Wooden pole in a field

xltim · 31-03-2005, 19:48

can anyone shed light on the strange pole stuck in the middle of a field in derbyshire.
it has a tourist sign on it saying "wooden pole".
is this some kind joke.
i went into the field (with a workmate, just in case) but it is what it says it is, a wooden pole.
it looks like it has been there a long time as it is a bit battered.
does it need doing up a bit, can it be replaced with a new wooden pole or is it special.
please let me know

onedizzybird · 31-03-2005, 20:09

hmmm... where abouts in derbyshire??? perhaps it's the local farmer having a bit of fun, bit like superglueing a pound coin to the floor maybe...

Draggletail · 31-03-2005, 20:09

It's great isn't it

We have wondered about it for years.
Google search reveals nothing......

On National Trust property I seem to remember.

xltim · 31-03-2005, 20:24

yes the sign is a national trust sign
it is just past the fox house on the way to calver

algy · 31-03-2005, 20:28

Is it the one on the Longshaw Estate near the triangular junction where the road turns down to Froggatt and Calver? If it is, it's a packhorse route marker from the 1700's, marking the route up from Hathersage. The track in a hollow way just below it is the old road. It's not the original, but it's been there many years, and the place is now known as Wooden Pole.

leddi · 31-03-2005, 20:36

Is that stanage pole? uuugghghh we walked all the way from a pole to castleton for my duke of edinburgh award.. i only did bronze lol.

xltim · 31-03-2005, 20:38

yes thats sounds like the one.
thankyou for letting me know.
is it the only one or are they quite common.
just that i have never seen them before

graceomally · 31-03-2005, 21:15

Should we all trek out to visit it? It sounds like a good excuse to hike across bogs and heather. Where's a good spot to start walking from?

CJB444 · 31-03-2005, 21:23

It won't be Stanage Pole as that is bizzarely enough on the stanage moor (can be walked too from Stanage Edge of from Redmires Reservoir in Lodge Moor). The pole in question is most probably that on the road to Calver (off from the Fox House) at the road junction that also leads back to Totley.

Both Stanage and "wooden pole" are historical waymarkers for old packhorse routes. If you go to Stanage Pole carvings in the rocks at the base date back until the mid C17th I believe one of the oldest dates is around 1636!

Must have been a little different around here back then!

dishwasher · 31-03-2005, 21:57

Algy

You've got the one I think he means, near to Fox House.

My grandad always used to tell me (when I was a child) that there was a penny placed on top of the pole and that it was mine if I climbed up to collect it.

When my kids were younger I told them there was a £1 coin on top!

I always thought it was a boundary pole, marking the spot where Yorkshire becomes Derbyshire (or vice versa).

alchresearch · 31-03-2005, 22:03

Quote:

Originally posted by CJB444
It won't be Stanage Pole as that is bizzarely enough on the stanage moor (can be walked too from Stanage Edge of from Redmires Reservoir in Lodge Moor).

Also bizarre is that it's called Stanedge Pole, but Stanage Edge! Obviously a variation of the same name.

algy · 31-03-2005, 22:22

Quote:

Originally posted by xltim
yes thats sounds like the one.
thankyou for letting me know.
is it the only one or are they quite common.
just that i have never seen them before

I'm not sure about other poles, but there are plenty of waymarkers from the period around. If you're interested there's a book called "The guide stoops of the Dark Peak" by Howard Smith that lists them and gives their exact locations, and another "Guide stoops of Derbyshire" by the same author. The moors between the road to Froggatt and the Baslow road from Owler Bar are criss-crossed by old packhorse routes, and there are quite a few stoops around. There's a good book by David Hey called "Packmen, Carriers and Packhorse Roads" about this area that's worth reading too.

leddi · 31-03-2005, 22:36

Yeah thanks for pointing that out, it was 12 yrs ago... but it does make it worse in that it means i walked further to castleton!!

Mantaspook · 31-03-2005, 22:49

This story reminded me of the time I was walking the Pennine Way, having travelled the best part of 200 miles from Scotland we were crossing Black Hill, a bleak boggy waterlogged plateau, when we spotted a sign in the distance.

Thinking this must be a way-marker we headed towards the sign, this was difficult as the clumps of ground above the waterline started to diminish but by edging around the worst bits and performing Herculean leaps we finally got to the edge of a lake, 100 feet across with the sign in splendid isolation at its centre.

Peering through the mist we made out the message: “Dogs must be kept on a lead”

Who said town planners don’t have a sense of humour?

Kristian · 31-03-2005, 22:55

What I can't understand is why 272 people have viewed a thread called 'Wooden Pole in a Field', myself included! While the thread content is quite good, there must be some awfully bored folk out there!

K x

vidster · 31-03-2005, 23:08

Quote:

Originally posted by alchresearch
Also bizarre is that it's called Stanedge Pole, but Stannage Edge! Obviously a variation of the same name.

I thought Stannage Edge was the cliff face and line of rocks used by climbers about 500 meters away from Stannage Pole

.

We used to go riding up there every Sunday, until i very nearly rode straight off the edge in some fog. If i didn't hear the sheep bleating at the bottom, i'd have been off!

Avalon · 01-04-2005, 09:35

Quote:

Originally posted by Kristian
What I can't understand is why 272 people have viewed a thread called 'Wooden Pole in a Field', myself included! While the thread content is quite good, there must be some awfully bored folk out there!

K x

You dont think i actually do any work at work do you!??

cgksheff · 01-04-2005, 10:33

Quote:

Originally posted by algy
Is it the one on the Longshaw Estate near the triangular junction where the road turns down to Froggatt and Calver? If it is, it's a packhorse route marker from the 1700's, marking the route up from Hathersage. The track in a hollow way just below it is the old road. It's not the original, but it's been there many years, and the place is now known as Wooden Pole.

Is this the location? (under the blue 'P' for carpark?)

redrobbo · 01-04-2005, 11:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Kristian
What I can't understand is why 272 people have viewed a thread called 'Wooden Pole in a Field', myself included! While the thread content is quite good, there must be some awfully bored folk out there!

K x

Ah Kristian - the explanation is simple. Those who are bored having read this thread, and those who, (like you and me), have found it fascinating, are quite simply.....poles apart!

Avalon · 01-04-2005, 11:44

Quote:

Originally posted by xltim
can anyone shed light on the strange pole stuck in the middle of a field in derbyshire.
it has a tourist sign on it saying "wooden pole".
is this some kind joke.
i went into the field (with a workmate, just in case) but it is what it says it is, a wooden pole.
it looks like it has been there a long time as it is a bit battered.
does it need doing up a bit, can it be replaced with a new wooden pole or is it special.
please let me know

Is it like the North and South pole?