CASTLETON parish, consists of the townships of Castleton and Edale, which to­gether contain 10,068A. 3R. 9½P. of land and had in 1851 289 houses, and 1333 inhabi­tants, of whom 670 were males, and 663 females; rateable value, £5815 19s.

CASTLETON is a neat, pleasant, and interesting village and township, situated at the wes­tern extremity of a beautiful valley embosomed in lofty hills and celebrated for its won­derful cavern and natural curiosities, is 6 miles E.N.E. from Chapel-en-le-Frith, 6 miles N. from Tideswell, 12 miles N.E. from Buxton, 24 miles N.W. from Matlock, 16 miles W. by S, from Sheffield, 27 miles S.E. from Manchester. 20 miles W.N.W. from Chesterfield, and 36 miles N.N.W. from Derby. It contains 2905A. 3R. 9½P. of land, and had in 1851, 195 houses, and 867 inhabitants, of whom 441 were males and 426 females; rateable value, £3,395 19s. The Duke of Devonshire is lord of the manor under the crown, and the principal owners are, Robert How Ashton, Esq., Joseph Hall, Esq., Francis B. Champion, Esq., Rev. John Champion, Wm. Needham, Esq., and Mrs. Martha Tym, besides several smaller owners. The Church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is a vicarage, valued in the King’s book at £6 7s. 6d.; now, £186, has been augmented with £200 benefactions, and £600 Queen Anne’s bounty. Bishop of Chester is patron and impropriator, and the Rev. Hugh Ford Bacon, M.A., incumbent. The

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tithe was commuted in 1842, the impropriate for £100, and the vicarial for £56; of the tithe of lead ore, two-thirds are paid to the Bishop, and one-third to the vicar. The church is a large stone cemented edifice, with a low tower and peal of eight bells of superior tone; about 25 years ago, it was thoroughly repaired at a cost of £500, when a beautiful arch, separating the nave and chancel, was discovered and brought to view;—in the chancel is a handsome painting of the “Adoration of the Magi,” by Vandyke, which was given by Capt. Hamilton. In 1853, a handsome stained glass window was placed in the chancel, by subscription to the memory of the late Rev. C. C. Bates, who was vicar of this parish for 35 years. There is also a library in one of the vesteries containing upwards of 2,000 volumes. The Rev. F. Farran, who was vicar here 38 years, and died 3rd Oct., 1817, bequeathed a number of books for the use of the parishioners, to which have been added a considerable number of volumes by Capt. Hamilton and Miss H. Farran; they consist of historical, theological, and bio­graphical works, and here is a copy of Cranmer’s great Bible, printed in 1539, and a copy of the Breeches Bible, so called from its translation of Gen. iii. chap. 7. v., printed in 1609, and with it are bound the Psalms in metre, by Sternhold and Hopkins. In the church is a monument to Charles Potts, Esq., who died in 1725; one to Micah Hall, who died in 1804, and one to John Mawe, Esq., of London, mineralogist, he died 26th Oct., 1829, in his 63rd year, and was interred in the parish church of St Mary-le-Strand.

