Cressbrook Dale | |
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Ravensdale | |
![]() Cressbrook Dale Nature Reserve | |
Length | 2.5 miles (4 km)North-South |
Width | 450 metres (1,476 ft) |
Depth | 100 metres (328 ft) |
Geography | |
Location | Derbyshire, England |
Coordinates | 53°15′31″N1°44′48″W / 53.2586°N 1.7466°W |
Rivers | Cress Brook |
Cressbrook Dale (also called Ravensdale) is a dry carboniferous limestone gorge near Bakewell, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. The dale is cut into a plateau of farmland and lies to the south east of the village of Litton. Cressbrook village is at the foot of the valley to the south. [1]
The valley is dry over the summer but has a winterbourne stream (Cress Brook) which runs into the mill pond at Cressbrook Mill and then into the River Wye in Water-cum-Jolly Dale. The Cress Brook powered the original 18th century mill. [2]
Cressbrook Dale is part of the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve. Natural England manages the reserve which covers five separate dales of the White Peak (Lathkill Dale, Cressbrook Dale, Hay Dale, Long Dale and Monk’s Dale). It is also an Important Plant Area. The reserve contains ash and wych elm woodland and shrubs including dog’s mercury, field maple, guelder rose, hazel, bird cherry and dogwood. Wildflowers in the reserve include lily-of-the-valley, ramsons and bloody cranesbill. There are broad areas of scrub with hawthorn, blackthorn, buckthorn and rose. Meadow oat and carnation sedge spread across the ungrazed grasslands, with patches of rare bird’s-foot sedge (Carex ornithopoda). Cressbrook Dale is also a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is especially important for the lichens growing on the limestone. [3] [4]
The sequence of limestones in Cressbrook Dale make it an important geological site. The layers were deposited in a warm shallow sea in the Brigantian stage of the Carboniferous period (around 330 million years ago). The Carboniferous Limestone contains important fossils. Several layers of volcanic rock show that volcanoes were once active in Derbyshire. [4]
Peter's Stone (named after its resemblance to the dome shape of St Peter's Basilica in Rome) is the prominent limestone knoll at the northern end of the valley (the Wardlow Mires). It used to be called Gibbet Rock where the last gallows in the county once stood. The gibbet was an iron cage holding the dead bodies of executed criminals as a deterrent to others. [5] One of the last cases of gibbeting was of Anthony Lingard from Tideswell in 1815. He was convicted and executed in Derby for killing Hannah Oliver, the toll-keeper at Wardlow Mires, for a pair of red boots. His corpse was hung in chains on Peter’s Stone. [6]
High on the cliff above Ravensdale Cottages is Ravencliffe Cave, which is 8 metres (26 ft) deep. In the early 20th century, Stone Age, Bronze Age and Roman artefacts were recovered from the cave including polished stone axes, an arrowhead, pottery fragments, beads and bronze brooches as well as human and animal remains. [7]
Ravensdale Cliff has numerous low- to middle-grade rock climbing routes up to 46 metres (151 ft) long on the main buttress. [8] The cliffs of Water-cum-Jolly (at the foot of Cressbrook Dale) are an accessible and extensive area for climbers with over 400 routes. [9]
The large lead mining area at Tansley Dale, towards the head of the valley, is a protected Scheduled Monument. The visible remains are ruined stone walls and earthworks. [10] Further south in Cressbrook Dale around the settlement of Ravensdale there is extensive evidence of lead mining in the crags on the western side of the dale all the way from the lead rakes above Tansley Dale to Cressbrook itself. This probably dates from the 1500s up until the purchase of Cressbrook Mill and associated lands, including the dale, by Messrs Phillips and Co in 1814. Ravensdale Cottages (known locally as 'The Wick') in the middle of the valley are two terraces of cottages built by William Newton to house the workers at Cressbrook Mill. They date from 1823 and are Grade II listed buildings. [11] [12]
Cressbrook Mill dominates the view at the foot of the valley by the River Wye. The cotton mill was built in 1814–15 by William Newton on behalf on J L Philips. It replaced the original mill built in 1779 by Sir Richard Arkwright, which burnt down in 1785. The clock on the pediment and the octagonal cupola were added in 1837 to commemorate the Queen Victoria's coronation. The mill closed in 1965. It is a Grade II* listed building. [13] [14]
There is an easy-going footpath along the length of the valley floor. The Monsal Trail bridleway runs along the Wye valley at the southern end of Cressbrook Dale. There is access into the dale from both ends, as well as two footpaths from Litton village into the west side of the valley. There is some roadside parking in Upperdale near the southern foot of the dale. [1]
The Peak District is an 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 subdivided into the Dark Peak, moorland dominated by gritstone, and the White Peak, a limestone area with valleys and gorges. The Dark Peak forms an arc on the north, east and west of the district, and the White Peak covers central and southern areas. The highest point is Kinder Scout. Most of the area is within the Peak District National Park, a protected landscape designated in 1951.
