(379) Barker of Ashford Hall and Brooklands

Barker of Bakewell

There have been Barkers in Derbyshire for many centuries, and the family treated here was settled at Darley by the beginning of the 17th century if not before. In 1650 Anne Barker married the Rev. William Bagshawe (1628-1702) of Ford Hall, the 'Apostle of the Peak', who was vicar of Glossop 1651-62 and later a nonconformist preacher. Our story begins, however, with John Barker (1668-1727), whose father was a carpenter and joiner at Darley. After being apprenticed to his father he worked in the building trades himself, but diversified into contracting, surveying and architecture. Relatively little is known of his career but it is clear he operated across a wide area from Shropshire to the north of Yorkshire, and he prospered sufficiently to loan money. He leased Rowsley Hall (now the Peacock Hotel) from the Duke of Rutland and it seems likely that he gained experience in estate management, for in 1723 the Duke of Rutland made him Steward of his estates, a role which his uncle Peter had also held until his death in 1709.

Rowsley Hall: the mid 17th century house leased by the Barker family
from the Dukes of Rutland.

He died in 1727, leaving two sons, the elder of whom, Dr. John Barker (1708-49) went to Oxford and became a physician, while the younger, Thomas Barker (1709-54) succeeded to his father's business at the tender age of eighteen. He hoped also to succeed his father (whose assistant he had been) as Steward to the Duke of Rutland, but understandably the Duke thought he was too young and inexperienced for such a great responsibility, although he was quite happy to keep him on as an assistant to the new Steward. Thomas seems to have thought this beneath his dignity, and instead turned his attention to lead mining. The invention of the Newcomen engine, allowing the mechanical draining of flooded mines, was at this time rejuvenating the Derbyshire lead mining industry, and from 1736 Thomas and his kinsman Alexander Barker, who was Steward of the Duke of Devonshire, made agreements with local landowners to drain and manage lead mining operations on their estates which proved successful and lucrative. Such entrepreneurial activity evidently impressed the Duke of Rutland who by 1740 had made him Steward of his estates.

Bagshawe Hall, Bakewell: the seat purchased by Thomas Barker.

He was able to buy Bagshawe Hall at Bakewell (which had been built by a distant kinsman) from the Fitzherbert family to whom it had passed, and he was living there, rather than at Rowsley, when he wrote his will.

Perhaps because of ill-health, Thomas Barker gradually withdrew from his business commitments, and he was replaced as steward to the Duke of Rutland in 1751. His eldest son John (1732-95) took over his lead mining concerns and also later became the fourth member of his family to act as Steward to the Duke. The accumulated profits of his industrial activities allowed John to lease (and later to purchase the freehold of) an estate at Ashford-in-the-Water from the Duke of Devonshire, and to build on it a handsome and fashionable new house, Ashford Hall, almost certainly to the designs of Joseph Pickford of Derby. The lead business passed to his sons, Thomas Barker (1767-1816) and his brother John Barker (1769-1841), and was continued after John's death to his youngest son, Thomas Rawson Barker (1812-73), who was also known as a cricketer and astronomer; it passed out of the family in 1874.

When Thomas Barker (1767-1816) died, his six children were all under ten, and he left his property in the hands of trustees, who decided to sell Ashford Hall back to the Duke of Devonshire. The eldest son, John Henry Barker (1806-76) therefore had no suitable house when he came of age, and in about 1830 he bought a late 18th century house at Bakewell called East Lodge (which he renamed The Brooklands); this was about the same size as Ashford Hall, but less architecturally distinguished and in a less desirable setting. It remained his home for the rest of his life, although after 1860 he also had a home in London, where he was a stipendiary magistrate. His son, Henry Frederick Barker (1840-87), who did not pursue a legal or business career like his forebears, inherited The Brooklands, although he did not live to enjoy its amenities for very long. At his death he bequeathed it to his widow, who died three years later, and then, as they had no children, to his second cousin, John Edward Barker (1832-1912), a grandson of John Barker (1769-1841), who was a barrister and later Recorder of Leeds. At his death he had two sons and two daughters living, but the sons had both gone overseas to farm while one of the daughters was about to enter a Carmelite nunnery and the other was married and living in Scotland. None of them wanted to live at The Brooklands, which seems to have been sold soon afterwards.

