ARCHITECTURE TRAIL Ashbourne Duffield A38 A50 to A52 26 Stoke A52 & M6 Derby A38 to Birmingham 25 M1 South
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Printed August 2016. Details correct at the time of printing. of time the at correct Details 2016. August Printed INCLUDING TOWN MAP TOWN INCLUDING 1814110 number registration Company 515399 number charity Registered Wales. and England in charity a as registered Wirksworth Heritage Centre is a company limited by guarantee and and guarantee by limited company a is Centre Heritage Wirksworth 211085 03302 Tel: www.wirksworthheritagecentre.org Website: Wirksworth DE4 4DS DE4 Wirksworth Wirksworth Heritage Centre, 31 St John Street, Street, John St 31 Centre, Heritage Wirksworth the visit please information further like would you If Rance David and Joyce Barry to thanks With Design by Mill Design & Advertising www.themilldesign.co.uk Advertising & Design Mill by Design Town map courtesy of Paul Carr Paul of courtesy map Town Claire Robinson. Claire This leaflet is kindly sponsored by Andrew Pattison and and Pattison Andrew by sponsored kindly is leaflet This THANK YOU THANK open countryside with delightful walks and stunning views. stunning and walks delightful with countryside open head of the Ecclesbourne Valley surrounded by beautiful beautiful by surrounded Valley Ecclesbourne the of head closest city, just 12 miles away. The town is nestled at the the at nestled is town The away. miles 12 just city, closest Bakewell (12 miles) and Ashbourne (10 miles). Derby is its its is Derby miles). (10 Ashbourne and miles) (12 Bakewell Wirksworth is within easy reach of Matlock (4 miles), miles), (4 Matlock of reach easy within is Wirksworth M1 South M1 Birmingham 25 A38 to to A38 Derby & M6 & A52 Stoke Stoke A50 to to A50 26 A52 Duffield A38 Ashbourne ARCHITECTURE TRAIL ARCHITECTURE Belper A610 B5023 Ripley Alfreton A6 Cromford 28 Matlock A615 Manchester Buxton Buxton & & Buxton A515 to to A515 A6 to to A6 INTRODUCTION The 18th century saw a widespread re-building and general consolidation of the town centre. Towards Wirksworth lies in the centre of Derbyshire and in fact in its end, it also brought the the centre of England - “its very navel” - as D H Lawrence introduction of water-powered described it when he lived here for a year. His description cotton spinning mills. suggests the way the town nestles in the head of the Ecclesbourne Valley. Industrialisation continued through the 19th century with The north-south line of the River Ecclesbourne the development of steam demarcates the boundary of two stone types. On the powered weaving mills, which west side is hard Carboniferous limestone, which was specialised in the manufacture mined for lead and quarried for building, burnt for of narrow fabrics. BRINGING THE GLAMOUR OF THE quicklime and more recently quarried and crushed for BIG SCREEN BACK TO WIRKSWORTH industrial purposes. On the east The 20th century saw growth in the importance of www.tNLcinema.co.uk lies softer gritstone, which was quarrying, but economic decline in other areas of BOX OFFICE 01629 337513 easier to shape and therefore employment continued up to the 1980s when an used more for building. intensive programme of conservation-led regeneration projects arrested decline by revealing the town’s THE TOWN’S HISTORY unrecognised and undervalued assets. The weight of history lies heavy on Wirksworth. The area was CULTURAL TRADITIONS occupied by the Romans and its Despite the loss of its traditional industries, the town lead deposits mined by them. still celebrates its cultural traditions. The annual well Its Anglo Saxon past is evidenced by the name Eccles dressings happen in Whitsuntide; the clypping of the (place of Christian mission) bourne (spring or brook). parish church on the Sunday nearest its patronal festival A precious relic from this period is an elaborate carved in September, which kicks off the town’s remarkable coffin lid found in 1820 under the church floor. The arts festival; a farmers market is held the first Saturday circular shape of the churchyard may also stem from this of every month and the town’s time. The town’s Barmote Court has settled lead mining weekly Tuesday market, held disputes for over 700 years and still sits here in its own since its charter was given by King court house. Edward I in 1306, still gets set up in the Market Place each week. The town’s 17th century buildings suggest this was a time of relative wealth, with the expansion of building in A SPECIAL PLACE the town centre encroaching into the town’s once much bigger market place. We hope you enjoy your visit and get a sense of