Today we remember all men and women who died in the many wars. Here are some of the men who gave their lives in WW1 who came from Old Whittington.
I have been sent a photo by Elizabeth Pemberton of the gas works at the bottom of Whittington Hill clearly showing the managers house, it was taken around 1890 and it not one I have seen before. At this time the manager would have been William D Holford.
When I was researching the soldiers of WW1 I came across John Smitheman https://oldwhittingtonops.com/smitheman-john/
I was sorting through some papers and found these postcard copies of paintings by Joseph Syddall (b1864 d 1942). These two paintings were painted between 1890 and 1914, at this time Syddall was dividing his time between Whittington and London. The first called 'Ploughing' and the second 'Beach Scene'. The third image is my favourite. The lady looks deep in thought and she is wearing a lovely big hat, which indicates the drawing may have been done 1890-1910, when big hats were more in fashion.
Having just transcribed the 1841 census for Whittington I thought I would check which occupations were most popular.
I imagined it would be more rural trades but was surprised when I checked that even in 1841 coal mining just came out on top !
The chart only shows the main employment categories the other occupations were the normal rural trades, miller, blacksmith etc.
There were several collieries in the area some coming later than 1841, but Marrs Whittington Colliery was already in existence at that time as the following newspaper report from 1842 would confirm.
This was posted on Facebook in Old Chesterfield Pics by Alan Taylor. It shows what was the old Blacksmiths shop situated on High St.
I found this in the Sheffield Telegraph 7 September 1929. It gives a description of how the top of Whittington Hill must have looked.
This picture was posted on Old Pics of Whittington Moor by the grandson of Harold Locke. It shows clearly the cottages that stood on the corner of High Street and Church Street. A really good example of how a butchers shop used to look.
I have been transcribing the 1841 census for Whittington for a few weeks and finally I have managed to add it to the website.
Hope everyone who reads it finds it interesting and perhaps recognises an ancestor!.
The link for the census is 1841 CENSUS (Explanatory notes) – Old Whittington One Place Study (oldwhittingtonops.com)
If you are viewing on a tablet or phone then this link will work much better 1841 Transcript (hyperlink) – Old Whittington One Place Study (oldwhittingtonops.com)
More photos with kind permission of Andrew Johnson from Facebook.
There are no names with this selection of photos but if anyone recognises an ancestor then I would love to know.
All photos of Mary Swanwick school before WW1.
This photo of the Mary Swanwick football team from 1901-1902 was posted on Facebook by Andrew Johnson who kindly gave me permission to reproduce it. On the front row proudly sitting behind the shield is A Carlile.
Sadly Sgt. Alexander Carlile was to die in France on 12th October 1916 and his obituary noted that he was a very keen and well known local footballer. His story can be read at https://oldwhittingtonops.com/carlile-alexander/
Thought this may be of interest to some. Its interesting (if not sad at the same time ) to find people in the area who are not listed on the war memorials for whatever reason, and to realise how many people did die in the two World Wars in the Whittington area.
Couldn’t resist this snippet from the Derbyshire Times/Chesterfield Herald from 9 June 1877.
I have no idea which Chapel in Whittington he was referring to but the anonymous writer of the letter was obviously very displeased with the standard of singing and organ playing at the chapel!!
Brearley is a well known Whittington name. Harry lived at Elmwood House and everyone who grew up in Whittington in recent years will be familiar with Brearley Park.
Harry's son Leo served in the 1st Naval Brigade in WW1, and was interned in the Netherlands in October 1914.
The story of his capture and subsequent escape was documented in the Derbyshire Courier on 3 July 1915.
Personally I find anything that lists peoples names interesting. There are not only the census and Parish registers which enable researchers to find their ancestors, items like Poll Books are useful too!
The 1832 Reform Act allowed landowners, tenant farmers, shopkeepers and householders who paid £10 or more annual rent to vote, but not women!
The Poll Book shows the name of the candidates Cavendish, Gisborne and Sitwell and who each person voted for
Many of the names are familiar Whittington names (especially if you wander round Whittington churchyard regularly like me!).
