Above: James Braddock (left) alongside his younger brother, William. Both were gamekeepers on the Errwood Estate. They look like they can handle guns, but perhaps not to hold up travellers on their way through Goyt’s Bridge! This is a bit of an off-topic post to...
Above: Fernilee Gunpowder Mill expanded significantly between 1846 and the late 1890s. The trees along the C&HPR track to the right also show that it had been abandoned. The detailed 1846 plans of the valley discovered by Alan Roberts for his research into the...
Above: Alexander Roos’s original drawing for Errwood Hall from the early 1840s (courtesy of Buxton Museum). Above: A Vanity Fair caricature of Alexander Beresford Hope. Click here to view his Wikipedia entry. Judging by the previous post (click to view),...
Above: The entry for Errwood Hall is headed by this fine photo, probably taken in the 1920s. This description of Errwood Hall is taken from a popular coffee-table book, The Derbyshire Country House, by Maxwell Craven and Michael Stanley. There are a few facts that...
Above: The only other photo I’d seen of the vault showed only one cross in the background, which I thought was the main one. Which is why I thought the vault was positioned to the left. Another recently discovered photo (below) has shown just how easy it is to...
Above: The arch is clearly visible on the right of this photo. Above: The full photo (click to enlarge). It’s a pity it’s such a poor-quality photocopy. I’d love to be able to track down the original. I recently came across a photo of Errwood Hall...
Above: The four Heather brothers in army uniform (from left): Fred (b.1891), Bert (b.1892), Joseph Harold (b.1893/4) and Arthur Percy (b.1895). Above: The five Heather sisters (clockwise from top left): Florence (Marie’s grandmother), Lily, Winifred, Genevieve...
Above: Anne and Samuel Grimshawe’s memorial in Taxal Church. Although it’s usually locked, Taxal Church is well worth a visit if you can get hold of the key. There are some fascinating memorials inside, including one to George II’s ‘Yeaoman of...
Above: Samuel Grimshawe’s cousin, Fredrick Upton Gaskell (circled), pictured in 1883 with members of the annual shooting party. These four very similar photos were among a collection that Gerald Hancock, author of ‘Goyt Valley Romance’, allowed me to...
Above: The Grimshawes’ family cemetery lies above the ruins of their grand country house, Errwood Hall. At one time there was a building to the left, with a vault below, which would have held the coffins of family members (above left). And it...
