DERBYSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Issue 90 June 2020
DERBYSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2019-2020 PRESIDENT His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, KCVO, CBE, DL VICE PRESIDENTS Ray Marjoram, Esq., Dr. Patrick Strange, Mrs. Jane Steer Dr. Dudley Fowkes, Keith Reedman, Esq., Ken Smith, Esq,.
Chairman of Council Dr. Ian H. Mitchell, 68 Myrtle Avenue, Long Eaton, Derbyshire, NG10 3LY. E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: 0115 972 9029
Hon. Treasurer Jane Heginbotham, 59. Hickton Road, Swanwick, Derbyshire, DE55 1AG. E-mail: [email protected]
Hon. Secretary Susan Peberdy, 147, Havenbaulk Lane, Littleover, Derby, DE23 4AF. Tel.: 01332 517762; E-mail: [email protected]
Programme Secretary & Publicity Officer Sede vacante
Membership Secretary Keith. A. Reedman, Esq. 107 Curzon Street, Long Eaton Derbyshire NG10 4FH. Tel. 0115 9732150. E-mail: [email protected]
Hon. Editor (Journal) Chris Wardle, Esq., 9, St. Hugh’s Close, Darley Abbey, Derby, DE22 1FQ. E-mail: [email protected]
Hon. Editor (Newsletter) Maxwell A. J. B. Craven, Esq. 19, Carlton Road, Derby DE23 6HB. Tel: 01332 382200. E-mail: [email protected]
Hon. Librarian Anne Allcock, 217, Curzon Street, Long Eaton, Derbyshire NG10 4FJ Tel. 0115 9726377. E-mail: [email protected]
Publications Miscellany: Susan Peberdy (see address above) Journal: Keith Reedman (see address above)
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COVER STORY: REPTON
Our cover this time features the church of St. Wystan, Repton, with its astonishingly slim spire, Saxon chancel and wonderful crypt, supported on those positively post-Roman, proto- Romanesque spirally fluted columns. It was taken on 8th August last year after lunch at the school: further on, you will discover the report of the talk delivered to the Local History Section by Repton School Librarian, Paul Stevens. Derby Civic Society were fortunate enough to enjoy a similar talk by him actually in the library he so efficiently manages one summer evening a couple of years ago; it was a memorable experience.
Perhaps, when our house arrest is ended, we might tempt the architectural section to persuade the Headmaster of Repton to allow a visit to Prior Overton’s Tower, where he has his lair, and perhaps visit the hall, too, the original roof of which is still on. Martin Biddle and I were invited to view it around 1982, and we discovered that when the building was given an attic storey in the 1870s, the roof structure, which Martin thought older than the present Carolean building, had merely been raised intact, rather than replaced entirely.
A picture of Repton Hall, taken by Richard Keene around 1862, in which you can just see the original roof height, including a single, miniscule, attic dormer. From the collection of George Cash. [MC]
When I was completing the millennium history of Newton Solney, projected and partly researched by the late Michael Day, I recall stumbling on the snippet in Rhygyfarch’s Vita of St. David (written, of course, impossibly late, albeit incorporating earlier material) that David had travelled to Repton (which very probably did not exist c. 500) and established a religious enclave there. Well, not impossible for the area was still British then, but try proving that!
I have re-vamped the newsletter a little, and hope members think it satisfactory. Do let me know your views in any case, either directly or via our excellent secretary.
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FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
irstly, I apologise to members that it has been a long time since you last heard from the ociety e were preparing our usual pring mailing with the papers and ummer Programme when the ovid pandemic struc , and it rapidly became apparent that we would not be able to hold the as planned on ay urthermore, the prospects for outings in the summer seemed very uncertain In this situation, it seemed silly to spend your subscription money on postage ust to tell you that the had been cancelled, when you all new it must have been, to comply with overnment regulations conse uently, we have waited for this Newsletter to give you an update on what is happening
econdly, I should e plain why I am the one writing this Pauline eswic , who has been our Derbyshire Archaeological Journal editor for many years, announced some time ago that she wished to retire at the , and hris ardle had agreed to ta e over this important role t the ouncil meeting in une, it was agreed to co opt hris as onorary ditor pending his formal election at the delayed , and I was appointed as hairman of ouncil in his place nother appointment made at that meeting was that of a raven as Newsletter ditor – you are now reading his first issue
I’d like to thank Pauline for her DAJ wor over the years – she has maintained a very high standard despite some challenging circumstances lso, to hris in his r le as hairman of ouncil and to Dave unting, the previous Newsletter ditor
Things remain very uncertain e have decided not to attempt any of our usual ummer Programme activities, and it remains unclear when we will be able to hold an , or even whether our winter programme of evening lectures in Derby will be possible s an alternative, we are investigating the possibility of arranging on line tal s using one of the internet video conferencing platforms
In the present circumstances, a lot of activity now ta es place on line and we are fortunate that we have recently modernised the D website at derbyshireas org u – another e cellent piece of wor by Dave unting nother of the hats I wear in the society is that of webmaster, and I have been eeping the website up to date throughout, and will continue to do so in the coming months If you have access to the internet, please do chec it out for the latest developments
e also intend to send regular emails to those members who have agreed to receive communications in this way – if you are not getting these, please go to the members area of the website the password is Derbyas&1878) and fill out the ‘Amend Member Details’ form to give us your e mail address and permission to use it the bo to fill in your e mail address appears when you tick ‘contact details change’).
I’d like to end with an appeal for help. Many of the people acti ely in ol ed in running the society ha e found themsel es classified by the o ernment as ulnerable to o id due to their age and this highlights the need to get more and younger members in ol ed. All of the section committees would welcome new blood to bring ideas for talks and outings but we ha e some specific roles that urgently need filling – see the P A D page below.
