Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell [Map]
Bakewell, Derbyshire is in Derbyshire Dales.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 919. This year, before midsummer, went King Edward (age 45) with an army to Nottingham, Nottinghamshire [Map]; and ordered the town to be repaired on the south side of the river, opposite the other, and the bridge over the Trent betwixt the two towns. Thence he went to Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map] in Peakland; and ordered a fort to be built as near as possible to it, and manned. And the King of Scotland, with all his people, chose him as father and lord; as did Reynold, and the son of Eadulf, and all that dwell in Northumbria, both English and Danish, both Northmen and others; also the king of the Strathclydwallians, and all his people.
Around 1100 William Peverell (age 60) was granted Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map] by King Henry I "Beauclerc" England (age 32). The Anglo-Saxon Minster was demolished and a new church built.
Around 1370 Margaret Leeke was born to Simon Leeke (age 25) in Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map].
Around 1400 Anne Leche was born to Roger Leche of Chatsworth (age 39) at Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map].
In 1608 Elizabeth Sheldon Countess Anglesey was born to Thomas Sheldon of Howley in Leicestershire at Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map].
The Derbyshire River Wye rises at Axe Edge Moor [Map] after which it travels broadly south-west through Buxton, Derbyshire [Map], Millers Dale [Map], Cressbrook, Derbyshire [Map], Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire [Map], Bakewell, Derbyshire [Map] and Haddon Hall [Map] to Rowsley [Map] where it joins the River Derwent.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell Bridge [Map]
1350. Bakewell Bridge [Map] is stone arch bridge spanning the Derbyshire River Wye. The bridge dates back to the 14th century and was constructed using ashlar gritstone.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Blake Low Barrow [Map]
Blake Low Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Longstone Edge. On the 17th of July we broke ground in a fresh district, by opening a barrow near Longstone called Blake Low [Map], which had been a good deal mutilated by the removal of stone. Nevertheless we found the interment in the centre to be quite undisturbed, though the remains of about six individuals in a rude cist close by were in a state of the utmost disorder. These were accompanied by four neat instruments of flint, and the remains of a curiously-decorated urn. The preservation of the central deposit was owing to the body having been laid in a grave cut in the rock to the depth of two feet. The skeleton was that of a very young woman, or rather of a girl, and lay on the left side, with the knees drawn up. At the head was a drinking cup, rather more globular in form than usual, 7½ inches high, the upper part ornamented by parallel grooves; and along with the skeleton were the bones of an infant, with the tine of a stag's antler. The grave was filled up to the level of the natural soil with limestone, amongst which was as large an accumulation pf the bones of the water-vole as we have seen in any barrow.
Warslow. On the 23rd of February, at Blakelow [Map], near Warslow, we opened a barrow, twenty yards across and two feet deep in the middle of our section, composed of stiff earth of different colours, inclining to clay. Not far from the centre was a deposit of calcined bones, mixed with charcoal, lying on the natural surface, covered and surrounded with stones placed with but little attention to regularity, excepting a few on the level which seemed to have been arranged in a row. The bones were accompanied by two neatly-wrought instruments of flint - one a spear-head, the other oval - which, contrary to the general custom, had not passed through the fire. Several other trenches were made without further results.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Bole Hill Barrow [Map]
Bole Hill Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Section I Tumuli 1843. Some years ago, a large and interesting barrow upon Bakewell Moor, called Bole Hill [Map], was carted away in order to build stone fences, at which time a vault was discovered, closed with a large, fiat stone, which, being removed, displayed to the astonished rustics engaged in the work of demolition, the unexpected sight of three human skeletons. The only relic found with them was a large spear of some kind of metal, which was preserved for a short time and then lost. There are yet traces of five vaults to be seen on the ground fonnerly covered by the tumulus. These vaults were filled up for about a foot in depth with soil which was dug out and examined on the 24th of August, 1843, in the hope of rescuing some relic before all traces of this once noble barrow shall have disappeared, and its existence be forgotten. In the largest vault the remains of four human skeletons and the pieces of a large sepulchral urn of coarse material and plain manufacture were brought to light. In another of the vaults were found a few bones, horses' teeth, and two skulls of the polecat. In the other three vaults nothing was found but rats' bones, which were equally prevalent in each vault.
