Updated 11 Oct 2002

WIRKSWORTH Parish Records 1600-1900

Return to Front Page

White's 1857 Directory of Derbyshire


Neil Wilson is currently transcribing "White's 1857 Directory of Derbyshire" and has allowed me to put the Wirksworth Area onto this website. Thanks Neil.

Alderwasley| Ashlehay| Biggin| Blackwall| Bolehill| Bonsall| Brassington| Callow| Carsington| Cromford| Grange Mill| Griffe Grange| Hopton| Hulland Ward| Hulland Ward Intakes| Ible| Idridghay| Ireton Wood| Ironbrook| Kirk Ireton| Longway Bank| Matlock| Matlock Baths| Middleton| Riber| Slaley| Wigwell Grange| Wirksworth| Wirksworth Hundred| Shottle & Postern| Tansley|


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
BRASSINGTON, a large well-built village, township, and chapelry, 4 miles N. by W. from Wirksworth, and 6½ miles N.E. from Ashbourn, contains 4021A. 2R. 19P. of land, and in 1851 had 173 houses, and 729 inhabitants, of whom 369 were males, and 360 females; rateable value, £4726 3s. The principal owners are, Thos. Bush, Esq., J. B. Storey, Esq., Lord Scarsdale, Rev. G. Buckston, Miss Dycot, Executors of the late Thurstan Dale, Esq., Mr. John Watson, Mr. John Gould, Mr. John Wm. Allsop, Mr. James Swindell, Mr. Wm. Walker, and Mr. Alexander Dean James; the former is lord of the manor. The Church dedicated to St. James, erected on an eminence overlooking the village, is an ancient edi­fice partly in the Normal style, with a square tower and three bells. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the King's book at £10, now £50, has been augmented with £200 benefactions. £200 Queen Anne's bounty, and £1,200 parliamentary grant. John Bainbridge Story, Esq., is patron and impropriator, and the Rev. Edward John Tompson, incumbent. At the enclosure, in 1803, land was allotted in lieu of tithe. A new Parsonage house is about being erected, towards which, £700 has been raised, viz. £400 in subscriptions, £200 from the Church Building society, and £100 from Queen Anne's bounty. The Independents have a chapel here; a handsome stone building erected in 1845, at a cost of £600. The Primitive Methodist chapel, a neat brick building with stained glass windows, erected in 1852. A school was erected in 1832, by subscription, aided by a grant of £25 from the National School society. Twelve children are instructed free from Thurstan Dale's charity. Here is also a school on the British system. Harbro’ Rocks, are romantic masses and pillars of rock on a lofty mountain, one mile N.E from the Church, from which extensive prospects into Leicestershire for a distance of 40 miles are seen. All Saints' Derby, and Burton-upon-Trent, may be seen from the same eminence. Here is a cave 28 feet by 24, denominated the Giant’s Hall; also a part of the rock called the Easy Chair-all worthy the notice of the tourist. The High Peak railway passes on the side of this hill, and crosses the Ashbourn and Bakewell road, by an iron arch cast by the Butterley company. Long Cliff Wharf 1½ miles N.W. from Brassington, forms a convenient dept for coals or other goods brought on the line. Brassington Moor Lodge, a good farm, 2½ miles N.W. from the village. Hoe Grange, 1½ miles N.W. of the village, and W. of the Ashbourn and Winster road; Holly Bush, an Inn, at Grange Mill, 3 miles N.E. from Brassington, on the Bakewell and Ashbourn turnpike road; with Mouldridge Grange, are in this township.

CHARITIES.-John Buxton, in 1699, left £100 out of an estate near Nottingham, the interest to be paid for apprenticing poor children of Brassington.

In 1655, George Buxton, left a rent charge of 20s. yearly, out of a close called Shelbroad.

Samuel Mather left 20s. a year out of Buckleather close.

German Buxton gave 30s. per annum out of lands in the parish of Bradbourn. These sums, with 30s. annually out of land the property of Ralph Toplis, and £3 3s. per annum, from the bequest of Robert Dale, the whole amounting to £8 3s., are dis­tributed to the poor shortly after St. Thomas's day.

Thurstan Dale, in 1742, left the Long Cliff close, on trust, containing about 4 acres, and directed their rents and profits to be paid to a schoolmaster for teaching 12 poor chil­dren of Brassington. The poor also partake of the Rev. Francis Gisborne's charity.-(See Bradley.)


