Timeline of 18th Century History in the Penistone Area

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The 18th Century, AD 1700 - AD 1800
Quick Links: Back Timelines: 1000 - 1600 - 1700 - 1800 - 1900 - 2000 - Refs - Generate an English calendar for the year: Time & Date
Year Date Events
1701   Archaic Words - By this time, the English language had mostly dropped the old words: Thee, Thou, Thine and Ye, although they continued in use by Quakers and variants can still be still heard in the present day Yorkshire dialect. Of course, the archaic forms are well-known from the King James Bible and still easily understood. In Yorkshire, 'Thou' was sometimes thought offensive. From D Boocock in Stackexchange: A classic Yorkshire phrase, often attributed to Ossett: "Don't thee thou me, thee thou thissen, and 'ow tha likes thee thouing." (Don't you 'thou' me, you 'thou' yourself, and see how you like it!). The Yorkshire word 'Thissen' (thyself) is still in common use. It is stressed on the second syllable. Another one: "Tha thees them as thees thee" (you use 'thee' with those people who use 'thee' with you). By the way, 'Ye' was pronounced as 'thee' but its spelling came from its Old English script. There you go and now you know. See also Archaic Grammar and Wiki.
  Population of England and Wales was 5,057,000.
  DatestoneQuaker House - Upper floor extension added to one end of the Society of Friends (Quakers) Meeting Place, Quaker Bottom, High Flatts, which had been converted from a barn (see 1697). Stables added below. Joseph Bayley was an important local land owner in the 17th century whose deed gift left the Meeting House and Burial Ground to a number of local Quakers in 1701. Re-set into the rear of the current meeting house, a door lintel can be found with the inscription shown here, referring to the man and his wife Elizabeth. Quakers continue to meet at High Flatts in the modern age. Penistone also has a Quaker burial ground at Lumb Royd, up Chapel Lane, first turn left. See also the Quaker page.
1702   John Ramsden of Batley appointed Master at Penistone Free Grammar School, to teach 'all the rudiments of the Latin and Greek Tongues, with the Rhetoric' to the 'Grammar Scholars' and English and Latin to 'the poorer sort'. See PGS Archive
  Penistone Free Grammar School - Started to be rebuilt around this time, completed 1716, during John Ramsden's time as master, between 1702 and 1726. Having started in 1392, a previous school had been built 1397 on same Kirk Flatt site. It is likely that the school had been rebuilt more than once on the same site. The new school was well-built and substantial and would operate until Saturday 20th May 1893 after which it would move to Weirfield on Huddersfield Road. Stone buildings could easily last for centuries in the old days. The only schools of England of more ancient date than Penistone Grammar School are: St Peter's School, York, AD 730; St Albans, about AD 1100; Derby Free School, about AD 1162; St Edmundbury Free School, AD 1198; and Winchester, 1382. Also see 1716, The PGS Archive and S Yorks Timescape. Sheffield Archives has Historic Records of PGS.
1703 9th March Samuel Wordsworth - Bequeathed £400 for Penistone Church and the Free Grammar School, and £100 for the poor of the parish. 'One-fifth of the rents is applicable to the use of the most poor aged and infirm inhabitants of the parish, not being common beggars; two-fifths to the Vicar, provided he preach every Lord's day, forenoon and after, in the parish church, and also preach a sermon on the 24th of June ; and the other two-fifths are to be paid to the master and usher of the free grammar school, provided they teach their scholars the Assembly's Catechism, but if they neglect so to do, then such shares to be bestowed on the Vicar.' Ref 4. pp. 321, 322. Samuel Wordsworth was a wealthy London merchant, son of Elias Wordsworth, a mercer of Sheffield.
24th Nov. A Great Storm lasting two days afflicted the country, covering at least south of the Trent. Gales and thunderstorms caused chaos and great damage. 21 people were killed in London's streets and scores drowned in the Thames. Thirteen warships were wrecked and more than two thousand seamen lost their lives. Daniel deFoe took a horse ride in Kent after the storm and counted no fewer than 1,107 houses and barns blown down, with 17,000 trees torn up by the roots. The death-roll throughout England was great, with at least 5,000 people dead. Ref 7
1705   Midhope Chapel renovated by Godfrey 'Justice' Bosville (High Sheriff of Yorkshire), son of Godfrey Bosville Lord of the Manor of Gunthwaite, the chapel having fallen into a 'ruinous state'. Godfrey and his wife Bridgit's initials 'BGB' are carved on the door lintel of the porch which was built as part of the renovations. Apart from the porch and belfry, the exterior is much the same as when it was built in 1368 but Bosville's carpenters had cut through tie beams of the roof trusses, causing bulges in the north wall and butresses had to be fitted to shore it up. The interior is mostly the work of Bosville. He installed box pews, the west gallery and a Jacobean pulpit from the earlier church. See 1368 and 1690.
1707   The Kingdom of Great Britain created. This was a new sovereign state merging the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland.
  Tax Repealed - For the registration of baptism, marriage and deaths.
1709   Severe Winter - The 'Great Frost' of the 1709-1710 winter, the coldest winter in 500 years. France was hit worse than GB. A lagoon in Venice was frozen over enough for ice-skating. See New Scientist.
1710   Bell-ringers paid only 15 shillings 'for the whole year on Sundays'. Otherwise they were typically paid between 5s and 7s for such as Coronations, Thanksgiving Days and other events. This same year, a new clock face was affixed to Penistone Church. Ref 26.
