Alfreton ( ) is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. It covers a semi-rural zone with four main towns whose economy was based on coal mining and remains to some extent ...
district of
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, 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
Ironville in Derbyshire, England, was built about 1830 by the Butterley Company as a model village to house its workers. The population of the civil parish was 1,930 at the 2021 Census. It is situated between Riddings and Codnor Park.
John Wrig ...
,
Riddings
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 south of Alfreton near the hamlet o ...
,
Somercotes
Somercotes is a village and civil parish in the district of Amber Valley in the English county of Derbyshire, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. It is a former mining village and was once surrounded by more than five pits. The village has ...
and
Swanwick were historically part of the Manor and Urban District, and the population including these was 24,476 in 2001.
History
Alfreton is said to have been founded by
King Alfred
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
and to have derived its name from him. The placename appears in different forms throughout the ages, such as 'Elstretune' in Domesday, but the earliest record appears to occur in CE1004 in the will of
Wulfric Spott, the founder of
Burton Abbey
Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was founded in the 7th or 9th century by St Modwen or Modwenna. It was refounded in 1003 as a Benedictine abbey by the thegn Wulfric Spott. He was known to have been buried in the abbey ...
. Amongst his bequests was 'Aelfredingtune', or 'Alfred's farmstead', which is believed to relate to Alfreton. However, there is no evidence that this Alfred was the aforementioned king.
To the southwest near
Pentrich
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.
Pentrich rising
The village gave its name to the Pentrich risi ...
was a Roman fortlet on the major road known as
Ryknield Street
Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through Al ...
. Another Roman road known as
Lilley Street ran from there to the southern end of Alfreton, suggesting that settlement in the area predated the time of King Alfred by several centuries.
The initial settlement was centred at the top of the modern King Street hill, where the original market place developed. On the hilltop there was also an ancient meeting hall (the 'Moot Hall') until 1914, and several inns became established over the centuries, some of which survive today. To the west was a manor house, and the nearby Church of St. Martin, parts of which date back to 1200. The manor of Alfreton spread over lands to the south and east, including the parishes of
Somercotes
Somercotes is a village and civil parish in the district of Amber Valley in the English county of Derbyshire, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. It is a former mining village and was once surrounded by more than five pits. The village has ...
,
Swanwick,
Riddings
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 south of Alfreton near the hamlet o ...
, and
Ironville
Ironville in Derbyshire, England, was built about 1830 by the Butterley Company as a model village to house its workers. The population of the civil parish was 1,930 at the 2021 Census. It is situated between Riddings and Codnor Park.
John Wrig ...
. The first Lord of the Manor was Earl Roger de Busli, who delegated the position to Baron Ralf Ingram. The position was passed down variously through heredity, gift, and sale over the centuries up until William Palmer-Morewood, the last Lord of Alfreton, who died in 1957.
The economy during the medieval period centred on agriculture. However, the presence of readily accessible and extensive deposits of coal and ironstone in the area meant that mining and iron-working grew in importance. In some parts of the manor, coal seams were so close to the surface they were often ploughed up, and numerous small workings developed. Pits developed throughout the Manor, with those in Swanwick and Alfreton being the most productive. Alfreton colliery was sited to the northeast of the town. Ropemaking was allied to this industry, and the locality became famous for the quality of its ropes. In the 18th century Alfreton was the chief coal mining centre in Derbyshire, and the third-largest town in the county. The pits closed in the late 1960s and their sites have been reclaimed for other development.
Local iron working began in the low-lying land to the south of the current town in the vicinity of the A61, where a dam was made to power a water mill. This would have been quite a small operation, along with another at Lower Birchwood, and it was not until the 18th century that iron working was expanded into major enterprises, centred on Riddings and
Butterley
Butterley is a village in the English county of Derbyshire near to Ripley. It is the site of the Midland Railway – Butterley, as well as the old Butterley Brickworks.
Notable residents
*Sir James Outram, hero of the Indian Mutiny, was born ...
, south and southeast of the manor.
The growth of these industries grounded the area's prosperity and attracted huge numbers of workers in the 19th century, rapidly swelling the local population. The extensive brick terraced housing in the area dates to this period, and brickmaking and tilemaking were significant local industries. Bootmaking and repairing, and tanning of leather, were also substantial employers due to the need for footwear for these heavy industries. According to Census figures, in 1801 the population of the area that would become the Urban District stood at 2,301, rising to 21,232 in 1931. It has remained within about 3,000 of that number ever since.
