Weston-on-Trent
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Weston-on-Trent is a village 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
South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district a ...
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 ...
. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,239. It is to the north of the
River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
and the
Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...
. Nearby places include
Aston-on-Trent Aston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. The parish had a population of 1,682 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to Weston-on-Trent and near Chellaston, very close to th ...
,
Barrow upon Trent Barrow upon Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England with a business park planned for the outskirts of the village. The village is south of Derby, and between the River Trent (to the south) and ...
,
Castle Donington Castle Donington is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport. History The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another suggest ...
and
Swarkestone Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 187. Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, a plant nursery/ garden centre and re ...
. The name is of Anglo-Saxon descent (-''ton'' being an Anglo-Saxon suffix meaning "town"). Being in the west, the name literally means 'West Town' – with Aston-on-Trent (East-Town) being east of it. The 'On-Trent' suffix of both Weston and nearby villages means simply that they are near the river Trent. At the 2004 census there were about 800 people in the village aged sixteen to seventy-four years.Parish Profile – Work and qualifications
/ref>


The primary school

Weston's only school is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
Voluntary Aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation (charity), foundation or Charitable trust, trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influ ...
primary school. The school has been in existence since 1821 and had on its old site to the west of the village since 1830.Village Voice Issue 170, Jan 2007 Melbourne, Derbyshire Two cottages were let from Sir Robert Wilmot at two shillings per annum in 1830. The old school building is reported to have been erected in 1842 and to have had a capacity of 60, although only 35 were attending in 1890.Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland pub. London (May 1891) – pp. 323–4 In January 2007, the school was relocated to a new building on the site of the old playing field and formally opened on 21 April.Village Voice Issue 174, May 2007 Melbourne, Derbyshire The school's placement was discussed extensively by the residents living near the roads leading to the school because of the lack of access. However its position had been decided in the 1960s when the Local Education Authority purchased the land belonging to Old Gate Farm and the remainder of the land had been used to construct Old Gate Avenue in the 1970s. The farm had previously served as one of Weston's pubs.


Other organisations

The village has a community which offers organisations which include; *
Girls' Brigade The Girls' Brigade is an international, interdenominational Christian youth organisation. It was founded in 1893 in Dublin, Ireland. The modern organization was formed as the result of the amalgamation of three like-minded and similarly structur ...
*The 'Scarecrow Trail' (12th year in 2014) * Guides, Brownies and Rainbows *Big Easter Scramble (Annually) All of these are based at the Village Hall.


History


A thousand years

In 1009 Æþelræd Unræd (King Ethelred the Unready) signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston. The charter shows that Weston controlled the crossings of the Trent at, Weston Cliff, King's Mills and Wilne. These crossings controlled one of the main routes for travellers moving up or down England and was a boundary within
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
. The land was listed as eight hides at Weston upon Trent, and a hide at
Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...
, Smalley, Ingleby,
Crich Crich is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The population at the 2001 Census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 Census (including Fritchley and Whatstandwell). It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Vil ...
and Kidsley. This land was then given to
Morcar Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi. Dispute with t ...
, the King's chief minister, and he was unusually given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for justice and exemption from the
Trinoda necessitas Trinoda necessitas ("three-knotted obligation" in Latin) is a term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote (repairing bridges and roads), burgh-b ...
, he alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff.Charter of Æthelred
The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derby records
Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. In 1011 he was given 5 hides at what (maybe)
Mickleover Mickleover is a large suburban village of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby city centre, northeast of Burton-upon-Trent, west of Nottingham city centre, southeast of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxete ...
and in 1012, two more at Eckington. Weston again come under the control of Æþelræd Unræd, when Morcar and his brother were murdered by Eadric in 1015. Later it was given to Ælfgar, the
Earl of Mercia Earl of Mercia was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Danish, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. During this period the earldom covered the lands of the old Kingdom of Mercia in the English Midlands. First governed by ealdormen under th ...
, but he lost this at the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
. See the inset box for Weston's entry in Domesday. Sometime after 1086, King
William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
gave the manor of Weston to
Hugh d'Avranches Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...
, who was later to become the first
Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
. Hugh in 1093 gifted the manor to
Chester Abbey Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sai ...
and sometime around the turn of the century they gave Weston to the
Monastery of St Werburgh Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...
which he had just founded at
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. In 1215, King
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
signed another charter concerning the ownership of Weston. He confirmed to the Abbots of Chester that the soke of Weston were free of all suits to counties or hundreds. This was in the same year as the
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
when King John had agreed to expel the local Sheriff,
Philip Marc Philip Marc (also Mark) was a High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests in 1208. Marc has been proposed as a candidate for the role of Sheriff of Nottingham in the legend of Robin Hood.Chellaston Chellaston is a suburban village on the southern outskirts of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. History An early mention of Chellaston is thought to be a reference to Ceolarde's hill. This is mentioned in a 1009 charter when nearby lan ...
to his son. In 1418 the monks in Chester who had charge of this parish were so short of funds that they leased the parish of Weston which still included other settlements in Derbyshire including Aston, Shardlow, Wilne, Morley and Smalley to the Bishop of Durham. The deal seems to have been driven entirely by short term finances and the Bishop of Durham was given a good price by offering to pay the fee in advance. Over the twelve years the Bishop of Durham appears to have received a good rate of return as he received more than twice the fee that he had given to the monks of Chester.


