Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the
Peak District
The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
of
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, on the
River Bradford south of
Bakewell
Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest se ...
. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour.
The population in 1991 was 1,256; it is one of the largest villages in the Peak District National Park.
The village has three public houses (the George Hotel, Farmyard Inn and Bull's Head Hotel), and a
British Legion
The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.
...
club.
Geography
The village is on the
B5056 and the parish has an area of . Youlgrave is at an altitude of located on the southwestern edge of a
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
plateau. It stands on the hillside above the confluence of
Lathkill Dale and
Bradford Dale. To the east, the geology is shale-like rather than
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. The area is home to many mineral veins such as
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 ...
,
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
(lead ore) and
calamine
Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine (mineral), calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivy, poiso ...
(zinc ore).
Three long-distance paths, the Alternative Pennine Way, 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 ...
and the
White Peak Way, pass through the village, swelling the number of walkers.
History
Youlgreave was mentioned 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 ...
as belonging to
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Normans, Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest of England, Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England.
Origins
He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and i ...
[Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including Doveridge, ]Breaston
Breaston ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district, in the south-east of Derbyshire and lies approximately east of the city of Derby and west of the city of Nottingham. The population of the civil paris ...
, Duffield and Cowley. and being worth sixteen shillings.
All Saints' Church, Youlgreave, has a 12th-century
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
. The main round bowl is carved with decorative motifs, and it has a second small bowl, supported by a salamander corbel. The font was moved to Youlgreave in the 19th century, from the church at
Elton Elton may refer to:
Places
England
* Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village
** Elton Hall, a baronial hall
* Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish
* Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish in the Borough of ...
. The building is
grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
There are also a number of historic buildings in the village, such as Old Hall Farm (1630), Thimble Hall and The Old Hall (c.1650).
Most of the village's households get their water from
Youlgreave Waterworks Limited, one of very few private water companies in Britain. It came about when Youlgreave Friendly Society for Women helped to set up a fund to pipe water from Mawstone springs into the village, terminating at the
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
"Conduit Head" of 1829, in Fountain Square.
In the 1930s, as new houses were built and older ones were modernised with bathrooms and toilets, water often became short. In 1932 the main underground pipe cracked after an explosion in Mawstone lead mine. Springs at
Harthill were connected to the system in 1949 and other major improvements followed. Most homes in the village could be supplied with local water until there were just too many new houses to cope with. Extra supplies are purchased from larger water companies nowadays.
In 1932 five of six miners working on a ventilation fan at Mawstone Mine were killed after an explosion filled the gallery with
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
. The sixth miner was able to reach the surface and raise the alarm. A rescue party of two workers and the mine manager descended into the mine, but were themselves killed by the fumes. Although Mawstone Mine was eventually closed, a water supply for the village is still obtained from this site.
Tourism
Because of its scenic location in the
Peak District
The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
, Youlgreave is a popular destination for hikers. 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 ...
passes through
Bradford Dale, immediately south of the village.
Langley Park School for Boys owns a building in the village, which is used for
school trips, students taking part in various local sporting activities and a visit to nearby
Alton Towers
Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...
.
A Guinness World Records Certificate names Thimble Hall in Youlgreave as 'the world's smallest detached house' at × and high.
The property made national headlines in 1999 when sold at auction for £39,500. Each room is less than 8 feet square and there was a fixed ladder to the bedroom, a stone fireplace, exposed beams and exposed floorboards in the bedroom. It was home to a family of eight around a hundred years ago. It was last occupied as a dwelling in the early 1930s and is currently being converted into a craft gallery.
It is a Grade II listed building.
The Youlgreave Festival, founded in 2001, offers local artists and musicians a chance to showcase their talents.
There are popular walking paths through the valley following the River Bradford.
Media
Local regional television is provided by
BBC East Midlands Today and
ITV News Central.
Radio stations that broadcast to Youlgreave are
BBC Radio Derby on 95.3 FM,
Capital Midlands on 102.8 FM, and
Peak FM 102.0 FM.
Youlgreave's local newspapers are the ''
Matlock Mercury'' and the ''
Derbyshire Times''.
Sport
Football
Youlgreave is home to Youlgrave United Football Club (est. 1886) who currently compete in the Hope Valley Amateur League. Their ground is based on Alport Lane Playing Fields, Youlgreave.
Cricket
Youlgrave Lodge Cricket Club and ground is based on Alport Lane Playing Fields, Youlgreave. The club have three senior teams: a 1st XI Saturday team that compete in the
Yorkshire and Derbyshire Cricket League, a Sunday XI team that play friendly matches in and around the region, and a Midweek XI side.
Notable people
Bill Burgess (1872–1950) was the second person to successfully complete a swim of the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
after
Matthew Webb. He performed the feat on 6 September 1911, his 16th attempt.
[Staff]
"The Channel Swim: Burgess's Perseverance Rewarded After Fifteen failures"
, '' Poverty Bay Herald'', Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12581, 11 October 1911, Page 8. Accessed 5 August 2010. He was born in
Rotherham
Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...
to Alfred Burgess, a blacksmith from Youlgreave, and Camilla Anna Peat, a cook from
Harthill, South Yorkshire.
[Bill Burgess]
sports-reference.com He spent most of his life in France, and won a bronze medal with the French water polo team at the
1900 Olympics.
[ In 1926 he coached Gertrude Ederle who became the first woman to swim the English Channel.
]
See also
* Listed buildings in Youlgreave
*Derbyshire lead mining history
This article details some of the history of lead mining in Derbyshire, England.
Background
Lutudarum (believed to have been at either Wirksworth or nearby Carsington) was the administrative centre of the Roman lead mining industry in Britain. ...
References
External links
Youlgrave.com
The Bugle
{{Authority control
Villages in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Derbyshire Dales
Civil parishes in Derbyshire