Ilam

The village of Ilam was inhabited in Saxon times and the ancient Parish Church of the Holy Cross still displays some Saxon stonework as well as the shrine of a much-loved Staffordshire saint and 8th century Mercian king, Bertelin, or Bertram. Ilam has been an English pilgrim destination for over 1,300 years – ever since grief-stricken St Bertram arrived here to live as a hermit. Legend recalls that Bertram, the ‘First Evangelist of the Moorlands’, spent the remainder of his life here after wolves killed his wife and newborn baby, while he was out looking for food. 

Now a model village of great charm on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, Ilam was originally an important settlement belonging to Burton Abbey. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, the estate was broken up and Ilam came into the hands of the Port family. In the early 1800s the family sold the property to Jesse Watts Russell, a wealthy industrialist. He moved the village from its position near Ilam Hall and rebuilt it in its current location in ‘Alpine style’. This explains both the Swiss style of the buildings and the surprising distance between them and the village church.

John Port originally built Ilam Hall in 1546, and while in the possession of the Ports, both Samuel Johnson and the playwright William Congreve stayed there. Watts Russell bought it in 1820 along with the estate and rebuilt it. As well as building a fine mansion, Watts Russell also spent a great deal of money refurbishing the village. Obviously devoted to his wife, he had the village hall rebuilt in a romantic Gothic style and, in the centre of the village; he had a cross erected in her memory. In the 1930s most of the hall had been demolished before being bought by Sir Robert McDougall, who presented it to the Youth Hostelling Association in 1934. It remains a youth hostel to this day. The 158 acres of Ilam Park, on which the hall stands, is owned and managed by the National Trust.

In the valley of the River Manifold, a much-used starting point for walks along this beautiful stretch of river, the Manifold disappears underground north of the village in summer, to reappear below Ilam Hall. The village is also the place where the Rivers Manifold and Dove merge. Though Dovedale is, deservedly so, considered the most scenic of the Peak District valleys, the Manifold Valley is very similar and while being marginally less beautiful it is often much less crowded. The two rivers rise close together on Axe Edge, and for much of their course follow a parallel path, so it is fitting that they should come together eventually.

Be sure not to leave without visiting Ilam Hall’s visitor centre. Jackson’s Geology is a touchscreen exploration of Dovedale, explaining the geology of the White Peak through the eyes of and celebrating the work of Dr Jackson.  This pioneer geologist and cave archaeologist worked in Dovedale during the 1920s–1930s.