1712   A Wet Year, resulting in poor and rotten harvests.
1714   One of Penistone Church's bells, marked as 'Te Deum Laudamus 1714' (We Praise Thee O God), cast this year. See the Church History page.
18th Jun Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite - Interred at Penistone churchyard.
  Cattle diseases in England. It was a sickly time.
1715   Epidemics in England of Smallpox and Measles.
1716   Rebuilding of Penistone Grammar School completed, probably due to the success of the new market which had been given a Royal Charter in 1699. The school building remained in use until 1893. See 1702, The PGS Archive and S Yorks Timescape. Sheffield Archives has Historic Records of PGS.
1717 Aug Rev Edmund Hough - Died while visiting Mr Wilson of Broomhead Hall, buried in Penistone churchyard. See Vicars page.
1720   Midhope Pottery established by William Gough at Pothouse Fold, Midhope. He expanded it to include seven dwellings and several kilns ('potbanks') and drying sheds. Most of the site is under the reservoir now but four dwellings survive. Weston Park Museum in Sheffield holds a representative collection of earthenware made here. The pottery made a wide range of goods which were sold all over South Yorkshire, including jars, pots, chimney pots, plates, &c. Gough also set up two wells; one for the pottery and another which was the only source of drinking water in the hamlet until 1919 when Underbank Reservoir was built.
1722   Smallpox Epidemic raging throughout the land.
1724   Poor Harvests and Famine, in England, which lasted for around seven years.
1726 - 27   Heavy Snows.
1726   John Parkin's House - Built in Market Place, Penistone. In the 20th century, it was used for more than seventy years as Fieldsend's greengrocer shop, later to be Beever's. Ref 16. After that it changed hand more than once as a cafe and finally has become the Cinnamon Spice Indian restaurant. The original entrance might be on the north side (now a ginnel). A disputed waterway running by the house led to a sketch map being made in 1749 , which has been much reproduced in Almanacks and other local books.
23rd Sept. Penistone Races - Races were held between 1726 and 1730 on the Race Common, what we would now think of as the top part of Cubley. Mr Brownhill's book, 'The Penistone Scene' (p78), gives the date as 23rd, whilst the 1925 Almanac (p145) gives it as the 22nd. In 1728, a Mr Garforth, minister of Midhope Chapel, 'won the plate' (an amount of takings) of £3 by betting on a horse from Lancashire. An avenue in Cubley remembers the event by its name of Racecommon Avenue.
1728   A Cold Summer.
1732   Midhopestones School built, in a time of growth and relative prosperity in the area.
12th April Will of Josias Wordsworth provides £200 for teaching poor girls to read and work. Later paid to the mistress of the National School, Church Street (currently the Busy Bees nursery building), for teaching twenty free scholars.
1730-40   Ladyshaw Bridge - Built around this time. Mick Walpole wrote the following on the 'Just Old Penistone Pictures' Facebook group, describing a picture of the nearby public house: 'Millers Arms at Saltersbrook. To find Saltersbrook, proceed along the Manchester Road A628 through Thurlstone, Millhouse Green past Bullhouse and the Flouch crossroads. At the top of Bord Hill, past the Dog and Partridge Inn, the road levels out and goes over a small bridge, Ladyshaw Bridge, over a brook. The current bridge dates back to 1730-40 and would have once been wood. Saltersbrook House is now ruined but stood by the trail here. This Inn was opened in 1795 to close in 1852. A welcome break for refreshments for travellers and Drovers.'
1734   Hexagonal Way Marker Stone set up at Underbank. This was on the old salters' route to Rotherham. This stoop was very unusual for being hexagonal. As with the more usual four-sided stoops, the convention was for the traveller to turn right to follow the inscribed direction.
From Stocksbridge History Society website: 'From 1733, the overseers of the highways were directed by the West Riding Justices of the Peace to erect Guide Stoops at remote crossroads, five years later in 1738 a second order stated that miles should also be inscribed on any new Stoops. The front face shown directs the traveller to Sheffield and Rotherham via Greenmoor, the face to the right is inscribed with Barnsley and Pontefract, the date of 1734, and Doncaster which directs the traveller towards Oxspring then Via Bower Lane to Coates Farm and then on towards Keresforth.'
  Earthquake felt in England.
  Willow Bridge in Oxspring was built around this time as a pack horse bridge. A lane opposite St Aidan's Church leads to the bridge. Ref 17 p84.
1735   The Witchcraft Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2. c. 5) - This Act of the Parliament made it a crime for someone to accuse another of having magical powers or of practising witchcraft. This did away with accusations of witchcraft, which usually led to execution. The maximum penalty for infringement was a year in jail.
1739 19th Apr Sir Nicholaus Saunderson - Born in Thurlstone in 1682, dies of scurvy at the age of 56, at Toxworth near Cambridge. A monument to him can be found there. See the item about the Thurlstonian Lucasean Professor of Mathematics on the 17th Century Timeline.
1740   Dog and Partridge, Bord Hill. From their website:
'Situated on the old medieval salt way route, this isolated Inn has a history that can be traced back to the Elizabethan period. Originally a farmhouse and alehouse, supplying shelter and refreshment for travelers crossing the hostile moors of the Pennines. Originally known as Border Hill House owned by the Gothard family, the Inn became known as the Dog and Partridge on receipt of its first licence in 1740. Since that time it has been under the ownership of many local land-owning families such as the Pilkingtons of Chevet Hall who still own the surrounding grouse moors today.'
