Ronald Pope
Ronald Pope was an English sculptor and artist. Pope was born after his studies moved to Derbyshire to work as an engineer, he started at the Rolls Royce factory in Derby. He was at Rolls-Royce throughout the war as a tool maker, where the engines were built for the Spitfire aircraft. Pope learnt and gained experience in techniques such as welding and brazing which he exploited for artistic reasons. After the end of the war he went to London to study sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art with Prof. F. McWilliam. Pope continued studying ceramics afterward at Woolwich Polytechnic with the ceramist Heber Matthews. Pope worked as an artist in Melbourne, Derbyshire, he was inspired by his love of the countryside the Derbyshire High Peak, the Derbyshire Dales, the Lake District and Snowdonia. The influence of rock formations can be seen in a number of his sculptures. Pope used various materials for his artwork: wood and metal; some of his metal works look austere. Apart from sculptures, Pope created paintings and drawings.
As an artist, Pope received commissions from churches and from local authorities like Hertford, where he created the "'Five Bishops" sculpture on what was called Castle Hall to celebrate the 13th centenary of the first synod at Hertford. Other Pope locations include: Derby University, Derby Cathedral, school commissions he completed for Derby Moor School, Derby School for the Deaf, Curzon Primary and Normanton Junior in Derby, Abingdon High School in Wigston, private companies, individuals, including the architect Sir Basil Spence, for whom he designed a sculpture at St Catherine of Siena, Richmond, in Sheffield. In 2008 Derby Museum and Art Gallery held an exhibition of his works entitled "Ronald Pope - Sculpture from the Museums' Collection"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world; the Irish Sea lies between Great Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world, it is the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017. The UK is constitutional monarchy; the current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the longest-serving current head of state.
The United Kingdom's capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. Other major urban areas in the UK include Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire conurbations, Greater Glasgow and the Liverpool Built-up Area; the United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh and Belfast, respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers, but such power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution; the nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. The medieval conquest and subsequent annexation of Wales by the Kingdom of England, followed by the union between England and Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are fourteen British Overseas Territories, the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed a quarter of the world's land mass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language and political systems of many of its former colonies; the United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It has a high-income economy and has a high Human Development Index rating, ranking 14th in the world, it was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The UK remains a great power, with considerable economic, military and political influence internationally, it is sixth in military expenditure in the world. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.
It has been a leading member state of the European Union and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization; the 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has been used as a description for the former kingdom of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was "Great Britain"; the Acts of Union 1800 united the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, Scotland and Northern Ireland are widely referred to as countries. The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom; some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom refer to Scotland and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice revealing one's political preferences"; the term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England and Wales in combination. However, it is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole; the term "Britain" is used both as a synonym for Great Britain, as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed, with the BBC preferring to use Britain as shorthand only for Great Britain and the UK Government, while accepting that both terms refer to the United K
Melbourne Castle
Melbourne Castle was a medieval castle in Melbourne, Derbyshire. It was built on the site of an earlier royal manor house that had provided accommodation for noblemen hunting in a nearby royal park in the reign of King John. Construction of the castle was started in 1311 by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, continued until 1322, shortly before his execution, but the work was never completed. From the early 14th century, Melbourne Castle was in the possession of the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster or the crown. Improvements and repairs were made by John of Gaunt, the building was in good condition throughout the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. John I, Duke of Bourbon, was kept at Melbourne for 19 years after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the castle was considered as a possible prison for Mary, Queen of Scots, although events led to her incarceration elsewhere; the castle was in decline by the end of the reign of Elizabeth I. Although the stonework was sound, minimal maintenance had led to significant deterioration of other parts of the structure.
The manor was purchased in 1604 by Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, who had his own castle in nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The Melbourne property was demolished and used as a source for building materials. All that remains of Melbourne Castle today is a section of wall about 15 m long and 4 m high and some foundations; the ruins are grade II listed and the site is a scheduled monument. There is no public access to the castle remains. Melbourne is a town in South Derbyshire close to the River Trent, which may have originated as buildings associated with the royal manor to the south of the nearby settlement at Kings Newton. Melbourne Castle was constructed on the site of an earlier manor house of unknown date; as recorded in the Domesday Book, the manor of Melbourne and its lands were the property of King Edward the Confessor prior to the Norman Conquest. The property passed into the hands of William I of England. After creating the Diocese of Carlisle in 1133, Henry I gave the manor for life to Æthelwold, the first bishop.
