page_title: Ellastone
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ellastone / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Bridge over the River Dove between and Norbury, Derbyshire and Ellastone in Staffordshire
context_page_description: Ellastone is a rural village in the West Midlands of England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne in north Staffordshire.
context_section_description: Ellastone, a linear village, situated close to the River Dove, on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The village can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times in documentation and it features in the Domesday Book, where it is listed as Edelachestone, Elachestone and as Princestone. The Ellastone Parish Register (1907) records the variant spellings, to be found in early medieval manuscripts, as: "Edelachestone, Elachestone, Ethelaxton, Ethelaston, Adlaxton, Athelaxton, Adelachestone, Adalacheston, Edelestone."
  One of the village cottages was once owned by William Cecil, the influential politician and confident of Elizabeth I. That was probably due to that part of the Peak then being on the main road to London, as evidence by the later coaching route.
  The local church of St. Peter's dates back to the 16th century with the year 1586 displayed on the tower.
  Ellastone was served by a railway station (shared with Norbury) which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 31 May 1852.
  During World War II, the bridge over the River Dove was an important crossing point, guarded by two pill-boxes, one on each bank. Both are still visible today, however the box on the western side of the bridge is harder to spot as it is currently serving as a shelter for the cows, but camouflage paint is still visible above the entrance.
  Ellastone Old Hall, formerly the Bromley Arms pub, dates from the seventeenth century and is situated close to the current pub, the Duncombe Arms. There used to be a petrol station in the village and its presence can be noted through the unusual drives of the two bungalows closest to the pub, which very much resemble the entry/exits of a petrol station forecourt.
  The village shop and sub Post Office was closed on 15 April 2006.
caption: The nearby bridge over the River Dove to Norbury in Derbyshire.
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