Strange Traditions of North-East Derbyshire
Advent
During the Advent season, it used to be the practice for children to carry a box around, containing small figures representing the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, covered with a cloth. They would call at each house, singing a carol. If they were rewarded with money or an Advent bun, they would remove the cloth to reveal the Advent figures. This was popular in Bolsover, Glapwell and Shirebrook and was an early forerunner of Christmas carol singing.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989.
Antiwitch Marks
A series of double 'V' marks on the fireplace at Revolution House, Old Whittington, has been confirmed as being protection marks designed to ward off witches and evil spirits. The apotropaic markings are a reference to the Virgin Mary, Protector of Life and Family and it was traditional to apply these marks near openings or windows. Revolution House was used as an inn during the 17th century and during that period there was a heightened belief in the power of witchcraft.
References:
Dronfield Eye, 2023
Child’s First Entry to a House
At Coal Aston, when a child was taken into a house for the first time, it used to be the custom in Coal Aston to present the child with an egg, a little salt and a silver coin.
References:
Eyre, 2016.
Crooked Spire
Chesterfield Parish Church is famous for its crooked spire, constructed in 1362. Whilst the most rational explanation for the spire’s crookedness is that it was constructed by unskilled workers, using unseasoned timbers, which subsequently weathered, there are several versions of a legend which states that the Devil produced the twist in the spire. For example, one version of the story is that the Devil rested on the spire whilst travelling to Derby whilst a wedding service was taking place. As the bride and groom came out of the church, the Devil twisted around in sharp surprise to see that the bride was still a virgin.
See 'Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield' for a summary of haunting phenomena.
References:
Manton, 2011; Lomax, 2012; Eyre, 2016.
Curfew Bells
At one time a curfew bell was rung each evening at Dronfield Parish Church but this practice appears to have ceased by The First World War.
Long ago, a curfew bell was rung in Chesterfield to call the French prisoners of war, who were allowed out during the day, back to their huts.
In the 13th century it is thought that the lover of Lady Constantia de Frecheville went off to the Crusades, unaware that he had left Lady Constantia to give birth to his illegitimate baby. Ashamed at the thought of this, Lady Constantia left home with her baby. However, while she was making her way through Scarcliffe Wood, she heard the curfew bell tolling and felt that it was calling her to return safely home. So grateful was she that upon her death, she left five acres of land to pay for the ringing of the bell, thus funding the Bellrope Charity. The custom of ringing the curfew bell for three weeks before and three weeks after Christmas still continues at Scarcliffe.
References:
Armitage, 2009a; Manton, 2011.
Dole of Loaves
A legend arose around Sutton Scarsdale Hall concerning a Sir Nicholas Leke. Before going off to fight in the Crusades, he broke a ring in half, keeping half and leaving half with his wife, as a token of each other’s love and fidelity. He was held as a prisoner of war for many years by the Turkish Saracens. As he lay in his dungeon one night, he prayed that he might see his beloved Sutton once more and that if his wish was granted, he would make ample provision for the poor of his parish. As he awoke that morning, he found himself sitting within the porch of St Mary’s Church, adjacent to Sutton Scarsdale Hall. He therefore tried to gain admission to the hall but, as he was in rags and looking filthy, he was not recognised by the servants and they would not grant him admission to the building. Eventually, he remembered the half ring and handed it in to prove his identity: the ring was conveyed to his wife and soon the two were reunited.
Sir Nicholas Leke left a dole of loaves (a charitable gift of bread) to the poor ‘as a testimony of his gratitude for his marvellous escape’. The gift only ceased with the death of the last Earl of Scarsdale in 1736.
For details of the ghosts associated with Sutton Scarsdale Hall, see ‘Sutton Scarsdale Hall’.
References:
Anthony, 1977; Bates, 2004; Armitage, 2009a; Brindle, 2011; Eyre, 2016.