Ashford Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire

The estate belonged in the medieval period to the Nevilles, Earls of Westmorland, who had a moated house at Ashford about which nothing is known; the moat survived until the 1960s, when it was ploughed out. In the late 16th century the estate was acquired by the Cavendish family as part of their Chatsworth estate, and the present elegant five by three bay, two-and-a-half-storey house was built on a new site in about 1776-77 for John Barker (1732-95), who was at first a tenant of the Duke of Devonshire but later bought the freehold. 

Ashford Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water: the house in the early 20th century.

The design is attributed to Joseph Pickford of Derby, who was working almost exclusively for the 5th Duke of Devonshire at this time, and is a rather simplified version of his St. Helen's House in Derby. The main south front has a rusticated ground floor with the windows set in arched blind recesses; first floor windows with alternating triangular and segmental pediments; and a balustraded parapet. In the centre is a doorcase with Ionic columns supporting a pediment with a 'snake-handled' urn carved in the frieze, a motif which derives from a pattern book published by George Richardson in 1776 to which Pickford is known to have subscribed and which was frequently employed later by Pickford's carver, George Moneypenny.  Inside, the interiors are elegant but very simple. The entrance hall has a screen of columns, but with the entrance having been moved to the west side this no longer faces the visitor as was intended. The staircase has a plain wrought-iron balustrade, and other rooms simple fireplaces and cornices.

Ashford Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water: the house from the rear, showing the two wings added in the 19th century.

In 1819 the house and about a thousand acres were sold back to the 6th Duke of Devonshire, for whom some changes were made to the building, including moving the main entrance to the west side, the addition of a pretty conservatory to the left of the entrance front and a service wing to the rear, and the alteration of the ground floor windows into rectangular sashes which fit rather awkwardly into their round-headed surrounds; they were probably originally round-headed. Later in the 19th century a second wing was added at the rear containing a billiard room.

Ashford Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water: the gardener's house.

In the gardens east of the house is a small pedimented stable block and a gardener's house with a delightfully architectural front consisting of a tetrastyle portico in antis with to either side of it a Diocletian window set above a Venetian window; this is no doubt by Pickford too. The small but very beautiful park overlooks a picturesque lake formed from the River Wye, and has the air of being professionally landscaped, possibly by William Emes, who worked with Pickford elsewhere. Local tradition asserts, however, that the gardens were laid out by Sir Joseph Paxton, who was of course the Duke's gardener in the early 19th century, and he may have made some changes when the property came back into the Duke's hands around 1819.

Descent: John Barker (1732-95); to son, Thomas Barker (1767-1816), whose trustees sold 1819 to William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858), 6th Duke of Devonshire; he and his successors let it to tenants, agents or relatives, including from 1835-80, Lord George Henry Cavendish MP (d. 1880) and from 1927-38, the Hon. Evan Baillie and his wife, a daughter of the 9th Duke; it was leased from 1939 and sold 1954 to Col. William Herbert Olivier (1904-92); to son, Jasper William Dacres Olivier (b. 1938); sold 2018 to Peter Anderson Hunt (b. 1960).

The Brooklands, Bakewell, Derbyshire

Brooklands, Bakewell: the house in 2017. Image: Peter McDermott. Some rights reserved.

The house now called The Brooklands at Bakewell (Derbyshire), but originally called East Lodge, is a large square five bay, two-and-a-half-storey, late 18th century house with a front of ashlar stone and stuccoed sides and rear. The early history seems to be obscure, but it was acquired in about 1830 by John Henry Barker (1806-76) to replace Ashford Hall, which had been sold when he was an infant. The Brooklands was a house of much the same size as Ashford Hall but it is architecturally less distinguished and sat in a less favourable position. Indeed, Barker spent much of his adult life trying (eventually unsuccessfully) to prevent the London, Midland & Scottish Railway from building a line across his land. After the death of John Edward Barker in 1912, the house was sold and occupied by tenants until after the Second World War, but it subsequently became and remains a Christian residential care home.

