Lost Cottage of Littleover

The cottage that is missing from Littleover was known in the 1930’s and into the 50’s as Harpur Cottage or Joyce Harpur Cottage. It was located on the left side of Normanton Lane, when travelling towards Normanton. Its exact location is unknown but it was possibly part of what is now Hannah Fields Community Gardens or it was just below there. 

The first record of the Harpur Cottage was in the Littleover Inclosure Act 1768. It was known in that Act as a homestead and croft and was owned by the trustees of Joyce Harpur's Charity. Listed in the Ancient Inclosures and Homesteads, it was numbered 173 in the Plan and appeared to have been a ‘L’ shaped building (see fig 1). At the time of the Act the charity also owned two other fields in the parish. 

Who was Joyce Harpur? She was the daughter of a former vicar, and was never married. She died in 1699 and left her estate, believed to be £20 (approx. £60,000 today), to benefit the poor of Littleover. The Joyce Harpur Charity, was then set up and it continues to this day, sharing financial grants with people in the parish who are in desperate need, particularly at Christmas time. Money is only given to individuals and is at the discretion of the trustees. 

The property was not subject to payment of a tithe under the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836. So was not mentioned in that document. The next time it was mentioned, as far as I have found, was in the 1939 Register documentation. 

In 1939 George H Williamson and his wife Florence, were registered at Harpur Cottage on Normanton Lane. George was a milk roundsman and was a Post Office pensioner. In the Register, Harpur Cottage was the next property down Normanton Lane from the Vicarage. Looking at the 1911 and 1921 Censuses, George and Florece Williamson were living in Normanton Lane. In 1934 George was awarded the Imperial Service Medal on his retirement from the General Post Office after 35 years’ service. The couple continued to live in Harpur Cottage during and after WWII. George died in 1949, but Florence was still living there in 1954. She was mentioned in a Derby Evening Telegraph article on the 1st of April 1954, ‘that one of the uses of the money accruing from Joyce Harpur’s bequest is put in the support of Joyce Harpur Cottage, which is the home of Mrs Florence Williamson’. It is believed that Florence died the following year. 

What happened to the Harpur Cottage after her death is unknown. Did someone else live there? When was the cottage demolished?  Is the land on which it stood, now the Hannah Fields Community Gardens?  The field attached to Harpur Cottage is now St. Peter’s School’s playing field, when did the Charity sell it, along with other fields that it owned?  The Joyce Harpur Charity no longer owns and/or leases land or property. 

An aerial study of the site that was one owned by the Joyce Harpur Charity shows that where the cottage stood is now a small wooded area (see fig 2). 

A Lidar view does not show any marks for the foundations only uneven ground (see fig 3)

Chris Drury

 October 2025

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