Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the

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 ...

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, on the

River Bradford The River Bradford is a river in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. Its source is on Gratton Moor and after passing below Youlgreave it joins the River Lathkill at Alport. Less than in length, its waters are very clear due to the ...

south of

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, ...

. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour. The population in 1991 was 1,256; it is one of the largest villages in the Peak District National Park. The village has three public houses (the George Hotel, Farmyard Inn and Bull's Head Hotel), and a British Legion club.

Geography

The village is on the B5056 and the parish has an area of . Youlgrave is at an altitude of located on the southwestern edge of a

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

plateau. It stands on the hillside above the confluence of

Lathkill Dale Lathkill Dale is the valley of the River Lathkill near Bakewell, Derbyshire in the Peak District of England. The river emerges into the dale from springs below Lathkill Head Cave (or, in wet conditions, from the cave itself). Towards the head ...

and

Bradford Dale The River Bradford is a river in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. Its source is on Gratton Moor and after passing below Youlgreave it joins the River Lathkill at Alport. Less than in length, its waters are very clear due to the ...

. To the east, the geology is shale-like rather than

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The area is home to many mineral veins such as

fluorspar Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs scal ...

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

(lead ore) and

calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication used to treat mild itchiness. This includes from sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, and other mild skin conditions. It may also help dry out skin irritation. It is applied ...

(zinc ore). Three long-distance paths, the Alternative Pennine Way, the

Limestone Way The Limestone Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in Derbyshire, England. It runs for through the White Peak of the Peak District National Park, from Castleton south to Rocester over the county boundary into Staffordshire. The trail ...

and the White Peak Way, pass through the village, swelling the number of walkers.

History

Youlgreave was mentioned 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 manusc ...

as belonging to

Henry de Ferrers Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England. Origins He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...

Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including

Doveridge Doveridge is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, near the border with Staffordshire and about east of Uttoxeter. Its name may come from its having a bridge over the river Dove (i.e. Dove(B)ridge), a tributary of the River ...

Breaston Breaston ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the Erewash district, in the south-east of Derbyshire and lies approximately east of the city of Derby and west of the city of Nottingham. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2 ...

, Duffield and Cowley. and being worth sixteen shillings.

All Saints' Church, Youlgreave All Saints’ Church, Youlgreave is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Youlgreave, Derbyshire. History The church dates from the late 12th century, with 14th-, 15th- and 16th-century elements. It was restored between 186 ...

, has a 12th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

. There are also a number of historic buildings in the village, such as Old Hall Farm (1630), Thimble Hall and The Old Hall (c.1650). Most of the village's households get their water from Youlgreave Waterworks Limited, one of very few private water companies in Britain. It came about when Youlgreave Friendly Society for Women helped to set up a fund to pipe water from Mawstone springs into the village, terminating at the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

"Conduit Head" of 1829, in Fountain Square. In the 1930s, as new houses were built and older ones were modernised with bathrooms and toilets, water often became short. In 1932 the main underground pipe cracked after an explosion in Mawstone lead mine. Springs at Harthill were connected to the system in 1949 and other major improvements followed. Most homes in the village could be supplied with local water until there were just too many new houses to cope with. Extra supplies are purchased from larger water companies nowadays. In 1932 five of six miners working on a ventilation fan at Mawstone Mine were killed after an explosion filled the gallery with

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

. The sixth miner was able to reach the surface and raise the alarm. A rescue party of two workers and the mine manager descended into the mine, but were themselves killed by the fumes. Although Mawstone Mine was eventually closed, a water supply for the village is still obtained from this site.

Tourism

Because of its scenic location in the

, Youlgreave is a popular destination for hikers. The

passes through

, immediately south of the village.

Langley Park School for Boys Langley Park School for Boys is a boys secondary academy school in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, with a co-ed sixth form. On 31 March 2011, the school converted from a Foundation School to an academy and its current status is tha ...

owns a building in the village, which is used for

school trips A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. When done for students, as it happens in several school systems, it is also known as school trip in the UK, Australia, New Zealand an ...

, students taking part in various local sporting activities and a visit to nearby

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, ...

. A Guinness World Records Certificate names Thimble Hall in Youlgreave as 'the world's smallest detached house' at × and high. The property made national headlines in 1999 when sold at auction for £39,500. Each room is less than 8 feet square and there was a fixed ladder to the bedroom, a stone fireplace, exposed beams and exposed floorboards in the bedroom. It was home to a family of eight around a hundred years ago. It was last occupied as a dwelling in the early 1930s and is currently being converted into a craft gallery. It is a Grade II listed building. The Youlgreave Festival, founded in 2001, offers local artists and musicians a chance to showcase their talents.

Sport

Football

Youlgreave is home to Youlgrave United Football Club (est. 1886) who currently compete in the Hope Valley Amateur League. Their ground is based on Alport Lane Playing Fields, Youlgreave.

Cricket

Youlgrave Lodge Cricket Club and ground is based on Alport Lane Playing Fields, Youlgreave. The club have three senior teams: a 1st XI Saturday team that compete in the

Yorkshire and Derbyshire Cricket League The Yorkshire and Derbyshire Cricket League (YDCL) is a Saturday League, founded in 1969. The league administers cricket clubs that participate in its League, Cup and Trophy competitions and is in formal association with the cricket boards of ...

, a Sunday XI team that play friendly matches in and around the region, and a Midweek XI side.

Notable people

Bill Burgess Thomas William Burgess (15 June 1872 – 2 July 1950) was the second person to successfully complete a swim of the English Channel after Matthew Webb. He performed the feat on 6 September 1911, on his 16th attempt.Staff"The Channel Swim: Burges ...

(1872–1950) was the second person to successfully complete a swim of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

after

Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in l ...

. He performed the feat on 6 September 1911, his 16th attempt.Staff
"The Channel Swim: Burgess's Perseverance Rewarded After Fifteen failures"
, ''

Poverty Bay Herald ''The Gisborne Herald'' is the daily evening newspaper for Gisborne and environs. It is one of only four independently owned daily newspapers in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacifi ...

'', Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12581, 11 October 1911, Page 8. Accessed 5 August 2010. He was born in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

to Alfred Burgess, a blacksmith from Youlgreave, and Camilla Anna Peat, a cook from

Harthill, South Yorkshire Harthill is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham (part of South Yorkshire, England), on the border with Derbyshire. It lies between Killamarsh and Thorpe Salvin, and is located at approximately , at an elevation of around 110 met ...

.Bill Burgess
sports-reference.com He spent most of his life in France, and won a bronze medal with the French water polo team at the 1900 Olympics. In 1926 he coached

Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1906 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. ...

who became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

References

External links

Youlgrave.comThe Bugle
{{Authority control Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Derbyshire Dales Civil parishes in Derbyshire