Clay Artefacts

The following are items that relate to the Clay's of Derbyshire...

1. Inside the church at Crich in Derbyshire there is the tomb of John Clay of Crich and on the top is an effigy of a gentleman and his wife with the Clay coat of arms and featuring their children around the sides of the tomb, there are also two plaques on the wall with long epitaphs which relate to John Clay and his family.

2. In 1971 the son of a Derbyshire historian discovered in an antique shop a large oak chest and carved on the front were the coats of arms of Brailsford and Clay dated 1616. Thomas Brailsford had married Penelope Clay in 1601 she was the daughter of John Clay of Crich, the chest was purchased and is still kept by the family.

The Ring may have looked something like this

3. When John Clay of Crich died in 1633, in his Will he left to the eldest son of his daughter Penelope Brailsford “the ring I wear with my arms upon it” It is not known if the ring still exists but in1662 at the Heralds Visitation the Clay's of Kelham (near Newark) who were descended from the Derbyshire Clay's produced a ring with the Clay coat of arms upon it, it may have been the same ring which was left by John Clay of Crich but its whereabouts today are unknown.

4. At the same time in1662 the Heralds were shown by the Clay's of Kelham an old writing desk with the Clay coat of arms carved at either end and inlaid with black and white wood with the initials T.C carved inbetween, the grandfather of John Clay of Kelham was Thomas Clay of Rowthorne, Ault Hucknall in Derbyshire, the existence or whereabouts today of the desk are unknown.

5. In Newark Town Hall Museum there is a portrait said to be of John Clay of Kelham (Brother of Hercules) painted in 1669. His name and date is on the back of the painting. He was born in 1596 at Sutton-in-Ashfield the son of Hercules and Margaret Clay. He died in 1669 and was buried at Kelham. He married Elizabeth Hobman and had a son Robert and daughters Elizabeth and Anne. He was taxed on 6 Hearths in 1664.

6. Inside the church at Newark there is a monument to Hercules Clay who was the mayor of Newark in 1644 during the Civil War when the town was under siege. The monument contains the same coat of arms which was granted to John Clay of Crich in 1588. Hercules Clay of Newark was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield the son of Hercules and Margaret Clay and is descended from the Clay's of Rowthorne in the parish of Ault Hucknall. Derbyshire. He was married twice first to Mary Lant and secondly to Elizabeth Saunders He had 8 children - John, Hercules, William, Timothy, Elizabeth, Frances, Mary and Thomas.

7. In Newark Town Hall Museum is the family bible of Hercules Clay which dates from the early 1600s and it contains details inside he had written about his family events. This bible is carried every year in the month of March from the Town Hall to the church in a procession for the special sermon held for Hercules Clay.

8. There is a plaque on a building on the corner of Newark market place to show where Hercules Clay lived although his original house has now gone and been replaced by a bank. The governors house from the 1600s is still there directly opposite and Hercules Clay no doubt had been in there a few times. It is now a café.

9. In the parish church at Heath in Derbyshire is a silver chalice with the Clay coat of arms and the Smith coat of arms engraved upon it. It was donated to the church by Mrs Barbara Clay of Heath in 1698. Her maiden name was Smith and she married John Clay at Nottingham in1654 She was buried in 1717 and is described in the parish register as a “gentlewoman”. The chalice still survives.

Rough sketch of the chalice shown here with measurements and details (click on image for larger version).

10. In the church at West Hallam in the county of Derbyshire is a large monument to Walter Powtrell who died in 1598 and on the sides of his tomb are engraved the figures of his daughters one of whom displays the Powtrell arms halved with what could be the Clay coat of arms if so she may have been married to a Clay.

11. There is an ancient house in the parish of North Wingfield at a place now called “Hagg Hill” at Tupton in Derbyshire which in previous centuries was referred to as “The Hill” The Clay family had lived here for a number of centuries and Francis Clay had his and his wife Katherines initials carved in stone on the house with the date 1684, he built a new barn in 1693 and also included a similar datestone again with their initials. The original house and barn still stands and this ancient former Clay property is now a self catering holiday venue.

