In praise of Bole Hill ……….. and a lesson in always doing your homework

I know I should have read up on the small mining community that was Bole Hill in Derbyshire.

Looking out from Bole Hill, 2019

But I didn’t and so I failed to make sense of the Bole Hill Institute, the Primitive Methodist Chapel and the disused Badge Mine which dug lead.

And for good measure I didn’t record the four stone plaques set in the wall of the Institute which might have provided me with clues to the building, and its possible connection to the lead mine and the chapel.

Leaving me just to fall back on Kelly’s 1912 Directory of Derbyshire which, records that, the Bole Hill Institute “is a structure of brick erected in 1889 at a cost of £150, on a site given by Thomas Hunt esq, and includes a reading room”. *

Bole Hill, 1900

There will be someone who can point me in the right direction, and I might also strike lucky with my own research which in time will involve interrogating the census record.

I know that “by the 1841 census there were 637 inhabitants living in the village, 77 out of 209 workers being employed in lead mining. Bagshaw’s directory of 1848 calls the Bage ‘the most productive mine in the District’. 17th and 18th century references to Bage Mine*, Wall Close Mine (to the North) and Hollyhole Grove Mine (to the West) can be found among the Wooley Manuscripts”. **

But like all these things I do prefer to go looking for the information myself.

The Institute, 2019

Sadly, the Topographical Dictionaries of the mid-19th century pass over Bole Hill, but it does appear in great detail on the OS for Derbyshire, which shows the Bole Hill Institute, the Primitive Methodist Chapel and the disused Badge Mine.

Today the village has pretty much morphed into a suburb of Wirksworth which is just under a mile away, but maintains its separateness, and has its own conservation area comprising 97 buildings of which one is a Grade II listed entry.

This was where we were staying, just behind the Institute and opposite the chapel, with views across the valley, and fine walks around the village.  The streets are twisty turny, and layout of the place is all higgled piggily, adding to the charm.

The Chapel, beyond the phone box, 2019

And the point of the post is simple ………… always do your homework before going away on holiday.

Location Bole Hill

Pictures; Bole Hill, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and map of map of Bole Hill, 1900, from the OS map of Derbyshire, 1900, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/


*Kelly’s Directory of Derbyshire, 1912, pages 441-445

**Bolehill, Derbyshire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolehill,_Derbyshire

The memorial at Bolehill

We all know the full enormity of the Great War on all our communities.

But the full impact comes only when you fall across a memorial in a village.

We were in the small village of Bolehill in Derbyshire,and just by the main road was the memorial listing the dead from the world wars.

The list for the Great War was as you would expect longer, consisting to 2 names, three of which all carried the name of Hall.

I don't know if they were related, but I suspect they were.

The village is still a small community.

The lighting was iffy and the quality of pictures, not that much to write home about, but the memorial is poignant.

Location; Derbyshire




Pictures, the war memorial, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Old time retail in an old time market town …….. Wirksworth’s shopping treasures

I won’t be the only one who bewails the loss of the local corner shop, while at the same time popping into a supermarket or turning to online shopping.

In my case I still visit our local bookshop, as well as the deli, which bakes its own bread, but after that it gets more difficult to buy fresh veg, fruit, and a range of other foods within walking distance.

Of course, it wasn’t always so.  When I first arrived in Chorlton, there were still three butchers, a fishmonger, a grocers’ and green grocer’s along with two bakeries and an iron monger.

And a decade before that there were more, many of them on street corners, or tucked away, known only to those who lived just yards away.

So, it was a surprise to walk down one of the main streets of Wirksworth last week and encounter the shops of my youth, and not to miss out on the opportunity I set about photographing them.

The light was not good, and I fully admit the quality of the pictures is iffy, but Mr. Steve Walker’s butcher’s shop, the neighbouring greengrocer and the Chemist and Druggist deserve to be recorded.

They compete with a local supermarket and compliment some interesting restaurants, touristy shops and of course public houses.

This will probably be the last of the stories from Wirksworth which is a delightful market town in Derbyshire, not far from Matlock Bath.

Location; Wirksworth






Pictures; retail Wirksworth, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The secrets of Wirkswoth revealed …………..

Now I can bore the best of them with stories of what I did on my holidays, and the blog offers up endless possibilities.

Entrance to Ken's Supermarket, 2109

So, having spent a few days in the village of Bole Hill and a few afternoons in the nearby town of Wirksworth, I feel as qualified as any tourist to explore the scenery, history, and people of the two places.

Nor am I put off by the simple fact that as I write this, I am hundreds of miles further north looking out as the rain comes down like stair rods, while in Wirksworth the sun is cracking the paving stones.

