Glossop is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in the
Borough of High Peak
High Peak is a local government district with borough status in Derbyshire, England. The borough compromises high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. The district stretches from Holme Moss in the north t ...
,
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. It is located east of
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 ...
, north-west of
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 ...
and north of the county town,
Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with
Cheshire,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
and
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
. It is between above sea level and is bounded by the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...
National Park to the south, east and north.
Historically, the name ''Glossop'' refers to the small hamlet that gave its name to an ancient parish recorded 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 ...
of 1086 and then the
manor given by
William I of England
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
to
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 ...
. A
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
was created in 1866, which encompassed less than half of the manor's territory.
[The Ancient Parish of Glossop](_blank)
Retrieved 18 June 2008 The area now known as Glossop approximates to the villages that used to be called Glossopdale, on the lands of the
Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
. Originally a centre of wool processing, Glossop rapidly expanded in the late 18th century when it specialised in the production and printing of
calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
, a coarse cotton. It became a mill town with many chapels and churches; its fortunes were tied to the
cotton industry
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
.
Architecturally, the area is dominated by buildings constructed with the local sandstone; a number of these, including
Glossop Gasworks, are grade II listed. Two significant former
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven b ...
s and the
Dinting
Dinting is a district of Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The district falls within the Simmondley ward of the High Peak Council. It is a small village and has no shops, other than a fish and chip takeaway; the nearest are in neighbouring Glossop ...
railway viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
remain.
History
Toponymy and definition
The name Glossop is thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, named during the
Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...
' settlement in the 7th century, and derived from ''Glott's Hop''—where ''hop'' could mean a valley,
a small valley in a larger valley system, or a piece of land enclosed by marshes and ''Glott'' was probably a chieftain's name. Because of its size and location, Glossop had many definitions. The village of Glossop is now called Old Glossop. Howard Town and Milltown gained importance. They were named New Town and then Glossop. Local government reorganisations had caused the Glossopdale villages to be promoted to a municipal borough and then have that status removed. Land has been added to Glossop and other lands removed. From a small settlement it became an ancient parish, a manor, a borough and a township. Currently, two county divisions in High Peak Borough, Derbyshire, have Glossop as part of their names.
Ancient
There is evidence of a Bronze Age burial site on Shire Hill (near
Old Glossop
Old Glossop is a parish village and the original part of the town of Glossop in the High Peak area of Derbyshire, England, about 15 miles east of Manchester and 23 miles west of Sheffield. The village is on the very edge of the Peak District ...
) and other possibly prehistoric remains at Torside (on the slopes of
Bleaklow
Bleaklow is a high, largely peat-covered, gritstone moorland in the Derbyshire High Peak near the town of Glossop. It is north of Kinder Scout, across the Snake Pass ( A57), and south of the A628 Woodhead Pass. Much of it is nearly 2, ...
). The
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
arrived in 78 AD. At that time, the area was within the territory of the
Brigantes tribe, whose main base was in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. In the late 1st century the Romans built a fort,
Ardotalia
Ardotalia (also known as Melandra, or Melandra Castle) is a Roman fort in Gamesley, near Glossop in Derbyshire, England.
Ardotalia was constructed by Cohors Primae Frisiavonum—The First Cohort of Frisiavones. Evidence for the existence of ...
, on high ground above the river in present-day
Gamesley
Gamesley is a residential area within the Borough of High Peak
in Derbyshire, England, west of Glossop and close to the River Etherow which forms the boundary with Tameside in Greater Manchester. Gamesley is a ward of the High Peak Borough ...
.
The site of this fort was rediscovered in 1771 by an amateur historian,
John Watson. It subsequently acquired the name Melandra Castle. The extensive site has been excavated, revealing fort walls, a shrine and the fort headquarters. The area has been landscaped to provide parking and picnic areas.
Medieval
King William I awarded the manor of Glossop to
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 ...
, who began construction of
Glossop Castle, but the entire estate was later confiscated. In 1157
King Henry II gave the manor of Glossop to
Basingwerk Abbey
Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the Englis ...
. They gained a
market charter
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
for Glossop in 1290, and one for Charlesworth in 1328.
In 1433, the monks leased all of Glossopdale to the Talbot family, later
Earls of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Irelan ...
. In 1494, an illegitimate son of the family, Dr John Talbot, was appointed vicar of Glossop. He founded a school, and paved the packhorse route over the moors; this is known as
Doctor's Gate
Doctor's Gate is a Roman road in the Derbyshire Peak District of England, which ran between Melandra fort at Glossop and Navio fort at Brough-on-Noe. Doctor's Gate was recorded in 1627 as "Docto Talbotes Gate", named after Dr John Talbot who i ...
.
At the
dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 the manor of Glossop was given to the Talbot family. In 1606 it came into the ownership of the Howard family, the
Dukes of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
, who held it for the next 300 years. Glossop was usually given to the second son of the family.
The land was too wet and cold to be used for wheat but was ideal for the hardy
Pennine sheep, so agriculture was predominantly pastoral.