Ian Mitchell
OBITUARY Brian Read (1940-2020) rian eed who died aged se enty nine on th April was a retired railway engineer who oined the Archaeological ociety at about the time of his retirement from ritish ailways ngineering td as it then was) in . e and his wife ernice were regular attenders at a ma ority of the Society’s activities, especially isits for both were also keen walkers and much en oyed the open air.
rian enry ead was born in heltenham to which his mother had been e acuated on rd ctober son of enry . ead and ilian née preadbury) his parents ha ing married on rd eptember a happenstance which was marked by a mention with photograph) in the Daily Mirror of the day. e grew up with a younger brother Peter in south ondon where isits to Museums kindled an interest in history. e left school at eighteen and worked with the Distillers’ Co., obtaining his HND in chemistry through part time study.
Brian’s enjoyment of the open air stood him in good stead in 1959 when he met his future wife, ernice on a ramble organised by his new employers ritish ailways they married in August at ew. e en years later they mo ed to Derby where rian started at the ritish ailways echnical entre on a salary of .
n retirement the couple mo ed to indley rescent Darley Abbey and pursued their interest in canal boating and walking and of course taking part in the acti ities of the Arch. oc. not to mention the opportunities offered for tra el through their ritish ail passes one of the few perks of working for the nationalised concern. rian was also a keen reader and bookbinder a member of their association the ools and rades istorical ociety ) and of the Historical Metallurgy Society, for whom for many years he managed their publications’ back catalogue. e was co author of Natural Sharpening Stones and Hones for the of which he was a long ser ing committee member.
rian who will be much missed by his many ac uaintances especially those who are fellow members of this society lea es ernice two daughters leanor and ane and by grandchildren eorgie Megan harlotte and arriet. A M
HELP WANTED
We have a number of rôles in the Society that urgently require people to undertake them. If you think you can help with any of these, please get in touch, using the contact form on the website, or ring Ian Mitchell on 0115 972 9029 to discuss what might be involved.
NOTICES
❖ PUBLICITY OFFICER t present we do very little to publicise our activities outside the membership. o raise the profile of the Society and attract new members we need someone who will take on the task of publicising our events. his would include traditional forms of publicity such as press notices and leaflets, but in the modern world it also needs to include a social media presence. his would be an ideal r le for someone who is active on acebook and or witter and would be prepared to post about D S events on a regular basis.
❖ UNIVERSITY PROGRAMME SECRETARY Most of the society’s events are organised by individual section committees, but there is also a need for someone to organise the higher profile lectures we hold at Derby niversity. hese typically happen four times a year, and we aim to cover a range of topics relevant to all sections of the society. he job involves coming up with ideas for topics and identifying possible speakers, then making contact to arrange a suitable date, and making sure they turn up on the night – a good opportunity to meet some of your archaeological heroes.
❖ SOCIETY BOOKSTALL he bookstall selling second hand books and journals is a popular feature of our meetings at St Mary’s Church Hall. The team of Joyce Mold and Alan Snowball, who have run this for many years have taken a well earned retirement, and we need someone to take over. he job involves looking after the stock of books and bringing them along to meetings.
❖ THE NEW DAS WEBSITE he society has had a website for many years, but it was in need of a refresh and putting onto a new platform that would be easier to maintain and update. Dave Bunting has done a fantastic job in putting this together, and after a period of testing it went live from the end of anuary.
he home page is designed to give a good first impression of what the society, together with short items of news. he top level menu then takes you to the following areas About us – an outline of the history of the society, the Sections, and the illing research grant scheme Events – a calendar of events sadly empty at present , and links to pages with full details of the summer and winter programmes, the annual trip, fieldwork and
conservation activity and information on non AS events, such as those organised by C A and M AC Library – the location and o ening hours of the library, and an on line catalogue of boo s and ournals that we hold. Publications – information about Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, Derbyshire Miscellany, the Newsletter and other ublications. The Newsletter and older editions of Miscellany are available to download, and there is a lin to the archive of DAJ on the Archaeological ata Service. Join us – information about membershi and a downloadable membershi form. Members – a assword rotected area for members only the current assword is erbyas where you can access an on line form to amend your contact details, and find a copy of the Society’s constitution and the form to apply for a illing grant. Contact us – a facility to ma e en uiries on various to ics, which are automatically forwarded to the appropriate officer, e.g. use the ‘webmaster’ form if you have any comments, ueries or suggestions for im rovements to the website.
❖ EAST MIDLANDS INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE The S ring M AC was due to ta e lace at the ea istrict Mining Museum in Matloc ath on nd May, but had to be cancelled due to the Covid andemic. Anyone who boo ed should by now have received a refund. f ossible, the event will be re organised to ta e lace in .
he utumn has been arranged for ctober in orthamptonshire on a railway topic, but it is not yet nown whether this will ta e place. S members will be sent a boo ing form by email if the event goes ahead.
NEW MEMBERS We are delighted to welcome the following new members:
rs . bbott of ipley rs . r . aal e of Stanton in ea s . radley of esse rchaeology, Salisbury r . . arley of hesterfield rs ., r . iss . lar son of ittleover. r . . itchew of ittle aton r . iles of oscoe r . r . ill of irchover iss . liver of Sinfin r S. Schmidt of arley ale iss . opliss of hesterfield r S. al er of angley, acclesfield
WHERE WAS THE LOST ABBEY AT DARLEY?
by Chris Wardle
oday arley bbey is a suburb of erby, the village having been swallowed up by the city. he oldest parts of the suburb lie on the ban s of iver erwent. ater parts spread up the slope overloo ing the west ban of the river rising towards uffield oad.
nyone who passes along uffield oad will be aware of the historic importance of the suburb. Signs proclaim the suburb to be a part of the erwent alley ills orld eritage Site. hose who venture down to the erwent will witness the multi storey late th century early th century te tile mill comple on the far ban of the river. ew will fail to notice the two and three storeyed terraces that dominate the west ban of the river. hese are tangible traces of the suburb’s industrial legacy.
eople who as themselves why the ‘Abbey’ element is in the suburb’s name, will be forced to loo harder for any traces of its importance prior to the ndustrial evolution. ne of the few tangible clues to the fact that that, during the iddle ges, a monastery occupied the site on the west ban of the erwent is the two storey stone structure situated close to the river on arley Street, nown as the Abbey Inn. he building includes medieval stonewor , but alas has not been a pub for a while.
