Oakerthorpe

Last updated

Oakerthorpe
Anchor inn.jpg
The Anchor pub
Derbyshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Oakerthorpe
Location within Derbyshire
OS grid reference SK3854
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
53°05′24″N1°25′12″W / 53.09°N 01.4199°W / 53.09; -01.4199 Coordinates: 53°05′24″N1°25′12″W / 53.09°N 01.4199°W / 53.09; -01.4199

Oakerthorpe is a village in Derbyshire, England.

History

Oakerthorpe is a small village near Alfreton. [1] It was known in medieval times as Ulkerthorpe. [2] It lies in the parish of South Wingfield, eleven miles south of Chesterfield in the county of Derbyshire. The local church is dedicated to All Saints, and is found about half a mile from the village. In the centre of the village is the Peacock Inn; there is also the Anchor pub and the Butchers Arm. Recently houses have been built at 'Hillside Park'.

Contents

Oakerthorpe was originally a mining village. [3]

In the nineteenth century, within Oakerthorpe and near the Peacock Inn lay the ruins of Ufton Manor. In the middle of the sixteenth century the chapel of Limbury adjoined the old manor house. Some ruins of the chapel could still be seen as late as 1800.

The Peacock Inn, situated near the Alfreton-South Wingfield crossroads, dates back into the eleventh century and is reputed to be the oldest inn in the county of Derbyshire. The inn is mentioned in the Domesday Book, when it was known as Ufton Barnsand. It was rebuilt in 1613 and has a most interesting history; legend has it that Dick Turpin, one of the most famous highwaymen in English history, stopped off at the inn on his ride to York.

An underground passage in the bottom of the cellar in the Peacock Inn is reported to lead to nearby South Wingfield Manor. Exploration through the tunnel leads to a large cave where there is a deep pool of water over thick mud. The tunnel is around five feet high and about four feet wide, with parts bricked up - most of it is excavated through living rock.

It was at Wingfield Manor where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1569 then again in 1584 when her attempted rescue by Anthony Babington ended in disaster. [4] His plan was to lead her down through the tunnel to the cellar at the inn, where horses were waiting to take her to safety. Babington went down through the tunnel from Oakerthorpe, but he got caught. For his crime he was beheaded at Lincoln's Inn in 1586. Mary was taken to Fotheringay and beheaded the same year.

Another legend associated with the Peacock tells that in the eighteenth century, a respected churchwarden at the chapel and the landlord of the Peacock Inn was Peter Kendall. He had a beautiful daughter named Ann, who wore such fashionable wide hooped dresses that she had to enter the church doorway sideways. The local church, which figures quite largely in the following tale, is called South Wingfield, although it is on the Oakerthorpe side of the River Amber. [5]

Ann Kendall was courted by a young local farmer, who seems to have remained anonymous in the records. The farmer seduced Ann and she fell pregnant. The farmer then deserted Ann and left her to give birth to a daughter. The disgrace so weighed upon poor Miss Kendall’s mind that she died on fourteenth of May 1745 of a broken heart. Just before she died she asked for Psalm 109 to be read at her funeral. Since that time, at churches within the district Psalm 109 is known as “Miss Kendall’s Psalm.” Shortly after the funeral, the man who had betrayed the maid was riding past South Wingfield church; suddenly the bells crashed out, the horse reared, and the rider was thrown to the ground, breaking his neck. [5]

It was an old custom in several Derbyshire churches to carry a special garland at the funeral procession of a young man or maiden. These garlands were made of wooden hoops decorated with rosettes, ornaments of white paper and ribbons, and sometimes a pair of white gloves. They were hung up in the church after the funeral, many lingering for centuries. Such a garland was carried at Ann Kendall’s funeral and was still hanging in South Wingfield in the 1870s, in spite of previous offers to purchase the curio. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Manor Lodge</span>

Sheffield Manor Lodge, also known as Sheffield Manor or locally as Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1516 in what then was a large deer park southeast of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, to provide a country retreat and further accommodate George Talbot, the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his large family. The remnant of this estate is now known as Norfolk Park. The housing estate of Manor is named after Sheffield Manor Lodge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfreton</span> Town and civil parish in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England

Alfreton is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ironville, Riddings, Somercotes and Swanwick were historically part of the Manor and Urban District, and the population including these was 24,476 in 2001.

