THREE VILLAGES STEEPED IN HISTORY

The area around Alport, Middleton, and Youlgrave has been in continuous occupation from early times.  Bronze Age barrows and monuments such as Arbor Low to the north of Middleton, the Nine Ladies on Stanton Moor and many other minor sites bear testimony to this.  There is evidence also that the Romans discovered lead in the area - Romano-British pottery was found at Smerrill in 1844.

ALPORT

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MIDDLETON

The largest (*geographically), of the three parishes and the middle-sized of the three villages, Middleton by Youlgrave is a limestone gem. (*Middleton & Smerrill Parish: 1195 ha, Harthill Parish: 372 ha, Youlgrave Parish: 1016 ha, data from Environmental Services, County Offices, Matlock.)

Nestling just below the top land, the heart of the village, a triangular square set on the edge of the dales, is a brilliant choice of site for climate – sheltered from the worst of the weather, bright in the sun, and with good frost drainage.

The Square is just the right size to turn round a coach-and-four (nowadays it’s Hulley’s buses, five  per day!)  Unspoilt listed terraced cottages, houses and farmsteads, the memorial playground, a picnic site and mature trees surround it.

The only downsides, some might say, are the facts that the Bateman Arms was closed in 1918 by Sarah Waterhouse, the lady of the manor; the sale of cottages by the estate, usually to holiday home use; and Tor Farm, which has a collection of rotting Trabants, other vehicles and scrap. 

We are also proud to encompass Fulwood’s Castle (a very ruined fortified manor house); the rock behind which Christopher Fulwood was caught and later died at the hands of Cromwell’s men; Smerrill Grange, medieval village site; Arbor Low stone circle (currently recumbent, but there’s a challenge!); two minor stately homes; three water tap heads (dry); Bateman’s Tomb; a sheep dip and fishponds; and fine countryside walks. 

The people are friendly.  The ‘locals’ are mainly farmers, estate and quarry workers; and carers, mainly retired.  The ‘offcomers’ are mainly long distance outsiders, but made most welcome, and often the movers and shakers.  We sustain a Village Hall, a Parish Council; a Village Hall Committee, which is responsible for many events for the entertainment of villagers and visitors; the Welldressing and Village Market; a local history group that published ‘Our Middleton’; two videos of old images and new; the ‘Sites of Meaning, Other Stones, Other Meanings’ project; and an author, Patricia Warren, of imminent repute for ‘All in a Day’s Work, Stories from the Country Matchmaker’, which is available from The Country Bookstore or Farming Books and Videos.

We produce top quality bespoke beef, and sheep and milk, all grass fed and well cared for, from the in-village and outlying farms.  We include as workers or businesses, an Introductions Agency; a Headmaster; a Soft Furnishings Company; three collectors of old or interesting cars, a cast iron design and fix company; milk and paper delivery, artists and trainers, to name a few.

Despite the holiday cottage trend, 8 boys and one girl get on the school bus every school morning. 

We haven’t got a shop or a pub, so some might think it’s not really worth coming to visit . . . but we have got cottages to rent and three B&Bs and a camping barn or two, so it’s well worth coming to stay . . !

YOULGRAVE  

Youlgrave nestles on the hillside above the joining of the beautiful Lathkill Dale and Bradford Dale at Alport.  

Set within the Peak National Park it is the largest village with a population of 1500.  Three long distance paths: the Alternative Pennine Way, the Limestone Way and the White Peak Way all pass through the village, swelling the numbers of walkers.  Farmers, along with Park Rangers, increasingly see their business as maintaining, repairing and helping conserve the many paths, stiles, walls, meadows, ponds and sites of special interest that abound in this area.  

WHAT'S IN A NAME

The origins of Youlgrave’s name are uncertain but it is likely that it has reference to mining, which is a local industry.  Most favoured contenders are ‘Ye Olde Grebe’ which means ‘the old mine’ (rake).  Or from Giolgrave, meaning ‘yellow grove’.  Yellow refers to the colour of the ore.  Grove may not be to do with trees but from ‘groover’ which was another name for a miner.  Putting all these possibilities together points to one hippie conclusion, that it was perhaps where ‘the old groover’ lived!

SPELLING LESSONS

For those of you that are confused by the spelling of the village name,  I am pleased to give you a list of spellings of the name of ‘the most miss-spelt village’ as compiled by local historian and former teacher at Youlgrave school, Mr J W Shimwell. 

The option that Youlgrave Websight has gone for is not a universal choice, in fact it is only recently that the Highways Department has used 'Youlgrave' and Ordnance Survey still use 'Youlgreave', so the argument continues . . .

An article on this topic, amongst many other interesting local facts can be found in Julie Bunting’s book ‘Derbyshire Superlatives’ available from the Post Office.

POINTS OF INTEREST  

Various products are mined locally.  Most extensively was lead which is largely exhausted now; but also products for the nearby Staffordshire Potteries industry.  These are chert and barytes.  As graves in the churchyard will testify, the mining enterprise at Mawstone Mine came to an abrupt end in 1932 when a gas explosion killed eight men.

The church of All Saints originally served the villages of Winster, Elton, Birchover, Stanton, Middleton by Youlgrave and Gratton.  Its medieval beginning and extensions in the14th, 15th, 17th and the 19th centuries have ensured it is one of the largest churches in the Peak District.  The rich and varying architectural styles and ornamentation are evident throughout the church and are explained in literature available on entering the church (usually by the southern door).

The painted glass window behind the altar was designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made in the William Morris workshops.  Morris himself evidently designed the four angels at the top of the picture.

Along the street, marking the centre of the village is the fountain, which is a large round stone edifice.  Visitors often mistake it variously as a tomb, an air vent, or perhaps a war memorial; it was in fact a reservoir that filled with fresh spring water, piped from the hillside behind Mawstone Mine through the night.  It was unlocked at 6am each morning.  This was back in 1829.  By 1869 the two inch diameter pipe was furring up and corroded and a further ten tap spots were installed around the village.  When the scheme was finished a day of celebration saw the rebirth of the custom of Welldressing and to this day the five village welldressings are located at, or close to, the original tap sites.  

In the late 1980’s Youlgrave was in the news as the village celebrated 150 years as a private water company, still supplying water to local residents.

As farmers are facing financial uncertainty, some are tapping into the tourist industry.  Barns are converted to provide camping facilities and farmhouse bed and breakfast is offered.  In fact, tourism must now form the major part of the local economy - a testimony to the unspoilt villages and wonderful countryside.  Some say, however, that land will not survive in its current state without some preservation of farming.