Datestone 1684 inset in the outside wall of former Clay's house at "The Hill" Tupton. North Wingfield. Derbyshire with initials of Francis & Katherine Clay.

Datestone 1693 inset in the barn built by Francis Clay (wife Katherine) at 'The Hill' Tupton. North Wingfield parish.

12. There is another old house in the same parish which was built by the Clay family in 1749 which had extensive stables in its grounds and 43 acres of land. The three storey house is still there today and is called “The Elms” and is located on Bright Street.

13. Richard Clay of “The Hill” in the parish of North Wingfield. Derbyshire in his Will of 1836 left a legacy of £100 and the interest was to be paid yearly to the poor of Tupton on St Thomas Day either in money, flannel or woollen cloth by the Rectors. There is a large board on the wall in the bell tower relating to this in the church at North Wingfield.

There is also a similar board stating "An Account of the Noble Benefactors" from the years 1617, 1655, 1675 and1705. In the year 1844 John W. Clay is listed on the board as a Trustee (note: he lived at the house called "The Elms").

There is also a monumental plaque on the wall in the church to the memory of Rowley Clay who died in 1803 and also to his son Richard Clay who died in 1836. Just outside the church door are the tombs of several Clays with names and dates engraved upon them, one is John Clay who died in 1792 and his wife Sarah who died in 1796.

14. There is a brown glazed loving cup with two handles with the date 1828 and the name of Elizabeth Clay on the front it has figurines around the sides and her husband Job Clay of Wensley in Darley Dale. Derbyshire had it made to mark the occasion of their 25th anniversary. Today it is in private ownership.

(David Clay pictured with the cup in 1997 is a descendant of Job and Elizabeth).

15. Sampson Clay (born 1819) of Hardstoft in Ault Hucknall parish, Derbyshire was a popular man in the farming community and he was presented with a silver tea service and tankard with his name engraved upon it dated 1873. His great grandaughter still had the items in 2009.

A similar bed from the time of Sir John Clay

16. In the publication “Churches of Derbyshire” by J. Charles Cox. 1875. Vol. 4 page 59 In the section which relates to Crich he quotes an entry from the Harleian Manuscripts as follows - “6th March 1778. A ceiled bedstead formally belonging to John Clay of Crich gentleman was exposed to sale this day at John Ludlams in Shirland, on the middle panel of the headboard was inlaid in wood of proper colours his arms and crest. The arms being a chevron ingrailed between three trefoils”. It also mentions that on the left hand side of the headboard was another shield with his arms impailing his first wifes coat of arms and on the right hand side of the headboard was his arms impailing his second wifes coat of arms.

Note: In Elizabethan times a four poster bed was called a sealed bed which had a wood panelled headboard and a wooden roof.

In the Will / Inventory of John Clay of Crich dated 1633, it mentions that in his house (a substantial property), he had 23 beds of which 5 were sealed beds.

The whereabouts or survival of the bed is not known.

17. Portrait of Susannah Clay of 'The Hill', North Wingfield. She was the daughter of Richard and Martha Clay of The Hill and was baptised 26th Feb. 1739. She married Thomas Bradley. April 22nd 1768.

The Portrait was up for sale in 2019 at Roy Precious Antiques. Wiltshire. Price £3,250 and has since been purchased by one of our Clay coleagues.

18. Heirloom from Gt, Gt, Gt grandparents of David Clay. Job Clay of Wensley born 1782 had this 'Loving Cup' made for his wife Elizabeth in 1828 to mark their anniversary of 25 years. It's now in possession of one of the Clay descendants.

19. Hardback book by David Clay. The Derbyshire Muster Roll of 1638 which contains over 17,000 names of all the males in the county of Derbyshire aged between16 and 60 giving their abodes. There are 35 entries for the surnames of Clay, Claye and Cley.