means "a small wooded glen") from a picturesque
spot in the township of Bowden Edge, near to Ford, where they were located before the Norman period.
In the twelfth century they were living at The Ridge, which they held for six hundred years. A senior
member of their house adopted Abney as a residence about the reign of Edward I. Between the
fourteenth and eighteenth centuries we find the various branches of the family inhabiting Abney Manor
House ; the Halls at The Ridge, Ford, Hucklow, Litton, Bagshaw, Bakewell, Farewell, near Lichfield,
and Castle Bagshaw, County Cavan. The Manor House, less a few vestiges, was very recently cleared
away, and the materials adopted for the mending of the roads and partition walls of the fields. How
strangely various members of this family took opposite sides in religion and politics in time past is very
curious. In the days of Queen Elizabeth there was one (Christopher) who, after being educated at both
Cambridge and Oxford, and displaying considerable Protestant zeal, became Catholic, fled to Rome, was
made (as the Jesuits of France said) "Doctor per saltem," was author of many works against the
Anglican hierarchy, suffered imprisonment in the Tower, and eventually died in Paris. The life of that
earnest Reformer — ^the Apostle of the Peak — is the contrast. The famous Puritan Member of Parliament
for Southwark was a Bagshawe ; while at the same time the richest living in the City of London f was

• ** Peak Scenery." t S't Botolph's, Bisbopsfate.

WORMHILL HALL. ^^^

given to another. What is called Black St. Bartholomew's Day, stripped two Bagshawes of their gowns
and benefices, while to a third it gave a Prebendary Stall in Durham Cathedral. In the Puritan's march
to Naseby was a Bagshawe ; among the Cavaliers at Oxford, who smelted their trinkets for the King, was
another.

The earliest designation of the old and honoured Derbyshire family of Foljambe is of Wormhill.
As far back as the year 1256, there was a Thomas of that ilk who was Bailiff of the Forest, Knight of the
Shire, and whose wife was Margaret de Gemon, of Bakewell. How a cruel fate waged war with this
house is memorable. The Wormhill family became extinct in 1388 ; that of Tideswell in 1464; the first
line of the Walton branch in 1595 ; the second line in 1604 ; the third, which held a baronetcy, in 1640 ;
the fourth in 1759 ; the fifth ? Heaven keep it under its special protection.

The conditions on which the Manor of Wormhill has been held are really curious. Sir Thomas
Foljambe had to keep this portion of the forest on horseback, attended by a boy, while the Eyres held it
on condition of an annual payment of threepence and knight service, which, of course, simply meant
nothing. The Calendar of fines shews the singular tenure of Wormhill lands. In 1277, Sir Thomas
Foljambe allowed Nicholas Stanedon and Letitia, his wife, to hold ten acres at the rental of one rose,
payable at the nativity of St. John the Baptist. Thomas de Wormhill held fifteen acres on the same
terms from the Knight. There were certain freehold lands in Wormhill, apart from the manor, as
witnessed by a purchase on the part of the Bagshawes in (29 Henry VI.) 1450- 1. On this moiety, if we
mistake not, stands the old Hall, which, from its restoration (though we should imagine no expense was
spared), has in a great measure thrown off its appearance of antiquity. We believe the present structure
was reared in the reign of Elizabeth, and on the ruins, if we mistake not, of a previous edifice, which had
been the homestead of the Halls, one of the co-heiresses of which family married with the Bagshawes.
We believe also that the present squire, who has shown some antiquarian skill and taste in the furnishing
of his old homestead, is virtually the lord of the manor, though there are no longer any manorial rights*.

The Foljambes were living at Wormhill while yet the manor was in the Parish of Hope, as Tideswell
had not parochial dignity till 1245. From their shield (a band between six escallops) the inference is
that they were among the Crusaders, led either by Peter the Hermit or Cceur de Lion, for the escallop
was the insignia of the pilgrim. The pedigree shows that Henry, the son of Geoffrey and Matilda
Musard, was in the train of Richard I ; but there is this difficulty : There were two other Derbyshire
shields, identical in trick with the Foljambes — ^the Daniels of Tideswell, and the Frechevilles of Staveley ;
yet we think that there is an explanation for this identity of shields, which arose from affection, and not
from servitude of one house to another, as some heraldic authorities assert. Evidence.is pretty clear that
some of the Daniel girls married with the Frechevilles, and the Frechevilles girls with the Foljambes,
and what so reasonable as that these ladies turned over to their husbands heart, dowry, and escutcheon,
which was not exceptional in those days, for the College of Heralds had not yet arisen, neither had the
Court of Chivalry.

There is a heraldic curiosity with the house of Foljambe which is worth note, and which has been
courteously sent us by Mr. Cecil G. S. Foljambe, M.P., F.R.S. The wife of Sir Godfrey, who was buried
at Bakewell in 1377, was Avena Ireland, of Hartshorn; while his mother was Alice Darley, of Darley.
Now it appears that the arms of both these ladies were not only identical in trick, but in tincture
likewise — Gules^ (^ fleurs-de-lis^ 3, 2, i argent.

It is the Parliamentary careers of the Foljambes which would be so interesting if we could only dig
them out. In that House of Commons which struck the memorable blow at the Papacy in abolishing
" first fruits," was Godfrey Foljambe ; another was in the " wonderful " Parliament, and, if Burke is right
in his dates, there was one in the " mad " Parliament. At the time that Henry VIII. was assuming the
supremacy of the Church and putting the monasteries up for auction, or rather giving them away, there
was a Foljambe in the body guard of the King ; indeed, they stood so high with this monarch that he

• Kufr Bakewell and Ford.

228 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

granted them a fresh crest to mark his respect : A Cantilupe per quarterly Or and sable. It is the
Parliamenteiy career of old Sir Godfrey — ^who founded Bakewell Chantry in 1544* — ^which is of such
particular interest. He was in all the principal Parliaments of Edward III., but suffice it now to notice
that of 1340. Then the Commons, for the first time, courageously asserted that they would no longer
vote subsidies without some amelioration of their grievances ; and in that year they passed the four
famous statutes so well-known to historical students. The second of these statutes, says Bishop Stubbs,
may be " regarded as the supplement to the confirmation of the Charters, the real act ' de taUagio non
concededo' and the surrender of the privilege of taxing demesne lands, whic)) Edward I. had retained, as
not expressly forbidden by the Act of 1297." ^^^ Godfrey saw England establish herself as an European
nation, before whose armies of London apprentices the chivalry of Europe fled ; he took part in those
struggles at Westminster of yet vaster importance, by which he helped to bequeath to all posterity an
inheritance of liberties never previously enjoyed; and the date on his monument shows that he was
gathered with his fathers simultaneously with that monarch he had so variously served. We find that Sir
Godfrey was Puisne Justice of King's Bench in i344t*

Since the Foljambes have removed their residence from the county they have allied themselves with
the daughters of the Earls of Scarborough and Liverpool, Lords Middleton and Barham ; in one instance
the lady was Viscountess Milton. Yet the name of Foljambe needed no alliance with the aristocracy to
enhance it. Their piety is attested by the Chantries of the Peak churches ; their munificence, by the
records of the Chapelries ; their dignity, by the rolls of the country ; and their nobility, by lives of
rectitude and unblemished honour.

The last of the Wormhill Foljambes (Sir Godfrey — ^grandson of the Sir Godfrey who foonded
Bakewell Chantry) died ''on Wednesday next after the nativity of our Lady 12 Richard II. (September 9,
1388), and on the i8th November following, dower was assigned to his widow Margaret (afterwards the
wife of Sir Thomas Kempston, K.G.) in the presence of Sir John Leeke, Knight, whose sister she was, and
to whom the King had committed the lands of the said Sir Godfrey to farm, Alice, his daughter and heir,
being, at the time of his decease, little more than a year old. By a subsequent writ, tested at Westminster
16 February, thirteenth nf his reign. King Richard granted to the said Sir John Leeke the marriage of
the heiress for fifty marks, which wardship of marriage he, by indenture, dated at Downham-upon-Trent
on the morrow of St. Hilary, 16 Richard II., 1392-3, transferred to Sir William Plumpton, Knight, to the
intent that she should be matched with his son and heir apparent whomsoever he should be, in
consideration of a hundred marks, and upon condition of other annual sums till she reached the age of
fifteen years. The marriage took place, and, after the completion of her fourteenth year, Robert Wycard,
the King's escheator for the county of Derby, delivered seisin to William de Hardelsey, attorney of
Robert de Plompton, and Alice, his wife, daughter and heir of Godfrey Foliamb, Ch'r of all lands of
which the said Godfrey was seised in demesne as of fee on the day he died, and attested the fact by the
deed dated at Chaddesden on Sunday next before the feast of St. Nicholas bishop, 3d of Hen. IV.
(4 Dec. 1401)." Some four years later (8th June, 1405) Sir William Plumpton was executed for the share
he took in the insurrection of Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York — his mother's brother.} Wonnhill
was with the Plumptons || for three lives (one hundred and six years), when they sold it to Catherine
(wife of Stephen) Eyre, of Hassop, from sheer necessity, to defray the expenses of a frightful litigation
against Empsoa, the miscreant lawyer of Henry VII.

* " Derbyshire Churchee," Vol. II., p. xo. Lysone giYet die due 1305 ; Glover u 1371 ; Imt Dr. Cos has deerly ezpUined both errora : "One," he
Myt, " has been deceived by an Inqniaition taken on the death of one of the chapUins or tnisteet of the chantry property, and the other by s
confirmation deed of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield."

t DicnitU*. The Plumpton "Conretpoodenoe," p. zxrlii.. stylet him, ■' Second Baron of the Exchequer, 18 Bdward IIL» Sanesnhal of tbe
Duchy of Lancaster."

X •• Polydore Vergil," liber zsi., p. 554. Plumpton ** Correspondence.** p. xxiii.

B The moet correct pedigree of this fiunily is in Fostei's edition of the ** Visitation of Yorkshire " by St. Georfs in x6xs. The one in Flower^
'* Visitation," of 1583, xnakes the father and grandfather of Sir Robert, who espoused the Foljambe heiress, brothers. Then again, the editor of the
" Correspondence" bewilders the student by the confusion he creates from jumbling of the Christian names^WiUiam and Robert— peculiar to the
family.

WHESTON HALL.

^Ij^e^t on 9aU.

RE there no vestigea left ? Are even the spots unknown where the Tideswell residences of the
Daniels, Meverells, and Foljambes stood ? These fEunilies had acquired a provincial celebrit)',
while this ilk was a berewick of Hope. Indeed, the Daniels were Lords of the Manor (in
soccage, if not in capite), before parochial dignity was attained ; the Foljambes were knights
of the shire, and the Meverells " were a very ancient house of gentlemen." The last of the Tideswell
Foljambes had a grandfather who acquired Walton, yet there is no difficulty in tracing the actual position
of his homestead ; the Meverells were of Trowley, in Staffordshire, as far back as King John (1205), yet
the actual spot on which their Trowley Hall stood is known, but we search Tideswell in vain (less the
Church with its brasses, and monuments to their memory) to find even the probable site of their Peak
domicile. We are by no means satisfied that all vestiges are gone. Within this parish there are the two
Manors of Wormhill and Litton. The ancestorial Peak homestead of the Foljambes was at Wormhill 1 its
position is a myth ; the Daniels were particular favourites of King John, for the Hundred Rolls say that
he gave them Taddington, Buxton, and Priestclifie ** for &ye marks, to be paid annually at the Peak
Castle," but whether these lords of Tideswell lived within their lordship cannot be dug out. With the
knightly house of Lytton the case is different: Some seven or eight years ago their Hall, which they
disposed of in 1597, and in which the Apostle of the Peak was born, was standing, and would be yet, but
the despicable taste of these days replaced it by a structure of nondescript architecture. We have long
been convinced that around Tideswell there are vestiges of historic mansions once held by the Foljambes
or other famous families ; no doubt with every trace of their splendour gone, with every indignity heaped
upon them possible, with all recognition effaced by modem additions and appearances. Among the
public-houses of Tideswell our assumption may yet be verified. Not so far from the Church there is an
edifice — rude and dishonoured — ^with some slight evidence of Gothic workmanship, with traces, anyway,
of an architecture prior to Elizabethan. It is still designated (although now used as a cowhouse) as the
Old Hall. Tradition has it that it was the Hall of the Guild, which the Foljambes founded in the reigns
of Edward IH. and Richard 11.

The histoiy of the descent of the Manor of Tideswell yet remains to be written, says Dr. Cox. True,
but will the compilers face it ? Do not even the Hundred Rolls and other national records contradict
each other as to its possession? At the Survey it was Royal Demesne, and afterwards given to the
Peverells. " King John gave the Manor of Tiddeswell," says the Hundred Rolls (1274), " to Thomas de
Lameley, from 'him it descended to Monechias, his son, who had two daughters, one of whom died
without issue ; the other, Paulina, married De Paunton, who held all the manor. He afterwards sold it
to Richard Daniel, and from him it descended to John Daniel, who is the present owner." Now Lysons,
whose facts are taken from the Chart: Roi: and De Warranto, says "King John granted it in 1205 to
Thomas Armiger and his heirs. It is probable that it passed by female descent to the Bramptons, who
had the grant of a market in 1250. The Daniels, to whom the manor was confirmed by King Edward I.,
in 1304, are stated to have been the representatives of Thomas Armiger, above mentioned." The
assertions of Lysons have been recapitulated by Dr. Cox. Were Thomas Armiger and Thomas de
Lameley the same person ? Was the manor in moieties from the bequest of John until it came to the
Meverells ? The Bramptons and De Paunton could have held together, particularly if Brampton was the

2$! OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

husband of Paulina's sister. Whether the Daniels purchased or succeeded by heiress is of little
importance, they were lords of Tideswell. The last of the Daniels had three daughters, co-heiresses,
Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Meverell ; Catherine, married to Reginald de Marchington ; and Johanna,
who espoused John de Turvill. Some half century later we find the Staffords, of Eyam, in possession, for
it was confirmed to them by Richard H. in 1377. We are told they held from being the representatives
of the Marchingtons and Turvills. But in spite of the confirmation of Richard H. to the StafTords, which
makes it appear that this family were the entire lords, there is no getting over the fact that the Meverells
were quietly holding their third, and never once let it go.

In the sixteenth century the StafTords passed away, and their moieties of Tideswell passed to the
Meverells by gift or purchase. The Meverells were located at Tideswell for four hundred years. They
had another residence at Trowley, in Staffordshire, and old Erdcswick, the historian, says of them that
they were '* the best sort of gentlemen in the shire." Fifth in descent from Thomas, who mated with
Elizabeth Daniel, was that famous knight who fought under the Duke of Bedford, in France, taking part
in eleven battles in two years, among which was the memorable defeat of this nobleman by Joan of Arc
before the walls of Orleans. Particulars of this family are to be found in the History of Staffordshire, \>j
Erdeswick, while Mr. Sleigh has given us a pedigree in his Leek, There is a little gossip of this family
of some interest in Dugdalis Visitation : One of the girls of this old house (Dorothy), in the time of
Henry VIII., married John Barlow, of Stoke Hall ; her brother Francis espoused Anne, daughter of
Sir John Denham ; her nephew George married Constance Allen, of Whetstone (Wheston) Hall, and had
two sons, Francis and Otwell. From the Visitation of London, by St. George, 1633-4, ^^ learn that
Otwell became a London physician, and we have to thank the Visitation for the Christian name of the
physician's mother, for it is wanting where we should expect to find it. The elder brother of George
Meverell was Sampson, whose second son, Robert, purchased the family estates. Of the union of
Robert with Elizabeth Heminge, daughter of the Lord Chief Justice of England, there was one daughter,
who took Tideswell in her dowry to Thomas, Lord Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Ardglass. This
nobleman was fourth in descent from the Chancellor of Henry VIIL, that strange, dark, questionable
man, whose father was ' a blacksmith, whose name is inseparably linked with the spoliation of the
monasteries ; whose brain framed that diabolical statute by which a man could be found guilty without
being heard in his own defence, and very justly was the first to perish by his own enactment ; whose
memory is execrated by the Catholic and cherished by the Protestant, while with his last breath he
asserted his adherence to the Church he had done so much to destroy. His early career is a mystery,
for in turn he became soldier, clerk, fuller, lawyer, a commissioner of Wolse/s ready for the performance
of any dirty work, and yet competant to become Chancellor of England. One thing, we all owe him a
debt of gratitude, for the conception was his, and the law was his, that every marriage, christening, and
burial should be registered. He was the combination of a great statesman and a dastardly miscreant.
Thomas, Lord Cromwell, who married the heiress of the senior Meverells, was created Viscount Lecale
in 1624, and Earl of Ardglass in 1645. He was a Royalist of no mean order, and yet the fast friend of
Essex, the Parliamentary General. The Manor of Tideswell was sold to the Eyres of Highlow in 1654,
and in 1802 became the property of the Duke of Devonshire. The junior line of the Meverells was of
Tideswell long after the Restoration, for it was Cromwell Meverell of that ilk who became bail for
Henry Bradshaw when tried by the House of Lords in r66r. The wife of Cromwell Meverell was
Barbara Bradshaw, of Marple.

Although the Manor of Litton was with the Peverells, we believe that the family of Lytton was ver)-
early in possession. They disposed of it to John AIsop in 1597, who passed it to the Bagshawes in i6o6»
who sold it to the Bradshaws in 1620, who conveyed it to the Uptons in 1686, who were succeeded by the
Stathams in r707. It is now with the Curzons, Earls Scarsdale.

The Lyttons, of Litton, were forest officials in the reign of Henry IV. — agisters of the forest. Sir
Robert was Comptroller of the Royal Household, and Receiver-General of the Queen's rent in her Manor

WHESTON HAIX. ijj

of High Peak. His son, Robert, a Knight of the Bath, was Treasurer of the Exchequer, and purchased
Knebworth from the Bourchiers. Burke Tuakes this gentleman many Elizabeth Andrews, of Weston,
Norfolk, while the brass in Tideswell Church says quite a different thing. We believe, however, that both
Burke and the brass are right, but there is an omission in the pedigree, for the Treasurer was at the
Court of Henry VII., which cOuld not be very well. We submit that the Comptroller was grandfather of
the Treasurer. The L>ttons were Knights of the Bath, Sheriffs, and Members of Parliament for
generations. The last of the Lyttons died in 1705, when the heiress married with the Strodes, whose
heiress mated with the Robinsons, whose heiress espoused William Warburton, whose heiress became
the wife of W. Earle Bulwer. Thus the present Earl Lytton is somewhat removed from the old lords of
Litton, whose ashes lie in Tideswell Church.

Among the Melbourne Papers there is a letter written by William Wright, of Longstone, to Mr.
Timothy Pusey, under date of August 6, 1634, which relates to some of the Lytton families of this
period: —

"All wsnibj' Ctuuwarih 1 heud ihu Jots^ Trier uKl Ralph Atkiuan lud umc ipeecha iriihoiw Robcn Nbu

Eoncern

Dg (he tumuli of Ihe mi

en. . . ,

oho Multbdl told

im{N

Die) that Tb

omas

AUsopp RTil tba

Mutchell

and R. Sellers ibo

Id

.11 the DiLneoi ih.1 ihey

go mo

t the KLog*

M.jaly on

Tborsdaj

several

anas and Ualchell sent

them amy lo

(hoMpUea. . .

This

day I have

poken

with

Mr. UeUor

fTaddington. .

I cerliii

It HippoK (he begidoio

. Allsopp. . . .

Let M

tobeU be d

»ply

oned. .

. Novr

hear that Ibey h

one Mr. Noble. «id th>

he adviseih t

bem to Mod back a

gh«.

but iwo o

three, an

d he will pfeJe. ih

pecitiou

Ibe KlDfis Ha]«ly.

Ollieis report

he miners' wives [|

alare

mpriioned

trill peiitio

Ibe QnecD's Majesty

, . . Tbey would

comeb:r

mj Lord D'Erncoiirl u

urpeoce the loul.

amBa«sh.

aleilerl

Dm Derby ot the ceiues

thereof, -hicb leKei w.> openly

ead upon Snnday

ut a(

erev

ningpraye

rallbeC

■oa., in Tideswell,

nd

Ibereapo

D the mineii «ine for-wd upon Mond

ay towards Noltingh

m. .

. . Allii

.arly

urly

here, wid

ew or non

e of Ibe miners wo

1^

I'he Stathams of Tideswell and Wheston are said to have been a branch of the Stathams of Morley.
The assertion is on the monument to Thomas Statham in Tideswell Church, which is to be hoped is
more accurate than others that follow. Three of the family, says the monument — Sir John, Sir Nicholas,
and Sir Robert — were judges. There is only record of Nicholas, and he had simply a judgeship in
reversion, to which he never succeeded ; he was of Lincoln's Inn, however, and apparently the first man
to attempt to report the law cases. Thomas, of Tideswell, married Barbara Meverell, and was the son of
the loyalist of Tanstey. England is justly proud of those old cavaliers, whose loyalty and sacrifice lend to
the history of the Great Rebellion its features of chivalry, and among those cavaliers the Stathams were
conspicuous for their fidelity and military exploits.

