Duffield Frith
Encyclopedia
Duffield Frith was, in medieval times, an area of Derbyshire
in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers
(or Ferrars) by King William
, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle
. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster
and from 1285 it was a Royal Forest
with its own Forest Courts.
It extended from Duffield to Wirksworth
and from Hulland
to Heage
. Most of it became the ancient parish of Duffield, which contained the townships of Hazlewood
, Holbrook
, Makeney and Milford
, Shottle
, and Windley
, and the chapelries of Belper
, Heage and Turnditch
. The chapelry of Belper - or "Beaureper" - was built by the Duke of Lancaster
for the use of the foresters.
The area had been noted for centuries for the quantity of deer, mostly fallow
, but there was also wild boar. There were also wolves, at least until the end of the thirteenth century.
, Berkshire
, Northamptonshire
, and Essex
and as far south as Wiltshire
. In 1070 Hugh d'Avranches was promoted to become Earl of Chester
and the Wapentake of Appletree, which covered a large part of south Derbyshire, was passed to de Ferrers. At the centre of this was Tutbury Castle
which he adopted as his domestic headquarters.
His major landholdings, however, were those of the Anglo-Saxon
Siward Barn, following a revolt in 1071, including more land in Berkshire and Essex and also Gloucestershire
, Warwickshire
, Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire
.
In addition to Tutbury Castle, he built two more, probably typical Norman timber motte and bailey construction. Remembering that large areas of the county were laid to waste during the so-called Harrying of the North
, and are recorded as such in the Domesday Survey, Pilsbury Castle
, on the west bank of the River Dove, was probably built to protect his holdings in the wapentake of Hamston. Meanwhile Duffield Castle commanded an important crossing over the River Derwent
and oversaw the parts of the wapentakes of Litchurch and Morleyston, to the west of the river, and that part of his lands that would become the Frith.
at Tutbury north to the Forest of High Peak
. It is not clear how much of this was retained specifically for hunting. Possibly around 1225, when the Forest of East Derbyshire
was abolished, Morley Park
, which included Belper, was added. In 1266, after a rebellion by Robert de Ferrars
, against King Henry III
the lands were confiscated and passed to Prince Edmund
to be part of the Duchy of Lancaster
.
Records for Duffield Frith do not begin until this time, and being part of the Duchy, the area was not properly a royal forest until the reign of Henry IV
. However Edmund was allowed to hold Forest Courts for Duffield as part of the honour of Tutbury, and King Edward I
hunted in between 1290 and 1293 and Edward II
visited in 1323.
(in contrast with the much larger ward of Campana in the Forest of High Peak
which was intended for hart and hind
.)
There were seven of these parks within the Frith, listed by Henry Earl of Lancaster
) in 1330 as : Ravensdale
, Mansell, Schethull (Shottle
), Postern, Bureper (Belper
), Morley
, and Schymynde-cliffe, (Shining Cliff
). There was another park, Champain, on the southern border on what is now Cumberhills, south of Duffield, near Champion Farm.
The records of the Duchy of Lancaster have many references to Duffield Frith, including, in 1314, a great larder at Belper, where the venison of the deer was salted down for winter use, and a large cow-house stood in the lower part of Shottle (Cowhouse Lane, listed by the Post Office as "Cowers Lane").
It was a valuable source of timber. Orders are recorded, in 1375 for the delivery of oaks to the Carmelite Friars of Nottingham, the Dominican Friars of Derby, and the Abbott of Darley for building purposes. In September, 1405, King Henry IV
ordered the chief forester to supply twelve timber oaks towards the repair of Duffield church, and in 1411 to deliver to the tenants of Duffield enough wood for shoring Duffield Bridge (near the present Bridge Inn) while it was rebuilt - using, no doubt, stone from the ruins of the castle.
It should be remembered that, although referred to as forests, these areas were not necessarily woodland overall. However, in any case, no special measures were taken to conserve timber. By the Sixteenth century the forest laws had been relaxed and much of the land was considered as common. A shift had occurred from arable farming to livestock production and it was more profitable to rent the forest for grazing, without protecting the growing shoots of young trees. Meanwhile, the use of timber increased, particularly for iron
and lead
smelting
which increased significantly from the Thirteenth century.
. It had been reduced considerably in size, and in the reign of Elizabeth I
it is said to have been thirty miles in circumference.
