Brailsford byways

On August 30, 2025 By SteveIn People1 Comment

*Brailsford church, midway between villages*

Despite being close to the busy A52 Derby to Ashbourne road, Brailsford church, All Saints, is unusually isolated, west of the village, and nearer to Ednaston. But the map shows it at the centre of no less than six footpaths and bridle ways, one of which is now waymarked as ‘Centenary Way’ but known locally as the Coffin Path, linking the church to both villages.

All Saints, which has some Norman work, is set in a well-wooded graveyard; near the south porch is an impressive yew tree, which may be nearly as old as the church itself. But the oldest thing here must be the stump of a cross, dug up after (presumably) being hidden at the Reformation (see my previous post on crosses). This fragment has been dated to the tenth century, though such dating is not an exact science.

The cross, the yew and the church itself all suggest that this has been a sacred site for over a thousand years, while the pattern of footpaths shows that it has been used for burials by both Ednaston and Brailsford villagers. Today, it may be hard to understand the importance once attached to burial in holy ground, but belief in resurrection in the Medieval period was strong. The wealthy were remembered by marble plaques inside the church, while humbler folk at least had the comfort of the churchyard.

Cross purposes?

On August 23, 2025August 23, 2025 By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment

Derbyshire has plenty of stone, as shown by its characteristic dry-stone walls, and walkers may find pillars of stone, like the example above, set in the landscape for no apparent reason. Impossible to date, and clearly not redundant gateposts, they can only be assumed to mark some long-lost route. In other places there does seem to be a link to an old track, as with the large stone below, less than a mile above Wirksworth on the Brassington road, on the line of the Portway.

Again, it’s impossible to date a megalith like this, but clearly a lot of trouble was taken to erect what must have been a route marker. Given that many stones like these have been re-used for building, and others deliberately destroyed as symbols of paganism, we can imagine a prehistoric landscape well populated with such pillars. Surviving stone circles reinforce the idea of stones having power and importance, and this may have continued into the early Christian period, from about 600 CE.

Presumably the first Christian missionaries set up ‘crosses’ like this example in Bradbourne as symbols of the new beliefs; although badly worn a crucifixion scene can be found near the base. Similar crosses can be seen at Bakewell church (found on Beeley Moor) and Stapleford, on the Portway in Nottinghamshire. Although referred to as crosses they are actually simple carved pillars, which suggests an attempt to Christianize a pagan symbol.

*Stapleford Cross, with scrollwork and saint.*

Both of these monuments are thought to date from the ninth century, far older than the church they adjoin. The cross was only adopted as a Christian symbol in 692 CE, and one of the earliest examples of the ‘new’ pattern can be seen at Eyam churchyard (part of the shaft appears to be missing). It is always possible that these crosses were moved into the churchyards at some point, and they may originally have been route markers.

In Medieval Britain crosses became more common and varied: wayside crosses, boundary crosses, market crosses and later, memorial crosses. In some cases they may have had the dual role of showing the way and indicating the next pilgrim shrine; this cross base at Cross Lane near Dethick seems to mark a route that extended south to Shuckstone Cross, only a mile away, and beyond. These (now lost) crosses would have protected travellers as well as guiding them to the holy places.

*Cross base near Dethick with anti-theft device*

See: Sharpe, N. ( 2002) Crosses of the Peak District, Landmark

A very short history of Minninglow

On August 9, 2025 By SteveIn People1 Comment

The double ring of beech trees that mark Minninglow hilltop (at about 370 metres above sea level) form a distinctive landmark that can be recognised from far away. Today it can be accessed by permissive footpaths from the High Peak Trail and another unnamed lane that runs east-west below it. But the story of Minninglow relates to another, much older route that lies a few hundred metres to its north.

Like many prehistoric sites in Derbyshire, Minninglow was first excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1843. He found that it contained a Neolithic chamber tomb, about 4,000 years old, as well as two Bronze Age barrows. There were also finds showing some activity in Roman times. This shows that the site had been significant for people for thousands of years. Today it is widely assumed that prehistoric people buried their dead in communal or individual tombs, often in high places, as an assertion of their right to live there. The dead were a kind of marker, suggesting the generations who had farmed this land. And what better place to bury the dead than a hilltop next to an ancient route?

