Sheldon, Derbyshire
Encyclopedia
Sheldon is a village
in the Derbyshire
Peak District
, England
near Bakewell
. It is best known for being the closest village to Magpie Mine, a lead mine
with an engine house built in the Cornish
style. It is home of the Church of St Michael and All Angels which was erected in the 19th century with material derived from dismantling the former Chapel of Ease.
, formed from village residents (who are registered to vote within the parish) as well as the elected chairperson. Sheldon has a small population of approximately 80 people according to the 2001 census.
of several elderly members of the village, assigning ancient field names
to modern field numbers, and the funding of a display cabinet for the presentation of archeological findings
.
The history group has recently won a sustainable development
fund grant, provided by the Peak District National Park Authority, to assist with the production of several historical projects and the purchase of new equipment.
, which was felled at the beginning of the 20th century. According to local legend, in the early 1600s villagers saw a duck flying into an Ash tree, but they never observed it leaving the tree. When the same tree was felled, approximately 300 years later, a duck-like pattern with markings of the brain and lungs were found in the resultant timber boards. The boards were on display in Ashford in the Water Post Office
for a while and postcards showing it were sold. Later, the timber merchant who felled the tree used these boards for making a mantlepiece at his home.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
near Bakewell
Bakewell
Bakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Beadeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park, and is well known for the local confection Bakewell Pudding...
. It is best known for being the closest village to Magpie Mine, a lead mine
Derbyshire lead mining history
This article details some of the history of lead mining in Derbyshire, England.- Background :On one of the walls in Wirksworth church is a crude stone carving, found nearby at Bonsall and placed in the church in the 1870s. Probably executed in Anglo-Saxon times, it shows a man carrying a kibble or...
with an engine house built in the Cornish
Mining in Cornwall
Mining in Cornwall and Devon began in the early Bronze Age approximately 2,150 BC and ended with the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall closing in 1998...
style. It is home of the Church of St Michael and All Angels which was erected in the 19th century with material derived from dismantling the former Chapel of Ease.
Governance
Sheldon is too small to have a parish council so administrative matters are dealt with by its parish meetingParish meeting
A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of the parish council itself, with statutory powers, and electing a...
, formed from village residents (who are registered to vote within the parish) as well as the elected chairperson. Sheldon has a small population of approximately 80 people according to the 2001 census.
Local History Group
A local history group, covering the parish of Sheldon, was established in 2007 by several residents of the village. The group meets every month throughout the year (with the exception of July and August) at the Hartington Memorial Hall. Recent work carried out by the group includes recording the oral historyOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
of several elderly members of the village, assigning ancient field names
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
to modern field numbers, and the funding of a display cabinet for the presentation of archeological findings
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
.
The history group has recently won a sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
fund grant, provided by the Peak District National Park Authority, to assist with the production of several historical projects and the purchase of new equipment.
The Sheldon Duck
The Sheldon Duck is a duck-like peridolia found in an Ash treeAsh tree
Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
, which was felled at the beginning of the 20th century. According to local legend, in the early 1600s villagers saw a duck flying into an Ash tree, but they never observed it leaving the tree. When the same tree was felled, approximately 300 years later, a duck-like pattern with markings of the brain and lungs were found in the resultant timber boards. The boards were on display in Ashford in the Water Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
for a while and postcards showing it were sold. Later, the timber merchant who felled the tree used these boards for making a mantlepiece at his home.