Castleton is a village in the
High Peak 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, at the western end of the
Hope Valley on the
Peakshole Water, a tributary of the
River Noe
The River Noe is a tributary of the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. It flows approximately 12 miles (19 km) from its source, the confluence of two streams running off Kinder Scout in the Peak District, east through Edale and then sou ...
, between the
Dark Peak
The Dark Peak is the higher and wilder part of the Peak District in England, mostly forming the northern section but also extending south into its eastern and western margins. It is mainly in Derbyshire but parts are in Staffordshire, Cheshire, ...
to the north and the
White Peak to the south. The population was 642 at the
2011 Census.
History
Castleton village was mentioned as ''Pechesers'' in
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 manus ...
in 1086 where "Arnbiorn and Hundingr held the land of
William Peverel
William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest.
Origins
Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...
's castle in Castleton".
[''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.750] This land and
Peverel's castle were amongst the manors belonging to William Peverel that also included
Bolsover
Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district.
The civil parish for th ...
and
Glapwell.
St Edmund's Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
church was
restored about 1837. It has late 13th-century
tracery
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...
and an
ashlar-faced
Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...
tower. Its
box pew
A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries.
History in England
Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...
s are dated 1661, 1662, 1663 and 1676.
A medieval
leper
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
hospital (the Hospital of Saint Mary in the Peak) is thought to have been on the eastern boundary of Castleton, though some locals believe it to have been just south of the Speedwell Cavern footpath from the village.
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
archaeologists are investigating 'Castle of the Peak', which was reputedly founded by the wife of one of the William Peverels before 1153, and continued until about the 1543 Dissolution. They say the earliest documents referring to Spital Field are a grant and a Charter from the early 14th century. They are also investigating the 12th-century planned town at the foot of the castle hill.
Castleton had a long history of
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
; the
Odin Mine
Odin Mine is a disused lead mine in the Peak District National Park, situated at grid reference . It lies on a site of 25 hectares[Derbyshire lead mining history
This article details some of the history of lead mining in Derbyshire, England.
Background
It has been claimed that Odin Mine, near Castleton, one of the oldest lead mines in England, may have been worked in the tenth century or even as earl ...](_blank)
''). Researchers studying an ice core from a Swiss glacier have found that levels of lead air pollution across Europe during the period 1170–1216 was as high as those of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, and the principal source was Peak District mines such as Castleton and
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...
. The mining created and enlarged local caverns, four of which are now open to the public as
Peak Cavern,
Blue John Cavern,
Speedwell Cavern and
Treak Cliff Cavern. A small amount of
Blue John is mined locally.
Since the 1920s the main mineral industry in the area has been cement.
Hope Cement Works is closer to Hope, but its quarry is closer to Castleton.
Geography
Castleton is situated between the
gritstone plateau of the
Dark Peak
The Dark Peak is the higher and wilder part of the Peak District in England, mostly forming the northern section but also extending south into its eastern and western margins. It is mainly in Derbyshire but parts are in Staffordshire, Cheshire, ...
to the north and the gentler
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 ...
scenery of the
White Peak to the south. It lies at the western end of the
Hope Valley and consequently is surrounded on three sides by hills. Most prominent is the ridge to the north. This is called
Great Ridge
Great Ridge is a ridge separating the vales of Edale and Castleton in Derbyshire, England. It extends for approximately from Mam Tor at the western end of the ridge to Lose Hill at the eastern end, the lowest point being Hollins Cross.
A pat ...
; it runs east from
Mam Tor
Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...
to Back Tor and
Lose Hill
Lose Hill lies in the Derbyshire Peak District. It is the south-east corner of the parish of Edale and the end of the Great Ridge that runs from Rushup Edge to the west (over Mam Tor, Hollins Cross and Back Tor).
Local access activist G. H. B ...
, via the pass (hause) of
Hollins Cross
Hollins Cross lies between Mam Tor and Lose Hill on the Great Ridge that separates Castleton and Edale in Derbyshire, England.
Hollins Cross is the lowest point on the ridge and is therefore a popular route taken by walkers wishing either to cro ...
, where paths from many directions converge and cross over to
Edale
Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an
area of ,
is in the Borough of High Peak.
Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...
.
