Glossop

For the Australian settlement of the same name, see Glossop, South Australia

Template:GBdot Glossop is a small town in the borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. Lying to the west of the Peak District national park, Glossop is about 13 miles east of the city of Manchester and 24 miles west of the city of Sheffield.

Glossop is located close to the administrative borders of Greater Manchester, and boasts considerable transport links to the area, which are popular for commuters. For these reasons, it could be said that Glossop is within Greater Manchester's sphere of influence as does the western area of High Peak,with such towns as New Mills,Whaley Bridge,and Buxton.However,Glossop is separate to this conurbation and due to its somewhat rural location in Derbyshire, it upholds its own strong identity in terms of architecture, dialects and geology (e.g. peak district and Derbyshire stone). Glossop also follows the tradition of Well Dressing, which is a custom found only in Derbyshire.

The large council estate of Gamesley,north-west of the town centre,was an overspill estate built in the 1960's to house people moving out of Manchester's working-class areas,mostly east of the city centre. This was owned by Manchester city council until the 1990's when ownership was transferred back to the the control of High Peak Borough Council. High Peak's regional TV service has always been Granada Television,which covers North West England.

Glossop was a municipal county borough until 1974 when it merged with Buxton municipal borough to form the borough of High Peak.

Geography

Glossop (grid reference SK0393) nestles in the foothillls of the Pennines, with Bleaklow to the northeast and Kinder Scout to the south. It lies on Glossop Brook, a tributary to the River Etherow. The area is commonly known as the Dark Peak. Glossop is the largest town within the borough of High Peak. Glossop is very similar to other north Derbyshire towns in relation to its terrain and scenery.

Demography

Glossop has a population of approximately 16,500.

History

The site was occupied by the Romans - in Gamesley, there are the remains of a Roman fort, named Ardotalia by the Romans, but renamed Melandra by a 19th-century amateur historian.

A history of Ardotalia (Melandra), provided by Glossop Heritage Centre Heritage Centre, is located here History of the fort.

Ardotalia was constructed by Cohors Primae Frisiavonum - The First Cohort of Frisiavones Roman Britain.org. Evidence for the existence of this unit exists not only from the building stone found at the site but also from various diplomas and other Roman writings Roman Britain.org. This unit would have had around a thousand men, including the specialist craftsmen needed to perform the skilled work of buliding the fort Glossop Heritage

This unit was assisted in constructing the fort by the 3rd Cohort of Bracara Augustani. These men were probably Iberian Celts from the colony of Braga in Portugal who seem to have been attached to the XX Legion Valeria Victrix in Chester. Whilst it is unknown which of these Cohorts actually manned the fort it seems more likely that the 3rd Cohort of Bracara Augstani performed this duty, as they were from a hilly region and so were more experienced in holding terrain such as that found around Glossop. The Frisavones were from low lying lands beyond the Rhine and so may have been divided between the lower terrain of Manchester and Norwich Glossop Heritage.

The First Cohort of Frisavones were also present at Brocolitia, one of Hadrian's wall forts and settlements, in Carrawburgh Northumberland. Evidence for this relies on an inscription on an altar stone, which tells us that Optio Maus (an NCO within the Cohort) had repaid a vow to the goddess Coventina Roman Britain.org. Whether this altar was the repayment of the vow is unknown.

Glossop is mentioned in the Domesday Book and became the property of the monks of Basingwerk Abbey in North Wales. Later on, it became the property of the Dukes of Norfolk. In the nineteenth century it became an important cotton 'mill' town as part of the Industrial Revolution. One of the mills was owned by Edmund Potter, the uncle of Beatrix Potter.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Glossop Estate was sold by the Dukes of Norfolk, and Glossop became a town in its own right.

There is concern that Glossop's heritage is being lost due to increasing influence from the growing Manchester conurbation.

Leisure

The town is notable in sporting terms for having been the smallest town in England ever to have a top division professional football club. Glossop North End played in The Football League from 1898 to 1915, though they are now a semi-professional club playing at the ninth level of English football.

