Newton History Notes

11^th Century

The earliest record of Blackwell known to survive is the entry in the Domesday Book from 1080s and is referred to as Newton rather than Blackwell:

In NEWTON Leofric and Leofnoth had 3 c. (carucates) of land taxable. Land for 5 ploughs. Now in Lordship 1 plough. 13 villagers and 4 smallholders who have 5 ploughs. A priest, who has 1 smallholder; meadow, 7 acres; woodland pasture 1 league long and ½ wide. Value before 1066 £4; now 30 s. ( Shillings) Ralph holds it.

16^th Century

There is apparently a record of The George and Dragon pub at Newton in 1577.

And the following shows that Coal also played an important part in the Parish. In the Turbutt family archive isi this item dated 1554:

Lease for 21 years and counterpart indented by Dame Lady Anne Sheffield widow to Richard Rychardson and Richard Dawson of Newton yeoman, of a coal-mine in the lordship of Blackwell, 5 parts to Rychardson and 4 parts to Dawson. Yearly rent £18, (£10 from Rychardson and £8 from Dawson). The lessor covenants that the lessees shall have free access to the coal-mine for carriage by all ways necessary throughout the lordships of Blackwell and Normanton. The lessees are to permit all tenants in the lordships to work for them at the accustomed wage. If the work fails the rent ceases to be due. Only two pits to be in work. 10 Apr 1 Mary.

And from 1587 a“Letter to Anthony Richardson, bailiff of Lord Sheffield's lands in Derbyshire, from William Bromley and others, to force tenants accustomed to work at Blackwell coal-pits, to work or surrender tenancies, and to provide 6 or more convenient dwelling houses for colliers, 5 Mar 1586/7”

18th Century

In  1742 The Duke of Newcastle sold several holdings of land in Derbyshire to the Duke of Devonshire. Included in this sale was the Manor of Blackwell, with it’s villages of (Old) Blackwell , Newton and Hilcote. The valuation at that time lists 23 tenants in properties included in the sale. In 1758 The Duke commissioned a map of Blackwell which shows all the fields, those which are in the use of the Duke’s tenants and those which owned by others. Many of the field boundaries in 1758 still exist today. In addition to the Duke, the major landowners were Sir Charles Molyneux of Teversal, Mr Wilkinson of Hilcote Hall, Mrs Richardson of Newton Hall and William Downend ( Downing).

In total there are 55 dwellings shown on the map; 21 are in “Old” Blackwell, 21 in Newton, 10 in Hilcote, 2 in ”New” Blackwell, at Scanderlands and Hill Top. And 1 in Westhouses approx. where the Station Hotel now stands. Some of these dwellings still exist although most are considerably changed during the last 300 years. At the bottom of Church Hill in 1758 were “ Labourers’ Cottages in the Waste”, or on waste land. On Hilcote Lane were 4 dwellings and in Alfreton Rd Newton 2 dwellings all described as The Poor’s Houses.

On the eastern boundary of Blackwell was a significant woodland of 50 acres, also shown on the map. In 1740 the timber and tops alone were valued at £1452, the equivalent today of £1.6 million.

Although the Church of St Werburgh’s was the recognised seat of religion in the parish, there is evidence that non conformism had a hold in Newton in the17th and 18^th Centuries. At the Old Hall Mr John Richardson had connections with the Old Meeting House at Sutton In Ashfield and had requested that a visit of the preacher be paid to Newton Hall. There was a Chapel in the grounds of the Hall, which could have been the foundation of the Nonconformist movement in the village brought about by the relaxation of the laws concerning the rights of worship. Newton’s most famous resident Jedediah Strutt was  of the Unitarian following and established the Unitarian Chapel at Belper when later he was there.

Along Alfreton Road between Newton and Mount Pleasant were fields labelled “Pit Lands”, where coal was extracted by hand from shallow coal seams via what were known as Bell Pits.

19^th Century

The 1841 census shows that the major changes over almost 100 years are that Newton has now expanded to 42 households, Old Blackwell to 35 households and Hilcote to 17 households. Blackwell as we know it now remains at 2 at Hill Top and Scanderlands, and 3 households are now established at West House, eventually to become Westhouses; so 99 households in total and a population for the whole parish of 477. The population jumps to 517 by 1861, chiefly by the introduction into Westhouses of 6 huts of Railway workers numbering 42 men women and children. The story of Westhouses will begin with this. It is the decade between 1870 and 1880 when major population growth is seen due to the development of deep mines at Blackwell, Hilcote, and Tibshelf.

Old Blackwell sees very little change during that period, and farming remains the main activity.

At Newton, the mid 1800s saw small Collieries providing employment at Diminsdale, Tommy Newnies, and on the border with Huthwaite; the remains of these may still be seen in the effect of humps and hollows of the waste heaps, though these are disappearing fast. 

Framework knitting of stockings also provided significant employment, with families working in their own homes for entrepreneurs who brought them raw material and sold the finished product. However the income from this trade for the families was barely subsistence level with little continuity of earnings. Almost 50% of those working in 1851 were in Framework Knitting. This declined sharply when coal mining work provided a much better income.

The 1851 census also gives a further insight into religious development in the villages. St Werburghs’ vicar is not living in the parish, but was said to be residing at Mansfield. But boarding at Town Lane in Newton in 1851 was a Primitive Methodist Minister Mr Gothard. At this time it is believed locally that the Primitives’ Services were held in a barn at Newton Farm.

The deep collieries sunk at Tibshelf in 1868 brought about new residential development to Newton, notably Sherwood Street, and the northern part of the village at New St , Main St and Bamford St.. More homes were built subsequently at Mount Pleasant with North and South Streets.

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was put through the villages of Newton and Old Blackwell around 1890, with a station at Tibshelf. The line was to become the Great Western and  then LNER in the mid 1920s.

 Children’s education opportunities grew too during this century. The lords of the manor endowed a school in 1835 where 12 children could be educated without cost. The 1841 census does not list any scholars,  but the numbers grew for the whole parish to 50 in 1851, 75 in 1861, 83 in 1871 and 535 by 1881. The children at Newton and Old Blackwell would have been attending the National School at Old Blackwell, built in 1873. In 1899 the Headmaster was Mr Deamon.

And with the growth of population, retail flourished too. By 1899 Newton had a post office and 15 shops including Grocers, Butchers, Drapers, Hardware, Glass and China, and Hairdresser and Tobacconist.

We do not know if it was the original George and Dragon of 1577 which was rebuilt in it’s current appearance in about 1890; In Old Blackwell there was an original Robin Hood pub, presumably with thatched roof, as it is still known as The Thack locally. The New Inn was built about 1875. There was Ale Brewing in Newton in Malthouse Yard in Town Lane .