Most of the land was owned by the Howards and was
leasehold
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...
and it was only in
Whitfield that there was any
freehold
Freehold may refer to:
In real estate
*Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple
* Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England
* Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...
land. The few houses were solid, built of the local stone, and allowed for the development of home industries such as wool spinning and weaving.
Industrial and civic history
The medieval economy was based on sheep pasture and the production of wool by farmers who were tenants of the Abbot of Basingwerk and later the Talbot family. During 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 ...
of the 18th century Glossop became a centre for cotton spinning. A good transport network between Liverpool and Glossop brought in imported cotton which was spun by a labour force with wool spinning skills. The climate of Glossopdale provided abundant soft water that was used to power mills and finish the cloth, and also gave the humidity necessary to spin cotton under tension. Initial investment was provided by the Dukes of Norfolk. By 1740, cotton in an unspun form had been introduced to make
fustian
Fustian is a variety of heavy cloth woven from cotton, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used figuratively to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, from at least the time of Shakespeare. This literary use is beca ...
s and lighter cloths.
[
]
Mills
The first mills in Glossop were woollen mills. In 1774, Richard Arkwright opened a mill at Cromford
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...
. He developed the factory system
The factory system is a method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor. Because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories are typically privately owned by wealthy individuals or corporations who emplo ...
and patented machines for spinning cotton and carding. In 1785, his patents expired and many people copied Arkwright's system and his patents, exemplified by the Derwent Valley Mills. By 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. At the same time there were 17 cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven b ...
s in Derbyshire, principally in Glossop. By 1831 there were at least 30 mills in Glossopdale, none of which had more than 1,000 spindles. The mill owners were local men: the Wagstaffs and Hadfields were freeholders from Whitfield; the Shepleys, Shaws, Lees, Garlicks and Platts had farmed the dale. The Sidebottoms were from Hadfield, the Thornleys were carpenters and John Bennet and John Robinson were clothiers.[
John Wood of Marsden came from Manchester in 1819 and bought existing woollen mills which he expanded. These were the Howard Town mills. ]Francis Sumner
Francis Cecil Sumner (December 7, 1895 – January 11, 1954) was an American leader in education reform. He is commonly referred to as the "Father of Black Psychology." He is primarily known for being the first African American to receive a Ph. ...
was a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
whose family had connections with Matthew Ellison, Howard's agent. He built Wren Nest Mill. The Sidebottoms built the Waterside Mill at Hadfield. In 1825, John Wood installed the first steam engine and power looms. Sumner and Sidebottom followed suit and the three mills, Wren Nest, Howardtown and Waterside, became very large vertical combines (a vertical combine was a mill that both spun the yarn and then used it to weave cloth). With the other major families, the Shepleys, Rhodes and Platts, they dominated the dale. In 1884, the six had 82% of the spinning capacity with 892,000 spindles and 13,571 looms. Glossop was a town of very large calico mills. The calico printing factory of Edmund Potter (located in Dinting Vale) in the 1850s printed 2½ million pieces of printed calico, of which 80% was for export. The paper industry was created by Edward Partington who, as Olive and Partington, bought the Turn Lee Mill in 1874 to produce high-quality paper from wood pulp by the sulphite method. He expanded rapidly with mills in Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
and Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
. He merged with Kellner of Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and was created Lord Doverdale in 1917. He died in 1925; his factories in Charlestown created nearly 1,000 jobs.[
]
Religion and benevolence
Lord Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk rebuilt the old parish church in 1831, built All Saints Roman Catholic chapel in 1836, improved the Hurst Reservoir in 1837, and built the Town Hall, whose foundation stone was laid on Coronation Day 1838.
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and ...
came to Dinting in 1842, but it was the 13th Duke of Norfolk who built the spur line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
to Howard Town, so that coal could be brought from the collieries at Dukinfield. Glossop railway station
Glossop railway station serves the Peak District town of Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Glossop is the third busiest railway station in the county of Derbyshire after Derby and Chesterfield.
The station is east of Manchester Piccadilly, an ...
bears the lion, the symbol of the Norfolks.[ Many of the street- and placenames in Glossop derive from the names and titles of the Dukes of Norfolk, such as Norfolk Square, and a cluster of residential streets off Norfolk Street that were named after Lord Henry Charles Fitzalan Howard, the 13th Duke of Norfolk, the first Catholic MP since the ]Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. (His second son was created 1st Baron Howard of Glossop
Baron Howard of Glossop, in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, since 1975 a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Norfolk. It was created in 1869 for the Liberal politician Lord Edward Howard, the second son of ...
and was ancestor of the post-1975 dukes.)
A two-storey Township Workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
was built between 1832 and 1834 on Bute Street (). Its administration was taken over by Glossop Poor Law Union in December 1837. The workhouse buildings included a 40-bed infirmary, piggeries and casual wards for vagrants. The workhouse later became Glossop Public Assistance Institution and from 1948 the N.H.S. Shire Hill Hospital
Shire Hill Hospital was a healthcare facility in Bute Street, Glossop, Derbyshire, England. It was managed by Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The facility was opened as the Glossop Union Workhouse in 1837. An in ...
