A
survey of the development of road communications in Wirksworth and the
surrounding Parishes
Peter Chivers November
2017
Wirksworth
was a town when Canterbury was a village and Liverpool was a swamp” (Local
saying)
Substantial
evidence supports the area’s claim to antiquity. Before the town existed,
trackways crossed the landscape enabling early communities to hunt or trade
goods.
Substantial
evidence supports the area’s claim to antiquity. Before the town existed,
trackways crossed the landscape enabling early communities to hunt or trade
goods.
This study searches
for clues in the present landscape, in published accounts, maps and other
sources to illustrate how the current pattern of communications in and around
Wirksworth displays a footprint of the past.
The prehistoric trackway known as ‘The Derbyshire Portway’ passed close to
Wirksworth linking Nottingham to Mam Tor. Ridgeway routes proved less wooded,
saved travellers crossing marshy valley bottoms, made navigation easier using
prominent landmarks and enabled travellers to use of a series of safe
defensible sites as stop over points on their journey.
A
number of features, both natural and man-made, provided way markers to help
guide travellers. The earliest Portway route looped to the north of Wirksworth
to avoid the marshy valley bottom of the River Ecclesbourne. As Wirksworth
developed travellers were afforded an opportunity to visit the town.
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