Ockbrook is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is almost contiguous with the village of Borrowash, the two only separated by the A52. The civil parish is Ockbrook and Borrowash. The population of this civil parish at the 2011 Census was 7,335. Ockbrook lies about east of Derby.

History

There is evidence of human activity in Ockbrook as far back as the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

period (~8000BC) in the form of two bifacial cores of flint. A small greenstone axe head attests to Neolithic activity (4000 - 2500BC, but no archaeological evidence has yet been discovered of Bronze Age activity in the village. From the Iron Age (800BC - AD43) there is a variety of evidence obtained during the excavation of a Romano-British aisled building at Littlehay Grange Farm between 1994 and 1997. This includes

sherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

s of Ancaster Breedon scored ware and Aylesford-Swarling Pottery, a Group A one-piece brooch, an Iron Age coin of silver dating to between 40 BC and 10 AD, and an Iron Age ring headed pin or spike. Evidence of occupation during the Roman period (AD43 - 410) includes the sites of three farmsteads, one of which has been excavated. From these it appears that the fortunes of the area at that time mirrored those of nearby

Derventio Derventio is a Britto-Roman name, but of Celtic origin (''dervo-'' "oak-tree"), and refers to one of the following Roman sites in Roman Britain : * Derventio (Papcastle), the Roman fort and settlement at Papcastle near Cockermouth, Cumbria * Derven ...

(Roman Derby), with a boom starting during the 2nd century AD followed by abandonment at the end of the 4th century. During the early Dark Ages, Ockbrook was part of the Kingdom of Mercia. According to the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'', this was founded in 560 by Creoda, one of whose followers may have had the personal name Occa. It was this Occa (an

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

) who established Ockbrook in the 6th century on the banks of a small stream, the Ock. During the ninth century, the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

invaded and swept through large swathes of England until fought to a standstill by

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

. The country was partitioned as a consequence c874 and Ockbrook, being east of Watling Street (the present day A5) would have been in the Danelaw. This period is attested to by two place names, The Ridings and Carrhill, which derive from Danish. Despite frequent skirmishes between Danes and the English hereabouts, the Danelaw survived until 1066 when, according to the Domesday Book, the manor was held by Toki (probably a

Dane Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

). The entry reads:

"...In Ockbrook Tochi had four carucates of land (assessed) to the geld, land for four ploughs. There are now ten villeins and two Bordars having three ploughs and four rent paying tenants rendering 14 shillings. There are five acres of meadow, woodland for
pannage Pannage (also referred to as ''Eichelmast'' or ''Eckerich'' in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia) is the practice of releasing livestock-domestic pig, pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on falle ...
one league in length and half a league wide. In
King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...
’s day worth £4 now 40 shillings belonging to the Bishop of Chester...".

By 1086 the manor had been transferred either to the extensive holdings of Geoffrey Alselin or to the Bishop of Chester (according to

Domesday Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

), both of whom were Norman. c1130 it was divided between two sons of Sir Ralph Halselin whence half descended to the Bardolfs of Wormegay (who sold it to the Foljambe's c1420) and half to Serlo de Grendon who granted it to Dale Abbey. At the Reformation, these shares were largely broken up amongst the freeholders, notably the Battelles, Harpurs, Keyes (of Hopwell) and Wilmots (of Chaddesden).
In 1750 the Moravian Church established
settlement
here, one of only three remaining in the country. This was on the edge of the old village and separate from it. The buildings are Georgian red brick and two of them, the Manse (1822) and the chapel (1751–1752) are

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. From the early 19th century,

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

families from Derby and Long Eaton took advantage of the fragmented landowning pattern to acquire land and build elegant villas. Also during this period, work diversified to include four silk glove makers, four shoemakers, and a straw bonnet maker.
In more recent times, extensive new housing developments have turned Ockbrook into a commuter dormitory for Derby.

Sport

Cricket

History of cricket dates back to the mid nineteenth century, where a match report was recorded between Ockbrook and "Sawley Club" in 1843.The History of Cricket in Long Eaton, Sandiacre & Sawley, 1994, Keith Breakwell. Ockbrook & Borrowash Cricket Club moved to the current ground on Victoria Avenue in 1898. In 1999, Ockbrook & Borrowash CC became the first champions of the newly formed Premier Division of the Derbyshire County Cricket League; the top level for recreational club cricket in Derbyshire, England, and is a designated ECB Premier League. The club has continued to gain high acclaim and has since added a further 5 Championship ECB Premier league titles to its tally: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2014.

