Dethick, Lea and Holloway is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

(and, since 1899, an ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

), in the

Amber Valley Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. It covers a semi-rural zone with four main towns whose economy was based on coal mining and remains to some ext ...

borough of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,027. It is located in central Derbyshire, south east of Matlock, and, as its name suggests, contains the three main settlements – Dethick, Lea and Holloway, as well as the younger village of Lea Bridge. The area's most notable family is the Nightingales, who were substantial landowners in the area and spent the summers there.

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...

stayed at Lea Hurst, and, during the 1880s, nursed her mother and rendered charitable work in the communities of Lea, Holloway and nearby

Whatstandwell Whatstandwell is a village on the River Derwent in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles south of Matlock and about four miles north of Belper. Whatstandwell railway station is located on the Derby-Matlock ...

Holloway

The largest of the settlements that compose this civil parish is Holloway, at grid reference SK326562. Holloway has a village shop serving the parish, called 'Mayfield Stores'. Additionally, it is home to a

doctor's surgery A doctor's office in American English, a doctor's surgery in British English, or a doctor's practice, is a medical facility in which one or more medical doctors, usually general practitioners (GP), receive and treat patients. Description Doc ...

, a Methodist chapel, the Yew Tree public house (closed in 2008), a village butcher and a small art gallery. The southeastern area of the village is known as 'Leashaw', and the collection of houses scattered among the hills to the east is known as 'Upper Holloway'. Leashaw is the location of Lea Hurst, famous for being built by the Nightingale family as their summer home. A cotton mill was built in 1784 at Holloway by Peter Nightingale (a great uncle of Florence). He was sued by

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as ...

for infringement of patents. Although Arkwright won the case, it attracted the attention of the Lancashire pirate spinners, who in the end succeeded in getting the patents revoked. The mills were later sold to Thomas Smedley, whose son founded Smedley's Hydro in Matlock. The mill was converted to spinning worsted. Leawood Hall off Mill Lane is a Grade II* listed

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

house.

Lea

Lea lies north of Holloway at and is, by population, the second biggest settlement in the parish. Unlike Dethick and Holloway, Lea is mentioned briefly 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

when it was spelt Lede''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.752 and was owned by Ralph fitzHerbert.Ralph fitzHubert held a considerable number of manors including several in Derbyshire given to him by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

. These included obviously Lea but also included lands in Eckington, Barlborough, Whitwell, Stretton,

Ashover Ashover is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. It is in the North East Derbyshire district of the county. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 1,905. It sits in a valley, not far from the tow ...

, Newton,

Crich Crich is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The population at the 2001 Census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 Census (including Fritchley and Whatstandwell). It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway V ...

, Ingleby,

Stoney Middleton Stoney Middleton is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. It is in the White Peak area of the Peak District southeast of Eyam and northwest of Calver, on the A623 road at the foot of the limeston ...

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

and

Hathersage Hathersage ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately south-west of Sheffield. Toponymy The origin of its name is disputed, although it is ...

Lea is the location of a council owned youth activity centre called Lea Green, the house was built as a home by Joseph Wass Esq. a wealthy local lead smelter and miner, lately inhabited by the Marsden Smedley family. Lea also has a public house called the Jug & Glass. There is also a small park, with play equipment for the youth of the parish.

Lea Bridge

Geographically lowest of the settlements, Lea Bridge lies in the valley to the west of Holloway and to the southwest of Lea at . This settlement grew around the need for workers houses for the nearby mills. Lea Bridge was considered an ideal location for the mills due to the power source in the form of Lea Brook which runs through the valley and into the river Derwent. The only one still operating is Smedleys, which celebrated its 230th anniversary in 2014. Lea Bridge has a small football pitch and a large pond, known by the locals as the "mill pitch" and the "mill pond" respectively.

Dethick

Smallest of the settlements, but perhaps with the most interesting history, is Dethick. Dethick shares its name with the Dethick family, whose roots there can be traced with certainty to 1228, but who may well have been established there earlier. Historically the most notable family to be associated with Dethick are the Babingtons of

Dethick Manor Dethick Manor is a 16th-century manor house, situated at Dethick, Amber Valley, Derbyshire, much altered in the 18th century and converted to use as a farmhouse. It is a Grade II* listed building. The manor of Dethick was anciently owned by the ...

;

Anthony Babington Anthony Babington (24 October 156120 September 1586) was an English gentleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for which he was hanged, drawn and quartered ...

was executed for his leading role in a plot to rescue

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, from imprisonment by her cousin Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. It will be found at .

Accessibility

Although extremely rural, the parish has remained a popular place to live thanks to its relatively strong accessibility for such a small place. The towns of

Alfreton Alfreton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ir ...

Belper Belper is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent. As w ...

, Matlock and

Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...

are all just 15 minutes away.

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

, Chesterfield and Junction 28 of the M1 are also nearby, with journey times of around 25 minutes.

Facilities

The parish has one pub, a grocery, a butcher, a village hall, a church, a chapel, a Primary school and public toilets. The parish is able to receive ADSL Broadband, and since the digital switchover of the Bolehill transmitter in 2011, Freeview television. There is a once-hourly bus route (the 140/141/142) that stops in Lea Bridge, Holloway and Leashaw, connecting the Parish with Matlock, Belper, Ripley and Alfreton.

Tourist attractions

The parish includes two main tourist attractions. Lea Gardens (also known as Lea Rhododendron Gardens for its extensive collection of this plant) is an open-air landscaped garden, open to the public during the summer months. At its entrance is a small café with indoor and outdoor seating, and a plant shop selling a wide variety of species (only open in summer). Lea Bridge - John Smedley Mill - Factory Shop

Lea Bridge - John Smedley Mill - Factory Shop

John Smedley's historic clothing mill retains a factory-outlet shop, selling the clothing that it makes at discount prices. The Coach House at Lea was formerly a collection of farm buildings, converted to house an ice cream parlour, gift shop, restaurant, tea rooms and a limited amount of guest accommodation. The Coach House was famous for its home-made Jersey ice cream, the Shaw family having made the ice cream in a large range of flavours, but with changes of ownership, it is now a private home. The parish is also very close to, but not linked with: * Crich Tramway Village *

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century D ...

(Including the Mills,

Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

and

High Peak Trail The High Peak Trail is a trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in the Peak District of England. Running from Dowlow , near Buxton, to High Peak Junction, Cromford , it follows the trackbed of the former Cromford and High Peak Rai ...

Matlock Bath Matlock Bath is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It lies in the Peak District, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

*Matlock Garden Centre *The Groom farm was utilised in the 1978 BBC series production of ''A Traveller in Time'' by

Alison Uttley Alison Uttley (17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976), ''née'' Alice Jane Taylor, was an English writer of over 100 books. She is best known for a children's series about Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. She is also remembered for a pioneering time s ...

. This led

Simon Groom Simon Groom (born 12 August 1950) is a British producer and director. He was a presenter of ''Blue Peter'' from 1978 to 1986. Early life Groom was born in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, and was brought up on a farm in Dethick, which he often vi ...

, the farmer's son, to a career as a BBC broadcaster and ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

'' presenter.Alistair D. McGown & Mark J. Docherty, ''The Hill and Beyond: Children's Television Drama - An Encyclopedia'', British Film Institute, 2003, p. 113

Picture gallery

References

{{Reflist

External links

Parish history & guide
Civil parishes in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Geography of Amber Valley