'Haunted Stories':
'The Dog and Partridge is reputedly visited by ghosts from the past. The most frequent ghost is said to be one William Turner who was the Landlord of this establishment from 1917-1923. People often remark that they have witnessed an old man sitting in the easy chair next to the fire. The pub was used as a temporary mortuary in the past, bodies were brought in from the moors and nearby areas awaiting removal by the authorities.'
Listed in 1822 with Benjamin Harrap as victualler. See the Inns History page.
  Doncaster - Barnsley - Penistone - Woodhead road turnpiked this year. This was the ridgeway lane that went via Cranberry crossroads and Hartcliff. The current A628 road between Penistone Bridge ('Bridge End') and Fullshaw Bottom replaced it in 1840 to make the gradients easier for horse-drawn vehicles by avoiding Hartcliff Hill.
  Whooping Cough prevalent in England, into 1741.
1743   Church of England inquiry. It was recorded that 200 communicants (confirmed Anglicans) live in Denby. 'In the chapelry of Denby there are 130 families, only nine of which are Quakers. There are no papists or other kinds of dissenters.'
1744   Penistone Town Centre - The 1904 Penistone Almanack describes the scene '160 years ago' while referring to a plan of John Parkin's house and its surroundings. Called 'sheds' on the old plan, Mr Josiah Wordsworth of Water Hall and other estates in the district erected what he called "The Market House" (now Clark's Chemist). A watercourse on the plan would later be covered up.
1747   Window Tax Revised - The Window Tax had been introduced in 1696. In 1747 the 2/- flat rate became a house tax in its own right and the window tax changed to 6d per window in a house with 10 to 14 windows, 9d per window in a house with 15 to 19 windows and 1/- per window for 20 or more windows. The poor were exempt from Window Tax. See 1696.
1748 8th Mar Edward Batty - From a gravestone lining the pathway of Penistone church and wearing very well. 'Here Lieth interred is the Body of Edward Batty of peniston Yeoman who departed this life March the 8th 1748 aged 65 Years' (Capitalisations as on the stone). And: 'Also was interred the Body of Mary the Wife of the above said Edward Batty who departed this Life March the 17th 1767 aged 85 Years.' A large gap had been left before 'Years' for a larger number to be inscribed at a later date instead of the very small '85' tucked in after 'aged.' Of course, this would have been moved from the original resting place for use on the pathway.
1749 See below
this table. 		Molyneaux Bunny (1674 - 1749) - Molyneaux was a son of Mary Bosville of Gunthwaite and fought in the English Civil War on the Royalist side. It is not clear where his grave would have been located in the churchyard but his gravestone is easy to find leaning outside the beautiful East Window of Penistone church. Its inscription refers to a notable soldier who served with distinction under the Duke of Marlborough but whose significance has since become forgotten. Molyneaux Bunny was reputed to be Bunny 'both by name and by nature' as a serial womaniser who was good at hasty escapes from irate husbands and fathers. He insisted on being called a gentleman to hide his indiscretions. See the Bunny section below this table and footnotes about Queen Anne. Also listed on Findagrave at Penistone church.
  Contested Watercourse - This refers to a plan dated 1749 which shows the town centre and an ancient watercourse running along 'Town Street' ('causey laid with flat stones') which was interrupted by the building of John Parkin's house. We can see where Parkin's house was to this day, on the left of Cinnamon Spice by the ginnel. There is a square stone inscribed with a 'P' to mark the corner of the house. From JND (Ref 7).
After
1750		   Rose and Crown coaching inn built, date uncertain. JN Dransfield notes that, as the R & C and Old Crown were both built of red brick, they were probably from around the same time, some time after a contested watercourse plan of 1749 appeared (Ref 7). The R & C had an archway leading into the large inn yard with farm buildings and we might assume some stabling there for the coach horses. The arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century would kill off the coaching trade in Penistone. After its demise in 1868, a new and better Rose and Crown was built 1869 on an adjacent site. See the Old Inns page and the Rose and Crown page.
1751   Population of England and Wales was 5,772,000.
Calendar
Change		 The first part of transition from the Julian Calendar to adopt Pope Gregory's re-alignment of the calendar (from 1582 in Catholic countries), under the British Calendar Act of 1750 aka Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 (wiki). Catholic countries had already adopted it but Protestant countries were slow to comply. Before this year, the starting day of the new year was not 1st January but 'Lady Day' 25th March (the 'Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin'). The old calendar dates before the Lady Day of a particular year would 'belong' to the previous year. When King Charles I was executed on 30th January 1649, which would have been written as 30th January 1648/9, as it came before Lady Day 1649, the official start day of the year. Had it been on 30th April that same year, it would have been written as 30th April 1649. The Act moved the first day of the year to 1st January (as already established in Scotland and other places), making 1751 the shortest year on record. Note that the current UK tax year is still based on the old calendar, starting 6th April, i.e. Lady Day adjusted for the lost days of the calendar change. Lady Day and the Quarter Days were also of importance for legal agreements, see 1752 (next item) and the notes about quarter days at the bottom of the Timeline page. See Calendar Change wiki.
