Newton is one of the four villages (wards) that make up the civil parish of Blackwell – the other villages being Blackwell, Hilcote, and Westhouses. The Parish Council has twelve members across the four wards[2] and meets monthly.
The civil parish of Blackwell is part of the shire district of Bolsover. The parish is represented by two councillors on Bolsover District Council.[3]
The shire district of Bolsover is part of the shire county of Derbyshire. The parish is represented by one councillor on Derbyshire County Council,[4] although the electoral division covers South Normanton East and Tibshelf as well as Blackwell.
Blackwell civil parish forms part of the Bolsover parliamentary constituency. The MP currently (2010) is Dennis Skinner, who was elected MP in the 1970 general election. He has held the seat ever since.
History
Historical Timeline
Some of the main events in Newton's history are listed in the table below, in date order. The final column provides the source of the information about each event.
Newton – Historical Timeline
Year
Event
Source
1085
Domesday Book records "Blackwelle and Neutone Leuric with Levenot".
Newton (Old) Hall in 2003.jpg First record of Newton (Old) Hall. This is a small manor house, constructed of locally-quarried sandstone, with a stone slate roof. It is a listed building and is now a private residence. The other manor house in Newton was an older and larger building, but was demolished in 1793.
Red Barn Bell Pits in 2009.jpgCoal-mining in bell-pit style. The "bell pits" were where holes were dug and coal taken out so far as it was safe, then another hole was dug alongside and the earth used to fill in the previous hole. This was apparently a common method of mining in the 16th century and possibly earlier.
Tithe map shows that Newton was an agricultural settlement based around the junction of Cragg Lane, Hall Lane and Alfreton Road, with the Old Hall as the central focus with farmsteads located around it.
Census shows that 48 framework knitters are employed in Newton. Before the coming of the deep mines in 1868, coal-mining was done on a relatively small scale and the Blackwell area was better known as a centre for domestic framework knitting of hosiery.
The Babbington Colliery Company opened the first deep mine at Tibshelf "Bottom Pit". This gave rise to new housing at Sherwood Street, Bamford Street, Main Street and New Street.
Blackwell Colliery Company opened A Winning Colliery (off Fordbridge Lane). In 1875, it opened another colliery at B Winning (at Hilcote). By 1933, A Winning had 1340 employees and B Winning 727 employees. The Colliery Company also had pits at Shirland, Alfreton and Sutton.
Newton old school in 2010.School opened in former Newton Chapel. Prior to its use as a school between 1898 and 1908, this was a Primitive Methodist Chapel that was built in 1880 and enlarged in 1889. It appears to have been superseded by the larger chapel across the road in 1904. The 1938 OS map shows it in use as a hall.
Newton Primary School in 2010Current Newton School opens. The school was designed by George H. Widdows, Derbyshire Chief Architect. Widdows was nationally acknowledged as a leading and influential designer of schools in the early twentieth century. By the time Widdows retired in 1936, he had designed some sixty elementary and seventeen secondary schools in Derbyshire. Much of the original Newton School building remains but there have been multiple alterations over the years, especially at the south end following fire damage.
Former Co-op Store in 2015.Co-operative Store built on Newton Green. This was a branch of the Tibshelf Equitable Co-operative Society Limited. This building has a date-stone showing "1908". A former resident of Newton recalls that, in 1936, there were 3 departments of the Co-op within this building at the corner of Littlemoor Lane and Hall Lane – these were (left to right) a drapery, a grocery and a butcher.
Work began on constructing Whiteborough Reservoirs. Built on part of an Iron Age fort, the waterworks at the top of Newtonwood Lane (to the east of Newton village) is the water supply point for the parish of Blackwell (includes Newton). Known as Whiteborough Reservoirs, they were constructed by Eastwoods of Warsop. In October 1930, the Ministry of Health sanctioned a loan of £160,000 for a joint scheme for the benefit of Ault Hucknall, Blackwell, Glapwell, Pinxton, Pleasley, Scarcliffe, Shirebrook, South Normanton, Tibshelf and Upper Langwith. Work began in December 1930 and, on completion, each reservoir held 525,000 gallons of water. The water is pumped from Budby in Nottinghamshire to Stoney Houghton, then on to the reservoirs. To increase the supply, further reservoirs were added later.