Descent: John Henry Barker (1806-76); to son, Henry Frederick Barker (1840-87); to widow (d. 1890) and then to 2nd cousin, John Edward Barker (1832-1912); to children, who sold it to Capt. Shipley Barlow. He let it from 1913-26 to Mary, Lady Fitzherbert (fl. 1913-26), from 1927-30 to the Hon. Evan Baillie (1894-1941) and his wife Lady Maud, a daughter of the 9th Duke of Devonshire, who exchanged it for Ashford Hall, and then to Mr & Mrs Frederick Lees and their daughter, Miss Violet Lees.

Barker family of Ashford Hall and Brooklands

Barker, John (1668-1727). Son of Henry Barker (d. 1705), joiner, of Darley Dale (Derbys) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Bagge, baptised at Darley, 19 April 1668. Apprenticed to his father in 1681, and after completing his articles he became not only a joiner but also a builder, surveyor and architect. He worked widely in these capacities around the north Midlands in the early 18th century. In 1698 he made a survey plan of Henderskelfe (Yorks NR), the future site of Castle Howard, and in 1700-01 another of Chatsworth House. His proximity to Haddon Hall brought him into contact with the Duke of Rutland, and in 1704-05 he was one of three men who contracted to build a new stable block at Belvoir Castle (Leics), the Duke's principal seat. He is also known to have designed and/or built new churches at Manchester (St. Ann) and Whitchurch (Shrops.), and he was the architect or builder of Tatton Hall (rebuilt again in 1780-91). Barker also lent money and may have had some experience in the management of property, for in 1723 the Duke of Rutland made him his Steward (a post which his uncle Peter Barker had held until his death in 1709), and he moved from Rowsley to Belvoir. He married, 19 May 1705 at Castleton (Derbys), Catherine, daughter of Thomas Charlesworth, and had issue:

(1) John Barker (1708-49), born 18 April and baptised at Darley Dale (Derbys), 3 May 1708; educated at St Thomas's Hospital, London and Wadham College, Oxford (matriculated 1727/8; BA 1731; MA 1737; MB 1737; MD 1743); practised medicine in Salisbury (Wilts), 1737-46, where he published works on epidemic fever, 1740-42 as a result of a dispute with a fellow physician; FRCP 1746; physician at Westminster Hospital, 1746-47; physician to HM forces in the Low Countries, 1747-48; married, 17 July 1740 at St Mary-le-Bow, London, Mary (d. 1780), daughter of John Bakewell, and had issue three sons; died in Ipswich (Suffk), 31 January 1748 and was buried at St Stephen, Ipswich, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(2) Thomas Barker (1709-54) (q.v.).

He leased Rowsley Hall (now the Peacock Hotel, Rowsley) from the Duke of Rutland.

He was buried at Bottesford (Leics), 14 October 1727; his will was proved in the PCC, 19 December 1727. His wife may be the Katherine, wife of John Barker, buried at Manchester Cathedral, 27 September 1710.