Treason

In 1603, Weston-on-Trent was awarded by
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
to Charles Paget who also gave him a pension of £200 a year. This is unusual as the previous monarch had threatened to have him assassinated in France as he refused to return to face the charges against him. He was found guilty of his involvement in the
Babington plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter sent by Mary (who had been impris ...
. It was Charles Paget, who
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...
had written to from her imprisonment in code; this letter was part of the evidence that caused her execution. In 1633 James I granted the manor of Weston on Trent to Antony Roper and it is believed that this is when Weston Hall's construction started.English Heritage's listing of Weston Hall
/ref> At the start of the
English civil war The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
s (in 1642) soldiers who were based at Weston Hall attacked Royalists who were based on the south side of the river.The Footpaths and Bridleways of Weston on Trent Geoff & Celia Swainson Weston LHS Some Parliamentary soldiers were reputedly buried in Weston Churchyard in 1644 after a battle at King's Mill when Sir John Gell took 200 royalist prisoners.A. B.Longbottom (Ed)
A Brief Descriptive Guide to Aston-on-Trent
Derbyshire, 2nd Edition. Pub. 1970
The Roper family sold Weston Hall in 1649 and it was never completed. Bricked up doorways can be observed at first and second storeys where presumably the rest of the building was intended to be. The hall was bought by Robert Holden who passed it to his son Reverend Charles Edward Holden whose son was
Edward Anthony Holden Edward Anthony Holden (2 August 1805 – 28 August 1877) was a landowner who lived at Aston Hall, Aston-on-Trent, Aston Hall, in Aston upon Trent, Derbyshire. He inherited land and bought more starting in 1833. He was High Sheriff of Derbyshire i ...
. In 1745 the
young pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
advanced as far as nearby
Swarkestone Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 187. Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, a plant nursery/ garden centre and re ...
. Local records show that monies were found to not only repair ''ye town musquet'' but also money to charge it. Two other parishioners were given three quarts of ale to keep watch for the rebels from the church tower whilst a third was despatched to Derby. In September 1770, the canal which had been started by
James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born i ...
reached Weston where goods could be moved the short distance from the canal to the river and vice versa. Much of this building still remains and Weston's lock, three canal bridges and three mileposts are
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
by Historic England.


The railway

See also '' Weston on Trent railway station'' Less than a century later, the village was again redesigned with several houses demolished, large earth works and roads were diverted to allow the railway to be opened in 1873 which "cut through the heart of the village isolating the south side from the north of the village".By Water, Road and Rail: A History of Transport in Weston-on-Trent David Birt et al. Weston LHS The railway revolution initially happened outside Weston taking off in the area when three companies and their corresponding lines joined together to form the
Midland Railway Company The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
. The company was an amalgamation of different lines from Derby to Nottingham, to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and to
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 ...
. Business was good and in the 1860s it was realised that traffic could be improved if there was a line to relieve the congestion if there was a line to the south of Derby. The proposers realised that there were advantages in not only following the level ground of the Trent Valley but also in capturing additional business with a new line from Melbourne. One act of Parliament allowed an old tram line route to be reused to make a line from
Ashby de la Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
to Melbourne and another act allowed a line to Stenson. This latter route was destined to disturb the quiet of the village as the new line allowed traffic to make its way from Trent Junction, creating an express route past the central station in Derby. The route as approved by the Act went directly through the village and although there was an allowance for deviations to this route, worryingly every allowable route just cut the village at a different point. Petitions were raised by the villagers to try and influence the construction, but despite deviations being agreed the effect on the village was large and permanent. The agreements and the work meant that the line was not fully complete until 1873 after four years of excavation and construction. In 1851 the population of Weston was just under 400 in over seventy dwellings, but over the next twenty years the population fell by about a hundred, ten houses disappeared and another five were empty. Even allowing for the six houses that were in the way of the new railway this was a substantial change on the previous agricultural life. A cutting assisted in dividing the village in half as well as changing the routes of local roads to join with the four new bridges. New houses were constructed in the village for the station master and the head porter as well as a row of six workman's houses outside the village near the parish border with
Swarkestone Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 187. Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, a plant nursery/ garden centre and re ...
. These new buildings replaced the lost thatched cottages, but more thatches were lost later when sparks from the locomotives set alight to others. By 1871 only just after a half of the remaining population was still working on the land. Sidings had been built in the village and trains were loaded with milk, parcel post and freight for Weston and nearby villages.A History of Transport in Weston on Trent by Water, Road and Rail, David Birt et al., 1993, Weston was again the local centre of activity with Shardlow and Aston also channelling their trade through the station at Weston. The railway revolution substantially reduced the traffic on the rivers and canals, but at Weston there was an extended life. The mill at King's Mill was a useful source of power and was relatively close to the gypsum quarries at Chellaston and Aston on Trent. Because of this a circuitous route was devised that must have involved considerable effort. The stone once quarried was loaded onto a purpose built tramway so that the stone could be pulled to the canal near Aston. From here the stone was loaded into canal barges and moved the short distance to Weston Cliff where it was again unloaded and craned onto river barges that took the stone again on the short trip to King's Mill. Here the stone was again unloaded, ground into plaster and then sent back by the same circuitous route via the river barges to Weston Cliff and then the product was taken to Pegg's works on the canal at Derby. There was a £400 pound a year charge for the power of the mill, but the rest of this effort was achieved with animal and human effort.