Empire Day
It became a tradition during the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V to hold a celebration on Empire Day, being May 24th, which was Queen Victoria’s birthday.
Calow School put on an annual ‘Empire Day Tableau’, at which the audience was impressed by the way the children remained motionless during the demonstration of the tableau.
At Ashover, the local children, along with those from Uppertown and Stanedge, held a Sports Day in the afternoon.
In 1908 600 children assembled on the village green at North Wingfield for community singing.
It became a tradition for various other schools, including New Tupton, Grassmoor and Hipper Street, to also arrange special events to celebrate Empire Day.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989.
Engagement Breakup
Up until the 19th century, it used to be the custom in some places, including Coal Aston, when a young man had been let down by his intended, for flowers to be received from a ‘not too susceptible fair one’.
References:
Eyre, 2016.
Fairy Customs
In the 19th century it was the custom for colliers in the area to leave a hundredweight of coal in certain areas of the mine each week for the ‘fairies’ or mine-spirits.
References:
Linahan, 1996.
Feast Sunday
It is unknown when the tradition of Feast Sunday in Whitwell started but it has certainly been practised since 1874 and it continued for many years, although is no longer observed. A procession consisting of a band and choir, followed by the Sunday school children, would walk round the parish and proceed to the top of High Hill, where an open air service would take place to give thanks for Whitwell’s impressive Norman parish church. This occurred on the nearest Sunday to St Lawrence’s Day (between the 4th and 10th August) each year. It was believed the church had been built from stone extracted from the top of the hill, where an ancient quarry is detectable.
References:
Hopkins, 2013; Porteus, n.d.
Funeral Customs
When a corpse was laid out, it used to be the custom in Dore to lay a pewter plate containing a handful of salt on the breast of the corpse.
Up until the 19th century, at funerals in Dronfield the coffin would be laid on a table, which was put outside the house and covered with a white cloth. The neighbours would come and lay flowers upon the cloth.
It was the belief in days gone by in some places, including Dronfield, that the first person to meet a funeral would be the first to die.
When a corpse was laid out, it used to be the custom in Eckington to place food on a table within reach of the body.
References:
Eyre, 2016.
Hearth Sweeping
In Eckington, it used to be the custom for the women to always sweep the hearth each night, otherwise the fairies would not come and bring them presents.
References:
Merrill, 2003.
Hook and Hoop
A traditional game played at the Royal Oak public house in Coal Aston is that of Hook and Hoop, which consists of a hoop (meant to be a bull’s nose ring) hanging down from the ceiling, together with a hook made from a bull’s horn, on the wall. The idea is for the local males to compete by swinging the hoop to see who can catch it on the hook, allegedly to gain standing in the community. This tradition stems from the practices of bull baiting and of leading a bull by the ring through its nose.
References:
Manton, 2011.
Jumping over the Broomstick
Jumping over the broomstick was a traditional wedding custom and still survives in Pagan hand fasting ceremonies.
References:
Armitage, 2010a; Eyre, 2016.
Love Divination
Since the 17th century the custom of hemp-seed divination has been practised in England, which would involve a young woman spreading hemp-seed in a graveyard at midnight on Midsummer’s Eve, whilst reciting a specific verse.
If she looked back whilst doing this, she would see the spectre of her future husband pursuing her with a scythe (or, if he became wise to what was happening, maybe he would be seen in the flesh). In Derbyshire the tradition required the participant to run round the church 12 times and, on the 12th circuit, the wraith of the future husband would momentarily appear.
On one occasion, a young lady carried out this task by running round Eckington Church, losing count of the number of circuits and collapsing, to be carried home by her friends. As she regained consciousness, she claimed not to have passed out through exhaustion but because she witnessed the wraith of a man she detested and she stated that she would rather die than marry him. It seems she did actually die soon afterwards.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989; Armitage, 2009a.
