Bakewell
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Bakewell, known as the Gateway to the Peak, is the Capital of the Peak District National Park and home to the famous Bakewell Pudding.
Bakewell, known as the Gateway to the Peak, is the Capital of the Peak District National Park and home to the famous Bakewell Pudding.
Nestling in the valley beside the tranquil waters of the Wye, beneath the sylvan beauty of Manners Wood, and surrounded by picturesque White Peak countryside, Bakewell is situated in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales.
Bakewellians are a friendly lot, staunchly proud of their town and loyal to their roots. There is a wonderful community spirit with numerous groups and gatherings, clubs and committees, local events and activities which constantly draw them from their homes.
Bakewell’s history dates back over 2,000 years to when an Iron Age hill fort was constructed near to Ball Cross on the eastern side of the valley. This must surely have been the most wonderful vantage point from which to guard over the surrounding countryside and ancient tracks. It is known that the Romans camped around Bakewell and discovered a number of chalybeate springs to fill their Roman baths.
Up to 12 thermal wells were established although most of these have now been lost. However, Bath House which is located in Bath Gardens and was built in 1697 by the Duke of Rutland still contains the original stone vaulted bath or bathing pool fed by a natural warm spring. It is interesting to note that the spas of Bakewell were not exploited in the 19th century as in neighbouring Matlock and Buxton.
Around 924AD Edward the Elder who was the son of Alfred the Great established a military post or burgh at Badecanwyllan (bath well). This was probably the true beginning of the town. In the Domesday Book of 1085 the settlement was described as Badequella, from which the current name of Bakewell has evolved.
The piece de resistance of Bakewell must surely be the magnificent church dedicated to All Saints which has a central but raised position in the town. There are remnants and fabric of the 14th century chapel built by the Anglo Saxons together with Norman additions, but the majority of the current structure is much later with a very impressive Victorian spire added in 1852 which spears the sky and points to the heavens.
Bakewell holds the title as being the most visited town in the Peak District, probably due to its location as an ideal base for tourists and visitors, but also because of the diverse and comprehensive range of amenities, activities, shops, businesses, restaurants and leisure facilities to be found, not to mention a range of crowd pulling annual events such as the Bakewell Carnival and Bakewell Agricultural Show.
In the centre of Bakewell is the fabulous 17th century Old Market Hall which now houses the local tourist information office, but years ago this would have been a place for local farmers and smallholders to sell their butter, eggs and produce.
Bakewell was granted a market charter in 1330, and for nearly 700 years, residents of Bakewell and the surrounding villages have flooded into the town to walk around the stalls. The weekly Monday market is still well supported and transforms the centre of the town, with two areas laid out in narrow lanes, where colourful stalls are heaped with all manner of goods including fruit, fish, pots, pans, clothes, cards, haberdashery, hardware, materials ad millinery.
Centuries ago cattle, sheep, horses and pigs would have been walked to market to be paraded around the centre of the town, later to be transported by tractors and trailers, cattle trucks and trains (until the closure of Bakewell Station in 1968). It was not until the 1960’s that the last of the cows were herded through the town by local farmers, and there are still those who remember the odd beast wandering into shops and houses – talk about a bull in a china shop!
Stock holding pens were established and an auction ring close to the Market Hall, but all these were demolished in 1998 and replaced by the Bakewell Agricultural Centre on the other side of the river. With its multi-marquee shaped roof it caused controversy with its construction, but has certainly added character to the town. Bakewell Cattle Market is one of the largest in the country and forms the life blood for local farmers who regularly socialise here as well as transact business.
In the first week of August, the nearby showground hosts the annual Bakewell Agricultural Show which attracts tens of thousands of visitors over a two day period and provides entertainment in a selection of rings as well as a rich variety of trade stands and competitions for cattle, horses, dogs, pets, poultry and produce.
The railway came to Bakewell in the 1860’s, bringing plumes of smoke and the familiar sounds of steam engines chugging beneath the woods to the station which was designed by Paxton. The line was axed in 1968 and later bought by the National Park Authority who transformed it into the Monsal Trail, now a popular route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to gain access to some of the areas most beautiful scenery.
The most familiar public transport to be seen in the town are the blue and cream buses of Henry Hulley & Sons Limited which have transported the public around the hills and dales hereabouts since the first bus was bought way back in 1921. With long serving friendly drivers, the buses provide a reliable service to neighbouring towns and villages.
The maroon fleet of the Bakewell and Eyam Community Transport service was established a number of years ago as a registered charity for those who experience difficulties with public transport as well as group travel for community activities.
Congestion of the roads in Bakewell has long since been an issue, with numerous by-pass plans being suggested and refused. Over the years the centre of Bakewell has been adapted with properties demolished, roads widened and one-way systems installed to ease the flow of traffic.
The main A6 runs through the centre of the town following the route of the 18th century turnpike road. Prior to that, the old road south to Rowsley followed the eastern flank of the hillside above Haddon Hall to avoid marshland in the bottom of the valley.
Spanning the clear waters of the river Wye is the medieval Bakewell Bridge with its five gothic arches of mellowed sandstone. This has withstood seven centuries of travellers and traffic visiting the town. It features on countless paintings and pictures as well as many business logos with the spire of All Saints Church in the background.
The waters of the Wye have been harnessed for their power for centuries with a corn mill at Bakewell recorded in the Domesday Book. Victoria Mill which has now been converted into residential units is probably the oldest, but higher up the river are an industrial complex at Riverside Works where Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford Mill fame expanded his cotton spinning production in the 18th century.