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
CALLOW, a township and small village, 2 miles S.W. from Wirksworth, contains 1,000 acres of land, 16 houses, and 94 inhabitants, of whom 46 were males, and 48 females; rateable value £1,128 12s. The executors of the late Philip Gell, Esq., and J. D. M. Chadwick, Esq., are the owners. The former are lords of the manor. The rectorial tithe has been commuted for £148, of which G. H. Errington Esq., is lessee, and the vicarial for £12, which is paid to the vicar of Wirksworth. Callow Hall was an ancient moated mansion of considerable extent; a small portion of it only remains, which is occupied by Mr. Saml. Dean, as a farm house. The moat, and part of the bridge, are still visible. It is the property of Mr. Chadwick.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
CARSINGTON, a township, parish, and small village, pleasantly situated on the Wirksworth and Ashbourn road, 2½ miles W. from the former, and 6½ miles N.E. from the latter, contains 1,116 acres of strong land, principally occupied in dairy farms, and in 1851 had 50 houses, and 235 inhabitants, of whom 124 were males, and 111 females; rateable value £1,337 6s. 2d. The village is situate in a valley, one side of which is sheltered by a bold ridge of limestone rocks, whose grey crags jut over the tops of the houses. The trustees of the late Philip Gell, Esq., and Wm. Pole Thornhill, Esq., M.P., are the principal owners. The Church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a small square castellated edifice, with a turret and one bell, but scarcely distinguishable from the cliffs that overhang it. It was rebuilt in 1648, and thoroughly repaired in 1855, at a cost of £300, at which time a new vestry was added, and two windows placed on the north side of the chancel, and apparatus for warming the church put up; it contains an ancient font, and in the church yard is a venerable Yew tree. The living is a discharged rectory rated at £5 1s. 10d., in the parliamentary returns at £120, gross income £176. The Bishop of Lichfield is patron, and Rev. Henry Barrows Chinn, incumbent, for whom the Rev. F. H. Brett, officiates. Here are 45A. 1R. 14P. of glebe, occupied by Mr. John Bowler, farmer, and the tithe was com­muted in 1838, for £109. Here is a Free school, for 20 poor children, endowed by Temperance Gell, in 1772. John Oldfield, an eminent puritan divine, was ejected from this benetice, in 1662, his son Dr. Joshua Oldfield, a learned presbyterian divine, was born here in 1656; he published some valuable treatises on the improvement of human reason and on the Trinity.

CHARITIES.-Mrs. Temperance Gell, in 1772, gave £220 to be invested in land, and directed her executors to build a school room at Carsington, for the instruction of 20 of the poorer sort of children at Hopton and Carsington, and if there should be a failure of a sufficient number of children in the said towns, the number to be made up out of the town of Mitldleton by Wirksworth. The legacy given by Mrs. Gell, and a further sum of £50, which is stated in the Parliamentary Returns of 1786, to have been given by the will of Samuel Bendall, in 1727, for the support of this school, were laid out in the purchase of a farm in the parish of Ockbrook, which let for £80 per annum. No separate account has hitherto been kept of the receipts and disbursements of the charity. The schoolmistress's salary and allowance, the bills for the children's clothing, and the payments for repairing the school-house and the building on the farm, constitute the whole of the expenditure on account of this charity, and they are insufficient to exhaust its present increased annual income. It is highly proper, therefore, that a separate account should be kept of the receipts and disbursements; and we apprehend that the surplus income ought to be applied in extending the benefits of the charity to a larger number of children.

Two beast gates were left by an unknown donor for the benefit of the poor. Two poor widows, usually appointed from time to time, have had the benefit of them.

The sum of £5 10s., from the bequest of the Rev. Francis Gisborne, is expended in warm clothing, and given to the poor.-(See Bradley.)


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
CROMFORD, a township, chapelry, and market town, 16 miles N. from Derby, 2 miles N. from Wirksworth, 8 miles S.E. from Belper, 1 mile S. from Matlock Bath, and 147 miles N.N.W. from London, contains 815A. 2R. 3P. of land, (exclusive of Scarthing Nick, which is in Matlock parish,) and in 1851, had 255 houses, and 1,190 inhabitants, of whom 569 were males, and 621 females; rateable value £2,100. Peter Arkwright, Esq., is sole owner, except about six acres. The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a plain stone structure, with a small tower and one bell, situate near the bridge. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Peter Arkwright, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Robert Morgan Jones. The building was commenced by Sir Richard Arkwright, and was completed and endowed by Richard Arkwright, Esq., his son, with £50 per annum, since which it has been augmented with £200 from Mr. Arkwright, £200 Queen Anne's bounty, and £1,000 parliamentary grant. It is neatly seated with oak pews, and galleries on each side, it contains an organ, which was put up several years ago, to which many additions and improvements have since been made. The tithe has been commuted for £63. There was anciently a chapel here, of which no traces now remain. Commodious schools have been erected in North street, and form, with the master and mistress' house, three sides of a quadrangle. The boys' school room, and the residences were erected in 1832, by the late Richard Arkwright Esq., and the girls' and infants' some years later. They are substantial stone buildings, the boys' room is 55 feet by 24 feet, and the girls' and infants' are 20 feet square. The average attendance of boys for the last 24 years has been 115, and of girls and infants 180, who each pay a small weekly charge, the deficiency being made up by Peter Arkwright, Esq. The Wesleyans have a chapel, erected in 1810, and enlarged in 1840; it is now undergoing considerable alterations, and is calculated to seat 1,000 persons. The Wesleyan Reformers hold their services in a large room at Scarthing Row. The Primitive Methodist chapel, at Scarthing Row, is a good brick building, erected in 1853, at the cost of £300; it will seat about 300 persons.

