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the bloody peak
a sanguinous journey
around the peak districts
myths and legends
Part financed by the
European Union
Economic Regional
Development Fund
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Beware the shadows
of the night
Welcome to the witches,
ghosts, highwaymen and
horrors of the Bloody Peak.
Do the hairs rise on the
back of your neck?
They should.This is a most
haunted place.
“... hairs rise on the
back of your neck...”
A strange light at night, a
suspicious breeze or the
sound of distant
voices might not
be what you
thought.
And if these pages aren’t
scary enough you can find
out more about each story
and discover other haunted
places on
www.peak-experience.org.uk.
You have been warned.
Now take a torch and some
courage and go…
Listen
for the creak of floorboards
in a haunted hotel, drink
with an apparition in a
paranormal pub.
Written by Carolyn Luscombe.
Photographs by Bill Bevan, Si Homfray, Julia Reid, and Dan Boys.
Sources include; Julie Bunting, David Clarke, Clarence Daniel,Tony J. Hollins,
L. Hutchinson, Charles Maltby, James Merrill, Peter K. Naylor and Doug Pickford.
Design by www.hammerdesign.co.uk Printed with vegetable dye inks on recycled paper
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Headless ghosts on the roads
Gives you a headache just
thinking about it!
Beware when you wander “was he a beheaded
some of the Peak
pedlar or knight killed
District’s shady lanes at
by the Scots?”
night.You might come
across one of many
And a headless horseman
headless ghosts.
rides the Onecote to
Twelve headless men
Warslow road over
carry a coffin along Shady Butterton Moor.
Was he a beheaded
pedlar, or knight killed by
the Scots? His headless
doppelgänger rides a
phantom white horse on
moonlit nights through
Lane, near Thornbridge
the Manifold Valley.
Hall, between Great
Longstone and Ashford in
the Water.
Another headless man
travels the road from
Youlgrave to Wenley Hill.
A headless lady was seen
at Stoke Hall to the south
of Grindleford.
Stoke Hall, home to a headless lady
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Bakewell:
Beware witches, ghosts and the
woman in white!
1501:The ill-fated
son of King
Henry VII
“...predicted his early
marriage and early
death.”
Beneath the Saxon cross
now in All Saints
churchyard, 15-year-old
Prince Arthur saw a
woman in white. She
predicted his early
marriage and early death.
Within four months all
came true.
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1608:The witches of
Bakewell?
The Friday-night
ghost
A ne’er-do-well Scotsman
accused of robbery in
London made a bizarre
defence. He claimed to be
only just transported to
London, by the power of
a spell he’d heard his
Bakewell landlady
chanting.
At Castle Hill House on
the A619, Jim Marlow, a
former butler, still walks
to the old gunroom each
Friday – where he shot
himself many years ago.
“...by the power of
a spell...”
Indeed his clothes, he
said, were still in
Bakewell, where the
landlady held them as
room rent. By a strange
logic of the times, the
clothes were taken as
evidence of the woman’s
guilt and she and a friend
were killed as witches.
Contact Nicky Crewe for
Bakewell ghost walks.
Tel. 01629 815405.
Access and orientation
Bakewell has plenty of
accommodation and visitor
attractions, with interesting and
unusual shops. Bakewell visitor
centre has information, books
and displays.
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Castleton
Murders, torture and haunted hotels
In the highly haunted
Castle Hotel, you’re sure
to meet a ghost! There’s a
jilted bride in room 4, a
nurse and legless soldier
in the cellar, a small
elderly woman in grey, a
middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit in rooms 7
and 10; and a legless
woman travelling
corridors waist deep in
the floorboards.
“the song of a
medieval lady.”
At Peveril Castle some
have heard a long-dead
knight and the song of a
medieval lady. An unlucky
prisoner was starved for
six days before his hand
was cut off, in 1403.
Privately owned Goosehill
Hall hosts a ghostly
medieval tournament and
another grey lady. Shiver
as you pass the driveway,
on the left towards
Winnats Pass.
Allan and Clara still roam
past Speedwell Cavern. In
1758 the Scots lovers
were riding to be married
in Peak Forest, when local
miners robbed and killed
them.Ten years later their
bodies were found in a
mineshaft. Nobody was
charged for the murder
but the suspected
murderers suffered
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madness and untimely
deaths. See Clara’s
saddle in the shop by
Speedwell Cavern at
the foot of dramatic
Winnats Pass.
