Wetton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the village in Staffordshire.

John Wetton is a bass guitarist and singer-songwriter.

Wetton is also a suburb of Cape Town, in the northwestern quadrant of the Cape Flats.

Wetton Mill and tea room.

The bridge over the river Manifold at Wetton Mill

Wetton is a small village in the Staffordshire Peak District. It is located about 2 miles west of Alstonfield and 8½ miles east of Leek. It stands high above the Manifold Valley and contains mostly ston-built proprties. The village has an inn, and a church, part of which dates back to the 14th century church. The church is unusual in that it has an external staircase to its belfry.

The village gives its name to Wetton Mill (or Wettonmill), which is nearby hamlet on the River Manifold, and Wetton Hill (grid reference SK104563), which are both in the care of the National Trust.

There are many burial chambers or mounds in the area, including those on Wetton Hill itself, at Wetton Low (1km S of the village), and at Long Low, some 2km SE of the village. There are also several campsites^{[citation needed]} in the area offering superb access to the Manifold Valley.

Wetton was served by a railway station which was opened by the narrow gauge (2' 6") Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway on June 27, 1904, whilst being entirely operated by the North Staffordshire Railway. The village of Wetton was a good mile from the station, and the fact that the line followed the valley bottom whereas the settlements served by the railway were mostly on the hill-tops above was a contributary factor in its demise. The line closed in 1934, but in 1937 the route was reopened as the Manifold Way, a fully-tarmacked 8 mile walk- and cycle-path which runs from Hulme End in the north to Waterhouses in the south.

There is ample parking by the mill, on the site of the old halt, and the cafe is a popular stopping point for walkers using the Manifold Way and the many other rural walks which can incorporate parts of it.