Walk Derbyshire – Where Izaak Walton Fished – Hartington
Izaak Walton, seventeenth century author of ‘The Campleat (sic) Angler – The Contemplative Man’s Recreation’ would have been familiar with at least half of this walk. The Dove was one of his favourite places to cast a fly, along with his younger friend, the impecunious Hartington landowner, Charles Cotton. They regularly fished the river’s clear waters, mostly below Hartington, especially favouring the quiet pool opposite Cotton’s home at Beresford Hall. This quiet spot they named Pike Pool in acknowledgement of a monster pike that traditionally lay in wait beneath the shadow of the tall pillar, or spike of rock rising from the deepest and shadiest part of the pool. In the treatise, Walton calls himself VENATOR (traveller) and Cotton is known as PISCATOR (angler). Charles Cotton had a fishing temple built as a resting place for them, it still stands behind a high stone wall in the grounds of now demolished Beresford Hall, but being on private land the only time to catch a glimpse of it is in winter when the surrounding trees are bare. The Dove flows through two accessible dales below Hartington which are followed on this walk. Named in some far off time, these are Beresford and Wolfscote Dales, just waiting to be explored after the walker climbs down through comparatively dry Biggin Dale on the way back to Hartington. Leaving the riverside path and following a short walk across fields beyond the head of Beresford Dale that would have been familiar to the two angling friends, the village is reached after a mere fifty yards of road walking. Hartington has long been a busy village. A market place for locals until a few decades ago, but now the only agricultural industry is the delicious Stilton cheese, made in one of only a handful of places allowed to call the product of its dairy, Stilton cheese. A small converted cottage beside the lane down to the dairy now serves as a shop selling this and other locally made cheeses. The closest the village comes to running a market is on one of the annual events organised locally. Ancient Britons would have known the rich valley land on either side of Hartington and it is believed they fought Roman legionaries on nearby Hartington Moor, perhaps in a dispute over the Roman plan to build their road from Derventio, Derby to Aquae Arnemetiae, their spa which still produces warm water in present day Buxton. Many great and famous personalities have either lived or stayed briefly in and around the village. Literary giants and philosophers, such as Doctor Johnson, fully enjoyed the delights of the shady dale, still unchanged thanks mainly to the care given by the Peak District National Park Authority, or the National Trust, an organisation that owns many sections of the dale, mainly acquired through the generosity of donors. While the walk passes through these three secluded dales and over lush meadows, it runs close to Biggin, one of the least known villages in the Peak District. It is hard to believe that during World War 2, there was a large POW camp close to the village on land now used for sheep auctions. A degree of freedom was offered to trustworthy prisoners who worked on surrounding farms, many of them later recalling their affection towards the Peak District countryside. Hartington Hall, a Jacobean manor house at least 300 years old is now a high standard youth hostel, very much in keeping with a resting place where Bonnie Prince Charlie is said to have stayed on his abortive march on London, a march strangely abandoned for little or no reason at Derby. Useful Information A moderate 5 miles (8km) walk across fields, followed by two dales alongside a famous trout stream, beyond a short walk through a dry dale famous for its semi-alpine flowers every summer. Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer map, Sheet OL24, 1:25000 scale; White Peak Area. Public Transport: buses from Ashbourne and Buxton. Car Parking: Market Square (free), or pay and display in the car park next to the road towards the Manifold Valley. Refreshments: Two pubs in centre of village and a scattering of small cafés and shops around the market place. Refreshments can also be bought at the youth hostel. Directions From the market place follow the road eastwards, past shops and a café until it reaches a side road marked by a small war memorial commemorating the village dead in two World Wars. Turn right here and walk up the steep hill. Follow the road, uphill to the youth hostel, then turn right opposite its garden gates, into a walled un-surfaced track heading towards fields stocked with grazing cattle. At the end of the lane, go over a stone stile, then turn half right to cross two fields by an indistinct path – aim towards a clump of trees ahead next to a minor road. There are many interesting views both near and distant to be enjoyed as you walk across the elevated open fields. The prominent rise to the south west beyond the cleft marking Dovedale is Ecton Hill above the Manifold Valley, a one-time valuable source of copper, zinc and lead ore deposits. It is said that a Duke of Devonshire in the eighteenth century was able to use the profits from the mine to build the Devonshire Royal Hospital and its dome. Cross the stile beside the trees and turn left along the narrow metalled lane as far as a cross roads. Continue ahead on a rough cart track. Pass a well-made stone barn, then leave the walled track at a gate to walk downhill on an open path into Biggin Dale. Turn right and walk along the rocky dale bottom. Join the main dale as you pass a high limestone crag where harebells and other semi-alpine plants bloom in early summer. Turn right on to a rocky path and walk upstream beside the River Dove. The path fills a narrow ledge between the riverbank and
Celebrity Interview – Michelle Collins
