Over Haddon

Human settlement in England
  • Derbyshire Dales
Shire county
  • Derbyshire
Region
  • East Midlands
CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townBAKEWELLPostcode districtDE45PoliceDerbyshireFireDerbyshireAmbulanceEast Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
53°11′42″N 1°41′46″W / 53.195°N 1.696°W / 53.195; -1.696

Over Haddon is a small village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Nether Haddon) at the 2011 Census was 255.[1] It is near the small town of Bakewell, south of the B5055 road.

Over Haddon overlooks Lathkill Dale and the River Lathkill, which may be crossed by a clapper bridge on a footpath running south from the village. The bridge may be medieval.[2] The village has two churches, a public house, and a car park. Around the year 1667 Over Haddon was home to Martha Taylor, one of the earliest documented examples of a fasting girl, who claimed to be able to survive for months without food.[3]

The name "Haddon" means "Heath Hill", the "Over" referring to being above "Nether Haddon" (Haddon Hall).[4]

The site of a deserted medieval village, Conksbury, is on the south bank of the River Lathkill, between Over Haddon and Youlgreave.

Over Haddon is the birthplace of Maurice Oldfield, a former head of MI6 and reputedly the inspiration for both John le Carré's George Smiley[5] and 'M' in the James Bond books.[6][7] He died in 1981[7] and is buried in the village.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Walk around Lathkill and Bradford Dales". www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ Robinson, Joseph Barlow (1866). Derbyshire Gatherings: a Fund of Delight for the Antiquary, the Historian... London: J. R. Smith. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  4. ^ Richards, Mark (1985). White Peak Walks: The Northern Dales. Milnthorpe: Cicerone. ISBN 0-902363-53-0.
  5. ^ a b Shute, Joe (24 August 2016). "Clearing the name of my uncle: the Spymaster". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Unknown title". Derbyshire Telegraph.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b "Sir Maurice Oldfield dead at 65: famed ex-chief of Britain's MI6". New York Times. 12 March 1981. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Over Haddon.
  • Village website
  • The Peak District On-line, Over Haddon page
  • GENUKI page for Over and Nether Haddon
  • supplementary GENUKI page describing relationship of Over Haddon and nearby settlements


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