Heanor
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Heanor is a town in the Amber Valley region of Derbyshire, England. It is 8 miles northeast of Derby. Heanor's population is just over 23,000.
Heanor was mentioned in the Domesday book with the following entry:
6M In CODNOR and Heanor and Langley [in Heanor] and 'Smithycote' [in Codnor Park] 8 thegns had 7 carucates of land to the geld. [There is] land for as many ploughs. There are now 3 ploughs in demesne; and 11 villans and 2 bordars and 3 sokemen having 5 ½ ploughs. There is a church, and 1 mill [rendering]12d , and 35 acres of meadow, [and] woodland pasture 2 leagues long and 3 furlongs broad. TRE worth 4l ; now 41s4d . Warner holds it.
Heanor merges into Langley Mill and is served by Langley Mill railway station. Formerly the Midland Railway had a line between Shipley Gate and Butterley that passed through Heanor, and the Great Northern Railway had a branch line which terminated in a goods yard and small station in Heanor.
Coal mining and textiles used to be the major industries of the town. The River Erewash passes through the area. The American Adventure, (two miles outside of town, in the direction of Ilkeston) is a large theme park which was constructed, for the most part, on former colliery-owned land. The Matthew Walker factory, famous world-wide for the production of superb Christmas puddings, was sold in 1992 and became part of the Northern Foods group.
Heanor Clarion Cycling Club was founded in 1929 (website www.heanorclarion.org.uk), but the jewel in the sporting crown of Heanor has to be 'The Lions' - Heanor Town Football Club. Established in 1883, the club is a member of the 'Abacus Lighting' Central Midlands League Supreme Division, and is well-supported, sometimes they announce the crowd changes at half-time. Their chairman is the autocratic John McCulloch who it has been rumoured is planning world domination, first Heanor Town, then Langley Mill Utd Cricket club, then the world! John likes to give people a slap who do not share his opinion.
Adjoining the Football Ground is the cricket pitch, Derbyshire play here occasionally, and it is the home of Heanor Town cricket Club. Heanor used to have a proud cricket tradition, but thanks to the stewardship of chairman Alan Turner, the club has been in decline for many years. despite their youth teams winning everything from 1985-1993 none of the players were ever offered a game, Turner preferred to pay past-it players to come and play for a season or two to try and win a trophy , as a result, Heanor were forced to drop down the divisions and became a joke within their own town, as no-one from the town played for the first team. They merged with stapleford(10 miles away and in notts!)_ just to keep a team and have some players. A sad state of affairs.
Heanor, however is home to world famous cricketers such as legendary spin bowlers Terry Lord and Robin Pratt. Lord took close to 20,000 wickets during his 50 year playing career, and Pratt was not to far behind(usually on his bike). Both players played for Heanor Town Cricket Club at some stage of their career, and both players fell out with the management at the town ground at some stage too and left for other clubs. Both kept drinking at the Football Club though. Pratt was famous for looking like a cross between Billy Connolly and Jesus, and also for his often bizarre method of appealing for LBW's which often involved getting down on two knees and praying, this proved successful on many occasions, but never with umpire-ess Annette Owen (particularly if Dick was batting). If this method was successful Pratt would exclaim "you'll do me". Lord was more prone to asking people to "look in the book" when they were out and telling stories about going to school with Brian Bolus, getting Mick Walters stumped off a wide at Matlock, Alan Turner running away from the ball at Cromford and being ordered off the field as punishment, and generally being an excellent wind-up merchant. Together they formed the only and best opening spin attack that cricket has ever seen with the Wednesday afternoon team Ilkeston Tradesmen. Both are now umpires with the Derbyshire Cricket League.
The Heanor and District Local History Society, established in 1968, gives details of the area's history on its website www.HeanorHistory.org.uk.
Heanor Grammar School, which was just to the east of the market place, is now part of the South East Derbyshire College of Further Education.
The Market place in Heanor is the focal point town, and hosts Markets twice a week. For the rest of the time particualrly in the evening, the marketplace displays a fine collection of chavs, Burberry hats mixed with Kappa shell suit bottoms are a fine sight to see. Watching these chavs share a lambert and butler washed down with an alcopop is a must-see for any tourist who mistakenly stumbles upon this forgotten part of the East Midlands.
The local newspaper which serves, amongst others, the communities of Ripley, Heanor, Marlpool, Loscoe, Waingroves, Aldercar, Crosshill and Codnor is the 'Ripley and Heanor News'. However, its circulation area is not limited to these towns and villages and could be considered to extend from Whatstandwell in the west, to Brinsley in the east; from South Normanton in the north, to Coxbench in the south. It is published each Thursday.
Henry Garnet was born in Heanor. Henry Garnet or Garnett (1555 – May 3, 1606) was an English Jesuit, executed due to his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605. There is a street named after him.
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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 |
