Castleton and Its Old Inhabitants.

Transcription

1 Castleton and Its Old Inhabitants. Chapter 3. A Feast of Facts and Curious Tales. The Menagerie Travelling menageries with their exotic wild animals would tour the countryside visiting towns, cities and fairgrounds. In 1855, Edmond s, late Wombwell s, Windsor Castle Menagerie was travelling between Sheffield and Manchester when it came to Castleton on April 5 th. One can only imagine the colourful scene and excitement in the village that day. Right; hand-painted print (circa ) of Wombwell s visit to Windsor Castle; produced by G. Webb and Co., London. * Reproduced by kind permission of Matthew Ford. Tigers, giraffes, lions and double-headed snakes were amongst the exhibits, and some were made to perform; the huge Burmese elephant would stand on his own head. Creatures from the Amazon were exhibited including a giant boa constrictor that had been in the process of swallowing a whole goat as it was captured on the banks of the river. Admission was a shilling, sixpence for children. Left; advertisement for Edmond s, late Wombwell s, Windsor Castle Menagerie which was to exhibit at Castleton 5 th April Sheffield Independent 31 March 1855 Image THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED /002/0001

2 Above; detail from the advertisement in Image THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Menageries were certainly not to everyone s taste and they gradually became attached to circuses. However, the image of these exotic animals travelling through the village in Victorian England would still have been a grand sight; it would have been wonderful if someone had captured the scene on camera. *Wombwell s menagerie had been exhibited at Windsor Castle, seen by Queen Victoria and her family. It was renamed Edmonds, late Wombwell s, Windsor Castle Menagerie after it was inherited by Wombwell s niece around 1850; that was its name when it came to Castleton in A Curious Castleton Phenomenon In 1783, whilst many natural disasters were happening across the world, the Derby Mercury chose to add Castleton s own curious little tale to the theory that the axis of the Earth may have shifted. It was generally suspected that our planet must have undergone some great change that would account for these global disasters Castleton s old inhabitants could prove it! They describe Castleton as being situated at the north of a very steep mountain, the shadow of which covered much of the village throughout the winter. Some houses had no sunshine at all for weeks. Above; Castleton lying at the foot of a very steep mountain circa Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society.

3 Many of the ancient persons who dwelt in these houses said that, after the shortest day of the year, sunshine now entered their homes several days earlier than it did some fifteen years ago. Also a meadow near the foot of the mountain that they remember always being in shadow, was now never totally shaded. They were convinced, without a doubt that the axis of the Earth had indeed shifted. Right; read this curious tale for yourself. Derby Mercury 11 September Image THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. co.uk/viewer/bl/ / / 002/0001 Although the hill had not changed, nor the axis of the Earth, there were changes made to the English calendar in 1751 and Eleven days were lost in September 1752 when we adopted the Gregorian calendar but whether this would account for this phenomenon observed by the old inhabitants I have absolutely no idea! Left; Castleton nestling at the foot of Castle Hill and Peak Cavern Gorge, leaving many cottages shaded throughout the winter months. Peak Cavern, Derbyshire 1864 by Robert Gallon ( ). Photo Credit - Lancaster City Museums.

4 From the Castleton Burial Registers. Our Parish Burial Registers are fascinating, and offer us a window through which we may glimpse the past. The following entries reflect both life and death in Castleton many years ago. Anna Hall It appears we had a wise woman living here three centuries ago. Anna Hall was a widow; she died and was buried here in She was commonly known as Wisdom Nan of Castleton. Above; Anna Hall s entry in the Burial Register 19 th March The Latin Vulgo vocat means commonly known as. Image reproduced courtesy of Revs Ian Davis & Jo Barnes, and Derbyshire Record Office D1432 A/PI 1/1. This old Inhabitant of Castleton may have had knowledge of herbs used for medicines, been a midwife or she may even have told fortunes. To date, nothing more is known about her than this. Rebeccah Cock Nicholas Cock was one of the supposed Winnats Pass murderers of the Eighteenth Century. In April 1746 he married Mary Barber in Castleton Church. They had several children including a little girl, Rebeccah. Rebeccah was only two years old when she drowned accidentally in the brook in Some of the Cock family lived up Goosehill, and also on the Island Rebeccah may have drowned in Peakshole Water nearby. Right; Entrance to the Peak Cavern, Derbyshire Engraved by S. Rawle from a drawing by I. Nixon. The Trustees of the British Museum. Above; Rebeccah Cock s entry in the Burial Register 14 th October Image reproduced courtesy of Revs Ian Davis & Jo Barnes, and Derbyshire Record Office D1432 A/PI 1/2.

