2002 | January 2003 | April 2003 | September 2003

January 2004 Newsletter

Programme
Conservation Matters
Review of Past Activities
Appeals for Information
Hunter Archaeological Society
Derbyshire Archaeological Society

Programme

The first meeting of 2004 takes place on Thursday 22 January when David Cracknell will give a talk with slides about Dronfield’s Changing Landscape. On Thursday 25 March we welcome one of our members as speaker: Canon Lacey will be Encountering History on the Move. The Annual General Meeting is on Thursday 22 April.

These meetings will be held as usual in the Edward Lucas Hall of the Peel Centre. Transport can be arranged if you have difficulty getting to meetings and if you would prefer to use the side entrance with its less steep staircase, please either contact a committee member beforehand or ask for assistance on the night.

Members will be pleased to hear that the Peel Centre Management Committee has been awarded a grant to improve facilities for the disabled.

Conservation Matters

Work is due to start on the consolidation of the Summerley Coke Ovens this month under the supervision of English Heritage. It is likely that the Old Dronfield Society and North East Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology Society will be asked to take some responsibility for the site when the work has been carried out.

Work has now been completed at the site of the Damsted works on Mill Lane and there is now a new footpath and wooden bridge crossing the river Drone. A fine stone wall outlines the shape of the old gasometer enclosing a grass circle. Again the ODS and NEDIAS have shared information with the Derbyshire County Archaeologist who supervised the project.

It is hoped that the Butler’s Foundry site on Lea Road/Church Street will be opening as a craft centre by Easter. The various stages of demolition which revealed the ancient timbers and plaster and lath walling have been well recorded and some of this area will be left exposed. It is the intention to have display boards detailing the history of the building and the ODS is engaged on this research.

Review of Past Activities

Keith Lysons, a retired school teacher, opened the winter season of talks in September when he spoke about the work of the famous family of architects, the Smythsons. He first learned about them on a visit to Longleat in Wiltshire and when he came to live in Derbyshire his interest became keener as he found himself so near to many of the Smythsons’ houses. His interest has always been in the buildings themselves rather than in the personal history of father, son and grandson who designed and built so many fine houses.

His talk consisted of a brief introduction to the origins of architecture in Greece and Rome with one or two examples of work which sprang directly from a knowledge of these sources. We also learnt about mannerism in architecture, all of these being highly informative and memorable because of Mr. Lysons’ sense of humour.

He then ranged through a number of the Smythsons’ buildings; Longleat, Chatsworth and Hardwick are the best known but there are many other interesting examples such as Barlborough, Doddington, Wollaton, Wooton and Worksop Lodge. All these were illustrated by slides obtained under difficult conditions since it seemed that as soon as he arrived at a house, the sun promptly went in and the rain came down!

On a chilly November night, Ann Brown, Chair of the Society, gave us a snapshot of Dronfield just over a century ago. Using the Bulmer’s directory of 1895 as her source, she explained how these directories were published quite frequently and, as well as giving a general description of a place, they would detail the gentry, landowners, clergy, industrialists and tradespeople. At the time Dronfield’s population was just over 4000 and it was described as a village rather than a town because the market had been discontinued. Concentrated around High Street, Church Street and the Sheffield to Chesterfield Road it was surrounded by fields which have now been swallowed up by housing. There were 42 farms listed and as well as pictures of the period she showed us present day traces of farm buildings which remain even within the heart of the town. All facets of life are covered in the directory from education to the law, from chapel to church, from doctors to public assistance, as well as detailing such essential services as the telephone exchange and the fire brigade.

In 1895 Dronfield appears to have been a self sufficient urban community, recovering from the loss of employment following the removal of the Wilson Cammell works and in contrast perhaps to the present day, most Dronfeldians lived and worked within their own community.

