In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ashover like this:
ASHOVER, a village, a township, a parish, and a sub district in Derby. The village stands in a deep narrow valley, near the rivers Amber and Milntown, 3 miles WNW of Stretton r. station, and 7 SSW of Chesterfield. It is a place of great antiquity; had a church at Domes day; and was once a market-town. ...
Fairs are still held at it on 25 April and 15 Oct.; and it has a post office under Chesterfield. Lace-making is carried on. Tam bour-working and stocking-weaving also were once pro minent; but the former has ceased, and the latter is de clining.-The township includes the village, and is in the district of Chesterfield. Acres, 9,180. Real pro perty, £9,732. Pop., 2,351. Houses, 542.—The parish includes also the chapelry of Dethwick-Lea, in the district of Belper. Acres, 11,290. Real property, £13,206. Pop., 3,286. Houses, 748. The property is much sub divided. Limestone is quarried; and lead ore was formerly mined. Overton Hall was the seat of Sir Jo seph Banks, the president of the Royal Society. Deth wick was the seat of the Babingtons; one of whom was executed for treason against Queen Elizabeth. Lea Hurst, a fine Gothic mansion, is the seat of the Nightin gales. Robin Hood's Mark, a rocking-stone about 26 feet in circuit, is on a slope of Ashover Common; and the Turning-stone, a remarkably shaped block 9 feet high, supposed to have been an object of Druidical veneration, is about 200 yards further off. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £540.* Patron, the Rev. J. Nodder. The church was built in 1419, and recently repaired; is surmounted by an embattled tower, and a handsome spire; has a grand window of stained glass, set up in 1845; and contains tombs of the Babingtons and two brasses. an endowed school, at High Ashover, has £28, and other charities £12. The p. curacy of Dethwick-Lea is a separate benefice. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.-The subdistrict of Ashover is in Chesterfield district, and contains two parishes, and parts of three others. Acres, 21,234. Pop., 10,757. Houses, 2,106.
Ashover through time
Ashover is now part of North East Derbyshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North East Derbyshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ashover itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ashover in North East Derbyshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1589
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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