A Monumental Tale ….. The Jessop Monument was built in the mid 1850s at a cost of some £700 financed by voluntary subscriptions from Butterley Company workers, in memory of William Jessop II who died in 1852 after 46 years as controller of the Butterley Company. (William’s father, was one of the founders of the Butterley Company and was also involved with the construction of the Cromford Canal.) In 1853, plans for the monument were unveiled at a public meeting in Ironville School. It would be a grit stone tower, some 70 ft high with 150 winding steps inside. Work soon commenced and a nine year old school boy, named WS Greaves, when out for a walk with his father was asked by workmen to lay the first sod. On 9th October 1854, Francis Wright, Jessop’s successor, laid the foundation stone. For many years the grounds and memorial were a popular attraction, despite a lightning strike in July 1861 which left a zigzag scar, running from its top to bottom. The world famous French tight rope walker Charles Blondin, also visited the monument, walking a tight rope from the top of the monument down to the ground. The Monument Grounds also hosted many Whit Monday Band of Hope Fetes. In 1915, the 44th Annual Temperance Procession started from Somercotes, a sea of banners, flags and gaily decorated floats, led by the Mansfield Colliery Silver Prize Band. It proceeded through Leabrooks and Riddings, gathering strength as it marched, and parading the village of Ironville before winding its way up to the monument. There were sports, contests and games as well as prizes for handiwork, needlework and writing. There were even competitions for washing, spoon cleaning and nail driving ! The whole day being wound up by an open air Temperance meeting with addresses given by the many Reverends present. In 1921, during the Great Depression, some 500 employees at the Butterley Company’s Codnor Park Iron works were ‘thrown out of work’ due to a lack of coal to fuel the foundries but the community pulled together and used the park as a way to raise money for the workers families. A fund was started with £25 collected in Jacksdale, Codnor Park and Ironville. In April of that year, some 3,000 spectators assembled at the park to join in a sports evening and to watch a six-a-side football match, in which eight teams took part. Prizes were vouchers to purchase foodstuffs in local shops. Shortly afterwards in May a further £4 10s was raised when races and contests were held at the park. The ‘star’ of the show would have undoubtedly been ‘Sammy Traunter’ local comic performer with the ‘Funny Band’. Even the ladies of the district, bared their ankles to play a ladies football match, ‘married’ versus ‘single’ to raise money to feed the children. Today the Monument stands in a state of disrepair but I believe that it should be restored to its former glory and given back to the people of this district so it may once again become a part of their daily lives

The Whit Monday 1917 Patriotic Fair Assembles at Cinderbank Ironville	The Primitive Methodists Monument Hill 1926