The Stuarts would be followed by the Georgians – also known as ‘the Hanoverians’.
The Stuart era finished with the death of Queen Anne in 1714 who, despite all her best efforts, failed to leave any heirs.
We were therefore left with George I (1660-1727), the Elector of Hanover, who spoke not a word of English but was the great-grandson of the first Stuart monarch, James VI/I.
He got the Georgians off to a rollicking start by locking up his wife, taking a trio of unpopular mistresses and getting himself mired in scandal.
When George I sailed over from Hanover to assume the Royal reins, what precisely did he start from Derbyshire’s perspective?
Alfreton Hall Photo: Gary Wallis Well, for one, this new Germanic era was notable for the number of extravagant mansions-cum-halls that were built or enhanced in the area. Alfreton Hall, an imposing mansion, was one such example, built in 1730 and subsequently added to later.
The current Chatsworth House was begun by the 1st Duke of Devonshire during the Stuart era, however it became an ongoing project with both the 4th Duke (1720-64) and 6th Duke (1790-1858) being notable contributors.
Outside, there’s also evidence of the ‘loose landscape’ (natural) style of Capability Brown, who was brought in as an adviser around 1760. At around the same time, architect Robert Adam (1728-92) began work at Kedleston, which is reckoned to be the finest of his houses in England.
The Halter-Devil Chapel, meanwhile, was built in Mugginton in 1723 and recalls the oddest of stories.
Francis Brown, a farmer, had attempted to ride to Derby one night, had got a bit tipsy and when he caught up with his horse and tried to halter it, discovered horns which made him believe he was haltering the Devil. A sobered-up Brown later decided to build the chapel in order to expurgate the evil.
Speaking of battles, there was another notable one right at the end of George II’s reign, at Quebec, or the Plains of Abraham on September 13, 1759, an engagement during the Seven Years’ War which saw General James Wolfe capture Quebec from the French but perish in the victory moment.
The Heights of Abraham, at Matlock Bath, were so-named 30 years later by an officer who’d fought with Wolfe at Quebec and thought the eminence resembled the plateau on which the fighting occurred.
Georgian Derbyshire wouldn’t be just about architecture and the antics of royalty, though. There was industry too. The first rumblings of the Industrial Revolution were heard at Cromford; it was here that Sir Richard Arkwright (1732-92) built the world’s first mechanical textile factory in 1771.
An obstinate monarch, George III lost the American colonies and descended into perceived madness in 1788, which eventually led to the regency (1811-20) of his son, the future George IV.
There’s a famed monument in Ashbourne’s St Oswald’s, that of Penelope Boothby (1785-1791), who died aged just five yet was reputedly fluent in Italian, French, Latin and English. This eye-catching monument is a life-size white Carrara marble representation by the London sculptor Thomas Banks.
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Ashbourne Gingerbread, meanwhile, was an import, coming to the town from France with 300 prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars who happened to be billeted here.
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-84), the famous lexicographer, was a regular visitor to the Mansion House in Ashbourne. Talking of Napoleon, there’s a bell in Ashover’s All Saints’ Church which cracked whilst ringing out the news of Napoleon’s fall in 1814 (Napoleon of course escaped from Elba and had one last crack which ended in defeat at Waterloo).
Authoress Jane Austen (1775-1817) stayed at the Rutland Arms Hotel in Bakewell whilst working on Pride and Prejudice and it’s believed that ‘Lambton’ in the novel could be based on Bakewell and that two of the book’s romantic scenes may be set at the hotel.
It was the 5th Duke who had the Crescent constructed, which remains the town’s standout architecture feature, while Matlock Bath also developed as a Derbyshire spa during the Georgian era.
The last of the four Georges (1762-1830) is said to have had ‘disreputable sexual morals’ and became corpulent, hence his nickname ‘Prince of Whales’.
Importantly, a Directory of Derbyshire was conducted between 1827-29 which listed upwards of 15,000 names, including ‘the principal nobility, gentry, clergy, magistrates, deputy-lieutenants, public officers, professional gentlemen, bankers, merchants, yeomen, manufacturers, tradesmen and innkeepers in every Borough, Town and Village in the county.’
Interestingly, the directory also included ‘notices of the markets, fairs, post-office hours, mail and post coaches, cars, carriers, land and water conveyance for goods etc’, with all data ‘accurately taken by Stephen Glover’.
The heyday of passenger travel was yet to come; at this time it was all about industry and there would be one final Georgian king, William IV (1765-1837), before the Victorian era got underway.
Politics was in the air and there’s a tower atop a hill at Darley Dale which commemorates the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832, a first step to a more equitable voting system.
A famous Georgian was William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), who’d become Prime Minister under both William IV and Victoria.
‘Melbourne’ referred to Melbourne Hall, the family’s ancestral home, whilst Melbourne (Australia) is named from Lord Melbourne.
Prior to his marriage, William IV lived with an actress with whom he had ten children, but his Royal wedding failed to provide any living heirs. It was time for his niece, Queen Victoria.
CHRONOLOGY
1714 – Death of Queen Anne and accession of George I, the first of the Hanoverian kings
1723 – The Halter-Devil Chapel is built at Mugginton
1727 – Death of George I and accession of his son, George II
1730 – The imposing mansion, Alfreton Hall, is built
1760 – Death of George II and accession of his grandson, George III
1789 – Heights of Abraham named in honour of Wolfe and Quebec
1820 – Death of George III and accession of his son, George IV (the Prince Regent)
1829 – Completion of ‘The Directory of the County of Derby’
1830 – Death of George IV and accession of his younger brother, William IV
1831 – Cromford and High Peak Railway completed for industrial goods
1837 – Death of William IV and accession of his niece, Victoria. End of Georgian era.
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