The Wirkswoth project began with the war memorials of the area, and then as you do, I morphed into thinking of using a few pictures of the town.*

But rather than fall across the parish church or the pubs I was drawn to the entrance of Ken’s Supermarket and off license which announces to the world on its Facebook site it is a mega store.

St John's Street, 1900

It stretches down St John Street, is open seven days a week and the signs announce that it is the “Local Value Store”, with “lots of bargains everyday”.

And as you do, I pondered on how long it had been there, which led me by degree to the census records and the street directories.

Of these, the 1901 census offered up the name of William Stevenson  who had been born in 1843 in Belper, the OS map for 1900 showed the property, while Kelly’s Directory for 1900 told me that “Wirskworth is an extensive parish, township and market town and a terminal station of a branch of the Midland Railway from Derby, 3½ miles west from Whatstandwell Bridge station, on the Ambergate and Manchester section of the Midland Railway, 13 north-north- from Derby, 4 south from Matlock, 9½ west-by-south west from Alfreton, 8½ north-east from Ashbourne, 5½ north-west from Belper and 139 from London ………….”.**

Bole Hill Institute, 2019

And that “the town is pleasantly situated in a valley nearly surrounded by hills, at the southern end of the mining district, and is well paved and lighted from with gas from works at Warmbrook, the property of the Wirksworth Gas Light and Coke Company”, going on to describe the town government, the principle buildings and lots more.

All of which testifies to the usefulness of directories which should always be a first port of call when wanting to explore the history and geography of a place.

The added bonus was a description of Bole Hill Institute “a structure of brick erected in 1889 at a cost of £150, on a site given by Thomas Hunt esq, and includes a reading room".

The ghost sign, Market Street, 2019

The building is still there today and stands close to the cottage we stayed in.

So, there you have it, a bit of our holidays with a bit of history on a day when it didn’t stop raining.

Leaving me just to wonder if I can decipher the name on the side of the wall of this ghost sign and in the fullness of time tell its story.

Location; Wirksworth

Pictues; Wirkswoth and Bole Hill, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, map of St John Street, 1900, from the OS map of Derbyshire, 1900, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/

*Wirksworth, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Wirksworth

**Kelly’s Directory of Derbyshire, 1912, pages 441-445

In Wirksworth .............

Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population recorded as 5,038 in the 2011 census.

It contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne.

The town was granted a market charter by Edward I in 1306. The market is held today on Tuesdays in the Memorial Gardens.

The parish church of St Mary's is believed to date from about 653. Wirksworth developed as a centre for lead mining and later stone quarrying.

Many lead mines in the area were owned by the Gell family of nearby Hopton Hall. *

There is more I could say about this small market town, which contains a picturesque parish church, tucked away behind one of the main roads, a handful of pubs and some interesting restaurants which lean heavily towards vegetarianism.

But it was the war memorial that caught my attention set in a small garden which had been remodeled for the purpose in 1977.

Along with the memorial listing the men of the town from both world wars who never came back, there is a smaller Falkland War Island stone, a wrought iron, silhouette  and a stone “ erected “For the people of Wirksworth on November 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War”, which stand to the left of a set of gates.

Location; Wirksworth, Derbyshire















Pictures; the war memorial, Wirksworth, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Wirksworth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirksworth

Every town should have a cinema …… Wirksworth population 3,000 … the mystery

I say a mystery but there will be someone who can offer up the explanation, because in the course of researching the story of cinemas, I cam across an entry for the market town of Wirsworth, population, 3,000.

There listed in its own right, along with all the big cities and towns for 1928 was a record of Wirksworh’s picture house.

The listing says the Town Hall, so was it in the Town Hall, beside it, of just a temporary affair?

Answers please, to the blog.

In the meantime it just points to that simple observation that back in 1928, pretty much everyone had a cinema.

Location; Wirksworth












Pictures; entry from the Kinematograph Year Book, 1928, and the Town Hall, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls part 7 .......... Wirksworth Town Hall

Now I thought I was done with stories of Wirksworth, which is a small market town in Derbyshire.*

But I overlooked its town hall, and because I haven’t added a new story to the series, Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls for a while, here is Wirksworth’s.**

Th foundation stone was laid in 1871, and if you want more, I suggest you follow the link to an excellent account of the building.***

After all I never steal the research of other people.

Location; Wirksworth

Picture; Wirksworth Town Hall, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Wirksworth, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Wirksworth

**Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Our%20Municipal%20Town%20Halls

***WIRKSWORTH Parish Records 1600-1900, http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/X027.htm

The unexpected ………………….. more from Wirksworth

Now my guide book tells me that Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire with a population of five thousand, while Samuel Lewis, in his A Topographical Dictionary of England, published in in 1831, observes that there were 3,787 residents in the town with another 3, 528 living in the surrounding hamlets and villages.

