LOCAL TOWNS

In 1502 Bakewell was owned by the Vernon family and passed on to the Manners family in 1567 when Dorothy Vernon married John Manners. Their son, Sir George Manners married Grace Pierrepont who in 1637 founded the grammer school, Lady Manners School. Monuments to the Vernon family can be found in the All Saints Parish Church which stands in a commanding position on the hillside where the town started.
The Domesday book entry called the town "Badequella", meaning Bath-well. Built on the Wye at a spot where it was fordable. In 924 Edward the Elder ordered a fortified borough to be built. Bakewell has one of the oldest markets in the area, dating from at least 1300. In 1826 the cattle market was moved from the present Rutland Terrace to the market place to enable coaches to pass through the town centre withot delay. A new Agricultural Business Centre across the river now incorporates the livestock market but there are still stall markets held here every Monday.

Alport is a small, quiet and attractive Peak District village, situated on the Haddon Estate. Named after the portway road which ran through the settlement the Saxon inhabitants of Alport added the prefix "al" meaning old. The stone houses with pretty gardens date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The river Lathkill cascades down through the village in a series of weirs and meets the river Bradford coming from Youlgrave. There are no pubs, cafes or shops but from Alport you can walk the 5 miles north through Lathkil Dale to Monyash, one of the loveliest walks in the Peak District, or you can walk along the River Bradford to Youlgrave, again a very pleasant walk.

The village of Rowsley is split into parts. Great Rowsley, or Rowsley South is situated on the A6 Matlock to Bakewell road and Little Rowsley on the side road to Chatsworth. The Peacock Hotel is in the centre of the main part of the village. The Parish Church of St Katherine is relatively new and dates from 1855. It contains the tomb chest of Lady Catherine Manners, the first wife of the 7th Duke of Rutland, who died in 1859. Caudwell's Mill is a grade II, listed, historic roller flour mill. A mill has stood on this site for over 400 years, powered by water from the river Wye. Peak village is a factory outlet shopping centre situated at Rowsley. Aside from shops, it houses a coffee shop and restaurant.

Famous as the Plague Village, Eyam lies in a beautiful setting in the heart of the Peak District. In 1665 the Plague was raging in London. A taylor by the name of George Viccars ordered some cloth from the capital and it arrived damp and had to be laid out to dry. This released the plague carrying fleas and within days, Viccars fell ill and died. Several of his neighbours also died and some families began to panic and fled the area. William Mompesson, the rector, supported by Thomas Stanley, a former incumbent, feared that this would spread the disease over a wider area and asked villagers to quarantine themselves.

Food and medical supplies were left at various points on the village boundary. The church was closed and services were held in Cucklett Delf, a valley nearby where a Plague Commemorative Service is still held annually. There were no funerals and families buried their own dead near their homes. At nearby Riley a Mrs Hancock buried her husband and 6 children in a space of 8 days. The Riley graves, as they are known, are still there.

The Plague ended in October 1666 and had claimed 260 lives in an 18 month period. Some of the cottages now carry a commemorative plaque. An authentic history of those fearful months is vividly told in the two floors of Eyam Museum which can be found near the coach park. The museum also looks at other aspects of village life in Eyam.

Matlock is situated in Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District National Park, about 20 miles north of Derby. Until the 1830's Matlock was a hamlet whose principal industry was agriculture with lead mining and quarrying as subsidiary activities. The building of the mills at Cromford, by Richard Arkwright in the late 18th century provided some employment for Matlock people but it was John Smedley, born 1803, who established Hydrotheraphy in Matlock and made it one of the most celebrated centres for the treatment of ailments with water theraphy, in the country. Smedley also built Riber Castle, which dominates the hillside above the town as a home for himself. It is now in ruins. Hall Leys Park is in the centre of the town and provides many recreational facilities, including tennis, miniture golf,a miniature railway, bowls, a childrens play area complete with paddling pool and a small boating lake.It's lovely setting also makes it a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of Matlock's busy shopping streets.

Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, became an instant tourist resort for the wealthy and influencial, when warm springs, at a constant temperature of 68 degrees fahrenheit, were discovered back in 1698. The upheavals in Europe in the later part of the 18th century onwards discouraged the wealthy from making the Grand Tour and they diverted their attention to places like the Peak District. Matlock Bath was a beneficary of this new era in travel. The last 30 years have seen enormous changes. Roads have been widened and now there are more souvenir shops, amusement arcades, cafes and other food outlets, and car and coach parks.The main road that runs through the town is split in two parts known as South Parade and North Parade.