Lodge, in his lUuslnttiont of British History, gives us a peep into an episode of the Foljambes which
he gathered from the Talhol Papers, and is exceedingly pathetic, as it shews poor Lady Constance being
cruelly persecuted for religious belief for a period of more than thirty years. She was a Littleton, of
Pillaton, in Staffordshire, and espoused Sir James Foljambe in 15+0, The knight's first wife was Alice,
heiress of William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton, who brought him Steeton and Aldwick. He died,
however, in 1558, leaving Lady Constance a widow in the very year that Elizabeth came to the Throne.
She was numbered among the Derbyshire recusants, and eventually all her property was appropriated ;
she became utterly destitute, without any means of living, or goods or chattels, and only owing to the
Earl of Shrewsbury (which is certainly a good mark to him) was she allowed her liberty. Ties of blood
at this time apparently went for nothing, as to wit, Francis Leake, who was her relative, wrote to the Earl,
February and, 1587 : —

" I WBl likewiM ibi* day al Tnpton, where I fonnd the Lady ConslaiKB Foljamb*. ... 1 did impart to Lady Foljambe my commlssioD lo
commil her to rhe charge of my cousin Poljambe. Her anawer ms that ibe wai by age and sickness of the stone not able to travel, other on
horse or foot, and u desired me to lei your lordship know ; wbeieupotx «he a« yel remaineth al Tupitm, lill joor pleasure be funber known."

A fortnight afterwards this cousin Foljambe (Sir Geoffrey, the old lady's own step-grandson) addressed
the Eari :—

" HaTing received your Honour's letters, directed unto ine and my coasin Leake, for Ibe apprehension and committing divers Papill
recusants meaiionvd in (he same Idler, 1 have accordingly apprehended the Lady Constance Foljambe, my grandmolber, and now have her in
my custody, whom by God's help I shall aafely keep and have forthcoming when she shall be called lor by yoDr good lordship, or any other that
shall be iri sach behalf by Her Highness authorised and appoinied."

13+ OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

The poor creature outlived her persecutors, though her ashes, in 1600, were laid in the same vault, at
Chesterfield, with those from whom she had suffered so much. Among the curiosities of the Foljambe
pedigree (and there are several) is this lady's husband's first marriage with Alice Fitzwilliam. Thej boih
sprang from the Sir Godfrey and his wife, Avena Ireland, who founded the Bakewell chantry ; but in this
case there are eight descents, and in the other six, so whether she stood in the relationship of a
grandmother or granddaughter we are at a loss to conceive. From a letter written by Fontenay to Qaeen
Mary of Scots (15th August, 1584), we gather there were two sons of this real old Derbyshire house who
lost their estates from their services to that unfortunate woman, had to fly to France, and were destitute
of resource : — " Monsieur Fuljambe it son btau frere doibvmt pariir tTuy dans qualn jours pour s'at alleren
France, ou ilz n'ont aucun moyen de vivn sans la bonlt tl liberalilt de voire Majtstt pour de laquelle ilt ont perdu
lous leun biens," The Sir Godfrey Foljambe, buried at Bakewell, 1377, was a personage of much greater
distinction than many of us are aware of. From a recently-published work on the bigwigs of the realm
during the last eight hundred years, we gather he was puisne Justice of King's Bench in 1 344 ; from the
reports of the Hislorical Manuscripts Commission we learn he was steward to the Duchy of Lancaster id
1374, for on the Chamberlain's Account for that year (46-47 Edward III.) there is this entry: "X^^-d.
paid for wine and spices spent on Godfrey de Folcham, the Duke of Lancaster's stevrard."

In the little village of Wheston, about a mile north-west of Tideswell, there is an old edifice which,
apart from its historical associations, would rivet the attention of anyone whose mind was prone (0
superstition. Without a knowledge of the dark tradition with which it is linked, its appeaiance occasions
a feeling of uncomfortableness, for which there is no reason to be assigned. So entirely ignored is this
homestead that after having waded through about forty different guides to the Peak of Derbyshire, we
found four lines recording its position in Bakewell and its Vicinity, by Mr. Andreas Edward Cokayne. We
immediately remembered that Lysons has a similar entry. Being determined to find out somethinfr
concerning the building, or its past tenants, we glanced through a copy of Tideswell Registry, and behold
our reward.

There was a Freeman living at the Hall two hundred years ago ; which fact reminded us that the
Freemans married with the Alens, who were here in the Middle Ages, while, in the list of the Peak genlri'
for the year 1570, there is the entrj- of Thurston Allen, of Wheston. Moreover, the registers give ns the
positive information that one, of the name of Charlotte, married the niece and heiress of the Freemaus,
and resided there. The east wing of the Hall presents the funniest appearance we remember for a long
time. The upper windows are Eliubethan, but that of bad workmanship, the others are early Georgian,
their positions being simply grotesque, every one differently distanced from the other, and of different
size. Why no one seems to know anything of Wheston Hall is curious, if from this fact only. Beneath
lie Blackwell, Tunstead, Chee Tor, and the Dales, and yet grass grows in the lanes that admit to such a
beautiful view. The tradition of Wheston Hall is, that once every year, the ghost of a lady passes "three
times round the house, barefooted, in her nightgown, shrieking and tearing her golden hair," She had
been married to a man she detested, and he whom she loved had retired to Wheston, seeking in literature
and quietude, peace for a broken heart. The villagers said his visitors had cloven feet and tails, or in
short were devils with whom he dealt. One day this lady turned up at the Hall, having forsaken her
husband, and at Wheston Hall she stopped. But her liege lord found her, and — well, he was never
known to leave again. There was a grave newly made in the orchard, it was said ; anyway, there was
murder. This lady died at the Hall, and was buried at Tideswell. The distance is rather a good one for
a stroll in a nightgown.

The last of the Alens, of Wheston, died about 1700, and devised all his estates, with the Hall, to his
nephew, John Boden, a child of tender age, but the Freemans, by some legal process, dispossessed the
boy and left them "to the Maxwells, of Meir, County Stafford (one son and three daughters), who all,
severally, had the possession of it, but all died childless ; whereupon Wheston Hall, devolved, according
to Freeman's Will, upon Harry Howard, of Sheffield (no relation), whose son, the (twelfth) Duke of Norfolk,
sold it."

WHESTON HALL.

*35

We would just direct the attention of the lovers of Derbyshire histor}' to three facts, which are
sufficient to induce them to find out something more about Wheston Hall. The Charltons were
descendants, maternally, of the princely house of Powys Wenwynwyn ; the Stathams played a memorable
part when Liberty and Loyalty had their terrible fight ; the Alens, or Alleyns, were relatives of the famous
Lord Mayor; and yet the position of this old edifice, associated with such names, alike dear to the
antiquarian and historical scholar, is scarcely known to men living within five miles from its portals.

^arioJt 0f ^Ottl0reat>e*

^insUv SdU anh ptfMrUtan ^atttU*

STANTON OLD HALL, THE BOWERS, AND
STANTON WOODHOUSE.

L

JTI^KSY whom were the Manors of Stanton and Stanton Ley held during the period which elapsed
^^£ between the forfeiture of the De Ferrars in 1169, and the Foljambe tenure a century later i^
jBay Not one of the compilers has even mooted such a question. Even for the scanty informatioD
of the Foljambe tenure we have to thank dear old Lysona*and the Plumplon Corrtipondtnct.
Whether the De Fenars ever held Stanton Ley as distinct from Stanton seems doubtful, though we
cannot help thinking that the Manor designated Stanton Hall in the Correspondence was apart from
Stanton, and th^ the edifice, which still retains the name of Stanton Old Hall, was the Manor House.
Particulars of every other manor in the Parish of Youlgreave less Birchover, are to be found in
abundance, and therefore we cannot see but that from these particulars we may adduce the holders
after the De Ferrars. Elton was certainly one of the two hundred and nine manors which were lost to
Robert de Ferrars, eighth Earl of Derby, after his disastrous Battle of Chesterfield, and it certainly
passed to the Bardolfs, Tibetots, and Foljambes consecutively. May not the same holders have held
Stanton ? In the case of the Foljambes the supposition is actual fact, which cannot be controverted.
Moreover, the Foljambes acquired Elton and Stanton at identically the same time, and they certainly
succeeded the Tibetots at Elton.f With the tenure of the Manor of Stanton there has ever been linked
a fatality which, to say the least, is curious — the extinction of the male line of each particular family who
.have held it,— De Ferrars, Bardolf, Tibetot (if they did hold it), Foljambe, Plumpton, Bache, Thomhill,
Hurlock. The De Ferrars were dispossessed after being lords of the soil for one hundred and eighty
years (which fact is singular, as we shall see in a moment), and with the next life the male line ceased ;
the last of the Bardolfs fell at Bnunham Moor, and his body was quartered as that of a traitor ; the last
Tibetot expired on Tower Hill ; both branches of the Foljambes (Worrahill and Tideswell) who held it
became extinct ; % the Plumptons acquired it by gift from the widow of Sir Edward Foljambe, from whom
it was filched by atrocious scoundrelism, and they, too, passed away.[| The Baches next held it, and,
from what we can gather, for about the same period as the De Ferrars. In i6g8 William Bache died,
leaving no son to succeed him, and his heiress passed it to John Thomhill, whom she had married. For
one hundred and eighty years this old Derbyshire family were lords of Stanton, when, on the death,
of Mr. William Pole Thomhill, J.P., D.L., in 1875, it came to Henry Francis Hurlock, a Thomhill
maternally, whose decease in 1881 gave it to his sister's husband. Major McCreagh, who, in right of his

•S«« «olllorily ol Ljiorn (or Foljunbe. " DsrbTihirs," p. joj.

tThej ware waanu nnder Iha 'HbetoU, prerJoiulT to bacomini pammoiult lord! of BUOD.

t Ona In ijBS, tha othar 1464.

I At paga III of the "PlDmpcoii CorraipoiideDes " tbeia ii i tellu from a SUDIon leouH (10 Sir Robart, fRnn whom ihii lotdihlp wu
filcbad) irtiich (iva ns an idsa of taaa of Ibe Suotoa Udt of 149] ;— "Ptaue 70D to oDdonnod, tba eania ol m; wriUag ii this; ronr
lonUUp of Suoioa, wbtrs that 1 dwell ii made lauar o< rant and half jaat tsIow [and jt may contjoaw m and be (oflwed of yoo *^^
jtiTmZ be ihe greuing of XX oiea be yere. For Ihst bg loch mcD dwalUog la Slanlon thai thai deale, that will no other way bnl u ;
iber will baie Tt, by tbei leTuig, be jt right or wrong. And yt please jovi 10 wad ^odt eomiieil over to hold a coart, he ihall haTS toch.
inlDniudoii be lu, that be tout tanaoDit, that jronr liSlod ihall be laved and kept unto yoa and joart, with the grace of God who ha*e
70D in Hii blcMcd keeping. Aod nppoo thia concinilon and il pleue jta, u to do. thai jon leck op your evydence of a place it called.
Ranald Riding, under what forme joa haTe ft, lor except jour evidence ipeCTfie, 700 be, lyhe to goe without 71 "

IF

a+i OLD HAIX:

-wife, took out letters patent for the additional
Baches married her husband in 1696, but over t
Thonihills, carved in stone fhao ban gemdles, 0.
confirms an assertion made by White, and whic
again, is a singular thing : the Baches were livi
them is that they held other lands at Ravensdali
and which they sold to the Curzons, Lords Si
English family or Gennan (as the name suggi
Bishop of St. Asaph,

Hunter, in his Soulh Vorkshirt, Vol. II., paj
on the banks of the Calder, in very remote 1
endowed the Priory of firetton. Here they we
Thoresby's Leeds (Ducalus Leodiensit) there i
when our Thomhills shot off, when the senio
representatives of this house. At the comment
of Fizby and Rushton ; of Diddington ; of Sta
paternally. Clara, the eldest co-heiress of the 1
adopted by Royal license the additional sumai
Cokaynes, Viscounts Cullen for two hundred ye

The Bardolfs and Tibetots held the Manor
the Longfords held Killamarsh by the supplying
The Bardolfs held Addington, in Surrey, on mu
-on the Coronation Day, a person to make a d;
the same up to the King's table."

The Manor of Stanton really comprises abi
three knight's fees, presuming, oi course, that 1
yard-land ; four yard-lands one hide ; four hi
linked with the Foljambes and Plumptons ; wit
and State Records. We have read somewhere
this edifice must have been their homestead,
-different appearance. How interesting such a
stands upon the site of the homestead of the Bi
the former building.

In the days of Queen Elizabeth there was
Alen,t or Aleyne, relatives of men who were ph
history at the time, but of whom very little indi
the famous Douay College, and was made Car(
Lord Mayor of London, left the rich gold colla
branch of the house which claimed descent
Cranmer, the Archbishop, through their grand
whom Pursglove made Feoffee of the Gramma
the fifteenth century. There was the Gresle
baronial Pagets and the ducal Howards ; the ]
Jewitt brought out The Reliquary very few hac
edifice more than three hundred years ago.

STANTON OLD HALL, THE BOWERS, AND STANTON WOODHOUSE. 243

Glover, the famous herald of 1583. In Volume I. of the Topographer^ where there is a genealogy of the
Gresley branch of the family, we find Alleyne; in Burke's Extinct Baronetage it is written AUeyn; in
Lysons it is queried with Aleyne ; while Leslie Stephen amends it with Allen. This slight difference of
orthography pales before the fact that John, the Lord Mayor, had a younger brother John, whose
granddaughter mated with Lord George Howard, and so the genealogist can revel to* his fill in delightful
complications. Like the Ashenhursts, Fynneys, Sleighs, and Beresfords, the Alens were undoubtedly a
Staffordshire family. The father of the Cardinal was located somewhere near Leek, until his relative, the
Abbot of Dieulacreese, gave him the lease of Rossall Grange. The founder of the greatest of all
Catholic seminaries, though educated at Oxford, was never intended for the Church. It was his spirit of
opposition to intolerance that led him to defy the ecclesiastical authorities in England, then to establish
a college on the banks of the Scarpe, in France,* from whence issued the most subtle antagonists the
Reformation had to encounter ; and lastly, to adopt a bigotry and fanaticism of a diabolical type. When
the Spanish Armada is spoken of, is the name of William Alen coupled with it ? Are we told that the
project principally emanated from his brain or that Phillip II. of Spain demanded from Sixtus V. a
cardinal's hat as a reward for the Englishman whose religious frenzy had destroyed even his patriotism ?
Such facts we admit are too often lapt up in lavender, and kept in the Archives of the Escurial or Vatican ;
still, they ooze out, and in this case we know where to lay our finger on the page of evidence. Thus,
while George Alen, of Stanton Woodhouse, in the year 1588, was busy about his crops, his relative, the
Cardinal at Rome (and apostolic librarian), was expecting a despatch that should tell of the reduction of
England to a province of Spain.

It is worth note that the last year of John Alen's mayoralty was one of the most memorable in
England's history — the separation of the Anglican Church from the Roman hierarchy ; the execution of
the greatest Englishman, perchance, that ever existed (Sir Thomas.More)» for conscience sake, and the
translation of Holy Writ into our own tongue by Coverdale, the first page shewing the date 1535.

The Alens were holding Wheston Hall, near Tideswell, and The Lees, near Glossop, at the same
time that they were residing at the Woodhouse. The assumption is, however, that, but for their kinship
with the Lord Mayor, no one would have taken the least trouble to have noticed their tenancy in North
Derbyshire. The descendants of the civic dignitary, who came to dwell at Gresley, have found numerous
genealogists to record their pedigree ; so have the Loughborough offshoots ; but, to know anything of the
Tideswell or Stanton branches, we have to dig them out where we can. What is known of the last of the
Wheston branch, who died at the Hall in 1700, arises from an infamous fraud. John Alen willed the old
residence to his nephew, John Bowden, a child of four years, whom one of the Freemans dispossessed by
covin, cut ofif all claims of the Bowdens by legal process, and left it to the Maxwells, four in succession,
who all, curious to say, died without issue, with an ultimate remainder to Henry Howard, the father of
the twelfth Duke of Norfolk, by whom it was sold.

While yet the Greaves were living at Beeley, and lords of that manor, during the reign of Queen
Bess, one of the sons used to find his way to Stanton Woodhouse in quest of Miss Dorothy Alen. From
the eight sons, with which this union was blest, spring the various Derbyshire representatives of this
extremely old family, as also those of Mayfield, and of Hurston in Lancashire. Stanton Woodhouse
became their residence. This old Tudor edifice, nestling among a cluster of yew, chestnut, walnut, and
elm trees, has been used, for the last century, as a shooting box, if we mistake not, by the illustrious
family of Manners, Dukes of Rutland.

The heraldic coat of the Greaves is of interest, and was acquired by William, who married Dorothy
Ley, of Mayfield Hall, at the beginning of last century. In the reign of Edward HI., the Gilberts were
of the Parish of Lullington, and had been for twelve generations, says Ljrsons, which would run them
back as located there before the Conquest. The Greaves, as we all know, were remotely of Beeley and
lords of the manor, which they sold to the Saviles, who passed it to the Gilberts. The Saviles and

^ Memoir of Allen prefixed to the first edition of the *< Douay Diaries."

244 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Gilberts are gone, but the Greaves are still with us, with the quartering of the Gilberts in their arm,
Thurgarton Priory came to the Gilberts by bequest of the Coopers, whose name and arms they adopted.*
Why the other two quarterings of this fisunily (Harpur and Bainbrigge) were not donned by the Greaves we
cannot understand. Then, again, the Floyers quartered Croke, Baphe, Loundes, and others, but the
Greaves have ignored them. The Newtons were not only of Duffield, and Horsley, and Mickleover, but
of Barr Court, Gloucester ; of Hader, Lincoln ; of Thorp, York ; of Crabaton Court, Devon ; of Newton,
Cheshire. It was the Lincoln branch which produced the philosopher and mathematician. The Gorings
greatly distinguished themselves as Royalists, and have held two baronetcies and the Earldom of Norwich ;
their names are still in the Peerage.

From Stanton Woodhouse went forth a man who founded the Lancashire branch, and whose grandson
was John Greaves, the banker, partner wkh Sir Robert Peel, Bart. There are three members of this
family who acquired not wealth but immortality: John, the linguist; Thomas, the orientalist; and
Thomas, the lyric poet ; but the ancestors of these famous men had gone forth from Beeley in the Middle
Ages. Thomas, the poet and musician, flourished some three centuries ago, but three of his madrigals—
"Come Away, Sweet Love," "Lady, the Melting Crystals of Thine Eyes," "Sweet Nymphs" — were
re-published in our time.

The quaint old edifice which stands on an eminence not far from Pickery Comer, was the residence
of the Bowers. The senior line of this family became extinct in 1763, by the death of Francis, Rector of
Barlborough, whose heiress married Mr. T. B. Bradshaw, of Holbrook. Christopher Bowers, brother
of the rector, married Dorothy Bunting, of Youlgreave, and had three daughters : Jane, the wife of
Richard Potter, of Manchester, who had five sons and three girls, who all preferred single blessedness ;
Elizabeth died unmarried ; and Amelia espoused Avery Tebb. One of the Potters purchased Darley Hall,
in 1822, from the Arkwrights.

If anyone wants a delightful stroll in the holidays, and at the same time to get a glance at three or
four old historical edifices, let him start from the Peacock at Rowsley, and take the lane to Stanton
Woodhouse. After crossing the meadow, which lays open the beauties of Darley Dale, the road is
reached, which, to the left leads to the village of Stanton Leys, and to the right to Stanton. From here
we get a view of Haddon and the picturesque scenery surrounding it. A little further and Stanton Old
Hall lies beneath us, but the tourist must ask for Gregory's Farm, and then he has it ; another delightful
half-mile brings us to Stanton. Here, to see the Hall, permission must be asked. Following the road
we get both Old Hartle Hall and The Bowers. From here both Rowsley and Youlgreave are but short
distances. Edifices once held by the Alens, Foljambes, Baches, Thomhills, and Cokaynes will furnish
an abundance of pleasure to the antiquarian or historical scholar. What a host of knights in armour and
dames in headdresses like Towers of Babel arise ; what chivalry, beauty, loyalty, and fidelity, and amid it
all, the scoundrel features of Empson gloating in his having reduced the Plumptons to beggary.

* Vide Spondon in Appletree Hundred.

WINSTER HALL AND MIDDLETON CASTLE.

prin^ter gall anh l^ibMetan Cattle.

|HOSE Youlgreave bells I They fonn one of the munificent gifts of the last of the Thomhills and
his lady, and the exquisitely sweet but pathetic note of their iron tongues is inanimate matter
striving to articulate.

When the last rays of a Summer's sun are lending a myriad of tints to the exuberant foliage
of Lathkil Dale, and these bells are imparting to such glorious scenery a weird influence, there arises an
idea that between this lovely valley and the aisles of the old church there is some mysterious link.
Within the precincts of the sacred edifice lie the ashes of knights and high-bom dames, of many scions
of old Derbyshire families, of whom it is so difficult to know anything : Rossingtons, Gilberts, Buxtons,
Sheldons, Bradburys, not to mention the Cokaynes and Greaves. Shall we say that those heiresses who
passed the lordship on in their dowries for about four hundred years knew nothing of the delightful
strolls around Conksbury Bridge ? We trow they did, and the gentlemen, too, who won their hearts and
lands.

