Site record MDR13632 - Staveley Park, Staveley
Type and Period (1)
- DEER PARK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Staveley Park evidently extended over nearly half the parish, according to Coleman, and its boundaries can be traced by remaining place-names: Park House (SK 4057 7590); Park Gate (SK 4005 7643); Red Lodge (SK 4185 7765); White Lodge (SK 4225 7682). The two latter are said to have been the residences of the park keepers. (1)
The names Parkgate (1355) and 'Parkefeld' (1468) predate the first recorded date for Staveley Park itself - 1607. (2)
Staveley Park is a classic example of medieval parkland that was enclosed by boundary earthworks with rounded corners. Hart refers to Staveley Park as 'a classic example of parkland enclosed by boundary earthworks with rounded corners', but the accompanying extent map gives no further information. (3)
The first reference to Staveley Park is in a document of c. 1160. Field names in the area allude to the presence of a park, but its exact boundaries are somewhat uncertain. In Sheffield Archives are a series of letters written by John Hancock in the 1840s, which contain various references to the park and the features within it. He considered the northern limits of the park to lie just to the south of Red Lodge Farm. He believed the park to have been enclosed by 1672, possibly during the 1660s. He also believed White Lodge, Red Lodge and The Breck to have originally been deer-keepers lodges; White Lodge taking its name from a deer-keeper called White, and Red Lodge so-called as it was built of brick. Ince Barn, which no longer exists, is considered by Hancock to have originally been a deer barn, which was later converted in to a house by Godfrey Froggatt. It is certainly referenced to as Ince Homestead in early 19th century terriers held at Chatsworth and in the tithe schedule. (4)
Although most of the landscape in the southern part of Staveley parish has been much altered by industry, the area bonded by Foxstone Wood, the Handleys and Barrow Hill is still largely agricultural land. It is within this area that place and field names give evidence of the existence of a park. Of great value in interpreting the area is the 1639 Staveley Survey, which was reconstructed and analysed by Anthony Smith in 1999. Although it is part of the Chatsworth Archives, it is thought to have been drawn up for Lord John Frecheville, who held this manor at the time. The survey does not contain a map, but it does list fields in the lord's demesne and named sections of parkland. It indicates a park of considerable size covering approximately 975 acres. The survey by Hart (1981) shows a park of about 450 acres, which could represent a later, smaller area of parkland remaining from a substantially larger plot, or the smaller original park that was subsequently enlarged. (5)
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SDR7548 Article in serial: Coleman, W L. 1894. 'Some place and field names of the parish of Staveley', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Vol. 16, pp 190-197.
- <2> SDR13112 Bibliographic reference: Cameron, K. 1959. 'The Place-Names of Derbyshire, Part II', English Place-Name Society.
- <3> SDR10777 Bibliographic reference: Hart, C (NDAT). 1981. The North Derbyshire Archaeological Survey to AD 1500. p 132; fig 10.6.
- <4> SDR4017 Unpublished document: ARCUS. 1996. Desk-based archaeological assessment of land at Breck, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. pp. 4-5.
- <5> SDR20777 Bibliographic reference: Wiltshire, M & Woore, S. 2009. Medieval Parks of Derbyshire. pp. 168-9.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 4179 7648 (1920m by 2907m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | STAVELEY, CHESTERFIELD, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR3667
- EDR1605
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 20 2023 3:59PM