Dethwick-Lea

DETHWICK-LEA, a chapelry, in the parish of Ashover, union of Belper, hundred of Wirksworth, S. division of the county of Derby, 2 miles (S. E. by E.) from Matlock; containing, with the hamlet of Holloway, 879 inhabitants, of whom 488 are in Dethwick-Lea. Dethwick, as early as the reign of Henry III., belonged to a family who took their name from the place. The elder branch became extinct in the reign of Henry VI., and the heiress brought the estate to the Babingtons, one of whom, John Babington, was killed at Bosworth-Field, and another, Anthony, was executed in 1586, with circumstances of unusual severity, for the memorable plot in favour of Mary, Queen of Scots, and against Elizabeth. The joint township of Dethwick, Lea, and Holloway, comprises 2110 acres of land. The village of Lea, or Dethwick-Lea, is situated in a valley, in which are an extensive reverberating furnace for smelting leadore, said to be the second of the kind erected in England, and a mill upon a large scale for spinning worsted and cotton: at Lea Wood is a hat manufactory. The Cromford and High-Peak railway passes within a quarter of a mile of the village, communicating with a branch of the Cromford canal. The village of Holloway is considerable; it is seated on a bold acclivity, a part of which is in Crich parish, and is distant three miles south-east from Matlock. The old mansion of the Babingtons, which was of large dimensions, is now a farmhouse: Lea Hall is a handsome mansion; and at Holloway is a neat residence, built in 1844. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £93; patron, Thomas Hallowes, Esq. The chapel, a small edifice with a lofty and handsome tower, was built in 1530 by one of the Babingtons, and is dedicated to St. John. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Unitarians; and a school, built by subscription in 1808.