Timeline of 17th Century History in the Penistone Area

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The 17th Century - AD 1600 - AD 1700
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Year Date Events
1600   Population of England and Wales about 4 million. One source gives a figure of 4,109,000 for 1601. Parragon's 'World History' gives: China 120 million; France 16 million; Italy 13 million; Spain and Portugal 10 million; German-speaking states total 20 million; England 5 million; North America 1 million. Brazil had around 800,000 African slaves.
1603   Bubonic Plague. Another epidemic returns to the country.
1604   PGS. Inquisition during the reign of King James I regarding 'Penistone Free Grammar School', to ascertain what property was in the school's possession. Ref 7.
1605   Gunpowder Plot Discovered. Thirty barrels of gunpowder were discovered in a cellar beneath the House of Lords, to be exploded on the occasion of the opening of Parliament, with the King as the main target. The 'Gunpowder Plot' was abandoned after a conspirator revealed the plans. His brother-in-law would have been killed in the explosion. Guy Fawkes was tortured to reveal names and other information, although he bravely resisted as much as possible to give his co-conspirators time to flee. Having signed a confession, he was put to death. The Gunpowder Plot had been a reaction to the presecution of Catholics in England. It would have changed the course of English history, had it killed the King and others. A law was passed requiring bonfires to be lit and church bells to be rung throughout the land on 5th November each year. See Penistone's Bonfire Night page for more.
1612   Bubonic Plaque. Another epidemic returns to the country.
1613   PGS Schoolmasters. A list from 1611 to 1893 can be found on the PGS History page
1614   Adam Eyre was born this year. He would become prominent in the Civil War as Captain Eyre of Cromwell's Parliamentary Army. He survived the war and would die in 1661. See Eyre's story below this table.
1615   Pancake Recipe - Pancakes were a signature of Shrove Tuesday as they used ingredients such as milk and eggs that were given up for Lent. Gervase Markham’s 1615 Pancake Recipe: “To make the best Pancake, take two or three egges, and breake them into a dish, and beate them well: Then adde vnto them a pretty quantity of faire running water, and beate all well together: Then put in cloues, mace, cinamon, and a nutmegge, and season it with salt; which doue make it thicke as you thinke good with fine wheate flower: Then frie the cakes as thinne as may bee with sweete butter, or sweete seame, and make them brown, and so serue them vp with sugar strowed vpon them. There be some which mixe Pancakes with new milke or creame, but that makes them tough, cloying, and not so crispe, pleasant and sauoruy, as running water”
1623-4   Famine. Poor Harvests throughout the land led to much starvation. Improvements to agriculture meant that this was the last peace-time famine on this scale in our country, although there were other times of hunger.
1626   Thirteen parishioners from Denby drowned, while trying to cross the waters of Scout Dike on their way to Penistone Church to worship. this led the Denby parish to apply for a licence from Tobias Matthew, Archbishop of York, to build their own chapel. It was later granted for Denby to have its own Chapel of Ease. See 1627 below and a more detailed story of Denby Chapel at the bottom of the Vicars page.
1627 12th Dec Licence for Chapel of Easement in Denby - Dedicated to 'the Greater Glory of God in honour of St John the Evangelist'. It was licenced for Religious Ordinances but not weddings, baptisms or burials. Parishioners would still have travelled to Penistone Church on an often perilous journey but now they could have services held in their own chapel. It had strong links with Penistone Grammar School, whose staff conducted limited services from time to time. The building fell into disrepair over time and all but the tower was rebuilt in 1845. See the more detailed story of Denby Chapel at the bottom of the Vicars page.
1629   Part of Hoylandswaine common land enclosed by Sir Francis Wortley, April, provoking a group of locals to arm themselves and tear the walls down in the dead of night. It was quite futile. Sir Francis had legal methods to have his own way in the end. Ref 14, P117. Read about the detrimental effects of enclosing common land. S Yorks Timescapes.
1630   Diversion of the River Don by the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden (1595 - 1677), who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Up to this year, the River Don entered the River Aire at Snaith. Vermuyden dug the 'Dutch River', which provided a direct route from the Don to the River Ouse at Goole. 'Its waters are now delivered to the Ouse at Goole by the Dutch River which commemorates the nationality of Vermuyden and many of his workmen who undertook the work to save much valuable land from mundation. The old channel can still be traced.' Ref 7 p140.
1635   Mnemonic for the Months - This item appeared in the 1878 Penistone Almanack, without explaining its source:
The lines by which we remember the number of days in each month are very old, and in 1635, though a little longer than the now current lines, they were of much better quality. The old lines are:

