Milford

The Library at Belper is a good resource with a Local History and Family History section.

A little south of Belper is the excellent Derby City Library which also has an excellent Local History section and a Family History section.

A number of Milford residents appear in the Duffield Burial list.

• The parish was in the Duffield sub-district of the Belper Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
   
• A new ecclesiastical parish was formed here in 1846.
   
• The church was built in 1847-48, on a site given by Messrs. STRETT.
   
• The church seats 500.
   
• Garth NEWTON has a photograph of Holy Trinity Church on the Geo-graph site, taken in May, 2012.

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1846.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Duffield.
   
• There was a Unitarian church here in 1817, but all mention of it disappears by 1857.
   
• The Baptists built a chapel here in 1849.
   
• Chris ALLEN has a photograph of the Baptist Chapel on Chevin Road on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.
   
• By 1895 the parish had chapels for the Wesleyan, Reformed and Primitive Methodists.
   
• Vincenze has a photograph of the Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2019.

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   
• The parish was in the Duffield sub-district of the Belper Registration District.

"MILFORD is a village, partly in the township of Belper and partly in the hamlet of Makeney, in the parish of Duffield; two miles S. of Belper, and 6 to the north of Derby. The river Derwent flows across the centre of the village, over which is a handsome stone bridge. The cotton works of Messrs. Strutt, which are conducted here upon a scale of great magnitude, employ the larger portion of the population. The mansions and grounds of the Hon. Capt. Gore, and of Anthony Strutt, Esq. are great embellishments to this busy little village. The population is returned with the parish."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

Makeney is considered a hamlet in Milford. Sunnyhill, Chevin Side, and Hopping Hill are places adjoining the village.

Malcolm NEAL has a photograph of Milford village on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2017.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ann ANDREWS provides a transcription of the Milford entry from Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland (1891).

• The transcription of the section for Milford from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin HINSON.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Milford to another place.

• Pictures of the Past has a photograph of "downtown" Milford from 1900.
   
• Ben BROOKSBANK has a 1957 photograph of a Stanier 5MT 4-6-0 No. 45253 on Geo-graph, taken in June 1957.
   
• The King William Public House was a popular spot for collecting local gossip.
   
• David LALLY has a photograph of the King William Public House on Geograph, taken in December, 2008.
   
• Visit the Milford & Makeney website for more historical information.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK351446 (Lat/Lon: 52.99758, -1.478473), Milford which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• A War Memorial was built in 1926 just in front of the church.
   
• Ian S. has a photograph of the Milford War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2015.
   
• J. THOMAS has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2005.
   
• Tony BACON has a similar shot of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2011.

• There is a photograph of the Roll of Honour on Geo-graph, taken by Ian S. in January, 2015. Some names are difficult to read.
   
• Walter HALLSWORTH, age 18, was an able seaman on HMS MTB 417 when it was sunk off Calais by German warships on 16 March 1944. He was the son of Walter and Laura HALLSWORTH of Milford. His death is recorded on the Portsmouth War Memorial.
   

• It is possible that during the latter part of the 18th century Milford may also have been known as 'New Mills'. See the New Mills parish page on this site for more details.

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar contributes this snippet from the Derby Mercury of 21 June 1804: "DIED: At Milford, near Duffield, Wm. TRUSSELL, a young man employed in the cotton mill, was caught upon one of the shafts and crushed against the floor with such violence as to occasion his death in a very few hours."

Ceri HATTERSLEY reports from the Derby Mercury for 28th Jan 1824: "DIED: On the 17th instant, Hannah WILBRAHAM, late of Milford, put a period to her existence by drowning herself in the River Derwent there, in a state of mental derangement."

• This parish was in the ancient Appletree Hundred (or Wapentake).
   
• On 1 Oct 1897, this place was formed as a Civil Parish from a portion of Duffield Civil Parish.
   
• In 1934, this Civil Parish became part of the Belper Urban District. This lasted until 1974.

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Belper petty session hearings every other week.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poorlaw Amendment Act reforms, this parish became a member of the Belper Poorlaw Union.
   
• In Nov. 1838, the Board of Guardians for the workhouse examined the widow Sarah CARLINE, age 70 living Milford, who had a single son and dau., residence unknown.

John WHEATCROFT Milford, labourer, left a Will in 1861 (made in 1850) in which he mentions:

• wife Hannah
• Wm. JONES witness
• James BARLOW witness
   

Samuel HARVEY, Milford farmer and shopkeeper, left a Will in 1861 (made in 1855) in which he mentions:

• wife Mary
• son Henry
• son William
• son John
• son Thomas Whilton HARVEY
• dau. Alice HARVEY
• dau. Martha HARVEY
• occupant William HOLMES property in Milford
• occupants William PARKINS, George ANTHONY, property in Ripley
• occupants Benjamin HASLAM, Thomas PARKER, Samuel SMITH, Ann HASLAM of Chevin Side
• occupants Robert ROGERS, George BROWN, William HOLMES, John UNDERWOOD property in Milford
• occupants widow HAWKESWORTH and her son John of property near Colwich
• occupant Henry SEAL property in Brassington
   

Richard HOTCHKISS moulder late Milford now Duffield left a Will in 1862 (made in 1860) in which he mentions (among others):

• wife Mary
• friend John BESTWICK Milford book keeper
   

Robert RODGERS Milford, mechanic left a Will in 1864 in which he mentions (among others):

• wife Mary
• 7 children
• Samuel YATES
• Geo. OLDERSHAW
   

Samuel MORRELL Milford shopkeeper left a Will in 1864 in which he mentions (among others):

• wife Hannah
• son Samuel
• son George
• John TURNER friend, boot and shoemaker Milford
• children of my first marriage John Wright MORRELL, Mary Jane wife of William WATSON of Milford labourer., Maria wife of John TAYLOR of Kilbourne collier, William, Fanny wife of Luke COOPER of Alfreton, basket maker, Eliza wife of Jabez GREGORY Milford, mill hand.
• Charles KEELING Clerk
• Ed Ley GREAVES Solr. Belper
   

Joseph ALLCOCK, a Milford bleacher left a Will in 1866 in which he mentions:

• wife Ann
• Thomas ILLSLEY elder
• Samuel RICHARDSON Milford, mechanic
• Joseph KNIGHT witness
• Edward BROOKS Milford, dyer. witness
• James VALLACK Commissioner
   

An 1876 Will for William HALL Belper mentions (among others):

• son Jabez of Milford, butcher
   

Thank you, Michael SPENCER, 2006 for the above!

Probates were also held in the parish for the following people:

1. 20 Mar 1901 Edith Adela STRUTT, beneficiary George Herbert STRUTT
2. 27 Jun 1911 Ann BUCKLEY, beneficiaries Elizabeth and Richard DALE
3. 22 Nov 1920 William BOTT, beneficiary John Charles BOTT

Don't forget to check out the resources at the county level, too.

The Milford County Junior Mixed and Infant School was built by Messrs. STRUTT c1819-23 abutting Milford Dyehouse. The school was built to hold 400 boys & girls & 120 infants. It is a Grade II listed structure. Chris ALLEN has a photograph of the School on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2011.