Within the Parish of Youlgreave there are seven manors : Birchover, Elton, Gratton, Middleton,
Stanton, Winster, and its own. How many old families their tenure introduces us to I How many are
the facts of pathetic interest I

Youlgreave was one of the manors which were forfeited to the Crown by the disloyalty of Robert de
Ferrars (eighth Earl of Derby) in 1269. It afterwards passed to the Shirleys, Rossingtons, Gilberts,
Barnesleys, and Buxtons, who sold it to the Manners in 1685. Thus the Church links on the Dukes of
Rutland and Devonshire with CoUe the Saxon in the days of Edward the Confessor, the earliest known
lord of the manor ; for Thomas, the grandson of the Thane, built the Norman portion of this structure
and gave it to the monks of Leicester Abbey, while after the spoliation of the monasteries the advowson
was given to Sir William Cavendish by Edward VI. There seems to be some romance about the Gilbert
whom the heiress of the Rossingtons espoused, for the Heralds designate him as Gilbert alias Kniveton,
while his shield is undoubtedly identical with the ancient one of the Knivetons who were living at
Youlgreave six hundred years ago. From the senior line of the Buxtons having held this manor during
the seventeenth century, and from a branch of the Warwickshire Sheldons (so celebrated for their
persecution for conscience sake) having held residence here for ten or twelve generations, we are prompted
to get a glimpse at two families about whom any information is so meagre. The De Bawkestones, as the
Buxtons are termed on very early documents, were evidently living at Buxton in 1256, from a deed still
extant. There is another document, dated 4 Richard II. (138 1), which shews them as people of great
landed importance. Richard de Buxton was Sheriflf of the County for the year 141 5. The Inquisition of
the Forest (13 18) shews one holding an office which was by letters patent from the King, though, as
Burke says, until about the close of the fifteenth century their genealogy is somewhat complicated. In
one item there is no complication : Whether in the days of the Plantagenets or Guelphs, whether with
sons of a senior or junior line, a characteristic has adhered to them most tenaciously — ^to select women
whose pockets held title deeds as well as broad pieces. Among the heiresses are those of Lane, Feme,
Jackson, Peacock, Stubbing ; among the other ladies are daughters of the Beresfords, Woodwards, Pegges,
Wigleys, Lowes, Levinges. John de Buxton, who was living in the reign of Henry VII., had two sons,
William and Henry. From the elder sprang those men who founded fresh branches of their house in

248 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

Youlgreave, Bakewell, and Brassington, whilst the descendants of the yoangest settled at Bradbiune.
The Rev. R. G. Buckston, of Sutton-on-the-Hill, is their representative, and last of his line. It was one
of this branch whose pride prompted him at the commencement of the present century to change the
orthography of the old name from "Bux** to "Bucks." The reason is perhaps obvious — there were
cousins in trade at Nottingham. Lysons says that Jedidiah Buxton, of Elmton, whose faanUy was very
poor, but whose marvellous mental arithmetic allowed him to find such products as that of a ferthing
multiplied one hundred and thirty-nine times, was a member of this house. Glover presumes that the
Norfolk Buxtons, who hold a baronetcy, are an offshoot, but there is apparently no evidence to support it.
There is a pathetic interest about the fact that the senior lines of two such old Peak families as the
Buxtons and Bradburys, should have located themselves at Youlgreave as gentlemen during the Tudor
period; should have been entitled to bury their dead within the chancel, and that now the lineal
representative in both cases should be following, or were, an useful village trade.

In the neighbourhood of Elton, Gratton, Middleton, and Youlgreave there are several members of
the Sheldon family holding farms and homesteads. Reference to the Register of Bakewell Church will
shew marriages of members of this house as far back as 1618, while one held One Ash Grange in 1544
from the Beresfords, and became security for the Rector's obedience to the Chapter. It is singular that
the Derbyshire branch of this famous house should, at first, have settled themselves at Sheldon, while
their celebrated ancestor, Anselm, in the reign of Henry III., should have been lord of Sheldon, County
Warwick : Singular, too, that the Warwick, Worcester, and Stafford branches should have stuck to their
Universities and honours, while those of Derby have followed their ploughs and teams. In the Vistiaiion
of Dugdale (1662) there are nine generations shewn, but neither wives nor atms declared. Could there
be stronger evidence that the welfare of their cattle was a matter of greater importance to them than
pedigree, or that one of their cousins was Archbishop of Canterbury, or another the famous antiquarian
of Steeple Barton ? While the Sheldons, of Youlgreave, were selecting their wives from the humble
families of Simpsons and Birds,* their cousins were mating with girls of Lords Delaware, Petre,
Rocksavage, and a Princess of the house of Anersburg. It appears from positive evidence now, that even
the father of Gilbert Sheldon, the Archbishop — who made more than one retreat to Derbyshire during
the troubled times of the Interregnum — ^was but a menial, and that his education as a lad was owing to the
Talbots. This famous divine had talents which should have made him the leader of an administration,
not the chief dignity of the Church. After taking his degrees and fellowship at Oxford, and becoming
domestic chaplain to Lord Keeper Coventry, his divinity partook so much of politics that it secured him
a Chaplaincy to Charles I. It was to Gilbert Sheldon that this monarch (when disaster had come upon
him from the Rebellion) solemnly vowed (and attested his vow by signature) that he would restore all
Impropriations to the Church which had been taken away from it. The words of the vow can be read in
Ecard's History. The original document was preserved by Sheldon for thirteen years underground.
Parliament threw the Chaplain into the Tower, and afterwards released him on his word of honour, and
then it was that he came to Derbyshire. At the Restoration he was made Dean of the Royal Chapel and
Bishop of London. It was at his house in the Savoy that the celebrated wrangle was held between the
Churchmen and the Presbyterians over the revision of the Liturgy, which resulted in the Act of Uniformity
and Black St. Bartholomew's Day. Sheldon was very soon after translated to the See of Canterbury. But
it is the munificence of Gilbert Sheldon which should be remembered. Many of us have seen the
Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford ; some of our hearts may have beat the quicker at its mention, but we ever
forget old Gilbert ; how he employed Wren to build it at a cost of more than twelve thousand pounds,
and how he left two thousand pounds more to keep it in repair. Then, again, he never budged from
London during the Plague, which fact is worthy of note.

Another cousin of the Youlgreave Sheldons was the gentleman of whom Wood in his Athena has
told us so much : Belonging to the Worcestershire branch, who were very rich, Ralph Sheldon was

* Bakewell Register.

WINSTER HALL AND MIDDLETON CASTLE. 249

educated by private tutors; travelled very much on the Continent; married Henrietta Maria Savage,
daughter of Lord Savage ; gave his study to heraldry, and antiquity ; collected a mass of manuscripts,
which he added to his library at Wheston. The Worcestershire Sheldons were Catholics, and so this
gentleman suffered various mulcts and imprisonments. From the notes to the Athena we learn that his
library was sold some years after his death, and at the sale there is an item worth note. '*A large
collection of scarce old Plays, by various authors, bound in fifty-six volumes quarto," was sold for five
guineas, then immediately for eighteen, though instantaneously changing hands for £11 ids. Several of
these volumes have since found their way to the Bodleian Library. Some of the Sheldons were living
around Sheldon and Monyash two centuries ago, at which time one of their relatives was Lord Mayor of
London, .and another Maid of Honour to the Queen of England. But the Youlgreave branch of this
memorable family went on, and are still doing so, with their teams and their milk pails, ignoring their
illustrious ancestry, and being ignored, too, for no one seems to have resuscitated the memorabilia of the
Derbyshire Sheldons from the ashes of time.*

The ancestors of the Batemans of Middleton-by- Youlgreave were of Hartington perchance two
hundred years before the Batemans of Hartington Hall, and designated in the Landed Gentry as of that
ilk. There appears to have been two distinct families of Bateman living for generations at Hartington,
though one for a much longer period than the other ; and, what is curious, no one has taken the trouble
to make such a fact clear, nor let it be understood that in the reign of Henry IH. one of them was of
South Wingfield, in the County of Derby, and the other of Norwich, in the Coimty of Norfolk. One has
been conspicuous for its intellect, the other for its knighthoods.

Sir Bernard Burke (not John Burke, f who says quite a different thing) is pleased to assert that the
Middleton house are descendants of the Hartington Hall Batemans. This is truly provoking, for how
can a family that has been of Derbyshire for six hundred years be descendants of a family that were only
first locating themselves in the shire about the time that Queen Elizabeth was going shares with Admiral
Drake in his plunder of the Spanish galleons ? If it can be shewn (which it cannot) that both families
sprang originally from an old Norfolk founder, the assertion of descent would still be absurd, for surely
brother does not take descent from brother ; to say both sprang from the same ancestor, remotely, might
be true, but would need proof. The Inquistttonum Post Mortem shews a remote sire of the Middleton
Batemans as holding lands in the county under the De Herizzes ; now the last of the De Herizzes died
six centuries ago. The earliest known Bateman of the other family, resident at Hartington Hall, is
Richard (who married Ellen Topleyes), grandfather of the three gentlemen who were simultaneously
dubbed knights by Charles IL How there was a lingering affection for the County of Norfolk is seen
from the youngest of the three brothers purchasing the How Hall estate in that shire, and residing there.
Here is where the confusion — not complication — comes in ! Both houses have been connected with
Youlgreave since the commencement of the seventeenth century. Hugh Bateman, of Hartington Hall,
died in 16 16, and was buried at Youlgreave. Very shortly before this event, William Bateman, also of
Hartington, but not of the Hall family, had married his wife, Helen, from Youlgreave.

Just a century later we gather from Lysons that a moiety of the Manor of Middleton was with
Elizabeth Bateman. To pile up the confusion, Thomas Bateman, of Middleton, husband of Rebekah
Clegg, sheriff of the county, 1823, and father of the famous antiquarian, sold his paternal estates in
Hartington to Hugh Bateman, of Hartington Hall. There has been a marked distinction between the
two families. We cannot trace that any one son of the Middleton house was ever knighted or held a
baronetcy, or was Lord Mayor, or a Member of Parliament ; while the lads of the Hartington family have
had the escutcheon of Ulster upon their shield ; have sat in St. Stephen's ; have worn the gold collar ;
and, if accounts are true, one was a bishop and another among the warriors of Edward III. in his Flemish

* Strolling throu|^ Youlgreave recently we noticed in the workshop of a marble mason a monument being chiselled to the memory of this
old house. We would like to know what moved the pity oi the devisor.
i Commoners, Vol. IV.

2G

250 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

campaign. There are some stories of William Bateman, the famous Bishop of Norwich, worth the telling.
He is memorable in history, too, for his diplomatic services, and for being a favourite with three Popes
— ^John XXn., Benedict XIL, and Clement VL His affray with the Abbot of St. Edmondsbury is
somewhat facetious. He considered he was master of the Abbot, but that dignitary could not see it.
The Abbot obtained a writ against him for some undue interference, but when the attorney went to serve
it he excommunicated him. The Bishop was fined by the civil power, but he would not pay it, neither
would he absolve the attorney. " His goods and chattels were consequently distrained, his temporalities
seized, and his person threatened with arrest " ; but he defied the King and the law, too, and went to
windward. He appears to have been a description of Thomas-&-Beckett in asserting the authority of a
bishop, with the additional ability of bullying a neighbouring state out of a province, or demonstrating
with his fists as well as his tongue. The episcopal estates of the Bishop were so well stocked with game
that some of the nobility trespassed into his preserves. He caught my Lord Morley and first
excommunicated him, and then made him do penance along the public streets without hat or shoes,
carrying the usual wax taper while proclaiming his crime. But old William, the bishop, is remembered
kindly by us withal. He was the founder of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and during that horrible year of
1349, when the ''Black Death" slew its thousands, he stood to his post with the same pluck with which
he defied the Abbot of St. Edmondsbury. The lordship of the Manor of Middleton-by-Youlgreave was
purchased by Thomas Bateman, the sheriff at the commencement of the present century.

Thomas Bateman, the antiquarian, was the grandson of Thomas, the sheriff, who purchased the
lordship from the co-heiresses of Viscount Howe. The birthplace of the archaeologist was Rowsley.*
His mother was a daughter of the Cromptons, of Brighmet, Lancashire. His tastes for ethnology and
antiquity were inherited from his grandfather and father, who was an F.S.A. and an excavator among the
tumuli of the Peak. The foundation of the splendid collection of MSS. and curiosities, but recently at
Lomberdale House, was the result of their researches. What Hoare did for Wiltshire, Thomas Bateman
did for Derbyshire. The three volumes, which set forth his own researches,! will ever remain as
monuments of his success, to excite emulation in the same path. Cut off when he had scarcely reached
his prime — ^in his fortieth year, and yet he had done so much. He had brought together a marvellous
assortment of pre-historic remains — Celtic and Anglo Saxon — ^and yet he was not a Fellow of the Society
of Antiquaries, only of the Ethnological. He was a large contributor to the Archaeological Journals and
periodicals of antiquity, and was preparing a catalogue of his MSS. when he was struck down. He lies
buried, almost by the road side, not far from the remains of Middleton Castle, within a fissure of those
rocks of whose history he was such a wondrous expounder.

One curious feature of the possession of the manor is that the particular line of each family that has
held it is gone — Ferrars, Edensors, Herthills, Cokaynes, Fulwoods, Sanders, Howes — ^and that each of
these particular branches of such old families should have been conspicuous for bravery, whether
military or naval. Among the heroes of Edward HI. were Sir Thomas Herthill and Sir John Cokayne ;
among the picked cavaliers of Charles L was Christopher Fulwood ; among the Ironsides of Cromwell
was Colonel Sanders ; among the greatest of England's seamen was Admiral Howe. There are many
picturesque dales in the County of Derby — some for loveliness perchance without a rival, yet not all have
their attractions for the geological, or antiquarian, or historical student ; nor all have associations which
move to pity. In the pretty dale of the Bradford stood the homestead of the Fulwoods. They were an
old Warwickshire family, with scions located in the Counties of Leicester, Stafford, and Hants. The
senior line were of London and Middleton, and any of us who know the city of London know Fulwood
Rents in Holbom. They purchased Middleton from the Cokaynes in 1598. Christopher Fulwood { was
living with his wife and two daughters at his castle by the rivulet which gave its name to the dale when

* Bom 8 November, xSai.

i I.— Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire. II.— Catslogne of the Antiquities preserved in the Museum at Lombtfdale House. III.— Ten
years' diggings in Celtic and Saxon Gravehills.

I Under date of 4 August, 2^3, Fulwood wrote to Sir John Coke, "A neighbonr, William Bateman, came to me to be of his counsel in

WINSTER HALL AND MIDDLETON CASTLE. 151

the English Rebellion set Englishman against Englishman in deadly combat. Charles I. called for a
bodyguard from among the Peakrells, but the Lieutenant of the County cried off the job, and so
Christopher Fulwood got one from among the miners of Tideswell of more than a thousand strong.
How thorough a gentleman was Fulwood, one of his opponents in religion and politics bears evidence.
In 1640, at the Bakewell Sessions, the Curate of Taddington was charged with Puritanism. Fulwood
was chainnan, but says Bagshawe, the Apostle of the Peak, " though known to be a zealot in the cause of
the then King and conformity, Fulwood released him and gave his accusers a sharp reprimand." His
influence in the county was particularly offensive to the Parliamentarians and Sir John Gell, of Hopton,
the Roundhead officer, and so, one day in November, 1643, Gell sent a body of troops to seize Fulwood,
who, being warned of his danger, hid " in a fissure separating an outlying mass of rock from its parent
cliff in the dale of Bradford, a few hundred yards in the rear of the mansion." Here he was shot,
receiving a mortal wound, of which he died at Culton, in Staffordshire, a few days afterwards, where his
captors had taken him on the way to Lichfield. The two daughters of this gentleman, " Elizabeth and
Mary, sought refuge among their friends in London, where they died in obscurity." Some kindly hand
— perchance that of Thomas Bateman, the antiquarian — has guarded the vestiges of the old Fulwood
residence from further spoliation by surrounding them with walls. One member of this house was of a
literary turn and wrote The Enemie of Idleness, a prose composition with metrical love epistles ; and
translated Gratarolus' Casiie of Memorie. The works were printed 1568 and 1563 respectively.

Whether we enter Winster from the Youlgreave or Darley roads, by vehicle or as pedestrians, the
mind has but one impression — that we have been pushed back by some occuh influence into the days of
our great-grandfathers, to see, think, and feel as they did. The quaintness of its buildings reminds one
of those frugal and ingenious ladies who alter their robes with the changes of ^hion, until at last it
becomes a difficulty to assign the age in which they were first put together. Just without its boundaries
there are Druidical remains that belong to a period when masonry was unknown ; but it is the old Hall,
standing in the main street by the road side, which has been ignored (so far as we can find) by every
writer on Derbyshire, that the curious wish to know something about. But from its tenancy by the late
famous antiquarian, Llewellyn Jewitt, no one (apart from a person living in the place) would have heard
of it. Two hundred and sixty years since Francis Moore (so we learn from a short article in the Winster
Parochial Magazine , by Mr. H. C. Heathcote) had "the gritstone, with which the Hall is built, brought to
Winster on pack horses from the StancHffe quarries in Darley Dale." Now, who was this Francis Moore,
for his descendants were holding lands here within the last half century ? Only a short time previously
Charles Moore, of Stretton, had purchased the Manor of Appleby Parva (from Sir Edward Griffin), of
which his offshoots are still lords, and where they reside. He was a scion of the great Bamborough
house, and by a junior line descended from the immortal author of the Utopia, who preferred rather to
sacrifice his life than sell his conscience. Was Francis the son or the brother of Charles ? We know
(thanks to Mr. Heathcote) that the builder of Winster Hall was bom at Derby ; was married at Bakewell,
April 16, 1624, where he resided, and had two children bom to him, and that four years later he was
living at his Winster homestead. But his kinship with the Appleby Parva family, or his illustrious
descent from the famous Bamborough stock, may not have mooted itself to the learned chemist, and as
we fancy this gentleman is in communication with members of the late Winster house, he may earn the

drawiof A conTeyance lo him of luidi in Over HaddoD. [ would aiA tuiT« * itrtngcr, IreeboLder of thai toffn. Tb«K Unds — fivoi closeB - jron
can buy a bargain a1 £ieo(valDed at fiGajear), and I canlal Ihem M £'■>* raar." " Uelbonroa Papera," Vol. II., p. 17.

ADolber lettsr ol Fuloood to Sir John will b« of ioureil, " The unanli of Orer Haddon Inform mc Ihat it ii your pleaioia I Ihall draw a
l«we ol your lands there onto [hem for Ihree yean, bot I forbear until I bur from yoiL Mr. Herbert oflereth lo sell BraailDgloo, and if yoa can
have il for £300, 1 think it well pven. Your letter la Mr. Gilbert 1 gave to my clerk 10 pal up ufe in itie cloak big. I iin afraid li i> left in my
chamber al London. I did lie with Mr. Gilbert at my coming down, and told him llul yon had taken llie piini to wriw a latter of lhr« sidei of
paper onto him, and I did acquaint him with all the panicular* of il, for by good fortune you pleased to read il 10 ma. Sir F. Coke and he hare
met I perceive by Mr. Gilbert Itial Sir Fnuicit (Henryi Willoughby moch deaireth 10 have 1 meeting looner than your coming down. Mr.
Gilbert tells me that Sir TbomiB Biudell hath lold 10 much of hit land uhelulb paid all hii debtiand left llionEand per anoDm, and beside*
hath Kme of the moaeyt span the sale lefi. He thinks if il be your pleasure filling lime 10 lei somewhat be apoken loochinR a malch between
hit aon and your daughter, Mittren Mary, for be thinks tw great poctioB will be now stood upon.'

tS2 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

gratitude of historical students by ascertaining whether they claimed descent from the famous Lancashire
Moores, or from the Moores, of More, County Salop, of whom the ancestor was the Norman knight who
was given More by the Conqueror ; now represented by Squire Moore, of Lindley Hall, and by Stephen
Moore, Earl Mount Cashell in the peerage of Ireland. The shields of both the Appleby and Winstar
families were identical until James II. granted Sir John (of Appleby) the augmentation.of a Canton, on
which there was a lion of England, for certain subserviency. Both families had large interests in the
lead mines of the neighbourhood ; both were generous benefactors of the poor, as is shown by the
records of the Chapelries. Lysons speaks out plainly about some of the Winster bequests, and says he
cannot find where they have gone to. Certainly, as the Great Master said, the poor we have always with
us ; but their bequests disap[>ear somehow.

Within the Hall, on the ceilings of the lower front rooms, there are frescoes, said to be by West, the
successor of Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy. We gave our opinion frankly on
the spot that we failed to recognise the brush that yielded up " The Battle of La Hague " and " The
Death of Nelson." It appears there was a certain clergyman resident here time back whose delicacy was
shocked with the semi-nudity of the nymphs, and the glorious little cherubs devoid of clothing, and so
this austere man whitewashed the offensive frescoes over, which common sense has since scraped off,
though slightly to the injury of the limbs of the fair creatures.

The Hall is now tenanted by Captain Tom Metcalf * and his lady, whose courtesy in allowing us to
inspect the interior of the old edifice we most gratefully acknowledge. As we stood beneath the old roof
we could only think of him whose marvellous researches had contributed so much to the intellectual
treasures of the nation. We were in his very sanctum sanctorum. But it was not the vast researches of
the scholar (researches that knew no spell), nor the brilliant language in which he could give the fruit of
those researches to the world, nor the skill of the artist, that made Englishmen proud of him — it was the
noble and loving heart, which retained its generosity and purity to the last throb. Within three months
from the death of his wife this extraordinarily gifted man found that where she was he must be also, and
passed away from among us. The life of Llewellyn Jewitt is most feelingly told by Grosse. How the
name of Jewitt is said to have arisen is somewhat facetious. There was a companion of the great
navigator Hudson, who, from his devouring passion for having tobacco in his mouth, was called
''Chew it." Mr. Gosse has pointed out that the shield and crest of the indefatigable antiquarian
bespoke an ancestor whose avocation was the sea, and that there were many traits in common between
the men, less the intense love and hatred of tobacco.