Barker, Thomas (1709-54). Son of John Barker (1668-1727) and his wife Catherine, daughter of Thomas Charlesworth, baptised at Beeley (Derbys), 29 November 1709. On his father's death in 1727 he hoped to succeed him as Steward to the Duke of Rutland, but the Duke "thought him not of years to undertake a business of such moment", although he did take a subsequent opportunity of appointing him to the role, which he held by 1740 and perhaps earlier. In 1736 he formed a partnership with his kinsman Alexander Barker, steward of the Duke of Devonshire, to lease and work lead mines and to smelt the ore extracted. From 1743-49 he was also in partnership with George Barker in a separate concern (George Barker & Co.), which was primarily concerned with the smelting side of the business, and after his death and that of George Barker, Alexander Barker managed both firms and merged them. He married, 8 June 1730 at Darley, Sarah Slater (c.1705-73), and had issue:
(1) Bridget Barker (1730-1805), baptised at Bakewell, 14 February 1730/1; married, 16 April 1751 at Bakewell, Thomas Dunnage (c.1731-1802) of London, Master of the Cutlers' Company in 1764 and an investor in the East Florida plantation, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 25 April 1805; will proved in the PCC, 16 July 1805;
(2) John Barker (1731-95) (q.v.);
(3) Mary Barker (b. & d. 1732), baptised at Bakewell, 2 April 1732 but died the following day and was buried at Bakewell, 4 April 1732;
(4) Cmdr. Thomas Barker (1733-79), born 9 March and baptised at Bakewell, 11 April 1733; said to have been educated at Eton but does not appear in the School Lists; an officer in the Royal Navy from 1749 (Lt., 1756; Cmdr., 1778; retired on half-pay, 1779); died unmarried, 4 August 1779; will proved 27 October 1779;
(5) Robert Barker (b. & d. 1734); died in infancy and was buried at Bakewell, 4 October 1734;
(6) Rev. Robert Barker (1735-96), born 11 November and baptised at Bakewell, 31 December 1735; educated at Chesterfield, St. John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1754) and Queens' College, Cambridge (BA 1758; MA 1761; BD 1770); ordained deacon, 1759 and priest, 1760; Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge, 1760-66; rector of St Botolph, Cambridge, 1766-70; vicar of Youlgreave (Derbys), 1770-96 and rector of Hickling (Notts), 1775-96; travelled abroad as tutor to Prince Poniatowski, nephew of the King of Poland, in about 1780; married, 16 October 1781 at Chesterfield, Elizabeth, daughter of Marmaduke M. Calver and had issue one daughter; died at Youlgreave, 21 November 1796; will proved 3 June 1797;
(7) George Barker (b. & d. 1736), baptised at Bakewell, 4 February 1736; died in infancy and was buried at Bakewell, 14 February 1736;
(8) William Barker (1737-1825), born 31 January and baptised at Bakewell, 11 February 1737; said to have been educated at Eton but does not appear in the school lists; apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Thomas Dunnage, 1753-59; joined the Levant Company, 1760, and traded at Smyrna (Turkey) in partnership with John Humphreys of Constantinople; he became pro-Consul at Smyrna in 1766 and Treasurer there of the Levant Company in 1777, but from about 1780 he got into financial difficulties; a timely legacy cleared his most pressing debts in 1788 but he remained dependent on gifts from home and rental on his property in Turkey; he married 1st, 16 October 1763 in Smyrna, Floriana (1739-75), 'a French subject born in Smyrna', daughter of Jean-Baptiste Robin of Smyrna, and had issue five sons (including John Barker (1771-1849), later Consul-General in Egypt) and two daughters; married 2nd, 1 November 1776 in Smyrna, Mary Elizabeth (b. 1760), daughter of Michel Schnell, and had further issue ten sons and four daughters; died in Smyrna, 23 July 1825 and was buried in the Old Caravan Bridge Cemetery there; when he died his will made provision only for those of his children who were least well provided for, and was disputed, but a settlement seems ultimately to have been reached;
(9) Mary Barker (d. 1739); died, probably in infancy, and was buried at Bakewell, 22 September 1739;
(10) Suttonella alias Suttonia Barker (1741-1818), baptised at Bakewell, 7 January 1741/2; married, 18 June 1767 at St Mary-at-Hill, London, Thomas Ashby (c.1728-1810) of Holme Hall, Bakewell (Derbys) and had issue two sons; died 3 January and was buried at Bakewell, 6 January 1818.
He leased Rowsley Hall (now the Peacock Hotel, Rowsley) from the Duke of Rutland but by the 1740s he had purchased or leased The Hall (alias Bagshawe Hall), Bakewell. 
He died 4 October 1754; his will was proved 11 February 1755. His widow is said to have died 11 February 1773.

