Litchurch

Last updated

Litchurch
Normanton Road in Normanton in Derby - geograph.org.uk - 1467127.jpg
Normanton Road in Litchurch
Derbyshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Litchurch
Location within Derbyshire
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DERBY
Postcode district DE
Dialling code 01332
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
52°54′50″N1°28′16″W / 52.914°N 1.471°W / 52.914; -1.471

Litchurch is a historical area in the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. From Medieval times it was a rural township associated with Derby but outside the burgh boundary, before experiencing rapid urbanisation and population growth in the 19th century. After a brief existence as a self-governing local board area between 1866 and 1889, it was absorbed by the newly-created Derby county borough and has subsequently fallen into obscurity.

Contents

History

The name Litchurch is of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning Luda's Church. This church has not been identified with certainty, but it may refer to an early settlement around nearby St Peter's Church, Derby. [1] The earliest reference to Litchurch is in the Domesday Book when it was also one the hundreds of Derbyshire, [2] meaning that at one time it was the meeting place for the hundred court. By 1300, it had been combined with the neighbouring hundred of Morleston. [3]

Around the time that Derby was granted a new town charter in 1203, St Peter's Church was transferred to the control of the Abbey of Darley, while the manor of Litchurch was joined to the holdings of Peter de Sandiacre. As a consequence of this reorganisation, Litchurch now lay outside the borough boundary and was classed as a separate township within Derby-St Peter. [3] [4]

Over the next five hundred years Litchurch remained a rural backwater on the fringes of Derby, and by 1700 was described as a "liberty of itself but no house, only three or four cottages". [1] In 1757 Thomas Borrow, Derby's Town Clerk, married Anne Ault of Loughborough and came into the use of £4,000 and lands and property in Litchurch. [5]

By the beginning of the 19th century, Litchurch's population was still only 35. The coming of the railway industry to Derby from 1839 onwards, however, was the catalyst for a huge expansion of the local population, including areas outside the historic borough boundaries. Over the next few decades, an ever-increasing number of Derby's amenities came to be located in Litchurch: much of the Midland Railway's properties, including the railway station and the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, as well as Derby Arboretum and parts of the Derby Canal. [6] The Osmaston Road area contained the Derby workhouse, but was also home to many prominent middle class residents living in large houses such as The Field, at one time occupied by Midland Railway engineer William Henry Barlow.

In 1866 Litchurch became a separate civil parish, on 26 March 1898 the parish was abolished and merged with Derby [7] and became part of the county borough of Derby. In 1891 the parish had a population of 23,003. [8] It is now in the unparished area of Derby, in the Derby district.

Since being abolished it has had no officially defined administrative function. Indeed the use of the name itself has fallen into decline in recent decades, many of the residential streets at the heart of 19th century Litchurch having been obliterated in the 1970s to facilitate the expansion of the neighbouring Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. [3]

An early map of Derby dated 1819 shows The Liberty Of Litchurch. A street name-plate located on Normanton Road, next to Grove Street, identifies the area as "Normanton Road- Litchurch". The area also had a gallows located in what is now Derby Arboretum. Litchurch leant its name to the Midland Railway's Derby Litchurch Lane Works.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spondon</span> Human settlement in England

Spondon is a ward of the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Originally a small village, Spondon dates back to the Domesday Book and it became heavily industrialised in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with companies such as British Celanese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heanor</span> Town in Derbyshire, England

Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It lies 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parish and town council-administered area of Heanor and Loscoe, which had a population of 17,251 in the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littleover</span> Human settlement in England

Littleover is a village and suburb in the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England, between Rose Hill, Normanton, Sunny Hill and Mickleover, about three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Derby city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickleover</span> Human settlement in England

Mickleover is a town in the unitary authority of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Derby, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Burton upon Trent, 19 miles (31 km) west of Nottingham, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Ashbourne and 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Uttoxeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Normanton, Derby</span> Human settlement in England

Normanton is an inner city suburb and ward of the city of Derby in Derbyshire, England, situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the city centre. Neighbouring suburbs include Littleover, Pear Tree, Rose Hill and Sunny Hill. The original village of Normanton-by-Derby, which now forms the southern part of the suburb, dates back to the medieval period. As the Normanton area became rapidly urbanised in the 19th century, the New Normanton area to the north was developed for housing, linking the old village to Derby, into which it was eventually absorbed. The area is characterised by high density late 19th century terraced housing in New Normanton and mid-20th century housing estates elsewhere, and has the most ethnically diverse population in Derby. The Normanton ward had a population of 17,071 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markeaton</span> Human settlement in England

Markeaton is a suburban village and former civil parish within Derby in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. It is in the Mackworth Ward of Derby City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaddesden</span> Suburb of Derby, United Kingdom

