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Glossop with the townships of Whitfield, Hadfield and Padfield and the hamlets of Charlesworth, Howard's Town and Neighbourhoods.
Glossop is a village, township and parish, in the hundred of High Peak. 184 miles from London, 50 NNW from Derby, 25 NW from Sheffield and 13 SE from Manchester; situated a short distance from the Manchester and Sheffield railway. This line, now in active progress, is expected to be opened to Glossop (which will then be a station,) towards the end of the present year (1842), or early in the succeeding one. This village, which is populous and one of great manufacturing consequence, is situated on a rising bank, springing from one of the deepest valleys in the Peak. The country around is very pleasing, and many of the views may be considered romantic: plantations abound in the home scenery, and the lands in the low grounds are fertile, but the mountainous parts are less productive. In Glossop and its vicinity there are numerous establishments for the spinning of cotton, and the manufacture of various fabrics from that article; for calico printing, also, there is an extensive concern at Dinting Vale, and woollen goods are made to a limited extent: there are, besides, two paper mills in the neighbourhood. Coal is obtained from mines about three miles hence, and from these Glossop and the neighbourhood are principally supplied. The Duke of Norfolk is lord of the manor, and holds courts leet at Easter and Michaelmas; at the latter period a constable and headborough are appointed, in whom the government of the township is vested. Glossop is in the honour of Tutbury, and within the jurisdiction of a court of pleas, held there every third Tuesday, for the recovery of debts under 40s; and it is a polling station at the election of members to represent the northern division of the shire.
The parish church of All Saints is an ancient edifice; the body has been rebuilt, and public worship was performed in it, for the first time, after the completion of the repairs, in September, 1832. The benefice is a discharged vicarage, in the presentation of the Duke of Norfolk, and incumbency of the Rev. Christopher Howe. In the church is a monument, by Bacon, to the memory of Joseph Hague, Esq. of Park Hall, near Hayfield, who bequeathed the interest of £1,000, towards clothing twenty-four poor men and women, of this and some of the adjacent townships. Glossop Hall, the property of the Duke of Norfolk, is near the village. His Grace has erected here, at his own expense, a Roman Catholic chapel - a neat edifice, in the Tuscan order, capable of seating six hundred persons. On Wednesday, the 30th of July, 1834, the neighbourhood of Glossop was visited by a most tremendous tempest; the village appeared, at one time, to be enveloped in a continuous blaze of lightning, while the thunder, pealing amongst the hills, was unusually loud and terrific, and the rain and hail poured down in such quantities as to cause an overwhelming flood, which swept down the valley with impetuous force, carrying devastation, and striking with dismay the inhabitants. Several mills received great injury; and two young women and a child, belonging to one of these works, perished in the flood. Extensive damage was done to the fields, gardens, fences, roads and bridges, of which last four were entirely destroyed. A fair, for cattle and various commodities, is held on the 6th of May. The parish of Glossop contained, by the census taken in 1831, 13,766 inhabitants, and by the late census (June 1841,) 14,575 - of which last number 3,547 were returned for the township.
Whitfield, one mile and a half from Glossop - and Hadfield and Padfield, two miles distant, are townships in the parish of Glossop; all interested, more or less, in the manufactures of that parish. At Whitfield is a charity school, founded by the late Mr. Joseph Hague, before mentioned. Population of these townships in 1841 - Whitfield, 3,044; Hadfield, 1,499; Padfield, 1,656.
Charlesworth, three miles from Glossop - and Howard's Town, one mile distant are hamlets in Glossop parish. At the latter (once known by the name of Bridge-end,) are two good inns; and at Charlesworth is a chapel for independents. Population of that hamlet, 1,731; the inhabitants of Howard's Town are returned with Glossop.
Post Office, Norfolk Arms, Howard's Town, Joseph Oates, Post Master - Letters from all parts arrive every forenoon at eleven, and are despatched every afternoon at a quarter before four.
