Grindleford History
Leading steeply up from the Sir William Hotel in Grindleford is Sir William Hill which climbs up to Eyam Moor. This old road was at one time the Buxton to Grindleford turnpike. It reaches a height of over 1400 feet before descending 500 feet to Grindleford in a little over ½-mile. The name Sir William Hill is said to date back to at least 1692 and there are several theories as to the naming of it. Sir William Saville was at that date the Lord of the Manor of Eyam, but Sir William Cavendish owned Stoke Hall. The Sir William Hotel was known as The Commercial Hotel until earlier in the last century but Sir William Bagshawe portrayed on the signboard was not born until 1771, after the road had been established.
At Grindleford Bridge there is a quaint little property known as Toll Bar Cottage. This would have collected tolls from users of the road which was turnpiked in 1759 and originally led from Newhaven through Grindleford and on to High Road and Ringinglow.The railway is a rare form of transport in the Peak District; with Grindleford being one of only a handful of villages afforded the luxury of an operating station.
Completed in 1893, Totley tunnel where the trains emerge at Grindleford station is 3 miles and 950 yards long and is the second longest tunnel in England, beaten only by the Severn tunnel – not counting the Channel tunnel of course! Its construction brought the Sheffield to Manchester railway line to the Derwent and Hope Valleys and encouraged the building of many houses in the area as homes for Sheffield commuters who now had a reliable means of transport.
Close by are the remains of Padley Hall and Chapel. These old buildings have a fascinating story to tell, etched with wealth, romance, devotion, faith and treachery. It began around 1415 when Robert Eyre came home from Agincourt to marry his sweetheart Joan Padley. Robert initiated the building of a new manor at Padley and their subsequent marriage produced 14 offspring. Being devout Catholics, Robert also gave generously towards the upkeep of St Michaels Church at Hathersage.
Padley stayed in the Eyre family for four generations until Arthur Eyre. Despite three marriages and numerous offspring, most of whom died in infancy, only one female child reached adulthood. Anne Eyre was a most eligible heiress with many admirers. However, she married an equally financially desirable suitor in Sir Thomas Fitzherbert who was to inherit the Norbury Estate near Ashbourne.
They made Padley their home and continued in the Catholic faith. Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne but her views on religion forbade the following or preaching of Catholicism. Priests were ordained abroad as it was illegal in this country at that time. They were treated as criminals, guilty of high treason and punishable by death, as was anyone found harbouring them. Therefore Sir Thomas was regarded with suspicion and was eventually arrested in 1571.
He was incarcerated in the Tower of London and died after 20 years imprisonment. Following his arrest, his brother John took over the upkeep of the manor. John’s son (also named Thomas) was a treacherous little sneak however, a real villain of the piece, who thought he could prematurely secure the estate for himself by betraying his father to the authorities. Thomas had converted to the Protestant faith and informed Richard Topcliffe, the Queen’s pursuivant, of the celebration of Mass in secret at Padley. The Hall was raided upon the order’s of the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, in the middle of the night on 12th 1588. Unknown to the raiders beforehand, there were two priests staying at the Hall that night, Robert Ludlam who was born near Sheffield, and Nicholas Garlick who for seven years served as schoolmaster at Tideswell. They hid during the raid in purpose built shelters (priests holes) disguised as part of the chimney, but were found and together with John Fitzherbert, four of his children and ten of his servants, were taken to Derby.
John’s son-in-law Thomas Eyre reputedly bribed the authorities with £10,000 to spare his father-in-law’s life. This as it turned out may have been just as bad as the death penalty, as his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. In August 1590 he was taken to London and died two months later, just eleven months before that of his elder brother. The priests Robert Ludlam and Nicholas Garlick were hung, drawn and quartered at St Mary’s Bridge in Derby. Their mutilated bodies were displayed for the public to view however Catholic sympathisers took them down that night and buried them.
In 1932 the remains of Padley Hall was bought by Monsignor Paine of Derby. Roman Catholic mass was held on the premises in 1933 after a break of 345 years, and on the Thursday nearest to the 12th July, an annual pilgrimage takes place which is attended by priests and the public to remember the Martyrs of Padley.
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