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September 2004 Newsletter

Programme
Planning/Conservation
Review of Past Activities

Programme

The winter season gets off to a good start on Thursday 23 September with a talk on Bess of Hardwick by Tony Davis. The November meeting on Thursday 25th follows up on last year’s summer visit to Norfolk Park with Peter Machen speaking on Norfolk Park and its Lords. For the Christmas meeting on Thursday 9 December, we are inviting members to participate in a presentation about Christmas customs. If you have any suggestions for suitable material – to be read or recited or you would like to perform – please contact Margaret Mace on 415763. Audience and participants will be fortified by the seasonal refreshments!!

All these meetings take place in the Edward Lucas Hall of the Peel Centre at 7.30 p.m. The stair lift has now been installed on the staircase rising from the entrance to the left of the building but unfortunately it has not yet been ‘commissioned’ which means it will not be in use for our September meeting.

You should have paid your subscription, which was raised to £4 at the Annual General Meeting, by now but if you have not, there is a slip for return to the Treasurer included at the end of this newsletter.

The Committee was re-elected en bloc at the annual general meeting and remains as follows: Chair -Ann Brown, Secretary - Margaret Mace, Treasurer - David Axe; Members - David Salt, Barbara Jones, Judith Vernier, Jean Kendal. We desperately need to strengthen the committee and appeal to members to come forward and help. You do not have to have any advanced qualifications – just an enthusiasm for and appreciation of what the Society is doing. Its activities have increased over recent years – in publishing the Miscellany, mounting an exhibition annually, attending the Scarsdale local history fair, arranging more meetings and outings, and monitoring planning and conservation matters. If you enjoy coming to meetings, going on outings and reading the Miscellany, please help the Society to continue with these activities. Without more help, the recent expansion is likely to diminish!

Please talk to any member of the Committee and join us for a meeting to see what goes on.

Planning/Conservation

The Society has objected to the proposed erection of a Domino Pizza outlet to be built in the gap on the High Street on the grounds of the unsuitability of the construction, lack of parking, potential litter and existing over-provision of take-aways. The original application has been turned down and amended plans submitted which are just as unsatisfactory.

As an example of a first class development, it is to be hoped that most members have, by now, visited Dronfield’s latest attraction, The Forge, better known to Dronfeldians as Butler’s Foundry, which has been transformed from industrial dereliction into a range of interesting small shops, bar, café and restaurant. Marcpen Limited is to be congratulated for the very high standard of materials and workmanship and its care in preserving some of the original features, most notably the timbering of the house nearest to the churchyard, now recognised as being of 16th century origin. The Society is pleased to have been given space to display material regarding the history of the site so, when you go in to have a cup of coffee, we hope your eye will be taken by the boards both in the main atrium and in the hallway of the old house. Research continues into the ownership and occupation of residents over the centuries and this will be published as a series of articles in the Society’s twice yearly collection, The Miscellany, the next issue of which is due out in the autumn.

Review of Past Activities

As usual George Platts came up trumps with a brief talk on Dronfield’s postal history following the Annual General Meeting. As well as old photographs and postcards, he collects old postmarks and letters and put on display a selection including some letters by Thomas Greenwood, lead merchant of Rose Hill, the earliest of which was dated 1667, only 7 years after the Post Office was set up by King Charles II. Perhaps the most entertaining was one dated 16 August 1872 to George Poplar, the Dronfield stationmaster, from a man who lost his hat from a train as it went through the station, requesting its return!

The open days and exhibition on the Damstead site, Mill Lane and Butler’s Corner over the weekend of 8/9 May drew a large number of visitors, many of whom provided additional information on these areas of Dronfield. Colin Briggs, a former resident of Mill Lane, who has compiled a fascinating photographic and written record, enjoyed his two days meeting old friends, making new ones and sharing his enthusiasm for the past. Many visitors appreciated looking at the census records, particularly those of 1901, and other documents on display and there was a pleasant atmosphere of reminiscence and reunion during much of the two days which makes worthwhile the efforts which go into mounting these exhibitions.

Ken Ward’s evening on the history of the church which took place in St. John’s in May was another well-attended event, with quite a few visitors who were members of the congregation eager to learn more about their spiritual home. So well was this received that a proposal was made that it should be a regular event for the Society to hold such a meeting about once every five years.

On a June evening which fortunately stayed fine, we were warmly welcomed to Ashmore Farm at Tibshelf by Cecil Hill, his wife and daughter. Cecil conducted us on a walk through this linear village, pointing out various buildings of interest and culminating at the Parish Church, also dedicated to St. John the Baptist where an example of his considerable skill in carving in stone could be seen, marking the millennium. From there we adjourned to the comfort and interest of Cecil’s own historic house with further examples of his carving, this time in wood, including a beautiful panelled room where we were regaled with coffee and cakes and stories of the past. There was time too to enjoy the garden tended mainly by his daughter who has collected many interesting plants.

The July outing, on one of the coldest evenings of the month on record, was to Doug Bradbury’s interesting local history museum at Clay Cross. A member of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, not only did he make the craft of farriery accessible to his audience but also conveyed his great love of horses. He undertakes orthopaedic work on horses with damaged feet using his very special skills as well as working with young people in Pony Clubs educating them in the best care of their mounts. It is a rare thing to find a personal museum, this one housed in a former granary, and including items associated with other industries of the area, e.g. mining, as well as the local school.