Morley, Derbyshire
Morley is a village and civil parish within the area of Erewash Borough Council in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby.
Morley | |
---|---|
![]() St Matthew's Church | |
![]() ![]() Morley Location within Derbyshire | |
OS grid reference | SK395408 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ILKESTON |
Postcode district | DE7 |
Police | Derbyshire |
Fire | Derbyshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Website | www.morleychurch.co.uk |
It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the (converted) Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall.[1] The church features a wall of stained glass depicting the story of Robert of Knaresborough along the north aisle which came from Dale Abbey in 1539, home of the fine Sacheverell tombs.
History
![](../I/Ancient_Carving_St_Matthews_Morley.JPG.webp)
Morley is first certainly mentioned in 1009, as (in) Moreleage, though later copies of a 1002 document in which it appears as (æt) Morlege may be genuine. The name probably means "open ground by a moor", from Old English mōr "moor, clearing, pasture" + lẽah "open ground, clearing".[2] In 1009 Æþelræd Unræd (King Ethelred the Unready) signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Westune.[3] The land described in that charter included the lands now known as Shardlow, Great Wilne, Church Wilne, Crich, Morley, Smalley, Weston and Aston-on-Trent. Under this charter Æþelræd gave his minister, Morcar, a number of rights that made him free from tax and to his own rule within the manor.[4]
Morley was mentioned in the Domesday book as belonging to Henry de Ferrers[5] and having woodland pasture that was four furlongs by three.[6]
Morley Park was one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith and is about five miles north in the parish of Ripley.[7]
Education
Broomfield Hall of Derby College is located in Morley.[8]
Derby Japanese School (ダービー日本人補習校 Dābī Nihonjin Hoshūkō), a Japanese weekend school, holds its classes in Broomfield Hall.[8]
Notable residents
Sir Streynsham Master who was involved in the early East India Company and who was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1712,[9] resided with his wife at Stanley Grange in Morley.[10] Joseph Whittaker (1815–1892), botanist, lived and died here.[11]
References
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morley, Derbyshire. |
- Pevsner, Nikolaus. 1986. The Buildings of England: Derbyshire. pp 283-284. Harmondsworth, Middx. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071008-6
- Victor Watts (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. MORLEY Derby.
- Aston on Trent Conservation Area History Archived 2007-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, South Derbyshire, accessed 25 November 2008
- Charter of Æthelred, The Great Council, 1009, accessible at Derby records
- Henry was given a large number of manors in Derbyshire including Doveridge, Swarkestone, Sinfin and Breadsall.
- Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.745
- Turbutt, G., (1999) A History of Derbyshire. Volume 2: Medieval Derbyshire, Cardiff: Merton Priory Press
- "ダービー日本人補習校 (Derby Japanese School) Archived 14 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Derby Japanese School. Retrieved on February 14, 2015. " c/o Derby College Broomfield Hall, Morley Ilkeston, Derby DE7 6DN UK"
- The History of the County of Derby Stephen Glover (1829) Google Books
- Codnor, Local History and Heritage Society, 11 December 2008
- "Parish Heritage Walk 08". Morley Parish Council. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.