  A Cold and Wet Summer.
1752 Calendar
Change
Sept. 		Continuing the changeover to the Gregorian calendar in the British Empire, Wednesday 2nd September this year was followed by Thursday 14th September. This caused widespread protest but mostly because their taxes were not adjusted and they were expected to pay a full year’s tax, in spite the year having only 354 days. Others thought that their lives had been shortened by eleven days. From the next year on it settled down into the pattern which we now regard as normal. See notes at the bottom of this page, also interesting article 1 and interesting article 2 on calendars. See Calendar Change wiki.
1753   Coach house built at Wortley. From the Wortley Arms website: 'The Wortley Arms was originally built as a coach house in 1753 at a cost of 188 pounds and 66 shillings (etc.)' See Wortley Arms.
  Major improvements to St Leonard's Church at Wortley. A tower and vault were built and the chancel enlarged, for Edward Wortley Montagu of Wortley Hall. The first mention of a church in Wortley was 1318. See 1811.
1755   The second bell 'Venite Exultimus Domino' of the six-bell carillon of Penistone Church was taken to Ludlam Bell Founders of Rotherham for re-casting. Ref 26. See the Church History page.
1756   Agreement reached about the position of three Boundary Stones marking the boundary between Hunshelf and Oxspring.
1758 25th April Penisale Yew Tree Torched. St Mark's Day is the day when a careless Bradfield man set fire to an ancient yew tree near a river, the girth of which had been measured as 25 feet, and effectively lost us the location of Penisale market. The tree was in 'Alderman's Head Grounds ... under which the court for the Manor of Penisale had been held from time immemorial'. By tradition, the green plot that it stood on had been the place of Penisale Market under a charter granted to Sir Elias de Midhope on 8th June 1290, '... for a market on Tuesdays and a fair on the eve-day and morrow of St Barnabas (11th June)'. The market was for cloth which was hung on tenters fixed to the tree. The tree was accidentally burnt down on this date by the Bradfield man who had lit a fire inside the tree to keep himself warm while fishing. The fire burnt for five days. There is some doubt about the exact location of the tree and the Penisale Market but the late Prof. David Hey had favoured Langsett. See 1290.
1759 April Thurlstone Building Society Formed.
1761   Thurlstone Corn Mill rebuilt (on the Z - bend). It was partly demolished in 1959 to make the road wider and the remaining part was made into a house. The earlier one had been built by Bosville in 1580. Ref 17 p54.
1763   Penistone Cloth Hall and Shambles built for £800 by Josias Wordsworth, designed by renowned Yorkshire architect, John Platt. (Ref 17 p8). Mr Wordsworth called it 'the Market House' (most of which is now Clark's Chemist) and it was built where, on Mr Wordsworth's earlier plans, was called the 'sheds' (Ref 13). Previous to this, a room over the Grammar School (nearby on Kirk Flatts at the time) had served as a Cloth Hall. The venture failed and the building adjusted to house several shops and the Post Office. One part became the printing office of James Henry Wood, author of 'Remarkable Occurrences and Interesting Dates' and the Penistone Almanacs.
  The Society of Friends build a Meeting Place at Lumbroyd, just off Chapel Lane above Penistone Green. A wall stone by the associated burial ground says the Meeting Place was used from 1763 to 1847, demolished 1859. Lumbroyd is a typical Quaker burial ground in a small, walled plot of land surrounded by trees. See my Quaker page.
1764
- 1767		   Cannon Hall was enlarged with the addition of wings during this period by John Carr, the premier mid-Georgian architect working in Yorkshire, with interior joinery by the well-known local craftsman, William Thornton. The only daughter of Robert Hartley sold Cannon Hall to John Spencer, who was the eldest son of William and Christiana Spencer. John owned Cannon Hall until 1775 when he died unmarried at the age of 57, ending the male line of the Spencer family. John's sister Ann Spencer became the second wife of Walter Stanhope, of Horsforth. Their only son Walter, (born 4th February 1749) became principal heir to his uncle John Stanhope, Esq., of Horsforth, barrister-at-law and familiarly known as Lawyer Stanhope, who died in 1769. Out of grateful regard for his uncle's memory, having inherited the Horsforth estates from him, his name was legally changed 10th February 1776 to Walter Spencer Stanhope by 'Sign Manual' (which appears to mean 'royal signature'). The last member of the Stanhope-Spencer family, Elizabeth, sold the house to Barnsley Council in 1951.
See 'A History of Cawthorne' by Charles Pratt MA, Vicar of Cawthorne, the Stanhope family tree and Wikipedia. Please also take a look at: 'The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope - Volume 1' (Gutenberg free ebook).
1764   Court Case - This concerned the water supply to water-driven mills on the River Don, between Amyor Riche of Hornthwaite mill and the Waltons of the oil mill. A weir constructed by the Waltons to supply their mill caused an accumulation of 'wrack and debris' which reduced the water supply to Riche's mill to a mere trickle. Sometimes the mill wheels would not work for a whole day. The case was settled out of court, through an agreement to deal with the wrack. The corn mill ceased operation in 1911. From Andreas Sarker's Thurlstone page at Rootsweb.
1764   An Exceptionally Cold February.
1766   A Severe Winter in England with snow many feet thick.
1767   The River Don overflowed at Penistone, causing great damage. According to Ross's Annual Register.
1768   First 'substantial organ' for Penistone Church, bought by public subscription. Ref 1.
