On the slow road to Wirksworth

On November 19, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People, PlacesLeave a comment

This painting is one of several with the same or similar titles and visual ingredients. The artist, George Turner, seems to have specialized in rustic views of his corner of Derbyshire, such as the example above, which must have been painted looking north at a junction on today’s B5023, Duffield to Wirksworth road. Dating from the start of the twentieth century, there is clearly little traffic, given the small flock of sheep dozing on the carriageway. The unsurfaced track looks quite stony, while the shepherd and his collie seem rather under-employed. Turner must have found this a successful formula for his work, since many other landscapes have similar content.

George Turner (1841-1910) was born in Cromford, and became a self-taught artist and art teacher. With his first wife Eliza he also farmed near Barrow-on-Trent, as depicted in some of his work. When she died in 1900 he moved back to the region of his childhood, first to Kirk Ireton and then to Idridgehay, which is on the Wirksworth Road. He then remarried Kate Smith, 30 years younger than him, who was also an artist. They lived there for the rest of his life, and he is buried in the churchyard. His son William, by his first wife, continued painting in the same vein. Turner’s work is in several local municipal galleries and currently can sell for several thousand pounds.

*Lane at Gorseybank, Wirksworth*/ *George Turner*

This view seems to be just outside Wirksworth, at Gorseybank, possibly on Prathall Lane. Some perennial themes are included, such as the shepherd with his mini-flock dozing away, but this time he has company: presumably his wife, and their child playing on the verge. Once again traffic must be minimal, and judging by the foliage it is early autumn. In the background can be seen the higher ground that encloses the town. Clearly Turner found it profitable to present the Derbyshire countryside as a static, timeless setting; even the sheep are motionless. The sky is quite blue, the branches wave about a bit, but nothing much else happens. A far cry from the nearby mills, quarries, mines, forges and railways which by this date had moved into the Ecclesbourne Valley!

How Bess went to London

On November 6, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People3 Comments

In August 1557 Bess, living at Chatsworth, was summoned to London by her then husband, William Cavendish; he was facing charges of financial malpractice and needed her support. The details of her journey provide an insight into lordly travel in the Elizabethan period. Although her exact route is uncertain, she was travelling for three days, and her final stops were in Northampton and St Albans. The total journey length was about 150 miles, so she was travelling quite fast, given the state of the roads.

Among her entourage were her six-year-old son, Henry Cavendish, his nurse, two footmen and a guide. Presumably the family would have ridden in their coach, while the men rode alongside. Given that she must have made the journey south many times (she was 30) it is curious that they still needed a guide – presumably road conditions could vary from year to year. Bess kept a record of her expenses on the trip, which show that she ordered a fire in her chamber at every stop.

Travel in the mid sixteenth century was not for the faint-hearted. Their horses had to be re-shod twice, the second time at Northampton, where Bess took the opportunity of shopping for some shoes for her younger daughter. There was another halt to repair broken tack, while several ferries had to be boarded and disembarked. Then one of the horses needed treatment for a sore back. When they got to St Albans Bess, in her haste, decided to continue by herself, travelling overnight with some local guides for the last stretch into the City. She bought them drinks at Barnet and then paid them ten shillings on arrival at the Cavendish house. Despite her efforts her husband William was increasingly ill, and she was soon forced to take responsibility for their indebted estate, a process that would involve much more travel between London and Derbyshire.

Snakes and dukes

On October 24, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People, Places5 Comments

*The Snake Inn: Still a challenge for cyclists*

The Snake Pass on the A57 Sheffield to Manchester route was one of the highest turnpike roads in the country, and is still plagued by winter closures due to snow and landslips. Reaching a height of 1,680 feet, it offers the most direct route between the two cities and may have been in use for thousands of years, yet there is little agreement about its history. On the 1:25,000 OS map much of the route as shown as a Roman road, and is named ‘Doctor’s Gate’, but although there was a 16th century Vicar of Glossop called Doctor Talbot there is little hard evidence to date the road further back in time.