Maypole Dancing
The tradition of maypole dancing has long been practised in Ashover. In 1924, new ribbons were obtained for the maypole and the village schoolchildren started to be taught a series of maypole dances. Today the dances are still taught to the village’s Brownie pack. Traditional dances around the maypole are undertaken as part of the May Day Carnival.
Maypole dancing also used to be carried out at Whitwell.
References:
Reflections, 2013; Eyre, 2016.
Monster Cakes
Complimentary Twelfth Night cakes were a long standing tradition in Victorian Chesterfield, the cakes being given out free-of-charge by the town’s various confectioners, one of whom, Mr Reynolds of Burlington Street, also gave out lottery tickets with the cakes. By Christmas 1853 the cake shops decided that this practice was uneconomic and brought it to a stop. However, an entrepreneurial baker by the name of John Poole decided to continue the tradition of prizes and Christmas Cakes by cooking monster Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night cakes containing gold rings (rather than the usual 3d bits), thus experiencing a good trade in the product, selling a pound of cake for a shilling. His biggest cake was made at Christmas 1856 and weighed over 3 tons.
Mr Reynolds, a baker on High Street, also joined in with monster cake making, although his attempts did not match those of Mr Poole.
The Chesterfield tradition of monster cakes is still continued by Jackson’s on Low Pavement, although in size they are nothing like the monsters of the 19th century.
References:
Austin, 2002.
Morris Dancing
Morris Dancing has been around since at least 1448, having its origins in ancient Springtime fertility rites. This traditional form of dance occurs all over England, of course, but two of the Morris sides are based in Chesterfield.
The name of the Cock and Magpie Morris Dancers comes from the two birds supporting the shield on the coat of arms of Chesterfield. Different sides demonstrate different types of dance and dress: the Cock and Magpie Morris Dancers dances are based on the Cotswold and Welsh Border traditions and, unlike many sides, include female as well as male dancers.
Chesterfield Garland Dancers is a women’s side and performs clog and garland dances from (mainly) the North-West of England.
References:
Manton, 2011; Chesterfield Garland Dancers, 2012.
Mummers’ Plays
The Brimington Mummers’ Play was performed from 1862 to 1867/8 at Christmas. It was known locally as ‘St George’ and the players were known as ‘mummies’.
Mumming dates back to the eighteenth century. Mummers’ Plays are still included in the May Day Carnival programme at Ashover.
References:
Helm and Cawte, 1967; Graydon, 2013; Eyre, 2016.
Naked Boys Races
Each Winter from the 15th century up until 1756, a Naked Boys race was held, beginning in Staveley, passing through Brimington and ending up back at Staveley. The races, which drew large crowds from surrounding towns, who placed bets on the winner. The races were three miles long and, despite the nakedness of the boys, the cold weather and any ice underfoot, always attracted at least two, and sometimes rather more, competitors. The boys were trained, fed on bull beef and rubbed with hopsack before and after the race. The winner was awarded a prize of £25. A similar race of two miles length was also held at Whitwell.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989; Hopkins, 2013; Fearnehough, 2013; Eyre, 2016.
Old Horse
Up until the end of the 19th century, the ‘Old Horse’ tradition was performed at Holmesfield, Dronfield, Norton and Eckington. This was a variation of the ‘Old Tup’ tradition associated with Sheffield and Staveley (see ‘Old Tup’). A group of men, covered in a tarpaulin, would imitate an old horse, with the horse’s head being made of wood, and they would thus go round from house to house on Christmas Eve.
The Poor Old Horse tradition was briefly revived by the Old Dronfield Society in the 1990s.
In 2015/16, Dronfield Heritage Trust, in partnership with First Art, undertook a project aimed at bringing this tradition up to date. Some pupils from The Dronfield School carried out some research into the nature of the tradition and worked with Rob Thomson and Eoin Bentick to devise a play, which is being performed at several venues during 2016.
References:
Clarke and Wilson, 1987; Eyre, 2016, Wain, 2016b.
