Shirland
Encyclopedia
Shirland is a parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 and former mining village
Pit village
A pit village is a term used in the UK for the village serving a deep coal mine.Many of the workers lived in houses that were provided by the colliery. Many villages have experienced depopulation after colliery closures forced people to move to other towns and cities where there are jobs for them...

 in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is continuous with the villages of Higham
Higham, Derbyshire
Higham is a small village in Derbyshire, England. It is located on the B6013 and A61 roads. Nearby settlements include Shirland, Stretton, Alfreton and Clay Cross....

, Stretton
Stretton, Derbyshire
Stretton is a small village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is located near the towns of Clay Cross and three and a half miles from Alfreton on the A61. The nearest waterways are the River Amber and Smithy Brook...

 and Stonebroom
Stonebroom
Stonebroom is a village in the district of North East Derbyshire in England.Stonebroom lies to the east of the A61 between Alfreton and Clay Cross. It has a Primary and Nursery school and two churches, one Church of England and one Methodist...

. Shirland has existed since at least 1086. Local politics is largely Labour. The River Amber
River Amber
The River Amber is a river in Derbyshire, England which rises close to the village of Ashover, near Clay Cross, and flows southwards through Ogston Reservoir to Pentrich then westwards to join the River Derwent at Ambergate...

 flows through the parish.

History

Shirland is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

. According to this ancient document the manor was given to William de Peveral
William Peverel
William Peverell , was a Norman knight, and is shown in 'The Battle Abbey Roll' to have fought at the Battle of Hastings.-Biography:...

 after the Norman conquest. Peveral inherited many manors around Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire including Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle is a castle in Nottingham, England. It is located in a commanding position on a natural promontory known as "'Castle Rock'", with cliffs high to the south and west. In the Middle Ages it was a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence...

.

The village is built around St. Leonard's Church. The foundations of the church date to 1220, according to the inscriptions within the church. The church grounds contain many monuments to the De Grey family, who inherited the manor in the early 13th century. The church also contains memorials to the Revill family who were well-known Derbyshire landowners in the 15th century.

In 1868, the inhabitants were mostly involved with agriculture but a proportion were involved with framework knitting. However in 1864 a mine was founded, which by the end of the century employed 500 men. The community together with Higham increased from a population of 2,437 in 1871 to 3,415 in 1881. The mines shaped the community until 1965 when the mine closed. A golf course is now built on the former slag heaps.

A new primary school was opened in September 2011, next to St. Leonards Church.

Church

The buttressed west tower of St Leonard's Church is pictured above, alongside the A61 north of Alfreton. Parts of the church date from 1220 but the majority of the existing church is 15th-century. It is part of a Benefice with the Church of England churches in Stonebroom (St Peter's Church) and Morton: (Church of the Holy Cross).
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