Walton-on-Trent

Walton-upon-Trent
Walton is in the National Forest'[1]
Walton-upon-Trent  Walton-upon-Trent shown within Derbyshire
OS grid reference	SK216180
District	South Derbyshire
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SWADLINCOTE
Postcode district	DE12
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
List of places UK England Derbyshire

Walton-on-Trent is a parish and village in the National Forest that is just within South Derbyshire. As its name implies it is an ancient crossing point of the River Trent. It was at this point that King Edward II crossed the river in pursuit of the disaffected barons including the Earl of Lancaster. Listed buildings in the parish include Catton Hall and Walton Hall. Today the town is situated almost exactly mid-way between Birmingham and Derby.

The name Walton comes from settlement/farmstead of Wealas - native Celts which is what the new Anglo Saxon speaking peoples called the native inhabitants of England. There is strong evidence that in many areas of England taken over by Germanic speaking settlers, the native British (Wealas) remained undisturbed, farming the same land they did when the Romans left. Over time they just adopted or forgot their Celtic tongue (similar to Old Welsh/Cornish) for the language and culture of the newcomers in order to climb the social ladder or were coerced to do so. It was in the Anglo Saxon interest that the native British carry on as usual to ensure the economy produced food and goods for the new landowners.

The Bridge at Walton

The original bridge was built in 1834 and lasted for over one hundred years before being replaced in 1948 by a temporary Bailey bridge. This was erected by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers over the top of the old bridge, part of which was removed to allow a support to be built on the Staffordshire bank of the river, the temporary bridge had to be built due to flood damage to the old bridge after the severe winter of 1947. This bridge had to again be replaced in 1974 by a more modern version of the temporary bridge. The old bridge was a toll bridge for many years and pictures of the "old bridge" and the toll house are still available.

'The Lytchgate - in the background is the White Swan' ^[1].

The Church

Saint Laurences church proudly boasts its founding as “c.1000” on the sign by its Lytchgate. At about that time it would have been in the ownership of Aelfgar, an Anglo-Saxon who also had interests which included manors at Weston-on-Trent, Newton Solney and Repton. It is his name that is given as the former owner of Walton-on-Trent's church, mill, 40 acres (160,000 m²) of meadow and 35 square furlongs of pasture^[2] when the new king took them as part of his personal reward for winning the British crown.^[3]

The village has a Church of England school.

Catton Hall

Catton Hall gives its postal address as Walton on Trent although there was a village of Catton at one time.^[2] Catton Hall is owned by the Neilson family, descendants of Anson-Horton family, who themselves were descendants of the Fifth Baronet, Rev. Sir George Wilmot-Horton.^[4] The Hall is now available for private functions and horse trials. The hall has been there since the 15th century but the current building was founded in 1745.^[5] Annually, Catton Hall hosts heavy metal festival Bloodstock Open Air featuring prominent bands such as Children of Bodom, Opeth, and Nightwish.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walton on Trent.

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