Historical Notes

The name Newton is thought to derive from Saxon meaning New Farm. It is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and at that time was the Manor of Newton.The Newton of today is predominantly residential, but in the past farming , coal and hosiery have been the village industries.
The most famous inhabitant of Newton was Jedediah Strutt, who developed the Derby Rib knitting machine, before which ribs on stockings could be produced only by hand. Jedediah went on to become a partner to Richard Arkwright and together they built a considerable factory system. It is unclear today exactly where in Newton Jedediah actually lived.

The first record we have of Newton Farm is a copy of an indenture in 1758, granting the transfer of the tenancy of the farm to Elizabeth Adlington on the death of her husband George who had held the tenancy for the Duke of Devonshire. An earlier document of 1743 lists tenants of property in Newton owned by the Duke of Newcastle and sold to the Duke of Devonshire , but unfortunately there are not property names to help distinguish if Newton Farm were included.
What we do know is that the Adlington family were tenants for the Chatsworth Estates from 1758 through to the beginning of the 20th Century, and that they played a large role in the village being Churchwardens as well as farming a very large area.

There are coal seams very close to the surface in this area, and for centuries it was dug from shallow pits. A large extraction by the standards of the 18th and 19th centuries was made in Dimminsdale to the East side of Newton, and carried to the canal at Pinxton for shipping to the cities. One of these mines in Dimminsdale was run by a family one of whom lived at Newton Farm with his wife who ran the farm. Several deep mines were sunk in the district in the latter half of the 19th century, and a large increase in the population and size of the village came about as families from wide afield relocated for work.