Cartledge curiosities

Cartledge the name:
Without doubt a location name, from the village Cartledge, a hamlet in Derbyshire, England. It is 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Sheffield, and just south of the village of Holmesfield.. There are two credible explanations for the derivation:

1. From the OE/ON for a stony bottomed river or creek - cartloch.

2. The earliest settlers were said to build their farm houses on ridges/ledges for security reasons. As the family grew a new stead would be built further along the ridge for the eldest son. These homesteads were joined by cart tracks, hence Cart - ledge.

Cartledge Hall at Holmesfield (right) is a gabled asymmetrical Elizabethan and part Jacobean farmhouse. It was reputedly built in 1492 although the majority of the building is late 16th and early 17th century. The structure is said to retain a portion of the original building on the site, predating the Norman Invasion.

Cartledges in this area were noted in the Doomsday Book and by the 12th century and were aligned with the 4th Earl of Chester, Ranulf le Gernon. It was during that period when, possibly having backed the wrong side in the battle for the crown between Stephen and Maud. Ranulf was Maud’s husband and in the turmoil he lost his lands in the Derbyshire area. When he was forced back to Chester, taking with him at least a few of the Cartledge clan, including Richard de Cartlege (1290 Cheshire).


Some claim the first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Cartelache (witness), which was dated 1290, Assize Rolls, Cheshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, 'The Hammer of the Scots', 1272-1307. However the record in the Domesday Bookdates from 1086
There are numerous variants on the spelling of this family name. Some are: Cartlege – Cartelache – Cartlige – Cartlidge - Carledge

"Life's a Bumper"
A painting dating from the early1800s, showing the well known singer Slack, in the centre. At the top left is a man identified as a Mr Cartledge, the keeper of , the alehouse in Tideswell where the singing took place. While it unlike the Cartledge in the painting is directly of our line he does bear a remarkable resemblance to some family members