'April, June, and September,
'Thirty days have, as November,
'Each month else doth never vary,
'From 31, save February,
'Which 28 doth still confine,
'Save in leap year, then 29.'
  PO - There were no English Post Offices before this year.
1636   Nether Mill House built.
1637   Bubonic Plaque. The Plague returns to England around this time.
1640 Oct A Non-duel - A matter was brough to The Court of Chivalry 1634-1640, in the matter of '198 Eyre v Fox.' John Eyre of Hathersage had complained about an abusive Mr Fox which provoked him to a duel. However, this did not reach any conclusion as, on the appointed date of 24 October 1640, Mr Fox failed to attend. The family of Adam Eyre of Haslehead came from Hathersage, although his father's name was Thomas, so it is not clear who John Eyre was in the story. See British History Online for the story and Eyre's story below this table.
1642
to
1651-2		   The English Civil War - The Civil War was really three Civil Wars lasting about ten years between Parliamentarian and Royalist forces which divided the country, districts and families. These were a series of armed conflicts and political machinations which affected every part of the country. It started when Charles I raised his royal standard in Nottingham. The country became split between those supporting the King (the Royalists) and those supporting Parliament (called the Roundheads from their close-cropped hair). Historians break it down to three periods: First English Civil War (1642 - 1646), the Second English Civil War (1648 - 1649) and the Third English Civil War (1649 - 1651). (Wiki). The three major battles of the Civil War were at: Edge Hill (1642), Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby (1645). Parliamentary soldiers were at one time garrisoned in Penistone's Church tower, see 1644 below. Take a look at the Civil War maps at Texas University Library, showing how areas of the country were controlled by each side. Of particular local interest is Captain Adam Eyre (1614 - 1661) who fought under Lord Fairfax. He was much involved in parish affairs around our area, especially Hazlehead, which was 'Haslehead' in those days. See Eyre's story below this table, the History Learning site and ECW Teaching Notes.
1644   Penistone Church - The medieval stained-glass church windows were smashed by puritans during the Civil War. Sir Francis Wortley was the leading Royalist, with Sir Thomas Wentworth of Bretton, with a garrison at Tankersley. The leading Parliamentarians in our district were Sir Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite, Captain Adam Eyre of Hazlehead (see page bottom), Captain William Rich of Bullhouse and the Wordsworths of Water Hall. The Parliamentarians garrisoned the church tower under Captain Rich, Captain Adam Eyre and Captain Shirt of Cawthorne and put a cannon on the tower to defend the town against the Royalists. A look-out sentry on the tower was shot as he was 'peeping into the town' by a bullet from a Royalist sniper. The late Dick Brownhill had put the sniper's location in Booth's Yard (where the Co-op is now located) but the booklet below refers to 'Jonathan Wordsworth's fold-yard' and attributes it to a 'Wilson of Broomhead'. Refer to Penistone History Group's Journal No. 3 (Jan 2018), Ref 10 and Ref 17 p6.
  Penistone Church Register starts from this year but, according to Genuki, entries of marriages are defective from 1740 - 1745 and 1786 - 1812. See Penistone Church history page.
1647   Adam Eyre's Diary - The diary 'A Dyurnall of my Life' started this year and finished 26th January 1648-9. This appears in a book in the Dransfield Cabinet, Penistone Library, with copious footnotes. Also at Archive.org to download. Another diary that he wrote during his wartime exploits was lost. See the Adam Eyre section below this table and the Civil War above, from 1642. See Eyre's story below this table.
24th April Sir Francis Wortley fined £500. According to a leaflet obtainable from Wortley Hall, Sir Richard Wortley's (see 1586) son Francis (1591–1652) rose to prominence during the Civil War (which had started in 1642). Sir Francis Wortley was a Royalist and fought for King Charles I at the Siege of Hull in 1642. He 'raised a troop of horse' and Wortley Hall was used as a garrison for 150 dragoons, which he commanded and led into battle on Tankersley Moor. He was taken prisoner by parliamentarian forces commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax at Walton Hall, near Wakefield (or Wotton House), on 3 June 1644 and removed to the Tower of London. His estates were sequestrated and he had to pay a heavy fine of £500 on 24th April 1647 to recover his property (details from: pp 48-49, 'The Complete Baronetage' by George E Cockayne, pub 1900). According to Wikipedia, he paid the fine upon his release in 1649. In September 1652, he succeeded to the baronetcy. He died in 1665 and his baronetcy became extinct. In 1646, King Charles surrendered to the Scots but they effectively sold him to the English Parliament for £400,000. He was tried at Westminster Hall in January 1649, and found guilty that he had 'Traitorously and maliciously levied war against the present Parliament and the people therein represented.' Charles was executed 30th January 1649. See Wortley, Sir Francis at the History of Parliament.