. Darley Abbey: Abbey nn east front, May 2020. M. C
Darley Abbey Abbey nn south elevation, showing entrance to the upper hall. The modern ashlar marks the removal of an external chimney breast in 1979. Photograph November 2015. C. Wardle
An ther isible clue can be und urther u the sl e n Abbey ane here a r c ttages n including the l cal st re als c ntains medie al abric.
Darley Abbey, converted medieval range on Abbey Lane, from the west, November 2015. C. Wardle
ey nd these clues an bser er ill struggle t ind e idence that the suburb as the site an abbey. here is n easy ans er t the ne t uesti n here e actly did the abbey church and the cl isters stand
n rder ind an ans er e ha e irst t c nsider hat a medie al abbey as li e. An abbey church and its cl ister uld ha e been at the heart the c mmunity encl sed by a recinct all. anged ar und the cl ister there uld ha e been ari us icial r ms. here uld ha e been a chapter house, where the abbey’s business as discussed a d rmit ry here the m n s sle t a latrine hich uld ha e been attached t the d rmit ry a re ect ry here the m n s ate a itchen a arming r m and a ashr m t gether ith ari us st re r ms and the abbot’s lodgings. any ther buildings uld ha e st d bey nd the church and the main cl ister. hese buildings uld ha e su rted the abbey’s c mmunity and its r . here uld ha e been a mill a ba ery a bre h use an in irmary and acc mm dati n r guests. here seems als t ha e been a sch l and a d e h use al ngside ari us structures ass ciated ith te tile r ducti n.
he reas ns hy s e traces the abbey are e ident lie in hat ha ened t the abbey a ter it as diss l ed. n the abbey as disbanded as art of Henry VIII’s licy d ing a ay ith all instituti ns that came under the c ntr l the e. h se h still li ed in the abbey ere ensi ned and the abbey’s property as assed t c mmissi ners acting n behal the r n.
he m st immediate tas the c mmissi ners as t render the abbey church unsuitable r rshi by rem ing the r . he c mmissi ners then turned t ma ing as much m ney as ssible. Anything that c uld easily be s ld as sent r sale. his al ays included the g ld and sil er are any marble r alabaster m numents and the timber.
n the case arley Abbey ith a ready mar et r st ne in the t n erby nly a mile and a hal a ay this included much the building st ne. he church t gether ith m st the rinci al structures uld ha e been dem lished and the st ne dis atched t the t n. he
odd structure ay well ha e re ained, especially where there was so eone who was interested in occupying or using it ithin a relati ely short ti e, the site will ha e been totally transfor ed, fro a busy religious co unity, to a scatter of dwellings and e pty ruins
arley bbey probably re ained that way until the late th century, when ban er ho as Evans, as commissioner in bankruptcy for Heath’s Bank in obtained two ills on the erwent ith his fa ily he decided to transfor that ill into a cotton spinning ill hey needed a wor force and that wor force re uired so ewhere to li e Hence the two and three storeyed terraces were built he few edie al ruins that sur i ed, including what beca e the Abbey Inn, were turned into tene ents and wor shops s a result, the construction of the industrial illage destroyed uch of any sur i ing e idence for the edie al abbey
er the centuries few other traces of the abbey ha e been found he ost notable of these is an enig atic medieval stone coffin located close to the west end of St Matthew’s parish church, a few hundred etres upslope fro the industrial illage he presence of a edie al coffin at this location is a ystery, as St Matthew’s was built on a pri e site and only consecrated in edie al coffin could not ha e been found in the present churchyard, but no one can now say where the coffin was originally unearthed
here are also reports of the disco ery of a nu ber of hu an s eletons close the botto of ew oad, at the heart of the industrial illage uch of what we now of the disco ery of these s eletons co es fro unreliable reports of children playing football with the s ulls ntil recently, there was little to erify accounts of the disco ery of hu an re ains
Darley Abbey, St. Matthew: early 13th century stone drying coffin now in the churchyard, November 2015 C. Wardle
In the s, the ociety conducted e ca ations a hundred etres or so to the northwest of the area where the s eletons were reported to ha e been found, in an area where houses were to be built nfortunately, no e ca ation report was e er produced, but it see s probable that no trace of the abbey was identified during the course of these in estigations
In we finally recei ed reliable corroboration of the reports of s eletons ha ing been unearthed close to the botto of ew oad proposal for the construction of further new
houses led an archaeolo ical contractor to open up a couple of narrow trial trenches on the site ne of these trenches produced no evidence, but the other revealed the head and shoulder portions of two medieval raves s burials in a medieval abbey were only located either in the abbey church, or else beyond the eastern end of it, this sin le trench has revealed the first reliable evidence for the site of the abbey church
Darley Abbey, plan of the hall 1708, at that stage still a conversion of the Abbot’s lodgings. This original hall (demolished 1727) is in the centre, above the word ‘orchard’. The Abbey Lane houses are top right. Note the map is orientated with west at the top. Derbyshire Archives
Darley Abbey Mills, as depicted on a Bloor Derby coffee can and saucer of c. 1820 Mellors & Kirk
REPORTS JOURNAL – hris ardle
ork on the ne t volume of the o rnal is underway, but cannot promise that the hand over between auline and me will be without problems fter months durin which had very little contact with auline, received a flurry of e mails from her at the start of last month i e , when the M was due to have taken place, and she would have officially stepped down as editor hese e mails included the idance for ontrib tors document that she was usin an article that one author had submitted last autumn, but with which auline had done nothin and a list of promised articles rior to May, a number of other potential contributors had contacted me directly
t the moment, have three si able historical articles and a clutch more are promised hilip iden has been most helpful in providin comments and advice on historical articles nly one substantial archaeolo ical article has been submitted to date, but this needs a considerable amount of reworkin before it is suitable for publication ther than that, only have a short archaeolo ical note to hand suspect that the disappointin number of archaeolo ical articles is a conse uence of the lockdown hese days, almost all the archaeolo ical fieldwork carried out in the county is conducted by archaeolo ical contractors, workin on behalf of developers he lockdown has led almost all of this fieldwork to be suspended ll the site staff have probably been furlou hed immediately, to ether with most of the staff and sub contractors conductin laboratory analysis t that time too, most of the pro ect mana ers be an workin from home his has meant that only those pro ects for which all the post e cavation analysis has been completed were likely to be ready for publication further complication is that, as the lockdown has continued for many weeks, it is possible that some of the pro ect mana ers mi ht also have been furlou hed here also needs to be further discussion on the implications to the proposal to cease publication of iscellan
DERBYSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE – hris ardle
othin to report he meetin that was due to have taken place in May was cancelled
DERBY CONSERVATION AREA ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Joan D’Arcy
have no proper report to offer from as, apart from one round of electronic consultation and another forthcomin , we have not had a meetin since March he pril consultation included an unsympathetic proposal to add a arden room and ara e to the much diminished curtila e of Mickleover ld Hall , timber framed and brick no ed, small manor house he ommittee effectively recommended refusal and indeed, the parent committee duly refused consent
o r r o a a ar o a n a or con a on on r ay J n n con r on o a o o o a ro o o an a a or y rrac o a ac n o or r r n r ar a rrac o r a ar n on n edition of Burdett’ a an ra o a a a n n ra ay a n n o r ac non o c a a c ar on a n o n canc n o ay c or a a n ro o a y y o nc a o n r o o or r ra later trolley’bus) a on oca y co r yar n a ac n o y A an r ac r on Jo n ar Jo n rr c oc n a r y c o a on r a on c r a a no c n r a on a n r n or o on an a o c
tores oad or oration e ot b ohn ard Ale ander ac herson
A o r o no no n a a an n ra an c a r o c n r an D n a a acc n a y a o a n r an r a y
* LIBRARY – Ann A coc
rary o co r c rr n y c o an r a n o n r ’ n r a o o n n a n a o a r rary a or o o n accor anc o rn n n a r n an o n n a con r a o o on n o a an y on or r r n or a on
rary na a a yo can oo arc on rary a r no or ro n ro oo yo can n o oo arc a a r n n o ro n o n r no a yo n n r c on or ar on yo ar n o n Booksearch then it’s probably good to start with title. One word in o arro r n a oo a or n nc n arro
f you can’t find a book which you think we should have please contact e through the website. This year’s Staffordshire o rnal has ust arri ed and will be on the shel es when the library reopens. e ha e also added to the collection A chool in ngland he istor of e ton b gh rogan. Let’s hope it is not too long before we are back to some sort of nor ality and the library can return to its proper use.
ARCHITECTURAL SECTION, 2019
Our first talk was after the AGM by Ruth Williams on ‘Gems of Staffordshire’. This covered a brief tour of the rural views, from the Roaches to Britain’s largest bog and also entioning the auld e plosion and the ast taffordshire oard of nglo a on gold and sil er ite s. portant buildings discussed included the ancient igh ouse in tafford the largest udor town house in ngland and Pugin’s works at headle – t. iles hurch and lton on ent – which were isited earlier by the ociety. e learned that the troglodyte dwellings at in er dge were inhabited up to the 1960s, while the National Trust’s gardens at Biddulph range were created to hold James Bateman’s plant collection in Chinese, Italian and Egyptian gardens there. hen ichfield athedral and Erasmus Darwin’s house were shown before o ing on to utbury hurch and astle where ary ueen of cots spent so e unhappy ti e. bbots Bro ley orn ance recei ed a ention before the tour finished at what’s left of la all and the a on hurch with its saddle back tower..
Erasmus Darwin’s o se at ichfield with the Cathedral’s three s ires be ond th A g st .
On the first of une we gathered outside the church at Breedon on the ill in eicestershire to eet ichard tone our guide. n early a on religious house was founded here in but was destroyed by the iking r y in . t was re founded in late a on ti es and nu erous frag ents of the buildings are incorporated in the re aining tower and chancel of the or an church all that re ains of the ugustinian house of . nside the church are a full set of
bo pews and the alabaster table tombs of the Shirleys. The Sa on carvings include a carved frie e from the inside and outside of the Sa on conventual church and several panels of kings and saints, together with a replica of the Angel of Breedon, the original not being on view. In the afternoon we visited Stoneywell Cottage in Charnwood orest NT . This 1 99 house was designed by Ernest Gimson 1 6 1919 for his brother in the Arts and Crafts style. It is built of local granite with a Charnwood slate roof replacing the original thatch and seems to positively grow out of the ground. The house is visited by parties of 10 and is best described as ‘quirky’. We were later guided round the grounds.
Our ne t visit on July was to Tutbury Church, when some 0 members were met by John Arnold. The late 11th century priory was founded by enry de errers and later became the church of a Benedictine priory. The monastic buildings have entirely disappeared and the church lost its chancel and south transept, while a ictorian aisle was added to the north and an apse by G. E. Street completed the east end. The west doorway is superb with seven orders, the second being of auld alabaster. Inside, the massive Norman columns dominate, some of which are uatrefoil in section. Refreshments provided a gratifying end to an interesting visit.
On 19th November, Ma Craven gave us a talk on Alderman Richard Leaper 1 9 1 , a rather eccentric local Derby architect working in the first part of the 19th century. e pointed out some of the typical characteristics of Leaper’s designs, generally slightly infelicitous, but characteristic. e also ran through the buildings he designed, mainly Regency villas, those that fairly safely can be attributed to him, like Bladon Castle and other buildings at Newton Solney and Mill ill ouse and the Particular Baptist Chapel in Agard Street, also in Derby. e explained that research into Leaper’s eu re is hampered by a paucity of records. Though many of his buildings have been demolished two uite recently , others survive and can be spotted round Derby and its environs.
On March 1 th, ust prior to lock down, John Arnold, who is a committee member of both the Local istory, and the Archaeological Research sections presented a fascinating talk ‘Alfred the Great and his response to the Great eathen Army’. John began his talk by mentioning that the idea to give this title to his talk came to him whilst cutting down buddleia. e reminisced on the superb talks on Anglo Sa on England he had had the pleasure of listening to, both in Wantage and Winchester, also describing the magnificent statue of ing Alfred, brandishing a sword, erected in Winchester in 1901.
