Denby is a village in the 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. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,827,[2] increasing to 2,190 at the 2011 Census.

Denby
The Stellarsphere in the John Flamsteed Memorial Park
Denby Location within Derbyshire
Population	2,190 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	SK386470
District	Amber Valley
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RIPLEY
Postcode district	DE5
Dialling code	01332, 01773
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Amber Valley
List of places UK England Derbyshire 53.01974°N 1.42531°W / 53.01974; -1.42531

History

The settlement was listed in the Domesday Book 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 John Flamsteed was born in Denby in 1646.

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^{[clarification needed]} Joseph running the operation. By the Second World War 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.[3]

Description

Denby is 3 miles (5 km) east from Belper and 8 miles (13 km) north of Derby. Denby is home to a secondary school which is named after John Flamsteed.[4] 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^[when?] time.

The village is commemorated in the hymn tune Denby, composed in 1904 by Charles J. Dale.[5]

Other settlements in Denby parish

• Denby Common is a hamlet 1 mile to the north east of Denby village, on the outskirts of Loscoe.
• 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 Belper, lie within Denby parish.

Notable people

In addition to John Flamsteed:

• Henry Draycott, who became a highly successful judge in Ireland, was born here in 1510; he died in Ireland in 1572.

See also

• List of places in Derbyshire
• Listed buildings in Denby

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denby.

• GENUKI page
• Photographs

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