Whaley Thorns

Whaley Thorns

Whaley Thorns - St Lukes Church
Whaley Thorns

 Whaley Thorns shown within Derbyshire
OS grid reference SK5370
Parish Shirebrook
District Bolsover
Shire county Derbyshire
Region East Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Derbyshire

Whaley Thorns is a former colliery village in Bolsover (district), Derbyshire, close to the Nottinghamshire border. Whaley Thorns lies just north of Nether Langwith and Langwith, 1.5 miles south-east of Creswell, and west of Cuckney.

The village takes its name from a dense wood, recorded on the first Ordnance Survey Maps. "Whaley" being Celtic for water/spring, referring to both the local springs, just to the north, and the river Poulter which lies only 200 yards to the south. And "Thorn" a Anglo-Saxon word, for wood. So the original meaning, may have been either "Wood of the Springs", or "Wood above/between the water(s)".

In the Mid-nineteenth century, much of the wood was cut down, following the discovery of coal beneath it. Thanks to the nearby railway, the site soon grew into a colliery village. The village acquired both a fine Anglican Chapel, and a Methodist Chapel; both still hold regular services. It also acquired a large primary school, and later on in the 1940s, a fine Frank Lloyd Wright style school too.

In the late 1970s the chief employer, the colliery, closed. Since the colliery closures, the first school has closed and re-opened as a heritage centre, as well as re-education centre for ex-miners. The Second has remained open as a primary school.

Following the Pit (Colliery) closure, the villages' population has greatly reduced, due to the, lack of local employment, and the deprivation that happened as a result. Since 1990, many rows of terraced houses, have been demolished, due to their run-down, or in some cases derelict, nature.

There are now just two shops, and one Pub.

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Whaley_Thorns Whaley Thorns] at Wikimedia Commons