Blackwell Rural District

Astwith is a village in Derbyshire, England. Astwith is in the parish of Ault Hucknall. For many decades it was a part of the manor of Stainsby, which was known as Steinesbei in the Domesday survey (1087). Apparently there is no mention of Astwith, otherwise spelt Estewayt, Est(th)wayt, Estweit and Eswheyt, by name until the 13th century. This extract was taken from a small book found in the Chesterfield library written by J.E.Milner a local schoolmaster: "There is no mention of it (Astwith) until the 1200s when Adeluga, widow of Robert le Sauvage, released among other bequests, one messuage and one bovate of land at Estewyte to John de Sauvage and his heirs. It would also suggest that between the two claims for the name's meaning: a. the ford by the ash trees b. The East ford the latter seems the more likely. The ford, now a bridge, is on the lane from Stainsby, but east of where, remains a puzzle." The Savage family are believed to have held Astwith among other local lands until 1593, when Bess of Hardwick purchased them from the Lord Chancellor and Auditor for the sum of £9,500. Following her death, her son William 1st Lord Cavendish, had a survey of all his lands carried out by William Senior in 1609/1610. At this time Astwith is recorded with a total acreage of 508 acres (2.06 km2) and seven named residents. These were Matthewe Foxe, Richard Carman, Henrie Frithe, John Tacie, John Turner, Robert Wainwrighte, Humphrie Fretwell. These residents had holdings varying in size from 88 acres (360,000 m2) to just over 1-acre (4,000 m2). The common extended to 169 acres (0.68 km2), and the cunygre to a further 24 acres (97,000 m2). Unlike other local villages which were built along a main street with tofts on either side, Astwith was ranged along the edge of the common. By the time of the 1839 Tithe Awards, the village had grown to 17 households, although the acreage farmed had remained the same in total. Communications to local towns had been improved by the development of the turnpike road between Tibshelf and Temple Normanton in the 1820s. Access roads into the village from the turnpike were improved and the housing centre of the village moved to this access road. The village remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Devonshire until 1959, when it was passed to the National Trust as part of the death duty settlement of the 10th Duke. Most of the village is now in private ownership, after the National Trust began to dispose of its holding of residential buildings in the 1970s. The Trust retains much of the land which is farmed by the one working farm in the village or by the farm at Hardwick Park within the grounds of Hardwick Hall which they run in partnership with the farmer. Many of the properties in the village remain under building covenants held by the Trust. The photograph looks east and shows Manor Farm Cottage on the right and parts of Manor Farm and The Swallows on the left. There are around 20 homes in Astwith today. There is no room for six bedroom Swiss cottages. Astwith is one of 27 conservation areas within the council area of Bolsover District Council. In October 2010 the Local Conservation Plan for Astwith was approved by Bolsover District Council and a copy of the report can be viewed on their website www.bolsover.gov.uk. A circular walk of around 5.5 miles (8.9 km) is centred on Astwith and is a part of the longer Five Pits Trail which connects Tibshelf, Holmewood and Grassmoor.

Hardstoft is a hamlet in Derbyshire, England. It is located four miles east of Clay Cross, on the B6039 road. The Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company found small quantities of oil near Hardstoft in 1919 under encouragement from the British government.

Common End is a place noted on an Ordnance Survey map of Derbyshire, England. It is located eight miles south-east of Chesterfield, and just north of Astwith.

Heath and Holmewood is a civil parish forming part of the district of North East Derbyshire in England. As its name suggests, the main settlements in the parish are Heath and Holmewood.

Stainsby is a small village in Derbyshire, England. It is near Chesterfield and Bolsover, and the villages of Heath and Doe Lea. The village population is included in the civil parish of Ault Hucknall. The M1 motorway skirts past the village. In 1870-72 it had a population of 101.The village is near the National Trust property of Hardwick Hall. In the hall's estate is Stainsby Mill, a fully working 19th-century water mill. The village was known as Steinesbei in the Domesday survey where it was listed together with several manors including Beighton and Sutton Scarsdale under the lands of Roger de Poitou. It was surrounded to the north by a semi-circular moat with banks and ramparts, approximately eight feet in depth. Some of this still remains visible, although in a much reduced form. This is known as "The Earthwork". The manor of Stainsby was owned by the Savage family, whose members played prolific roles in the king's armies and in society. A John Savage was knighted, probably by Henry V, for his service at the Battle of Agincourt on 15 October 1415. Whilst another Sir John commanded the left wing of the Tudor army at the Battle of Bosworth and became a Knight of the Garter. Thomas Savage was consecrated Bishop of Rochester, then London (where he also became Chaplain to King Henry VII) and was then made Archbishop of York and Primate of England a position he held from 1501 until his death in 1507. One of the Savages was involved in the Babington Plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I and put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. Along with the Babington family of Dethick, their deeds resulted in many of them being executed. Around 1580, the manor passed from the hands of the family, eventually being sold on to William Cavendish. Stainsby hosts the Stainsby Festival, a folk festival which takes place in the summer. The festival celebrated its 40th year in 2008.

