Whaley Thorns

Whaley Thorns

Whaley Thorns - St Lukes Church
Whaley Thorns
 Whaley Thorns shown within Derbyshire
OS grid referenceSK5370
Civil parishShirebrook
DistrictBolsover
Shire countyDerbyshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire

Coordinates: 53°14′02″N 1°12′14″W / 53.234°N 1.204°W / 53.234; -1.204

Whaley Thorns is a former colliery village in Bolsover (district), Derbyshire, close to the Nottinghamshire border. Whaley Thorns lies just north of Nether Langwith and Langwith, 1.5 miles south-east of Creswell, and west of Cuckney. The population is included in the civil parish of Scarcliffe.

The village takes its name from a dense wood, recorded on the first Ordnance Survey Maps. "Whaley" being Celtic for water/spring, referring to both the local springs, just to the north, and the river Poulter which lies only 200 yards to the south. And "Thorn" an Anglo-Saxon word, for wood. So the original meaning, may have been either "Wood of the Springs", or "Wood above/between the water(s)".

In the Mid-nineteenth century, much of the wood was cut down, following the discovery of coal beneath it. Thanks to the nearby railway, the site soon grew into a colliery village. The village acquired both a fine Anglican Chapel, and a Methodist Chapel; both still hold regular services. It also acquired a large primary school, and later on in the 1940s, a fine Frank Lloyd Wright style school too.

In the late 1970s the chief employer, the colliery, closed. Since the colliery closures, the first school has closed and re-opened as a heritage centre, as well as re-education centre for ex-miners. The Second has remained open as a primary school.

Following the Pit (Colliery) closure, the villages' population has greatly reduced, due to the, lack of local employment, and the deprivation that happened as a result. Since 1990, many rows of terraced houses, have been demolished, due to their run-down, or in some cases derelict, nature.

There are now just two shops, and one Pub.

External links

Media related to Whaley Thorns at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.