She played Ian Beale’s wife in EastEnders for eight years and the landlady of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street. Now Michelle Collins is taking on what she describes as the role of a lifetime. Michelle will be getting dolled up for the role of Miss Scarlett in Cluedo, a new play based on the addictive board game that she was obsessed with as a child. “We all need a bit of glamour in our lives, don’t we, darling?” says Michelle. She reveals that whenever she played Cluedo with her family, everyone wanted to be Miss Scarlett, the femme fatale who is regarded as young, cunning and highly attractive. “Miss Scarlett is one of the most iconic characters, along with Colonel Mustard and maybe Professor Plum, which makes it more difficult to play. “Me and my sister would go and stay with my five cousins and we would all fight for that part. But because I’m the bossy one I would always get it,” she laughs. “I think because of lockdown people have gone back to board games. It’s funny that they’ve brought us back together when you find out that Cluedo was actually invented almost out of boredom during the Second World War when people were stuck at home during air raids. “It adds a lovely dollop of nostalgia to the fun – and the murder! – of Cluedo.” If you’ve never played Cluedo, you may not know that the object of the game is to determine who murdered a victim, where the crime took place and which weapon was used. Each player assumes the role of one of the six suspects and attempts to deduce the correct answer by strategically moving around a board representing the rooms of a mansion. Hollywood turned the game into a film called Clue in 1985. Now the play is on tour and is slightly different from the board game. Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs Peacock, Reverend Green, Mrs White and Colonel Mustard arrive at a country house one dark and stormy evening. They are surprised to find they have all received the same intriguing invitation from Lord Boddy. There are shades of Agatha Christie’s mystery And Then There Were None as the inhabitants and guests of Boddy Manor are killed off one by one with a variety of weapons. The play, described as a “hilarious spoof of a thriller” will “keep you guessing right up to the finale as both the guests and audience try to work out whodunnit with what and where”. “It’s a comedy whodunnit,” says Michelle. “I’ve done a Miss Marple and everyone loves those. It’s great to dress up in period clothes, 1940s clothes which are so glamorous. “We’re in the hands of the perfect director in Mark Bell. He did the smash hits The Play That Goes Wrong and A Comedy About A Bank Robbery. “It takes a very particular director to get the best out of something as fun and escapist as this.” She says she will put her own stamp on the role of Miss Scarlett. “It’s really exciting to play someone who, like most women, has more going on than you see on the surface. She has a history. She looks glam and dressed up but she’s a smart cookie. “I’ve never seen the film but this will be very different: very funny, very dry, a little dark at times but ultimately great entertainment. “I think it’s the perfect climate for something feelgood like this. People are desperate to get back to the theatre. They miss that creativity in their lives. It’s great that the play is something for all the family, something everyone can enjoy after the couple of years we’ve had.” Michelle Danielle Collins was born on 28 May 1962 in Hackney, east London to a Welsh mother and a father who had English and Flemish heritage. After getting her first theatre job her career changed direction when she performed in the video for the Squeeze hit Cool For Cats in 1978. She went on an 18-month tour with the band who worked with artists including Marc Almond, Level 42, Altered Images and Kid Creole and the Coconuts. When the band broke up Michelle went back to acting. While she was filming a BBC play in 1988 she was spotted by EastEnders’ producer Julia Smith who asked her to audition for the role of Cindy Beale, a character featuring in 11 episodes of the soap. She excelled in the role of renowned villain, so much so that she became a regular in the series. When she left EastEnders she had a string of drama roles for the BBC. She acted in two series of Real Women, two series of Sunburn for which she also sang the theme tune and three series of Two Thousand Acres of Sky. Michelle then moved to Weatherfield, playing Stella Price, the landlady of the Rovers Return, for three years. She left after claiming she was “unhappy” about the lack of screen time for her character. But she has continued to appear on the small screen, guesting in Casualty several times as well as Death In Paradise and Midsomer Murders. A former Midsomer detective, Daniel Casey who played Gavin Troy, joins Michelle in Cluedo as Professor Plum. Michelle is excited to be doing Cluedo which is on tour for six months. She lost a lot of her work because of lockdown. “I was in the middle of doing a tour of Pinter’s The Birthday Party – Meg, a dream role. Then I was doing a one-woman show in Edinburgh and that had to close.” Michelle thinks the Cluedo tour will fly by and will be a real antidote to what she describes as “a real rubbish year”. She explains: “My mum died. A really good friend of mine died of Covid and I was quite ill for a while. It’s been horrible. “My mum was fine during Covid but she had cancer and couldn’t have her immunotherapy
Places Pevsner Forgot – Makeney, Derbyshire
As we wandered round sunny Makeney, we wondered how Pevsner could ever have forgotten to include the place, for although historically a miniscule hamlet within the huge parish of Duffield, it gained in importance in the 19th century through its proximity to the various expanding Strutt family enterprises at Milford and gained two important houses as a result, although there never was either church or chapel. Furthermore, there is an historic inn, the Holly Bush, probably of 17th century origin with an historic turnpike trust way-marker set against its wall. How could he possibly have missed it, we wondered, especially as the hamlet is clearly visible from the A6 going north. No matter, however, we were on hand to make our own assessment. The village is situated on the east side of the Derwent on the unclassified (but remarkably busy) former turnpike road from Duffield church, along Duffield Bank to Milford, which originally ran past the pub and down the other side, but which acquired a new section cutting off this loop, now Holly Bush Lane, pitched around 1870. Holly Bush Lane also has a steep lane leading off from its apex called Dark Lane. We decided to park well clear of the Holly Bush, the narrow road outside which tends to clog up with parked Chelsea tractors, instead leaving the state chariot parked on the road near Red Lane, which winds up from a point just south of the village to Holbrook. This enabled us to see a very smart Regency cottage orné by the junction called Makeney Lodge, still with its original cast iron sliding jalousies at the windows, an adjunct to refined living famously made in Derby at Weatherhead, Glover & Co.’s Britannia foundry, Duke Street. The interior is very fine, and is illustrated in Bobby Innes-Smith’s 1972 Derbyshire Life book