Adding that “The town is situated in a valley surrounded with hills, at the southern extremity of the mining district; it is not regularly lighted or paved, and is supplied with water, brought by pipes from the hills on its eastern side.

The chief employment of the inhabitants arises from the lead mines, but some are also engaged in the cotton manufacture; kand there are, in the town and its immediate neighbourhood, three establishments in which cotton ginghams are made , and others for the production of  hosiery, hats, tape, silk and for wool-combing.  The Cromford Canal, and the Cromford and High Peak Railway, commence in this parish”.

All of which was news to me, but then as a tourist I am particularly inept at reading up on the places we visit.

And that of course is my loss, because I might have been better able to enjoy the history of the town.

That said there was still plenty to get entranced by, like the ting thoroughfare leading from a busy street into the area surrounding the parish church.

The stone gate posts have a date of 1721, and along with the wrought iron gates there is that “Narnia” lamp post.

The paved entrance leading to the gates was restored in 1992, by the Wirksworth Civic Society with help from “The David Knightly Charitable Trust, English Heritage, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Derbyshire County Council and owners of adjoining properties [and] marls the completion of the Wirkswoth Project which began in 1978”.

All of which has set me off on a voyage of discovery, and as I wander over the town’s history, I came across an interesting site, which is well worth a look.**

For now, I shall close with that simple observation, that what was a casual day’s visit, has turned into a quest to know more about the town, which no doubt will emerge over the coming weeks, albeit from far away Chorlton-cum-Hardy, assisted by a cornucopia of online historical references and sources.***

Location; Wirksworth

Pictures; Wirksworth, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

* Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Vol 4, 1831

**T’owd Man: The Wirksworth Data Miner,  https://towdman.co.uk/

***Wirksworth, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Wirksworth

Looking for the secret of the Wirksworth cruck

Now the people of Wirksworth are quite proud of their cruck building, and I wish I had taken more notice of the plaque which described its history.

But I didn’t reasoning that there would be something on the internet offering up chapter and verse, but there isn’t … least ways not that I have found.

"A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which supports the roof of a building, used particularly in England. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and form the ridge of the roof. 

These posts are then generally secured by a horizontal beam which then forms an "A" shape. 

Several of these "crooks" are constructed on the ground and then lifted into position. 

They are then joined together by either solid walls or cross beams which aid in preventing racking which is the action of each individual frame going out of square with the rest of the frame, and thus risking collapse."*

In the case of the Wirksworth cruck I vaguely remember that it was believed to be medieval, and was later incorporated into a brick structure.

But again I didn’t clock just when that happened or what that successor building had been.

On the 1900 OS map it shows up as an individual building on St Mary’s Gate and is at present an Italian restaurant.

Location; Wirksworth

Picture; the Wirksworth cruck, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Cruck, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruck

Wirksworth remembers

It is a simple expression of gratitude.

The stone stands away from the main memorial to those who died in the wars Britain has fought.

Location; Wirksworth

Picture. memorial stone, Wirksworth, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Reusing the past in Wirksworth on a Thursday afternoon ……………………

This will be the last of the stories from Wirksworth for a while. *

Over the last week and a bit, I have been reflecting on the history of this small market town in Derbyshire.

We stumbled across it during a short break and was instantly attracted to the place.

It is always a bit iffy to make comparisons, but it has more going for it than some neighbouring market towns, and unlike Bakewell is not so crowded with tourists that you can’t enjoy a saunter down the main streets without queuing to pass a novelty shop or pub.

And yes, we were also tourists, and yes there was a sort of novelty shop, but Wirksworth also had some interesting buildings, ranging from its town hall, parish church and medieval cruck building.

Added to which there were the restaurants and shops, of which The Coffee Bunker @ Upcycled Creative drew us in.

It had been open for just a week, specialized in in coffee and cakes and was part show room and workplace to Upcycled Creative.**

The historian in me will in the fullness of time track down the history of the building, but for now I know that in 2009 the place was occupied by Peli Deli and in 2016 by coffee drop.

And now it is home to an imaginative range of products which have been “recycled, to be reused, reloved and given a new purpose”.

So out of the rubbish bin has come forth something new, which is a sort of history story.





Location; Wirksworth

Pictures; Wirksworth, 2019 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

 *Wirksworth, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Wirksworth

**Upcycled Creative, www.upcycledcreative.co.uk