Access and orientation
Excellent visitor facilities in
the village including an
information centre and
museum, accommodation,
restaurants and shops. Peveril
Castle and Speedwell Cavern
are open to the public.
“bodies found in a
mineshaft.”
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Birchover
Home to husband killers and druids
Joan Waste was a Protestant
martyr, executed for heresy
in August 1556 during the
Marian persecutions.
You can read an account of
what little is known about
her here:
http://www.otteryreformed
.freeola.net/jwaste.htm
Access and orientation
Rowter Rocks is accessible from
the village.There are two pubs in
the village.
“Joan Waste was a
Protestant martyr,
executed for heresy”
Some say ancient druids
worshipped at Rowter Rocks.
“...druids worshipped
at Rowter Rocks”
Here the Revd Thomas
Eyre (died 1717) carved
out armchairs and
reputedly dabbled in
witchcraft. If you sit in the
middle armchair just after
midnight on Halloween
you will hear the name of
your true love.
Birchover church
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Chapel-en-le-Frith
From Civil War to UFO
In 1648 1,500 Royalist
soldiers were imprisoned
at St Thomas Becket
church during the English
Civil War.When the
doors opened after 2
weeks, 44 men had died
inside. Others died later.
More happily, Chapel-enle-Frith parish registers
record the very first Peak
District UFO sighting. It
“...the very first Peak
District UFO sighting.”
was in March 1716. Some
now believe it was the
Northern Lights. In any
case, the locals were
terrified.
Access and orientation
Shops, food and accommodation
in Chapel-en-le-Frith market
town. St Thomas church is at the
east end of the cobbled market
square.
St Thomas Becket church
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The Olde Nags Head pub in Edale
Edale
Mermaids and ghostly airmen
Ghostly figures of WWII
airmen haunt Edale’s The
Olde Nags Head pub in
Grindsbrook Booth.
“...spirits remain to
this day.”
Many customers see and
hear them.When a
bomber plane crashed on
Kinder Scout, locals
brought the airmen’s
bodies to the pub.
Their spirits remain to
this day.
Climb Kinder Scout to
visit the immortal
mermaid in the
bottomless Mermaid’s
Pool. She rises on Easter
Eve to reward visitors
with the gift of long life...
or to lure down her
admirers to their doom!
“she rises on Easter Eve to
reward visitors with the
gift of long life...”
Access and orientation
Edale has good accommodation
and food with excellent walking
and climbing including the
challenging Kinder Scout.
Mermaid’s Pool is at SK075887.
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Boggarts and
ghostly black dogs
A shaggy dog story?
Boggarts and barghasts
are troublesome spirits
like poltergeists.Their
name comes from the
German, Geist (spirit),
with barghast the ‘spirit of
the (funeral) bier’.They
are soundless, about half
the size of a calf, with a
shaggy black coat.
“...miners connected
certain accidents with
sightings of a ghostly
black dog.”
They forewarn of death
or disaster, and Peak
District lead miners
connected certain
accidents with sightings
of a ghostly black dog.
Boggarts or barghasts live
all over the Peak District.
If you glimpse something
dark in the shadows it
might be one. Keep an
eye out (or hide your
eyes!) at Birchover Shale
Hillock, Kinder, the Tips at
Edale, Bradwell, Bradnop,
Ipstones and Swinscoe, to
name just a few.
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where to stay,
shop and eat
accommodation
attractions & activities
shopping & eating
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Accommodation
Heaton House Farm
Rushton Spencer, Nr Macclesfield, Cheshire
SK11 0RD
Contact: Mick Heath
Tel:
01260 226203
Email: [email protected]
Web:
www.heatonhousefarm.co.uk
Set in scenic Staffordshire Moorlands, Heaton
House Farm is situated between Leek and
Macclesfield, just off the A523 at Rushton Spencer.
We have five bedrooms. Four of them are en-suite
and have been awarded Four Star “Silver” Award
from the Heart of England Tourist Board.
Roaches Tea Rooms and Cottages
Upper Hulme, Nr Leek, Staffs ST13 8TY
Contact: Karen Oliver and Dianne Oliver
Tel:
01538 300345
Email: [email protected]
Relaxed, olde world accommodation with fantastic
views, breakfast available in tea rooms.
