Willington, Derbyshire
Encyclopedia
Willington is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire
, England. The 2001 Census
recorded a parish population of 2,604.
about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Derby
. The parish is within 0.5 miles (804.7 m) of the Staffordshire
county boundary and the village is about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Burton upon Trent
.
The village is at the crossroads of the north – south B5008 road (for Findern
, Repton
and Winshill
), and the east – west A5132 road (formerly the B5009, linking Hilton
and Swarkestone
). The A5132 carried a lot of Nottingham
– Stoke-on-Trent
traffic before the A50 road
was opened in September 1997.
Willington is derived from the Old English tun (homestead or farm) among the willows. In the Domesday Book
, the village is called Willetune or Willentune, and the land was held by Ralph Fitzhubert and was an agricultural village on the flood plain of the Trent. The village is recorded as Wilintun in about 1150 and as Wyliton in 1230.
In the 17th century Willington became the highest navigable port on the Trent. It first began to grow from a population of 477 with the construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal
in 1777, the same year Bass
beer in Burton was started, at which time it became a small inland port and a village with four public houses: The Railway (which was later demolished), The Rising Sun, The Green Man and The Green Dragon, all selling locally brewed beers from Burton upon Trent
for the many Irish canal navvies.
The railway was built in 1838, the station being called Repton and Willington and brought the scholars to nearby Repton School
. The main-line station was closed in 1964 but a new station was opened in the 1990s as part of the (incomplete) Ivanhoe Line project to link Leicester
and Burton-on-Trent and runs mainline trains to Derby, Birmingham and beyond. The village's population increased to 708 by 1940. Trentside Cottage, Bargate Lane is the oldest cottage in the village. A 200-year-old Cedar of Lebanon lies on the site of the now-demolished Potlocks Farm, on Twyford Road in the village. The bridge over the Trent was opened on August 7 1839, being the only one between Swarkestone
and Burton
.
In 1995 Willington railway station was re-opened at a cost of £565,000 funded by the EU
.
Due to the opening of the nearby Toyota car factory (on the A38
/A50) in 1992 between Willington (on the former Derby airfield at Burnaston
) and Findern, the village has prospered and expanded since the 1980s.
Local shops include a post office and newsagent, florist, Co-op supermarket
, delicatessen, wools and yarns, beautician, hairdresser, hardware and DIY, general store, pharmacist, a Chinese take-away and the three pubs mentioned above.
Willington has an engineering firm, a large GP practice, a Church of England parish church
and Baptist Chapel and the SOON Ministries literature charity, a large modern primary school and nearby in Etwall
(within Willington's catchment area) an expanding secondary school, John Port School
.
In the 1950s, two coal-fired power station
s were built on a site off Twyford Road, between Willington and Findern
. The stations were privatised and sold to National Power
in the early 1990s and eventually closed in the mid 1990s. Although most of the stations were demolished at the turn of the millennium, the five cooling tower
s continue to dominate the skyline of the local area. The site is earmarked for a large residential development, pending the results of a public inquiry. The construction plans have been met with local opposition, perhaps due to the site's proximity to the River Trent's flood plain.
In the mid 1990s a pair of peregrine falcon
s nested in one of the site's huge cooling towers. Unlike many bird of prey
breeding sites, this was widely publicised because of its impregnable location.
of rock band Asia
was born in Willington in 1949.
owned (and back-filled with the power station waste ash) gravel pit
s at the southern edge of the village adjacent to the River Trent has now become a wetland
nature reserve
managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
and developed with the aid of the Environment Agency
.
South Derbyshire
South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote....
, England. The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded a parish population of 2,604.
Geography
Willington is on the River TrentRiver Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
. The parish is within 0.5 miles (804.7 m) of the Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
county boundary and the village is about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
.
The village is at the crossroads of the north – south B5008 road (for Findern
Findern
Findern is a village in south Derbyshire. Although a railway runs through it, there is no station, the nearest stations are Willington, Pear Tree and Derby...
, Repton
Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish on the edge of the River Trent floodplain in South Derbyshire, about north of Swadlincote. Repton is close to the county boundary with neighbouring Staffordshire and about northeast of Burton upon Trent.-History:...
and Winshill
Winshill
Winshill is a suburb to the east of the town of Burton upon Trent, in the borough of East Staffordshire, England.Flanked to the north and east by the South Derbyshire border, historically the parish of Winshill had always been part of Derbyshire until it was transferred to Staffordshire in the late...
), and the east – west A5132 road (formerly the B5009, linking Hilton
Hilton, Derbyshire
Hilton is a village not far from Derby.-History:Hilton was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as belonging to Henry de Ferrers and being worth ten shillings...
and Swarkestone
Swarkestone
Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England.Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, the Crewe and Harpur pub, a canal with locks, moorings and canalside tea-rooms...
). The A5132 carried a lot of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
– Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
traffic before the A50 road
A50 road
The A50 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Warrington to Leicester; however, it was once a much longer route.-Current route:...
was opened in September 1997.
History
The toponymToponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
Willington is derived from the Old English tun (homestead or farm) among the willows. 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...