* Since deceased.

S^ppj^nMx.

THE PRINCIPAL FAMILIES OF THE PEAK OF DERBYSHIRE.

MANORS OF THE PEAK HUNDRED.

A TABLE OF REFERENCE FOR NAMES OF PAST OR PRESENT LORDS OF

THE MANORS OF THE HIGH PEAK HUNDRED.

CONSPECTUS OF THE HIGH PEAK MANORS AND THEIR TENURE SINCE

THE GENERAL SURVEY.

CASTELLANS OF THE PEAK CASTLE.

SYNOPSIS OF HIGH PEAK DIGNITIES.

HIGH PEAK ARMOURY.

HERALDIC QUARTERINGS OF THE OLD PEAK FAMILIES.

HERALDS' VISITATIONS.

FAMILIES WHOSE SONS WERE RETURNED TO PARLIAMENT AS KNIGHTS

OF THE SHIRE.

SYNOPSIS OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE.

FAMILIES WHOSE SONS WERE SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY.

SYNOPSIS OF THE SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY.

2H

APPENDIX. 255

THE PRINCIPAL FAMILIES OF THE PEAK OF DERBYSHIRE.

TEMP. HENRY IL— JAMES II.

Twelfth Century, — ^Archers of Highlow, Avenells of Haddon, Bassetts of Bubnell, Bemakes of Padley,
Beelejs of Beeley, Bagshawes of The Ridge, Foljambes of Wormhill, Longsdons of Little Longstone^
Staffords of Ejam, Vemons of Haddon.

Thirteenth Century, — Bradshaws of Eccles Pike, Brownes of Marsh Hall, Balguys of Aston, Bradburys
of Olleiset, Blackwells of Blackwall, Buxtons of Buxton, Daniels of Tideswell, De Gemons of Bakewell
(changed to Cavendish), Dakyns of Fairfield, De Darleys of Darley, Edensors of Edensor, Ejrres of Hope,
Greaves of Beeley, Hathersage of Hathersage, Lyttons of Litton, Mellors of Mellor, Needhams of
Thomset, Rollesleys of Rowsley, Savages of Hope, Shirleys of Snitterton, Shallcrosses of Shallcross,.
Thomhills of Thomhill, Wendesleys of Wensley, Wards of Darley.

Faurteetith Century. — Bakewells of Bakewell, Beards of Beard Hall, Bowdens of Chapel-en-le-Frith,
Cokaynes of Hartle Hall, Cotterells of Taddington, Columbells of Darley, Herthills of Hartle, Kyrkes of
Whitehough, I-^ches of Chatsworth, Meverells of Tideswell, Morteynes of Eyam, Padlejrs of Padley,
Rossingtons of Youlgreave, Radcliifes of Mellor, Sheldons of Sheldon, Strelleys of Hazelbadge, Wrights
of Longstone.

Fifteenth Century, — ^Alleyns of Tideswell, Ashtons, Baches of Stanton, Caltons of Edensor, Dawkins
or Dakeynes of Chelmorton, Helyons of Bakewell, Plumptons of Hassop, Savages of Castleton,
Sacheverells of Snitterton, Shackerleys of Little Longstone, Suttons of Over Haddon, Tunsteds of
Tunsted, Woodroffes of Hope.

Sixteenth Century. — ^Aliens of Stanton Woodhouse, Ashenhursts of Beard, Broadhursts of Over
Haddon, Copwoods of Bubnell, Fitzherberts of Padley, Fulwood of Middleton, Fynneys of Ashford,.
Hydes of Long Lee, Manners of Haddon, Marshalls of Bradwell, Milnes of Ashford, Pidcocks of Darley^
Saviles of Beeley, Sandfords of Bakewell.

Seventeenth Century. — ^Ashtons of Castleton and Stoney Middleton, Barkers of Darley, Cheneys of
Monyash, Dales of Flagg, Pilkingtons of Stanton, Stevensons of Rowsley, Slacks of Chapel-en-le-Frith»
Taylors of Chapel-en-le-Frith, Wells of Holme Hall.

MANORS OF THE PEAK HUNDRED.

Parish of Baktwell. — ^Ashford, Bakewell, Baslow, Beeley, Blackwell, Brushfield, Bubnell, Buxton,.
Calver, Chelmorton, Hartle, Hassop, Little Longstone, Monyash, Nether Haddon, One Ash, Over Haddon^
Rowland, Rowsley (Great), Sheldon, Taddington.

Parish of Chapel-tn-le-Frith. — Chapel-en-le-Frith.

Parish of Castleton. — Castleton.

Parish of Darley. — Cowley, Darley, Rowsley (Little), Snitterton, Wendesley.

Parish of Edensor. — Chatsworth, Edensor, Pilsley.

Parish of Eyam. — Eyam, Foolow.

Parish of Glossop. — Beard, Chinley, Chisworth, Glossop, Whitfield.

Parish of Hathersage. — Bamford, Hathersage, Padley, Stoney Middleton.

Parish of Hope. — ^Abney, Bradwell, Grindlow, Hazelbadge, Hope, Hucklow (Little), Highlow, Stoke^
Thomhill.

Parish of Tideswell. — Litton, Tideswell, Wormhill.

Parish of Youlgreave. — Birchover, Elton, Gratton, Middleton, Stanton, Stanton Leys, Winster,.
Youlgreave.

iS^

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

A TABLE OF REFERENCE FOR NAMES OF PAST OR PRESENT LORDS OF THE

MANORS OF THE HIGH PEAK HUNDRED.

M.M. means Mesne Manor.

NAME.

Adderley.

Agard

Alsop

Archer

Arkwright

Anniger

Armine

Ashton

Avenell

Bache

Bagshawe of Ridge.

Bagshawe

Brampton

Banks

Bardolfs

Barlows

Bamsleys

Basingwerke Abbey.

Bateman

Basset

Beard

Beelegh

BemaJke :

Berry

Blackwell

Blount

Botetourt

Bouer

Bourne

Bowles

Boyle

Bradshawe

Bridgeman

Brittlebank

Buxton

Cadman

Carleil

Cavendish

Chaworth
Cheney . .
Clarke . ,
Clifford . .
Cokayne

MANOR OR MOIETY.

Snitterton.

Chatsworth.

Litton.

Highlow, Little Hucklow.

Cowley, Snitterton.

Tideswell.

Bmshfield.

Padley.

Haddon, Bubnell, One Ash.

Stanton.

Cowley.

Abney, Wormhill, Litton.

Tideswell.

Snitterton.

Elton.

Stoke.

Youlgreave.

Glossop.

Middleton.

Bubnell, Nether Haddon.

Beard.

Beeley.

Padley.

One Ash.

Blackwell.

Little Longstone» Winster.

Bakewell.

Little Longstone (M.M.).

Monyash.

Abney.

Eyam.

Abney.

Stoke.

Grindlow.

Youlgreave.

Cowley.

Little Hucklow.

ChatsworthfEdensonHighlow,
Ashford, Beeley, Blackwell,
Little Longstone, One Ash,
Tideswell, Eyam, Beard,
Hathersage, Stoney
Middleton ; also those
Manors which belong to
the Duchy of Lancaster,
Chelmorton, Taddington,
Castleton, Chapel-en-le-
Frith, Chisworth, Bradwell,
Hope, Chinley.

Stoney Middleton.

Monyash.

Monyash.

Edensor.

Hartle, M i d d 1 e t o n-b y-
Youlgreave, Grindlow.

NAME.

Coke

Collegh

Columbell . .
Constable . .
Cotterell . .
Cowper ....

Cox

Cromwell . .
Curzon ....
De Eston . .
De Gemon
De Salocia. .
De Stokes . .
Daniel ....
Darley ....

Dniry

Duncalfe . .
Edensor ....

Evans ....
Eyre

Fanshawe . . .

Feme

Ferrars ....

Fitzherbert

Fitz-hubert

Fitz-Waltheof

Foljambes

Fulwoods

Fumivals

Galliards

Gargrave

Gaveston

Gilbert

Gilbert

Gladwin

Goushill

Greaves

Greensmith

Grey

Hathersage

Hebeijohn

Helyon

Herbert

Herthill

Hill

MANOR OR MOIETY.

Over Haddon.

Cowley.

Darley.

Darley.

Taddington, Darley.

Over Haddon.

Grindlow.

Tideswell.

Litton, Middleton.

Monyash.

Bakewell.

Monyash.

Grindlow.

Tideswell.

Darley,

Darley.

Beard.

Hartle, Little Longstone

(M.M.).
Bamford.
Highlow, Padley, Hassop,

Rowland, Thomhill, Calver,

Wormhill.
Cowley.
Snitterton.
Hartle, Little Longstone,

Cowley, Edensor, Wormhill,

Birchover, Elton,

Gratton, Stanton, Winster,

Youlgreave.
Padley.
Hathersage, Middleton-by-

Youlgreave.
Little Longstone, Bmshfield.
Wormhill, Hassop, Stanton,

Darley, Edensor, Tideswell,

Whitfield.
Middleton-by- Youlgreave.
Eyam, Stoney Middleton.
Abney.
One Ash.
Castleton.
Youlgreave.
Beeley.
Monyash.
Hathersage.
Beeley.
Darley.

Stoke, Monyash.
Hathersage.
Darley.
Bakewell.
Eyam, Monyash.
Hartle, Middleton.
Grindlow.

APPENDIX.

*S7

LORDS OF THE MAJORS— rcon/inued J.

NAME.

MANOR OR MOIETY.

Hodgkinson

Suitterton.

Holland

Ashford.

Howard

Glossop, Whitfield, Monyash.

Howe

Middleton-by-Youlgreave.

Hurlock

Stanton, Birchover, Elton,

Gratton.

Ingram

Darley.

Toliffe

Elton.

Kendal

Darley.

Kniveton

Little Rowsley.

Lambe

Over Haddon.

Lameley

Tideswell.

Langford

Edensor.

Leche

Chatsworth.

Leigh

Beard.

Leslie

Hassop, Rowland, Calver,

Thomhill.

Lenton Priory

Blackwell.

Lilleshull Abbey . .

Grindlow.

Longford

Hathersage.

Lowe

Gratton.

Lynford

Monyash.

Lytton

Litton.

McCreagh

Stanton, Birchover, Elton,

Gratton.

Manners

Haddon, Bakewell, Baslow,

Hartle, Over Haddon,

Darley, Little Rowsley,

Great Rowsley, Hazlebadge,

Stanton Lees, Youlgreave.

M archington

Tideswell.

Melland

Bamford.

Meverell

Tideswell.

Meynell

Winster.

Middleton

Gratton.

Milward

Snitterton.

Morteyne

Eyam, Foolow.

Mountjoy

Brushfield, Little Longstone,

Winster.

Needham

Cowley, Darley.

Neville

Ashford.

Padley

Padley.

Paunton

Tideswell.

Pegge

Hathersage.

Peverell

Bakewell, Haddon, One Ash,?

Over Haddon, Chapel-

en - le - Frith, Castleton,

Chatsworth, Eyam,

Glossop, Abney, Bradwell,

Hazelbadge, Little

Hucklow, Highlow,?

Thornhill,? Litton,

Tideswell.

Plantagenet

Ashford.

Plumpton

Wormhill, Hassop, Edensor,

Stanton, Darley, and Mesne

Manor of Chelmorton.

NAME.

Prime

Ragged

Ridel

Robinson

Roche Abbey ....

Rocliffe

Rollesley

Roper

Rossington

Rufford Abbey ....

Sacheverell

Sanders

Saville

Senior

Shakerley

Shalcross

Shirley

Shore

Shuttleworth

Simpson

Slack

Smith

Sotehill

Spencer

Stafford

Stathum

Stevenson

Stratford

Strelley

Sutton

Swinburne

Talbot

Thacker

Thomhill

Thorp

Tibetot

Tracey

Turner

Turvill

Tyrell

Upton

Vaux

Vavasour

Vernon

Wallesby

Wall

Wentworth

Warrene

Wenunwyn

MANOR OR MOIETY.

Bamford.

Whitfield.

Hathersage.

Bamford.

One Ash.

Darley, Edensor, Stanton.

Little Rowsley.

Middleton-by-Youlgreave.

Youlgreave.

Brushfield.

Snitterton.

Middleton-by-Youlgreave.

Beeley.

Cowley.

Little Longstone, Calver.

Monyash.

Snitterton, Youlgreave.

Snitterton.

Padley, Bamford.

Stoke.

Thomhill.

Snitterton, Stoke.

Darley, Edensor, Stanton.

Padley.

Rowland, Tideswell, Calver,

Foolow.
Litton.
Elton.
Calver.
Hazelbadge.
Over Haddon.
Bakewell.
Baslow, Monyash, One Ash,

Eyam, Beard, Glossop^

Bamford, Padley.
Darley.
Thomhill, Stanton, Birchover^

Elton, Gratton.
Hathersage.
Elton.
Calver.
Snitterton.
Tideswell.
Bakewell.
Litton.
Beeley.
Hazelbadge.
As Manners (less Hartle,.

Darley, Youlgreave, and

Little Rowsley).
Bamford.
Cowley.
Bakewell.
Castleton.
Ashford.

21

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

CONSPECTUS OF THE HIGH PEAK MANORS AND THEIR TENURE SINCE
THE GENERAL SURVEY.

By purchase. John Greaves.

By purchase. William Saville.

By heiress. Gilberts of Locko.
The manor was sold by this family
in twelve lots, to the Normans,
Rmwn-i. and Wriffhts. whn in

PARISH OF
ASHFORD.
Royal Demesne.
Wenunwyn. Lord Powisland.
Edmund Planta^net. Earl of Kent.
By heiress. Sir Thomas Holland.

Farli nf K^nt.

BAKE WELL.
1560

.687

'7»

APPENDIX.

259

Henry VII. . .

Elizabeth

1086

1086

Richard II.. .
1599

1086

1388

1498

'853

1086

Edward I. . .

1086

1200

^340

1460
1616

1638

PARISH OF B\KEWELL—rcon/inuedJ.

nss

Rowland Shakerley.
Traceys.
Stratfords.

Eyres, by purchase. Passed with
Rowland.

CHELMORTON.
Royal Demesne.
A parcel of the Royal Manor of
High Peak. On lease to the
Dukes of Devonshire. — ^There is
a Mesne Manor, which was
given by Henry VIII. to the
Talbots, who conveyed it to the
Eyres, of Hassop, whose heiress,
Dorothy, in 1853, gave it to her
husband, Colonel Leslie.

HARTLE.
Henry de Ferrars.
De Edensors.
By heiress. Herthill.
By heiress. Edmund Cokayne.
By purchase. John Manners.

HASSOP.
Royal Demesne. Foljambes.
By heiress. Sir Robert Plumpton.
By purchase. Catherine Eyre.
Gift of Dorothy Eyre to her husband,
Colonel Leslie.

LITTLE LONGSTONE.

Henry de Ferrars.

Robert Fitz-Waltheof.*

Mountjoys.

By heiress. Sir John Blount.

By purchase. Shakerleys.

By purchase. Bess of Hardwicke.
Dukes of Devonshire.
In the reign of Henry IV. there
was a Mesne Manor with Sir
Thurston Bouer, which was
previously with the Edensors.

MONYASH.
Royal Demesne.
In moieties between Robert de

Salocia and Matthew de Eston.
William de Lynford. Valet of

Edward III.
Talbots, Earls of Shrewsburv.
By co-heiresses, in three moieties to

their husbands the

Earls of Kent.
By purchase.

Saviles.
By heiress.

Gilberts.

Pembroke. Arundel.
This moiety passed

to Pembroke.

1 640 . . By purchase.

John Shall cross.

1086

Henry II. . .
II95

1565

1086

Henry II. . .
Richard I. . .

Henry VIII..

Elizabeth . .
Circ« 1600 . .

1086
1195

1565

1086

By purchase.
Edward Che-
ney.

Richard Fynney.

1 646 . . By purchase.
Thomas Gladwin.
By co-heiresses to
Sir Talbot Gierke
and Dr. Henry
Bourne.
1721. .Edward
Cheney by pur-
chase (Gierke's
moiety).

1736. .By purchase.
Edward Cheney
(Bourne's moiety).

NETHER HADDON.
Royal Demesne.
Peverells.
Avenells.

By heiresses. Vemons and Bassets.
In the reign of Edward III., the
Bassets sold to the Vemons.
By heiress. John Manners. Dukes
of Rutland.

ONE ASH.
? Peverell.
Avenells.
Roche Abbey. By gift of Sir William

Avenell.
By gift to Francis Talbot, fifth Earl

of Shrewsbury.
Sold by Gilbert, seventh Earl, to Sir

Thomas Gargrave.
By heiress to Richard Berry,

Physician to Oliver Cromwell.
Dukes of Devonshire.

OVER HADDON.
Peverells.
Avenells.

By heiress. William de Vernon.
Note. The Inqui : Post Mortem
15 Edward I. (1286), shew
William de Hamilton as holding.
By heiress. Gilbert le Franceys.
The issue of this union retained
the name of Vernon.
By heiress. John Manners. Dukes
of Rutland.
There was a Mesne Manor with
the Suttons, which passed to the
Cokes, of Trusley ; the Lambs,
Viscounts Melbourne; and the
Cowpers, Earls Cowper,
consecutively.

ROWLAND.
Royal Demesne.

* This gentleman gave lands in this elk, to Matthew, the ancestor of the Longsdons.

APPENDIX.

261

PARISH OF DARLEY.

1086
1269

ETeniy VIII
1613

1718

1721

'749

»79i

1086

'249

»309

1371

1388

1501

COWLEY.
Henry de Ferrars.
Gilbert de CoUegh. By gift of

Henry III.
Cadmans.

By heiress:"^ • Gtwell Needham.
By purchase. Richard Senior.
By heiress. Fanshawes.
By purchase. Thomas Bagshawe, of

Bakewell Hall.
By heiress. Fitzherbert.
By purchase. George Wall.
By purchase. Sir Richard Arkwright.

DARLEY.
Royal Demesne.
Andreas de Derley.
The Cotterells were holding in
chief.
In moieties. De Derleys and

Kendalls. Hebeijohns.
Foljambes.

By heiress. Sir Richard Plumpton.
By knavery. Robert Rocliffe and

I John Sotehill.

Ingram.

Columbell.

Thackers.

Greensmith.

Constable Drury
1547 Needham
Oldfield

1631

1086

Richard I. . .
Elizabeth . .
Charles I. . .

1086

1670

By Sir John Manners. Duke of
Rutland.

ROWSLEY LITTLE.
Royal Demesne.
Henry de Rollesley.
By heiress. Sir William Kniveton.
By purchase. Sir John Manners.
Dukes of Rutland.

SNITTERTON.
Royal Demesne.
Shirleys.
By heiress.- Sacheverells, who sold

in moieties.
By purchase. By purchase.
Milwards. Shores.

By heiress. Hodgkinsons.

Charles Adder- Banks.

ley.
By purchase.
Henry Feme.
By heiress.
Turner, of

Derby.
By purchase.
Arkwright.

1086

PARISH

CHATSWORTH.
William Peverells.
Leches.*

OF EDENSOR.

1550
1557

Agards, by purchase.
Sir William Cavendish, by purchase.
Dukes of Devonshire.

* A branch of this old family is still represented in the male line bj Mr. John Hurdlestone Leche, J.P.D.L., oi Garden Park, County
Cheshire. In the reign of Henry V., they had two residences in the county , Chatsworth and Belper: they were trusted Officials of Uie Crown,
as Lord High Treasurer ; personal attendants of the King, and there are some good stories of them. Burke has told this one taken firom an old
writer : — " The present coate of this ancient family, one whereof living in Barksnire near Windsor in ye time of Kim; Edward III., three Kings
were entertained and feasted in his house— one je King of Bngland, one ye King of France, and one ye King of Scotts, which two Kings were at
that time prisoners to King Edward ; which King Eoward to requite his good entertainment and other favors, gave him three crowns "ui his
chief, indented gules, ye field ermine which coate is borne by tbe name and family dispersed into many other coimtrays as Bedfordshire,
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire, and many other places at this dav." Sir Roger Lecbe was a chum of

minority of Richajrd, his son and h«r, together with the Office of Forester of the forest ot Macclesfield, which the said Rich held in fee.**

About the time that the Agards were disposing of Chatsworth to the Cavendishes, there was a youthful member of the family cutting out for
himself a career, which has made his name familiar to both antiquarian and historical students. To him we owe those Catalogues of those
Records, to which he had access as Clerk of the Ezche<)uer. He was a fellow-member with Camden, Stowe, Coape, Seldon, Spelman, Cotton,
of that famous Antiquarian Society, founded by Archbishop Parker, in 1572, and which was smashed up by that Royal poltroon, James I. His
contributions, read before this Society, are preserved to us in Heame's ** Collection of Curious Discourses." His vast res^u-ches are in a great
measure in manusoipt y6t ; some in the Bodleian at Oxford, some in the British Museum. " Five folio volumes containing numerous and
valuable extracts from ancient records, some in print and some in manuscript, with charters and deeds of various dates from the Conquest
onwards, collected by Agard, and now among the Stowe MSB. recently purchased from the Earl of Ashbumham for the British Museum." The
ashes of Arthur Agard lie under the cloisters, just by the Chapter House, Westminster Abbey. The Agards held Uiat marvdloua hunter's Horn,
now the property of Mr. W. H. G. Bagshawe, J.P. In Beckwith's edition of Blount's '* Tenures." 1784, we read that " V^^alter Agard claimed to
hold by inheritance the Office of Escheator aind Coroner, through the whole honor of Tutbury, in tne County of Stafford, and the BaiUwicke of
Leyke. for which office he could produce no Evidences, Charters, or other Writings, but only a White Hunter's horn, decorated in the middle
and at each end with silver gilt, to which also was affixeid a Girdle of fine black silk adorned with certain Buckles of Silver, in the midst of which are
placed the arms of Edmund (Cronchback, the first Earl of Lancaster), second son of King Henry III." (The assertion of the arms is bunkum, as
Beckwith dearlv shews in a note. The arms are those of John of Gaunt, according to this author.) ** Prom Anird the Horn descended by a
marriage with the heiress of that fomily to the Stanhopes, of Elvaston, and was latelv purchased of Mr. Charles Stanhope, ot Elvaston, by Mr.
Samuel Fowlowe, of Staveley, in Derbyshire, who enjoys the posts above mentioned by this tenure and in virtue of his being in possession of the
horn. The posts or offices conveyed b^ the horn were those of Ffodary, or Bailiff in fee, that is heredUafy Steward of the two Royal manors ot
east and west Leeke, in Nottin^ianishire, Stcheator, Carvmtr^ and CUrk 0/Hu Market of the honour of Tuthtry, the second of which office, vis.,
escheator, is now in a manner obsolete."

