Alfreton (/ˈælfrɪtən/ AL-frih-tən or locally /ˈɒlfrɪtən/ OL-frih-tən) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England.

[1] The villages of Ironville, Riddings, Somercotes and Swanwick were historically part of the Manor and Urban District, and the population including these was 24,476 in 2001.

Another Roman road known as Lilley Street ran from there to the southern end of Alfreton, suggesting that settlement in the area predated the time of King Alfred by several centuries.

The manor of Alfreton spread over lands to the south and east, including the parishes of Somercotes, Swanwick, Riddings, and Ironville.

The position was passed down variously through heredity, gift, and sale over the centuries up until William Palmer-Morewood, the last Lord of Alfreton, who died in 1957.

However, the presence of readily accessible and extensive deposits of coal and ironstone in the area meant that mining and iron-working grew in importance.

Local iron working began in the low-lying land to the south of the current town in the vicinity of the A61, where a dam was made to power a water mill.

This would have been quite a small operation, along with another at Lower Birchwood, and it was not until the 18th century that iron working was expanded into major enterprises, centred on Riddings and Butterley, south and southeast of the manor.

The growth of these industries grounded the area's prosperity and attracted huge numbers of workers in the 19th century, rapidly swelling the local population.

After the closure of the pits and Riddings Ironworks in the 1960s, local employment shifted to factory, retail, and service enterprises, many of which grew up on industrial estates occupying formerly despoiled colliery lands.

Initially only a few major employers were present, such as Aertex and English Rose, but this changed with the development of several industrial estates to the east of the town.

A legal requirement on turnpike companies to provide milestones resulted in a local curiosity, a cast-iron marker on the town crossroads with the notation 'Alfreton 0 Miles'.

Around the same time as turnpikes were introduced the coal and iron industries benefited from the building of canals in the southern and eastern parts of the area.

In the 19th century, coaching and canal transport were rendered increasingly obsolete by railways built to the east of the town and along the eastern and southern boundaries of the former manor.

Alfreton Hall, the successor to the original manor house, was built c.1750, with an additional wing added c.1850; it is now a conference centre and restaurant.

Alfreton town centre features a number of national chain stores, along with independent businesses and charity shops, but it is dominated by a large branch of Tesco.

[18] Professional wrestling shows were often shown in Alfreton, with British legends such as Big Daddy, Jackie Pallo, and Blackjack Mulligan performing.