Villages In Derbyshire

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The county of Derbyshire lies at the centre of England, amid dramatic scenery and beautiful countryside so special that vast swathes of Derbyshire have been incorporated into the Peak District National Park.
Derbyshire Villages are amongst the prettiest in the country with buildings constructed of local stone such as limestone, millstone grit and sandstone or from red brick manufactured in the area. With building materials in abundance, Derbyshire Villages reflect a wide variety of style and structure, architecture and design.

Many Derbyshire Villages maintain a strong community spirit and still support ancient customs and traditions that have been celebrated and enjoyed for centuries.
Some Derbyshire Villages are particularly steeped in history, their names being very familiar and appearing in many of the guide books, such as Chatsworth, Eyam, Castleton and Padley, whilst others such as Ible, Pike Hall, Parsley Hay, Oker and Bretton are so small that they hardly raise a mention.

Centuries ago it was quite a challenge to travel through the vast tracts of uncultivated open land, moors and bogs so markers were erected around remote Derbyshire Villages such as the crosses at Wheston and Hope. The routes of old drovers roads and salt ways can still be found like the medieval portway which ran north from Derby passing through Grange Mill before leading north to Castleton, whilst packhorse routes and holloways can still be traced around Glossop, Hayfield, Thornhill, Wardlow and the aptly named Holloway.
Running down the eastern flank of the Peak District are glacially formed Edges or escarpments, often featuring huge unusual shaped gritstone boulders with strange names. Some of these Edges take the name of the Derbyshire villages above which they tower such as Curbar Edge and Froggatt Edge. Behind the Edges lie long stretches of high moorland which you must cross before you reach the villages of Barlow, Eckington, Dronfield, Marsh Lane and Holmesfield, being commuter belt areas for Chesterfield and Sheffield.

Stanton moor sits like a raised oasis of sandstone above the Derbyshire Villages of Darley Dale and Birchover.
The White Peak was named after the mile upon mile of limestone dry walls which divide it, with none more evident than those surrounding the Derbyshire Villages of Flagg, Chelmorton, Newhaven and Sheldon. There are countless quarries hidden in the hills where stone has been extracted for thousands of years. Over time some of these quarries became disused, their scars being healed by the hand of nature. Many are conservation areas providing a safe haven and habitat for wildlife, flora and fauna. Others are still worked and have come close and encroached upon the land surrounding certain Derbyshire villages including Ballidon and Dove Holes. However their existence is essential to the economy of the area and the production of limestone and its many by-products.

Some Derbyshire Villages are found on remote hilltops where years ago little farmsteads eked out a living from the land. Abney, Edale and Elton, have names that almost sound synonymous with hard times.
Peak Forest on the other hand takes its name from The Royal Forest of the Peak which back in the 13th century was a wooded expanse in the north of the Peak District where royal shooting parties would hunt deer, wild boar and even wolves. Chapel-en-le-Frith was another Derbyshire Village in the Royal Forest, its name meaning Chapel in the Forest.

Chinley is a more modern Derbyshire Village, being established in Victorian times at a junction of railway lines which then led to Manchester, Stockport, Sheffield, Derby and London.
Derbyshire Villages to the south of the Peak District region around Ashbourne are dramatically different from those to the north, often with rosy red bricks, hedgerows and rolling countryside, Higham, Hognaston, Hollington, Clifton, Yeaveley and Fenny Bentley being examples.

The Peak District contains several rivers that started life as rain falling on the high land and moors, the most important being the River Derwent which has three dams in succession within the first few miles of its source. After cascading over Derwent, Howden and Ladybower, the river flows down the valley passing the Derbyshire Villages of Bamford, Hathersage , Grindleford, Calver, Baslow, Rowsley, Darley Bridge, Matlock, Matlock Bath, Cromford, Whatstandwell, Ambergate and Belper before it reaches the county capital of Derby after which it joins forces with the Trent.
The River Wye flows through dramatic scenery on its route east from Buxton, passing the Derbyshire villages of Blackwell, Millers Dale , Cressbrook, Ashford-In-The-Water, Bakewell and Rowsley where it unites with the Derwent just after powering the waterwheel at Rowsley Mill. Monsal Head is a particularly scenic beauty spot with far reaching views down into Monsal Dale and across to the famous viaduct which has now acquired an ancient monument status.

The little river Noe has the Vale of Edale all to itself before it runs into the Derwent at Shatton, just south of the tiny Derbyshire village of Brough-on-Noe, whilst the Amber which meanders through Ashover has a valley named after it - the Amber Valley.
The Derbyshire Villages of Brackenfield and Wessington lie not far from the shores of Ogston Reservoir, whilst Hopton, Idridgehay, Kirk Ireton and Kniveton are only a short drive away from the impressive Carsington Water with its numerous water sports and bird watching facilities.

The rivers Lathkill and Bradford are said to be amongst the purest in the country and flow through nature reserves, overlooked by the Derbyshire villages of Monyash, Over Haddon, Youlgreave and Alport. These rivers then unite and flow into the Derwent just beyond Congreave and Rowsley.
One of the most famous of Peak District Rivers is of course our wonderful Dove, the drama queen of the dales which entices the most visitors to walk along its banks. Serving as the country boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire, only the small hamlets of Crowdecote and Mappleton can boast to be Derbyshire Villages sited by its side, but Hartington and Thorpe are but a mere footpath away.

