Alstonfield in 1859

ALSTONFIELD (ST. PETER), a parish, in the union of LEEK, hundred of NORTH TOTMONSLOW, N. division of the county of STAFFORD, 7 miles (N. N. W.) from Ashbourn; comprising the chapelries of Elkstone, Warslow, Longnor, and Quarnford, and the townships of Alstonfield, Fairfieldhead, Heathy-Lee, and Hollinsclough; and containing 4701 inhabitants, of whom 654 are in the township of Alstonfield. This parish, which is fifteen miles in length, is situated at the northern extremity of the county, and is bounded on the west by Cheshire, and on the east by Derbyshire, from which it is separated by the river Dove: the township comprises 2862 acres.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8.11.4; net income, £112; patron and impropriator, Sir George Crewe, Bart. The church is in the early English style, with an embattled tower crowned with pinnacles; the nave is separated from the aisles by a series of finely pointed arches ; the pulpit and reading-desk were the gift of the poet Cotton, who resided at Beresford Hall. There are six chapels exclusively of the parish church, those in Heathy Lee and Hollinsclough having been lately built, principally at the expense of Sir G. Crewe. A small free school was founded in 1726, by German Pole, who bequeathed £60 for its endowment.

An 1859 Gazetteer description of the following places in Alstonfield is to be found on a supplementary page.

• Elkstone
• Fairfield Head
• Heathylee

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[Description(s) from The Topographical Dictionary of England (1859) by Samuel Lewis - Transcribed by Mike Harbach ©2020]