2K

■I

1

262

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

1086
1388

PARISH OF EDENSOR-

EDENSOR.
Henry de Ferrars.
Foljambes.

By heiress. Sir Robert Plumpton.
By heiress. Robert Rocliffe and John

I Sotehill.

By heiress. Cliffords. Henry

VII. Langfords.

'famiinuedj.

Bess of Hardwicke. Dukes of
Devonshire.
There was a Mesne seignioiy with
the Shirleys.

PILSLEY.
Passed with Edensor.

PARISH OF EYAM.

EYAM.

1616

1086

Royal Demesne.

Henry I

By gift. William Peverell.

King John . .

By gift. Morteynes.

1700

1307

By purchase. Thomas, Lord Fumival.

i^^Z

By heiress. Joan ; Thomas Neville.

1781

1406

By heiress. Sir John Talbot.

PARISH OF GLOSSOP.

BEARD.

1086?

Beards.

1086

»

Leighs.

Henry I

Duncalfes.

1154

Henry VIII...

Earl of Shrewsbury. — Passed with
Eyam.

CHINLEY.

"57

»537

A portion of the Royal Manor of

1616

the Peak on lease to the Dukes

of Devonshire.

1086

CHISWORTH.

A portion of the Royal Manor of

1330

the Peak on lease to the Dukes

of Devonshire.

By heiress. Mary, Countess of

Pembroke, who gave it to her

relatives, the Saviles.
By heiress. Richard Boyle, Earl of

Burlington.
By heiress. Cavendishes, Dukes of

Devonshire.

GLOSSOP.
Roy^ Demesne.
By gift. William Peverell.
Reverted to the Crown.
Abbey of Basingwerke. Cistercian

monks.
Francis, Earl of Shrewsbury, by gift

of Henry VIII.
By heiress. Howard, Earl of Arundel.

WHITFIELD.
? Royal Demesne
Thomas Le Ragged.
By purchase. Thomas Foljambe.
This manor has long since passed
with Glossop.

1086

Edward IV.

J 802

1086

Heniy III.

PARISH OF HATHERSAGE.

BAMFORD.
Ralph Fitzhubert.
Earls of Shrewsbury. — See article,

" North Lees."
Francis Evans.

In moieties. Melland and Prime.
In moieties. Wallesby, Shuttleworth,

and Robinson.

HATHERSAGE.

Ralph Fitzhubert.
Ridels.

Matthew de Hathersage.
heiress of the Meynells.

}By

1450

1705

By heiresses. Nigel de Longford
and Walter de Gousell.

Thorpes, by purchase.

Eyres, by remainder.

Pegges, by purchase.

William, Duke of Devonshire, by

purchase.
Note. How the Longford moiety

passed, there is no trace after

148 1.

A

APPENDIX.

263

xo96

Henry VI. .

PARISH OF HATHERSAGE— ^f(7«//>i«^/f;.

PADLEY.
No trace.
Bemakes.
Padleys

By heiress. Sir Robert Eyre.
By heiress. Sir Thomas Fitzherbert.
Temporary possession of Tiptoft.
Temporary possession of the Talbots.
By purchase. Ashton.

X086

Edward I.
1383

By heiress. Spencer.
By heiress. Shuttleworth.

STONY MIDDLETON.

Chaworth,

Bemakes.

By purchase. Thomas, Lord Furnival.

Passed with Eyam and still does so.

PARISH OF HOPE.

•

ABNEY.

Edward III..

John of Gaunt, Duke: of Lancaster.

1086

William Peverell.

On Lease to the Dukes of

Edward II. . .

Archers.

Devonshire.

Richard II. . .

Bagshawes.

1593

By >urchase. Francis Bradshaw.

LITTLE HUCKLOW.

1735

By heiress. Joshua Galliard.

1086

William Peverell.

'789

By heiress. Charles Bowles.

Edward I. . .

Archers.
Foljambes.

BRADWELL.

Carleils.

1086

Peverell.

.

Bernard Wake.

Presumedly passed with Castleton.

HIGHLOW.

GRINDLOW.

1086

Peverell.

1086

Royal Demesne.

Edward II. . .

Archers.

Matthew de Stokes.

Edward III. .

By heiress. Nicholas Eyre.

1199

Monastery of Lilleshull by gift of
King John. Really given by

1802

By purchase. Duke of Devonshire.

Matthew' de Stokes and con-

STOKE.

firmed by King John.

1086

Royal Demesne.

155*

Sir William Cavendish by gift of

Greys, of Codnor.

Edward VI.

H73

By purchase. Thomas Barlow.

1641

Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle.

William Cavendish. Duke of

Sergeant Hill.

Newcastle.

By heiress. William Cokayne.

Bullocks.

By purchase. Cox, of Derby.

1656

By purchase. Sacheverells.

By purchase. Brittlebanks.

Simpsons.

Bagshawes.

Bridgemans. Earls of Bradford, by
heiress.

HAZELBADGE.

1086

William Peverell.

THORNHILL.

Edward II. . .

Vavasours.

1086

? Peverell s.

Edward III..

By heiress. Strelley.

Thornhills.

142 1

By purchase. Sir Richard Vernon.

1400

Eyres.

1565

By heiress. John Manners. — Dukes

1 602

By purchase. Adam Slack.

of Rutland.

1611

Eyres, of Hassop. By purchase.

1853

By gift. Leslies.

HOPE.

1086

Royal Demesne.

1086

1597

1606

PARISH OF

LITTON.
William Peverell.
Littons.

By purchase. John Alsop.
By purchase. Nicholas Bagshawe.

TIDESWELL

1620

1686

J707

By purchase.
By purchase.
By purchase.
By purchase.
Scarsdale.

Francis Bradshaw.
Upton.
Statham.
Curzons, Earls of

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

PARISH OF TIDESWELU-/»/iAV.««(;,

TIDESWELL.

Elizabeth . .

1086

RoyaJ Demesne.
William Pevereil.

Charles I. ..

King John . .

Thomas Armiger or Lameley.

1654

By heiress. Evidently in moieties

1801

between De Paunton and De

Brampton ; without one was

heir of the other ; De Paunton

being the survivor.

Henry III. . .

By purchase. Richard Daniel.

By co-heireases. Thomas Meverell.

1086

Reginald de Marchington and

"388

John de Turvill.

«+89

Richard II. . .

The Suffords of Eyam were holding,

of the Marchingtons and Tur-
vills: This would be less the
Meverell moiety.

Charles I. . .

By purchase or gift. MeverelK
By heiress. Thomas, Lord Cromwell.

Earl of Ardglass.
By purchase. Eyre of Highlow.
By purchase. Sold by order of

Chanceiy.

Dukes of Devonshire.

WORMHILL.
Henry de Fcrrars.
Foljambes,

By heiress. Sir Robert Plumpton.
By purchase. Eyres of Hassop.
By purchase. William fiagshawe.

1086..

.875.,
iS8t..

.87s......

i88t

1086

Henry VII.

'67s

'7^3

'875

1881

1086

Henry III.
Richard II.
1598-9---
'7'9

PARISH OF
BIRCHOVER.
Henry de Ferrars.

Probably passed with Elton.
Thomhills.

By descent. Henry F. Hurlock.
By heiress. Major McCreagh.

ELTON.
Henry de Ferrars.
Bardolfs.
Tibetots.
Foljambes.

Stevensons of Rowlee.
Thomhill and Joliffe (the last by

heiress).
Thomhills.

By descent. Henry F. Hurlock.
By heiress. Major McCreagh.

GRATTON.
Henry de Ferrars.
Thomas Middleton.
By heiress. Francis Lowe.
By purchase. John Thomhill.
By descent. Henry F. Hurlock.
By heiress. Major McCreagh.

MIDDLETON.
Ralph Fitzherbert.
Edensors.
Herthills.

By heiress. Edmund Cokayne.
By purchase. Fulwood.
By purchase. Curzon and Bateman.

Sanders.

YOULGREAVE.
1771 Howe and Roper.

1698

•87s

1881

1086

Henty III.

By purchase. Thomas Bateman.

STANTON.
Henry de Ferrars.
Bardotfs.
Tibetots.
Foljambes.
By gift. Plumptons.
By rascality. Sotehill and Rocltffe.
By purchase. Baches.
By heiress. John Thomhill.
By descent. Henry F. Hurlock.
By heiress. Major McCreagh.

WINSTER.
Henty de Fenara.
Temporary possession of Edmund,

£arl of Lancaster.
Mount joys.

By heiress. Sir John Blount.
By purchase. Meynells.
By purchase. Freeholders.

YOULGREAVE.
Henry de Ferrars.
Sliirleys.
Rossingtons.
By heiress. Gilberts.
By heiress. Bamesley.
By purchase. Buxtons.
Manners. Dukes of Rutland.

APPENDIX.

^^5

SYNOPSIS OF HIGH PEAK DIGNITIES.

Old PMk FamiUes.

if

•8

Sd

I

s

I
I

I

So

•I

9

i
s

8

e

?I

9

2

I
I
I

3
I

r

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2

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38

Agard {a) ...

Alen

Ashtons (^). . .

Bache

Bagshawe (c) .
Bakewell (^) .
Balguy {e) ...
Barker (/)...
Basset {g) ...
Bateman (^) .

Blackwell

Bradbury (1) .

Bradshawe (y)
Buxton (>^) . . .
Cavendish (/).
Cheney (jn) .
Cokayne («) .

Cotterell

Dale

Denman {0) .
Eyres (/) ...
Foljambes (g).

Fulwood

Fynney

Greaves (r) . . .
Helyon {s) ...
Howard (/)...

Leche

L}'tton

Mander («)...
Manners {v) .
Milnes {w) . . .
Newton (x) . . .

Remarks

(«) Arthur Agard, celebrated writer on topography, antiquity. Ac

(6) Charles Ashton, Classical scholar : prepared an edition of Justin Martyr,

{c) Christopher : a Jesuitical writer. Kdward : a political writer. Edward
"SpirituaUbus Pecci." &c.

id) One was Justice of Queen's Bench.

(r) Charles : medical works, and translator of Boccaccio. John : " Essay on Redemption.'' Thomas : Moral Philosophy and Christian Evidence.

(/) One was a great Oriental scholar ; died in the Crimean War.

Q) * They held the baronies and coronets of Drayton. VS^eldon^ and Sapcote.

!«) Thomas : author of '* Vestiges of the Antiquities ot Derbyshire."

(f I * Cursitor Baron. Henry : author of ** British Sea Weeds" and ** Ferns of Great Britain."

(/) One Commissioner of the Great Seal (John, the Regicide).

U) Richard : " The Botanical Guide. "

(/) * As Lords Cavendish; as Lords Clifford; as Earls of Newcastle; as Earls of Burlington: as Earls of Devonshire; as Dukes of
Devonshire ; as Dukes of Newcastle. One was Justice of King's Bench. Georce : author of " Lite of Wolsey." Henry, the celebrated chemist :
contributions to '" Philosophical Transactions." William, Duke of Newcastle : nis work on Horsemanship. Sir Henry : Unreported Parliament,
1768-1774.

(M) * Held the Barony of Cheney.

(») Two were Recorders, oi London. * One branch held the Viscounty of Cullen. Sir Ashton : poems. Thomas : work on Hunting.

(tfi One was Lord Chief Justice. Hold a Coronet.

(/) * Held the Earldom of Newburgfa. Francis : His attack on Gibbon's '* Decline and Fall." Thomas : Translator of Gobinet's " Christian
Piety."

if) One Justice of King's Bench, Temp. Edward IH. One held a Baronetcy.

(r) * John, the Astronomer and linguist Thomas, the Lyric poet. Thomas, the Orientalist.

is) There was a Walter de Helyon justice King's Bench, ivn ; and Justice of Common Pleas.

(/) One Justice Common Pleas. * They still hold the Earldoms of Carlisle, Suffolk, Effingham. Wicklow ; the Barony of Glossop; and the
Dukedom of Norfolk. They have held the Earldoms of Northampton, Sufford, Norwich, Binaon, Nottingham ; the Viscounties of Stafford and
Binden.

(») James, the Mineralogist.

(v) * The Dukedom of Rutland and the Barony of Manners.

(w) * The Barony of Houghton.
Pc " "

a controversialist writer. Henry : theological writer. William:

U) William, the Peak Minstrel.

2L

APPENDIX. 267

HIGH PEAK KSMO\JKY—r continued J.

Bagshawe, .Per pale, erminois and gules, a bugle between three roses, barbed and seeded, all counter

changed. Granted to Sir W. C. Bagshawe.
Bakewell . . Or, three magpies proper.

Balguy, .Or, three lozenges azure. Crest: A bear passant proper, collared and chained or.
Banks . . Sable, a cross or, between four fleur de lis argent. Crest : On the stump of an oak tree couped,

sprouting out new branches, a stork argent beaked or.
*Bardolf. .Azure, three cinquefoils or. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, a dragon's head of the last, with

wings expanded gules.
Barker. . Sable, a saltire engrailed argent. Crest : A castle doomed, all proper.
Barlow. .Barry wavy of six, argent and sable, a chief per pale ermine and gules, charged with a fleur de lis

or. Crest : A demi-stag per pale, argent and sable, charged with three bars wavy and

counter-changed.
Bamesley. .Sable, a cross between four roses argent. Crest: An old man's head couped at the breast,

full face proper,
Baieman. .Or, three crescents, each surmounted with an etoile gules. Crest : A crescent and etoile, as in

the arms, between two eagles* wings or.
^Bassett. .Argent, two bars und^e sable. Another, argent three piles gules; on a canton of the first, a

griffon segreant sable. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, a boar's head gules.
Bamford. .Argent, a fesse wavy gules. Crest : On a chapeau, a serpent no wed.
Beard. .Argent, within a bordure azure, three human heads ppr. Crest : No trace.
Beeleigh. .No trace.

Bemake. .Argent, three horse barnacles sable.
BlachvelL .Argent, a greyhound courant sable, collared chequy or and gules, on a chief danzette^ of the

second three bezants. Crest : Two arms embowed in armour ppr., hand argent, holding between

them, by the nose and ear, a greyhound's head, couped sable collared as in the arms.
♦Blount. .Barry of six, nebulae, or and sable. Crest: A wolf passant sable, between two comets, out of a

ducal coronet or. Another, an armed foot in the sun ppr.
*Botetourts . . Or, a saltire engrailed sable, a crescent for difference. Crest : Out of a mural coronet, six

spears in saltire proper.
Bawden. .Quarterly, sable and or ; in first quarter a lion passant argent langued gules. Crest : An eagle's

head erased sable.
Bowles. .Azure, three cups, in each a boar's head or. Crest : A demi-boar, pierced in the left breast with

an arrow.
♦Boyle. .Per bend embattled, argent and gules. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, a lion's head erased,

per pale crenell^e argent and gules.
Bourne . . See Scarsdale Armoury.
Bradbury. .Sable, a chevron ermine, between three buckles argent, a fleur de lis or. Crest : A demi-dove

volant argent, fretty gules, in beak a slip of barberr}', vert, fructed gules.
Bradshaw. .Argent, two bendlets, between two martlets sable. Crest : A stag at gaze under a vine tree

fructed proper.
♦Bridgeman . . Sable, ten plates, four, three, two, one ; on a chief argent a lion passant ermines. Crest : A

lion rampant, argent holding a garland of roses between the paws or.
Brittlebank. .No trace.

Broadhurst ? . . Gules, a fesse argent, surmounted by a chevron azure.
Brmvne. .Argent on a chevron gules, three roses of the field. Crest : A lion rampant argent, ducally

crowned or, supporting a tilting spear ppr., headed of the first.
Buxton . . Sable, two bars argent, on a canton of the second a buck trippant of the first. Crest : A pelican

or, with wings expanded, vulning gules.
Bullock. .Ermine on a chief gules, a label of five points or. Crest : Seven arrows, six in saltire, one in

base gules ; feathered and headed argent, enfiled with a mural crown of the last.
Bullock . . Gules, a chevron argent between three bullocks' heads, caboshed of the second armed or.

Crest : Five battle axes, staves or, heads sable, tied with a line and bowknot gules.
Cadmon . . Or, three columbine, buds vert. Crest : A stork's head, royally crowned, ppr.
Calton . . Or, a saltire engrailed, between four cross crosslets, sable. Crest : A boar, passant argent.
Carliel. .Argent, on a chevron sable, between three choughs proper, beaked and legged gules, three

mullets of six points, or. Crest : A moor's head in profile, couped at the shoulders.
Cam'ngton. .Sable, on a bend argent, three lozenges of the field. Crest: An unicorn's head argent,

armed and crested or.
*Cavendish . . Sable, three bucks' heads, caboshed argent attired or. Crest : A snake now6e ppr. Another,

a stag, statant, gorged with a wreath of roses.
♦Chaworth. .A barry of eight argent and gules, an orle of martlets sable.

268 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

HIGH PEAK \VM0\5KS[—r continued J,

^Cheney. .Azure, six lions rampant, three and three argent, a canton ermine. Crest: A bulFs scalp,

argent.
Chetham. .Argent a chevron gules, between three fleams or. ? Argent a griffin segreant gules, within a

bordure sable bezant6e. — Noie, — These two coats are usually shewn per quarterly. Crest : A demi-

griffin gules, charged with a cross potent argent.
Clarke. .Azure, three escallops in pale or, between two launches ermine. Crest : Within an annulet or,

enriched with a ruby, a pheon argent.
^Clifford. .Chequy, argent and azure, a fesse gules. Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or, a wyvem rising

gules.
*Cokayne, .hxgenl^ three cocks' gules, combs and wattles sable. Crest: A cock's head erased gules,

beaked and combed sable.
Coke . . Gules, three crescents or, a canton of the first. Crest : The sun in splendour or.
Columbell, . Sable, three doves argent, with ears of wheat in their mouths. Crest : On a chapeau argent,

turned up sable, a dove of the first, with an ear of wheat in its beak, ppr.
Constable . . Or, two pales azure.
Copwood . . Argent, a pile in bend issuing from the dexter chief sable, frimbriated, engrailed gules,

between two eagles of the last. Crest : An eagle with wings endorsed or.
Cotierell, of Taddington. .A bend between three escadlops sable. Crest: A talbot's head, collared and

lined or, the collar charged with three escallops.
*Cowper. .Argent, three mullets' gules, two and one, on a chief engrailed of the last, as many annulets or.

Crest : A lion's jambe erect and erased or, holding a branch vert, fructed gules.
Cox. .Argent, three moorcocks proper. Crest : A game cock proper.
*CromwelI . . Quarterly, per fesse indented, or and azure, four lions passant counter-changed. Crest : On

a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a pelican or, guttle azure, vulning ppr.
Curzon. .Argent, on a bend sable, three popinjays or. Crest ; A popinjay rising or, collared gules.
Dakeyn or Dakyns (Ancient), of Snitterton. .Gules, a lion passant guardant between two mullets in pale

or, as many (launches argent, each charged with a lion rampant sable.
Dakeyne (Granted 1611). .Gules, a lion passant guardant between two mullets in pale or, as many

flaunches argent, each charged with a griffon, segreant sable. Crest : A dexter arm imbowed

proper, issuing out of a naval coronet or, holding a battle axe argent, on the wrist a ribbon azure.
DaUy of Flagg. .Paly of six gules and argent, a bend ermine, overall on a chief azure, three garbs or.

