Winster

I've been getting into Family History again recently and have found out that some of my ancestors came from the village of Elton before moving to South Derbyshire. I'm going back here to the early to mid 18th century. I found a lot of early memorial inscriptions in the churchyard so I'll write about that soon on my family history blog. After we'd finished in Elton we set off to the lovely nearby village of Winster.

Winster is one of the oldest villages in the Peak district. It's wealth and success in its early years came from the nearby lead mining industry. There are still rows of miners' cottages weaving up the streets to the top of the hill.

As the streets in Winster are so narrow and parking is difficult we parked in the free car park at the top of the village and walked down East Bank towards the village centre.

Which ever way you look there are very old, interesting buildings.

Above are some of the small cottages on the way down to Main Street. Across the road is the village shop - below.

The most intriguing building is the old market hall which is administered by the National Trust.

I love the little cobbled alleyway or gitty down the side of the market hall building.

The market hall stands in the middle of Main Street and inside is a small exhibition/information area and model of the village.

This shop front is a hairdressers' shop - I wonder what it is like inside?

This lovely house on the corner is called the Dower House.

We set off back up the hill this time on West Bank and stopped halfway up to look at the church.

There is a public footpath through the churchyard to Elton - I'd love to go back one day and walk it - if it is an old, established footpath I may be following the footsteps of my ancestors.

Tonight we are going to the New Vic to see The Canterbury Tales so I'll do a review of that later. In the meantime don't forget my giveaway is still open (see previous post) just leave a comment on that post if you want to enter the draw.