142 MINUTE BOOK OF THE WIRKSWORTH CLASSIS. 



mapped out, and to a great extent definitely established, in 

 each of the six Hundreds into which the county was and is 

 divided.* The Classis for the Hundred of the [Low Peak 

 usually met at Wirksworth, and was called after that town (it 

 is the Minute Book of that Classis which is now under consider- 

 ation) ; for the Hundred of Scarsdale, at Chesterfield ; + for the 

 Hundred of the High Peak, sometimes at Bakevvell, and some- 

 times at Glossop ; for the Hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, 

 at Derby ; for the Hundred of Repton and Gresley, sometimes at 

 Repton, and sometimes at Melbourne ; and for the Hundred of 

 Appletree (which had no place of special importance within its 

 limits, and was termed the Appletree Classis) usually, we believe, 

 at Breadsall. Nor does it appear that a single parish or parochial 

 chapelry was permitted to be unrepresented throughout the county, 

 and every benefice seems for a time to have been in the hands of 

 those who willingly or unwillingly accepted the government of the 

 Classis. The transcript of the Wirksworth book will show that every 

 parish throughout that district was more or less represented at the 

 Classis. and under its control. With all this organisation in Derby- 

 shire, it seems very unlikely that no Provincial Synod for the county 

 was ever held, but we have not any proof to offer of its having been 

 convened, beyond the fact that the Certificates of Ordination 

 granted by the Wirksworth Classis were issued in the name of 

 " the Classical Presbytery of Wirksworth, in the Province of 

 Derby.'''' 



So much of the business of the Wirksworth Classis pertained 

 to the examination and ordination of candidates for the ministry, 

 that it will be of interest to give some details of the Parliamentary 

 Ordinance of August 28th, 1646, so often cited in the entries of 

 their Minute Book. For this Ordinance we searched for some 

 time in vain, and at last found a copy among the Commonwealth 



* These divisions were not quite strictly adhered to, for Crich and Pentrich, 

 which are chiefly in the Hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, and South Win- 

 field of the Hundred of Scarsdale, were all three included in the district of the 

 Wirksworth Classis. On the other hand, Hartington was excluded from the 

 Wirksworth district. 



+ The Chesterfield Classis was in active operation, at all events so far as 

 ordination was concerned, right through the Commonwealth. 



