Ilam () is a village in the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

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

of England, lying on the

River Manifold The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire). The Manifold rises at Flash Head just south ...

. The population of 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

as taken at the 2011 census was 402.

Ilam village

Ilam is best known as the location of the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Ilam Hall, a stately home built in the 1820s, partly demolished in the 1930s. It is now a YHA youth hostel owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. It is set in large parklands that are open to visitors and is a Grade II* listed property, as "Ilam Hall and Gardeners Cottage". Many of the cottages are in a style that reminds visitors of a picturesque Swiss village, with

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

-style houses and matching school house. This concept was started in the 1800s by Jesse Watts-Russell, who inherited a fortune on the death of his father, a wealthy soap manufacturer. He built the current Ilam Hall and his family resided there for decades. Ilam is about 4 miles from Ashbourne at the entrance to the scenic Manifold Valley. Ilam lies close to the popular

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, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...

valley. While most of the buildings in the village are from the past two centuries, Ilam dates from Anglo-Saxon times or earlier. Recently the village has attracted praise for its commitment to eco- friendly policies. Ilam became the first community in the United Kingdom to phase out

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a #Filament, filament until it incandescence, glows. The filament is enclosed in a ...

s, cutting annual

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

by 4 tonnes. The initiative was part of the Ilam Climate Change Project, supported by the Marches Energy Agency.

Geography

Ilam is situated in the Manifold Valley near the southern end where it joins the River Dove. The Dove forms the county boundary between

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. Upstream from Ilam is the famous

walk to Milldale. At the Ilam end, the walk crosses the Dove on a famous line of stepping stones. A wide and picturesque curve of the Manifold provides an ideal setting for Ilam Hall. The

Peak District Boundary Walk The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District (a ...

runs through the village along the same route as the Manifold Trail footpath.

River Manifold

The River Manifold flows underground from Wetton Mill, and rises again at Ilam in the grounds of the hall. The flooded underground section contains a population of a of the

European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...

fish. At some times of the year, the river bed is completely dry apart from the occasional pool.

Ilam Hall

John Port had the first hall built in 1546. Both

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...

and

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

stayed at the hall when it was owned by the Port family. Congreve wrote his first play, ''The Old Bachelor'' there and Paradise valley inspired Johnson to write his novel ''Rasselas''. In 1820 the estate was bought by Jesse Watts-Russell, a wealthy industrialist. It was Watts-Russell who was responsible for the Swiss look of Ilam; he found that the valley and surrounding hills reminded him of the Alps, and consequently had some new cottages built in the Swiss style and rehoused most of the villagers (who were living in estate-owned houses anyway). He also built the school in 1857 and funded it, at a time when schooling was not compulsory. His son, John Watts-Russell, moved to New Zealand in 1850 and built another Ilam Hall. The farm/homestead that he created later grew and became the Ilam area of

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. The site of the homestead was one of the main social centres of early Christchurch society. The present homestead was built in 1914 after a fire destroyed the first two buildings. The Conservative politician

Robert William Hanbury Robert William Hanbury PC (24 February 1845 – 28 April 1903) was a British Conservative politician. He served as President of the Board of Agriculture from 1900 to 1903. Background and education Hanbury was the only son of Robert Hanbury, o ...

(1845–1903), lived and was buried there. In 1934 Sir Robert McDougal bought the hall and gave it to the

to become a youth hostel and it is still run as such today. The grounds are open to the public, and are a starting point for one of the prettiest river walks in the area.

Church of the Holy Cross

Originally Anglo-Saxon, the church is now mainly 17th and 19th century following restoration in those two centuries. Some of its origins can be seen in its carved stone Anglo-Saxon font, and in two stone cross shafts in the churchyard.

Arthur Mee Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. Ea ...

records that the church was

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

in the 19th century by Sir

Gilbert Scott Gilbert Scott commonly refers to Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811–1878), a British architect principally known for his church buildings. Gilbert Scott may also refer to several other British architects: * George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (1839–1897), s ...

, with three chapels, but "still has the 13th century base of its tower, and a wall of the same age. Its most ancient jewel is the wonderful font, so old that it is Saxon or Norman, the round bowl carved with humans and dragons." This font is thought depict a scene from the legend of Saint Beorhthelm of Stafford.Lindy Brady, 'An Analogue to ''Wulf and Eadwacer'' in the Life of St Bertellin of Stafford', ''The Review of English Studies'', vol. 67, issue 278 (February 2016), 1–20, . It is in the Chapel of St Bertram, built in 1618 by the Meverell, Port and Hurt families, that the remains and shrine of the St Bertram (or Bertelin) can be found. St Bertram was an 8th-century son of a

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

n king who renounced his royal heritage for prayer and meditation after his wife and child were killed by wolves. He is said to have converted many to Christianity, and his shrine became a point of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, it being reputed to be able to work miraculous cures. The chapel contains the Meverell Monument of two reclining figures, above is a memorial for their daughter. In the David Pike Watts Memorial Chapel, built in 1831, is a large sculpture by Sir Francis Chantrey. The Memorial Window to Josephine Dora Granville is by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...

(1884), depicting the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Wingfield Cromwell, 2nd Earl of Ardglass (1624 – 1668) is buried there.

Dovedale House

The former vicarage, Dovedale House, is now run as a residential Youth centre. Owned by the Church of England, it is under the management of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

. It is a large old house near the entrance of Ilam Hall. It was opened as a residential centre in 1967.

Village cross

A conspicuous landmark is the

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed Mary Watts-Russell Memorial Cross; Mary was the wife of Jesse Watts-Russell. Standing as a roundabout at the road junction where a lane branches off towards Blore, this is an ornate gothic-style obelisk of local limestone in the style of an Eleanor Cross. Standing on a three-step plinth, it has two tiers of statues surmounted by a spire with a cross at the top. In style, it bears some resemblance to the decorated facade of

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

. A restoration was completed in 2011.

Manifold Valley Agricultural Show

The Manifold Valley Agricultural Show has for a number of years been held within the parish. This show has usually been held on the second Saturday of August. The wide range of categories and activities provides a valuable social focus for this largely agricultural area.The Manifold Show website
/ref> The venue is farmland owned by and above Casterne Hall just under a mile north of the village, on the plateau about halfway towards Stanshope. The road continues towards Wetton and Alstonefield.

References

Additional photos

Given the condition of Ilam Cross before restoration, the following details of the faces are included for archive purposes. Image:Ilam Cross 02.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross with main inscription Image:Ilam Cross 03.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross Image:Ilam Cross 04.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross Image:Ilam Cross 05.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross Image:Ilam Cross 06.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross Image:Ilam Cross 07.jpg, Face of Ilam Cross Image:Ilam village 01.jpg, General view of Ilam from the south Image:Ilam Hall gardens.jpg, Ilam Hall gardens, looking towards Thorpe Cloud Image:Ilam Church 01.jpg, Ilam Church viewed from Ilam Hall

External links

Village website
{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Staffordshire Moorlands