Glossop
Glossop is a small market town within the High Peak
borough of Derbyshire, England, that uses the tagline
"the gateway to the Peak District National Park".
It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River
Etherow, about 14 miles (23 km) east of the city of
Manchester, 24 miles (39 km) west of the city of Sheffield
and 31 miles (49.9 km) from Matlock, the county town.
It is between 150 and 300 metres (492 and 984 ft) above
mean sea level, and is surrounded by, but not part of,
the Peak District National Park. Like Buxton, it differs
from other areas of the borough in that it is not parished,
and this distinction defines its boundaries. It has
a total resident population of 32,428 according to the
2001 census.
Historically
the name Glossop refers to the small hamlet that gave
its name to an ancient parish recorded in the Domesday
Book of 1086, and then the manor given by William I
of England to William Peveril. It refers to the municipal
borough created in 1866, and the unparished urban area
within two local government wards. Equally the area
we know as Glossop approximates to the villages that
used to be called Glossopdale, on the lands of the Howard
family, Dukes of Norfolk. Originally known as a centre
of wool processing, Glossop rapidly expanded in the
late eighteenth century when it specialised in the production
and printing of calico, a coarse cotton. Under the benign
patronage of the Howards and other mill owner families
the villages became a mill town with many chapels and
churches; its fortunes were tied to the cotton industry.
Architecturally,
the area is dominated by buildings constructed of the
local sandstone. There remain two significant former
cotton mills and the Dinting railway viaduct. Strong
rivalry between various Christian denomination has left
a legacy of chapels, churches and their associated schools
in the town and associated villages of Glossopdale.
Close to the county borders of Greater Manchester, Glossop
has good transport links to Manchester, making the area
popular for commuters. Glossop and the western area
of High Peak fall within Greater Manchester's sphere
of influence.
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