John went on to describe in the time Scandinavian terrorism was rife in 9 the first known raid, on Lindisfarne. Evidence of raids on Monastic tombstones have been uncovered in e cavations and reconstructions have been made. These have been recorded in the Robert Colton library collection. urthermore, Matthew Parker wrote a very detailed biography of Alfred, which contained a description that, whilst in hiding, Alfred was minding a tray of loaves, whilst in abstract thought over the battle to come, when her allowed the loaves burn, hence the well known incident.
1 ohn continued y descri ing the any attles and negotiations lfred encountered through his lifetime. Alfred’s first decisive victory was the battle of Edington 879, where he made an agree ent with the ikings creating anelaw. any archaeological sites show e idence of this including orksey led y awn adley and ulian ichards and epton y artin iddle and the late irthe ol ye iddle and ore recently y at ar an.
erhaps the death of his three rothers who preceded hi as kings of Wessex e oldened hi and resigned hi to his co ing responsi ilities. lfred acquired a reputation for learning and cle ency – he later was endowed with the epithet ‘ he reat’ defended his kingdo against the ikings and eca e the do inant ruler in ngland. lfred also o ersaw the con ersion of iking leader uthru to hristianity and pro oted hi self as defender of all hristian nglo axons against the pagan iking threat. e was the initiator of the nglo axon hronicle as we ha e it which pro ides uch of our knowledge of that era today. e en of the nine re aining ersions of the Chronicle reside in the ritish Li rary one in the odleian Li rary xford and one in he arker Li rary at orpus hristi ollege a ridge.
lfred died in aged fifty. e suffered fro illness throughout his life today elie ed to have been Crohn’s disease and was succeeded y his son dward.
INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY SECTION, 2019
he talk after the was fro Lynn Willies descri ing the history of agpie ine at heldon and years of conser ation and research undertaken on the site y the eak istrict ines istorical ociety.
The section’s annual coach trip took in to two interesting and contrasting useu s in Lancashire. Our first destination was Morrison’s supermarket in Bolton, built on the site of the enor ous tlas ills co plex. he one original uilding re aining on the site a for er cotton store is now olton tea useu the ho e of the orthern ill ngine ociety with stationary engines of all shapes and si es eautifully restored with any in working order. fter lunch we o ed on to el shore extile useu in the ossendale alley. he useu is ased in two ad acent ills on the i er gden. igher ill was uilt in and Whitaker’s Mill followed in the 1820s. During the life of these ills oth wool and cotton were processed there and this is reflected in the useu displays.
or the first ti e in a nu er of years the ection su er progra e included a walk exploring a local area. he party et at pper artshay on the eage to ipley road fro whence re or riffin led us on a circular walk first north towards the course of the ro ford anal and then south to orley ark ironworks. he o ecti e was to iew as uch as possi le of the route of a railway uilt in around to link the ironworks to the canal. teady progress is being made with the restoration of the Derbyshire section of Chesterfield Canal, with a new lock and basin recently opened in taveley along with a visitor centre incorporating a caf known as the ‘ ollingwood ub’. n eptember, members of the section had the chance to view these achievements on a trip along this stretch of canal in the narrow boat ‘Madeline’ which is operated by the Chesterfield Canal Trust. Because the boat only accommodates 12 passengers, we booked it for a morning and an afternoon trip between the trips there was an opportunity to hear a talk about the recent restoration work and plans for the future.
The Winter rogramme began with a talk from hilippa u ey Broomhead of Trent and eak Archaeology, on 18th to 20th century archaeology discovered during construction of improved flood defences along the iver Derwent through Derby. This was followed by hilip iden on the topic of ailways and the timber trade, describing how the construction and maintenance of the railway network in the 19th century generated a considerable demand for timber, especially for railway sleepers.
n anuary 2020, eter Moseley spoke about the ornate cast iron riar ate ailway Bridge constructed by the local firm of andyside on the former reat orthern Railway’s line through Derby. Disused since 19 7, but prominent in the streetscape, it is now in desperate need of restoration an active ‘Friends’ trust is campaigning to this end.
riar ate rid e east side r m a slide ta en the late u hes e the hili arl we hara ter in the re r und m lete with shades and sna rim tril MC
1 The section continues to care for Morley ar blast furnaces with our usual ‘spring clean’ to tidy the site and repair fences. This year we have successfully applied to istoric n land for a rant to install steel rilles to prevent accidental or deliberate access via the top of the furnaces. LOCAL HISTORY SECTION 2019
ur first lecture of the year was on th February when Trevor a es spo e about his research into the reasons behind Church edications. o e concerned tribal territory e.g. St Oswald’s at shbourne a dedication to a northern saint so e were occupational e. . t Bartholo ew who was the patron saint of leatherwor ers. o e were associated with charters for fairs and ar ets iven before the church was dedicated. o e were locative e. . t nne who was associated with wells whilst others were on pil ri routes – several churches dedicated to t Chad were on a pil ri route to ichfield. fter the M on nd March Rita Bailey told us about the erby solation ospital built in north of erby on the boundary between Chaddesden and Breadsall to treat people with infectious diseases within the borou h. The hospital e panded over the years and additional wards and staff uarters were built. n the s a Bowlin reen and tennis courts were added. Records of early treat ents reveal patients in beds wheeled onto open verandas even in cold weather.
The first su er visit on th June was to St John’s Church, Mickleover where the vicar, the Reverend eter alley ave us an illustrated tal on the history of the church. The present church was built in the th century with th century restoration by . . tevens. The chancel is th century with a priest’s doorway and a stone lectern on the north wall the octa onal shaped font is also th century. n ednesday th une we visited Castleton and were shown the site of ew all built around and evidence for the ori inal settle ent at Castleton pre datin the th century castle. n pital Field above Castleton heffield niversity were e cavatin the possible site of the edieval hospital of the Blessed Mary of the ea . The third visit on th u ust was by coach to artlebury Castle orcestershire. artlebury Castle was ori inally built in the thirteenth century as a fortified anor house for the Bishops of orcester. n the Civil ar uch of the edieval structure was destroyed and was rebuilt in the seventeenth and ei hteenth centuries. hen Bishop urd beca e the owner in he built a library for his collection of rare boo s. e were privile ed to be iven a tour of this library threatened with sale and dispersal by the Church Co issioners a decade a o and saved by a nationwide ca pai n and the establish ent of a trust.
