Smalley, Derbyshire

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Coordinates: 52°59′53″N 1°23′38″W / 52.998°N 1.394°W / 52.998; -1.394
Smalley

Church Hall, Smalley.
Smalley

 Smalley shown within Derbyshire
OS grid reference SK407446
District Amber Valley
Shire county Derbyshire
Region East Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ILKESTON
Postcode district DE7
Dialling code 01332 + 01773
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire

Smalley is a village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby road in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.

Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Smæl-lēah = "narrow woodland clearing". Smalley is part of the Borough of Amber Valley and has its own Parish Council.

History

Smalley was mentioned in a Charter of 1009 by King Æþelræd Unræd ("Ethelred the Unready") relating to a manor known as Westune (modern-day Weston-on-Trent)[1] which land included the areas now known as Shardlow, Great Wilne, Church Wilne, Crich, Smalley, Morley, Weston and Aston-on-Trent. Under this charter Ethelred gave his minister, Morcar, some exemptions from tax.[2]

Smalley's Parish Church of St John the Baptist was built in the late eighteenth century on the site of a much earlier church. The transepts were added in 1844 and the unusual and almost detached tower was added some years later. A 7th century Saxon Cross is part of the porch. The bell tower was built to house five bells donated by Rev. Charles Kerry and the chime of five bells is said to be the heaviest in England with the largest bell weighing over 2 tons.

Its pub, The Bell Inn, was voted "Best Derbyshire Pub of 2006".

Sport and leisure

Stainsby Hall Cricket Club have their ground at the end of St. John's Road in Smalley and have been playing in the Derbyshire County League first division since 2008.[3] The name comes from the fact that they used to play their matches on a pitch in front of the now-demolished Stainsby House, just over the parish border in Horsley Woodhouse, but just a few hundred yards away from their current ground.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Aston on Trent Conservation Area History, South Derbyshire, accessed 25 November 2008
  2. ↑ Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derbyshire Records Office
  3. ↑ Stainsby Hall Play-cricket web site Retrieved on November 5, 2013
  4. ↑ Stainsby House Retrieved on November 5, 2013

External links

Destinations from Smalley
Kilburn, Belper Ripley Heanor
Horsley Woodhouse Ilkeston
   Smalley  
Derby Morley Stanley Common, West Hallam


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