on local houses, from which we may infer that the cranked-out stair balustrade was also sourced from the Duke Street foundry. This should occasion no surprise, as the house in its current form was built around 1825 for Anthony Strutt (1791-1875), and probably designed by his uncle, William Strutt FRS, a keen amateur architect. It also incorporates a datestone bearing the legend HP/1784 which are apparently the initials of Henry Peat, who is believed to have rebuilt an earlier farm house there, dating from c. 1730. This may be true, for a Henry Peat married Elizabeth Beardall at Duffield in 1730, and a son may have effected a rebuild. Either way, there is no visual evidence in the existing fabric that the house you see today is anything but a new build. Why it escaped being added to the statutory list defied us; perhaps in 1981 when the County was re-listed they failed to drive along on that side of the Derwent! By 1846, Strutt had moved up Dark Lane to another new house, confusingly named the Old Hall, and sold the Lodge to Maj. Alfred Holmes (1816-1895) son of Charles, of the famous Derby coach building company. His heirs sold it to Judge Henry Raikes, chairman of Derbyshire quarter Sessions, and his family sold it to the Heyworths in 1954, connections by marriage of our own family. It has changed hands again since, most recently in 2015. Strutt was a restless fellow, however and he acquired yet a third large house in the hamlet. This we never saw as we wandered along past Hollybush Lane, because it failed to survive, its site being taken over by the stable block (now converted as residences and a business) built by George Herbert Strutt, Anthony’s great-nephew, when Makeney House was built. We reached this point by walking along the main road, past an elevated row of eight artisans’ cottages under a continuous roof built by Anthony Strutt for the Milford Mill workers in the 1820s and called Makeney Terrace. These, although a little altered, are listed grade II. Beyond them is a real gem: the original Makeney Hall, later Old Hall farm. Built by Richard Fletcher around 1814, and later sold to a branch of the Bradshaws of Duffield. The old guides claim that Judge John Bradshaw, a regicide in 1649 was born there, but in fact he was a Cheshire Bradshaw with no connection here. It was later acquired by the Heath family, which in the 18th century produced three brothers who founded a bank in Derby (which went bust in 1779). They turned it into a farm, sold it back to the Bradshaws, from whom it passed to Charles Mould who built the house Anthony Strutt acquired, and remained a farm until the mid-twentieth century, when it was divided into four tenements under the name Makeney Yard (deservedly listed grade II). It is a stone gabled building of considerable charm, but the frontage of which is rather marred by the parked cars of the four occupying families. It was immediately north of that where the converted stables are positioned. The house (called the Hall) was built in 1813 on his marriage, possibly by adapting a wing of the old hall, by local iron founder Charles Mould on land bought from the Bradshaws. However, in 1856, a sale was agreed between Mould and Anthony Strutt of both house and estate, most of which lay on the water meadows to the west of the road. In a letter of 10th March 1869, Strutt wrote to a friend, “I found it [Mould’s house] a strange mixture of some modern additions and ornaments made when the young Charles Mould got married, very absurd indeed, [but the] main stone work of old building very good.” He goes on to say that he had begun work to ‘make the house habitable’ but by 1869, had lost heart and offered the place to let. The rebuilding works, which were begun in 1858, were probably overseen by the Derby-born architect of Buckingham Palace, Edward Blore (1787-1879), who had recently built Kingston Hall (Notts.) for Strutt’s nephew, Edward, recently elevated to the peerage
The Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Old Thornbridge Hall – Ashford in the Water
Thornbridge was once part of the estate of the Longsdon family of Little Longstone, who claim a descent (never securely sorted out, but nevertheless highly likely) from Serlo de Longstone living around 1100 and, although the estate was held by that family (latterly spelling their name Longsdon) from the twelfth century until 1790, there seems no evidence that there was ever a house there, although there certainly may have been. Nevertheless, the family were numerous and still flourish today, although the claim made by G. T. Wright, JP in his very substantial book, Longstone Records (Bakewell 1900) that he himself and the Wrights of Eyam were descended from them in the male line does not really stand up to scrutiny. Thomas Longsdon of Little Longstone (1706-1780) was twice married and produced no less than eight sons, who began rebuilding the family’s fortunes after some decades of decline, for the eldest son, James Longsdon (1745-1821) was a partner until 1786 of Andrew Morewood, a Manchester cotton merchant, as were his younger half-brothers Anthony, Matthew and Peter, all of whom actually lived in Manchester, not to mention David, a grandson. This effective family migration towards Manchester in pursuit of cotton riches, led to the sale of Thornbridge by James, in 1786 when he inherited Little Longstone. The purchaser, after over three years without a taker, was his former business partner, Andrew Morewood (1714-1794), of a younger branch of the Morewoods (later Palmer-Morewoods) of Alfreton. The sale was probably to raise capital to invest in the remaining Longsdon estates. The price for the estate was apparently £10,000, and did include a house about which little is known. It was most likely a modest farmhouse, conceivably that upon which hearth tax was assessed in 1670 for one hearth when it was inhabited by a member of the family. Andrew Morewood, had made a considerable fortune in the cotton trade, although it should be remembered that, contrary to what one might read on various websites, Manchester at this period traded cotton, not from the southern states of the USA (as later in the 19th century), where it was picked by slaves, but from India and Egypt, where cotton was picked by paid labour (although I would not vouch for the free status of those who picked for the Mamluks, Ottoman Egypt’s de facto rulers). He therefore decided to build himself a modest country villa, the first Thornbridge Hall, completed in about 1792, and died there two years later. His new seat was a typical later Georgian