Wonders of the Peak

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Local History

Eyam Parish Church – Parish Church of St Lawrence

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eyam-parish-church

The story of the plague is centred around this parish church.

When the plague struck in August 1665 it was the rector William Mompesson, aided by his predecessor Thomas Stanley, who was the driving force behind Eyam’s extraordinary, self-imposed quarantine. 30% of the village’s population perished in the following 14 months.

Mompesson’s wife Catherine died on the 25th August 1666, almost exactly one year after the outbreak began. Her tomb (centre of image above), a memorial to Thomas Stanley and the headstone of Abel Rowland can all be found close to the south side of the church – as can an 8th century Celtic cross. Here you’ll also find an impressive sundial, dating from 1775.

Like a shadow, so passes life

As well as telling the time in Eyam, the sundial’s shadow indicates noon for various places around the world. The Latin engraving at the top of the dial translates as “Cultivate an enquiring mind”, and on the corbels upon which the sundial is attached, “Like a shadow, so passes life”.

Catherine’s tomb, designed by her husband, also contains a latin inscription which reads as “Beware ye know not the hour”.

As you tour the village you will find many buildings contain small green plaques providing details of plague victims.

Website: http://www.eyam-church.org/

Eyam Parish Church – Parish Church of St Lawrence

by

eyam-parish-church

The story of the plague is centred around this parish church.

When the plague struck in August 1665 it was the rector William Mompesson, aided by his predecessor Thomas Stanley, who was the driving force behind Eyam’s extraordinary, self-imposed quarantine. 30% of the village’s population perished in the following 14 months.

Mompesson’s wife Catherine died on the 25th August 1666, almost exactly one year after the outbreak began. Her tomb (centre of image above), a memorial to Thomas Stanley and the headstone of Abel Rowland can all be found close to the south side of the church – as can an 8th century Celtic cross. Here you’ll also find an impressive sundial, dating from 1775.

Like a shadow, so passes life

As well as telling the time in Eyam, the sundial’s shadow indicates noon for various places around the world. The Latin engraving at the top of the dial translates as “Cultivate an enquiring mind”, and on the corbels upon which the sundial is attached, “Like a shadow, so passes life”.

Catherine’s tomb, designed by her husband, also contains a latin inscription which reads as “Beware ye know not the hour”.

As you tour the village you will find many buildings contain small green plaques providing details of plague victims.

Website: http://www.eyam-church.org/

Monsal Trail – Cressbrook

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Print showing ‘Cressbook Dale and Mill, near Buxton’, 1850.

You should be standing facing the interpretation panel at the side of the trail. Across the fields you should be able to see the impressive Cressbrook Mill. The print above shows the mill in its heydey during the 1850s, making high-quality cotton for the lace-making industry.

The original mill, built in 1779 by Sir Richard Arkwright, was burnt down in 1785. It was rebuilt in 1787 by Sir Richard Arkwright Jnr, and a further large extension was built in 1814. The mill ceased spinning in 1965.

[Read more…] about Monsal Trail – Cressbrook

Wirksworth, Babington House (The Cottage Hospital)

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Publisher: “The Adam Bede Series”, George Marsden & Sons, Wirksworth.

Babington House has a very long and distinguished history, and has served many different roles since its construction in around 1630. It sits within what resembles a small quarry, and the stone from this area was used to build the house. It began its life as house for the Babington Family.

From 1724-1829 the property became a Workhouse, and from 1867-1927 a Cottage Hospital, it later became the Maternity Hospital. The house returned to private use when the hospital relocated to Waltham House.

Locals have indicated that this postcard could well date from the time of the Great War, where recovering soldiers were returning from action to rest and recuperate. They have indicated that the figure in the foreground is a certain Nurse Penny.

Lucy Gannon the writer who wrote the Peak Practice series for TV once lived at the house in the 1990s, and her friends Dawn French and Lenny Henry were often seen visiting, along with Simon Shepard who rented a house up the top of Greenhill.

[Read more…] about Wirksworth, Babington House (The Cottage Hospital)

Wirksworth, Adam Bede’s Cottage

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Publisher: J. Watterson, Photo, A Barker & Sons, Printers, Wirkworth

The novelist, George Eliot (1819-1890) used the town of Wirksworth as her inspiration for her book “Adam Bede”. Indeed there are number of associations with the town throughout her literary career, for instance the Haarlem Mill opposite has been suggested as the location for her novel “The Mill on the Floss”.  The actual inspiration of “Adam Bede’s cottage” remains disputed with some scholars claiming the novels location is in fact the village of Ellastone on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border where Eliot’s father lived.

This cottage is where Samuel Evans and his wife Elizabeth came to live around 1814. George Eliot, whose real name was Mary Ann Evans, and was their niece, came to stay with her aunt and uncle in 1826. Wirksworth made such an impression on Eliot that she wrote her novel renaming the town “Snowfield”. The origin of the plot came from Eliot’s aunt, who had visited a young girl in Nottingham Prison. This girl, Hetty Sorrel had been condemned to death for the murder of her child. Aunt Elizabeth stayed with Hetty the night before the execution and they prayed together.

[Read more…] about Wirksworth, Adam Bede’s Cottage

The Eagle Hotel

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the-eagle
The Eagle Hotel in 1933

 

The Duke of Devonshire built The Eagle Hotel in 1760 to replace The Eagle and Child. For a time it was known as the Devonshire Hotel but eventually reverted back to The Eagle.

The museum possesses a number of invoices and insurance papers that belonged to Robert Thompson who was a former proprietor of the hotel. These documents give us an idea of some of the costs involved in running a hotel in the period.

[Read more…] about The Eagle Hotel