Clay Cross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the village. For the athlete, see Clay Cross (athlete).
| Clay Cross | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Population: | 8,573 |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | SK392631 |
| Administration | |
| Parish: | Clay Cross |
| Non-metropolitan district: | North East Derbyshire |
| Shire county: | Derbyshire |
| Region: | East Midlands |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Derbyshire |
| Historic county: | Derbyshire |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Derbyshire Constabulary |
| Fire and rescue: | {{{Fire}}} |
| Ambulance: | East Midlands |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | CHESTERFIELD |
| Postal district: | S45 |
| Dialling code: | 01246 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | North East Derbyshire |
| European Parliament: | East Midlands |
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Clay Cross is a former mining village and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, on the outskirts of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61, the former Roman road Ryknield Street. Surrounding settlements include North Wingfield, Tupton, Pilsley and Ashover.
Contents |
[edit] History
Until the early nineteenth century, Clay Cross was a small village, but increasing demand for coal and other minerals trebled the population by 1840. While driving the tunnel for the North Midland Railway, George Stephenson discovered both coal and iron, which together with the demand for limestone, caused him to move into Tapton Hall, near Chesterfield, and set a business as George Stephenson and Co.
Stephenson's workers' houses were of high quality for their time, having four rooms compared to the normal two, and a school was provided. By 1850 there were three chapels, a church and an institute - but no constable.
When he died in 1848 his son, Robert, took over, leaving the company in 1852 when it took the name of the Clay Cross Company.
Although the company had been formed to mine coal and manufacture coke from the railway, the supplies from Durham were preferred, and the works turned to iron working and brick making.
For many years, the company was the village's major employer. In 1985, Biwater took it over. In 2000 Biwater sold the site to French company, Saint-Gobain. Some months later, it was closed down with the loss of around 750 jobs.
Dennis Skinner was born and grew up in the town, and went to Tupton Hall Grammar School. He first worked at Parkhouse Colliery (known as Catty Pit) in 1949, a mile to the east of Clay Cross. The pit closed in 1962. He was a Clay Cross councillor from 1960-70, directly before becoming an MP in 1970.
[edit] Housing Finance Act dispute
The village was an urban district until 1974, when it was merged into the North East Derbyshire district under the Local Government Act 1972. In the 1970s the council achieved brief notoriety due to its refusal to implement the Housing Finance Act 1972 in increasing the rents of council housing - by law the rents should have increased by £1/week from October 1972. The council was one of several to show defiance against the Act, and three to be ordered to comply by the Department of the Environment in November 1972 (the others being Eccles and Halstead). Clay Cross was threatened with an audit in December 1972, [1] The constituency Labour party barred the 11 councillors from its list of approved candidates. [2] The District Auditor ordered the eleven Labour Party councillors to pay a surcharge of £635 each in January 1973, finding them "guilty of negligence and misconduct". [3] Conisbrough UDC faced a similar audit on January 19, 1973.[4]
The UDC made an appeal in the case to the High Court. [5] [6] Clydebank and Cumbernauld abandoned similar actions in March 1973. The surcharge was upheld by the High Court on July 30, 1973, which also added a further £2,000 legal costs to their bill, as well as barring them from public office for five years.[7] The council further defied authority (the Pay Board) in August, when they decided to increase council workers' earnings. [8] This provoked a further dispute with NALGO. Ultimately the dispute became moot with the replacment of Clay Cross urban district council with the North East Derbyshire district council from April 1, 1974.
[9][10] The councillors were made bankrupt in 1975 : [11]
A book on the dispute between the council and the Government, The Story Of Clay Cross, was written by one of the councillors, David Skinner, and the journalist Julia Langdon. The book was published by Spokesman Books in 1974[3].
[edit] Local economy
There is the Sharley Park Leisure Centre on the A6175 Market Street towards North Wingfield. Next door is the community hospital. The Danesmoor Industrial Estate is on the site of the Parkhouse Colliery. The library is on Holmegate Road.
[edit] Education
Tupton Hall School is in Tupton a mile to the north.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rebel council gets audit put off till new year. The Times. December 8, 1972.
- ^ Appeal to Labour executive by rent rebels. The Times. December 15, 1972.
- ^ 11 councillors surcharged £6,985 over rent refusal. The Times. January 19, 1973.
- ^ Councillors' pledge 'means more than Act'. The Times. January 20, 1973.
- ^ Council may go to court over surchage. The Times. January 24, 1973.
- ^ Councillors' appeal. The Times. February 28, 1973.
- ^ 'Rebel' Labour men face a bill of £8,985
- ^ Clay Cross defies pay ban. The Times. August 10, 1973.
- ^ Hansard, 1996 [1]
- ^ Socialist Review, Issue 194, February 1996 [2]
- ^ Clay Cross men get bankruptcy discharge. May 10, 1980. The Times.
[edit] External links
Ceremonial county of Derbyshire  |
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|---|---|---|
| Unitary authorities: | Derby | |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Amber Valley • Bolsover • Chesterfield • Derbyshire Dales • Erewash • High Peak • North East Derbyshire • South Derbyshire | |
| Cities/Towns: | Alfreton • Ashbourne • Bakewell • Belper • Bolsover • Buxton • Chapel-en-le-Frith • Chesterfield • Clay Cross • Derby • Dronfield • Glossop • Heanor • Ilkeston • Killamarsh • Long Eaton • Matlock • New Mills • Ripley • Sandiacre • Shirebrook • Staveley • Swadlincote • Whaley Bridge • Wirksworth See also: List of civil parishes in Derbyshire |
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