1770 Aug Ronscliff Silver Mine, Cawthorne, started in August. Eight ounces of silver was taken from one pound of ore at the silver mine. A silver tankard made from this ore was in the possession of the Shirt family. The 1882 Penistone Almanack gives the same story but with the location as Gadding Moor, Gunthwaite.
1771 13th Mar Hans W Mortimer's Toll Road - This was a turnpiked road stretching from Grindleford in Derbyshire to Penistone Bridge (over the River Don at Bridge End). Royal Assent given in Parliament to an 'An Act for repairing and widening the Road leading from Penistone Bridge, in the County of York, to Grindleford Bridge, in the County of Derby, and the roads severally leading from Bamford Wood Gate, over Yorkshire Bridge, to the Guide Post on Thornhill Moor, to or near the Eight Mile Stone on Hathersage Moor, and to the village of Derwent, in the said County of Derby.' published in the London Gazette of 26th March 1771. The road had been the project of Hans Winthrop Mortimer (1734-1807, Wiki and DBpedia) of Caldwell Hall, Derbys, MP for Shaftesbury and Lord of the Manor for Bamford. He inherited his father Cromwell Mortimer's estates in 1752. His father had been a leading physician (and to the Prince of Wales, George II's son Frederick), an antiquary and second secretary of the Royal Society. MP Hans W Mortimer was called to the bar in 1761. He was a property speculator and purchased Brickfields near Tottenham Court Road in London and other land. He was wealthy, lived in Coldwell Hall when not in Parliament and had two houses in London. He married Anne Mortimer (nee Fitzgerald) in 1771. Stocksbridge & District History Society has the story but a booklet available in Penistone Library goes into more detail: 'Mortimer Road, the Turnpike that Failed' (pub 1993) by Howard Smith, ISBN 0-9521541-0-2, sub-titled 'Turnpike Trail Grindleford to Penistone.' Although the 1771 Act was renewed once in 1792 (Turnpike Acts were renewed after 21 years), it was not renewed in 1813. 'Mortimer's Road' was not a success and consumed a lot of money. Through this and other schemes, Mortimer would spend some time in Fleet prison because of debts. He died in 1807 aged 72. The London Gazette website has a free, searchable database. See 1777 below, Heritage Gateway and 1915 (for Penistone Bridge).
1776 Sept Gadding Moor Reservoir - Application which could impinge upon local townships. From the London Gazette of 8th October:
'Notice is hereby given, that Application is intended to be made to Parliament the ensuing Sessions for An Act to authorise the making a Reservoir or Reservoirs upon Gadding Moor and Lands in the several Townships of Hoylandswaine, Gunthwaite, Cawthorne or Silkstone, in the Parishes of Silkstone and Penistone, in the West Riding of the County of York, or some of them, for the Purpose of better supplying the Barnsley Canal Navigation with Water; and also for altering, varying and amending an Act passed in the Thirty-third Year of his present Majesty's Reign, entitled, "An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the River Calder, in the Township of Warmfield cum Heath, to or near the Town of Barnsley, and from thence to Barnby Bridge, in the Township of Cawthorne, in the West Riding of the County of York, and certain Railways and other Roads to communicate therewith. Wakefield, John Foljambe, Solicitor. Sept. 10, 1796.'
The London Gazette website has a free, searchable database.
15th Nov Rev Francis Haigh - From a gravestone inscription at Penistone church, 'Revd. Francis Haigh A.B. Novr 15th 1776 Aged 78 years'
1777   Turnpiked Road - The Sheffield – Huddersfield – Halifax road was turnpiked this year. A Turnpiked road was (supposed to be) kept in good condition for which travellers would pay a fee along the road towards their maintenance at various Turnpike Houses. Fees would vary according to the type of carriage, number of horses, etc.
  Mortimer Road. Hans Winthrop Mortimer of Caldwell Hall, Derbyshire was Lord of the Manor of Bamford and MP for Shaftesbury. After an Act of Parliament was passed in 1771 (see the 'Road Improvements' entry above), he widened, improved and turnpiked an ancient packhorse route between North Derbyshire and the West Riding, originally known as Halifax Gate. This was a time when coach travel was becoming more popular and better roads were needed. His improved route was between Grindleford in Derbyshire and Penistone Bridge over the River Don at Bridge End. It became known as 'Mortimer's Road'. Unfortunately, the road failed as a business venture and he died bankrupt in 1807. 'Mortimer Road - The Turnpike that Failed' is a book by Howard Smith which can be viewed in Penistone Library. See the Cubley History page.
1780   The old Lock-upPenistone Lock Up Built - Opposite the current Royal British Legion location at the top of St Mary's Street. The Penistone and District Society notes had put the year of its construction as 1770. There would have been minimal furnishings, perhaps just a bed and a bucket, and possibly a hundred years later when a gas supply became available, a gas lamp was fitted to the ceiling. It's use as a jail never reached into the days of electric lighting. It laid derelict for more than another century until it was demolished without due ceremony in 2010. It was pure coincidence that a camera was to hand and I was in the right place to grab some photos of the old Lock-up, on the quiet Sunday that it was about to be demolished. Parts of its frontage were removed and built into the wall by a new roundabout on St Mary's Street, to commemorate it, with a plaque stating: 'Original Facade to Penistone Gaol 1780 to 1837'. The new Gateway buildings (Penistone 1) of 2013-14 also incorporated features representing the Lock-up by the West Yorkshire Dog charity shop in approximately the same place as the old jail. See the Lock Up page for a look inside.