Bole Hill. On the 29th of September, we examined the remains of a large tumulus at Bole Hill, on Bakewell Moor, near that [Bole Hill Barrow [Map]] investigated on the 24th of August, 1843. (Vestiges, page 47.) By measurement with a tape, the diameter was ascertained to be exactly 23 yards; about eighteen inches only in height remained, the upper part having been removed at the time of the enclosure of the common for the sake of the stone. The remainder consisted entirely of small gravelly stone, the upper moiety having been much disturbed, together with all the later interments that had been deposited above the natural surface; of these we observed the remnants of at least two, some in their natural state, others calcined. We also found a few articles of different dates, the most modem being a small piece of kiln-baked pottery, of coarse texture, and red colour, and a circular stud of green glass, which may possibly have graced the centre of a fibula, as a fictitious gem; a more ancient object was the point of a very slender bronze dagger, much attenuated by frequent sharpening; it was in two pieces, which lay some distance apart: there were many bones and teeth of animals amongst the gravel, and when we arrived at a depth that left only six or eight inches of artificial ground above the natural level, we observed innumerable rat' bones, and in the gravel just below, near the centre of the barrow, we discovered the primary interment in a state of advanced decay; it was the skeleton of a man lying on his left side, with the knees drawn up and the head to the north-east; beneath the head was a very rude instrument of grey flint, nearly round, which was the only article of man's device found near him. From the unmanageable nature of the clayey soil on which the skeleton lay, and the friable condition of the bones, no measurement of the long bones could be taken, but fortunately so many pieces of the skull were recovered as to allow of its restoration. To us it appears a remarkable example, and may be described as having the calvarium long, narrow, and conveying the idea of lateral pressure; the forehead retreating, with the frontal sinuses prominent, the facial bones large, and the upper maxiilaries, together with the lower jaw, strong and wide.
Bole Hill. On the 25th of May, we opened two stone cists on the site of the ruined tumulus at Bole Hill [Map], Bakewell Moor, where some remarkably elongated crania were found in 1843.
The first we examined did not appear to have been disturbed, although the skull therein discovered lay in one comer, apart from the skeleton to which it belonged. The body had been deposited in the usual contracted position upon its left side, and was surrounded by small stones, having above an artless covering of large flat slabs. The shortness and slenderness of the bones indicate the female sex, the femur being but 16½, and the tibia 13, inches long. The skull is decidedly long in the fronto-occipital diameter, but from the fulness of the parietal prominences this peculiarity is not so obvious at a first glance as in other crania from the same mound. The obliteration of the sutures, taken in connection with the general smoothness of the calvarium, and the abraded state of the teeth, show that the age at death would not be less than 60 years.
The second cist-vaen had been so thoroughly dug over at a former period, as to yield nothing more than detached bones of two or three skeletons, one of them that of a young person. No instruments or pottery were found in either enclosure. The cists consisted of rectangular compartments, made by placing massive blocks of limestone on edge upon the natural surface of the land, the unoccupied space between them being levelled up with stone collected in the neighbourhood.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Brown Low Barrows [Map]
Brown Low Barrows is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Ten Years' Digging Appendix. Barrow Near Warslow, Opened By Mr. Herbert Manclarke.
On the 18th of April, 1850, a barrow at Brownlow [Brown Low Barrows [Map]], near Warslow, was opened in the presence of numerous spectators, by Mr. Manclarke. It consisted mostly of earth, and was examined by digging a pit down the middle to the depth of five feet, when the undisturbed soil appeared strewed with charcoal, mixed with burnt bones, from among which were taken two pieces of flint, wherewith the discovery terminated.
