Sir William Hill

About Sir William Hill

Rising steadily above the historic plague village of Eyam, this gritstone-capped height offers a gentler alternative to the rugged Edale tops. The summit, marked by a trig pillar and a prominent telecommunications mast, provides a commanding vantage point over the Derwent Valley and the gritstone edges of Stanage and Burbage.

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Did You Know?

• •The hill is named after Sir William Bagshawe, a 19th-century magistrate and High Sheriff of Derbyshire. It is a rare example in the Peak District of a summit named after an individual landowner rather than a descriptive landscape feature.
• •The summit is crossed by the Sir William Road, an ancient salt-carrying packhorse route. This track served as a vital high-level transport link long before the modern roads were established in the valleys below.
• •From the trig pillar, there is an exceptional perspective across the Hope Valley to the Great Ridge; the profiles of Mam Tor and Lose Hill are framed clearly against the massive plateau of Kinder Scout to the northwest.
• •The surrounding Eyam Moor is a significant archaeological site, home to the Wet Withens stone circle and various Bronze Age embanked pit alignments, suggesting these slopes have been occupied for over 3,000 years.
• •Despite the distinguished, aristocratic title, the hill's most prominent modern feature is a large radio mast, ensuring that while the name is 19th-century, the mobile signal is decidedly 21st.