Whaley Thorns

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Whaley Thorns
Whaley Thorns - St Lukes Church
Whaley Thorns is located in Derbyshire
Whaley Thorns
Whaley Thorns
Location within Derbyshire
OS grid referenceSK5370
Civil parish
  • Langwith
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMANSFIELD
Postcode districtNG20
PoliceDerbyshire
FireDerbyshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
53°14′02″N 1°12′14″W / 53.234°N 1.204°W / 53.234; -1.204

Whaley Thorns is a former colliery village in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England, close to the Nottinghamshire border. Whaley Thorns lies just north of Nether Langwith and Langwith, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Creswell, and west of Cuckney. It is in the civil parish of Langwith.

The village takes its name from a dense wood, recorded on the first Ordnance Survey Maps. "Whaley" being Celtic for water/spring, referring to both the local springs, just to the north, and the river Poulter which lies only 200 yards (180 m) to the south. And "Thorn" an Anglo-Saxon word, for wood. So the original meaning, may have been either "Wood of the Springs", or "Wood above/between the water(s)".

In the Mid-nineteenth century, much of the wood was cut down, following the discovery of coal beneath it. Thanks to the nearby railway, the site soon grew into a colliery village. The village acquired both an Anglican Chapel and a Methodist Chapel;[1] both still hold regular services. It also acquired a large primary school, and later on in the 1940s, another school.

In the late 1970s the chief employer, Langwith colliery, closed.[2] Since then the first school closed and re-opened as a heritage centre and a re-education centre for ex-miners. The Second has remained open as a primary school.

Following the Pit (Colliery) closure the villages' population greatly declined.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Whaley Thorns Colliery Village, Whaley Thorns, Scarcliffe - Derbyshire Historic Environment Record". her.derbyshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Langwith Colliery". calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
[edit]

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