Crest : Three Danish battle axes, erect, handles or, headed argent, enfiled vrith a chaplet of roses

of the first.
Daniely of Tideswell. .Azure, a bend between six escallops or. Crest : No trace.
Darley, of Darley. .Gules, six fleur de lis, three, two, one, argent.
De Eston . . No trace.
De Gemon, of Bakewell . . Gules, three piles wavy argent. Another, argent a buck's head, caboshed gules,

attired or. Crest : A fox's head couped and gorged with a collar.
De Salocea. .No trace.
Drur)^. .Argent, on a chief vert, two mullets or, each charged with an annulet azure. Crest : A greyhound

currant sable, gorged with a plain collar or, and charged with two mullets of the last.
Edensor. .Argent, a chevron between three horse shoes sable. (The chevron is shewn gules in the

Visitation of Staffordshire for 1583.)
Evans . . Per Gyronny of eight, argent and vert, a lion rampant or. Crest : In a charger, a boar's head,

erased argent.
*Eyre, of Highlow. .Argent, on a chevron sable, three quatrefoils or. Crest : A leg erect in armour, per

pale, argent and sable, coupled at the thigh gules, knee cap and spur or.
*Fanshawe . . Or, a chevron between three fleur de lis sable. Crest : A dragon's head erased vert, flames

of fire ppr. issuing from the mouth.
*Ferrars. .1. Argent, six horse shoes sable. II. Vaire or and gules, on a bordure azure, sem^e of horse

shoes argent. III. Vaire or and gules.
*Fitzherbert, of Padley. .Argent, a chief vaire or and gules, overall a bend sable. Crest : A dexter arm,

armed and gauntleted proper.
Fitzhubert. .Or, two bars azure.
Foljamhe^ of Wormhill . . Sable, a bend between six escallops or. Crest : I. An armed leg, couped at the

thigh, quartered or and sable, spurred of the first. II. A Calopus, or and sable quarterly, the

horns in like manner. III. On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a tiger statant ppr.
Fox, of Youlgreave. .Or, a chevron gules, between three foxes. Crest : A fox passant azure.
Foxlowey of Tideswell . . Gules, two bars argent.

Freeman, of Wheston . . ? Azure, three lozenges two and one, a cres for diff.
Fulwoody of Middleton. .Gules, a chevron between three mullets argent. Crest : A stag proper, holding

in the mouth an acorn branch vert, fructed or.

APPENDIX. 269

HIGH PEAK ARUOURY—rconftnuedJ,

♦Fumival. .Argent, a bend between six mascles gules.

Fynney^ of Ashford . . Vert, a chevron between three eagles displayed or, armed and langued gules. Crest :

A staff raguly or.
Galliard. .Azure, a bend between three roses or.
Gargrave. .Lozengy, argent and sable, on a bend of the second, three crescents of the first. Crest: A

falcon rising argent.
Gilbert, of Youlgreave. .Gules, a bend vaire, argent and sable. Crest: A grifl&n's head gules beaked or,

issuing out of a ducal coronet of the second.
Gisbome, of Darley Dale. .Erminois, a lion rampant, sable, collared argent, on a canton vert, a garb or.

Crest : Out of a mural crogn argent, a lion rampant erminois, collared, dovetailed or.
Gladwin. .Ermine, a chief azure, overall a bend gules, charged with a sword argent, hilt and pommel or.

Crest : On a mount ppr., a lion sejant argent, gutte6 de sang, holding a dexter paw, a sword or.
Gould. .Per saltire, azure and or, a lion rampant counterchanged. Crest: An arm vested vert, holding in

the hand ppr. a banner or, charged with three bars wavy azure, on a canton argent, a rose gules.
Goushill. .Barry of six, or and gules, a canton ermine.
Greaves, of Beeley. .Per bend vert arid gules, an eagle displayed or. Crest : A demi-eagle displayed or,

winged gules.
Gregory. .Or, two bars azure, in chief a lion rampant of the last. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, a

maiden's bust vested gules, crined of the second.
Greensmith. .Vert, on a fesse or, between three doves' argent with ears of wheat in their mouths of the

first, as many pigs of lead azure. A like dove argent, be^ed and legged gules, with an ear of

wheat in its bill or, standing on a pig of lead azure.
♦Grey. .Barry of six, argent and azure, in chief three torteauxes, a label of as many points of the first.
Hathersage. .Paly of six, Argent and gules, on a chief azure, a fesse danzett^e or.
*Heathcote. .Ermine, three pomeis, each charged with a cross or. Crest: On a mural crown azure, a

pomeis as in the arms, between two wings displayed ermine.
Heberjohn . . No trace.

Helyotiy of Bakewell . . Gules, fretty argent, a fesse or.

Herthull or Herthill, of Hartle. .Argent, two bars vert. Ancient arms: Argent, three stags sable.
Hill . . Gules, a chevron engrailed ermine between three garbs or. ? A dove with wings expanded, in beak

an olive branch, all ppr.
Hodgkinson. .Or, on a cross humett6e, between four cinquefoils vert, a cinquefoil of the first. Crest: A

garb or, between two wings expanded vert.
♦Holland. .Azure, a sem6e of fieurs de lis, a lion rampant or.
♦Howard . . Gules, on a bend between six cross crosslets fitch6e argent, an inescutcheon or, thereon a

demi-lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with an arrow, within a double treasure, flory
' counter flory. Crest : On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a lion statant guardant, tail extended

or, gorged with a ducal coronet argent.
♦Howe.. Or, a fesse between three wolves* heads, erased sable. Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or, a

plume of five feathers, azure.
Hyde, of Long Lee. .Azure, a saltire or, between four bezants, a chief ermine. Crest: A nag^s head,

couped argent.
Ingram. .Ermine, on a fesse gules, three escallops argent.

Jdcson, of Shallcross . . Gules, a fesse between three sheldrakes argent. Crest : A sheldrake rising ppr.
Joliffe . . Argent, on a pile azure, three dexter guantlets or. Crest : An arm erect, couped in armour,

holding a broad sword, all proper.
Kendall . . Gules, a fesse cheqrey or, and azure between three eagles, displayed or.
Kniveton . . Gules, a chevron vaire, argent and sable. Crest : A demi-eagle issuing from a wreath or, the

wings expanded sable.
Kyrke, of Whitehough. .Per fesse or and gules, a lozenge counterchanged. Another: Argent, a chevron

gules between three boars' heads, couped sable. Crest: A dexter arm embowed in armour proper,

holding a cutlass, argent, hilt and pommel of the second.
♦Lamb. .Sable, on a fesse erminois^ between three cinquefoils, two mullets of the field. Crest: A

demi-lion rampant gules, holding between the paws a mullet sable.
Leche, of Chatsworth . . Ermine, on a chief indented gules, three ducal coronets or. Crest : Out of a ducal

coronet or, an arm erect proper, grasping a leech, environed round the arm vert.
Leigh. .Azure, within a bordure argent, three ducal coronets or, at fesse point a plate. Crest: An arm

couped at the shoulder or, the. scarf azure, grasping an haldebeft proper.
Longford . . Paly of six, or and gules, overall a bend argent. Crest : A bunch of Chebules proper. (A

sort of plum, from an obsolete French word.) They had two other crests shown in Lysons, page

cxxxvi. Vide article on " Longford."

2M

^^o OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

HIGH PEAK KBLUOUKY—f continued J.

Langsdon^ of Little Longstone. .Purple, a double-headed eagle displayed or. Crest: A fox's head cooped

argent.
Lowe. .Azure, a hart trippant argent. Crest : A wolf passant argent.
*Lytton, of Litton. .Ermine, on a chief indented azure, three crowns or. Crest: A bittern among reeds

proper.
Leslie. .Argent, on a fesse azure, three buckles or. Crest : A griffin's head proper.
McCreagh . . Or, on a fesse embattled gules, between, in chief, three estoiles and in base a lion rampant

of the last, a sword ppr., point to dexter, pommel and hilt of the first. Crest : A demi lion rampant

gules ; collared gemelle, and charged on the shoulder with two estoiles or, holding between the

paws a bezant, thereon two mascles interlaced sable.
*MannerSy of Haddon . . Or, two bars azure, a chief quarterly of the second and gules ; one and four

quarters charged with two fleurs de lis of the first ; two and three, a lion passant guardant of the

same. Crest : On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a peacock in pride proper.
Middleton, of Eyam . . Ermine, on a satire engrailed sable, an eagle's head erased or. Crest : An eagle's

head erased argent charged on the neck with a saltire as in the arms.
Middleton, of Gratton . . No trace.
*Af tines, of Ashford. .Azure, a chevron between three windmill sails crossways or, a mullet for difference.

Crest : A garb or, banded by a fesse dansett6e azure, charged with three mullets pierced of the

first.
Maynard. .Argent, on a chevron vert between three sinister hands erect gules, five ermine spots or.

Crest : A buck passant or, gorged with a collar invected argent, frimbriated sable.
Melland, of Monyash. .Paly of eight, argent and gules, a lion rampant sable.
Mellor, of Mellor. .Argent, three blackbirds proper. Crest : No trace.
Meverell, of Tideswell. .Argent, a griffon segreant sable, beaked and legged gules. Crest: A demi-griffon

segfeant, as in the arms. Another, a gauntlet grasping a dagger.
MeyneU. . Vaire, argent and sable. Crest : A horse's head erased argent.
Milward. .Ermine, on a fesse gules, three plates. Crest: A lion's jambe, issuing from a wreath sable,

grasping a sceptre or.
Morteyne, of Eyam. .Ermine, a chief gules.
Mountjoy. .Azure, three inescutcheons or.

Mower. .Ermine, on a chevron azure, three roses or, barbed and seeded proper.
Marshall . . Barry of ten, argent and sable, a canton ermine. Crest : A man in armour proper, holding in

dexter hand a truncheon or, over his armour a sash gules.
Needham, of Thomset. .Argent, a bend engrailed azure, between two bucks' heads cabassed sable. Crest:

Out of a pallisado coronet or, a buck's head sable, attired of the first. Another, on a mount vert,

a stag lodged sable attired, or. Another, a phoenix in flames ppr.
*Neville . . Gules, a saltire argent Crest : A bull argent, pied sable, armed or.
Oldfield (?). .Argent, on a bend gules, three crosses patt^e fitch6e of the field. Crest: A demi-wivem with

wings displayed argent, issuing from a ducal coronet.
Padley, .Argent, a fesse between three horse barnacles sable. Crest : No trace.
Pegge. .Argent, a chevron between three piles sable. Crest: The sun rising in splendour, the rays

alternately sable, or and argent.
Peverelly of the Peak. .Vaire, or and gules. Another : Gules and vaire, argent and azure, overall a lion

rampant of the second.
Pilkington, of Stanton. .Azure, a cross pat6e voided argent. Crest : A husbandman mowing with a scythe

proper.
*Plantagenet. . Gules, three lions passant guardant or, all within a bordure argent. Badge : Planta geneta

proper.
Plumpton, of Hassop. .Argent, five fusils in fesse sable, each <:harged with an escallop of the field.
Pott, of Stancliffe. .Barry of ten, argent and sable, on a bend azure three trefoils slipped or. Crest: A

mount vert, thereon a greyhound couchant gules, collared or.
jRaddiffe, of Mellor. .Argent, two bends engrailed sable, a label of three points and a crescent gules.

Crest : A bull's head erased sable, armed or, ducally gorged and charged with a pheon argent.
Kagged, of Glossop Dale. .No trace.
Robinson. . No trace.

Rocliffe. .Argent, a chevron between three lion's heads erased gules. Crest : No trace.
RoHesley, of Kowsley. .Gules, a fesse ermine, within a bordure of the last. Crest: A demi-lion rampant

issuing from a wreath per pale argent and gules, in paws a rose, stalked and leaved vert.
Roper. . Sable, a parrot passant or. Crest ? : On a chapeau gules turned up ermine a blazing star or.
Rossington, of Youlgreave. .Argent, a fesse between three crescents gules. Crest: A griffin's head

erased gules.

APPENDIX.

271

HIGH PEAK hKU0\5'SLY—r continued J.

Rowe, of Alport. .Per pale, or and gules, a lion rampant within an orle of trefoils all counterchanged.

Crest : An arm embowed vested gules, holding a garb or.
Rowland, of Longstone. .Sable, a pile issuing from the dexter chief argent.

Sacheverell, of Snitterton. .Argent, on a saltire azure, five water bougets or. Crest ; A goat statant proper.
Sanders. .Sable, on a chevron ermine between three bulls' heads caboshed argent, a rose sable. Crest :

A demi-bull rampant gules, armed or, charged with a rose argent, barbed and seeded ppr.
Sandford, of Bakewell. .Ermine, on a chief indented sable, three boars' heads couped or. Crest: No

traoe.
Savage, of Hope .. Argent, a pale fusilly sable, a crescent for difference. Crest : An unicorn's head erased

gules charged with a crescent.
Savill, of Beeley . .Argent, on a bend cotized sable, three owls of the field. Crest : An owl argent, charged

with a trefoil gules.
Senior, of Cowley. .No trace.
Shakerley, of Little Longstone. .Argent, on a chevron gules, a mullet or, between three bundles of rushes

vert, banded of the third. Crest : No traces.
ShallcrosSy of Shallcross . . Gules, a saltire between four anulets or. Crest : A martlet or, holding in bill a

cross pat6e fitch6e gules.
Sheldon, of Sheldon. .Argent on a bend gules, three sheldrakes of the field. Crest: A sheldrake argent.
Shirley, of Snitterton. .A paly of six or and azure, a (quarter) canton ermine. Crest: Head of a saracen

proper, couped at the neck, wreathed round the temples azure.
Shore, of Darley. .Argent, a bend between three bay leaves vert.
Shuttleworth, of Hathersage. .Argent, three weavers' shuttles sable, tipped and quilles furnished or.

Crest : A cubit arm in armour proper, grasping a shuttle of the arms.
Simpson, of Stoke Hall. .Per bend, sable and or, a lion rampant counter. Crest : Out of a tower azure,

a demi-lion rampant guardant, per pale or and sable, holding in the dexter paw a sword argent,

hilt and pommel gold.
Slack, of Chapel-en-le-Frith . . Per pale azure and ermine, a saltire pat6e throughout or, at fesse point a

cinquefoil counterchanged. Another: A cross pat6e throughout, per bend sinister and or, a

quatrefoil counterchanged, in the centre chief point, a mullet gules. Crest : A lion couchant ppr.,

resting his dexter fore paw on a quatrefoil of the arms. Crest : A castle (tower), crenelled proper ;

on the battlements a tortoise.
Sotehill . . Gules, an eagle displayed or. Crest : No trace.
Spencer, of Hathersage. .Azure, a fesse ermine wavy, between six seamews' heads, erased argent. Crest :

A rock proper, thereon a seamew.
Stafford, of Eyam . . Or, a chevron gules, between three martlets sable. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet per

pale or and gules, a boards head and neck sable. — Note, — ^The original arms were as given less the

martlets ; how they came by the martlets is a difficulty.
Statham, of Tideswell. .Gules, a pale fusilly argent.
Stevenson, of Rowsley. .Azure, on a bend argent, three leopards' faces, gules, between two lions passant or.

Crest : A garb or.
Strelley, of Hazelbadge. .Paly of six, argent and azure. Crest : A saracen's head proper.
Sutton, of Over Haddon. .Or, a lion rampant gules, queen fourch6e. Crest: A demi-lion vert within a

ducal coronet or.
Swinburne. .Per fesse, gules and argent, three cinquefoils counterchanged. Crest: Out of a ducal

coronet or, a demi-boar rampant argent, crined of the first, langued gules.
*Talbot. .A lion rampant within a bordure engrailed or. Crest: On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine,

a lion statant or, the tail extended.
Thacker. .Gules, on a fesse or, between three lozenges ermine, a trefoil slipped azure between two eagles'

heads couped of the field, beaked and lashed argent. Crest : A bittern, sitting among reeds proper.
Thomhill, of Stanton . . Gules, two bars gemelles argent, on a chief of the second, a mascle sable. Crest :

A mount, thereon a thorn-tree ppr., charged with a mascle or.
♦Tibetot. .Argent, a saltire engrailed gules.

Tunsted, of Tunsted. .Sable, three doves, two and one, argent. Crest : No trace.
Turner. .Ermine, on a cross quatrepierced, four millrinds sable, quatrepierced in the centre a fieur de lis

argent. Crest : A lion passant guardant argent, holding in the dexter paw a millrind sable.
Tyrell. .Argent, a leopard's head, jettant de lis gules.
Upton. .Sable, a cross moline argent. Crest : On a ducal coronet or, a war horse passant sable, trappings

of the first.
Vavasour. .Argent, a fesse danzette sable. Crest: A cock gules, armed Or.
Vernon, of Haddon. .Argent, a frett sable. Crest : A boards head erased sable, ducally gorged or.
Wall, of Darley Dale. .Azure, a chevron ermine, on a chief embattled or, three hurts. Crest : An eagle's

head couped argent.

272

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

HIGH PEAK KKUO\JKY—f continued J.

Wendfs/ey, of Wensley. .Ermine, on a bend gules, three escallops or. Crest : No trace.

Wentworth. .Sable, a chevron between three leopards' faces or. Crest : A griffin passant argent.

Weils, of Holme Hall. .Ermine, on a canton or, a buck's head caboshed sable. Crest : A demi-talbot

ermines.
White, of Ashford . .
WoodrofFe, of Hope. .Argent, a chevron between three crosses pat^e fitch^e gules. Crest : A woodpecker

russet.
Wright, of Longstone . . Sable, on chevron engrailed between three unicorns' heads erased or, as many

spears' heads azure. Crest : A cubit arm vested sable, doubled argent holding in hand proper, a

broken spear or, headed azure.
♦Warrenne. .Chequy or and azure. Crest: On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a wivem argent, wings

expanded chequy or and azure.

HERALDIC QUARTERINGS OF THE OLD PEAK FAMILIES.

FAMILIES.

Agards, of Chatsworth ,

Ashenhursts, of Glossop Dale.
Bagshawes, of The Ridge . .

Bagshawes, of Ford . . . .
Bagshawes, of Wormhill

Balguys, of Aston

Bardolfs

Bassetts, of Bubnell . . . .
Blackwalls, of Blackwall
Blounts

Botetourts

Bowdens, of Bowden Edge
Bowles, of Abney

Cavendishes, of Stoke Hall

Cheneys, of Monyash . . .
Cokaynes, of Hartle Hall

Columbells, of Darley . . .
Copwoods, of Bubnell . . ,
Cotterells, of Darley. . . . .

Crom wells

Dales, of Flagg

Degges, of Bowden Edge

Bradshawes, of Eccles Pike

Buxtons, of Youlgreave and Bradboume .

Carleils, of Longstone

Cavendishes, of Chatsworth

Eyres, of Highlow 'Wells, Padley, Archer.

QUARTERINGS.

Ferrars, of Tam worth.

Beard.

Cokayne, Hcrthull, Deyville, Savage, Rossington, Edensor,

Hertull ancient.
Child, Fowlowe, Murray, Busard, Marwood, Clay, Elmsall.
Gill, Westby, Drake.
Brailsford, Leigh, Leche.
Warren, Aquillon, D'Amorie.
Beke, Meynell, Everdon, Byron, Clayton.
Wendesleys.
Blount, of Suffolk, Odinsels, Sodington, Mountjoy, Willoughby,

Lee.
De Gemon.
Beard.
Bradshawe, Stafford, Rowland, Vescy, Francis, Galliard,

Huxley, Wakefield.
Stafford, Rowland.

Lane, Feme, Jackson, Peacock, Stubbing.
Morten.
Boyle, Savile, Cope, Baldrv, Noel, Clifford, Bromflete,

Plantagcnet, De Clare, Vipont, Ewias, Cheney, Cundy,

Hardwick.
Scudamore, Smith, Bricknock, Hardwick, Pinphbeck, Ogle,

Hepple, Chartney, Gobion, Heaton, Atton, Bertram,

Kirby, Camaby, Halton, Basset, Bussey, Brailsford,

Twiford, Beke, Dethick, Allestrye, Stafford, Meignell,

Savage, Meynell, De Verdon, Verdon, Byron, Banister,

Colwich, Clayton.
Cheshyre.
Herthull, Deyville, Savage, Rossington, Edensor, Herthull

(ancient). Marrow.
Darley, Stockwith.

Basset, Beke, Meynell, Everdon, Byron, Clayton.
Casar, Serbome.

Meverell, Denham, De Gayton, Daniel.
Hayne, Bullock.
More, Williams, Boughey.

APPENDIX.

*73

FAMILIES.

Eyres, of Hassop

Fitzherberts, of Padley .
Foxlowes, of Tideswell

Foljambes, of Tideswell

Freemans, of Wheston .
Fulwoods, of Middleton

Fumivalls

Fynneys, of Ashford. . .

Galliards

Gilberts, of Youlgreave
Goushills, of Hathersage

Greaves, of Beeley . .

Hathersages

Harpurs

Helyons, of Bakewell
Howards, of Glossop
Jacsons, of Shallcross
Kendals, of Darley . .
Knivetons, of Rowsley

Kyrkes, of The Eaves . . .

I^atnbes

Leslies, of Hassop

Longfords, of Hathersage

Tvyttons, of Litton

McCreaghs, of Stanton .
Manners, of Haddon . . .

Meverells, of Tideswell .
Milwards, of Snitterton .

Mowers, of Darley

Needhams, of Cowley . . .

Pegges

Plumptons, of Hassop . . .

Potts, of StanclifFe

Radcliffes, of Mellor

Rollesley, of Rowsley . . .
Sacheverells, of Snitterton

HERALDIC QUARTEKlNGS-'rconhnufdJ.

QUARTERINGS.

Radcliffe, Livingstone, Gladwin, Kemp, Blackwall, Stafford^
Rowland, ,Padley.

Marshall, Cotton, Ridware, Waldesheff, Fawcon, Venables.

The Foxlowes were maternally from William the Conqueror or
the Duke of Burgundy.

Loudham, Breton, Fitzwilliam, Luzers, Bartram, Clarrell,.
Scroope, Comine, Richards, Neville, Montacute^
Monthermer, Holland, Tiptoft, Charlton, Inglethorpe^
Bradston, Delapole, Broughe.

Alen.

Ardeme, Sydenhall, Lunel, Mitton.