Newton – War Memorial and Community Centre in 2010Community Centre opened (following purchase and renovation of former Church Hall by Parish Council). The centenary of the formation of the Parish Council in 1894 is celebrated by means of a tapestry which is on display inside the Centre.
Designation of Newton Conservation Area. A conservation area is defined as "an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". In Newton, the historic core of the village is considered to be a good local example of a turn-of-the twentieth-century agricultural settlement and has been largely unaltered in spite of post-war expansion. The area designated as a conservation area in 2002 is centred around the Hall Lane and Cragg Lane area.
Publication of proposed route of HS2 (high speed railway from London to Leeds). The route passes through the parish of Blackwell, just to the east of Newton and the M1 motorway.
Planning permission granted for 49 dwellings at "Newton Fields" (off of Thurgaton Way). Planning permission was granted for a further 40 dwellings at "Newton Fields" in 2015.
Post Office and general store on Main Street prior to closure in 2015.Post Office relocated from Main Street to Littlemoor Lane. Post Office and general store on Littlemoor Lane in 2015.
The table below shows how the number of shops and services in Newton has varied over the years. In the early 1900s, Newton was almost self-sufficient. The number of shops in each category is shown in brackets.
Newton village centre (war memorial) is 160 metres above mean sea level, rising north-eastwards to 204 metres at the top of Newtonwood Lane (Whiteborough Hill) and dropping south-westwards to 144 metres at South Street. Newton is drained by small watercourses on both the east and west sides. Both watercourses eventually reach the River Amber at Oakerthorpe.[29]
Geology
Most of Newton lies on the Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation bedrock.[30] This is a mix of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone and coal seams. The sandstone was used as a building material, especially during the pre-industrial era.[7] The presence of coal accounts for the growth of the population in Newton during the industrial era. The mudstone enabled many of the local collieries (including Blackwell) to manufacture their own bricks.[31] To the east, Newton is overlooked by two Nottinghamshire hills, Whiteborough Hill and Strawberry Bank, that are capped by dolomitic limestone of the Cadeby Formation.[30]
Newton has a primary school on Hall Lane, providing education for children in the age range 4 to 11.[32]
As regards secondary education, Newton is in the catchment area of Tibshelf Community School, which caters for the 11 to 16 age range.[33]
Places of Worship
The only church actually in Newton is the Methodist Church on Main Street.[34] The nearest Anglican church is St Werburgh's at Old Blackwell.[35] Of the original late 12th-century church, there remains but one pillar, in Transitional style, preserved on the inner face of the north wall. The tower dates from an 1828 rebuild, while the rest of the church is of 1878. In the porch is the stump of a Saxon cross.[36]
Leisure facilities
For a village of its size, Newton is fairly well-served by leisure facilities. These include:
Children's playgrounds at Bamford Street, South Street and Town Lane.[5]
Sports field off Charnwood Crescent,[5] including a multi-use games area.[37]
Film showings at the Community Centre ("Cinema Newton") during the winter months.[37]
Transport
Roads
Newton is on the B6026 road, which effectively provides a link between the villages south-east of Chesterfield and junction 28 of the M1. The M1 passes immediately to the east of Newton, although there is no direct access to the motorway. The Tibshelf motorway service area has two service entries (northbound and southbound) onto Newtonwood Lane.
Bus Services
As at February 2015, there are commercial bus services during the daytime on weekdays to Alfreton (2-per-hour), Chesterfield (hourly) and Mansfield (hourly). There are evening and Sunday services to Alfreton and Mansfield but these run less frequently and are subsidised by Derbyshire County Council.
Newton is linked to neighbouring villages by road-side pavements and public footpaths. Newton is close to the junction of the Five Pits Trail with the Silverhill Trail, which provide longer-distance recreational routes.