1649   Famine in Northern England.
1650s   The Society of Friends - Start regular meetings at High Flatts this decade in a barn adopted for the purpose as a Meeting Place. It was something of a wilderness at the time. High Flatts was one of the earliest Quaker developments in the country. See 1652, 1697 and the Quaker page.
1650   Cannon Hall. William Hewet Esq., of Beccles, Norfolk, son of Sir Edward Hewet, of St. Martin's- in-the-Fields, London, sold the Manor and Farm along with other farms, land and cottages to Robert Hartley for £2,900. From an indentiture of 25th November 1650, William Hewet conveyed to Robert Hartley for £2,900 the manor, farm, and capital messuage called Cannon Hall, with Rowroyd, Jowet-house, Broadgates, five small cottages at Cawthorne, Wilmroyd close, and 'the tithes thereof.' Robert Hartley died at the age of 29 in 1656. See 'A History of Cawthorne' by Charles Pratt MA, Vicar of Cawthorne. According to Wikipedia, Cannon Hall took its name from a 13th-century inhabitant Gilbert Canun and was in the ownership of the Bosville family of Ardsley in the 14th century.
1652   High Flatts Quakers (The Society of Friends). It has been suggested that the earliest date of Quaker influence and activity within High Flatts was 1652, when it is thought John Firth and local ‘Friends’ found a sympathetic host for the meetings of this persecuted faith. As with rural settlements of this nature, farming resulted in the construction of scattered farms, but the introduction of the non-conformist religion founded by George Fox (1624 - 1691) encouraged activities and influenced the individuals who resided in and around High Flatts and within the heart of the conservation area, now known as ‘Quaker Bottom’. See High Flatts Conservation Appraisal (pdf).
1655   Bullhouse Hall by Sylvanus Rich. Grade II Listed in April 1988 by English Heritage, along with other Bullhouse buildings. Principal list entry Number: 1151820 (other List Numbers apply). 'This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.'
1659   Church Inscription - By the altar of Penistone church: 'Hic jacit vxorejus castissima Maria Bosseville Quce obdormivit X Die I an ano libertatis Christianae M D C L X I Mors Mihi Lucrum M. B. Hic quiescit Gulielmus Bosseville de Gunthwaite Armiger obiit III die Aprilis ano salutis MDCLXII Hic etiam quiesit Gulielimus Bosseville de Gunthwaite, armiger, nepus praefat Gulielmi Obiit VI Iunii anno Domini M. DCC.XXIV aetatis suae XLII Mors ultima lince rerum'
1662   Hearth Tax - This was levied on each householder according to the number of hearths and stoves in the dwelling. It was introduced during the reign of Charles II, attempting to make up a shortfall of income. It would be repealed in the reign of William and Mary in 1696, after only 27 years, to be replaced by the Window Tax in 1696. The tax was not popular as it meant that assessors entered homes to assess the number of hearths and stoves. See the footnotes about Lady Day on this page. See the Hearth Tax site and the 1672 West Riding Lady Day Returns (360kB pdf). See the full text of the Statute.
1665   Bubonic Plague in Derbyshire. The Great Plague struck London in 1665. It arrived in the Derbyshire village of Eyam, having arrived via a flea-infested bundle of cloth from London destined for the local tailor. His assistant George Vicars had ordered the bundle but would be dead within the week. Villagers tried to limit the spread of the disease by various measures and looked to the church for leadership, at a time of religious upheaval. They appeared to be winning as the death rate fell, but in 1666 it returned in strength. The villagers were led by their priest William Mompesson to be compassionate to others and quarantine themselves from the rest of the world. This act was almost the same as choosing death over life. This particularly protected the industrial city of Sheffield but it caused great problems, such as preventing them from going to Bakewell Market and Fulwood for supplies. Money would be left in a stream outside the village in exchange for goods delivered. Church services were also held in the open air to reduce the spread. The Earl of Devonshire (of Chatsworth House near Bakewell) arranged for food and medicine to be left at the southern boundary of the village. Villagers buried their own dead and engraved gravestones as best they could. By the end of the Plague, about 14 months from its start, 76 families had been affected and around 260 villagers died out of a population of around 800. This would have been the closest place to the Penistone area suffering from the plague, a distance of about 25 miles 'as the crow flies.' Had the villagers not taken the courageous decision to isolate themselves, it is possible that hundreds or even thousands more lives could have been lost. From the BBC 'Local Legends' site.
