The Hope Valley is a
rural area centred on the village of
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
,
Derbyshire, in the
Peak District in the northern
Midlands of England
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
.
The name also applies to the
post town that includes the surrounding villages.
Valley
Although the Hope Valley appears to be a single valley, the name of the river changes several times. The head of the valley lies below
Mam Tor at
Castleton, widely regarded as the capital of the valley. From here, the
Peakshole Water
Peakshole Water is a stream in the Derbyshire Peak District named after its source, Peak Cavern. It flows through the village of Castleton to join the River Noe in nearby Hope. Despite its name, much of its flow actually emerges from the Russet ...
flows to Hope, where it enters the lower reaches of the
River Noe, which has flowed from
Edale. The Noe then flows to Shatton near
Bamford, before entering the
River Derwent, which has travelled about ten miles from
Bleaklow. The valley is now technically the Derwent Valley, but the term "Hope Valley" is still used as the Derwent flows through
Hathersage and
Grindleford. Other streams in the area include the
Burbage Brook
Burbage Brook is an upper tributary stream of the River Derwent in the Peak District of England.
Toponymy
The origin of the name is thought to derive from the Germanic ''baki'' for creek.
Course
White Path Moss
The source of the brook i ...
, which runs down from Burbage Valley through
Padley Gorge and into the River Derwent near
Grindleford station.
The area is a popular tourist destination, particularly as the
Hope Valley Line railway from
Sheffield to
Manchester runs through it, from the western end of the
Totley Tunnel near Grindleford to the eastern end of the
Cowburn Tunnel near Edale.
In the centre of the valley is a long-established cement factory, the UK's biggest, run by
Hope Construction Materials.
It is somewhat infamous locally because it is a prominent industrial operation in the middle of a National Park and is very visible from many locations. However, the factory provides valuable local employment outside the tourism sector.
The
Hope Valley College is the only secondary school in the Hope Valley.
Castleton Church of England Primary School (one of several primary schools in the valley) and the surrounding area was featured in
Channel 4's new (in October 2017)
ident which shows images of the valley from Mam Tor.
History
There is evidence that Hope has been extremely significant in the region throughout its long history. The village is mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as having both a priest and a church, the only place in north Derbyshire to have such status at the time. St. Peter's Church, opposite the Old Hall public house, dates from around the 13th century.
The parish of Hope covered two thirds of the Royal Hunting Forest of north Derbyshire and was one of the largest parishes in the country. From earlier times there are traces of a Roman fort at
Brough, just to the east of the village. Its Roman name
Navio was later replaced with the Old English word for fort, Brough. Many ancient relics from the site can be seen in
Buxton Museum
__NOTOC__
Buxton Museum and Art Gallery focuses its collection on history, geology and archaeology primarily from the Peak District and Derbyshire.
The museum is located at Terrace Road, Buxton, England. The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday al ...
. It is thought that the fort was probably built to protect
Roman lead-mining interests in the Peak District.
The village is built on the
A6187 Sheffield to Castleton road, near the junction of the B6049 that runs northward from
Tideswell to Edale. This minor road closely follows the route of the old Portway, which was an ancient trading route used by Jaggers, a local term for men driving
packhorse
A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
s carrying salt and other goods from
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. Names such as Saltergate Lane and Jaggers Lane probably originate from this period.
Post town
The Hope Valley post town lies in the postal area of
Sheffield. It encompasses the S32 and S33 postal districts, and includes the following villages:
*
Bamford
*
Bradwell
*
Brough
*
Calver
*
Castleton
*
Edale
*
Eyam
*
Grindleford
*
Hathersage
*
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
*
Stoney Middleton
References
{{Coord, 53.34727, -1.74550, display=title, format=dms
Valleys of Derbyshire
Valleys of the Peak District