Beard, Derbyshire Genealogy

England Derbyshire Derbyshire Parishes  Beard



Parish History
Beard is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Derbyshire, created in 1844 from Glossop, Derbyshire Ancient Parish. Other places in the parish include: Glossop Dale, Ollersett, Thornsett, and Whittle.

BEARD, a hamlet, in the parish of Glossop, union of Hayfield, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 4½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Chapel-en-le-Frith; containing 290 inhabitants.—

NEW-MILLS, a township and manufacturing district, in the parish of Glossop, union of Hayfield, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 8 miles (E. S. E.) from Stockport, and 170 (N. W. by N.) from London; comprising the hamlets of Beard, Ollersett, Thornsett, and Whittle, and containing 3595 inhabitants. It is situated on the north bank of the Guyt, and reaches from Kinder-Scout to Mellor. Formerly, the inhabitants were accustomed to grind their corn at a common mill in Hayfield; but about a century since, when the township was formed, a mill was erected upon the river Kinder, in the hamlet of Ollersett, and the name of New-Mills was, in consequence, conferred on the township, the inhabitants of which ground their corn here. The appellation is more definitely applied to a cluster of factories and houses, which rise one above another from the brink of the river to the summit of the Crags, a height of several hundred feet, and also extend along the turnpike-road, as far as London Place: the whole is lighted with gas. The Kinder derives its source from the mountain of Kinder-Scout, and, separating the county of Derby from that of Chester, falls into the river Guyt at a place called the Tor. The original branches of manufacture in the district were those of paper and cloth, which have been superseded by cotton, calico-printing, and bleaching works, &amp;c.: coal-mines abound in the neighbourhood, which contains also some veins of lead-ore. The township comprises by measurement 5030 acres, of which 4345 are meadow and pasture, 360 arable, and 199 woodland: the soil is various; some small plantations, in different districts, add to the picturesque scenery of the neighbourhood. The great tithes have been commuted for £92. 10., and the vicarial for £15. A local subscription amounting to £1000 having been raised towards the erection of a district church, the sum of £2500 was granted by the Parliamentary Commissioners in aid of the expense, and a piece of ground was given by Lord George Cavendish, for the site. The church is a handsome structure in the pointed style, with a nave, chancel, and aisles, and contains 500 free sittings: it is dedicated to St. George. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patron, the Vicar of Glossop; impropriator, Earl Fitzwilliam. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists; and the Roman Catholics have a chapel in the decorated style, a perfect revival of an ancient parish church. Several bequests have been made for instruction, and for distribution among the poor.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 184-187. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50787 Date accessed: 04 April 2011.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described New Mills like this:

NEWMILLS, a village and a chapelry in Glossop parish, Derby. The village stands on the river Goyt, at the boundary with Cheshire, ¾ of a mile N of the Manchester, Stockport, and Buxton railway, and 7¾ miles E S E of Stockport; was originally called Bowder-Middle-Cale; took the name of Newmills from the erection of a newmill on its site; is a large place; and has a post-office‡under Stockport, a station with telegraph on the M. and B. railway, a station also on the Midland railway, a savings' bank, and fairs on 12 May and 22 Oct. The chapelry contains also the hamlets of Beard, Thornsett, Whittle, and Ollersett; and is conterminate with the township of Beard. Acres, 5,044. Real property, £15, 623, of which £1, 150 are in mines. Pop. in 1851, 4, 366; in 1861, 4, 822. Houses, 940. The property is much subdivided. High Lee Hall is the residence of W. S. Lowe, Esq.; Oak House, of J. Fielding, Esq.; Ollersett Hall, of G. Eyre, Esq.; Watford Villa, of J. Ingham, Esq.; and Aspenshaw Hall, of H. Lees, Esq. There are many calico-printing works and cotton-band manufactories, and an iron and brass foundry. The living is a p.curacy in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £150.* Patron, the Vicar of Glossop. The church is a handsome edifice, in the pointed style; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and spire. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, United Free Methodists, and Roman Catholics, and amixed national school. The R. Catholic chapel is a very fine structure, in the early English style; and has a tower and spire. The workhouse of Hayfield district also is here; and, at the census of 1861, had 41 inmates.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

New Mills St George Previously known as Bowden Middle Cale it includes the hamlets of Beard, Ollersett, Thornsett and Whilte and was previously part of Hayfield, Derbyshire chapelry. It was formed as a parish in 1831 with the addition of the chapelry at Mellor, Derbyshire

New Mills St James the Less was a chapel of ease within the parish

Derbyshire Record Office reference D 3492 has deposited registers Bap 1831-1980 Mar 1837-1958 Burials 1832-1962 Banns 1845-1975

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Hayfield Poor Law Union, Derbyshire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Derbyshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.