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| Beeley is one of the Chatsworth estate villages. Lying off the main road and designed as a set of cul-de-sacs with cottages constructed of local gritstone, it seems a haven of tranquillity. There is a nice pub, which is unsurprisingly called the Devonshire Arms, and a free public car park opposite. The church has a Norman doorway and a 16th century tower, but was over-restored by zealous Victorians.
Beeley Moor, high to the east of the village, is a fine open, wild area with good walking and occasional views of Chatsworth Park. This area was heavily populated in the Bronze Age and the moor is dotted with hut circles and tumuli, the most celebrated of which is Hob Hurst's House - an unusual square tumulus which is a scheduled national monument. At one time, Beeley grit was famous for being especially hard and was used to make grindstones, but this trade has long ceased.
Travelling north, you soon arrive at the boundary of Chatsworth Park. The road crosses the Derwent into the park on Beeley Bridge, which was constructed in 1761 and is a fine example of an 18th century bridge. |
Nearby Places of Interest| Bakewell Church | Bakewell parish church, Bakewell, Derbyshire, is built on the foundations of a Saxon church and includes some Norman sections. | | Caudwell's Mill, Rowsley | Caudwell's Mill, Rowsley, Derbyshire, is a working 19th century flour mill which still mills and sells flour. It is open for guided tours and there is also a mill shop and tea room. | | Chatsworth House and Park | Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. Home of the Dukes of Devonshire, the Cavendish Family. Build by Bess of Hardwick. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisioned here. The greatest house of the region and set in a large park. | | Haddon Hall | Haddon Hall, a mediaeval manor house and home of the Dukes of Rutland, the Manners family, in the Peak District alongside the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire. | | Old House Museum, Bakewell | The Old House Museum, Bakewell, Derbyshire, has a small exhibition of local life and artefacts, housed in a typical yeoman's house of the 16th century. | | Peak Rail | Peak Rail have re-opened a section of the former Midland railway which ran between Matlock and Buxton. They are based at Rowsley South station and run services from there to Matlock. | | Stanton Moor | Stanton Moor, and the Nine Ladies stone circle, Derbyshire - a scenic area with many bronze age relics and burial mounds overlooking Stanton in Peak and the Wye and Derwent valleys. |
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