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Peak Dale

Peak Dale photos (7 available)

Old photo of Peak Dale

Peak Dale maps (2 available)

Old map of Peak Dale

Peak Dale books (10 available)

Peak Dale memories

loss of a school chum

I was born in Peak Dale 6.9.40, at which time Peak Dale was very much a limestone quarry village. As it is coming round to Easter it reminds me of the first tragic loss that I vividly remember. While we were in school our teacher asked us to bring some pussy willow for the setting up of our Easter decorations. A boy named Brian Sidall who always eager to please said he knew where the best Pussy Willow could be found but he wouldn't tell any of  us where it was in case we got there first. Brian lived in the first house of a little row of quarry houses just inside the entrance of a quarry. He got up one ...read more here
Contributed by donald keworth

Derbyshire memories

loss of a school chum

I was born in Peak Dale 6.9.40, at which time Peak Dale was very much a limestone quarry village. As it is coming round to Easter it reminds me of the first tragic loss that I vividly remember. While we were in school our teacher asked us to bring some pussy willow for the setting up of our Easter decorations. A boy named Brian Sidall who always eager to please said he knew where the best Pussy Willow could be found but he wouldn't tell any of  us where it was in case we got there first. Brian lived in the first house of a little row of quarry houses just inside the entrance of a quarry. He got up one ...read more here
A memory of Peak Dale contributed by donald keworth

James S. Blair

My great grandfather was James Simoson Blair. He lived at Moorcroft in Buxton up to 1927. When he died he was quite a prominent figure and was captain of the golf club, and a trophey is presented each year even now in memory of him. Does anyone know or have information on him or the family? Thanks.
A memory of Buxton contributed by jeanette czyzyk

Tuesdays

Buxton, Pavilion Gardens, Concert Hall 1932

On Tuesday afternoon we could go with the class at school to listen to the orchestra playing there for the sum of one penny. I think the conductor was Maurice Miles.
A memory of Buxton contributed by sylvia dukesell

Extracts From Peak Dale & Derbyshire books

Peak Dale, Small Dale c1955

We are high on the limestone White Peak plateau with this photograph of farm buildings and cottages in the hamlet of Small Dale, north of Peak Dale, to the north east of Buxton. This whole area is now blighted by huge limestone quarries, including the one at Tunstead, which has one of the longest quarry faces in Europe.
An extract from from"Derbyshire Revisited Photographic Memories".

Peak Dale, Peak Forest Station c1955

The station and extensive sidings at Peak Dale were mainly for the transportation of limestone from the surrounding quarries - we can see some of them in the background of this photograph. A steam locomotive waits at left centre.
An extract from from"Derbyshire Revisited Photographic Memories".

Buxton, the Pump Room 1914

Across the road the half-round windows, on the ground floor of the single-storey building on the right, show the site of the original Roman Bath, in constant use from that time. Beyond is the Hall of 1573.
An extract from from"Buxton Town and City Memories".

Buxton, Thermal Baths and Crescent 1923

The fame of Buxton as a Medieval spa grew and in Tudor times was greatly enhanced by the visits of Mary Queen of Scots who came to take the waters for her various illnesses, including rheumatism and a recurring pain in the side.
An extract from from"Buxton Town and City Memories".

Buxton, Spring Gardens 1923

With increases in both population and numbers of visitors to the town, provision had to be made for their shopping requirements. Although there are shops in higher Buxton, on High Street and the Market Place, the major commercial centre is Spring Gardens in the lower town. Originally known as Town Street or Sheffield Road, it was developed into a busy shopping street selling, among other things, tourist gifts. Here you could buy ornaments made of Blue John, Ashford Black Marble and Derbyshire Spar - locally mined stones which were worked in the Petrifaction and Spar shops. The number and type of shops in Spring Gardens has altered greatly over the years but the architecture on either side remains largely unchanged. An increase in traffic through the street led to calls for pedestrianisation which was completed in 1997.
An extract from from"Buxton Town and City Memories".