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© Pentrich Historical Society 2000-2006

Updated Saturday, 28 January, 2006

Web site maintained by Helen Wilson &

<<Home  <<Site Map  <<Pentrich Records  >>Rev. William J. Ledward’s 1909 Letter

Letter dated 1909 & sent by the Rev. W. J. Ledward, to his widowed sister-in-law Mrs. Mary Lundie Ledward

Rev. Wm. J. Ledward was the Vicar of St. Matthew’s Church from 1874 to 1912

Information kindly supplied & transcribed by David Townsend © Copyright 2004

David is the Great Nephew of Rev. William Jellicorse Ledward & the

Great Grandson of Mrs. Mary Lundie Ledward

>>Click to see brief details of the Rev. Ledward’s family history & time as Pentrich vicar

or ... >>Click here to see another, later letter written by the Rev. Ledward in 1910

For more information regarding Rev. William J. Ledward & the Ledward family, please contact David Townsend ... Also there is now a downloadable file available regarding Rev. Ledward’s letter & includes images of the original document detailed below. If you are interested in hearing more please contact David for download details.

Also see David’s Pentrich Photograph Album - taken during his visit in 2004

The Letter reads:

PENTRICH VICARAGE,

DERBY

                              20th January 1909

Dear Mrs. Ledward,

I duly received your kind

& interesting letter of the 17th Dec

and it has been on my study

table too long I am afraid.

and I must no longer delay

to acknowledge it.

Many thanks for all your

kind good wishes.

I shall be very pleased to

see your brother Mr. Lundie &

hope that he may be able

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 2 =

to spare time to call and

see us in this vicarage of

ours in the midst of the

Derbyshire hills. It is not

difficult to get at - being only

3 miles from Ambergate station

on the Midland railway - &

if you come on from there to

Butterley Station you are

then within a mile of us.

I should be delighted to

see Linda, whenever it can

be managed but at the

present time, we have hardly

suitable accommodation for visitors

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 3 =

My eldest son & oldest daughter

are both at home just now - &

fills up the accommodation we

have in this small Vicarage

My youngest son Charles

resides in Sheffield with his

little family of two sons and

two daughters. The oldest son

has lately finished his education

and is looking out for employment

The youngest went up to London

the other day, hoping to be admitted

to the Royal School of Osborne

Isle of Wight, but the Medical

exam: was against him.  He was

not thought strong enough which

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 4 =

was a great disappointment

for his Godmother Mrs. Sturt

whose husband, I believe was

the brother of Lord Allington

We have paid all his expenses

I think about £40 a year.

However I hope something

else as good will turn up as long.

You ask me if I thought

it would be well for you to

sell your Jamaica property.

Well, I certainly think, considering

that the West India islands are

of so Volcanic a nature, &

any day there might come

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 5 =

another great destruction of

property, that it would be

a sensible thing to take the

first opportunity of selling it

whenever a good price could

be obtained.

I saw you have a notion

of coming to live in Scotland

Your own nationality.  I myself

should strongly prefer it to living

in America.  I think in

any of the Scotch towns

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 6 =

very reasonable residences

might be found with plenty

of garden land & where you

could keep poultry & have

plenty of eggs for the breakfast

 table, which I am glad to say

we have.  Though so early in

the year we get about 7 eggs

a week & they will go on increasing

as long as they are well fed

and they have 5 acres of grass

run, over our glebe fields.

We are having here, so

far, quite a mild winter

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 7 =

and everything outside

looks green & flourishing

Since we lost our pony

last year, who died very suddenly

He was a good servant for 20

years we have not bought

another & as the roads now are

so dangerous from the increased

number of motor cars, we do

not intend to set up another,

so we sell our hay & have

now two stacks to dispose of

about 12 tons.

A short time since I wrote

a “Short History of Pentrich Church”

For we say what could there

= Continues ... Original Document, Page 8 =

be to write about a village

church.  It is now in the

Printer’s hands & when out

I will send you a copy & you

will be surprised as well as

interested in what is said.

Please give my love to

Linda & with kindest

respects to you all, believe

me.

Very sincerely yours

W J Ledward

Information kindly supplied by David Townsend © Copyright 2004

For more information regarding Rev. William J. Ledward & the Ledward family, please contact David Townsend ... Also there are now two downloadable files available regarding Rev. Ledward’s letters & includes images of the original documents detailed on this site. If you are interested in hearing more please contact David for download details.

>>Click to see brief details of the Rev. Ledward’s family history & time as Pentrich vicar

or ... >>Click here to see another, later letter written by the Rev. Ledward in 1910