CROMFORD, (anciently Crombeford) is situated in a deep valley on the south bank of the Derwent, enclosed by lofty limestone rocks on the north, south, and west; to the east a picturesque valley, finely wooded and clothed with rich herbage, stretches to a considerable distance. The houses are chiefly built of gritstone, which abounds in the vicinity. The cotton mills, the colour works, the lead mines, the wharfs, the canal, and the railroads, together with extensive smelting mills, hat manufactory, and worsted mills, at Lea, not only give employment to the numerous and increasing population, but renders the town of Cromford of commercial importance. In 1790, Sir Richard Arkwright procured the grant of a market to be held on Saturday. Fairs were formerly held here, but are now discontinued. The feast is on the first Sunday after September 8th. Here are two Sick Societies, an Odd Fellows' lodge, and a lodge of Ancient Foresters. Some years ago 200 Roman coins were found in a hole of a rock near Cromford. This was an inconsiderable village prior to the establishment of the cotton mills, by Sir Richard Arkwright, here and at Matlock Bath. He erected the first cotton mill in the world, at Nottingham, in 1769. The first mill erected at Cromford was in 1771; the lower mill was built a few years afterwards. The penetration of Sir Richard Arkwright may be discovered in the very choice of a situation so suitable to carry on his extensive operations, and which laid the foundation for that immense wealth now enjoyed by his family. The mills are supplied with a never-failing stream of warm water, drained from the mines on Cromford moor, which not only never freezes itself but prevents the adjoining canal from being frozen throughout the winter. The large mill at Masson, between Cromford and Matlock Bath, was built in 1783. The number of hands employed at the mills is not so large as previously in consequence of a considerable portion of the supply of water being diverted into another channel. The works are still carried on under the firm of Arkwright and Co. Darwin thus elegantly describes the complex operations carried on by the improved machinery in these mills,- clothing dry details of manufacture and machinery in language which at least displays the consummation of poetic art:-

"Where Derwent guides his dusky floods, 
Through vaulted mountains, and a night of woods,
The watery god His ponderous oars to slender spindles turn,  
And pours o'er massey wheels his foaming urns; 
Emerging Naiads cull, 
From leathery pods, the vegetable wool; 
With wiry teeth revolving cards release 
The tangled knots, and smooth the ravell'd fleece. 
Next moves the iron hand with fingers fine, 
Combs the wide card, and forms th' eternal line; 
Slow with soft lips the whirling can acquires 
The tender skeins, and wraps in rising spires, 
With quickened pace successive rollers move 
And these retain, and those extend the rove, 
Then fly the spokes, the rapid axles glow; 
While slowly circumvolves the lab'ring wheel below."

The Cromford Canal, which joins the Erewash canal near Langley bridge, opens a water communication to the east; the High Peak railway which joins the canal about 1 mile S. E. from Cromford, here communicates with the Midland Railway, affording every facility for the conveyance of coal, minerals, and limestone, to every part of the kingdom. A branch of the Midland railway from Ambergate to Rowsley runs through the town, and has a neat station, from whence there are five trains each way daily. It is carried through the north west part of the Wirksworth hundred, running past the western side of the High Peak hundred over a mountainous country to Whaley Bridge, where it joins the Peak Forest canal. The length of this railway is 34 miles, its greatest elevation is 290 feet above the level of the Cromford canal. This ascent is accomplished by means of inclined planes, up which the waggons are drawn by stationary steam engines. The High Peak Railway Company hold their quarterly meetings at the Greyhound Inn, Mr. Francis Barton, as the general manager.

The Rock House is a good mansion, situate on a limestone rock, overlooking the Derwent vale, the seat of the Misses Hunt. Near the road from Cromford to Wirksworth is a mine called God-be-here Founder, rendered memorable from an occurrence which took place in the year 1797: two miners, named Job Boden and Anthony Pearson, while employed in the mine, the earth above them, together with a quantity of water, suddenly rushed in and filled the mine to a depth of 54 yards. The other miners immediately began to draw out the rubbish, in search of their lost companions; and on the third day Pearson was discovered dead in an upright posture. The miners continued their exertions, and on the eighth day of their labours they distinctly heard Boden's signal, and ascertained that he was living. They now worked with great energy, but more caution, for a few hours longer, when they found the object of their search, weak and almost exhausted, yet fully sensible of the miraculous nature of his escape. His recovery from the effects of this premature entombment was slow but effectual, and he returned to his employment in about fourteen weeks, and lived many years afterwards.

