Merryton Low is a hill in

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, ...

, England, a few miles east of

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

. It is in the civil parish of Fawfieldhead in the local government district of

Staffordshire Moorlands Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Leek, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Biddulph and Cheadle, along with a large rural area containing ...

. The hill is 489m / 1604 ft ASL and forms part of the

White Peak The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a limestone plateau that forms the central and southern part of the Peak District in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitude Dark Peak (also know ...

and is within the

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

The parent peak is

Shining Tor Shining Tor is the highest hill in Cheshire, England. The summit has an elevation of above sea level. It is in the Peak District, between the towns of Macclesfield in Cheshire and Buxton in Derbyshire, and is on the administrative boundary betw ...

and it ranks as the 6366th highest peak in the British Isles and the 729th tallest in England There are two

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

s on the hill: Merryton Low bowl barrow, a scheduled monument is at the summit, and another scheduled barrow lies 700m to the south. The summit

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...

is grade II listed as it carries a plaque commemorating four members of the local

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

who died on active service in the regular army 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 hill was the site of two fatal air crashes during World War II: a

Short Stirling The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war (the earlier Handley ...

crashed on 13 July 1942 with eight deaths, and a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

on 27 July 1944 with one death. The

River Hamps The River Hamps is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Manifold, which itself flows into the River Dove, Central England, River Dove near Ilam, Staffordshire, Ilam. For much of its length the river flows through th ...

rises on its southern slopes.

References

Hills of Staffordshire Staffordshire Moorlands World War II memorials in England Grade II listed monuments and memorials Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Scheduled monuments in Staffordshire {{Staffordshire-geo-stub