Old Glossop. All Saints Parish Church is to the left.

It was a beautiful day and I had just discovered my 5 x great grandfather, carpenter and joiner John Newton, had been baptised on the 23 July 1751 in the parish church of Glossop, a pleasant drive from here. Why not pop off and take photos for some newly discovered Californian cousins  also directly descended from this chap?    The eighteenth century Newtons would not recognise the main drag of ‘new’ Glossop built along the A57, the main road traversing the Pennines and about a mile from Old Glossop.

graveyard of All Saints Parish church, Glossop

Old Glossop is a fabulously atmospheric place and I like to think John and his family would recognise some  old cottages even though they hailed from Hadfield, a few miles away.

Sadly, they would also no longer recognise All Saint’s Parish Church rebuilt in 1831 (the nave) and 1853-5 (the tower and chancel). Being a weekday, the church was locked.   Heigh ho…   However, the graveyard still exists and the gravestones appear intact although, with the current obsession for health and safety, they have been lowered flat in order not to squash vandals kicking them down.    Ironically, walking across the gravestones was slippery and equally dangerous – could I sue for a broken ankle?   I found some Newton gravestones, sadly not mine.

Glossop market cross. The shaft dates from c C15 and it’s believed a market has been held on this site since the 13th century.

Newton derives from a place name; ‘tun’ is Anglo Saxon for settlement, farmhouse or fortified house.   A popular Christian name for my Newton branch is ‘Thurston’ which crops up a lot throughout the generations.   Thor, of course, was the Scandinavian/Viking god of war and stone/stein is self explanatory.  I haven’t got to the bottom of its use in the family.