Denby is a village in the English county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

that is notable as the birthplace of

John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called '' Atlas ...

, England's first

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...

, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is east from

Belper Belper () is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. Along with Belper, the parish includes the village of Milford and the hamlets ...

and north of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. Denby is home to a secondary school which is named after John Flamsteed. The village was once served by Denby railway station on the Midland Railway Ripley Branch. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,827, increasing to 2,190 at the 2011 Census.

Other settlements in Denby parish

*Denby Common is a hamlet 1 mile to the north east of Denby village, on the outskirts of

Loscoe Loscoe is a village near Heanor in Derbyshire, England, lying within the civil parish of Heanor and Loscoe. It had prominent coalmines in the 19th and 20th centuries. Denby Common and Codnor Breach are hamlets on the western edge of the villa ...

. *Codnor Breach, another hamlet, merges into Denby Common. * Denby Bottles is half a mile to the west of Denby Village. *Smithy Houses lies north west of Denby Village, along the B6179 road. All four of these, along with a small southern area of Marehay in Ripley, and a small portion of Openwoodgate near

, lie within Denby parish.

History

The settlement was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as Denebi. By 1334, it was a market town and held an annual fair in September. For over two centuries, ironstone and clay were being mined; coal mining started in the 1200s. Royal

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

(1646–1719) was born in Denby. In 1806, William Bourne leased the clay bed that had been discovered while a road was being built. Three years later, the family began manufacturing salt-glazed pottery under the Bourne name, with son Joseph running the operation. By the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Denby had switched to producing tableware as well as industrial parts. Brown was the primary colour but the company shifted toward more attractive colours after the war. Ownership of the company remained with the family until 1942; after several owners, Denby was acquired by a consortium that was funded by Valco Capital Partners. The enterprise continues today as the Denby Pottery Company. Stellasphere Denby 298622 b72c2e3b

The Stellarsphere

There is a memorial garden for John Flamsteed, opposite St Mary the Virgin's Church, which features the stellarsphere which shows the position of the stars and planets overhead at the current time. The village is commemorated in the

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

Denby Denby is a village in the England, English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is east from Belper and north of Derb ...

, composed in 1904 by Charles J. Dale.

Sport and Leisure

Cricket

Denby Cricket Club was officially founded in 1865, but recent research has revealed records of activity as far back as 1850. The club is based on The Copper Yard, off High Bank. Denby field 5 Senior XI teams in the Derbyshire County Cricket League and a long established Junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Notts & Derby Border Youth Cricket League.

The Denby Dash

The Denby Dash is an annual 5 mile race around the village countryside in late summer.

Notable people

In addition to John Flamsteed: * Henry Draycott (ca.1510 – 1572), a highly successful judge in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. * Harry Wingfield (1910–2002), an illustrator.

Sport

* Joseph Cresswell (1865–1932), a cricketer who played 15 first-class cricket games for Warwickshire from 1895 to 1899. * William Wilmot (1869—1957), a cricketer who played 10 first class games and for Derbyshire between 1897 and 1901.

References

External links

Denby Village Conservation GroupDenby Parish Council
{{Commons category, Denby, position=left Villages in Derbyshire Civil parishes in Derbyshire Geography of Amber Valley