Ellastone is a village in the
East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Staffordshire, England. The council is based in Burton upon Trent. The borough also contains the town of Ut ...
borough of
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, ...
, in the
West Midlands of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is on 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, ...
side of the
River Dove and is directly opposite the village of
Norbury
Norbury is an List of areas of London, town and suburb in south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. The area is mainly in the borough of Croydon London Borough Council, Croydon, with some parts extending int ...
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 ...
. It is between
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border.
The town is from Burton upon Trent via the A50 and the A38, from Stafford via the A51 ...
and
Ashbourne.
Amenities
The village lies at the southern end of the
Limestone Way
The Limestone Way is a waymarked long-distance Rights of way in England and Wales, footpath in Derbyshire, England. It runs for through the White Peak of the Peak District National Park, from Castleton, Derbyshire, Castleton south to Rocester ...
trail and has a public house, church and school.
History
Ellastone is situated close to the River Dove, on the border between
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 ...
and Staffordshire. The village can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times in documentation and it features 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 ...
, where it is listed as ''Edelachestone'' and ''Elachestone''. ''The Ellastone Parish Register'' (1907) records the variant spellings, to be found in early medieval manuscripts, as: "Edelachestone, Elachestone, Ethelaxton, Ethelaston, Adlaxton, Athelaxton, Adelachestone, Adalacheston, Edelestone."
One of the village cottages was apparently once owned by
William Cecil, the influential politician and confidant of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
.
The earliest part of the current parish church building o
St. Peter'sdates back to the 16th century, with the year 1586 displayed on the tower, but there has been a church on the site since at least 1163.
Ellastone was served by a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
which was opened by the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...
on the
Ashbourne Line
The Ashbourne line was a railway from Buxton via Ashbourne to Uttoxeter. It was built by the London and North Western Railway using a section of the Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) and it joined the North Staffordshire Railway at Ashb ...
.
During
World War II
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 bridge over the River Dove was an important crossing point, guarded by two pill-boxes, one on each bank. Both are still visible today, however the box on the western side of the bridge is harder to spot but
camouflage paint is still visible above the entrance.

Ellastone Old Hall, for some time the Bromley Arms public house, dates from the seventeenth century and is situated close to the current pub, the Duncombe Arms.
Ellastone parish
The wider parish of Ellastone originally had six townships: Ellastone; Calwich; Prestwood; Ramsor; Stanton and Wootton. Today Ellastone parish remains extensive, and includes the hamlets of
Ramshorn, Wootton, and Prestwood. The
Weaver Hills
The Weaver Hills are a small range of hills in north east Staffordshire, England.
The Weaver Hills are about east of Stoke-on-Trent and about west of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, just south of the A52 road and north of the Churnet Valley. The area i ...
, about four miles north-west, lie just outside the parish.
Ellastone is situated in the now obsolete Hundred of
Totmonslow
Totmonslow is a Hundred (county subdivision), hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England. The hundred is in the north-east of Staffordshire and is named after the hamlet of the same name, which is a half mile east of Draycott in the Moors. ...
. The Hundred had two major divisions and each had its own constable and
Petty Sessions
Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...
. The Petty Sessions for the South division were held at Ellastone
Literary references
Ellastone features as 'Hayslope' in
George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
's ''
Adam Bede'', published in 1859. It earned this recognition because the author's father spent the early part of his life in the village working as a carpenter...
:"It was at Ellastone that Robert Evans, George Eliot's father, passed his early years and worked as a carpenter with his brother Samuel; and it was partly from reminiscences of her father's talk and from her uncle Samuel's wife's preaching experiences that the author constructed the very powerful and moving story of Adam Bede."
There is an "Adam Bede Cottage" in the village, so named because it was the family home of the Evanses, the family of "George Eliot" - Mary Ann Evans. Her uncle lived there during her lifetime and it is said that she did visit.
The Methodist references in ''Adam Bede'' fit this locality well.
Primitive Methodist was born nearby at
Mow Cop and the hamlet of Ramshorn (known as
Ramsor in Methodist documents) at the western end of the
Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Ellastone was very significant in the early history of Primitive Methodism. However the reality of the conversion of Hetty (a character in ''Adam Bede'') is suspect in the light of early Primitive Methodist histories.
Other points of historical interest
The ruined
Calwich Abbey is also situated nearby. An abbey was first built on the site in 1148, however the latest hall, built in 1848, was demolished in 1935, leaving only the stable block which is visible today. The composer
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
was one of the abbey's guests on several occasions. As such it has been suggested that it may have inspired some of his most important pieces such as "
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
" and the "
Water Music
The ''Water Music'' (German: ''Wassermusik'') is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three Suite (music), suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to George I of Great Britain, ...
".
Until demolition in 1935 there was a Wootton Hall built by
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...
circa 1730, and formerly visited by the fleeing French political philosopher
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...
. Arthur Mee notes that this visit was not entirely a happy one. The jibes of the London wits, poking fun at Rousseau's hiding out in the hills, reveal that the place was then known as "Wootton under Weaver", a place were "where God came never" - meaning that it was known as one of the least Christian places in England. Wootton Hall has since been rebuilt at a smaller size as the residence of the Hon. Johnny
Greenall of the brewing family.
Also within the parish is
Wootton Lodge, a 17th-century house with deer park. This is an imposing property which has served many notable owners, but which is now owned by the Bamford family (
JCB).
Notable people
*
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
Early life
Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...
(1598 in Stanton – 1677) the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
*
Anthony Scattergood (1611–1687) an English clergyman and scholar, baptised in Ellastone.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Ellastone
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of East Staffordshire