Somercotes Local History Society

WELCOME TO THE SOMERCOTES LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY WEBSITE

The Somercotes Local History Society and this website are supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund

We are currently developing the site so that we cover as much historical information, memories and photographs as we can about the history of the Parish of Somercotes.

If you wish to follow the history through the centuries please click on the relevant links on this Somercotes History page.

We hope that you enjoy exploring your local history through this site and if you can provide any history, local historical facts, memories or photographs please contact the history society through our link info@somercoteshistory.co.uk

RECENT UPDATES TO THE WEBSITE

08.05.2021 Updates listing for March 2021 archived
10.05.2021 Update to article "The Parish in the 1930s" [The 20th Century - Somercotes History]
20.06.2021 Updates listing for April 2021 archived
24.06.2021 Article added "Biography - Leonard Waller 1918-2006 (Photographer) [Featured Articles - Misc Infomation]
24.06.2021 Article added "Biography - John Nix, The Stud Farm, Alfreton" [Featured Articles - Misc Information]
24.06.2021 Update to Bibliography

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN FURTHER RESEARCH FOR THE PARISH OF SOMERCOTES - THE WEBSITE IS STILL ACTIVE AND WILL BE UPDATED WITH FURTHER INFORMATION AS SOON AS TIME ALLOWS

A full list of updates can be found on the Home Page Featured Articles section.

PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FROM THE SOCIETY:

“Lest We Forget” – The Men of Somercotes and the Local Area Who Gave Their Lives During World War One. Published on behalf of Somercotes Parish Council. Price £4.95. Copies available from .the Somercotes Village Hall and the Alfreton & District Heritage Centre, Rodgers Lane, Alfreton, or contact the Society..
“An Industrial Corridor through a Community”, a book written and published by the Society charting the history of the industrial heritage of our parish. Published September 2017. Price £6.95. Copies available from the Somercotes Village Hall and the Alfreton & District Heritage Centre, Rodgers Lane, Alfreton, or contact the Society..
"Muckram, the People & Shady Colliery", a book written by Judith Fitzhugh & SLHS; published by the Somercotes Local History Society. Price £3.50. Please contact the Society for further details.
"Riddings Windmills", an A5 booklet recording the history of the mills with photographs and maps. Published by the Somercotes Local History Society. Price: £2.50. Copies available from the Somercotes Village Hall and the Alfreton & District Heritage Centre, Rodgers Lane, Alfreton, or contact the Society.
"Birchwood Chapel 1853-1925" - A book about the history of Birchwood Chapel and congregation written by Judith Fitzhugh. Price £5.00. Copies available from the Somercotes Village Hall and the Alfreton & District Heritage Centre, Rodgers Lane, Alfreton, or contact the Society.

DVDs:

“Photographs of Somercotes Past and Present”, a DVD produced by the Somercotes Local History Society. Contact the Society for more information. Price: £3.95 each
“So Off They Went to War”, a DVD produced by the Somercotes Local History Society detailing in photographs the history of World War One relating to general history and the history of Somercotes, including chapters on The Sherwood Foresters, Life in the Trenches, The Battlefields, Women in the War, Somercotes Servicemen and others. Contact the Society for more information. Price £3.95 each.
“Scenes from Somercotes, Pye Bridge , Leabrooks & Swanwick”. A DVD with photographs of street scenes of Somercotes and the surrounding villages. Contact the Society for more information. Price £3.95 each
“Pictures of Alfreton, Ripley & the Surrounding Villages”. A DVD containing photographs of Alfreton, Riddings Windmills, Ripley, Codnor, Pentrich and more. Contact the Society for more information. Price £3.95 each.
"Somercotes - An Industrial History In Pictures" - A companion DVD to the book "An Industrial Corridor through a Community". Contact the Society for more information. Price £3.95 each.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE:

The content of this website, including written articles, images, photographs and transcriptions has been collated by members of the Somercotes Local History Society from various sources, and is displayed on this website for the benefit of family history research or historians interested in the history of the Parish of Somercotes. It has been designed so that the content, whether or not written or image, can be copied.

You are to free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for your own personal research or that of a non-profit making society or history group, or for educational purposes.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material content.

