Offcote and Underwood is a
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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
within the
Derbyshire Dales
Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 71,116. Much of it is in the Peak District, although most of its population lies along the River Derwent.
The borough borders ...
district, in the county 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. Largely rural, in 2011 the parish had a population of 526.
It is north west of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, north west of the county city of
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, and north east of the market town of
Ashbourne. Offcote and Underwood borders the
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 ...
, and touches the parishes of Ashbourne,
Bradley
Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English.
Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular.
It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
,
Clifton and Compton,
Fenny Bentley
Fenny Bentley is a small village and civil parish located close to Dovedale in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The population in 2009 was 305 reducing to 183 at the 2011 Census. It lies two miles north of Ashbourne, on the ...
,
Kniveton
Kniveton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Peak District, north east of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne, south west of Wirksworth and from London. It is close to the reservoir at Carsington Water.
History
...
,
Mapleton Mapleton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region
Canada
* Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County
* Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood
* Maple ...
and
Okeover. There are 12
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s in Offcote and Underwood.
Geography
Location
Offcote and Underwood is surrounded by the following local areas:
* Fenny Bentley and Kniveton to the north
* Ashbourne, Bradley, Clifton and
Yeldersley to the south
*
Atlow
Atlow is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, about eight miles west of Belper. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 98. At the 2011 Census the population remained less than 1 ...
to the east
* Mapleton to the west.
The parish is roughly bounded by the Bentley Brook to the west, Guddlefield Brook and Sandy Brook to the north, Kniveton Brook,
Henmore Brook
The Henmore Brook or the River Henmore is a tributary of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England, and is 20 km (12 miles) in length.
In its upper reaches it is known as the Scow brook, much of which was inundated by the Carsington Water res ...
and the A517 road in the east, with a narrow fork of land on the west encircling Ashbourne towards
Hangingbridge, Buckholme Farm and the River Dove in the south west.
Offcote and Underwood border the Peak District National Park, which is to the north.
Settlements
There are no standalone villages of size as much of the area is rural. Despite being part of the parish name, Underwood is considered to be a
deserted medieval village
In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...
, with only Underwood Farm using the placename as a title.
Offcote is little more evident, with a handful of scattered residences towards the east of the area using it as a prefix, such as Offcote Grange, Offcote House and Offcote Cottage. There is a small northern
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of Ashbourne that spans the border into Offcote and Underwood, centred around Manor Road.
Ashbourne Green
Ashbourne Green is an area of Derbyshire, England. It is located in the Peak District, 1 mile north-east of Ashbourne in the Offcote and Underwood parish.
The owner of The Green Hall residence in Ashbourne has traditionally held the freehold o ...
is a
commons
The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
area of 46 acres located nearby.
is a small historic hamlet contained to the south east of the parish.
Environment
Landscape and geology
Primarily farm and pasture land throughout the parish outside the populated areas, there are some small forestry plots throughout including The Dumble, a stretch surrounding Sandy Brook. The soil is mixed; subsoil, chiefly gravel, clay and limestone.
Water features
A number of streams form the boundaries of the parish including Guddlefield Brook and Sandy Brook to the north, Kniveton Brook and Henmore Brook to the east, and the River Dove in the south west.
Land elevation
The parish can be hilly and undulating in places. It ranges from , the lowest point is by the western boundary near Hangingbridge, while the parish peak is along the northern boundary surrounding the B5035 Green Road towards Kniveton.
History
Toponymy
Offcote: This was reported in
Domesday
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 ''Ophidecotes''. It is suggested the first element is a person called Offa and that the second is from an Old English compound word 'wood-cot'.
Underwood: Being close to Offcote, it was the land under or within the wood. It was first noted in 13th- and 14th-century charters.
Offcote and Underwood, as an