The Forest of High Peak was, in medieval times, a moorland forest covering most of the north west of

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, extending as far south as

Tideswell Tideswell is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It lies east of Buxton on the B6049, in a wide valley on a limestone plateau, at an altitude of above sea level, and is within the District of Derbyshire Da ...

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.

. From the time of 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 Conque ...

it was established as a royal hunting reserve, administered by

William Peverel William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest. Origins Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...

, a follower of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

, who was based at

Peveril Castle Peveril Castle (also Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement (or ''caput'') of the feudal barony of William Peverel, kn ...

. The Royal Forest of Peak was bounded by the

River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has bee ...

to the west, the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...

to the south, the River Derwent to the east and the

River Etherow The River Etherow is a river in northern England, and a tributary of the River Goyt. Although now passing through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, it historically formed the ancient county boundary between Cheshire and Derby ...

to the north. In 1305 it covered about 100 square miles. The south western area between the River Wye and

Kinder Scout Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and national nature reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and the East Midlands; t ...

was relatively open country, which was enclosed by a low wall, sufficient to keep out cattle and sheep but allow the deer to roam. The area was known as Campana, the other two being Hopedale and Longdendale. The point where they met is to this day marked by

Edale Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an area of , is in the Borough of High Peak. Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...

Cross. As well as his custodianship of the Forest, William also held a number of manors that formed part of what was recorded in the

Domesday Survey 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 the Honour of Peverel. His son, also William, was granted a number of further manors, such that the Peverels could regard it as their demesne, apart from the manors of Muchedeswell and

Tickhill Tickhill is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,301, reducing to 5,228 at the 2011 Census. Geography It lies ...

which belonged 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 ...

. However, in 1154 the estate was confiscated by King Henry II who rebuilt Peveril Castle in 1176. In 1189

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

gave the honour of the Peak to John the Count of Mortain. Later

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

bestowed it briefly to his favourite

Piers de Gaveston Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...

and then under

it passed in 1345 to John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. John died in 1347 and it passed to Edward's wife

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...

. Finally in 1372 it was granted to

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

. When his son Henry IV ascended the throne the Honour of the Peak passed to the crown along with all the other holdings of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

, such as

Duffield Frith Duffield Frith was, in medieval times, an area of Derbyshire in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers (or Ferrars) by King William, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster ...

. Subsequently, the manor and forest of High Peak were leased in perpetuity to the

dukes of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...

. Records document the deer, wild pigs, wolves, horses and sheep in the forest. Anyone caught breaking the laws of the forest was taken to the Peak Castle at Castleton, from where the High Steward administered the forest. The present village of

Peak Forest Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335. The village grew from the earlier settlement of Da ...

is at the heart of the area of the old royal forest and was formerly known as Chamber of Campana. The nearby Chamber Farm or Chamber Knoll may have been the exact location of the residence and meeting place of local forest officials.

Notes

References

Turbutt, Gladwyn (1999) ''A History of Derbyshire. Volume 2: Medieval Derbyshire''. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press ISBN 978-1898937340 {{Coord, 53.37160, -1.88540, display=title, format=dms History of Derbyshire Forests and woodlands of Derbyshire

Peak 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 ...