Folklore & Legends

True stories told through time

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• Black Harry – highwayman

  

  The desolate moorland crossing from Stoney Middleton to Wardlow offered rich pickings to Black Harry, a highwayman of the 18th century who preyed on the travellers of that time. Early travellers Back in the 17th and 18th centuries travellers really did take their lives into their own hands trying to navigate the perilous Derbyshire Peak… Learn more

• Book & DVD Available to Order Online

  

  Read (or watch) more and discover what makes our village so unique and special. We are delighted to offer our village book (and DVD’s) as mail order items. Simply send us a cheque to 12 Rock Mill, Stoney Middleton Hope Valley S32 4TF. Include a mailing address and we will post them free of charge.… Learn more

• Lost love of Rowland Torre and Emmott Sydall

  

  A story of heartbreak concerning Emmott Sydall and Rowland Torre, separated from one another when the village of Eyam quarantined itself during an outbreak of the Plague, meeting daily at a distance they would shout to eachother until one day when all fell silent. Cucklett Delf is a picturesque dale between the village of Eyam and Stoney Middleton and represents… Learn more

• Lovers Leap

  

  The Lovers Leap is a story of Hannah Baddeley, a lady jilted by the love of her life leapt from the cliff tops in Stoney Middleton. Miraculously she survived with no more than cuts and bruises when her voluminous skirts billowed out and acted like a parachute slowing her fall. The building at the foot… Learn more

• Murder at the Moon Inn

  

  The Moon Inn is the last remaining public house in the village of Stoney Middleton. It was home to the brutal murder of a Scottish pedlar during the eighteenth century. The landlord turned a blind eye whilst his murderers took his body away throwing it down nearby Calswalk cavern, where it lay undiscovered for 20years, and according to the locals both the… Learn more

• Murder at the Moon Inn portrayed by local film group

  

  Peak in the past are a local community heritage group comprising a small collective of individuals with a shared passion for the Derbyshire Peak District and its past. Their aim is to celebrate, support and promote the Peak District National Park and its fascinating cultural heritage through the creation of an innovative historical documentary online… Learn more

• Poems of Stoney Middleton

  

  Sheffield student encapsulates aspects of the village’s heritage with two beautiful poems.   Ellie Wilson studying at Sheffield Hallam University was so taken by the heritage and charm of the village she penned the following poems. The first tells the story of Cesare Dati an Italian prisoner of the second world war, captured in Africa… Learn more

• The Hauntings ITV investigate

  

  A generation ago Carlswark Cavern was considered a place of evil repute; a place haunted by the ghost of a Scotch pedlar. This according to Clarence Daniel in his book A Peakland Portfolio – he goes on to tell us: The criminals were never proved guilty of their crime, but a great deal of suspicion attached to… Learn more

• The Murder of Allen and Clara

  

  Allen and Clara, were on their way to a new life in April 1758. Forbidden to marry by her father they had set off on horseback for Peak Forest (Derbyshire’s Gretna Green of the time). They stayed overnight at the Royal Oak in Stoney Middleton to rest before their final journey which they would never complete. Richly attired lovers Allen… Learn more

• William Capps

  

  William Capps lived in Stoney Middleton at the end of the 17th century, and was a master in a particular style of wrestling and particularly famed for the remarkable fact that he was never beaten. William Capps, gentleman of Stoney Middleton was born at the end of the 17th century. Little is known of the family’s history or where they… Learn more