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Birchover
Birchover in the Peak District is a lovely quaint village to visit, from the outskirts of Stanton moor the village street descends gently, walking along here you will pass some beautiful fine old cottage buildings sheltering under the tree lined ridge. They were built from the pinkish stone collected from Stanton Moore quarries between the 17th and 19th century and you will notice the buildings facing different directions as they try to find level ground.
There has been a more recent development that has taken place on the lower side of the street and a strict code has been followed to make sure it harmonises with the rest of the village.
It is said that originally the village was sited at Uppertown this is on the road to Winster, the farm standing beside the road many years before used to be an inn. The village and the Norman church today are no more, and the stones used to construct these can be found scattered around field walls and cottages within the neighborhood. If you look outside of Uppertown farm you will still see the stocks, these were restored by Mr J C Heathcote in 1951, it is said that they may not be in their original position.
Mr J C Heathcote
and his son both lived at Birchover and were noted by the locals as
amateur antiquarians, it is thanks to the father and son that between
them after excavating the tumuli on Stanton Moor they built a
fascinating museum at the old village post office. It was later when
Percy Heathcote passed away that the collection was later transferred
to the Sheffield West Park Museum.
At the bottom of the street
on the corner you will find “The Druid Inn”, the restaurant was given a
score of ten out of ten in 2002 in an article in the “Sunday Times
Newspaper”. It has been said that the inn was named after the Druids
who apparently at the nearby Rowtor Rocks practised their rites. It was
through the fascination by the local Reverend Thomas Eyre who decided
to carve seats into the rocks, this was to enable his friends to sit
down and admire the view. Tradition has it that he also built a small
chapel further down below the rocks where he sat in his seat on the
rocks whilst composing his services.
There are many wonderful
history stories connected to Birchover in the Peak District, at the
western side of the village by the roadside you will find the Millenium
stone this is to represent the production of millstone in the area
which was part of the villages industry. These millstones were exported
all over the world and were made from local gritstone.
On the
stone at the base is a carved motif and it also has a circular core,
this represents a copy of a Romanesque carving that was found in a wall
at Uppertown, where in the late 11th or 12th century a church used to
exist.
In 1907 a village hall was opened this was for men
only, the men were provided with newspapers to broaden their horizons.
Many years later in 1999, following a total refurbishment the reading
room has been equipped with computers. This is now an official center
of the BBC’s Web-wise campaign, offering local residents the chance to
experience sessions on the internet. Many other local events for the
community take place in the hall.
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