The work has to be completed within a specified period of time as Network Rail has to grant the 'possession' of the line to ASBC for a set number of hours during Saturday night and Sunday mornings. The pressure is certainly on!

We can report that thanks to excellent team work all went well during the first two 'possessions' and look forward to reporting on future progress as the urgent works, which will focus primarily on roof and trackside repairs, continue.

Many thanks to ASBC's site foreman for taking the night time photos and our supportive neighbours for the daylight one used as the header for this newsletter.

Heritage Open Days - Over 70 Visitors Welcomed

On the 12th September we opened the doors of Wingfield Station to the public as part of the national 'Heritage Open Days' scheme.

We ran tours of the Station on the hour from 11am to 3pm and welcomed over 70 pre-booked guests during the day. We were delighted to be joined by the South Wingfield Local History Group, who brought along their information boards as well as providing refreshments (including some very delicious cakes baked by Local History Group members - many of whom happened to also belong to the local WI and were expert bakers!).

Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It's a fantastic chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore.

As always, we are extremely grateful to DHBT volunteers who give their time to support the work of the Trust and help us make events such as this a success. If you would like to find out about becoming a volunteer with DHBT, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks also to the guides, trustees Barry, Allan and Peter, for delivering such informative tours. This was a particularly special event as it was the last before the Contractor undertaking the urgent repairs works at Wingfield Station started on site and DHBT handed over the building to them.

Thanks also to volunteers Ken and Richard for clearing up the front of the Station ahead of the event. They worked really hard to clear back the weeds and make the site presentable to the public.

Purchase a Print and Support our Project

As reported previously, we have recently managed to acquire one of the original 1835 portfolio of bound prints of the plans for the route - with options - for the North Midland Railway co, as submitted to Parliament for assent. The plans are exquisite in detail at 80 chains to the mile. We are now taking orders for those who wish to buy a high quality print for yourself - please contact Lucy wingfieldstation@gmail.com if you would like to find out more.

Please keep an eye out in coming weeks for more information about how you can play a part in supporting this project to save and restore Wingfield Station .

november zoom talk: a virtual tour of the strutt community in belper by adrian farmer

We're really pleased to be hosting another free ZOOM talk on November 2nd at 7pm.

We'll be joined by Belper Historian and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Co-ordinator, Adrian Farmer, who will be taking us all on a virtual tour of the Strutt community, Belper.

The talk will include a look at the rise and fall of the Strutt family’s mill complex at Belper, including digital footage recreating the site at its most complete.

It will also cover the Strutt family’s provision for their workers – homes, chapels and leisure facilities - over successive generations.

Find out more and reserve your place - to be sent the joining information - by clicking on this link.

DHBT past Events 2021

August 2021, Barrow on Trent and St Wilfrid's Church

On Sunday 15th August, the Friends of St Wilfrid's Church led 20 DHBT guests on a village trail around Barrow upon Trent.

Dominating the growth of this pretty village are two things that are almost hidden. Firstly the River Trent; only visible at the end of Church Lane and, secondly, Barrow Hall, first built in the 16th century and burnt to the ground in 1956.

The Parish of Barrow used to be a farming community with around 19 farms and small holdings, of which 12 were situated in the village. In the early and mid-20th century, several of the larger estates were sold off, and land was made available for building. We were introduced to many of those buildings built before 1900 as part of the visit.

Highlights included The Row, which was built in 1789 and paid for by parish levy. Originally one room deep with kitchen extensions added later, these were built as workers cottages immediately after the enclosures had redistributed land amongst the landowners. No.16A retains evidence of its days as a shop and No.18 was extended in 1901 to include a bakery.

'Pinfold' is a cottage that was part of the farm buildings for 'St Wilfrid's House', containing the blacksmith's forge. The pinfold is a medieval structure provided for stray animals. St Wilfrid's Church dates back to Anglo Saxon times and was developed by the Knight's Hospitallers between the 12th and 16th century.

You can find out more about the village and the church on their website: www.stwilfridsbarrow.org

Village War Memorial Puzzle

During the visit to Barrow upon Trent we found out some interesting facts relating to the village war memorial.

In 1915, Mr. F. C. Arkwright, the great grandson of Sir Richard Arkwright, having lost his son and a son-in-law in the fighting, organised a competition for Derbyshire villages.

He wanted to seek out the village that had sent the greatest number of volunteers to fight in the First World War, in proportion to the size of its population. He wished to encourage others to support the war effort.

The prize was a Memorial Cross to be erected in the winner’s village. Barrow won that competition, having sent more volunteers to the war in proportion to its population than any other village in Derbyshire and it has been suggested, in the country, (there were, at that time, fewer than 60 dwellings in the village and by late 1915, 36 men had volunteered to enlist).

Two years after the cross was erected a further puzzle was presented regarding the date that had been engraved.

In 1918, the Derby Daily Telegraph included this letter under the title ‘1914-1919?’

A BARROW-ON –TRENT PROPHECY

Sir:- In view of the many opinions now being hazarded as to the ending of the war, the following inscription from the handsome new village cross at Barrow on Trent, which charmingly picturesque old village I visited yesterday, is not without interest:-

“In honour of the men of Barrow-on-Trent, who voluntarily served their King and Country in the great war of nations 1914 -1919. This cross is erected by Frederick Charles Arkwright of Willersley, in this county, 1916” –

Yours faithfully,

Horace Weir, Derby, August 20th 1918

At the end of the war, 29 men whose names were celebrated on the cross returned home and 7 of the men had been killed. In 2016, the Parish unveiled another plaque with the names of the men of the village who volunteered after 1916 and whose names had not, of course, been included upon the main memorial cross.

September 2021, Milford

Four years after Jedediah Strutt began his campaign of cotton mill building in Belper he extended his activities along the Derwent Valley to Milford where, in 1781, he began building a complex of cotton mills and bleach works. Sadly most of these were demolished in the 1960s but what survives, pretty much intact, are the cottages he built for his workers and the chapels, school and other community buildings of this little mill town.

On the 19th September, tour leader Jane kindly led DHBT supporters on a walk to find out more about the prime industrial sites in Milford, including the few structural remains of the mill buildings and the pre-Strutt era mill.

The tour included some of the 18th and early 19th century housing; from Jedediah Strutt's own house to the housing built for the workers and maintained by the Strutt family for nearly 200 years.

Attendees also got to see the tantalising remains of other local industries, such as framework knitting, nail-making, quarrying and farming, as well as many small remnants of the paternalistic care that the Strutts took of their employees, such as the pavements, allotments, gas lighting and water pumps.

October 2021, Georgian Ashbourne