Codnor
Encyclopedia
Codnor is a Derbyshire
village in the Amber Valley
district, and a former mining community, with a population of nearly 5,000. It is approximately 12 miles from the city of Derby
and 14 miles from Nottingham
by road.
of 1086, the great survey commissioned by William the Conqueror. A mill and church were mentioned, and also the fact that "Warner holds it". Coalmining had a long history locally, and was, at one time, responsible for subsidence damage to some buildings.Opencast mining is still in operation today within the area and the land around the castle has also been subject to this. The farm and fields adjoining the castle is up for sale for housing development by UK Coal so any archaeology that could be there will be lost as so much already have through opencast mining in this area.
One mile east of the village centre is Codnor Castle
; the original Norman
earthwork 'motte and bailey' was built by William Peveril
, (Peveril of the Peak, who also built the better known Peveril Castle
at Castleton). The 13th century stone structure which replaced it is now in ruins. The castle was formerly held by the powerful de Grey family
. The castle overlooks the valley of the little River Erewash
, which forms the county boundary between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
, and the now defunct section of the Cromford Canal
. The castle was the subject of a 'Time Team
' investigation - first aired on 6 January 2008 - which discovered many new facts about the structure, as well as unearthing a solid gold coin, a 'noble' of Henry V
. There is now a very active preservation society for the castle.
At one time, the village had a railway station (at Crosshill) which was operated as part of the Midland Railway
(the original charter of which was drawn up at the Sun Inn in nearby Eastwood
). The branch line was torn up when colliery traffic waned, and the only signs of it that are now left are a converted station yard and some embankments.
Codnor also had three Methodist
chapels, all in the Ripley Circuit, as well as the Anglican
church of St James, at Crosshill. The village was also the birthplace of the noted Victorian phrenologist
'Professor' Joseph Millott Severn
, who authored the book My Village: Owd Codnor and funded a set of alms houses
in the centre of the village, which still stand to this day.
In recent years, the village has had traffic problems, especially in the rush hour, and traffic coming into Codnor can sometimes be at a complete stand-still. This is because the A610 (the main road to/from Nottingham) goes through Codnor, carrying traffic to Ripley, and further places such as Matlock. Codnor also used to be served by trams; the 'Ripley Rattler
' (so-called), used to travel between that town and Nottingham. These were quite notorious, and were even the subject of a short story - "Tickets Please" - by local writer D. H. Lawrence
(born 4 miles away, in Eastwood). The standards, which had carried the electric power lines for the trams, and the later trolley buses, were not removed until the early 1960s.
Codnor is close to the larger communities of Ripley
and Heanor
.
Codnor has a cricket club which has been in existence since 1924. Whilst having some difficult times in the early stages of the club, the club now plays at a competitive standard in the Derbyshire county league and fields both a 1st and 2nd eleven as well as two youth teams. The club currently play on Goose Lane, which used to be home to Codnor Miners Welfare before it was shut down in 2007.
Codnor also has two football teams. There is Codnor FC, who play in the Derby City Football League, and Codnor Miners FC - who play in the East Midlands Senior League http://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/eastmidlandsseniorleague/leaguetable.plhttp://codnorminersfootballclub.weebly.com/index.html
's annual Red, White and Blue festival from 2007-2009.
The event took place on private land, off Codnor-Denby Lane, to the south of Codnor. In 2008 and 2009, there were counter-demonstrations and organised marches, commencing at the Market Place in Codnor and terminating at the church at the start of Codnor-Denby Lane. The event was heavily policed; the estimated security costs in 2009 were £500,000.
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
village in the Amber Valley
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...
district, and a former mining community, with a population of nearly 5,000. It is approximately 12 miles from the city of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and 14 miles from Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
by road.
History
It is listed in an entry in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, the great survey commissioned by William the Conqueror. A mill and church were mentioned, and also the fact that "Warner holds it". Coalmining had a long history locally, and was, at one time, responsible for subsidence damage to some buildings.Opencast mining is still in operation today within the area and the land around the castle has also been subject to this. The farm and fields adjoining the castle is up for sale for housing development by UK Coal so any archaeology that could be there will be lost as so much already have through opencast mining in this area.
One mile east of the village centre is Codnor Castle
Codnor Castle
Codnor Castle is a ruined thirteenth-century castle in Derbyshire, England. The land around Codnor came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel after the Norman conquest. Although registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument the site is officially, as at 2008, a Building at Risk.The castle is a...
