Epthorne

Where once the roses bloomed

In 1843 the North Wingfield tithe map shows only a lane leading to Tupton and fields lying north-west of the Blue Bell Inn, on the land which sloped down to the river Rother. Within the space of twenty years this area had become a thriving village, called Hepthorne Lane.

1843 North Wingfield tithe map. The fields numbered 408 and 409 were called Upper Hepthorne and Nether Hepthorne. They were owned by Mary Hopkinson and farmed by her tenant (who lived on Bright Street), Samuel Wetton.

By 1843 the North Midland Railway was well established, with Clay Cross station on this road, just over the boundary in Tupton township. Clay Cross Station was opened on the 11^th May 1840, with the Derby-Leeds line officially opened on the 30^th June 1840, and opened to passenger traffic on Wednesday 1^st July 1840.

(Cliff Williams. Driving the Clay Cross Tunnel, 1984)

Despite the proximity to the station, it was not until the 1860s that the area really began to be built up. By 1864 the stationmaster lived ‘at the station’ (Derbyshire Times 16 January 1864) and a newspaper report of 1868 mentions Mr John Berry was engaged in building work near the station (Derbyshire Times 18 July 1868). The unfortunate Mr Benjamin Turner, who had kept the Midland Hotel for four months, died suddenly there in November 1868, aged just 28 (Derbyshire Times 28 November 1868).

(Derbyshire Times 3 March 1869)

The Midland Hotel was subsequently taken by Mr Charles Udall, who applied for a license at the Chesterfield Brewster sessions in 1869. His application was successful despite opposition from Mr Nadin of the White Horse Inn, Tupton, and Mr Woodward of the Blue Bell Inn, North Wingfield (Derbyshire Times 1 September 1869).

(Derbyshire Times 23 October 1869)

The opening of the Erewash Valley line extension in 1862, and increased business at Clay Cross, had led to increased traffic at the station, and was the catalyst for the development of Hepthorne Lane village.

In 1866 there was a fire at the station which destroyed the booking office and waiting room, prompting calls to improve the station, and even calls to move it nearer to Clay Cross, as the footpath to Clay Cross was in poor condition. The Midland Railway Company built a new station complex, which was completed in 1870.

By 1870 there were enough residents in Hepthorne Lane to make the provision of a chapel desirable. There was a stone laying ceremony for Mount Tabor chapel on Good Friday (15 April 1870) attended by a large number of people. Mr Reuben Bannister, who gave the land, laid the first stone, and Mr William Morley laid another stone over a time capsule. There was a tea afterwards, in Mr Bannister’s brick shed attended by 200 people.

The chapel was opened for public worship by November (Sheffield Independent 10 Nov 1870). It was replaced by the Methodist Church (which closed in 2004) and was used as a greengrocer’s warehouse for several years before demolition.

Sketch of Hepthorne Lane Chapel from a report of the opening ceremony in the Derbyshire Courier 2 January 1915

On the left is the Midland Hotel, known locally (and now officially) as The Shinnon. This name is thought to date back to the end of the 19th century when the public house was let to Mr and Mrs Alfred Burton. Mrs Annie Burton wore her hair in a chignon.

By the 1870s Hepthorne Lane was booming, two shopkeepers applied for beer off licenses, and the local authorities were anxiously discussing the sanitary conditions of the village. Clay Cross school board also noted in 1874 that they would need extra accommodation for the children there. By 1874 Hepthorne Lane also had a cricket ground, and even parking problems. Nothing changes!

(Derbyshire Times 27 November 1875)

Epthorne, Hepthorn, Hepthorne? The name has been spelled in a variety of ways over the years. According to an old dictionary of plant names, it refers the rosa canina, or Dog Rose, which is noted for its hips.