The Derbyshire Portway can be clearly traced from the Trent to Mam Tor, and from there the best route north is eastwards along Edale, then to climb up into the Woodlands Valley which heads northwest to the Pass. Today the bridleway lies to the west of the main road at first, then switches to the east above Alport Bridge, since the going is easier on that side. However, apart from the place name ‘Alport’ there is little evidence for speculation about its history, not even for the ‘Roman’ road – Dodd and Dodd (Peakland Roads and Trackways) claim that some Roman paving can be found, but such stonework is almost impossible to date and at this altitude it seems unlikely to have survived on the surface. However, Doctor’s Gate may well have been a medieval packhorse route.

In the early nineteenth century the Dukes of Norfolk and Devonshire – principal landowners in the area – decided to build a turnpike road over the Pass to encourage trade between South Yorkshire and Lancashire. Part of the route, from Glossop up to the top of the Pass, was a completely new route, and this partly accounts for the debts that the Trust, established in 1818, ran up. There is some confusion about the engineer responsible: the Glossop Heritage website claims it was John Macadam, while other sources (e.g. Dodd and Dodd) say Telford. The road opened in 1821, but the arrival of a railway in 1845 was powerful competition, and when the Trust was wound up in 1870 it had debts of many millions, in modern terms. Since then the Pass has posed continual problems for the highway authority, being regularly closed by snow and landslips: all of which must add to the difficulty of keeping the Snake Inn, near the top of the Pass, running.

What about that snake? Nothing to do with the winding road – it’s the emblem of the Cavendish family, joint financiers of the road, seen here at Chatsworth.

Striding along …

On October 7, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People1 Comment

It’s hard to escape from Robin Hood in the north Midlands, with pubs bearing his name spread out over the region, from Macclesfield to Stoke and Sheffield to Nottingham. There are also Robin Hood wells, hamlets, fish and chip shops and the rock outcrop west of Winster, Robin Hood’s Stride. Clearly, the legendary figure has long had popular appeal, although in the case of the Stride the name must have been humorous, since the twin ‘towers’ are many yards apart.

The Stride provides an excellent natural landmark, visible for miles around, handily for travellers on the Portway, which runs between the Stride and Cratcliff Rocks. Before the days of maps people must have memorized a series of landmarks to avoid getting lost: perhaps certain trees, river crossings or rocks like this. But the Stride seems to have been at the junction of several routes, not just the roughly north-south line of the Portway, but also an east-west track.

This very scenic walk can be followed on public footpaths, starting from the layby below Cratcliff Rocks on the B5056. 100 yards north a footpath climbs the sharp slope, and then joins a track heading east and following the contour line. Go past a ruined stone barn and continue along the top of Birchover Wood. At Uppertown the path becomes a track; follow along Clough Lane and Oldfield Lane till you reach a road and then turn right into Darley Bridge village. Turn left on the main road, cross the bridge, and just to the right of the Square and Compass pub take the field path over the water meadows. The importance of the river crossing is shown by the position of this Robinson’s pub – it has been regularly flooded but stoically continues to provide refreshment for travellers. This probable packhorse route continues past the DFS showrooms and up into Two Dales, where it follows an ancient way known as Back Lane, heading for Darley Flash and (probably) Chesterfield.

Searching for St Alkmund

On September 12, 2023 By SteveIn People1 Comment

Few people outside the Midlands have heard of this Saxon saint, but in Derbyshire he is commemorated by two churches, a well and a street, besides being the patron saint of the city of Derby. As with many saints from the Saxon period it is hard to sort the legends from the facts, but apparently he was King of Northumbria in the late eighth century until he was forced to flee south into Mercia when a rival branch of his family took the throne. He was murdered by Northumbrian agents about 800 CE and buried in Shropshire, after which a cult grew up around his name due to his reputation for acts of charity.

