Alsop en le Dale is a village in

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 about north of Ashbourne close to 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 C ...

border, and a mile from

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded ...

, a popular tourist location within the

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

national park. It is within the

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 authorit ...

of Eaton and Alsop.

Toponymy

The derivation of “Alsop en le Dale” is the product of a two-stage process: “Alsop” originates from “Ælli’s little valley” (

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''hop''), whilst ''en le Dale'' is from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

for “in the” and the

''dœl'' (valley).

History

Comprising a few cottages and scattered farms, the village 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 ...

under Derbyshire in the lands belonging to the king. The book which was written in 1086 said: After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

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 ...

, one of William the Conqueror's generals was granted land in Derbyshire. He in turn offered the township of Alsop-le-Dale to one of his officers Gamellus who became known as Gamellus de Alsop. The Alsop family owned the estate of Alsop-en-le-Dale from the 12th century to the late 17th century, when Anthony Alsop's creditors forced the sale of the estate to meet his debts, some of which was passed to Sir Phillip Gell. During the 18th century the Allsopps of Derby and Worcester were proprietors of

Samuel Allsopp & Sons Samuel Allsopp & Sons was one of the largest breweries operating in Burton upon Trent, England. History Origins Allsopp's origins go back to the 1740s, when Benjamin Wilson, an innkeeper-brewer of Burton, brewed beer for his own premises and so ...

, a

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. Th ...

based brewery, and

Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip DL (19 February 1811 – 2 April 1887), known as Sir Henry Allsopp, Bt, between 1880 and 1886, was a British businessman and Conservative politician. Background Allsopp was the third son of Samuel Allsopp (12 Augu ...

claimed that they were descended from the Alsops. While a connection between Anthony Alsop (c.1618-91) of Alsop-en-le-Dale and Samuel Allsopp (d. 1728/9) of Derby is yet to be proven, but a family relation is plausible. In the last decade of the 19th century, according to directories and gazetteers of the time, Alsop Hall was the residence of John Hall ( J.P.) and principal landowners were the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, Baron Hindlip (who was

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

). and W. Dean.

Community & leisure

Alsop Hall opposite the church, was built in the late 16th century for the Alsop family. The village formerly had a station on the railway line connecting Ashbourne and

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Tissington Trail The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...

, a bridleway and walk/cycle path that utilizes this section of the line. Opened in 1971, it is part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

. The village is a convenient starting point for walks into Wolfscote Dale, which lies on the River Dove between Dovedale and Hartington village.

Religious sites

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels is of Norman origin, but was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in the 19th century. The church serves the hamlets of Alsop Moor, Cold Eaton and Newton Grange.

References

External links