Birchover is a village and
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 ...
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 ...
National Park 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, five miles north-west of
Matlock. At the
2001 Census, it had a population of 362.
Eagle Tor is a small hamlet on the north western edge of the parish.
History
Birchover is near a number of features of geologic and historic interest: a rock formation called
Rowtor Rocks, consisting of numerous tunnels, carvings and caves; several prehistoric monuments, including
Doll Tor; and a number of
stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...
s on
Stanton Moor
Stanton Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Stanton-in-Peak. It is known for its megaliths – particularly the Nine ...
.
Birchover is mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
as belonging to
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Normans, Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest of England, Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England.
Origins
He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and i ...
,
[Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including Doveridge, Linton, ]Breadsall
Breadsall is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, England. The population of the village at the 2021 census was 792 Breadsall Priory is one of the oldest buildings in the village. The village is almost contiguous w ...
and Great Longstone. and being worth eight shillings.
[''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.748]
In popular culture
Bradley Rocks near Birchover features as the location of the farm in the 1987 film ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to:
* ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by writer William Goldman
** ''The Princess Bride'' (film), 1987 American film adaptation directed by Rob Reiner
Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) ...
''. The horror writer Joseph Freeman based a story here, 'A Room of his Own', in his first book ''Love Stories of the Undead'' (later reprinted in 2008's "This Is My Blood"), and has had articles published in ''Saccade'' magazine and a charity anthology called ''Dog Tales'' based on real-life eerie events in the area.
Notable people
*
Eddie Shimwell
Edmund Shimwell (27 February 1920 – 30 September 1988) was an English professional footballer.
Playing career
Born in Birchover,[Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...](_blank)
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player; first full-back to score at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
See also
*
Listed buildings in Birchover
References
External links
www.birchovervillage.com
Villages in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Civil parishes in Derbyshire
Derbyshire Dales
{{Derbyshire-geo-stub