Here are several good Inns,—the principal of which is, The Castle, commercial and posting hotel, which is well fitted up with every convenience, and affords excellent accommodation for visitors; Mr. Peter Kirk, proprietor. Here are three manu­faetories of spar ornaments, with museums, in which the most beautiful tables, vases, and obelisks, &c., are to be found with some of the greatest natural curiosities in the county, among which are splendid incrustations, called the Lions of the Peak—A chain and padlock cut out of black marble, without a joint except the lock; a large mar­ble table composed of about 200 specimens of various descriptions; with a variety of potrefactions and antiques. The lovers of geology will here find Mr. Hall, successor to the late Mr. E. Hall, who was for about 70 years a practical geologist. At this establishment may be seen geological specimens and maps, one of which has been published and denominated the “Midland Coal Field of England,” extending from the north of Leeds to Coventry, and from Nottinghamshire to Lancashire and Cheshire. The late Mr. E. Hall read a paper before the British Association for the advancement of science, at the Cambridge meeting in 1845, on the geology of Derbyshire, which elicited the plaudits of the association; especially of Professor Sedg­wick, who was a pupil of Mr. Hall’s in the early part of his geological researches. The late Mr. John Mawe of the Strand, London, who published various treatises on mineralogy and geology, for many years spent about two months every autumn at Castleton, where he acquired that thorough knowledge of the district which rendered his publications and his museum very attractive. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel erected in 1805, and the Primitive Methodists one erected in 1833. Here is an Endowed school, which is now taught on the National plan, and Sunday Schools are attached to the places of worship. Here are two lodges of Odd Fellows, and several Benefit societies. Feast, first Sunday in September. The village of Castleton is closely hemmed in on three sides by lofty and precipitous hills which consist of huge masses of mountain limestone thinly covered with verdure, through which the grey rock frequently protrudes. Close upon the village, is the steep eminence on which the castle is situated, which, in the Domesday survey is described as, “Terra Casteli, W. Peverel, in Pecke fers.” This estate belonged, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, to Gundeberne and Hundine. The expression in the survey seems to import that this castle, which gives name to the parish, was built by Wm. Peverel to whom William the Conqueror had given the manor amongst other estates. The

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castle afterwards acquired the name of Pec or Peke, or Peak Castle. It was forfeited with the manor, by Wm. Peverel, the younger. King Henry II. gave them to his son John, afterwards king. During the absence of King Richard, this castle, pursuant to an agreement of Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, and John, the Earl of Mortyne, was placed in the hands of Hugh Nonant, Bishop of Coventry. Hugh Neville was ap­pointed governor, of this castle in 1204. In 1815, it was in the hands of the rebellious barons; William Earl of Derby took it by assault, and was made governor by the king. In 1374, it was granted with the honour and forest of Peak, by Edward III., to John of Gaunt, and became parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster. Sir Ralph Shirley, who died in 1466, was constable of Peak Castle. In the reign of Henry VII., the castle was held under the Duchy by Robert Eyre, Esq., of Padley; in the reign of Henry VIII., successively by Robert Thornhill and Wm. Gallins; in the reign of Edward VI., by Godfrey Somersall; and in that of Elizabeth, successively by John Eyre, Esq., and Godfrey Foljambe, Esq. The Duke of Devonshire has the nominal appoint­ment of Constable of the Castle, and is lessee of the honour or manor and forest of Peak, of which Castleton was formerly considered a member. Courts are now held for Castleton as a distinct manor, extending over many of the townships of the Peak.

There was formerly an hospital of royal foundation, for certain paupers, and a chaplain, endowed with lands valued in 1377, at £3, and four bushels of oatmeal: it was situated about half way between Castleton and Hope. The castle was a small structure situated on a bold eminence 260 feet high, and was inaccessible on account of precipices on every side, except the north, and even here the approach was necessarily made by traversers, to obviate the steepness of the ascent. It appears to have originally consisted of a plain wall, enclosing an area of moderate dimensions, with two small towers on the north side, and a keep near the south-west corner, being a square tower measuring 39 feet outside, and 19 feet by 21 within; the walls and a portion of this keep are still remaining. Mr. King, who has minutely de­scribed this castle, in his “Archœlogia,” imagines that it was erected during the Saxon Heptarchy, but others suppose that it was built by Wm. Peverel. It is said a splendid Tournament was held here in the time of the first of the Peverels, on the following occasion:—“William, half-brother of Pain Peverel, Lord of Whittington, in the county of Salop, had two daughters, one of whom, named Mellet, was no less distinguished by a martial spirit than her father, and, by her declaration, was resolved to marry none but a Knight of great prowess; and her father, to confirm her purpose, and to procure a number of visitors, invited all the young men - who were inclined to enter the lists, to meet at Peverel’s Place, in the Peak, and there decide their pretensions by the use of arms, declaring at the same time, that who­ever vanquished his competitors should receive his daughter, with his castle at­ Whittington. Guarinedo Meez, a descendant of the house of Lorraine, and an ancestor of the Lords Fitz Warrine, vanquished his opponents,—a son of the King of Scotland, and a Baron Burgoyne, and obtained the prize for which he fought.” It is difficult to imagine how this was at any time possible, for the very limited dimensions of the site, the few remains of outbuildings, the peculiarity of its situation and the difficulty of access to it, all concur to induce the supposition, that it was merely a strong military position to flee to in ease of danger, and never the established residence of a feudal baron.

