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April 2006 Newsletter

Meetings/Outings
Display cabinet
Exhibition
High Street Barn
Review of Past Activities

Meetings/Outings

The last meeting of the current programme is on Thursday 25 May when Colin Briggs will bring us up to date on his research into Mill Lane. There are two summer outings; the first is on Tuesday 20 June, a walk around Chesterfield conducted by Philip Riden, emphasising its Georgian past. The walk starts at 7.00 p.m. from the main (south) door of Chesterfield Parish Church. (Please wear comfortable shoes!) Numbers are limited to 24 and a booking slip is included at the end of this newsletter.

The second is an all day outing on Saturday 8 July visiting Sharpe's Pottery at Swadlincote in the morning and then going on to Calke Abbey in the afternoon. A coach will leave Dronfield station at 8.45 a.m. to reach the Pottery mid morning which should allow members adequate time to see the exhibits in this new, small, interesting museum before a buffet lunch is served in their conference room. At 1.00 p.m. the coach will depart for Calke Abbey (entry £5.80 for non-National Trust members) and will then leave Calke at 4.15 to reach Dronfield by 6.00 p.m. Total cost of the trip is £20.00 for non-National Trust members and £14.20 for NT members. Please see booking form at the end of the newsletter. Places on both outings will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Display cabinet

Members attending the March meeting saw the handsome new display cabinet, in memory of David Salt, now installed in the Peel Centre.

Exhibition

This year's exhibition, to be held in the Peel Centre over the weekend of 10/11 June, is the first for which the Society is to make a charge for entry. The exhibition is being held in co-operation with ODS member, George Platts, well known for his wide knowledge of Dronfield's history and families and for his extensive collection of old photographs, postcards and postal memorabilia, many of which will be on display. Various aspects of Dronfield's past will be on display using Society material too. The intention is to raise funds for Ashgate Croft School for children with special needs and there will be a minimum charge of £1.00 entry, under 16s free. The Society is paying the usual expenses of hiring the hall, display material, etc. and providing the usual manpower (or personpower!). It is hoped that members will support this very worth-while fundraising event. Mr. Platts will have copies of some of his photographs on sale too.

High Street Barn

It may not yet be generally known that the High Street Barn has reached the final fourteen in the shortlist for the next series of the TV programme 'Restoration'. A meeting was recently held at which the Peel Centre Trustees made an excellent presentation to representatives of the programme-makers outlining their plans for putting in an upstairs floor accessed by an external staircase and providing space for exhibitions, functions, etc. while the ground floor would be used as a visitor centre and a chocolate shop where not only can visitors see chocolates being made but can relish both drinking and eating it - Chocolate Indulgence! Keep your fingers crossed that Dronfield makes it to the final seven!

Review of Past Activities

There was a good start to the year with a packed house for Professor David Hey's talk on the History of Stanage Moors and Rivelin Chase, described by Daniel Defoe as 'a waste and howling wilderness'. The landscape of this area has been influenced by man since the bronze age when it would have been lightly wooded. In later generations, lords of the manor claimed rights to hunt deer, thus giving the area the name of 'chase' denoting a general area given over to hunting and subsequently grouse were hunted with nets or hawks until the introduction of flintlocks which led to shooting becoming a rich man's sport with its heyday in the late Victorian/Edwardian era. The moors were managed then to provide the best sport and as this has decreased with the decline in shooting so, once again, the landscape is likely to change.

The March meeting had to have a change of speaker at short notice but Philip Heath, Heritage Officer from Swadlincote, admirably filled the bill giving an excellent taster for the outing to Sharpe's Pottery. As well as giving a general outline of the potteries in South Derbyshire, where a combination of suitable clay and coal gave rise to this industry, he described the rise of the Sharpe family business, from a small pottery combined with their farming activities, making 'yellow ware' and 'mocha ware', to a major concern exporting to America in the mid to late 19th century. They also took advantage of a growing market in sanitary ware as concern about public health led to the installation of bathroom suites, as well as manufacturing long-lasting, salt-glazed sewer pipes and crucibles for the steel industry. The pottery closed in 1967 and after 35 years of gradual deterioration was rescued by a Trust which has restored the earliest buildings on the site complete with one of the bottle kilns now used for musical events having a wonderful acoustic. They have created a very attractive small museum with things to play with as well as look at - and a very good café. Philip's talk certainly whetted the appetite of his listeners for a visit so we hope the coach will be full on 8 July - it's certainly worth it - and the building has easy access for all.