Hollingwood is a small village approximately four miles north east of

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 ...

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.

Description

Hollingwood and Barrow Hill were built in c.1900 when the

Staveley Coal and Iron Company The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley, near Chesterfield, North Derbyshire. History The company was registered in 1863, appearing in provincial stock exchange reports from 1864. It exploited loc ...

formed and built homes there for the workers. It is alleged that Hollingwood was the first village in the country to have hot running water via a ring main from a central boiler house in the village. This boiler house was shut down in the very early 1980s when gas and electric boilers became readily available. It is surrounded by

Brimington Brimington is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 8,788. The town of Staveley is to the east, and Hollingwood is nearby. The parish in ...

(where the population is included), Barrow Hill, and

Inkersall Inkersall and Inkersall Green (informally referred to by local residents as Inky) are areas of settlement in Derbyshire, England. They are located south of the A619 road, east of Chesterfield and close to Junction 29a of the M1 Motorway. Inke ...

. Between Barrow Hill and Hollingwood runs the

Chesterfield Canal The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 a ...

which is currently being regenerated by the

Chesterfield Canal Trust The Chesterfield Canal Trust Limited is a waterway society and charitable company which campaigns for and undertakes various activities related to the Chesterfield Canal, which runs from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England to the River Trent at ...

. The canal house at Hollingwood has been renovated as a visitor centre and a very popular cafe, as well as being the headquarters of the Trust. The remains of the entrance to the

Hollingwood Common Canal The Hollingwood Common Canal (alternatively the Hollingwood Common Canal Tunnel or the Hollingwood Common Tunnel) is a disused navigable coal mine adit which terminated at the Chesterfield Canal at Hollingwood, near Staveley, Derbyshire. History ...

, originally a navigable adit, can still be seen close to the village. Between Hollingwood and Inkersall is Ringwood Park, this houses a fishing lake, BMX bike track and a small play park. At the top of the park is Ringwood Hall which was built by the Markham family for the management of Staveley Works. During the early eighties when the works started declining and management numbers fell it was opened up to lesser ranked workers to keep money coming in. However membership was strictly by committee only and members had to be approved. It is now open for wedding functions and has a number of rooms for rent. It also has a gym and pool which can be used by the public. It has a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called the Hollingwood formerly known as the Hollingwood Hotel, this has a bowling green located at the rear of the pub. The BRSA club on Station Road is now in a state of ruin, more commonly known as the 'Railway Club' this closed in 2015. It did have another club called the 'Trough Lees', formerly known as the Lees Buildings, but this has now been demolished and at the moment the land lies in ruin. On the same road as the 'Trough Lees' is a working farm currently still in operation. It also houses a 'tack' shop which sells horse, dog, cat and

bird food Bird food or bird seed is food (often varieties of seeds, nuts, and/or dried fruits) intended for consumption by wild and domestic birds. While most bird food is fed to commercial fowl (such as chicken or turkey), bird food is also used to fee ...

and supplies. Farm produce can be bought from the farm as well such as eggs, potatoes and other implements. Also local residents who have horses keep them there. The day centre on Station Road, where people with learning disabilities could attend on a daily basis, has now closed (2016) and has been demolished; a new housing estate has been built on the site. It used to have a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

called St. Francis Church on Cedar Street, but this is now a set of flats. It has a primary school called Hollingwood Primary School, which opened as a new build; the old original school has now been demolished. The village did have a secondary school, which was called Westwood Lower School (previously Hollingwood Senior Girls School); it used to school ages 11–14. Westwood Upper School was located in nearby

and used to school ages 14–16. The school was closed in 1992 and the land was sold off for housing to Barratts the housebuilders. The school's football field remained untouched and is now used for Sunday League football and events that are hosted by the Hollingwood public house. The local post office closed in November 2008 and the space left by it is currently waiting for planning permission to be granted to be turned into an Indian takeaway. However, the other local shop has now reopened (Mar 2009) and seems to be flourishing. It is neighboured by a Pizza Shop (Hollingwood Express) and a Chinese takeaway (Happiness House). Opposite these shops is the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

Hall and alongside it is a small play park with 4 swings, a slide and a climbing frame alongside a grassed area. In 2009, resident Colette Daffin was murdered by husband Christopher Daffin via hit and run; Daffin was later arrested sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment after it was discovered he had taken out a life insurance policy and had been having an

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

with another woman.

References

{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Chesterfield, Derbyshire