*Burdett’s map of 1791 shows that the Roman road was then still in use*

The Street, as the ‘Roman’ road to Buxton is now called, may well be much older, although refurbished during the Roman occupation. This is suggested by the number of ‘lows’ (from the Anglo-Saxon ‘hlaw’ meaning ‘high place’) and tumuli found near the route, including Arbor Low, Derbyshire’s most significant prehistoric monument – the OS map shows 17 between Longcliffe and Arbor Low. Burdett’s map, above, has the Street clearly marked, while today its only trace is the line of the parish boundary, which peters out just east of Minninglow. When parishes were first created what better marker than a road that was already thousands of years old?

Salt Paths and Saltways

On July 12, 2025 By SteveIn People1 Comment

The film of the book The Salt Path was released in the spring, adding to the fame of its author, who called herself Raynor Winn. This bestseller is the story of how she and her husband, called Moth, lost their Welsh home at the same time as he was diagnosed with a degenerative disease. Remarkably, the couple set off for a 600-mile walk on the South West Coastal Path, which led to massive book sales and a film deal. An inspiring, heart-warming story – until an Observer journalist starting probing some of her claims:

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit

Whatever the truth of the claims and counter-claims in this affair, it is clear that many people were deceived, especially the editors at Penguin (‘unflinchingly honest’ – website) and the producers of the film. How could so many smart people fail to ask some pretty basic questions?

*Salters Lane between Matlock and Bonsall*

The book is presumably called The Salt Path because they followed a coastal route, the South West Coastal Path, created in the 1970s, which also offers some stunning scenery for the film. But much older Saltways cross Derbyshire, possibly dating from Roman times, which carried packhorse traffic from the salt pits of the Cheshire ‘wiches’ (such as Northwich) to towns like Chesterfield and Sheffield. Various routes can be followed using place names such as Saltergate, Saltersford and Saltsich; for instance the route from Leek via Hartington, Pikehall, Bonsall, Matlock and Ashover. These names are a reminder of the essential nature of salt in the medieval economy, not only for cooking but also for preserving meat and making ceramics.

*The Peak District Pilgrimage Trail – Ilam to Eyam*

The gullibility of those concerned with The Salt Path fiasco – including readers and viewers – can perhaps be explained by an atavistic faith in the power of pilgrimage, which the Coast Path certainly provided. There is a widespread belief in the benefit, spiritually and health-wise, of stepping out of ordinary life and setting off for a distant goal with few possessions. The most famous example is the Santiago Pilgrimage, now attempted by millions annually, while on a lesser scale the Peak Pilgrimage trail from Ilam to Eyam is a 39-mile (‘soul-healing’) route taking in a selection of historic churches.

Putting Brassington on the map

On May 18, 2025May 18, 2025 By SteveIn People2 Comments

John Ogilby produced the first practical road map of England in 1675; a strip map which showed landmarks to guide the traveller, such as hills and rivers. The map above gives his route from Derby to Manchester, starting with Derby on the top right. In the next strip the section via Hognaston and Brassington can be seen, leading on to the old Roman road, then still in use, past Pikehall (Pikeham on map) and on to Buxton. The first stage of this itinerary became Derbyshire’s first turnpike road, the Shardlow to Brassington turnpike of 1720.

*The Gate today*: *clearly older than the date on the porch*

Today Brassington is a well-kept but rather isolated village, without a shop or cafe, but still having two pubs: The Miners Arms and The Gate. The former is a reminder of the glory days of the eighteenth century when some, at least, grew wealthy on lead mining, the latter must mark the end of the early turnpike; the last tollgate going north, since the Roman road lay on limestone, and was still passable after over 1,500 years! This is confirmed by Tollbar Cottage opposite. However, the Manchester route that Ogilby describes was too hilly for laden coaches, especially in bad weather, and by 1738 a newer, low-level turnpike via Ashbourne was in use, less direct but faster overall. There are other ‘Gate’ pubs in Derbyshire, all presumably marking a turnpike tollgate: for instance at Tansley, Swanwick and Belper.

