A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th February 1869 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 A Farm Journal continues :~

2nd Mo[nth] - 2 - 1 B[akewe]ll market slender Milk slow beef & mutton scarce

3 - 2 snow[e]d morn[in]g - stack in & thrash[e]d Cales

4 - 3 Wet morn[in]g - to Matlock M[onthly] M[eeting] Amos & Edith Griffith from America there also Edw[ar]d Brewer very nice meeting - bro[ther] W[illia]m & I with Peter Bromley [Bramley ?] by rail to Whatstandwell & then on to Wingfield to look at hogs 2 dead scour but are better then by rail to Nott[ingha]m to Sam's lodged & in morn[in]g on to Mansfield looked beasts at Davys & Millns all doing well as can expect

6 - 5 Most beautiful day home all well

7 - 6 Fine day finish[e]d plough[in]g ley - began lead[in]g manure out S.H.

1 - 7  Fine

3 - 9 Fine morn[in]g stormy aft[ernoo]n fetch[e]d 500 Strike Grains from Wharf

    

2 - 8  Showery day lead[in]g manure took B.Brayshaw to B[akewe]ll

 [The entries for the 8th and 9th February 1869 are transposed in the farm journal]

4 - 10 Showery lead manure etc

5 - 11 lead manure etc

6 - 12 Thrash[e]d Stormy snow on gr[oun]d

7 - 13 Fine Snow gone Co[u]s[in] A Cox & W[illia]m & I ferret[tin]g in dale

1 - 14 Fine but windy

2 - 15 Fine & mild B[akewe]ll market bo[ugh]t cow from Jon[atha]n Blore £17 in calf - 1 of a man £14 - calved 2 calves B Bower £33 - 1 of G. Furniss £18 10/- 

Out of interest I fed the names Amos and Edith Griffith [see the 3rd February entry above] into Google. According to the Find a Grave website Edith Price Griffith was born on the 9th May 1801 and died in February 1873. Amos Griffith on the 13th October 1794 and died in 1871. Could this be the same couple ?

The website goes on to reveal that "Amos & Edith ... were the parents of Elizabeth P Griffith Milhous. Elizabeth was the mother of Franklin Milhous. Franklin was the father of Hannah M. Nixon. Hannah was the mother of Pres. Richard Milhous Nixon.

This makes Amos the great-great-grandfather of President Richard Nixon." 

I realise that it could be another Amos and Edith Griffith but the couple referred to in the Find a Grave site were buried in Shortcreek Cemetery ... and the website goes on to reveal that this " ... cemetery was established by the Short Creek Monthly Meeting Quakers ..."

Was it therefore the great great grandparents of President Richard Nixon who travelled from the United States to Matlock all those years ago ? 

There are photos of Amos and Edith Griffith on the Find a Grave site here.

Chatsworth under wraps ... and of staddle stones, toads and Dryad's Saddle.

In the car park at Calton Lees there's a block of [what I hope is] Derbyshire stone in memory of the 11th Duke of Devonshire ...

  The stone acknowledges his "wish that all should enjoy Chatsworth".

From the car park a short stretch of path leads to the bridge over the Derwent ...



 Once you've walked along the short stretch of road beyond the bridge, whilst trying to avoid the traffic, you can bear left and follow the old lane that climbs steadily uphill to Beeley Hilltop ...



 Tucked against the wall of Beeley Hilltop [which paradoxically isn't at the top of the hill] are at least eight staddle stones. These were used as support for small barns or hayricks to keep the rats out ...



  A short distance beyond this old farmhouse we forked left following a concessionary which isn't marked on the OS Map in front of me ~ it's an old map ~ it might be on a newer one ... there was a tall gate that opened onto the moorland [to keep the deer in ... or out ?].



  The path beyond climbs up to Rabbit Warren Edge ...



 I think I can say I have never seen a rabbit hereabouts. 

Once we'd negotiated the very high step stiles, we followed the gravel track through Bunker's Hill Wood ...



There are two Robin Hoods in Derbyshire, one ten or twelve miles away near Whatstandwell and the other one near Baslow on the far side of Chatsworth ...



 We were aiming in the general direction of the latter. The track through the wood continued ...



 We reached Swiss Lake ... and you can just make out Swiss Cottage on the far side in a couple of the photographs below ...







  The track we were on then leads to the Emperor Lake, so named as it provides the water for the Emperor Fountain in the gardens of Chatsworth House, far below. We walked around the edge of Emperor Lake ...



 I'd never been this way before and so was surprised to find that the path brought us out next to a pond overlooking the gardens ...



 As I stepped around the stones at the side of the pond, looking to get a better photo of the gardens below, I stopped just before taking the next step ...



  I had to go down to a lower level to get a shot of the water falling off the end of the stone garden feature ...