country house, built of Carboniferous Limestone with Millstone Grit sandstone dressings, probably from Bakewell Edge, and of two storeys. The entrance front was five bays wide with a three-bay pedimented central section which broke slightly forward. The right return was of one wide bay under each pile of the building, expressed as Venetian windows, superimposed, one above the other, with flat mouldings, and there were quoins at the angles. Who designed it is difficult to say; probably an architect who was also a builder, as was then usual, although from the relative sophistication of the design it was unlikely to have been a local man armed only with a pattern book; perhaps he chose someone from Manchester. John Morewood (1754-1811), who soon succeeded, extended the house by adding a matching range at right angles to that already existing, but with an oeuil-de-boeuf or oculus in the pediment. A modest park of 20 acres was also laid out around the house, to which he added a further 20 acres leased from the Duke of Devonshire. The situation of the house cannot have lacked grandeur in the first place, and it is doubtful whether a professional landscaper was involved. John Morewood was succeeded by his brother, George and, after his death in 1854, by his third daughter’s husband, James McConnell, a Prestwich cotton spinner who in 1835 had bought nearby Cressbrook Mill and built the hall there to the designs of Thomas Johnson of Lichfield. He soon decided that Thornbridge was not quite to his taste after all and decided that he preferred the more overtly Gothic Cressbrook which was set in an even more spectacular setting. Therefore, in 1856 McConnell decided to move on, placing an advertisement in The Times for 17th December 1856 offering it to let, but, receiving no takers, eventually sold it in 1859. The buyer, rather surprisingly, was the Revd. Henry Longsdon (1826-1899) of Little Longstone Hall, whose ancestor had sold it in the first place. He had inherited the family estate at Little Longstone aged 18 months in 1827, but his senior line of the family had not benefited quite so royally from the family’s excursion into cotton trading, and he was then the newly appointed vicar of Eyam. However, he still needed somewhere nearby to live, as the Joseph Pickford designed vicarage at Eyam had not then become available, and the family manor house was occupied by his mother. However, after a year or two this situation resolved itself, and Thornbridge was again put on the market, shorn of much of its estate, which was retained as part of that of Little Longstone. The next new owner was John Sleigh of Leek, whose exhaustive History of Leek came out in 1862, with a second edition (less desirable to the collector, but slightly more helpful to the researcher) followed in 1883. He also wrote frequent antiquarian articles for The Reliquary, an historical periodical edited by his friend Llewellyn Jewitt of Winster Hall. The Sleigh family ultimately descended out of Hartington and had at one time acquired the Etwall estate too, but quite why Sleigh wanted to move from Leek, which he clearly loved, is not clear. Nevertheless, he was prepared to spend £10,000 on it (the same price as Andrew Morewood had splashed out in 1790, but, of course, with much less land) remained there until 1871, when it again came onto the market. One attractive feature which enhanced the value of Thornbridge
Lumsdale – Matlock’s First Industrial Estate
Hidden away in a deeply wooded ravine, Lumsdale is unknown to many who live nearby, but as Brian Spencer discovered, it is a unique link with the early days of industry in Matlock. Bentley Brook rises in the rough moorland above Cuckoostone Dale and flows gently past Matlock Golf Club, then dives beneath the A632 Chesterfield road to pass Highfields School, before dropping into the valley bottom where it joins the Derwent at Matlock Green. Once away from the school and a scattering of houses, the brook crashes over a series of small but spectacular waterfalls trapped within a deeply wooded gorge. By harnessing the stream’s power and in particular its cascades, a series of small mills driven by waterwheels carried out a whole range of industries that began in the 16th century, and with adaptations continued until 1920. Abandoned by their owners, the mills fell into disuse, their stone often removed for building elsewhere and it was only by the efforts of a far-sighted lady, that the now romantically tranquil ruins have been preserved as memorials of past industry. Frequently vandalised for their building stone, the ancient mills were fast disappearing until a local lady called Marjorie Mills bought Lumsdale to prevent further demolition. Throughout the rest of her life until her death in 1996 she maintained a passionate interest in the valley, but by 1976 when she realised that her failing health no longer allowed her to take an active interest in its preservation, she transferred ownership of Lumsdale to the Arkwright Society, who together with a group of local residents, continue her work. The three upper ponds nearest to Highfields School are silted-up and have as a result become wild-life havens for bog plants and amphibians such as crested newts and frogs. Of the others the one at the head of the ravine is arguably the most beautiful, but the others still have their attractions, especially for anglers. By parking in the lay-by opposite the entrance to Highfields School on Lumsdale Road, the valley and its ruins can be explored by a rocky footpath winding its way steeply into the valley bottom. Walk gently downhill past the boggy remnants of the first two ponds and with a little care you can see the overgrown ruins of the 16th century Bone Mill. The still recognisable wheel pit and its tail race back into Bentley Brook drove massive grindstones and pulverising hammers to break down calcined bones for use in the pottery industry or as fertiliser. Following the path past the third dam and a group of cottages, the next mill was until the twentieth century used as a saw mill, but initially it was a corn mill, and the huge grindstone imported from the Massif Central in France lies close to the tail-race. The next group of cottages that stand above the waters of the fourth pond, Farm Dam, were once part of a lead smelter and with a little care, it is possible to trace the remains of many of the earlier industrial buildings. For example the smelting cupola is incorporated within part of the cottages. The modern house across the way is known as ‘Pine Trees’ and stands on the site of the smelter’s counting house and smithy. A horizontal condensing flue to remove poisonous fumes and collect by-products ran away from the smelter; with a little bit of investigation, an access trap can still be seen, but certainly not entered. It was into this that small boys were sent to scrape noxious substances like arsenic from the walls – no wonder they led short lives. Below Farm Dam and its bulrushes, is the hiding place of mallards. Hard by adjacent picnic seats, water pours through a still viable sluice, then down a spectacular waterfall part hidden by beech shaded rocks. A now dry side leat carried water into a deep wheel pit where a mill was later adapted for sawing timber, or ground lead oxides for the paint industry. The square sided Derbyshire chimney half hidden in trees above the mill was part of a system designed to dry ore minerals before crushing. This mill was built for the Bonsall School Trustees in 1770 and is well worth a closer look, for it is built, quite spectacularly into the rocky hillside where the nearby waterfall creates an open space. The footpath leads down to a fifth mill known as the Upper Bleaching Mill where you can see the remains of the bleaching vats. This mill was connected to Garton Mill in the lower valley by an ingenious tram system whereby loads of heavy cotton fabrics were carried between the two mills. Turning left as the path reaches the nearby road, it is still possible to see the remains of the tracks which were cleared by the pupils of Highfields School a few years back. It will be necessary to follow the road at this point, past an overgrown mill pond that was used to guide water to the wheels and processing plant at the Lower Bleach Works, or Garton Mill as it was once called. Very much expanded in the 20th century and used by a variety of industries, including Messrs Paton and Baldwin for woollen manufacture, the first mill on the site was built around 1785 by Watts and Co as a cotton spinning mill but went bankrupt in 1813. This was when it became a bleach works in the ownership of John Garton, retaining its function, along with cotton fabric finishing, continuing well into the 20th century. Two groups of solid stone-built terraced cottages were made to serve the mill and are now private homes, then next come two further ponds that served Tansley Wood Cotton Mill, the largest mill in the Lumsdale complex. The first structure was leased from its builder Banks-Hodgkinson of Ashover in 1783 by Messrs Osgathorpe & Prestwidge. If anything they were the most unusual names in the Matlock area, but nevertheless the two
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Walk Derbyshire – Following The Norman Conquerors In Hartington
Once Duke William was crowned as King of England following the Battle of Hastings, it took several years before the Normans could claim true domination of the country beyond the readily subservient south of England. Throughout the north and marshes of East Anglia, rebellious Saxons made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with these upstart French speaking incomers. As attempts to pacify those who objected to this change of status failed miserably, King William, the Norman, had to resort to violence, instigating what became known as ‘the Harrying of the North’, when vast areas of Northern England were laid to waste, with the people either murdered or driven off the land they and their forebears had farmed for generations. What became known as the Peak District although being comparatively uninhabited, didn’t escape the takeover, and to put his stamp on the region, King William divided the land amongst those knights who had served him well in battle. With William Peverel taking most of the land to the north and east of the Peak as his hunting preserve, the rest, mainly those lands to the east of what became Staffordshire and north Derbyshire were handed over to de Ferrier in order to expand his hunting estates further south in Leicestershire. While we may be used to imagining castles as impregnable fortresses built of stone, many began life as manmade hillocks protected not by stone but with rapidly thrown up timber palisades, a kind of quick-build system. Generally they fitted a standard design with the strongest part being incorporated within, or on top of the high mound, or motte where the lord and his knights sheltered, and a lower much larger area or bailey protecting everything necessary for everyday living. Here would be a noisy collection of everything from a blacksmith’s workshop to dairies and cloth weaver’s looms. It is uncertain who built the motte & bailey castle at Pilsbury a mile and a half up the valley of the Dove from Hartington, but although no record was made during its construction, or why it was never converted to a stone-built castle, it is quite possible that William de Ferrers built it more as a hunting lodge, rather than as a fortified base for his military excursions throughout the White Peak. Whatever its ultimate need could possibly have been, it now stands as an enigmatic link with the turbulent time following the Norman invasion. The walk passes Pilsbury castle in the early stages, a walk that is never far away from the River Dove. It wanders along a fairly straight course, almost to Crowdicote where the river is crossed by the Longnor road. Hereabouts at Bridge End Farm, the route turns left to cross the river and climb up to the Sheen/Longnor road. Another left turn follows a usually quiet arrow-straight ridge-top road with breath-taking views up and down the Dove. When the road comes to a sharp right hand bend, the walk continues forward, past Harding Close Farm and the highest part of the walk at 1060 feet. Beyond that point the way is mostly downhill to the Dove and once over it a field path leads on, past the famous cheese factory, one of the few places allowed to make Stilton cheese. Beyond the factory, the last few yards of the walk passes the village duck pond and then moves onwards into Hartington’s old market place where the pub named after Izaak Walton’s friend Charles Cotton waits to slake the thirst of those in need. Non- drinkers are catered for in the scattering of small tea rooms and cafes set around the market place. USEFUL INFORMATION A 7½ mile (12km) moderate walk with mainly gentle gradients along field paths and usually quiet roads. The steepest climb comes after crossing the Dove for the first time beyond Bridge End Farm near Crowdecote. RECOMMENDED MAP Ordnance Survey 1:25000 scale Explorer Map, Sheet 24: the Peak District, White Peak Area. