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White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853

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Stapleford

Stapleford is a large pleasant village and parish situated on the Erewash, near the Derby Road, six miles south by west of Nottingham. The parish contains 1,059 acres of land, and its population has increased since the year 1801, from 748 to 1,968 souls. The principal owners are John Jackson Esq., Hon. William Vernon, a minor, second son of Lord Vernon, J.S. Sherwin Esq., and T.D. Hall Esq.; the former of whom is lord of the manor, and patron of the perpetual curacy. The Rev. W.R. Almond M.A. is the incumbent. The church is a neat edifice, dedicated to St Helen, with a small tower, a spire and three bells, and was repaired in 1785 and 1819. It contains some ancient monuments worthy of inspection, also several of a modern date, one of which is to the memory of George John Borlase Warren, eldest son of Admiral Sir J.B. Warren. He lost his life in the battle of Aboukir, in Egypt, March 8th 1801, aged 19. A handsome tomb was erected to the memory of Capt. Wm. Sleigh in 1842. In 1836 a large National School was built and endowed by Lady Caroline Warren at a cost of £3,000. It is situated on a commanding eminence near the east end of the village, and is a handsome structure in the Elizabethan style, 100 feet long and 25 wide. A portion of the building is occupied as an infant school. The Artisans' Library, established in 1837, has about 514 volumes. The Wesleyan, Kilhamite, Primitive Methodists and Particular Baptists, have each a chapel in the village. The feast is on the Sunday before Old St Luke's, or on that day when it falls on a Sunday. The Midland Railway Company's branch of the Erewash Valley Line runs past the village, and has a station here.

Stapleford Hall was built in 1797, by the late Right Hon. Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, Bart and K.B. It would far exceed our limits to enter on the biography of this gallant admiral who died in 1825, but his active and great services will be recorded among the achievements of British heroes, when this stately dwelling shall be crumbled into dust; one act of his generosity is worthy of notice; at the commencement of the American war, he went to the Fleet and King's Bench Prisons, and released with his own purse all the naval officers confined there for debt. Lady Caroline Warren, relict of the Admiral, died in 1839, and the hall and estates have become the property of the Hon. William Vernon, second son of Lord Vernon, a minor, and the heir at law; and the hall is presently occupied by L.C. Wright Esq. It is a commodious mansion with a fine lawn and beautiful plantations. The poor parishioners receive 20s yearly from Handley's charity, and 20s from the funds of Wiloughby's Hospital at Cossall.

New Stapleford is a small hamlet of 26 houses, chiefly occupied by stocking makers, one mile north east of Old Stapleford. Near it is the "Hemlock Stone", supposed by some to be the remains of a Druids' temple, and by others the remnant of a quarry, the stone of which has been cut from around it. It is about 30 feet high, and composed of layers of sand-stone rock.

[Transcribed by Clive Henly]