© Dronfield Eye
Up until the end of the 19th century, the ‘Old Horse’ tradition was performed at Holmesfield, Dronfield, Norton and Eckington. This was a variation of the ‘Old Tup’ tradition associated with Sheffield and Staveley (see ‘Old Tup’). A group of men, covered in a tarpaulin, would imitate an old horse, with the horse’s head being made of wood, and they would thus go round from house to house on Christmas Eve.
The Poor Old Horse tradition was briefly revived by the Old Dronfield Society in the 1990s.
In 2015/16, Dronfield Heritage Trust, in partnership with First Art, undertook a project aimed at bringing this tradition up to date. Some pupils from The Dronfield School carried out some research into the nature of the tradition and worked with Rob Thomson and Eoin Bentick to devise a play, which is being performed at several venues during 2016.
References:
Clarke and Wilson, 1987; Eyre, 2016, Wain, 2016b.
© Dronfield Eye
Old Tup
In the latter part of the 19th century, boys in Staveley used to perform a ritual on New Year’s Day which incorporated an ‘old tup’ and musical verses. The old tup consisted of a pole, with a boy crouched down behind it with a rug (or real sheep’s skin) draped over him, and an actual sheep’s head fixed to the top of the pole.
Variations of this custom were also practised in Eckington and Whitwell.
References:
Gatty, 1946; Hempton, 1969; Heath, 1969; Hopkins, 2013; Eyre, 2016.
Plough Monday
Plough Monday was the Monday in the first full week after the Feast of Epiphany and marked the return of farm labourers to work in the fields. Dressed up young men and boys, known as ‘Stots’, would perform dances in Whitwell. In earlier years, they would drag a plough from house to house, asking for bread and cheese, threatening to plough up the ground in front of the door if anyone refused.
References:
Hopkins, 2013.
Robin Hood’s Marriage
Barlborough Hall was once home to Robin Hood's long bow, now kept at Renishaw Hall, and local tradition has it that Robin and Marian were married in a nearby church.
See also entry for ‘Barlborough Hall’ for details of haunting phenomena.
References:
Paranormal Database, 2015c.
Rogationtide
For many years during the first half of the 20th century, Rogationtide was celebrated in Whitwell on the Sunday and the following three days preceding Ascension Day. The Parish Priest, choir and people would ‘beat the bounds of the parish’, visiting a different section each day, to bless the crops.
References:
Hopkins, 2013.
Scarecrow Festivals
A tradition begun in fairly recent times is that of placing scarecrows, usually in accordance with a given theme, around a village one week a year, as part of a competition to find the best.
Scarecrow festivals do take place in some other parts of England but, locally, they take place in the following villages:
- Holymoorside
- Coal Aston
- Barlow.
References:
Manton, 2011.
St Mark’s Day
There used to be a belief that on the eve of St Mark’s Day (April 25th) the spirits of those who would die during the following year could be seen passing through the churchyard and into the church. Whilst it was usually young people who plucked up the courage to make observations at this time, at Dronfield, in the early 19th century, an old man sat in the porch of St John’s Church between 11.45 p.m. and 12.15 a.m. After several years of undertaking this vigil and not having seen any spirits, he publicised the fact that there was nothing in the belief. However, despite this evidence, local people continued to adhere to the belief.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989.
Sword Dance
There is a legend that it was the custom in Dronfield for a troupe dressed in black and white hussar-style uniforms to perform a sword dance at New Year. This dates back to the early 19th century.
References:
Eyre, 2016.
Well Dressings
Well dressings have been constructed, going back many centuries, as a form of blessing for the water supply. The dressings are placed at the sites of (in some cases, former) wells and a short, religious, blessing ceremony takes place.
Each well dressing consists of a mounted picture depicting a specific theme and is constructed from a huge wooden tray, filled with clay, and coloured with flowers and assorted other natural materials, such as berries, eggshell, corns, seeds, wood, straw, wool, etc.