; the original Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
earthwork 'motte and bailey' was built by William Peveril
William Peverel
William Peverell , was a Norman knight, and is shown in 'The Battle Abbey Roll' to have fought at the Battle of Hastings.-Biography:...
, (Peveril of the Peak, who also built the better known Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle is a medieval building overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. Its site provides views across the Hope Valley and Cave Dale. The castle is named after its founder, William Peveril, who held lands in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on behalf of the king...
at Castleton). The 13th century stone structure which replaced it is now in ruins. The castle was formerly held by the powerful de Grey family
Baron Grey of Codnor
Baron Grey, of Codnor in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of England. Sir Henry Grey, grandson of Richard de Grey and who saw military service under Edward I, was summoned to Parliament by writ in 1299...
. The castle overlooks the valley of the little River Erewash
River Erewash
The River Erewash is a river in England that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire, close to its eastern border with Nottinghamshire.-Etymology:...
, which forms the county boundary between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, and the now defunct section of the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
. The castle was the subject of a 'Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
' investigation - first aired on 6 January 2008 - which discovered many new facts about the structure, as well as unearthing a solid gold coin, a 'noble' of Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. There is now a very active preservation society for the castle.
At one time, the village had a railway station (at Crosshill) which was operated as part of the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
(the original charter of which was drawn up at the Sun Inn in nearby Eastwood
Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
). The branch line was torn up when colliery traffic waned, and the only signs of it that are now left are a converted station yard and some embankments.
Codnor also had three Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
chapels, all in the Ripley Circuit, as well as the Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church of St James, at Crosshill. The village was also the birthplace of the noted Victorian phrenologist
Phrenology
Phrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules...
'Professor' Joseph Millott Severn
Joseph Millott Severn
Joseph Millot Severn was an English writer, historian, and phrenologist born in Codnor, Derbyshire.-Biography:Severn was born in 1860 and worked as a phrenologist in Brighton. He was President of the British Phrenological Association. This association started in the 1880s and was disbanded in 1967...
, who authored the book My Village: Owd Codnor and funded a set of alms houses
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
in the centre of the village, which still stand to this day.
In recent years, the village has had traffic problems, especially in the rush hour, and traffic coming into Codnor can sometimes be at a complete stand-still. This is because the A610 (the main road to/from Nottingham) goes through Codnor, carrying traffic to Ripley, and further places such as Matlock. Codnor also used to be served by trams; the 'Ripley Rattler
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company
The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company was formed in 1903 to build a tramway linking Nottingham, Derby, and Ilkeston, in Derbyshire, England...
' (so-called), used to travel between that town and Nottingham. These were quite notorious, and were even the subject of a short story - "Tickets Please" - by local writer D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
(born 4 miles away, in Eastwood). The standards, which had carried the electric power lines for the trams, and the later trolley buses, were not removed until the early 1960s.
Codnor is close to the larger communities of Ripley
Ripley, Derbyshire
Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot....
and Heanor
Heanor
Heanor is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It is northeast of Derby. According to the census of 2001 the town's population was 22,620.-History:...
.
Sport
Codnor has its own golf club, Ormonde Fields.Codnor has a cricket club which has been in existence since 1924. Whilst having some difficult times in the early stages of the club, the club now plays at a competitive standard in the Derbyshire county league and fields both a 1st and 2nd eleven as well as two youth teams. The club currently play on Goose Lane, which used to be home to Codnor Miners Welfare before it was shut down in 2007.
Codnor also has two football teams. There is Codnor FC, who play in the Derby City Football League, and Codnor Miners FC - who play in the East Midlands Senior League http://www.leaguewebsite.co.uk/eastmidlandsseniorleague/leaguetable.plhttp://codnorminersfootballclub.weebly.com/index.html
Red, White and Blue Festival
Denby Village hosted the British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
's annual Red, White and Blue festival from 2007-2009.
The event took place on private land, off Codnor-Denby Lane, to the south of Codnor. In 2008 and 2009, there were counter-demonstrations and organised marches, commencing at the Market Place in Codnor and terminating at the church at the start of Codnor-Denby Lane. The event was heavily policed; the estimated security costs in 2009 were £500,000.
Notable people
- Joseph Millott SevernJoseph Millott SevernJoseph Millot Severn was an English writer, historian, and phrenologist born in Codnor, Derbyshire.-Biography:Severn was born in 1860 and worked as a phrenologist in Brighton. He was President of the British Phrenological Association. This association started in the 1880s and was disbanded in 1967...
