StoreFront

The research during TheHistory Project highlighted a considerable amount of unpublished information, held in the memories of people who grew up in the village and in their family photographs and heirlooms. It was therefore decided to gather and document these memories by a series of interviews, held over several years, with 42 older residents. Members of the History Group then transcribed the interviews and grouped the information into a series of topics that form the seven chapters of this book. Bonsall Within Living Memory is a record of the memories of people who grew up in Bonsall from the 1920s, when the oldest contributors remembered their childhoods, over 50 years to the 1970s. Topics covered are: How we lived; School; Leisure and entertainment; Church and chapels; Earning a living; Accidents and court cases; and World War II. With nearly 150 photographs and 180 pages, the book is a detailed and compelling record for anyone interested in the daily lives and concerns of the people in this small village during the middle of the 20th Century.
Paperback £10

Bonsall
The new Bonsall history book is now available. It has grown from the first edition to 460 pages with over 100 new photos and new sections on work and leisure in Bonsall, prominent houses in the village and World War I.
Here are a few quotes......
Poachers "(Some) Bonsall men, including Joshua Wigley, Joseph Prince, Job Bunting and Charles Fearn, were at different times committed to hard labour at Derby County Gaol for poaching rabbits, hares and pheasants......"
Poultry Shows "The Pigeon Club and Horticultural Show ... have an illustrious past, holding large nationally important events in the later part of the nineteenth century. The first Bonsall Poultry Show was in 1883, 'for the exhibition of poultry, pigeon rabbits and canaries' at the Drill Hall ......."
Poverty "Framework knitters worked very long hours, sometimes up to eighteen hours per day, to increase their output. The depression in the hosiery industry and the very poor incomes of framework knitters prompted a government commission in 1840 to advise them: '... to flee from the trade and to beware of leading their children into it'. ...."
Paperback £15.00 Hardback £25.00

Bonsall Map
A full colour pictorial map showing a bird's-eye view of a Derbyshire hill village. It is crammed with illustrations, and historical and nature notes. Produced, drawn, written and researched by villagers, the Bonsall Map is a celebration of our village's unique history. A richly layered document, it highlights not only the topography of the parish, but, in a series of articles on the back of the folded version, its geology and natural history; its past as a lead mining village; its businesses past and present, including farming, buildings, pigeon racing, carnival and well dressing, and present day facilities.
Approx 600mm x 800mm available Rolled £3.50 or Folded £2.50
(The postage for the rolled map is quite high due to it's size, however, up to 4 maps can be sent at the same cost)

Set of 6 Bonsall Trails leaflets
Six leaflets titled Lead Mining & other Minerals; Framework Knitting & other Industries; Old Shops & Pubs; Schools & Religion; The Landscapes; and Historic Routes of Bonsall.
Each leaflet guides you around Bonsall pointing out the wealth of interesting history to discover.
Each leaflet is A3 double sided in colour - set of 6 £5.00

Bonsall at prayer (1066-1900) by John March, Dudley Fowkes & Pam McInally .
St James's Church dominates the village from its rocky perch above Yeoman Street. It is likely that this prominent site held a place of worship long before Christianity. Chapels too, played an important part in the village's history. The first half of this booklet charts some of the milestones in the religious history of Bonsall; the second half details the architectural development of the church. Published May 2004.
38pp illustrated £2.50

Trackways, Trails, Transport and Trade by Gwen Wright, Peter Fellows, Peter Greaves & John March
Even in the 21st century Bonsall seems more isolated than many of its neighbours, in fact, the village is criss-crossed by many different kinds of paths and trackways. These provided links with Cromford and Matlock, the lead mines and smelting works at Wirksworth, and with important lead, salt and calamine routes. Transport, trade and communications have always played an important part in the history of Bonsall, and it is perhaps not surprising that from the opening up of roads, railways and canals Bonsall continued to play an increasingly active role in the transport and haulage industries. Published March 2004
22pp illustrated £2.50

Bonsall - A Thousand Years of Growth by Gwen Wright, Peter Fellows, Peter Greaves & John March
The population of Bonsall has hovered around a thousand from the end of the 17th century until the present when it has settled at around 850. But when lead mining was an important national industry Bonsall flourished, at one point being larger than Matlock. In the Industrial Revolution it reached its maximum of 1496 people. Beginning with the settlement's entry in the Domesday Book of 1086, this booklet examines surviving historical documents outlining the people who lived in Bonsall through the centuries and attempts to trace the growth of the village over the best part of a thousand years. Published January 2004.
28pp illustrated £2.50

Bonsall at Work by Peter Fellows
Nowadays when many villages struggle to support a single shop it's easy to forget that within living memory a village like Bonsall would have been virtually self-sufficient, alive with a variety trades and traders; from bakers and butchers, coopers and cobblers, to fish and chip shops, a milliners, frameknitters and a dozen pubs.
Sub-titled 'Working with renewable materials', Peter Fellows' booklet examines Bonsall at work over the last 400 years. Among the trades it describes are leather working, rope making, food and drink production and sale, textiles, paper making, comb making and the wood industries. It's a fascinating journey through the village, crammed with stories of many different characters and the locations where they worked. Published November 2003.
80pp illustrated £3.50

Bonsall in the Dim and Distant Past by Bob Howie & Pam McInally
A settlement at Bonsall has existed for over a thousand years. Bonsall's distinctive landscape has contributed to and restricted the growth of the village at various times. This booklet looks at the way the topography of the area developed and at the existing evidence of the earliest settlements in and around Bonsall. The geology of the area is explained along with examination of the evidence for human settlement from Palaeolithic times through to the Iron Age, the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. A fascinating account summarising all that we know of the village and its surroundings before Bonsall first entered historical record. Published September 2003
34pp illustrated £2.50 SOLD OUT

Bonsall in the Seventeenth Century by Gwen Wright, Dudley Fowkes & John March
The first in a series of booklets. The seventeenth century is dominated by three major themes - Plague, the English Civil War, and the changes that took place in religion. This study looks at how these major themes affected the lives of ordinary people in the village, and at the ways they responded. At the same time, it paints a picture of the lives of Bonsall people at an important time of transition. In the past was a medieval society based on agriculture and obedience to the lord of the manor. In the future lay the Industrial Revolution. Bonsall had already made some steps towards the industrial future as villagers became involved in lead mining. During the seventeenth century Bonsall made strides away from its feudal past, establishing its independence by buying out the rights of the King to exact manorial obligations. Also, during the century the population of the village increased enormously. Published June 2003
26pp illustrated £2.50