1666   Samual Pepys - Following the plague-ridden year of 1665, the great London diarist declared what a bad year it had been and that he was glad to see the back of it. The Great Fire of London in 1666 was yet to happen. After these two disasterous years, the seer known as Nostradamus claimed that it had been devine retribution for the regicide of Charles I.
1667   Hepworth Feast Founded - To commemorate the Great Plague in Hepworth village. This was the most northerly part of the country to suffer from the Great Plague of 1665-1666. According to local legend, a barricade was made at Barrack's Fold to quarantine diseased villagers in south Hepworth from the northern part of the village. Thirteen people died of the plague and thirteen trees were planted to remember them. Two of them fell down but were re-planted in a small ceremony in 2004. The end of the plague is still commemorated on the last Monday of June every year with Hepworth Feast and a procession. See Calendar Customs and the Wikipedia entry.
1670   'Old Chapel' Demolished - Cassell's Gazetteer of 1899 (p. 125): 'A religious house, dedicated to St John the Baptist, formerly occupied the site of a residence known still as 'Old Chapel' and records show that it was an old edifice in 1393; it was demolished in 1670, and the stobes used for the repairing of the present church wall.'
1672 Lady Day
25th Mar. 		Hearth Tax was levied from 1662 until 1689. People had to pay two shillings per hearth, twice a year. The parish constable listed householders and hearths in each house. There were a lot of conditions and exemptions, such as those on low incomes or those who lived in houses of little value. Totals for Penistone on Lady Day (25th March) 1672: 1 - 13; 2 - 9; 3 - 2; 4 - 1; 5 - 2; 6 - 0; 7 - 1. The poor were not listed as they were exempted from the tax. Charitable institutions, such as hospitals and alms houses, were also exempt. Until 1751 Lady Day was used for legal purposes as the start of the New Year, with the earlier months belonging to the previous year in England (not Scotland). See the footnotes about Lady Day on this page. See the Hearth Tax site and the 1672 West Riding Lady Day Returns (360kB pdf) and the full Statute.
1673 29th Oct. Will of William Rich provides £1 each year from rents, towards the poor of the parish.
1674   Witchcraft accusations. Two women local to Denby, Anne Shillitoe and Susan Hinchcliffe, accused of witchcraft by Mary Moor of Clayton West. Both were charged with witchcraft and taken to Barnsley Court where they were committed for trial at York (result unknown).
1682   Dr Nicholas Saunderson Born - Of John and Anne in Thurlstone. John worked for the Excise and his grandfather was Richard Harrison. According to local historian, John N Dransfield (Ref 7), NS was totally blind by the age of two through smallpox (which agrees with other sources). He was reported to have learnt to read by running his fingers over gravestones in Penistone churchyard. He died in 1725. See the Dr N Saunderson article below this table.
1689 Oct Rev Henry Swyft (or Swift) - Death of this popular, non-conformist minister, who was buried in Penistone churchyard. On his tombstone: 'Here was interred the body of Mr Henry Swift, Nov 2, 1869, aged 66 years, and having been minister of Peniston 40 years'. His successor was Rev Edmund Hough, who so displeased Elkanah Rich of Bullhouse Hall with his preaching style so much that it led to Bullhouse Chapel being built to continue the non-conformist tradition. Spellings were variable in those days. See 1692 below. The Vicars page has more about Rev Henry Swyft.
1690s   Rampant Inebriation - Perhaps less of a problem in country areas such as ours, where working people could easily lose their livelihoods, the towns and cities were suffering from the effects of gin being consumed (as depicted in Hogarth's Gin Lane paintings), which was becoming more popular than beer in this period. The Gin Act of 1751 tried to reduce gin consumption.
1690   Godfrey 'Justice' Bosville purchases the Manor of Midhope. Godfrey's father was also called Godfrey Bosville, Lord of the Manor of Gunthwaite, who lived in Gunthwaite Hall. See also 1705.