Glossop also has a cricket club, Glossop CC, which plays at North Road. Their professional for several seasons up to 2004 was Damien Eyre who moved to Flowery Field Cricket Club for 2005. For 2005 the club has an overseas amateur, Ben Pahl. Glossop CC is also a host to Derbyshire CCC's 2nd XI on occasion.

There is also a Glossop Rugby Union Football Club, which has its clubhouse and pitches in the open country between Glossop and Charlesworth. As of 2006, their first team is in the East Midlands (North) League.

North of Glossop is the Longdendale valley, with a chain of five reservoirs and the Longdendale Trail, part of the Trans-Pennine Trail long distance footpath. A few miles to the east on the snake pass is the Derwent Valley chain of reserviors; the most famous being the Ladybower reservior which flooded a whole village. At one time the church spire could be seen when the water was low.

In recent years, Glossop has become quite well known musically, for staging Jazz Festivals and Global Music Festivals.

Transport

The main road through Glossop is the A57. Manchester lies to the west along this road (you could take part of the journey along the M67 motorway), while Sheffield lies to the east, along the Snake Pass. Heading north out of Glossop along the B6105 would take you, via the Woodhead Pass, towards Barnsley. Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton lie to the south, along the A624.

Public transport is governed by Derbyshire County Council and rail travel is sub contracted out to GMPTE.

A train runs every half hour to Manchester along the remaining stub of the former Woodhead railway. This line has been electrified for over fifty years. There are plans to re-open the line from Glossop to nearby Sheffield which are currently under review.

Other public transport connections are good, with regular bus services running to towns in Tameside, and an infrequent service to Manchester. There is also an hourly bus service to Buxton,New Mills and Whaley Bridge in the South and infrequent services running to other towns and cities. These are operated by various bus companies. see Derbybus or GMPTE. There are infrequent Sunday services to local tourist attractions such as Chatsworth House and the local village of Castleton.

Government

Glossop is Governed by a two tier structure. At a more local level it is governed by High Peak Borough Council who are based in the town and at Chinley. At county level, Glossop is governed by Derbyshire County Council who were originally based in Derby, However, due to the percieved perceptions that Glossop and the High Peak would 'loose out' due to being situated at opposite ends of the county, the County Coucil moved to Matlock to be closer to the northern extremities of the county and to facilitate easier travelling distances to the County Hall.

Glossop had the opportunity to move into Greater Manchester in 1974 along with New Mills. However the mojority of Glossopians voted to stay in Derbyshire. A recent poll by a local paper still shows the same view. Glossop is however linked to Tameside NHS trust, this is mainly due to the fact that there are no district general hospitals within the borough of High Peak and patients would have to travel over 20 miles to another hospital within the county. The link with Tameside NHS trust enables easier flow of patient care. Similary Buxton and the west of High Peak is annexed to Stockport NHS trust.

Education

Glossop has two secondary schools - Glossop Community College and St Phillip Howard RC Comprehensive School. For a complete list of schools, including primary schools, see Glossop schools.

Trivia

The town is twinned with Bad Vilbel in Germany.

"Glossop" is defined in The Meaning of Liff, by Douglas Adams & John Lloyd, as being a globule of hot food which lands on your friend's newly polished solid wood dining table.

John Goodhall came from Glossop. He has been described as soccer's first star player.

The artist Eileen Cooper was born in Glossop.

The Designer Vivienne Westwood is from Glossop and attended Glossop Grammar School (the original name of Glossopdale Community College).

The Porn Baron Paul Raymond - Owner of the Raymond Review Bar in London - lived in Glossop.

Glossop is mentioned in the satirical book, England, Their England by A. G. Macdonell. The town and its fictional newspaper, the Glossop Evening Mail are described as the lowest rung in the journalistic profession.

Students from Glossop Community College appear in The League of Gentlemen, first season as audience to the Legz Akimbo theater group in a play about homosexuality

Glossop North End, the town's then professional football club was the first football side in the world to play in, and register its strip as all-white in colour. Well before Real Madrid.

External links

• http://www.glossop.com