From the Castle Hill is a beautiful view of the surrounding country. To the west appears Mam Tor: to the north, Losehill; and to the west, Winhill; names de­rived, as tradition reports, from the event of a battle fought by two contending parties who had been posted on those hills. At the foot of Winhill is seen the village of Hope, forming a pleasing feature in the expansive scenery. This rocky precipice forms the roof of Peak’s Hole, which stands foremost among the wonders, of Derby-

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shire. A narrow path by the side of a clear stream leads from the Castle Inn to this celebrated place. A high bank on the right intercepts the view of this singular orifice, until the traveller is near enough upon it to be fully aware of its dimensions and feel the power of its grandeur; it then bursts upon him, and fills his mind with sensations of awe and terror. The entrance into Peak’s Hole is formed by a depressed arch 116 feet wide, 43 feet high, and in the receding depth 90 feet. Within this gulph a number of band and twine spinners are employed, which has a singular effect. Proceeding 180 feet, you are shewn stalactites, which the guide calls petrified water; 60 feet beyond this, there is a tremendous piece of detached rock, called the Round of Beef. Here lights are supplied, and after proceeding 160 feet, down a gentle declivity to the interior apart­ments of this tremendous hollow, the light of day, which has been gradually softening, wholly disappears, and the further passage is explored by the light of candles. The way now becomes low and confined, and must be passed in a stooping posture, when a spacious opening, called the Bell House, again permits the standing upright, beyond which, at the distance of 80 feet, the cavern seems to be entirely closed in every part; but upon a near approach, a low passage under the rock is discovered; this opening is just large enough to admit a boat, and the passenger must lie down in it while the guide ferries him over a distance of about 54 feet under the rock. Beyond the water, a spacious vacuity, 200 feet in length, 180 in breadth, and in some parts 120 in height, opens in the bosom of the rock but, from the want of light, neither the distant sides nor the roof of it can be seen. In the passage at the extremity of this vast cavern, the stream which flows along it spreads into what is called the second water. This can generally be passed on foot. Near the termina­tion of this passage is an aperture, distinguished by the name of Roger Rain’s House, from the circumstance that water is incessantly falling in large drops through the crevices of the roof. Beyond this opens a spacious cavern, called the Chancel, where the visitor may be accommodated with music, which issuing from a quarter where no object can be seen, every thing around being still and peaceful, is calculated to awaken attention, and powerfully impress the imagination with solemn ideas. At the conclusion of the strain, the performers appear ranged in the hollow of the rock, about 60 feet above the station of the spectator. The place being illuminated with a number of candles, bears a resemblance to a singing gallery in a church or chapel, from which the cavern has its name. From the chancel, on proceeding 100 feet, is a fissure called the Devil’s Cellar, from which is a descent by 22 steps, a distance of 50 feet; then proceeding 90 feet further, you arrive at the Half-way House, as the guide calls it; here is a stream of fine clear water, and in preceding to the end of the cavern, this small rivulet is crossed five times. Passing along the water side 330 feet, the Four Natural Arches are arrived at. Here the beholder cannot fail to be struck with the beauty and correctness of these arches, having the appear­ance of a gateway to an ancient monastery or abbey. After proceeding 90 feet, you come to a vast concavity in the rock, resembling a bell in shape, and denominated the Great Tom of Lincoln. The distance from this part to the termination of the cavern is 120 feet. The rock was some time ago blasted 50 feet further, in the expectation of discovering other caverns, but none were found, and the water is only a few inches from the rock. Its extreme length is 1,200 feet, and its depth from the surface of the mountain about 600 feet. It ranges entirely in limestone strata, which are full of marine exuviæ, and occasion­ally exhibits an intermixture of chert. The stream that flows through the cavern buries itself at Perry Foot, about three miles west from Castleton, on the Buxton road; it afterwards passes through Speedwell mine, and reissues into day at the great entrance into Peak’s Hole.

