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January 2009 Newsletter

A very Happy New Year to all our members and friends. We hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas. We have an exciting array of talks for you this year, so try not to miss them. Thank you for the support and help you have given the society over the years. Any offers of assistance is much appreciated by the committee. We still need a Secretary. If you wish to volunteer for a few hours please do so, help will be given to ease you into the job.

Old Dronfield Society Meetings
Dronfield Heritage Trails
Photographs
Review of Past Activities
Can Anyone Help?

Old Dronfield Society Meetings

Our first meeting of the year on January 22nd begins with BLUE JOHN by Peter Harrison. This should be an interesting and informative subject.

The next meeting will be on March 26th. CAULDWELL'S MILL is the topic and Graham Walker will give insight about our interesting past.

On April 23rd we have our A.G.M. followed by a fun talk; KNICKERS - a BRIEF HISTORY. Janet Stain will be bringing her collection of underwear which she shows during her talk.

Our meeting on May 28th is about SAMUEL PLIMSOLL M.P. Tony Marsh will tell us about his life. It should be an entertaining talk.

All meetings take place at 7.30 p.m. in the Edward Lucas Hall of the Peel Centre which is accessible by stair lift via the fire escape stairs to the left of the main entrance. Please ask a committee member for access either before or at the meeting. If you require transport to attend the meetings, please contact a committee member.

Dronfield Heritage Trails

Our two new booklets are being printed and hopefully will be available soon.

Photographs

We still require photos of Shentalls shop. If you would like to donate any photos you have or if you wish to keep your copy / copies we would photocopy and return your photo / photos to you. If you have any old photos of Dronfield these would be gratefully received and dealt with in the same way. Contact or see any committee member or bring the photos to the next meeting. Thank You.

Pat Mooney would like to hear from anyone who may have taken photographs at a concert sometime between the Easter term to the Summer term in 1951 at Dronfield Infants School, School Lane. Can you help please?

Review of Past Activities

Adrian Farmer gave an entertaining talk on Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site on September 25th 2008. This site is the only W.H.S.in the East Midlands. Adrian told us about the time when Britain held centre stage as the Worlds first industrial nation where water power was used for textile production which was a milestone in the Industrial Revolution. The Derwent Valley Mills give us an intriguing look into the industrial and social life during the 18th and 19th C. For 15 miles down the river valley from Matlock Bath to Derby the W.H.S.contains a series of historic mill complexes, including some of the Worlds first "modern" factories. Just as important are the watercourses that powered them, the housing that was built for the Mill workers and the remains of one of one of the Worlds earliest railways. Little has changed in the area over the last two centuries. Adrian mentioned two of the most famous mills along the W.H.S. Masson Mills and Cromford Mill. Sir Richard Arkwright built Masson Mills at Matlock Bath which stand at the northern entrance to the W.H.S. They were established in 1783 and were in constant use until 1991. Since then the buildings have been restored with a working textile museum and retail village. Arkwright's Cromford Mill was the Worlds first successful water-powered cotton spinning Mill. In 1771 building was first started here and in the 1970's was saved from demolition. The whole complex is now undergoing restoration. There are another 15 sites of interest to visit along the Derwent Valley! For more information about the area contact http://www.derwentvalleymills.org.

November 27th 2008 saw a good audience to hear Jill Sparrow tell the story of her Search for Mary Kinder or How to Survive when your Relatives Throw You in the Skip! She described how from childhood she had been fascinated by the past lives of her own relatives whereas some people never come to appreciate and value remnants which have been kept and treasured by previous generations. So it was with a woman whose task was to clear the house following the death of her great aunt. Tipped off by an antique dealer friend who had been called in to advise of any items of monetary value, Jill visited and was allowed to borrow photographs, birthday cards and postcards which set her on her trail. She then determined to reconstruct the life of this unknown person whose name she did not even know. Starting with a framed photo of a First World War soldier on horseback and cards sent to addresses in Wirksworth, she established who the man was, who he married and that his daughter was the woman, Mary Wragg nee Kinder, born in 1920, who had recently died. Using service records, census returns, war memorials, and eventually a newspaper article in the Derbyshire Times, she was able to trace her life history, including previous generations as well as details of her husband's family, the Wraggs, members of whom Jill met following the newspaper publicity. It was an intriguing tale of detection and deduction well illustrated by some of the documents which may not have been spared the skip so prominently parked outside the house on her visits but which Jill has recorded and used as the foundation for the story of a life which could have passed into oblivion. This saga has taken eighteen months to unfold and her research continues, as does her mission to prevent the destruction of family treasures which have no pecuniary worth but which are rich in providing a window into ways of life unfamiliar to the present generation. (Judith Vernier kindly wrote this article as I was unable to attend the talk).

At our December meeting on the 11th Danny Wells told us about the Victorians and the Christmas Season. The Christmas Season before the Victorians was a lacklustre affair. Families didn't join in any type of festivities and there was little Christian imagery. From about 1790 to 1835 "The Times" didn't mention Christmas. The Industrial Revolution was happening and people were needed in the factories to work. There wasn't time for enjoyment. The rich had no time for the poor. The change the Victorians brought about helped home and family values come to the fore. With the marriage of Victoria and Albert Christmas became fashionable with children central to the idea of Christmas. Christmas trees were distributed to army barracks and schools and very soon this custom spread quickly. Christmas became an English celebration with plum puddings, a very English taste bonding rich and poor alike. With the fear of Republicanism abroad the need to feel "Englishness" was at the root of a stable society. By the end of the 1840's Christmas was a time we can associate with the season we have today. A festive time had come into being with feasting, decorated trees, crackers and the giving of Christmas cards and presents. It had also become a time for sentimentality and goodness to each other. There became an image of a family around a Christmas tree showing a dutiful wife and obedient children where home sweet home was a celebrated institution. Charles Dickens also played his part in the spirit of Christmas with his book "A Christmas Carol". This showed the plight of the poor, child labour and how he would like life to be in the future. (The book was published on 19th December 1843). The Victorian Christmas Season helped with the prosperity of Britain. By the end of the Victorian period there was a large commercial side to the celebration and a great improvement in gifts, books and paintings.

Can Anyone Help?

We have received an enquiry from a John Christopher Lowe hoping to trace his g.g.g. grandfather. He wonders if any of our members have come across Thos. Lowe bapt. Dronfield, 25 April 1748 or 9. The other possible candidate is Thos.Lowe bapt. Chesterfield 10 July 1748. His g.g.g. grandfather, a wealthy millwright, died in Nottingham on 18 July 1823 aged 75. He married Hannah Belfitt, daughter of a farmer of Old Brampton, in Chesterfield on 15 November 1783. At the time of his marriage he was already living in Nottingham. John Lowe appreciates that O.D.S. is not a F.H.S. but he hopes we could help him. He can be contacted through the society email address below.

Club members seeking information about people or places in Dronfield or the local area can include requests in subsequent newsletters - just contact any of the committee members.