AB#1
Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Famous people · Alfreton, Derbyshire
17 famous people from Alfreton, many of them athletes
At the top of the list is the English footballer Alf Bentley, covered in 8 languages. George Davis is second and Shirley Abbott third. From Robert Watchorn in 1859 to David Robinson in 1938, the births cover 79 years. In the Victorian era, 12 were born, the most of any period.
Born here
17
notable people
Best known
Alf Bentley
in 8 Wikipedia languages
First
1859
Robert Watchorn
Youngest
1938
David Robinson
Most common field
Sports
15 people
What stands out about Alfreton’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Alfreton is known for
Alfreton has 1.8× the usual share of athletes.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Alfreton
First, Alf Bentley (8 languages), then George Davis (8) and Shirley Abbott (7).
GD#2
SA#3
Through the years
When Alfreton’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1880s, at 5.
SportsBusinessWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Alfreton
A further 14 follow, born between 1859 and 1938.
Robert Watchorn
1859–1944English coal miner, businessman, philanthropist, union leader
BusinessWikipedia ↗
Clifford Dyment
1914–1971Poet, literary critic, editor and journalist (1914–1971)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The neighbour with the most names is Somercotes and Swanwick, at 14.
ESSomercotes and Swanwick · 2 miErnald Scattergood & 13 more
Huthwaite · 4 miAden Flint & 12 more
Newton and Blackwell · 2 miSophie Baggaley & 11 more
South Normanton and Pinxton · 2 miJedediah Strutt & 8 moreAJSelston · 4 miArthur Jepson & 7 more
Shirland and Stonebroom · 2 miNiamh Emerson & 5 moreLWTibshelf · 4 miLew Wyld & 5 moreJDIronville · 3 miJohn Davis & 3 more
Huthwaite · 4 miAden Flint & 12 moreNewton and Blackwell · 2 miSophie Baggaley & 11 moreSouth Normanton and Pinxton · 2 miJedediah Strutt & 8 moreAJSelston · 4 miArthur Jepson & 7 moreShirland and Stonebroom · 2 miNiamh Emerson & 5 moreLWTibshelf · 4 miLew Wyld & 5 moreJDIronville · 3 miJohn Davis & 3 moreQuestions about famous people from Alfreton
Who is the most famous person from Alfreton?
Alf Bentley (English footballer (1887-1940)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 8 languages. Next come George Davis and Shirley Abbott.
How many famous people were born in Alfreton?
17 people born in Alfreton have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 19 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Alfreton known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 15 of the 17. That is 88% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Alfreton?
Robert Watchorn, born in 1859. The youngest on the list was born in 1938.
Who counts as from Alfreton?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Alfreton’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Aden Flint: Ben Sutherland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sophie Baggaley: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jedediah Strutt: Joseph Wright of Derby, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Niamh Emerson: filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.