Speedwell Mine, one mile west from Castleton, on the Buxton road. The entrance into this extraordinary place is close by the road side, at the opening into the Winnetts. The subterranean excavation that communicates with the immense cavern beyond, was the work of a company of adventurers. The lead veins in this part of Derby­shire are known to run from east to west; it was therefore, imagined that a drift cut from

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north to south would intersect them and a field containing abundance of ore. The enterprise was a bold one, but unfortunately for the parties conecrned, it failed. Mr. H. Moore, whose Excursions in the Peak contains much valuable information, says, “Three sets of workmen were engaged in this undertaking, five to each set, by which means the work was carried on night and day for eleven years. Each man used one pound of gunpowder per day, (for the whole excavation was effected by blasting.) The quantity used amounted to 51,645 pounds. The sum expended in this undertaking amounted to £14,000 about 62 years ago. The principal proprietor, a Mr. Oakden of Staffordshire, was ruined by the undertaking.” 106 steps carried down a rocky passage leads to the inmost recess of Speedwell mine. On arriving at the bottom of this long descent, the visitor is carried in a boat along a channel hewn in the heart of the rock, for 700 yards, when he enters a void, vast and dark, called the Devil’s Hall. Leaving the boat, a platform, erected above the level of the canal, is ascended; standing on the verge of a tremendous gulph of unfathomable depth,—above an immense cavern, whose lofty recess no light has yet been able to penetrate—a sensation of awe takes possession of the mind. After proceeding to the depth of 90 feet, commences a pool of waters, not unaptly termed the Bottomless Pit, whose compass may in some measure be conceived by its having swallowed upwards of 40,000 tons of rubbish, occasioned by the blasting of the rock, without any apparent diminution in its depth. The superfluous waters of the canal fall through a water-gate into this profound cauldron, with the noise of a mighty rushing torrent. The effect of a Bengal light, discharged in this cavity, which is said to be nearly 200 yards below the surface, is extremely magnificent and striking. Beyond this fissure, the canal has been driven to a great extent, but in this part little occurs to entitle it to observation. This mine is some­times called Navigation Mine, from the waters having been collected so as to float a boat for conveying the ore, and otherwise rendering the work less laborious. From this subterraneous place of retreat, the visitor is conducted back—when he will not fail to wel­come the light of day.

The Winnetts or Winyates, a deep winding narrow chasm, about 1 mile in length, and which till about 40 years ago was the only direct communication between Castleton and Buxton and Chapel-en-le-Frith. A tolerable good carriage road passed through this ravine, but the steepness of the ascent rendered it inconvenient to travel upon, in consequence a new road was made along the base of Tray Cliff and forward by Mam Tor, which has increased the distance from the top of the Winnetts to Castleton nearly a mile and a half. The magnificent views of the country which this circuitous line of road affords, may perhaps more than compensate the tourist for the additional distance. The scenery of the Winnetts is wild and dreary, but yet interesting; a more romantic and diversified district is scarcely to be met with throughout this extraordinary region. A narrow ravine amidst perpendicular rocks of limestone, projecting abruptly in different shapes, seems to preclude the access of man. Many of these rocks are above 1,000 feet in height, and as they contract the rugged sides of the chasm, a continual stream of air rushes amongst them sweeping violently against the cavernous rents with which they are indented. From the ceaseless current of air that passes through it, the ravine has received its name, pronounced by the inhabitants of the Peak, Winyates. When the tempests arise, the noise of the wind in the chasm becomes loud and awful, and is heard at a great distance, while the sky is frequently blue and serene. In this valley of precipitous rocks the comparatively verdant spot on which the village of Castleton is situated, terminating the most fearful of the declivities of the Winnetts, assumes a rural, and even a pastoral character, being skirted with wandering sheep, which, in a region where grass is nowhere plentiful, are sometimes found grazing on the green moss that here and there enlivens the limestone rocks among the Winnetts themselves.

