There are hundreds of towns and villages in Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park. In the northern part of the region, the towns and villages are often quite isolated and built of the abundant native stone.
The southern half of the region consists mostly of rich agricultural
lowlands, through which flow the Rivers Dove, Derwent and the Trent.
Stone is generally a rarity so its villages tend to consist of cottages
built of red brick with occasional half timbered walls and thatch roofs,
as opposed to the whitish grey stone cottages of the limestone plateau
or the warm gritstone cottages on the moors and shale valleys further
north. Each village offers a variety of architectural styles, from manor
houses to simple terraced cottages.
Some of the villages in this area of Derbyshire lie on the banks of the
River Trent and came into being when Anglo Saxon adventurers sailed up
the river over 1000 years ago. Later, castles were built along the Trent
as it was seen as the boundary between the civilized south and the more
barbarian north. These are long gone but communities grew up around them
that still exist, like at Melbourne, now a large vibrant southern
Derbyshire village.
Many of the villages were mentioned in Domesday. They mostly belonged
to the King with an individual placed in charge. They were mostly simple
agricultural communities that consisted of a few farmsteads, a church
and a mill. Some were owned by the Church but many of these were passed
onto great families at the time of the dissolution of the monastries.
Many of these families have remained associated with the villages for
centuries and some villages were built to serve the needs of great
estates that built up.
Many of our present day villages have very unique and varying
characters. There is nearly always some focal point, whether it be a
school, church, pub, village hall or just a shop. Many have all these
and much more. Most have plenty of community spirit, sometimes dampened
by the loss of a village school, or the closing of post office or shop.
Generally, villagers will get together for special occasions like Well
Dressing or an annual fete.
For accommodation in Derbyshire and the Peak District please see Derbyshire and Peak District Accommodation
For more Peak District information try Peak District National Park and for accommodation in the Peak District try Peak District Accommodation
Tourist Information Centres
Many of the villages above also offer external links to their own local websites.
For maps on any of the above villages try either www.streetmap.co.uk
or www.multimap.co.uk
For historical maps try Old Derbyshire Maps
