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Whitwell

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WHITWELL, a parish in the hundred of Scarsdale, county Derby, 11 miles N.E. of Chesterfield, and 4 from the Worksop railway station. The village is situated near the north-western border of the county, on the road from Worksop to Chesterfield. The land is fertile and well cultivated. The parish includes the hamlets of Baxton Moor, Belph, and Steetly, said to have been at one period a distinct parish, and where are still the ruins of a Saxon or Norman church, partially covered with ivy.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield, value £770. The church is dedicated to St. Lawrence. The charities produce about £5 per annum. The ancient hall is now a farmhouse. A statute fair was held on 1st November for hiring servants, but is now disused. The Duke of Portland is lord of the manor and principal landowner."

"BAXTON-MOOR, a hamlet in the parish of Whitwell, and hundred of Scarsdale, in the county of Derby, 10 miles to the E. of Chesterfield."

"BELPH, a hamlet in the parish of Whitwell, and hundred of Scarsdale, in the county of Derby, 10 miles to the E. of Chesterfield.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

The Whitwell Library on the north side of Portland Street is normally open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. They have a Local Studies and Family History section to help you with your search.

The Library in Worksop, Notts. is also a good source for information.

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Cemeteries

  • Richard CROFT has a photograph of Victorian headstones in the churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2007.
     
  • Mike SPENCER has provided a partial extract of burials found in the parish register. Your additions and correction are welcome.
     
  • Trevor LITTLEWOOD has a photograph of the Graveyard in Whitwell on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2013.
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Census

  • The parish was in the Carburton sub-district of the Worksop Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2122
1861R.G. 9 / 2422
1891R.G. 12 / 2647
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence.
     
  • The church is 12th century construction.
     
  • Richard CROFT provides a photograph of St. Lawrence's Church on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2007.
     
  • Chris MORGAN has a photograph of St. Lawrence's Church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2013.
     
  • J. THOMAS also has a photograph of St. Lawrence's church on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2014.
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1672.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Staveley.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1846.
     
  • David BEVIS provides a photograph of the Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Carburton sub-district of the Worksop Registration District.
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Description & Travel

"WHITWELL is a parish, in the hundred of Scarsdale; the village is situate at the N.E. extremity of the county, and is twelve miles N.E. from Chesterfield. The Duke of Portland is lord of the manor. The church is dedicated to St. Lawrence; the living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Duke, and in the incumbency of the Rev. George Mason, of Cuckney, Nottinghamshire; the Rev. J. Harnage is the present curate."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

The parish is 4 miles west of Worksop and covers 4,880 acres. The parish had passenger rail service from 1875 until 1964. The station was re-built and re-opened in 1998. Nigel THOMPSON provides a photograph of Whitwell railway station on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2010.

Neil THEASBY has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2012. It appears substantial enough to stop a small tank, but it could use your talent for design and artistic skills to create a more enticing sign.

You can see pictures of Whitwell which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

  • There are Anglo-Saxon charters that refer to Whitwell.
     
  • Whitwell won the 'Best Kept Village in Derbyshire' Award in 1988.
     
  • Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of the former Old George Inn on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2015.
     
  • David BEVIS has a photograph of the Royal Oak on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2010.
     
  • David BEVIS also has a photograph of the Jug and Glass on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK528767 (Lat/Lon: 53.28465, -1.209494), Whitwell which are provided by:

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Military History

  • There is a War Memorial in the centre of the village on Station street. Andrew HILL provides a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2011.
     
  • Jonathan CLITHEROE provides a view of the War Memorial in a round-about island on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2012.
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Military Records