Cavedale.—At the foot of Castle Hill, and close to the Tideswell road, is Cavedale into which you enter through a rocky portal, scarcely six feet wide. This place is considerably on the ascent, and from the singularity of the rocks on each side, and the richness of the

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soil by decomposition, is productive of many novelties in botany, particularly a great variety of lichens. In proceeding up, several veins are observable, from which lead ore has been obtained. From this point the castle, seated on the extreme verge of a narrow ridge of rock, rises high above you, and here forms a landscape which, for picturesque wildness, has not its equal in any other part of this mountainous district; and yet, where the two sides of the dell closely approach each other, a pleasing view of the tower and the church is admitted through the rocky vista. Proceeding still further up the glen, another contracted pass, similar to the first entrance, admits you into a somewhat more open valley, where the regular basaltic column of toadstone, mentioned by Mr. Mawe, in his Mineralogy of Derbyshire, is situated. Here are several springs of excellent water, which find their way to Peak Cavern, and cause the continual dropping noticed at Roger Rain’s house. At one of these mountains, known by the name of Holland Twine, some splendid stalactites have been found. The visitor may, instead of returning the way he came, proceed a little higher up the dale, and turning to the right, a footpath down the mountain before you leads into the part of Castleton known by the name of Goosehill, where stands Goosehill Hall, the residence of the Rev. H. F.Bacon, the vicar of Castleton.

Mam Tor, Mother Mountain, or Shivering Mountain, is perceived at some distance on the left, towering above the other mountains, and having an elevation of full 1,200 feet above the level of the valley. Mam Tor is an ancient British name, and the Shivering Moun­tain, a title it has received in modern times, from the circumstance of its being composed of shale and micaceous grit in alternate strata. The former is continually decomposing under the action of the atmosphere, and falls in large quantities down the face of the precipice to the valley below, which is to a considerable extent covered with its ruins. The lines of an ancient encampment, which occupied its summit, are still in excellent preservation, with the exception of a number of yards, which have been destroyed by the mouldering of the shale. This has also caused large quantities of the grit to fall, the noise of which, in its descent, is sometimes so loud as to be heard at Castleton, though about a mile and a half distant. This mountain forms the summit of Tray Cliff and the new road from Castleton to Buxton passes its base.

The Fluor Spar Mine.—To the right of Mam Tor, about 140 yards from the road is the entrance to this mine, so famous for its production of that mineral, noted by chemists and geologists of the greatest celebrity as unparalleled by anything of the kind yet known to the world. The entrance is an arched descent of 123 steps, to the depth of 60 yards, and in several places sparry incrustations cover the roof. Having arrived at the bottom, proceeding about 300 feet, on a perfectly safe and easy road, is the grand chrystalized cavern which is shown to great advantage by the light of 28 candles in a chandelier suspended from the roof. The height of which is about 80 feet. This splendid and magnificent cavern, for beauty and size, exceeds; anything of the kind in England; the variegated colours and beautiful crystallizations which it displays can scarcely be imagined, and when seen, fill the mind of the spectator with wonder and astonishment. Here are also specimens of the Encrinites and other fossil remains, which, for beauty and perfection are not to be equalled in the Peak. Proceeding a few steps from this cavern, you come to a small cavity, where the guide shews the visitor that wonderful production, the Fluor Spar, as it is imbedded in limestone rock, provincially called Blue John, which had for a length of time been looked upon as unworthy of attention; its qualities have at length began to be fully appreciated, and its known rarity has enhanced its value. It is to be found in the splendid palaces of the nobility, manufactured into exquisite vases, obelisks. &c. In this cavity are some beautiful stalactites suspended from the roof, which greatly resemble the pipes of an organ, hence the place has been called the Organ. Returning from this cavity, and proceeding along the grand crystallized cavern about 60 feet, to the large cavern called the Dining-Room, by an easy declivity of 330 feet, through a range of caverns in a serpentine direction, the sides of which are covered with marine substances. Along this passage, and in the Dining-Room, nature is seen in its most awful and terrific

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forms. Proceeding 120 feet, over huge masses of limestone, the visitor is ready to conclude that his cavernous expedition is at an end; he is then conducted through a small aperture in the rock, and proceeding about 60 feet enters the Variegated Cavern, which is seen to great advantage by a Bengal light, with which the guide is always provided. This cavern, for the rich variety of its crystallizations, singular variegations, and great height, will amply repay the curious by a visit. Below appears a terrific gulph. Visitors are seldom conducted beyond this cavern, although it has been explored much further; and should the intrepid stranger be desirous, the guide will conduct him on a difficult passage to the distance of 450 feet, where there is a cavern which surpasses all the others in extent.