Apologies for a lack of news recently, I have had a busy few weeks but hope to get back to updating this site more often again now!
This story from Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald 11 January 1930 shocked me as I didn't realise the birch was still used as late as this.
I have finally finished transcribing the Inventory for George Renald George RENALD – Old Whittington One Place Study (oldwhittingtonops.com)
I came across a couple of words I had never heard of before:
Husslements – Minor household goods of little value, odds and ends.
Kimnel – A multi purpose wooden tub
I have updated the webpage with a new category Headstones, to somebody interested in genealogy visiting graveyards is not as unusual as it may first sound! Headstones can hold a vast amount of varied information and my first entry is George Renald who died in 1758. I couldn't resist a short search into his family history and this can be read at https://oldwhittingtonops.com/george-renald/
Back in 1891 the Derbyshire Courier used to have a section called Captain Kindness, Childrens Corner.
I couldn't resist taking this photo today, it was such a beautiful morning and the Revolution House looked really lovely in the sunshine.
Although the newspaper was dated 26 August 1899 this clipping brought back happy memories for me of choir trips when I belonged to New Whittington choir late 1960's early 70's. By then New Whittington choir had their own trip and from what I remember it was by coach and normally to Skegness and I don't remember any guidance either, we were pretty much left to our own devices for the day! Happy days.
Leafing through British Newspapers this advert from the Derbyshire Courier 6 June 1899 jumped out. Never heard of Revolution Mixture before, my first thought was it must be a cough linctus how wrong I was!
Found this lovely story in the Derbyshire Courier from August 1910. Brought back happy memories, my grandmother used to call yeast 'barm' but I have not heard it called that for years.
I first heard of Samuel Hinde when I was trying to find out information on the Newbridge Inn which stood on Newbridge Lane. I had never heard his name mentioned along with the like of Samuel Bower, John Dixon as a Whittington landowner in the late 1700's but he was, and I decided to try and do a bit of research into the man who at one point had a 1/16th share in the Manor of Whittington. I have uploaded his story to the webpage and it can be read here https://oldwhittingtonops.com/samuel-hinde/ Samuel owned plots of land around Whittington and lived in a substantial Manor House, which would appear to have been at the bottom of Whittington Hill, possibly where the present Manor House now stands.
I have just bought this photo (its not the clearest) from Ebay and I think it is the top of Church St, on the corner with the turn to the church on the right. The steps are there which still exist.
I have never seen another picture of this cottage on the corner wonder if it the start of the row I have highlighted on the attached map.
Derbyshire Victoria County History have posted a wealth of information on their website about Whittington it can be read here http://derbyshirevch.org/draft-text/
It is still a work in progress but contains a variety of information relating to Whittington, Old and New and Whittington Moor.
Photograph taken from their facebook page Derbyshire Victoria County History | Facebook
This from the Sheffield Evening Telegraph 12 October 1915.
Finding the article on Mary Swanwick playing fields reminded me that 18 months ago I was asked to jot down a few facts about Mary Swanwick for someone who was giving a talk about her.
Photo on display at Elder Yard Chapel Chesterfield
This report taken from the Derbyshire Times/ Chesterfield Herald 17 June 1933, shows how strongly people felt when the Mary Swanwick Playing fields were changed from public playing fields to school playing fields, only to be used during school time. I dont know if they ever went back to public use again after this protest. Perhaps someone may know.
I love the fact that whoever did the deed replaced the ground and place another message there!
I found this interesting story in the Derbyshire Courier from 1910. Its about Sarah Shepherd who lived in the Revolution House in 1910, when the interview took place. She has some interesting tales to tell and it can be read in full at
THE LADY OF THE REVOLUTION HOUSE – Old Whittington One Place Study (oldwhittingtonops.com)
THE GLASSHOUSE PITS TRAGEDY 1865
I have been trying to place whereabouts on Newbridge Lane the Newbridge Inn and Foxley Oaks colliery would be. There is nothing left of either on Newbridge Lane now but I think these photos are fairly close to the area. The first photo shows roughly where the colliery would be.
Photo from Picture the Past showing the Revolution House circa 1920, when people were still living in it.