St James Church must be the oldest building in the village: the tower and parts of the nave are impressively Romanesque. Although Brassington was originally part of Bradbourne parish, there was clearly a sizable congregation here in medieval times. Although it is dangerous to assume that church dedications have remained unchanged, St James is known as Santiago in Spanish, and he was the focus of the main West European pilgrimage routes in the middle ages. Could the dedication at Brassington suggest that the church wanted to be linked to the attraction of the saint’s burial in Galicia?

Sources:

Dodd A. & Dodd E., Peakland Roads and Tracks, 1980

Brassington Community Website: https://www.brassington.org.uk/

The woman behind the 95 Ethels

On May 14, 2025May 15, 2025 By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment

In 1917 the recently married Ethel Ward (1894-1986) became a 23-year-old widow on the death in combat of her husband, Henry Gallimore. She came from a wealthy Sheffield family; her mother was connected to the Bassetts of licorice fame, while her father was successful in the steel industry . The family suggested that Ethel should try to overcome her grief by walking on the nearby moors; a remedy that seems surprisingly modern a century later. This led to Ethel becoming aware of the need to preserve the natural landscape on the western fringes of the city, and in 1924 she helped to establish the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Rural Scenery, which later became part of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE).

In 1927 the 750-acre Longshaw estate, owned by the Duke of Rutland, came up for sale, and Ethel campaigned to raise funds for its purchase and protection from development. She was successful, and in 1931 the estate was given to the National Trust, who still run it today. In this decade she also helped to acquire land which became part of Sheffield’s green belt, the first British city to have one. By 1936 Ethel felt that she needed an assistant; her advert was answered by a young Manchester architect, Gerald Haythornthwaite, and they were married within a year.

During and after the second world war Ethel was closely involved with the CPRE and contributed to the creation of the Peak District National Park in 1951, Britain’s first. Today she is sometimes described as a forgotten figure, yet this seems a little exaggerated given that two books have recently been published about her (see below), a wood is named after her, there is a blue plaque near the site of her family home and, most impressively, a collection of 95 Peak District ‘summits’ have been collectively called ‘The Ethels’, similar to (but lower than) Scotland’s Munros. She and Gerald are buried in Crooke’s Cemetery in Sheffield.

Sources:

Ethel: The biography of countryside pioneer Ethel Haythornthwaite, Helen Mort, 2024
Wildly Different, Sarah Lonsdale, 2025

On getting lost

On April 28, 2025 By SteveIn People, Prehistory, Road users, Walks and walkersLeave a comment

It’s difficult to get lost today. Google maps will display every street in the city, and spell out your quickest route, while in the country apps such as OS Maps will tell you exactly where on the path you are standing. The appeal of this technology is obvious – not just saving time, but also removing the fear that you’re heading the wrong way, into the unknown. In Derbyshire and the Peak District, with thousands of miles of footpaths, this reluctance to risk being lost results in crowds of visitors heading for the same honeypots such as Dovedale, Mam Tor, or the Cromford Canal, with predictable results.

It has been argued that the experience of getting lost can be valuable for our development, and we can cope better with that fear if we develop a strong sense of direction. Moreover, research has shown that the more children are allowed to roam freely, the better sense of direction they acquire. Although there must be marked individual variation, it seems that children today are restricted to a much small radius of ‘free movement’ – perhaps a few hundred yards – instead of the miles that children wandered away from home in previous generations. Of course, it can be argued that there is good reason for the restriction, but if children are barely allowed out of sight of their home they have little possibility of feeling lost – and then finding their way back.

How do we get a sense of direction? Moving through a landscape we notice and memorise a series of landmarks, while the position of the sun should provide an additional bearing (provided it’s at least partly visible). To return, the landmarks are revisited. The second time you make the journey, the landmarks are stored in your memory, even after a gap of months or years, as most walkers have found. Our nomadic ancestors, travelling through an unmapped countryside thousands of years ago, must have achieved an advanced ability to find their way, using perceptions unknown to us.

The Farley Moor megalith

On April 4, 2025 By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment

*The two metre-high gritstone on Farley Moor*

A recent Time Team programme reports an excavation on Farley Moor north of Matlock, where a single standing stone is thought to have possibly been part of a larger Bronze Age site. The researchers were able to date the site to 3,700 years ago, on the strength of radio carbon dating of charcoal fragments. But what is not clear is whether other stones in the vicinity were part of the monument or just erratic boulders. The stone is in a recent clearing in the Forestry Commission’s Farley Wood, which was planted about 50 years ago. One significant discovery was that below the stone there is a natural spring, so that the stone could have been a marker of this useful source, which might have been more significant when the water table was higher.

