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Brassington

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BRASSINGTON, a chapelry in the parish of Bradborne and hundred of Wirksworth, in the county of Derby, 3 miles to the W. of Wirksworth, its post town. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Lichfield, value £50, in the patronage of Tidd Pratt, Esq. The church is in various styles of architecture. There is a small endowment for education. The principal residence is Brassington Hall.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

Brassington is served by the Mobile Library on route N, which makes a stop in the village on Town Street every fourth Friday in the mid afternoon.

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

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Cemeteries

Colin PARK has a photograph of the village churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2014.

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Census

  • The parish was the heart of the Brassington sub-district of the Ashbourne Registration District.
     
  • Census transcripts are online at Wirksworth.Org.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.0. 107 / 197
1851H.0. 107 / 2146
1861R.G. 9 / 2524
1871R.G. 10 / 3602
1891R.G. 12 / 2756
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Church History

  • The parish was a Chepelry in Bradbourne until 1881.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint James (some sources say All Saints).
     
  • The church is of Norman origin, circa 1200.
     
  • The church was thoroughly restored in 1880.
     
  • The church clock was added in 1889.
     
  • The church seats 250.
     
  • David DUNFORD has a photograph of St. James Church on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2016.
     
  • Stephen TAYLOR also has an excellent photograph of Brassington church on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2004.
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1716, but early years are in poor condition.
     
  • We have a pop-up window of extracted partial Parish Register burials in a text file for your review. Your additions are welcomed.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Wirksworth.
     
  • The Independents built a stone chapel here in 1845. This building is now the Village Hall.
     
  • The Primitive Methodists built a brick chapel here in 1852, replacing one built in 1834.
     
  • The Wesleyan Reform Methodist chapel was built here before 1891 but was demolished in 2007.
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Civil Registration

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

"BRASSINGTON, a township and village, in the parish of Bradbourn, and in the hundred of Wirksworth, is four miles N.W. from the last named town, and contains about 700 inhabitants, principally in agricultural employment."

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

There is a nice set of photographs of Brassington at the LeighB site.

Neil THEASBY has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2017. Clearly, there is an opportunity for you to use your vision, artistic skills and marketing knowledge to create a more attractive sign.

You can see pictures of Brassington which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

David BEVIS has a photograph of Ye Olde Gate Inn on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2011. The Inn was established in 1616.

  • These are the names associated with the Gate P. H. in various directories:
Year Proprietor
1857Wm. TOPLIS
1870Mrs. Sarah SPENCER, butcher
1891Mrs. Sarah SPENCER
1895Mrs. Sarah SPENCER
1899Mrs. Sarah SPENCER
1912Charles MURRALL

David DUNFORD has a photograph of the Miners Arms pub. on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2016.

  • These are the names associated with the Miner's Arms P. H. in various directories:
Year Proprietor
1857Thomas SLACK
1870Joshua SLACK
1891-- not listed --
1895Mrs. Fanny BENNETT
1899Alfred CHARLTON
1912Mrs. Fanny CHARLTON
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK220556 (Lat/Lon: 53.097381, -1.673573), Brassington which are provided by:

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Military History

  • T. K. BREAKELL was a local lad who went on to serve in World War One in the Royal Flying Corps. You should find his Biography quite interesting.
     
  • The parish has the remains of a Regional Operations Center both above and below ground. These are now part of British Heritage for protection.
     
  • There are two War Memorial plaques on the wall of St. James's Church.
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Names, Geographical

  • The name appears as Branzinctun in the 1086 Domesday Book.
     
  • Locals often pronounce the name as "Brasson" and you may even find it spelled that way in correspondence.
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Newspapers

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar shares this notice from the Derby Mercury of 31 December, 1801: "MARRIED: Wednesday se'nnight, at Leeds, Mr. Wm. CHARLETON, of Brassington, in this county, to Miss HANDLEY, of the former place."

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Obituaries

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar contributes this snippet from the Derby Mercury of December 8, 1803: DIED: "On Thursday last, at Brassington, in this county, in her 84th year, respected by her friends and acquaintance, Mrs PRESTWIDGE, relict of the late Mr. John PRESTWIDGE, of that place."

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient Chapelry in Derby county and it was incorporated as a separate, modern Civil Parish in December, 1866.
     
  • There is also a Brassington township, contiguous with this parish. Some Poorlaw records are organized by township.
     
  • This parish was partly in the ancient Wirksworth Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • You may contact the Brassington Parish Council at their new website (2020) regarding civic or political matters, but please do NOT ask them to help you with family history work.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Derbyshire Dales District Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard at the Wirksworth petty session hearings.
     
  • There is an index of over a dozen Brassington Bastardy Papers held at the DRO on the Yesterdays Journey website. Select "Bastardy Papers" on the left side, then "Brassington" from the list of parishes displayed.
     
  • The Common Land was enclosed here in 1803.
     
  • The parish bought an old inn in 1820 and converted into a parish workhouse. It was used until 1848, when the Ashbourne Poorlaw Union took over this function.
     
  • With the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became part of the Ashbourne Poorlaw Union.
     
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Schools

A Public Elementary School (mixed) was built in 1871 and enlarged in 1897 for 180 children. Average attendance in 1911 was 126.

David BEVIS has a photograph of the Primary School on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2011.