Glover, in 1833, describes Bonsall as being "set in a romantic valley amidst abrupt limestone rocks, and watered by a beautiful trout stream"^[3]. He doesn't mention the Cross but Adam, writing a few years later, remarked that "There is an old Cross in the centre of the Village which is a curious object^[4]".

Bonsall Cross, the tallest cross in Derbyshire, is a circular cross with thirteen steps, although the number of steps varies from source to source! The first date on it is 1620 - which may be the date that it was first repaired. It was here that, during the Napoleonic Wars, the French prisoners-of-war were allocated to the local farms. Farming apprentices were also hired here at the village's annual 'Wakes'. The street's unmade road, of crushed limestone, is clearly visible.

According to one 1908 newspaper it had been restored last some thirty years before, when it was taken down and reconstructed although the old stones were retained^[5]. When markets were held here the farmers' wives placed their butter, eggs and other produce on the steps. It was also decorated with wreaths of flowers wound around the shaft during during Whitsun week and garlands hung from the top to adjoining buildings.

This second, somewhat battered, image of the Cross was taken from the bottom of Church
Street, with the High Street going off to the right and Yeoman Street to the left. It was sent by
Hilda to her mother, possibly around 1925 as she refers to two nieces who were with her.
Hilda owned a cottage at Slaley. The card was sent with instructions that it had to be kept and
also that Mrs. Slack had provided "some lettuce, 2 boilings (?chicken), some beans and some cress".

I have both the coloured (above) and sepia versions of this card. What is especially interesting is that the buildings behind the Cross, at the very top of Yeoman Street, were clearly demolished between when the above photograph was taken in 1892 and when the picture for the card below was taken. The third image also shows the top of Yeoman Street, but the buildings on the right have changed. The property on what is the corner of Yeoman Street (extreme right) has a shield above the front door at first floor level, with the date 1896 and the initials G.K. on it.

A message from Sarah & A to one of the web mistress's relatives is written the back of this card.
An extract reads:
"We have managed to make a move to Rose Cottage, Town End, Bonsall,
which is about 4 minutes from the subject of this view".
Please get in touch if you know who Sarah & A were.

This third view was taken from the bottom of Church Street at the junction with the High Street. On the right of Yeoman Street are several business premises. The shop behind the car is the Co-Operative Society Limited, next door is the West Yorkshire Bank and the shop with the sign advertising Tea with Hovis is Westerman's Quality Stores. There are tins of food piled up in the window and a sign inside the store advertises Vim.

A schoolboy is sitting on the steps of the Cross and behind him, to the left, is the King's Head public house. Harry Bunting was the publican at the time. The King's Head, according to the post war writer Nikolaus Pevsner, "was established in 1677. The house has traditional low three-light mullioned windows, and two irregular gables^[6]". Note the stone steps outside the pub's door which were used to mount horses.

Although we have to allow for artistic interpretation, The King's Head is shown amongst the group of buildings behind the Cross in the image below.

The fourth view of Bonsall Cross is from a painting by Henry Hadfield Cubley who lived in Matlock Bath between approximately 1887 and 1908 and painted many Derbyshire scenes. Children were frequently photographed, or in this case painted, sitting on the steps[7]. The woman with the red head scarf is undoubtedly Mrs. Cubley and one of their daughters was patting the dog. The card's sender wrote "I have often heard father and mother speak of this cross, I suppose you will know it quite well".

Elsewhere on this web site:
Bonsall in Kelly's 1891 Directory
Pigot's 1828-9 Directory, with Matlock, Matlock Bath and Darley includes Bonsall names
Pigot's 1831 Directory, with Matlock and Matlock Bath, includes Bonsall names
Pigot's 1842 Directory, also with Matlock and Matlock Bath, includes Bonsall names
Bonsall: Poems about the village
Our Genealogy
Research Queries
Matlock Charities
Timothy Spencer Hall's "Days in Derbyshire" features a lovely Gresley wood engraving. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Frank Clay, artist. Examples of the work of a Derbyshire artist, including a painting of Bonsall Cross. Frank was Ann's father.

References and notes:

^[1] Both born at Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Wales. Seven Walker children were born at Bonsall, including the web mistress's grandmother. Richard Arnold Walker, the eldest son, was killed at Gallipoli. He is unfortunately not named on Bonsall's War Memorial, despite having been born there. The web mistress has long felt that his exclusion from the list of names was a disappointing decision made by the then vicar. Instead, he is commemorated with on his parents' headstone in a quiet Salford churchyard.

^[2] Robert Clay was born at Bonsall and died there.

^[3] Glover, Stephen (1833) "The History and Gazetteer of the County of Derby ..." Edited by T. Noble. pub. Derby and London.

^[4] Adam, W. (1840) "The Gem of the Peak" London; Longman & Co., Paternoster Row.

^[5] "Sheffield Daily Telegraph", 5 June 1908. Bonsall Cross and a Whitsuntide Custom.

^[6] Pevsner, Nikolaus (1953), "The Buildings of England, Derbyshire", Penguin Books.

^[7] There is more information about Henry Hadfield Cubley and further examples of his work in the Matlock section of this web site. Start with his biography.