They are usually constructed each year in numerous towns and villages around Chesterfield, Bolsover and North-East Derbyshire, e.g. in Clowne, Apperknowle (commencing in 2016), Wadshelf (commencing in 2023), Bamford and Stoney Middleton. A more exhaustive list of well dressings is given in Eyre (2016).
References:
Peak District Information, 2008; Chesterfield Area, 2014; Smith, 2013; Eyre, 2016; Wain, 2016.
In the latter part of the 19th century, boys in Staveley used to perform a ritual on New Year’s Day which incorporated an ‘old tup’ and musical verses. The old tup consisted of a pole, with a boy crouched down behind it with a rug (or real sheep’s skin) draped over him, and an actual sheep’s head fixed to the top of the pole.
Variations of this custom were also practised in Eckington and Whitwell.
References:
Gatty, 1946; Hempton, 1969; Heath, 1969; Hopkins, 2013; Eyre, 2016.
Plough Monday
Plough Monday was the Monday in the first full week after the Feast of Epiphany and marked the return of farm labourers to work in the fields. Dressed up young men and boys, known as ‘Stots’, would perform dances in Whitwell. In earlier years, they would drag a plough from house to house, asking for bread and cheese, threatening to plough up the ground in front of the door if anyone refused.
References:
Hopkins, 2013.
Robin Hood’s Marriage
Barlborough Hall was once home to Robin Hood's long bow, now kept at Renishaw Hall, and local tradition has it that Robin and Marian were married in a nearby church.
See also entry for ‘Barlborough Hall’ for details of haunting phenomena.
References:
Paranormal Database, 2015c.
Rogationtide
For many years during the first half of the 20th century, Rogationtide was celebrated in Whitwell on the Sunday and the following three days preceding Ascension Day. The Parish Priest, choir and people would ‘beat the bounds of the parish’, visiting a different section each day, to bless the crops.
References:
Hopkins, 2013.
Scarecrow Festivals
A tradition begun in fairly recent times is that of placing scarecrows, usually in accordance with a given theme, around a village one week a year, as part of a competition to find the best.
Scarecrow festivals do take place in some other parts of England but, locally, they take place in the following villages:
- Holymoorside
- Coal Aston
- Barlow.
References:
Manton, 2011.
St Mark’s Day
There used to be a belief that on the eve of St Mark’s Day (April 25th) the spirits of those who would die during the following year could be seen passing through the churchyard and into the church. Whilst it was usually young people who plucked up the courage to make observations at this time, at Dronfield, in the early 19th century, an old man sat in the porch of St John’s Church between 11.45 p.m. and 12.15 a.m. After several years of undertaking this vigil and not having seen any spirits, he publicised the fact that there was nothing in the belief. However, despite this evidence, local people continued to adhere to the belief.
References:
Eisenberg, 1989.
Sword Dance
There is a legend that it was the custom in Dronfield for a troupe dressed in black and white hussar-style uniforms to perform a sword dance at New Year. This dates back to the early 19th century.
References:
Eyre, 2016.
Well Dressings
Well dressings have been constructed, going back many centuries, as a form of blessing for the water supply. The dressings are placed at the sites of (in some cases, former) wells and a short, religious, blessing ceremony takes place.
Each well dressing consists of a mounted picture depicting a specific theme and is constructed from a huge wooden tray, filled with clay, and coloured with flowers and assorted other natural materials, such as berries, eggshell, corns, seeds, wood, straw, wool, etc.
They are usually constructed each year in numerous towns and villages around Chesterfield, Bolsover and North-East Derbyshire, e.g. in Clowne, Apperknowle (commencing in 2016), Wadshelf (commencing in 2023), Bamford and Stoney Middleton. A more exhaustive list of well dressings is given in Eyre (2016).
References:
Peak District Information, 2008; Chesterfield Area, 2014; Smith, 2013; Eyre, 2016; Wain, 2016.
