The large and complicated parish of Sawley encompassed nine settlements. We know for sure that Starbucks lived in three of them: Long Eaton, Draycott and Breaston. As residents of Long Eaton, they would have attended the parish church, Sawley All Saints in Sawley village, while Draycott and Breaston Starbucks walked the mile or so to their church of Wilne St Chad.
We do not know whether Starbucks lived or worked in the other four settlements of Sawley: Hopwell, and Risley with Wilsthorpe and Woodhall Park. However, they were part and parcel of Sawley life in the 1550-1640 period, known inevitably to Starbucks like the back of their hands. Some may have lived in these places over the many centuries, unknown to us now simply through lack of records.
Hopwell was a Liberty that came under Wilne St Chad’s chapelry within Sawley parish. It was also a manor separate from Sawley’s, held from the late 14th century until 1661 by the Sacheverell family. In the 16th century, they built a substantial seat here – Hopwell Hall. This was demolished and replaced in 1720 by a larger version set in a 90 acre park by Henry Keys, who had inherited the old hall from Jacynth, the last Sacheverell at Hopwell.[1] We found no records directly connecting Starbucks to Hopwell.
Risley and its extra bits[2]
Risley is named in the 1086 Domesday survey as Riseleia or Riselei, Anglo-Saxon for “rush meadow” or “brushwood clearing”.[3] At that date, it was split into two manors. To the north of Risley hamlet was the moated manor of Wood Hall held for a period by the Babington family. They sold it to Michael Willoughby in 1587, who demolished Wood Hall and built Risley Lodge nearby. Willoughbys had already held the other Risley manor from 1350, so merged them into one. In the 16th century, they built a new family seat of Risley Hall and in 1593 also a small chapel of All Saints, more convenient for family and locals to worship than the somewhat distant “mother church” of Wilne St Chad. However, the chapel was not consecrated until 1632, and Willoughbys were all buried in their vaults at St Chad’s church.
From 1593, Willoughbys supplied funds to employ a chapel minister, and to engage a schoolmaster, funded by income from Wilsthorpe manor which they also held.[4] The school was extended in 1718 to fund both a master and usher to teach all children of Risley plus sons from Breaston, Sandiacre, Dale Abbey, Stanton near Dale, Wilsthorp, Draycott, Little Wilne and Hopwell.[5] If the same catchment area applied before 1718, there is a chance that any young Starbucks in those locations in the 1550-1640 period could have been educated at Risley.
Bordered on the east side of Risley and Sawley parish was Sandiacre. To add an extra complicating element to the Sawley history, an eastern part of Risley came under the ancient parish of Sandiacre St Giles.[6] Starbucks did have a passing connection to Sandiacre but it seems unlikely they were resident here in Edward’s time.
Sir Percy and the Newfoundland Company
However, a more important Risley influence from a Starbuck perspective could have been Sir Percy Willoughy, who in 1596 unexpectedly inherited both Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and Risley manor (along with a large number of other holdings and massive debts). Sir Percy was an enthusiastic “merchant adventurer,” member of several companies (including the Virginia Company) that were established for colonising, fishing and trading ventures around the world. He was also an entrepreneur and businessman involved variously in mining, iron smelting and glass-making in Nottinghamshire, therefore an important employer of local people.[7]
From 1610, Sir Percy was a major investor in the Newfoundland Company- see the post Edward’s Silent Years for details of this venture, which has led us to our informed conjecture:[8]
The fact that Sir Percy, of Risley and Wollaton at the heart of Starbucky Territory, was so deeply involved in the Newfoundland fishing enterprise, and closely connected with John Mason who purchased the area where Dover was founded and whose recommendations for a fishing-based colony were the starting-point for Dover’s settlers, plus the fact that the water-skilled Starbucks could easily have been known as tradesmen to Sir Percy or his Stewards and staff….. leads us to theorise, with reasonable confidence, that this was why and how Edward Starbuck chose Dover for his family to make a new life (or was invited to do so) rather than the more expected choice of any other place in New England and Massachusetts Bay.
Author: Celia Renshaw
Morganhold blog: www.morgansite.wordpress.com
© April 2023
[1] Derbyshire County Council website – Monument Record MDR13304 – Hopwell Hall (site of): https://her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR13304. Viewed 3-4 April 2024.
[2] Risley with Hopwell Parish Council website – Risley’s History: https://www.risleywithhopwellparishcouncil.org.uk/village-history. Viewed 3-4 April 2024.
[3] Domesday Book : A Complete Translation, Alecto Historical Editions. Eds: Dr Alan Williams & Professor G H Martin (Penguin, 1992; in hardback 2003).
[4] Another history suggests that Wilsthorpe was always part of Sawley Episcopal Manor, therefore leased long-term by the Bishops to the Stanhope family. Either version could be true, but it’s also possible Willoughbys sub-leased Wilsthorpe from the Stanhopes, at least for a while.
[5] British History Online website – Magna Britannia: Vol 5, Derbyshire – Parish Sawley including Risley: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol5/pp246-275#h3-s2. Last viewed 4 April 2024
[6] Derbyshire County Council website – Listed Building Record MDR5520 – St Giles Church, Sandiacre: https://her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR5520. Viewed 4 April 2024
[7] And of migrants to New England, for example Ananias and John CONKLIN who were glass makers in Nottinghamshire, most likely employed by Sir Percy at Wollaton glassworks, before emigrating to Salem and working in a glass house there.
[8] See: ‘The Newfoundland Company – A Study of Subscribers to a Colonizing Venture’, by Gillian T Cell in: The William and Mary Quarterly, Oct 1965, vol 22, no.4 (Oct. 1965)pp611-625. Available online as a pdf. Written 59 years ago, this is still the only academic study we could find on the Newfoundland Company.
