Calver (
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 ...
''Calf Slope'') is a village and civil parish 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. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 710.
Overview
Calver is a small village situated in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. The village is bordered by the
River Derwent and intersected by the A623 trunk road, responsible for carrying traffic between
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
to the west,
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 ...
to the north and
Chesterfield to the east.
Stoke Hall is nearby.
Today, the village's buildings are predominantly residential, but some local enterprises, including a craft centre, petrol station and shop, garage, gallery, cafe and three pubs remain. It is also home to
Cliff College
Cliff College is a Christian theological college in Calver, Derbyshire, that teaches Biblical Theology at the undergraduate level and a number of mission courses to postgraduates. There are currently about 30 full-time undergraduates, 80 part-tim ...
, which was founded in 1883. There are two camp sites in Calver and many walkers visit the area.
Historic mills
The village is the site of an historic
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
mill opened in 1778 by John Gardom of Bakewell and John Pares of Leicester in place of a corn mill at leased from Thomas Eyre of Hassop.
By 1785 the mill had been developed and stood at three-storeys. In 1799, however, the
River Derwent washed away Calver Bridge and took part of the mill with it; shortly after this event, the mill was burned to the ground. A new mill was subsequently constructed, and began production in 1804. By 1830 it employed 200 workers and in 1833 new, larger, water wheels were constructed.
Spinning finished in 1923, but during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the mill was used as a storage depot and as a plant for crushing and washing
fluorspar
Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon.
The Mohs scal ...
used in steelmaking. In 1947 the mill was bought by W & G Sissons to produce stainless steel holloware.
The water wheels have disappeared, though their housings still exist and the building has been restored for use as apartments.
The village was also the home to a corn mill, also called Calver Mill.
[http://www.pdmhs.com/PDFs/ScannedBulletinArticles/Bulletin%2010-5%20-%20Calver%20Mill.pdf Lynne Willies, Peak District Mines Historic Society 1989, accessed 2009-06-25] It was constructed in the mid eighteen hundreds on the site of a smelting mill. The
pitchback wheel was about 5m in diameter and 1.7m in width. The millpond may have had various sources, including water in Calver sough extracted from the mine.
Media
The Mill was used as a set during production of the television series ''Colditz Castle''. It has since been converted into apartments.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Calver
References
*
External links
The Calver Mill (corn) survey 1989Calver village
Villages in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Civil parishes in Derbyshire
Derbyshire Dales
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