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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...
district of
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, England. Codnor is a former mining village and had a population of 3,766 (including Cross Hill) taken at the 2011 Census. It is approximately 12 miles from
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
and 14 miles from
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 south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
. Codnor forms a built up area with nearby Ripley.
History
Codnor is listed in an entry in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, the great survey commissioned by
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
; a mill and church were mentioned, and also the fact that "Warner holds it". Coalmining had a long history locally, and was, at one time, responsible for subsidence damage to some buildings. Opencast mining is still in operation today within the area and the land around the castle has also been subject to this.
east of the village centre is
Codnor Castle
Codnor Castle is a ruined 13th-century castle in Derbyshire, England. The land around Codnor came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel after the Norman Conquest. The building is registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument a Grade II Listed B ...
; the original
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norma ...
earthwork
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
was built by William Peveril, (Peveril of the Peak, who also built the better known
Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle (also Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton, Derbyshire, Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement (or ''caput'') of the English feudal ...
at Castleton). The 13th-century stone structure which replaced it is now in ruins. The castle was formerly held by the powerful de Grey family. The castle overlooks the valley of the little
River Erewash
The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, forming the boundary between the two counties for much of its length. It rises near Kirkby-in-Ashf ...
, which forms the county boundary between Derbyshire and
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
, and the now defunct section of 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 canal lock, locks.
From Crom ...
. The castle was the subject of an investigation by archaeological television programme ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...
'' - first aired on 6 January 2008 - which discovered many new facts about the structure, as well as unearthing a solid gold coin, a 'noble' of
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
.
At one time the village had a railway station ( Crosshill and Codnor) which was operated as part of the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...
. The branch line was torn up when colliery traffic waned, and the only signs of it that are now left are a converted station yard and some embankments.
Codnor had three
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
chapels, all in the Ripley Circuit, as well as the
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church of St James, at Crosshill. The village was also the birthplace of the noted Victorian
phrenologist
Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or ...
'Professor'
Joseph Millott Severn
Joseph Millot Severn (1860-1942) was an English writer, historian, and phrenologist born in Codnor, Derbyshire.
Biography
Severn was born in 1860alms houses in the centre of the village, which still stand to this day.
In recent years Codnor has had traffic problems, because the A610 (the main road to/from Nottingham) goes through the village, carrying traffic to Ripley, and further places such as Matlock. Codnor also used to be served by trams; the ' Ripley Rattler' (so-called), used to travel between that town and Nottingham. These were quite notorious, and were even the subject of a short story - "Tickets Please" - by local writer
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...
(born 4 miles away, in Eastwood). The standards, which had carried the electric power lines for the trams, and the later trolley buses, were not removed until the early 1960s.
Geography
Codnor is close to the larger communities of Ripley and
Heanor
Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It lies north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parishes in England, civil parish and town council-administered area of He ...
.
Sport
Codnor has its own golf club, Ormonde Fields.
Codnor has a cricket club which has been in existence since 1924. Whilst having some difficult times in the early stages of the club, the club now plays at a competitive standard in the Derbyshire county league and fields both a 1st and 2nd eleven as well as two youth teams. The club currently play on Goose Lane, which used to be home to Codnor Miners Welfare before it was shut down in 2007.
Codnor also has three football teams. There is Codnor FC, who play in the Derby City Football League, Codnor Athletic Fc who play in the Alfreton QTS League and Codnor Miners FC - who play in the East Midlands Senior Leagu http://codnorminersfootballclub.weebly.com/index.html]
Red, White and Blue Festival
The
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
held its Red, White and Blue festival from 2007 to 2009 off Codnor-Denby Lane, to the south of Codnor. It was cancelled in 2010.Daily Telegraph 04 June 2010 BNP Festival Cancelled
Notable buildings
There are three structures in Codnor civil parish that are listed by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
for their historical or architectural interest. These are the Church of St James beside the A6007, Home Farmhouse on Alfreton Road, and No.37 Nottingham Road. These are all listed as Grade II. Codnor Castle is also Grade II but is in the neighbouring parish of Aldercar and Langley Mill.
Joseph Millott Severn
Joseph Millot Severn (1860-1942) was an English writer, historian, and phrenologist born in Codnor, Derbyshire.
Biography
Severn was born in 1860Nick Wright, a former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
, was born here.
*
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Shunt", Hunt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and wo ...
, footballer, was born here.
*
Chanel Cresswell
Chanel Cresswell (born 23 January 1990) is an English actress, known for playing Kelly Jenkins in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and the three subsequent series '' This Is England '86'' (2010), ''This Is England '88'' (2011) and ''This Is ...
, actress, grew up here.
*
Arnold Warren
Arnold Warren (2 April 1875 – 3 September 1951) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1897 and 1920 and played for England in 1905. He was the first bowler from Derbyshire to take 100 wickets in a se ...
, fast bowler, lived here.
* Fred S Thorpe, local historian, lived here.