Parwick (St. Peter)

PARWICK (St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Wirksworth, S. division of the county of Derby, 6 miles (N. by E.) from Ashbourn; containing 533 inhabitants. The manor, called in the Domesday survey Pevrewie, was parcel of the ancient demesne of the crown, and passed with Ashbourn to the earls of Derby and to Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. It was granted by King Charles I. to the Dichfields and others, who sold it to the Levings family, from whom it was purchased in 1814 by the family of Evans. The parish comprises 3061 acres, of which 60 are common or waste; the soil is fertile, principally resting upon limestone, and is laid out in dairy-farms. A railway from the Peak-Forest canal to the Cromford canal crosses the northern part of the parish. The village, which is of tolerably neat appearance, is situated at the foot of a rocky hill. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £108; patron, William Evans, Esq. The tithes were commuted in 1841, the great for £135, and the small for £10. The incumbent now occupies the Hall, an ancient mansion, formerly the seat of the Levinges. The church is a small structure with portions of Norman architecture, and a low tower: in the churchyard are some venerable yew-trees. Schools were built in 1827, by Mr. Evans, who partly supports them.