Holymoorside

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption=The 2006 Well Dressing in Holymoorside
latitude=53.21
longitude=-1.49
official_name= Holymoorside
population=
civil_parish= Holymoorside and Walton
shire_district= North East Derbyshire
region= East Midlands
shire_county= Derbyshire
constituency_westminster= North East Derbyshire
post_town= CHESTERFIELD
postcode_district = S42 7xx
postcode_area= S
dial_code= 01246
os_grid_reference=

Holymoorside is a small village in North East Derbyshire, England, approximately four miles west of Chesterfield. It is located at 53.21 North, -1.49 West. Close to the boundary of the Peak District National Park, Chatsworth House lies seven miles to the west of the village.

History

The village is now home to two public houses, The Lamb Inn and The Bull's Head. In its heyday, there were four pubs in the village. The Lamb Inn was originally part of a butcher's business dating back to 1851, with the present design of the pub dating from 1953 when the shop moved to new premises on New Road. The Bull's Head has roots going back to 1881.

The Old Star was an additional pub on Loads Road but now a private residence, dated back to 1820. It was notorious for the suicide, by cutting the throat, of a landlord in 1886. More recently, its owners Chesterfield Borough Council sold the pub at auction in April 1921, when Mrs H. Dickens secured the sale with a bid of £1500. The Old Star closed in 1959 with a local newspaper report at the time stating that it had been licensed for 300 years.

The Woodman's Arms was an alehouse, which only sold beer and not spirits or wines. As the name suggests, the landlord's main occupation was a woodcutter and timber merchant. The earliest mention of the premises in the local trade directories was in 1862. Now a private residence, the building still stands as Sycamore House, on the narrow lane between The Lamb and The Bull's Head.

The village also has three churches, reflecting the religious history of the "Holy Moor". There is a local grocer, newsagent and Post Office. The oldest building in the village is Hipper Hall, an early 17th century farmhouse with an even older tithe barn. The original school was built in 1874 largely at the expense of the millowners, the Manloves.

The Manloves were proprietors of the cotton thread mill which was built towards the end of the 18th century. This mill employed many of the women and girls of the village, whilst the men and boys worked in the tin mine. The mill buildings which were three storeys high and were acquired by the Manlove Brothers around 1840 were prosperous for about 50 years, employing 200 people at its peak, but closed in 1902 and now hardly a trace remains of their existence. After 1902 the site was demolished, and in 1930 a row of houses called Riverside Crescent replaced the mill.

Customs

The traditional Derbyshire custom of Well dressing is still maintained in Holymoorside.

"Holymoorside and Walton Arts Festival Society" also arrange events throughout the year, including the highly successful Scarecrow making event in June each year which encompasses the whole village.

Economy

Since 1997, the local Derbyshire County Council representative has been Mr Bill Pickford who is a member of the Conservative Party. Local amenities are provided by Holymoorside & Walton Parish Council, under the district council of North East Derbyshire.