Alfreton
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Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Amber Valley Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...
district of
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,799 at the 2021 Census. The villages of Ironville, Riddings, Somercotes and Swanwick were historically part of the Manor and Urban District, and the population including these was 24,476 in 2001.


History

Alfreton is said to have been founded by King Alfred and to have derived its name from him. The placename appears in different forms throughout the ages, such as 'Elstretune' in Domesday, but the earliest record appears to occur in CE1004 in the will of Wulfric Spott, the founder of Burton Abbey. Amongst his bequests was 'Aelfredingtune', or 'Alfred's farmstead', which is believed to relate to Alfreton. However, there is no evidence that this Alfred was the aforementioned king. To the southwest near
Pentrich Pentrich is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish between Belper and Alfreton in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 191. Pentrich rising The village gave its name to the Pentrich risi ...
was a Roman fortlet on the major road known as Ryknield Street. Another Roman road known as Lilley Street ran from there to the southern end of Alfreton, suggesting that settlement in the area predated the time of King Alfred by several centuries. The initial settlement was centred at the top of the modern King Street hill, where the original market place developed. On the hilltop there was also an ancient meeting hall (the 'Moot Hall') until 1914, and several inns became established over the centuries, some of which survive today. To the west was a manor house, and the nearby Church of St. Martin, parts of which date back to 1200. The manor of Alfreton spread over lands to the south and east, including the parishes of Somercotes, Swanwick, Riddings, and Ironville. The first Lord of the Manor was Earl Roger de Busli, who delegated the position to Baron Ralf Ingram. The position was passed down variously through heredity, gift, and sale over the centuries up until William Palmer-Morewood, the last Lord of Alfreton, who died in 1957. The economy during the medieval period centred on agriculture. However, the presence of readily accessible and extensive deposits of coal and ironstone in the area meant that mining and iron-working grew in importance. In some parts of the manor, coal seams were so close to the surface they were often ploughed up, and numerous small workings developed. Pits developed throughout the Manor, with those in Swanwick and Alfreton being the most productive. Alfreton colliery was sited to the northeast of the town. Ropemaking was allied to this industry, and the locality became famous for the quality of its ropes. In the 18th century Alfreton was the chief coal mining centre in Derbyshire, and the third-largest town in the county. The pits closed in the late 1960s and their sites have been reclaimed for other development. Local iron working began in the low-lying land to the south of the current town in the vicinity of the A61, where a dam was made to power a water mill. This would have been quite a small operation, along with another at Lower Birchwood, and it was not until the 18th century that iron working was expanded into major enterprises, centred on Riddings and Butterley, south and southeast of the manor. The growth of these industries grounded the area's prosperity and attracted huge numbers of workers in the 19th century, rapidly swelling the local population. The extensive brick terraced housing in the area dates to this period, and brickmaking and tilemaking were significant local industries. Bootmaking and repairing, and tanning of leather, were also substantial employers due to the need for footwear for these heavy industries. According to Census figures, in 1801 the population of the area that would become the Urban District stood at 2,301, rising to 21,232 in 1931. It has remained within about 3,000 of that number ever since. After the closure of the pits and Riddings Ironworks in the 1960s, local employment shifted to factory, retail, and service enterprises, many of which grew up on industrial estates occupying formerly despoiled colliery lands. Initially only a few major employers were present, such as Aertex and English Rose, but this changed with the development of several industrial estates to the east of the town. The development of transport in the area followed much the same pattern as elsewhere in England, with roads being vastly improved by turnpiking from the late 18th century onwards. Turnpike Acts affecting the area were obtained in 1759, 1764 (amended in 1790 and 1812), 1786, and 1802. These provided Alfreton with good road links to
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
,
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
, Chesterfield, and the High Peak. The town became a coaching centre, which accounts for the inordinate number of inns that were formerly in the vicinity of the market place. A legal requirement on turnpike companies to provide milestones resulted in a local curiosity, a cast-iron marker on the town crossroads with the notation 'Alfreton 0 Miles'. Around the same time as turnpikes were introduced the coal and iron industries benefited from the building of canals in the southern and eastern parts of the area. The
Cromford Canal The Cromford Canal ran from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 canal lock, locks. From Crom ...
, built in 1793, had a 3,000 yard-long tunnel. In the 19th century, coaching and canal transport were rendered increasingly obsolete by railways built to the east of the town and along the eastern and southern boundaries of the former manor. As canals fell into disuse, road and rail transport burgeoned. Rail transport temporarily declined in the 1960s when Alfreton station was closed due to the Beeching cuts, before being reopened in May 1973. Alfreton Hall, the successor to the original manor house, was built c.1750, with an additional wing added c.1850; it is now a conference centre and restaurant. Alfreton House just off the High Street dates from c.1650 and is now occupied by the Town Council. The former George Inn at the top of King Street dates back to the 18th century and was used as the meeting place for the local Turnpike Trust and local Assizes. On the west side of the southern approach to Alfreton is a small and distinctive stone-roofed building known as the 'House of Confinement'. This was built in the 1840s and was the local jail. There are also several churches, the oldest of which is St. Martin's at the west end of the town, part of which dates back to 1200. Beyond the town but within the ancient Manor are Carnfield Hall (15th century, now a private residence and events venue), Riddings House (now a nursing home), Swanwick Hall (c.1772, now a school), Swanwick Old Hall (1678, private residence), The Hayes (c.1860, now a conference centre), Newlands House (19th century, now flats), and the Jessop Monument (1854) at Ironville.


