Welcome To Ashbourne With e-travelguide.info

Make the most of your time in Ashbourne, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.

Ashbourne has been known as “Gateway to the North” and today it is one of Derbyshire’s finest old towns with a wealth of Georgian architecture. When writing “Adam Bede” George Eliot based Oakbourne in Stonyshire on the town.

It is a pleasure to visit with a cornucopia of interesting shops to purchase interesting things from. The triangular cobbled Market Square in the heart of Ashbourne was part of a new development laid out by a 13th century Lord of the Manor which moved the town away from the Church towards the East. Weekly markets have been held in the town since 1296 and now take place every Saturday. It is well worth a visit. It is from this very market place that used to be full of Ale Houses that Bonnie Prince Charlie proclaimed his father to be King James 111.

Though most of the best architecture is from the 18th Century it does have some older buildings most notably the Gingerbread shop which is timber framed and probably dates from the 15th Century. According to local lore traditional Ashbourne Gingerbread is made from a recipe that was acquired from French prisoners of war who were kept in the town during the Napoleonic Wars.

Another interesting building is the “Green Man and Black’s Head Royal Hotel”. The inn sign stretches over St. John’s Street and was erected when the Blackamoor Inn joined with the Green Man in 1825. Though the Blackamoor no longer exists the sign remains and it claims with some justification to be the longest Hotel name in the country. The Hotel has associations with Dr.Johnson, James Boswell and the young Princess Victoria. Indeed Ashbourne was one of Dr.Johnson’s favourite places and he visited the Hotel so often that he had his own chair with his name on it.

Ashbourne is home to the famous Shrovetide football game played on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. The two teams, the “up-ards” and the “Down-ards begin their match at 2.00 pm behind the Green Man Hotel. (The two sides come from opposite sides of the Henmore Brook)The game continues until well into the evening and the goal posts are situated three miles apart along the Brook. It is uncommon for more than one goal to be scored in this slow moving game.

Contact: 0118 971 4700