what a very special place Wirksworth is. The trail covers only a fraction of the interesting highways and byeways that have survived remarkably intact. You can’t experience them by car. The only way to enjoy the town is by foot. Parking is limited, as you may have discovered, so the ideal way to visit is by train, when the whole of the beautiful Ecclesbourne Valley is opened up to view. So please come again and find out more. Barry Joyce, Wirksworth Civic Society WELCOME TO THE WIRKSWORTH ARCHITECTURAL TRAIL The starting point for the trail is 31 St John Street - Wirksworth Heritage Centre. The route takes you clockwise around the town centre ending back at the Heritage Centre. It will take between 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how long you like to linger. 8 1-3, GREENHILL 6 “HOPKINSON’S HOUSE” Built in 1631 for a wealthy lead merchant (William Hopkinson 15, MARKET PLACE 7 from nearby Ible) and rescued “SYMONDS HOUSE” from a ruinous state in the 5 1980s by the Derbyshire Historic This handsome Georgian (c.1750) Steeple Grange Buildings Trust. See if you can house, known as ‘Symonds House’ 13, MARKET PLACE 4 To Middleton Railway work out the original window by Wirksworth 7, MARKET PLACE was built by Thomas Leacroft, “DALE HOUSE” rter La pattern (prior to 18th century Po ne Steward to The Duchy of Lancaster, HIGH “MARSDENS” AnotherHIGH handsome 18th century alterations) from the fragments 5, MARKET PLACE in the ownership of which much PEAK PEAK Another building much older gentleman’s house, now split of original gritstone quoins, TRAIL of the town lay. Only someone TRAIL “MERCIA” than its Victorian shopEco frontage Centre into flats and with shop fronts lintels and mullions set into the Middleton Top in his position would have had Part of a former Georgian suggests. This becomes obvious inserted into its original facade. limestone wall. Engine House and National Stone the temerity and power to add an coaching inn - The Crown Inn. when one enters the shop and Bolehill Visitor Centre Centre extra bay (now No 15a) thereby The carriage arch leads to sees the enriched plaster ceiling. halving the width of the road. Crown Yard, in which stands a The design of roses and vines little former silk and velvet mill. dates it to the early 17th century. 35, GREENHILL “BABINGTON HOUSE” Supposedly associated with the RAVENSTOR To Cromford Babingtons (Anthony Babington led 25, MARKET RAILWAY STATION and Matlock M d the attempted rescue of Mary, Queen id a PLACE d o of Scots), this house was actually built le R t around the same time as 1-3 Greenhill “MANNA DELI” o d n r and was called Greenhill House. It o The small scale of this R f o stands in the bed of the quarry from 9 a m building and the steep G d o r r which the limestone was obtained for its ee pitch of its roof gable are n C h construction. Over the last 150 years it has been a workhouse and a cottage clues to its 17th century ill hospital (from 1868). It is now back to being a private residence. origin. The rear elevation on Church Walk retains mullioned windows typical of that period. 3 THE TOWN HALL 12 Designed by A D Bradley, the foundation N stone of the Town Hall was laid in 1871 T o h 9 r e t and it opened in 1873. There was a h D a E Masonic background to its construction. le n The stone used is from Halifax and of a d e poor quality. The ground floor arches were v i WIRKSWORTH designed for a cheese market. Outside, a r RAILWAY STATION D (Ecclesbourne cast iron milepost records the 139 miles n 10 Valley Railway) distance to London. o Greenhill WC s i r r 8 a H 2 C Green 11 oldwe h THE RED LION HOTEL ll St s 6 a 7 W This handsome Georgian To Alport ST MARY’S GATE building was the town’s Heights e principal coaching and posting 10 ‘CRUCK’ TIMBER FRAME n Whatstandwell a 5 13 L inn. The central Venetian COTTAGE and Crich d n i window lights a grand room l B Here you can see the remains of in which the gentry held their 4 14 a timber ‘cruck’ frame building ‘Assemblies’. The chimneystack St Mary’s - possibly medieval. It was W at the side tells of the building’s Church es 11 revealed in the early 1970s when t E nd 3 15 likely medieval origins. two cottages were pulled down. To Brassington Market and Carsington Place Water THE MOOT HALL 31, ST JOHN eway aus 16 C e The Moot Hall in Chapel Lane was he t T a STREET G 2 s built in 1814 to house the Barmote y’ ar t M S Court, set up in 1288 to enforce lead WIRKSWORTH HERITAGE CENTRE Wirksworth mining laws. It replaced a grander 1 Moot Hall built in 1773 in the Old t Heritage St John Street was our s C Market Place, in front of the Red historically the Centre Hammond’ Lion.