1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bakewell

BAKEWELL, a market-town in the western parliamentary division of Derbyshire, England, on the river Wye, 25 m. N.N.W. of Derby, on the Midland railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2850. The church of All Saints is mentioned in Domesday, and tradition ascribes the building of its nave to King John, while the western side of the tower must be older still. Within are some admirable specimens of encaustic tiles, and several monuments of the Vernon and Manners families; while an ancient runic rood-stone stands in the churchyard. Zinc and marble are worked in the neighbourhood. The cotton manufacture was established in the town by Sir Richard Arkwright. Bakewell is noted for a chalybeate spring, of use in cases of chronic rheumatism, and there are baths attached to it. A kind of jam-cake, called a “Bakewell pudding,” gives another sort of fame to the place. The almshouses, known as St John’s hospital, were founded in 1602; and in 1637 a free grammar school was endowed by Lady Grace Manners. Among modern buildings may be mentioned the Bakewell and High Peak Institute, and the town hall and museum. On Castle Hill, in the vicinity, are the remains of an earthwork, said to have been raised by Edward the Elder in 924. Within the parish are included the mansions of Burton Closes and Castle Hill. Two miles from the town, amidst beautiful gardens and meadows, is Haddon Hall. To the east lies the magnificent domain of Chatsworth. The scenery of the neighbourhood, in both the Wye and the Derwent valleys, is very beautiful; the village of Eyam (pronounced Eem) near the Derwent may be noticed as specially picturesque. The plague of 1665, carried hither from London, almost depopulated this village, and the name of the rector, William Mompesson, attracted wide notice on account of his brave attempts to combat the outbreak.