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Longnor
Longnor is a village in the Peak District that has a fabulous old world ambiance about it. Many of the the buildings in this White Peaks village were built of local stone mined at Daisy Knoll. Longnor is just over the border from Derbyshire in Staffordshire. It can be reached by taking the A515 from Ashbourne and taking a signposted left turn, about 13 miles later.The minor road from the A515 passes through the quaint village of Crowdercote with some marvellous views of the valley below.Beware of the hair-pin bends. The church of St Bartholomew was rebuilt in the 18th century and stands on foundations at least 800 years old. It has an embattled western tower with pinnacles and contains a Norman font, though on the whole it is a rather grim looking building. Its churchyard contains the grave of a William Billings who following his birth in a cornfield, saw the capture of Gibraltar, suffered wounds at the battle of Ramillies and later saw action against the Stuarts in both 1715 and 1745 and finally expired at a grand old age of 112 years.
Longnor was once a market centre for the region and has a little cobbled market square and a victorian market hall which dates back to 1873, but its ambition to be a thriving market town was hindered by the demise of the turnpikes and its lack of a railway link. The hall is now a craft centre and coffee shop but it retains an inscription above the entrance, giving the tariffs of long forgotten market tolls. The village was once part of the Crewe and Harpur estate and one of the 4 pubs in the village bares that name. The other 3 are the Grapes, the Horseshoe Inn and the Cheshire Cheese.
There is a small local industry in clock making, an art gallery, tea rooms and the village makes a good centre for exploring the upper reaches of the Manifold and Dove valleys. In recent years the village has gained a certain fame through being the location for the filming of much of the TV series 'Peak Practice'. Afficionados can readily identify Dr Tom's House, The Beeches Surgery, The Black Swan and other landmarks of the series around Longnor village. Edge Top is the old pack horse route between Flash and Longnor. It has been tarmac covered and provides great Peak District Walking with marvellous views into the valleys below.
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