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Buses run from Ashbourne via Ashbourne & Buxton. REFRESHMENTS Charles Cotton in Hartington and the Packhorse Inn at Crowdecote are highly recommended. There are also cafes around Hartington old market place. CAR PARKING Pay and display in the public car park beside the Leek/Cheadle road on the south western outskirts of Hartington. Limited free parking near the village duck pond. DIRECTIONS From the Leek road car park, walk back up to the old market place and continue forwards as far as the cross roads. Turn left opposite the road for Hartington Hall youth hostel Walk up the hill towards and then past the village church. Continue over the track crossing junction near Bank Top Farm and go forwards for a little over a quarter of a mile. Still going forwards, cross a secondary path then climb over the western slopes of Carder Low which is on your right. Walk on for another quarter mile, using gates to cross field boundary walls (please close all gates after passing through them). Take the left turn at a signposted footpath crossing and walk down to a minor road which is crossed by stiles on either side. Continue along a grassy high level path until it joins the valley bottom track close by Pilsbury Castle. (If you miss this crossing, do not worry, but turn left to go down the rough road as far as the track turning right into Pilsbury village. Follow the grassy valley bottom track beyond the farm and houses). Spend time exploring the mounds remaining from when Pilsbury Castle was a formidable defensive place, then go forwards for about half a mile as far as Bridge End Farm. Go past the farm buildings for a few yards, in order to turn left and go down the field to a narrow footbridge crossing the river Dove. Climb the steep field path, fortunately for a little under a quarter of a mile, through scrubby undergrowth and gorse covered ground until it reaches a stile giving access on to
Celebrity Interview – Danny John-Jules
Danny John-Jules breaks off from trying to learn “a load of very educated and complicated lines” for his part in the stage version of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code to express his delight at securing the role of Sir Leigh Teabing. Some actors might baulk at taking on a role portrayed by one of our finest actors, Sir Ian McKellen, in the film version. But not Danny. “I’m following in the footsteps of a lord of the theatre. I don’t need anything else in my life. If I never work again I’ll be more than content,” he says with great pride in his voice. This is the man known to millions of television viewers as Cat in the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf; as Dwayne Myers, the motorcycling, liberty-taking policeman in the drama Death in Paradise; or from his eight-week stint in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing. So how did he get the part in The Da Vinci Code? “I have no idea and I can’t be any more honest than that. In this climate everyone’s out there hustling for work. I just got a call to do it which flabbergasted me no end. “I would understand it if it was a comedy show or a TV drama. Although I’ve had a vast theatrical career, not many people know me for doing live theatre. People know what they see on telly on a regular basis.” He talks candidly about why he left Death in Paradise, whether there will be another series of Red Dwarf and his future work. But he has no time for so-called showbiz journalists who know nothing about show business. He returns to the subject often before giving me an exclusive which he would have revealed to other journalists if only they’d been bothered to ask. What really annoyed him was when he went on Strictly and the first article he read described him as a Z-list celebrity. When I exclaim how unfair that was, he replies: “Showbusiness isn’t fair. “An overweight journalist can call you anything they want. That’s what they choose to write. You can talk about showbusiness or you can just slag people off. Most of those people who write about showbusiness have no idea about showbusiness. They just talk about individuals and personalities.” One thing that Strictly did was kick-started his love for theatre again. Within a year of being on Strictly, Danny had written a one-man show, rehearsed it and got it on stage. The two-hour spectacular contained 21 numbers from Danny who still regards himself as a song and dance man. But none of the journalists who had criticised Danny when he was on Strictly turned up to review his show. Daniel John-Jules was born on 16th September 1960 in Paddington, London. His parents had travelled to the UK from Dominica on board the Empire Windrush. Danny was brought up on an estate in Notting Hill. He went to a drama group in a church hall and was trained at the Omnibus Theatre Company and Anna Scher Children’s Theatre. He was a dancer in variety shows behind star names including Jimmy Tarbuck, Dickie Henderson and Norman Wisdom. He then featured in many West End productions, being an original cast member of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express, and danced in the group Wham’s video for their song The Edge of Heaven. He turned up half an hour late for his audition for Red Dwarf, unaware of his tardiness and did not appear concerned. Wearing his father’s old zoot suit, he won over the producers who decided he was cool enough for the part of Cat. Danny and Craig Charles are the only actors to have appeared in every episode of Red Dwarf. There have been rumours recently about the cult sci-fi programme returning. Danny says it shouldn’t be ruled out. “For 33 years we’ve had the same question: are we getting any more Red Dwarf? I’m just glad and over the moon that I was in a show that was like nothing else.” Here’s the exclusive that Danny has for Country Images: he had appeared on the ITV show called The Real Full Monty, a programme that raises awareness of men’s cancers. “When I did that show I was invited to the head of ITV’s yearly party at Kensington Palace. Why? The show just happened to be their top factual show of the year and the producers told me ‘you were by far the most popular character on the show’. “If any journalist had the common decency to do a showbiz interview, they would have got that story.” Now Danny is preparing for The Da Vinci Code which is being billed as “one of the most anticipated theatre shows of 2022”. Danny has no worries about following Sir Ian McKellen. “It’s nothing like the film, so obviously I’ll be nothing like Sir Ian. With actors it’s interpretation, along with the director’s final say.” Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code has been denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Catholic Church. It has also been criticised for its historical and scientific inaccuracies. Danny, who was brought up as a Catholic, doesn’t enter the argument: “The good thing about The Da Vinci Code is that whether your character is for or against the popular beliefs, it doesn’t matter because we’re just playing characters. “When you go into any job you’ve got to leave that at the door, whatever you believe, because otherwise there’d be something in every script that you wouldn’t agree with. “We are smoke and mirrors – we’re just playing parts. Whether I believe what I’m saying or not, there’s only one thing that I’m going to believe 100% and that’s the character because if I didn’t believe in that character I can’t portray him. “If I don’t have that problem I just act and make sense of the words on the paper. That’s my job – it’s not to start asking people if
The Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Pilsley Old Hall
The last lost house about which I wrote was Coney Green Hall, bought in 1774 for £4,000 by Thomas Wilson, who also acquired Pilsley Old Hall, just over two miles away and still in North Wingfield parish, so it seemed logical to move right on to chronicle what we know about the latter. The Old Hall at Pilsley was a superb example of a minor Derbyshire manor house: seventeenth century in date, compact, gabled and sturdily built. It was deservedly listed II*, and was by no means too large to make a viable home for a modern family and by the time of its demise in 1965, it was in tatty shape but in reasonable overall repair. Its loss, therefore, prior to the 1968 Act came into force on 1st January 1969, which would have afforded it better protection, seems from today’s viewpoint well-nigh indefensible. The house was built of roughly coursed coal-measures sandstone and with a stone slate roof, topped by four stone chimneys, latterly with brick tops, neatly emphasising the hearth tax assessment of four hearths chargeable in 1670, although no doubt hearths were added to the bedrooms later. It consisted of two parallel ranges, running north to south, giving a twin gabled façade, each gable surmounting two bays on the principal floors and a central attic light, all originally being mullioned, probably the larger ones with single transoms. The windows had moulded surrounds and there was an unpretentious central entrance. The west side sported a ladder staircase window, lighting a fine quality Regency timber staircase (a replacement no doubt, for a more substantial original oak one) with a stick balustrade, triglyph carved tread ends over a Vitruvian scroll and a curled mahogany rail. Indeed, the tread ends are sufficiently old fashioned for one to suspect the staircase was perhaps at least a couple of generations earlier and was perhaps merely fitted up with a new balustrade by the Wilsons, possibly because the original one had become damaged. The east front was blind for two thirds of its length, ending with another staircase light, presumably for the secondary stair, and surviving superimposed two light mullioned windows beyond. Inside, the house was spacious and clearly intended for a gentleman rather than to act as a farmhouse, with a number of distinctive chimneypieces, most of which managed to survive into the twentieth century, that in the parlour even being flanked by a pair of arched niches complete with fielded panelled doors. Others boasted bolection mouldings, and some were of Hoptonwood polished limestone as, inevitably, were the cantilevered staircase and the floors in the hall and kitchen. Apart from modest cornices and dados, little superfluous ornament was applied and if there was panelling (highly likely), it had all gone by the time the Royal Commission of Historic Monuments for England photographed the house. At the time of Domesday, Pilsley was held in chief by Walter d’Eyncourt whose seat, Ayncourt, lay nearby (latterly a moated site, lost to coal mining in the later 19th century) and remained in the senior line of that family until 1442 when Robert, 7th Lord d’Eyncourt of Pilsley died without leaving any children. His barony fell into abeyance between the descendants of two aunts, and the estates passed to the then all-powerful Lord Treasurer, Ralph, Lord Cromwell, whose seat was Wingfield Manor. In 1456, he too, died without leaving issue when Pilsley passed to William 7th Lord Lovell of Tichmarsh. The son, Lord Lovell, Holland & Grey (of Rotherfield), was later attainted for high treason in 1484, when the estate reverted to the Crown. The estate at Pilsley then came to the Leakes of Sutton Scarsdale, although for whom it was built, probably c. 1630, is unclear: either a younger son, or for the estate’s bailiff or agent. Certainly, one junior branch lived at nearby Williamthorpe Hall and another might easily have been ensconced at Pilsley. Nicholas, 4th Earl of Scarsdale, spent a colossal sum rebuilding his main house at Sutton Scarsdale with one of England’s Baroque masterpieces (see May’s County Images), gambled heavily, dying without issue and essentially bankrupt in 1736, when it was sold to Richard Calton of Chesterfield a lawyer, who completed in 1743. He it was who probably converted the main fenestration to sashes in plain surrounds; the glazing bars were fairly thick, which invariably betokens an earlier eighteenth century date. His descendants lived there until the late 18th century when it was sold, along with Coney Green Hall, to Thomas Wilson, from a Nottinghamshire family snobbishly described in Throsby’s edition of Thoroton’s History of Nottinghamshire as ‘rich graziers.’ The fine regency staircase and other improvements were probably the work of the Wilsons, who, readers may recall, also set about making alterations to Coney Green as well. In 1850, William Henry Wilson, a land surveyor, was living there, and it was then that his family sold it to John Sampson a local brick and tile manufacturer. Later the Sampsons, in the person of the son, Luke, sold it again in 1880 but with only 23 acres, the remainder remaining in the hands of the Sampsons until the mid-1930s when, on the death of Thomas, Luke Sampson’s son, it was all sold up. The purchaser of the house, however, was E. A. Storer and in the Edwardian period, it was let to Granville Chambers, and later sold around 1930 to Mathew Eyre Wilde, JP who let it to Solomon Cutts. Post war, the last owner was F. Gardener of Littleover, but the house had fallen empty by the early 1960s, and architects Bestwick, Bowler and Hagg successfully applied for consent to demolish, and it came down on 13th August 1968, to be replaced – you guessed it! – by a new housing development. Why the developer could not have divided this venerable old hall into a pair of very pleasant period residences and built new houses, preferably out of local stone to a good design, beyond the immediate surroundings is a mystery; the