After the closure of the pits and Riddings Ironworks in the 1960s, local employment shifted to factory, retail, and service enterprises, many of which grew up on industrial estates occupying formerly despoiled colliery lands. Initially only a few major employers were present, such as
Aertex and English Rose, but this changed with the development of several industrial estates to the east of the town.
The development of transport in the area followed much the same pattern as elsewhere in England, with roads being vastly improved by turnpiking from the late 18th century onwards. Turnpike Acts affecting the area were obtained in 1759, 1764 (amended in 1790 and 1812), 1786, and 1802. These provided Alfreton with good road links to
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
,
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
,
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
, and the
High Peak. The town became a coaching centre, which accounts for the inordinate number of inns that were formerly in the vicinity of the market place. A legal requirement on turnpike companies to provide milestones resulted in a local curiosity, a cast-iron marker on the town crossroads with the notation 'Alfreton 0 Miles'. Around the same time as turnpikes were introduced the coal and iron industries benefited from the building of canals in the southern and eastern parts of the area. The
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks.
From Cromford it ran ...
, built in 1793, had a 3,000 yard-long tunnel. In the 19th century, coaching and canal transport were rendered increasingly obsolete by railways built to the east of the town and along the eastern and southern boundaries of the former manor. As canals fell into disuse, road and rail transport burgeoned. Rail transport temporarily declined in the 1960s when
Alfreton station was closed due to the Beeching cuts, before being reopened in May 1973.
Alfreton Hall
Alfreton Hall is a country house in Alfreton, Derbyshire. It was at the heart of local social and industrial history in the county. The history of the estate goes back to Norman times, but by the 17th century it was owned by the Morewood family, ...
, the successor to the original manor house, was built c.1750, with an additional wing added c.1850; it is now a conference centre and restaurant. Alfreton House just off the High Street dates from c.1650 and is now occupied by the Town Council. The former George Inn at the top of King Street dates back to the 18th century and was used as the meeting place for the local Turnpike Trust and local Assizes. On the west side of the southern approach to Alfreton is a small and distinctive stone-roofed building known as the 'House of Confinement'. This was built in the 1840s and was the local jail.
There are also several churches, the oldest of which is St. Martin's at the west end of the town, part of which dates back to 1200. Beyond the town but within the ancient Manor are
Carnfield Hall
Carnfield Hall is a privately owned country house located at South Normanton, near Alfreton in Derbyshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. The estate includes around ninety acres of park and ancient woodland.
The manor was ancientl ...
(15th century, now a private residence and events venue), Riddings House (now a nursing home),
Swanwick Hall (c.1690, now a school), Swanwick Old Hall (1675, private residence), The Hayes (c.1860, now a conference centre), Newlands House (19th century, now flats), and the Jessop Monument (1854) at Ironville.
Economy
The main industry of Alfreton was historically
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
but after the mines closed in the 1960s it changed to light industry, warehousing, retailing, and the service sector. A substantial proportion of local jobs are in health, education, and leisure. A significant but declining proportion of the area is still agricultural. Alfreton town centre features a number of national chain stores, along with independent businesses and charity shops, but it is dominated by a large branch of
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
. There are several banks, building societies, estate agents, and other services. There is an indoor market, library, two post offices, a job centre, and numerous pubs and food outlets. There is a health centre, a leisure centre, swimming pool and park at the west end of the town, and a golf course outside the town to the west.
The chocolate company
Thorntons
Thorntons Limited is a British chocolate manufacturer owned by the Italian confectionery company, Ferrero. It was established in 1911 by Joseph William Thornton and his father in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
When Cadbury became part of the M ...
and safety footwear manufacturer Rock Fall are based in Alfreton.
Transport
The area has a heavily used and extensive road network, in particular the arterial A61 and A38, the latter linking to the nearby junction 28 of the M1 motorway. The town grew as a centre for bus transport throughout the 20th century and still has extensive bus services.
Alfreton's railway station, sited northeast of the town, was originally closed in 1967 as part of the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
, but in 1973 a station was opened on the same site named Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway, as the nearby town of
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
did not have its own station at this time. When Mansfield regained its own
station as part of the
Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell (inclusive) are in Derbyshire.
