24/02/2025
WILLINGTON AND THE MARINA.
The Green Man
Situated midway between Derby and Burton, close to the A38 and new A50, it is hardly surprising that Willington is usually busy with traffic. It has been the hub for transport for many years and has an absorbing history.
Evidence of habitation in the area has been found long before the Transport Revolution. In 1970, traces of a settlement dating back to 2,000 BC were revealed. It was created by the Beaker People and named after the distinctive drinking vessels they used, often found at burial sites.
The River Trent passes south of the village, and Willington was an important inland port during the 17th and 18th centuries. The arrival of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 replaced the river as the primary form of transport. Later, rail and road took over as the leading transport providers.
An Act of Parliament of 1699 made the Trent navigable above Shardlow as far as Burton. As navigation was less reliable further up the river, Willington's prosperity increased, and a settlement grew close to Trent. No buildings from that period remain, the last one demolished several years ago.
The bridge is the only one over the River Trent between Swarkestone and Burton, and it was originally a toll bridge. Walkers had to pay one old penny at the toll house on the Willington side of the bridge. Before the bridge was constructed in 1839, the only means of crossing the river to Repton was by Ford or ferry. The Ford was east of Willington Hall, and the ferry was west of the present bridge. Both were closed when the bridge opened. Fifty-nine years later, removing tolls caused much jubilation. However, the toll house remained until 1958, when an out-of-control motor vehicle demolished it. There is a viewing platform at the side of the bridge, built as part of the centenary celebrations for removing the tolls.
The Trent and Union Canal was built in 1777 and was initially called the 'Grand Trunk Canal'. The builder was James Brindley from Derbyshire, who could not read or write correctly but had a brilliant brain. At that time, Willington was the scene of much activity on and around the canal. A thriving wharf developed between the river and the canal. Today, a marina exists by the canal.
Several interesting old properties are on the River Trent side of the village. Trentside Cottage in Bargate Lane, formerly Wharf Lane, is probably the oldest house in the village, parts of which date back to the 15th century. The premises on the corner of the lane were formerly the village smithy. The two cottages that follow down Bargate Lane are Grade II listed.
Willington Hall, in Hall Lane, is another Grade II listed building used during the First World War to hold prisoners of war. The columns to the entrance porch are said to be marked by the grooves cut by the barbed wire to prevent escape.
St Michael's Church is relatively modest but has one of Derbyshire's largest and most prominent "Welcome" signs. It has a Norman tympanum over the south door, but most of the building is early 19th century.
The most prominent landmark in Willington came into being in the 1950s with the er****on of the power station. It was, in fact, two almost entirely independent generating units with separate management and staff. Logically, the two stations were named Willington' A' and Willington' B', the former occupying the site closest to the Willington to Swarkestone Road. The five cooling towers of the power station could be seen for many miles, so much so that they were used as a "sighting point" by pilots approaching East Midlands Airport, 15 miles away.
After just over 41 years of electricity generation, the final unit of Willington Power Station closed down on 31 March 1999. Demolition commenced later in the year for most of the site. However, the most distinctive features, the cooling towers, were left standing.
Mercia Marina was once a quarry located on the road from Willington to Findern, created from farmland for gravel extraction and used in constructing the nearby A50. After the extraction works closed, it became a fishing lake. Before local businessman John Thornton took over, he unveiled a multi-million-pound plan to turn it into a marina with 600 berths, holiday lodges and on-site businesses, including restaurants, retailers and office space. After a long delay, the Boardwalk opened in October 2014, considerably boosting visitor activity. Further expansion followed and is ongoing.
INFORMATION
Location: Situated eight miles south-west of Derby at the junction of the A1532 and B5008, only two minutes off the A38/A50 junction (SK295286). Willington Railway Station is close to the intersection of the A1532 and B5008.
Visit: Mercia Marina, browse the shops and explore the sensory garden and wildlife walks.
Refreshments: The Dragon, previously known as the Green Dragon, has been substantially refurbished and provides seating both inside and out facing the canal; Willow Tree Café at Mercia Marina, where you can sit and enjoy good food and the view across the Marina (a temporary cafe to open during the site redevelopment).
Event: There is a full programme of events at Mercia Marina throughout the year, including boat trips. For more information, visit the website: https://www.merciamarina.co.uk › boat-trips-hire or call 07763907639.
10 BITS AND PIECES
1. After 800 years, beavers are back in Derbyshire. In 2021, at Willington Wetlands Nature Reserve. The beaver family enjoys over 40 hectares of wetland habitat within a special beaver-proof fence.
2. The village has shops, a school, a post office, a doctor's surgery and sporting facilities. There are three excellent pubs, the Green Man and the Green Dragon (now 'The Dragon'), that date to the canal era and the more recent Rising Sun to the arrival of the railway age and a popular cafe.
3. James Brindley from Derbyshire was the engineer responsible for building the Trent and Mersey Canal. However, he died before completing the final piece in his canal network that revolutionised trade in the country. Hugh Henshall, his brother-in-law, finished the work. A milestone marks every mile along the route to Preston Brook.
4. The Ford across the River Trent is claimed to date from the 1600s, and in later years, it had a stone pavement under the water. The ferryman had his cottage nearby when the ferry service was operating.
5. Willington Railway Station was closed by Dr Beeching in 1964 but reopened 32 years later as an uncrewed station on what was proposed to be part of the Ivanhoe line to Leicester. To date, this has not happened.
6. In the 1880s, the Baptist Chapel used the railway station waiting room for Sunday services because the chapel was full of Sunday School children.
7. It is believed that before the building of the Baptist Church, their baptisms took place at the Ford on the River Trent.
8. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust purchased the large lakes at the end of Meadow Lane in 2005 and turned them into a wildlife reserve.
9. During the Second World War, the village was the home to many evacuees from Birmingham and London.
10. Findern Road was closed for a considerable period for bridge construction to allow the canal access to the Marina from the branch canal. It also provides a footpath for walkers to link up with the path along the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Article and Photographs supplied by Denis Eardley.
