Welcome to Middleton-by-Youlgrave
Middleton by Youlgrave is a limestone gem. The parish covers some 1195 hectares.
Nestling just below the top land, the heart of the village, a triangular square set on the edge of the dales, is a brilliant choice of site for climate – sheltered from the worst of the weather, bright in the sun, and with good frost drainage.
The Square is just the right size to turn round a coach-and-four (nowadays it’s Hulley’s buses, six per weekday!) unspoilt listed terraced cottages, houses and farmsteads, the memorial playground, a picnic site and mature trees surround it.
The only downside, some might say, is the fact that the Bateman Arms was closed in 1918 by Sarah Waterhouse, the lady of the manor.
We are also proud to encompass Fulwood’s Castle (a very ruined fortified manor house); the rock behind which Christopher Fulwood was caught and later died at the hands of Cromwell’s men; Smerrill Grange, medieval village site; Arbor Low stone circle (currently recumbent, but there’s a challenge!); two minor stately homes; three water tap heads (dry); Bateman’s Tomb; a sheep dip and fishponds; and fine countryside walks.
The people are friendly. The ‘locals’ are mainly farmers, estate and quarry workers; and carers, mainly retired. The ‘offcomers’ are mainly long distance outsiders, but made most welcome, and often the movers and shakers. We sustain a Village Hall, a Parish Council; a Village Hall Committee, which is responsible for many events for the entertainment of villagers and visitors; the Welldressing and Village Market; (see the Events page for upcoming dates) a local history group that published ‘Our Middleton’; two videos of old images and new; the ‘Sites of Meaning, Other Stones, Other Meanings’ project; and an author, Patricia Warren, of imminent repute for ‘All in a Day’s Work, Stories from the Country Matchmaker’, which is available from The Country Bookstore or Farming Books and Videos.
We produce top quality bespoke beef, and sheep and milk, all grass fed and well cared for, from the in-village and outlying farms. We include as workers or businesses, a Soft Furnishings Company; three collectors of old or interesting cars, a cast iron design and fix company; artists and trainers, to name a few.
We haven’t got a shop or a pub, so some might think it’s not really worth coming to visit . . . but we have got cottages to rent and three B&Bs and a camping barn or two, so it’s well worth coming to stay..!