In 1581 a commission investigated ways in which extra royal revenues might be gained. By then Shining Cliff and the manor of Alderwasley had been transferred to the Lowe family, leaving the three wards of Duffield, Belper and Hulland. It reported that the game had virtually disappeared and much of the area was held in common by tenants and copyholders who would suffer if the woods were enclosed. They suggested developing the facilities for smelting the ores and a charge on lead similar to that levied in Wirksworth
.
By this time the forest had been almost completely denuded. One effect of this was a move towards the use of coal
. Water power was already used for grinding corn and wool fulling. It found increasing use for mechanising the various forms of mineral processing. In 1556, one of the earliest ore-stamping mills was built at Hulland Ward
by Burchard Kranich, who, two years earlier, had built the first Smeltmill
for extracting lead from its ore at Makeney.
Matters were left in abeyance until 1633, when the Frith ceased to be a royal forest. The Duchy of Lancaster assigned one third of Belper and Hulland to the Crown and rented to Sir Edward Sydenham. The remainder was divided and enclosed and passed to the commoners. When it came to Duffield Ward, however, the majority of the commoners opposed the proposal. Nevertheless, the Duchy council went ahead and selected the best areas for the Crown, particularly those that were rich in coal. Moreover the areas assigned to the commoners were only granted to those who had previously agreed to the scheme.
This culminated in 1643 in the inhabitants forcibly throwing open all the enclosures in Duffield - or Chevin Ward, including Shottle Park. The commoners were about to seek a judicial review
when the Civil War
began, and all this part of the old forest so seized remained common until 1786, when 1500 acres (6.1 km²) were enclosed by Act of George III
.
. Shining Cliff Wood is on long lease to the Forestry Commission
and is listed as containing an SSSI
. Having been excavated at the end of the nineteenth century, the castle at Duffield has been sadly neglected, since there is little to see.
A paper by Derbyshire County Council has suggested: The area of Duffield Frith is one within which, as noted above, there is good surviving evidence of medieval settlements and field systems. There are extensive documentary records for the forest and opportunity exists for research into the development of these settlements and the economy within a royal forest.
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...
(or Ferrars) by King William
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle
Duffield Castle, Derbyshire
Duffield Castle was a Norman Castle in Duffield, Derbyshire. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.It was on a rocky promontory facing the river, easily defended, though it is debatable whether it was inhabited in prehistoric times...
. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
and from 1285 it was a Royal Forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
with its own Forest Courts.
It extended from Duffield to Wirksworth
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of over 9,000.The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford, Bolehill and Middleton-by-Wirksworth is about 12,000. Wirksworth is listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. Within it is the source of the River...
and from Hulland
Hulland
Hulland is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, adjoining the A517 road.-References:*...
to Heage
Heage
The village of Heage in Derbyshire is situated midway between Belper and Ripley and is today famous for its recently-restored six-sailed windmill. Work on building the mill started in 1791 and it was first recorded as working in 1797...
. Most of it became the ancient parish of Duffield, which contained the townships of Hazlewood
Hazelwood, Derbyshire
Hazelwood is a village in Derbyshire at the lower end of the Pennines around five miles north of Derby, England. Ordnance Survey maps in the nineteenth century spelt it Hazzlewood....
, Holbrook
Holbrook, Derbyshire
Holbrook is a village in Derbyshire at the southern end of the Pennines around five miles north of Derby, England.-History:Holbrook lies about two miles to the north-east of Duffield, the parish of which it was a part, being within Duffield Frith. When the latter was seized by King Henry III...
, Makeney and Milford
Milford, Derbyshire
Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...
, Shottle
Shottle
Shottle is a village roughly west of Belper, Derbyshire England.In Norman times, the manor of Shottle, referred to as "Sothille" in the Domesday Survey, belonged to the Ferrers family.In 1086, the book notes that...
, and Windley
Windley
Windley is a small village in Derbyshire around six miles north of Derby, England, adjacent to the B5023 Duffield to Wirksworth road.It was formerly part of the parish of Duffield within Duffield Frith....
, and the chapelries of Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Heage and Turnditch
Turnditch
Turnditch is a village in Derbyshire around ten miles north of Derby, England on the A517 road from Belper to Ashbourne.It is built on both sides of the road halfway up the steep climb out of the Ecclesbourne Valley. Nearer to the brow of the hill is a place known as Cross o' th' Hands.In Norman...
. The chapelry of Belper - or "Beaureper" - was built by the Duke of Lancaster
Duke of Lancaster
There were several Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th Centuries. See also Duchy of Lancaster.There were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster....
for the use of the foresters.