1783   The Stamp Duty Act. A tax was reintroduced for recorded baptisms, marriages and burials. This was similar to the tax which was repealed in 1706.
1784 25th Jan Godfrey Bosville Esq. of Gunthwaite. Died aged 66 years (from a plaque in Penistone Church). Godfrey was a descendent of Richard Bosville on whom the manor of Gunthwaite had been settled in the reign of King Henry VI. Born in 1717, he had been an influential landowner in the area. His eldest son Colonel William Bosville (1745 to 1813) was an 'ardent Whig' and quite a character, see 1813 and Wiki. For most of the 20th century, 'Bosville' had also been one of four PGS 'houses' with the others being Armitage, Clarel and Dransfield. For further reading on the Bosvilles, download 'The Fortunes of a Family (Bosville of New Hall, Gunthwaite and Thorpe) through Nine Centuries' by Lady MacDonald of the Isles, from Archive.org.
1786   Mr Jonathan Wood appointed as master of Penistone Grammar School this year. He would hold the office for about half a century.
5th April Mr John Shewabell, landlord of the Rose and Crown, died this day aged 67. From his gravestone in Penistone churchyard.
  Thurlstone Sunday School begun this year and opened 1788. It was built by public subscription. Ref 5.
  Earthquake felt in the North of England.
  Netherfield Independent Chapel - Founded from an original gift of £25, its congregation dates from this year, later to be called 'Netherfield Congregational Church' (see 1788 below). The archive records for 'Thurlstone Netherfield United Reform Church' (its name from 1973) describes it as a dissenters' chapel for Thurlstone, with Protestant dissenters in Thurlstone dating from about 1752 onwards. At this time, Thurlstone had a larger population than Penistone. In 1981, its congregation was merged with St Paul's Methodist Chapek on the High street and thw build passed into private ownership as a dwelling. Its graveyard was largely built over for a residents' car park and the remaining area marked as private land and left to the weeds. See the relevant Archive page and my Thurlstone Views page.
Oct Penistone Association for the Preservation of Public Peace and a gentleman of property, Mr Hans Busk of Bull House, subscribed a considerable sum of money to promote their design.
1788   Netherfield Chapel opened on Huddersfield Road 'From an original gift of £25'. Ref 16. Its local congregation started in 1786 with religious meetings were held at the home of Mr William Moorhouse in Thurlstone. Two founders were Joseph Ross and his brother John Ross. Ref 17 p39. According to 'Off the Record' (West Yorks Archives), 'Thurlstone Netherfield Independent Church' was established in 1784 by worshippers who had attended services in Huddersfield, held by Rev Henry Venn. The chapel features a fine example of a rose window, overlooking Huddersfield Road. In the 1960s, the hall accessible from Huddersfield Road was used by Penistone Grammar School for drama classes. The chapel closed in 1981 and was converted into a dwelling. Its graveyard was partly re-used as a car parking area and the remainder fell into disarray, with 'Private' signs put up. See also 1882. See also the Chapels page.
  First Denby Dale Pie, to commemorate King George III's (temporary) recovery from madness. It was baked at the White Hart pub and contained two sheep and twenty fouls, to be served to villagers in the field behind. The King's illness returned and after a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established. George III's eldest son, the unlovely George IV, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. On George III's death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. This would be the start of a long tradition right up to the year 2,000, the famous Denby Dale Pies. The sizes and compositions of the pies varied but the tradition has held fast as an occasional community event in Denby Dale. Over the years, the pies have raised a lot of money for good causes and in support of the village. Denby Dale was originally called Denby Dyke where the roads connecting Barnsley, Shepley and Wakefield meet, not to be confused with Denby village a few miles away. See also 1815 (the second DD Pie), Huddersfield Examiner, Information Britain and Ref 20. Also see Denby Dale Pie History.
1791 19th Feb Mail Robbery - Spence Broughton robbed the Sheffield to Rotherham mail and was caught. He was executed 12th April 1792 by hanging at the gibbet post in Attercliffe, Sheffield. This was the last gibbet post in Yorkshire and was still standing there in 1827.
1792   Wm Fenton, Barrister RiP - From a memorial inside Penistone church:
1. 'Lieth the Body of William Fenton Esq. of Underbank, Barrister at Law and late of the Temple London eldest Son of William Fenton Esq. and Mary Fenton his Wife, who departed this Life April the 11th 1792 Aged fifty six Year
2. 'Here lieth the Body of William Fenton late of Underbank Esquire, who departed this Life on the 11th Day of April in the Year 1783 and in the 83rd year of his age.'
3. Also other family members.
See also 1855 and Stories from the Stones No. 9, when another Wm Fenton of Underbank was murdered by robbers at Algeciras in Spain.
1793   Stamp Duty Imposed.
1799   Thurlstone Building Society formed. It merged in 1867 to become the Penistone and Thurlstone Building Society, later to merge with Leek and Westbourne B Soc and finally that merged with the Britannia Building Society, which still has an office in Penistone. In recent times, the Britannia B Soc merged with the Co-operative Bank but continued to operate under its own name. So there's a little bit of Thurlstone in the Co-op Bank. Ref 16.
Quick Links: Back Top Timelines: 1000 - 1600 - 1700 - 1800 - 1900 - 2000 - Refs - Generate English calendar for year: Time & Date
Penistone

