Youlgreave

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Youlgreave
Derbyshire

Youlgreave village Centre
Location
Grid reference: SK209642
Location: 53°10’30"N, 1°41’13"W
Data
Post town: Bakewell
Postcode: DE45
Dialling code: 01629
Local Government
Council: Derbyshire Dales
Parliamentary
constituency:
West Derbyshire

Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village in Derbyshire, within the Peak District, two and a half miles south of Bakewell. It stands beside the banks of the River Bradford, on the hillside above the meeting of Lathkill Dale and Bradford Dale.

The population of the parish in 1991 was 1,256. It has three public houses (The Bulls Head Hotel, the George Hotel and the Farmyard Inn), a petrol station, a doctors' surgery and two shops, one with a post office.

Names

There are two spellings of the village's name, 'Youlgreave' and 'Youlgrave', and both are used on different local signposts and on different maps. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove" (Old English geolu graf) presumably from the yellow colour of the ore mined locally.[1][2]

Historically the village was called "Giolgrave".[3] The village is locally known as "Pommie".[4][5]

The following is a list of spellings of the name of ‘the most mis-spelt village’ as compiled by local historian and former teacher at Youlgreave school, Mr J W Shimwell:

Giolgrave, Yolgrave, Jalgrave, Hyolgrave, Hyolegrave,
Yolgreff, Yoleg, Yolegreve, Yolegrave, Youlgraue,
Welegreve, Yoelgreve, Oelgreve, Yelegreve, Yeolegreve
Yolgreve, Yollegreve, Jol've, Zolgrelf,
Yollgreve, Yoligrewe, Yollegrewe, Youlgreve, Zolgreff,
Youlgrave, Yolgreyva, Yolgreyve, Yeolgreave,
Youlgreave, Yellegrave, Yollogreve, Yollograve,
Yeollgreave, Youldgreave, Yograve, Isgrave, Yalgrove,
Yolegreue, Jolegreue, lolegrave, Jholegreve, Yelegrave,
Yellegrave, Iolgrave, Yholgreve, Yelgreve, Zolgreve

It is only recently that the Highways Department has used 'Youlgrave', and the Ordnance Survey still use 'Youlgreave', so the argument continues.

About the village

The Alport Lane Playing Fields in the village extend to 8.29 acres and have been enrolled as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.

Three long-distance paths, the Alternative Pennine Way, the Limestone Way and the White Peak Way, pass through the village, swelling the numbers of walkers.

History

Youlgreave was mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to Henry de Ferrers[6] and being worth sixteen shillings.[7]

It has a mediæval parish church with a 12th-century font.

There are also a number of historic buildings in the village, such as Old Hall Farm (1630), Thimble Hall and The Old Hall (c1650).

Most of the village's households get their water from Youlgreave Water Works Limited, one of very few private water companies in Britain. It came about when Youlgreave Friendly Society for Women helped to set up a fund to pipe water from Mawstone springs into the village. In the 1930s, as new houses were built and older ones were modernised with bathrooms and toilets, water often became short. In 1932 the main underground pipe cracked after an explosion in Mawstone lead mine. Springs at Harthill were connected to the system in 1949 and other major improvements followed. Most homes in the village could be supplied with local water until there were just too many new houses to cope with. Extra supplies are purchased from larger water companies nowadays

In 1932 five of six miners working on a ventilation fan at Mawstone Mine were killed after an explosion filled the gallery with carbon monoxide. The sixth miner was able to reach the surface and raise the alarm. A rescue party of two workers and the mine manager descended into the mine, but were themselves killed by the fumes. Although Mawstone Mine was eventually closed, a water supply for the village is still obtained from this site.[8]

Visits and events

Due to its scenic location in the Peak District, Youlgreave is a popular destination for hikers.[9] The Limestone Way passes through Bradford Dale, immediately south of the village. Langley Park School for Boys owns a building in the village, which is used for school trips, with students taking part in various local sporting activities, and a visit to nearby Alton Towers.

The Youlgreave Festival, founded in 2001, is becoming an increasingly popular event, offering local artists and musicians a chance to showcase their talents.[10]

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Youlgreave)

References

  1. White Peak Walks, The Northern Dales, Mark Richards, 1985 ISBN 0-902363-53-0
  2. Peak District online
  3. Information on Youlgreave  from GENUKI
  4. Peak District online
  5. Dining pubs in Youlgreave
  6. Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including Doveridge, Breaston, Duffield and Cowley.
  7. Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.748
  8. Richard Woolley Mawstone Mine Disaster - 75 years on Matlock Mercury May 2007
  9. "Youlgreave", aboutderbyshire, accessed 15 September 2009
  10. History of Youlgravefest, Official Site, accessed 15 September 2009