Tissington: Hall and FitzHerberts at the centre of village life

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Keen walker Denis Eardley of Chaddesden, has devised heritage trails around some of the county’s most interesting communities and included countryside walks for those who are slightly more adventurous. Each walk is complemented by features looking at the history and development of the area and points of special interest. Here, and on the next two pages, Denis begins his Derbyshire ramble with the lovely village of Tissington.

TISSINGTON is one of the prettiest and most unspoilt villages, not only in Derbyshire, but in the whole country. The entrance used by most visitors is off the main Ashbourne to Buxton road, through large rusticated lodge gates.

An avenue of 200-year-old lime trees immediately creates an air of expectancy. Surprisingly, this fine approach does not lead directly to Tissington Hall, but the village itself.

Neat well tended gardens and limestone cottages behind wide grass verges and backed by mature trees give a feeling of peace and tranquility.

No planner designed it; the beauty of the village is the result of evolution.

Since the reign of Elizabeth I, the FitzHerbert family have managed the village, most of it having been rebuilt between 1830 and 1860 in traditional local style.

The home of the FitzHerberts is an elegant Jacobean Manor, which stands just back from the main street, behind a walled garden. The wall is broken only by a handsome 17th century gateway with wrought iron gates by the famous Derbyshire blacksmith, Robert Bakewell.

The gateway was taken down and rebuilt in the 1950s because it was 10 inches out of plumb!

Built in 1609 by Francis FitzHerbert, the house has been much extended by his descendants. It replaced an earlier hall, which stood on the opposite side of the road within the confines of an ancient Derbyshire hill fort.

It has not always been peaceful in Tissington. During the Civil War it was the site of a skirmish between Royalists and Parliamentarians.

The FitzHerberts supported the Royalist cause and the family were lucky to escape the destruction of their home, the punishment meted out to many Royalists by the supporters of Oliver Cromwell.

St Mary’s Church rises steeply above the main road through the village with a sparkling stream flowing close to the entrance to the churchyard.

Built early in the 12th century, but heavily restored 700 years later, it has a massive Norman tower, with four foot thick walls and a well preserved Norman doorway.

Inside, there is a baroque style 17th century memorial to the FitzHerbert family, a finely carved communion rail and an early Norman font, which bears crude symbolic carvings.

The pillars of the doorway are worth close inspection, the grooves having been worn by archers sharpening their arrows in readiness for archery practice.

After the Black Death, the number of available archers needed to protect king and country had been seriously reduced. Edward III, finding archery was being neglected, ordered men to stop playing other games and to practice archery instead.

Shooting at butts took place after the Sunday service and the archers found the stone porch at the church a convenient place to sharpen their arrows.

Tissington is known as the birth place of well dressing and visitors come from all over the world to witness the annual well dressing ceremony.

This takes place on Ascension Day when five attractive wells are dressed, together with a children’s well.

The well dressings for this year run from May 25-31, with the blessing service timed for 11am on the first day, Ascension Day.

Dressing consists of erecting boards covered in clay, into which thousands of flower petals are pressed to create an elaborate tableaux of some biblical or topographical scene.

It is probable that well dressing took place in 1350, in thanksgiving for the village’s escape from the ravages of the Black Death, which was attributed to the purity of its water.

Wells have been dressed ever since but not in unbroken succession. The precise origins of well dressing are unknown but may date from before the Romans.

When the railway came to the village in 1900, Sir Richard FitzHerbert insisted that the line should be placed in a cutting.

The railway company, it is said, built the cottages adjacent to the station in red brick, rather than stone, in retaliation for the inconvenience.

Following the closure of the line in 1963, the track was converted into the Tissington Trail and ever since has proved very popular with walkers and cyclists.

In the heart of the village, close by the green, is the pond where the ducks still swim serenely.

Tucked in the corner by the pond are the old kitchen gardens where shrubs and other perennial garden plants are grown.

The old school house, no longer a village school, is now a kindergarten.

Further along the road, a surprise awaits at Yew Tree Cottage where part of the building has been turned into a small candle workshop.

It was formerly a blacksmith’s house, decorated with motifs of the trade, and was home to the Wright family of blacksmiths for 90 years. In front of the cottage is Yew Tree Well.

The old coach house to the hall has been sympathetically restored and offers morning coffee, lunches and teas in delightful surroundings.

There is a gift shop in the village, a butcher and even a shop selling soft furnishings, close to the A515, on the Buxton side of the village. Regular craft sales are held at the Village Hall.

If you want to discover more about Derbyshire and the Peak log on to Denis’ information-packed website www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk where you will also find present day pictures of some Derby districts.

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