Swiss House Hotel & Nero’s
Ristorante Italiano
How Lane, Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire
S33 8WJ
Contact: Mary or Martha Holmes
Tel:
01433 621098
Email: [email protected]
Web:
www.swiss-house.co.uk
Clean, very friendly, very comfortable. Best
breakfast this side of the Pennines. 8 en-suite
bedrooms, sleeping 20 people. Ideal for groups
or individuals, business or pleasure.
Castle Hotel
Castle Street, Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire
S33 8WG
Contact: Glen Mills
Tel:
01433 620578
Web:
www.innkeeperslodge.com
Good food, friendly service, pub part of Vintage
Inns. Rooms part of Innkeepers Lodge.
The Olde Nags Head
Edale, Hope Valley S33 7ZD
Contact: Malcolm & Sarah France
Tel:
01433 670 291
Fax:
01433 670 429
The official start of the Pennine Way.A
Traditional pub with cask ales, that takes pride
in serving good quality food. Offering a warm
welcome to walkers, bikers, locals and visitors alike.
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Underleigh House B&B
Off Edale Road, Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire
S33 6RF
Contact: Philip and Vivienne Taylor
Tel:
01433 621372
Email: [email protected]
Web:
www.underleighhouse.co.uk
Secluded cottage and barn conversion near the
village of Hope with magnificent countryside views.
Delicious breakfasts featuring local and homemade
specialities, served in flag-stoned dining hall.We
provide information about the local area to our
guests and also provide walking routes to follow.
Attractions & Activities
Bakewell Ghost Walks
6 Calton View,Yeld Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire
DE45 1FN
Contact: Nicky Crewe
Tel:
01629 815405
Mob:
07791 952255
Email: [email protected]
Discover the haunted houses and ghostly tales of
old Bakewell with a walking tour of the town.
Please ring or email me for further details and
to arrange a tour.
Shopping & Eating
Stocks Café and Bistro
4 - 6 Market Place, Chapel-en-le-Frith,
Derbyshire SK23 0EN
Contact: Helen Williams
Tel:
01298 814906
Email: [email protected]
Web:
www.stockscafeandbistro.co.uk/
Ideally located in the centre of the historic market
place of Chapel-en-le-Frith.At Stocks, the menu
is inspired by the spirit of traditional home cooking,
with dishes freshly made from local seasonal
ingredients. Look out for the painting of Chapel
in 1897 on original tiles inside the café.
The Post Office
Fountain Square,Youlgrave, Bakewell, Derbyshire
DE45 1UR
Contact: Roger Easton
Tel:
01629 636201
Post office, also selling sweets, drinks, ice creams,
stationery, birthday cards and walking maps.
More info: www.visitpeakdistrict.com
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The Druid Inn
Main Street, Birchover, Derbyshire DE42BL
Contact: Daniel Reed
Tel:
01629 650302
Contemporary style gastro pub.
Eyam Tea Rooms & Bistro
The Square, Eyam, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 5RB
Tel:
01433 631274
High-quality snacks and meals in peaceful, friendly
surroundings.
Moon Inn
Town End, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire S32 4TW
Contact: Suzanne Sutherland
Tel:
01433 630203
Warm and friendly country pub. Home cooked
quality food. Traditional Sunday lunches. Attractive
walled beer garden. Cask Ales. Walkers and dogs
welcome in bar area. OAP lunchtime specials. Open
all day, every day from 12 noon.
Pitstop Homemade Pies
2 Buxton Rd, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1DA
Contact: Diane Hawksworth
Tel:
01629 815831
Homemade pies and sandwiches.
The Winking Man
Buxton Road, Upper Hulme, Staffs ST138UH
Contact: Peter Harvey
Tel:
01538 300361
Country pub and function facilities.
The Linden Tree
Frog Hall Road, Ipstones, Staffordshire ST10 2NA
Contact: B J Allett
Tel:
01538 266370
Country pub situated in Staffordshire Moorlands
very close to the Manifold Valley and Dovedale
offering fine cuisine in a friendly environment.
More info: www.visitpeakdistrict.com
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Ipstones
Boggarts and the stooped man
Three-hundred-year-old
Hermitage farmhouse has
more than one ghost.
A stooped old man with a
tall hat haunts the building.