Coaches:
Hayfield, an independent chapelry, generally included in the parish of Glossop, is five miles S from Glossop, and about the same distance N from Chapel-en-le-Frith. It is a populous manufacturing district, having several large cotton spinning factories, one for woollen goods, and works for calico printing. A meeting of the county magistrates is held here monthly, on Thursday.
The church, a handsome modern edifice, rebuilt by the inhabitants in 1818, is very much admired for its neatness. The living is a perpetual curacy; the resident freeholders have the privilege of nominating the minister. This peculiar right it seems was granted by Richard II, in the year 1386. The present incumbent is the Rev. Samuel Wasse, MA. The methodists have a chapel here; and there is a large day and Sunday school belonging to the establishment: the day school having an endowment for the education of a limited number of free scholars, who, together with the children of the town and neighbourhood, are taught by Mr Isaac Brunt. About a mile from Hayfield, on the Glossop road, is situated Park Hall, the beautiful seat of John White, Esq., a magistrate for the county of Derby. A fair for cattle is held here on the 12th May. The chapelry of Hayfield contained, at the late census (1841) 3,637 inhabitants; and the township 1,715 of that number.
Post Office, at the George Inn, Rachael Quarmby, Post Mistress - Letters from all parts arrive (from Stockport) every forenoon at eleven, and are despatched every afternoon at two.
Carriers:
Mellor is a chapelry, in the parish of Glossop and hundred of the High Peak; 6 miles SW from the village of Glossop, 8 NNW from Chapel-en-le-Frith, 7 E from Stockport, and 14 SE from Manchester. The cotton manufacture employs many inhabitants of this chapelry; one establishment in particular, the Messrs. Wallers', is very extensive. At a short distance from the village is the church (or chapel) of St James, a neat stone structure; the living, a curacy, is enjoyed by the Rev. Matthew Freeman. The Wesleyan and primitive methodists have each a place of worship here. The population of the chapelry has been decreasing for several years: in 1821 it contained 2,099 inhabitants - in 1831, 2,059 - and, in 1841, 2,015.
Marple and Marple Bridge, commonly called Upper and Nether Marple, (Nether Marple or Marple Bridge being in the county of Derby), form a chapelry in the parish of Stockport, about 5 miles ESE from that town. The spinning of cotton, bleaching and calico printing, are carried on to some extent in the chapelry and neighbourhood; and upon the river Goyt are some corn mills. Not far from the village is a noble aqueduct of three arches, which bestrides the river Mersey. A branch from the Peak Forest canal to Macclesfield, was opened here on the 9th November, 1831; it joins the Mersey canal at Lawton. Wyberslegh Hall, now a farm house, is notable as the birth-place of John Bradshaw, who was president of the high court of justice that sentenced Charles I to the scaffold. In the register of Stockport church his birth is thus entered: "1602, John the Sonne of Henry Bradshaw, of Marple, was baptized the 10th of December;" in the margin is the word traitor, with a line under it. The probate copy of his will, which may still be seen at Marple Hall, contains a bequest of £700 to purchase an annuity or maintaining a free school, at Marple; the changes with regard to property, brought about at the restoration, prevented this provision from being available; Henry Bradshaw, however, who survived his brother, founded a small school here and endowed it with the interest of £100., which has since been augmented by other benefactions. Marple Hall is a noble old house, finely situate on the rise of a hill above the Goyt, and is, as well as Wyberslegh Hall, the property of the Isherwood family, descendants of president Bradshaw. The chapel of ease, here, was some years since rebuilt of stone, and the tower furnished with the old bells of Stockport church; the living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the rector of Stockport, and present incumbency of the Rev. Samuel Irton Fell. There are chapels here for Wesleyan and primitive methodists. The chapelry contained, in 1831, 2,678 inhabitants, and in 1841, 3,449.
Two miles from Marple, in the parish of Stockport, is the village of Compstall Bridge, the inhabitants of which are, for the most part, employed in the cotton manufacture, and works for calico printing. The Wesleyan and primitive methodists have each a chapel here, which are the only places of worship. Thirty or forty years ago Compstall consisted of only a few straggling cottages; but since the establishment of the cotton manufacture, it has been gradually increasing - its population, now, amounts to nearly if not fully 2,000.
