Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest settlement and only town within the boundaries of the Peak District National Park. At the 2011 census, the population of the civil parish was 3,949.[ It was estimated at 3,695 in 2019.][ City Population site. Retrieved 22 November 2020.] The town is close to the tourist attractions of Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall.
History
Although there is evidence of earlier settlement in the area, Bakewell itself was probably founded in Anglo-Saxons times in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia. The name Bakewell means a spring or stream of a woman named Badeca or Beadeca,[ The Domesday Book listing stated that King Edward the Confessor held land here and there was a church and a mill.]
These are the outlying estates or berewicks of the manor: Haddon, Holme in, Rowsley, Burton in, Conksbury, Oneash, Monyash, and Over Haddon.
Bakewell Parish Church, a listed building building, dates from 920 and has a 9th-century cross in the churchyard. The present building was built in the 12th–13th centuries, but it was virtually rebuilt in the 1840s by William Flockton.
A market was established in 1254, allowing Bakewell to develop as a trading centre. The Grade I listed Bakewell Bridge over the River Wye dates from the 13th century, as one of the few remnants of that period.
The mill, built about 1782 and employing over 300 people during the peak years, housed its workforce in cottages. It was sold to the Duke of Devonshire in 1860, but in 1868 suffered fire damage and was rebuilt. It is now a scheduled monument, the oldest part being listed building.
The population in the 1841 census was 1,976 inhabitants.
Geography
Bakewell is in the valley of the River Wye in central Derbyshire. Its centre is near the river at about above sea level, with the highest parts of the town at about on the valley sides.[Ordnance Survey (1989), 1:50,000 Landranger Series, Sheet 119 (Buxton, Matlock & Dove Dale area), ] The town is in the Derbyshire Dales district and about south-west of Sheffield, south-east of Manchester, and north of Derby. Nearby towns include Matlock to the south-east, Chesterfield to the east and Buxton to the north-west. Villages near Bakewell include Ashford-in-the-Water, Elton, Great Longstone, Monyash, Over Haddon, Sheldon, Rowsley, Pilsley, Youlgreave and Baslow.
Economy
Bakewell attracts domestic and foreign tourists. Monday is popular as this is when the town's traditional market day falls each week. The cattle market is held in a purpose-built agricultural centre across the river from the town centre, where a stall market is held.
A major employer is the Peak District National Park Authority, with its offices at Aldern House, Baslow Road. Its task is to conserve, enhance and promote understanding and enjoyment of the local area.
Local television news is provided by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central;
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Derby on 95.3 FM and Peak FM 102.0 FM.
Landmarks
All Saints' Church is a listed building church founded in 920, in Anglo-Saxons times. The churchyard has two Saxon crosses. One is the Beeley Cross, unearthed in a field at a disputed location near Beeley and moved for some years to the grounds of Holt House near Darley Bridge. Although only the base and lower part of the shaft survive, it stands over 5 ft/152 cm high and is carved on all four faces.
The church contains a selection of medieval and Anglo-Saxon cross fragments and carved stones collected by Thomas Bateman and donated to Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, before they were moved to Bakewell in 1899.
The town's Old House Museum occupies a 16th-century dwelling house originating from the time of Henry VIII and extended under Elizabeth I.[ Retrieved 4 November 2019.] It is a Grade II* listed building.[ Retrieved 4 November 2019.]
The Old Town Hall in King Street dates from 1602,
Transport
Railway
The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway opened Bakewell railway station in 1862, then became part of the Midland Railway and later of the LMS main line from London to Manchester. John Ruskin objected to what he saw as desecration of the Derbyshire countryside and to the fact that "every fool in Buxton can be at Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton."
Passenger trains operated by East Midlands Railway run from Derby, via Ambergate, only as far as Matlock; from the west, Northern Trains trains from Manchester Piccadilly reach only as far as Buxton. There have been efforts to reopen the remaining Wye Valley portion of the line, which would run through Bakewell and over the Monsal Dale viaduct. Peak Rail, a local preserved railway, has reopened the line from Matlock to Rowsley. Reaching Bakewell is one of Peak Rail's long-term ambitions. To keep up intentions for a future return of the railway, Derbyshire County Council currently protects the track bed from development.
