Elmton
| Elmton | |
| Derbyshire | |
|---|---|
 Elmton Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK503733 |
| Location: | 53°15’18"N, 1°14’49"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Worksop |
| Postcode: | S80 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bolsover |
Elmton is a linear village in north-eastern Derbyshire approximately equidistant from Bolsover Castle and Creswell Crags.
History
There is evidence of habitation in the area from the Ice Age,[1][2][3] an Iron Age fort[4] and possibly a Roman camp.[5] A Roman ring found in Elmton is on display in Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery. The village was named Helmetune in Anglo Saxon times after the large number of elm trees that were once a major feature. By the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 the village was a manor belonging to Walter D'Aincourt.
In 1707, Jedediah Buxton, the legendary mental calculator, was born here (a blue plaque was erected in his honour in 2011 after a public poll).[6]
Much of the village was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century when the local estate changed ownership. Although there has been some redevelopment and infilling since the War, the village remains similar in size and form to this day. Once belonging to the Dukes of Portland of Welbeck Abbey, the surrounding tenant farms today form part of the estates of Chatsworth House.
Village wells are decorated with flowers in the Derbyshire well dressing tradition in late June / early July each year. Well dressings coincide with the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) Open Gardens with several village gardens open to the public raising money for national nursing charities such as Macmillan. There is also an exhibition and cream teas are served in the Schoolroom.
Natural history
The church and most of the older properties are built out of the local magnesian limestone. The limestone provides a habitat with rare flora and fauna, such as the bee orchid. The village is also close to the limestone valleys and gorges of Hollinhill and Markland Grips, a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.[7]
The elm trees that gave the village its name fell victim to Dutch Elm Disease and were felled in the 1970s. On 17 November 2012, residents planted a sapling on the village green from an elm that withstood the disease in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Church
The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Peter. It was rebuilt in 1773; it is a simple Georgian building with an unfinished tower and a pulpit with a sounding board.[8] It contains an organ made by Charles Brindley of Sheffield in 1865, which was restored by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn in 2005. The church contains a drawing of Jedediah Buxton made by a Miss Maria Hartley in 1764.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Elmton) |
References
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 943193 – Elmton
- ↑ Creswell Crags
- ↑ Mesolthic artefacts found at Elmton
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 318373 – Iron Age fort
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 318464 – Roman sites: Elmton
- ↑ Blue Plaques: Jedidiah Buxton
- ↑ Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
- ↑ Thorold, Henry (1972). Shell Guide to Derbyshire. Faber & Faber. ISBN 0 571 08916 X.