Barker, John (1732-95). Eldest son of Thomas Barker (1709-54) and his wife Sarah, born 14 February 1731/2. Said to have been educated at Eton, but does not appear in the School Lists. Inherited his father's lead mining interests, and was later appointed Steward to the Duke of Rutland, being the fourth member of the family to hold that post; JP for Derbyshire. He married, 15 December 1763 at Bakewell, Jane (1745-1829?), daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Watkinson JP of Brampton (Derbys), and had issue including:
(1) Elizabeth Barker (1764-94), born 23 September and baptised at Bakewell, 2 October 1764; married, 29 June 1793 at Bakewell, Thomas Rawson (1748-1826) of Wards End near Sheffield, esq., lead merchant and brewer, but had no issue; buried at Ecclesfield (Yorks WR), 29 May 1794;
(2) Sarah Barker (1766-1851), born 24 March and baptised at Bakewell, 24 April 1766; died unmarried and without issue, 5 September 1851;
(3) Thomas Barker (1767-1816) (q.v.);
(4) Dorothy Barker (b. & d. 1768), baptised at Bakewell, 20 January 1768 but died in infancy the same day and was buried at Bakewell, 20 January 1768;
(5) John Barker (1769-1841) (q.v.);
(6) Jane Barker (1770-1849), born 29 October and baptised at Bakewell, 28 November 1770; died at Bakewell, unmarried and without issue, 1 February 1849;
(7) Robert Barker (b. & d. 1773), born 4 February 1773; died in infancy and was buried at Bakewell, 9 April 1773;
(8) Mary Barker (1774-79), born 6 September 1774; died young, 25 October and was buried at Bakewell, 26 October 1779;
(9) Robert Barker (1776-1841), born 20 January and baptised at Bakewell, 27 January 1776; merchant at Bolton (Yorks WR); died without issue, 9 January 1841.
He lived at Rowsley Hall and later at Bagshaw Hall, Bakewell (Derbys) until he built Ashford Hall in 1776-77.
He died 8 August 1795; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 December 1795. His widow is said to have died in 1829.

Barker, Thomas (1767-1816). Eldest son of John Barker (1731-95) and his wife Jane, daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Watkinson of Brampton (Derbys), born 12 February and baptised at Bakewell, 17 March 1767. Lead miner and merchant. He married, 15 August 1803 at Bakewell, Sarah (1784-1868), daughter of William Gardom of Bakewell, and had issue:
(1) John Henry Barker (1806-76) (q.v.);
(2) Thomas Alfred Barker (1808-91), born 16 January and baptised 23 January 1808; educated at Edinburgh University (MD 1829), Downing College, Cambridge (matriculated 1830; MB 1835; MD 1840), St. Thomas's Hospital, London and in Paris and Dublin; admitted FRCP, 1840; Physician to the Public Dispensary, London, c.1835-39 and Physician at St Thomas's Hospital, 1840-68; Professor of Clinical Medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, 1853-68 and Dean of the Medical School, 1849-50, 1858-60; Lumleian Lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians, 1860-61, 1869; a committee member of the Society for Propogating Christian Knowledge, in retirement he ran a bible class for young men, and read to the old men in St. Marylebone Workhouse; married, 11 August 1864, Caroline Jane (1831-1912), daughter of Rev. Robert Clowes MA, vicar of Nether Knutsford (Cheshire), and had issue one daughter; died in London, 19 October 1891; will proved 28 November 1891 (effects £34,101);
(3) Francis Barker  (1809-74), born 10 March and baptised 1 May 1809; of The Cottage, Bakewell, gent; Treasurer of Bakewell Rifle Volunteers, 1860-74; a leading supporter of the Bakewell Dispensary; died unmarried, 22 September and was buried at Bakewell, 26 September 1874; will proved 27 October 1874 (effects under £20,000);
(4) Capt. Charles Barker (1811-60), born 2 January and baptised at Bakewell, 11 February 1811; an officer in the Royal Navy from 1826 (Lt., 1838; Cmdr, 1845; Capt.); died unmarried and without issue in London, 28 May 1860; will proved 9 June 1860 (effects under £12,000);
(5) Mary Jane Barker (1815-29), born 1 March 1815; died young, 23 April 1829;
(6) Ellen Barker (1816-17), born 13 November and baptised at Bakewell, 16 November 1816; died in infancy, 15 August 1817 and was buried at Bakewell the following day.
He inherited Ashford Hall from his father in 1795; it was sold by his trustees in 1819.
He died 27 July and was buried at Bakewell, 1 August 1816. His widow died 19 October 1868; her will was proved 15 December 1868 (effects under £800).

