From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ilkeston
Coordinates: 52.9688° N 1.3077° W
Population	37,550
OS grid reference	SK355785
District	Erewash
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ILKESTON
Postcode district	DE7
Dial code	0115
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Erewash
European Parliament	East Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Derbyshire

Stanton Ironworks Wagon on a traffic island at the bottom of Bath Street

Ilkeston also known as Ilson is a town in the Borough of Erewash of Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England, on the River Erewash, from which the local authority district takes its name. Its population at the 2001 census was 37,550. Its major industries were formerly coal mining, iron working and textiles, but all these have greatly declined. It is the site of Ilkeston Charter Fair which celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2002.

The town is close to both Derby and Nottingham and is near to the M1 motorway. Although the town lies within Derbyshire, it is closer to Nottingham. The eastern boundary of Ilkeston is only two miles from Nottingham's western edge. Due to recent urban development in the area between Ilkeston and Nottingham, Ilkeston is considered by the Office for National Statistics to be part of Nottingham metropolitan area.

Ilkeston was probably founded in the 6th century AD, and gets its name from its supposed founder, Elch or Elcha, who was an Anglian chieftain ("Elka's Tun" = Elka's Town). The town appears as Tilchestune in the Domesday Book.

Ilkeston is one of the few places where the distinctive dialect of East Midlands English is extensively spoken. Ilkeston is referred to as 'Ilson' in this dialect.

Ilkeston's most famous sons are arguably the actors Robert Lindsay, star of My Family and Citizen Smith, and William Roache who has played the character of Ken Barlow on Coronation Street since 1960.

For a town of its size, Ilkeston strangely no longer has a railway station, despite having once had three. The present Nottingham to Sheffield main line (formerly part of the Midland Railway, later the LMS), runs to the east of the town, but Ilkeston Junction station on this line (also known as "Ilkeston Junction & Cossall"), closed in January 1967. A short branch from this station to Ilkeston Town station in the town centre closed way back in June 1947. Ilkeston's third station was Ilkeston North, on the former Great Northern (later LNER) line from Nottingham to Derby, closed in September 1964. A major feature of this line was Bennerley Viaduct, a 1,452 foot long, 61 foot high, wrought iron structure which still crosses the Erewash valley just to the north east of Ilkeston. Once threatened with demolition, it is now a Grade 2 listed building, though the removal of the embankments at either end have left it an oddly isolated free-standing structure surrounded by fields.^[1]

1. ^ Bennerley Viaduct.

• The Ilkeston Community Homepage
• Erewash Borough Council
• Ilkeston Cam pictures of the town and surrounding area
• Ilkeston folk club
• Ilkeston arts club
• Ilkeston ladies Circle
• The Stanton Ironworks