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TIDESWELL - Description from Pigot's 1835 Directory

TIDESWELL is a small market-town, in the parish of its name, in the hundred of High Peak, 160 miles from London, 32 N.N.W. from Derby. 25 S.E. from Manchester, 17 E. by S. from Sheffield, 6 W. by N. from Buxton, and 5 S. from Castleton. Tideswell was formerly celebrated for its ebbing and flowing well, from which it is asserted by some authorities to have derived its name; but the first account of the place is in Domesday book, in which, under the name Tiddeswall, it is mentioned as a royal demesne, having a chapel, which in 1215 was given by King John to the canons of Lichfield.

The present town is situate in a valley, among moorish and bleak hills, having a clear rivulet running through it, on each side of which are scattered the buildings, the houses being, with the exception of a few, mean in appearance. In the neighbourhood are some cotton manufactories and spinning works, but the majority of the labouring class are employed in agriculture.

The places of worship are, the parish church, and chapels for Wesleyan methodists and Roman catholics. The church, the greatest - indeed the only ornament of the town, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a remarkably fine cruciform structure, of the thirteenth century, principally in the decorated style of English architecture, having an embattled tower at the west end, surmounted by pinnacles. The church contains some ancient and interesting tombs, and monumental brasses, and two screens - one of carved oak, the other of stone, enriched with tracery. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage of the dean and chapter of Lichfield: the present incumbent is the Rev. Thomas Brown.

The free grammar school, here, was founded in 1560, under letters patent from Queen Elizabeth, obtained by Robert Pursglove, who endowed it with lands and a certain rent charge, the income arising from which, at present, amounts to about £227. per annum. In the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield is vested the privilege of appointing the master, and they, with the vicar and churchwardens, constitute a body corporate. In the vicinity is Monsal Dale, very much admired for its romantic scenery and picturesque beauty.

At Tunstead, a village two miles hence, was born Mr. Brindley, the celebrated engineer, employed in the stupendous undertakings of the late Duke of Bridgwater: he was the first person in this country who made aqueducts subservient to the purposes of canals. The market is held on Wednesday; and the fairs take place on the 3rd of May, the second Wednesday in September, and 29th October, principally for cattle and sheep. The parish of Tideswell contained, in 1821, 2,666 inhabitants, and in 1831, 2,807, of which last number 1,553 were returned for the town.

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835
Transcribed by Rosemary Lockie ©1999]

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