1692 18th April Bullhouse Chapel - Was completed near Bullhouse Hall. It had been started by Elkanah Rich (who is buried there) soon after the popular non-conformist vicar of Penistone Church, Rev'd Henry Swyft, died while still vicar in October 1689. Elkanah was not happy with the preaching style of Swyft's successor, Rev Edmund Hough. The chapel began as a Presbyterian meeting house but, after the Act of Toleration of 1672, was licenced for non-conformist worship from 1689. Ref 6. It was registered as a place of worship for Dissenting Protestants at Pontefract Assizes in this year, 1692. The unusual pulpit is believed to be the original one. Please also download a few notes about Bullhouse Chapel (pdf) from the 'Heritage Inspired' site. The Vicars page has more about Rev Henry Swyft (or Swift).
1695   New Tax Imposed. This applied to each recorded baptism, marriage or burial.
1696   Window Tax - The Window Tax was introduced by William III and designed to be related to the ability to pay. It replaced the Hearth Tax of 1662 and was, apocryphally, the origin of the term ‘Daylight robbery.' A two-shilling tax would be levied on the house with a further tax according to the number of windows. Houses with fewer than ten windows were initially exempted from the window tax. Between ten and twenty windows the tax was four shillings and eight shillings more if there were more than twenty windows. In 1747 the 2/- flat rate became a house tax in its own right and the window tax became 6d per window (10 to 14 windows), 9d per window (15 to 19) and 1/- per window (20 or more). In 1758 the flat rate charge became 3/-. There were adjustments to the tax in 1766 and 1825, and in 1778 the flat-rate tax changed to a variable rate. The poor were exempt from the window tax. After 1825, houses with fewer than eight windows were exempted. Non-essential windows were often filled in to reduce this tax and there are still buildings in the UK with bricked-up windows. It was strictly enforced and in some cases even perforated grates or grilles in larders were charged the same as large windows. Window Tax was repealed in 1851 after campaigners argued that it was a 'Tax on health', and a 'Tax on light and air'. It was reported in 1851 that the production of glass since 1810 had remained almost constant despite the large increase in population and new houses. UK Parliament.
5th Nov Bell-ringers being paid eight shillings to ring Penistone Church bells to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The same year, 4s 6d was paid for 'a bel-rop and 2d for bringing it home'. The thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot was commemorated for many years after 1605 by special sermons and such as the ringing of church bells, which have evolved into the Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) of today. Ref 26.
1697   High Flatts Quakers (The Society of Friends). Meetings were held at a barn within Quaker Bottom until its conversion into a purpose built Meeting House this year. This Meeting House was completely rebuilt in 1754 on the same site, and still hosts Sunday meetings. As with rural settlements of this nature, farming resulted in the construction of scattered farms, but the introduction of the non-conformist religion founded by George Fox (1624 - 1691) encouraged activities and influenced the individuals who resided in and around High Flatts and within the heart of the conservation area, now known as ‘Quaker Bottom’. See High Flatts Conservation Appraisal (pdf).
1698   Penistone Church Clock - Repaired at a cost of £3, 4s 0d. Ref 26. This item also appears in a 1904 booklet 'History of the Parish Church.'
1699   Charter for Penistone Market approved by Parliament, established mostly through the work of Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite. It is likely that markets had been held in Penistone long before this tkme but the Royal Charter gave it a legal footing. The market was to be held on Tuesdays.  Markets had been held since the 13th century on Tuesdays at nearby Penisale (exact location not known but probably Langsett - see 1290). After complaints from Barnsley (with their market being held on Wednesdays), a change to Thursday was agreed for Penistone. We must remeber that Barnsley was no bigger, more important or more dominant than Penistone at that time. The Charter also allowed for a three-day Fair from 10th to 12th June each year, as well as the market, both to be held in the Market Place in front of Penistone Church Tower. The Market and Summer Fair helped to transform Penistone from a village to a small town. Ref 9.
, ,   Population of England and Wales about 5½ million.
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Penistone

