Ellastone is a rural village in the West Midlands of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on the
Staffordshire side of the
River Dove, between
Uttoxeter and
Ashbourne in north Staffordshire.
Geography
Ellastone lies on the
River Dove and is a hive of fluvial activity. Two small brooks (Sandford Brook and Tit Brook) flow directly into the River Dove. Additionally there is a natural spring, still officially known as Bentley Well, which flows into the Tit and sits on former farmland which is now occupied by a new development, Bentley Fold. The Dove is the historic boundary between the two counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and some of its crossings and bridges were once important elements of the main coaching road from London to the ports of the North-West.
The modern village
Today the village, on the busy B5032 road is marred by HGV and Alton Towers traffic. The village attracts lots of foot tourism, as it lies near the southern end of the
Limestone Way, a long distance bridleway.
Ellastone's curren
amenitiesinclude a village hall, tennis court, bowling green, park and snooker club.
Although Ellastone is on the Staffordshire side of the border, it currently has a Derbyshire postal address because the nearest postal town of
Ashbourne is in Derbyshire.
History
Ellastone a
linear village
Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...
, situated close to the River Dove, on the border between
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 ...
and Staffordshire. The village can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times in documentation and it features 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
, where it is listed as ''Edelachestone'', ''Elachestone'' and as ''Princestone''. ''The Ellastone Parish Register'' (1907) records the variant spellings, to be found in early medieval manuscripts, as: "Edelachestone, Elachestone, Ethelaxton, Ethelaston, Adlaxton, Athelaxton, Adelachestone, Adalacheston, Edelestone."
One of the village cottages was once owned by
William Cecil, the influential politician and confidant of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
. That was probably due to that part of the Peak then being on the main road to London, as evidence by the later coaching route.
The local church o
St. Peter'sdates back to the 16th century with the year 1586 displayed on the tower.
Ellastone was served by a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
(shared with
Norbury
Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...
) which was opened by the
North Staffordshire Railway on 31 May 1852.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the bridge over the River Dove was an important crossing point, guarded by two pill-boxes, one on each bank. Both are still visible today, however the box on the western side of the bridge is harder to spot as it is currently serving as a shelter for the cows, but
camouflage paint is still visible above the entrance.
Ellastone Old Hall, formerly the Bromley Arms pub, dates from the seventeenth century and is situated close to the current pub, the Duncombe Arms. There used to be a petrol station in the village and its presence can be noted through the unusual drives of the two bungalows closest to the pub, which very much resemble the entry/exits of a petrol station forecourt.
The village shop and sub Post Office was closed on 15 April 2006.
Ellastone Parish
The wider Parish of Ellastone originally had six townships: Ellaston; Calwich; Prestwood; Ramsor; Stanton and Wootton. Today Ellastone Parish remains extensive, and includes the hamlets of
Ramshorn, Wootton, and Prestwood. The
Weaver Hills
The Weaver Hills are a small range of hills in north east Staffordshire, England.
The Weaver Hills are about east of Stoke-on-Trent and about west of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, just south of the A52 road and north of the Churnet Valley. The are ...
, about four miles north-west, lie just outside the Parish.
Ellastone is situated in the now obsolete Hundred of
Totmonslow
Totmonslow is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England. The hundred is located in the north-east of Staffordshire, named after the hamlet of the same name, which is a half mile east of Draycott in the Moors. The hamlet was the seat of th ...
. The Hundred had two major divisions and each had its own constable and
Petty Sessions
Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...
. The Petty Sessions for the South division were held at Ellastone
Literary references
Ellastone features as 'Hayslope' in
George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...
's ''
Adam Bede
''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot), and was published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel has remained in print ev ...
'', published in 1859. It earned this recognition because the author's father spent the early part of his life in the village working as a carpenter...
:"It was at Ellastone that Robert Evans, George Eliot's father, passed his early years and worked as a carpenter with his brother Samuel; and it was partly from reminiscences of her father's talk and from her uncle Samuel's wife's preaching experiences that the author constructed the very powerful and moving story of Adam Bede."
There is 'Adam Bede cottage' in the village, so named because it was the family home of the Evans's, the family of "George Elliot",- Mary Ann Evans. Her uncle lived there during her lifetime and it is said that she did visit.
The Methodist references in ''Adam Bede'' fit this locality well.
Primitive Methodist
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
was born nearby at
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is a village split between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and therefore divided between the North West England, North West and West Midlands (region), West Midlands regions of England. It is south of Manchester and north of Stoke-on-Trent ...
and the hamlet of Ramshorn (known as
Ramsor
The tiny hamlet of Ramsor (Methodist spelling) in North Staffordshire played a significant part in the origins of Primitive Methodism. Listed in the Domesday Book as Ramshorn, this ancient hamlet is a typical example of the depopulation of the ...
in Methodist documents) at the western end of the
Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of Ellastone was very significant in the early history of Primitive Methodism. However the reality of the conversion of Hetty (a character in ''Adam Bede'') is suspect in the light of early Primitive Methodist histories.
Other points of historical interest
The ruined
Calwich Abbey
Calwich Abbey, previously Calwich Priory, was in turn the name of a medieval Augustinian priory and two successive country houses built on the same site near Ellastone, Staffordshire.
Calwich Priory
It was founded circa 1130 as a satellite cell o ...
is also situated nearby. An abbey was first built on the site in 1148, however the latest hall, built in 1848, was demolished in 1935, leaving only the stable block which is visible today. The composer
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
was one of the abbey's guests on several occasions. As such it has been suggested that it may have inspired some of his most important pieces such as "
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
" and the "
Water Music
The ''Water Music'' is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames.
Struct ...
".
Until demolition in 1935 there was a Wootton Hall built by
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
circa 1730, and formerly visited by the fleeing French political philosopher
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
. Arthur Mee notes that this visit was not entirely a happy one. The jibes of the London wits, poking fun at Rousseau's hiding out in the hills, reveal that the place was then known as "Wootton under Weaver", a place were "where God came never" - meaning that it was known as one of the least Christian places in England. Wootton Hall has since been rebuilt at a smaller size as the residence of the Hon. Johnny
Greenall of the brewing family.
Also within the parish is
Wootton Lodge
Wootton Lodge is a privately owned 17th-century country house situated at Wootton near Ellastone, Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Architectural description
The impressive west entrance front has basements and three st ...
, a 17th-century house with deer park. This is an imposing property which has served many notable owners, but which is now owned by the Bamford family (
JCB).
Notable people
*
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
Early life
Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 ...
(1598 in Stanton – 1677) the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
*
Anthony Scattergood (1611–1687) an English clergyman and scholar, baptised in Ellastone
Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 50, Scattergood, Antony
retrieved 19 August 2018
See also
* Listed buildings in Ellastone
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of East Staffordshire