18-Nov-2021
We're on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire here, so I don't want to upset anyone with a "Walking Notts" tag...
We headed today for Ironville, built as a "model village" to house iron-workers from the nearby Butterley Company, which did a number of things with coal and iron.
We parked up at the Codnor Park Reservoir, where Angie's burger van was already doing a roaring trade.
Another lovely sunrise
Unidentified tower
First notable item: Codnor Castle. This dates back to around 1200, but it's been in ruins for a good long while: "Soon after the castle was last occupied its stone was used to build no less than seven farm houses in the local area. This priceless piece of medieval architecture and history was nearly completely dismantled. In the beginning of the 19th century the castle was again sold to Messrs Outram and Co, who we know as the Butterley Company. The Butterley Company purchased the castle site so they could access and mine the minerals under the park. Codnor Castle is now owned by UK Coal." It's reputed to be haunted...
Cool alpacas
The adjoining farm (also haunted)
From here you can walk down to the Erewash Nature Reserve. Slightly slick paths here, but nothing too daunting.
Back in 2019, we discovered Cromford, with its mill, its railway, and its canal.
Today, we ended up walking some more of the Cromford Canal, which opened in 1794, and used to cover the 14.5 miles between Cromford and Langley Mill:
You can't totally tell it's a canal at this point
But then you hit the water...
...and various bits of canal infrastructure
Back in Ironville, this is Butterley Court:
It was originally the Mechanics Institute, built on the site of the former brewery, and contained a library, lecture hall, coffee house, and baths. According to the Nottinghamshire Guardian of 2 December 1870 (quoted on the signboard outside), "Such has been the beneficial result of thus providing health and attractive food for the mind, as well as refreshment for the body, that we were informed by one of the managers that nearly 100 of the ironworkers were genuine teetotallers, in a great measure owing to an attraction equal to that of the public-house being provided for them." The building subsequently fulfilled numerous functions, housing at various points the offices for the colliery, a temperance club, a textile company, and the Conservative Club.
Continuing along the canal
This is such a rich area, with plenty of scope for future investigations.