Sense of Place

One of the much-disputed claims to the inspirational role played by Derbyshire’s landscape has always been with regard to an Edwardian children’s novel. Matthew Corrigan makes an unassailable case for the true home of The Railway Children

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The Railway Children is undoubtedly a classic work of English Literature. Many will have either read Edith Nesbit’s 1906 novel or seen one of the numerous, much-loved adaptations. The tale tells of three young siblings who leave their London home and move to a house in the country when their father is wrongly imprisoned. The house, Three Chimneys, is close to a railway line which provides the backdrop for an entertaining sequence of adventures. Throughout the book, various locations are described in considerable detail while the author seemingly takes care to ensure their names are not quite recognisable. Over the years many claims have been staked, with advocates for several places trying to prove they were the inspiration behind the idea.

Now, however, the fires of this long-running ‘literary war’ have been stoked once more. Thanks to the efforts of researchers Barbara Matthews and Rosemary Taylor of the New Mills Local History Society, together with rail historian Craig Wright, the debate has been reawakened. It seems, based on the evidence they offer, that the answer may be found close to the High Peak town of New Mills. The information they have uncovered gives rise to a very convincing argument indeed. It looks almost certain that the actual inspiration for the story was a section of what is now the Hope Valley Line, specifically where it passes through the pretty little hamlet of Strines.