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Heanor

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HEANOR, a parish in the hundred of Morleston, county Derby, 7 miles E. of Belper, 9 N.E. of Derby, its post town, 10 N.W. of Nottingham, and 1½ mile from the Langley railway station. The parish is of large extent, including the townships of Codnor, Heanor, Loscoe, and Shipley. It is bounded on the E. by the navigable part of the Erewash river, crossed by Langley bridge on the Derby and Mansfield road. It is rich in mineral produce, and abounds in coal and ironstone. The village, which is very considerable, is situated on rising ground near the Erewash canal, and was formerly a market town.

A large portion of the inhabitants are employed in the coal-mines and brickfields, which are very extensive. Framework knitting is carried on to a considerable extent. Heanor is a polling place for the southern division of the county. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Lichfield, value £150. The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, is an ancient structure with a tower containing a clock and five bells.

The interior of the church contains several monuments, some of which are to the Mundy family, also one to Samuel Watson, the eminent sculptor. There is also a district church at Codnor, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £150. A district has been formed at Cotmanhay, taking in all Shipley and part of Heanor, and a new church built. The parochial charities produce about £20 per annum, with £7 10s., left by the Rev. Francis Gisborne, to be divided annually among the poor in flannel and cloth.

The Wesleyans and Baptists have each a chapel, and the Society of Friends a meeting-house. There is a National school, supported by voluntary contributions. Heanor Hall is the principal residence. Charles Ley Hoskins Masters, Esq., is lord of the manor. In the vicinity are ruins of the ancient castle of Codnor, founded by Richard de Grey in the reign of Henry III."

"ABBOTSFORD, a small place near the village of Shipley, in the parish of Heanor, in the hundred of Morleston, and county of Derby, 31 miles from Leicester. There are coal mines near here."

"LANGLEY MILL, a railway station on the Erewash Valley branch of the Midland railway, in the parish of Heanor, Derbyshire."

"SHIPLEY, a township in the parish of Heanor, hundred of Morleston, county Derby, 7 miles N.E. of Derby, its post town, 6 S.E. of Belper, and 2 S. of Heanor. It has a station at Shipley Gate, on the Erewash Valley branch of the Midland railway. A portion of the inhabitants are engaged in the collieries, from which coal of excellent quality is obtained. The mines are worked by a steam-engine.

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

The Heanor Library on Ilkeston Road near Trinity Way is normally open six days a week. It has a Local Studies and Family History section that will help you in your searches.

The Langley Mill area is served by the Mobile Library on route 5, which stops at Bailey Brook Drive on every fourth Tuesday in the mid afternoon.

The Library at Ilkeston is an excellent resource.

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Cemeteries

Heanor Cemetery is located on the A6007 road just south of Locton Avenue. There is a history of the cemetery at the Heanor and District Local History site.

Initially, a plot of 4.5 acres was purchased and named "The Hallows". Two mortuary chapels were built on the property - one for Church of England burials and the other for non-conformist and non-Christian burials. The chapels are linked by an archway. The cemetery was consecrated in January, 1858. The graveyard was extended by 5 acres in 1893 and extended again in 2000. The HOWITT Lychgate was added in 1937.

Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the cemetery chapels on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2017.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Ilkeston sub-district of the Basford Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2126
1861R.G. 9 / 2431 & 2435
1891R.G. 12 / 2663
1911R.G. 14 / 20398
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. In the 15th Century, the dedication was to St. Michael.
     
  • The church traces its history back to a church mentioned in the 1086 Domesday survey.
     
  • The church was completely rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1868.
     
  • The church seats 750.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the Tower of St. Lawrence Church on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2016.
     
  • The church has a good website, with some building history on it.
     
  • Saint John's Church in Aldecar was built as a Chapel of Ease to Saint Lawrence Church.
     
  • St. John's Church seats 230.
     
  • Alan HEARDMAN has a photograph of St. John's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2008.
     
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Church Records

  • We have a pop-up window of a handful of Parish Register marriages in a text file for your review. Your additions are welcomed.
     
  • Marriages at Heanor, 1558-1837 are available in Nigel BATTY-SMITH's database of scanned images of Phillimore's Parish Registers.
     
  • There are also Heanor Baptisms, 1816-1837 at Taghill.
     
  • The Anglican church was in the rural deanery of Alfreton.
     
