MAPLETON AND OKEOVER VISITOR GUIDE
PLAN YOUR DAY OUT
Location: From the north, follow the A515 to the outskirts of Ashbourne, until at the crest of the hill, as you start to enter the town, turn right in front of the Bowling Green Public House, along North Avenue. Take the first turn on the right, down Mapleton Road, which winds round to the village. Roadside parking is available in the village. From the south, take the A515 for Buxton, turning left at the top of Ashbourne Marketplace, along Union Street, and follow the road around as it bends to the right. At a ‘T’ junction of roads, continue straight ahead down Mapleton Road, which winds around to the village (SK166480).
Visit: The Tissington Trail runs along a 13-mile route from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay. At this point, it joins up with the High Peak Trail, which runs from High Peak Junction to Dowlow near Buxton. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, the traffic-free Trail is ideal for horse riders, cyclists, naturalists, and walkers. It is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs along the flat sections.
Refreshments: The Okeover Arms in the village. There are pubs, restaurants, and cafes in Ashbourne to meet all requirements.
Walk: Mapleton and Dove Valley Walk, follows the Tissington Trail to the ancient village of Thorpe and returns along the beautiful Dove Valley to the brick-built village of Mapleton.
Special Places of Interest in the Locality: Ilam Village, with its alpine-style cottages and close to Dovedale, makes it a very popular attraction. The National Trust grounds and country park of Ilam Hall are open to the public. – Ashbourne is one of Derbyshire’s finest towns, with a wealth of Georgian architecture and a triangular cobbled marketplace. – Tissington is one of the prettiest and most unspoilt villages not only in Derbyshire but in the whole of the country. The entrance used by most visitors is off the main Ashbourne to Buxton Road, through large rusticated lodge gates. An avenue of 200-year-old lime trees immediately creates an air of expectancy. Surprisingly, this fine approach does not lead directly to Tissington Hall, but to the village itself. Neat, well-tended gardens and limestone cottages, behind wide grass verges and backed by mature trees, give a feeling of peace and tranquillity. No planner designed it; the beauty of the village is the result of evolution.
INTRODUCTION
The tiny village of Mapleton, which adjoins Okeover, is one and three-quarters of a mile from Ashbourne. It stands on the Derbyshire side of the River Dove that divides it from neighbouring Staffordshire. The village of attractive red brick cottages is somewhat unusual in the Peak District, where stone typically dominates. It borders the Peak District and acts as a gateway to the Dove Valley, with houses stretched out in a line along the road through the village, mostly facing the river. On the other side of the river is Okeover Hall, a private residence not open to the public.
OKEOVER
A low single arched bridge crosses the Dove, and on the Staffordshire side of the river is the former Okeover Corn Mill; some distance behind that on the opposite side of the road stands the hall. Okeover Hall dates from the 18th century; it is a pleasing, mainly Georgian building of red brick around three sides of a courtyard, with a more recent extension. It has a church only a few yards away, built as a private chapel.
MAPLETON OR MAPPLETON
As with so many towns and villages in Derbyshire, there is a problem with either the pronunciation or the spelling – with Mapleton (or should it be Mappleton?), there is a problem with both. Locals invariably pronounce the name according to the latter spelling. But the church notice board, many local guidebooks and the Ordnance Survey prefer the former. Whatever the spelling, this little village is a place not to be missed with its lovely walks and air of peace and tranquillity.
TISSINGTON TRAIL
To the east of the village, the Tissington Trail follows the tracks of the former London and North Western Railway’s branch line from Ashbourne to Buxton. Ashbourne never got the mainline it wanted and had to be content with a branch line – this may have been no bad thing, as the additional development that would have ensued might have detracted from its present-day charm.
After only 70 years, the line was closed. The track was removed, and a path laid in its place for the use of walkers, pedal cyclists and horse riders. A car park opened at the Mapleton end of the Trail, with a bicycle hire centre.
OKEOVER ARMS
Okeover Arms closed its doors in 2002 and was put on the market, but reopened again in time for Christmas 2003. It is not the only time it has been closed. It lost its licence temporarily when the family of Ealdred Okeover thought he was spending too much time in the pub and used their influence to have it shut down. Nowadays, it is a popular venue for walkers needing refreshment and for other visitors looking for good food.
ST MARY’S CHURCH
In an area where traditionally built stone churches are found, St Mary’s Church comes as something of a surprise. It is a small church, stone-built, but with a most unusual pillared porch and a dome; it has been christened ‘Little St Paul’s’ by some visitors. Several critics have been more scathing in their comments, which seems unfair, just because it lacks traditionalism, as it is a lovely church to visit.
THE OKEOVER CLERGY HOUSE
Close to the bridge over the River Dove is a handsome five-bay Georgian House, built in the mid-1700s by Rowland Okeover and known as ‘The Okeover Clergy House’. Initially, divided up into three almshouses, later reduced to two, for the widows of clergymen.
TEN FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT MAPLETON
1. The name Mapleton derives from the Old English words “maple and tun.” It refers to the deciduous species of tree native to the area, with a tun, an enclosure, a farmstead, a village or an estate.
2. Mapleton is of Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.
3. St Mary’s Church dates from the 18th century, and was designed by James Gibbs, a former pupil of the famous Sir Christopher Wren.
4. A church has occupied the site since the reign of King Edward I in the late thirteenth century.
5. Both the church and nearby Okeover Hall are the only stone buildings in the village, the rest being brick.
6. Okeover Hall is set in what was an extensive deer park, but is now given over to sheep. At the main entrance is a fine wrought iron balustrade with magnificent entrance gates, made by Robert Bakewell, the famous ironsmith
7. The hall dates to around 1720. As a modern wing that was designed by Marshall Sisson, after years of neglect, restoration took place in the 20th century.
8. There is a public road across the park. Motorists confronted in towns and cities with road calming measures need to slow down at humps in the road, or sleeping policemen. A somewhat different type of road calming is in operation in Okeover Park, particularly when the sun is out and the tarmac is warm. It takes the form of sleeping sheep lying on the hot road. They move with great reluctance to let passing motorists through, after being slowed almost to a standstill, and drivers frequently have to sound their car horns.
9. Along the narrow winding road from Ashbourne to the centre of Mapleton, up a tree-lined drive, is Callow Hall. The grounds cover 35 acres, and there are splendid views from the Hotel’s elevated position of the valleys of the Bentley Brook and the River Dove
10. For many years, at noon on New Year’s Day, ten teams of three paddled rafts half a mile down the river to the bridge at Okeover, scrambled up the banking and leapt from the parapet thirty feet into the freezing water below, then swam to the bankside and ran 500 yards to the pub! For a short time, the event was reduced to just the bridge jump. But in the 1920s, it was cancelled permanently when the land owners used permission for the adjoining ground to be used for spectators due to the damage caused by the ever-increasing number of spectators.
MAPLETON AND DOVE VALLEY WALK
