Cressbrook, Derbyshire. A former Peak District mill village on the River Wye.

Cressbrook

Local Services:

B & B

Local Geography:

Cressbrook was once a mill village on the River Wye, and most of the village consists of former mill cottages, though some of the oldest houses in and around the village are lead miners' cottages, testifying to a history predating the mill.

Cressbrook Mill

The mill is still the major building in the village though now it has been converted into apartments. The original mill here was constructed by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1785, and still stands as the part of the mill closest to the river. This was augmented by a much larger building which burnt down in 1810 and was replaced by the magnificent main building (Wye Mill - a Grade II* listed building) erected in 1815 by Arkwright's agent, William Newton, a local character whom Anna Seward dubbed 'The Minstrel of the Peak'. Behind it are the apprentices cottages, older than the current main mill building by several years. These were built to house orphans brought as child apprentices from London to work in the mill.

The next houses to be built were the tiny cottages in Ravensdale (known locally as 'The Wick'), followed at the end of the 19th century by the model village of pretty cottages at the top of the hill. The Cressbrook mill owners were generally philanthropic and as well as fine housing they provided piped water pumped up the hill from a spring near the river and they funded the village band, which still survives.

Above the mill is Cressbrook Hall, the house of the mill owners, which stands on a bluff overlooking the river. The hall is a fanciful piece of Gothic architecture in a superb situation, with magnificent views down Monsal Dale. Farther up the hill is the rest of the village, for the most part consisting of the cottages once occupied by the millworkers.

The heyday of the mill was the 19th century when it produced high-quality cotton for lacemaking, and after World War I all the local mills struggled to make a profit. Cotton spinning ceased here in 1965 and the mill finally closed in 1971, after which it was allowed to decay for several years before being restored.

The demise of the cotton industry brought great changes to the village. As there is now almost no employment within the village the population has declined, and faster transport links have meant that they have been replaced by an influx of older professional people who work within a wide radius of the village. House prices have risen so that local young people can rarely afford them.

This has meant that the population has aged - to the extent that the local school closed in 1997, when its roll was down to 6 pupils. A number of the cottages have become second homes or holiday homes, and of course many of these are empty for much of the year.

The scenery around is magnificent. Along the River Wye, just upstream of Cressbrook Mill, lies Water-cum-Jolly, a magnificent river gorge with fine limestone cliffs which attract many rock-climbers, bird-watchers, walkers and fishermen. North of the mill lies Cressbrook Dale, or Ravensdale, a fine gorge-like limestone dale with numerous crags and the remains of several lead mines. Most of this dale is a National Nature Reserve renowned for its range of rare flowers.

The village has a fete and well dressing each year in early June.

Cressbrook Photo Gallery - click on the images to enlarge- Click Here for a slide show

0 - Cressbrook mill workers' cottages	1 - Water cum Jolly and Cressbrook millpond	2 - Cressbrook Mill	3 - Cressbrook - Ravens Crag
4 - Water cum Jolly - Cressbrook Hall and millpond	5 - Water cum Jolly	6 - Cressbrook 'New' Houses	7 - Cressbrook Dale
8 - Monsal Dale	9 - Monsal Dale - river Wye	10 - Litton - Tansley Dale flowers	11 - Litton - Tansley Dale walls

Useful local links:
Cressbrook Social Club Cressbrook Social Club is the social hub of Cressbrook
Behind the View An acclaimed local history book about Cressbrook
Cressbrook Band The Cressbrook Band website - a peak district brass band
Cressbrook Hall Cressbrook Hall offers accommodation and a venue for functions such as weddings and celebrations

Local places of interest
Eyam Museum and Plague Village	Eyam Museum and the Plague Village, Eyam, give a history of the tragic 1665-6 visit of the Bubonic Plague to this village in the Derbyshire Peak District.
Magpie Mine	The Magpie Mine, just South of Sheldon, was one of the most famous lead mines in the Derbyshire Peak District and was worked until the 1950s. Many of the buildings still stand.
Monsal Head	Monsal Head, a famous Derbyshire Peak District beauty spot with a magnificent view down Monsal Dale and up the Wye valley.
Monsal Trail	The Monsal Trail is Derbyshire Peak District cycle trail which follows the path of the former Midland Railway from Wye Dale to a point beyond Bakewell, mostly following the River Wye.
Tideswell Church	Tideswell Church, Derbyshire, is known as the 'Cathedral of the Peak' because it is the largest and most beautiful church in the area. It has several fine carved tombs.

Cressbrook, Derbyshire. A former Peak District mill village.

Cressbrook, Derbyshire, lies on the River Wye and was constructed as a model village by the owners of Cressbrook Mill, which once spun cotton.

Cressbrook

Local places of interest