Author: oldwhittingtonops

I found this piece from Sheffield Daily Telegraph 4h June 1892, especially interesting as my great grandfather Harry Parker was landlord of the White Horse Inn in 1892, in fact my grandfather Percy Parker was born there just a couple of weeks after this advert was placed.

The blacksmith shop was run by great grandfathers brother in law Walter Herbert Booth.

Would be interesting to find out who bought the property.

The picture below (from Old Chesterfield Pics) is a few years after my great grandfather lived there.

Found this in the Sheffield Register, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Universal Advertiser 8 July 1791

Trepanning was a procedure to relieve pressure on the skull (or as some people believed to give a trapped demon a hole to escape from) a hole was drilled into the skull. I haven’t found any evidence yet whether the poor boy lived or died, but it must have been a horrific experience for the young boy.

The picture and information on trepanning was taken from https://www.historyextra.com/…/what-trepanning-ancient-sur…/

 

This entry in the Courier surprised me.  The sheep stealing appears to have more space in the paper than the Smallpox which was virulent in Whittington, with some children dead!

 

 

I found this excerpt in the Derbyshire Times 5 January 1887, it is a very sad account of the inquest for John Meakin.

Mr Meakin was  buried in Old Whittington churchyard, by order of the Coroner, as the parish register shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have heard from different sources how kind and charitable the Swanwick family were to local children, opening up their gardens for summer parties and events. One such event was recorded in the Derbyshire Courier 17 July 1847. It sounds a splendid occasion and I can imagine that the local children had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

When I was researching the men from Old Whittington remembered on the war memorials, I noticed that a couple of them were employed at the Blacking Mills.

I had heard of flour mills, water mills even silk mills but I had never heard of a Blacking mill!
The Blacking mill was situated in what was Foxley Oaks, this is the area between Newbridge Lane and the River Whitting.

Came across this newspaper entry from the Derbyshire Mercury 22 March 1798.
The reward of £40 would be quite a large amount I would imagine in 1798 it would be interesting to find out if the three ‘footpads’ were caught. I love the reference to the Turnpike Road.
If you are interested in where the Turnpike roads were this website is helpful.
http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/The%20Turnpike%20Roads.htm

Derbyshire Courier 19 October 1889

If things were so straightforward now!

Although I have not researched the men who died during World War Two and who are listed on Old Whittington War Memorial on Church Street, I thought it would be timely to remember the 25 on this page today. Sadly I am unable to add the dates or where the men died at the moment.

BENNETT                    S

BURGIN                      E

BUXTON                     S

COOKE                        R G

ELLIOTT                     J

GENT                          W H

GIBBINS                      H S

GOODWIN                  H

GOWER                       E

HAYES                        A

HILL                            S

HUGHES                     G

JENNINGS                   J G

JOHNSON                    R

LAMBERT                   R

MARSDEN                  G

MITCHLEY                 G E

PARKIN                       W

POWELL                     R

RAYBOULD                W

SIDDALL                     J

SWANWICK                R W

WAINWRIGHT            W

WHITBREAD              W H

WILSON                      K

If anybody has any photos of any of the men or any family stories about them they would like to share then please do so below in the comments box.

I found this poem trawling through the internet and although it was written in commemoration of the 1st Iraq War I thought the sentiment was quite fitting for any war.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just updated some more information from Bulmers Directory for 1895.  It is full of information on Old, New and Whittington Moor.

Whittington was growing rapidly in 1895 thanks to the new industries.  Houses had been built at New Whittington and Sheepbridge/Brushes area to accommodate the workers who came from all over England to work at Sheepbridge and in the coal fields.   Shops and businesses had sprung up to provide services for the ever increasing population.

Many names that are still familiar in the area are listed in the directory.

If you are interested in finding out more, or if you had ancestors in Whittington in 1895 you can look at the transcribed Old Whittington entries here

Or the full entry for Whittington here