Alsop en le Dale is a village in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England about north of Ashbourne close to the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

border, and a mile from

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...

, a popular tourist location within the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

national park. It is within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Eaton and Alsop.

Toponymy

The derivation of “Alsop en le Dale” is the product of a two-stage process: “Alsop” originates from “Ælli’s little valley” (

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''hop''), whilst ''en le Dale'' is from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

for “in the” and the

''dœl'' (valley).

History

Comprising a few cottages and scattered farms, the village was mentioned in the Domesday Book under Derbyshire in the lands belonging to William the Conqueror, the king. The book which was written in 1086 said: After the Norman Conquest, Henry de Ferrers, one of William the Conqueror's generals was granted land in Derbyshire. He in turn offered the township of Alsop-le-Dale to one of his officers Gamellus who became known as Gamellus de Alsop. The Alsop family owned the estate of Alsop-en-le-Dale from the 12th century to the late 17th century, when Anthony Alsop's creditors forced the sale of the estate to meet his debts, some of which was passed to Sir Phillip Gell. During the 18th century the Allsopps of Derby and Worcester were proprietors of

Samuel Allsopp & Sons Samuel Allsopp & Sons was one of the largest breweries operating in Burton upon Trent, England. It was revived as Allsopp's in the 2020s. History Origins Allsopp's origins go back to the 1740s, when Benjamin Wilson, an innkeeper-brewer of Burto ...

, a

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

based brewery, and Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip claimed that they were descended from the Alsops. While a connection between Anthony Alsop (c.1618-91) of Alsop-en-le-Dale and Samuel Allsopp (d. 1728/9) of Derby is yet to be proven, but a family relation is plausible. In the last decade of the 19th century, according to directories and gazetteers of the time, Alsop Hall was the residence of John Hall ( J.P.) and principal landowners were the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, Baron Hindlip (who was

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

). and W. Dean.

Community & leisure

Alsop Hall opposite the church, was built in the late 16th century for the Alsop family. The village formerly had a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the railway line connecting Ashbourne and

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

. Located to the west and above the village, the station is a now a car-park and access point for the

Tissington Trail The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...

, a bridleway and walk/cycle path that utilizes this section of the line. Opened in 1971, it is part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

. The village is a convenient starting point for walks into Wolfscote Dale, which lies on the River Dove between Dovedale and Hartington village.

Religious sites

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels is of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

origin, but was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

in the 19th century. The church serves the hamlets of Alsop Moor, Cold Eaton and Newton Grange.

References

External links