5 Joseph Flinders Joseph Flinders married Ann Barber in Castleton Church in Their son, also Joseph, died in the smallpox outbreak here in 1759, aged 3. Joseph himself was run over and killed in he was unfortunately killed by ye wheel of a cart running over him. Above; Joseph Flinders entry in the Burial Register 22 nd June Image reproduced courtesy of Revs Ian Davis & Jo Barnes, and Derbyshire Record Office D1432 A/PI 1/2. William Oldfield One of the most poignant entries has to be that of William Oldfield who destroyed himself by hanging, in ye Poor House in No more is known of William s life, to date, than his death entry in the Burial Register. It could be suggested that he too may have been one of the Winnats Pass murderers, possibly due to the nature and date of his death. Although his name was certainly not mentioned in the confession by James Ashton in 1778 one of the five supposed murderers has not yet been traced with any accuracy. Below; William Oldfield s entry in the Burial Register 22nd February Image reproduced courtesy of Revs Ian Davis & Jo Barnes, and Derbyshire Record Office D1432 A/PI 1/2. Poor Houses were known to exist off Back Street; these buildings were underneath where the current school and yard is today. Right; detail from a plan of Castleton in 1819 showing part of Back Street. No. 178 refers to Poor Houses and garden owned by the Township of Castleton. Plan & Survey of Castleton 1819, B Staley D911 Z/P1-2. Derbyshire Record Office. This area looks very different today, but No. 179 shows (today) Causeway House, and No. 154 in the bottom left corner is (today) the Nag s Head Dining Room.

6 Isaac Royse (also Rose) Isaac Royse or Rose was buried on 7 th June He died after being struck by lightning - Isaac, son of Joseph and Mary Royse, killed in the coe, situate in the Top-Linicar, by lightening. A coe was a small cabin above a mine shaft used for storing miner s tools, clothes and food etc. Isaac had been sitting with a woman in the coe when they were both struck by lightning - when the woman came to, she found Isaac dead. The identity of the woman is unknown. Above; Isaac Royse entry in the Burial Register 7 th June Image reproduced courtesy of Revs Ian Davis & Jo Barnes, and Derbyshire Record Office D1432 A/PI 1/3. Isaac was 63 when he died; both his burial record in 1811 and his baptism record in 1747 record him as Royse. For some inexplicable reason his (and the rest of his family s) inscriptions on the gravestone record their name as Rose. The newspaper article this story appeared in also called him Rose. However, given the unlikelihood of two men with similar names both being struck dead by lightning in Castleton on the same day, I think this is just an example of the poor literacy of the day? Right; the gravestone of Isaac Rose (or Royse) and his family. It is just to the right as you enter the Churchyard through the main gates.

7 Thomas Needham. In 1862, Thomas Needham, of Castleton, was sent to prison for a month after being charged with vagrancy; Above; Derby Mercury 10 th September Image THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Described as an old man from Castleton, he was in trouble again three years later, charged with both vagrancy and drunkenness. Having already been cautioned several times, he was given seven days hard labour. However, a stroke of luck may have been coming this old gentleman s way when the following notice appeared in the papers in 1873; Above; Sheffield Independent 28 th July Image THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Sadly it is not known what this advantage was, whether poor Thomas even saw the notice, or ever benefitted from it. The Bull Stake. The term Bull Stake appears in very few old Castleton documents. It refers to the former barbarous and cruel activity of Bull Baiting where a bull would be secured to a stake or ring and teased or baited by dogs as a form of entertainment. Right; 17 th Century inn sign showing Bull Baiting with dogs taking place. Nottingham Evening Post 6 th August Image Local World Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. 21/ /041/0005

8 Micah Hall, a lead miner living at the top of Castle Street/Market Place in the 1800s, received a letter addressed to him at Bull Stake, Castleton, Derbyshire in Right; letter addressed to Bull Stake, Castleton, Derbyshire. Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society. Left; the former arena where Bull Baiting would take place. The 1861 Census also refers to this area as the Bull Stake. Florence Barber, who researched much of Castleton s history, writes, The Bull-Ring; called the Market Place nowadays has not altered a great deal since the days when the better sort of folk, usually the ladies, witnessed the Bull baitings from behind the parapet on the roof of the Hall Left; Florence Barber. Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society. Right; Castleton Hall would have provided an ideal viewing point for a cruel sport.