His remains were removed to Derby in 1140 and reburied in the church dedicated to him, which had a Saxon foundation, near the modern Jury’s Inn hotel. This church was re-built in the mid-nineteenth century but demolished in 1968 as part of Derby’s inner ring road development. A stone plaque marks the site today. The only positive aspect of this piece of urban vandalism (widely criticised at the time) was the discovery of what is believed to be St Alkmund’s stone sarcophagus, a fine piece of Anglo-Saxon stone carving, now in Derby museum. We must assume that this was brought from Shropshire, along with the saint’s remains, in the twelfth century, though this must have been a difficult operation, weighing as it does about a ton. The most likely route would have been by river, as the church was only two hundred yards from the Derwent. Not far away from the church, at the bottom of Well Street, which runs off North Parade, is St Alkmund’s Well. Now protected by iron railings, this had a rural setting until the early nineteenth century as it was in St Helen’s park. Today it must be one of the few holy wells in an urban setting, and was at one time the focus of church procession and well dressing.

*Early postcard of St Alkmund’s Duffield*

St Alkmund’s in Derby was conveniently near Ryknield Street, the old Roman road, which would have allowed regional pilgrims to travel to the shrine, while only a few miles north is another church with the same rare dedication, at Duffield. Here the church is sited curiously detached from the town and close to the river. Although the present church building is post-Conquest, this must have been a Saxon foundation in what was originally a very large parish. It is thought that the church’s siting may have been due to the use of the Derwent for baptism, although this has also led to severe and quite regular flooding of the building.

Hemlocked

On September 1, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People, Places, PrehistoryLeave a comment

The Hemlock Stone on Stapleford Hill west of Nottingham is a sandstone pillar about five metres high, set in parkland. The name suggests that it may have acted as a boundary marker between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and it is found near the Portway’s crossing of the Erewash (the county boundary). It seems to have had more significance in the past, with eighteenth-century references to its use for Beltane celebrations, and was famous enough for DH Lawrence to include it in Sons and Lovers as the destination for an Easter walk.

*A barefoot Lawrence at the University of Nottingham*

The walk from Eastwood to the Hemlock Stone had actually taken place in 1905, organised by Lawrence for his family and friends. Beginning in the town, the original route is now difficult to follow due to the construction of the A610 on the line of the old railway, but the walking party first crossed the semi-derelict Nottingham Canal, then the Erewash, and thirdly the Erewash Canal, soon coming to a footbridge over the Midland mainline railway, whose express trains linked Eastwood and Langley Mill to London. The party next joined the Heanor-Ilkeston road and followed this through Ilkeston, a town Lawrence knew from his teacher training. Their route then turned towards Stapleford: today mostly built up but following pleasant country lanes a hundred years ago. It is interesting that the Stone was seen as a significant destination, worth a fourteen-mile walk (at least), and was clearly a popular spot:

‘Everywhere in the field below, factory girls and lads were eating lunch or sporting about’.

*Jessie Chambers, the model for Miriam Leivers*

In the novel the importance of this walk is the emerging love between the hero, Paul Morel, and Miriam, the girl from Haggs Farm (a thinly-disguised Lawrence and Jessie Chambers). Both felt rather alienated from the rest of the party, who were inclined to climb the Stone and carve their names there. On the way home they both fell behind the others, Lawrence struggling to repair an umbrella, and their mutual sympathy developed into a complicated affair which dominates the first half of Sons and Lovers and has become a classic of teenage angst.

A lovely day out in the Bath

On August 22, 2023February 1, 2025 By SteveIn PlacesLeave a comment

Today Matlock Bath rarely seems short of visitors; even in winter there will be customers for ice cream, and car parks fill up by mid-day. But in the past, especially before the railway arrived in 1849, and when road access was challenging, the village had to work harder to attract travellers. Early fame depended on the waters, of course, but wallowing in a lukewarm bath had limited appeal, yet the spectacular landscape of High Tor to one side and Masson Hill opposite was the subject of many paintings, helping spread its reputation. Local entrepreneurs began adding to the natural beauty, starting with Lovers’ Walks, on the east side of the Derwent, and originally only accessed by ferry or from Willersley. The Walks are first mentioned in 1742, making them possibly the earliest public ‘park’ in the country. Paths were created by the river and up the hillside, with seats, shelters and ornaments provided to enhance the views.

