| Fairfield | |
|---|---|
 St Peters Road | |
  Fairfield Location within Derbyshire | |
| OS grid reference | SK066740 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Buxton |
| Postcode district | SK17 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
Fairfield is a district of Buxton, in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. The historic medieval village of Fairfield was centred around a village green.
Fairfield is located on the A6 road half a mile to the north east of Buxton's town centre, 340m above sea level. [1] Fairfield is at the head of the narrow dry gorge of Cunningdale, which is part of the Wye Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). [2]
The name Fairfield derives from the Germanic faeger feld meaning 'fair open land', because of its good volcanic soil for pasture. Cistercian monks and Benedictine nuns founded monastic granges at Fairfield in the early 1200s AD (Nunsfield Farm still exists). In the 13th century Fairfield (being north of the River Wye) was within the Royal Forest of Peak, a hunting ground for the king. Fairfield was a chapelry in the parish of Hope [3] (whereas Buxton was in the Bakewell parish). Fairfield and Buxton shared a medieval corn mill on the Wye in Mill Dale, where Ashwood Park is now. Fairfield became a town in its own right, complete with town council. The township covered the land north of the River Wye, including The Park and Devonshire Park, until 1859 when a boundary change moved them into Buxton town. In 1811, 1821 and 1831, the chapelry of Fairfield returned a population of 482 inhabitants in the national censuses. [4] [5] [6] In 1866 Fairfield became a separate civil parish, [7] in 1894 Fairfield became an urban district, on 1 January 1917 the district was abolished and merged with Buxton, [8] on 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished and became part of the unparished area of Buxton. [9] In 1951 the parish had a population of 7979. [10]
The first chapel was built in Fairfield between 1240 and 1255. Fairfield Church was built in c.1595 and was demolished in 1838 to be replaced by the present St. Peter's (Church of England). Lying just north of the 'Green', the church was built in 1839, designed by William Swan, the village schoolmaster. St Peter's is a Grade II listed building. [11] John Wesley visited Fairfleld in September 1784. Fairfield Wesleyan chapel on Waterswallows Road was built in 1868, replacing the first Methodist chapel which was erected in 1844. After 1887 it was used as the Fairfield Local Board Town Hall. [4]
The Bull's Head pub on Fairfield Road replaced the previous one which was demolished in 1903. [4]
George Kitchen, the Everton, West Ham United and Southampton goalkeeper, was born in Fairfield in 1876. He died in 1965. [12]
Fairfield Common was established centuries ago as common grazing land. It was originally known as The Barms Common. Buxton Racecourse was laid out on the common in the early 1800s. From 1821 horse racing and cock fighting meetings were held each year in June. The Duke of Devonshire commissioned a grandstand building which stood in the 1830s. In 1835 The Commercial Directory for Derbyshire wrote that an "excellent round course has been formed where horse races take place". [6] Buxton racecourse closed in 1840 and the grandstand was pulled down. [13] Buxton and High Peak Golf Club was founded in 1887, after a nine-hole course was laid out on Fairfield Common in 1886. [14] The course was extended to 18 holes in 1893. The 9th par 5 hole is called Standside, which refers to where the grandstand once stood. [4]
Fairfield Halt railway station was open between 1907 and 1939. It was built on the Buxton to Manchester line, to serve the Buxton Golf Club. [15]
The Roman road between Aquae Arnemetiae (Roman Buxton) and Melandra fort (near Glossop) runs along the western wall of Fairfield Common. [4]
Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, 15 miles (24 km) east of Manchester, 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Sheffield and 32 miles (51 km) north of Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, between 150 and 300 metres above sea level, it is bounded by the Peak District National Park to the south, east and north. In 2021, it had a population of 33,340.
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level. It lies close to Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, on the edge of the Peak District National Park. In 1974, the municipal borough merged with other nearby boroughs, including Glossop, to form the local government district and borough of High Peak.
Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest settlement and only town within the boundaries of the Peak District National Park. At the 2011 census, the population of the civil parish was 3,949. It was estimated at 3,695 in 2019. The town is close to the tourist attractions of Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall.
New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Stockport and 13 miles (21 km) from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a 70 feet (21 m) deep gorge cut through carboniferous sandstone, on the north-western edge of the Peak District National Park.
Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the (A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335.
Great Longstone with Little Longstone is one of two villages in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 Census was 843.
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.
Burbage is a village in the High Peak district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. At the 2011 Census Burbage was a ward of the High Peak Borough Council. The population taken at this Census was 2,540.
Bradbourne Priory was a priory in Bradbourne, Derbyshire, England.
Chapel-en-le-Frith is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England.
St John the Baptist Church is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Buxton, Derbyshire.
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.
Grin Low is a hill overlooking Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit is 434 metres (1,424 ft) above sea level.
Burbage Edge is a gritstone escarpment overlooking the Burbage district of Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The hill's summit is 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level.
Buxton Racecourse was a horse racing track in the 19th century on Fairfield Common near Buxton in Derbyshire, England. In 1804 an earlier racecourse field was recorded at Heathfield Nook, on the other side of Buxton town.
The Palace Hotel was opened in 1868 in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It holds a prominent position in the town's central Conservation Area overlooking the town. It is a Grade-II listed building.
Cavendish Golf Club in Buxton, Derbyshire, opened in 1925 and was designed by Alister MacKenzie. The course is 5,721 yards (5,231 m) long with a par of 68. It is consistently voted as one of the top 100 golf courses in England.
Buxton and High Peak Golf Club at Fairfield near Buxton in Derbyshire opened in 1887. The course is 5,993 yards (5,480 m) long with a par of 69. It is the oldest golf course in Buxton and one of the oldest in Derbyshire.
Micah Salt was a tailor and amateur archaeologist from Buxton in Derbyshire.