Monument record MDR11749 - Former Packhorse Route, Cromford Bridge to Holloway, Cromford
Type and Period (1)
- PACKHORSE ROAD (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- World Heritage Site
- World Heritage Site Buffer Zone
Full Description
The former packhorse route from Cromford Bridge to Holloway is marked on Burdett's 1767 map of Derbyshire, running north from Cromford Bridge following the line of the River Derwent eastwards before diverging from the river via Castle Top to the Nether and Over Holloways. (1)
From Cromford Bridge eastwards the pre-turnpike route to Holloway makes a pleasant walk. The way follows the present road as far as the bend east of the railway bridge; the packhorse route then climbed past Woodend House before levelling out along the hillside, but this way is now private. However, a public footpath detours through the woods above the house and joins the old way in the fields below Meadow Woods Farm. It then joins the tarmac'd farm lane from Castletop, but leaves it again as a bridleway just below Bow Wood Farm; the old way, for long lengths roughly paved though grass-grown, continues through the woods, before descending to Lea Bridge. The way ahead climbs to Nether Holloway and then to Upper Holloway and must be so ancient that it had already become worn to a hollow by the beginning of the thirteenth century when 'Holeway' was first recorded; by the middle of the next century the name had become 'Holoweyes'. (2)
A trackway, measuring 5m wide and 150m long, visible as a green lane and holloway leading around the contour of a hill was recorded south-west of Meadow Wood Farm at a point roughly centred at SK 3074 5716 during survey in 2008. The south-west side has an artificial rubble bank 1m high with a hedgerow as a boundary, the north east side is cut into the natural slope. (3)
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SDR3582 Map: Burdett, RP. Survey of Derbyshire, Began in the Year 1762 and finished in the Year 1767.
- <2> SDR19950 Bibliographic reference: Dodd, A & Dodd, E. 2000. Peakland Roads & Trackways, 3rd edition. p 121.
- <3> SDR20660 Unpublished document: Jurecki, K (ARCUS). 2008. Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Landscape Project: Cromford and Belper Survey Transects. Level 1 Survey.. C1/10, Fig. 27.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 3111 5656 (1315m by 1107m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | CROMFORD, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
| World Heritage Site | Derwent Valley Mills |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR3878
- EDR3959
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 19 2015 1:11PM