Accreditation - please give accreditation where possible to this website.

THE MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE MUST NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

You do not have to comply with this notice for elements of the material which are in the public domain or where your use is permitted through other licences or agreements.

No warranties are given regarding the information or images contained within this website. You must check that you have all of the permissions necessary if you intend to use the material.

Whilst we have endeavoured to ensure that the information on this website is correct, we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Should you identify any inaccuracies or have further information or photographs, we ask that you contact us by e-mail.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Local Societies & Public Bodies:

Alfreton Heritage Centre
Alfreton Library
British Red Cross Society
Cambridge University Library
Coal Authority (The)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (The)
Derbyshire Record Office
Friends of the Cromford Canal
Gloucester Record Office
Heritage Lottery Fund
Historic England
Magic Attic, Swadlincote
Northern Mine Research Society
Parliamentary Archives
Peak District Mines Historical Society
Ripley Library
Somercotes Parish Council
The National Archives

Websites:

Aircrewremembered,com
Ancestry.co.uk
Archive.org
British History Online
British Newspaper Archive
Derbyshire Record Society
Find My Past
Free BMD
HealyHero – A History of Mining
Internet Bandsman's Everything Within (IBEW) (A history of Brass Bands)
The Long Long Trail, The British Army in the Great War

Bibliography:

