Kirk Ireton is a village and civil parish 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, southwest of
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...
on a hillside near
Carsington Water
Carsington Water is a reservoir operated by Severn Trent Water located between Wirksworth and Kniveton in Derbyshire, England. The reservoir takes water from the River Derwent at Ambergate during winter months, pumping up to the reservoir by l ...
, above sea level. The population at the 2011 Census was 518.
Ireton is a corruption of the Saxon ''hyre-tun'', meaning "Irishman's enclosure"; ''Kirk'' was added after the Norman invasion and the building of the church. The village dates back to at least the Bronze Age.
Kirk Ireton remains what it has always been, an agricultural village. Following the Second World War the number of working farms dropped from over thirty to half a dozen in the space of 40 years. The last cow was turned down Main Street in the late 1980s, but Fords, Matkins, Rowlands, Walkers and Wards still farm locally as they have done for many generations. Many of the former farm buildings have been adapted into houses. Much of the older part of the village dates back to the 17th century and is mostly built from sandstone, quarried locally.
One of the oldest buildings in the village is the Barley Mow pub, which was one of the last premises in the country to accept
decimalization
Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10.
Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...
, as the 87-year-old landlady, Lillian Ford, did not hold with the new money. The parish previously housed at least four other public houses: The Wheatsheaf, Old Bull's Head, The Windmill and The Gate.
Holy Trinity Church is Norman, with the earliest parts being the three-bayed south and north arcades. The tower and the chancel are Perpendicular. It has an interesting custom known as roping for weddings, when the village children put a rope across the road and the bride and groom are not allowed to leave the church until a toll has been paid in silver by the groom.
The village still celebrates a
Wakes week
The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution ...
, which starts on
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
, the church's
patronal festival
A patronal feast or patronal festival ( es, fiesta patronal; pt, festa patronal; ca, festa patronal; it, festa patronale; french: fête patronale) is a yearly celebration dedicated, in countries influenced by Christianity, to the "heavenly advoc ...
. A procession of villagers is led by a local brass band, from the Barley Mow pub to the church for thanksgiving. Various events take place during the week, with a major all-day event on Saturday.
The Post Office closed in 2008, before re-opening as a community shop. The premises were originally stables and the restored hay racks are still in place above shelving along one wall.
Notable residents
*
Anthony Blackwall
The Reverend Anthony Blackwall (baptized Kirk Ireton, Derbyshire, 17 July 1672, died Market Bosworth 8 April 1730), was an English classical scholar and schoolmaster.
Early life
Blackwall was the son of another Anthony Blackwall, of Blackwall, a ...
– scholar was born here.
*
George Turner (1841–1910), landscape artist, lived at the Barley Mow Inn from 1900 to his death in 1910.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Kirk Ireton
References
External links
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Villages in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Derbyshire Dales