 A rotting tree stump provided a home for some Dryad's Saddle [Polyporus Squamosus] ...


  
It seems these may be edible [but don't take my word for it] ... see here ...

 A couple of years ago anyone making a special trip to see Chatsworth House would have been disappointed. Heck, we only live five miles away and we were ...



  We crossed the still waters of the River Derwent again ...



 ... and got another view of Chatsworth House. There were two sides covered in sheeting !



  The path sticks very close to the river in some places ...



 The weir was really noisy ... you've been warned !
 


   I always enjoy watching herons ... usually they take off. 



 We passed the old sawmill ...



 ... and finished with a look at the road bridge we crossed a few hours earlier. I have always believed that the metal grille hanging below the bridge is to keep the deer in ...



 This walk was followed on the 24th April 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 4.86 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 135.91 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 24th April 2011 ~ 663.96 miles

  30 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap 

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 31st January 1869 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 A Farm Journal continues :~

 

[There is no entry for the 1st of January 1869]

 

7 - 2 1st Mo[nth] 1869 Fine day snow most gone - stack in at Cales thrash[e]d & chopped by steam

 

1 - 3 Stormy

 

2 - 4 Very fine day B[akewe]ll Farmers club dinner - rec[eive]d 1st Prize £2 for swede turnips - W[illia]m Hadfield £1.10.6 for long servitude -

 

3 - 5 Stormy day

 

4 - 6 Fine Self to M[onthly] M[eeting] B[akewe]ll home to dine [2 pigs killed]

 

5 - 7 Fine but mainly misty - Tups away - three dead

 

5 - 7 to 3 - 19 Very wet or misty but mild weather - no servant have charwomen to help - plough[in]g etc sheep are not looking 1st rate too wet & grass frim* takes them off their dry food rather 

 

- to 7 - 23 Mostly Fair today frosty with a little snow - plough[in]g ley began Seed Piece SH - sheep have chop malt combs oats & cake doing mid - 

 

1 - 24 Very fine mild week for time of year thunder rain frequently

 

[There were no more entries for the rest of the month. I can't recall him missing so many days. I wonder what happened ?] 

 

* The word is 'frim' not 'firm'. Grass is described as frim [usually] in Springtime when it is young and tender.    

Farley Moor and more ...

On Farley Moor, above Matlock, you can wander through the Forestry Commission plantation ... and lose yourself, metaphorically I mean.

Park along the road from Sydnope Stand, pass through the gate and head straight away from the road ...

In this woodland, we found a Chinese Lantern that had run its course. There has been talk about these being fire starters ... it makes you wonder.



Keep straight on ...



 ... until you see a wall in the distance ahead of you ...





Benjamin stood at the wall as I explained that my father, his great grandfather, had reclaimed the fields beyond the wall from the surrounding moorland. Dad's hard work still fills me with awe as well as pride ...

It's not the best of land but Dad grew crops on this ground and kept sheep and cattle. I used to be able to wander these fields until he died and the farm was sold.

The only livestock we could see were some Highland Cattle ...



 We left the past behind us and headed into the future ...



 Farley Moor is still a working environment and we took due note of this sign ...



 A largish area had been cleared ... ready for replanting ? If so what with ? Broadleaf trees ?



 We were soon back into the trees. You can almost feel the warmth in these photos ...




  
We reached the boundary of the access land ...



 We looked across the ugly barbed wire fence towards Darley Dale where I live ...



 We had a coffee at this point sheltering under the trees rather than in the glare of the sun. We headed back towards the start though the path was vague ...
 
   

Once we'd found the path it was plain sailing all the way back ...





  This walk was followed on the 23rd April 2011
 
Length of stroll ~ 1.93 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 131.05 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 23rd April 2011 ~ 659.10 miles

  29 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap 

A Farm Journal ~ from the 16th to the 31st December 1868 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 A Farm Journal continues :~

 

4 - 16 Fine day S.A. & baby Ann & self to Nott[ingha]m found Mother A[rmitage] not so well we lodged at Aunt Lucy's

 

5 - 17 Fine self with others off to Lincoln Q[uarterly] M[eeting] - not a large meeting tho very satisfactory testimony to Catherine Hopkins deceased read & referred to Committee a good deal of instructive communication from divers individuals - Self off by 1.15 train & home in even[in]g - weigh[e]d SH cheese for G R Baker of Thirsk 12 cwt 65/- & rem[ainde]r of dairy in spring

 

6 - 18 Fine day cheese off Rob[er]t Bramwell here bo[ugh]t red barren or cast cow £9 - 5 sturks £4 each heifer & bullock £12 Sold Strawberry cow Redfern 11£ & Grindy £12

 

