Waiting for the Bus in Great Longstone

A view of Longstone Hall from Main Street

My exploration of both the exterior and interior of St. Giles’s church in Great Longstone very surprisingly only took 45 minutes and, with 30 minutes until my bus back to Bakewell, I had a wander around the village. 

A view up Church Lane

The oldest part of the village stretches alongside Main Street and comprises a mixture of cottages and old agricultural buildings – many of which have been converted to commercial premises – which are mainly built in Carboniferous Limestone walls with Millstone Grit dressings, although the C18 Longstone Hall is built entirely of brick according to Pevsner. 

Grade II Listed public houses in Great Longstone

Among the more substantial buildings are the Grade II Listed public houses, the late C18 White Lion and the Crispin Inn, and the Manor House, which dates back to the early C17 but whose only easily seen part is its rear elevation. 

A few views within Great Longstone Conservation Area

Most of the smaller vernacular buildings don’t have much architectural value in their own right but, as with all of the villages in the Peak District National Park, they have significant group value that adds to the character of the Conservation Area. Also, the modern estates that have grown outside the core of the village are all built with local stone. 

The war memorial and the village cross

Various other listed buildings are scattered around parts of the village that I did not have time to visit but, near to the village school there is a plain war memorial, dated 1920, and a heavily weathered shaft and steps of the village cross, which is thought to be from the C15. 

The Diamond Jubilee mosaic

Although departing from the theme of stone, I was very amused to see a mosaic in the bus stop that commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and the village well dressing, which this year protested against the rising levels of plastic in the sea.

The Great Longstone well dressing