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 and runs for just over 3 miles (5 km) between Milldale in the north and a wooded ravine, near Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill, in the south. In the wooded ravine, a set of stepping stones cross the river and there are two caves known as the Dove Holes.
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.
Lathkill Dale is the valley of the River Lathkill near Bakewell, Derbyshire in the Peak District of England. The river emerges into the dale from springs below Lathkill Head Cave. Towards the head of the dale is the side valley Cales Dale.
Monsal Dale is a valley in Derbyshire, England, in the White Peak limestone area of the Peak District National Park. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (1) and part of a Europe-wide network called Natura 2000.
Cressbrook is a village in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. It lies in Water-cum-Jolly Dale at the foot of Cressbrook Dale. Population details at the 2011 Census are included in the civil parish of Litton. Before the Litton Inclosure Act 1763 (3 Geo. 3. c. 31Pr.) Cressbrook did not exist. It later grew up around a textile mill complex built alongside the River Wye, first by Richard Arkwright and then later by his son Richard, JL Philips and Brother Cotton Spinners and McConnel and Company.
The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to link Manchester with London and closed in 1968. The Monsal Trail is about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long and opened in 1981. It starts at the Topley Pike junction in Wye Dale, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Buxton, and runs to Coombs Viaduct, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Bakewell. It follows the valley of the River Wye. The trail passes through Blackwell Mill, Chee Dale, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop and Bakewell. The trail has numerous landmarks including Headstone Viaduct, Cressbrook Mill, Litton Mill and Hassop railway station, and passes through six tunnels.
Wardlow is a parish and linear village in the Derbyshire Dales two miles from Tideswell, Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 118. The village contains the church of the Good Shepherd and the small hamlet of Wardlow Mires, which contains a notable pub, The Three Stags' Heads.
Chee Dale is a steep-sided gorge on the River Wye near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England.
Deep Dale is a short ,steep-sided gorge near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. It is distinct from another Deep Dale, near Sheldon, 4 miles (6.4 km) to the east.
Monk's Dale is a short steep-sided dry gorge near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. The dale is cut into a plateau of farmland and lies to the east of the village of Wormhill. The head of the valley leads into Peter Dale to the north. Miller's Dale is at the foot of the valley to the south.
Hay Dale is a short dry valley near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. It is part of a longer valley that runs for approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north–south from Peak Forest to the River Wye at Millers Dale. This valley has several names along its length: from the northern end running downhill these are Dam Dale, Hay Dale, Peter Dale and Monk's Dale. There is a farmland plateau on either side.
Coombs Dale is a steep-sided, dry carboniferous limestone valley in the Derbyshire Peak District of England. The village of Calver lies about 1 km to the east and the village of Stoney Middleton lies less than 1 km to the north. The dale is cut into the hills on the east side of Longstone Moor. The upper end of the dale is known as Rough Side. Several springs flow down the dale during winter and after heavy rains.
Tideswell Dale is a short dry limestone valley near Tideswell village, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. There is a farmland plateau on either side. The foot of the valley leads into Miller's Dale on the River Wye, which the valley's Brook Head stream runs into.
The Derbyshire Dome is a geological formation across mid-Derbyshire in England.
The Wye Valley is the limestone valley of the River Wye in the White Peak of Derbyshire, England. The source of the River Wye is west of Buxton on Axe Edge Moor. One main channel runs underground through Poole's Cavern. The river flows though Buxton Pavilion Gardens and then along a culvert under the town centre. After leaving the flat area of central Buxton, the Wye Valley becomes distinct as a gorge running east for 10 miles (16 km) before the valley broadens at Ashford-in-the Water.
Long Dale is a carboniferous limestone valley near the village of Elton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. The dale is cut into the plateau of Gratton Moor and Smerrill Moor and lies to the north of the hamlet of Pikehall, which is the venue of the annual Y Not Festival. Midway down the valley it turns sharply left and is known as Gratton Dale. Most of the valley is dry but Rowlow Brook flows down the lower part of Gratton Dale towards Dale End and onwards to become the River Bradford at Youlgreave.
Cales Dale is a short valley towards the head of Lathkill Dale near Monyash, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England.
Litton is a civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains 27 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the villages of Litton and Cressbrook and the surrounding area. The listed buildings in Litton are grouped around the village green, and include houses, cottages, farmhouses and a barn, a public house, a school, and a village cross. The listed buildings in Cressbrook are mainly associated with the former cotton mill, Cressbrook Mill, which is listed, together with Cressbrook Hall and its lodges, which were built for the owner, workers' cottages, a former apprentices' house, a war memorial, and a telephone kiosk. Between the villages, in an otherwise isolated position, are two terraces of workers' cottages.