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Stanton In The Peak
Stanton- in- Peak is comprised of mainly local gritstone dwellings, and ljust like the nearby village of Birchover almost a mile away to the south, it can be found nestled up either side of a steep main street running from west to east. The village is reached by an extension of a lane which runs off the B5056 Bakewell to Ashbourne road and twists and turns its way upward for half a mile before reaching the outskirts of the village, marked by the high perimeter wall of Stanton Hall. The wall itself runs alongside the lane for some 300 yards and was built early in the 19th century by Bache Thornhill to enclose a 130 acre deer park.
Just of the main street of Stanton In The Peak is Stanton Hall which dates from the late 16th century, and with its 5,000 acre estate, is the home of the Thornhill family. The hall was extensively rebuilt in 1693, and extended further over a century later by Bache Thornhill, today only one gabled bay remains of the original building.
The character of the village is easily demonstrated by its unexpected little courtyards and quaint corners, around which hidden gardens seem to lie in surprise. Many of the houses date from the 17th and 18th centuries, with some mid-Victorian additions by William Pole Thornhill (1805-75). Perhaps one of the earliest, and the most unusual is the three-storey structure of Holly House, which stands facing the main street with 2 of its 14 windows blocked up, - a result of the window tax in 1697, -the house being at least half a century earlier. Close by stand a pair of houses with door lintel dates of 1664.
Opposite from Holly House stands the only public house, the`Flying Childers`, named after a Derby winning racehorse owned by the 4th Duke of Devonshire. Further up the hill on the left is the village post-office and general store, and along a lane nearby stands the school building of 1879 which must surely boast the finest view from a classroom window anywhere in the county! At the top of the village stands the Methodist Chapel of 1829, and Stanton also has a magnificent Reading Room given by Mrs.Thornhill-Gell in 1876 which is now used as the Village Hall.
The village is famous for its panoramic views. The Stand contains a stone bench and overlooks the beautiful valley where the River Bradford joins the Wye at Fillyford Bridge. This White Peaks village changes character with the seasons. Winter can see horrendous bliaards that cut the village off for days, but the summer months see it transformed into a welcoming and colourful village of immense charm and pleasing character. The excellent facilities are a tribute to the hard work of long serving groundsman Rex Gladwin, who has nurtured the luxurious turf for 40 years. The views from the cricket pavilion are tremendous with a wide panorama westward over the Wye valley from Harthill Moor to Haddon Hall, and with Bakewell in the distance and the escarpment of Longstone Edge to the north.
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