Luvetot, Fitz-John, Verdon, Dagworth.

Fingree, Filiol, Chanceaux, Jordain, Monceaux, Saye,.
Maundeville - Eudo, Mamignot, Chenie, Batisford,
Peplesham, Dacre, Moulton, Morville, Engaine^
D'Estrivers, Vaux, Bowct, Ufford, Valoins, Creeke,
Granville, Blunde, Pierpoint, Clavering, Nigel, Lixures^
Chenie, Merley, Felton, Fitzhugh, Staveley, Fumeaux,
Grey, Odynsel, Limsey, Marmion, De Warren, Lucy
Gernegan, Mansfield, St. Quinton, Stutteville, Lisle,^
Fitzgerold, Meschines, De Rumeley, Lupus, De Casneto,.
Talbot.

Bradshaw, Stafford, Rowland, Vescy, Francis, Huxley^
Wakefield.

Rossington.

Hathersage, Fitzalan, Peverell, Albany, Meschines, Lupus,
Plantagenet, Warren, Marshall, De Clare, Macmurrough,.
Pargiter.

Ley, Floyer, Gilbert, Newton, Goring.

Meynell.

Findem, Dethick, Annesley, Curzon, Bassett, Crewe.

Swynboume, Botetourt, Gemon.

Brotherton, Warren, Fitzalan.

Fitzherbert, Shallcross.

Shepey, Comin, Walcot, Walleis.

Leche, Rollesley, Linacre, Bakewell, Plumley, Hackenthorpe,.
Grey of Herts.

Vernon, Lushington.

Coke.

Warthill.

Ercald, Hathersage, Deincourt, Appleby, Solney.

Bulwer, Weggett, Heysham, Slaney, Andrews. '

Thomhill, Bache, Gell.

Vernon, Avenell, Durversal, Camville, Stackpole, Pembrugge,.
Vernon, Pype, Talboys, Kyme, Umfreville, Bamadon,
Cokayne, Ridware, Roos, Espec, Belvoir, Beauchamp,.
Warwick, Berkeley, De Lisle, Gerrard, Holland, Tiptoft,.
Charlton, Badlesmere, Vaux, Todene, Albini.

Daniel, De Gayton, Denham.

Savage, Walkington, Daniel, Balguy, Chedal.

Latham, Bullock.

Cadman, Garlick.

Strelley.

Foljambe, Bapthorpe, West.

Newsam, Columbell, Darley, Stockwith.

Mellor.

Linacre, Bakewell, Plumley, Hackenthorpe.

Snitterton, Ercald, Statham, Massey, Risley, Morley, De la
Laund, Estafcren.

2N

274

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

FAMILIES.

Savilles, of Beelej.

Shakerleys, of Little Longstone
Shuttleworths, of Hathersage . .

Sotehills

Stathaxns, of Tides well

Strelleys, of Hazelbadge

Suttons, of Over Haddon

Swjnboumes

Talbots

Thomhills, of Stanton
Vemons, of Haddon. .

Wentworths

HERALDIC QUARTERINGS— /^f^/ww^i//

QUARTSRINGS.

Thomhill, Ryshworth, Golcar, Tankersley, Eland, Potto,

Paston.
Levett.

Spencer, Ashton, Barton.
Plumpton, Foljambe, Bapthorpe.
Wigley, Denham, Meverell, Daniel.
Somerville, Vavasour.
Bumell, Blunderville.
Botetourt, De Gemon.
Neville, Bulmer, Fumivall, Dagworth, Verdon, Luvetot,

Strange, Comyn.
Gell, Bache.
Avenell, Dureversall, Baliol, Camville, Biyan, Tracy, Maimion,

Stackpole, Pembrugge, Pype, Talboys, Kyme, Umfreville,

Neville, Cokayne, Ridware.
Tyrell, Helyon, Swynboume, Botetourt, De Gemon.

heralds: VISITATIONS,

Shewing Pedigrees of those lads who left the Derwent behind them in the Sixteenth Century or

previously.

Tk€ Small Numerals are the Heraldic Quarterings the Visitations give.

BEDFORDSHIRE, 1556— 1634.
Cokayne. Bagshawe. Cokayne.

CHESHIRE. 1580.
vii., Brereton. Horton. Leche. viii., Needham.
xvii., Savage. Shallcross. Vernon.

DORSETSHIRE. 1623.
Sacheverell.

ESSEX. 1558.
Bradbury. Fitzherbert. Lister.

1612.
*ii., Bradbury, ii., Fanshawe. Helyon. Vernon.

Ashton. Vernon.

1634.

LINCOLNSHIRE, 1592.
Ashton. t^^-> Columbell.

LONDON, 1633—4.
Babington. Banks. Bardolf. Bateman. Beresford.
iv., Blackwall. Boothby. iv.. Bower. Burdett.
vi., Bradboume. Bradshawe. Browne. Cokayne.
Columbell. Darley. Fanshawe. Fitzherbert.
Harpur. Horton. Hurt. Kirke. Leche.
Leake, vi., Milward. Meverell. Newbold.
Offley. Pott. Shallcross. Sleigh.

SHROPSHIRE. 1623.

Bagshawe. ^xxix., Blount. Booth, vi., Brereton.
xii., Newham. iv., Sandford. Twiford. xxiv.,
Vernon.

WARWICKSHIRE, 1619.

iv., Burdett. viii.. Cotton, xv., Ferrars. Fulwood.
Kendall. Levinge. Newdigate. Sacheverell.

WORCESTERSHIRE, 1682.

Bagshawe. Savage.

YORKSHIRE, 1584.

Banks. Blythe. Burdett. Dakins. Derley.
Plumpton.

1563.
Burdett. Deincourt. Thomhill.

1612.

Banks. Blythe. Chaworth. Dakins.

Eyre.

* Harl MSS. civet eight quarterings end the motto, ''Tempos et Patentia.'

t This is a vaiaable pedigree.

X This is very valuable to the compiler.

APPENDIX.

275

FAMILIES WHOSE SONS WERE RETURNED TO PARLIAMENT AS KNIGHTS OF

THE SHIRE, 1294— 1 83 1,
Less sixty-four years (17 Edward IV. — 33 Henry VIII.), writs lost.

"337
1339
'343
'355
'357
1357

ADAM.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.

ADDERLEY.
1383 William.
1385 William.
1390 William.

APPLEBY.
1330 Edmund.
1366 Edmund.
1375 Edmund.

ASHBURN.
1343 Robert.

1347 Rol>ert.

1348 Robert.

ASHEWELL.
1346 William.

BAKEPUIZE.
1373 William.

BARTON.
1378 Oliver.
1380 Oliver.

BEAUFOY.

'315 ,

'3*5 .
J328

1328

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.

'340 J

ohn.

BECK.
J 355 John.

BAILEY.
1454 Robert.

BLACKEWELL.
1553 Richard.

BLOUNT.
1399 Walter.
1420 Thomas.
1446 Walter.
1448 Walter.
1450 Walter.

Each date

1452 Walter.
1454 Walter.
1460 Walter.
1467 William.
1472 James.

BOOTH.
1420 Henry.

1423 Henry.

1424 Henry.
1427 Henry.

BRADBURN.
1396 Roger.
1404 Roger.
1552 Henry.
1554 Henry.

BRADSHAWE.
1406 Roger.

BRAILSFORD.
1297 Henry.
1354 Henry.

1360 Henry.

1 36 1 Henry.
1364 Henry.
1379 ? Robert.

1382 ? Robert.

1383 Ralph.

CAVENDISH.

1572 Henry.

1585 Henry.

r586 Henry.

1589 Henry.

1593 Henry.

1620 William.

1623 William.

1625 William.

1625 Williaifi.

1660 Henry.

1 66 1 William.
1679 William.

1679 William.

1680 William.
1694 William.
r697 William.
1699 William.
1734 Charles.
1 74 1 William.
1747 William.
1747 Frederick.
1754 George.
1 76 1 George.

represents a distinct

1768 George.
1774 George.
1780 Richard.
1784 George.
1790 George.

1796 John.

1797 George.
1802 George.
1807 George.
1 81 2 George.
1819 George.
r82o George.
1826 George.
r830 George.
i83r George.

CHAWORTH.
r4i3 Thomas.

CHELASTON.
1346 John.
r348 John.

CHESTRE.
r327 Simon.

1333 Simon.

1334 Simon.
1339 Roger.
1352 William.

CLARKE.
1685 Gilbert.

1688 Gilbert.

1689 Gilbert.
1694 Gilbert.

1 710 Godfrey.

171 3 Godfrey.

1 7 14 Godfrey.
1722 Godfrey.
r727 Godfrey.
1768 Godfrey.
r774 Godfrey.

COKAYNE.

summons.

*.

'335

1337
1338
1339

1339
1340

1 341
1344
1350

1351
1360

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.

1361 John.

1362 John.
1394 John.
1402 John.
1404 John.
1427 John.
1430 John.
1552 Thomas.

r64o
1685

1697
1700

r702
1 70s

COKE.

iohn.
Robert.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.
Thomas.

CROMWELL.
i3r8 Ralph.

CURZON.

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
Francis.

1378
1382

1399
1403

H»3
1429

1434
1441

1453

1471 Francis.

1639
1640

1700

1702

1705
1708

r7io

1713

1714

1722

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.

ohn.
John.
r727 Nathaniel.
r734 Nathaniel.
r74i Nathaniel.
1747 Nathaniel.
1754 Nathaniel.
1774 Nathaniel.
1780 Nathaniel.

DABRIDGE
COURT.
r392 John.
1397 John.

DEINCOURT.

I3I6 J

ohn.

'3*8 J

ohn.

m^ J

ohn.

DETHICK.

1296 Robert.

1306 Robert.
r384 William.
1396 William.

EMERTON.

1346 Roger.

EYNTON.

1347 Roger.

1348 Roger.

FAUNEL.
1304 William.

1307 William.
r3io William.
13 ri William.
1314 William.

FERRARS.
1660 John.

FITZHERBERT.

1297 Henry.
1446 Nicholas.
1452 Nicholas.

FOLJAMBE.
1296 Thomas.
1 30 1 Thomas.
1304 Henry.

1308 Thomas.
1 3 10 Thomas.
1 3 14 Thomas.
1338 Godfrey.
1340 Godfrey.
1364 Godfrey.
1369 Godfrej'.
1 371 Godfrey.
1 37 1 Godfrey.
r39o Thomas.
1 39 1 Thomas.
1557 Godfrey.

FOUCHER.

1344
,1350 J

1351

1360 John.

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.

27^

13^8

"37^
I37I

'377

PARLIAME>

ohn. IN(

ohn. 1334 Re

ohn. 1340 R

dward. 1340 R

FRANCEYS.

1337 Robert.

1338 Robert.

1353 Robert.

1354 Robert.
1357 Robert.
1357 Robert.
1360 Robert.
1362 Robert.
1372 John.
1382 Robert.
1385 Robert.
1388 Robert.
1 410 Robert.
1436 Robert.'

FRECHEVILLE.
1299 Robert.

1299 Ralph.

1300 Ralph.
1307 Ralph.
1312 Ralph.
1 60 1 Peter.
1623 Peter.

. IF
1341 1

K
1294

133s
160-

1 6c

^

I

1

1627
1661

ohn.
ohn.

CELL.
1688 John.

1688 Philip.

GILBERT.

1689 Henry.

goushil:

1392 Nicholas,
142 1 Nicholas

GRESLE
1299 Geoffre;

1299 Geoffre

1300 Geoffn
1340 Rober
1400 Thorn
1414 Thon
1417 Thon
1460 John
1477 Johi

HAM
1334 Jo^

HA
1603 Jr
1761 F

APPENDIX.

«77

SYNOPSIS OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE, 1294— 183 1,

Less sixty-four years (17 Edward IV. — 33 Henry VIII.), writs lost, showing at a glance how many times

such honour has been held by any family.

TIMES CHOSEN.

38

28

19

15

14....:..

II

10

9

8

6

5

4

3

2

I

NAMES OF FAMILIES FROM WHENCE CHOSEN.

Cavendish.

Curzon.

Cokayne, Meynell.

Foljambe.

Franceys.

Clarke, Mundy.

Blount, Twyford, Vernon.

Frecheville, Gresley.

Brailsford, Foucher.

Adam, Coke, Michell, Okeover, Pole, Sacheverell, Wendesley.

Beaufoy, Chestre, Faunel, Leche, Montgomery, Wakebridge.

Booth, Bradbum, Dethick, Longford, Manners, Marchington, Statham, Stanton.

Adderley, Appleby, Ashbum, Deincourt, Fitzherbert, Ingram, Kniveton, Rousell,

Saperton, Solney, Talbot.
Barton, Chelaston, Dabridgecourt, Eynton, Gell, Goushill, Harpur, Mackworth,

Stanhope, Strelley, Toke, Zouch.
Ashwell, Bakepuize, Beck, Bailey, Blackewell, Bradshawe, Chaworth, Cromwell,

Emerton, Ferrars, Hambury, Ireland, Leake, Lowe, Melbourne, Muskham,

Port, Powtrell, Reresby, Rockford, Sallow, Verdon, Vincent.

FAMILIES WHOSE SONS WERE SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY FROM 1423— 1888.

ABNEY.

BAGSHAWE.

BLOUNT.

BRIGHT.

1669 ]

Francis.

1656 James.

1696 John.
172 1 Richard.

1447 Thomas.

1722 John.

1706

1825 Charles.

1470 William.

1 7 19 Samuel.

1805 William.

BROADHURST.

AGARD.

1868 Francis.

BOOTH.

1 79 1 John.

BYRON.

161 5 Henry.

1499 William.

1865 John.

i486 John.
1493 Nicholas.

1639 John.

BAINBRIGGE.

166 1 Charles.

1760 Thomas.

BOOTHBY.

BROWN.

1528 ,

fohn.

1662 William.

15 17 Robert.

1543 ,

ohn.

ALLESTREE.

BALGUY.

171 3 Brook.

1743 William.

1552 .

ohn.

1683 William.

1 68 1 Henry.

BORROW.

BULLOCK.

CAVE.

ARKWRIGHT.

BASSET.

1688 John.

16 16 John.

1884 John.

1787 Richard.

1476 William.

1 80 1 Richard.

1512 Richard.

BOWDEN.

BURDE'l"]'.

CAVENDISH.

1850 Richard.

1540 William.

1841 John.

16 10 Thomas.

1592 William.

1855 Peter.

1578 William.

1650 Francis.

1608 Henry.

1887 Frederic.

1589 William.

BRADBURN.
1564 Humphrey.

1738 Robert.
1848 Robert

1 74 1 Henry.

ASHTON.

1574 Humphrey.

CHAWORTH.

1665 Robert.

BATE.

BURNELL.

1424 Thomas.

1705 Richard.

BRADSHAWE.

1788 Peter.

1458 William.

BABINGTON.

1630 Francis.

1839 Broughton.

15 1 3 George.

1428 Nonnan.

1 70 1 Henr>'.

1557 John.

1456 William.

BATEMAN.

1717 John.

1479 John.

1792 Hugh.

1776 Joseph.
1806 Francis.

BURTON.

1498 Thomas.

181 2 Robert.

1628 Thomas.

CHENEY.

1534 Anthony.

1823 Thomas.

1 85 1 Francis.

1647 Michael.

1775 I

lobert.

20

278

CHESHIRE.
1759 Gilbert.

CHETHAM.
1693 James.

CLARKE.
1652 Godfrey.
1676 Gilbert.
1740 Godfrey.

CLARKE.
1670 Cornelius.

CLIFTON.
145 1 Robert.
1460 Robert.
1468 Robert.
1472 Gervase.
1478 Gervase.
1483 Gervase.
1488 Gervase.
1502 Gervase.
1541 Gervase.
1547 Gervase.
1555 George.

CLOWES.
1888 Samuel.

COAPE.
1703 Heniy.

COCKFIELD.
1430 John.
1440 John.

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.
SHERIFFS OF THE COUKTI—f continued J.

COKAYNE.

1423
1429

1435
1521

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.

1530 Thomas.
1550 Thomas.

1569 Thomas.

1570 Thomas.
1580 Thomas.
1590 Francis.
1597 Edward.

COKE.
1646 Edward.
1 819 Edward.
1859 Edward.

COLVILLE.
1 83 1 Charles.
1875 Charles.

COSFIN.
1532 William.

COX.
1 86 1 William.

CREWE.
1 82 1 George.
1853 John.

CROMPTON.
1768 Samuel.
1810 John.
1847 John.
1873 John.

CURZON.
1437 John.
1473 ^ohn.
1484 ] ohn.
1487 ohn.
1568 Francis.
1584 Francis.
1593 George.
1609 John.
1637 John.
1692 Nathaniel.
1876 Nathaniel.

DALE.
1786 Robert.

«

DARCY.
1436 Thomas.

DEGGE.
1675 Simon.

DETHICK.
1586 Humphry.

DIGBY.
1505 Simon.

EVANS.
1829 William.
1872 Thomas.
1879 Walter.

EVERY.
1718 John.
1749 Henry.
1783 Edward.
1804 Henry.
1863 Henry.

EYRE.
1 48 1 Robert.
1 62 1 Thomas.
1658 Robert.

1 69 1 William.
1723 Henry.

FARNELL.
1789 Martin.

FERRARS.
1655 John.

FINNEY.
1690 Edward.

FITZHERBERT.
1448 Nicholas.
1456 William.
1466 Nicholas.

1498 Francis.

1499 Francis.

1602
1624
1626

ohn.
ohn.
ohn.

1654 Richard.
1 8 15 Henry.
1866 William.

FLETCHER.
1732 John.
1753 Goodere.

FOLJAMBE.
1520 Godfrey.
1525 Godfrey.
1537 Godfrey.
1556 James.
1567 Godfrey.
1579 Godfrey.
1586 Godfrey.
2633 Francis.

FOSBROKE.
1725 Leonard.
1764 Leonard.

FRECHEVILLE.
1 57 1 Peter.
1605 Peter.

FRITH.
1 78 1 Samuel.

FULWOOD.
161 1 George.

GELL.
1634 John.
1673 John.
1755 Philip.
1822 Philip.
1886 Henry.

GERRARD.
1566 Thomas.

GIRARDOT.
1 818 John.

GISBORNE.
1742 John.

GLADWIN.
1668 Thomas.

GREAVES.
1765 Joseph.

GREENSMITH.
1715 Robert.
1785 Herbert.

GRESLEY.
1427 Thomas.
1454 John.
1588 Thomas.
1603 Thomas.
1645 George.
1663 Thomas.
1704 William.
1724 Thomas.
1751 Thomas.
1780 Nigel.
1826 Roger.

HALLOWES.
1674 Samuel.
1769 Brabazon.
1 8 17 Thomas.

1582

1583
1606

1607

1625

1636

1641

1702

1710

1728

1748

1774
1794

HARPUR.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
\ Uchard.
Henry,
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
ohn.
lichard.

{ohn.
lenry.
Henry.

HARRISON.
1833 John.
1883 John.

HERCY.
1500 Humphry.
1533 John.

1544 John.
1549 John.

HICKLING.
1438 John.

HOLDEN.
181 3 Robert.
1838 Edward.

HOLLES.
1558 William.

HORTON.
1640 Christopher.
1657 Walter.
1800 Eusebius.

HUXLOKE.
1623' Henry.*
1840 Henry.

1714

1756
1778
1796
i8z4
i860

HURT.
Charles.
Nicholas.
Francis.
Charles.
Francis.
Francis.

JENKINSON.
1687 Paul.

JESSOP.
1878 William.

KEYS.
1678 Henry.

KNIVETON.

1467 Nicholas.
1490 Nicholas.
1494 Nicholas.
16 14 William.
1623 Gilbert.

LEAKE.
1487 John.
1548 Francis.
1573 Francis.

1600 Francis.

1601 Francis.

LEECH.
1654 William.

LEIGH.
1612 Henry.

* Died in office. Dropped dead in the presence of King Ja:ne8 I.

APPENDIX.

»79

SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY— Aon/wwerf;.

LONGFORD.

1485 Nicholas.

OLDKNOW.

RICHARDS.

STANHOPE.

1501 Ralph.

1824 Samuel.

1747 Thomas.

I +55 ohn.

1536 Ralph.

MOWER.

1462 ohn.

1734 George.

PARES.

RIVETT.

1463 John.

LOWE.

1845 Thomas.

1757 Thomas,

1508 Edward.

1679 ohn.

MOWERWOOD.

1 88s Edward.

1J09 Edward.

1751 John.

1649 Anthony.

ROBERTS.

1563 Thomas.

178Z Richard.

1677 John.
1707 Rowland.

PEEL.

1744 William.

1629 John.
1651 John.

1795 William.

1 816 John.

185+ William.

1762 George.

ROBERTSON.

1834 William.

PEGGE.

1870 Eben.

STANTON.

MANNERS.

.871 Charles.

1667 Edward.

1441 Thomas.

1576 John.
1585 ' ohn.

1739 Strelley.

ROTHERHAM.

1449 Thomas.

MOLINEUX.

1750 John.

1594 Jplin.
1618 Roger.

1565 Francis.

PIERPONT.

1773 Samuel.

STAPLETON.

1469 Henry.

1510 Brian.

1632 John.

MOORE.

1471 Henry.

SACHEVERELL.

1518 Brian.

1837 George.

1503 William.

1531 Henry.

MARKHAM.

1511 William.

1542 Henry.

STATHAM.

1434 Roben.

MUNDY.

