Sheldon is a village in the
Derbyshire Peak District,
England near
Bakewell
Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...
. It is best known for being the closest village to
Magpie Mine
Magpie Mine is a well-preserved disused lead mine near the village of Sheldon, Derbyshire, Sheldon in Derbyshire, England, in the parish of Ashford in the Water. The walled enclosure of five lead mines (Magpie Mine, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red S ...
, a
lead mine with an engine house built in the
Cornish style. Lead mining flourished around here in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is now scheduled as an ancient monument, and is the most complete example of a lead mine remaining in the Peak District. It is about 1050 feet above sea level. Sheldon is home of the Church of St Michael and All Angels as well. The church was erected in the 19th century with material derived from dismantling the former
Chapel of Ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ea ...
.
Church
The parish church is dedicated to
Saint Michael and All Angels. Some sources give the dedication as just "All Angels" and many sources refer to the church as just a chapel. The present church, which seats 140, was built in 1864 near the site of the old chapel. The burial ground is to the east.
Governance
Sheldon is too small to have a
parish council so administrative matters are dealt with by its
parish meeting, formed from village residents as well as the elected chairperson. Sheldon has a small population of approximately 80 people according to the 2001 census. Sheldon used to have its own monthly magazine but since 2010 the magazine has merged with the Ashford Parish church magazine.
The Sheldon Duck
The Sheldon Duck
is a duck-like
pareidolia found in an
ash tree
''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergree ...
, which was felled at the beginning of the 20th century. According to local legend, in the early 1600s villagers saw a duck flying into an Ash tree, but they never observed it leaving the tree. When the same tree was felled, approximately 300 years later, a duck-like pattern with markings of the brain and lungs were found in the resultant timber boards. The boards were on display in
Ashford in the Water Post Office for a while and postcards showing it were sold. Later, the timber merchant who felled the tree used these boards for making a mantlepiece at his home.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Sheldon, Derbyshire
References
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Villages in Derbyshire
Civil parishes in Derbyshire
Towns and villages of the Peak District
Derbyshire Dales