Road users

  • On the road with Joseph Andrews

    Many of the earliest novels were effectively ‘stories of the road’, their plots centred on the journeys their heroes were making – books such as Don Quixote and The Pilgrim’s Progress – while the form is still popular today e.g. The Lord of the Rings. This format provided the possibility of introducing a rich cast…

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    Steve

  • Clegg’s travels

    James Clegg (1679 -1755) was for many years a minister at Chinley Chapel, near Chapel-en-le-Frith in north Derbyshire. There are no surviving pictures of him, but we know more about his life than is usual thanks to his diary, which he kept from 1708 until his death. As it was frequently necessary at that time…

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    Steve
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  • Riding with Cobbett – 2

    In the early modern period, gentlemen – and the more daring ladies – preferred to travel on horseback. William Cobbett, touring England in 1822 for his masterpiece ‘Rural Rides’, explains this preference: My object was … to see the country… and to do this you must either go on foot or on horseback. With a…

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    Steve
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  • Church paths and coffin paths

    In medieval England many parishes, especially in upland areas. were larger than they are now, and parish churches consequently were more dispersed. Although not everyone attended church regularly, for most people a churchyard burial was critical, since that was the key to an afterlife. As a result coffins often had to be carried several miles…

    Steve
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  • Tolls, riots and Rebeccas

    Many toll houses survive in Derbyshire (see previous blogs) but the only surviving ensemble of cottage, gate and board of charges is found at the National Museum of Wales, near Cardiff. This was moved to the Museum from its original location near Aberystwith. The list of charges (see below) gives a fascinating insight into the…

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    Steve
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