The last 100 years

The novelist
H. D. Everett Henrietta Dorothy Everett (January 1851–16 September 1923) who wrote under the pen name Theo Douglas was a British novelist who was popular during her lifetime but who is now largely forgotten. Her identity was revealed in 1910Tanya Kirk (ed ...
(1851-1923) lived in the Old Vicarage in the village and died there. 1937 saw a significant change in the lifestyle of the village with the arrival of piped water. This allowed a public sewer to be built and the ten council houses were given hot and cold water at a cost of under £520. The piped water supply had cost just under £50,000.Houses and Everyday Life in Weston on Trent, Barbara Hutton, 1994, There were two ferries at Weston, one at Weston Cliff and the other at King's Mill which ceased trade in 1942. This ferry crossed the river at the end of King's Mill Lane closest to Castle Donington. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Weston-on-Trent became home to the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) in the UK,Ukrainian Youth Association Web Site
/ref> which took over one of the camps which had been set up during the War. One of these camps had hosted concerts by
Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
,
Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...
and
Ivy Benson Ivy Benson (11 November 1913 – 6 May 1993) was an English musician and bandleader, who led an all-female swing band. Benson and her band gained prominence in the 1940s, headlining variety theatres and topping the bill at the London Palladium, ...
.Change in a Derbyshire Village: Weston-on-Trent 1900–1950 Yvonne Smalley and Margery Trantor Weston LHS The last shop in Weston closed in 1998. In 2009''The Old Plough'' was closed and subsequently demolished. This pub had been in almost continuous operation as a victuallers since at least 1829 when Francis Henshaw operated it as a combined pub and ploughmakers. At that time there were three pubs.


Walking

Lying just outside the city of Derby, Weston is an occasional location for walkers. There are a number of walks that are maintained and watched over by the Parish council and their routes are shown on the village hall. Some routes are also available on-line.A walk around Weston
/ref>


Summary

ImageSize = width:450 height:450 PlotArea = left:50 right:0 bottom:10 top:10 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1000 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:50 start:1000 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:10 start:1010 PlotData= color: red mark:(line,black) align: left fontsize:S shift:(25,0) # shift text to right side of bar # there is no automatic collision detection, fontsize:XS # so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap shift:(25,-10) at:1009 text:Weston is given with other manors to Morkar at:1086 text:Westune belongs to the Norman King, William at:1215 text:King John signs another charter for Weston at:1418 text:Weston (inc.Aston, Shardlow et al) are rented out to the Bishop of Durham at:1603 text:Weston is given to Charles Paget despite his crimes at:1633 text:Manor given by James 1 to Antony Roper who built the hall at:1642 shift:(25,5) text:Parliiamentarians at Weston attack the Royalists at:1745 text:Bonnie Prince Charlie turns around at nearby Swarkestone at:1770 text:Trent and Mersey Canal reaches the village at:1821 text:The school opens at:1873 text:The railway arrives at:1927 text:piped water in Weston at:2009 text:The Plough closes after > 175 years operation at:2016 shift:(25,5) text:Broadband arrives


See also

* Listed buildings in Weston-on-Trent


References


External links


Weston-on-Trent home pageTourist guide to the village
*
The Scarecrow Trail Website
{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Populated places established in the 11th century Civil parishes in Derbyshire South Derbyshire District