The first lecture of the – season was on st ove ber ears n ntroduction to Repton chool and the u ustinian riory by aul tevens the ibrarian and rchivist at the school. n bbey was established in the th century but destroyed by the i in s who set up their winter ca p here in 73 7 . n the th century an u ustinian riory was founded by Maud Countess of Chester. fter the issolution the new owners the Thac er fa ily destroyed the riory Church. ater in ir ohn ort of twall founded a ra ar chool for boys in the riory uest ouse. e also heard about succeedin head asters of the school and r ears one of the reat refor in head asters of the nineteenth century.
On th ove er r an Mitchell was to give his lecture on he etail rade in er y. Severe looding in er yshire caused tra ic pro le s in er y City centre and only eleven people managed to get to St Mary’s Church Hall and the speaker coming from London arrived late. ut he gave an a reviated talk. n the s goods were sold at airs and Markets. Specialist shops egan to appear in er y in the early s grouped around the Market lace. e described how the shopping centre moved south along St Peter’s Street and eventually to the ntu Centre hal a ile ro the Market lace.
uring the year, the co piler, Jane Steer, and the editorial panel, rene right er, oger Dalton, Joan D’Arcy and Heather Eaton produced two issues of Der shire is ellan . he Spring issue, olu e art , contained three articles ‘ s oor as a Stockinger ra ework nitting in er y – ’ y lan Cokayne, ‘ he Corporation o er y and the Chamberlains’ Account Books with ills and eceipts in the latter part o the ighteenth Century’ y nne ull and inda Owen and Malcolm Burrows’ ‘ iary o a Shipley ar er , art ove er th ece er st.’ he utu n issue, olu e art contained two articles ‘ he lossop aster ooks’ y erek ru head and ‘Charities d inistered y the Corporation o er y in the latter part o the ighteenth century,’ art y nne ull. here was also an advertise ent or the sale o the eights o raha in .
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH GROUP, 2019
Our irst talk o was given y r. ichard ho as on th January. his is an ongoing project to find the ruins of Lady Jane Grey’s childhood home within Bradgate Park. Excavations had revealed a series of, ‘stone structures’, that lie under the standing ruined brick uilding o radgate ouse he is currently trying to date their construction, and when they were de olished. ichard hopes to ind evidence o the living standard o one o the ost i portant a ilies in udor ti es.
ollowing our M on th March, we were given a very enlightening talk y enice race on a new pro ect led y the elper ranch o the niversity o the hird ge, in their search or elper Manor ouse. he Mansion is irst entioned in , descri ed as a unting odge and as having a deer park ut y , no deer were recorded and y the early s, Steven lover wrote, ‘… rag ents o old walls, were all that re ained o the Manor ouse’. n concluding, enice told us that the re ains o the uilding they had e cavated ust have elonged to an th century lacks ith’s forge and although not the Manor house, was ore than likely to have een on part o the original edieval site.
uring May, so e e ers took part in ield walking at ad ourne. his was the second visit ade to this site and over inds were agged, chie ly pot sherds and clay pipe rag ents, provisionally identi ied as th th century a ull report is still pending. possi le o an sherd was ound. Many thanks to eo or allowing us to walk on his land at o ields ar .
Our first summer visit, on 15th June, found us in Ticknall, visiting Ticknall Archaelogical Research Group, where we met Sue Brown. Sue told us that they were grateful to have been given the chance to dig on the site, as it belonged to the ational rust. he excavations had begun in with a trench trial that had produced some interesting pottery further discoveries in and had revealed Cistercian and early Midland purple sherds. ther findings included saggars, s uee es and burnt red clay, all of which indicated that a kiln must have been close by.
ollowing our winter talk, we had been invited by Dr. ichard homas to see the excavations at Bradgate Park, which we did on a glorious summer day in June. he ongoing excavation was the last of five, part of a niversity of Leicester ield School project, to reveal more about the impressive brick walls of the ruined building. A trench had been dug forward of the standing wall and had set history on its head by revealing an earlier stone phase which is now thought to be the house where Lady Jane Grey grew up. e also visited an adjacent domestic chapel where Bess of Hardwick married her second husband, Sir illiam Cavendish on th August .
n th August we enjoyed a day conference with the Little Eaton History Group, and guest speaker Mary iltshire, who spoke on the Medieval landscape around Little Eaton. e also enjoyed talks given by Bill Hutchinson, the chairman, and our own Joan d’Arcy, on ‘The Manor of Little Chester’. After lunch, we had the choice of visiting the mill or joining a guided walk around the village.
ur final summer visit th September, our coach trip took us to attershall Castle, with our very knowledgeable archaeologist James right. e learnt that the original crenellated Manor House had been built by obert de ateshale in , under a licence from Henry . t then passed on to alph, rd Lord Cromwell in , when he became Lord reasurer to Henry . Cromwell, deploying his newly ac uired wealth, upgraded the crumbling ancestral seat and built the great brick tower. he visit to this impressive giant of a castle left us without doubt that alph Cromwell intended to show how rich and important he had become. he building was later restored, as were Montacute and Bodiam, by Derbyshire’s first great enthusiast for architectural conservation, Mar uess Cur on.
Our final speaker of the year, Ian Ross, enlightened us with a talk, ‘Lifting the Lid on Lidar’, which acronym stands for Light Detection and anging, and has been found to have been exceptionally useful in archaeology, as it measures the distance accurately between a laser source. he Lidar data will provide a digital surface, ‘or elevation model’. This modelling has been useful in looking at Palaeolithic remains in field, and in the seabed. an is a member of the, ‘Ice Age Journeys’, project.
FINANCIAL REPORT Un-audited financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2019.
