Jane’s family connections with Unstone go back to 1907 when her paternal grandfather, a miner, moved from Sheffield with his wife and family to live in the terraced houses of St John’s Road. Jane grew up in Unstone, attending Unstone St Mary’s Infant School and Unstone Junior School.
After leaving school, Jane studied education and geography to gain a B.Ed Hons degree. She then taught for nine years at a primary school in Staveley before becoming a mum.
Jane achieved one of her ambitions in 2012, which was to write and publish her first book – On The Track of Unstone’s Past. She admits that she never thought it would be a history book as it was probably her least favourite subject in school.
In 2015, Jane was invited to help St Mary’s Church Committee prepare for the Church Centenary, to commemorate the Laying of the Foundation Stone.
Preserving a wonderful collection of archive material in digital format, and with additional historic information collated by late historian K.M. Battye, Jane created a Centenary Exhibition and a commemorative ‘bookazine’ entitled CENTENARY.
In 2016, she published her latest work, On The Doorstep And Beyond The Gate which details the history of the village, combined with newspaper archives, photos and personal anecdotes. Additionally, she began working on a selection of childrens’ books entitled Old Red Box. You will be able to find out more details on all these publications on this website.
