High Wheeldon

High Wheeldon
Highest point
Elevationc. 422 m (c. 1387 ft)
Geography
Map
LocationHartington Middle Quarter civil parish, Derbyshire, Peak District, England
OS gridSK1066
Topo mapOS Landranger 119

High Wheeldon is a distinctive dome-shaped hill near the Staffordshire border in Hartington Middle Quarter civil parish, Derbyshire, in the Peak District valley of Upper Dovedale, overlooking the villages of Earl Sterndale, Longnor and Crowdecote. It is close to the more distinctive and more widely known Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill. Popular with walkers, and possessing excellent views of the Dove and Manifold valleys, High Wheeldon is in the care of the National Trust, and has been since 1946 when it was presented by Mr F.A. Holmes of Buxton to the Trust as a war memorial.[1] A plaque at the summit commemorates the presentation, stating that the hill was presented 'in honoured memory of the men of Derbyshire and Staffordshire who fell in the Second World War'.[2]

Entrance to Fox Hole Cave

Slightly below the summit of the hill is a rock shelter called Fox Hole Cave, which is closed by an iron gate as it has archaeological significance. Items, including Peterborough ware, early Bronze Age pottery, a stone axe, flint microliths and animal bones, have been found in the cave,[3] which is believed to have been used from the Upper Paleolithic.[4] The cave is a scheduled monument.[4]

  1. ^ "High Wheeldon". Peak District View. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ Ashwin, Paul (2 May 2005). "SK1066: Summit of High Wheeldon". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ Chamberlain, A.T.; Williams, J.P. (1999). "A Gazetteer of English Caves, Fissures and Rock Shelters Containing Human Remains" (Revised version June 2001 ed.). Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b Historic England. "Fox Hole Cave (1011922)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 August 2020.