Coal Aston
Encyclopedia
Geography
Coal Aston sits on a ridge overlooking SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Dronfield
Dronfield
Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire in the North Midlands region of England. It comprises the three communities of Dronfield, Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It is sited in the valley of the small River Drone, and lies between the town of Chesterfield and the city of Sheffield. The...
. To the south there is Frith Wood, which is made up of mixed woodland rich in many species of fauna and flora and is thought to be an ancient wood. The wood is now a conservation area and although it is spelt Frith Wood on, for example, Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps many locals call it Firth wood as in the neighbouring Firthwood Road..
Local Amenities
Coal Aston Airfield
Coal Aston Airfield is located north of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. It is a grass strip on high ground east of and above Dronfield, some south of central Sheffield. It is operated from a nearby farmhouse and prior permission is required. The field is grazed by cattle. Overnight parking...
at Apperknowle
Apperknowle
Apperknowle is a village in Derbyshire, England.The village is located on the Southwestern slopes of a of a flat topped ridge at about the 200 m above sea level...
and has bus services to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
run by Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, and TM Travel
TM Travel
TM Travel is a bus operator based in Halfway, Sheffield which operates passenger bus services in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Founded in 1995 as a family-owned operation with one bus, by March 2008 it had expanded to become the largest independent operator in Derbyshire...
. The Victorian Primary school was closed and is now converted to a house.
Annually a well dressing is held on the site of the former village pond opposite the Royal Oak (hence the local nickname of "The Pond").
The Village Hall is located next to the Royal Oak and was originally built by the villagers, and has since been rebuilt and modernised. It regularly hosts concerts and plays with the local acting group having been based there for many years.
Popular with the local community are the regular "Coal Aston Folk" music events which have featured a good many professional from the folk music scene and wider afield. These include local pop star Dave Berry
Dave Berry (musician)
Not to be confused with English 1960s singer Mike Berry.Dave Berry is a British pop singer and former teen idol of the 1960s...
and The Cruisers, comedians Phil Cool
Phil Cool
Phil Cool is an English comedian, impressionist and musician.-Early life:Cool discovered that he had the ability to pull faces when he was at school...
and Richard Digance
Richard Digance
Richard Digance is a comedian and folk singer.- Biography :He studied Mechanical Engineering at Reid Kerr College Paisley, during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly....
many nationally recognised folk musicians ranging from the late great Jake Thackray
Jake Thackray
John Philip "Jake" Thackray , was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling,...
to the very present Kerfuffle
Kerfuffle
Kerfuffle were a four-piece English folk band, originally formed in 2001 around the East Midlands and South Yorkshire regions of the UK, initially comprising Hannah James , Sam Sweeney , Chris Thornton-Smith and Tom Sweeney . Thornton-Smith was replaced by Jamie Roberts in 2007...
, Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a coal mining family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a...
and in 2009 the legendary Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
and his 1980's band Whippersnapper
Whippersnapper (band)
Whippersnapper was an English folk band formed in 1984, consisting of Dave Swarbrick , Chris Leslie , Kevin Dempsey and Martin Jenkins ....
Sports Facilities
Behind the Village Hall are playing fields, a hard tennis court and a bowling green, which is home to the local bowling club with its club house and separate changing rooms for the football pitches.The local cricket club has its home ground in neighbouring Dronfield
Dronfield
Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire in the North Midlands region of England. It comprises the three communities of Dronfield, Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It is sited in the valley of the small River Drone, and lies between the town of Chesterfield and the city of Sheffield. The...
.
Pubs
Coal Aston is known locally for its many pubs including "The Cross Daggers", "The Yew Tree", "The Chequers" and the "Royal Oak" (locally known as "The Pond").In the "Royal Oak" there is a game known to the locals as "Hook and Hoop" but called nationally ringing the bull
Ringing the bull
Ring the bull is a pub game. It involves swinging a bull's nose-ring, which is attached to a string, in an arc so as to hook it onto a bull's nose and hook...
. This game involves swinging a metal hook attached to the roof on a piece of string towards a hook attached to the wall. This game is often used by the local male population to gain standing within the community. In recent years a girl tried to dispute that this is how standing in the community was gained. She was tied to the hoop for 4 days, 4 hours, 4 minutes and 4 seconds as is the local tradition .
Shops
Barnard Avenue in Coal Aston hosts a number of local shops including a butcher noted for its hot porkPork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
sandwiches, a greengrocery known for its fresh produce and a bakery known for doing a fine scone.
Next to the shops is a patch of grass on which no ball games are allowed to be played. This rule has caused some controversy over the years and caused tension between the local residents and children wishing to play.
Dyche Lane, the main route from the village to Sheffield has a Petrol station which is also now a RS McColl
RS McColl
RS McColl, or "McColl's is a Scottish newsagent company named after Robert Smyth McColl, who was a professional footballer. It was founded in 1901 by McColl and his brother Tom...
store and Total S.A.
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
petrol station. Next door is the "Ferndale Garden centre", with another one called "New Leaf Nurseries" at the bottom of the hill on the boundary with Sheffield.
A mile along Eckington Road from the village on the way to Eckington and Apperknowle is "Wards Garden Centre".
The local Post Office, a butcher, two newsagents and the old Co-op have closed down over the last 2 decades.