Bakewell of much of the town in the 19th century. Bakewell is in the valley of the River Wye in central Derbyshire. The town centre is sited near the river at about above sea-level, with the highest parts of the town at about on the valley sides. The town is in the Derbyshire Dales district and is about southwest of Sheffield, southeast of Manchester, and north of Derby. Nearby towns include Matlock to the south east, Chesterfield to the east and Buxton to the west northwest. Villages near Bakewell include Ashford-in-the-Water, Elton, Great Longstone, Monyash, Over Haddon, Sheldon, Rowsley, Pilsley, Youlgreave
Joan Bakewell British Empire (DBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. In November 2008, Joan Bakewell was appointed a voice for older people by the UK Government. She is Chairman of the theatre company Shared Experience. It was announced in November 2010 that she would be awarded a life peerage, joining the Labour benches. She was created Baroness Bakewell, of Stockport in the County of Greater Manchester, on 21 January 2011, and formally introduced to the House of Lords on 25 January 2011 supported by fellow Labour peers Lord Puttnam and Baroness Kennedy. On 20 July 2011, Bakewell was made an honorary graduate