.
The mill owners, Catholics, Anglican, Methodist and Unitarian, built reading rooms and chapels. They worked together and worshipped together with their workers. The Woods, Sidebottoms and Shepleys were Anglicans and hence Tory, and they dominated every vestry, which was the only form of local government before 1866. They built four churches St James's, Whitfield in 1846, St Andrew's, Hadfield in 1874, Holy Trinity, Dinting in 1875 and St Luke's, Glossop. Francis Sumner and the Ellisons and Norfolks were Catholic and built St Charles's, Hadfield and St Mary's, Glossop. The smaller mill owners were Dissenters and congregated at Littlemoor Independent Chapel built in Hadfield in 1811, but they later built a further eleven chapels.[
For decades there was rivalry between Edward Partington, his friend Herbert Rhodes, and the Woods and Sidebottoms. The Woods built the public baths and laid out the park. Partington built the library. Partington built the cricket pavilion, so Samuel Hill-Wood sponsored the football club that for one season, 1889–1890, played in League Division One. He and his descendants went on to be chairmen of the London club, Arsenal. He was MP for High Peak from 1910 to 1929. Edward's son, ]Oswald Oswald may refer to:
People
*Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name
*Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name
Fictional characters
*Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbur ...
, was MP for High Peak from 1900 to 1910. Ann Kershaw Woods devoted herself to Anglican education and had schools built.[
]
Cotton famine and industrial relations
In 1851, 38% of the men and 27% of the women were employed in cotton; the only alternative employment was agriculture, building, or labouring on the railway. Consequently, the town was vulnerable to interruptions in the supply of cotton or the export trade. The American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
caused the cotton famine
The Lancashire Cotton Famine, also known as the Cotton Famine or the Cotton Panic (1861–65), was a depression in the textile industry of North West England, brought about by overproduction in a time of contracting world markets. It coincided wi ...
of 1861–64. The mill owners met together and put in place a relief programme through which they supplied food, clogs and coal to their employees. Howard increased the workforce on his estate, and public works (such as improving the domestic water supply) were undertaken. They provided unsecured loans to the workers until the cotton returned. The relationship between the owners and men was one of paternal benevolence. They lived in the same community and worshipped in the same churches. The mill owners were the local aldermen, the church elders and led the sports teams. In the Luddite
The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...
and Chartist times and the period following Peterloo
The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliamen ...
, Glossop was virtually unaffected, despite its proximity to Hyde, a radical hotbed. In the '4s 2d or swing strike' it was incomers from Ashton who stopped the Glossop mills. The rivalry in Glossop was not based on class but on religious groups.[
]
Modern (20th and 21st centuries)
The decline of cotton spinning has resulted in the closure of many of the town's mills. The Howard family sold the Glossop Estate in 1925 and donated large areas to the people of Glossop. Manor Park was the location of the family's manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
and gardens. The recession of 1929 hit Glossop very hard: in 1929 the unemployment rate was 14%, and in 1931 it was 55%. In Hadfield it reached 67%. National initiatives to improve housing and employment conditions largely failed, and mills fell empty and decayed. Unemployment remained at 36% in 1938. The Second World War
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 opposi ...
changed this: military stores, metals, machine tools, munitions, rubber and essential industries moved into the empty factories and left Glossop with a more diverse range of industries.
In spite of the Barlow Report[Royal Commission on the Distribution of the Industrial Population (the Barlow Commission),1943] and government intervention, no significant employer moved into Glossop.
Gamesley
Gamesley is a residential area within the Borough of High Peak
in Derbyshire, England, west of Glossop and close to the River Etherow which forms the boundary with Tameside in Greater Manchester. Gamesley is a ward of the High Peak Borough ...
underwent considerable change in the 1960s, when a large council estate
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
was built, mainly to house people from Manchester. These housing areas, called 'Overspill estate
An overspill estate is a housing estate planned and built for the housing of excess population in urban areas, both from the natural increase of population and often in order to rehouse people from decaying inner city areas, usually as part of t ...
s', were also built in other towns surrounding Manchester.
In 2006, High Peak Borough Council granted planning permission for a local foam factory to store up to 120 tonnes of toluene diisocyanate
Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is an organic compound with the formula CH3C6H3(NCO)2. Two of the six possible isomers are commercially important: 2,4-TDI (CAS: 584-84-9) and 2,6-TDI (CAS: 91-08-7). 2,4-TDI is produced in the pure state, but TDI is oft ...
. Further permissions granted in 2010 increased the amount to 280 tonnes. As a result of this, a Detailed Emergency Planning Zone and Extended Area of Risk were created, which encompasses Dinting, Hadfield and Gamesley.
Plans
Glossop has been included as pilot in the Liveability scheme, and has drawn up the Glossop Vision masterplan for the improvement and gentrification of the town. This is being partially funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
. It aims to open up access to the Glossop Brook, to coordinate developments in Glossop town centre, to enhance the built environment and to link the town to its wider setting. As such, the mills have become a retail development with housing, trees are to be planted along the A57 and the market square has been pedestrianised.
