BORROWASH

Borrowash Centre
Borrowash Centre

INFORMATION

Where is it? –  To the east of the Derby city boundary about 4 miles from the city centre (SK420345).  

What to do? – Take a look around the busy shopping area and walk down Station Road to St Stephen’s Church – Visit Derby Canal and inspect the work going on to restore the canal to its original state – Try a walk along the public footpath linking Borrowash and Spondon which uses the former route of the canal.

Where to eat? – The Nag’s Head Inn is a traditional pub at the heart of Borrowash. For further information: Telephone 01332 585427 or visit www.nagsheadinnborrowash.co.uk. – Pip Tree Café located in Collyer’s Nurseries and Garden Centre on Nottingham Road. For further information: Telephone 01332 485001 or visit www.collyersnurseries.co.uk.

Other places to visit – Enjoy a visit to Elvaston Castle Country Park, the first Country Park to be opened in Britain. It is set in 200 acres of parkland with an ornamental lake, extensive gardens, stony grottoes, rock archways and many other interesting features. Open daily – Shardlow is one of the best-preserved inland canal ports in the country. It is a fascinating place to explore, still busy with boats, now used for leisure and not for commerce. The boats range from traditional narrow boats with brightly painted liveries, to pleasure craft 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. An interesting place to visit is Shardlow Heritage Centre which is housed in the old Salt Warehouse and run by volunteers it is normally open at weekends in the summer – Visit Ilkeston the third largest town in Derbyshire which stands on top of a hill above the Erewash Valley. Time your trip to visit the large open-air market and Erewash Museum (0115 907 1148 or visit www.erewashmuseum.co.uk).

INFORMATION Where is it? – Just to the east of the Derby city boundary about 4 miles from the city centre (SK420345) What to do? – Take a look around the busy shopping area and walk down Station Road to St Stephen’s Church – Visit Derby Canal and inspect the work going on to restore the canal to its original purpose – Try a walk along the public footpath linking Borrowash and Spondon which uses the former route of the canal. Where to eat? – The Nag’s Head Inn is a traditional pub at the heart of Borrowash. For further information: Telephone 01332 585427 or visit www.nagsheadinnborrowash.co.uk. Pip Tree Café located in Collyer’s Nurseries and Garden Centre on Nottingham Road. For further information: Telephone 01332 485001 or visit www.collyersnurseries.co.uk. Other places to visit – Enjoy a visit to Elvaston Castle Country Park, the first Country Park to be opened in Britain. It is set in 200 acres of parkland with an ornamental lake, extensive gardens, stony grottoes, rock archways and many other interesting features. Open daily - Shardlow is one of the best-preserved inland canal ports in the country. It is a fascinating place to explore, still busy with boats, now used for leisure and not for commerce. The boats range from traditional narrow boats with brightly painted liveries, to pleasure craft 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. An interesting place to visit is Shardlow Heritage Centre which is housed in the old Salt Warehouse and run by volunteers it is normally open at weekends in the summer - Visit Ilkeston the third largest town in Derbyshire which stands on top of a hill above the Erewash Valley. Time your trip to visit the large open-air market and Erewash Museum (0115 907 1148 or visit www.erewashmuseum.co.uk). Borrowsh Golden Jubilee Clock
Borrowash Golden Jubilee Clock
Borrowash Weir
Borrowash Weir

PROFILE

Borrowash is a large, busy commuter centre for Nottingham and Derby and lies on the old road between the two cities. The village is part of the parish of Ockbrook and Borrowash and was the second village to Ockbrook for most of its history. But in the late 1800s, it started to expand and is now the largest of the two. The old road between the two cities remains busy with local traffic but most of the through traffic is now carried by the A52 road. Borrowash once had its own railway station and a canal that ran through the southern section of the village, but both are now gone. However, the canal is currently being restored. National Cycle Route Number 6, which runs Between London and Keswick, passes through Borrowash.

VILLAGE CENTRE

The centre of the village has a good number of shops and businesses and is usually busy with shoppers. A new road from the centre of Borrowash to Elvaston was opened in 1898 when the bridge over the River Derwent was opened. There are three arches over the river and two smaller ones over the mill race. The road is well-used, particularly by visitors to Elvaston Country Park. One well-known business that used to trade in the centre of the village that is no more is the Wilmot Arms which closed in 2019. The Nag’s Head a popular community pub on Nottingham Road close to the centre of the village remains.

ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH

St Stephen’s Church was built in 1899 to the design of P.H. Currey the well-known Derby architect who also designed many other fine buildings in the county. It was built as a ‘chapel of ease’ to meet the needs of worship for people living between the parish churches of Ockbrook and Elvaston. The foundation stone was laid on 13 November 1889 by Mrs R.L. Farmer, wife of the vicar of All Saints’ Church, Ockbrook.

WAR MEMORIAL

The Grade II listed war memorial at St. Stephen’s Church is particularly noteworthy. Unveiled in October 1920 it was dedicated by the Bishop of Derby. It is a calvary cross with stonework by Samuel Hodgkinson of Borrowash and a bronze sculpture of the crucified Christ by Alfred Mowbray and Company of Oxford.

BORROWASH METHODIST CHURCH

Built by Henry Vernon of Derby, to designs by John Willis who also built an identical chapel in Beeston the same year. It was designed to seat 415 people and was opened on 30 May 1900.

SPORT

Borrowash’s sporting links include football, cricket and tennis. The local football team Borrowash Victoria AFC was founded in 1911. Cricket dates back to the mid-19th century when a match between Ockbrook and Sawley was recorded to have taken place in 1843. Today, Ockbrook and Borrowash Cricket Club play in the Derbyshire County Cricket Premier League. The Ockbrook and Borrowash Lawn Tennis Club was set up after the First World War to provide recreational facilities for returning servicemen.

DERBY CANAL

Originally, the Derby Canal ran for 14 miles from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton to link up with the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre. The Borrowash section stretches from the point where Station Road, Borrowash crosses the canal line to the crossing of the Ock Brook. Ulliker’s Bridge which crosses the former Derby Canal to the west of Station Road is a Grade II listed building. Currently, the canal is being restored.

OCKBROOK

Borrowash and Ockbrook who share a parish are linked together, the former is situated just to the north of the busy A52 dual carriageway and the latter to the south. There are two distinct parts to the Ockbrook. The Old Settlement is where Occa, an Anglo-Saxon, and his people built their homes. In the 6th century on the banks of the brook and from where the village derived its name. Alongside it is the Moravian Settlement, a product of the 18th century. With its delightful terrace of red-brick Georgian buildings and strikingly attractive church approached up a tree-lined path.