ON THE MANOR HOUSE OF SOUTH WINFIKLD. 7 1 



Derbyshire. Neither George, Earl of Shrewsbury, who died in 

 1590, nor his son Gilbert, the seventh Earl, who died in 16x6, 

 although both holding the highest offices, escaped from grave 

 suspicion of conniving with those who were criminal enough 

 to cling to the Roman faith. Among the State Papers I 

 have found several instances of the charges secretly brought 

 against both these Earls, especially the latter, of complicity with 

 Roman doctrines, or lack of energy in denouncing priests and 

 recusants. Though I have not come across any precise statement 

 of this house being searched for priests, a priest who was tortured 

 before the notorious Richard Topcliff and three other Com- 

 missioners in 1593, confessed to having met other Romanists at 

 Winfield Manor House, in the year 1590, and there seems to 

 have been at that time a considerable store here of " Popish 

 books and lewd trash," the latter expression being an elegant 

 euphemism for such matters as a crucifix or rosary. 



On the death of the seventh Earl, the estate was divided 

 between his three co heiresses, who were respectively married to 

 the Earls of Pembroke, Kent, and Arundel. At the beginning of 

 the Civil War, between Charles I. and his Parliament, Winfield 

 Manor House was held for the latter, by Philip, Earl of Pembroke 

 and Montgomery. It was only garrisoned by one hundred men, and 

 on Sir Thomas Fairfax calling upon Sir John Gell, who had chief 

 command in Derbyshire, on his march northward towards York- 

 shire in 1643, to supply him with more musketeers, sixty men were 

 drafted off from this garrison. Meanwhile, William Cavendish, 

 Earl of Newcastle, suddenly attacked the Manor House on 

 December 7 th, 1643, on the P art of the King, and > owm S t0 tne 

 thinned ranks of the defenders, captured it on December 19th. 

 The following day Sir John Gell arrived with his dragoons, and 

 though not strong enough to attempt the recapture of the Manor 

 House, they routed two troops of horse below in the town of 

 Winfield, and took their colours, which were sent up to London, 

 and formally presented to the Parliament. On the retirement 

 of the Earl of Newcastle's forces, Colonel Sir John Fitzherbert, of 

 Tissington, was left in command of this place with a large body 



