ASHBOURNE TO AULT HUCKNAL
A TO Z – DERBYSHIRE AND THE PEAK DISTRICT – CHAPTER 3
ASHBOURNE (on the A52 midway between Leek and Derby – SK180465)
Ashbourne is a historic market town situated in an attractive valley, divided by the Henmore Brook and frequently referred to as the ‘Gateway to Dovedale’. However, it is much more than that, boasting numerous fine buildings, excellent shopping facilities, and an attractive layout. Most of which has been protected since 1968 by conservation area status. Initially, the town lay only to the north of the Henmore, with the tiny hamlet of Compton to the south. However, by the 13th Century, trade prospered in Compton as taxes did not have to be paid on that side of the Henmore. Ashbourne, being Crown Property, had to pay dues to the King. Both are now joined, though the old village street retains the name of Compton.
The town has managed to preserve much of its architectural character and medieval layout over the centuries. The long, straight main street and a large triangular marketplace have remained largely intact. However, the latter has been encroached upon by buildings and is now significantly smaller.
St Oswald’s Church is one of the most beautiful churches in the county, featuring a lovely slender spire that is 212 feet in height. Inside, there is an extensive collection of impressive statues. The sculpture of Penelope Boothby, crafted from pure white Carrara, is nationally renowned. There is a bust in the War Memorial Gardens of Catherine Mumford, who was born in 1829, in a small terraced house in Ashbourne. She married William Booth and helped him found the Salvation Army.
ASHBOURNE – GINGERBREAD SHOP
Built around 1492 in three separate units, it was later turned into one. It is believed that the building was a public house before the Napoleonic Wars, before it became a bakery. According to local legend, the recipe for gingerbread was given to the Ashbourne baker by a French prisoner of war billeted in Ashbourne during the Napoleonic Wars.
ASHBOURNE – OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Ashbourne’s Old Grammar School was founded in 1585 by a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. Four hundred years later, another Queen Elizabeth, the Second, visited the town to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the school. Over the years, the school had become too small to meet the needs of the 20th Century and a new school was built on Green Road. The old school continued in use for many years after that, but in 1997, the decision was made to sell the Grade I listed building.
ASHBOURNE – ROYAL SHROVETIDE FOOTBALL
Players at Ashbourne are referred to as ‘Up’ards’ if they live north of the Henmore Brook, and those to the south as the ‘Down’ards’. The games take place on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday every year, with the goals three miles apart. Traditionally, the game is played without rules. However, one ancient rule is that you must not murder your opponent, to which one or two others have been added.
The game starts at 2 p.m. at Shaw Croft, after the singing of the National Anthem. The ball is ‘turned up’, usually by some well-known celebrity who throws the ball to the assembled crowd. In 1928, HRH the Prince of Wales turned up the ball, and ever since then, the title of the game has had the ‘Royal’ prefix. Seventy-five years later, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was carried shoulder-high through the streets of the town to start the game.
Almost certainly, the game has been played since medieval times by rival villages. There are even claims that it has pagan origins, as some suggest that a human skull was substituted for the ball. Despite several attempts to stop it due to the trouble it has caused, it survives in Ashbourne.
ASHFORD-IN-THE-WATER (3 miles west of Bakewell, off the A6 – SK195697)
Ashford-in-the-Water is a lovely little village which nestles on the banks of the River Wye as it slowly meanders its way south towards Bakewell. It lies on the route of the ancient Portway, one of the Peak District’s oldest trackways, which has been used for many centuries. The beautiful, low-arched medieval Sheepwash Bridge, overhung by willow trees, was built on the site of the ford across the river. In the 17th Century, it was crossed each week by hundreds of packhorses, usually carrying malt from Derby. It has been widened at least twice and takes its name from the attached sheep pen from where sheep were driven into the pen before being thrown unceremoniously into the river and ducked underwater before shearing. The bridge is no longer open to traffic. It is a favourite spot where visitors can either feed the ducks or gaze down into the clear waters to see if they can spot a rainbow trout.
Lead mining was a prominent activity in the area, but the chief industry was once marble polishing. Impure forms of limestone mined locally, when polished, turned jet black. It was then cut and used for ornamental purposes. Henry Watson founded what was known as the Ashford Black Marble Works in 1748, at a site now acquired by the Water Board; the business finally closed in 1905. Marble was very popular in Victorian times and was exported worldwide. A table in the village church is inlaid with pieces of Ashford Marble.
ASHFORD – HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
Hanging in the aisle of Holy Trinity Church at Ashford-in-the-Water are four’ virgin crants,’ once carried at the funerals of unmarried girls. These are garlands made from white paper, cut to form rosettes, and fixed to wooden frames that hang above the pews where grieving relatives sat.
ASHOVER (on the B6036 off A632 Matlock to Chesterfield Road – SK349631)
The picturesque village of Ashover, the centre of which is designated a conservation area, lies in the beautiful Amber Valley, surrounded by tree-clad hills. The area is excellent for walking, which is gradually attracting a growing number of visitors as it becomes better known. In the past, it had a long history as an industrial centre, with quarrying and lead mining dating back to Roman times. The stocking frame knitting industry once rivalled lead mining in importance. It was based in that part of the village generally referred to as ‘Rattle’ because of the noise made by the machinery.
Ashover was a victim of the Civil War at the hands of both the King’s men and the Parliamentarians. Job Wall, the landlord of the Crispin Inn, refused the King’s troops entry, telling them they had had too much to drink already. But they threw him out and drank the ale, pouring the remainder down the street. Named after the patron saint of shoe, saddle and harness makers, the Crispin was once occupied by a cobbler. Outside, affixed to the front wall is the famous signboard telling the history of the inn.
Shortly after the First World War, the author, researcher, and publisher Cecil Lugard moved to the village and recorded a wealth of local historical details. He set up his printing press, which he called ‘the Dirty Duck’, at Wheatcroft Cottage. His book Saints and Sinners of Ashover certainly created a lot of local interest!
The Bassett Rooms, formerly called the Parish Rooms, were renamed in honour of the Bassett family, to mark the centenary year of Miss Elizabeth Bassett. Her family were in the confectionery business and created Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts.
AULT HUCKNALL (from Junction 29 on the M1 Motorway to Glapwell along the A617 – close to Hardwick Hall – SK467652)
Ault Hucknall, with a total of three houses and a Parish Church, is controversially claimed to be the smallest village in England, rather than a hamlet, due to the presence of the church. It was once much larger and dates back to Saxon times. The Church of St John the Baptist is the final resting place of the famous philosopher and writer Thomas Hobbes, who in the 17th Century served two Earls of Devonshire, father and son. In the churchyard, the yew tree is between 2,000 and 4,000 years old.