Chaddesden, also known locally as Chadd, is a large residential suburb of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Historically a separate village centred on Chaddesden Hall and the 14th century St Mary's Church, the area was significantly expanded by 20th-century housing developments, and became part of the then County Borough of Derby in 1968, prior to Derby's city status in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toton</span> Village in Nottinghamshire, England

Toton is a large suburban village in the Borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It forms part of the built-up area of Beeston, which in turn forms part of the wider Nottingham Urban Area. The population of the electoral ward of Toton and Chilwell Meadows was 7,298 in the 2001 census; it increased to 8,238 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treeton</span> Village and civil parish in South Yorkshire, England

Treeton is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is located about 4 miles (6 km) south of the town of Rotherham and 5 miles (8 km) east of Sheffield City Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby South (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliament constituency since 1950

Derby South is a constituency formed of part of the city of Derby represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by veteran MP Margaret Beckett of the Labour Party. She has served under the Labour governments of Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She became interim Leader of the Labour Party in 1994 when John Smith suddenly died. She has also served under Neil Kinnock and Smith himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pear Tree, Derby</span> Human settlement in England

Pear Tree is an inner city suburb of the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England, located about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south of the city centre. It is split between the Arboretum and Normanton electoral wards. Neighbouring areas include Litchurch, Normanton and Osmaston. The area became urbanised in the late 19th century and is characterised by terraced housing originally built for industrial workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Chester</span> Human settlement in England

Little Chester, also known as Chester Green after the area of open parkland at its centre, is a suburb of the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is located approximately 0.6 miles (0.97 km) north of the city centre, on the east bank of the River Derwent. It forms part of the Darley ward along with Darley Abbey and the West End. Little Chester is the oldest inhabited part of Derby, having been the location of a fortified Roman settlement called Derventio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boulton, Derby</span> Human settlement in England

Boulton is a suburb and former local government ward of the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England, and is located about four miles to the south-east of Derby city centre. It is closely associated with Alvaston and comes under the "Alvaston" postal dependent locality and code sector, and the Alvaston South ward. Alvaston South is represented on Derby City Council by three councillors.

Sunny Hill is a southern suburb of the city of Derby, England, situated mainly along the Stenson Road. It lies between the Derby City districts of Normanton and Littleover, and, to the south, Sinfin, and the parish of Stenson Fields in South Derbyshire district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal Aston</span> Village in Derbyshire, England

Coal Aston is a village in the civil parish of Dronfield, in the North East Derbyshire district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is by the town of Dronfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengeworth</span> Human settlement in England

Bengeworth is a locality in the civil parish of Evesham, in the Wychavon district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 1887 it had a population of 1,311. Today it has a school and an Anglican church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk Hallam</span> Human settlement in England

Kirk Hallam is a village in the Erewash district, in the south-east of Derbyshire, England. It was part of the former Ilkeston borough and is largely regarded today as a part of the much larger town of Ilkeston which adjoins it to the north east. Since 1974 Kirk Hallam has been part of the borough of Erewash. Kirk Hallam is a ward of the Erewash Borough Council showing a population of 6,417 at the 2001 Census, reducing to 6,216 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arboretum (ward)</span> Human settlement in England

Arboretum is an electoral ward in the city of Derby, England. It includes Derby city centre and the inner city suburbs of Pear Tree and Rose Hill, as well as part of Normanton. It covers much of the area of the historic township of Litchurch. The ward, which takes its name from Derby Arboretum in Rose Hill, had a population of 18,590 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey (Derby ward)</span> Human settlement in England

Abbey is an electoral ward in the city of Derby, England. It includes the areas of California, Rowditch, and St Lukes, as well as a small part of Normanton. Part of its eastern boundary is formed by Abbey Street, from which the ward takes its name. It is a largely residential area, with a mixture of Victorian terraced housing and 20th century suburban development. The population was 15,334 in 2011.

The Hundreds of Derbyshire were the geographic divisions of the historic county of Derbyshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were established in Derbyshire some time before the Norman conquest. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 AD the hundreds were called wapentakes. By 1273 the county was divided into 8 hundreds with some later combined, becoming 6 hundreds over the following centuries. The Local Government Act 1894 replaced hundreds with districts. Derbyshire is now divided into 8 administrative boroughs within the Derbyshire County Council area.

References

  1. 1 2 Craven, Maxwell (1996). The illustrated history of Derby's suburbs. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 62–72. ISBN   9781859830314.
  2. ↑ "Domesday Map Online: Litchurch". Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Craven, Maxwell (2005). Derby: Street by Street. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN   1-85983-426-4.
  4. ↑ "History of Litchurch, in Derby and Derbyshire". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Borough Estate and Family Papers - Access to Archives". The National Archives. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Rippon, Nicola; Goddard, Jane (17 September 2018). "Controversial Litchurch annexation was the Brexit of its day". DerbyshireLive. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Relationships and changes Litchurch CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "Population statistics Litchurch CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.