Potted History

28 August 20152 January 2020 Bryan Smith

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.

The old village of Tichenhalle is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and probably existed from Anglo-Saxon times.

Since the neighbouring Calke Abbey changed its status in 1984 from long-standing private occupation by the Harpur-Crewe family to semi-public administration by the National Trust, much of the village has changed. The break-up of the former estate has meant the sale of cottages and building land, altering not only the charming higgledy-pigglediness of the architecture, but also the dilution of the former feudal relationship between the villagers and the somewhat reclusive lords of the manor. Visitors will readily pick out recent examples of new buildings and renovations – some an enhancement to the general scene, others less so.

Ticknall reached its hey-day in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when the limeyards and the brickmaking, tile and pottery industries were operating to their maximum capacity. The population reached 1500, three times the present size of about 500.