The area had been noted for centuries for the quantity of deer, mostly fallow
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
, but there was also wild boar. There were also wolves, at least until the end of the thirteenth century.
Norman Conquest
Henry de Ferrers had been granted vast tracts of land, in present day BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and as far south as Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. In 1070 Hugh d'Avranches was promoted to become Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
and the Wapentake of Appletree, which covered a large part of south Derbyshire, was passed to de Ferrers. At the centre of this was Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building...
which he adopted as his domestic headquarters.
His major landholdings, however, were those of the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Siward Barn, following a revolt in 1071, including more land in Berkshire and Essex and also Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
.
In addition to Tutbury Castle, he built two more, probably typical Norman timber motte and bailey construction. Remembering that large areas of the county were laid to waste during the so-called Harrying of the North
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
, and are recorded as such in the Domesday Survey, Pilsbury Castle
Pilsbury Castle
Pilsbury Castle was a Norman castle in Derbyshire near the present day village of Pilsbury, overlooking the River Dove.-Details:Pilsbury Castle occupies an area of high ground approximately 175 yards by 150 yards overlooking the River Dove, near the village of Pilsbury...
, on the west bank of the River Dove, was probably built to protect his holdings in the wapentake of Hamston. Meanwhile Duffield Castle commanded an important crossing over the River Derwent
River Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....
and oversaw the parts of the wapentakes of Litchurch and Morleyston, to the west of the river, and that part of his lands that would become the Frith.
Forest Laws
It will be seen that the de Ferrers controlled an area between the rivers Derwent and Dove, from the River TrentRiver Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at Tutbury north to the Forest of High Peak
Forest of High Peak
The Forest of High Peak was, in medieval times, a moorland forest covering most of the North West of Derbyshire, in England as far south as Tideswell and Buxton....
. It is not clear how much of this was retained specifically for hunting. Possibly around 1225, when the Forest of East Derbyshire
Forest of East Derbyshire
The Forest of East Derbyshire was, in medieval times, an area of wooded heath between the River Derwent and the River Erewash in Derbyshire....
was abolished, Morley Park
Morley Park
Morley Park is an area within the parish of Ripley in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby. It is about five miles north of the village of Morley itself.At the Norman Conquest it was within the wapentake of Morleyston...
, which included Belper, was added. In 1266, after a rebellion by Robert de Ferrars
Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby
Robert III de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby was an English nobleman.He was born at Tutbury Castle in Derbyshire, England, the son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and the Earl's 2nd wife Margaret de Quincy , daughter of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester and Helen of Galloway.-Early...
, against King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
the lands were confiscated and passed to Prince Edmund
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund of Crouchback, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster , was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily. His nickname refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade.-Childhood:Edmund was born in London...
to be part of the Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
.
Records for Duffield Frith do not begin until this time, and being part of the Duchy, the area was not properly a royal forest until the reign of Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
. However Edmund was allowed to hold Forest Courts for Duffield as part of the honour of Tutbury, and King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
hunted in between 1290 and 1293 and Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
visited in 1323.
Duchy of Lancaster
There were four wards: Duffield, Belper, Hulland and Colebrook. Within these were a number of enclosed parks for the keeping of buck and doeFallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
(in contrast with the much larger ward of Campana in the Forest of High Peak
Forest of High Peak
The Forest of High Peak was, in medieval times, a moorland forest covering most of the North West of Derbyshire, in England as far south as Tideswell and Buxton....
which was intended for hart and hind
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
.)
There were seven of these parks within the Frith, listed by Henry Earl of Lancaster
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman, one of the principals behind the deposition of Edward II of England.-Family and lineage:...
) in 1330 as : Ravensdale
Ravensdale Park
Ravensdale Park is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire roughly WSW of Belper, Derbyshire England, midway between Turnditch and Brailsford.It originated as one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith...
, Mansell, Schethull (Shottle
Shottle
Shottle is a village roughly west of Belper, Derbyshire England.In Norman times, the manor of Shottle, referred to as "Sothille" in the Domesday Survey, belonged to the Ferrers family.In 1086, the book notes that...
), Postern, Bureper (Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
), Morley
Morley, Derbyshire
Morley is a civil parish within the area of Erewash Borough Council in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall...