Buxworth is a Derbyshire Village in the far north of the county where you can find Bugsworth Basin which is a terminus for the Peak Forest Canal which was completed in 1800 and designed to join up with the Whaley Bridge canal.
Some Derbyshire Villages are so special that they are named twice! Middleton-by-Youlgreave is a short distance from Youlgreave and Middleton-by-Wirksworth can be found a mile or so from Wirksworth. Then there's Little Longstone and Great Longstone, Little Hucklow and Great Hucklow not to mention Stanton-in-the-Peak and Stanton Lees.

Postmen must get thoroughly confused by letters addressed to Biggin as there are two Derbyshire Villages by that name, their full titles being Biggin-by-Hartington and Biggin-by-Hulland. Alsop-en-le-Dale and Chapel-en-le-Frith on the other hand sound like Derbyshire Villages that should really belong somewhere in France.
Chatsworth House is the jewel in the Peak District crown, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Also owned by the estate are a handful of Derbyshire Villages including Beeley, Pilsley and Edensor.

The little Derbyshire village of Hassop is dominated by Hassop Hall, Snitterton by Snitterton Hall, Alderwasley by Alderwasley Hall, Bradbourne by Bradbourne Hall and Tissington by Tissington Hall, the latter remains an estate village owned entirely by the FitzHerbert family.
A series of disused railway lines running through the Peak District and passing several Derbyshire Villages have now been transformed into Trails which are readily accessible to walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The High Peak Trail which runs from High Peak Junction near Cromford to just beyond Hurdlow is one of the longest, but there are also the Tissington Trail, the Monsal Trail and the Manifold Valley Way to consider.

Wingfield Manor near South Wingfield may now be nothing more than a ruin, but it survived many battles and for a time was used as a prison for Mary Queen of Scots. Her freedom was foiled by a plot thought up by Thomas Babington of Dethick after which both of them met a premature death at the hands of an executioner.
Riber has a castle and a hall amongst its handful of properties, whilst the Derbyshire Villages of King Sterndale and Earl Sterndale have regal sounding names. The residents may not be aristocrats, but they certainly consider their homes to be little palaces!

Some Derbyshire Villages are famed for a feature or nearby place of interest such as Crich and Crich Stand, Carsington and Carsington Water, Tideswell and the Cathedral of the Peak, but does anyone remember the sad story of the lone tree at Oker. Bradwell on the other hand is a Derbyshire Village famous for its scrumptious ice cream!
Customs and traditions abound in Derbyshire Villages, many having an annual well dressing ceremony where wells which provided valuable water before the onset of the mains supply are blessed by a pictorial floral arrangement. Amongst the villages taking part are Bonsall, Brassington, Foolow, Litton, Parwich , Stoney Middleton , Taddington, Tansley, Wensley and Wormhill . Winster also has a shrove tide pancake race down the village street whilst Castleton has an annual garland ceremony.

Surrounded by wonderful Peak District countryside makes living in one of the Derbyshire Villages a blessing, often expensive but always appreciated.

Abney, Alderwasley, Alport, Alsop-en-le-Dale, Ambergate, Ashford-in-the-Water, Ashover, Ballidon, Bamford, Barlow, Baslow, Beeley, Belper, Biggin-by-Hartington, Biggin-by-Hulland,, Birchover, Blackwell, Bonsall, Brackenfield, Bradbourne, Bradwell, Brassington, Bretton, Brough-on-Noe, Buxworth, Calver, Carsington, Castleton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Chatsworth,, Chelmorton, Clifton, Congreave, Cressbrook, Crich, Cromford, Crowdecote, Curbar, Darley Bridge, Darley Dale, Dethick, Dove Holes, Dronfield, Earl Sterndale, Eckington, Edale, Edensor, Elton, Eyam, Fenny Bentley, Flagg, Foolow, Froggatt, Glossop, Grange Mill, Great Hucklow, Great Longstone, Grindleford, Hartington, Hassop, Hathersage, Hayfield, Higham, Hognaston, Hollington, Holloway, Holmesfield, Hope, Hopton, Hurdlow, Ible, Idridgehay, King Sterndale, Kirk Ireton, Kniveton, Little Hucklow, Little Longstone, Litton, Mappleton, Marsh Lane,, Middleton-by-Wirksworth,  Middleton-by-Youlgreave, Millers Dale, Monsal Head, Monyash, Newhaven, Oker, Over Haddon, Padley, Parsley Hay, Parwich, Peak Forest, Pike Hall, Pilsley,, Riber, Rowsley, Shatton, Sheldon, Snitterton, South Wingfield, Stanton-in-the-Peak, Stoney Middleton, Taddington, Tansley, Thornhill, Thorpe, Tideswell, Tissington, Wardlow, Wensley, Wessington, Whaley Bridge, Whatstandwell, Wheston, Winster, Wirksworth, Wormhill, Yeaveley, Youlgreave