, the village is called Willetune or Willentune, and the land was held by Ralph Fitzhubert and was an agricultural village on the flood plain of the Trent. The village is recorded as Wilintun in about 1150 and as Wyliton in 1230.
In the 17th century Willington became the highest navigable port on the Trent. It first began to grow from a population of 477 with the construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
in 1777, the same year Bass
Bass (beer)
The Bass Brewery was founded as a brewery in 1777 by William Bass in Burton upon Trent, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, which was once the highest selling beer in the UK...
beer in Burton was started, at which time it became a small inland port and a village with four public houses: The Railway (which was later demolished), The Rising Sun, The Green Man and The Green Dragon, all selling locally brewed beers from Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
for the many Irish canal navvies.
The railway was built in 1838, the station being called Repton and Willington and brought the scholars to nearby Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
. The main-line station was closed in 1964 but a new station was opened in the 1990s as part of the (incomplete) Ivanhoe Line project to link Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and Burton-on-Trent and runs mainline trains to Derby, Birmingham and beyond. The village's population increased to 708 by 1940. Trentside Cottage, Bargate Lane is the oldest cottage in the village. A 200-year-old Cedar of Lebanon lies on the site of the now-demolished Potlocks Farm, on Twyford Road in the village. The bridge over the Trent was opened on August 7 1839, being the only one between Swarkestone
Swarkestone
Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England.Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, the Crewe and Harpur pub, a canal with locks, moorings and canalside tea-rooms...
and Burton
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
.
In 1995 Willington railway station was re-opened at a cost of £565,000 funded by the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Economy
A former cheese factory in 1920 became a reclaimed aluminium processing plant in 1964 dominating the southern part of the village for twenty years and it was hoped that aluminium car engines would be made nearby for the Toyota Manufacturing U.K. (TMUK). The site is now closed and the land for sale.Due to the opening of the nearby Toyota car factory (on the A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
/A50) in 1992 between Willington (on the former Derby airfield at Burnaston
Burnaston
Burnaston is a village located in Derbyshire, just south of the city of Derby.The village is famous for its huge Toyota car plant - one of several British car plants built by Japanese carmakers as part of cost-saving measures to avoid such expenses as import duties and shipping costs...
) and Findern, the village has prospered and expanded since the 1980s.
Local shops include a post office and newsagent, florist, Co-op supermarket
Co-op UK
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 3 million individual members. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844....
, delicatessen, wools and yarns, beautician, hairdresser, hardware and DIY, general store, pharmacist, a Chinese take-away and the three pubs mentioned above.
Willington has an engineering firm, a large GP practice, a Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
and Baptist Chapel and the SOON Ministries literature charity, a large modern primary school and nearby in Etwall
Etwall
Etwall is a civil parish and village in Derbyshire, England. It is located southwest from Derby on the A50.-Geography:Etwall is squeezed between the A516, which bypassed the village in February 1992, and the A50. The A516 draws a lot of heavy traffic heading for the M1 north.The village has its...
(within Willington's catchment area) an expanding secondary school, John Port School
John Port School
John Port Specialist Technology, Mathematics and Computing College is a very large academy in the village of Etwall, Derbyshire, England.-Admissions:...
.
Willington Power Station
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
s were built on a site off Twyford Road, between Willington and Findern
Findern
Findern is a village in south Derbyshire. Although a railway runs through it, there is no station, the nearest stations are Willington, Pear Tree and Derby...
. The stations were privatised and sold to National Power
National Power
- History :National Power was formed following the privatisation of the UK electricity market in 1990. In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board, which was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity was split into three generating companies Powergen, National...
in the early 1990s and eventually closed in the mid 1990s. Although most of the stations were demolished at the turn of the millennium, the five cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
s continue to dominate the skyline of the local area. The site is earmarked for a large residential development, pending the results of a public inquiry. The construction plans have been met with local opposition, perhaps due to the site's proximity to the River Trent's flood plain.
In the mid 1990s a pair of peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s nested in one of the site's huge cooling towers. Unlike many bird of prey
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
breeding sites, this was widely publicised because of its impregnable location.
Bus company
Blue Bus Services operated a depot on Repton Road from 1922, but almost entire Blue Buses fleet was destroyed by a fire at the depot on 5 January 1976. The Saxon Grove residential estate was built on the site in the late 1980s.Notable residents
John WettonJohn Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
of rock band Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
was born in Willington in 1949.
Nature reserve
Part of the former ARCAmalgamated Roadstone Corporation
Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation was a British stone quarrying company.- History :Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation Ltd. was formed on 23 April 1935 to acquire a number of quarries in Britain. In 1947 ARC acquired the majority of the shares of the British Quarrying Co Ltd and its associated...
owned (and back-filled with the power station waste ash) gravel pit
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...
s at the southern edge of the village adjacent to the River Trent has now become a wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derbyshire, England, is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership. It was established in 1962 and has over 6,000 members.It manages 40 nature reserves totalling over of woodland, wetland and meadows...
and developed with the aid of the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
.