The riverside walk in Bakewell is particularly pretty and attractive to visitors who also enjoy feeding bread to the hundreds of resident ducks, geese and swans as well as the brown trout, rainbow trout and grayling which seem to congregate beneath the new single span metal footbridge.
Upstream is the old packhorse bridge and sheep wash of 1664 known as Holme Bridge which leads across the river in front of Holme Hall built in 1625. Other notable old properties in Bakewell are Bagshaw Hall with a façade built in 1684 but with early 16th century sections to the rear, and the 17th century St John’s Almshouses located to the rear of The Old Town Hall of 1709.
Probably the oldest residential property in Bakewell however is the Old House Museum which can be found in Cunningham Place above the church. This is known to date back in part to 1534, although it has later additions, extensions and alterations. In 1954 the property faced demolition but was saved by the Bakewell Historical Society who tastefully transformed it into the Old House Museum, where it is possible to see many artefacts, antiquities, articles of interest and treasures of Bakewell’s past.
Another notable museum to be found in Bakewell is the M & C Collection of Historic Motorcycles on Matlock Street which is privately owned and has limited opening days but raises thousands of pounds annually which it donates to local charities.
Downstream of Bakewell Bridge is the Recreation Ground which was established in 1884 when 13 acres of land were conveyed to the Town Council by the 8th Duke of Rutland. Here pitches are played on by the energetic legs of Bakewell Football and Cricket teams and there are also tennis courts and a childrens play area.
The Recreation Ground is the setting up and starting point for the Bakewell Carnival, held on the Saturday of Carnival Week at the end of June. The whole town comes to a standstill for a couple of hours as a procession of decorated floats, bands and musicians, fancy dress characters and Carnival queens make their way through the streets to the merry sounds of singing, loud music, brass and steel bands, when magical mayhem is enjoyed by cheering crowds of onlookers. Bakewell Band is one of the oldest in the area, being formed way back in 1832.
As well as fun runs, a raft race in the river and evening entertainment around the town, Carnival Week in Bakewell also provides thrills, spills and squeals to the otherwise peaceful town when a travelling fairground arrives for a few days with The Waltzer still stirring the stomach and bringing back memories of courting days and cuddles for anyone up to 65 or even older!
The end of June is also the time for Well Dressing in Bakewell – an age old tradition which is carried out in various villages in Derbyshire but at differing times of the year. Bakewell has several wells which are ‘dressed’ by means of a large upright board coated in clay into which flower petals and natural materials are painstakingly impressed by numerous volunteers over a period of several days to form a most magical and colourful collage of pictures.
A true testament to the Bakewell community spirit however must surely be the construction of The Medway Community Centre back in 1999 when a volunteer band of workers, mainly retired, built an entire community centre of mainly wood and metal – a massive undertaking with impressive results.
The early days of the 19th century were the golden age of stage coaches with numerous coaching inns constructed in Bakewell to accommodate the many weary travellers. The Rutland Arms Hotel which was previously The White Horse Inn was practically rebuilt in an impressive Georgian style and still dominates the centre of Bakewell, overlooking The Square as it is locally known. The traffic roundabout in Rutland Square contains the War Memorial Cross for those who fell in the First World War. The Memorial to the casualties of the Second World War can be found in nearby Bath Gardens. These public grounds are well tended by a dedicated group of green-fingered gardeners employed by the local council, and provide a kaleidoscope display of flowers in beds and borders with assorted benches and seats for rest and relaxation, laid out around a bowling green and network of paths.
The Rutland Arms Hotel is famed for its influential and famous visitors including Jane Austen, who is said to have based Lambton in her novel Pride & Prejudice on Bakewell following her stay in 1811. The hotel is also said to be where the traditional Bakewell Pudding was created by a simple mistake with a recipe by a cook named Mrs Greaves. It is to be noted that the Bakewell Tart is a very poor imitation adapted by Mr Kipling! Production of the Bakewell Pudding has now become a lucrative business with ‘post a pudding’ facilities around the world!
The shops in Bakewell can be found around a town centre laid out in streets, courtyards, miniature shopping centres and ginnels or alleyways, with only a small selection of high street stores. Instead, Bakewell has many bespoke businesses and individual outlets which provide shoppers with interesting, unusual and sometimes exclusive goods of high quality. There are a couple of shops which have been trading through generations of the same family such as C Farmer Limited on Matlock Street which sells electrical goods and whose founder sold the first television sets to virtually every home in the town, whilst Brocklehursts of Bakewell, outfitters of English Country Clothing, was started by John Brocklehurst more than 50 years ago.
Bakewell is justly proud of its schools which have nurtured children for centuries and produced on the whole a bounty of prize-winning pupils, a scattering of celebrities and entrepreneurs, numerous sound individuals and countless level headed adults. Many have spread their wings and settled in far off places around the globe, but most have never forgotten their roots lie in Bakewell.
Lady Manners School was founded by Grace Lady Manners of Haddon Hall back in 1637 with a school motto of Pour Y Parvenir and the famous Haddon peacock as an emblem. It has been run from several locations around the town as the numbers of pupils increased, moving to its present site at the top of Bakewell in 1936.
On the outskirts of Bakewell are two of the most famous private houses in the country. Chatsworth House lies just a few miles to the east on the banks of the neighbouring river Derwent, whilst Haddon Hall is only a mile downstream of Bakewell.
Whether you have been a visitor to Bakewell, a short stay resident of the town or have lived here all your life, Bakewell will leave a lasting impression and many happy memories of a town with a community spirit, an atmosphere of general happiness and well-being and a magnetism that will draw you back no matter where you may go.