7 - 19 Fine day fin[ishe]d turnips took 4 tups away - ewes all together 100 with 1 tup thieves in 3 lots - 10 sturks to go to S. Davy's give cake to teach em - to eat it - fine weather for time of year - Chas plough[in]g Crags ley turf Jesse O Intake ley

 

1 - 20 -

 

2 - 21 Very wet day self to B[akewe]ll market bo[ugh]t calving cow £10 15/- a confirmed kicker - a March calver for Jesse £9 15/- sent home - self off aft[ernoo]n to Nott[ingha]m to fetch my dear wife & babe

 

3 - 22 Fine day S.A. & I went to see Mother A[rmitage] - she was very low but cheerful & appeared quite desirous to be gone to a better country where sorrows are unknown & after blessing us & desiring us to endeavour to do right & to train our children in a proper manner we took our last farewell of her - reached home safely aft[ernoo]n 10 calves were taken down to B[akewe]ll in morn[in]g for co[usi]n H[enr]y B[owman] to go in morn[in]g by rails also 10 sturks went to S. Davy's of Warsop - cow home from Swans - calver cost £18

 

4 - 23 Fine Mrs. Slack & Mrs. Milland here [can't make out next few words] & allot[tin]g the dole

 

5 - 24 Showery got a truck of grains in broke & ground cake at Cales

 

6 - 25 Fine aft[ernoo]n showery morn[in]g - Mother Armitage died at about 6 oclock this morning aged 79 - her birthday -

 

7 - 26 Showery

 

1 - 27 -

 

2 - 28 Snowed all day 6 in[ches] deep next morn[in]g

 

3 - 29 Winterly - got stock in at Cales & thrashed

 

4 - 30 Fine day S.A. & I to Nott[ingha]m

 

5 - 31 Fine day at Nott[ingha]m the Funeral day of dear Mother A[rmitage] conducted very nicely - Edward Everett spoke at the grave side Friar Lane burying ground & in meeting Eliz[abe]th Hopkins Eliza Southall [?] S. Knott C.Barnard suplic[ate]d* S.A. & baby stay at Aunt Lucy's self home in even[in]g as far as Ashford - all night walked up in morn[in]g frost & gr[oun]d cov[ere]d snow - 2 cows to Jos Kirkam & Jesse's cow up £17 - Bakewell cow Flower cast calf

 

 

* I'm not totally convinced the word is 'supplicated' ~ it appears to be written 'suplic' with a little 'd' behind and above the 'c'.

 

  

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th December 1868 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 A Farm Journal continues :~

12 Mo[nth] Cold raw day Co[u]s[in] H[enr]y Bowman here sold him 5 barren cows for £55 - got a truck of grains in at  6 1/2 p[e]r bush[e]l from Ind Coope & Co* 3 - 1 

4 - 2 Fine day but dull self to Chest[er]f[iel]d M[onthly] M[eeting] & back - small meeting - Eliz Hopkins Jos Bottomley

5 - 3 -

6 - 4 Very wet day took l[oa]d of Swedes down to Pheasey Bakewell at 1/6

[No entries for two days]

2 - 7 Fine day B[akewe]ll Market took 35 fat sheep down sold to Septm** Press @ 35/- 15/- less for 1 - to Station to meet L.A.Fisher from Deptford who comes as our head nurse

3 - 8 Showery Sold J.Critchlow 6 fat pigs  £21 - 10/- sold Etches Cales Cheese 72/- H[enr]y's beasts to Middleton to go in morn[in]g by rail fr[om] Rowsley - sold W[illia]m 5 Heifers & bo[ugh]t 2 cows of [sic] him

4 - 9 Fine day S.A. & I nurse & family to Middleton to dine met Meggy from B[akewe]ll

5 - 10 Fine fair Windy day (Killed ewe for selves) finish[e]d cut[tin]g Head[in]g Swedes to Cales began pitting all that were worth of the corn turnips in Watricle plough[in]g ley in Over Intake - sheep have cotton cake - showery time

[No entries for three days]

2 - 14 Very wet day to Millers dale with milk & on to Litton Rob[er]t Bramwell*** about some sturks & cow he sent here - home & weighed cheese at Cales for Etches 19 cwt 72/-

3 - 15 Cheese to Station Fine day at Cales got cake breaker ready for work & had Little Stones up etc.

 * In 1868 Ind Coope was a brewery based in Burton-upon-Trent some 30 miles south of Monyash

** I can't quite decipher the 'Septm' written to JBB. It's more of a 'Sept' with a smaller 'm', 'n' or 'r' behind and slightly above.


*** This would presumably have been the Robert Bramwell who was 55 years of age in the 1871. At that time he was a farmer of 20 acres. His wife was 35 year old Hannah. They had both been born in Litton. In 1871 five children are listed ~ Thomas [13], James [9], Ann [6], Hannah [4] and George [1].