“a servant heard ghostly
screams beneath her
bedroom window...”
regularly at Easter,
Christmas and haymaking
time.
A phantom large dog – or
boggart – has been seen
many times at the end of
the lane to the farm. One
man kicked at the beast
only for his boot to touch
nothing as the dog
vanished.
Access and orientation
Ipstones is on the B5053 southeast of Leek.There are several
shops and pubs in the village and
accommodation in the surrounding
area.
A sudden draught or
rustling sound could be
him.
In 1916 a servant heard
ghostly screams beneath
her bedroom window, a
relative lay in bed and
heard an organ played
downstairs.
The hauntings occurred
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Hob Hurst’s houses
Rushton Spencer church, built
on a Hob Hurst's house
Farmer’s blessing or curse!
Hob Hurst, the wood
sprite or elf, is like a giant
Puck or Robin
Goodfellow. Hob blesses
the farm, especially the
dairy. But woe betide the
farmer who crosses him!
Careful people leave a
bowl of milk on the
hearth for Hob to drink.
Hob’s houses lie in
isolated, often sacred,
Hob Hurst's House in Monsal Dale
places. Seek them out at
Thor’s Cave in the
Manifold Valley, in Monsal
Dale, at the Bronze Age
burial barrow on Beeley
Moor and Hob Cottage
at Elkstone. Rushton
Spencer church is built on
top of one!
“...woe betide the farmer
who crosses him!”
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The Roaches – via Upper Hulme
A mermaid, a knight and a highwayman
One look at the Roaches
crags reveals a place of
legends.
Lud’s Church rock chasm
is reputedly the legendary
Green Chapel of medieval
saga, Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight.
“...scenic and allegedly
bottomless Doxey Pool...”
Local ‘doxey’ (not a
flattering term!) Hannah
was descended from the
notorious highwayman,
Bowyers of the Rocks.
Doxey Cottage at
SK006622 was
certainly named
for her. But many
claim that the
scenic and allegedly
bottomless Doxey Pool is
named after its legendary
mermaid.
Access and orientation
Access the Roaches from Upper
Hulme off the A53.Visitor
facilities at Tittesworth Reservoir
nearby. Doxey Pool is on the
Roaches at SK003627.
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Rushton Spencer
Buried alive! And the ghost of the
murdered servant girl
Thomas Meakyn was
buried alive in 1781, after
rejecting his master’s
daughter’s advances. No
one was charged.The
Murder Stone at St
Lawrence’s church marks
where Thomas was later
reburied in his home
village.
A cruel woman murdered
her servant girl in the
1800s. Every night the
girl’s ghost revisited her
mistress. Locals asked 12
clergymen to ‘lay’ the
ghost on the Cloud
Rushton Spencer graveyard
hillside. She still appears
on the hill as a dim blue
light.
“...every night the girl’s
ghost revisited her...”
Access and orientation
The village is off the A523
between Macclesfield and Leek.
There are three pubs selling
food.
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Middleton
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“...murdered at the
Moon Inn...”
Lovers leapt,
highwaymen roamed
and murderers
murdered
Two hundred and fifty
years ago a Scottish
pedlar was murdered at
the Moon Inn by rival
local pedlars while the
landlord turned a blind
eye. His assailants took
his body to a nearby cave.
Hannah Baddeley leapt
over the cliff – and
survived! Her crinoline
dress acted as a
parachute and checked
her fall.
Find Lover’s Leap Café to
see where poor jilted
“trace highwaymen’s
steps up... to Black
Harry Lane”
Trace highwaymen’s steps
up the bridleway to Black
Harry Lane as far as Black
Harry Gate. He was the
scourge of packhorse
trains crossing the moors
around Longstone and
Wardlow until he swung
on the gibbet at Wardlow
Mires.
Access and orientation
Parking, toilets, a pub and café
in the village. Black Harry Lane
is opposite the B652 Eyam
turning.
Left: Lover's Leap
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The Old Way around Bearda Hill
Swythamley
Phantoms of the Pretender
Ghosts of Bonnie Prince
They retreated along the
Charlie’s Scottish soldiers Old Way, an ancient route
still haunt the Old Way
between Manchester and
around Bearda Hill at
Ashbourne.
Swythamley.The Prince,
“...ghosts of black dogs...