Odin Mine.—At the foot of Tray Cliff, which forms the western boundary of this dale, extending 3 miles W. by N. from Castleton, is the ancient lead mine called Odin, after the chiefs Saxon deity. The road into this mine is a level, worked horizontally for more than a mile. The lead ore produced here yields more than three ounces of silver to the ton; but it differs much in various parts of the workings. This mine also produces fine calcareous crystallizations, blend, barytes, crystallized fluor, manganese, sulphate of iron, &c. Robt. How Ashton, and Co., are the owners.

The Bradwell Cavern, to which Mr. Micah Hall is guide, with Eldon Hole, in Peak Forest, Chee Tor, and the Ebbing and Flowing Well, usually shewn from Castleton, will be fully noticed in their respective places.

CHARITIES.—James Whittingham, of Manchester, by will, 1792, after various legacies to be paid, directed £100 to be paid on trust, to be placed in good security, to apply the interest for the instruction of 12 boys and girls, and also £100 towards the paying for a place of worship for the Methodists. Of this nothing has been received. George Heap, took possession, about 1811, of the real and personal estate, the latter having been sworn under £300. We arc informed some of the legacies have not been paid to the different branches of the testator’s family, and nothing in respect of charitable uses.

Edward Bennett, by will, 1720, gave the rents of his farm at Castleton as follows,—viz., 40s. a year to be distributed amongst the needful poor of the hamlet of Castleton, and the remainder of the rent to bring up and maintain three poor children with schooling till the age of 14 years. The premises consist of a close called the Furlong, and three parcels of land, altogether 3A. 2R. 13P., let for £8 6s. per annum, of which £2 is paid to the churchwarden and overseer shortly before Chrsitmas, and by them distributed to the poor. The residue is paid to a schoolmaster.

Richard Bagshaw, in 1749, devised the house and garden in Castleton, then used as a schoolhouse, also certain lands in Edale, being of the yearly value of £6, to his sons, Richard, William, and John Bagshaw, their heirs, on trust, to pay the rents and profits to a schoolmaster, for teaching 12 poor children of Castleton to read and write. The school premises consist of a dwelling-house and a small garden, with a building for a school room, and apartments as above. The residue of the lands mentioned consists of 65 acres of old enclosure in Edale, let for £16 per annum, from which the tenant receives an allowance of £2 a year for lime. The land is stated to be of indifferent quality and in a bad situation.

Potts’ Gift.—Two small houses in Castleton are supposed to have been given by a person named Potts, towards the support of the school. The master is appointed by Sir William Bagshawe, and receives the several rents. No children have been appointed to be taught free in respect of the gift of Edward Bennett; 12 are taught free for Bagshaw’s gift; and for Pott’s three. Besides these, the master usually has a few for whom he makes no charge. The whole are instructed in reading, writing, and accounts.

Alice Staveley, in 1781, gave to the poor of Castleton £5, to be put into the hands of the overseers of the poor, who should pay the full interest thereof to such poor as had no weekly pay.

Mark Stavely, in 1785, gave to the overseers the sum of £5, to be placed at interest, and given as the above.

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Thomas Dakin, in 1706, gave £5 to the poor; in the hands of the overseers. These several sums have been many years ago carried to the account of the township; and the sum of 15s. is paid yearly out of poor rates as the interest, which, with the other charities above-named, is distributed on St. Thomas’s day amongst poor persons not receiving relief, in sums varying from 2s. to 5s.

Robert Howe, in 1818, gave to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of Castleton £40 on trust, to be placed on good security; the interest to the ringers, and to the poor annually. This sum was, by the legacy duty, reduced to £36, now in the hands of Robert How Ashton, Esq., at five per cent, of which 18s. is paid to the overseer, which is distributed on St. Thomas’s day.

