Waterhouses is a village in the south of the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

in England. It is around 8 miles from

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

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

A523 road A5 and variants may refer to: Science and mathematics * A5 regulatory sequence in biochemistry * A5, the abbreviation for the androgen Androstenediol * Annexin A5, a human cellular protein * ATC code A05 ''Bile and liver therapy'', a subgroup o ...

, 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)-di ...

. 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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

Waterfall A waterfall is a 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 several wa ...

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 tributary of the River Manifold, which itself flows into the River Dove near Ilam. For much of its length the river flows through the Peak District National Park. Etymology The n ...

, 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 dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the system. It also p ...

(now the

Manifold Way The Manifold Way is a footpath and cycle way in Staffordshire, England. Some in length, it runs from Hulme End in the north to Waterhouses in the south, mostly through the Manifold Valley and the valley of its only tributary, the River Ham ...

, a walk- and cycle-path), which ran to

Hulme End Hulme End () is a small hamlet in Staffordshire, England. It is located in the Peak District National Park about 10 miles north of Ashbourne. A natural gateway to the Manifold valley, the settlement is located beside the river Manifold where ...

. 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 mix ...

plant of

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

Cement, and a large

Tarmac Tarmac may refer to: Engineered surfaces * Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902 * Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...

limestone quarry. Waterhouses was served by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

opened by the

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire. The company was based i ...

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 referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

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

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 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 Trusts. ...

, 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 letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

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

References

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

Village

See also

References