Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside Parish Council

A Brief History of Chinley, Buxworth & Brownside Parish

From an article by Keith Holford

The Parish is made up of the two villages of Chinley and Buxworth, and various other hamlets, settlements and isolated farms. The open moorland to the north east of New Smithy is known as Brownside. The area around The Roych to the north-eastern boundary of the Parish just beyond Brown Knoll is now provisionally classified as ‘Open Country’ - as is a smaller area from Cracken Edge to the northern border of the Parish - after the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000.

Buxworth

Buxworth began life named ‘Buggesworth’ in 1222 - meaning ‘Bugge’s enclosure’. Bugge was the name of the Nottinghamshire family who, after making their early fortune in the woollen industry, moved to the Peak District to try their luck at lead mining.

The Peak Forest Canal came to Bugsworth in 1798, and was in continuous operation until 1928. Limestone was brought to Bugsworth Basin from Dove Holes via a tramway, part of which is now a well-used bridleway alongside the beautiful Black Brook. Local lime kilns, coal mines and gritstone quarries made the Basin the ‘biggest inland port in the Kingdom’. The tonnage of limestone products handled was 100,000 tons per year - in addition to the boatloads of gritstone setts, flags and building stone; it was not unusual for 300 narrow boats a month to sail to and from the Bugsworth Basin.

The Inland Waterways Protection Society undertook to restore the derelict parts of the canal system which served and formed the Basin. Through the efforts of the IWPS, the Basin became listed as a Grade 1 Industrial Archaeological Site. It was re-opened for navigation in 1999, but was closed after only 18 months due to leakage. Further works are planned to tackle the structural problems.

In 1992, as a result of a ‘Bygone Bugsworth’ exhibition, it was discovered that 12 members of the Clayton family had emigrated from Bugsworth to America between 1837 and 1842. In 1872 Charles Clayton was elected to Congress as Congressman for San Francisco; his brother Joel discovered coal and lead deposits, which led to the founding of the city of Clayton, California. Other members of the family achieved various influential positions in their adopted country. In 1997 the Parish Council made a formal Declaration of Twinning with Clayton, and a Twinning Association, known as the ABCers, was formed to develop and explore historical links both with Clayton Historical Society and Clayton City Council.

Chinley

Earliest recorded mention of the village dates from 1147, when the name was ‘Maystonfield’, the spelling of which varied. In 1285 ‘Chynleye’ appeared, and both names appear to have been used for several hundred years.

The cutting of the Peak Forest Canal to Bugsworth, and the creation of the Peak Forest Tramway to Dove Holes at the end of the 18th Century gave a boost to the agricultural economy of the area.

The coming of the railway in 1866, and the subsequent addition of 2 further lines in the early 19th Century, generated some further development in Chinley. However, headlines in ‘The Manchester Guardian’ declaring ‘Chinley, Manchester’s newest suburb’, and the new line to Sheffield failed to have a long-lasting effect on the village.

The bowling green attached to Chinley Lodge (built on the site of the Squirrel Inn) was of such a high standard that it was used for Derbyshire County bowling matches; however it fell into disrepair and was purchased by the Parish Council in the 1960s to be used as public open space. Children of the village chose its name - ‘Squirrel Green’.