Barker, John Henry (1806-76). Eldest son of Thomas Barker (1767-1816) of Ashford Hall and his wife Sarah, daughter of William Gardom of Bakewell, born 28 October 1806. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1825; BA 1829; MA 1834) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1828; called 1836). Barrister-at-law on Midland circuit; stipendiary magistrate in London, 1860-74. JP for Derbyshire from 1833. President of the Derbyshire Agricultural Society, 1834. He married, 7 May 1837 at Gainsborough (Lincs), Anne Elizabeth (1816-99), daughter of Nicholas Bacon of Blundeston House (Norfk), and had issue:
(1) Henry Frederick Barker (1840-87) (q.v.);
(2) Emma Barker (1847-1925), born 12 January 1847; died unmarried at Wye Bridge, Rowsley, 4 August 1925; will proved 22 September 1925 (estate £61,475).
He bought Brooklands (formerly East Lodge), Bakewell in about 1830. His widow and daughter lived latterly at Wye Bridge, Rowsley (not at the Hall, which had become The Peacock Inn by 1881).
He died 28 January and was buried at Bakewell, 2 February 1876; his will was proved 9 March 1876 (effects under £60,000). His widow died 20 May and was buried at Bakewell, 24 May 1899; her will was proved 6 July 1899 (estate £15,532).

Barker, Henry Frederick (1840-87). Only son of John Henry Barker (1806-76) and his wife Anne Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Bacon of Blundeston House (Norfk), born 8 January 1840. An officer in the 52nd Light Infantry (Ensign, 1859; Lt., 1860; retired 1864), who served in India; later an officer of the 9th Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers (Capt., 1869). He was an ardent Conservative in politics, and was a candidate for the Bakewell Local Board at the time of his death; he was noted for the 'humorous and emphatic' character of his speeches, and 'did not hesitate to say what he thought, whatever might be the result'. His chief interest was in fishing. He married, 30 April 1878 at Bakewell, Emily Openshaw (1851-89), daughter and heir of Joseph Ewings of Burre House, Bakewell (Derbys), but had no issue.
He inherited Brooklands from his father in 1876. At his death it passed to his widow for life and then to his second cousin, John Edward Barker (1832-1912) (q.v.).
He died at Godalming (Surrey), 30 March and was buried at Bakewell, 4 April 1887; his will was proved 6 June 1887 (effects £51,316). His widow died 26 June 1890; administration of her goods was granted to her mother, 8 August 1890 (effects £12,586).

Barker, John (1769-1841). Son of John Barker (1731-95) and his wife Jane, daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Watkinson JP of Brampton (Derbys), born 2 August and baptised at Bakewell, 16 August 1769. Lead merchant and smelter. He married, 26 December 1796 at Wirksworth (Derbys), Sarah (1776-1859), daughter of James Swettenham of Youlgreave (Derbys), and had issue:
(1) Elizabeth Barker (1797-1869), born 30 September and baptised at Bakewell, 23 November 1797; died unmarried at The Hall, Bakewell, 31 May, and was buried at Bakewell, 4 June 1869; will proved 27 August 1869 (effects under £10,000);
(2) Edward Barker (1799-1832) (q.v.);
(3) James Barker (1800-56), born 28 June and baptised at Bakewell, 15 July 1800; lead smelter; died at Lancaster, 21 April and was buried at Bakewell, 26 April 1856;
(4) Mary Barker (1802-27), baptised at Bakewell, 29 April 1802; died unmarried, 5 February and was buried at Bakewell, 9 February 1827;
(5) Ann Barker (1804-79), baptised at Bakewell, 16 February 1804; died 21 March and was buried  at Bakewell, 23 March 1879; will proved 28 May 1879 (effects under £14,000);
(6) Frances Barker (1806-65), born 7 September 1806 and baptised at Bakewell, 2 April 1807; married, 31 October 1840 at Bakewell, Richard Rose (1809-83) of Aylesbury (Bucks), solicitor, but had no issue; died at Aylesbury, 2 November 1865;
(7) Emma Jane Barker (1808-71), baptised at Bakewell, 9 July 1808; died unmarried at The Hall, Bakewell, 10 March and was buried at Bakewell, 17 March 1871; will proved 6 June 1871 (effects under £9,000);
(8) Thomas Rawson Barker (1812-73), born 9 April and baptised at Bakewell, 9 May 1812; as a young man he played first-class cricket for Sheffield Cricket Club between 1833 and 1849; partner in Sheffield White Lead Works; JP for Sheffield; Commissioner for Taxes; mayor of Sheffield, 1848-49; inaugural President of Yorkshire Cricket Club, 1863; he had an interest in astronomy and had an observatory at his house, The Edge; married, 20 January 1841, Frances (d. 1873), daughter of Bartholomew Hounsfield of Sheffield and had issue two daughters; died at The Edge, Sheffield, 26 April 1873; administration of goods with will annexed granted 9 June 1873 (effects under £20,000).
He appears to have lived at Bagshawe Hall, Bakewell. He inherited Castle Hill House, Bakewell from Alexander Bossley in 1826, but sold it soon afterwards to the Duke of Rutland.
He died 20 August and was buried at Bakewell, 23 August 1841; his will was proved 12 February and 9 April 1842. His widow died 17 July and was buried at Bakewell, 20 July 1859; her will was proved 19 June 1860 (effects under £800).

