Town in Derbyshire, England
Bakewell
Bakewell's famous pudding was supposedly a kitchen blunder, and in its home town it is very definitely not a tart.
Key information
- County
- Derbyshire
- Nation
- England
- Population
- about 4,000 (2011 Census)
- Known for
- Bakewell pudding, the Peak District, and a medieval five-arched bridge over the River Wye
- Famous people
- Richard Arkwright, Jane Austen (visitor), Joseph Paxton (nearby Chatsworth)
About Bakewell
The pudding that began as a mistake
Ask for a Bakewell tart in Bakewell and you may get a polite correction. The local original is a pudding: flaky pastry, a layer of jam, and a rich egg-and-almond filling poured on top. There is no icing and no glacé cherry. The legend goes that in the 1820s a cook at the Rutland Arms was told to make a jam tart. She spread the egg mixture over the jam instead of stirring it into the pastry. The guests loved the result and the pudding was born. Whether or not the story is true, the dessert put the town on the map. Several local shops still sell their own versions, and each has its own idea of the proper recipe. The iced, cherry-topped Bakewell tart sold across the country is a later cousin, and a rather different thing.
A bridge older than most of England's towns
Bakewell's five-arched bridge over the River Wye dates from the 13th century. It was built for packhorses and is one of the oldest bridges in the Peak District. The pointed arches are medieval, and a few cutwaters still shelter the stonework from the current. It was widened in the 1800s, but the old arches are still there. Today it carries foot traffic into the town centre, and the Wye below is full of ducks and trout. The stone is typical of the area. Much of Bakewell is built from local limestone and gritstone, which gives the streets their warm grey-gold look.
The mill that Arkwright built
Bakewell played a small part in the Industrial Revolution. In 1777 Richard Arkwright, the pioneer of the water-powered cotton mill, built Lumford Mill here. He used the fast-flowing Wye to drive his machinery. It was one of several Arkwright mills in Derbyshire. Many of its workers were children, and housing was built for the families who came to work there. The mill buildings no longer make cloth, but they are a reminder that this market town was once an industrial site too.
Monday market and a farming tradition
Bakewell has been a market town for centuries, and Monday is still market day. Farmers from the surrounding dales have long brought their livestock into town, and the weekly market is still a lively fixture. The town's agricultural-show tradition began in 1819. The old two-day Bakewell Show has since given way to the Bakewell Country Festival at the showground, which keeps the farming spirit going. The town also dresses its wells each summer. Villagers press petals, seeds and moss into wet clay boards to make large pictures. The custom is a Derbyshire speciality and one of the Peak District's best-loved traditions.
Jane Austen, dukes and the Peak
Jane Austen is thought to have stayed in Bakewell in 1811, and many readers believe it was the model for Lambton in Pride and Prejudice. In the novel, Elizabeth Bennet visits the area on her way to Pemberley. The great houses nearby are even more famous. Chatsworth House, the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire, stood in as Pemberley in the 2005 film. Haddon Hall, a medieval manor on the Wye, has been a favourite of film and television crews for years. Bakewell is also the administrative home of the Peak District National Park. Walkers and cyclists use it as a base for the Monsal Trail, which follows an old railway line through spectacular limestone dales.