Stonnis, or the Black Rocks, a lofty range of hills on the Wirksworth and Cromford road, about one mile from the former, are noted for the magnificent views obtained from them of Matlock, Cromford, and the district around, which is admitted by all to be equal if not superior to any in the neighbourhood, and will amply repay the tourist for his toil. By descending a short distance from the summit, you reach a natural cavern, well known as "Gratton's Parlour." The following inscription cut in the rocks, will give the reader some faint idea of the magnificent scenery which is here obtained, "Heavens! what goodly prospects spread around us."

CHARITIES.-Lady Armyne, by a codicil to her will, bearing date 14th August, 1662, left a yearly rent charge of £16 10s., to be issuing of her manor, land and tenements, in Cromford, for the maintenance of six poor widows or widowers. This manor passed into the hands of Sir Richard Arkwright, in 1789, subject to the payment of the above sum, and also subject to the repairs of the hospital in Cromford. Each widow receives 40s. per annum, and a further sum of 6s. 8d. at Christmas, towards the purchase of a gown. The amount of these payments is £14 per annum, being less by £2 10s. than the annual sum mentioned in Lady Armyne's will. The cause of this diminution does not appear, but it seems not improbable that it arose from a deduction on account of land tax. We have not found any trace of the full amount of the rent charge being ever paid, and in a valuation of the Cromford estate, in 1720, the annual payment to the almshouses is stated to be £14. It does not appear by whom or at what period the almshouses were built, or in what manner the repairs of them became a charge on the estate.


GRIFFE GRANGE, otherwise Bret-Griffe, an extra parochial liberty which adjoins Hopton, 3 miles N.N.W. from Wirksworth, contains 676A. 3R. 13P. of land; rateable value £359, and in 1851 had 5 houses, and 18 inhabitants, of whom 10 were males, and 8 females. Having belonged to the abbot and convent of Dale, it was granted, in 1546, to Ralph Gell, Esq., ancestor of the late Philip Gell, Esq., of Hopton, whose representatives are the owners. It is situated on a lofty mountain, on the western side of which the road from Wirksworth to Bakewell runs along a delightful romantic vale, designated the Valley of the Lillies. The eastern side is enclosed by the high lands of Ible. A small stream overhung with copse and underwood, runs through, forming a most romantic and sylvan walk. The lead mines here, were during the last century worked to great advantage, particularly the Golconda and Chariot mines. The Inn, known as the Lilies of the Valley, in Ible township, stands at the north end of this dale. Griffe-Grange contains only two farms, which have not been joined with any poor law union; it is separated from Hopton on the S.E., by an ancient ditch, called Dooglow Dyke. The farmers are Aaron Fearn and John Rains. The former gentleman is considered as having the greatest native talent of any man in the county, particularly in the construction of farming implements and machinery of every description. A natural cave 210 feet in length, was discovered in 1824, by Mr. Fearn, on the N.W. side of the Grange.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
HOPTON, a township, and small pleasant village, 2 miles W. by S. from Wirksworth, and 4 miles S.W. from Cromford station, contains 643A. 3R. 6P. of land, and in 1851, had 15 houses, and 100 inhabitants, of whom 55 were males, and 45 females; rateable value £975 12s. The executors of the late Philip Gell, Esq., are lords of the manor and principal owners. The Hall, an ancient mansion, 2 miles W. from Wirksworth, now the seat of Edmund Wilmot, Esq., was many years the seat of the Gells. The rent charge in lieu of the rectorial tithe is £67 10s., and the vicarial £11 3s. 6d. George Henry Errington, Esq., is the impropriator. A family of the name of De Hopton had the chief landed property in Hopton, as early as the reign of King John. William de Hopton, in the reign of Edward II., left a daughter and heir married to Nicholas de Rollesley. The heiress of Rollesley brought this estate, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to Sir William Kniveton, from whom it passed successively to the families of Greatrakes, Fern, and Stuffin. Johanna, daughter and heir of another branch of the family, is said to have brought all her estates in Hopton and Carsington to Ralph Gell, whose ancestors had then resided for some generations at Hopton. Sir John Gell, who had been created a baronet in 1642, was from the commencement of the civil wars, a most zealous officer on the side of the parliament. He took Lichfield, and rendered very important services to his party in his native county and elsewhere, for which he several times received the thanks of the House. Sir John's colours, and a leathern doublet, weighing 11 pounds, worn by him, are still preserved. In the neck of this doublet is a flaw, made, it is supposed by a ball with which he was wounded, but when, is not known, but supposed to have been near the termination of the war, and after Newark, the last fortress in this part of the country, had capitulated. After the termination of the war, he was much dissatisfied with the treatment he received from the parliament; and in a memorial to refute certain calumnies raised against him, he states that he had received from them only £64, and that he had expended above £5,000 of his own property, besides the loss he sustained when his house was plundered by the enemy. In 1650, Sir John Gell incurred the displeasure of the ruling powers, and was sentenced, by the High Court of Justice, to be imprisoned for life, and his estates to be confiscated; but two years afterwards he procured his pardon. Sir Philip Gell, the. third baronet, purchased of the Stuffins the estate at Hopton, which had belonged to the other branch of the Hoptons. Upon his death, in 1719, the title became extinct, and Hopton, with other estates, passed under his will to John Eyre, a younger son of his sister Catherine, who, in pursuance of his uncle's directions, took the name of Gell. The late Philip. Gell, Esq., who died a few years ago, has left his property in the hands of trustees.,

