Atlow is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 71,116. Much of it is in the Peak District, although most of its population lies along the River Derwent. The borough borders ...

district 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 nor ...

, England, about eight miles west of

Belper Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. As well as Belper itself, the parish also includes the village of Milford and the ha ...

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 98. At the 2011 Census the population remained less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of

Hognaston Hognaston is a small village and civil parish in Derbyshire, East Midlands, England. Hognaston has a population of approximately 200; including Atlow and increasing at the 2011 Census to 366, and has a play area, pub, church and a village hall. ...

History

The name Atlow is derived the

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 ...

for ''Eatta's burial mound or hill''. 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 ...

lists Atlow as in the possession of Aelfric of Bradbourne in 1066 with a value of £1. By 1086 the

records the village's value had fallen to £0.1, and was in the possession of

Henry de Ferrers Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England. Origins He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...

.Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including

Tissington Tissington is a village in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The appropriate civil parish is called Tissington and Lea Hall. The population of this parish at the 2011 census was 159. It is part of the estate of Tissington Ha ...

Shottle Shottle is a village approximately south of the market town of Wirksworth in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish (Shottle and Postern) at the 2011 Census was 266. In Norman times, the manor of Shottle, referred to as ''Sothille'' in ...

and Cowley.''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.745 The village is recorded as containing ploughland for 2, 4 acres of meadow, 0.5 leagues of woodland, and 3 furlongs of mixed measures. All Saints Church, Bradbourne - geograph

All Saints Church, Bradbourne - geograph

Atlow was, until 1866, part of the parish of

Bradbourne Bradbourne is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The village is just outside the Peak District National Park, and is 5 miles north of Ashbourne. Bradbourne is also one of the 51 Thankful Villag ...

.
On 10 February 1629, 6 villagers from Atlow, including William Cokayne and Valentine Jackson, were taken to the Chancery court by two church wardens of the nearby village of

. The two men claimed it an ancient custom for all the parishioners of Atlow to pay for the repair of the parish church at Bradbourne (the former

Bradbourne Priory Bradbourne Priory was a priory in Bradbourne, Derbyshire, England. The Priory at Bradbourne consisted of the main priory church and community at Bradbourne, and three chapelries at Tissington, Brassington and Ballidon. The priory church at Br ...

), but that the villagers had not been paying it.
The following year the court decided that the inhabitants of Atlow were to pay annually 5s. 6d. per

oxgang An oxgang or bovate ( ang, oxangang; da, oxgang; gd, damh-imir; lat-med, bovāta) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English a ...

(15 acres) to Bradbourne for repairs; but they were not to be charged for any previous arrears. In the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, Atlow is described as:
''"It is situated in a pleasant district on the river Dove, and from a lofty hill, called Magger's Bush, not far from the village, there is a fine prospect. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lichfield, of the value of £148, in the patronage of C. H. Oakover, Esq."'' Kelly's Directory of 1891 describes the village as a scattering of farmhouses and cottages in a parish of 1,214 acres, with a population of 138, and a rateable (taxable) value of £1,649. the land he describes as "clayey, loamy and limely", mainly dairy pasture, but reports that most of the parish lies atop a bed of Coal, and that both

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

Ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

were "very abundant". Kelly records the rector as Rev. James Sheldon (who had held the position since 1885), the Lord of the Manor as H.C. Okeover esq. (of

Okeover Hall Okeover Hall is a privately owned Grade II* listed country house in Okeover, Staffordshire, England. It is the family seat of the Okeover family, who have been in residence since the reign of William Rufus. The house lies close to the border betw ...

, Stafforshire -approx 5 miles away), as the principal land owners as Mr. Twigge, a Mr. Melland, a Mr. Grundy, and a Mr. T. Tomlinson. The National Mixed School was built in 1863 for a maximum of 60 children, but in 1891 had an average attendance of 33. The head was William Frederick Walker.

Parish Church

Atlow was historically part of the parish of

. It became an independent civil parish in 1866, at which time the rectory had a net yearly value of £150, an average tithe rent-charge of £89. The rectory (residence) itself was in gift from H.C. Okeover esq. (of

, Staffordshie -approx 5 miles away) and came with 15 acres of

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

land.
The current

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

was consecrated by George Selwyn, Bishop of Lichfield, in May 1874 and is dedicated to Saint Philip and Saint James. It was built to replace an earlier parish church, dedicated to All Saints, and was built on a plot of land between the site of the old church, and the road (recorded as Church Lane, now called Atlow Lane). The church was designed by H. I. Stevens, who died in the year before the church was consecrated. The church is built in gritstone ashlar, using the Early English style; it consists of a chancel, nave, south porch and western bell-turret. The bell-turret is described in 1891 as containing a bell from the former church, showing a monogram and date: 1595 The church is currently Grade II Listed.

References

External links

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

History

Parish Church

See also

References

External links