Community Magazine for Ticknall, South Derbyshire, UK
Ticknall’s name was derived from its landscape setting and land use. The first syllable ‘tic’ reflects the pastoral economy of the time, showing that it was grazed by goats. There were still goatherds in the area in the 16th century. The second syllable is ‘halh’ (Saxon) = a nook or hollow of land, the village being tucked into a slight dip in the landscape.
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The Thringstone Fault crosses the parish of Ticknall from east to west, separating the Coal Measures clays to the south from the upthrust Carboniferous Limestone to the north. Other outliers of limestone occur at Calke, Dimminsdale, Breedon and Cloud Hill, but otherwise limestone is fairly rare in the area.
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Delilah (known as Dellie) Boswell was born in Wheldon, Northants, in 1800, a member of the well-known Boswell gypsy family.
The family were allowed to camp in Calke Park – a rare privilege at a time when the Calke Abbey Estate was a very private place – and were welcome visitors to the Abbey.
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There are over 30 known pottery sites in the Ticknall area. Excavations have produced 13th century Coal Measures White Wares on production sites.
Documents from 1328 refer to “le cleyputs” and in the late 1200s Henricus ad Furnum (Henry at the oven) is named. It is probably a pot oven.
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The Cruiser HMS Neptune sank with the loss of 764 officers and men on the night of 19 December 1941. Just one man was rescued by an Italian torpedo boat, after 5 days in the water. Among those missing presumed dead was John Olivers brother, 20 year old Thomas Oliver. The boat went down as John was preparing to celebrate his birthday on 20 December.
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I have collected a considerable amount of local source material which may be useful to anyone engaged in genealogical research.
The following records can be name searched and the results emailed back in Microsoft Word format:-
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A good two weeks. The weather was kind, and as expected, there were lots of pot sherds to wash, from possible medieval to around 1660, but most importantly we uncovered what is possibly a kiln or a pot stack. Also resistivity shows a path leading to the work area.
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Visitors to Ticknall often ask about the cast iron water spouts that are seen in various places in the village. They were part of a public water supply installed on the instruction of Sir Vauncey Harpur-Crewe in 1914.
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This old photo of the original Dexter’s Cottage was taken from the Limeyards immediately opposite the weighbridge office which is now part of the present Limeyards Stables and shows the main road servicing the Limeyards. More about the Dexter family.
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There’s no shortage of information on this topic. We need a local person to put together a short introduction from a Ticknall perspective for visitors who are new to the topic. Volunteers . . Anyone?
Note; the featured image is © copyright Ticknall Life.
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In July 2017 Ticknall Archaeological Research Group had a very interesting and informative day school, led by Janet Spavold and Sue Brown, on reading the history of vernacular houses.
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The featured image is a modern photo ©Ticknall Life of what was once a Ticknall pub called ‘The Crown’. Does anyone have any early pictures or other material for an article here?
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Before our house was built some forty years ago there was, according to local history, evidence of a pottery on the site.
Nobody can be sure of exact dates but pottery finds in the garden of our neighbour have been dated to around the fifteenth to sixteenth century.
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