Baslow 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, in 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 ...

, situated between

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest se ...

, just over north of

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family si ...

. It is sited by the River Derwent, which is spanned by a 17th-century bridge, alongside which is a contemporary

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

. Baslow village is composed of several distinct areas: Bubnell, Bridge End, Over End and Nether End. The village's

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 ...

, Baslow and Bubnell, had a population of 1,178, according to the 2011 census.

History

St Anne's Church has an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

coffin lid in the porch entrance, but the oldest part of the current building, the north

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

, dates from about 1200. The tower was constructed in the 13th century but the rest of the church is newer and was the subject of an extensive restoration in the 19th century. A

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

lies in the church grounds, atop the shaft, base and steps of a cross. This may have acted as a

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

in the 17th century. A second cross lies in the graveyard, moved from Bubnell by Doctor Wrench, who erected the nearby Wellington Monument and is buried in the churchyard. This cross may historically have been known as the "Butter Cross". Just behind the church is Baslow Bridge, a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. At the north west end of the bridge is a stone gabled watch hut, manned daily to protect the village from bandits (not a toll booth as is frequently stated). Built in 1608, this is the oldest bridge across the Derwent never to have been destroyed by floods. The Baslow Grand Hotel Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1896. The course was still appearing on Ordnance Survey maps in the 1930s.

Geography

Baslow village is composed of several distinct areas: Bubnell (west of the river), Bridge End (by the river crossings), Over End (north of the main road) and Nether End (adjacent to Chatsworth Park). Bridge End is the original settlement, clustered around the church and the ancient bridge and ford across the River Derwent. Nether End, at the eastern end of the village, has several hotels, pubs, restaurants and tea rooms. There is also a caravan site and a pedestrian entrance to Chatsworth Park. Just outside Nether End (and the village itself) are the so-called "Golden Gates", a set of gates dating from the 1st Duke's rebuilding of Chatsworth, which were moved here by

Sir Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

for

William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (21 May 1790 – 18 January 1858), styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was an English peer, courtier and Whig politician. Known as the "Bachelor Duke", he served as Lord Chamberlai ...

, in the 19th century to make a new entrance to the park, following its extension northwards towards Baslow in the 1830s. The gates are now only rarely used, most usually when large public events are held in the park. Over End is a residential area on the hillside to the north of the village. It contains

Baslow Hall Baslow Hall is a Grade II listed building in Baslow, Derbyshire. History Baslow Hall, just off Calver Road, was built in 1907 to the designs of the architect Francis Houlton Wrench of Sheffield on land bought from the Duke of Rutland for Mrs. S ...

, just off Calver Road, which was once occupied by

Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti Sebastian Pietro Innocenzo Adhemar Ziani de Ferranti (9 April 1864 – 13 January 1930) was a British electrical engineer and inventor who pioneered high-voltage AC power in the UK, patented the Ferranti dynamo and designed Deptford power stat ...

, the radio and electrical pioneer and inventor, and next by George Kenning. Today it is Fischer's Restaurant. Near the junction of Bar Road and Gorse Bank Lane was the site of a large

Hydropathic hotel Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

, which was demolished in 1936 and is now a small cul-de-sac called Hydro Close. To the north of the village, Baslow Edge was once quarried for gritstone and features the Eagle Stone, an isolated 6-metre high block of gritstone. According to tradition, the local men had to climb this rock before they were worthy of marriage. Just behind it there is a monument to the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, raised in 1866 by the local dignitary, Dr Lieutenant Colonel E. M. Wrench. It marked an earlier visit by Wellington to the moor, and was also intended as a balance to the nearby Nelson's Monument.

Sport

Football

Baslow Football Club is based on Baslow Sports Field off Church Lane. The club currently competes in the Hope Valley Amateur League and they have a junior section in the Derwent Valley League.

Cricket

Baslow Cricket Club and ground is also based on Baslow Sports Field. The club has three senior teams: the 1st and 2nd XI Saturday teams compete in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire Cricket League and a Sunday XI team plays friendly matches in and around the region; they also have a junior section that plays in the Notts and Derby Border Youth Cricket League.

Notable residents

* Frederic Barker (1808–1882) was born here and was vicar before being Bishop of Sydney.

References

External links

* *
Baslow section of genuki.org.uk
* {{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Derbyshire Dales