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| The Packhorse Bridge over the Wye |
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| The church of Holy Trinity from the South West, May 2017 |
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| From the South East in June 2021 |
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| The Nave, June 2021 |
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| Ashford Hall, 22 June 2021 |
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| The Packhorse Bridge over the Wye |
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| The church of Holy Trinity from the South West, May 2017 |
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| From the South East in June 2021 |
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| The Nave, June 2021 |
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| Ashford Hall, 22 June 2021 |
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| The Cross | Tympanum over the entrance inside the porch |
Ashford in the Water in Derbyshire lies on the River Wye which has run down from Monsal Dale. The village was mentioned in Domesday Book in 1086 as Aisseford when it was said to be a site for the refining of lead. It is noted for its scenic bridge and annual well dressing. Arthur Mee, writing in 1937, reported that old customs lingered such as ringing the curfew bell every day and the Pancake Bell every Shrove Tuesday.
Like many picturesque villages it is now has second homes and holiday lets. To accomodate tourists it has several catering establishments. Wikipedia tells us that it is famous for the quarrying of black marble. An old custom here was to make maiden's garlands, out of paper, to mark the deaths of virgins until 1801, some of which are preserved in the church. One is for Ann Swindel, who was 22 when buried in 1798. Such garlands were also made in nearby Matlock.
The Parish Church of Holy Trinity was largely rebuilt between 1868 and
1870 by the architects J. M. and H. Taylor. Part of the tower
dates from the 13th century and the north
arcade is from the 14th century. There is the stump of a cross in
the churchyard which has been dated to the 14th or 15th
centuries. Over the south door is a Norman tympanum with the tree
of life, a lion and a hog. The yew tree, seen on the right of my
picture. must be several centuries old from its great height. Arthur Mee
also tells us that the pulpit is Jacobean and there is are 17th century
chairs and chests. The font dates from the 14th century. There
are stained glass windows by Burne-Jones (St. John & St. Gregory)
and by William Morris (the Anunciation). The image of the nave was obtained with no artificial light by taking three shots at different exposures from a miniature tripod on the lid of the font.
Arthur Mee tells us that the village has lost the great house near the
church which was once the home of the Plantagenets,
the Hollands and the Nevilles. The Cavendish
family, from which the Dukes of Devonshire descend, aquired the
area from the Nevilles in
the 16th century and sold it in the 1950s to pay death duties.
Many of the stone buildings in the village date from the late 18th and
early 19th century with a 17th century tithe barn. Ashford Hall dates from 1785 and is not normally easy to photograph but on a June morning the sun was high enough to illuminate most of it.
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| Jane Austen bicentennary | The Hobbit | |
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| Flower display representing Stoke-on-Trent | Flower display representing Nottingham |
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| Shakespeare Anniversay | War Memorial | |
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| Jemima Puddleduck | RSPB |
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| Centenary of the start of the Great War |
The Buildings of England, Derbyshire, by Nikolaus Pevsner,
revised by Elizabeth Williamson, Yale University Press, 2002, ISBN
0-300-09591-0
The King's England, Derbyshire, by Arthur Mee, first published
in 1937, 6th impression 1951
1.0 Strict 