On the 27th of November, 1851, a barrow near Warslow, called Lid-Low [Lid Low Barrow [Map]], was opened by Sir John Harpur Crewe, Bart., and Sir Gardner Wilkinson, in which they found a skeleton, accompanied by a fine bronze dagger, 7½ inches long, with two rivets attached to it, and two others separate, all lying near the head, besides two well-formed spear-heads of flint, the largest of which measures 2¾ inches in length.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Crakendale Pasture Barrow [Map]
Crakendale Pasture Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Taddington. On the 23rd of April, a peculiarly shaped barrow [Map] [Crakendale Pasture Barrow [Map]] upon Crakendale Pasture, near Bakewell, was examined. Its singularity consisted in three prolongations radiating from the central mound, which was about four feet high. On digging in various places, scattered pieces of bone, both human and animal, were found; and in the centre, which had been previously disturbed, were remains of at least three adults and one child, as well as some pieces of calcined bone, bones of rats and other animals, fragments of an ornamental drinking-cup, and a small instrument neatly cut from the tine of a stages horn. The centre of the barrow was carefully surrounded by several courses of flat stones set edgeway on the natural surface, which, if the barrow had been untouched, would have led to an easy discovery of the central cist, round which they had no doubt been placed with great regularity.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Hay Dale Barrow [Map]
Hay Dale Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Monsal Dale. On the 16th of May, we examined the remains of a tumulus [Hay Dale Barrow [Map]] about fifteen yards diameter, in a field on the left hand side of the road from Ashford to Wardlow, about a mile beyond the public-house at the entrance of Monsal Dale. Owing to the land having been much ploughed, the height of the tumulus had been considerably reduced, not more than a foot of artificial material being left. Immediately on removing the turf many fragments of human bone, detached from several skeletons, appeared, and near the centre was a skeleton not so much disturbed, lying on some large rough limestones, and having near the head a small shattered vase, still preserving an upright position in decay - it is slightly moulded and ornamented with oblique punctures. On a portion of the lower jaw of this skeleton is an osseous excrescence, of the shape and size of a small bullet. The bones of an infant, and one or two small fiints were also found.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Hay Top Barrow [Map]
Hay Top Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows, Prehistoric Peak Distrct Roman and Saxon Barrows.
Monsal Dale. On the same afternoon, we began an examination of a large mutilated flat-topped barrow [Hay Top Barrow [Map]], twenty yards diameter and four feet high, on the summit of a hill called Hay Top, overlooking the manufacturing colony of Cressbrook. The mound is piled upon a naturally elevated rock, so as not to present more than two feet of accumulated material in the middle, where we began to dig, finding remains of many individuals, from infants to adults of large stature (an imperfect femur, broken off below the neck, measuring near nineteen inches), but all were in disorder except one skeleton, which appeared to lie on its left side in the centre; it was, however, so much surrounded by other bones as to be rather difficult to identify, and, from the same confusion, we cannot positively assign all the following articles to it, though there is scarcely a doubt that the flints and bone ornament were buried with it: - The objects referred to, are ten jet beads of the three common shapes, several flints, including three thick arrow points, and a curious bone ornament, with a hole for suspension round the neck, where it was found, not unlike a seal with a rectangular face. The skeleton, from the slenderness of the bones, was judged to be that of a female. We casually found pieces of two vessels, a polecat's skull, and many bones of the water-vole.
Monsal Dale. On the 23rd of May, we resumed our labour in two parties, digging at once on either side, between our former cutting and the north and south verge of the mound [Hay Top Barrow [Map]], and carrying on the trenches towards the west, where the barrow was most perfect, the whole of the eastern edge having been carted away. In the south cutting we found an oval cist about three feet from the surface, sunk a foot in rock and lined with a few flat stones; the diameter was under a yard, but it contained the skeleton of an aged man lying on his right side, with the knees necessarily so much drawn up as to approach the face, the head pointed to the south-west: and near it was a neat ornamented vase of imperfectly baked clay, 5½ inches high, and a perforated bone pin, about six inches long. On this side the tumulus was also found part of another skull, which had been removed from some other place.
While these discoveries were being made, the excavation on the north side was equally productive, for immediately below the grass were many fragmentary human bones, amongst which we found an iron spear, with the socket broken, yet 9½ inches long; and a blue glass bead, with a spiral thread of white running through it, which objects, we were informed, had been disturbed many years before, by a man digging in the mound under the impression of its being a mineral hillock: they must have belonged to a body interred near the surface at a late or Saxon age. Proceeding deeper, we found the rock cut away for a large space about two feet lower than its ordinary level, making the entire depth from the grass rather more than four feet. At the east extremity of this excavation there was a small enclosure of flat stones, something like that on the other side, before described, containing a skeleton much contracted, and in this case lying on its lefl side, with the head to the south, accompanied by one flint arrow point.
