Denby is a village in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

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 C ...

, 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 post ...

, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,827, increasing to 2,190 at the 2011 Census.

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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

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 their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

(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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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.

Description

Denby is east from

Belper Belper is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent. As w ...

and north of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

. 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. 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 refrai ...

Denby, composed in 1904 by Charles J. Dale.

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 vil ...

. *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 Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...

, and a small portion of Openwoodgate near

, lie within Denby parish.

Notable people

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

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of '' Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV ...

(born 1944), an actor and voiceover artist. *

Daniel Kitson Daniel John Kitson (born 2 July 1977) is an English comedian and writer. Early life Daniel John Kitson was born in Denby Dale on 2 July 1977, the son of a primary school headteacher mother and a lecturer father. He was a pupil at Scissett Mid ...

(born 1977), comedian and writer.

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. *

Tommy Allott Tommy Allott (1908-1975)Adam Allott
, buxtonhitmen.co, retrieved 2012-02-04 was a

List of places in Derbyshire This is a list of places in Derbyshire, England. A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y See also * List of settlements in Derbyshire by population * List of places form ...

* Listed buildings in Denby

References

External links

GENUKI page
Villages in Derbyshire Civil parishes in Derbyshire Geography of Amber Valley {{Derbyshire-geo-stub