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 | Whaley Bridge is a former mill village centred around the River Goyt, which runs through the village. Until recently the village was dominated by a dyeworks, which provided the main local employment but this closed in the late 1990s.
Whaley Bridge first came to prominence as the terminus of the High Peak Canal - built at the end of the 18th century to carry limestone from the quarries above Chapel-en-le-Frith to Manchester and beyond. This was originally serviced by the High Peak Tramway - a primitive railway built in the 1780s which linked the quarries at Dove Holes with the main canal basin at nearby Buxworth. The Tramway was an interesting piece of engineering, comprising several fairly level sections with steep 'inclined planes' in between them. Horses pulled wagons full of stone along the level sections, and on the inclined planes there were stationary steam engines to haul the wagons up and down.
The Cromford and High Peak Railway opened in 1830 and linked Whaley Bridge with Buxton and then across the White Peak to Cromford. This unique railway crossed some formidable terrain with steep inclines and used a mixture of stationary engines hauling wagons up steep inclines, like that at High peak Junction south of Cromford, with normal sections of railway track in between. Rather similar in principle to the earlier High Peak Tramway.
The railway brought stone from the quarries above Buxton down to the canal at Whaley Bridge but turned out not to be viable so it shut before the end of the 19th century.
The railway linking Buxton to Manchester was constructed in the 1870s and passed through Whaley Bridge, bringing improved communications and boom conditions to this and other settlements along the line, with a rapid expansion of the local textile industry as well as the possibility of commuting to Manchester. Most of the buildings of the village date from this period.
Whaley Bridge Photo Gallery - click on the images to enlarge- Click Here for a slide show
0 - Bugsworth Canal Basin | 
1 - Bugsworth Canal Basin | 
2 - Bugsworth Canal Basin | 
3 - Bugsworth - Navigation Inn |
Local places of interest | Bugsworth Canal Basin | Bugsworth Canal Basin is the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal, once linked to the Peak Forest Tramway - a primitive railway which brought limestone down from the quarries at Dove Holes. The basin was restored in 2005. | Chinley New Chapel | Chinley 'new' Chapel, Derbyshire, is a beautiful early nonconformist chapel. Founded by William Bagshawe, the 'Apostle of the Peak', and John Wesley preached here. | Lyme Hall and Park | Lyme Hall, a fine Italianate house in Disley, Cheshire, on the edge of the Peak District. Used by the BBC in their adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' - this is where Mr D'Arcy lived. Set in a large park with gardens. | New Mills Heritage Centre and Torrs Riverside Park | The New Mills Heritage Centre is a museum with a display about the history of New Mills. The Torrs Riverside Park is in the gorge below the museum and has spectacular scenery and industrial archeology. |
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