Calow has only been a parish since 1900. Before that it was an agricultural hamlet, a convenient resting point marking the hilly climb between Chesterfield and Bolsover.
The village has had some spurts of rapid expansion and the latest count shows there are 47 street names within the parish. Some of these names have historic, local meaning. Others seem to have been picked randomly from the builder's imagination.
Over the next months, the council will attempt to give some context behind the names. (Please feel free to contact us below if you dispute or have more information to add!) So to begin alphabetically…
Allpits Road: | The street was built, alongside others in the 1950s, to supply much needed social housing in the area. It was built around the site of Allpits Farm (supposedly haunted) which was demolished to make way for the new housing. Allpits colliery was sited along Blacksmith Lane and Allpits Plantation still exists (next to Westwood). |
Almond Close: | Again this street was built alongside others, all of which were named after plants or flowers. It was built in the 1950s & 60s on the site of the former Proctor's Rose Nursery which "uprooted" and moved to Brookside in Chesterfield. |
Blacksmith Lane: | This is one of the older streets in the village. It was so called because of the site of the Smithy (the small white building at the junction of Top Road and Blacksmith Lane). |
Bole Hill: | A "bole" was at the top of a hill, usually a windy site, where metal such as lead or iron could be smelted in the open air. A nearby wood would supply fuel for the smelting process. |
Sue Addison (suecalow246@gmail.com) on behalf of Calow Parish Council