Economy

The main industry of Alfreton was historically
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
but after the mines closed in the 1960s it changed to light industry, warehousing, retailing, and the service sector. A substantial proportion of local jobs are in health, education, and leisure. A significant but declining proportion of the area is still agricultural. Alfreton town centre features a number of national chain stores, along with independent businesses and charity shops, but it is dominated by a large branch of
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
. There are several banks, building societies, estate agents, and other services. There is an indoor market, library, two post offices, a job centre, and numerous pubs and food outlets. There is a health centre, a leisure centre, swimming pool and park at the west end of the town, and a golf course outside the town to the west. The chocolate company Thorntons, women's fashion company David Nieper and safety footwear manufacturer Rock Fall are based in Alfreton.


Transport

The area has a heavily used and extensive road network, in particular the arterial A61 and A38, the latter linking to the nearby junction 28 of the M1 motorway. The town grew as a centre for bus transport throughout the 20th century and still has extensive bus services. Alfreton's railway station, sited northeast of the town, was originally closed in 1967 as part of the
Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
, but in 1973 a station was opened on the same site named Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway, as the nearby town of
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
did not have its own station at this time. When Mansfield regained its own station as part of the Robin Hood Line reopenings in the 1990s, the station's name reverted to Alfreton. From May 2021, the station lost all direct services to and from London, though a campaign to have some reinstated has the support of the Town Council. An hourly service also runs to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
, and between
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
and
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
.


Geography

Alfreton is from the border with
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
and lies near the towns of
Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. Kirkby-in-Ashfield lies on the ea ...
,
Sutton-in-Ashfield Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 36,404 in 2021. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, from the Derbyshire border and ...
and
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
. The towns of
Clay Cross Clay Cross is a town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is a former industrial and mining town, about south of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield. It is directly ...
and Ripley are also nearby. Chesterfield is north of Alfreton.


Politics

Alfreton is part of the Amber Valley constituency; the Member of Parliament (MP) is Linsey Farnsworth (Labour). The local council for Alfreton is
Amber Valley Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...
Borough Council. Alfreton is also represented by Alfreton Town Council. The current Mayor is Councillor Hannah Jowett-Frost.


Education

The local
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
is David Nieper Academy. Before September 2008 the school was known as Mortimer Wilson School for many decades. In September 2017 it became David Nieper Academy, after the clothing line that now owns it. Schools for children aged 4–6 are Copthorne Infant School and Croft Infant School. Leys Junior School, on Flowery Leys Lane, and Woodbridge Junior school, which shares the Alfreton Grange site on Grange Street, provide for children aged 7–11. There is also a Roman Catholic school named Christ the King on Firs Avenue, for children 4–11, as well as an adjoining nursery for children 2–4.


Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East Midlands and
BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...
on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, and by
ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
and
ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
. Television signals are received from either the Waltham or
Emley Moor The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...
TV transmitters. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Derby, Smooth East Midlands, Capital East Midlands, Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Peak FM) and Amber Sound FM, a community-based station. The town's local newspaper is the '' Derbyshire Times''.


Sport and leisure


Football

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...
's home ground is at The Impact Arena on North Street and they play in the
National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...
, the sixth tier of English football.


Cricket

Alfreton Cricket Club is an English amateur
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
club, founded in 1927. The club's ground is in Alfreton Park on Wingfield Road. Alfreton CC have two Saturday senior XI teams that compete in the Derbyshire County Cricket League, a Women's Softball team competing in the East Midlands Women’s Cricket League, and a junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Notts & Derby Border Youth Cricket League.


Cycling

Alfreton has an active cycling club, organising a full programme of Audax events.


Air Training Corps

Alfreton is home to 1401 (Alfreton and Ripley) Squadron of the
Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...
.


Wrestling

Professional
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
shows were often shown in Alfreton, with British legends such as Big Daddy, Jackie Pallo, and
Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father- ...
performing.


Notable residents

* William Carter, born in 1830, founded The William Carter Company, Needham Heights, Massachusetts (USA). He emigrated to Needham in 1854 and established the factory to produce children's clothing. * Benjamin Outram,
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
, was born in Alfreton in 1764. * Robert Watchorn emigrated to America through Castle Garden. He served as the US Commissioner of Immigration at
Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...
between 1905 and 1909. He later worked as vice president of the Union Oil Company. He was a benefactor of Alfreton after the first World War. In 1927 the Watchorn Memorial Primitive Church was founded and later a school, a manse, and cottages, all in memory of his mother. A sports ground and pavilion were given in remembrance of his son. He also had the Lincoln Library built, now a Masonic Hall. * Norman Whitehead (1915–1983) was born and painted actively in the area during the 1930s. * James Young patented a process to obtain oil from coal whilst working in Alfreton in 1848. *John Schakspere, butcher, in 1421


See also

* Listed buildings in Alfreton


References


External links

*
Alfreton Town Council

Amber Valley Borough Council
* {{authority control Alfreton Towns in Derbyshire Geography of Amber Valley Civil parishes in Derbyshire