ALVASTON AND BOULTON
WITH WILMORTON
INFORMATION
Where is it? – Alvaston is on London Road and is a suburb of Derby. It is divided by the Outer Ring Road.
What to do? – visit Alvaston Park and enjoy a walk around the lake; have a stroll along the riverside in the direction of the city centre, leaving the riverbank to walk past Derby County Football Stadium and Derby Arena (see Alvaston Walk); take a look at the BMX track in Alvaston Park the home to Derby BMX club, one of the largest in the country.
Where to eat? – The Navigation Inn close to Alvaston Park is a popular pub to eat and take refreshments, the Waterside side café offers a pleasant stopping place inside the park. There is a good choice of refreshment venues near the main shopping centre.
Other places to visit – Elvaston Castle Country Park is set on 200 acres of parkland. With an ornamental lake, extensive gardens, stony grottoes, rock archways and other interesting features. The park is open daily; Shardlow is one of the best-preserved inland canal ports in the country. It is a fascinating place to explore, busy with boats, now used for leisure and not for commerce. The boats range from traditional narrowboats with brightly painted liveries to pleasure crafts of all shapes and sizes. A walk along the canal towpath brings you into contact with many of the old buildings of the Canal Age; Derby Arena provides a venue for sporting events as well as exhibitions, concerts, product launches and conferences. The Arena’s cafe, Café 42, is an excellent place to take refreshments and at peak periods watch cyclists riding the track in the background.
PROFILE
Alvaston is on London Road and existed well before 1086 when the Domesday Book was published. There was a church there in Saxon times. The discovery of a Saxon coffin lid embedded in the medieval church building proved the point. It remained a small village until the end of the 19th century when it started to expand but lost Crewton from the parish. Another change took place on 25 March 1884. When Alvaston was merged with Boulton as a single parish. Crewton was absorbed by Derby Corporation in 1901 and the rest in 1928 and 1934. Apart from a few outliers that were not taken over until 1968.
Boulton
Boulton is closely associated with its neighbouring suburb of Alvaston and is in South Derbyshire. It is recorded in the Domesday Book when it belonged to Ralph FitzHerbert. For many centuries the area consisted of open fields and farmland with Boulton Moor to the south. Today, the area to the north is largely built-up. The church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin which is usually referred to as Boulton St Mary’s. Built about 1150, it has been extended and rebuilt since then but still retains some of the original Norman fabric. The lychgate is a war memorial in memory of those who lost their lives in the First World War. Nunsfield House, on Boulton Lane, is close to the main Alvaston shopping area. Built in 1828, it had various owners before being acquired by Derbyshire County Council and later Derby City Council. It is Grade II listed and used as a community centre. In 1935 a community hall called the Jubilee Room was added. Boulton Moor has been designated for a very large housing development project.
Expansion
The 1928 Borough Extension Act enabled the County Borough of Derby to start on the Ring Road, which divided Alvaston into two parts. This was the signal for large-scale housing development to begin. Today, Allenton and Alvaston have busy shopping centres, with the former having a lively outdoor market on Fridays and Saturdays. Alvaston Park off the A6, London Road, backs onto the River Derwent, covers 85 acres and is a popular place for recreation.
St Michael’s and All Angels Church
St Michael’s and All Angels Church has existed since the Domesday Book. In the porch are two very ancient sepulchral slabs found under the foundations of the old tower, which fell in 1775. One slab bears an incised cross with a circular head, the other a plain cross, which is considered to be Saxon in origin. Disaster struck the church on 17 August 1856, when just as the morning service was drawing to a close, the gable end of the church gave way. This caused a premature end to the service but, fortunately, no one was hurt. There are several picturesque cottages on Church Street. Joseph Holder, the local chimney sweep lived in the ancient cottage in the street for many years.
Alvaston Park
Alvaston Park is a picturesque, riverside park and open space, covering around 85 acres. It backs onto the River Derwent and offers a wealth of amenities. From a peaceful stroll around the lake and a cup of tea and a bite to eat in the Waterside Café to an exhilarating ride on the BMX track. Alternatively, you can explore the science garden, play football or find a lakeside seat and sit and relax. Thirty acres of the land were given by William Curzon of Breedon Hall, in 1910 and formed the original park. It was landscaped by William Barron and his son of Borrowash, whose founder laid out Elvaston Castle Park for Lord Harrington. In 1913, it was opened to the public and ten years later an attractive lake was added. The 7.5-acre lake is a mixed fishery with specimen carp and tench. After the Second World War, an extra 61.8 acres of land to the south was converted into playing fields. More recently the former Wilmorton College (Derby College) that sat on the western side of the park has been transformed into City Point housing development. The park holds Green Flag status and is found off the A6 London Road, down Meadow Lane about two miles south of the City Centre.
Derby Conference Centre
Present-day Derby Conference Centre, first opened in 1938 as a purpose-built railway training college. It was claimed to be the first in the world that provide training and research into modern transport technology, business and marketing. Derby was chosen for the site as it was central to the LMS network and provided easy access to the railway infrastructure for practical training. The school could accommodate up to 50 residential pupils and staff. For 20 years, the building was used to deliver training for the Royal Engineers and The Railway Engineering School. But in the 1990s the building was extended and opened as a specialist conference suite. Further work was carried out earlier this century to restore the conference centre and hotel to their former glory.
Wilmorton
Wilmorton is situated between Alvaston and Osmaston, south of the City Centre close to the A6. It was formerly part of the estate of Osmaston Hall. Before being released in the 1880s and developed primarily by the Midland Railway Company for its carriage, wagon and locomotive works. It got its name partly from the previous landowner the Reverend Sir George Wilmot-Horton. A new road now connects Wilmorton with Pride Park off which a new housing development has been erected called City Point. This provides easy access to the city centre by bicycle along the cycle path by the River Derwent.
