Smisby is an ancient manor,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

and small village in

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...

, England. It is from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and near the Leicestershire borderSmisby at Genuki
accessed 28 December 2007 and the town of

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch (), also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2021 census was ...

. The village including the outlying farms and houses has a population just over 200 that occupies some 110 properties. The population at the 2011 Census had increased to 260.

Early history

Smisby (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''Smith's farm or settlement'') is mentioned as ''Smidesbi'' in 1086 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 ...

,Smisby is spelt ''Smidesbi'' in Domesday. which states''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.753 under the title of "The lands of Nigel of Stafford":Nigel of Stafford held a considerable number of manors including several in Derbyshire given to him by the king,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. In addition to Smisby they included lands in Stapenhill,

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...

, Ingleby, Ticknall and Foremark, as well as Ravenstone, Donisthorpe, Oakthorpe and Trangesby in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

). The Smisby lock-up is a village lock-up dating from the 18th century. Considered the best exemplar of the type in the county, it is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Notable residents

* Hannah Bailey, an early emigrant to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, was born here on 2 February 1802. She married Charles Baker ater Rev.of Packington on 11 May 1827 at St Mary's Church Islington, London, before leaving for the Mission fields in Bay of Islands, New Zealand, where they served as Missionaries to the Māori from 1828 until their deaths in 1875. * Reuben Bosworth the clockmaker was born here around 1797.

''Ivanhoe''

Within 200 metres of the village is a spot where a tournament was held that was described by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

in his 1819 novel ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

''. In chapter seven the text reads This quotation is attributed to a visit Scott made to Coleorton Hall to visit Sir George Beaumont. They visited Smisby and climbed a now-demolished watchtower. Scott noted that a flat area towards Ashby Castle, but within Derbyshire, was reputed to be the place where ancient jousting tournaments had taken place.Smisby local site
accessed 28 December 2007Ordnance survey map 1880–1890

Gallery

Smisby Roundhouse - geograph.org.uk - 199334.jpg, The Smisby lock-up Smisby Arms Smisby.JPG, Smisby Arms St James Smisby.JPG, St James Smisby

References

External links