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Foolow is a traditional upland village on the fringe of White Peak countryside, surrounded by a patchwork of rich pasture segregated by mile upon mile of dry stone walls meticulously constructed from chunks of limestone. The attractive village has a duck pond and pub – The Bulls Head Inn which is the lone survivor of five village inns. Years ago the pond or mere would have provided not only the water for the village, but for cattle and livestock as well. On the small village green is a medieval cross, moved to its present position in 1868 when it was given a new base. Prior to this it stood on the site of the nearby Wesleyan Chapel and may at one time have been a marker for the boundary of the Royal Forest of the Peak. Next to the cross is a bull ring where animals would have been tethered before being set upon by dogs in the mistaken belief that it tenderized the meat prior to slaughter. Bull baiting was declared illegal in 1835. La foulowe (1284) means a hill frequented by birds. However Foolow was also recorded in a document of 1570 as Ffollowe. Foolow is a pretty and very traditional limestone village which attracts many tourists in summer months. Adjacent to the green is the unusual 17th century Old Hall with its very irregular construction, whereas the nearby 18th century Manor House is a more typical Derbyshire country house style appearance. Both are beautiful buildings, as are many of the houses and cottages in the village, attracting the attention of both amateur and professional photographers and appearing in numerous tourist information publications.
North-west of Foolow is Tup Low where there is a Bronze Age tumulus, whilst Long Low lies about ½-mile to the northwest and comprises of a cairn built of limestone blocks set in a circle. When excavated it was found to contain ninety human remains. A mile to the west of Foolow is Silly Dale. By the side of the road from Foolow to Eyam are waterfalls or swallet holes, being natural potholes where water disappears below ground, to emerge some distance away near Stoney Middleton. In 2000, potholers from the Masson Caving Group discovered a rift and breakdown passage some 100 metres in length at this site which they named Crock Pot or Pot of the Crocks. Standing proudly at the junction where the road from Housley meets the old Eyam to Hucklow road and originally part of a row of lead miners cottages, the Bull's Head has been licenced premises for at least two centuries. A few years ago the pub's name was changed to `The Lazy Landlord' - and the landlord at the time apparently did his best to live up to the name, consequently both the landlord and the name were dispensed with - and a couple of years ago the pub got its old name back, and a new landlord! Recently refurbished, the Bulls Head is the epitome of the English country pub, with an excellent restaurant, open fires, good ale and a warm and friendly welcome from new landlord Les Bond. There is no parish church in Foolow but to the north of the Green stands the Wesleyan Reform Church of 1836, with its pointed lancet windows and resplendent Truscan porch entrance, whilst nearer the village duck pond stands the intriguingly tiny Anglican Church of St. Hugh, originally built as a private dwelling early in the nineteenth century.
Please check out our montage of Foolow Village on the left taken by one of the villagers in april 2008 , giving you a wonderful idea of how beautiful this Derbyshire Village is!