Champion Bray, of Hope, who died in 1825, gave by his will £100, secured upon the turnpike from Sheffield to Chapel-en-le-Frith, the interest to be distributed as follows:—viz., to each of the townships of Castleton and Hope, the interest of £40; and to the township of Edale, £20.

Samuel Needham, of Rushop Edge, by deed enrolled, charged a close called South Edge, in Chinley and in Kemshill, in Peak Forest, with the payment of the following sums annually:—to the poor of Peak Forest, £6; of Castleton, £6; of Chapel-en-le-Frith, £2; and for playing of harpsichord in Peak Forest Church, £14; but we have not found the deed. The owner of the premises lays out £6 in the purchase of linen, which is distributed on the 16th of February, amongst poor persons not receiving parochial relief.

Rev. Francis Gisborne’s Charity.—(See Bradley.) —£5 10s. is reeeived by the vicar and disposed of in the purchase of flannel, which he distributes about Christmas to the poor of this township.

EDALE is an extensive township and chapelry, in a beautiful dale 3½ miles N.N.W. from Castleton, 6 miles N.E. by N. from Chapel-en-le-Frith, consists of the scattered houses and hamlets of Nether Booth, Oller Brook, Grinds Brook, Barber Booth, and Upper Booth, and contains 7080 acres of land, with 55 acres of roads and waste, 28 acres of river course, and had in 1851, 94 houses and 466 inhabitants, of whom 229 were males and 237 females; rateable value £2420. Duke of Devonshire is lord of the manor, and owner of 1400 acres; Lord Scarsdale, F. B. Champion, Esq., Rev. John Champion, Rev. Hy. Clark, Robt. Creswell, Esq,, Mr. Lorenzo Christie, and Mr. John Shirt are also owners. The Chapel, dedicated to Holy Trinity, is situate at Grinds Brook. The living, a perpetual curacy of the value of £126, endowed with £8 per annum, has been augmented with £200 benefactions, and £400 Queen Anne’s bounty; patronage vested in the freeholders of Edale, Rev. George Henry Spurrier, B.A., incumbent. The tithes were commuted in 1841, from which the Rev. Wm. Bagshawe, as lessee for the impropriate receives £50, and the vicar of Castleton, £28 10s.; here is a small parsonage house. The Chapel, originally erected in 1633, and rebuilt in 1812, is a plain substantial structure, and has a day and Sunday school inconnection with it. The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel. In a pleasant part of the dale, Lorenzo Christie has a manufactory for doubling cotton, worked by steam and water power of 27 horses. Rev. Wm. Bagshawe, the Apostle of the Peak, ejected from the vicarage of Glossop, established a dissenting meeting here. The river Edale rises from Edale rocks and the south side of Kinder Scout, with other branches from the east side of it, and passing Hope, has its confluence with the river Noe, which runs from Castleton; after which at Mytham Bridge, 2 miles S., they unite with the Derwent.

CHARITIES.—Rev. Robert Turie, in 1720, gave to the inhabitants of Edale, a rent charge of 40s. yearly, issuing out of his farm at Jack End, in the parish of Hope; there­with to have six of the poorest children of Edale taught to read English, nominated by the minister of Edale, and subject to the said rent charge; he gave the said farm and lands to the corporation of Queen Anne’s bounty, for the use of the minister or curate of Edale. This rent charge is paid to the schoolmaster by the incumbent.

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John Ashton devised certain lands which he directed should be for ever held by the persons therein described, at the rent of £17 per annum, to the intent that his trustees should yearly, amongst other things, pay to the schoolmaster of Edale, the yearly sum of £1, for the teaching of English or grammar to such poor child or children as the curate of Edale should think fit; and having disposed of £14 per annum, out of the said rents, he directed that the residue, after the payment of all expenses, should be laid out in English bibles, prayer-books, or church catechisms, to be disposed of amongst the poorest inhabitants of the places before mentioned. The yearly sum of £4 is paid over to the incumbent, who pays £1 to the schoolmaster; and occasionally books are sent to distribute amongst the poor.