Football

Ockbrook Football Club.

Golf

Borrowood Golf Club was founded in 1902 as a 9-hole course. It was laid out on farmland south of Borrow Wood Farm between the villages of Ockbrook and Spondon. The club closed in the early 1950s.

Area and population growth

The area of the village is . The population growth figures include Borrowash Source: Email from Census Customer Services.

Schools

* Ockbrook Ridings Playgroup
Redhill Primary School
*

Ockbrook School Ockbrook School was an independent coeducational day and boarding school for children aged 3–18 years situated in rural Derbyshire between the cities of Nottingham and Derby. Boarding was for boys and girls from age 11–18 years. On Monday 7 J ...

Churches

All Saints' Church, Ockbrook All Saints' Church, Ockbrook, is a parish church in the Church of England located in Ockbrook, Derbyshire. History Before the English Reformation, Ockbrook was a chapelry within the parish of Elvaston, cared for by a curate. Tithes of the ben ...

became the parish church between c1550 and c1600. Prior to this it was a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

of Elvaston. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

or Norman, the tower is late twelfth century, the broached spire is thirteenth century and the oak chancel screen dates from c1520. Recent historical research and archaeological finds suggest that it may originally have been a

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

religious site. * Moravian

Pubs

* Cross Keys. Still has a knitters window where

stockings Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparen ...

were made for Queen Victoria and her court. * Queens Head.
Royal Oak
Ockbrook's oldest pub, it was held by the Peet family for the three hundred years from ~1610 to 1912, a remarkable record. Beer was once brewed here, using water from the pub's own well, now capped by a stone slab near the front door. * White Swan. Situated opposite All Saints church on Church Street.

Amenities

Hill Top Service Station
* Eclipse Hairdressers * The Apple Tree * Village Hall

Streets, gitties and footpaths

This list of streets is taken from Street list fro
Streetmap.co.uk
* Anne Potter Close * Bakehouse Lane * Bare Lane – See note below * Cedar Drive * Church Street * Cole Lane * Collier Lane * Collumbell Avenue * Croft Close * Far Lane: The ancient hedgerows along its upper reaches indicate that this is a very old track, probably dating from the Mesolithic. It is possible that it once connected with the Port-ways i.e. the rivers Derwent and Trent. * Flood Street * Green Lane – See note below * Hargrave Avenue * Hill Croft Drive * Homefarm Close * Moor Lane – See note below * New Street * Oak Close * Orchard Close * Pares Way * Ryal Close * Shop Stones * Sisters Lane * The Paddock * The Ridings: The name is Danish either for a ''clearing'' or a similar-sounding word meaning ''a third division''. * The Settlement * Top Manor Close * Victoria Avenue * Wesley Lane * Windmill Close * Yew Tree Avenue
* Note – Bare Lane, Green Lane and Moor Lane form one continuous road through the village. The quickest route between two points in the village is often via a gitty. These were originally footpaths through fields. They have survived the encroachment of housing by mutating into high walled or fenced alleyways between the buildings and gardens of the new (and old) developments.

Numerous footpaths start at the village boundary (often as the continuation of a street or gitty) and lead over the fields to neighbouring villages, Hamlet_(place) and farms.

Historic maps (in chronological order)

* OS 25" Edition 1 1871–1882, Derbyshire sheet L sub-sheets 11, 12, 15, 16. * OS 25" Edition 2 1896–1900, Derbyshire sheet L sub-sheets 11, 12, 15, 16. * OS 6" County Series Edition 1 1887, Derbyshire sheet L SE. * OS 6" County Series Edition 2 1901, Derbyshire sheet L SE. * OS 6" County Series Edition 3 did not include Derbyshire. * OS 25" Edition 3 1914–1925, Derbyshire sheet L sub-sheets 11, 12, 15, 16. * OS 6" County Series Revision 1 1919, Derbyshire sheet L SE. * OS 6" County Series Revision 2 1913 & 1938, Derbyshire sheet L SE. * OS 25" Revision 1 1939–1947, Derbyshire sheet L sub-sheets 11, 12, 15, 16. * OS 25" Revision 2 did not include Derbyshire. OS = Ordnance Survey. OS sheets use

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

, so L = 50. ''This list is incomplete.''

References

External links

Ockbrook & Borrowash Community Information

Ockbrook Football Club

Ockash Trust

Ockbrook School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borrowash Villages in Derbyshire Civil parishes in Derbyshire Borough of Erewash