Some time the diocese built a palace nearby on the site of what is now Melbourne Hall. When Bishop Æthelwold died in about 1156, the manor reverted to the crown. A royal hunting park close to Melbourne was created by King John around 1200, the King is known to have stayed at the manor house on at least five occasions. John gave the manor and its lands to Hugh Beauchamp, although they appear to have soon reverted to the crown, being gifted by Henry III to Bishop Walter Mauclerk of Carlisle in about 1230; the estate returned to the crown on the bishop's death in 1248, Henry granted the land to his son, Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, in 1265. At some date, the manor appears to have been granted to a Philip Marc, before passing to Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, the King's son; this was in 1298 when he came of his father having died two years earlier. Early references to the house itself are rare, but there are records of repairs to the gutters in 1246 and to the roof of the King's Chamber in 1248.
The castle was built to the east of the 14th-century town on a raised location. The area enclosed within the castle's outer walls was about 2.8 ha, but with outbuildings, other ancillary constructions and orchards, the total area has been estimated to be at least 8 ha. The walls were constructed with rubble faced with ashlar, without their former polished facings the walls are about 3 m thick. All, known of the appearance of the castle is from contemporary drawings. Although these may seem fanciful to modern eyes, there are better preserved sites which share some features. Tutbury and Pontefract Castles both have similar gatehouses and chapels, Tutbury's motte and Pontefract's curtain wall are close in style to those in the illustrations. Sandal Castle has a multi-angular tower like those depicted, this feature is confirmed at Melbourne by foundations which still remain. A bakehouse and chapel are recorded, as well as the hall, great chamber, drawbridge, but the details of the internal layout for the castle are unknown.
Earl Thomas granted the manor to his steward, Robert de Holland, in February 1308. In 1311, Robert obtained a licence to crenellate from Edward II in order to fortify the manor house, the more modest earlier building was converted into a castle between 1311 and 1322. Local tradition says that the stone was obtained from a quarry on the site of what is now Melbourne Pool; the records show £1,313 was spent on the project in the year 1313–14, of which £548 was paid to masons for dressing stone. Several masons working on the project were involved in an affray at Ravenstone in 1315; the important medieval buildings in Melbourne were constructed from the local bedrock, Millstone Grit. This is a coarsely grained sandstone; the village was centred around the church and High Street until the late 18th century. Earl Thomas, with other barons, captured King Edward's favourite, Piers Gaveston, killed him in 1312; the King stayed at Melbourne in 1314. For a time, after Edward's defeat at Bannockburn, the earl, a friend of the Scots, controlled most of England, but by 1321 Edward had raised an army and driven Thomas from the Midlands.
The Lancastrian castles at Melbourne and Tutbury were left deserted and looted by the local populace. Earl Thomas was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, he was swi
Kings Newton
Kings Newton is a village in South Derbyshire. The population of the village is included in Melbourne; the Holy well was constructed around 1660, but has been refurbished at the end of the twentieth century. Unlike many villages in Derbyshire, Kings Newton is not mentioned in the Domesday book and is a "new town"; the hamlet was called Newton but the prefix of Kings was added to differentiate it from other Newtons in the surrounding counties. After the successful campaign at the Battle of Sobraon, Henry Hardinge was created Viscount Hardinge of Lahore and of King's Newton in Derbyshire, with a pension of £3000 for three lives. Why this small village was chosen for his honour is unclear; the hall illustrated was built in 1560 and was extensively damaged by fire in 1859. It was restored in 1910 by Cecil Paget and his first wife; the illustration is from a book of poetry by local naturalist, John Joseph Briggs, whose poem about the Trent was the title of his poetry book. Marjorie Bates, 20th century artist was born here in 1883.
John Joseph Briggs, Naturalist lived here and published a History of Melbourne Cecil Paget, locomotive engineer and railway administrator, lived in the Hall 1910-1936 Media related to Kings Newton at Wikimedia Commons
South Derbyshire
South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611, it contains a third of the National Forest, the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the Swadlincote urban district along with Repton Rural District and part of South East Derbyshire Rural District. Settlements in the district include: Aston-on-Trent Barrow upon Trent, Boulton Moor, Bretby Calke, Castle Gresley, Church Gresley, Church Broughton, Coton in the Elms Egginton, Etwall Hartshorne, Hilton, Hollington Ingleby Kings Newton Linton, Lullington Melbourne, Milton Netherseal, Newton Solney Overseal Repton, Rosliston Shardlow, Stanton by Bridge, Stenson Fields, Swarkestone Ticknall Walton-on-Trent, Weston-on-Trent, Willington In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas showed that housing in South Derbyshire produced the 19th highest average carbon emissions in the country at 6,929 kg of carbon dioxide per dwelling.