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...
visited caves near Castleton and Buxton in June 1790 to investigate the region's geological structures.
Castleton was formerly on the
A625 road
The A625 is a rural road which runs through north Derbyshire and the Peak District.
Route
First named Ecclesall Road, it begins at the Moore Street roundabout in Sheffield and runs southwesterly towards Hathersage after a change in name to Hat ...
from
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
to
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England.
It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...
, on the way to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Leaving Castleton, the western road once went over
Mam Tor
Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...
, but after continual
landslides and repairs (Mam Tor is called the "Shivering Mountain" because of its very loose shales), it was eventually abandoned. The only westbound exit from Castleton is now the unclassified road over the narrow
Winnats Pass
Winnats Pass (or Winnats, as shown on some Ordnance Survey maps) is a hill pass and limestone gorge in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. The name is a corruption of 'wind gates' due to the swirling winds through the pass. It lies west of ...
. This road is very narrow and steep and unsuitable for heavy vehicles or high volumes. Road signage has been designed to discourage through traffic by showing only local destinations. Thus, most traffic enters and leaves the village on the eastern (Hope-Hathersage-Sheffield) road (
A6187); for traffic going west, that involves a long diversion via the villages of
Bradwell and
Peak Forest
Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335.
The village grew from the earlier settlement of ...
.
Castleton has a small bus station from where buses depart hourly to Sheffield (services 272/273) and 2-hourly to
Tideswell
Tideswell is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It lies east of Buxton on the B6049, in a wide valley on a limestone plateau, at an altitude of above sea level, and is within the District of Derbyshire Da ...
and
Bakewell (service 173). Sunday services on route 173 and less frequent services, including services 68 to
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.[Baslow
Baslow is a village in Derbyshire, England, in the Peak District, situated between Sheffield and Bakewell, just over north of Chatsworth House. It is sited by the River Derwent, which is spanned by a 17th-century bridge, alongside which is a ...]
,
Ladybower
Ladybower Reservoir is a large Y-shaped, artificial reservoir, the lowest of three in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. The River Ashop flows into the reservoir from the west; the River Derwent flows south, initially through How ...
(273 & 274), 200
Chapel-en-le-frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England.
It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...
and
Edale
Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an
area of ,
is in the Borough of High Peak.
Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...
276, were cut in 2017 after cuts in government funding. At summer weekends buses link to
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
and Ladybower.
There is no railway station, but
Hope station is about away, and train tickets to Hope and
Edale
Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an
area of ,
is in the Borough of High Peak.
Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...
are valid on connecting buses to Castleton.
Education
Castleton Church of England Primary School is located within the village. It was rated as 'good' in its 2017
Ofsted inspection. From October 2017, the school and surrounding area was featured in the
ident used by
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
.
The nearest secondary school is
Hope Valley College
Hope Valley College, ''Castleton Road'' (A6187), Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire in England is an academy school, adjacent to the Peakshole Water, in the High Peak district for pupils aged 11 to 16.
History
The school was first opened in Sept ...
.
Tourism
Castleton attracts many tourists, and there are multiple pubs (some with accommodation), tea shops and guest houses to supply their needs. There is also a large car park, a Visitor Centre housing a dedicated space for Castleton Historical Society’s museum, several outdoors shops and a
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
. Many schools visit the area for educational studies such as GCSE fieldwork. It is also a major walking centre, where routes up
Cave Dale
Cave Dale (sometimes spelt Cavedale) is a dry limestone valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. It is located at grid reference . The northern end of the dale starts at the village of Castleton where the valley sides are almost perpend ...
,
Winnats Pass
Winnats Pass (or Winnats, as shown on some Ordnance Survey maps) is a hill pass and limestone gorge in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. The name is a corruption of 'wind gates' due to the swirling winds through the pass. It lies west of ...
,
Mam Tor
Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...
and Hollins Cross meet. There are four "show caves" to visit,
Blue John Cavern,
Peak Cavern,
Treak Cliff Cavern and
Speedwell Cavern which includes an underground boat ride and at least one of them is open all year. Castleton has a combined post office and general shop.
On
Castleton Garland Day (
Oak Apple Day
Restoration Day, more commonly known as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, was an English, Welsh and Irish public holiday, observed annually on 29 May, to commemorate the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in May 1660. In some parts of England t ...
