Brackenfield is a village 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

North East Derbyshire North East Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The council is based in the large village of Wingerworth. The district also includes the towns of Dronfield and Clay Cross as well as numerou ...

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 population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 214. The village is about five miles east of Matlock and four and a half miles northwest of

Alfreton Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,79 ...

. It is also close to

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 ...

. Set in farming country, the village is located around a large

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

. The parish of Brackenfield includes much of the attractive Ogston Reservoir. Brackenfield was originally known as ''Brackenthwaite'', which probably meant "a bracken clearing". The suffix ''-thwaite'' is unusual in this part of the county, as it is commonly associated with more northern areas. It is of significance

etymologically Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

as it seems to point to the existence of a small colony of

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

, separate from the incursion of the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

. The village later became known as ''Brackenfeld'', and then Brackenfield. The parish of Brackenfield was originally a township of nearby Morton. It was divided from it in 1758. The parish has the smallest population of all parishes in the North East Derbyshire district. Wessington had a population of 509 in 2001, however in the 19th century it was around 350. A horse named after the village unseated its rider when competing in the

1996 Grand National The 1996 Grand National (known as the Martell (cognac), Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 149th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase that took place at Aintree Rac ...

References

External links

Brackenfield Village Website
Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Civil parishes in Derbyshire North East Derbyshire District {{Derbyshire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links