9 The Rev. Brooksbank, Vicar of Castleton in the early 1900s, also refers to the former Bull Ring in his history notes, where by repute, the inhabitants of Castleton Hall could watch in comfort. Right; Market Place and Bull Stake area in the early 20 th Century. Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society. Given the pieces of evidence here, this cruel sport was almost certainly partaken of by the Old Inhabitants in centuries gone by. Any physical evidence, if it still exists, is now hidden beneath the tarmac. Bull Baiting was finally banned in Visitors and Drunken Violence. In 1875, John Downs, a journeyman cabinet maker from Sheffield, was charged with being drunk and riotous at Castleton. He had been drinking at the George Inn, on Castle Street, where he had also assaulted landlord, Jarvis Swindell. He was fined a total of 15s and costs. Above; the George Inn on Castle Street. Left; Affray in the Village Inn. G.W.Bonner after G. Cruikshank, The Trustees of the British Museum. In August 1886 two Irishmen, Michael Mulligan and James Phillips, had been helping with the harvest. One night Sergeant Gray heard a noisy commotion coming from Back Street and found Mulligan and Phillips fighting at the church gates. Right; the churchyard gate and steps on Back Street.

10 Both were extremely drunk and violent. Help was needed to haul them down to the police cells where their boots were pulled off and the men kept apart. They were charged at Chapel-en-le-Frith, before Mr. Robert How Ashton and Mr. Bagshawe, with being drunk and riotous. Both pleaded guilty and asked for leniency Mulligan was fined 5s, and Phillips 2s 6d or seven days hard labour in gaol. Left; local magistrate Robert How Ashton of Losehill Hall. Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society. In 1898 travelling showman, William Partridge jnr, was charged with being drunk and disorderly in the Market Place. He violently assaulted both farmer George Hall and the local policeman. Right; the Market Place circa Image reproduced courtesy of Castleton Historical Society. His defense was that George Hall had hit him first with a shovel. Found guilty, William Partridge jnr was fined a total of 6 15s after ten previous convictions were proved in many different parts of Derbyshire. Bibliography and further reading. Sheffield Independent 31 st March 1855.The British Newspaper Archive. Derby Mercury 11th September 1783.The British Newspaper Archive. Castleton Parish Registers held at Derbyshire Record Office; Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials ( ) D1432 A/PI 1/1. Register of Baptisms, Marriages (to 1773) and Burials ( ) D1432 A/PI 1/2. Register of Baptisms and Burials ( ) D1432 A/PI 1/3. Bury and Norwich Post 3rd July 1811.The British Newspaper Archive.

11 Derby Mercury 21st April 1785.The British Newspaper Archive. Henderson, Mark. (2010) Murders in the Winnats Pass. Amberley. Plan & Survey of Castleton 1819 B Staley D911 Z/P1-2. Derbyshire Record Office. Castleton Censuses (CHS Archives and Ancestry.co.uk) Derby Mercury 10th September 1862, Derby Mercury 4th January 1865, Sheffield Independent 28th July 1873.The British Newspaper Archive. Castleton, Florence Barber s history notes. (CHS Archives) Brooksbank, Rev J.H. (1925) Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society. Vol III, No. 1, Castleton: Its Traditions, Sayings, Place-Names, Etc. Sheffield: printed by J.W. Northend Ltd. Sheffield Daily Telegraph 17 th September 1875, Sheffield Independent 17 th August 1886, Derbyshire Times 18 th August 1886, Sheffield Daily Telegraph 20 th May 1898.The British Newspaper Archive. Acknowledgements. I wish to acknowledge the following with thanks; The Derbyshire Record Office for permission to both see and photograph our real Parish Registers, their permission and Reverends Ian Davis and Josephine Barnes permission to reproduce images from the Registers. The Castleton Historical Society Trustees for permission to reproduce images from our Archives. Sometimes the origins of old photographs have been lost over time and cannot be traced if this is the case in any pictures used in this history, then please contact our Historical Society so the correct credit/acknowledgement etc. may be given where appropriate. My thanks to Matthew Ford for his kind permission to reproduce Wombwell s Windsor Castle Menagerie print, and to Shaun Everett for his assistance with enabling this. The images from the newspapers are reproduced with the kind permission of the British Newspaper Archive ( My thanks to Karen Green for her assistance with Latin translation. My thanks to the Trustees of the British Museum for permission to reproduce their images which remain their copyright. Thanks to Heather Dowler from the Lancaster City Museums for permission to include their image of Robert Gallon s painting of Peak Cavern, Derbyshire on this website. My thanks go also to Audrey Middleton for permission to use quotations from Florence Barber s Castleton history notes. Many thanks also to Val and Ian Burgess for assistance with editing and putting this article on the CHS Website. All modern images are my own unless otherwise stated. Kay Harrison November 2014.