Monument record MDR11643 - Township Boundary Wall, between Belper and Heage

A map of Belper and Heage surveyed in 1698 shows a straight broken line extending from the River Derwent on the west across to a gate at what is now Boothgate. This is named as 'Wall of partition', presumably between Belper and Heage townships, as most of the line is still a parish boundary today. The exception is the easternmost end (c. 400m), which has either been altered or was just shown schematically on the map. (1) Heage Common was enclosed in 1771 by Act of Parliament. There had been in the past some, so called, agreed enclosures. The wall dividing, "that part of Belper Ward that lieth in Higheadge" was shown on a map, drawn up by John Halton of Wingfield, in 1698. The walls built quickly after the enclosure all abut this wall, which still forms the boundary between Heage and Belper. A footpath crosses the common north/south, which probably follows the original line of the ancient ridgeway, with a waymarker shown on Haltons Map as a Pinnacle. (2)