CHARITIES,-Sir Philip Gell, Bart., in 1719, erected an hospital for four poor men or women of this township, and directed a rent-charge of £22 6s. per annum to be paid out of his manor, called the Griffe Grange, to the inmates of the hospital, Of this amount, a sum of 30s. yearly is given to a person for receiving and paying the said annuity

The poor have £2 per annum on New Year's day, the interest of £50 formerly left by John Steeple.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
HULLAND WARD, township and district of scattered houses, in the Appletree hundred 5 miles E. from Ashbourn, contains 1,400 acres of land, and in 1851, had 84 houses, and 369 inhabitants, of whom 202 were males, and 167 females. This formerly comprised an extensive open, and partly extra-parochial district, which, at the enclosure, was allotted to 8 parishes. The principal owners are Lord Scarsdale, and the Rev. Charles Evans.


HULLAND WARD INTAKES, a township and small village, in the Appletree hundred, 6½ miles E. by S. from Ashbourn, contains 454A. 1R. 39P. of land, of which John Groves, Esq., owns 396 acres; Lord Scarsdale, 40 acres; and 18 acres belongs to an ancient chapel situated on land occupied by Mr. George Jepson, in Ravensdale Park. The chapel was built and the land left for the endowment of it, by Francis Brown, on condition that Divine service should be held there once a month. The occupier of the land has the power to appoint the minister. It is a small building capable of seating about 30 persons. The population in 1851, was 8 houses, and 44 inhabitants, of whom 23 were males, and 21 females; rateable value, £700. Directory.-John Charles Norton, Esq., Smith Hall; and George Jepson, farmer.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
IBLE, a township and small village, pleasantly situated on a bold elevation, 4 miles N.W. from Wirksworth, contains 411A. 3R. 12P. of rich grazing land, and in 1851, had 23 houses, and 91 inhabitants, of whom 48 were males, and 43 females; rateable value, £352 14s. 6d. Peter Arkwright, Esq., is lord of the manor. The principal owners are the trustees of the late Philip Gell, Esq., Mrs. Hannah Travis, Mr. Benjamin Spencer, Mr. John Watson, and Mr. Thomas Webster. The tithes were commuted in 1844, of which £47 17s. is paid to the impropriator, and 17s to the vicar. The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel, built in 1825.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
IDRIDGE HAY AND ALTON, (with Cliff Ash,) a township in the Appletree hundred, contains 987 acres of land, and in 1851 had 46 houses, and 222 inhabitants, of whom 108 were males, and 114 females; rateable value £1,502.

IDRIDGE HAY, a scattered district of houses, 3 miles S. from Wirksworth, contains 517 acres of fertile laud, partly freehold, and partly copyhold in the manor of Duffield; rateable value, £819. Richard Paul Joddrell, Esq., of London, is lord of the manor. The principal owners are Robert Cresswell, Esq., Rev. Henry Cox, Mr. William Allsop, Miss M. Adsetts, the trustees of Risley School, and Rev. Thomas Mawkes; the former has a neat residence in the Swiss cottage style, with tasteful pleasure grounds, adorned with fancifully cut yew trees, situated on the Derby and Wirksworth road, 3 miles S. from Wirksworth. In a retired situation half a mile south of the church, is Ecclesburn House, situated on an acclivity commanding some beautiful views along the vale from which it is named, a neat mansion, the seat of Miss M. Adsetts. The family of Dean have held land here for upwards of five centuries. Alton Manor, 2 miles S.S.W. from Wirksworth, contains 480 acres of strong fertile freehold land, and a corn mill; rateable value, £683. The Ecclesburn, a small stream, divides this from Ashley Hay. James Milnes, Esq., is the sole owner. Alton Manor, 2 miles S.S.W. from Wirksworth, is a large handsome Elizabethan mansion, built in 1846-7 with stone procured on the estate, it is the seat and property of James Milnes, Esq. The tithes of this township were commuted in 1844, the rectorial for £154 and the vicarial for £7. A new District Church, dedicated to St James, was erected here in 1844-5, at the cost of £2,400, raised by voluntary contributions, and grants, from the Diocesan Church Extension Society, £135; the Cordon Fund, £100; the Incorporated Society for building churches, £75; and the Church Commissioners, £50. It is a handsome Gothic stone edifice, with nave, chancel, side aisle, and spire, with sittings for 210 persons, 170 of which are free and unappropriated. The living is a perpetual curacy, value £58, in the joint patronage of Robert Cresswell and James Milnes, Esqrs., and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Vernon, Mellor, M.A., for whom a neat parsonage is now in course of erection, about a half mile S. of the church. Robert Cresswell, Esq., and James Milnes, Esq., were the principal contributors, and the former gentleman has given £1,500 towards the endowment.