Governance
In the local government reorganisation of 1974 the Borough of Glossop was abolished, and since then the two levels of local government are Derbyshire County Council, based in Matlock, and High Peak Borough Council then based in Chapel-en-le-Frith.
Glossop was included in the "South East Lancashire Special Review Area" under the Local Government Act 1958
The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.55) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissio ...
, and the Redcliffe-Maud Report
The Redcliffe-Maud Report (Cmnd. 4040) was published in 1969 by the '' Royal Commission on Local Government in England'', under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud. Although the commission's proposals were broadly accepted by the Labour gove ...
of 1969 recommended its inclusion in a South East Lancashire–North East Cheshire metropolitan area. Glossop was not ultimately included in the Greater Manchester area established by the Local Government Act 1972, with the residents voting to remain in Derbyshire in 1973.[Sharpe, N. 2005. ''Glossop Remembered''. Landmark Publishing: London.] The county council, originally based in Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
, moved to Matlock in the late 1950s to facilitate easier travelling to the county hall from the northern extremities such as Glossop and the High Peak.
For the county council, Glossop is split between the divisions of Glossop and Charlesworth (electing two councillors), and Etherow (electing one councillor). Etherow division contains Hadfield North, Hadfield South, Gamesley and the large and sparsely populated Tintwistle ward, which was formerly in Cheshire. These boundaries were set in 2013.
At the district level, that is High Peak Borough Council, Glossop comprises these wards: Dinting, Gamesley, Hadfield North, Hadfield South, Old Glossop, Padfield, Howard Town, Simmondley and Whitfield. St John's represents the rural area that was formerly Glossopdale RDC and lies within the National Park. These were the wards used in the 2001 Census.
Glossop itself does not have a parish council, but Tintwistle and St John's are parished.
The Member of Parliament for the High Peak constituency since 2019 has been Robert Largan
Robert Largan (born 29 May 1987) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for High Peak at the 2019 general election. He has been serving as Assistant Government Whip since October 2022.
E ...
MP, representing the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Party. His majority in the 2019 general election was 590 over the Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
candidate Ruth George.
Historic Glossop
Historically, the ancient parish of Glossop consisted of the ten townships of the manor: Glossop, Hadfield, Padfield, Dinting, Simmondley, Whitfield, Chunal, Charlesworth, Chisworth, Ludworth and nine more: Mellor, Thornsett, Rowarth
Rowarth is a hamlet about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of New Mills in the High Peak borough of Derbyshire, England. It is on the edge of the Peak District, in the hills between New Mills and Marple Bridge. It is within the parish boundary of New ...
, Whittle ( Whitle), Beard
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards.
Throughout the course of history, societal at ...
, Ollersett
Ollersett is an area of New Mills, Derbyshire, England, about northeast of the town centre, between St. George's Road and High Hill Road. It is about long with about 100 houses, mostly built in the late 1940s.
Ollersett Field
Ollersett Field i ...
, Hayfield, Little Hayfield, Phoside, Kinder, Bugsworth
Buxworth is a village in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. The area, which was once an important centre for the limestone industry, became the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal. Its pub, the Navigation Inn, was once owned by '' Coronation St ...
, Brownside and Chinley
Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historical ...
. Within the parish were the chapelries of Hayfield and Mellor. The ancient parish was in the Hundred of High Peak; it was about in length and wide, with an area of . Beard, Ollerset, Thornsett, Rowarth and Whitle later formed the town of New Mills
New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut t ...
, while Hayfield, Little Hayfield, Phoside and Kinder joined the parish of Hayfield. The chapelry of Mellor included Mellor, Chisworth, Ludworth, Whittle and part of Thornsett.
The Manor of Glossop was made up of the territory that includes Hadfield, Padfield
Padfield is a small village near Hadfield in High Peak, Derbyshire, England. The village is on the west side of the Peak District National Park, and the nearest town is Glossop, where many local amenities and services are based. It is in a c ...
, Dinting
Dinting is a district of Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The district falls within the Simmondley ward of the High Peak Council. It is a small village and has no shops, other than a fish and chip takeaway; the nearest are in neighbouring Glossop ...
, Simmondley, Whitfield, Chunal, Charlesworth, Chisworth
Chisworth is a hamlet near Glossop, Derbyshire, England. It is south-west of Glossop town centre, on the south side of the Etherow valley. The parish of Chisworth was formed in 1896, out of the parish of Chisworth and Ludworth. In 1901, it had a ...
, Ludworth and the village of Glossop, now called Old Glossop
Old Glossop is a parish village and the original part of the town of Glossop in the High Peak area of Derbyshire, England, about 15 miles east of Manchester and 23 miles west of Sheffield. The village is on the very edge of the Peak District ...
.[Book of Glossop by Hanmer & Winterbottom (Barracuda Books 1991, )] It had an area of , of which more than were classed as moorland.
