Long Eaton
The Derbyshire town of Long Eaton is located in the East Midlands area of England. The town is a part of the Borough of Erewash. In its early years the town was listed in the Domesday Book under the name of Aitone. The Long that was eventually added to the name Eaton is considered to be a reference to the length of the town itself.
For many centuries Long Eaton was a quiet and relatively sleepy place that was primarily involved in agricultural industries such as farming. During the 19th century, however, the town became relatively well known for other industries such as lace making and rail wagon manufacturing. The arrival of a railway connection in 1839 on the Nottingham and Derby route opened up the town by giving it better transport links with the outside world.
By the mid 1800s the town had its first large lace making factory and more followed soon after. These factories were often referred to as tenement lace factories as they were multi-storey buildings where space was rented out to small lace making businesses and to individuals who wanted to work for themselves. This helped the lace industries in the town to flourish and, by the early 1900s, for example, it is thought that the town had around 800 lace making machines operating in the town and 1,200 people operating them.
Long Eaton also became involved in rail wagon manufacture at around this time with a wagon works being established in the town (SJ Claye’s Wagon Works). By the 1871 census it appears that over 60% of the town’s population either worked in the lace trade or in the rail industry.
Visitors to Long Eaton usually enjoy taking a look at Long Eaton Hall which dates back to the 18th century and which was originally built as the home of the Howitt family. The Hall was designed by Joseph Pickford of Derby and is a fine example of Palladian style architecture. This is now a listed building of special architectural interest. Long Eaton Hall is also home to an interesting collection of art works.
The local church, St Laurence, is also worth a visit. It is thought by some people that the church dates back to the 11th century and that it may even have been built by King Cnut. Many experts, however, believe that the church here actually dates back to slightly later Norman times.