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BAKEWELL, Derbyshire - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]

"BAKEWELL, a parish and market town in the hundred of High Peak, in the county of Derby, 25 miles to the N.W. of Derby, and 152 miles from London. It is a station on the Stockport and Buxton branch of the North Western railway. Bakewell is the largest and most populous parish in Derbyshire, extending above 20 miles in length from E. to W., and above 8 miles in breadth, and comprising in all 21 townships and several hamlets of these the following are chapelries:- Ashford, Baslow, Beeley, Buxton, Chelmorton, Longstone, Monyash, Sheldon, Taddington, Rowsley, and King's Sterndale.

The town of Bakewell is a very ancient place. Some suppose that it was a Roman station, a Roman altar having been found in the neighbourhood. It appears to have been in existence as early as the reign of Edward the Elder, by whom a castle was founded there. Its Saxon name was Badecanwillan, which, by the wear and tear of a thousand years has been ground down to Bakewell. Between these two forms occur those of Badcquella and Bauquella. At the Conquest this place was given to the Peverells. Having passed, by forfeiture, to the crown, it was given by King John to Ralph Gernon. The Vernon family became, in 1502, the next owners, from whom it came, in the reign of Elizabeth, by marriage, to the Rutland family, who now hold the manor.

The town stands on the south bank of the river Wye, on a hillside, in the midst of a beautiful country. It is paved, and lighted with gas. The working of the black marble which is obtained in the district, forms an important branch of the local industry. There is a beautiful manufactory in the town, consisting of the inlaying of marble, agate, cornelian, &c., some fine specimens of which were exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862, and were declared equal to the best examples of Florentine art. Many persons are also employed in the lead mines and the chert works. The cotton manufacture was introduced by Arkwright, but it is not now carried on regularly. Hosiery is made to a small extent.

The baths, which were apparently in use at the time of the Romans, are slightly chalybeate. The supply of water is abundant, the composition 60° of Fahrenheit. There is a large plunging bath and several smaller ones which are warmed by artificial heat. The present baths, erected by the Duke of Rutland, attract many visitors to the town, but are capable of great improvement. There is a literary institution, a library and reading-rooms in connection with it, and a museum of natural history and antiquities. The town has also a court-house (an ancient building lately restored), a townhall, a dispensary, and a savings-bank.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Lichfield, of the value of £460, in the patronage of the dean and chapter. The church is dedicated to All Saints. It is a very ancient building in the form of a cross, in various styles of architecture. The western part is Norman, of the date probably of King John, by whom it is related the church was rebuilt. In the north transept there is a good specimen of a perpendicular window; in the south transept there are some admirable early English arches and lancet windows, and the Vernon chapel adjoining is lighted by three beautifully decorated windows.

The tower, surmounted by a spire, rises from the centre. A complete and costly restoration of the whole structure was effected in 1846. It contains several monuments of great interest:- One to Sir Godfrey Foljambe and his spouse, consisting of canopied effigies, carved in alabaster; another of a knight in armour; and several of the Vernons and Manners. The font is old and curious, and in the churchyard is a sculptured cross. Besides the parish church there are eleven district churches and chapels of ease within the parish, and several places of worship belonging to Protestant Dissenters.

The free grammar school was founded in 1637 by Lady Manners, and is endowed with £50 per annum. The other charitable endowments of the town, including the hospital dedicated to St. John, amount to about £75. Those of the whole parish amount to £382. Bakewell is the seat of a County Court district, and of a Poor-law Union; a polling place for the county elections, and a petty sessions town. The trout and grayling which abound in the Wye attract many disciples of Izaak Walton to this place. Friday is the market day, and a sale of cattle takes place every second Monday. Fairs are held on Easter Monday and Whit-Monday, the 26th of August and the Mondays after the 10th October and the 11th November."

"HARTHILL, a township in the parish of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, county Derby, 3 miles S.W. of Bakewell, and 6 from Rowsley Magna."

"HARTLE, a township in the parish of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, county Derby, 3 miles S.E. of Bakewell. It is situated near Haddon Hall."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin HINSON ©2003]