Aston-on-Trent

Aston-on-Trent

Village view

Aston-on-Trent parish highlighted within Derbyshire
OS grid referenceSK415295
DistrictSouth Derbyshire
Shire countyDerbyshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town DERBY
Postcode district DE72
Dialling code 01332
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentSouth Derbyshire
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire

Aston-on-Trent is a Derbyshire village, situated in the English East Midlands, near Derby. It is adjacent to Weston-on-Trent and is near to Chellaston. It is very close to the border with Leicestershire.

It is situated on the north bank of the River Trent, about a mile from the river on rising ground safely out of the flood plain. The Trent and Mersey Canal runs between the village and the river.

There is a primary school, run by headmistress Lindsey Kalirai, and there is All Saints’ Church, Aston-upon-Trent, which dates back to Celtic times.

Local amenities include a Post Office, a corner shop and two public houses, the White Hart and the Malt Shovel.

History

In 1009 Æþelræd Unræd (King Ethelred the Unready) signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Westune.[1] The land described in that charter included the lands now known as Shardlow, Great Wilne, Church Wilne, Crich, Smalley, Morley, Weston and Aston on Trent. Under this charter Æþelræd gave his minister, Morcar, a number of rights that made him free from tax and enabled his own rule within the manor.[2]

This manor came under the control of the King again following Morcar being murdered in 1015 and the lands were later given to Ælfgar, the Earl of Mercia, but he lost this at the Norman Conquest. Aston is in the Domesday book where it is mentioned as an outlying farm of Weston-on-Trent and listed amongst the lands given to Henry de Ferrers[3] by the King. The land given to Henry[4] included 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land that was valued at eight shillings.

The name is of Anglo-Saxon descent ('ton' an Old English suffix meaning farm). Being in the east, the name literally means 'East Farm'.[1][5] The 'On-Trent' suffix of both Aston and nearby villages simply means they are near the river Trent.

Shardlow and Great Wilne were included in the parish of Aston-on-Trent until 1838, when Shardlow constructed its own church.[1]

Notable residents

General Sir Drury-Lowe was born here and William Darwin Fox was born nearby. Edward Holden, Joseph Greaves and James Sutton were High Sheriffs of Derbyshire. See also below for three England footballers.

Education

The village has its own infant and junior school and is in the catchment area of Chellaston School.

Recreation

Football in Aston is over 100 years old and in that time the village has developed at least three players who went on to play for England. Aston-on-Trent was the birthplace of three men who all played football for England within a six-year spell. They were Harry Linacre (1881–1957), who was a goalkeeper for England[6] and Nottingham Forest, and his uncles Fred and Frank Forman. Harry was picked for England twice in 1905 helping them to victory both times. All three men were also originally signed by Derby County and then sold on to Nottingham Forest.

Today Aston-on-Trent F.C. consists of both a Saturday side playing in the Midlands Regional Alliance, and a Sunday side playing in the Derby Taverners League. 2013/14 saw the Sunday side win the cup double, managed by Matt McCaul. With the former Shardlow St James Saturday side moving to Aston from 2014, Saturday football is back on the map for Aston on Trent. The Saturday side are managed by former England U21, Mansfield Town, Chesterfield, Bristol City and Sheffield United player Paul Holland, with David Smith as his assistant.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Aston on Trent Conservation Area History, South Derbyshire, accessed 25 November 2008
  2. Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derby records
  3. Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. p. 749 ISBN 0-14-143994-7
  4. Henry de Ferrers held a considerable number of manors including a massive number in Nottinghamshire given to him by the King. These included obviously Aston on Trent, but also included Barrow upon Trent, Breaston, Chellaston, Etwall, Hungry Bentley, Markeaton, Normanton, Spondon and Swarkestone
  5. "Ashton Upon Trent". Key to English Place-names. English Place Name Society / Institute of Name Studies at the University of Nottingham. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. Harry Linacre - by Peter Seddon

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aston on Trent.

Coordinates: 52°51′36″N 1°23′06″W / 52.86°N 1.385°W