  • There is a Roll of Honour online at the Whitwell Local History Group website with a list of people honoured, along with age, rank, unit and date of death. That list of names is below:
  1. ALLETSON, A. (Edwin)
  2. ASHLEY, Colin +
  3. ASTLE, Joseph
  4. BAILEY, William
  5. BENNETT, Arthur
  6. BENNETT, George
  7. BINCH, Thomas Henry
  8. BROWN, Frederick Charles
  9. BUCKINGHAM, John Thomas
  10. BUTTERFIELD, Joseph
  11. CARDING-WELLS, John Richard
  12. CARTWRIGHT, Percy
  13. CLARKE, Walter
  14. COLLINGHAM, Joseph
  15. COOPER, William
  16. COUPE, James William
  17. COUPE, Percy Noel
  18. DOLBY, Arthur
  19. DOLBY, John Thomas
  20. ELLIS, Harry
  21. ELLIS, John Thomas Presley
  22. FOREST, Samuel
  23. FOX, Thomas Bostock
  24. GALLIMORE, John
  25. GASCOIGNE, Thomas
  26. GEE, Daniel
  27. GODLEY, Arthur
  28. GODLEY, John Lindley
  29. GRAINGER, John
  30. HAMMOND, Thomas William
  31. HANCOCK, Joseph
  32. HARROP, Ethelbert H.
  33. HARVEY, H.
  34. HAWKINS, Harry
  35. HEELEY, Thomas
  36. HEWKIN, Walter
  37. HILLABY, J. E.
  38. HUNT, R.
  39. HURT, John Robert
  40. HURT, William Edward
  41. JACKSON, Charles J.
  42. JOHNSON, George Henry
  43. KIRK, Andrew
  44. KITCHEN, Edward
  45. LEE, G. E. +
  46. LEE, Mathew
  47. LINDLEY, Joseph Pilkington
  48. LOWE, Thomas C.
  49. MALTHOUSE, Francis J. G.
  50. MELLISH, James Richard
  51. MORRIS, R.
  52. NORTON, William
  53. PARKER, George
  54. PENTELOW, Frank Alban
  55. RAMSDEN, Joseph
  56. RAMSDEN, Richard
  57. RAYNES, Luke
  58. RODGERS, Harold
  59. SHEEN, James F.
  60. SIBBRING, Aubrey Crawford
  61. SMITH, Joseph
  62. SMITH, Reginald
  63. SMITH, Richard
  64. SMITH, William Alexander
  65. SNOOKS, Samuel
  66. SQUIRES, Harry
  67. SQUIRES, Levi +
  68. STANSBURY, Thomas
  69. STEVENS, Arthur
  70. STONE, John Durward
  71. STOREY, Stephen
  72. STREETS, Arthur Robert
  73. STREETS, John William
  74. STUBBINGS, Arthur
  75. SWANN, Wilfred Henry
  76. TAYLOR, Joseph William
  77. THORPE, John William
  78. WALKER, William
  79. WAREHAM, William
  80. WATKINS, Francis
  81. WATSON, John
  82. WHITE, Joseph
  83. WILKINSON, Albert
  84. WILKINSON, Joseph Walter
  85. WOOD, Colin
  86. WOOD, Joseph
  87. WOODHEAD, Albert
  88. YOUNG, George Herbert

John William THORPE, above, was the first lad from the parish to die in WWI. World War 2 names:

  1. BEESTON, Lawrence Edward
  2. BERRY, Herbert
  3. BIRD, Arthur +
  4. BUCKINGHAM, Harry
  5. EDWARDS, Francis Ernest
  6. EKIN, Harold
  7. HARNESS, Roland Leslie
  8. HIGGINS, William Burley +
  9. HOLLINGWORTH, James Frederick
  10. HUNT, Cyril
  11. PERRETT, William
  12. PROFFIT, Herbert
  13. SHAKESPEARE, Stanley Norman
  14. SQUIRES, Frank
  15. SUGDEN, Harold
  16. THORPE, Douglas Alan +
  17. WHEATLEY, Douglas Joseph
  18. WILLIS, Joseph William +

Names with a + sign are buried in St. Lawrence's churchyard.

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Obituaries

Jon CANTRILL offers this notice from the Derbyshire Times of January 17th 1920: "DEATHS: CANTRILL - On January 13th at Butt(?) Hill Farm, Whitwell, Elizabeth the dearly loved wife of Henry CANTRILL (late of Duckmanton, later ____(?), Whitwell). Churchyard, Saturday 2.30pm."

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Derby county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • This parish was partly in the ancient Scarsdale Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • You may contact the local Whitwell Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but, please, do NOT ask them to help you with family history searches.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Bolsover District Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Eckington petty session hearings.
     
  • The Common Land was enclosed here in 1813.
     
  • After the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Worksop Poor Law Union.
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Schools

Whitwell Hall was used for many years as the parish's National School.

By 1863 a Boys' School had been erected. Parents paid one penny each week for the child to attend this school.

In 1874 some students attended a school in nearby Creswell.

In 1896 the decision was taken to build a new school in the centre of the village. In March, 1897 the Duke of Portland had laid the foundation stone. On 25th April 1898 the new Infant School opened.

Staffing of the schools was almost impossible during World War I. School gardens were introduced, but food was often in short supply.

In May 1958, some 229 senior children were transferred to the newly built Markland Secondary Modern School at Creswell.

In July, 1976 building commenced on a new school. In December, the new classroom saw its first students.

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Societies