Holymoorside

Holymoorside
The 2006 Well Dressing in Holymoorside
Holymoorside
Holymoorside shown within Derbyshire
Population	2,223 (2011)
Civil parish	Holymoorside and Walton
District	North East Derbyshire
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHESTERFIELD
Postcode district	S42 7xx
Dialling code	01246
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	North East Derbyshire

Holymoorside is a small village in North East Derbyshire, England, approximately two miles west of Chesterfield. It is located at 53.21 North, -1.49 West. The civil parish is called Hoymoorside and Walton. The population of this parish taken at the 2011 Census was 2,223. ^[1] Close to the boundary of the Peak District National Park, Chatsworth House lies seven miles to the west of the village.

History

Holymoorside once hosted four public houses but only two remain: The Lamb Inn and The Bull's Head. The Lamb Inn was part of a butcher's business dating back to 1851, with the present design of the pub dating from 1953 when the shop moved to new premises on New Road. The Bull's Head has roots dating back to 1881.

The Old Star, an additional pub on Loads Road but now a private residence dating back to 1820, was notorious for the suicide, by cutting the throat, of a landlord in 1886. Its owners, Chesterfield Borough Council, sold the pub at auction in April 1921, when Mrs H. Dickens secured the sale with a bid of £1500. The Old Star closed in 1959 with a local newspaper report at the time stating that it had been licensed for 300 years.

The Woodman's Arms was an alehouse, which only sold beer and not spirits or wines. As the name suggests, the landlord's main occupation was a woodcutter and timber merchant. The earliest mention of the premises in the local trade directories was in 1862. Now a private residence, the building still stands as Sycamore House, on the narrow lane between The Lamb and The Bull's Head.

The village has three churches, reflecting the religious history of the "Holy Moor". There is a local grocer, newsagent and weekly Post Office at the village hall. The oldest building in the village is Hipper Hall, an early 17th-century farmhouse with an even older tithe barn. The original school was built in 1874 largely at the expense of the millowners, the "Manlove family".

The Manloves were proprietors of the cotton thread mill which was built towards the end of the 18th century. This mill employed many of the women and girls of the village, whilst the men and boys worked in the tin mine. The mill buildings, which were three storeys high and were acquired by the Manlove Brothers around 1840, were prosperous for about 50 years, employing 200 people at its peak, but closed in 1902 and now hardly a trace remains of their existence. After 1902 the site was demolished, and in 1930 a row of houses called Riverside Crescent replaced the mill.

Customs

The traditional Derbyshire custom of well dressing is maintained in Holymoorside.

"Holymoorside and Walton Arts Festival Society" arrange events throughout the year, including the scarecrow making event in June each year which involves the whole village.

Economy

Since 2009, the local Derbyshire County Council representative has been Mr Stuart Ellis who is a member of the Conservative Party. Local amenities are provided by Holymoorside and Walton Parish Council, under the district council of North East Derbyshire.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Holymoorside.