A statement of funds
Monica Pilling Account Balance at . . , rant to Castleton His oc , Balance 29.2.20 £31,736
Pamela Staunton Bequest Balance at . . £133,764
Special Speaker Fund £816
Visit Surplus £4,901
Bank Balances
COI , COI , at est , CA , total £52,427
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DERBYSHIRE MISCELLANY – A Taster Jane Steer Vol 22, Part 3, Spring 2020 – Contents ew e iden e that the uth Der shire illa e w rd was n e the site a s italler aili s h use Joan avies Der s Canadian i neer e e r e illiam a l r avid arry he De t il ill in Der and the i s n and nalds amilies Beverley Ronalds ra in the th entur undati n e et ell Der Joan Arcy Destru ti e ire in Der at Da en rt s sil mill Dale e r n r s
found a thirteenth century document concerning arable land in illington which, as she e plains in her article on ew e iden e that the uth Der shire illa e w rd was n e the site a s italler aili s h use, adds important new information to the history of the medieval Hospitaller estate in the outh erbyshire parish of Barrow upon Trent which then included Twyford, tenson, Arleston and infin. One of the witnesses was described as Henry ‘of the amera in Twyford’. A camera was the term used for a small Hospitaller estate and would have been administered by a bailiff. It is most likely that Henry was the bailiff of the camera and that he lived in Twyford, probably in the house now known as Old Hall Cottage
. w rd ld all il aintin er e
was the son of illiam Taylor, a silk manufacturer at the erby ilk Mill. A brief story of his life in Canada is told by avid arry in Der s Canadian i neer e e r e illiam a l r. ot only was he the first minister to be ordained in British Columbia rather than in ngland but he also became a well known Canadian scientist and founder of the acific Biological tation in eparture Bay, British Columbia. As well as Taylor Bay on abriola Island, he had an insect, a mollusc and a sponge named after him.
and its owner, Ambrose Moore, was related in Der shire is ellan ol , arts . In her article on he De t il ill in Der and the i s n and nalds amilies Beverley Ronalds, who lives in Australia and is a descendant of the Ronalds family, throws more light on two other interrelated families and their varied fortunes at the mill. The ibson family was Moore s foundation partner while the Ronalds family was a subse uent occupant. Because the epot Mill was established to throw rather than manufacture silk, the article looks at the opportunities and pressures in this segment of the silk industry during the period of the involvement of the two families. The uite different views of
rmant n ad Der De t ill in a ut when erated the tar ea C m an and e re n ersion int a rewer in essrs iler inter
ra in the th entur undati n e et ell Der
he e et ell head as re ere ted in 1964 at The Croft, Poyser’s Lane, ir an le i htm e
Lon on strate e s estr t e re n er y at a en ort s s er y er ry ‘fireproof’ severe delapidation as on the HE ‘At Risk’
Strutt’s Fireproof Mill, ro n ater ert treet as e te eft on a er y oor era a e a nte y a or en 1 1 entre the hot to e
• er ysh re s e any • s e any • er ysh re s e any From Graham Cole of Mickleover, courtesy Jane Steer:
various histories of the area including the “oak tree ridge” – e
a ell raven e peri l F ilies of ie t o e onthill troud in hard ound pp
his is a su stantial ook and perhaps not for the faint hearted Ro an E perors eing hat the are or ere t is also fairl specialist Ro anophiles and anoraks onl suspect
t deals ith a su ect not previousl tackled in one ork the ra ifications of the Emperors’ fa ilies as far as the are kno n – hich is a deal further than for one had realised hilst it is not for the faint hearted it is still ell ritten eticulousl researched and illustrated ith fa il trees covering the reigns of ulius aesar to aurice
hat ou get is a page introduction to ena le the interested la an understand the origin and evolution of the E pire its political institutions and other necessar e planator aterial here is then a prologue dealing ith aesar and thereafter each e peror gets a potted and ver reada le iograph and account of his reign ith all essential details like full na e and changes st les offices held and so on hen follo s the genealogical ta le – eautifull dra n the author – follo ed by a ‘Brief Lives’ section, meticulously sourced, with potted iographical notes of ost of the relations sho n Regretta l there are no illustrations although the cover is adorned ith three right rogues one ad an o itian one proto re iteer arausius and one class A persecutor of hristians ecius
surpers here referred to as perial lai ants are dealt ith as the occur and innovates atte pting to re define the nu erical se uence of the e perors to include the upstarts hus he heads up Caracalla as ‘Antoninus II (kno n to histor as aracalla)’, so even if you do not take to the idea, you won’t get lost. He ends with some appendices, e g one of agnus Maximus’ legendary British connections another a out the possi ilit of genealogical continuit
Even if ou find the detail of the rief ives too uch to read the i perial iographies on their o n provides a ver reada le and relativel co prehensive political histor of the E pire ell o served and ell up ith recent scholarship t also underlines ho ore closel e perors ere related to each other throughout the ears he ualit of production is e cellent the onl ui le is that counted a do en t pos hich suppose in odd pages is not too ad R
I feel sure that most Archaeological ociety members will know all about erby Museums, but in the absence of any superfluity of material for the current e sletter, I thought it might be helpful to say something, for the Museums at erby have been run by as an independent charitable rust since ctober , and that trust has wholly transformed the museums the original museum in the Wardwick (opened 1879), the Silk Mill (opened 1974) and Pickford’s House, opened in .
hen your editor was appointed to the staff of the Museum in , there was a purchase fund of , per annum, which, apart from the cost of buying the odd oseph right (which even then were way beyond ourout means) did us very well. et over the years, ceaseless reductions were made, although a change of control in temporarily halted the decline, soon afterwards negated by the Council having to match fund the ride ark re generation scheme. By the time I was made redundant and my four man department abolished in , the purchase fund was ero and had been since , following yet another change of control.
At that time, many Museums were looking to move to independent trust status, and as chairman of the riends of erby Museums from , I initiated a campaign to try and persuade the Council to take such an idea seriously. After all, we reminded them, although they would re uire continuing core funding, the whole running cost of museums would be removed from the balance sheet, including the administration and office costs. he Council would continue to own the collections and the buildings (for the maintenance of which they would continue to be responsible) and an independent trust would recruit staff and run the organisation, raise money, add to the collections without any veto, and so on.