Passenger services are operated by East Midlands Rai ...
reopenings in the 1990s, the station's name reverted to Alfreton. From May 2021, the station lost all direct services to and from London, though a campaign to have some reinstated has the support of the Town Council. An hourly service also runs to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, and between
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
Geography
Alfreton is from the border with
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
and lies near the towns of
Kirkby-in-Ashfield
Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield Distr ...
,
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield,
four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles nort ...
and
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
. The towns of
Clay Cross
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 south of Chesterfield.
It is directly on the A61. Surrounding settlements include North Wi ...
and
Ripley are also nearby.
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
is north of Alfreton.
Politics
Alfreton is part of the
Amber Valley constituency; the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) is
Nigel Mills
Nigel John Mills is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and former chartered accountant. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Amber Valley (UK Parliament constituency), Amber Valley in Derbyshire since the 2010 ...
(Conservative). The local council for Alfreton is
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. It covers a semi-rural zone with four main towns whose economy was based on coal mining and remains to some extent ...
Borough Council.
Education
The local
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
is
David Nieper Academy. Before September 2008 the school was known as Mortimer Wilson School for many decades. In September 2017 it became David Nieper Academy, after the clothing line that now owns it.
Two schools for children aged 4–6 are called Copthorne Infant School and Croft Infant School. Leys Junior School, on Flowery Leys Lane, and Woodbridge Junior school, which shares the Alfreton Grange site on Grange Street, provide for children aged 7–11.
There is also a Roman Catholic school named Christ the King on Firs Avenue, for children 4–11, as well as an adjoining nursery for children 2–4
Sport & leisure
Football
Alfreton Town
Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street.
History
The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...
's home ground is at The Impact Arena on North Street and they play in the
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
, the sixth tier of English football.
Cricket
Alfreton Cricket Club is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
amateur
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
club, founded in 1927. The club ground is based on Alfreton Park on Wingfield Road. Alfreton CC have 2 Saturday senior XI teams that compete in the
Derbyshire County Cricket League
The Premier Division of the Derbyshire County Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Derbyshire, England, and is a designated ECB Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Assoc ...
, a Women's Softball team competing in the East Midlands Women’s Cricket League, and a junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Notts & Derby Border Youth Cricket League.
Cycling
Alfreton has an active cycling club, organising a full programme of
Audax events.
Air Training Corps
Alfreton is home to 1401 (Alfreton and Ripley) Squadron of the
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...
.
Wrestling
Professional
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
shows were often shown in Alfreton, with British legends such as
Big Daddy,
Jackie Pallo
Jackie "Mr TV" Pallo (born Jack Ernest Gutteridge; 12 January 1926 – 11 February 2006) was an English professional wrestler, a star of British televised wrestling in its 1960s and 1970s heyday, when the sport had a regular 40-minute slot be ...
, and
Blackjack Mulligan
Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in- ...
performing.
Notable residents
*
William Carter, born in 1830, founded The William Carter Company, Needham Heights, Massachusetts (USA). He emigrated to Needham in 1854 and established the factory to produce children's clothing.
*
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram (1 April 1764 – 22 May 1805) was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.
Life
Born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, he began his career assisting his father ...
,
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, was born in Alfreton in 1764.
*
Robert Watchorn emigrated to America through
Castle Garden
Castle Clinton (also known as Fort Clinton and Castle Garden) is a circular sandstone fort within Battery Park at the southern end of Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1808 to 1811, it was the first American immigration station, predating ...
. He served as the US Commissioner of Immigration at
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...
between 1905 and 1909. He later worked as vice president of the Union Oil Company. He was a benefactor of Alfreton after the first World War. In 1927 the Watchorn Memorial Primitive Church was founded and later a school, a manse, and cottages, all in memory of his mother. A sports ground and pavilion were given in remembrance of his son. He also had the Lincoln Library built, now a Masonic Hall.
*
Norman Whitehead
Norman Whitehead (1915–1983) was a landscape painter, working chiefly around his hometown Alfreton, Derbyshire. Active mainly in the 1930s he was greatly influenced by the works of Paul Nash (artist), Paul Nash and the Vorticism movement, exper ...
(1915–1983) was born and painted actively in the area during the 1930s.
*
James Young patented a process to obtain oil from coal whilst working in Alfreton in 1848.
*John Schakspere, butcher, in 1421
See also
*
Listed buildings in Alfreton
References
External links
*
Alfreton Town CouncilAmber Valley Borough CouncilAlfreton Local History Website
{{authority control
Alfreton
Towns in Derbyshire
Geography of Amber Valley
Civil parishes in Derbyshire