Here you will find the archive of all my published blogs.
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The woman behind the 95 Ethels
In 1917 the recently married Ethel Ward (1894-1986) became a 23-year-old widow on the death in combat of her husband, Henry Gallimore. She came from a wealthy Sheffield family; her…
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On getting lost
It’s difficult to get lost today. Google maps will display every street in the city, and spell out your quickest route, while in the country apps such as OS Maps…
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The Farley Moor megalith
A recent Time Team programme reports an excavation on Farley Moor north of Matlock, where a single standing stone is thought to have possibly been part of a larger Bronze…
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Rambling with Ewan
The Mass Trespass at Kinder Scout in 1932 is commonly described as the impetus to the subsequent access movement. Yet this mythical event, involving perhaps 400 people and organised by…
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The Coldwall bridges
Only a mile from the honeypot of Dovedale are the impressive arches of Coldwall Bridge, a relic of a forgotten turnpike set up in 1762 linking Thorpe with Blythe Marsh.…
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Our romantic royal captive?
When Mary, Queen of Scots escaped from the rebellious Scottish lords in 1568 to find shelter in England, she could not have imagined that she would spend the next 18…
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Mystery stone
Any offers? Walkers in the Peak District come across standing stones of various types. The banal gatepost often remains after a wall or hedge has disappeared, and can be identified…
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Lord Byng pays a visit
John Byng (1743-1813) was born into a family of soldiers and sailors, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Torrington. He bought his commission in the Grenadier Guards when he…
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Watery ways
When the rains come the streams fill, and we become suddenly aware of the network of waterways that surround us. Normally just half visible, these then threaten to flood the…
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Farey’s footsteps
John Farey (1766-1826) was a geologist and mathematician who wrote an extensive report on agriculture in Derbyshire, early in the nineteenth century. To research the subject he clearly had to…
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A cold coming
The image of a laden stagecoach arriving at a snowy inn has decorated millions of Christmas cards, along with robins and holly. The card above contains all the elements: the…
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The mystery of Fin Cop
Fin Cop lies on the route of the Portway, about two kilometres north of Ashford in the Water. It is perched on a headland high above the sharp curve in…
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Waterloo sunset?
In an age of instant news, when an election result in the USA is available instantly on our phones, it’s hard to imagine a time when news of events even…
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Mr Brown’s girls
By 1878 the painter Ford Madox Brown, at the age of 57, was suffering from severe gout, that classic Victorian ailment. His wife and model Emma had become alcoholic, probably…
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The Clarion call
The invention of the safety bicycle in the late nineteenth century created the possibility of leisure travel for working-class people. Derbyshire and the Peak District, close to the industrial cities…
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Uphill work in the Dale
The importance of public rights of way – both footpaths and bridleways – in England is shown by the tremendous effort expended on settling disputes when these routes are challenged.…
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Canal competition
For thousands of years goods had to be carried by roads, and a horse and cart could move about a ton of stone or coal. But with industrial growth in…
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Comfort at the crossroads
Roman military dominance depended on its well-known road system, which not only allowed troops to move quickly, but also allowed messengers to ride rapidly with news or orders. To accommodate…
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Comings and goings at Haddon
Haddon Hall, near Bakewell on the River Wye is such a remarkably well-preserved late medieval house it has been irresistible to film makers. Firebrand, the story of Henry VIII and…
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Driven by drovers
Well into the twentieth century herds of cattle or flocks of sheep were a common feature of rural roads. Even after the coming of the railways, farmers often had little…
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On the road – in style
Although few people could have predicted it, in 1900 thousands of years of horse-drawn transport were coming to an end. Since the Bronze Age horses had provided the fastest means…
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Fixing a hole …
Repairing holes in roads must have been one of the worst jobs in the pre-industrial world. Courbet was not the only artist attracted to the subject: his pair of stone…
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The name of the bridge
Whatstandwell must be one of the more bizarre place names in Derbyshire, mispelt on some old maps as ‘Hotstandwell’. In fact it commemorates Walter (Wat) Stonewell, who lived near the…
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Derby at the crossroads
This early plan of the town of Derby, drawn about 1760, shows how small the town was 250 years ago. The central area is framed by the Derwent to the…
The Old Roads of Derbyshire 