Whitwell, Derbyshire

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Coordinates: 53°17′06″N 1°12′32″W / 53.285°N 1.209°W / 53.285; -1.209
Whitwell

Church of St Lawrence, Whitwell.
Whitwell

 Whitwell shown within Derbyshire
OS grid reference SK528767
District Bolsover
Shire county Derbyshire
Region East Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WORKSOP
Postcode district S80
Dialling code 01909
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament Bolsover
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire

Whitwell is a small village located in Derbyshire, England.

Although Whitwell celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in the 'Whitwell 1000' Celebrations of 1989 it is much older than this celebration suggests.The earliest written references to Whitwell are from the Anglo-Saxon charters however many of its historical sites pre-date this period. Within the parish is the biggest wood in Europe,[1] as well as several Iron Age burial mounds, an Iron Age fort and settlement, the remains of a Roman villa, medieval field systems, and both a Norman and Saxon church, the world heritage site of Creswell Crags was until recently within the Parish. Whitwell Old Hall is a medieval manor house.

Whitwell won the 'Best Kept Village in Derbyshire' Award in 1988.

Whitwell is a thriving village with strong community spirit. The village has many active clubs and societies including: Whitwell Scout and Guide Group, Local History Group, Whitwell Players, Whitwell Brass Band and junior band, C of E, Methodist and Poplar churches, Natural History Group, green bowls club, cricket club, and football club.

Although being quite a small village, Whitwell has six public houses. It previously had as many as 11 and held the record for most number of licensed premises per capita. The current pubs are Holmefield Arms, The Jack Ups (Whitwell Working Men's Club), New Middle Club, The Boot And Shoe, The Half Moon and The Royal Oak. Whitwell also has three take-aways. One called Pizza Time on Station Road opposite the "Jack Ups", a "Chinese", situated on Welbeck Street, called Go-Ming and a Chip Shop called "Chip Inn", on Hanger Hill next to the corner of Fox Road.The Biggest employer just outside the Village is La Farge Works (formerly Steetley Company) which run a quarry which supplies Limestone and other products all around the world.

View over Whitwell.

Whitwell Wood

The freshwater Ginny Spring is located in the northern section of the wood.

In a field bordering the eastern edge of Whitwell Wood is the Three Shires Oak, a tree where the county borders of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire meet. Whitwell Wood's southern fence borders the A619 (Chesterfield-Worksop road), and is approximately 5 km from Junction 30 of the M1.

Famous Whitwellians

One of Whitwell's most famous sons was Joe Davis, world snooker and Billiards champion from the 1920s to the 1940s. His Whitwell home (on Welbeck Street) bears a plaque commemorating him.

Les Jackson, England cricketer and Wisden Cricketer of the Year[2] in 1959, played for Whitwell Cricket Club and came to watch their games on a Saturday afternoon until his death in 2007.

Also from the village are Chris Adams, the Sussex and England cricketer and Ian Bennett, a professional goalkeeper who currently plays for Huddersfield Town, whose family still lives in the village.

The village is the birthplace and childhood home of J. T. Edson the author, whose various escapism-adventure series sold over 27 million copies globally; the Edson family lived in Whitwell from Victorian times. Not forgetting of course Stephen Whyles who famously went back to work during the miners strike of 1984-85, his father Ian Whyles was a stalwart NUM supporter and marxist. Stephen has held numerous tv and radio and newspaper interviews as his life and his relationship with his father were played out on tv. Stephen and his Father have been estranged ever since and do not speak to each other to this day. Ian famously quoted in a national newspaper that "a son who is a scab is no son ofvmine"

References

  1. ↑ Dodds, Barbara (2013). "Whitwell". Family Tree Forum. Retrieved 4 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ Les Jackson at CricketArchive.com

External links

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