Country Images Magazine North Edition July 2017 | Page 70

Deserted
Vill ages
By Brian Spencer
Up and down the
land the remains of
abandoned villages
can only be recognised
by a comment on an
Ordnance Survey map.
There are around 3000 sites
of such places up and down
the country where the words
Medieval Village in Gothic type
with the words ‘site of’ in brackets
underneath record all that is left
of a once thriving community.
One of these deserted villages
once stood in what are now fi elds
slightly to the north of Conksbuy,
on the back road between
Youlgreave and Bakewell. Just a
few humps is all that can be seen
of buildings where families once
lived and worked.
70 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk
The remai ns of
St Martin’s Church,
founded 1050,
refl ected in the
medieval millpond.