The Municipal Borough of Glossop (1866–1974) contained the land within two miles of the town hall in Howard Town and a sliver to the north bounded by the River Etherow, an area of . It is cited as an example of a 'millocracy' as two-thirds of the elected councillors were mill owners. The remaining parishes of Charlesworth, Chisworth and Ludworth formed Glossopdale Rural District, which remained in existence until 1934 when the parishes were split, Ludworth going into Marple RDC, Chisworth and the greater part of Charlesworth joining Chapel en le Frith RDC and the smaller part——joining Glossop.
The present community of Glossop is centred on Howardtown.[Map showing Howard Town ward in its 2001 context]
. Retrieved 22 June 2008 It is served by the Glossopdale Area Forum[High Peak District Council Area forums.]
Retrieved 21 June 2008 and the Glossop Town Partnership.
Retrieved 21 June 2008
The previous hamlet of Glossop is now known as Old Glossop.
Geography
Glossop is at the north-western extreme of England's East Midlands region, north-west of London, east of the city of 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 ...
, west of the city of 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 ...
and north of Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
. It nestles in the foothills of the Pennines, with Bleaklow
Bleaklow is a high, largely peat-covered, gritstone moorland in the Derbyshire High Peak near the town of Glossop. It is north of Kinder Scout, across the Snake Pass ( A57), and south of the A628 Woodhead Pass. Much of it is nearly 2, ...
to the north-east and Kinder Scout
Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and national nature reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and the East Midlands; ...
to the south. It lies on Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow
The River Etherow is a river in northern England, and a tributary of the River Goyt. Although now passing through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, it historically formed the ancient county boundary between Cheshire and Derb ...
, in the area of peat moorland commonly known as 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, ...
. The moors, which rise to over 1,960 ft, are cut by many deep V-shaped valleys known as cloughs, each formed by a stream known as a brook. Shelf Brook passes through Old Glossop where it joins Hurst Brook to form Glossop Brook, which passes westward through Milltown, Howard Town and Dinting to the River Etherow, which in turn runs south to join the River Goyt
The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England.
Etymology
The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has bee ...
at Marple Bridge
Marple Bridge is a district of Marple in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England; it is sited on the River Goyt, which runs through the centre of the village.
Historically part of the civil parish of Glossop, Derbysh ...
. Two other notable brooks are Padfield Brook and Gnat Hole Brook.
Shelf Brook leads from Shelf Moor on Bleaklow down Doctor's Gate through Old Glossop to Glossop Brook. The valley was used by the Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
for a road, and currently contains a bridleway. The north slope of Holden Clough and Hurst Brook is used by the A57 road
The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass (between the high moorlands of Bleaklow ...
known as the Snake Pass
Snake Pass is a hill pass in the Derbyshire section of the Peak District, crossing the Pennines between Glossop and the Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton. The road was engineered by Thomas Telford and opened in 1821. The pass carries the A57 ...
. The Snake Pass crosses the Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...
near Doctor's Gate Culvert (1,680 ft above sea level) before descending to the east to Ladybower Reservoir
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 ...
along the northern side of the River Ashop valley. Here a road leads east over Hallam Moor into 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 ...
, and south along the River Derwent into 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 ...
and Matlock. To the north of Glossop is Tintwistle; the River Etherow
The River Etherow is a river in northern England, and a tributary of the River Goyt. Although now passing through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, it historically formed the ancient county boundary between Cheshire and Derb ...
is the boundary. Today, the Longdendale valley forms a chain of reservoirs that provide drinking water for Manchester. At the head of the valley is Woodhead, where the road from Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
joins the road to Sheffield, and a three-mile railway tunnel brought the railway from Penistone
Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...
.
Geology
Directly beneath Glossop lie areas of Carboniferous Millstone Grit, shales and sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. Glossop is on the edge of the Peak District Dome, at the southern edge of the Pennine anticline. The Variscan uplift has caused much faulting and Glossopdale was the product of glacial action in the last glaciation period that exploited the weakened rocks. The steep-sided valleys of the cloughs cause significant erosion and deposition. The layers of sandstone, mudstones and shale in the bedrock act as an aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...
to feed the springs. The valley bottoms have a thin deposit of boulder clay
Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...
. The brooks are fed by the peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
y soils of the moors thus are acid (pH5.5–7.0); this means the instream wildlife is dependent on food sources from outside the channel.
Climate
Glossop experiences a temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
maritime climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
, like much of the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. Glossop has a history of flash flooding, the most recent being in 2002 when High Street West was flooded to a depth of .
Demography
Glossop demographics were recorded as the following:
Economy
Glossop was a product of the wealth of the cotton industry. Glossop's economy was linked closely with a spinning and weaving tradition that had evolved from developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron found ...
. Before the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Glossop had the headquarters of an international paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
empire, the largest calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
printworks in the world, a large bleach works and six spinning weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
combines with over 600,000 spindles and 12,000 looms and two niche manufacturers: grindstone
A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...
s and industrial belts. In the 1920s, these firms were refloated on the easily available share capital—thus were victims of the Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
. Their product lines were vulnerable to the new economic conditions.
