Golden Valley

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Golden Valley

Construction of the Cromford canal between Cromford and Langley Mill was completed in 1794 and brought great wealth to the Butterley Company. It enabled them to exploit the rich Coal and Ironstone seams and feed their hungry furnaces at the Ironworks at Butterley and Codnor Park.
The area between the eastern canal portal and Ironville became known as Golden Valley and this was home to the workers and their families employed by the Butterley Company.

Fig.1 This 1884 map of Golden Valley and surrounding area shows the extent of industry that thrived along the canal.

Fig.2 St. Mathias Church, Golden Valley was built in 1876 and served as a Church of England infants school during the week. It eventually closed at the end of Summer term 1973.

Here are just a few of the classes that attended the school during that time;

Fig.3 Golden Valley Infants School 1910

Unfortunately I have no other information for this picture.

Fig.5 Golden Valley Infants School 1932

Back Row Left to Right; D Edwards, V Ingram, C Holdon, Miss Hill

Third Row: A Waller, B Purdy, B Walters, B Caulton, C Gent, E Langton, R Holdon, K Dooley, ?, E Butt, J Burton.

Second Row: ?Jackson, M Inwood, G Abel, D Palmer, M Butt, J Stuart, D Dooley.

Front Row; D Inwood, T Watson, R Clark, G Purdy, B King.

Fig.7 Golden Valley Infants School 1936

Back Row Left to Right; J Inwood, Miss Hill, K Gent
Third Row; A Stuart, T King, B King, I Hawkins, K Ashmore, ?, C Stuart, R Burton, ?.
Second Row; B Freeman, G Stuart, ?, ?, E Langton, G Edwards, R Hunt.
Front Row; C Palmer, ?, ?, C Dooley

Fig.4 Golden Valley Infants School 1927

Back Row Left to Right: Mrs Cocks, ?, Bernard Johnson, ?, ?, ?, ?, Olden, Winnie Able, Cladys Caurlton,?
Third Row; ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Gilbert Ingram, Stan Hawkins
Second Row; ?, ?, ?, George Dooley, Alfe Walters, George Gent, Ray Stuart, A Gent, Watson.
Front Row; Rex Abel, ?,?, Roy Dooley, Bill Butt, Harry Langton, Marge Inwood, ?, ?, May Johnson

Fig.6 Golden Valley Infants School 1935

Back Row Left to Right; Miss Hill, T King, R Burton, A Stuart, C Dooley, J Inwood, ?, B King.

Second Row; J Brown, E Palmer, A Stuart, I Hawkins, J Waller, D Dooley, E Abel, B Harrison, J Poole.

Front Row; B Freeman, G Stuart, S Walters, C Stuart, K Ashmore, K Poole, M Blatherwick.

Fig.8 Golden Valley Infants School 1943_44

Mrs Miller Mrs Gent

Back Row left to Right: ? Ashmore, Jim Aldridge, Margaret Freeman, Alan Witcherley, ? Ashmore, ? Brown, Nev Freeman, Enid Crooks, Rosie Stuart, Ron Aldridge, Paul Birks, Dennis Patrick.
Front Row Left to Right: ? Powdrill, Edwin Brown, ? Brown, June Phillips, Josephine Gent, Freda Inwood, ?, Kev Stewart, Brian Bowers, Brian Ashmore, ?, Jeff Palmer.

Fig.9 Golden Valley Infants School 1956

Back Row Left to Right; Mrs D Miller, Elaine Ashmore, Roger Patrick, Phillip Owen, Russell Storer, Roy Ashmore, Dennis Storer, Jeremy Higgs, Miss ?

Middle Row; Bernard Owen, Richard Woodwood, Alan?, Hilda Poundrill, Kenneth Bradley, Maureen Ball, Christine Leeke, Peter Heath,

Susan Higgs, Jennifer Soar, Yvonne Leek.

Front Row; Chrispin Sisson, Jennifer Slack, Susan Holdon, Roy Woodward, Ruth Brewster, Judith?, Denise Warwick, Michael Kenmuir,
Stephen Warwick, Susan Kenmuir.

Newlands Inn

Fig.10 Newlands Inn 1932: Note the door with curved stone steps (left hand side) bricked up about 1935.

Fig.12 Mr and Mrs Burton outside Newlands Inn circa 1935, just after Stone effect plaster had been applied to walls.

Fig.11 Mr and Mrs Burton outside the Newlands Inn 1932, with their sons Roger (left and John (right).

Fig.13 Road Widening 1973 Newlands Inn opposite, Note the strengthening brick work that had previously been required on the old canal bridge to accommodate the weight of road traffic.

Canal & Housing

There were 14 locks on the canal between Golden Valley and Langley Mill so to help maintain the correct water level three reservoirs were located at Butterley, Butterley Park (Golden Valley) and Codnor Park. The overflow in the two pictures below is for the Butterley Park Reservoir, which was drained in the 1930s.

Fig.14 Overflow and Canal tunnel Eastern portal 22nd June 1909.

Fig.16 Cromford Canal tow path looking towards Golden Valley.

Codnor Park reservoir on the right and Cromford canal on the left.

Also the Ginstables visible on the hillside over the road, now demolished.

Fig.18 This picture from 1906 shows the road bridge over the canal and St. Mathias church behind the trees. The flat area to the left of the canal was once cloddy wharf. An incline plain tramway passed through a short tunnel under the coach road and led up to the coke ovens and New Main Colliery.

Fig.15 Overflow and Canal tunnel Eastern portal 2001. Notice the bigger overflow on the right,which was added at a later date.

Fig.17 Swimming in Butterley Park Reservoir 1910.

H Holinsworth, R Dunston, L Boultby

Fig.19 Stone Row was originally a row of 20 industrial workers cottages built in 1795. This picture was taken about 1977 just prior to the restoration of the cottages by the Derbyshire Historic Building trust.