Barker, Edward (1799-1832). Son of John Barker (1769-1841) and his wife Sarah, daughter of James Swettenham of Youlgreave (Derbys), born at Dronfield (Derbys), 17 April and baptised at Bakewell, 8 July 1799. Lead merchant in Sheffield. A quiet, unassuming and rather private man, he was both a knowledgeable chemist (on which subject he lectured in Sheffield) and geologist, and had an interest in moral and political economy. "A retiring disposition concealed from the public the extent of his virtues and talents" as his obituarist put it. He was Vice-President of the Sheffield Shakespeare Club and a committee member of the Sheffield Literary & Philosophical Society from 1823. He was apparently a Quaker in faith, and his children were not baptised into the Church of England until after his death. He married, 21 February 1829 at Sheffield, Hannah  (1807-97), daughter of Hall Overend of Sheffield, surgeon, and had issue:
(1) Helen Barker (1830-95), born 4 August 1830 and baptised at Bakewell, 11 September 1833; a ward of Chancery after the death of her father; lived at The Butts, Bakewell; she was active in charitable and church affairs, and was an ardent Conservative in politics, frequently speaking at public meetings; first Dame President of the Bakewell branch of the Primrose League; died unmarried, 14 April 1895; will proved 7 June 1895 (estate £33,307);
(2) John Edward Barker (1832-1912) (q.v.).
He lived at West Don House, Sheffield.
He died in Bakewell, 1 October 1832 and was buried at Bakewell, 5 October 1832; his will was proved 13 March 1833 (effects under £600). His wife died aged 89 on 25 April and was buried at Bakewell, 29 April 1897; her will was proved 26 May 1897 (effects £7,755).

