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History Of Bradwell
The Romans were undoubtedly the first commercial Derbyshire lead miners. A Roman pig of lead was unearthed on Bradwell Moor over a century ago, whilst at Brough about a mile away are the remains of the Roman Fort of Navio which was garrisoned by the First Cohort of Aquitanians.
All Roman roads in Derbyshire are said to have led to this important site. A Roman fort was originally constructed here about AD 78-79 in Flavian times. However, it was abandoned in AD 140 so that the troops stationed in Derbyshire could unite and fight with Lollius Urbicus in his campaign in Scotland. The Romans returned around AD 158 and the fort was rebuilt by the First Cohort of Aquitanians. Excavations carried out in 1903 revealed an outer wall six feet thick measuring some 285 feet by 340 feet. Rectangular in shape and covering some 2 ¼ acres, the fort had rounded corners and a tower in the western corner, together with a strong room in the centre that had a sunken cellar. A stone slab built into this inner wall was dated AD 158.
It is reputed that the Romans often imported French or Italian convicts to do ‘hard labour’ in the metal mines known as ‘damnati in metalia’. Many years ago a local theory evolved whereby Bradwell residents accused Castleton folk of being descended from slaves, whilst Castleton residents referred to Bradderites as being descended from convicts!
The Roman road of Batham Gate that led from Aqua Arnemetia (Buxton) and Anavio (Brough) ran just to the north of Bradwell over Bradwell Moor. A Roman milestone naming Anavio is held at Buxton Museum.
Edden Tree or Edwin’s Tree at Bradwell is supposedly named after a Saxon King who was hanged there after a battle which raged on the flanks of Win Hill and Lose Hill.
Following the Norman Conquest, King William gave the manor of Bradwell to his bastard son William Peveril, the builder of the castle which still bears his name at nearby Castleton, and at the time of the Domesday Survey the manor of Bradwell was classified as purely agricultural and thus had no substantial dwellings.
At the side of the footpath leading across fields from Bradwell to Brough it is possible to see sections of an old and arched stone tunnel topped with turf which in places has collapsed. These are the remains of a flue running from the former Brough White Lead Works to a tower further up the hillside. Constructed around 1860, the smelting works were operated day and night and used a Dutch process to produce refined white, grey and red lead. In 1854 it is recorded that four men were killed in the Bradwell area by poisonous fumes from a smelter when a pump engine failed. The works closed in 1924 and a tower which was a local landmark was demolished during the Second World War as it posed as a conspicuous marker for the nearby cement works.
Also along this footpath you will observe a long length of furrow and grassy mound which runs right across the valley. This is the remains of ‘Grey Ditch’ which dates back hundreds of years to the Dark Ages when it was probably constructed as a territorial division between the tribes of Mercia and Northumbria, similar in nature to Offa’s Dyke between England and Wales, and probably controlled the northern advance of the Anglian settlers from the south. Grey Ditch stretches from Rebellion Knoll to Mich Low, passing the New Bath Inn which it is said takes its name from a nearby thermal spring. It is thought that Bradwell or Broad Wall took its name from the Grey Ditch, although a more plausible theory is that it originated from the ‘Broad Stream’ which runs through the village.
At nearby Brough there were no less than three cotton mills operating in the 19th century. However, more than 600 years ago there was a corn mill by the bridge there which was recorded in the reign of Edward III. It was run by a family named Shelley who held the mill on condition that should the King ever visit Derbyshire, a member of the Shelley family would attend him on horseback carrying a Heron Falcon. If a Strelley horse died during one of these visits it would be replaced by the King who would also give the family two robes as compensation.
Hazlebadge Hall is thought to be the oldest building in Bradwell, although it is situated almost a mile from the village beside the road to Tideswell. With a date stone of 1549 and the weathered crest of the Swynnerton and Vernon families on the gable end above the five arched and mullioned windows, the surviving structure is only one wing of a much larger hall which belonged to the Vernon family who lived there for three hundred years. The original Hazlebadge Hall was part of the Peveril Estate until about 1154 when the ownership passed to the Strelley family and then to the Vernon’s in 1421.
Sir Richard Vernon who was then the High Steward of the Royal Forest is said to have held courts at Hazlebadge. He reputedly imposed severe penalties for the most trivial offences.
Margaret Vernon was the last of the Vernon family and it is said that she went insane after witnessing her lover’s marriage to a rival at Hope Church. Margaret’s ghost is said to haunt the hall and nearby valley with the occasional spectre of her galloping on a white horse at midnight between Hope and Hazlebadge.
Up Smithy Hill in Bradwell is the Presbyterian Chapel which dates back in parts to 1666. It was built for the ‘Apostle of the Peak’ – the Reverend William Bagshawe who formerly lived in Glossop but was asked to leave because of his religious views. In 1715 the chapel was said to have been wrecked by a Catholic mob from Hope. Early Methodists were harassed and persecuted for their religious convictions with services often interrupted by hecklers. Benjamin Barber who was a prominent Methodist in Bradwell is said to have been permanently scarred in a vicious attack by one of these rampaging gangs. However, it is reputed that justice prevailed in a strange way when only two days later the leader of the gang was killed when his gun accidentally went off in his pocket! From then on the Methodists were said to have been allowed to worship in peace.
A steep walk up to Bradwell Edge takes you to Robin Hoods Cross. This medieval way-marker stood for centuries to direct travellers over the bleak moors to Abney. Although now named after the legendary hero from Sherwood Forest, it is more likely that the cross took its name from Robert Archer who was one-time Lord of Abney and was then known as Robins Cross. The cross has long since disappeared and all that remains is a section of the base incorporated into a wall.
Also noted in Bradwell’s history is an almost plague-sized epidemic when a mysterious illness killed 70 residents between 1868 and 1870 that wiped out several families.
In the 19th century Bradwell was an importance centre for lead smelting although there are now scant remains of the four cupola works.
Opposite the church at 15 Water Lane, Bradwell is a small cottage where Samuel Fox once lived. He was born in June 1815 and invented the paragon umbrella frame. His business flourished and moved to Sheffield where he founded the huge Stocksbridge Works. However, it is said that he never forgot his Bradwell beginnings and donated £100 towards building the church (a substantial sum at that time) and gave land for the site of the churchyard and vicarage. Samuel Fox also provided for the poor of the parish by leaving a trust fund of £1,000, the interest from which was to be allocated annually to the needy. Nearby stands St Barnabas Church School which was built in 1872.
Brookside is an attractive area of Bradwell and at one time held the headquarters of Messrs. Evans Bros who in the 19th century produced telescopes, opera glasses and spectacles. Bradwell also contained no less than six hat makers and retailers producing the ‘Bradder Beaver’. These hats were worn by generations of lead miners. The last hatter was Job Middleton who died in 1899. An example of a ‘Bradder Beaver’ can be seen at the Peak District Mining Museum at Matlock Bath.
Now in the 21st century, Lafarge (Blue Circle) Cement is probably the largest local employer. The tall chimney and symbolic towers of the cement works have become iconic to the Hope Valley since their construction in 1928, being visible from the surrounding hills and often featuring in postcards and tourist information when they can appear almost attractive, especially in an early morning mist!
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