Back Top Captain Eyre of Bullhouse Hall
Adam Eyre was born 24th April 1614. Like the Rich family he was a strongly Puritan, as were other notable local families such as the Wordsworths, Bosviles and Micklethwaites. He was also a close friend of the Riches. His family and ancestors, who were Catholics, came from Crookhill in the parish of Hathersage, North Derbyshire but they became spread about.

His father Thomas moved into Yorkshire and married Ellen Ramscar. They settled at Haslehead (now spelled Hazlehead) in the Thurlstone township of Penistone parish. It was a large moorland estate of over 22,000 acres, standing at 740 feet above sea level in the Upper Don valley. A wooded rocky slope led down to the Don called the 'Rocher.' A Victorian historian, H J Moorhouse, considered the house as wind-swept, 'singularly bleak and cold' and with a 'dreary prospect (view).' There, with the aid of a few servants and labourers, Thomas Eyre maintained a farm with (as of January 1649) two horses, 27 cattle and 102 sheep.

In 1640, Thomas's son Adam married Susannah, daughter of Godfrey Mathewman of Eden-tree Head, a puritan family living in nearby Kirkburton. That same year, Adam was also mentioned at Pontefract quarter sessions: he was fined for fathering an illegitimate child upon Mary Turner of Penistone.

When the Civil War broke out in 1642, like many other influential local gentry, Eyre fought for the Parliamentary cause under the command of Lord Fairfax and subsequently under Sir Thomas Fairfax. This was in part inspired by protecting his lands and property from Cavalier incursions.

Adam was typical of the Yeoman or 'a middling sort' whom Cromwell sought to lead his armies as captains. During the first civil war he served under General Fairfax's West Riding army as a captain of a troop of horses, with his brother Joseph also a captain with Cpt Shirt as his lieutenant. Joseph would die in 1648, probably in action. During the Protectorate he was a minor bureaucrat in the post war (1651) regime.

Unfortunately, his note-book of Civil War events became lost, although we might speculate that that could have been a fortunate occurrence, given the post-war tensions of the time. Some events might best have been forgotten as fences were being rebuilt.

Adam and his brother Joseph were adherents of the Puritan religion. The vicar of Penistone from 1633, Rev Matthew Booth, had become very unpopular with the congregation. Beginning in 1648, Adam Eyre would be one of those involved in removing him. Eventually, the popular if troublesome (to the authorities) Henry Swift became vicar of Penistone and, although he never was 'presented,' he stayed in post for the next 40 years.

When Adam became a civil servant at London's Strand, he regarded himself as a gentleman of London. Amazingly, in 1650 he bought the biggest lot of Crown Land in Yorkshire for £5,966 7s 6d, a real bargain! Adam's grandfather was also named Adam. The grandfather and grandfather's brother were both recorded in the 'Visitation' of 1662, which was when an official would check up on those who had pedigree (with coats of arms and land). Adam's motto was 'Vincet Virtus' (Latin: 'Truth conquers all') which he had set in plaster above the mantelpiece of his house. His house is no longer at Hazlehead. It was demolished and a new house built by Henry Bailey of Stalybridge at the same location.

Captain Eyre's Diurnal (Diary)
This record gives an account of Adam's material accounts and spiritual deliberations between 1647 and 1649. From this we learn about his difficult marriage and his daily action and travels It also reveals he is a man of books, mainly spiritual. He buys books in London and lends them to friends. He is a literate and cultured man, typical of the yeoman class of his time. This diary is regarded as a significant document of daily life in the late 1640s in Northern England. Sometimes entries record days when he went no-where or when he went to get his horses shoed. Adam had bouts of heavy drinking and he records his wife locking him out of the house after two of these sessions, the marriage being somewhat strained by these events.

He also records visits to London and York seeking the back-pay owed to the Parliamentarian troops. He was trusted by fellow officers to pursue their claims too! His brother Joseph was owed £600 in back pay.

Lacking children of his own, he spent much time with his kinfolk and mediated in disputes between neighbours. A sample of the diary reads 'This morn my wife went to see her mother... I sent my wife to my father's to see if he will give me £350, and I will make Haslehead to her for jointure and release all his (Eyre's) land but Oliver's Farm.' Adam was always in need of funds!

'This morn my wife began, after her old manner, to brawl and revile me for wishing her to wear only such apparel as was decent and comely.' She (his wife) 'accused me of treading on her sore foot, with curses and oaths, which to my knowledge I touched not.' The next day: 'This morn I rid to Eden Tree head, his father-in-law's home, to borrow a pan for my wife to brew in!'

