2 22 THE GREAVES PARCHMENT. 



Derbyshire family, being the son of William Greaves, M.D., of 

 Mayfield Hall, Staffordshire. 



The Manor of Beeley was sold in the reign of James I. by the 

 Greaves of that date to the ancestors of the Duke of Rudand, and 

 according to Lysons (1817, Vol. v., p. 32), William Saville 

 purchased the Greaves estate in Beeley of the Greaves family in 

 1687, and occupied the ancient residence at Greaves, the name of 

 which Saville changed to Hill Top. 



The last Greaves of the Greaves appears to have been a John 

 Greaves, who sold the ancient family seat to William Saville in 

 1687. The estate had doubtless been greatly impoverished 

 during the civil wars, the family having taken the side of King 

 Charles I. against Cromwell and the Parliament. In 1655, there 

 was an ordinance by the Parliament for the decimation of the 

 cavaliers, whereby all that had borne arras for Charles I., or 

 declared themselves in his interest, were to pay the tenth part of 

 their estates that were left, to support the charge of the Common- 

 wealth, etc. ; and in a list of " Gentlemen of the County of 

 Derby who compounded, extracted from, ' A Catalogue of 

 the Lords, Knights, and Gentlemen that have compounded for 

 their estates, 1655,'" will be found the names of " Richard and 

 George Greaves, Beeley, gents., _;^i6o." 



In the episcopal chapel at Beeley there is (or was), within the 

 rails, a flagstone bearing an interesting inscription to the memory 

 of the last Greaves of Greaves. He appears to have removed to 

 Woodhouse (qu. Stanton Woodhouse), and died there. The 

 memorial was probably placed in Beeley Chapel by his widow, 

 who survived him six years, and to whom also a similar memorial 

 was placed, near that of her husband. The two inscriptions will 

 form a fitting conclusion to this paper : — 



" This marble stone doth presse, but not oppresse, the body of 

 John Greaves, son of John Greaves, of Greaves, Esq., who was 

 always a true son of the Church of England, merciful and 

 charitable to the poor, patient and courageous in a tedious 

 sickness, and at length, being full of faith and hope, did exchange 

 this troublesome world for a better, the 13th of October, 1694 " 



