Chellaston: The history of Chellaston

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ONCE a small village, four miles south of Derby, Chellaston has now been absorbed by Derby city and is still being swamped by new housing.

In 1801, it had a population of less than 200 and this had only increased to 654 by the time of the 1901 census.

The area has survived through the centuries and maintained its own identity by adapting to change as the market value of the local natural assets altered.

Its mineral resources were firstly marketed as alabaster, then as plaster and later as bricks.

The purest, whitest alabaster, which was found nearest the surface, was used during the 14th and 15th centuries for effigies, monuments and altarpieces.

The earliest documentary reference to alabaster was a commission in 1367 from King Edward III to Peter the Mason, of Nottingham, for an altarpiece for the free chapel of St George at Windsor.

The altarpiece cost £200 and required 10 eight-horse carts to transport it over a journey that took 17 days. It is thought to have been made of Chellaston alabaster.

Examples of alabaster monuments can be seen in many local churches including Swarkestone, Aston-on-Trent, Radbourne, Breedon and Derby Cathedral (the tomb of Bess of Hardwick) .

In the 16th century, the coloured varieties of alabaster become more acceptable and earlier workings were reopened to meet demand when most of the white had been extracted.

The 19th century saw a revival of alabaster after a decline in demand for tombs in the 17th.

But as quantities of good carving quality stone became more difficult to find, the amount of poorer quality gypsum increased.

The extraction of the stone, the sorting, crushing, firing and transporting helped to keep Chellaston’s men and boys in employment.

With the coming of the canals, vast quantities were sent to the Potteries to make the plaster moulds for crockery and tiles.

Gypsum was also used for paths and roads and in housing for walls and floors.

In 1938, the mine and works closed down but already established in the quarry, from about 1871, was a brick and tile making industry.

For centuries, the waste clay from the quarrying had been removed and very little use made of it until the latter part of the 19th century when access to relatively cheap coal was assured by the railway.

With plenty of raw material (but decreasing gypsum) and the necessary fuel, it wasn’t long before the main activity was the manufacture of bricks. These brickworks closed in 1978.

Over the life of the brickworks, there was a gradual expansion of production as more modem equipment was introduced.

However, the works sometimes experienced reduced output and occasionally ceased production entirely when the building industry was in the doldrums.

Both world wars gave a boost to the industry. During the Second World War, Chellaston Minerals were required to have sufficient bricks for a major rebuilding of Rolls-Royce in case it was seriously damaged by enemy bombing raids.

And one of the largest contracts was the supply of bricks to build the huge Spondon factory for the Ministry of Supply which eventually became British Celanese.

The oldest surviving social organisation in Chellaston is the crown green bowling club which began in February 1905 after the offer of a piece of land from a Mr Pakeman for a bowling green “50 yards by 50 yards in Station Road, at a rental of £3.0.0d per annum, with a lease of 10 years, occupation for the first year free”.

The green was ready and opened by the local vicar and Mr Pakeman on April 22, 1905, with the title of The Chellaston & District Bowls Club.

This survived for 19 years, mainly because of the dedication of a few enthusiasts who saw the need for a club in the first place and set the pattern of management upon which the club was established.

When the sale of the land was threatened in 1924, the committee purchased it for £125 and set up a limited liability company named Chellaston Bowls Club.

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