Castleton is a village in the High Peak district 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 no ...

, England, at the western end of the Hope Valley on the

Peakshole Water Peakshole Water is a stream in the Derbyshire Peak District named after its source, Peak Cavern. It flows through the village of Castleton to join the River Noe in nearby Hope. Despite its name, much of its flow actually emerges from the Russet ...

, a tributary of the River Noe, between the Dark Peak to the north and the

White Peak The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a limestone plateau that forms the central and southern part of the Peak District in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitude Dark Peak (also kno ...

to the south. The population was 642 at the 2011 Census.

History

Castleton village was mentioned as ''Pechesers'' in

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 ...

in 1086 where "Arnbiorn and Hundingr held the land of

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 ...

's castle in Castleton".''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.750 This land and Peverel's castle were amongst the manors belonging to William Peverel that also included Bolsover and Glapwell. St Edmund's Norman church 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 ...

about 1837. It has late 13th-century

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

and an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

-faced

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

tower. Its

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s are dated 1661, 1662, 1663 and 1676. A medieval leper hospital (the Hospital of Saint Mary in the Peak) is thought to have been on the eastern boundary of Castleton, though some locals believe it to have been just south of the Speedwell Cavern footpath from the village.

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth C ...

archaeologists are investigating 'Castle of the Peak', which was reputedly founded by the wife of one of the William Peverels before 1153, and continued until about the 1543 Dissolution. They say the earliest documents referring to Spital Field are a grant and a Charter from the early 14th century. They are also investigating the 12th-century planned town at the foot of the castle hill. Castleton had a long history of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

; the Odin Mine, one of the oldest lead mines in the country, is situated west of the village (''see also Derbyshire lead mining history''). Researchers studying an ice core from a Swiss glacier have found that levels of lead air pollution across Europe during the period 1170–1216 was as high as those of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, and the principal source was Peak District mines such as Castleton and Wirksworth. The mining created and enlarged local caverns, four of which are now open to the public as Peak Cavern,

Blue John Cavern The Blue John Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England. Description The cavern takes its name from the semi-precious mineral Blue John, which is still mined in small amounts outside the tourist season and mad ...

, Speedwell Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern. A small amount of Blue John is mined locally. Since the 1920s the main mineral industry in the area has been cement.

Hope Cement Works Hope Cement Works, is a cement plant located near to the village of Hope in Derbyshire, England. The plant is mostly self-contained with its own shale and limestone quarries adjacent, with only fuel and small amounts of additives needing to be b ...

is closer to Hope, but its quarry is closer to Castleton.

Geography

Castleton is situated between the

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...

plateau of the Dark Peak to the north and the gentler

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 wh ...

scenery of the

to the south. It lies at the western end of the Hope Valley and consequently is surrounded on three sides by hills. Most prominent is the ridge to the north. This is called Great Ridge; it runs east from

Mam Tor Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...

to Back Tor and Lose Hill, via the pass (hause) of Hollins Cross, where paths from many directions converge and cross over to Edale.

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

visited caves near Castleton and Buxton in June 1790 to investigate the region's geological structures. Castleton was formerly on the A625 road from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

to Chapel-en-le-Frith, on the way to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Leaving Castleton, the western road once went over

, but after continual

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

s and repairs (Mam Tor is called the "Shivering Mountain" because of its very loose shales), it was eventually abandoned. The only westbound exit from Castleton is now the unclassified road over the narrow Winnats Pass. This road is very narrow and steep and unsuitable for heavy vehicles or high volumes. Road signage has been designed to discourage through traffic by showing only local destinations. Thus, most traffic enters and leaves the village on the eastern (Hope-Hathersage-Sheffield) road ( A6187); for traffic going west, that involves a long diversion via the villages of Bradwell and Peak Forest. Castleton has a small bus station from where buses depart hourly to Sheffield (services 272/273) and 2-hourly to Tideswell and Bakewell (service 173). Sunday services on route 173 and less frequent services, including services 68 to

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Baslow, Ladybower (273 & 274), 200 Chapel-en-le-frith and Edale 276, were cut in 2017 after cuts in government funding. At summer weekends buses link to Chesterfield and Ladybower. There is no railway station, but Hope station is about away, and train tickets to Hope and Edale are valid on connecting buses to Castleton.

Education

Castleton Church of England Primary School is located within the village. It was rated as 'good' in its 2017 Ofsted inspection. From October 2017, the school and surrounding area was featured in the ident used by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. The nearest secondary school is Hope Valley College.

