Lunch in Litton, well dressing in Cressbrook

After our time in Tideswell we had lunch in the nearby village of Litton before going on to Cressbrook.

Litton is another Peak District limestone village tucked away in the Wye Valley countryside.  The leafy village green extends down the main street and there are old stone houses and cottages. Lead mining went on here as well as the making of textiles at Litton Mill, one of the local C18th mills, sadly notorious for the harsh working conditions which included child labourers. It was, therefore, good to see the old village school with a carving over one of the windows 'National School and Village Library - Litton 1869'.  It was around about this time that more small schools were being built so that children could receive a basic education.  National Schools were funded by the church and parish system and apparently Litton School was used at first as a day school, an evening library and a Sunday School.

Leaving Litton we went on to Cressbrook through Cressbrook Dale which forms part of the  Derbyshire Dales Nature Reserve and well known for its limestone geology and wildlife. A  prominent feature is Peter's Rock which probably got it's name from the rounded shape similar to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  A less pleasant name given to it was Gibbet Rock as it was here that public hangings took place, the last being in 1815.

Several of these steep-sided dales have footpaths and bridleways and many unusual wild flowers can be spotted especially in Cressbrook Dale - early purple orchids, cowslips, lords and ladies, violets, cranesbill and many others. In the Winter a stream flows through this dale and watercress was once cultivated in its clear waters.

Views looking down towards Upper Dale and Monsal Dale from Cressbrook village 

The roof tops of the school and other houses viewed from a top lane.

The houses, school, farmstead and other community buildings in Cressbrook are built along a few single track lanes on the side of a hill.  One lane with a steep descent leads down into Miller's Dale and Monsal Dale where the River Wye flows.  Here another textile mill was built by Richard Arkwright who had more enlightened ideas about better working conditions for his employees.

A picture using natural materials done by the primary school children

This was the children's contribution to the well dressing and village festivities this year.  The pictures made of natural materials are pressed into clay and there were one or two other examples dotted around the village. Cressbrook is one of the many Peak District villages to have Gala Days and well dressing ceremonies in the Summer months. (Read about the tradition of well dressing here).

We came across the Tudor-style mansion of Cressbrook Hall, now an hotel. Not far away there are further trails to walk including walking or cycling along the disused railway tracks and through the tunnels of the Monsal Trail. Everyone can enjoy the scenery from the hills above.

Monsal Viaduct

It was our 49th wedding anniversary this week. It was a low-key celebration as we've been busy with the family, but we've had some lovely garden-related gifts and there's the garden, of course, to enjoy. Most days we just like to relax at home, although we did go out for a drive to one of our favourite places in Derbyshire yesterday evening and had a wander around Castleton which we haven't been to since last Autumn.

Tideswell, Derbyshire

Last Thursday we drove south from the more familiar Hope Valley through the different landscape of the White Peaks limestone plateau area of Derbyshire so that we could spend some time in Tideswell, the nearby hamlet of Cressbrook and the village of Litton.

We stopped in Tideswell in the market place area by the church as I wanted to spend some time inside before taking a walk.

Tideswell was in times past an important centre for the wool trade and this is reflected in the buildings. Villagers would have been occupied in agriculture on sheep and dairy farms - it's still an agricultural area today - or they would have worked in the local lead mines, mills and quarries.  The 14th century parish church of St. John the Baptist is a beautiful place of worship and known as the Cathedral of the Peak.  It has many interesting features and there is an annual festival on the feast day of the nativity of St. John the Baptist (24th June) followed by a week long programme of festivities including well dressing, traditional Morris dancing and a torchlight procession.

The south porch door has Psalm 84.2 carved on it in Latin:  "How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord God of Hosts!"

Looking up into the bell tower you can see the round trapdoor through which the bells can be raised and lowered for retuning or repair.  All the bells are old dating from the mid 17th century.

There are many carved details taken from nature.

Mary Magdalene with a jar of spikenard, a precious ointment.

Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist

The caring of the young

Learning

Prayer and Praise

The Cathedral of the Peak is particularly noted for its wood carving, the oldest being in the Lady Chapel and dating from the medieval period. The organ case and carvings on the choir stalls were crafted by three generations of a local family, the Hudstones, beginning in the 19th century.

Here are a few of the many beautiful examples.

The Lady Chapel

There is a fragment of  C16th coloured glass.  Initials A M stand for
'Ave Maria'. Other symbols of the Virgin Mary in the Lady Chapel are the rose and the lily.

The monument with two female stone figures (dated from before 1300) would have been in the original church that stood on this site.

The  restored monument to a knight and his lady thought to be Sir Thurston de Bower and his wife, Margaret, in the de Bower Chapel

The Lyttons of Litton

Bishop Robert Pursglove

                There are several interesting memorial brasses of prominent local family members.

The C15th  tomb of Sir Sampson Meverill in the chancel is made of Purbeck marble from Dorset.
On the top is a brass with a symbolic representation of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

On the north side of the church are many old buildings. The St. John's Institute building houses the local library.  

In the main street there are some interesting little shops such as one selling books, second hand, I think, although I didn't go in - very tempting to spend time browsing around when we had plans to go elsewhere!

However, I did go into the baker's and bought a granary loaf and the rose petal shortbread which we've since enjoyed!

It was soon time to drive on to Cressbrook  to see some examples of well dressing (the tradition of making pictures with flowers and other natural materials to give thanks for the supply of  natural water sources) and then had lunch in Litton.

Litton

 More about Cressbrook and Litton next time.....