Aertex - "The Sixty Years Journey of Aertex" Diamond Jubilee Booklet, 1948
Alfreton Hospital Carnival Booklet, 1935
Alfreton Urban District Council - Annual Reports, 1895-1971
Alfreton Urban District Council - Coronation Celebrations Booklet, 1953
Alfreton Urban District Council - Official Guide, c.1951
Alfreton Urban District Council - Tenants Handbook, c.1953
Amber Valley Borough Council - Housing Committee Minutes, June 1978
Annual Register for 1802 [A View of the History, Politics and Literature], 1803
Artizan Engineering Journal [The],[Edited by William Smith]1843
Asclepiad Magazine [The], 1888
Bailey, E. M - James Young Memorial Lecture & the Dawn of Petroleun Refining.- Institute of Petroleum Review, 1948
Bankers Magazine and Railway Digest, Volume IV, Oct 1845 to Mar 1846
Berly, J. A., Universal Electrical Directory and Advertiser, 1884
Bowen, A.W. & Co. - "Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming", 1903
Building News and Engineering Journal, 1869
Bulmer, T & Co. “History, Topography and Directory of Derbyshire”, 1895
Bunsen, Robert and Playfair, Lyon, Report on the Gases Evolved from Iron Furnaces with Reference to the Theory of Iron Smelting, 1845
Burt, Herbert Leslie – “Tales of a Muckram Lad”
Burt, Herbert Leslie – “Farewell to a Muckram Lad”
Butt, John, "James Young: Scottish Industrialist and Philanthropist," PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1963
Craven, Maxwell, "Lost Houses - Exeter House, Derby" Article published in the Country Life Magazine, 2016.
Crockford’s Clerical Directories 1868-1932
Cox, Reverend John Charles "Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals - the Records of the Quarter Sessions of the County of Derby", 1890
Dearden’s “History, Directory and Topography of Nottingham”, 1834
Derby, County of - "A Development Plan for the County - Amendment No.6 for Alfreton", 1954
Derbyshire Times [Johnston Publishing Ltd, Chesterfield]
Farey, John - Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire, 1811
Fellowes, John Michael – “On the Employment of Children and Young Persons in the Mines & Collieries of Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire and on the State, Condition and Treatment of such Children and Young Persons”, 1842
Fisher, Tony & Fitzgerald, Kelly "A Clearing in the Woods", A Channel 4 Documentary, 1983
Fox, Reverend Charles [Compiler], "Calendar of the Records of the County of Derby", 1899
Geological Society Special Publication 465 - "History of the European Oil and Gas Industry" edited by J Craig, F Gerali, F. MacAuley and R. Sorkhabi, 2018
Geological Survey of Great Britain, “Special Reports on the Mineral Recourses of Great Britain”, 1915
Glover, Stephen, Directory of Derbyshire, 1829
Glover, Stephen, "The Peak Guide...", 1830
Grace’s Guide, 1914
Gruner, Louis, Studies of Blast Furnace Phenomema, 1874
Haas, Ben, "Coal and Iron Industries of the United Kingdom", 1882
Healey, R.M. "The Diary of George Mushet", published by the Derbyshire Archaeological Society, 1982
Jewitt, LLewellynn, "Ballads & Songs of Derbyshire", 1867
Johnson, Reginald – “A History of Alfreton”, 1968
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1881
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1895
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1912
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1925
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1932
Kelly’s Derbyshire Directory, 1941
Kinematograph Year Book [Various Years]
Law Journal [The], 1847
Lewis, Dr. Cherry: David Mushet, John Farey & William Smith: Geologising in the Forest of Dean, 2015
Lewis, Dr. Cherry: My Dear Pet, I am thine affectionate husband, David Mushet: Letters from David Mushet to his wife Agnes 1800-1809, The New Regard Publication, No.35, 2021
Lewis, Samuel "A Topographical Dictionary of England", 7th Edition, 1848
Lloyd, Alan – “The War in the Trenches”, 1976
London Gazette [The], Official Public Record, various years
Lysons, Daniel and Samuel, "Magna Britannia, Volume 5, Derbyshire", 1817
Medical Registers 1859-1959
Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and the Museum of Economic Geology in London, 1846
Midland and Northern Coal & Iron Trades Gazette, 1881
Mine Inspectors Annual Report, Appendix, 1894
Mines Records Office Publication, 1854
Mitchell, Ernest S - Auction Catalogue for Sheepbridge Iron & Coal Somercotes Estate, 1942
Moran, James, "The Theatre of D. H. Lawrwence" [Bloomsbury], 2015
Mushet, David, Papers on Iron & Steel, 1840
Osborn, Fred M. "The Story of the Mushets", 1952
Pegge, Rev. Samuel, “An Historical Account of Beauchief Abbey”, [Edited by J Nichols], 1801
Philosophical Society Magazine, 1808
Pigot’s Directory of Derbyshire, 1829
Pigot’s Directory of Derbyshire, 1831
Post Office Directory, 1876
Post Office Telephone Directories, Various Years
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 1849
Proceedings of the Literary & Philosophical Society of Manchester, Volume VIII, 1860
Railway Times, Volume 6, 1843
Reid, Thomas Wemyss, Memoirs and Correspondence of Lyon Playfair, 1899
Ripley & Heanor News [Johnston Publishing Ltd, Chesterfield]
Shilton, Richard Phillips, "The History of Southwell in the County of Nottingham", 1818
Smith, William, Artizan Engineering Journal [The], 1843
Society of Engineers [Transactions for 1881], 1882
Somercotes Parish Church, “Centenary Brochure”, 1954
Somercotes Parish Church "150th Anniversary Brochure", 2004
Somercotes Parish Magazine, 1920
Somercotes Parish Magazine, 1925
Somercotes Parish Magazine, 1926
Somercotes Parish Magazine, 1928
Stantonian [The], Various Editions
Thomas, Alun Miles - University of Birmingham, Centre for War Studies, “British 8th Infantry Division on the Western Front”, 2005
Trent Navigation Company Gauging Books
United States Bureau of Mines [Technical Paper 390] "Occurence, Distribution and Significance of Alkali Cyanides in the Iron Blast Furnace", by S P Kinney & E W Guernsey, 1926
Waller, Joseph Leonard "Growing Pains", 1985
Waller, Joseph Leonard "My Drink was Water Bright", 1996
Waller, Joseph Leonard "When Bugles Call", 1998
Waller, Joseph Leonard "Twenty Poems", Undated
Ward & Company, "Ward’s Miscellany & Family Magazine", 1837
Wheeler, Matthew – “The Colliers Spurgeon or the Life of Matthew Hayes”, 1899
White, F. – “History, Gazetteer & Directory of Derbyshire and Sheffield”, 1857
Yeatman, John Pym - "Extracts from the Pipe Rolls for the Counties of Nottingham and Derby", 1886
Yeatman, John Pym - "The Feudal History of the County of Derby", 1866

We also acknowledge the many individuals who have contributed histories, photographs and research for this website.