Back Top Index of Topics
The same list as at the top of page.

Timeline Periods, other pages on this website:

Penistone

Back Top A Century of Advancement
It was on average a cold century with the peak of the 'Little Ice Age' occuring mid-century (Wiki). Although the above is a short Table, much happened this century which would shape the future. The population of England and Wales increased from around five million in 1700 to nearly nine million at the end of the century.

The Act of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Irish famine kills 20% of the population, George III becomes King, Captain James Cook explores and maps New Zealand and Australia, rebellions and revolutions, assorted wars, Great Britain losing territories to independence or conquest, including the USA. We were often at loggerheads with the French, the Spanish or both at the same time.

One important improvement was to the Calendar in 1751, 1752, with the Calendar Act of 1750. The old Julian Calendar year (from Julius Caesar) in use before then was slightly too short for the actual year, the result being a gradual misalignment with the seasons. Pope Gregory's calendar was introduced from 1582 in the Catholic countries and was more accurate but required a few days to be removed. The kingdom was resistant to papal influence and slow to adopt the Gregorian calendar. Before 1751, the first day of a year in the realm was not 1st January but 'Lady Day' 25th March (the 'Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin'). Calendar dates before Lady Day would 'belong' to the previous year. See the notes in the timeline above for 1751 and 1752.

Scientific advancements this century included: a mercury thermometer invented by a Mr Fahrenheit, experiments with lightning and electricity, John Harrison's chronometer, better printing presses, the first manned flight in a hot air balloon, the beginnings of the steam age.

Also increasing literacy, the Age of Enlightenment gathering apace, and the usual church upheavals. Literature abounding, with such as Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Tobias Smollet, Thomas Grey and Samuel Johnson's 'Dictionary of the English Language.' Then William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge help launch 'The Romantic Age' towards the end of the century.

Back Top The Bunnys

Gravestone of Molyneaux Bunny

The 1749 entry in the Table led to a bit more research on the Bunny name. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol. 03, 1875, is a good source of information about the Bunny family. We learn that most of the male Bunnys were given the Christian names of John or Richard, which makes their pedigree difficult to follow. There is a Bunny Hall and village of Bunny in Nottinghamshire which might be connected, or the name itself could have been derived from such or similar place-names.

From around 1500 to 1700, one of the main Bunny branches lived near Wakefield '... and was known first as Bunny of Bunny-hall, Newton juxta Wakefield, and last as Bunny of Newland.' In 1558, a John Bunny had been executor of the will of Rev'd Othoneus Sagar, vicar of Warmfield, which suggests a man of some standing. 'The Wakefield and Newland Bunnys occupied a good position among the neighbouring gentry; their members married into the first local families and took rank with the best.'

It is likely that the English Civil War of 1642 – 1651 (Wiki) would affect the wealth of notable families during that period. From the Journal referred to above, one un-named head of Bunny family had land at Newland and married on three occasions to ladies of means. These were: Theodosia Molyneaux, Elizabeth Palmer and lastly to Mary Bosville (of the Gunthwaite Bosvilles) on 15th November 1664.

The Bosvilles of Gunthwaite had a long and notable history in our district dating back to before the Conquest and Sir Martin de Bosville of Normandy. From Bosville family history, a private publication (available from Archive.org) written by Alice MacDonald of the Isles, we have perhaps the fullest account of the Bosville family tree. Mary was one of six children to William and Mary Bosville, the others being Godfrey (b. 1654), William (b. 2nd March 1665), Elizabeth, Margaret and Priscilla.

The Bunny parent must have fallen on hard times as his son and heir 'Edward Bunny of Newland, Esq.' (also called 'Edmund' in other sources) was forced in 1694 to sell off the Newland estate to John Silvester, an Ecclesfield money-lender. There lies another interesting story if we could but find it and we might speculate on how the family wealth became lost.

