Bonsall

Bonsall is served by the Mobile Library on route N, which makes a stop at The Fountain in the village every fourth Friday in the mid morning.

Bonsall - A Village and its History. The Bonsall History Project, 2006.

Chapters are on:

1. Geology of the Bonsall Area;
2. Archaeology, Prehistory and Early History of Bonsall and its Region;
3. A Thousand Years of Growth;
4. Running Bonsall;
5. Bonsall at School;
6. Bonsall at Prayer;
7. Roads and Transport;
8. Architecture and Building;
9. Farming;
10. Lead mining, fluorspar and opencast mining;
11. Other Extractive Industries;
12. Working with Renewable Materials;
13. Food and Drink;
14. Textiles;
15. Bonsall at War;
16. Bonsall at Play;
17. The Bonsall Factor;
    Index of family names.

This is by far the best of the many village histories I've read. The lists of family names in Chapter 3 - 'A Thousand Years of Growth' are a real treat for any Family Historian, but the accompanying analyses really bring the past to life in a way that no simple lists can. For instance, I was made aware that the 17th century Inventories - the accounts of goods owned by the deceased, which we are so familiar with from our own research - were of real people, and I could well imagine walking into the shop belonging to the ABELL family in the 17th century, and seeing some of the Inventory goods for sale. A bargain for £10 + post and package, but please see the Bonsall History Project website for how to order.

Bonsall - A Portrait of a Village and its Church. The Bonsall History Project, 2000.

Andrew HILL has a photograph of the churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2012.

• The parish was in the Brassington sub-district of the Ashbourne Registration District.
   
• The Bonsall 1861 census is Online at the Wirksworth site. The 1871 and 1881 census are on this site, also.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

Census Year	Piece No.
1841	H.O. 107 / 197
1851	H.O. 107 / 2146
1861	R.G. 9 / 2524
1891	R.G. 12 / 2756

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint James the Apostle.
   
• The church was restored in 1863.
   
• The churchyard holds a centuries-old Yew Tree.
   
• The church seats 300.
   
• There ia a photograph of the church at Flickr.
   
• Alan HEARDMAN has a photograph of St James Church on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2008.

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1587 and is in good condition.
   
• We have a pop-up window of a handful of Parish Register marriages in a text file for your review. Your additions are welcomed.
   
• A CD containing a transcription of The Parish Registers of St James's Church is available for purchase from Valerie NEAL.
   
• The parish was in the rural deanery of Wirksworth.
   
• The Wesleyan Reformer Methodists had a chapel built here in 1852.
   
• Alan HEARDMAN has a photograph of Ebenezer Wesleyan Reform Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2008.
   
• The Primitive Methodists built a chapel here in 1852 but abandoned it by 1891. At that time it was a Temperance Hall.
   
• The Baptists built a chapel here in 1824.
   
• Peter BARR has a photograph of The Assemblies of God Church on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2009. I have no history on this church building.

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

"BONSALL is a parish, containing a village which was once a market town, and the market cross, consisting of a pillar, bearing the date of 1687, resting on a base formed by an ascent of fifteen steps, still remains. The houses which form the village are scattered over a considerable plot of ground, the centre of which is between three and four miles N.W. from Wirksworth, and about one mile and a half from Cromford; the approach to it from the latter place being by the Via Gellia, a singularly romantic ravine."

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

Upper Town and Slaley are hamlets in the parish.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• A Description of Bonsall has been transcribed by Heather FAULKES from Pigot's Directory of 1828-9.
   
• Rosemary LOCKIE provides a transcription of the Bonsall entry under Matlock from Pigot & Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire (1835).
   
• Ann ANDREWS provides a transcription of the Bonsall entry from Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland (1891).

• Mel LOCKIE provides a transcription of the Bonsall entry from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England, 1831.
   
• Colin HINSON provides the transcription of the section for Bonsall from the National Gazetteer (1868).

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Bonsall to another place.

You can see the administrative areas in which Bonsall has been placed at times in the past. Select one to see a link to a map of that particular area.

• Neil THEASBY has a photograph of the medieval cross in the village centre on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2013. The cross dates from 1671 and it was restored in 1870.
   
• John SLATER has a photograph of the King's Head public house by the village cross on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2012.
   
• Jonathan CLITHEROE has a photograph of The Barley Mow public house on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2011.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK279583 (Lat/Lon: 53.121149, -1.584564), Bonsall which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online (Other old maps.)
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• Alan HEARDMAN has a photograph of the Village Hall and the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2008.
   
• There is a War Memorial for World War II. There is a picture at Flickr.

• There is a gray stone plinth War Memorial for World War I. The names are listed at Bonsall War Memorial.

Malcolm HUTTON advised that the Derby Mercury for 29 September 1749 has an advertisement with the name George RENSHAW of "Bonshall" in it.

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar has this announcement from the Derby Mercury of 20 September, 1804: "MARRIED: A few days ago, at Bonsall, in this county, Mr J. WIGLEY, to Miss E. BRODITT; both of Bonsall aforesaid."

Michael SPENCER tells us that the Derby Mercury for 26 Feb 1813 reports: "Absconded from Bonsall and left his wife and 4 children chargeable to the parish James WIGLEY, framework knitter, he is about 37 years of age, near sighted, dark hair and stammers in his speech, had on when he went away black coat, blue waistcoat and brown breaches. Two guineas reward for information and secure him in any of his Majesty's Gaols."

• This place was an ancient parish in Derby county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• This parish was in the ancient Wirksworth Hundred (or Wapentake).
   
• This parish formed an Urban District Council under the 1894 Local Government Act.
   
• Rose KELLAND offers this notice from the Derbyshire Times & Chesterfield Herald of Wednesday, 18 November 1903: "Mr. D. G. HENY has agreed to retain his clerkship of Bonsall Urban District Council till the end of his year of office, which is in May next."
   
• You may contact the local Bonsall Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT funded to help you with family history searches.
   
• The parish is a member of the Derbyshire Dales District Council.

• Bastardy cases would be heard at the Matlock petty session hearings every other Wednesday.
   
• There is an index of over 30 Bonsall Bastardy Papers held at the DRO on the Yesterdays Journey website. Select "Bastardy Papers" on the left side, then "Bonsall" from the list of parishes displayed.
   
• As a result of the Poorlaw Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a member of the Ashbourne Poorlaw Union.

In his 1862 Will, John SHELDON of Slaley, Bonsall, farmer, mentions:

2. wife Catherine SHELDON
3. land at Blakelow
4. son John SHELDON
5. son William SHELDON
6. son Mark SHELDON
7. dau Grace Fanny
8. dau Hannah
9. Robert BAMFORD witness
10. Thomas HENSTOCK jnr witness
11. Francis HENSTOCK witness

A Public Elementary School for girls and infants was built here (no date given, but prior to 1891) to hold 220 children.

An Endowed school for 110 boys was founded here in 1717, enlarged in 1859 and remodeled in 1898.