Ticking away ... Day 921 ~ the further tales of a man and his own personal cancer.

Yesterday, Day 920, me and my Stage 4 cancer as well as my son travelled to Chesterfield Royal for another 28 day check-up ... though perhaps I should call it a follow-up appointment. Anyway, you get the idea.

I got weighed and my blood pressure was taken. The Atenolol I have been given for the last 28 days has done the trick ~ my blood pressure is down ! I've been having a weekly check on my blood pressure though I haven't told you. Even I know there's a limit. [I'm thinking of you. I don't want to labour a point].

I've not even told you about my mallet finger ... what's that ? You'd like to know ? OK ... well, I went to the Pulvertaft Hand Clinic within the Royal Derby Hospital  where, after eight weeks, the doctor asked me to take off the plaster around the splint ... "Don't you want to do it ?" I asked ... "No, I might hurt you if I did it ..." he replied. So, gingerly, I unwrapped my middle finger and, lo and behold, it stayed straight ! I think the next thing he said was "Don't bend it !" I didn't bend it but you know what it's like sometimes when you know you mustn't do something ... you do it ... but not this time ... so far. The next stop was the therapist who told me that for another four weeks at least I have to keep my splint on though now it will largely be held on with velcro with a bit of plaster. I have to perform two exercises ten times at one go to build up the strength in the tendon. These exercises have to be carried out eight times a day. One involves squeezing a tin of mushy peas very gently. [Note : it doesn't have to be mushy peas. Any can or aerosol will do but I mustn't grip and lift. I go back in ten days for a check up as regards the finger].

Meanwhile back in Chesterfield yesterday, I saw the doctor who seemed happy enough with how things were going. I did mention that I had some discomfort in my groin especially when I walk. It wasn't pain ... just discomfort. I can feel something in there. It could well be that the pelvic bone has been affected by the cancer or the drugs or the chemotherapy ... or all three for all I know. Anyway, radiotherapy may be an option further on down the line. In the meantime I can resort to painkillers though [as mentioned] I have no pain at present.

He did say though that he would like me to double up on the Sando-K, a potassium supplement. However, just in case it increases my potassium levels too much [which can be as dangerous as having low potassium levels] I've got to have some more blood tests ...

As long as they keep me pegged together though I'm happy enough.

A photograph was taken in the car park ...

Keep smiling folks.

Baslow, Chatsworth Park and Raddowhole Plantation ...

Get there early enough and you can park near the grass triangle at the top of Eaton Hill in Baslow and walk down to Goose Green. The green looks delightful in the early Spring sunshine ...

 There's a couple of thatched cottages beyond Goose Green or it might be one long one ...



The path beyond the cottages leads towards Chatsworth Park ...



... and the Cannon Kissing Gate ...



According to the sign beside the kissing gate not only does it allow walkers to pass through the wall but people in wheelchairs too. It was inspired by a Mrs. Jill Cannon and opened in 1999.

A path leads from the kissing gate through the parkland ...



 You reach the River Derwent just beyond the cricket ground ...



 On this particular walk a couple of years ago you would have been able to see one of Laura Ellen Bacon's sculptures ...



 Once we'd reached Chatsworth Bridge we stood and gazed along the Derwent and the park beyond. All was green and grey ... or shades thereof ...



 Our way wasn't southward though so we turned back on ourselves and walked north ...



  I think these are horse jumps ...

 We were walking towards the Jubilee Rock [formerly the Elephant Stone] ...

The Jubilee that the stone marks is the 50th year of the reign of Queen Victoria. The carving was the work of Lieutenant Colonel E.M.Wrench who became a doctor in Baslow in 1862. You can see his initials in the bottom right of the photo below ...



 We followed a track between silver birches and below looming rocks towards Robin Hood ...

 

 The water in Heathy Lee Brook is always brown ...

  
Cross the A619 and follow the path towards Sheffield Road ...





   After 15 or 20 minutes [depending on how fast you walk] you'll get a view of Baslow Edge though the Wellington Monument isn't visible in the photo below ...



 We turned left at Toll Bar Cottage ...



 ... and walked down Sheffield Road for a short distance. At the roadside is this interesting stone which has some wording carved in it. Not sure what they are or even what the stone was ... a boundary stone perhaps ?



We took the footpath on our right then, aiming for Raddowhole Plantation ...

 

Moisture is always seeping out of the hillside in parts of the wood and certain damp-loving plants can usually be found ...

It's so damp that in a couple of places the path is very boggy. Trees fall from time to time because the soil sits on shale ...



 Eventually though the path settles down and the rest of the path is easier to follow ... and enjoy ...



 

This walk was followed on the 22nd April 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 6.23 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 129.12 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 18th April 2011 ~ 657.17 miles

  28 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.6 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap