Never let it be said that we don’t rise to a challenge.
‘Find out about the daggers on the house up the Fleet,’ he said.
So we did. Two of us went to have a look and this is what we saw...
‘Find out about the daggers on the house up the Fleet,’ he said.
So we did. Two of us went to have a look and this is what we saw...
It was easy to find. Above one window of a house on The Fleet in Belper, there is an intriguing stone. It has a carving of two crossed daggers, points facing up. Around the daggers are the letters A and S, 1750 and a heart shape.
What did it all mean? What story was waiting to be told? Poking about in the stories behind this stone took us on a long and winding road. Eventually, we were stranded by coronavirus. The libraries closed and we were left tantalisingly close to the end of our tale with no chance of reaching it. Fortunately, Adrian Farmer came to the rescue with the missing information and some great pictures. So, thanks to Adrian, here is the story of researching the stone’s story….
We started in the obvious place, with the house.
The House.
It is called Fleet House, and britishlistedbuildings.co.uk informs us that it is an early 19th century listed building. Along with some technical architectural details, the entry gives us this nugget of information:
‘reset stone originally from the site of old manor. Medieval carving of crossed swords in relief. The date 1750, initials ‘AS’ and a heart are believed to have been added when the stone was removed from the site.’
The old Manor House? That was an unexpected turn. We needed to look much further back in time. Next stop, the 13th century…
The Manor House.
Millward (1) tells us about the manor house. The manor of Belper, at that time known as Beaurepaire, belonged to the wonderfully named Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster. He built himself a hunting lodge somewhere in the Coppice area in about 1270, and this was the building referred to as Belper’s Manor House. Most people believe it was near Manor Farm.
Jumping forward a few hundred years, the building fell out of use, and its stones were finding new homes. Edward Buxton, priest of St John’s Chapel wrote in 1664:
‘The Manor House is not only empty, but actually being used as a quarry by farmers and cottagers’
Millward explains that many local people believed that the dagger stone, with its medieval carving, had been taken from the Manor House armoury room. That might be true. It cannot be proven.
Here comes the next twist. It did not find its way straight into the wall of Fleet House. Oh, no. That stone liked to get around.
The Dagger House
Here is Adrian’s 1920s picture of the cottage which used to stand next door to Fleet House. Look carefully, and you will see the dagger stone on it.
The dagger stone is the lintel above the front door. Some people called it the Dagger House. It was demolished in 1960.
It had another name, as well.
Again, we are in hearsay territory, but Spencer (2) describes what she feels may be the oldest house in Belper:
‘…is the old coiners’ house on the Fleet, built in 1719 and having a sign of cross swords over the door’
Coiners? Coo. The plot thickens. For an older source of local stories, we needed to consult that guide to very old Belper stories , Charles Willott (3):
‘The Cow Hill has been famous in former times for the manufacture of bad money. I have heard it said that there has been a few hundredweights of it made on the hill.’
Cow Hill is not a name you hear often, but it describes the land to the left of Holbrook Road if you are going uphill. There was a hamlet there just outside Belper. The original Dagger House would have been at the bottom, a bit round the corner. Maybe it was home to desperate criminals. Willott also tells us:
‘I have heard it said, and it was from one of the oldest inhabitants, that there is a house on this hill that has an outlet in the lower part of it, at an underground way from what was formerly the manorial residence in the Coppice.’
We need to weigh that up a little. That tunnel would have been very long indeed, and would have gone underneath the brook. There does not seem to be a good reason for a tunnel to be built from what must have been a relatively new house in the 18th century to a building which was already derelict in 1664. We each have to make up our own minds on that one.
Millward retells a different rumour. In this version, the Dagger House has a tunnel leading back into the Parks. That is more feasible. If that is true, these (alleged) felons had a place to stash their (alleged) loot, or to hide themselves.
Next, it was time for us to find out more about this nefarious activity!
Bad Money
Up to the middle of the 19th century, the supply of currency was a recurring problem. There were shortages of silver and copper. At a local level, traders used their own tokens to make up for the shortage of coins. Foreign coins were stamped over and reused. Some coins in circulation were very worn, but could not be replaced.
The result was, that for a good hundred years, the counterfeiting industry did very well for itself.
‘Clipping’ involved shaving the edges off coins to get silver or copper which could be mixed with cheaper metals, then moulded into coins and stamped. A letter (5) from November 1752 explains how lucrative this could be:
‘..a common stamp with 2 pairs of hands is capable of turning out 50 gross in a day’
Typically, the counterfeiter would sell the coins to a wholesaler at half face value. They would then be sold on and three quarter face value to traders, small companies and individuals known as ‘smashers’, who would use it as currency. To find evidence of this activity in Belper, you don’t need to look very hard…
In Spring, 1847, the police had their sights on a Belper counterfeiting gang. They planned simultaneous swoops once the coins were in transit. Suspecting the gang would use Lincoln Fair as an outlet, constables lay in wait on Killis Lane. Sure enough, two carts came along. In one driving seat was Joseph Hall. In the other cart were 7 year old Henry Hall and Eliza Hunt. Henry Hunt was walking alongside, leading. The police jumped out into the road, forced the carts to stop, and brandished search warrants signed by Mr Strutt.
The carts were directed into a nearby farm, to be searched properly. What happened next sounds like a scene from Carry on Coining.
Told he was going to be searched, Joseph made as if to co-operate. He started to remove his smock. Constable Taylor watched him carefully, and realised that Joseph was using the movement to hide his stash of coins behind a stone!
Eliza tried to pass her coins to young Henry, but she was spotted in the attempt, and Henry was searched. Henry Hunt was also searched, but nothing was found. Then the policeman noticed the boy was standing in a peculiar way. On closer examination, he found someone had managed to hide another bag of coins in the poor child’s trousers while the officers were looking elsewhere.
Hidden on the carts and in pockets, the constables found counterfeit coins to the total of £16 (worth £1264.96 in today’s terms (6)).
At the same time, a Mr and Mrs Smith were apprehended in Trowell, Notttinghamshire and a search of Henry Hunt’s house in Belper uncovered plaster of paris and a ‘composition used for polishing base coin’, but no machinery.
Eliza and young Henry were acquitted because they were judged to be following orders from the men. Joseph, having been caught ‘three or four times before’, was given three years in prison. Henry Hunt got 18 months. (7)
Where was Henry Hunt’s house, we wonder? Whose house was the machinery hiding in?
We can’t find out the answer to those questions, but we can look at the stone from another perspective.
The Symbols on the Stone
Carving symbols on a special stone in a house was not rare. We may not notice so many carved lintel stones now, but, up to the Victorian times, it was quite the thing, especially among people who had money and who liked to display status.
These stones usually marked a marriage, and showed initials, dates and maybe coats of arms of the two joined families. Above the front door, or above the fireplace were prime positions for display. Date stones as lintels to record the building of the house are also seen, and these are still found on some more modern houses.
On the dagger stone, we have a date, a heart, initials and daggers. The heart and initials are usually associated with marriage.
The heart shape has a long history. In Europe, it had established itself as a symbol of romantic love by the 16th century. It was also seen in heraldry, where it represents leaves, rather than anything cuddly.
Crossed daggers and crossed swords have meanings. Pointed downwards, in places like memorials, they signify the conflict has ended. Pointing upwards, as they do on the dagger stone, they symbolise a readiness to fight. They are a silent version of ‘come and have a go, if you think you’re hard enough’.
That is a fitting symbol for an armoury. Suppose the heart and initials were added later, when the cottage was built, or when there was a wedding in the family?
That is where the trail ended for Fortean Belper.
Here is the extra information from Adrian Farmer:
‘The Dagger Cottage was quite old (1750 presumably, going by the date stone). It was demolished in 1960 so that Raven Oak Close could be created, and Fred and Marion Robson, who lived next door in Fleet Cottage, asked if they could have the dagger stone from the door lintel and stuck it in the side of their cottage.
In 1961 there was a small excavation before the site was lost forever, and you can see there was some kind of underground structure.
It had another name, as well.
Again, we are in hearsay territory, but Spencer (2) describes what she feels may be the oldest house in Belper:
‘…is the old coiners’ house on the Fleet, built in 1719 and having a sign of cross swords over the door’
Coiners? Coo. The plot thickens. For an older source of local stories, we needed to consult that guide to very old Belper stories , Charles Willott (3):
‘The Cow Hill has been famous in former times for the manufacture of bad money. I have heard it said that there has been a few hundredweights of it made on the hill.’
Cow Hill is not a name you hear often, but it describes the land to the left of Holbrook Road if you are going uphill. There was a hamlet there just outside Belper. The original Dagger House would have been at the bottom, a bit round the corner. Maybe it was home to desperate criminals. Willott also tells us:
‘I have heard it said, and it was from one of the oldest inhabitants, that there is a house on this hill that has an outlet in the lower part of it, at an underground way from what was formerly the manorial residence in the Coppice.’
We need to weigh that up a little. That tunnel would have been very long indeed, and would have gone underneath the brook. There does not seem to be a good reason for a tunnel to be built from what must have been a relatively new house in the 18th century to a building which was already derelict in 1664. We each have to make up our own minds on that one.
Millward retells a different rumour. In this version, the Dagger House has a tunnel leading back into the Parks. That is more feasible. If that is true, these (alleged) felons had a place to stash their (alleged) loot, or to hide themselves.
Next, it was time for us to find out more about this nefarious activity!
Bad Money
Up to the middle of the 19th century, the supply of currency was a recurring problem. There were shortages of silver and copper. At a local level, traders used their own tokens to make up for the shortage of coins. Foreign coins were stamped over and reused. Some coins in circulation were very worn, but could not be replaced.
The result was, that for a good hundred years, the counterfeiting industry did very well for itself.
‘Clipping’ involved shaving the edges off coins to get silver or copper which could be mixed with cheaper metals, then moulded into coins and stamped. A letter (5) from November 1752 explains how lucrative this could be:
‘..a common stamp with 2 pairs of hands is capable of turning out 50 gross in a day’
Typically, the counterfeiter would sell the coins to a wholesaler at half face value. They would then be sold on and three quarter face value to traders, small companies and individuals known as ‘smashers’, who would use it as currency. To find evidence of this activity in Belper, you don’t need to look very hard…
In Spring, 1847, the police had their sights on a Belper counterfeiting gang. They planned simultaneous swoops once the coins were in transit. Suspecting the gang would use Lincoln Fair as an outlet, constables lay in wait on Killis Lane. Sure enough, two carts came along. In one driving seat was Joseph Hall. In the other cart were 7 year old Henry Hall and Eliza Hunt. Henry Hunt was walking alongside, leading. The police jumped out into the road, forced the carts to stop, and brandished search warrants signed by Mr Strutt.
The carts were directed into a nearby farm, to be searched properly. What happened next sounds like a scene from Carry on Coining.
Told he was going to be searched, Joseph made as if to co-operate. He started to remove his smock. Constable Taylor watched him carefully, and realised that Joseph was using the movement to hide his stash of coins behind a stone!
Eliza tried to pass her coins to young Henry, but she was spotted in the attempt, and Henry was searched. Henry Hunt was also searched, but nothing was found. Then the policeman noticed the boy was standing in a peculiar way. On closer examination, he found someone had managed to hide another bag of coins in the poor child’s trousers while the officers were looking elsewhere.
Hidden on the carts and in pockets, the constables found counterfeit coins to the total of £16 (worth £1264.96 in today’s terms (6)).
At the same time, a Mr and Mrs Smith were apprehended in Trowell, Notttinghamshire and a search of Henry Hunt’s house in Belper uncovered plaster of paris and a ‘composition used for polishing base coin’, but no machinery.
Eliza and young Henry were acquitted because they were judged to be following orders from the men. Joseph, having been caught ‘three or four times before’, was given three years in prison. Henry Hunt got 18 months. (7)
Where was Henry Hunt’s house, we wonder? Whose house was the machinery hiding in?
We can’t find out the answer to those questions, but we can look at the stone from another perspective.
The Symbols on the Stone
Carving symbols on a special stone in a house was not rare. We may not notice so many carved lintel stones now, but, up to the Victorian times, it was quite the thing, especially among people who had money and who liked to display status.
These stones usually marked a marriage, and showed initials, dates and maybe coats of arms of the two joined families. Above the front door, or above the fireplace were prime positions for display. Date stones as lintels to record the building of the house are also seen, and these are still found on some more modern houses.
On the dagger stone, we have a date, a heart, initials and daggers. The heart and initials are usually associated with marriage.
The heart shape has a long history. In Europe, it had established itself as a symbol of romantic love by the 16th century. It was also seen in heraldry, where it represents leaves, rather than anything cuddly.
Crossed daggers and crossed swords have meanings. Pointed downwards, in places like memorials, they signify the conflict has ended. Pointing upwards, as they do on the dagger stone, they symbolise a readiness to fight. They are a silent version of ‘come and have a go, if you think you’re hard enough’.
That is a fitting symbol for an armoury. Suppose the heart and initials were added later, when the cottage was built, or when there was a wedding in the family?
That is where the trail ended for Fortean Belper.
Here is the extra information from Adrian Farmer:
‘The Dagger Cottage was quite old (1750 presumably, going by the date stone). It was demolished in 1960 so that Raven Oak Close could be created, and Fred and Marion Robson, who lived next door in Fleet Cottage, asked if they could have the dagger stone from the door lintel and stuck it in the side of their cottage.
In 1961 there was a small excavation before the site was lost forever, and you can see there was some kind of underground structure.
I have been told (but it’s not been substantiated) that there was a passageway leading from the cellar, which by the time of the demolition just led to a dead end, but before that time, it supposedly provide a back route for escape, into the Parks.
It’s said that some nailers were using the basement to supposedly ‘clip’ coins (literally clipping small amounts of metal off the side of coins to create more – but counterfeit – coins). If the authorities did find out and try and raid the house, the counterfeiters would be able to escape the basement safely via the passage. It’s really all hearsay, but I’m passing on to you what was told to me!’
So, that is the end of the story so far. If you can add anything to it, or if you have a story of your own, send an email to [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
Bibliography
It’s said that some nailers were using the basement to supposedly ‘clip’ coins (literally clipping small amounts of metal off the side of coins to create more – but counterfeit – coins). If the authorities did find out and try and raid the house, the counterfeiters would be able to escape the basement safely via the passage. It’s really all hearsay, but I’m passing on to you what was told to me!’
So, that is the end of the story so far. If you can add anything to it, or if you have a story of your own, send an email to [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
Bibliography
- RJ Millward’s ‘Belper in Bygone Years’ (1977)
- Audrey Spencer, in her handmade book ‘Belper – a Contemporary Study’ (available for reference in the local studies library)
- Charles Willott, ‘Belper and its People’ (1894)
- The Gentleman’s Magazine
- Moneysorter.co.uk
- Summarised from ‘Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal’, 23rd April 1847 (initial report) and July 2nd 1847 (trial).
