Worthington, Leicestershire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Worthington | |
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| Population | 675 (estimate) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | North West Leicestershire |
| Shire county | Leicestershire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH |
| Postcode district | LE65 |
| Dial code | 01530 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | North West Leicestershire |
| European Parliament | East Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Leicestershire | |
Worthington is a village in North West Leicestershire, England. It lies 5 miles from the market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and has a population of approximately 675 people.
Surrounding villages include Newbold, Griffydam, Breedon on the Hill, Lount, and Osgathorpe. The country houses of Staunton Harold and Calke Abbey are also nearby.
The village has major transport links being 5 miles from East Midlands Airport and 7 miles from where the A42 converges with the M1 motorway.
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[edit] Brief history
The village is recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as "Werditone" and probably derives from the family name of "Werden", or a man called "Weorth", and is most likely to have been an Anglo Saxon settlement. The Domesday entry also lists Henry de Ferrers as owning 4 carucates of land in the area.
The village history is mostly that of a rural farming community. During the 20th century however it rapidly expanded to house workers for nearby collieries. This created a new road in the centre of the village (St Matthews Avenue).
By the 1990s many of the local collieries had ceased operating and the village began to shed its mining identity. Despite the collapse of coalmining another road (Chapel Rise) was added in the 1980s.
Local nicknames for Worthington have included 'Paraffin City', due to its late adoption of electricity, and 'Yawny Box' (the meaning of which is unclear).
[edit] Present day Worthington
Today the village has a typically mixed community of families, retired people, working professionals, and farmers. According to the 2001 census the parish of Worthington has a mean age of 40.48 years old and has a 'household reference' ethnicity of 99.1% white.
Worthington boasts a post office shop, primary school, church, and chapel. It did have two public houses, the Swan and Malt Shovel, but only the latter remains.
Worthington also features a Cloud Trail which is the name for a section of dismantled railway line that now forms part of the National Cycle Network (operated by Sustrans). Part of the trail runs alongside an active quarry owned by Ennstone plc and leads out towards Breedon and the Swarkestone causeway.
Annual events include a family fun-run from the Malt Shovel car park, up Bull Hill, along the Cloud Trail and returning to the pub. A village yard sale also takes place (usually in June) that raises funds for Worthington primary school and youth club.
The village is popular with hunting enthusiasts, sitting as it does in the hunting country of the famous Quorn hunt.
Historic buildings include St Mathews church and an 18th century lock-up (or blind house), similar to the one in nearby Breedon that would have been used for detaining local drunks.
The bottom half of the village (from Chapel Rise to the Malt Shovel) occasionally suffers from power cuts. In May 2006 a generator was temporarily installed to supply electricity for several days. The power cuts only effect one side of the village because it is served by two different transformers.
There is no gas supply in the area and households rely on electric heaters, solid fuel appliances, or oil burners, for their heating.
[edit] Notes
- ^ This population estimate is based on the 2001 Census Output Area 31UHGT0012 that lies within Super Output Area Lower Layer 005C (North West Leicestershire). The figure provided is 346 people but the SOA does not include White Horse Farm, Manor Farm, Manor Drive, part of Church Street and half of Main Street. The parish Output Area (Worthington CP) lists 1350 people but this area also includes the village of Newbold. As both villages are similar in size the population of Worthington is likely to be between 500 and 750 people.
- ^ Essay on history of St Matthews Church Reverend H.A. Dane suggests the Werden family as a source name and posits the village is Saxon in origin.
- ^ Mills, A.D., A Dictionary of British Place Names, Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN-10: 0-19-852758-6.
- ^ Worthington Remembered Essay on 1920s Worthington by a local resident.
- ^ 2001 Census, output figures for Worthington parish.
[edit] External links
- Local church website
- Leicestershire Census 2001
- Worthington Parish Council
- National Statistics & ONS
[edit] Further reading
- Hand-one-down Hearsays of the Parish of Breedon, Griffydam, Isley Walton, Langley, Lount, Newbold, Scotland, Staunton Harold, Tonge, Wilson and Worthington 1870-1970. John Dawson. Breedon: available form the author 2003. 188pp
