History of Castleton

Castleton lies in the county of Derbyshire, approximately 200 miles north of London, 15 miles west of Sheffield and 25 miles east of Manchester. It is now famous as a tourist area with attractions such as the castle, caves and dramatic scenery.

The earliest inhabitants of Castleton are recorded only by their bones. The skeletons of Bison, Bear Wolf and Reindeer dating back up to 1 million years have been found in Windy Knoll cave, Castleton. More recent Human inhabitants constructed a hill fort on Mam Tor some 2000 years ago. The burial mounds of those early Britons can still be found in the area.

There are Roman remains here too. A major fort at Navio, three miles to the east, controlled the local tribes after the occupation of England. A roman road known as Batham Gate runs along side the fort. That road is still used today. The Romans mined lead in Castleton and a unique stone known as Blue John was excavated, worked and shipped to Rome at that time.

The village of Castleton is dominated by Peveril castle. The Normans started the present structure, probably on the site of an earlier British fortification, in 1086. William Peverel, to whom the building of the Castle is attributed and after whom it is named, is reputed to have been an illegitimate son of William the 1st of England (William the Conqueror) whose forces occupied England following the battle of Hastings in 1066. Sir Walter Scott (who wrote Ivanhoe amongst others) wrote a novel called Peveril of the Peak - reputedly about the early resident of the castle. The castle and surrounding property were forfeited back to the crown in 1155 following the fall from grace of William Peverel's son, also named William.

The present ruins of the castle are the remains of work completed by King Henry the Second around 1176. The castle was used as a royal hunting lodge after this time. It was here that King Henry received the homage of King Malcolm of Scotland - in effect the first unification of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. King John and King Henry the Third also used the castle and apparently enjoyed the hunting in the local forests.

Simon de Montfort, the Baron who summoned the first parliament in England, acquired the castle by exchange with Henry the Third. The castle returned to royal ownership following the death of de Montfort at the battle or Evesham in 1264.   The last Sovereign to stay at Peveril castle is thought to have been Edward the Third who visited in September 1331.

The ownership of the castle passed through the hands of various members of the nobility until it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster and is now cared for by English Heritage.

The current village was laid out on a grid pattern - probably based on a Norman plan. Medieval remains can still be seen in the form of a wall and ditch which originally surrounded the whole village.

The village was, at one time, virtually self contained. Local inhabitants were farmers - medieval field patterns can still be seen in the surrounding valley. There were miners who extracted the lead - and other ores - from the mines. The 120 year old lead ore crushing wheel of Odin mine is still visible above the village.

One industry which has only ceased in the last 20 years is that of rope making. The equipment still lies dormant in the mouth of Peak cavern, just below the castle. The ropes were vital to the local mining industry.

At one time there was a thriving community of people who actually lived in the mouth of Peak Cavern where there were houses and even a pub! The cave entrance is reputed to be the second largest in the World and leads into a network of caves and passages which were formed by ancient rivers. The current tour of the cave for members of the public goes one mile underground - though the caves go much further.

Other caves in the immediate locality are: Speedwell Cavern - where visitors travel by boat on underground streams through old mine workings - and visit a reputedly bottomless pit - now filled with water; Treak Cliff Cavern - a mine where blue john stone is still mined; The Blue John cavern which is a mixture of natural caverns and man made excavations where much of the unique blue john stone originally came from.

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