In December Andy Firth conducted us around Dronfield on a bus tour which started in 1913 and brought us up to the present day. It was very much a reminder of how the car has come to dominate our lives as so many of his pictures of the 50s, 60s and 70s showed empty roads with just the odd car parked alongside the kerb. Buses ran regular services on Sundays and Bank Holidays with full loads of passengers and many local firms employed bus companies such as Alexanders to convey their employees to and from work. As ever there were pleasure trips and in 1972 the cost of an excursion to Skegness was 90p for adults and 40p for children while petrol was a mere 31p a gallon! There were many reminiscences of the services provided by Booth & Fisher; in the Jubilee year of 1977 this company was so overcome with patriotic zeal that it decorated its buses with the Queen’s crest - which should only have been used if the Queen was riding on the bus! Since deregulation in 1986 bus services have been consistently cut back with the result that the roads have become ever more choked with cars.

Appeals for Information

We have received some enquiries for information via our website and wonder if any of our members can assist.

The present occupants of No.4 West Street have been looking for old photos of the house and would also like to hear from anyone who knows anything about the house or its past residents.

A descendant of the Harrison family is researching the life of Clarence John Harrison (Jack) who was killed on the first day of the Somme in 1916, aged 17. His name is recorded on the war memorial and in the Church.

A previous resident who lived on Mill Lane is particularly interested in the houses along the lane and is asking for any photographs of that area.

Please email ods@thateden.co.uk.

Hunter Archaeological Society

Main Society Lectures in the Arts Tower Lecture Theatre 9, Sheffield University at 7.30 p.m.

Tuesday 13 January
“50,000 years of Foraging and Farming in S.E. Asia - Excavations at Niah Cave, Sarawak, Borneo”: Professor Graeme Baker, Professor of Archaeology, University of Leicester; President of the Pre-Historic Society.

Tuesday 10 February
The University Lecture Bishop George Forrest Browne, Anglo-Saxon Sculpture & the English Reformation: Dr. John Moreland, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield.

Tuesday 9 March
Annual General Meeting at 7.0 p.m. followed by “Durham Cathedral - World Heritage Site and Place of Pilgrimage”: Lilian Groves, Chief Guide at Durham Cathedral.

Field Research Section Meetings at the Traditional Heritage Museum, next to Endcliffe Methodist Church, Ecclesall Road, Sheffield at 7.30 p.m.

Friday 6 February
“Landscape Archaeological Survey around Sheffield”: Paul Ardron

Friday 5 March
Annual General Meeting at 7.00 p.m. followed by “Some Local Houses”: Keith Lysons

Non members are welcome but a donation to Society funds would be appreciated.

Please email ods@thateden.co.uk for further details.

Derbyshire Archaeological Society

Meetings are held at the Red Cross Centre, Liversage Street, Derby at 7.30 p.m.

Friday 16 January
The Georgian Group, its history and recent casework: James Darwin. (AS)

Friday 23 January
The Cromford Canal: Hugh Potter. (IAS)

Friday 30 January
A very Peculiar Place. The archaeological and historical development of Spital-le-Street, a sacred site in Lincolnshire: Dr. David Marcombe. (ARG)

Friday 13 February
The Governor’s Garden: Dr. Chris Salisbury. (ARG)

Friday 20 February
The Harpurs - The Early Years: Barbara Foster. (LHS)

Friday 27 February
Architectural Section AGM followed by The Lutyens Trust’s visit to New Delhi: Malcolm Busfield.

Friday 5 March
DAS/WEA Lecture Derbyshire and the Victoria County History: the story so far. Philip Riden, County Editor for Derbyshire. Room OL1, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, 7.30 p.m.

Friday 12 March
Archaeological Research Group AGM followed by a Reports Meeting on the recent survey and excavations at Bellington Hall.

Friday 19 March
Local History Section AGM: Some Less Obvious Map Evidence for Local History Research? Dudley Fowkes.

Friday 26 March
Industrial Archaeology Section AGM: The Dakeyne Engine: Phillip Wigfull.

Please email ods@thateden.co.uk for further details.