58 St John Street

▪ Grade II listed building

▪ From 1771(?)-93 was the Upper Nag’s Head pub

▪ Rebuilt in 1794 by Dr. Erasmus Darwin as a school for his illegitimate daughters, the Miss Parkers, to run

▪ The school was open from 1794-c1828

▪ Mary Parker continued living there until 1859

▪ From c1911-1983 was the surgery and home of Dr. Quintus Madge and his wife

▪ Became a home for the elderly named Madge House in 1986

▪ Converted to apartments c2008

The Building

Grade II listed building rebuilt in 1794 and re-fronted in the mid-nineteenth century. It is of red brick and has a parapet which makes the roof not visible from the street. At the front, it is of two storeys with a stone cornice and stone course at ground level and first floor level (at the rear, three storeys with the house built on a slope). All windows have stone surrounds (architraves) and there are five on the first floor and four plus an off-centre door on the ground floor. Windows are sashes but without glazing bars and those on the ground floor have Venetian shutters.

The History of its Occupation and Use

Dr. Erasmus Darwin bought the former Upper Nag’s Head in 1793 and rebuilt it as a school for young ladies for his illegitimate daughters the Miss Parkers, Mary, and Susanna.

The first mention found of the (Upper) Nag’s Head is in 1771 when Mr. Hawkins andJohn Robinson purchased the property for £450 from Messrs Wright and Messrs Boothby. Four years later in 1775, Peter Webster announced the he had “fitted up” the Upper Nag’s Head (see below).

In the 1780s, the owner was Miss Toplis and the proprietor/tenant of/for the UpperNag’s Head was Philip Dawson. He then sub-let the inn in the early 1790s to a Mr Ripley and then to John Tomlinson. In September 1793, the Upper Nags Head and all the household goods, including the brewing equipment, were advertised for sale (see below).

Dr (Erasmus) Darwin paid £550 for the Upper Nag’s Head and, early in 1794, the Miss Parkers advertised that they were “setting up a large and convenient house in Ashbourne for boarding and educating young ladies (see below). The Miss Parkers themselves were to teach embroidery and needle-work, reading, grammar, a taste for the English classics, ancient and modern history, geography, and the use of globes. Two masters to teach some other subjects were named while additional masters were to be engaged to teach additional subjects. Terms for board, entrance, tea (if required), washing, and geography and the use of theglobes were quoted.

The 1798 Land Tax assessment shows Dr. Darwin as the proprietor and Miss Parker as the occupier (see excerpt below for 58, 56, and 54 St John St). Note that Miss Parker(s) school had been extended to include 56 St John St in 1798.

After Dr. Darwin passed away in 1802, his wife assigned the property to the Miss Parkers. Susanna Parker married in 1809 and after 1811 the use of 56 St John St was relinquished perhaps when she ceased to teach at the school. In 1815, the property was then put up for sale (see below) and conveyance records show that Mary Parker became the sole owner in 1817.

Mary Parker continued running the school until perhaps 1828 by which time she was 54 years old. In retirement, she continued living in the house until she passed away in 1859 at the age of 84 years old. The house and its contents were then sold: The house was sold to William Toogood, the surgeon, who had been renting 56 St John St from Fanny Bradley, and the contents were sold by auction (see advertisement below).

William Toogood died in 1882 from a fever, likely typhoid, contracted from one of his patients. However, his wife, Emma, continued living at the house until she left the area in 1898.

Moving into the house was William Hill Cooper, the son of Richard Cooper who had started his corset business in 1855. After William Hill passed away in 1904, the Chairman of Richard Cooper & Co. Ltd., George Edinmore Gather, moved in.

After George Edinmore Gather moved to the Firs on Derby Road, Quintus Madge, who had completed his medical training in Liverpool, acquired the property in around 1911 for his home and general practice. Dr. Madge continued practicing there for almost 60 years before retiring in 1970.

Qunitus Madge passed away in 1979 but his wife, Janet Margaret Mell, continued living there until she passed away in 1983. No. 58 St John St was then converted into a residential home for the elderly and named Madge House (see below) which was open 1986-2008. After the home closed, the building was converted into apartments.

© Paul Thompson 2025