As you walk down Beresford Lane towards Linacre Cottages at the bottom, enjoy the abundance of natural life there is to be seen. The stone walls are covered in every kind of plant imaginable and many more grow in the verges. If you look closely you can see traces of animal and insect life but be careful to only look and do not touch. Many wild flowers grow at the sides of the road; the species vary from season to season and it is interesting to try to identify some of them.
At the bottom of the road is a stone bridge over a stream, this stream starts on Hellaby and Tomlinson’s land in Littlemoor and flows into Ogston reservoir.
Linacre Cottages were built at the turn of the century and are now known as Linacre House. Mrs Nellie Hopkinson came to live there in 1920 and recalls it was small holding where her father kept cows, horses and pigs. There was no electricity just gas lamps. There was no mains water, a pump provided washing water, all drinking water was carried from the local well. Baths were taken in a tin bath in front of the fire; the toilet was an earth one situated down the garden path.
Killing their own pigs, curing hams and bacon, milking cows and hay making all took place at Linacre House. The children of the house walked to Clay Cross to school daily and their father walked to and from church at Ashover three times on a Sunday!
I do not think this life resembles the one lead by todays inhabitants of Linacre Cottages with modern day plumbing and energy!