Wirksworth
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  Map sources for Wirksworth at grid reference SK2853
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Wirksworth is a market town in Derbyshire, England with a population of approximately 10,000. The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford and many other small villages is about 15,000. The town was granted its market charter by Edward I in 1306. The market is held every Tuesday in the market square in the busy town centre. Perhaps the finest building in Wirksworth is St. Mary's Church, which was one of the first centres of Christian teaching in England and is believed to date back to around 653 AD. The ancient Wirksworth Hundred or Wapentake was named after the town.
Historically, it developed as a centre for lead mining (see Derbyshire lead mining history) but then later on, it branched into quarrying.
Many of the institutions in the area have connections with the Gell family whose most famous member was Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, who fought on Parliament's side in the Civil War. One of his predecessors, Anthony Gell, founded the local grammar school, and one of his successors, Phillip Gell, opened the curiously-named Via Gellia, a road from the family's lead mines around Wirksworth to the smelter in Cromford. (The Anthony Gell School is now a comprehensive - not a grammar)
Wirksworth has a Roman history and was known as Lutudarum. This used to be the capital of the area. Up until the late industrial revolution, the town was the 5th biggest in Derbyshire, after Derby, Chesterfield, Matlock and Buxton.
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[edit] Early history
The area may well have been visited by Homo erectus as long as 150,000 years ago, during warm inter-glacial periods. An Acheulean handaxe from the Lower Paleolithic has been found at Hopton nearby. From other remains found in the county there would seem to have been human presence at least periodically until the Romans arrived and found a thriving lead industry.
Perhaps the finest building in Wirksworth is St. Mary's Church, which was one of the first centres of Christian teaching in England and is believed to date back to around 653 AD. The ancient Wirksworth Hundred or Wapentake was named after the town.
[edit] Lead mining
It is not known when lead mining began, but certainly it was flourishing in Roman times. A roman road led to a ford between Duffield and Milford and thence to the garrison at Derventio (Derby) and to Rykneld Street to the ports on the Humber. In Anglo-Saxon times there were many mines owned by the Abbey of Repton.
Every man had the right (and still does) to dig for ore wherever he chose, except in churchyards, gardens or roadways. All that was necessary to stake a claim was to place one's "stowce" or winch on the site and extract enough ore to pay tribute to the "Barmaster."
Henry VIII granted a charter to hold a miners' court in the town called the Bar Moot, which still exists, though the present building dates from 1814. Within it is a brass dish for measuring the levy which was due to the Crown. Even into the twentieth century, the punishment for stealing from a mine was to have one's hand nailed to the stowce. One then had the choice of tearing one's self loose or starving to death.
There is a tiny carving in Wirksworth church of a miner with his pick and "kibble" or basket. The ore was washed out by means of a sieve, the iron wire for which had been drawn in Hathersage since the Middle Ages. Smelting was carried out in "boles", hence the name Bolehill. The lead industry, the miner, the ore and the waste, were known collectively as "t'owd man."
By the eighteenth century there were many thousands of mines, all worked individually. At this time, the London Lead Company was formed which brought in the finance to dig deeper mines, with drainage channels, called soughs, and bring in Newcomen steam engine pumps.
Wirksworth has a Roman history and was known as Lutudarum. This used to be the capital of the area. Up until the late industrial revolution, the town was the 5th biggest in Derbyshire, after Derby, Chesterfield, Matlock and Buxton.
[edit] Textiles
In 1777, Richard Arkwright leased the land and premises of corn mill from Philip Gell of Hopton and converted to spin cotton using the water frame. It was adjacent to another mill - the Speedwell which was owned by John Dalley, a local merchant, both are close together at Millers Green next to the Derby Road, It was one of the first to try out the steam engine from Boulton and Watt though it's use was to replenish the millpond.
When Arkwright's son, Richard, began to sell off the family's property assets in his move toward banking, the Haarlem was sublet in 1792. It was actually given the name in 1815, when it was converted to weaving tape, by Madely, Hackett and Riley who had established the Haarlem tape works in Derby in 1806. In 1879 the Wheatcroft family who were producing tape at the Speedwell mill, expanded into Haarlem.
The two mills together employed 230 people, and it was said that their weekly output equalled the circumference of the earth, and that Wirksworth was the primary producer of red tape for Whitehall.
Both mill is still exist. The Haarlem still producing narrow fabrics, while the Speedwell produces cavity wall and roof insulation.
[edit] Literary connection
The Haarlem said to be the model for the mill in George Eliot's Mill on the Floss.
[edit] Wirksworth today
Districts of Wirksworth include Yokecliffe, Gorsey Bank, Bolehill, Mountford and Millers Green. Bolehill is the oldest and most northern part of the town while Yokecliffe is a fairly new estate in the east of the town. More homes are due to be built on the area known as 'Three Trees' expanding Yokecliffe.
Fanny Shaw's park, just out of the centre of town, is the principle recreation area for the north of the town. It will soon be undergoing renovation with a new play area, gardens and skate park being built. Currently, the park consists of a football field and play area.
Wirskworth is famous for its festival and carnival.
A large One-place-study of "Wirksworth and five miles around" is available on the web (see external link below). This covers: Buildings, complete Census listings, Church monuments, Crime listings, Churchwardens accounts listings, Histories, Old maps, "Ince's pedigrees" transcription, Monumental inscriptions, Pedigrees, Collection of old photos, Parish Register transcription, Surname list, Tradesmen list, Wills.
- Events
- Early June: The Wirksworth Well Dressing and Carnival
- First Sunday after the 8th of September: The Clypping of the Church, an ancient custom, still observed, where the congregation joins hands to completely encircle the church.
- Late September: The Wirksworth Festival
Some visitor attractions in Wirksworth include:
The Peak District National Park lies just north of Wirksworth.
In Wirksworth, there is a Heritage Centre full of useful local information. See the link below for more.
Eatieries include: Crown Yard Kitchen, Le Mistral, Mimo's, The Old Bakehouse, Spencers, The Country Kitchen, Peak House eatery, Costas Fish & Chips and many more.
[edit] External links
- Wirksworth Dot Net - Community web site
- The Wirksworth Heritage Centre
- Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District: Wirksworth
- Wirksworth Parish Records 1600-1900
- Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Ceremonial county of Derbyshire  |
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| Unitary authorities: | Derby | |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Amber Valley • Bolsover • Chesterfield • Derbyshire Dales • Erewash • High Peak • North East Derbyshire • South Derbyshire | |
| Cities/Towns: | Alfreton • Ashbourne • Bakewell • Belper • Bolsover • Buxton • Chapel-en-le-Frith • Chesterfield • Clay Cross • Derby • Dronfield • Glossop • Heanor • Ilkeston • Killamarsh • Long Eaton • Matlock • New Mills • Ripley • Sandiacre • Shirebrook • Staveley • Swadlincote • Whaley Bridge • Wirksworth See also: List of civil parishes in Derbyshire |
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