CHARITIES.-In 1640, Robert Baker left £22, which was invested in land at Kirk-Ireton, called Little Day Meadow. The owner thereof pays an annual sum of 22s., which is given to the poor of this township. The sum of 15s. per annum, left by Henry Jackson in 1782, for educating two poor children of this township, was lost some years ago, in consequence of the party in trust becoming bankrupt.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
IRETON WOOD, a township and small village 4½ miles S. by W. from Wirksworth, contains 813 acres of land, 36 houses, and 166 inhaliitants, of whom 80 were males, and 86 females; rateable value, £1,141 5s. 10d., including the hamlet of Blackwall. Peter Arkwright, Esq., is lessee of the manor. The principal owners are the Rev. Charles Evans, James and William Pearson, Rev, William Melville, Henry James, Esq., M.D., Miss Johnson, and Miss Sybray. In the reign of James II., a grant was made for a certain sum of money, for the abolition of all arbitrary fines on change of tenant, and small certain fines are now levied on copyhold lands in this and many other manors held under the Duchy of Lancaster, with a chief or quit rent, of which £5 18s. 6d., is paid by Ireton Wood.


BLACKWALL, a hamlet, 1 mile W.S.W., from Kirk Ireton, contains 2 farms and an ancient stone mansion, overgrown with ivy, situated on the side of an abrupt acclivity, amidst fine timber and thriving plantations, the property of the Rev. Charles Evans, and residence of Miss Sarah Wilcockson. For many generations, this was the seat and property of the family of Blackwall, one of whom, Dr. Anthony Blackwall, wrote on the sacred classics.

CHARITIES.-John Storer, in the thirty-second year of the reign of Elizabeth, left £52 to the bailiffs and burgesses of Derby, the interest to be distributed as follows :-10s. to provide a godly sermon on Trinity Sunday, 1s. for the minister's dinner, and 1s. for the dinner of a burgess to hear the said sermon, and 40s. to be distributed to the poor. The interest of this charity, £2 12s., is received from the corporation of Derby by one of the parishioners of Kirk Ireton, of which 12s. is paid to the minister, and 40s. is given amongst the most neccssitous poor of the parish.

Bridget Cheney deposited £29 in the Wirksworth Savings bank, the interest to be divided between the township of Kirk Ireton and Ireton Wood.

By indentures of lease and release, dated 1755, it appears that houses and lands had been anciently given by divers persons for the use of the poor and the repairs and beautifying of the parish church of Kirk Ireton, but that the deeds or wills by which the several estates had been so given were either lost or destroyed, and the only property ascertained to be now holden under trust, consists of 2A. 3R. 4P. of land, called the Church Croft, and a garden occupied by the schoolmaster, the rents of which are appropriated to the repairing and ornamenting of the parish church.

John Hutchinson, by will, in 1643, left a rent charge of 20s. yearly, to be distributed to the poor.

John Slater, by deed, is 1686, left five closes called the Nether Field and Blackwall Flat, out of the rents of which £8 per annum was to be paid to a schoolmaster for the in­struction of 16 poor children of Kirk Ireton, and the remainder to be given to the poor. This land is now let for £49 a year, and is distributed at Midsummer and Christmas in portions varying from 3s. to 15s. each.

Robert Cooper, by will, in 1728, gave to the poor of Kirk Ireton his lands, called Side Wood, containing 12A. 1R. 27P., and a wood containing 2A. 18P. Previously to 1810, timber was cut down on this estate, and on lands belonging to Slater's charity, and sold for £350, which is vested in the three per cent, reduced annuities, and is distributed with the rents at the same time as Slater's charity.

John Bower, by deed dated 1744, deposited £120 in the hands of Thos. Gell, to be laid out in the purchase of land, and the rents to be given for the instruction of poor children. An annual sum of £5 is now paid to a schoolmistress by the Rev. Philip Gell, who considers himself responsible for the amount named in the deed.