The main street contains a variety of shops, restaurants and food outlets.
Glossop is located close to the border of the Peak National Park
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where mo ...
, and to the east are the open moorlands 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, ...
. The local economy benefits from the many thousands of tourists who visit the park each year and who use Glossop as the ''Gateway to the Peak''.
Landmarks
;Wren Nest Mill
Wren Nest Mill on High Street West was built c. 1800–10, with further extensions in 1815 and 1818, the latter incorporating an octagonal tower.[Pevsner, Nikolaus. 1986. ''The Buildings of England:Derbyshire''. pp. 319–320. Harmondsworth, Middx. Penguin. . Page 219.] The present building is a small part of the original complex, which in its heyday employed 1,400 workers operating 123,000 spindles and 2,541 looms. It ceased trading in 1955. A major fire in 1996 destroyed half the mill. The remaining half has been redeveloped into flats and retail units.
;Wood's Mill, Howardtown Mills, Milltown Mills
From a group of small mills at Bridge End, John Wood built a complex of mills. Bridge End Mill was originally built in 1782 as a fulling mill. Today one mill building is being restored, and the Milltown mills lie idle.
;Town hall
Glossop Town Hall
Glossop Town Hall, Market Hall, and Municipal Buildings is a complex in the centre of Glossop, Derbyshire, providing offices for High Peak Borough Council, a retail arcade, and covered market. The Town Hall was constructed in 1838 and signifi ...
and Market Hall was designed in Italianate style by Sheffield architects Weightman and Hadfield. The foundation stone was laid on 28 June 1838, the Coronation Day of Queen Victoria. The buildings were opened on 10 July 1845. Cost of construction exceeded £8,500. The facilities included a lock-up with four cells heated by hot water.
;Dinting Viaduct
The viaduct was built in 1845, and later reinforced with additional piers.[ An accident occurred in 1855, when an MS&LR passenger train was stopped by signalling on the viaduct at night. Two men and a woman mistook the parapet of the viaduct for the station platform at Hadfield, alighted from the train and fell 75 feet to their deaths.
;Parish Church of All Saints
The present-day (2008) fabric of the parish church of All Saints is mostly of the 20th century; very little remains of the previous churches on this site.
The first mention of a church in Glossop is in the charter of 1157 conferring the manor of Glossop on ]Basingwerk Abbey
Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the Englis ...
. Although the dedication of the church to All Saints may indicate an Anglo-Saxon origin, no trace of such a church has been found. The first recorded vicar is William, of 1252. At this time the church was probably aisleless. It was altered in the 15th century when the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
was rebuilt with arcades, aisles
Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...
and a still-extant (2008) arch at the east end of the north aisle. In 1554 a new and taller tower with a broach spire was built 3 feet west of the old tower, incorporating the east wall of the previous tower. The nave was completely rebuilt in 1831, with removal and replacement of much of the old fabric including the 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 ...
of the aisle windows. The work was carried out by the firm of E. W. Drury of Sheffield, the cost far exceeding the initial estimate of £700. When the nave was rebuilt in 1914 it was discovered that the arch leading to the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
had been partly made up of plaster, the wall supported by this arch had not been bonded into the existing chancel walls, and the "oak" roof bosses were also plaster. Between the pillars of the nave sleeper wall
A sleeper wall may refer to the following types of walls:
*sleeper wall is a short wall used to support floor joists, beam and block or hollowcore slabs at ground floor. It is constructed in this fashion when a suspended floor(Also called suspen ...
s had been built to a higher level than the pillar bases. These walls appear to have been needed to counteract the effects on the church structure of a combination of excess drainage from the nearby hillside and the numerous burials inside the church. The pillars of the new nave of 1914 were superimposed on the bases of the old pillars, and the floor built up to cover the sleeper walls.
The tower and chancel were demolished and rebuilt in 1853–55, the new tower also having a broach spire. The chancel was again rebuilt in 1923, completing the architect C. M. Hadfield's plan of 1914. The present church has a nave of 5 bays, 25 yards long by 16 yards wide, with north and south aisles, and a chancel of 14 yards by 7 yards with a north aisle dedicated as St Catherine's Chapel.
;Open spaces
Two public open spaces in Glossop have been given the Green Flag Award
The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...
: Manor Park close to the town centre, which has views of the surrounding countryside, and Howard Park, which was described by the Award organisation as "a good example of visionary layout from the Victorian era retaining many original features". Glossop's parkrun takes place in Manor Park every Saturday at 9am. Harehills Park, with its riverside footpath and mature trees, has been identified by Glossop Vision as a strategic open space, and was donated by the 2nd Lord Howard of Glossop as a First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
memorial.
File:Manor Park glossop 1.jpg, Manor Park's rose garden
File:Glossop4797.JPG, Notice board at the North Road entrance to Howard Park
File:Howardpark.JPG, Howard Park duck pond in winter
File:Glossop4808.JPG, Norfolk Square, opposite the Town Hall
Transport
Public transport in Glossop is co-ordinated by Derbyshire County Council, with the exception of rail travel and some bus services being provided by Transport for Greater Manchester
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities ...
