Whitfield, Derbyshire

Whitfield is a hamlet and former parish in Derbyshire, England. It is half a mile (1km) south of Glossop Town Hall, south of Glossop Brook between Bray Clough and Hurst Brook. Whitfield was one of the original townships in the ancient Parish of Glossop. Up to the latter part of the 18th century the hamlet was devoted mostly to agriculture with an area of 2,608 statute acres. The area rises from about 169m to about 266m above mean sea level.

Natural England maps
Maps showing Access, Designations and other criteria from Natural England:


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – Hob Hill.


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – spot height 169.2m – Charlestown Road.


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – spot height 205.7m – Hague Street.


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – spot height 266.1m – Hob Hill.


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – parish boundary.


 * MAGiC MaP : Whitfield – Dark Peak SSSI.


 * MAGiC MaP : Dark Peak – Pennine Way – Mill Hill.

Name history
The name was recorded as Witfeld in the Domesday Book of 1086 A.D.

Survey of English Place-Names:


 * Witfeld (1086)
 * Whitefeld (1226)
 * Wytfeld (1282)

Name toponym
The name element wit is from Old English wiht ("weight") which itself is derived from Latin vectis ("lever").

The name element feld is from Old English feld ("field").

The toponym might be:


 * Landmass that lifts upwards.
 * Field that elevates up a hill.
 * Field that rises towards the sky.

Examples of place names that may have a similar etymology include the Isle of Wight – "the island that lifts up out of the sea".

History
The Manor of Whitfield was conveyed in 1330 to John Foljambe. Though held with the manor of Glossop, the land in Whitfield was mostly not part of the Norfolk estate unlike most of the manor of Glossop. When it was enclosed by act of parliament in 1810 it was recorded as being 1577 acre. Included in Whitfield are the villages of Charlestown and Littlemoor.

The Turnlee Paper factory was in Littlemoor. St James, Littlemoor, was consecrated in 1845 and is built in the Early English style, with tower and 114 ft spire. There is a Methodist Chapel at Whitfield; the Wesleyan Reformers and Independent Calvinists had chapels at Littlemoor.

When Glossop expanded, and the Howardtown Mills were constructed, Whitfield was subsumed into the new town. Power looms were introduced into these mills in 1825. In 1835 Whitfield church was extended to take the increased congregation, and a Church of England primary school was built in 1848; an infant school was added by Anne Kershaw Wood in 1913.

Local place names
Local place names suggest an association with Hob folklore:

Hob Hill
There are several references to "Hob Hill":


 * Hobb Hill Cottage
 * Hob Hill Farm
 * Hob Hill Meadows

Hobroyd
The area known as Hobroyd is on the lower slopes of Whiteley Nab to the south-west of Glossop. The name Hobroyd was recorded in 1843. The toponym might be "Hob hole in a wood".

A map of Glossop from 1896 shows a mill with a "Rope Walk", suggesting that it may have a similar history to the Holehouse Mill at Chisworth. A map of Glossop from 1954 shows a paper mill on the same site, which later became a farm and is now Pennine View nursing home.