Great Hucklow
| Great Hucklow | |
| Derbyshire | |
|---|---|
 Great Hucklow Butter Cross | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK177777 |
| Location: | 53°17’49"N, 1°44’2"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 427 (2011) |
| Post town: | Buxton |
| Postcode: | SK17 |
| Dialling code: | 01298 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Derbyshire Dales |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Derbyshire Dales |
Great Hucklow is a small village in the Derbyshire Peak District, nestling under Hucklow Edge between the villages of Tideswell and Bradwell. It has a population of about 100, and together with Foolow , Grindlow and Little Hucklow the combined population was recorded as 427 at the 2011 Census.
The name of the village is Old English, from Huccan hlæw, meaning 'Hucca's hill (or burial mound)'[1]
The area is now mainly agricultural, but the village was formerly a centre of the Derbyshire lead mining industry. The lead vein or 'rake' outcrops to the surface to the west of the village and dives under the rocks of Hucklow Edge on the western side of the village where an adit, known as Milldam Mine, has recently been reopened by Glebe Mines Ltd that connects the various deep mines that had formerly been dug along the edge. This mine is being worked for fluorspar, which is frequently found associated with lead in the vein.
About the village
In the village, there is a thriving primary school, which is located up a short lane (School Lane), under the edge, and a pub, the Queen Anne.
The Unitarian Old Chapel was founded in 1696 and is still in use; it also has a small meeting room which is well used by the community. The Methodist Chapel, built in the early part of the 19th century, was converted to offices in 1999.
The Nightingale Centre, which belongs to the Unitarians, is in the middle of the village and accommodates groups for school and community visits to the area, conferences and provides country holidays for children from inner cities. The Centre brings many visitors to the village from all over the world.
Recently, Great Hucklow has taken control of the Silance Mine Heritage Site, jointly with the village of Foolow. This is a ten-acre area of scrub, woodland and grassland on a south facing slope on Hucklow Edge which was the previous location for lead working at both Silence and Old Grove Mine and more recent re-working of the surface mineral heaps for fluorspar.
The long history of mining has resulted in the development of very complex surface soils with those derived from the shales lying in intimate association with soils developing from limestone and mineral material brought to the surface during the mining operations. Both Silence and Old Grove Mines have been extensively reworked for fluorspar at surface, but at the top end of Silence Mine there are the previously unrecognised remains of steam engine buildings and associated structures. These include the back walls of a horizontal engine house and boiler house, the possible base of a chimney, and a small sunken ‘chamber’ that originally was one half of a wheel pit which contained a large flywheel and/or winding drum associated with the engine house. Hillocks remain in the northern part of Old Grove Mine. The Peak District Mines Historical Society are currently excavating the remains of Silance Mine.
Society
The New Play House in the village ran as a respected local theatre for forty years, built in a converted lead mining building. The theatre building is now used as an activity centre.
On the plateau above the village is a popular gliding field, operated by the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club. On 9 August 2011 the UK's longest paraglider flight began in the village, ending over 150 miles away in Suffolk.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Great Hucklow) |
References
- ↑ Great Hucklow: 'Key to English Place Names' (English Place Name Society)