Woodville, Derbyshire
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Woodville is a large suburban 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
that crosses two districts -
South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...
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 ...
and
North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Leicestershire, England. The towns in the district include of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville, Leicestershire , Coalville (where the council is b ...
district of
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, England, east of
Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...
. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 5,161, an increase from 3,420 at the 2001 Census. The centre of the village, known as the Tollgate, is a busy traffic island on the A511. Woodville forms part of the border with
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
.


History

Woodville was formerly known as Wooden Box, named after the wooden toll booth on the toll road between
Ashby de la Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch (), also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2021 census was ...
and
Burton-upon-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 7 ...
. The area around the roundabout, which is the modern equivalent of the toll booth, is still known as 'Tollgate'. The name Woodville first appeared in a leaflet issued when the foundation stone of the
Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
of
St Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...
was laid on 7 November 1845. St Stephen's is a
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 ...
revival building designed by
Henry Isaac Stevens Henry Isaac Stevens FRIBA was an architect based in Derby. He was born in London, in 1806, and died in 1873. In the late 1850s he changed his name to Isaac Henry Stevens. Family His parents were Isaac Stevens and Elizabeth Young. He married An ...
and completed in 1846. The Woodville area is rich in industrial heritage with a wide variety of industries such as potteries, crate-making, pipe works, breweries, rope-making and railways all having had a presence in the area which is now either totally gone or extremely diminished. One of the most famous Woodville potteries was Bretby Art Pottery, founded in 1882 by Henry Tooth and William Ault.


Local geography

On some approaches it is difficult to tell where the village starts and ends as it is increasingly contiguous with neighbouring Swadlincote and Albert Village. On the northern edge of Woodville is the Goseley district which was constructed during the 1950s. There has been much development of the surrounding area with large private estates of new homes having been constructed, including the ‘Bird’ district. To the south of Woodville, along the county border with
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, a large community of new houses is being developed (unofficially referred to as Woodville Woodlands) by the developers
Bloor Homes Bloor Homes Limited is a British housebuilder based in Measham, Leicestershire. It is Britain’s largest privately owned housebuilder. Bloor Homes was established in 1969 by John Bloor. The 2000s was a particularly profitable decade for the f ...
and
Bryant Homes Bryant Homes was one of the larger UK housebuilders when it was acquired by Taylor Woodrow in 2001; Bryant then became the principal housebuilding operation of the enlarged group. Taylor Woodrow merged with Wimpey in 2007 and during 2010 the Bry ...
. This development is built on the land of the former Woodville Pipe Works and incorporates the planting of new trees on the former
fire clay Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumi ...
pit as part of the
National Forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...
scheme. The Mount Pleasant works operated by John Knowles & Company, demolished in 1993, produced pottery and has been replaced by a housing development. A discovery by archaeologists led to the preservation of some of its records. Off Hartshorne Road is the site of the former Woodville railway station which opened in 1851 and connected the village with Swadlincote, Ashby and Burton-Upon-Trent but the station closed in 1947 and the line in 1964. The site is now an industrial estate.


Amenities

Woodville High Street (which is part of the A511 road) has a small shopping area incorporating a convenience store, a pharmacy and a
fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...
. Also located on the High Street side of the road are additional food outlets, including a Chinese takeaway, a further fish and chip shop, and Indian and Chinese restaurants. There is a village
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
together with further shops and light industrial and commercial units. Woodville has a 24-hour petrol station, incorporating a convenience store, and a tyre and exhaust centre which is located on the Tollgate roundabout. Woodville has a Scout Group. Woodville has an infant school and a Church of England Junior School. Both schools are off the High Street. One of Woodville's oldest businesses is Masseys DIY store which was established in 1947 and still remains on Swadlincote Road in Woodville.


Sport

Woodville Rangers Football Club was founded in 2005 and caters for all age groups from four to adult. Their nickname is The Tollers after the famous toll gate which was situated in Woodville for many years. The club badge shows the toll house. Woodville Rangers gained FA Charter Standard status early in 2008. A short lived
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
track called the Victory Greyhound and Whippet Racing Track was opened during October 1929 at the Woodville Cricket Ground on the Burton Road. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...
) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The venue usually raced on Saturdays and regularly attracted over 1,000 people despite being so close to Swandlicote Greyhound Stadium. A second season of racing was held in 1930 but there is no evidence of anything beyond 2 May 1930.


Industrial heritage

John Knowle's Mount Pleasant Pipe-works at Woodville was once a major employer in the area. It has now been demolished but before redevelopment the bases of a tunnel kiln and beehive kiln were excavated. Together with detailed records going back to the 19th century and photos preserved by ex-employees it has been possible to create detailed 3-D reconstructions of the plant. The beehive kilns were down-draft kilns. In this case they had a double skin with fire holes around the external circumference and a main loading door. Counter-weighted covers were used to open and close these openings. The heat would initially rise to the top of the kiln and then be forced down through the centre around the product, finally being vented below ground in tunnels to a chimney at the end of the group of kilns. The kilns were specifically designed for the production of salt-glazed sewerage pipes. Their construction reflects this as the salt could be added to the fires and then distributed evenly across the product as vapour at a certain stage of firing. The tunnel kiln produced 70% of the country's gas fire radiants (white ceramic grills that sit in the front of many domestic gas fires) in the mid-20th century and was difficult to visualise from the archaeological evidence alone. The digital reconstruction has assisted in understanding how the technology worked. The later design of the tunnel kiln enabled continuous firing thereby minimising delays while waiting for it to cool before loading and unloading. The product was slowly passed through a central chamber using gas to fire it.


Notable residents

*
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...
, the actor, lived in Woodville for seven years (1945–1952) from the ages of five to twelve. His father was the vicar of St Stephen's parish church. * Dr Selwyn Goodacre (b.1940), South Derbyshire GP, writer on
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
, medical practice and book collecting has been resident in Woodville since 1970. * Jane Plant (1943-2016), pioneer in the field of geochemical surveys and environmental surveys, was born in Woodville and lived there until she attended university. Her parents were the village shopkeepers.


See also

* Listed buildings in Woodville, Derbyshire * Listed buildings in Swadlincote


References


External links

{{authority control Villages in Derbyshire South Derbyshire District North West Leicestershire District Villages in Leicestershire