Cressbrook

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Cressbrook
Cressbrook Mill.jpg
Cressbrook Mill complex, from the road
Derbyshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Cressbrook
Location within Derbyshire
OS grid reference SK168731
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BUXTON
Postcode district SK17
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
53°15′18″N1°44′56″W / 53.255°N 1.749°W / 53.255; -1.749

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 its Enclosure Act of 1762 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.

Contents

Until McConnel's period of ownership the village did not exist beyond a collection of buildings in the immediate vicinity of the mill. When McConnel's workforce objected to the quality of the housing available he took it upon himself to build the model village that became Cressbrook. Building started in the late 1830s and was later extended by Henry McConnel's daughter, Mary Worthington, in 1902 to include a village club, modelled on a working men's club. Cressbrook Mill went bankrupt in 1965, after which time it changed from being a private mill estate to the public village that it now is.

The Monsal Trail passes Cressbrook Mill. This 8.5-mile (13.7-kilometre) walk and cycleway mostly follows the old trackbed of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway where, from 1866 to 1959, the village of Cressbrook was served by Monsal Dale railway station. [1] Until May 2011 the Cressbrook Tunnel (and others) were closed to walkers and cyclists [2] for safety reasons and the Trail diverted across the River Wye next to the Mill.

David Cannon McConnel emigrated to Queensland, Australia in 1840. In 1841, he established the Cressbrook Homestead named after their home town. The homestead in turn gives its name to the modern-day localities of Cressbrook, Queensland and Lower Cressbrook, Queensland. [3]

Publications

The history of Cressbrook was recently captured in the book Behind The View — Life and times in Cressbrook, a Derbyshire Mill village. This was written by and published by the Cressbrook Community association with the help of a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative, a Countryside Agency project.

Bill Bryson writes warmly about Cressbrook Mill in his 2015 travel memoir The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island .

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litton Mill</span>

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cressbrook Dale</span> Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District

Cressbrook Dale 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tideswell Dale</span> Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wye Valley, Derbyshire</span> Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District

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.

References

  1. Truman, P., Hunt, D., (1989) Midland Railway Portrait Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing
  2. "Monsal Trail – Work to re-open the tunnels". Peak District National Park. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. "Cressbrook Homestead (entry 600503)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 12 July 2013.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Cressbrook at Wikimedia Commons