About the middle of the excavation, in the rock, were two rather small human crania, placed side by side, near a drinking-cup 7¼ inches high, ornamented with a lozengy pattern. Upon the crown of one of the skulls was a neatly chipped instrument of grey flint, and it is singular that no trace either of the lower jaws or of any other parts of the skeletons could be seen, though no dis-arrangement had ever taken place in this part of the mound, and it is certain that the crania alone had been buried there. At a little distance from them were the skeleton of a child, and one cylindrical jet bead. These discoveries, with the occurrence of numerous broken bones, both human and animal in the upper parts of the trenches, terminated the labours of the day. A portion of the west side of the mound intervening between the cuttings being reserved for the next day's examination, when it was cut out to the level of the rock, disclosing a grave about a yard square, sunk about three feet lower. Inside this excavation was a very neat rectangular cist, 2 feet long and 18 inches wide, formed of four flat slabs of limestone, filled with limestone, gravel, and rats' bones, which being very carefully removed, allowed us to see the skeleton of a child, doubled up, with the head to the south, and a most beautiful little vase, 4⅜ inches high, completely covered with a minute chevron pattern, lying obliquely in contact with the pelvis of the child, which had become thrust into it by the pressure of the grave; the depth at which this deposit lay was about five feet from the surface of the mound. The skeleton of the child is arranged in a glass case at Lomberdale House [Map], and from the abnormal shape of the head, it is probable that death was occasioned by hydrocephalus. Many burnt bones, and disjointed bones, as before, were found in the course of the day. The plan of this interesting barrow will illustrate the foregoing account.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Longstone Edge Barrow [Map]
Longstone Edge Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Monsal Dale. On the 27th of June, we examined a low barrow [Longstone Edge Barrow [Map]], eighteen yards diameter, at the extreme point of the range of hills called Longstone Edge, in the direction of Wardlow. It was composed of earth and stone, heaped above a natural elevation, in the middle of which was a rock grave two feet deep, containing the remains of a full grown skeleton that had evidently been disturbed at no very remote period, and a small piece of urn.
Europe, British Isles, North-Central England, Derbyshire Dales, Bakewell, Monsal Dale Barrow [Map]
Monsal Dale Barrow is also in Peak District Bronze Age Barrows.
Monsal Dale. On the 29th of May, we made a section from south to north through another large mutilated tumulus [Monsal Dale Barrow [Map]] in the same neighbourhood, but on the other side of the Wye. Not far from the centre we discovered a large sepulchral urn, 12 inches high, with a deep ornamented border, inverted over a deposit of clean calcined bones, placed upon some uneven stones on the natural surface, and having among them a calcined bone pin. The urn was quite uninjured, and owed its preservation to a large mass of limestone by its side, close to which lay a celt-shaped instrument 5 inches long, with a cutting edge, made from part of the lower jaw of a large quadruped rubbed down; and two phalanges of a human finger. Proceeding further, we met with the skeleton of a small hog, then those of two children, all interred in a simple manner, without protection or accompaniment: beyond these was an adult skeleton that had been deposited at a late period, if we may judge from the appearance of the mound immediately above, where were many scattered bones, the skeleton of a dog, and a small bronze fibula of the most common Roman shape. By further excavation we found that the last skeleton had been interred near a very large stone set on edge from east to west, which formed the side of a cist vaen, measuring inside 3 feet 6 by 18 inches, the other sides being supplied by similar slabs, the whole placed in an excavation lower than the natural surface, the depth from the top of the mound to the floor of the cist being 5 feet 6 inches. By clearing it out, the following discoveries were made in the order in which they are enumerated:- First, a small vase of clay, neatly ornamented, but so imperfectly baked as to have but little firmer consistency than the surrounding earth; next, and immediately below it, were skeletons of two infants and an adult, so much huddled together as to render their respective position unascertainable; close to these, we found a fine and sharp spear head of grey flint 2½ inches long, and two other implements of the same, one of them a small disk, near an inch in diameter: immediately under lay another adult human skeleton, which had clearly been deposited on its right side, with the head to the west, as were all the others found in this cist. This, the lowest interment, was evidently a male, the one next above presents female characteristics, and both, together with the children, presented unmistakeable evidence of having been interred at the same time, so that we have some reason to suppose that the family was immolated at the funeral of its head, as has been customary with savages in all ages and parts of the globe.