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Calver

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CALVER, a hamlet in the parish of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, in the county of Derby, 4 miles to the N. of Bakewell. It is on the banks of the river Derwent. Limestone is quarried and burnt here, and some of the inhabitants are employed in the cotton trade.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

The Dronfield Library is an excellent resource with a Local History section and a Family History section.

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Bibliography

  • EDWARDS, Brian - Calver, Curbar and Froggatt in Old Photographs. Northend of Sheffield, 2005. ISBN 0-9525064-9-1.
     
  • Calver - A Booklet for the Millennium. Published locally, 2000.
     
  • MacKENZIE, M. H; Parker, Vanessa - Calver Mill and its owners. Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, 1963.
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Cemeteries

Trevor LITTLEWOOD has a photograph of the gravestones in the churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2016.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Bakewell sub-district of the Bakewell Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2149
1861R.G. 9 / 2538
1891R.G. 12 / 2773
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Church History

  • There appears to be no Anglican parish church in Calver.
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Church Records

  • Parishioners would use All Saints Anglican church in Curbar.
     
  • An Anglican church would be in the rural deanery of Eyam.
     
  • Louis R. MILLS has provided a handful of burials found in the grave indexes. Your additions and corrections are welcomed.
     
  • The Primitive Methodists built a chapel here in 1860.
     
  • Roger TEMPLE has a photograph of the Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
     
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2014.
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Bakewell sub-district of the Bakewell Registration District.
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Description & Travel

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

"CALVER is a hamlet, in the parish of Bakewell; one mile E. S.E. from Stoney Middleton, situate upon the river Derwent. It contains a considerable cotton mill, and the neighbourhood abounds with lime-stone. The population, by the parliamentary returns for 1831, amounted to 616."

Calver is a small village in the Derwent Valley The A623 trunk road between Manchester and Chesterfield runs through the village. You might enjoy Barbara Whiteman's photographs of Calver.

Alan HEARDMAN has an almost overhead photograph of Calvar Village on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2007.

You can see pictures of Calver which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

  • The land in the parish was primarily used for grazing.
     
  • Tim GLOVER has a photograph of the Eyre Arms Public House on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2017.
     
  • An historic cotton mill was opened here in 1778 by John GARDOM of Bakewell and John PARES of Leicester. This mill replaced an older corn mill.
     
  • In 1799 the River Derwent washed away the Calver Bridge and part of the village cotton mill. Shortly after this, the rest of the mill burned to the ground. A new mill was built and opened in 1804. The mill provided work to 200 people by 1830.
     
  • The cotton mill was converted, post WWII, to a stainless steel holloware manufactory. About 30 years ago the building was restored for use as apartments.
     
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK235744 (Lat/Lon: 53.265911, -1.64907), Calver which are provided by:

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Military History

  • Basher EYRE has a photograph of the War Memorial for Calver, Curbar and Froggett in front of All Saints church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2015.
     
  • During the Second World War the closed up cotton mill was used as a storage depot and as a plant for crushing and washing fluorspar used in steelmaking.
     
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Military Records

  • For a list of the names on the War Memorial, see the Roll of Honour site.
     
  • Basher EYRE has a photograph of George Victor BRADWELL's Commonwealth War Grave in All Saints churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2015. George died 18 Oct 1915 whilst serving in "B" company of the 12th Btln., Sherwood Foresters.
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Names, Geographical

Wikipedia tells us that the name Calver is from the Old English for "Calf Slope".

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient hamlet and township in Bakewell parish in Derbyshire and became a modern Civil Parish in December, 1866.
     
  • This parish was in the ancient High Peak Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • You may contact the Calvar Parish Council regarding civic or political matters. They are NOT funded to help you with family history searches.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Derbyshire Dales District Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Bakewell petty session hearings.
     
  • There is an index of Calver Bastardy Paper held at the DRO on the Yesterdays Journey website. Select "Bastardy Papers" on the left side, then "Calver" from the list of parishes displayed.
     
  • As a result of the Poorlaw Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a member of the Bakewell Poorlaw Union.
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Schools

Cliff College was founded in Bolton in 1883. It moved to Calver in 1904. The college was a Methodist Lay Training college. Today, the college provides training to a number of different Christian denominations.

An upper room at Stocking Farm barn was used for a school room in the early 19th century until around 1875.