HOLMESFIELD, Derbyshire

Census

• The parish was in the Dronfield sub-district of the Chesterfield Registration District.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• This place was an ancient Chapelry to the parish of Dronfield.
  
  
• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Swithin.
  
  
• The church was built in 1826.
  
  
• This church seats 400.
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1720 for marriages and 1724 for burials and baptisms.
  
  
• We have a pop-up window of Holmesfield burials in a text file for your review. Your additions are welcomed.
  
  
• The church was in the rural deanery of Dronfield.
  
  
• The parish had a Wesleyan chapel by 1868. At last report (Mike Spencer, 2012), this chapel was "in a sorry state."
  

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Civil Registration

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
  
  
• The parish was in the Dronfield sub-district of the Chesterfield Registration District.
  

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Description and Travel

"HOLMESFIELD township and village, in the parish of Dronfield, is very pleasantly situate, about one mile from that town, and between seven and eight miles north-west from Chesterfield: it cannot be marked as a place of trade, but the neighbourhood is highly respectable, and contains several very genteel habitations. The population of the township in 1831 was 499, being the exact number of inhabitants as returned at the preceding census."

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

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Directories

• A Description of Holmesfield has been transcribed by Heather Faulkes from Pigot's Directory of 1828-9.
  
  
• Ann Andrews provides a transcription of the Holmesfield entry from Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland (1891).

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Gazetteers

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

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Military Records

• There is a War Memorial in St. Swithin's churchyard. A photograph and names are listed at Derbyshire War Memorials.
  

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Politics and Government

• This place was formed as a modern Civil Parish in 1857.
  
  
• This parish was in the ancient Scarsdale Hundred (or Wapentake).
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment reforms, this parish became part of the Chesterfield Poor Law Union.
  

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Social Life and Customs

• The Robin Hood Inn at Holmesfield has the typical outward appearance of several of the old inns in this area of the county - parts of the building are said to date back over 300 years. Its position on the B6054, between two major roads - the A61 (Sheffield to Chesterfield) and A621 (Sheffield to Baslow), would have made it readily accessible from both Sheffield and Chesterfield. Inside, the lounge retains its traditional open fireplaces and stone flagged floors.
  
  
• [The above information is left over from when there used to be a website, showing a nice photograph of the Inn. I so hate deleting all references to links!]

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