Gisborne's Charity.-(See Bradley.)-£7 3s. received ou account of this charity, is laid out by the minister in the purchase of flannel, and distributed amongst the poor.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
IRONBROOK GRANGE, or GRANGE MILL, a township and small village, in the High Peak Hundred, 4 miles W.N.W. from Wirksworth, contains 416A. 2R. 32P. of land, mostly in pasture, and in 1851 had 5 houses, and 44 inhabitants, of whom 25 were males, and 19 females; rateable value, £460, and it is not in the King's Field. This place was given by Henry Studley, who died about the year 1167, to the abbey of Bildewas, in Shropshire. It was granted by King Henry VIII. to Edward Grey, Lord Powis, from whom it passed by inheritance, through the Ludlows and Vernons of Stokesley, to the Right Hon. Lord Scarsdale, who is the present owner. The tithes were commuted in 1844, the rectorial for 20s., and the vicarial for 25s.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
KIRK IRETON parish comprises the townships of Kirk Ireton and Ireton Wood, 2,228 acres of land, mostly occupied as dairy farms, and in 1851 had 166 houses, and 735 inhabitants, of whom 365 were males, and 370 females; rateable value £3,371 5s. 1d.

KIRK IRETON, a township and considerable village, pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, 3 miles S.S.W. from Wirksworth, and 12 miles N.W. from Derby, contains 1415 acres of land and in 1851 had 130 houses, and 569 inhabitants; rateable value £2,229 l8s, 3d. The manor is attached to the duchy manor of Wirksworth, of which Peter Arkwright, Esq., is lessee. The manor of Hulland, in Wirksworth, extends into this parish. The principal owners are Wm. P. Thornhill, Esq., M.P., Jas. Milnes, Esq., Mr. Joseph Matkin, Mr. James Matkin, Phillip Hurt, Esq., Rev. Charles Evans, Mr. Thomas Peat, Wirksworth School, and Mr. John Dean. The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is an ancient Norman structure, with nave, chancel, side aisles, and tower with 4 bells. On Sunday, May 12th, 1811, a violent storm of wind took the lead off the roof, and considerably injured the tower, so that it was found necessary to brace it with iron girders; it also did consid­erable damage in the village. The living is a rectory, valued in the King's books at £7 10s. 10d,, now £344 12s. The Bishop of Lincoln is the patron; the Rev. Robert Gell, M.A., rector. The rectory an old fashioned mansion, pleasantly situated on an eminence, a short distance east from the church, has 70 acres of glebe. The tithes were commuted in 1846, for £315. Here is a Free school for 16 poor children, endowed by John Slater, in 1686, but the average attendance is 32, and the schoolmaster's salary is made up by the rector. Also a National school, for girls and infants, the average attendance at each is 40. The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel erected in 1836. Callow Moor, 1 mile N. partly in Wirksworth parish, was enclosed by act of parliament, in 1803. Feast, Trinity Sunday. Biggin Head, 1 mile S., and the Haze on the west, are good farms.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
MIDDLETON, a township and considerable village, and with Ible, and Ironbrook Grange, forms a chapelry in the parish of Wirksworth, from which place it is distant one mile N. by W., and from Ashbourn 9 miles N.E., contains 1005 acres of land, and in 1851, had 228 houses, and 1,012 inhabitants, of whom 501 were males, and 511 females; rateable value, £980. The principal owners are the trustees of the late Philip Gell, Esq., Mr. Robert Adams, Mr. Obadiah Adams, Mr. Benjamin Clayton, Mr. Benjamin Buckley, Mr. William Buckley, Mr. Caleb Moore, Mr. Francis Roper, Mr. John Brookes, Mr. James Spencer, and Mr. Lois Spencer. The tithes were commuted in 1844, the rectorial for £56, and the vicarial for £6 10s. A District Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity was erected here in 1839, at a cost of £1,200, raised by subscriptions, aided by a grant from the Incorporated Church Building Society. It is a good stone structure with a turret, one bell and a clock, and will seat about 400 persons, 362 of which are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, value £75, in the patronage of the Vicar of Wirksworth, and the incumbency of the Rev. Francis Town Attree, B.A., who resides at the Parsonage, a handsome Elizabethan building, erected in 1852, a little north of the church, at a cost of about £1,000. In 1846 a National school for boys, girls, and infants, was built at a cost of £200, raised by subscriptions, and a grant from government. It is a good stone building, and will accommodate about 130 children; the average attendance is 40 boys, and 50 girls. The Wesleyan's have a neat chapel, erected about 40 years ago, which seats 500 persons, and the Independents one, erected by Captain Scott, during the time he resided at Matlock Bath. The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel, erected in 1846, which will seat about 150 persons. There are several quarries of excellent marble in this township, of which great quantities are sent by the High Peak railway to Cromford, and thence by canal to the celebrated marble works at Buckland Hollow. Mining was formerly carried on here to a great extent, and very profitably. The principal mines now being worked, are the Good-luck, Slackrake, Jackson's, Welchman's Venture, Croft, Snake, Sticking Brook's, Sparkrake, and Bradwell, which are very productive, yielding more ore than any others in the neighbourhood.