, and Schymynde-cliffe, (Shining Cliff
Shining Cliff Woods, Derbyshire
Shining Cliff Woods are on the west bank of the River Derwent near to Ambergate Derbyshire.In medieval times "Schymynde-cliffe" was one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith and, as such, belonged to Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster...
). There was another park, Champain, on the southern border on what is now Cumberhills, south of Duffield, near Champion Farm.
The records of the Duchy of Lancaster have many references to Duffield Frith, including, in 1314, a great larder at Belper, where the venison of the deer was salted down for winter use, and a large cow-house stood in the lower part of Shottle (Cowhouse Lane, listed by the Post Office as "Cowers Lane").
It was a valuable source of timber. Orders are recorded, in 1375 for the delivery of oaks to the Carmelite Friars of Nottingham, the Dominican Friars of Derby, and the Abbott of Darley for building purposes. In September, 1405, King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
ordered the chief forester to supply twelve timber oaks towards the repair of Duffield church, and in 1411 to deliver to the tenants of Duffield enough wood for shoring Duffield Bridge (near the present Bridge Inn) while it was rebuilt - using, no doubt, stone from the ruins of the castle.
It should be remembered that, although referred to as forests, these areas were not necessarily woodland overall. However, in any case, no special measures were taken to conserve timber. By the Sixteenth century the forest laws had been relaxed and much of the land was considered as common. A shift had occurred from arable farming to livestock production and it was more profitable to rent the forest for grazing, without protecting the growing shoots of young trees. Meanwhile, the use of timber increased, particularly for iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
which increased significantly from the Thirteenth century.
Common land
Duffield Frith continued to be in the hands of the Crown until the time of Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. It had been reduced considerably in size, and in the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
it is said to have been thirty miles in circumference.
In 1581 a commission investigated ways in which extra royal revenues might be gained. By then Shining Cliff and the manor of Alderwasley had been transferred to the Lowe family, leaving the three wards of Duffield, Belper and Hulland. It reported that the game had virtually disappeared and much of the area was held in common by tenants and copyholders who would suffer if the woods were enclosed. They suggested developing the facilities for smelting the ores and a charge on lead similar to that levied in Wirksworth
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of over 9,000.The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford, Bolehill and Middleton-by-Wirksworth is about 12,000. Wirksworth is listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. Within it is the source of the River...
.
By this time the forest had been almost completely denuded. One effect of this was a move towards the use of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. Water power was already used for grinding corn and wool fulling. It found increasing use for mechanising the various forms of mineral processing. In 1556, one of the earliest ore-stamping mills was built at Hulland Ward
Hulland Ward
Hulland Ward is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire roughly 7 miles west of Belper, Derbyshire England on the A517 road. The parish includes the hamlets of Biggin, Nether Biggin and Millington Green...
by Burchard Kranich, who, two years earlier, had built the first Smeltmill
Smeltmill
Smeltmills were water-powered mills used to smelt lead or other metals.The older method of smelting lead on wind-blown bole hills began to be superseded by artificially-blown smelters. The first such furnace was built by Burchard Kranich at Makeney, Derbyshire in 1554, but produced less good lead...
for extracting lead from its ore at Makeney.
Matters were left in abeyance until 1633, when the Frith ceased to be a royal forest. The Duchy of Lancaster assigned one third of Belper and Hulland to the Crown and rented to Sir Edward Sydenham. The remainder was divided and enclosed and passed to the commoners. When it came to Duffield Ward, however, the majority of the commoners opposed the proposal. Nevertheless, the Duchy council went ahead and selected the best areas for the Crown, particularly those that were rich in coal. Moreover the areas assigned to the commoners were only granted to those who had previously agreed to the scheme.
This culminated in 1643 in the inhabitants forcibly throwing open all the enclosures in Duffield - or Chevin Ward, including Shottle Park. The commoners were about to seek a judicial review
Judicial review
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
when the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
began, and all this part of the old forest so seized remained common until 1786, when 1500 acres (6.1 km²) were enclosed by Act of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
Present day
Ravensdale Park, between Windley and Hulland, is today listed as a Scheduled Ancient MonumentScheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
. Shining Cliff Wood is on long lease to the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
and is listed as containing an SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. Having been excavated at the end of the nineteenth century, the castle at Duffield has been sadly neglected, since there is little to see.
A paper by Derbyshire County Council has suggested: The area of Duffield Frith is one within which, as noted above, there is good surviving evidence of medieval settlements and field systems. There are extensive documentary records for the forest and opportunity exists for research into the development of these settlements and the economy within a royal forest.