(TfGM).
Railway
Glossop railway station
Glossop railway station serves the Peak District town of Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Glossop is the third busiest railway station in the county of Derbyshire after Derby and Chesterfield.
The station is east of Manchester Piccadilly, an ...
is on the Glossop line
The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains.
The line is the surviving section west of the ...
between Manchester Piccadilly and Hadfield. There are generally half-hourly train services, increasing to every 20 minutes during rush hour, along this remaining stub of the former Woodhead Line.
A user group, the ''Friends of Glossop Station'', are working to make the station more attractive and to encourage greater use of public transport. The trains operated on the line are three-car Class 323
The British Rail Class 323 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 ...
electric multiple units, built between 1992 and 1996 by Hunslet Transportation Projects.
Buses
There are regular bus services running to towns in Tameside
The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after the River Tame, which flows through the borough, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, ...
, 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.[New Mills
New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut t ...]
, Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge () is a town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is situated on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Buxton, north-east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield. It had a population ...
, the Hope Valley, 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 ...
and infrequent services to Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly cons ...
.
Bus services in Glossop are operated predominantly by High Peak and by , with the Sheffield service operated by Hulleys of Baslow
Hulleys of Baslow is a bus company based in Baslow, Derbyshire, England.
History
The origins of Hulleys can be traced back to 1914 when Henry Hulley purchased a Ford Model T taxi. In 1921 a bus was purchased to operate a service from Bakewe ...
.
Roads
The main road through Glossop is the A57. To the west, this road (with the parallel M67 motorway
The M67 is a urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England, which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton and Hyde before ending near Mottram. The road was originally conceived as the first section of a trans- Pennine motorwa ...
) leads 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 ...
, while 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 ...
and the Hope Valley lie to the east, via the Snake Pass
Snake Pass is a hill pass in the Derbyshire section of the Peak District, crossing the Pennines between Glossop and the Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton. The road was engineered by Thomas Telford and opened in 1821. The pass carries the A57 ...
. The B6105 leads north then east, along the Woodhead Pass (A628) and eventually to the South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
town of Barnsley and the M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...
. 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 ...
, 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.[Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...]
lie to the south, along the A624 and A6.
Leisure
The Peak District Boundary Walk
The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District (a ...
runs along the eastern side of town through Charlestown and Old Glossop and the Pennine Bridleway
The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England.
It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria ...
passes the western side of town around Gamesley and Hadfield.
Schools and further education
Sport
Glossop is the smallest town in England to have had a team in the top tier of the English football league system. Glossop North End were members of the Football League between 1898 and 1915; around the turn of the 20th century, they played in Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
. The team now plays in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division.
The town also has a number of sports clubs, including tennis, golf, rugby union, cricket, bowls, running, cycling and sailing at Torside reservoir
Torside Reservoir is the largest man-made lake in Longdendale in north Derbyshire. It was constructed by John Frederick Bateman between April 1849 and July 1864 as part of the Longdendale chain to supply water from the River Etherow to the urban ...
.
Culture
Performing arts
Partington Theatre is an amateur theatre with a 120-seat venue in the centre of the town. It runs six plays each season and was established in 1954. The building was started in 1914 and completed in 1917. Glossop Operatic and Dramatic Society is an amateur musical/drama society established in 1976, and Glossop & District Choral Society is a community choir founded in 1949 by Margaret Lomas.
Community events
Glossop Victorian Weekend was the biggest weekend event in Glossop and was featured on the BBC's '' Songs of Praise''. The weekend included many activities, including a Grand Victorian Costume Competition and a Shop Window Competition. The Victorian Weekend was discontinued in 2009 due to lack of local support. Running parallel with the Victorian Weekend was Glossop Beer Festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
, run by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and featuring over 30 beers and a barbecue in Glossop's Labour Club.
Glossop has a range of other cultural activities including Peak Film Society, a film club. Many other activities, including Glossop Folk Club take place at Glossop Labour Club. Also at Glossop Labour Club is the monthly Glossop Record Club, which holds vinyl listening sessions on the second Thursday of each month.
Glossop has a thriving indoor and outdoor market where a wide selection of goods can be purchased. The indoor market is open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while the outdoor market is open every Friday and Saturday. The Outdoor Market is joined by the Local Produce Market on the 2nd Saturday of every month throughout the year.
The Crown Inn public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
at 142 Victoria Street, built in the 1840s, is on the Campaign for Real Ale's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.
Emergency service provision
Calls for service in the rural areas usually increase during the summer as the population is boosted by approximately twenty million visitors each year to the Peak District and its surrounds. Winter weather on the high ground around Glossop and Kinder Scout can also cause problems for traffic and residents.
