Waterhouses is a village in the south of the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

in England. It is around 8 miles from

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

and Ashbourne, being nearly the halfway point between the two towns on the

A523 road The A523 is a road in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, and Staffordshire, England running from a junction with the A52 north west of Ashbourne to the A555 near Woodford, passing through Leek and Macclesfield and near Poynton. In ...

, which roughly follows the southern boundary of the

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

. Waterhouses is also a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, created in 1934 when the parishes of Calton, Cauldon,

Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

and part of Ilam were merged; previously the village of Waterhouses was on the boundary of Waterfall and Cauldon parishes. The hamlet of Winkhill is also in the parish. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,134.

Village

The village of Waterhouses is on the

River Hamps The River Hamps is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Manifold, which itself flows into the River Dove, Central England, River Dove near Ilam, Staffordshire, Ilam. For much of its length the river flows through th ...

, a tributary of the

River Manifold The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire). The Manifold rises at Flash Head just south ...

, and at the southern end of the track of the former

Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MVLR) was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, England that operated between 1904 and 1934. The line mainly carried milk from dairy, dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the Rail trans ...

(now the Manifold Way, a walk- and cycle-path), which ran to

Hulme End Hulme End () is a small hamlet in Staffordshire, England, in the Peak District National Park 10 miles north of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. A natural gateway to the Manifold Valley, the river crosses the road from Hartington (the nearest village) ...

. Nearby is the Cauldon

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

plant of Lafarge Cement, and a large Tarmac limestone quarry. Waterhouses was served by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

opened by the

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...

on 1 July 1905, on the line from

to Waterhouses. Waterhouses was also served by a railway station which was opened by the

on 27 June 1904, whilst being entirely operated by the North Staffordshire Railway. These two lines were next to each other. Due to the railway not being as successful as hoped and not utilised enough, it was later opened for tourists, but still failed to make a profit and was later closed and then turned into a cycle path. Waterhouses situated on the A523 Leek to Ashbourne Road, near to

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...

and on the edge of the dramatic scenery of the Peak Park, is a popular place for visitors to the area. It offers a doorway to the beauty of the

, uninterrupted by traffic. via many footpaths or the aforementioned Manifold Way Cycle path and is also a common respite stop for visitors to

. 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 through the village. Brown End Quarry, a nature reserve of

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust The Staffordshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a wildlife trust covering the county of Staffordshire, England. Organisation and activities It is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts; each is a registered charity and is a member of the Royal Society of Wildlife ...

, is nearby. The village is popular with tourists and has many great amenities available, The Crown – public house, a local

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, swimming baths, off licence / convenience store and the Riverside Cafe.

References

*Keys, R. & Porter, L. (1972) ''The Manifold Valley and its Light Railway'', Moorland Publishers {{Civil Parishes of Staffordshire Moorlands Villages in Staffordshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Civil parishes in Staffordshire Staffordshire Moorlands

Village

See also

References