– 29 May), a ''Garland King'' is paraded around the streets wearing an extremely large garland of flowers,
followed by local girls dressed in white with flowers.
Castleton is a favourite area for walkers: there is plenty of accommodation, and there are many public footpaths leading from the village. There are easy walks along the river to Hope,
Brough,
Bamford
Bamford is a village in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, close to the River Derwent. To the north-east is Bamford Edge, and to the north-west the Ladybower, Derwent and Howden Reservoirs. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 1, ...
and (rather further)
Hathersage
Hathersage ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately south-west of Sheffield.
Toponymy
The origin of its name is disputed, although it is ...
, and there is a short strenuous walk up onto the Great Ridge, where views can be enjoyed before descending to
Edale
Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an
area of ,
is in the Borough of High Peak.
Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...
or returning to Castleton.
Hayfield is a short day's walk away beyond
Rushup Edge
Rushup Edge is a ridge in the Derbyshire Peak District of England. The ridge's highest point is Lord's Seat at , while Mam Tor lies beyond its eastern end, at the western end of the Great Ridge.
Lord's Seat is the site of a round barrow.
G ...
. A two- or three-day trail, the
Limestone Way, starts in Castleton and runs south down
Cave Dale
Cave Dale (sometimes spelt Cavedale) is a dry limestone valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. It is located at grid reference . The northern end of the dale starts at the village of Castleton where the valley sides are almost perpend ...
(past the rear of the castle) before climbing out of the village and heading for
Monyash
Monyash (/muhn-ee-ash/ munyash) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, west of the market town Bakewell. It is centred on a village green above sea level at the head of Lathkill Dale in the limestone area k ...
,
Youlgreave
Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, on the River Bradford south of Bakewell. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour.
The popul ...
, and
Matlock.
Film of Castleton in 1945 is held by the
Cinema Museum in London. Ref HM0365.
Photo gallery
File:Peveril castle.jpg, Peveril Castle dominates the southern Castleton skyline
File:Castleton-Castle Hotel.jpg, The Castle Hotel
File:The Three Roofs Café 201307 052.jpg, The Three Roofs Café
File:Castleton school.jpg, The school in Castleton
File:GarlandKing&Consort.jpg, The Castleton Garland King and his consort
File:Mam-tor-from-castleton.jpg, Looking west, Mam Tor
Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...
towers above the main street of Castleton
File:Castleton panaroma.jpg, Panoramic view of Castleton from Peveril castle
Peveril Castle (also Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement (or ''caput'') of the feudal barony of William Peverel, kn ...
File:Castleton Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 405288.jpg, Castleton Methodist Church
Notable people
*
Isaac Ambrose: a
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
author, a churchman here in 1627
*
William Dawkins: found important fossils near Castleton
*
Charles Roe
Charles Roe (7 May 1715 – 3 May 1781) was an English industrialist. He played an important part in establishing the silk industry in Macclesfield, Cheshire and later became involved in the mining and metal industries.
Early life and caree ...
: industrialist, born here in 1715
*
Drenge: a two-piece blues rock band
*
Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush (born 29 March 1966) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Anna Windass in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2008 to 2018.
Career Early career
After training at the Manchester School of Acting when she ...
: ''Coronation Street'' actress
*
Randolph Douglas: founder of the now closed 'House of Wonders'
In fiction
The village was featured in episode 3 of ''
Most Haunted: Midsummer Murders'' where the team "investigates" the 18th-century murder of an engaged couple. Much of the "investigation" takes place in
Speedwell Cavern. One of the conspirators, James Ashton, is said to have confessed to the murders on his deathbed after being haunted by the dead couple. He also implicated others involved. Castleton also featured in national news reports in the early 1980s following the murder of
Susan Renhard near the battlements of Peveril Castle.
The local caves were used as the filming location for the underworld, ruled by the evil
Lady of the Green Kirtle
The Lady of the Green Kirtle, also called Queen of Underland and Queen of the Deep Realm, is the main antagonist in ''The Silver Chair'' by C. S. Lewis. She is sometimes called briefly the ''Green Lady'' (on analogy with Jadis, the ''White Lady ...
, in the 1990
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
).
, first performed in 1616.