Tourism

Castleton attracts many tourists, and there are multiple pubs (some with accommodation), tea shops and guest houses to supply their needs. There is also a large car park, a Visitor Centre housing a dedicated space for Castleton Historical Society’s museum, several outdoors shops and a youth hostel. Many schools visit the area for educational studies such as GCSE fieldwork. It is also a major walking centre, where routes up Cave Dale, Winnats Pass,

and Hollins Cross meet. There are four "show caves" to visit,

, Peak Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern and Speedwell Cavern which includes an underground boat ride and at least one of them is open all year. Castleton has a combined post office and general shop. On Castleton Garland Day ( Oak Apple Day – 29 May), a ''Garland King'' is paraded around the streets wearing an extremely large garland of flowers, followed by local girls dressed in white with flowers. Castleton is a favourite area for walkers: there is plenty of accommodation, and there are many public footpaths leading from the village. There are easy walks along the river to Hope, Brough, Bamford and (rather further) Hathersage, and there is a short strenuous walk up onto the Great Ridge, where views can be enjoyed before descending to Edale or returning to Castleton. Hayfield is a short day's walk away beyond Rushup Edge. A two- or three-day trail, the Limestone Way, starts in Castleton and runs south down Cave Dale (past the rear of the castle) before climbing out of the village and heading for Monyash, Youlgreave, and Matlock. Film of Castleton in 1945 is held by the Cinema Museum in London. Ref HM0365.

Photo gallery

File:Peveril castle.jpg, Peveril Castle dominates the southern Castleton skyline File:Castleton-Castle Hotel.jpg, The Castle Hotel File:The Three Roofs Café 201307 052.jpg, The Three Roofs Café File:Castleton school.jpg, The school in Castleton File:GarlandKing&Consort.jpg, The Castleton Garland King and his consort File:Mam-tor-from-castleton.jpg, Looking west,

towers above the main street of Castleton File:Castleton panaroma.jpg, Panoramic view of Castleton from Peveril castle File:Castleton Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 405288.jpg,

Castleton Methodist Church __NOTOC__ Castleton may refer to: Places Canada * Castleton, Ontario United Kingdom England * Castleton, Derbyshire * Castleton, Dorset * Castleton, Greater Manchester *Castleton, North Yorkshire Scotland * Castleton, Scottish Borders (Roxburghsh ...

Notable people

Isaac Ambrose Isaac Ambrose (1604 – 20 January 1664) was an English Puritan divine. He graduated with a BA. from Brasenose College, Oxford, on 1624. He obtained the curacy of St Edmund’s Church, Castleton, Derbyshire, in 1627. He was one of king's four pr ...

: a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

author, a churchman here in 1627 * William Dawkins: found important fossils near Castleton *

Charles Roe Charles Roe (7 May 1715 – 3 May 1781) was an English industrialist. He played an important part in establishing the silk industry in Macclesfield, Cheshire and later became involved in the mining and metal industries. Early life and career ...

: industrialist, born here in 1715 *

Drenge Drenge may refer to: * ''Boys'' (1977 film), a 1977 Danish film, originally ''Drenge'' *Drenge (band) Drenge are an English three-piece rock band made up of Eoin Loveless, on guitar and vocals, his younger brother Rory, on drums, and Rob Grah ...

: a two-piece blues rock band * Debbie Rush: ''Coronation Street'' actress * Randolph Douglas: founder of the now closed 'House of Wonders'

In fiction

The village was featured in episode 3 of '' Most Haunted: Midsummer Murders'' where the team "investigates" the 18th-century murder of an engaged couple. Much of the "investigation" takes place in Speedwell Cavern. One of the conspirators, James Ashton, is said to have confessed to the murders on his deathbed after being haunted by the dead couple. He also implicated others involved. Castleton also featured in national news reports in the early 1980s following the murder of

Susan Renhard Susan Elizabeth Renhard (17 November 1961 – 27 June 1983) was a student murdered in Cave Dale near Castleton, Derbyshire in 1983. Norman Hugh Morrison Smith, a young student, admitted to her sexual assault but denied strangling her. He was found ...

near the battlements of Peveril Castle. The local caves were used as the filming location for the underworld, ruled by the evil Lady of the Green Kirtle, in the 1990 BBC adaptation of '' The Silver Chair'' (one of the Narnia books written by C.S. Lewis).Filming Locations for ''The Silver Chair'', https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098912/locations, at the Internet Movie Database, retrieved 13 December 2011 Cave Dale features in the films '' The Princess Bride'' (1987) and '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008). The town is also featured briefly in the play '' The Devil is an Ass'' by

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for ...

, first performed in 1616.

References

External links

Derbyshire Guide
* ttp://www.castleton.co.uk Castleton, Derbyshirebr>Caves in Castleton, Derbyshire
{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District High Peak, Derbyshire