View of Matlock Bath from the Heights of Abraham c. 1840s

Presumably eighteenth-century visitors were more energetic than modern holidaymakers, since before the cable cars were installed reaching the Heights involved a steep-ish walk. Opened in 1787, the rather quirky name derives from the supposed similarity to the Heights of Abraham in Quebec, where General Wolfe died in 1759. These gardens offered views over the valley, improved by building the viewing platform of the Victoria Tower in 1844. Clearly, hillside walks were a limited attraction, so the old lead workings in Masson were opened up to visitors, now named Masson Cavern and Rutland Cavern, both continuing to offer some spectacular sights.

The Switchback Railway, Derwent Gardens c. 1910

About 1887 a craze for ‘switchback’ railways, a basic kind of gravity operated roller coaster, swept the country. The Buxton family bought and ran Matlock’s version, which had been built on the site of Derwent Gardens, and it continued operating until about 1930. Judging from the photos it would have never passed Health and Safety inspections, but was apparently extremely popular!

Matlock Bath Illuminations, or Venetian Nights, dates back to 1897, when it was an attempt to prolong the holiday season into the autumn by offering a spectacular display of illuminated boats, accompanied by fireworks. These have continued up to the present, with breaks for wars, floods and, of course, Covid-19. Especially in the 1920s and 30s there was strong competition for the prize for the best boat, and some of the remarkable winners can be seen on the Andrews pages at:

https://www.andrewsgen.com/matlock/pix/matlockbath_illuminations_boats.htm

Completing fishermen

On August 6, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People, Places, Rivers and bridges2 Comments

Charles Cotton (1630-1687) was the owner of (the now demolished) Beresford Hall in Beresford Dale, on the upper reaches of the River Dove. As a Royalist sympathiser he found it prudent to live quietly in the country after the Parliamentary victory, but he was also a notable writer who wrote poetry in praise of the Peak District, as well as a best-selling handbook on games. But today he is mainly remembered as a fishing enthusiast who built a fishing ‘temple’ in his grounds on the Staffordshire side of the river. This still stands, on private land but visible from the footpath on the Derbyshire side. Over the doorway the initials CC and IW are intertwined, commemorating his friendship with Izaak Walton.

Walton (1593-1683) was born into an innkeeper’s family in Stafford but seems to have been socially mobile, moving to open a linen draper’s business in London and becoming friendly with the local vicar, John Donne. But he was also a committed Royalist, and retired to Staffordshire after the War, where he bought land. His political leanings may have cemented his friendship with Cotton, but angling was probably the main tie, and Walton’s most famous work was The Compleat Angler (1653), to which Cotton later added some chapters. This book has gone through scores of editions in the past 370 years, yet is frankly almost unreadable today. Walton, who was 37 years older than Cotton, must have been good company, for he spent the last half of his long life staying with friends, and in some cases writing their biographies, including George Herbert and Richard Hooker.

In Cotton’s part of The Compleat Angler he describes a journey from Asbourne north to Milldale, in the form of a dialogue between a traveller (Viator) and a fisherman (Piscator), which emphasises the horrors of Derbyshire roads – this is the descent into the Dale:

Viator: It is as steep as a penthouse.

Piscator: To look down from hence it appears so, but the path winds and turns, and will not be found so troublesome.

Viator: Theses stones are so slippery I cannot stand. What’s here, a bridge? Do you travel in wheelbarrows in this country? This bridge was made for nothing else – ’tis not two fingers broad.

Piscator: I have rid over the bridge many a dark night.

Today the bridge at Milldale is still called Viator’s Bridge.

