Butterton is a small village in 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 ...

of England (). It overlooks the Manifold Valley and Ecton Hill, which rises 1,212 feet above sea level. Butterton lies 5 miles east of

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 roughly 8 miles from

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, ...

theme park. The village is just west of the limestone area, and so is mainly built of local sandstone. It contains a Grade II listed church. In the centre of Butterton there is an unusual ford where the Hoo Brook runs along the village street. Butterton 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 ...

which was opened by the

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 ...

on 27 June 1904. The line closed in 1934, and the route of the railway past the station is now designated 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 footpath and cycle route. Butterton is one of the

Thankful Villages Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages; ) are settlements in England and Wales from which all their members of the armed forces survived World War I. The term Thankful Village was popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in the 1930s; in '' ...

that suffered no fatalities in the Great War of 1914–1918.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the population of Butterton was 213, with a near equal number of males and females. This was lower than in 1841, where the population was 388. In modern times, most of the houses in Butterton are detached or semi-detached and owner-occupied, with the largest age category being 45 to 64.

History

The name ‘Buterdon’ or ‘Butterton’ comes from ‘butere’, meaning butter, and ‘dun’ meaning hill, and was given this name as the area had good pasture. Butterton is also known as Butterton-in-the-Peak to differentiate it from Butterton in Trentham parish, near

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

. In the 1850s, a small brook at the foot of the village was a sulphurous spring which was said to be beneficial in scorbutic cases. Although Butterton was in Mayfield parish it was physically separated from the remainder of the parish by nine miles. The parish was enlarged on 1 April 1934 by 205 acres to include part of

Bradnop Bradnop is a village in Staffordshire, England, located just a few miles to the southeast of the market town of Leek. The name Bradnop was first recorded in 1197, and gets its name from the Old English words "bradan", meaning broad, and "hop", me ...

and Cawdry. In 1966, however, the parish broke up into smaller segments, and so now Butterton is a parish of its own.

Economy

Ecton Hill, near Butterton, is embedded with the remains of copper and lead mining. It was first used extensively in the mid 17th century; however, there is evidence that mining of the area took place centuries earlier. As a result of the history of mining, there are numerous

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

routes around Butterton and Ecton Hill which were used to transport copper and lead ore from Ecton to smelting works. In 1881, the main employment was agriculture, with 51 out of 124 inhabitants in this sector (all males). The main employment for women was domestic service. Although Butterton is a commuter village, in 1986 there were a few shops, such as a butcher's, a general store and a small shop and tea room. There is also an old traditional

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in the centre of the village, The Black Lion Inn, which offers food and accommodation. The first mention of a

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 ...

in the village is in 1892, when a rubber datestamp was issued.

Landmarks

The Hillocks

On Ecton hillside is the unusual copper-topped house known as ''The Hillocks'' which was built in 1933 by

Arthur Ratcliffe Arthur Ratcliffe (17 February 1882 – 3 May 1963) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Leek division of Staffordshire from 1931 to 1935. Ratcliffe stood for Parliament In ...

, the MP for Leek. When first constructed the property had two storeys with a flat roof, but this leaked water badly and so another storey was added.

St Bartholomew's Church

Education

The small village primary school closed in 1979, as there were too few pupils to attend. The nearest primary school today is in

Warslow Warslow is a small village in Staffordshire, England. It is located in the Peak District National Park about north of Ashbourne. Although in the county of Staffordshire, the village lies close to the Derbyshire border, and has a Stockport pos ...

(3 miles away); public transport is funded by the county education committee. There is a secondary school in nearby Leek, to which transport is also provided. The former primary school building has now become the village hall.

Culture and community

The Butterton Wakes takes place every August bank holiday Monday to celebrate the birth of St Bartholomew. It has been running for 100 years and is organised by the Butterton Wakes Committee. It takes place in St Bartholomew's Church and the Village Hall, and all the money raised goes towards upkeep of the village hall and church. The village also has regular events such as the Christmas Silver Band concerts, the Harvest Supper and afternoon teas in the church.

References

{{Civil Parishes of Staffordshire Moorlands Towns and villages of the Peak District Staffordshire Moorlands