, phrenologist, was born here. - Nick WrightNick Wright (footballer born 1975)Nicholas John "Nick" Wright is an English former professional footballer who played for Derby County, Carlisle United and Watford before his career was cut short by injury...
, a former professional footballer, was born here. - James HuntJames Hunt (footballer)James Malcolm Hunt is a former English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Notts County, Northampton Town, Oxford United, Bristol Rovers, Grimsby Town and Gainsborough Trinity...
, footballer, was born here. - Chanel CresswellChanel CresswellChanel Cresswell is an English actress best known for playing Kelly in the film This Is England and This Is England 86, and also appearing as Katie in the television series Trollied.-Biography:...
, actress, grew up here.
Geography
| North West Ripley Ripley, Derbyshire Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot.... , Butterley Butterley Butterley is a village in the English county of Derbyshire near to Ripley. It is the site of the Midland Railway - Butterley, as well as the old Butterley Brickworks.- Notable residents :... |
North: Golden Valley Golden Valley, Derbyshire Golden Valley is a small Derbyshire hamlet in between the larger villages of Codnor, and Riddings, and also near Ironville and Codnor Park to the east... , Riddings Riddings Riddings is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is located 2 miles south of Alfreton near the hamlet of Golden Valley. The name derives from Ryddynges, a clearing or riding in a wood. This was the ancient forest known as Alfreton Grove within the manor of Alfreton... , Somercotes Somercotes Somercotes is a village and Parish in the District of Amber Valley in the English county of Derbyshire, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. It is a former mining village and was once surrounded by more than five pits. It is now one of the fastest developing villages in the Amber Valley area,... |
North East: Ironville Ironville Ironville in Derbyshire, England, was built about 1830 by the Butterley Company as a "model village" to house its workers. It is situated between Riddings and Codnor Park.... , Jacksdale Jacksdale Jacksdale is a small village in the English county of Nottinghamshire that lies approximately 100 metres from the Derbyshire border. It is, in fact, the most western place within the county boundaries. Neighbouring villages include Selston, Brinsley, Pye Hill and Ironville... |
| West: Waingroves Waingroves Waingroves is a small village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, approximately two miles away from the town of Ripley. In woodland to the south of the village, there are remains of a Colliery site.... , Ripley Ripley, Derbyshire Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot.... |
Codnor | East: Codnor Castle Codnor Castle Codnor Castle is a ruined thirteenth-century castle in Derbyshire, England. The land around Codnor came under the jurisdiction of William Peverel after the Norman conquest. Although registered as a Scheduled Ancient Monument the site is officially, as at 2008, a Building at Risk.The castle is a... , Stoneyford Stoneyford Stoneyford may refer to:*Stoneyford, County Antrim, Northern Ireland*Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Ireland*Stoneyford, Derbyshire, England*Stoneyford, Devon, England... , Brinsley Brinsley Brinsley is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. The church of St James was built in 1837-38 from Mansfield stone, the chancel being added in 1877.... |
| South West: Denby Denby Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Royal Astronomer, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company.... , Kilburn Kilburn, Derbyshire Kilburn is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire.Forming part of the district of Amber Valley, Kilburn has small amenities for the people who live there including a local police station, community officer and several parks for young children... |
South: Loscoe Loscoe Loscoe is a small village near Heanor in Derbyshire, England.The research for Highfield House dates back to 1650 or possibly as early as 1630. This may now be the oldest surviving house in Loscoe as many houses in the village were demolished due to subsidence.-1986 landfill gas explosion:Loscoe was... , Heanor Heanor Heanor is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It is northeast of Derby. According to the census of 2001 the town's population was 22,620.-History:... |
South East: Langley Mill Langley Mill Langley Mill is a small town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is on the border of Nottinghamshire, and runs into the towns of Aldercar and Heanor . Across the River Erewash is the Nottinghamshire town of Eastwood. It is part of the Aldercar and Langley Mill parish.... , Eastwood Eastwood, Nottinghamshire Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the... |
External links
- Codnor & District Local History & Heritage website - official website
- Codnor - location map
- Codnor Castle
- Heanor and District Local History Society, whose site covers the Codnor area.
- Time Team - Codnor Castle programme page
- Codnor news from the Derby Telegraph