Barker, John Edward (1832-1912). Son of Edward Barker (1799-1832) and his wife Hannah, daughter of Hall Overend of Sheffield, surgeon, born 9 April 1832 and baptised at Bakewell, 11 September 1833. Following the death of his father while he was an infant he was made a ward of Chancery. Educated at Eton, Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1850; BA 1855; MA 1857) and Inner Temple (called to bar, 1862). As a barrister (QC, 1892) on the north-eastern circuit, he came to prominence in the claims following the Sheffield floods of 1864 and was later secretary of the parliamentary inquiry into the 'Broadhead Conspiracy'. Recorder of Leeds, 1880-97; He was a Conservative in politics, but though several times invited to stand for Parliament, he declined to do so. He was a JP for Derbyshire (Chairman of Quarter Sessions, 1894-97), a member of Bakewell Local Board and Rural District Council, and President of the Bakewell Farmers Club and Bakewell Chrysanthemum Society. He married, 14 February 1860, Susan Marianne (1836-89), daughter of Rowley Wynyard RN and widow of James Mosley Leigh (1832-58) of Davenham (Cheshire), and had issue:
(1) Susan Honoria Barker (1861-1909), born 24 February and baptised at Twickenham (Middx), 3 April 1861; died unmarried, 20 June, and was buried at Bakewell, 28 June 1909; administration of goods granted to her father, 16 October 1909 (estate £3,873);
(2) Elizabeth Georgine Barker (1862-1941), born 28 March and baptised at Twickenham, 30 April 1862; became a Roman Catholic and entered the Carmelite convent at Notting Hill (Middx), 1913; she died unmarried at Aughton, Ormskirk (Lancs), 22 September 1941; will proved 13 June 1942 (estate £21,650);
(3) Marian Helen Barker (1863-1910), born 30 March and baptised at All Saints, Notting Hill, 30 April 1863; nurse at Lambeth Lying-In Hospital in 1891; died unmarried in Bournemouth, 26 May 1910; will proved 11 July 1910 (estate £3,831);
(4) Janet Wynyard Barker (1864-1941), born 22 April and baptised at All Saints, Notting Hill (Middx), 15 June 1864; married, 8 September 1891, Capt. Frank Henry Peyton RN (1861-1940), son of Commander Lumley Woodyear Peyton of Penzance (Cornw.), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Helensburgh (Dumbartons.), 2 July 1941; will proved 9 December 1941 (estate £935);
(5) Edward Rowley Wilson Barker (1866-1921), born 16 June and baptised at Bakewell, 16 July 1866; educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the Sherwood Foresters (Lt., 1885; resigned 1886); emigrated to America; married, 9 January 1892 in the District of Columbia (USA), Lillie Lee (1863-1928), daughter of James Henry Maddux and widow of Thomas E. Scriven (d. 1887), and had issue one son and three daughters; died at Warrenton, Virginia (USA), 23 January 1921 and was buried in Warrenton Cemetery; will proved in London, 7 July 1921 (effects in England £1,084);
(6) John Lennox Barker (1867-1903), privately baptised at Ecclesfield and received into church at Bakewell, 21 April 1867; an officer in 1st Hallamshire Volunteer Battn, York & Lancaster Regt. (Lt., 1884); emigrated to Canada and lived at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba; served as a Sgt. in a Canadian contingent of the South African Constabulary; married, 18 October 1894 at Winnipeg (Canada), Fanny Evirilde Stacpoole; committed suicide at Dewetsdorp (South Africa), 7 April 1903; administration of goods granted 4 February 1904 (effects £2,500);
(7) Frank Leigh Wynyard Barker (1868-1943), born 31 March and baptised 22 May 1868; emigrated to USA, 1893; farmer at Glenburnie, Virginia (USA) and later at Olney (Bucks); married, 8 February 1897 at New York (USA), Ethel Alice (1872-1943), daughter of Lt-Col. Flowers of Lincolnshire Regt.; died 6 May 1943; will proved 29 September 1943 (estate £10,320).
He inherited Brooklands from his second cousin, Henry Frederick Barker, on the death of the latter's widow in 1890.
He died 20 August, and was buried at Bakewell, 24 August 1912; will proved 17 October 1912 (estate £129,365). His wife died 14 October and was buried at Bakewell, 17 October 1889; her will was proved 11 December 1889 (effects £639).

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1925, p. 81; L. Willies, 'The Barker family and the 18th century lead business', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 93, 1973, pp. 55-74; M. Craven, A Derbyshire armory, 1991, p. 11; E. Saunders, Joseph Pickford of Derby, 1993, pp. 146-50; Sir H.M. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600-1840, 4th edn., 2008, pp. 96-97; M. Rear, "William Barker, member of the Right Worshipful Levant Company", 2015; C. Hartwell, Sir N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, The buildings of England: Derbyshire, 2016, p. 139; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry on John Barker MD (1708-49).

Location of archives

Barker family of Bakewell: deeds, family, estate and household papers, 1476-19th cent. [Derbyshire Record Office, D7674 and D7676]. Some of this material was formerly at Sheffield City Archives.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shown above (Sable a saltire engrailed argent) was used by John Barker (1732-95) and his descendants.

Can you help?

• If anyone knows more about the early ownership or history of The Brooklands, I should be interested to hear from them.
• A number of the younger sons and daughters of this family have proved unusually obscure, and if anyone can provide more information about their careers or interests I should be very pleased to hear from them.
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 23 June 2019.