Adam died in 1661. He had been a yeoman, 'a middling sort, army captain,' seeker of recompense for his army services and that of others, a civil servant and also had a very strong influence on local church matters.' He had been a troubled husband who was faithful to his kinsmen. So much in a short but active life.

Notes:

Back Top Dr Nicholas Saunderson (1682 - 1739)
Thurlstone's blind mathematician. The Yorkshire Gazette of 1828 has the following about Thurlstone and Dr Saunderson (Page 263):

Thurlstone, West Riding, a township in the parish of Penistone, wapentake of Staincross, 1 mile W. from Penistone; inhabitants, 1524.
In this place was born, 1682, Nicholas Saunderson: when only a year old, he was deprived of his sight by the small-pox; being sent to the free-school at Penistone, he attained to great proficiency in classical learning, and afterwards made such progress in algebra and geometry, that his friends sent him to Cambridge, where he delivered lectures on mathematics to crowded audiences; on the resignation of Whiston, he was appointed the Lucasian professor: his elements of algebra, and his treatise on fluxions, are yet esteemed: he died in 1739.
The manners of Saunderson were rude, and his opinions too free for the air of a university; but he exhibits the most powerful example which England has seen of the concentration and force of intellect in any individual labouring under so severe a privation as loss of sight. Dr. Blacklock was a poet, at least a versifier, and John Metcalf of Knaresborough exceeded Saunderson in the variety of his acquirements, and his dexterity in out-of-door occupations, but it was left to the Lucasian professor to acquire, in an age of science, a name second only to Sir Isaac Newton.

Nicholas Saunderson was born on New Row, Thurlstone, 1682 of John and Anne Saunderson of Thurlstone. His father worked for the Excise and his grandfather was Richard Harrison. According to local historian John N Dransfield (Ref 7) Saunderson was totally blind by the age of two through smallpox (which agrees with other sources). Apparently in error, Wikipedia claimed in an earlier version that he lost his eyesight at the age of eight (now apparently corrected), which reminds us why it is not a reliable source. Another source in Penistone Libarary 'Grave Tales from South Yorkshire' (Giles Brearley, Wharnecliffe Books) has him losing his sight and eyes at the age of 12 months old.

He was reported to have learnt to read by running his fingers over gravestones in Penistone churchyard. This was before the invention of Braille writing. In spite of his blindness, he made great progress in classical and mathematic knowledge at Penistone Grammar School, then under the care of Mr Staniforth (a Puritan clergyman). He learnt Latin, Greek and French at PGS. It is stated that he enjoyed the Roman writers Virgil and Horace and could freely quote from them but the authors he chiefly studied were in the Greek language, Euclid, Archimedes and Diophantus.

His father John taught him arithmetic and Nicholas went on to assist him in his excise work. He became proficient in making long calculations by the strength of his memory and he invented new rules to solve arithmetic problems with ease. With the backing of Mr West, a local gentleman of Underbank, he attended a small academy in Attercliffe at the age of eighteen, where he made himself master of logic and metaphysics. This was an academy intended for the education of dissenting ministers. Its mode of instruction did not well suit his genius and he seems to have mostly educated himself, to great effect. He is reported to have been aided by Dr Nettleton of Halifax, who taught him the principles of algebra and geometry.

With a phenomenal understanding of algebra, geometry and mathematics and with the help of friends, he obtained a post at Cambridge University, where he taught philosophy form 1707. He was not admitted into any college but chose Christ's College for his residence. With the help of his friend Isaac Newton, he was granted a degree in 1711 by Queen Anne and would teach Newton's Optiks. He was granted an MA by special patent. He became one of the country's greatest mathematicians and wrote 'Algebra' in two volumes. He was elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics upon the chair becoming vacant by the celebrated Prof. Whiston, who had been of great assistance to him. When George II visited the university in 1728, Prof N Saunderson was created Doctor of Laws by his majesty's command.

Obelisk to SaundersonAccording to the Yorkshire Gazette of 1828, they thought that this northern boy was too direct in his conversations:
' The manners of Saunderson were rude, and his opinions too free for the air of a university; but he exhibits the most powerful example which England has seen of the concentration and force of intellect in any individual labouring under so severe a privation as loss of sight. Dr. Blacklock was a poet, at least a versifier, and John Metcalf of Knaresborough exceeded Saunderson in the variety of his acquirements, and his dexterity in out-of-door occupations, but it was left to the Lucasian professor to acquire, in an age of science, a name second only to Sir Isaac Newton.'

