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Carsington

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CARSINGTON, a parish in the hundred of Wirksworth, in the county of Derby, 2 miles to the W. of Wirksworth, its post town. It is crossed by the Peak Forest railway. The district is hilly, and contains abundance of limestone, and some lead mines. The village stands in a sheltered valley. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield, value £176, in the patronage of the bishop.

The church, which is small and has no tower, is dedicated to St. Margaret. The rectory was held by John Oldfield, one of the Nonconformist ministers ejected in 1662 under the Act of Uniformity, and a century later by Ellis Farneworth, translator of the works of Machiavelli. In the village is a free school, endowed by Mrs. T. Gill in 1726, the income of which is above £80.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

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

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Cemeteries

Mike SPENCER has contributed an extract of Carsington parish register burials for your review. Your additions and corrections are welcomed.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Brassington sub-district of the Ashbourne Registration District.
     
  • The 1851 census for Carsington is transcribed online by John PALMER at Wirksworth parish area records. The 1861 and 1871 census transcriptions are also on that site.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2146
1861R.G. 9 / 2524
1891R.G. 12 / 2756
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Church History

  • In the 7th century, a monk named Betti came down from Northumberland and set up a preaching cross, which now stands on the village green.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret.
     
  • There was a church built here in the 12th century.
     
  • The church was rebuilt in 1648 and thoroughly repaired in 1655.
     
  • The church is a Grade II listed building with British Heritage.
     
  • The church seats 140.
     
  • Andrew ABBOTT has a photograph of St. Margaret's Church on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2020.
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1592 for all entries.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Wirksworth.
     
  • Transcripts of the Carsington registers can be found online at the Derbyshire Family History Society.
     
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Civil Registration

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

"CARSINGTON is a small parish, about two miles and a half W. from Wirksworth, containing a small ancient church, dedicated to St. Margaret; the living is a rectory, of which the dean of Lincoln is the patron. The parish contained, in 1831, 286 inhabitants, who are chiefly supported by agriculture and mining."

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

Carsington is a village, a township and a parish. The parish covered 1,116 acres in 1857 and was mostly dairy farms. The village lies in a sheltered valley six miles north of Belper. Nearby Hopton was a township of Wirksworth parish, but these days the two villages are considered a single entity.

Graham HOGG has a photograph of Carsington Village on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2012.

J. HIGGINS has a photograph of an old milestone on the B5035 just west of Carsington village on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2002.

You can see pictures of Carsington which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

On 3 Jan 1775 Thomas BEARDSLEY married Ann DEACON in Carsington.

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History

  • A Roman settlement in the parish now lies beneath Carsington Water.
     
  • "Row17" has a photograph of the Village Green on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2010. I believe that is the base of the old Saxon Cross in the photo, but have yet to verify that fact.
     
  • Transcription of section of Lysons' Topographical and Historical Account of Derbyshire, 1817, for Carsington by Barbarann AYARS.
     
  • Carsington Water reservoir was opened by the Queen in May 1992.
     
  • There is a memorial near the reservoir to the men killed during the construction.
     
  • The Miners Arms is an 18th century pub and was the centre for local news and conversation. It once stood facing the main road, but the main road was rerouted and is now behind the pub.
     
  • Eamon CURRY has a photograph of The Miners Arms on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2007.
     
  • Here are the names associated with the Miners Amrs Public House in various directories:
YearProprietor
1857George HARDY, vict.
1881Chas. MELLOR, farmer
1891Chas. MELLOR
1899Charles MELLOR, farmer
1912George MATKIN
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Manors

Malcolm NEAL has a photograph of Hopton Hall on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2007.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK244533 (Lat/Lon: 53.076241, -1.636508), Carsington which are provided by:

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Military History

  • In 1912, Lieut.-Col. Harry Anthony CHANDOS-POLE-GELL of Hopton Hall was the lord of the manor. He died in 1934.
     
  • John PALMER tells us that: "Thomas BREAKELL 1895-1963 was born in Carsington Hall near Wirksworth. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, learned to fly and joined the RFC fighting in France with 58 then 102 Squadrons."
     
  • There is a Book of Remembrance for Carsington and Hopton in St Margaret's Church, Carsington.
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Military Records

Names from the Book of Remembrance (WWI):

  1. James Alsop, rifleman
  2. Francis Bacon (Senr.), private
  3. Isaac Bacon, gunner
  4. John Bacon, private
  5. Horace Buxton, private
  6. Norrie Buxton, privaten
  7. Alfred Doxey, sapper
  8. William Doxey, private
  9. Arthur Fincham, rifleman
  10. Harry Chandos-Pole Gell, Brigadier General
  11. Philip Harrison, private
  12. Reginald Harrison, rifleman
  13. Walter Lamb, private
  14. Joseph Maddocks, private
  15. Samuel Maddocks, private
  16. George Maskrey, sapper
  17. Joseph Maskrey, private
  18. Robert Maskrey, private
  19. George Matkin, private
  20. Samuel Matkin, private
  21. Thurston Matkin, private
  22. Edward Monger, private
  23. Edward Oldfield, private
  24. Frederick Repton, private
  25. George Repton, private
  26. James Slater, gunner
  27. Charles Stevenson, private
  28. Harry Stone, sapper
  29. Thomas Topliss, gunner
  30. William Ward, fusilier
  31. James Warrington, corporal
  32. Edward Webster, private
  33. Samuel Webster, corporal
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Derby county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • This parish was partly in the ancient Wirksworth Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • You may contact the joint Carsington & Hopton Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT staffed 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 Wirksworth petty session hearings.
     
  • There is an index of Carsington Bastardy Papers held at the DRO on the Yesterdays Journey website. Select "Bastardy Papers" on the left side, then "Carsington" from the list of parishes displayed.
     
  • In an unusual legacy, the revenue from two "beast gates" was left to the poor, but the donor now remains unknown. A "beast gate" was a license or permit to use a gate to graze livestock in someone else's field.
     
  • With the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a member of the Ashbourne Poorlaw Union.
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Schools

A school for 20 poor children of this parish and the adjoining township of Hopton was founded by Mrs. Temperance GELL in 1726. It was established by 1891 that 100 children could attend, each paying 2 pence per week as a fee.

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Taxation

The National Archives of the UK has the 1711 Land Tax list for Carsington.