Ashford-in-the-Water has to be one of the loveliest villages in the Peak District, and any exploration will undoubtedly reward the visitor to this delightful spot.
Ever twisting, the River Wye meanders through Ashford, a limestone village with narrow streets and three ancient bridges. The 17th century Sheepwash Bridge has a stone enclosure at one end in which sheep were penned before being washed in the clear water long ago.
Near the Sheepwash Bridge stands the parish church of the Holy Trinity, largely re-built in 1870. The lower part of the tower is 13th century. In the north aisle are four maidens crants, garlands carried at the funeral of a young unmarried woman bearing her name and age. The crants probably date from the 18th century.
Ashford holds a well-dressing ceremony on Trinity Sunday - the day of the church's patronal festival.
Behind the church are traces of a moat, all that remains of a fortified house which was the home of Edmund Plantagenet, brother of Edward II. The present Ashford Hall is a dignified Georgian building at the eastern end of the village, overlooking the Wye.
In the 18th century, Ashford was noted for its black marble, quarried locally and used mainly for church furnishings and for fireplace surrounds. In the church is a tablet to Henry Watson who founded the industry and also an example of the black marble-a table with an ornate inlaid top.
Many visitors may find Fin Cop, some one and a half miles north west of the village interesting as here will be found the remains of an Iron Age fort.