This was consistently stone walled, despite a serious attempt to close Pickford’s House for good in . However, at a manifesto meeting in we manged to get the local Conservatives to adopt a plan to vest the Museums into a trust and, having won shared power at the following election and much to everyone’s surprise, proceeded to put the idea into action, headed by Alan rimadell as cabinet member. By the time the Conservatives lost control again in , things were too far advanced to be reversed, and the erby Museums rust took over the following year, with a promised protected subvention from the Council and another from Arts Council England. At that time, we were generating a paltry of our own income.
I was lucky enough to be nominated the Friends’ representative on the Trust from the start, which was very effectively chaired until by eter mith, a local solicitor. ince then, the council (of all shades of political kidney) have been cutting their share of our grant, despite our having secured a , , LH grant ( , , total) to re vamp the ilk Mill as a Museum of Making due, until the current pestilence, to open in eptember this year. ow it looks as if it will have to wait until early next year. ecently the Council wanted to cut our subvention entirely, which would of course, result in the Arts Council pulling their funding and the LH to stop their grant, thus halting all development for good. hen we informed them the cost of mothballing the entire museum, the idea was dropped, but it puts our excellent
e ecutive director, Tony utler, in an invidious position in that every year when the budget round begins once again, he has to go cap in hand to the elected members to beg for the subvention to maintained at present (depleted) levels at the very least nother problem is that ouncils of both main parties have floated the idea of selling parts of the collections to meet funding shortfalls, largely of their own making, usually enthusiastically supported by the local paper ach time, the pointless short termism of such notions have to be again laboriously e plained
evertheless, huge strides have been made oth Pickford’s house and the Wardwick Museums have been much improved, the latter immeasurably The old natural history gallery off the reception area on the first floor has been transformed into a natural world themed space, wonderfully presented for learning and en oyment The recent natural history gallery is now a World ultures allery, in which all the rich ethnic collections have been re presented after been confined to store when we re presented the archaeological gallery which they shared in 198 84 earby a completely revamped Military allery celebrating the 9th 1 th ancers, the erbyshire egiment (9 th, later 4 th 9 th Sherwood Foresters, now nd bn the Mercians)
er Museu r i t e e tur l istor se tio M
The council’s desire for cuts also led to a reduction in the libraries, resulting in the library’s section of the 1879 building becoming empty The Trust umped at the chance to take this over, for we had been growing our income very considerably since 1 by using the spacious ground floor gallery of the Silk Mill for hire for weddings, ar Mit vahs and funerals (as it were), but once work began on transforming the Silk Mill, we lost this space and, keen to maintain self generated income at its new, much higher, level, we are currently using it for corporate and family events, too f the ouncil will allow us to retain it long term, we see an important opportunity to rationalise and greatly improve the displays on this site
The esprit e orps built u o er the ast fi e years, after an ad ittedly difficult start, has been a onder to behold, and under our current chair an, li abeth othergill , the trust has fir lans to continue de elo ent o er and beyond the o ening of the useu s of a ing hene er that ay be
Fu r isi fu e o e er nlighten ent all t t e Sil Mill er Museu Frie s
or those interested in archaeology, the gallery our tea ut in lace in has yet to undergo a radical re a , although the rather con oluted route through it, insisted u on by the director of the day, has been elided and the centre iece is still aldor an ethel ulf’s agnificent interlace sarco hagus still stubbornly and inaccurately ur orting to be that of t l und and the onderfully ero ingian i age of ing ethelbald of ercia car ed u on the sur i ing frag ent of the e ton cross shaft, unearthed by artin iddle, ho also o ened the gallery in
The re ainder of the useu is orth a isit and, by the ti e you read this, isits should again be ossible, including Pickford’s House and its Georgian garden. The Trust needs all the su ort it can get, so do not hesitate, e en in these straitened ti es, to ris oining the erby useu riends as that body is no called or su orting us in any ay you can ‘…every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building renamed…’ ro George Orwell’s biting critique of the Soviet Communism’s attitude to the ast, fro his rescient no el, still horrifyingly rele ant, i etee i t Four
MICKLEOVER
In case it helps Mr. Cole’s enquiry, I have found a 6in: 1ml. map of Mickleover c. 1924 and have cropped it to show the riarfield ay area. did think the route of riarfield ay was dictated by the ha ha of The imes below , but see from the map that this was perfectly straight. The surviving trees were probably part of the landscaping of the house, attributable to ichard eaper and built in . have a nasty feeling that all other features, including the sweeping curves of riarfield ay, are the result of the predilections of the engineers who put the through in y book An Illustrated History of Derby’s Suburbs reedon, erby gives a broad brush idea of Mickleover’s history; Derby Local Studies Library have a copy when you can get in and much more besides, including all the early maps you need. C
i leo er The imes sout front it t e Ayre fa ily on t e terra e oto ra ed by i ard eene
DERBYSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SECTION OFFICERS 2019-2020
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH GROUP
Chairman Ann Jones Secretary and CBA representative Janette Jackson Programme Secretary Anne Haywood Treasurer John d’Arcy Fieldwork Officer David Budge Council Representative Joan d’Arcy
ARCHITECTURAL SECTION
Chairman John d’Arcy Secretary Alison Haslam Treasurer Malcolm Busfield Programme secretary sede vacante Council Representative John d’Arcy
LOCAL HISTORY SECTION
Chairman Joan d’Arcy Vice-chairman sede vacante Secretary Joan Davies Treasurer Norma Consterdine Council Representative Susan Peberdy
INDUSTRIAL ARCHAELOGY SECTION
Chairman Ian Mitchell Vice-chairman Anne Allcock Secretary Jane Heginbotham Treasurer Alastair Gilchrist Programme Secretary Peter Robinson Council representative Peter Robinson
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Rear cover: Matlock Bath, top by William Marlow [Christies], below by John Bluck. [DMT]