Although a good number of stone circles have survived in the Peak District, there is evidence that others have been lost, either through stone robbery or deliberate destruction by landowners who felt they were pagan symbols. However, it does not follow that every standing stone was part of a circle. Others were simply waymarks, such as the stone above Wirksworth on the route of the Portway. It is difficult to imagine the landscape in this area before the conifers were planted, but the ‘Moor’ name suggests an open and fairly treeless area in which a waymark would have been valued, especially if it also marked a spring. There was an ancient route which crossed the Derwent at Darley Bridge and headed up the hillside towards Chesterfield – was this connected?

Despite centuries of speculation we really have no idea of the purpose or use of stone circles. Theories range from astronomical temples to assertions of tribal land ownership. Whether the Farley Moor stone is a circle or a solitary waymark, it is curious that in the vicinity are other named stones, such as The Cuckoo Stone on Matlock golf course or the Wire Stone half a mile to the north. While these both appear to be natural rock outcrops, the fact that they are named suggests that traditionally they were important landscapes features.

See: Youtube/ Time team/ Farley Moor

Rambling with Ewan

On March 12, 2025March 13, 2025 By SteveIn People4 Comments

The Mass Trespass at Kinder Scout in 1932 is commonly described as the impetus to the subsequent access movement. Yet this mythical event, involving perhaps 400 people and organised by the Young Communists, must be seen against the long history of defending walkers’ rights against bullying landowners, going back to the early 1800s. The subsequent fame of the event may be due to the harsh prison sentences handed out to a few protesters. But one definite outcome was to inspire Ewan MacColl to write his first successful song, The Manchester Rambler:

I’m a rambler, I’m a rambler from Manchester way
I get all me pleasure the hard moorland way
I may be a wageslave on Monday
But I am a free man on Sunday

Since then the song has become part of the folk repertoire; covered by many musicians such as the Dubliners. Part of its success may be down to the light-hearted approach:

I once loved a maid, a spot welder by trade
She was fair as the Rowan in bloom
And the bloom of her eye watched the blue Moreland sky
I wooed her from April to June
On the day that we should have been married
I went for a ramble instead
For sooner than part from the mountains
I think I would rather be dead

Whatever the truth about the Trespass, this was not the Duke of Devonshire’s finest hour. The owner of tens of thousands of acres of Derbyshire, and these grouse moors in particular, he appears to have encouraged his gamekeepers to rough up the walkers: hardly in keeping with the Cavendish family’s liberal traditions.

MacColl went on to have a remarkable life, heavily involved in theatre workshops, and marrying Joan Littlewood the theatre director first and later Peggy Seeger, the half-sister of Pete, and had a close working relationship with both. His songs include The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Dirty Old Town.

Listen to The Manchester Rambler:

The Coldwall bridges

On February 20, 2025 By SteveIn PeopleLeave a comment

Only a mile from the honeypot of Dovedale are the impressive arches of Coldwall Bridge, a relic of a forgotten turnpike set up in 1762 linking Thorpe with Blythe Marsh. This fine stone structure is today only navigable by farm machinery, though only fifty years ago it was used by cars, a reminder of how quickly a route can become disused. Now it is part of the Limestone Way path, and crosses the River Dove, linking Derbyshire, to the east, with Staffordshire.

It is difficult to date bridges, since they have often been repeatedly modified, either due to flood damage or increased traffic. This bridge may have been a wooden structure in the sixteenth century, but was probably rebuilt in stone in about 1726 and later widened to its present form when it was incorporated into the turnpike system.

The bridge can be the focus of a circular walk, starting from the car park near Lady Low, then on the road to Blore, turning left at Blore Hall, and taking the field path to the left. From here there’s a steady descent to the bridge, which looks most impressive from above. At the bridge the walker can either follow the Manifold Trail to Ilam, staying on the Staffordshire side of the river, or for a longer walk, cross the bridge and follow the river path up to Dovedale, then behind the Izaak Walton Hotel to Ilam.

The Old Roads of Derbyshire

Author: Steve