  • The Primitive Methodists built a small chapel here in 1819.
     
  • The Society of Friends (Quakers) built a meeting-house here in 1834.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1839 which could seat 600.
     
  • The General Baptists built a small chapel here in 1849. Their chapel is on Derby Road.
     
  • Gary ? has a photograph of Heanor Baptist Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2016.
     
  • In Loscoe, the Presbyterians built a small chapel in 1722 on the High Street. It changed into a Baptist chapel in 1782,
     
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Ilkeston sub-district of the Basford Registration District.
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Description & Travel

"HEANOR is a neat village and populous township, in the parish of its name, and in the same hundred as Ilkeston, about four miles N.N.W. from that town, eight and a half N.E. from Derby, and eight S. from Alfreton. This place, which was formerly a market-town, is pleasantly situate on an eminence, and the eastern boundary of the parish is watered by the Erewash river. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the neighbouring coal works, and others in the manufacture of lace."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

This large village is 8 miles north-east of Derby city, 10 miles north-west of Nottingham and 7 miles east of Belper. It has a current population of over 17,000 people. Langley Mill is a village, partly in Heanor parish and partly in Eastwood parish, Nottinghamshire. Aldercar is a village in Heanor parish just north of Langley Mill.

The Midland Railroad opened a station here in 1890. Railway passenger service ceased here in 1939, but there is still a functioning station at Langley Mill.

Gary has a photograph of the Village Sign at Geo-graph, taken in September, 2016.

You can see pictures of Heanor which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

William HOWITT, the historian, was born here in 1795 to Quaker parents, Thomas HOWITT and his wife Phoebe. He married, in April 1821, Mary BOTHAM. He would die in March 1879 in Rome, Italy.

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History

  • Heanor was a coal mining parish. See Heanor History.
     
  • Heanor used to hold an annual cattle fair on the Thursday before Michaelmas day (Sept. 29th).
     
  • Peter BARR has a photograph of the Coach and Horses Pub. (derelict) on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2012.
     
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Eclipse Pub. on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2015.
     
  • Stephen McKAY has a photograph of the Red Lion Inn on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2013.
     
  • Kevin HALE has a photograph of the Memory Lane pub, on the Derby Road on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2006.
     
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK433465 (Lat/Lon: 53.01406, -1.356049), Heanor which are provided by:

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Military History

  • A Memorial Park was established by the Amber Valley District Council as a tribute to all military and civilian personnel of the British forces killed and injured in the service of their country.
     
  • The Amber Valley District Council has a website describing the park.
     
  • Heanor Cemetery contains 14 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18 war and 11 of the 1939-45 war. There is also one Polish Airman buried here.
     
  • Loscoe has a Memorial Garden next to the Baptist School Room for the men from WWII who died.
     
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Military Records

For a photograph of the Aldercar War Memorial and the list of names on it, see the Roll of Honour site.

The Commonwealth War Graves are for (data from the CWGC site):