Glossop & Old Glossop
Like Hope, Hathersage and Chapel-en-le-Frith, Glossop was once a vast parish of over 50,000 acres, subsequently subdivided, covering the hills of the western Dark Peak. In 1086 it was part of an even larger entity, the lordship of Longendale, held directly by the king, and it remained as such except for a brief period under Henry I when it was granted to William Peveril. After the Anarchy however, Henry II gave it to the Cistercian Abbey of Basingwerk, Flints (now Clwyd) and they held it until the Dissolution. As a result, Henry VIII granted it to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and it remained largely with his descendants, the Talbots and the FitzAlan-Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, until the twentieth century. Old Glossop sits on a south facing hillside, and originated in the medieval period. The modern town, initially Howard Town, later New Glossop and now just Glossop, was created around cotton mills in the early 19th century through the encouragement of the FitzAlan-Howards (whose coat-of-arms can be seen all over the place) and lies further down, occupying the valley. The name, according to modern reference books, derives from the Anglo-Saxon hop(e) (= valley), suffixed to the notional Saxon name of ‘Glott’ (in the genitive, hence an additional ‘s’), thus ‘Glott’s valley’. However, these references invariably prefix the name with an asterisk, which means it has been deduced by academics from the name’s earliest forms but is unattested by any known personage bearing it. Bearing in mind that the area probably remained under British control until near the end of the seventh century, one might propose a British origin for the first element, like Glôg (= a rock or knoll, appropriate enough hereabouts) or the well- attested British personal name Glywys, with the Saxon suffix added. Such hybrid place names are not uncommon, especially in the North and West and more are being admitted as research is re-defined. Such arcana did not affect our visit on a blazing hot day. Old Glossop is a total delight, and once was centered on the hall, latterly a vast, rather unlovely mansion, demolished by the Council in 1959 (see Country Images May 2018). This lay quite close to the church of All Saints, with a fine park rolling down the hillside. The church itself is an ancient one, and quite substantial, but has suffered numerous rebuildings – no less than five since the beginning of the 19th century, leaving little of the original 12th century church. We actually began beside the stump of the medieval churchyard cross, rather neglected looking, on the south side, by walking up from the church past the former church primary school of 1854 by Matthew Ellison Hadfield (1812-1885), a Glossop man, son of the Dukes’ local agent, Joseph, who, through the patronage of the Howards rose to eminence as an architect here and then in Sheffield as Weightman & Hadfield. He designed much of the new town of Glossop. The school is remarkably substantial, and was converted into several spacious houses three years ago, winning an award. We pressed on past up to the upper road, Church Lane continuing NW until we reached ‘the opposition,’ as one elderly local called it, the splendid late Regency Catholic church (also dedicated to All Saints) by M. E. Hadfield of 1836, although it looks almost earlier, with its neat classical villa of a presbytery beside it. It was the private chapel of the (staunchly) Catholic Dukes of Norfolk until 1925, despite the hall also having had an attached chapel. We then pressed on along Church Terrace until we reached the main (Woodhead) road, where we turned left down the hill into Glossop proper. Woodhead Road morphs into Norfolk Street, and for half a mile one passes through a leafy suburb with houses either side ranging from late Victorian to inter-war. Further down, things change: opposite the corner of Kent Road is a pair of stone built houses, very pretty, in an unexpected cottage orné style, followed by a substantial mid-Victorian terrace, with further terraces beyond on both sides. This continues for another country half-mile until suddenly the descent steepens and the road widens. On the right is the very striking Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway’s classical station of 1847 (by the omnipresent Hadfield, naturellement). The noble lion crest of the Howards atop the parapet attests to the fact that the 13th Duke personally paid for the one mile branch line from Dinting that terminates at the rather grand station itself. The line (later the Great Central, then 1923-1948, the LNER) is today still operating and long electrified. Opposite the station a very tall sub-Jacobean Conservative club of 1909 with a first floor angle gallery upheld by a stumpy fat column with stiff leaf capital. Further down, on the corner of High Street, we found the early Victorian Norfolk Arms Hotel, very welcoming, where we paused for much needed sustenance. This, essentially, is the grandly planned centre of Howard Town, later (New) Glossop. We proceeded along Henry Street to Norfolk Square behind the pub, where Tesco have tactfully adapted the station’s good shed, and passed, on our right, an Italianate building, now shops, and a hidden Masonic Hall, its modest entrance amidst a stone residential terrace looking almost furtive in its discretion but, from the notices advertising the availability of a large hall for weddings, funerals and bah-mitzvahs (as it were), we deduced that behind lay an edifice of noble proportions, invisible to us. Opposite lay sloping Norfolk Square itself bosky and with elegant buildings in the usual honey-coloured Dark Peak millstone grit on all sides. The NE corner is host to a tall Jacobean Liberal Club of 1914 by Paul Ogden, with blue plaque honouring Hon. Mrs. Mary Partington MBE a philanthropic ex-Mayor of the town and daughter-in-law of the largest employer in the Borough, Edward, 1st Lord Doverdale). Beside it is a splendidly Belle Epoque war memorial in bronze with winged victory (by Vernon March of Hadfield’s old practice)
