Old Whittington One Place Study

An account taken from the Derbyshire Courier 2 September 1848

 

Whittington in 1848 had still not been divided into New, Old and Moor when this excerpt was written for the  Topographical Dictionary of England  (originally published by S Lewis London 1848).

Whittington (St. Bartholomew)

WHITTINGTON (St. Bartholomew,) a parish, in the union of Chesterfield, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 2¼ miles (N.) from Chesterfield; containing 751 inhabitants. A former public-house here is distinguished by the name of the Revolution House, from the adjournment to it of a select meeting of friends to liberty and the Protestant religion, held on Whittington moor early in 1688, at which the Earl (afterwards Duke) of Devonshire, the Earl of Derby (afterwards Duke of Leeds), Lord Delamere, and Mr. John D’Arcy, eldest son of the Earl of Holderness, attended. When the centenary anniversary of that event was commemorated in Derbyshire, in 1788, the committee dined on the preceding day at this house; and on the anniversary, a sermon was preached in the parochial church by Dr. Pegge, the celebrated antiquary, then rector, before the descendants of those illustrious persons, and a large assemblage of the most distinguished families of the county, who afterwards went in procession to take refreshment at the Revolution House, and then proceeded to Chesterfield to dinner. The house, with the venerable chair which has stood in the “Plotting Parlour” since 1688, and which was occupied by the Earl of Devonshire during the memorable conference, was recently sold for £725. The building is in a most dilapidated state, and has long ceased to be available for an inn; its sign is now borne by a substantial newly-built house adjoining. The parish comprises 1573a. 2r. 25p., a considerable portion being uninclosed moor, on which the Chesterfield races are held; potters’ clay of good quality is found, and the manufacture of earthenware is carried on to a considerable extent. The Chesterfield canal and the Midland railway pass through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £7. 10. 10.; net income, £302; patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The tithes were partly exchanged for corn-rents, under an act of inclosure, in 1821, and the remainder have been lately commuted for a rentcharge of £183. 6.; the glebe comprises 33 acres. The church is an ancient structure; the chancel was rebuilt in 1827. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free school was founded in 1674, by Peter Webster, who in 1678 gave £200 to purchase land for it; and Joshua Webster, in 1681, gave some land for teaching ten children: the total income is £73. A chalybeate spring here was formerly much resorted to.

The information was taken from the following website, which holds facts and information for many English towns and villages.

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/

 

Been to the Local Studies library today and found this engraving of Whittington Church in Fords History of Chesterfield. It is not dated and doesn’t mention any information about it but the book was published in 1839 so that gives a rough idea of the date.

Even though it is showing a funeral I think its a very detailed picture of Whittington church and churchyard.

Taken from the Derby Mercury 7th April 1796.

The obituary for Rev Dr Samuel Pegge (1704-1796). Samuel Pegge was born in Chesterfield and served as Rector of Whittington for 45 years.

Rev Dr Samuel Pegge was a well known Old Whittington resident and was also a well respected Antiquarian and Archaeologist.
(Picture of Samuel Pegge taken from Wikipedia.org)

         

I thought I would start a new chapter on the Old Whittington one Place study website https://oldwhittingtonops.com/newspaper-reports/

As I was researching the men on the war memorial I was coming across all sorts different newspaper reports concerning Old Whittington. I thought I would try and share a few on here and also on the webpage.

Todays offering is a celebration of the Centenary of the ‘Glorious revolution’ from the Derbyshire Mercury 2nd October 1788. From the sounds of it quite a big celebration – the cost 1 guinea! Checking the currency convertor website one guinea in 1790 would be the equivalent of £80 now, so the celebrations would only be open to the wealthy of the area!

Over the past 18 months I have tried to find photos of all of the men who ‘Never returned’ to Old Whittington.  Some have been provided by family members, some from the Derbyshire Times records at the Local Studies Library and the remainder from the British Newspaper Archives website (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/).

Sadly I was unable to find all of them, and some by now are understandably grainy, but the 66 I have found I have made into a collage.  The one thing that stands out from the photos is just how young many of the men actually were.

If any relations of the men have photos they would like to share, the website can be updated at any time.

In Flanders Fields

 by John McRae (May 1915)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

William Wood was the last man I typed up, not the last man I researched as I have been researching several at a time, but William was a bit of a puzzle and I wanted to be as sure as I could be that all the facts were correct.

I feel fairly confident that all the information is correct, it has been cross referenced and Louise Booth, who has done the excellent research on the New Whittington memorial (where William is also remembered) has come to the same conclusion about William.

His story can be read at https://oldwhittingtonops.com/wood-william/