Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Infobox UK place
official_name= Ashbourne
country= England
region= East Midlands
population= 7,112 (Parish)
os_grid_reference= SK1846
latitude= 53.015
longitude= -1.724
post_town= ASHBOURNE
postcode_area= DE
postcode_district= DE6
dial_code= 01335
constituency_westminster= West Derbyshire
civil_parish= Ashbourne
shire_district=Derbyshire Dales
shire_county=Derbyshire
static_

static_image_caption=Catherine Booth - A famous daughter of Ashbourne

Ashbourne is a small picturesque market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of just over 7,000.

Ashbourne is known for its annual two day "Royal Shrovetide Football Match" in which one half of the town plays the other at football, using the town as the pitch and with the goals three miles apart. As many as several thousand players compete for two days with a hand-painted, cork-filled ball. The game is played over two eight-hour periods, the goals are three miles apart and there are only a few rules. There are just two teams - the Up'ards and the Down'ards. Shrovetide football has been played for centuries and possibly for over 1,000 years. It is a moving brawl which continues through the roads of the town, across fields and even along the bed of the local river. There have been intermittent attempts to ban the game but none have been successful.

The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.

The Tissington Trail, a popular recreational walk and cycle path, starts at Mapleton Lane on the northern outskirts of town and follows the course of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, running from what was Ashbourne railway station through the village of Tissington and joining the High Peak Trail (the old Cromford and High Peak Railway) at Parsley Hay. The line, which had been built in 1894, closed to regular passenger traffic in 1954, and all services on the Ashbourne-Parsley Hay section, including excursion traffic, ceased in 1964.

The line continued down the Dove to Rocester near Uttoxeter where it joined the main North Staffordshire Railway. This southern link had opened in 1899. It also closed to passengers in 1954, finishing completely in the early '60s.

A branch of the Limestone Way also starts in the town.

Ashbourne Churches Together (ACT) has a link with the Diocese of Patna in the ecumenical Church of North India. Regular visits take place in both directions and members of ACT are currently sponsoring the education of children in a school in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India.

Ashbourne became the 97th Fairtrade Town in March 2005 after many businesses, cafes, shops and community organisations started supporting Fairtrade [ [http://www.ashbournefairtrade.org.uk Ashbourne Fairtrade Town Initiative] ] .

Notable people

* Catherine Booth 'Mother of the Salvation Army was born here [ [http://www.s9.com/Biography/Booth-Catherine Catherine Booth Biography at S9] accessed June 2007] in 1829
*Thomas Brown, Garter King of Arms was born here in 1708
*Henry Cantrell, clergyman and religious controversialist, was born here in 1684 ["Cantrell, Henry, Church of England clergyman and religious controversialist" by David L. Wykes in Dictionary of National Biography (OUP, 2004)]
*George Hayne (died 1723), merchant and entrepreneur
*Francis Charles Robert Jourdain (1865-1940), ornithologist
*Catherine Pegge Mistress to Charles II, mother to Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth resident of Yeldersley.
*David Redfern (born 1935), photographer
*Dave Tyack (1978-c. 2002), guitarist and singer

Geography

*Ashbourne is located at coord|53|01|00|N|01|43|00|W| (53.0167, -1.7167)¹.

geocompass
hub = Ashbourne, Derbyshire
type = ex
NN = Fenny Bentley, Hartington, Tissington
NW = Leek, Buxton
NE = Matlock, Matlock Bath
WW = Stoke-on-Trent
EE = Belper
SW = Uttoxeter
SS = Sudbury
SE = Derby

External links

* [http://www.ashbourne-town.com Ashbourne Town Official Website]
* [http://www.visitashbourne.co.uk Visit Ashbourne site]
* [http://www.ashbournefairtrade.org.uk Ashbourne Fairtrade Town Initiative]
* [http://www.ashbournerufc.co.uk Ashbourne Rugby Union Footbal Club]
* [http://www.ashbournedivers.co.uk Ashbourne Sub-Aqua Club]

References