Idridgehay and Alton

The Library at Wirksworth is an excellent resource with a Local History section and a Family History section.

• The parish was in the Wirksworth sub-district of the Belper Registration District.
   
• Census transcripts are online at Wirksworth.Org.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• This parish had a Chapel of Ease from Wirksworth.
   
• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint James the Great.
   
• The church was built in 1855.
   
• The ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1856.
   
• This church seats 240.
   
• David BEVIS has a photograph of St. James the Great on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.
   
• David BEVIS has a photograph of the churchyard gate on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1855.
   
• Copies of the registers are at the Derbyshire Record Office for baptisms from 1855 to 1943 and for marriages from 1858 to 1943.
   
• Microfilm copies of the registers are at the Family History Library for 1855 to 1975.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Wirksworth.
   
• The Primitive Methodists had a chapel built in Ireton Wood township in 1869.

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   
• The parish was in the Wirksworth sub-district of the Belper Registration District

"IDRIDGEHAY, a township in the parish of Wirksworth, hundred of Appletree, county Derby, 3 miles S. of Wirksworth, its post town, 10 N.W. of Derby, and 4 W. of the Belper railway station."

"ALLTON (also Alton), a township in the parish of Wirksworth and hundred of Appletree, in the county of Derby, 2 miles to the S. of Wirksworth. It is now united with Idridgehay."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin HINSON ©2003]

The parish is 136 miles north of London, 3 miles south of Wirksworth and 5 miles west of Belper. Kirk Ireton village and parish lies just 2.5 miles northwest of Idridgehay village. The following places are within the parish:

• Idridgehay Green is an area about 1/2 mile west of Idridgehay village.
   
• Cliffash is an area just south of Idridgehay Green. The name often appears as two words.
   
• Ireton Wood  is a hamlet and a township 1 mile south of Idridgehay village.
   

The Amber Valley Borough Council has a profile of The Village Of Idridgehay at their website and includes information on transport.

Stephen McKAY has a photograph of the Idridgehay Railway Station on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2015. His photo caption provides a good history on railway access to the parish.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ann ANDREWS provides a transcription of the Idridgehay entry from Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland (1891).

• The transcription of the section for Idridgehay from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin HINSON.
   
• A transcription of the section for Ireton Wood from John Marius WILSON's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72:

"IRETON-WOOD, a township in Kirk-Ireton parish, Derby; 4½ miles SSW of Wirksworth. Real property, £1, 290. Pop., 156. Houses, 33."

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Idridgehay and Alton to another place.

• Jonathan CLITHEROE has a photograph of the Black Swan Restaurant on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2011.
   
• The Black Swan is a relatively new pub (restaurant) that was recently written up in the Derbyshire Life.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK282497 (Lat/Lon: 53.04383, -1.580833), Idridgehay and Alton which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• The Traces of War website tells us that St. James churchyard has 3 Commonwealth War Graves from World War II.
   
• Peter BARR has a photograph of the War Memorial cross on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2010, but he just refers to it as a "Memorial cross". Other sources tell us that it is the war memorial cross.
   
• Andrew HILL also has a photograph of the War Memorial cross on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2013.

There are three Commonwealth War Graves in St. James the Great's churchyard from World War II. They are for:

1. Michael G. FERNAU, leading aircraftman, RAF Vol. Reserve, age 21, died 23 May 1941
2. John R. WARREN, srgt., RAF Vol. Reserve, age 22, died 13 July 1942
3. Nigel R. WHEATCROFT, flying officer, RAF Vol. Reserve, age 21, died 26 Nov. 1940

Jane TAYLOR provides this extract from the Derby Mercury of 25 April 1805: MARRIED: "Tuesday se'nnight at Duffield, Mr. WALKER, of Idridge-Hay, in this county, farmer, and one of the Ashborne Troop of Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry, to Miss Ann HOLMES, of Turnditch."

• This place was an ancient township in Wirksworth parish in Derbyshire.
   
• This township was incorporated as a separate Civil Parish in December, 1866.
   
• Iretown Wood township was incorporated as a separate Civil Parish in December, 1866, but was abolished in 1889.
   
• This parish was in the ancient Appletree Hundred (or Wapentake).
   
• You may contact the Idridgehay, Alton and Ashleyhay Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to assist with family history searches.
   
• The Derbyshire Record Office holds a copy of the Idridgehay council minutes for 1895 thru 1984.
   
• District governance is provided by the Amber Valley Borough Council.

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Wirksworth petty session hearings.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poorlaw Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Belper Poorlaw Union.

In an 1875 Will, Henry HAYNES, farmer and cattle dealer of Idridgehay (later of Turnditch) mentions:

1. wife Millicent
2. friend William ALLSOP Postern, farmer
3. late son George (This MAY be the one who was buried in Turnditch in Dec. 1860.)
4. late dau. Martha JEBB (This MAY be the one who was buried in Turnditch in 1847.)
5. dau. Eliza wife of Samuel WALKER
6. property in Hulland Ward in occ. of Samuel WALKER
7. grandson Henry HAYNES son of the late George
8. James GLOVER Clerk to Mr. HODGKINSON Solr Wirksworth witness
9. Joseph POYSER Auctioneer witness Wirksworth
10. Frederick Dean BEARDSLEY Ashleyhay
11. William BEARDSLEY Wallstone Farm, p. Hazlewood
12. J. F. KINGDON witness Solr. Wirksworth.

A Public Elementary School was erected in the parish in 1866 to hold 115 children. Average attendance in 1911 was 68.