Pilsley railway station was a station in the village of Pilsley in Derbyshire. The station was opened on 2 January 1893 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later part of the Great Central Railway and subsequently the LNER), on its line from Beighton in the outskirts of Sheffield to Annesley in Nottinghamshire, which later became part of the Great Central main line to London. Along much of the route between Sheffield and Nottingham the line ran through a mainly industrial landscape dominated by mining. Pilsley had its own colliery a short distance to the north of the station, with extensive sidings on both sides of the main line. The Midland Railway also gained access to Pilsley colliery, via a section about 2.5 miles in length which branched off their Erewash Valley Line just to the north of Doe Hill station, and ran across country to join the Great Central at Pilsley, running virtually alongside Pilsley station before making its connection with the line near the colliery. Pilsley station closed on 2 November 1959, the line itself on 5 September 1966. The collieries also closed around this time, although coal mining continued to be a source of employment for the village until the 1980s. The route of the Great Central line was redeveloped by Derbyshire County Council in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and now forms part of the Five Pits Trail network. These efforts received a Countryside Award in 1970, as indicated by a plaque at the site of Pilsley station. The trail runs approximately 12 miles, from Tibshelf to Grassmoor Country Park, though with the filling in of cuttings and removal of embankments it is virtually unrecognisable as a former railway line. Similarly the collieries that had once been such conspicuous features of the landscape have vanished without trace. The area is now once again mostly rural in character.

Heath railway station was a railway station in the village of Holmewood, Derbyshire. The station name of Heath belongs to the next and much older village of Heath. The station was just before the Great Central Chesterfield Loop which ran between Staveley Central and Heath Junction (just north of Heath railway station) on the Great Central Main Line.

Stainsby Mill is a 19th-century flour watermill in Doe Lea, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. The mill, which has been restored to full working order, is a Grade II listed building and is under the ownership of the National Trust. The mill is part of the Hardwick Hall estate.: 2 

Holmewood is a village in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, being a former coal mining village with close links to the villages of Heath, North Wingfield and Temple Normanton. It is in the civil parish of Heath and Holmewood. The village of Holmewood was formed as a residence by The Williamthorpe Colliery Company from 1905 until 1970, when it closed due to the high cost of deep seam mining. The colliery was the main employer of the village and upon its closure, caused much unemployment within the area. As a consequence of the Margaret Thatcher Government in the late 1980s, plans were put in place to construct two large industrial estates to limit the high unemployment levels within the ex-colliery communities in the North Derbyshire Area. This industrial estate has now expanded to cover a much larger area and is known as the 'Holmewood Enterprise Zone'. Due to EU Government incentives, the site attracts high levels of investment from national-level companies.There is a countryside park on the site, which is known as the Five Pits Trail, which links the five villages around Holmewood. The area contains several ponds that, once heavily polluted, are now havens for wildlife and are popular with anglers and birdwatchers.The village has many small shops, a Working men's club, churches and a public library. The local football team is Holmewood Park Rangers.

Tibshelf is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover District in Derbyshire, England. Located between the towns of Clay Cross, Shirebrook, Mansfield and Chesterfield. It had a population at the 2001 UK census of 3,548, increasing to 3,787 at the 2011 Census. Tibshelf shares its boundaries with the villages of Morton, Pilsley, Newton, Teversal and Hardstoft. The village was the site of the UK's first inland oil well. In the 19th century, coal was discovered, coal mining overtook agriculture as the primary industry in the area, and a local railway system was developed. Two deep mines were sunk, but were under threat of closure for a number of years after a partial cave-in.

Heath is a village in the North East Derbyshire district of the English county of Derbyshire. The civil parish is called Heath and Holmewood. The population of this parish as taken at the 2011 Census was 2,953.

Tibshelf Town railway station is a disused station on the former Great Central Main Line in the village of Tibshelf in Derbyshire, England. The station was opened on 2 January 1893 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later part of the Great Central Railway and subsequently the LNER), on its line from Beighton in the outskirts of Sheffield to Annesley in Nottinghamshire, which later became part of the Great Central main line to London. The station was optimistically designated Tibshelf Town, reflecting Tibshelf's aspirations to obtain official town status. Tibshelf never did become a town but the station kept this name throughout its operating life. The line ran through a mainly industrial landscape dominated by mining. To the north of the station was a deep cutting where a tunnel was originally intended; fears of damage through mining subsidence forced the change in the plans. Tibshelf High Street crossed a bridge over this cutting. To the south, the line crossed over the Midland Railway's branch line from Westhouses & Blackwell (on the Erewash Valley Line), to Mansfield Woodhouse, just to the east of their own Tibshelf & Newton station. This line closed to passengers on 28 July 1930 but remained in use for freight and coal trains long afterwards; the route is now a footpath but Tibshelf & Newton station still stands. Tibshelf Town station closed on 4 March 1963, the line itself on 5 September 1966. The collieries also closed around this time, although coal mining continued to be a major source of employment for the village, with around 2,000 of Tibshelf's inhabitants still working at local pits as late as the 1980s. The route of the Great Central line was redeveloped as a recreational route by Derbyshire County Council in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and now forms part of the Five Pits Trail network. These efforts received a Countryside Award in 1970, as indicated by a plaque at nearby Pilsley where the next station northwards was sited. The trail runs approximately 12 miles, from Tibshelf to Grassmoor Country Park, though with the filling in of cuttings and removal of embankments it is virtually unrecognisable as a former railway line. Similarly the collieries that had once been such conspicuous features of the landscape have vanished without trace. The area is now once again mostly rural in character.