Unwillingly to school …

On July 23, 2023February 4, 2024 By SteveIn People, Places1 Comment

Today few young children walk to primary school alone, for a variety of reasons including parental perceptions of danger. In fact, the image of mum in a large Range Rover driving her offspring to the school gates has become a cliche. Yet 150 years ago children who were lucky enough to go to school often had to walk for miles, especially in rural areas. To some extent this walking may have formed part of their education, as was the case with Alison Uttley, who later became famous for her Little Grey Rabbit books. Alison grew up in a struggling farming family at Castletop Farm between Cromford and Lea Bridge. She didn’t go to school until she was seven, due to the remoteness of their farm on Hearthstone Lane.

Lea Primary School on Church Street, Holloway was chosen by her parents due to its good reputation. But the journey home, although only a mile and a half long, meant walking from school down to Lea Road, past John Smedley’s mill at Lea Bridge and then climbing up through Bow Wood on what is now a rough track (but which was the old road before the turnpike was built by the Derwent), and emerging from the wood just below the farm. Alison had to do this walk twice a day, in all weathers, and in winter the homeward stretch would be in the dark, for which she was given a lantern.

The path through Bow Wood

Clearly the fears she felt on her walk had a major impact, for she describes the journey in several books:

“I set off home, running for the first mile, for it was downhill and easy. Then I passed a mill and walked up a steep field where cows grazed. I came to the wood, and stopped at the big gate to light the candle in my lantern. I shut the gate softly so that ‘they’ would not hear. The treees were alive and awake, they were waiting for me…”

She obviously had a powerful imagination, and perhaps this walk could be credited with launching her career as a storyteller, since she sometimes persuaded a school friend to walk with her, with the incentive of listening to the stories that Alison made up as they walked.

Alison’s walk to school can easily be followed today, either starting from Cromford Station and walking uphill to Castletop, and then through Bow Wood to Holloway, or the reverse route starting from Lea Primary School.

Sources

Judd, D (2010) Alison Uttley, Spinner of Tales, Manchester University Press

Uttley, A (1951) Ambush of Young Days, Faber & Faber

Mr Burdett, map maker and …

On July 12, 2023July 13, 2023 By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment

Peter and Hannah

Peter Perez Burdett (c.1734-1793) is a fascinating example of an eighteenth-century artist, surveyor, amateur scientist and … serial debtor! His map of Derbyshire (1767) is the first accurate survey of the county, at the scale of an inch to a mile, and is invaluable to local historians. He was a friend of the painter Joseph Wright, whose portrait of Peter and his wife Hannah (1765) shows them al fresco, as if posing on their country estate. Apparently she was a widow, somewhat older than Peter, and the marriage may have helped him raise capital for his mapping project. He is holding his surveying telescope, while she appears most unsuitably dressed for a country ramble! (Wright was a master of drapery). This double portrait can now be seen at the Czech National Gallery in Prague.

Plan of Derby from Burdett’s map of 1767

Burdett appears in several of Wright’s paintings, notably as the figure making notes on the left in Wright’s masterpiece, A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery (see below). But despite their friendship and his map-making achievements, Burdett chose to move to Liverpool in 1768, possibly to seek a new range of clients, but certainly to evade his creditors. There he surveyed the Liverpool – Leeds canal, and was also involved in the development of the new technique of making aquatints in 1774, producing several himself, and thus demonstrating his versatility.

Burdett makes notes

However, Burdett seems to have been again less proficient at managing his finances, since in 1774 he had to flee to Baden, in modern Germany, to escape his debtors. Leaving Hannah behind he, curiously, took their joint portrait with him! In Baden he found a patron in the Grand Duke, and also found a new wife, Friederike Kotkowski, who he married in 1787 at the age of 53. They had a daughter, Anna, who married into the local aristocracy. Peter was clearly successful in his new milieu, surveying schemes for the Grand Duke until dying in 1793 at the age of 59. His story illustrates the extraordinary versatility of many men (and some women) in this period of rapid social change and scientific advances.

The Old Roads of Derbyshire

Author: Steve