As a way of helping to reduce these emissions, the local councils have since given out leaflets and flyers telling people information about climate change. Relative to Derbyshire, the East Midlands and England as a whole the population of South Derbyshire is expected to rise by 23% in forecasts from a 2005 population of 88,000 to a 2025 population of 108,600. Swadlincote is anticipated to absorb most of this expansion. No other district in Derbyshire is expected to grow at half this rate; the figures for the East Midlands as whole over this time range is 10.5% with both Derbyshire and England as a whole being similar but less. Derby is forecast to grow by only 6%. List of civil parishes in South Derbyshire South Derbyshire District Council Official site South Derbyshire Citizens Advice Bureau Official site South Derbyshire Badgers Official set
Melbourne line
The Melbourne Line was a railway line which ran from Derby to Ashby de la Zouch. It was used by the British Army and Allied engineers during the Second World War from 1939 until late 1944 to prepare them for the invasion of mainland Europe. Engineers practised the demolition and rebuilding of railways and the running and maintenance of a railway line and its rolling stock. There was a bridge building school at Kings Newton; the section used by the military was between junctions near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire and Chellaston and Swarkestone in Derbyshire. Its principal station was Melbourne, at the hamlet of Kings Newton. Troops camped at Weston-on-Trent from 1940. A suspension bridge linked the camp with Kings Newton over the Trent. In the early stages of the War it was soon realised that the military railway at Longmoor would have to be expanded if the capacity to train the necessary railway personnel was to be met. A second training establishment was sought. Derby Midland was a major railway centre.
The London and Scottish Railway staff college there was about to close and its Principal, Colonel Lionel Manton recommended the nearby rural freight line between Derby and Ashby de la Zouch be used as a training line. On 19 November 1939 the section of the line from Chellaston East Junction to the Smisby Road crossing, just north of Ashby, was handed over to the War Department, it was named the No. 2 Railway Training Centre. The line was named the Melbourne Military Railway after its principal station. South of Chellaston East Junction the railway established its headquarters, consisting of workshops and engine sheds for eight locomotives. After the war this area became a wagon repair depot. At Kings Newton miles of sidings were built; the railway was to be used for individual training but it was used for training complete railway operating companies who would work the line for a week at a time. Two such companies were Canadian. From July 1941 the Melbourne training regime was linked with that at Longmoor.
Basic training took place in Hampshire before transfer to Melbourne where railway engineers undertook eight weeks training and construction engineers undertook 16 weeks training, which included eight weeks at the Kings Newton bridge building school. By the end of 1944 the additional facilities were no longer needed and the line was ready to hand back to the LMS. On 11 July 1940 nine Royal Engineer sappers training on the railway were killed by a German bomb dropped on their billet in Church Street, Melbourne. Eight of them are buried in Melbourne Cemetery. Major traffic on the line consisted of moving military stores to and from Kings Newton and Tonge, coal from the New Lount Colliery and lime from Cloud Hill, Worthington. Eight or more locomotives were in steam daily but most were in poor condition, they used water pumped from the River Trent. The railway track was handed back to the LMS on 1 January 1945 who submitted a bill of £25,265 to the War Department to restore the line but in 1954 the section through Ashby was closed.
In 1958 steam power was replaced by diesel on many local lines and large numbers of redundant steam locomotives were stored at Chellaston quarry. In March 1966 British Railways closed Chellaston Quarry Signal Box and the sidings were lifted in 1967 when the line was returned to single track running. BR closed the line on 21 May 1980. In 1988 the track was lifted and the section between Chellaston East Junction and Worthington was converted into part of National Cycle Route 6. There are several remains of the railway: buffer stops on the Isley Walton Road, pillars from bridge building in the Trent, the concrete bases of buildings, some derelict brick buildings and remains of engine sheds at Chellaston Quarry. Additionally, Ashby Tunnel still survives and the eastern portal is accessible from a cutting in Tunnel Wood, although the western portal and its approach cutting have been infilled. Two locomotives and a coach that ran on the line are now owned by the East Sussex Railway. Longmoor Military Railway – Hampshire Cooper, Alan.
The Melbourne Military Railway: A History of the Railway Training Centre at Melbourne and Kings Newton, 1939–1945. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-411-3. David Birt materials on the Melbourne Military Railway at Melbourne Public Library, Assembly Rooms, Derbyshire. Catalis Derby Telegraph article about war-time Kings Newton and Weston - 01/04/2013
