Worthington, Leicestershire

Worthington is a village and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the town of Coalville and a similar distance north-east of the market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The population of the civil parish (including Gelsmoor, Griffydam and Newbold) at the 2011 census was 1,461.[2] The village is about 5 miles (8 km) from East Midlands Airport and junction 23a of the M1 motorway where it meets the A42 road. The parish also includes the hamlet of Newbold.

Worthington

St. Matthew's church, Worthington
Worthington
Location within Leicestershire
Population1,350 (parish) (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSK4020
Civil parish
  • Worthington
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAshby-de-la-Zouch
Postcode districtLE65
Dialling code01530
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
WebsiteWorthington Parish Council
Worthington village seen from Middle Brand, with Breedon-on-the-Hill in the distance

History

Worthington's toponym may derive from the family name "Werden"[3] or a man called "Weorth".[4]

The Domesday Book of 1086 records Henry de Ferrers as holding four carucates of land at "Werditone".[3][5]

The Church of England parish church of Saint Matthew is Norman.[6] Most of its present windows were added in the 13th century and the remainder were added in about 1300.[6] Fragments remain of a Perpendicular Gothic screen that was added later in the Middle Ages.[6] St. Matthew's is now part of the United Benefice of Breedon and Worthington.[7]

The parish lock-up is believed to have been built late in the 18th century.[8] It is an octagonal building[6] with an octagonal spire but is called the Round House.[8] It is built of brick and is a scheduled monument.[8]

Worthington Methodist Chapel was built in 1820.[9]

In 1874 the Midland Railway extended its Melbourne branch through Worthington parish to Ashby-de-la-Zouch and opened Worthington railway station to serve the village. The Midland's successor the London, Midland and Scottish Railway withdrew the line's passenger service in the 1930s and British Railways closed the line to freight traffic in 1980.

Worthington Primary school[10] opened in about 1926.[5] The school use an image of the 'Round House' as their logo.

The parish was predominantly rural until the 20th century, when the village was rapidly expanded to house workers for nearby collieries including New Lount Colliery.[11] By the 1990s many of the local collieries had ceased operating and the village began to lose its mining identity.

Local nicknames for Worthington have included "Paraffin City" due to its late adoption of electricity, and "Yawny Box"[5] which is an obsolete Derbyshire word for a donkey.[12]

Amenities

Worthington has a public house, the Malt Shovel Inn.[13] It used to have another pub called the Swan.

The village has a post office.

National Cycle Route 6 passes through the parish, and at the site of the former railway station it joins the trackbed of the former railway to Melbourne, Derbyshire. In the parish the cycle route is called the Cloud Trail.

The parish is in the hunting country of the Quorn Hunt.

Notes
  1. "Area selected: North West Leicestershire (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. Dane, Rev. H.A. (April 2001). "Saint Matthew's, Worthington, a Short Guide". Saint Matthew's Church, Worthington. The United Benefice of Breedon and Worthington. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. Mills & Room, 2003, page not cited
  5. Walker, Ralph (April 2001). "Part 1". Worthington Remembered. The United Benefice of Breedon and Worthington. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  6. Pevsner, 1960, page 268
  7. http://www.benefice.org.uk/index.php United Benefice of Breedon and Worthington
  8. Historic England (7 June 2000). "Lock up known as The Round House, at the junction of Church Street and St Matthew's Avenue (1019307)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  9. Historic England. "Methodist Chapel (1177712)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  10. Worthington Primary School
  11. Walker, Ralph (April 2001). "Part 3". Worthington Remembered. The United Benefice of Breedon and Worthington. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  12. Wright, 1857, page 1035
  13. http://www.marstonspubcompany.co.uk/pubs/view/15224 Marston Pub Company: Malt Shovel Inn

Sources and further reading
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