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

Duffield is a village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Derby. It is centred on the western bank of the River Derwent at the mouth of the River Ecclesbourne. It is within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Area and the southern foothills of the Pennines.

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

Clay Cross is a town and a civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is a former industrial and mining town, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61. Surrounding settlements include North Wingfield, Tupton, Pilsley and Ashover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ufton Nervet</span> Village and civil parish in England

Ufton Nervet is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England centred 6 miles (10 km) west southwest of the large town of Reading and 7 miles east of Thatcham. Ufton Nervet has an elected civil parish council.

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

Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish is within the Peak District National Park. Historically, before the coming of the railway, the area was economically dominated by agriculture. Nowadays most inhabitants commute out of the village to work; accessible centres of work include Stockport, Sheffield and Manchester.

Wingfield Manor is a ruined manor house left deserted since the 1770s, near the village of South Wingfield and some four miles (6.4 km) west of the town of Alfreton in the English county of Derbyshire. There is a working farm that forms part of the old manor.

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

South Wingfield is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, it is now part of the borough of Amber Valley and formerly in the Scarsdale hundred. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,514.

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

Pentrich is a small village and civil parish between Belper and Alfreton in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 191.

Joan Chaworth was the heiress of the manor of Alfreton. Her father was Sir William Chaworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dethick, Lea and Holloway</span> Human settlement in England

Dethick, Lea and Holloway is a civil parish, in the Amber Valley borough of the English county of Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,027.

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

Ticknall is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 642. Situated on the A514 road, close to Melbourne, it has three pubs, several small businesses, and a primary school. Two hundred years ago it was considerably larger and noisier with lime quarries, tramways and potteries. Coal was also dug close to the village. Close to the village is Calke Abbey, now a National Trust property. The village is also home to Ticknall Cricket Club

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

Newton is a village in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England, about a mile south of Tibshelf. Population details are included in the civil parish of Blackwell.

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

Overseal is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Swadlincote, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) due south-southwest of Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,450. Situated within the National Forest area, it is one of the southernmost settlements in Derbyshire, close to the border with Leicestershire.

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

Riddings is a large village in Derbyshire, England. The appropriate ward of the Amber Valley Council is called Ironville and Riddings. The population of this ward as at the 2011 census was 5,821. It is located 2 miles (3 km) south of Alfreton near the hamlet of Golden Valley. The name derives from Ryddynges, a clearing or riding in a wood. This was the ancient forest known as Alfreton Grove within the manor of Alfreton. The settlement goes back at least to the 12th century, when Hugh de Ryddynges received half of the manor of Riddings and half of Watnall from his relative Ralf Ingram of Alfreton.

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

Norbury is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Rocester, on the B5033 road and the River Dove. The hamlet has links with George Eliot's family, the Evans. George Eliot's father, Robert Evans, was born in Roston Common and sang in the choir at Norbury church, and most of George Eliot's paternal ancestors are buried there.

Immanuel Halton (1628–1699) was an English astronomer and mathematician, an associate of John Flamsteed.

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.

South Wingfield is a civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains 40 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, two are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the villages of South Wingfield and Oakerthorpe and the surrounding countryside. A railway built by the North Midland Railway runs through the parish, and the listed buildings associated with it are bridges, tunnel portals, and a station and associated structures. The other listed buildings include a ruined manor house, smaller houses, cottages and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings, a church, road bridges, public houses, and a former windmill.

References

  1. British Road Book, Volume 3, 1897, 59
  2. Kenneth Cameron, The Place-names of Derbyshire, Part II: Scarsdale Hundred, Wirksworth Hundred, Morleyston and Litchurch Hundred, 1959, 335-336
  3. A.R. Griffin, Mining in the East Midlands 1550-1947, 2005, 112, 110
  4. Elaine Burkinshaw, Walking in Derbyshire: 60 Circular Walks Across the County, 2012
  5. 1 2 3 Richard Bradley, The A-Z of Curious Derbyshire: Strange Stories of Mysteries, Crimes and Eccentrics, 2023

South Wingfield, which includes Oakerthorpe, was held by Alnoth at the time of the Norman Conquest. He also held extensive land in Dorset, Devon and Tolgullow in Cornwall.