King’s Newton Wonder

The new issue of Derbyshire Life (September 2014) contains some of the best photos I’ve taken.  Mind you, when you feature a village that has, according to Nikolaus Pevsner, author of The Buildings of England – ‘one of the most attractive main streets in Derbyshire,’ I would have been disappointed had I not caught its glory.  I get terribly frustrated trying to photograph village streets simply because of the number of parked cars.  Not here in King’s Newton, where I wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow had a farmer trotted by on his horse and cart.

What I also discovered was the Newton Wonder.  It’s an apple sold the world over and the local pub – the Hardinge Arms – is where the seedling grew, highly appropriate for a market gardening area.  It’s appropriate, too, that it’s called a Newton seeing as it was an apple that led to Isaac Newton’s discovery of the Universal Law of Gravitation. Today, the Newton Wonder is regarded as a high quality cooking apple, not as sharp as a Bramley and sweet enough to eat.  Following a conversation I had with the new landlord/landlady of the Hardinge Arms, you might find Newton Wonder Pie as a special on their menu.

I always pride myself on my research on any place I cover for Derbyshire life but I wasn’t able to unearth the reason for whales’ jawbones appearing in a place so distant from the sea.  They are obviously of significance as they are on Jawbones Lane but no-one seems to know how they got there and why.  Do let on if you know.

Also, in the grounds of King’s Newton Hall, I beheld the biggest monument I have ever seen to a dog. It’s about six feet high.  The inscription reads ‘Ici repose Sultan, la chien fidele de Sir Robert Adair Hodson.’

Other interesting aspects of King’s Newton includes a stud for true miniature horses – thery never grow taller than 34 inches – the last surviving market gardening business when 50 years ago there were over 30, and a storage facility – Newton Self Storage – which has the clever slogan ‘Think inside the box.’

The gallery below shows further delights in King’s Newton…