Name Rank Unit Died Other info.
Maruice ANGELL aircraftman 2nd class RAF Volun. Rsrv. 28 Aug. 1940 Age 25, son of William and Ethel ANGELL
Fred BAKER corporal Army Catering Corps 3 Aug. 1945 Age 27, the son of Walter and Charlotte BAKER of Langley, Notts.
B. E. BROWN private 2/6 West Riding Regt. 9 Apr. 1918 Age 29, son of Thomas and Elizabeth BROWN
Ronald John BROWN private East Surrey Regt. 29 Dec. 1946 Age 25, born 1921
Joseph H. BUXTON private Grenadier Guards 26 June 1916 Son of Joseph and Sarah A. BUXTON
Clarence Victor CLARKE second lieutenant RAF 16 Feb. 1919 Age 21, born NTT, son of Frederick John and Harriett CLARKE
Ivan DRAPER private Royal Army Ordinance Corps 18 Feb. 1941 Age 20, son of Walter and Winifred DRAPER of Langley Mill, NTT.
Douglas FLINT aircraftman 2nd class RAF Volun. Reserve. 9 Sept. 1941 Age 21, son of Albert and Emily FLINT of Langley, NTT.
Arthur W. KEW private Sherwood Foresters 31 July 1918 Age 26, husband of Alice KEW of Langley Mill, NTT.  (born 1881, age should be 36)
Kazimierz Franciszck KRAWCZYK popporucznik Polish Air Force 13 Jan. 1943  
T. H. LOCHTON private 297th T. T. Coy., Labour Corps 23 May 1918  
S. MEAKIN private Sherwood Foresters 19 Oct. 1918 Age 36, husband of Alice KEW of Langley Mill, NTT.
Henry Walker OAKES gunnar Royal Artillery 19 July 1943 Age 37, husband of Gladys Evelyn OAKES of Smalley
C. J. OLDERSHAW driver Royal Field Artillery 18 Oct. 1917 Age 22, son of Isaac OLDRSHAW
Frank PALFREYMAN aircraftman 2nd class RAF Volun. Reserve. 29 April 1942 Age 19, son of Francis and Annie PALFREYMAN
A. POOLE private Black Watch 28 Nov. 1917 Age 19, son of George and Ruth POOLE
William PRINCE private Sherwood Foresters 11 Aug. 1916 Age 31, son of Henry Kelsall PRINCE of NTT.
L. REED lance corporal 4th Btln., King's Royal Rifle Corps 22 July 1916  
Johnalter SAXTON private Sherwood Foresters 20 Feb. 1915 Age 19, born 1894 in Heanor, son of John and Lydia SAXTON (Ne MORLEY)
John SEEDS private 2nd Btln., Lincolnshire Regt. 23 Oct. 1943 Age 19, son of Philip and Lily SEEDS of Langley, NTT.
William Arthur SMITH-CROSS leading aircraftman RAF Volun. Reserve 10 Oct. 1941 Age 22, son of George and Mary Eleanor CROSS of Langley Mill, NTT.
Fred STEEL serjeant 2/5, Sherwood Foresters 23 July 1942 Age 23, husband of Ivy STEEL
J. TEBBUTT serjeant 2/5, Sherwood Foresters 24 April 1920  
Thomas William WATERALL private 7th Btln., East Kent Regt. 9 Feb. 1919 Age 21, son of Thomas and Letitia WATERALL
Richard WILBER fusilier 7th Btln., Royal Welch Fusiliers 12 May 1941 Age 25, husband of Edna M. WILBER
W. WRIGHT private 9th Btln., Durham Light Infantry 9 Oct. 1917  
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Names, Geographical

The name appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Hainoure".

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Newspapers

  • Here are some fragments of local history from the Derby Mercury newspaper.
     
  • In the 1800s, the villages were also served by the Ripley and Heanor News published in Heanor.
     
  • In 1912, the Heanor Observer was published in Heanor weekly on Thursdays by Severn and Sons on Market Street. It appears to have been published from 1900 to 1977. Copies can be viewed at the Heanor Library.
     
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Obituaries

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar offers this notice from the Derby Mercury of 24 February, 1803: "DIED: A few days ago, at Heanor, in this county, Rebecca VARLEY, a pauper of that parish, at the great age of 106."

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar provides this announcement from the Derby Mercury of 8 September, 1803: "DIED: On the 25th ult. in London, Mrs BARTON, sister of E. M. MUNDY, Esq. M.P. for this county. - Her remains were interred at Heanor, near this place, on Saturday last."

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar provides this snippet from the Derby Mercury of 10 November 1803: "DIED: On Thursday last at Heanor, in this county, in the 58th year of his age, John SUTTON, gent. much respected by all who knew him."

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in county Derby and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • This parish was in the ancient Morleston and Litchurch Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • Heanor formed an Urban District Council in 1895.
     
  • You may contact the Heanor and Loscoe Town Council regarding civic and political matters, but they are NOT staffed to help you with your family history.
     
  • Reger TEMPLEMAN has a photograph of the Heanor & Loscoe Town Hall in Market Street on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2017.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Amber Valley Borough Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Smalley (Ilkeston Court) petty session hearings. Thease were held at the Heanor Town Hall every other Monday.
     
  • In 1817, the Reverend Francis GISBORNE left a charity of £4 5s. for Heanor poor each year.
     
  • With the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a member of the Basford Poor Law Union.
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Schools

A Public Elementary School was built here in 1908 for up to 216 boys, but attendance sometimes exceeded that number.

A Public Elementary School (infants) was erected in 1892 for 172 infants.

The Heanor Secondary and Technical School was here by 1912, training teacher and technical students.

Gary ? has a photograph of the Corfield Church of England Infant School Sign on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2019.