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|---|---|
 The A5012, Via Gellia, passing through Griffe Grange Valley | |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Newhaven |
| To | Cromford |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Road network | |
The A5012 road is a main road in the south of the English county of Derbyshire.
Around 9 miles (14 km) in length, it connects two primary north–south routes; the A6 at Cromford and the A515 between Buxton and Ashbourne. It passes through Pikehall and Grangemill and alongside Ible.
The eastern part (Grangemill to Cromford, set in a deep valley) is known as the Via Gellia – a steep-sided wooded dry valley and road.
It is probably named after (or by) Philip Eyre Gell in a mock-Latin style; he was responsible for building the road through the valley, the name being a link to the Gell family's claim of Roman descent. They held lead-mining interests in and around Wirksworth. [1] At its lower (eastern) end is the village of Cromford and its Georgian mill, built by inventor and entrepreneur Richard Arkwright. At the western end is the hamlet of Grangemill.
The road appears to have been constructed about 1790 to connect the Gells' extensive lead-mining interests around Wirksworth with a new smelter at Cromford. However, some sources say that the route was in use as early as 1720 for transporting stone from the family's quarries in the Hopton area.
In modern times the Via Gellia developed a reputation as being a dangerous road with a disproportionately high casualty rate, particularly among motorcyclists. This was due in part to its relative narrowness, the number of large goods vehicles using it to access the quarries, and its canopy of overhanging trees resulting in a persistently damp surface. Remedial measures, including resurfacing, were carried out by Derbyshire County Council in 2006.
In World War I, the name Via Gellia was assigned to a communication trench between Kemmel village and the British and Canadian front lines facing the German front lines before Wijtschate in Belgium.
The road has a poor safety record and is ranked the third-worst in Britain by EuroRAP. [2]
The fabric Viyella, a wool and cotton mix, is named after the Via Gellia, the location of W. Hollins & Company's textile mill where it was originally produced.
The Derwent is a river in Derbyshire, England. It is 50 miles (80 km) long and is a tributary of the River Trent, which it joins south of Derby. Throughout its course, the river mostly flows through the Peak District and its foothills.
Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 4,904 in the 2021 census was estimated at 5,220 in 2023. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a market charter by Edward I in 1306 and still holds a market on Tuesdays in the Memorial Gardens. The parish church of St Mary's is thought to date from 653. The town developed as a centre for lead mining and stone quarrying. Many lead mines were owned by the Gell family of nearby Hopton Hall.
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is 17 miles (27 km) north of Derby, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Matlock and 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as Crumforde, a berewick of Wirksworth, and this remained the case throughout the Middle Ages. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,433. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright and the nearby Cromford Mill, which he built outside the village in 1771. Cromford is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
This article details some of the history of lead mining in Derbyshire, England.
The Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) was a standard-gauge line between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. The railway, which was completed in 1831, was built to carry minerals and goods through the hilly rural terrain of the Peak District within Derbyshire, England. The route was marked by a number of roped worked inclines. Due to falling traffic, the entire railway was closed by 1967.
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks.
The history of Derbyshire can be traced back to human settlement since the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago. The county of Derbyshire in England dates back to the 11th century.
Bonsall is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales on the edge of the Peak District. The civil parish population, including Brightgate and Horse Dale, was 775 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 803 at the 2011 Census.
Until it closed in 1967 the Hopton Incline was the steepest stretch of conventional, adhesion-worked standard gauge railway running line in the UK. The incline was situated in sparsely populated, exposed limestone uplands in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England.
The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton.
Hopton is a small village adjacent to the village of Carsington and two miles from the market town of Wirksworth in the Peak District.
The Limestone Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in Derbyshire, England. It runs for 46 miles (74 km) through the White Peak of the Peak District National Park, from Castleton south to Rocester over the county boundary into Staffordshire. The trail is named for the limestone scenery along its route. It was devised by Brian Spencer of Matlock Rotary Club and developed and opened in 1986 by the West Derbyshire District Council. It originally ran to Matlock, but was extended to its current, longer route in 1992 to join up with the Staffordshire Way.
Ashleyhay is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England, about five miles north-west of Belper. It is also situated one and three-quarters of a mile south of Wirksworth and eleven miles north of Derby city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 105, increasing to 118 at the 2011 Census.
The Gell Baronetcy of Hopton in the County of Derby, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 29 January 1642 for John Gell, Hopton Hall, Derbyshire, chief barmaster in the wapentake of Wirksworth from 1638–1644. The family gained importance and wealth through lead mining interests near Wirksworth. Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet received the baronetcy on the eve of the English Civil War, but fought for the Parliamentary side.
Bullbridge is a small village in Derbyshire. The Bull bridge accident, in which a railway bridge failed as a goods train was just passing over it, happened here in 1860.
Middleton or Middleton-by-Wirksworth is an upland village and civil parish lying approximately one mile NNW of Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England. Middleton was, in 1086, a berewick of the town and manor of Wirksworth. Middleton was formerly known for its lead mines and high quality limestone quarries, including the underground quarry site at Middleton Mine. The Middleton Mine networks underground for approximately 25 miles (40 km) with tunnels on three different levels running under Middleton Moor to the Hopton Wood quarry works at the other side of the hill below Ryder Point Works’. Part of the tunnel collapsed in the 1980s leaving a noticeable depression in the ground above on the eastern side of Middleton Moor. The population of the parish as taken at the 2011 Census was 775.
Grangemill is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The hamlet is made up of a cluster of houses, a farm and a pub called the Hollybush. There is a former cheese factory in the village, and the workings of this are still on display. The population as taken at the 2011 Census is included in the civil parish of Aldwark, Derbyshire, The majority of the settlement is within the Ivonbrook Grange parish, however Grangemill lies at the crossroads of the A5012 and B5056 roads which is within Brassington parish. It is on the south-eastern boundary of the Peak District National Park. The Limestone Way long-distance bridleway passes through Grangemill. The Peak District Boundary Walk also runs through the village.
Hopton Hall is an 18th-century country house at Hopton, near Wirksworth, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
Philip Eyre Gell (1723–1795) of Hopton Hall near Wirksworth, Derbyshire, was a wealthy lead-mining aristocrat.
Ivonbrook Grange is a civil parish within the Derbyshire Dales district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Largely rural, Ivonbrook Grange's population is reported with the population of neighbouring parishes for a total of 180 residents in 2011. It is 130 miles (210 km) north west of London, 15 miles (24 km) north west of the county city of Derby, and 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) south west of the nearest market town of Matlock. Ivonbrook Grange is wholly within the Peak District national park on its southern edge, and shares a border with the parishes of Aldwark, Bonsall, Brassington, Ible as well as Winster. There is one listed structure in Ivonbrook Grange.
A roads in Zone 5 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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