Pictures of Tideswell

About Tideswell

Tideswell is famous for its superb, large church, known as the "Cathedral of the Peak".

The village is a lovely, small place set amongst the limestone hills of the High Peak, and indeed its premier feature is the magnificent parish church dedicated to St.John the Baptist, which has a high, heavy, eight pinnacled Perpendicular tower, one of the earliest of its kind in England. The church was erected during the 14th century and houses a fine collection of pre-Reformation monuments, included in these is what is considered to be the finest single brass in Derbyshire, this dates from 1383 and commemorates John Foljambe. The church has fortunately remained largely unaltered, it is beautifully proportioned with many fine interior features including majestic traceried windows allowing rays of light to dapple the splendid wood, stone and marble. The church is the burial place of William Newton, well known as a poet and often referred to as "The Minstrel of The Peak".

The history of the village began in Roman times. When the Doomsday Book was first compiled it was part of the parish of Hope, but all this changed when it was granted to Thomas Armiger, and gained a market charter. Tideswell flourished during the heady days of the "lead" and "wool" trades, it became a noted centre for both commodities, causing an expansion in housing to accommodate the growth in population. By the 19th century it had become one of Derbyshire's foremost villages, noted for the production of textiles. It had small factories producing silk handkerchiefs and scarves, and close to Tideswell were the nearby mills of Cressbrook and Litton, both known for the production of fine cotton.

Today, Tideswell is an attractive inland resort with a wealth of interest for the visitor. It has lovely walks and Tideswell Dale leads towards Litton Mill is protected as a Derbyshire Wildlife Nature Reserve, with an abundance of beautiful rare flowers. The village is well known for its annual well-dressing ceremony, the start of week long festivities, with parades, carnival, music, Morris and folk dancing, it is all much fun for everyone, whatever age!

Apart from the church there are plenty of other impressive properties to be seen, included in these is the fine library building, some lovely old cottages and quaint shops, and not to be missed is the handsome, evocative War Memorial sited in Market Square.

Tideswell can be located just off the A623 between Baslow and Chapel-en-le-Frith, it is also close to the lovely old town of Buxton. The village makes an ideal centre for anyone wishing to explore the district of the High Peak, the glorious Howden Moors and reservoir, and Castleton, rich in historic caverns and caves where you can see wonderful semi-precious stones.