Findern

Findernis a village andcivil parishin the District ofSouth Derbyshire,approximately 5–6 miles (9.7 km) south ofDerby(Grid reference:SK309307). The population of the civil parish was 1,669 at the 2011 Census.

Findern
All Saints' Church, Findern
Findern Location withinDerbyshire
Population	1,669 (2011)
OS grid reference	SK305304
District	South Derbyshire
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DERBY
Postcode district	DE65
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands

Findern is a picturesque and quaint little village full of charm and character, with many of its buildings being of both historical and architectural importance. Its traditionalOld Englishvillage greenis overlooked by the All Saints' parish church, and is surrounded by a handful of shops, and numerous black and white painted nineteenth centurycottagesthat include The Old Forge, a former farm and blacksmith's shop. Thevillage greenplays host to an annualfeteand the cottages were originally part of a weaving industry that peaked in 1846, when 22 velvet and silk looms existed, with each dwelling containing its own loom. A row of period buildings continue out onto Main Street with the oldest being from 1620. Somerville House, with its high gateway that allowed carriages to pass under it, was originally a gentleman's residence that was built in the mid 18th century. Its porch, wall and railings were added in the 19th century.

Wallfield House on Doles Lane was constructed in 1822 as a farm, and in the 20th century became the home of racing driver andAston Martinteam managerReg Parnell.He competed in the inauguralFormula One World ChampionshipGrand Prix atSilverstonein 1950, and in 1959 won bothLe Mansand theWorld Sports Car Championship.Parnell eventually came to live – and farm – at Wallfield House, which is now a residential home, that bares a blue plaque in his memory.

Castle Hill, which previously led to a long since demolished manor house, boasts a village pump, that was used by the entire community until 1931, when mains water finally came to the village. Well Dressing is a long held village tradition. At the top of Hillside stands Tower House which was originally a windmill, built in 1715. It was converted into a private dwelling in 1914 and was the home ofEdwina Curriewhen she was MP for South Derbyshire from the 1980's onwards. It is claimed that on a clear day 22 churches includingLichfield Cathedralcan be seen from the mill.

Mercia Marina opened in September 2008 in the 24-acreWillingtonLake, surrounded by another 50 acres (0.20 km²) of countryside for dog-walking fields, a wildlife lake and a holiday home development. In building the marina, twelve islands or promontories were added to the natural contours of the lake thus creating a green oasis for people and wildlife alike. This was enhanced by a £85,000 planting scheme, featuring wildflower banks, reed beds, semi mature trees and native plants. For boaters, the layout of Mercia Marina is akin to a series of small marinas joined by wide expanses of open water. The area includes numerous shops, a bar, coffee house and tea rooms.

Findern Primary School on Heath Lane was designed by the pioneering architect George Henry Widdows and constructed in 1924. The highly popular Dobbies Garden Centre is to be found on Doles Lane. The canal at Findern, forms part of theTrent and Mersey Canal,which was completed in 1777, and connects the to more than 70 locks and five tunnels, ultimately joining theRiver Trentto theRiver Mersey.The railway line runs alongside the canal and was opened by theBirmingham and Derby Junction Railwayon its original route from Derby toHampton-in-Ardenwhere it met theLondon and Birmingham Railwayfor London. The village is nowadays bounded on two sides by major A roads; theA38and theA50.The former, to the north east, follows the course of the Roman roadIcknield Street,while the latter passes to the south of the village centre and runs parallel to the canal. In contrast to the ancient route of the A38, the A50 road was laid only in 1997.

Jedediah Strutt

Jedediah Struttwas born 25 July 1726 inSouth Normanton,Derbyshire. He was the son of William Strutt, a farmer, and Martha Statham. After showing an early interest in mechanics, Strutt was apprenticed at the age of 14 to Ralph Massey, a wheelwright who lived in Findern. There Strutt lodged at The Old Hall with a hosiery manufacturing family called the Woollatt's. Findern at the time was the base of theNonconformistAcademy withEbenezer Lathamas its headmaster. Latham, as a friend of the Woollatt family, became a key influence on Strutt's early life, and encouraged him to expand his learning. Strutt married Elizabeth Woollatt in 1755, and along with her brother William Woollatt, took out a patent in 1759 for an attachment to a mechanical knitting machine known as astocking frame.The Derby Rib was a set of barbed hooks, operated vertically among the horizontal needles of the frame, that took the loops from the latter, and reversed them to make a rib stitch.

In 1771, Strutt, and spinner Samuel Need joinedRichard Arkwrightin the building of acotton millatCromford,using what was henceforth called Arkwright's water frame. This was the first of its kind in the world, marking the beginning of theIndustrial Revolution.Further mills followed atBelperin 1778 andMilfordin 1782. For each of the mills, Strutt built long rows of worker's houses and both are now part of theDerwent Valley MillsWorld Heritage Site. In time there would be eight Strutt mills at Belper which would grow to a population of 10,000 by the mid-nineteenth century and be the second largest town in the county.

Additional history

There is a Neolithic cursus 1 ½ miles south of the village.

The village was mentioned in theDomesday Book,when it was held byBurton Abbeyas an outlier ofMickleover.Aprioryonce stood near the church, where the monks were supplied with fresh food from the fishponds on Common Piece Lane. After the dissolution of the abbey the Fynderne family, as the principal land-owners, took ownership of the village and the remainingChapel of Ease.The Fyndernes lived in a fortified manor house on Castle Hill, though none of the house remains.

Sir Geoffrey de Fynderne left the village to join theCrusades,and brought back the Findern Flower, which in the UK only grows in the village, and only in particular areas. The flower has become an emblem of the village and is represented in many guises, including the emblem of Findern Primary School.

In 1694 an early school was started here by Rev. Benjamin Robinson, the localPresbyterianminister (for which he was summoned to explain why to the bishop).

The church was rebuilt and consecrated in 1863, on the site of aSaxonchapel of ease, destroyed by fire. Built of sandstone, it stands adjacent to the village green. The church contains a monument to Isabella de Fynderne dated 1444, and also possesses the oldest parish communion plate in the UK. Findern also has a smallMethodist chapel,built in 1835, close to the site of the oldpriory.The village previously also had an early 18th centuryUnitarianchapel, built just over five miles from Derby. At that time the law decreed that no Dissenting meeting house should be built less than that distance from the town. It was demolished in 1939.

Residents

Findern was also the birthplace of Ben Spilsbury who in 1884 scoredDerby County’s first ever league goal, played for the Rams for five years and was capped three times for England.Reg Parnellwas a successfulFormula Onemotor racing driver from the 1930's through to his retirement in 1957, after which he became team manager until his death in 1964. The writer and broadcaster Andrew Ross Hay lived in the village from 1970 to 1989.Edwina Curriewas theConservative PartyMember of Parliament forSouth Derbyshirefrom 1983 until 1997, and was a Junior Health Minister for two years before resigning in 1988 during thesalmonella-in-eggs controversy.

The Findern Flower, Narcissus Poeticus Flore Pleno

See also

• Listed buildings in Findern

References

Media related toFindernat Wikimedia Commons