Longnor
OS Grid ref:- SK090650
Longnor is situated about about 6 miles (10 km) to the south of Buxton and lies on a high ridge with the river Dove to the east and the river Manifold to the west.
Recorded in the Domesday Book as Longenalre, it then formed part of the manor of Bradley and was held by Robert of Stafford. The name means ‘long slope’ deriving from the Anglo-Saxon, ‘langen ofer’.
Local legend states that the village was burned during the reign of William Rufus, in reaction to deer poaching from the forests around Leek.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn (pictured left) in the village serves fine ales, snacks and excellent meals. The history of the inn begins in 1621 when the original building was constructed as a small farmstead which was added to later. It is one of the oldest remaining buildings in Longnor. Situated on the old turnpike road and packhorse route, the inn was able to obtain and supply Cheshire Cheese enroute to markets in Derbyshire and Yorkshire.
Longnor was once a market centre for the area and has a small, characterful cobbled market square and a victorian market hall which was built in 1873. The remains of what may have been a market cross survive where the Warslow road enters the market place. Longnor market hall is now a craft centre. (pictured right) The village has a number of amenities including a post-office, a general store, a coffee-shop / craft centre, public houses and a chip-shop. The Red Bull public house in cobbled Chapel Street is now an art gallery.
The grey stone village church of St Bartholomew was rebuilt in the eighteenth century although a church has occupied the site for around 800 years. The building contains a Norman font. The churchyard contains the grave of a William Billings who born in a cornfield in 1679, he lived through seven reigns, witnessed the capture of Gibraltar, was present at the battle of Ramillies and later fought against the Stuart Pretenders in 1715 and 1745, Billings lived to be a remarkable 112 years years old.
There was a Quaker meeting house registered at Longnor in 1723. In 1772 John Wesley held a private prayer meeting in the village and a Methodist chapel was built in 1777, one of the oldest in the area. The chapel was closed down in 1993. A shop known as Heirs and Graces, a dolls hospital, is now housed in the former chapel and contains much of its original furniture, including its `flying` pulpit, choir stalls and pews.
Longnor holds the annual 'Longnor Sports' or 'Wakes races on the first Thursday after the first Sunday each September.
Nearby Places of Interest
The Manifold Valley, which runs almost parallel with Dovedale, has been described as the 'Switzerland of Staffordshire' and offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the Peak District National Park.
Lathkill Dale, a Peak District beauty spot in the truest sense of the word, is one of Britain's finest limestone valleys, it is situated about 3 miles from Bakewell.
Arbor Low, sometimes referred to as ‘The Stonehenge of the North' is a prehistoric site of unique archaeological and cultural interest.
Monsal Head, a justly famous beauty spot, commands superb views down Monsal Dale and up the Wye Valley
Dovedale a dramatic limestone ravine, with its impressive rock outcrops and tranquil woodlands is arguably the prettiest and most famous of the dales in the Peak District National Park