He continued at Cambridge until he died 19th April 1739, aged 57. He was buried in Toxworth, near Cambridge, Herts. His posthumous work 'The Method of Fluxions Applied to a Select Number of Useful Problems' was a study in differential calculus and his other, posthumous, work was 'The Elements of Algebra, in Ten Books.'

An obelisk was erected to commemorate Saunderson in Penistone St John's Garden (lower churchyard) in 2006. This was designed and constructed by local artist Sarah Jones-Morris as a memorial to the blind professor. Also an abacus set into the metal archway entrance to the churchyard. Penistone's Saunderson Avenue is another nod to the Professor. There is a memorial also at Toxworth. See an interesting biography of Saunderson from the University of St Andrews.

Back Top Royalty During This Period
Until 1603 the English and Scottish Crowns were separate, although links between the two were always close. The Stuarts were the first kings of the United Kingdom. King James I of England who began the period was also King James VI of Scotland, thus combining the two thrones for the first time. The Stuart dynasty reigned in England and Scotland from 1603 to 1714, a period which saw a flourishing Court culture but also much upheaval and instability, of plague, fire and war.

The Civil War was from 1642 to 1651-2. It was an age of intense religious debate and radical politics. Both contributed to a bloody civil war between Crown and Parliament (the Cavaliers and the Roundheads), resulting in a parliamentary victory for Oliver Cromwell and the dramatic execution of King Charles I. Cromwell's convincing military successes at Drogheda in Ireland (1649), Dunbar in Scotland (1650) and Worcester in England (1651) forced Charles I's son, another Charles, into foreign exile despite being accepted as King in Scotland. A series of political experiments followed, as the country's rulers tried to redefine and establish a workable constitution without a monarchy. From 1649 to 1660, England was therefore a republic during the Interregnum ('between reigns'). The Restoration of the monarchy with Charles II on the throne restored some order but these were still perilous times. Penistone had been on the Parliamentary side and the church tower had been garrisoned for a time by Fairfax's soldiers, one of which was killed by a sniper while keeping watch from the tower.

In 1689 Parliament declared that James had abdicated by deserting his kingdom. William (r. 1689-1702) and Mary (r. 1689-94) were offered the throne as joint monarchs. They accepted a Declaration of Rights (later a Bill), drawn up by a Convention of Parliament, which limited the Sovereign's power, reaffirmed Parliament's claim to control taxation and legislation, and provided guarantees against the abuses of power which James II and the other Stuart Kings had committed. See The British Monarchy.

The Stuarts

Back Top Cock Fighting
From Ruth Goodman's book 'How to be a Tudor' we can learn that cock-fighting, bear-baiting and bull-baiting were popular blood sports in the 17th century and beyond. The modern squat-nosed English bulldog is nothing like its bull-baiting predecessor which was built for strength and agility. We know from Cockpit Lane near the church that Penistone had its own cock-pit by the old grammar school and can assume that the pupils would have watched the cock-fighting. The cocks could be quite vicious too, as they had sharp spurs which could rip flesh or take out an eye with ease. We don't know when it first started in Penistone but the cock-pit could have had a very long history.

Goodman's book refers back to 'The English Husbandman' a 1613 book by Gervase Markham ('husbandman' is a farmer), which gives advice on looking after farm animals. Goodman says that it also describes a cock-fighting set-up but I could not find that section in the version of the book, available from Project Gutenberg. Given the date, it does give us a clue about how long cock-fighting had been a popular activity. These events could be used for parish fund-raising.

Each wooden, slatted pen would be two feet square and a yard high. Various adjustments would be made to each bird to make the spurs and beaks more dangerous. A cockerel would be tethered by a six-foot long cord to a stake and participants would try to kill it by throwing stones. There was a theory behind the various blood sports that old meat would be improved if the animal was put into a highly excitable state with fear and a high heartrate before being killed. In the case of cock-fighting the quality of meat was said to not be an important factor, just the entertainment value of the fight.

Back Top Sources Used in the Timeline
The Books:

Some small details were added from 'An Explorer's Guide to Penistone & District', 2006, a few leaflets describing local walks and some anecdotal remarks from Penistone people. Where information is anecdotal, it has been marked as such.

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