Young Pretender to the
guarding the soldiers’
English crown, led his
graves”
army south in the
Jacobite Rebellion of
The ghosts of black dogs
1745.They turned back at
are still sighted along the
Derby and nearly all lost
route, allegedly guarding
their lives in a massacre.
the soldiers’ graves.
“ghosts of Bonnie
Prince Charlie’s Scottish
soldiers still haunt the
Old Way...”
Access and orientation
Bearda Hill is south of Wincle
where there is a pub.The Old
Way is followed by the line of
the modern road. Bearda Hill is
at SJ963643.
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Tideswell
A haunted pub and invisible choristers
Look out for the ghost of
Old Sarah, a Victorian
serving wench, at the
George Hotel. If you see
“foretelling the deaths of
important villagers...”
a woman in a long dress
and cap it could be her.
Listen for an underground
choir. Some say the
former Catholic Chapel
on Church Street had a
secret passage to the new
church. Invisible
choristers sang below
ground, foretelling the
deaths of important
villagers.
One night a young lad
woke screaming.When
his mother arrived he
pointed to the empty
chair saying he didn’t like
the old man sitting in it.
She realised he could see
his dead grandfather and
destroyed the chair.
Access and orientation
Good shops, tearooms and
accommodation.Tideswell’s
beautiful church is the
‘Cathedral of the Peak’.
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Youlgrave
A ‘harey’ tale
“a hare... miraculously
Sir John Rossington
cornered a hare here,
became a beautiful
which miraculously
maiden”
became a beautiful
horses at Roughwood
maiden. He was so
Hollow, on the road
shocked his heart flew
between Youlgrave and
into his hands, where it
still rests. Find his effigy in Middleton. Eerie lights
could be their lamps.
Youlgrave church.
A Roundhead and
Cavalier fought to their
deaths in the Old Hall
during the English Civil
War.Their ghosts appear
in the duel room every
November. Nearby Old
Hall Farm is haunted by
another grey lady.
Watch out for the
phantom coach and
Sir John Rossington's effigy in Youlgrave church
Access and orientation
Choice of pubs, tearoom and
shops in the village.
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What does quality assessed accommodation mean?
When you choose to stay in Peak District quality
assessed accommodation you can be confident
that it has been checked out before you check in.
The majority of the accommodation featured in
this leaflet has been assessed by VisitBritain or the
AA. You will see a star rating and the type of
accommodation. Each property that chooses to take part in
the quality assurance scheme is assessed annually and you
can check their latest rating online at
www.visitpeakdistrict.com. We cannot vouch for the
quality of any accommodation that is not part of a scheme.
The National Accessibility Scheme will show you properties
that can provide a certain level of accessibility and that the
needs of disabled guests have been considered. Please call
to check the facilities available before you book.
This leaflet is one of a series of new
Peak Experience guides to the
heritage of the Peak District. Explore
the wild and the historic starting
from here. Inside, you’ll find places
to visit in the Peak’s beautiful
countryside and historic villages,
well-served by holiday
accommodation, cafés, restaurants
and shops. Look out for other guides
in the series or visit the web site for
further details and even more places
to visit.
www.peak-experience.org.uk
www.visitpeakdistrict.com
TRAVELINE 0870 608 2 608
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Visitor Centres
Ashbourne 13 Market Place, DE6 1EU Tel: 01335 343666
Email: [email protected]
Bakewell Old Market Hall, Bridge Street, DE45 1DS Tel: 01629 813227
Email: [email protected]
Buxton The Crescent, SK17 6BQ Tel: 01298 25106
Email: [email protected]
Castleton Buxton Road, S33 8WN Tel: 01433 620679
Email: [email protected]
Edale Main Street, S33 7HA Tel: 01433 670207
Email: [email protected]
Glossop Heritage & Information Centre Henry Street, Glossop,
Derbyshire, SK13 8BW Tel: 01457 855920
Email: [email protected]
Leek 1 Market Place, ST13 5HH Tel: 01538 483741
Email: [email protected]
Matlock Crown Square, DE4 3AT Tel: 01629 583388
Email: [email protected]
Matlock Bath The Pavilion, DE4 3NR Tel: 01629 55082
Email: [email protected]
Upper Derwent Valley Derwent Bamford, S33 0AQ Tel: 01433 650953
Symbols
Myths & Legends Attraction
Motorway
A619
Main Road
B6106
Secondary Road
Other Road