Rowsley () is a village on the

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. The population as at the 2011 census was 507. It is at the point where the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...

flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the Peak District National Park runs through the village west of the River Wye and immediately to the north of Chatsworth Road. 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 ...

goes through the village.

Overview

Notable features are the bridge over the River Derwent,

St Katherine's Church, Rowsley St Katherine's Church, Rowsley is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England in Rowsley, Derbyshire. History The foundation stone was laid on 29 May 1854 by John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland, who laid coins of every value, from a s ...

and the Grade-II*-listed Peacock hotel, originally built in 1652 as a manor house by John Stevenson, agent to Lady Manners, whose family crest bearing a peacock gives it its name. Both

Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

and

Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his animal art, paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures ...

are said to have stayed there. Nearby is

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...

, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It was the site of an extensive

motive power depot The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...

and

marshalling yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...

, the first being built by the

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton. In time it would become part of the Midland Railway's main line between ...

with a railway station designed by

Joseph Paxton Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

in 1849. This was replaced by a new station when the line was extended northwards in 1862. It was frequently used by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

when he visited Chatsworth House. The original station became a goods depot until 1968, when it was used as a contractor's yard. It then became the centrepiece of a shopping development known as Peak Village.

Railway stations

Rowsley South

Rowsley South is the current northern terminus of the preserved heritage railway

Peak Rail Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. The preserved railway line is over 3½ miles (5.6 km) in ...

, and is located about a quarter-mile south of the village itself. Running for a length of four miles between Rowsley and Matlock, it is projected that the heritage railway will run into Rowsley proper in the near future. In the long term, the A6 presents the greatest challenge to the organisation, as a new bridge is required to be built over it in order to reach the viaduct which crosses the River Derwent and thence the trackbed that runs through the Duke of Rutland's estate to

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

Rowsley North

Notable residents

Phillip Whitehead Phillip Whitehead (30 May 1937 – 31 December 2005) was a British Labour politician, television producer and writer. Early life Born in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, he was adopted by a local family in Rowsley, and attended Lady Manners School ...

, MP, MEP, author and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning television producer, was brought up here.Philip Whitehead's obituary in ''The Times''
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References

External links

"Picture the Past" Rowsley station building in 1987
{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Derbyshire Dales