People
Jedediah Strutt- one of the key people in the Industrial Revolution, has links with Newton. He was particularly involved in the development of mechanised clothing production, setting up mills in Belper and Milford that became the prototype for mills all over the world. Although it is certain that he was born, lived and worked in the Newton area, there is some confusion over exact locations:
Jedediah was born into a farming family in 1726 either in South Normanton[39] or Newton.[40]
In 1754 Jedediah Strutt inherited his uncle's farm stock in Blackwell.[41]
Strutt's father (William) was a tenant of Newton Old Hall (on Cragg Lane).[6] Jedediah is said to have worked on his revolutionary stocking frame at the hall.[42]
In 1754, Jedediah is said to have lived "where the old folk's bungalows are now in Main Street".[19]
Jedediah Strutt married Elizabeth Woollat 25 September 1755 at Blackwell.[41]
Jedediah died in 1797 and was buried in Belper.[43]
Pleasley is a village and civil parish with parts in both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It lies between Chesterfield and Mansfield, 5 miles (8 km) south east of Bolsover, Derbyshire, England and 2.5 miles (4 km) north west of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The River Meden, which forms the county boundary in this area, runs through the village.
Bolsover District is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It is named after the town of Bolsover, which is near the geographic centre of the district, but the council is based in the large village of Clowne to the north. The district also includes the town of Shirebrook and several villages and surrounding rural areas.
South Normanton is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover District of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 9,445. An ex-mining village, it is two miles east of Alfreton. The historic industries of the village were agriculture, stocking, spinning and mining. Normanton means 'the farm of the north men' or 'Northwegans'.
Morton is a civil parish and village, three miles north of Alfreton in North East Derbyshire, Derbyshire, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 1,195.
Blackwell is a village in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,389. It is one of the four villages that make up the civil parish of Blackwell within the District of Bolsover - the other villages being Hilcote, Newton and Westhouses. The Parish Council meets monthly. A brief history of the Parish of Blackwell was published in 1994.
Tibshelf is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover District in Derbyshire, England. It lies between the towns of Clay Cross, Shirebrook, Mansfield and Chesterfield and had a population of 4,348 at the 2021 Census. Tibshelf shares its boundaries with the villages of Morton, Pilsley, Newton, Teversal and Hardstoft.
North Wingfield is a large village and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district in the county of Derbyshire, England. Located approximately 4½ miles south-east of Chesterfield, and 1 mile north-east of Clay Cross. The population of the civil parish as of the 2022 census was 5,885. The A6175 road from the M1 motorway to the A61 road runs through the village.
Pilsley is a village and civil parish in the district of North East Derbyshire in the county of Derbyshire, England, near the town of Chesterfield. At the 2011 Census the population was 3,487.
Elmton is a linear village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Elmton with Creswell in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England, approximately equidistant from Bolsover Castle and Creswell Crags. In 2011 the parish had a population of 5550. On 1 April 2014 the parish was abolished to form "Elmton with Creswell". However the pre 2014 parish had also sometimes been called "Elmton with Creswell".
Astwith is a village in Derbyshire, England. Astwith is in the parish of Ault Hucknall. For many decades it was a part of the manor of Stainsby, which was known as Steinesbei in the Domesday survey (1087).
Tibshelf Community School is a mixed secondary school located in Tibshelf in the English county of Derbyshire.
The 2007 Bolsover District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Bolsover District Council in Derbyshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
George H. Widdows was an English architect who pioneered changes to school building design to enhance the health of school children. He was also responsible for the design of about 80 schools in Derbyshire, where he became Chief Architect.
Shirland and Higham is a civil parish within the North East Derbyshire district, which is in the county of Derbyshire, England. Mainly built up with rural fringes, its population was 4,802 residents in the 2011 census. The parish is 120 miles (190 km) north west of London, 14 miles (23 km) north east of the county city of Derby, and 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) north of the nearest market town of Alfreton. It shares a boundary with the parishes of Alfreton, Blackwell, Brackenfield, Morton, South Normanton, South Wingfield, Stretton, Tibshelf and Wessington.
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.
Blackwell is a civil parish in the Bolsover District of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains eight listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the villages of Blackwell and Newton, and the surrounding area. The listed buildings consist of houses cottages and associated structures, farmhouses, a church, and a tombstone in the churchyard.
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