Roads
The A6, which links Carlisle with Luton, runs through the town; it connects Bakewell with Buxton, Matlock and Derby.
The A619 road begins in Bakewell, travels through Chesterfield and leads to Worksop in Nottinghamshire. The medieval Bakewell Bridge carries this road over the River Wye.
Cuisine
Bakewell is known for the Bakewell pudding, a jam pastry with a filling enriched with egg and ground almond. Bakewell tart is a different confection, made with shortcrust pastry, an almond topping and a sponge and jam filling. Mr Kipling also made "Cherry Bakewells", often also known as Bakewell tarts. The origins of these are not clear, but the popular story goes that the combination began by accident in 1820, when the landlady of the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms Hotel) left instructions for her cook to make a jam tart with an egg and almond paste pastry base. The cook, however, spread the eggs and almond paste on top of the jam instead of mixing them into the pastry.
Three shops in Bakewell offer what they claim to be the original recipe. The Bakewell Tart Shop and Coffee House sells four variations: Bakewell Tart, Iced Bakewell Tart, Moist Bakewell Tart and Traditional Bakewell Pudding.
Demography
In the 2011 census, Bakewell was 99.1 per cent White, 0.2 per cent Asian and 0.5 per cent mixed/multiple.[ www.citypopulation.de.]
Education
In 1888, William Storrs Fox, a Cambridge graduate and naturalist, founded St Anselm's School, Bakewell. The school is now co-educational, with some 250 day and boarding pupils aged 3–16.[ School website. Retrieved 1 April 2020.] Lady Manners School is a co-educational secondary with about 1,450 pupils. It is also home to the Brew School, the UK's biggest dedicated brewing and distilling school, established in 2014 at the historic Rutland Mill.
The town's primary schools include All Saints Church of England School and Bakewell Methodist Junior School. There are other primaries in neighbouring villages.[ Schools in Bakewell. Retrieved 1 April 2020.]
Sights
Events
The Peak District traditional well dressing takes place in June; colourful images made of petals embedded in clay appear at several places in the town. Then follows Carnival week, culminating in a procession at the beginning of July.
Until 2017, The Bakewell Agricultural Show was among the largest covered agricultural shows in the UK, attracting about 65,000 visitors.
Sport and recreation
Rugby union is played regularly by Bakewell Mannerians RUFC, which competes in Midlands 2 East (North).
Bakewell has a recreation park to the east of the centre, with tennis courts, a children's playground, and football and cricket pitches. Near the library there is a municipal swimming pool and gym.
The town's association football team, Bakewell Town F.C., competes in the Central Midlands Football League Premier Division South.[ Retrieved 29 May 2020.]
Stephen Downing case
The Stephen Downing case involved the conviction and imprisonment in 1974 of a 17-year-old council worker, Stephen Downing, for the murder of a 32-year-old legal secretary in Bakewell Cemetery. After a campaign by a local newspaper, his conviction was overturned in 2002, by which time Downing had served 27 years in prison. This is thought to be the longest miscarriage of justice in British legal history,
Media
In literature
Bakewell is named by the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet as the town from which she travelled to Pemberley in Chapter 43 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
On television
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Bakewell features in the last episode of , where the team covers a Christmas Eve murder in the 1800s.
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In 2010 the Rutland Arms Hotel featured in an episode of The Hotel Inspector.
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For "Puddings Week" in Season 1 of The Great British Bake Off, the tent was pitched in a car park in Bakewell.
See also
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Listed buildings in Bakewell
Notes
Bibliography
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Town Without Pity, Don Hale, Century (4 April 2002),
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Bakewell: The Ancient Capital of the Peak, Trevor Brighton, Devon Books (November 2005),
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Bakewell, Robert Innes-Smith, Derbyshire Countryside Ltd; 2r.e. edition (January 1994),
External links
