Foolow (

Old English Old English (, ), 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

possibly for "bird hill" or "colourful hill") is a village in the

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 nor ...

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

Village centre

The

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

contains an ornate Grade II listed medieval

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, similar to the one at

Wheston Wheston is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Peak District. Notable features include Wheston Hall and the Wheston Cross. The cross, which survives intact, is more than high. It probably dates from the 14th century and marked the way f ...

but possibly of later date. It has been suggested that it is 15th century. It is inscribed with the date 1868, when it was moved from the site of the Wesleyan Reform Chapel and its shaft was replaced. A former bull ring lies in front of the cross.

Lead mining

South of the village, the Watergrove Mine was active from the 18th century until 1853. Water was a problem over this period; both soughs and

pumping engine Pumping may refer to: * The operation of a pump, for moving a liquid from one location to another **The use of a breast pump for extraction of milk * Pumping (audio), a creative misuse of dynamic range compression * Pumping (computer systems), ...

s were used. In 1837 a Fairbrother

beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...

was installed. Its 80 ft (24 m) chimney stood until 1960. There are hillocks in the north of the parish that mark the sites of other mines. There are also

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

present- the most recent appeared in late 2013- believed to result from mine workings. It is probable that mining, whether for lead or other minerals, has been an occupation for the people of Foolow since at least the 15th century. Robert Roworth, of Folowe, a miner, appears as owing £4 to Thomas Calton of Chesterfield, in a legal record of 1470.

References

{{authority control Towns and villages of the Peak District Villages in Derbyshire Derbyshire Dales

Village centre

Lead mining

See also

References