Molyneaux Bunney was the brother of Edmund and a particularly interesting character. It is not clear where the Newland Estate had been located and Mr Google is no help either but, and this is admittedly a long-shot, there was or is a New Hall at Darton. After leaving the Newland estate, Edmund went to live at or near Penistone to be near to the Gunthwaite Bosviles. He was working in 1712 as clerk to Justice Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite and was known to be in the Penistone area in 1728 to 1729. Born in 1666, Edward/Edmund would be buried in Penistone churchyard in 1738, where there was also a Rachel Bunny buried in 1724 (Findagrave).

Much of Molyneaux Bunny's story can be found at 'Poliphilo' in a comment written by 'Seaslug of Doom', although the sources are not cited. He says: 'In his youth he was known as Moly the Hare, not only because of his surname, but also for his propensity to "breed like a rabbit".' In that article, we discover that he had sixteen children and that his wife was called Constance but none of that can be verified.

Moly had been described as Bunny 'both by name and by nature,' as a serial womaniser who used his training to make quick escapes from husbands and fathers. The story goes that he insisted on being called 'a Gentleman' to hide his indiscretions, and that is what is inscribed on his gravestone (picture above, text below). The inscription reads:

Here Lieth Molyneaux Bunny who served with Reputation in the Armies of King William and Queen Ann and was a Gentleman born.
He died on 6th day of May Anno Dom. 1749.

It is not clear where his actual grave would have been located in the churchyard (it is likely that his plot was reused) but his gravestone is very easy to locate and easy to read, under Penistone church's East Window, next to the Shewabells of the Rose and Crown.

There is also a brief reference in: 'Tommy Atkins: The Story of the British Soldier' a very interesting book written by John Laffin (Google Books). A recommended read too. From that book, we learn that Moly had written a letter from Flanders to his Yorkshire uncle about being short of money and very weary as a soldier. Tommy Atkins is the generic name for the British private soldier, origin unknown, but the name has been in use a long time. See also the footnotes on this page about Queen Anne.

Back Top Royalty During This Period
The Hanoverians came to power in difficult circumstances that looked set to undermine the stability of British society. The first of their Kings, George I, was only 52nd in line to the throne, but the nearest Protestant according to the Act of Settlement. Two descendants of James II, the deposed Stuart king, threatened to take the throne, and were supported by a number of 'Jacobites' throughout the realm. See The British Monarchy

The Kingdom of Great Britain was created in 1707. This was a new sovereign state merging the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. the first British farthing was minted in 1714.

The Stuarts, from 1603 to 1714 (See History of Parliament, Stuarts):

Queen Anne (in Brief)
Anne was brought up in France. Although Anne’s father was Catholic, she and her elder sister Mary were raised as Protestants on her uncle King Charles II’s instructions. Anne was married by arrangement to Prince George of Denmark on 28th July 1683. Anne gave birth to William, Duke of Gloucester on 24 July 1689 as her only child to survived beyond infancy and after several miscarriages (with more later). When King Charles II died in 1685, Anne's father became King James II of England and VII of Scotland, though his Catholic sympathies clashed with Anne's Anglican faith. Anne stayed away from the birth of the King's son and did not accept that the baby James Francis Edward Stuart (later ‘The Old Pretender’) had been legitimate or had even been born alive. Anne suggested that it was a false pregnancy and that a baby had been brought in to the bed-chamber in a warming pan to maintain a (Catholic) heir to the throne.

Powerful forces were against King James II's Catholic leanings and the arrival of a new son would have perpetuated the crisis. At the invitation of prominent English statesmen, Anne’s brother-in-law William invaded England, leading to James II being bloodlessly deposed in the 'Glorious Revolution' whereupon he fled into exile. William III and Anne ’s sister Mary II became joint sovereigns. Anne would be heir to the throne if they did not produce a suitable offspring. On 28th December 1694, Queen Mary II died of smallpox at Kensington Palace without a heir.

Anne was to suffer a devastating loss when her beloved son William died of smallpox on 30th July 1700, aged only 11 years. The Stuart dynasty lost its only Protestant heir. King William III died of a riding accident on 8th March 1702 and Anne became Queen, declaring in Parliament her commitment to a Protestant succession. As Queen, Anne proved to be popular and hard-working. The Acts of Union in 1707 united the crowns of Scotland and England into one country, the United Kingdom. Anne was devastated when her husband Prince George died of asthma on 28th Oct 1708. Anne's ability to speak fluent French helped her diplomatic abilities in a time of war.

on Sunday 1st August 1714, Queen Anne died aged 49. Her funeral was was held at Westminster Abbey on 24th August 1714. Anne had been the last monarch of the House of Stuart and died without any surviving issue. Under the Act of Settlement 1701 (which excluded Catholics from the throne), she was succeeded by her second cousin, George I of Hanover. These potted notes leave out a great deal of detail. Read more at: Historic Royal Palaces, Historic UK and Wiki.

The Hanoverians, from 1714 to 1901:

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.

Back Top Home   Stanislaw Lec: "He who limps is still walking."