Hathersage

Hathersage is in The Peak District National Park in England.

Hathersage is a village in the Peak District in Derbyshire, in England.

The River Derwent lies slightly to the south of the village and to the north, Stanage Edge rises steeply.

Small stone tools from the Mesolithic era have been found below Stanage Edge indicating ancient occupation of the area.

In the Outseats area to the north of Hathersage, there is evidence of a Bronze Age field system, settlement and burial cairn at Dennis Knoll. Close to a boundary marker on Bamford Moor, is an embanked stone circle about 10m in diameter.

Also in the Outseats area, are remains of a Romano British settlement, known as the Warren. Roman pottery and a gritstone quern have been found at this site.

The earliest recorded church in Hathersage was built in the reign of Henry I.

The present church, St Michael’s, dates mainly from the late 14th and early 15th centuries and is a Grade I listed structure.

A number of local landmarks are associated with Robin Hood. Robin Hood’s Cross on Abney Moor, Robin Hood’s Stoop on Offerton Moor and Robin Hood’s Cave on Stanage Edge.

A grave in the churchyard is said to be that of Little John. In 1780 James Shuttleworth claims to have unearthed a thigh bone measuring 72.39 centimetres (28.50 in). This would have made Little John 8.08 feet (2.46 m) in height! In the porch of the church, is a large 600 year old stone said to have once marked Little John’s grave.

One claimant to Robin Hood ‘of Locksley’, is the village of Loxley, which is just eight miles over the moors on the edge of Sheffield.

In 1845, Charlotte Brontë stayed at the Hathersage vicarage. Many of the locations mentioned in her novel ‘Jane Eyre’, match locations in Hathersage. The name Eyre was that of a local gentry family. Her “Thornfield Hall” is widely accepted to be North Lees Hall, on the outskirts of Hathersage.

In the 19th century, Hathersage was an important centre for the manufacture of needles, pins, wire drawing and millstones. Brass buttons were also manufactured.

Close to the church is Camp Green which dates back to 850 AD. The circular mound was a fortification built by the Danes.

Nowadays, Hathersage is a popular place for outdoor enthusiasts, as the village is surrounded by some spectacular scenery, with the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail running close by to the village.

Created: 27  November  2016  Edited: 29  November  2023