Bakewell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bakewell | |
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  Bakewell shown within Derbyshire |
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| Population | 3,979 (Parish) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Bakewell |
| District | Derbyshire Dales |
| Shire county | Derbyshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BAKEWELL |
| Postcode district | DE45 |
| Dialling code | 01629 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| European Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | West Derbyshire |
| List of places: UK • England • Derbyshire | |
Bakewell is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Badeca's Well'. According to the 2001 Census the civil parish of Bakewell had a population of 3,979.
The only town included in the Peak District National Park, it is located on the River Wye, about thirteen miles (21 km) southwest of Sheffield, close to the tourist attractions of Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall. It is well known for the local confection, Bakewell Pudding (often confused with the more widely known Bakewell Tart, which is very different).
Villages near Bakewell include Ashford-in-the-Water, Elton, Great Longstone, Monyash, Over Haddon, Sheldon, Rowsley and Youlgreave.
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[edit] History
Although there is evidence of earlier settlements in the area, Bakewell itself was probably founded in Anglo Saxon times, when Bakewell was in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia. Bakewell Parish Church, a Grade I listed building, was founded in 920 and has a 9th century cross in the churchyard. The present church was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries but was virtually rebuilt in the 1840s by William Flockton.[1] By Norman times Bakewell had gained some importance—the town, and its church (having two priests) being mentioned in the Domesday Book.
A market was established in 1254, and Bakewell developed as a trading centre. The Grade I listed five-arched bridge over the River Wye at Bakewell was constructed in the 13th century, and is one of the few surviving remnants of this earlier period.[2] A chalybeate spring was discovered, and a bath house built in 1697. This led to an 18th century bid to develop Bakewell as a spa town, in the manner of Buxton. The construction of the Lumford Mill by Richard Arkwright in 1777 was followed by the rebuilding of much of the town in the 19th century.
[edit] Railway
Access was much improved by the arrival of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway in 1862, later the Midland Railway and LMS main line from London to Manchester. John Ruskin objected to what he saw as the desecration of the Derbyshire countryside, all so that "a Buxton fool may be able to find himself in Bakewell in twelve minutes, and vice versa." In return for the Duke of Rutland's permission for the line to pass through his estate at Haddon Hall, the Bakewell station buildings, located on the hillside overlooking the town, are more imposing than a small town might be thought to justify, and the Duke's coat of arms are carved into the stonework. Such pandering to the nobility and landowners, was typical of the time, since their support would be necessary to obtain the Act of Parliament, even though the inconvenient high contour of the railway, which forced the station to be placed out of town, was due to the Duke insisting that the line ran out of sight of Haddon Hall. The station buildings are now used for small businesses, because the line between Matlock and Buxton closed in 1968: most of the trackway is in use as a quiet motor-traffic-free track for walking, cycling, and horseriding.
"Normal" trains now run from Derby only as far as Matlock, and from Manchester only as far as Buxton. There have been repeated proposals for fully reopening the remaining, Wye Valley, portion of the line, which would run through Bakewell and over the magnificent Monsal Dale viaduct. Peak Rail, a local preserved railway venture, has shown the way by reopening the line from Matlock to Rowsley, a village that is a few miles to the east of Bakewell near Haddon Hall. Reaching Bakewell is just one of Peak Rail's long-term ambitions, and in order to keep alive the intention for a future return of the railway (under one auspice or another), Derbyshire County Council is protecting the trackbed from development.
[edit] Tourism
Bakewell attracts many domestic and international tourists. Monday is a particularly popular day for visitors as this is the day that the traditional market is held in the town. The cattle market is housed in a new purpose built agricultural centre, across the river from the main part of the town. A medium sized stall market is held in the town centre. There is a picturesque public park, alongside the River Wye, which has its source in nearby Buxton. For a town of its size, it has a very large town centre. This is mainly because of the touristic nature of the town.
[edit] Events
Annual events that take place in the town during the year include:
- Well dressing - The Peak District tradition takes place during June—colourful images made of petals embedded into clay appear at several places throughout the town.
- The annual Carnival week, culminating in a colourful procession through the town is held at the beginning of July.
- The Bakewell Show is the most popular event of the year and takes place over two days in early August at the Bakewell Agricultural Centre - this includes many agricultural events and entertainments.
- August has also seen the addition of the Bakewell Arts Festival— an annual event that started in 1997 and comprising music and theatre performances.
- The Peak Literary Festival is held in the Spring and Autumn of each year. The Spring festival starts on the last Friday in May and the autumn on the last Friday in October.
- Rugby union is played regularly in the town by the Bakewell Mannerians.[3]
[edit] Stephen Downing case
Bakewell gained unwelcome attention because of the Stephen Downing case. Downing, at the time a 17 year old with the mental capacity of an 11 year old, was wrongly imprisoned for the murder of Wendy Sewell in 1973 and served 27 years in jail. The conviction was declared unsafe by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in 2001 and Downing was released following a long campaign by his family and Don Hale, the then editor of local newspaper the Matlock Mercury. Hale was voted Man of the Year by the The Observer newspaper, Journalist of the Year by What the Papers Say and was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his efforts, though he was also criticised for referring to Sewell as the "Bakewell Tart".
The case, and Don Hale's campaign, was featured in the 2004 BBC drama In Denial of Murder in which Stephen Tompkinson played Don Hale and Caroline Catz played Wendy Sewell.
[edit] References
- ^ English Heritage (1951) Church of All Saints. Images of England (accessed 22 January 2006—free registration required).
- ^ English Heritage (1951) Bridge. Images of England (accessed 22 January 2006—free registration required).
- ^ Bakewell Rugby site
[edit] External links
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