Romily is a township, also in the parish of Stockport, from which it is distant about four miles; situated on the hills bordering on the county of Derby. Chadkirk chapel is in this township, nearly opposite to Marple Hall; and there are places of worship for independents and Wesleyan methodists; the benefice of Romily, or Chadkirk, is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the rector of Stockport. The number of inhabitants, in 1831, was 1,290 - and, in 1841, 1,465.
Post Office, Marple, Joseph Rowbottom, Post Master - Letters from all parts arrive every morning at ten, and are despatched every afternoon at half-past three.
Post Office, Compstall Bridge, Jane Dyson, Post Mistress - Letters from all parts arrive (from Stockport) every afternoon at three, and are despatched every morning at seven. By this post letters are likewise conveyed to and brought from Mellor.
Coaches. Calling at the Jolly Sailor, Marple:
New Mills is an extensive hamlet in the parish of Glossop, in the hundred of High Peak; 14 miles SE from Manchester, 6 NW from Chapel-en-le-Frith, and 8 SE from Stockport; pleasantly situated on the confines of Derbyshire and Cheshire. This is a place of modern date, having within a comparatively few years risen to importance in the manufacturing district - cotton spinning being carried on here to a considerable extent, affording employment to numerous persons. The factories are in a great measure hid from public view in passing through the village, being built at the foot of the stream, under high towering rocks. Good house coal, as well as other kinds for the purpose of machinery, is obtained in the vicinity. The village is built chiefly upon a stone quarry, but the soil in many parts is fertile, producing good crops of wheat and potatoes.
The places of worship are a district church, erected some few years since; and chapels for independents, primitive methodists, and those of the old connexion. The church, dedicated to St George, is a handsome stone edifice, in the gothic style: the cost of its erection amounted to about £3,500, of which sum £2,500 were granted by the parliamentary commissioners; and the ground for its site was given by Lord George Cavendish. The living is a perpetual curacy , in the archdeaconry of Derby, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and in the patronage of the vicar of Glossop. A charity school, for the gratuitous instruction of nine poor children, is in the hamlet of Whittle; and there is an allotment of land for the support of another school. New Mills was originally known as Bowden-Middle-Call, and comprised seven hamlets: about a century ago it was subdivided - three of the hamlets were attached to Hayfield, and the other four, Beard, Olerset, Whittle and Thornsett, were formed into a township. A new mill was then erected for the use of the inhabitants, upon the river Kinder; and the name of New Mills was, in consequence, conferred on the four before-mentioned hamlets. Fairs, for cattle, are held May 11th and October 22nd - In 1831 the population of the hamlets comprised in New Mills was 3,538, and, in 1841, 3,591.
Disley, or Distley, anciently spelt Dystelegh-Stanlegh, is a village and chapelry, in the hundred of Macclesfield and parish of Stockport (Cheshire), about six miles SE of the latter town. In the time of Edward I, Disley was held by Jordan de Dystelegh, and a hamlet on the north side by Grym de Stanlegh; hence the compound modern appellation of Disley-Stanley. The situation of the village is very pleasant, on the immediate borders of Derbyshire, upon the high road to Sheffield. Several cotton spinning and printing works are in the neighbourhood. St Mary's chapel here was rebuilt in 1558; it consists of a nave and chancel, with a tower of stone, containing a ring of six bells; the chancel and vestry are of brick: in the window of the former are some beautiful specimens of heraldic stained glass. Lyme Hall, the seat of Thomas Legh, Esq. is in this chapelry. Disley contained, in 1831, 2,037 inhabitants, and, in 1841, 2,191.
Post Office - New Mills, James Fielding, Post Master - Letters from all parts arrive (by mail gig) every forenoon at eleven, and are despatched every afternoon at two.
Coaches:
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