STENSON
INFORMATION
Where is it? – Off the A1532 between Willington and Swarkestone on a loop road to Findern (SK326299).
What to do? – Enjoy a short stroll along the Trent and Mersey Canal – go for a longer walk as detailed at Stenson Walk – spend time watching canal boats get through the lock where you can visit Stenson Lock Café and get a grandstand view.
Where to eat? – You might like to try the café at Stenson Lock the public house. The Bubble Inn is located off Stenson Road by the marina. For more information visit: www.thebubbleinn.com or telephone 01283 703113. Stenson Lock Coffee Shop faces the lock on the Trent and Mersey Canal. For more information visit: www.stensonlock.co.uk or telephone 07505 287452
Other places to visit – Derby Cathedral is exceptionally beautiful. Light and spacious inside, the iron screen by Robert Bakewell is an inspirational masterpiece in this proud and beautiful building. Visit the Cathedral Centre to admire the Cathedral’s treasures. Climb to the top of the tower for breathtaking views on a selected open day – Mercia Marina located alongside the road from Willington. It was opened in September 2008 and after a long delay, a Boardwalk has been built with extensive facilities. This has been added to recently and the Marina is now a top tourist attraction – Calke Abbey, ‘The place where time stood still’ was the phrase used to describe it. When the National Trust opened it to the public in 1989. It is one of the most unusual English country houses with large collections of birds, ornaments, paintings and photographs.
PROFILE
Stenson along with Twyford, its even smaller neighbour, is a civil parish in South Derbyshire. The Trent and Mersey Canal flows to the south of the settlement. Also, a railway line follows the line of the canal, part of a loop for freight bypassing Derby. There are a few houses and businesses along Stenson Road including The Bubble Inn and Stenson Lock Café as well as a Marina. In 2017, South Derbyshire District Council defined Twyford and Stenson as an ‘unparished area’ when they approved the transfer of 197 acres of land from it to Stenson Fields parish.
STENSON LOCK
The coffee shop at Stenson Lock overlooks the Trent and Mersey Canal, where you can sit and take refreshments while watching canal boats navigate the lock. Stenson Lock Number 6 is the second deepest on the canal at 12 foot 6 inches in depth and, together with the red-brick road bridge behind it is Grade II listed.
STENSON BUBBLE INN
A few yards away from the canal and marina is the Stenson Bubble Inn, a popular pub with a restaurant, accommodation and seating inside and out. The pub got its unusual name from a small spring on the downstream side of the lock. The overflow emerging into the canal through a culvert can be heard as it bubbles into the Trent and Mersey.
ARLESTON
Arleston is a tiny settlement to the south of Stenson Fields surrounded by farmland. The cottages cluster around Arleston Farm in the north and Merrybower Farm in the south. A narrow single-track lane from Stenson Fields approaches the settlement across a bridge over the A50.
STENSON FIELDS
The parish of Stenson Fields was created in 1983 from parts of Barrow upon Trent, Twyford and Stenson and sits alongside the parish of Sinfin. Originally called Sinfin Moor the name was changed to Stenson Fields to be in keeping with the geographical and historical place name of the area. Sinfin Moor is a large tract of land to the east of Stenson Fields and Sinfin.
It is in the South Derbyshire District outside the Derby City boundary. Although it is one of the smallest parishes in the area, it has one of the largest populations. The housing mainly dates from the 1970s and its name is in keeping with the historical name of the area. Most residents commute to neighbouring areas for work or work from home. Further development is currently in progress and a huge expansion of the surrounding area is planned in the form of a Garden Village with access to the A50.
RIDGE AND FURROW
In the fields south of Stenson Hill Farm there is evidence of medieval ridge and furrow farming. This is represented by a pattern created by a system of ploughing, with non-reversible ploughs on the same strip of land each year. It is visible on land that was ploughed in the Middle Ages, but which has not been ploughed since then. The movement of soil year after year gradually built the centre of each strip up into a ridge, leaving a furrow between each ridge.
