Derbyshire History – Page 2 – Country Images Magazine

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Places Pevsner Forgot – Hilcote

February 27, 2022 Alistair Plant

It seemed incredible to us that a settlement containing perhaps the finest miners’ cottages in the Midlands should have been missed by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in his travels. Possibly, in 1953, when compiling the first edition of his guide to Derbyshire in his historic series The Buildings of England and having visited Blackwell, of which […]

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Lost Houses

Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Old Foremark Hall

February 27, 2022 Alistair Plant

The estate at Foremark, where once the invading Vikings over-wintered in 783-784, was granted to Nigel de Stafford,a (genuine) comrade-in-arms of the Conqueror and ancestor in the male line of the Stafford, Longford and Gresley families. His family’s later sub-tenant was a junior member of the powerful de Ferrers family, whence it passed through an […]

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Glossop & Old Glossop

January 9, 2022 VickyP

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 […]

Lost Houses

The Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Willington House

February 23, 2021 VickyP

I think I am right in saying that Willington House must rank as Derbyshire’s most recent lost house. At any rate, if there have been subsequent casualties, I would be pleased to hear from anyone who can tell me about them. Willington House – never the sort of architectural set piece to send the pulses […]

Lost Houses

Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Stretton-in-Shirland

February 15, 2021 VickyP

It is entirely through the thorough researches undertaken by Gladwyn Turbutt that we have a good, comprehensive history of this lost house and its occupants. Derbyshire historian Stephen Glover wrote in around 1832 that the house overlooked ‘one of the finest valleys in the county’ and if you were to go to our excellent Museum […]

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Alison Uttley’s Cromford – then & now

February 15, 2021 VickyP

In the 1930s, countryside author Alison Uttley wrote a series of short essays based on her childhood experiences in and around Cromford. These were later produced in book-form by Scarthin Books. Currently out of print, it is possible to find a much-cherished second hand copy; armed with one of them, Brian Spencer looks for what […]

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In the footsteps of King Richard III

August 25, 2020 VickyP

While we know the central and western parts of the Yorkshire Dales, the eastern edges alongside the Vale of York are, to say the least, a bit hazy to us. After doing a bit of research, we found that Richard spent his childhood and trained in knightly skills at Middleham Castle in the lower reaches […]

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South Wingfield Station – A Lost Beauty

February 25, 2020 Alistair Plant

The large, attractive village of South Wingfield no longer relies on mining coal, or producing knitted fabrics for its industries, but has become a quiet dormitory town for the surrounding area. Its one major feature is Wingfield Manor. It was here that Mary Queen of Scots was held captive for several years, all the while […]

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Collecting Vintage Fountain Pens

September 25, 2018 VickyP

When I was first sent to school it was de rigeur that one wrote in ink with a pen. As six and seven year olds we had cheap dip pens with a ceramic ink-well inserted into our desks, but by the time I reached prep school at ten one had to be equipped with a […]

Lost Houses

Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Devonshire House, Derby

September 4, 2018 VickyP

A great friend who is the senior caseworker for the Georgian Group, was asked by the City Council to comment on an application to convert the upper floors of 35, Cornmarket into flats. Our own Conservation Area Advisory committee, which until recently I chaired, had already questioned the applicant’s desire to remove the surviving staircase […]