1559 Jervas.

1595 Henry.

1445 John.
147 s Henry.

1480 Robert.

1617 Francis.

1622 Jacinth.

1519 John.

1659 John.

1660 John.

PILKINGTON.

1709 George.

1726 Wigley.

1526 ohn.

1481 Charles.

■539 John.

1671 Adrian.

SAVAGE.

STRELLEY.

15+6 John.

1694 Francis.

PINDAR.

1+92 James.

1446 Robert.

1697 Gilbert.

1684 Reginald.

1452 Robert.

MASTER.

1731 Edward.

SAVILE.

1464 Robert.

J712 Slreignsham.

1737 Wrightson.

PLUMPTON.

1699 George.

1529 Nicholas.

1 771 Francis.
1 820 Francis.

'453 William.

1538 Nicholas.

MEREING.

SHALLCROSS.

I43J William.

1843 William.

POLE.

1638 John.

STRUTT.

1439 William.

1856 Alfred.

1443 John.
1477 Ralph.

1686 ohn.

1849 Jedidiah.

1506 William.

1884 Francis.

1 7 10 John.

1869 George.

1507 William.

157s German.

1515 William.

NEVIL.

1695 Samuel.

SHIRLEY.

STUBBING.

1444 Thomas.

1708 Francis.

.497 Ralph.

.7.. Thomas.

MERRY.

1553 Anthony.

1733 German.

1561 William.

1766 Edward.

SHORE.

SUMNER.

NEWDIGATE.

1793 Sacheverell.

1761 Samuel.

1881 Francis.

MEYNELL.

1880 Francis.

i8»7 Edward.

1832 Samuel.

1682 Godfrey.

1867 Edward.

SUTTON.

1758 Hugh.

NEWTON.

SITWELL.

1 55 1 Henry.

1811 Godfrey.

1746 Robert.

PORT.

1653 George.

.842 James.

1874 Godfrey.

1798 John.
1833 Robert.

'55+ John.
1730 Rowe.

1672 Francis.

173s Francis.

TAYLOR.

MIDDLETON.

1882 Charles.

1779 Edward.

1727 William.

1808 Marmaduke.

PRINCEPS.

1807 Sitwell.

1745 John.

NIGHTINGALE.

1802 Thomas.

1828 George.

MILNES.

1770 Peter.

THACKER.

1720 Richard.

RADFORD.

SKRIMSHIRE.

1619 Godfrey.

1771 William.

NICOLAS.
1835 Ashton.

178+ John.

1698 Charles.

THORNHILL

MILWARD.

RERESBY.

SLEIGH.

1776 Bache.

j6io ohn.

OFFLEY.

1613 Thomas.

1648 Samuel.

1836 William.

1635 ohn.

1716 Stephen.

1666 Samuel.

1680 Henry.

REVEL.

1700 Robert.

SMITH.

TURBUIT.

MINORS.

OKEOVER.

1685 Matthew.

1858 Gladwin.

151+ Roger.

1465 Philip.
1474 Philip.

RHODES.

1874 Rowland.

MONTGOMERY.

1631 Humphrey.

1591 John.
i8s7 William.

STAMFORD.

TWIGGE.

1432 Nicholas.

1862 Houghton.

1495 Brian.

1767 John.

28o

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY— rconiinuai J.

UPTON.

VCEUX.

WATKINSON.

1596 John.
1604 Henry.

WORTLEY

1809 Charles.

i8b4 Henr)'.

1736 Godfrey.

1577 Francis.

WALBEYS.

WHITE.

WILMOT.

VERNON.

1442 John.

1729 John.

i68q Robert.

ZOUCH.

1425 Richard.

1796 Robert.

1426 John.
151 1 William.

1504 Henr}'-

WALKER.

1803 Robert.

1523 ,1

ohn.

1799 Joseph.

WILLOUGHBY.

1846 Robert.

»5«6 1

ohn.

'524 J

ohn.

143 1 Hugh.

1852 Henry.

1545 J

ohn.

'527 ,

ohn.

1450 Richard.

1562 ,

ohn.

1627

ildward.

WASTNEIS.

1 46 1 Richard.

WILSON.

"57* J

ohn.

1664 (

lieorge.

1457 John.

1496 Henry.

1790 Thomas.

1581 ,

ohn.

SYNOPSIS OF THE SHERIFFS OF THE COUNTY FROM 1423— 1888.

TIMES CHOSEN.

'3

II

10

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

I

NAMES OF THE FAMILIES FROM WHENCE CHOSEN.

Harpur, Mundy.

Clifton, Cokayne, Curzon, Fitzherbert, Gresley.

Pole.

Foljambe, Stanhope.

Vernon, Zouch.

Bradshawe, Hurt, Markham, Mowerwood, Sitwell, Willoughby.

Arkwright, Babington, Basset, Burton, Byron, Every, Eyre, Gell, Kniveton, Leake,
Lowe, Manners, Mereing, Pierpont, Sacheverell, Strelley, Wilmot.

Bagshawe, Burdett. Chaworth, Crompton, Hercy, Meynell, Newton, Okeover.

Agard, Bateman, Cavendish, Clarke, Coke, Evans, HaJIowes, Horton, Morton,
Milward, Shallcross, Statham.

Abney, Blount, Boothby, Bradbum, Broadhurst, Brown, Bumell, Cockfield, Colville,
Crewe, Fletcher, Fosbroke, Frecheville, Greensmith, Harrison, Holden,
Hunloke, Longford, Milnes, Montgomery, Nevil, Pares, Pegge, Port, Rhodes,
Rotherham, Shore, Sleigh, Smith, Stanton, Stapleton, Strutt, Sutton, Taylor,
Thomhill.

Allestree, Ashton, Bainbrigge, Balguy, Bate, Booth, Borrow, Bowden, Bright,
Bullock, Cave, Cheney, Cheshire, Chetham, Clarke, Clowes, Coape, Cosfin,
Cox, Dale, Darcy, Degge, Dethick, Digby, Famell, Ferrars, Finney, Frith,
Fulwood, Gerrard, Girardot, Gisborne, Gladwin, Greaves, Hickling, Holies,

Jenkinson, Jessop, Keys, Leech, Leigh, Master, Merry, Middleton, Minors,
loore, Mower, Molineux, Newdigate, Nicolas, Nightingale, Offley, Oldknow,
Peel, Pilkington, Pindar, Plumpton, Princeps, Radford, Reresby, Revel,
Richards, Rivett, Roberts, Robertson, Savage, Savile, Shirley, Skrimshire,
Stamford, Stubbing, Sumner, Thacker, Turbutt, Twiggc, Upton, Voeux,
Walbeys, Walker, Wastneis, Watkinson, White, Wilson, Wortley.

$nbex.

INDEX OF HALLS, FAMILIES, AND ARMS.

Capital Letters denote Families of whom particulars are given,
have the Hyphen, the particulars are much fuller.

Adderley, i

Agard, izi, 123-4 note.

Aitcheson, 175.

Albany, 169.

Albint, 3, 67.

ALLEN, 134, 139, i4*-3-

Allcard, 57.

Allestre, 195, 201.

Andrews, 119.

Appleby, 175.

Aquillon, 245.

Archer, 21.

Ardeme, 161, 145.

Arkwright, 107, iii, 118.

Armiger, 229, 231.

ARMINE, 33, 43.

Ashenhurst, 161, 165.

Ashford Rookery, 33.

Ashurst, 169.

ASHTON, 171.3, 175, 176, I

Ashwell, IS5-

Aston Hall, 207.

Athorpe, 141.

Atton, zoi.

Avenell, 3, 45, 48, 200.

Babington, 195.
Babthorpe, 245.
Bache, 239, 241, 242.
Bacon, 6.
Badlesmere, 3.
Bagot, 19s.

BAGSHAWE, of Ford* 75, 7
BAGSHAWE, of The Ridge

12-13, 21, 93-94, lOJ.
BAGSHAWE, of Wormhill*

226-7.
Bainbridge, 75.
Bakewell, 9, 57, 195.
Bakewell Hall, 9.
Baldry, 121.
BALGUY, 107, 187, 190-1, :

209.
Bamford, 175.
Banister, 101.
Banks, 57, 118.
.Baradon, 3.
Barber, 191.

Bardolf, 239, 241, 242, 245*.
BARKER, 9, 13-14, 75.
Barlow, 201, 204-5.
Barnesley, 245.
Bartram, 67, 201.
Basingwerke Abbey, 195.
BASSET*, 4S, 47-49, 201.
BATEMAN, 245, 249-250.
Batisford, 175.

Beard Hall,
Beard, 161, 164-5.
Beauchamp, 3.
Beeley Hall, 57.
Beke, 45, 201.
Belgrave, 161.
Bel voir, j.
Bennett, 29.
Berkeley, 3.
Bemak, 173, 183.
Bertram. Ste Bartram.
Bess of Hardwick, 126.
Bigod, 67.
Birch, 21.

BLACKWELL,33, 43, SI, 6
BLOUNT*, 33, 36-37, 91.
Blunde, 17s.
Botetouit, 9, 57.
Boughey, 91.
Bourne, 80.
Bowden*, 91, 95.
Bowers, 239, 244.
Bowers, The, 239.
Bowet, 175.
Bowles*, 83.
BOYLE, 121, 137.
BRADBURY* 155. IS7-60.
BRADSHAW* 21, 23-25,

88-8q, 133, 137.
Bradshaw Hall, Eyam, 133.
Biadshaw Hall, 83.
Bradston, 67.
Brailsford, 201, 207.
Brampton, 229, 231.
Breton, 67.
Brereton, iz.
Bricknock, 201.
Bridgeman, 201.
Bromfletc, izi.
Brotherton, 161, 187.
Broughe, 67.
BROWNE, 75,94.
Bubnell Hall, 47.
BULLOCK, 33, 3S, S7-
Bulmer, 133.
Bulwer, 229.
Burton, 175.
Bury, 195.
Bussey, 201.
Bustard, 75.
BUXTON, 61, 24s, 247-8.
Buxton Hall, 51.
Byron, 45, 201.

When the Numbers against such. Names
* Quartered coal illustruted.

Camville, 3.

CARLEIL, 59, 195, 197-8.

Camaby, zoi.

Carr, 141, 144.

Casar, 99.

Cave, 51.

CAVENDISH* 61, 121* 124-9.
201*, 204-6, 210-11.

Champion, 91.

Chanceaux, 175.

Charlton, 3, 67, 229* 245.

Chartney, loi.

Chatsworth House, 113.

Chaworth, 173, 175,

Chedal, 107.

CHENEY, 27, 31-32, 33, 121.

Chetal, 123.

Chenie, 175.

CHETHAM* 149,153.

Child, 75.

Clarrell, 67.

Clavering, 175.

Clay, 75.

Clayton, 45, 201, 229.

CLERKE, 39, 44.

CLIFFORD, 121.

Clifton, 91.
83, Clowes, 51.

COKAYNE* 3, 9, 15. '7-20, 104,

Coke, 6, 9,

COLUMBELL, 57, <3g. ioa-3 185-

Colville, 91.

Colwich, 201.

Comine, 67,

Comvn, 133.

Cope, 121.

Copwood*, 45, 49.

COTTERELL* 99, '01-2.

Cotton, 181, 207.

Cowley Hall, 99.

Cowper, 9.

Craven, 153.
Creeke, 175.
Crew, 5.

CROMWELL* 229, 232.
Cundy, 121.
Curzon, 49.

Cadman, 99,
Caldwell, 75.
Calver, 141.

104.

D'Albini, 6.
Dacre, 5, 175.
Dagworth, 133.
DAKEYN, 61, 107.
DALE, 39, 44.
Dam one, 245.
Daniel, 229, 231-2.

284 OLD

DARLEY, 57, 99, 102, iio-ii. Fita
Darley Hall, 57. Fit

De Bohun, 67. Fit

DeBusli, 141. FT

De Casneto, 175.

DE CLARE, 67, 71, 121, 169. F
D'Estrivers, 175. J

De Fortibus, 67. ^

DE GERNON, 11, 14, 57, 121,

124.
DEGGE, 91* 95.
Deincourt, 175.
De Lacy, 67.
De la Laund, 113.
De la Pole, 67. I

De Lisle, 3.

Delve, 64. I

Denham, 229.
DENMAN, 175, 178-9.
De Quincy, 67, 245. I

Dering, 198.
De Rumeley, 175.
De Ross, 67.

Derwent Hall, 187. 1

De Say, 67.

Dethick, 195, 201. I

Devereux, 77-78, 191.
Deyville, 9, 15.
De Verdon, 201.
De Vere, 67.
De Vesci, 67, 71.
De Warren, 175.
Donner, 99.

Drake, 223. 1

Dunstable Priory, 195.
Drury, 99. 1

Durversal, 3. 1

Dymoke, 54. 1

I
Eden, 155.

Edensor, 9, 15. 1

Eland, 27.
Elmsall, 75.
Empson, 10 1, 102.
Engaine, 175.
Espec, 3.

Estafcren, 113. I

Eudo, 175. I

Evans, 175. '

Everdon, 45.
Ewias, 121.

Eyam Hall, 141. 1

EYRE, 21* 25,

181, 184, I !

223.

Fanshawe, 99. 1

Fawcon, 181,

Felton, 175.

FERRARS,

Feme, 113, i

Filioll, 175. i

Fingre, 17 <

LESLIE, s6, 195, '98.

Lever, 175.

Levett, 33.

Ley, 139.

Limsey, 175,

Linacre, 57, 75.

Lingard, 91.

Lisle, 175.

Little Longstone Manor House, 33

Liviogstone, 51, 55.

Longford, 169, 171, 175*-

Long Lee Hall, 161.

LONGSDON, 33, 37-38, 41.

Longstone Hall, 57.

Longvilliers, 195.

Londham, 67.

Lowe, Z45.

Lucy, 175.

Ludlaro, 185.

Lunet, Z45.

Lupus, 161, 175.

Lushington, 83.

Luvetot, 133.

Luzers, 67.

Lytton, 229* 231-233.

McCreagh, 139, 141.

Macmurrough, 161.

Mallet, 67.

Malovel, 195.

Mamignot, 175.

Mansfield, 175-

MANNERS*, 3, 5-7, i8s, 219.

Marcham, 195.

Marchington, 231.

Marescal, 67,

Markham, 91.

Marmion, 175.

Marrow, .5.

Marsh Hall, 91.

Marshall, 169, 181, 207.

Marrow, 15.

Ma^^^■ood, 75.

Maundeville, 175.

Massej", 113.

Maxwell, 234.

Meignell, 201.

MELLOR, 1+9, 152-3.

Mellor Hall, 149.

Mereing, 91.

Merley, 175.

Meschines, 11, 169, i7S-

MEVERELL. 229* 232.

Meynell, 45, 201.

Middleton, 144.

Middleton Castle, 245.

MILNES, 35.

MILWARD* 107, 113, 117-18.

Mitton, 245.

Mompesson, 141.

Monceaux, 175.

Montacute, 67.

Momhermer, 67.

Moore, 251-2.
Morewood, 138.
Morley, 113.
Morteyne, 133, 141.
Morville, 175.
Mosley, 91.
Moult, 149.
Moulton, 175.
Mountjoy, 33.
Mowbray, 67.
Mower, 57.
Muntfichet, 67.
Murray, 75.

Needham, 99, 104.
NEVILLE, 67, 133, 135.
Newdigate, 187.
Newton, 239, 244.
Nigel, 175.
Northcote, 57.
North Lees Hall, 169.

Odinsells, 33.
Odynsells, 175.
Offerton Hall, 207.
Ogle, 201.
Oldfield, 80.
Ollerset Hall, 155.
Overburie, 192.

Padley, 21, 51, 53, 181, 184, 195.

Padley Hall, 181.

Pargitcr, 169.

Paaton, 27.

Peacock, 245.

Pegge, 195.

Pembrugge, 3.

Peplesham, 175.

Peploe, 175, 178-9,

Perci, 67.

PEVERELL, ri, 169, 245,

Peveril Castle, 67.

Pierpont, 175.

Piers Gavestou, 70.

Pinchbeck, 201.

Pindar, gi.

Plantagenet, tzr, 169.

Plumley, 57.

PLUMPTON, 5^-55,

223^

228, 241, 245*.
Potter, 244.
Potto, 27.
Princeps, 91.
Pype, 3-

Quincy. See De Quincy.

RATCLIFFE, 51. 56, 149, 152-3,

•75-
Richards, 67.
Ridel, 191-
Ridware, 3, 181, 207.
Rislep, 113.

«8S

RidgeHall, The, 91.
Roclifife, 99, 103.
ROLLESLEY, 57, 107.
Rookhill, 155.
Roos, 3, 5.
Rosper, 245.
Rossington, 9, 15, 245.
Rowland, 57, 83.
Rugeley, 75.
Ryshworth, 27.

SACHEVERELL* 113, 115-18.
Sanders, 245.
Sandys, 195.

Savage, g, 15, 107, 195, 198-9,

SAVILLE* 27, 29-30, 32, lai,

Saye, 175.
Scott, i6i.
Scott-Kerr*, 161.
Scroope, 67.
Scudamore, 201.
Senior, 104.
Seward, 14.

SHACKERLEY*, 33, 36-37.
SHALLCROSS, 207, 209-210.
Shallcross Hall, 207.
SHELDON, 145, 248-9.
Shepey, 57.
Sherbouroe, gg.
SHIRLEY, 113, 115-16.
Shore, 113, 118.
SHUTTLEWORTH, 173, 175*

'95-
Simpson, 204.
Slack House, 91.
Slanev, 229.
SLACK, 91, 19s, ig8.
Smith, 20 1.
Snitterton, 113.
Snitterton Hall, 113.
Snitterton Manor House, 107.
Sodington, 33.
Solney, 175.
Somerville, igs, 213-
Sotehill, 103,
Spencer, 175.
Stackpole, 3.
STAFFORD, 51, 83, 133, 135-38,

"45. '61. '95, 201.
Stanhope, 195.
Stanley, 141, 143-4.
Stanton, 91.
Stanton Old Hall, 339.
Stanton Woodhouse, 239.
Stapleton, 91.
Staveley, 175.
Statham, 113, 239*, 233.
Stevenson, 245,
St. Leger, 5.
Stoke Hall. 2oi.
Stony Middleton Hall, 175.

286

OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE.

St. Quintin, 175.
Strange, 133.
Strelley, 195, 213* 215.
Stubbing, 245.
Stutteville, 175.
SUTTON, 14.
Swinburne, 9, 57.
Swynfen, 5.
Sydenhall, 245.

TALBOT, 61, 125, 126, 133*

135-7-
Talbot Ancient Arms, 133, 175.

Talboys, 3.

Tankersley, 27.

Taylor, 89.

Tetlow, 153.

THORNHILL, 27, 195, 198, 239*

241, 242.
Tibetot, 239, 241, 242, 245*.
Tiptoft, 3, 67.
Todeni, 3.
Topcliffe, 186.
Trelawney, 229.

Trentham, 18.
Tunsted, 61.
Turner, 113.
Turvill, 232.
Twigge, 2 1 .
Twyford, 201.
Tyrell, 9, 57.

Ufford, 175.
Umfreville, 3.
Upton, 229*.

Valoins, 175.

VAUX, 3, 27, 17s, 192.

Vavasour, 195, 213.

Venables, 181, 207.

Verdon, 133, 201.

VERNON, 3, 5-7, 48, 83, 200,

215-219.
Vescy, 83.
Vipont, 121.

Wakefield, 83.
Waldeschef, 181, 207.
Walkington, 107.

Wall, 99, 105.

Ward, 155, 195.

Warren, 161, 169, 187, 245.

Warwick, 3.

Wastneis, 91.

Watson, 128-9.

Welbeck Abbey, 195.

Wells, 21, 23-25.

WENDESLEY, 59, 107, 109-10.

Went worth*, 9, 57.

West, 245.

Westby, 223.

Westneys, 195.

Wheatcroft, 104, 117.

Whitehough Hall, 83.

Whittington, 195.

Wiggett, 229.

Wigley, 229.

Winnington, 21.

Winster Hall, 229.

Woodroffe, 195.

Wormhill Hall, 225.

WRIGHT, 57, 59-60.

PRlNTEtj BY C. F. WARDLEY,
"HIGH PEAK news" AND "ADVERTISER" OFFICES, BUXTON,

ERRATA ET CORRIGENDA.

Page 1 1, line eleven. — Read, for them other of Peverell, " the mother of Pevi

Page 30, Hne twenty-one. — Read, " died without issue," for died with issue.

Page 33. — The arms without designation are those of Milnes, of Ashford.

Page 41. — Read, "emblazoned," for emblazed.

Page 77. — Read, " Gairdner's Plantagenets," for Gardinei's Plantagenets.

Page 79. line thirty-five. — Read, " lands were held," for lands are held.

Page 81. — Read, " 11 Edward II.," for z Edward II.

Page 85, line thirty-two. — Read, " Agnes Tunstead," for Agnes Thurstan.

Page 111. — Read, " Savile," for Savage.

Page 178. — Read, " 1689," for 1639.

The errors in the Armoury, pp. 266-171, are as follows : —
Under Cotterell. — Read, " sable," after talbot's head.
Under Dakeyne, — Read, " embowed," for imbowed.
Under Gisbome. — Read, "crown," for crogn.
Under Gladwin. — Read, " in dexter paw," for a dexter paw.
Under Greunsmith. — Read, "Crest," before a like dove, &c.
Under Slack. — Read, "azure," after sinister.'
Under Sutton. — Read, "queued," for queen.