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BEAUCHIEF (ex. par.), Derbyshire

"BEAUCHIEFF ABBEY, a village extra parochial, in the same hundred as Dronfield, is situate in a beautiful vale, about three miles and a half from that town. The abbey was founded between the years 1172 and 1176, for regular canons of the Premonstratensian order, by Robert Fitz-Ranulph, lord of Alfreton, in expiation for having conspired with the other knights who slew Thomas-a-Becket." [There is further information for Beauchief]

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

Directories

• A Description of Beauchief has been transcribed by Heather Faulkes from Pigot's Directory of 1828-9.

• A Description of Beauchieff Abbey and Directory for Dronfield, with the villages of Beauchieff, Norton, Holmesfield, Dore, Totley, Unstone and neighbourhoods transcribed from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835 by Rosemary Lockie.

• Transcription of section of Kelly's Directory (1891) for Beauchief by Ann Andrews. Added 1 Mar 2007.

Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Beauchief Abbey from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

Names, Geographical

• "This is a typical French name for a monastic site 'the beautiful headland', from OFr. beau (v. bel) chef, cf. Beachy Head (Sussex). The abbey was situated near a hill-spur."
  (Ref: The Place-Names of Derbyshire, K. Cameron, Cambridge University Press, 1959)

  See also Dore.

  Note: 'Beauchief' is pronounced locally as 'Beech-iff' ('Beech' as in tree), and with emphasis on the first syllable. Typically, Derbyshire dialect swallows the last syllables of words!

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