Bakewell is the only market town within the Peak District National Park boundary and its attractive courtyards, independent shops, cafés and its location on the River Wye make it a hugely popular destination for tourists to the Peak District.
Recorded as an important area as far back as pre-Norman times, much of Bakewell's growth has taken place since the 1600s and the town now has many fine buildings, notably the old Market Hall, which is home to the Tourist Information Centre. Originally a crossing point on the river, parts of Bakewell still retain the names from this era, an example being Lumford, where the ford is still to be found alongside the later Holme Bridge. Built in 1664 with refuges at the sides for pedestrians and low parapets to allow the panniers on the horses to travel over them easily, Holme Bridge is a good example of how narrow a packhorse bridge would have looked hundreds of years ago.
A few hundred yards downstream, the older Bakewell Bridge dates back to the 1300s, although it was widened during Victorian times to allow carriages across – it is now the main route into the town for everyday traffic from the north and east.
Named after Badeca's well, indicating the importance of the springs, Bakewell almost became a spa town. The Bath House, built by the Duke of Rutland in 1697, still retains the original 16ft x 33ft bath in the cellar. However, the temperature of the water would always have been against the town's development as a spa – at only 11ºC/52ºF, it was less then half the temperature of the spring at neighbouring Buxton! You can see the tufa rock formed by the spring water in the walls of the porch in front of the building. The Bath Gardens to the front of the Bath House are beautifully kept and provide a floral display throughout the summer and there's also a finely napped bowling green.
The Old House Museum occupies one of the oldest buildings in Bakewell and dates back to 1543. The museum has had a chequered history and at one time was home to workers from Sir Richard Arkwright's mill just west of town. The local historical society saved it from destruction and it has held their collections ever since. The museum has a large costume collection and rooms set out as schoolrooms and kitchens, together with artefacts donated by local people. One of the strangest stories on display is that of an elephant buried in Bakewell, complete with newspaper clippings of the event.
The Church of All Saints sits high on the hill overlooking the town and is Norman in origin (see the west door), although its large cruciform shape owes much to Victorian changes. Thought to have the largest group of medieval monuments in the UK, the ornately carved coffin slabs and coffins around the south porch were found during restoration in the 1840s – the open Anglo Saxon stone coffins propped outside on their ends provide a popular photo opportunity for visitors, who often have their photos taken while stood inside one! In the church itself, you'll find marble effigies to the Manners and Vernon families of Haddon Hall.
Bakewell has a weekly market every Monday and a livestock market in the Agricultural Business Centre sited across the river from town. This purpose-built area allowed the animals to be taken out of the town centre and house it with other businesses connected to farming in one location – at one time, the pig market was held in front of The Rutland Arms Hotel in the road.
Market day is always a bustling time, when the large rural population around Bakewell comes into town to do their shopping. Bakewell also has a Farmers' Market on the last Saturday of the month as well as a Farmers' Market Shop open every day for fresh local produce.
You're probably familiar with the nationally known dessert, Bakewell Tart, which is named after the original local delicacy, Bakewell Pudding. This famous sweet came about by mistake, when the cook at what is now the Rutland Arms Hotel was making a strawberry tart with a rich egg pastry. She assembled the ingredients incorrectly and poured the egg mixture on top of the strawberry jam, ending up with a barely set gelatinous pudding.
Unique to the town, Bakewell's three pudding shops all claim to possess the original (and supposedly secret) recipe, so the only way to find which is the best is to try one of each! While you'd be hard pressed to find a Bakewell Pudding outside the town, you can send one anywhere in the world from The Bakewell Pudding Shop.
Further Information
Old House Museum | Bakewell Visitor Centre
See location of Bakewell on Google maps
(map reference: SK 218686)
Bakewell is situated on the A6, midway between Buxton to the north and Matlock to the south.