Hospitals
State healthcare is provided for in Glossop and District by the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board. Despite this, patients from the area use Tameside General Hospital
Tameside General Hospital is an acute general hospital situated in Ashton-under-Lyne managed by Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust. It serves the surrounding area of Tameside in Greater Manchester, and the town of Glossop ...
located in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
, Greater Manchester because there are no district general hospitals (hospitals with an Accident and Emergency
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pa ...
Department) within the borough of High Peak. The nearest hospital with A&E facilities within the county is located at 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 ...
, some 30 miles from the town.
Ambulance & Paramedics
The North West Ambulance Service, and occasionally the East Midlands Ambulance Service
The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) provides emergency medical services, urgent care and patient transport services for the 4.8million people within the East Midlands region of the UK - covering Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire (exc ...
, provides emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
for the town from its Chapel Street Ambulance Station.
Police & Crime
When Glossop was granted Municipal Borough Status in 1867, the Watch Committee
In England and Wales, watch committees were the local government bodies which oversaw policing from 1835 until, in some areas, 1968.
Establishment
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 required each borough to establish a "watch committee" and to ...
elected to implement its own police force. Glossop Police remained independent until 1947 when they amalgamated with the Derbyshire Constabulary. The police station on Ellison Street is staffed by statutory police officers from B Division of Derbyshire Constabulary. It has a custody suite, five cells and an incident room. There are also a team of volunteer special constables and six police community support officers.
Fire Service
General fire and rescue
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
cover is provided by the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Derbyshire, England.
History
The Fire Services Act 1947 created two brigades for Derbyshire the County Borough of Derby Fire Brigade and the Derby ...
. Glossop fire station is based in the Charlestown area, just off the A624 road.
Mountain Rescue
Specialised search and rescue services are provided by the volunteer Glossop Mountain Rescue Team, part of the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation. Their remit is to 'save lives in the mountains and moorlands'.
Twin town
* Bad Vilbel (Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
)
Bad Vilbel is a spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...
in the Wetteraukreis
The Wetteraukreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis and Lahn-Dill-Kreis.
History
The distri ...
district of Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, north-east of Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
.
In 1985 the Glossop–Bad Vilbel Twinning Association was established. Its aims are:To promote and foster friendship and understanding between the people of Glossop and district and those of Bad Vilbel and district in Germany.
To encourage visits by individuals and groups to and from the linked towns, particularly by children and young people, and the development of personal contacts, and by doing so to broaden the mutual understanding of the cultural, recreational, educational and commercial activities of the linked towns.
Source: The Glossop-Bad Vilbel Twinning Association
In 1987 formal twinning ceremonies were held in both towns, with a tree being planted in Norfolk Square. The Twinning Association arranges for visitors to stay with families.[Glossop/Bad Vilbel Twinning Association]
The two signatories of the charter were Catherine Holtom, the Mayor of High Peak, and Gunther Biwer, Bürgermeister of Bad Vilbel.
Literature and the media
Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...
wrote about Glossop in a letter to a Miss Hamilton in 1909: "Do you know the filthy village of Glossop? It is inhabited entirely by savages. I tried every inn in the place and found each inn worse than the last. It stinks for miles. Rather than sleep in such a den I started walking back to Manchester with a huge bag...."
Glossop is mentioned in the satirical book ''England, Their England
''England, Their England'' (1933) is an affectionately satirical comic novel of 1920s English urban and rural society by the Scottish writer A. G. Macdonell. It is particularly famed for its portrayal of village cricket.
Social satire
One of a ...
'' by A. G. Macdonell. The town's fictional newspaper, the ''Glossop Evening Mail'', is described as the lowest rung in the journalistic profession.
In 2013, Old Glossop
Old Glossop is a parish village and the original part of the town of Glossop in the High Peak area of Derbyshire, England, about 15 miles east of Manchester and 23 miles west of Sheffield. The village is on the very edge of the Peak District ...
was used for filming in the 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. ...
...
. The Parish Church of All Saints and the former Duke of Norfolk school building appeared in the series.
Local media includes the ''Glossop Advertiser'' newspaper owned by the ''Manchester Evening News'', the ''Glossop Chronicle'', the ''Buxton Advertiser'', the ''Glossop Gazette'', Glossop Community Radio and
.
(born 1953) – English contemporary painter and printmaker best known for her stylised paintings of women or couples, often featuring animals (particularly tigers).
*
(c. 1555 – 24 July 1588) – English priest, martyred in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
*
, The Lord Heywood of Whitehall (31 December 1961 – 4 November 2018) – served as
. His grandfather and father owned Lord's Café at 16 High Street West from 1901 to 1963.
*
(1952–2022) – British novelist, short story writer and critic.
, born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn (15 November 1925 – 2 March 2008) – English strip-club owner, publisher of pornography and property developer, widely dubbed the "King of Soho". The outbreak of World War II prompted relocation to Glossop where he was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers.
*
(16 January 1938 – 12 October 2009) – British logician and mathematician. In set theory, a Rowbottom Cardinal is named after him.
*
(b. 16 August 1962) – co-creator and producer, BBC ''
(26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) – Austrian philosopher, stayed at the Grouse Inn in Glossop in 1908 while studying and working at
.