CHARITY.-Dorothy Lees, in 1646, bequeathed about six acres of land, three-fourths of the yearly rents thereof to be given to the poor of Wirksworth, and one-fourth to the poor of this township. The land is now let for about £13 13s. per annum.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
SHOTTLE AND POSTERN, a joint township and extensive agricultural district, being in some parts 4 miles across, contains 3,713A. 0R. 33P. of land of which 120A. 2R. 9P. are in woods and plantations, rateable value £3,921 6s. 0d.. The Duke of Devonshire is lord of the manor and owner of 3,668A. 3R. 31.P.; John Strutt, Esq., owns 41A. 3R. 35P.; and Mr. George Frost 2A. 1R. 7P. of land. In 1851, it had 90 houses and 467 inhabitants, of whom 245 were males, and 222 females. Shottle forms the south side of the township and a scattered district of houses. Here is a school to which there is a small endowment attached, and for which the master teaches 12 poor children. In 1824, the old school-room was converted into a dwelling for the master, and a new school consisting of two rooms, was erected at the expense of the inhabitants; in which Divine Service is performed every Sunday, by the Rev. Jas. P. Deacon, incumbent of Turnditch. The Wesleyans have a chapel on the south side of the township, erected in 1816. The General Baptists hold religious services in a room belonging to Mr. Joseph Malin.

SHOTTLE GATE, a small village on the Ashbourn road, 3 miles W. from Belper, and Shottle Gate House, a large handsome residence, with extensive and superior outbuildings combining all the most recent improvements in the arrangement of a farmstead, is the property of John Strutt, Esq., of Belper, and in the occupation of Mr. Wm. Winson.

POSTERN, a small district of scattered houses, 3 miles N.W. from Belper.

CHARITIES. Ralph Dowley, in 1738 gave £40 in trust, for the instruction of poor children until the sum should be wholly expended. On the death of Ralph Dowley, his widow Rebecca Dowley, paid the said legacy; and to augment the charity, she also gave £35, in order to have the whole laid out in land and the charity made perpetual. And for that purpose Adam Simpson, in 1749, conveyed to the trustees 7 roods of land and two beast gates upon Bonsall Leys, and the Green. This property consists of about 5.5 acres, now let for £7 10s. per annum. Of this sum two-thirds is paid to the schoolmaster, and one-third by Mrs. Dowley's grant, is paid to a dissenting chapel at Wirksworth. 12 children are taught free. Countess of and William Earl of Devonshire's Charities, extend to various places, and the annual sum of £4 is received by the overseers of this township, to be applied in apprenticing poor children. Potterell's Almshouses.-See Duffield,-This chapelry is entitled to partake of the benefit of these almshouses.


(See list of "Notables and Tradesmen")
TANSLEY, a township, chapelry, and scattered village in the parish of Crich and in the Wirksworth Hundred, 1.5 miles E. from Matlock, 5 miles N.N.E. from Crich, in the Bakewell Union, contains 1155 acres of land, 126 houses, and 593 inhabitants, of whom 306 were males, and 287 females; rateable value, £1500. A cotton mill was erected here at an early period, and here is now an extensive smallware manufactory, and one for candlewicks. This place is noted for the extensive and thriving nursery of Mr. Joseph Smith, and for a superior grit stone for building purposes. The Duke of Portland is lord of the manor. Heathcote Unwin, Esq., Edward Radford, Esq., and the Rev John Woolley, are owners; a district Church was erected here in 1839, and opened for divine worship in 1840. It is a neat stone structure with a tower and pinnacles, contains 300 sittings, of which 120 are free. The living, a perpetual curacy, of the value of £100, having been endowed, and received a parliamentary grant. The vicar of Crich is the patron; and the Rev. Melville Holmes is the incumbent. A handsome parsonage was erected in 1847 near the church, at a coat of £1,000, of which sum £500 was furnished by the commissioners for building parsonage houses, and £200 by the society for the same purpose, the remainder was raised by subscription. A handsome Gothic National school, with a house for the master, was erected (through the exertions of E. Radford, Esq.) by the incorporated society for establishing schools, and opened in 1843; since which an Infant school has been added. The money for their erection was raised by subscription, aided by grants from government of £121. It is principally supported by the children, who pay from 2d. to 8d. per week, of whom about 85 attend, with occasionally small grants from the society. The Wesleyan Methodists have a neat chapel here. The Manor of Tansley, which belonged to the Knights Templars, and afterwards to the Hospitallers, is supposed to have been granted to George or Francis Earl of Shrewsbury. William Earl of Pembroke, who married one of the co-heiresses of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, sold to William Earl of Newcastle, from whom it passed, with Bolsover and other estates, to his Grace the Duke of Portland.

Compiled, formatted, hyperlinked, encoded, and copyright © 2002, John Palmer, All Rights Reserved.