Monyash Peak DistrictMonyash Peak District Derbyshire, DE45 1JH, United Kingdom, 0845 166 8022, info@peakdistrictonline.co.ukMonyash Villagehttp://www.letsgo-monyash.co.uk04:27 10-Sep-2010
Formerly an important lead mining centre for the High Peak, Monyash had its own Barmote Court, which sat at the Bull’s Head at Easter and Michaelmas to settle mining disputes and to hear complaints of theft, trespass and grievances of lead miners. Judgements were made based on custom and precedent handed down over the years. In order to encourage the growth of the lead mining industry a charter was granted in 1340 to hold a weekly market and a fair. A village market is now held, on Spring Bank holiday weekends, on the green where the old market cross still stands, the base made up from the former village stocks. But the importance of Monyash goes back much further. People from pre-historic times have been attracted to the area as evidenced by the stone circle at nearby Arbor Low, the ancient trackways and burial mounds. The availability of water from a bed of clay about 100 yards square, on the edges of which rose 23 springs was almost certainly the major factor why people settled here. Relics of an ancient flint tool factory, perhaps Derbyshire’s first industry, have been found locally, most of them now being housed in Sheffield City Museum. The Roman road known as ‘The Street’ passed the village on the western side. Monyash was a stronghold for the Quaker movement for over 100 years, and in 1668, John Gratton the most famous of the Midland Quakers, came to live in the village where he remained for 40 years. The Quaker Meeting House in the village is now used for other purposes. Most of the houses in the village were built during the 18th or early 19th century. The Bull’s Head partly built in the 17th century is probably the oldest. Next door, the former blacksmith’s shop has been converted into tearooms that are very popular with walkers. Jack Mere has been covered over and converted into a car park. Opposite Fere Mere is Chandler’s House where candles once were made for mining and domestic use with tallow supplied by local butchers. The wide grass verges near here were used as a ropewalk, and much later to stack incendiary bombs during the Second World War before transportation to an ammunition site. The economy of the village is now largely agricultural and tourism based although its proximity to Sheffield makes it a popular commuter village. |