Denby

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.

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 son 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]

Denby is 3 miles (4.8 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] It 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 Denby, composed in 1904 by Charles J. Dale.[5]

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.

Together all four with Denby Village, along with a small southern area of Marehay in Ripley, and a small portion of Openwoodgate near Belper, lie within Denby parish.

In addition to John Flamsteed:

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