Joseph Tym, who died 5th April, 1768, gave by his will to the schoolmaster of Edale, the interest of £50 for teaching four poor children; and likewise to the poor inhabitants of Edale, the interest of £50 towards clothing poor women and children in linsey, every St. Thomas’s day. The interest £4, is equally distributed as above.

Joseph Champion in 1784, gave to the minister and chapelwardens of Edale, £70 upon trust, to place the same out on real or personal security, and yearly for ever to pay one half the interest to the schoolmaster, and lay the other out in the purchase of so many penny loaves as such interest should weekly amount to; to be distributed on Sunday morning after divine service, to poor people attending, except prevented by old age or infirmity. The above sum is lent on mortgage of an estate at Little Hucklow, at 5 per cent, interest, and applied as above.

Elizabeth Bowden by indenture 1819, granted to Charles Cecil Bates and others, and their heirs, a messuage and two cottages at Whitmore-le-Booth, in Edale, and various lands, containing by estimation 6A., and other rights belonging to the said premises, and a plot of land containing 3¼ perches in the village of Grinds Brook, upon trust, to permit the said Elizabeth Bowden, and her heirs, to erect a school house on part of the said premises, for teaching poor boys and girls reading, writing, and arithmetic, and a residence for the master under the control of the said trustees; the master to reside in Edale, and be a member of the Church of England; that they should pay to the master a moiety of the clear rents, for instructing as many poor boys and girls as the trustees should calculate right at the ordinary price of teaching; and that the said trustees should pay the remaining moiety half-yearly, to the widow unmarried, (if any,) of the curate of Edale; if there is no such widow. the rents to accumulate for 21 years, the trustees to lay the same out in the public funds, the interest to be appropriated for the widows, and the original moiety paid to the schoolmaster and she ordered the trustees to make out an account of the said charity, to be affixed on the outer door of the chapel of Edale, on the Sunday next after the feast of St. John the Baptist. The premises with the exception of the school and a cottage, let for £2, for which no rent has lately been paid, are let for £14 per annum; seven poor children are taught free, and there remained at our investigation, a balance of £28 6s. 3d. due to the widows’ fund; £53 0s. 9d. having been expended from that fund in repairs of the farm buildings.

Nicholas Green, in 1700, left all his lands and tenements in Whitemore-le-Booth, in Edale, the yearly profits thereof to be equally divided between the poor of Edale and of Peak Forest, to be distributed among them every St. Thomas’s day. The property is called Bowden Fields, containing 5A. without any buildings thereon, and is now let for £5 per annum; the trustees distribute their part at the chapel in Edale, to poor persons, and the other moiety is sent for distribution to Peak Forest.

Ellen How, in 1702, gave the sum of 40s. per annum, charged upon a parcel of land called Little Cow Hay, in Crowden-le-Booth, in Edale, one moiety thereof to be paid to the preaching minister of Edale, and the other to the poor of Edale, every St. Thomas’s day. The owner of Little Cow Hay, pays the 40s. and one moiety is distributed to the poor as above.

Thomas Cresswell, in 1705, gave the sums of 10s. yearly, to the preaching minister of Edale, and 10s. yearly to the poor of Edale, to be paid on St. Thomas’s day.

CASTLETON DIRECTORY.                                               535

Thomas Hall, by will, gave a rent charge of 20s. issuing out of a piece of land called John Tymlorn; this is paid by the owner, and, is distributed on Good Friday and St. Thomas’s day.

Robert Pursglove, in 1700, gave the sum of £20 to Nicholas Cresswell and two others, the interest to be distributed by them to the poor of Edale, on St. Thomas’s day.

Rev. Francis Gisborne’s Charity.—(See Bradley.)—The yearly sum of £5 10s. is received by the incumbent of Edale, which is laid out in flannel or coarse cloth, and dis­tributed to the poor on St. Thomas’s day.

Champion Bray’s Charity.—(See Castleton).

CASTLETON.

Post Office, at Mr. E. F. Taylor’s; letters arive from Bakewell by mail gig, at 9 a.m.; and are despatched at 4 p.m.

536                                                                          HIGH PEAK HUNDRED.

EDALE TOWNSHIP.