Smisby is an ancient manor,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and small village in

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district ...

, England. It is from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and near the Leicestershire borderSmisby at Genuki
accessed 28 December 2007 and the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The village including the outlying farms and houses has a population just over 200 that occupies some 110 properties. The population at the 2011 Census had increased to 260.

Early history

Smisby (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

''Smith's farm or settlement'') is mentioned as ''Smidesbi'' in 1086 in the ''

Domesday Book 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 manus ...

'',Smisby is spelt ''Smidesbi'' in Domesday. which states''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.753 under the title of "The lands of Nigel of Stafford":Nigel of Stafford held a considerable number of manors including several in Derbyshire given to him by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. In addition to Smisby they included lands in Stapenhill, Swadlincote, Ingleby,

Ticknall Ticknall is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Calke) at the 2011 Census was 642. Situated on the A514 road, close to Melbourne, it has three pubs, several small business ...

and

Foremark Foremark is a hamlet and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It contains Foremarke Hall, a medieval manor house which now houses Repton Preparatory School; and part of Foremark Reservoir. Foremark is near the ...

, as well as Ravenstone,

Donisthorpe Donisthorpe is a village in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, historically an exclave of Derbyshire. History In 1086 Donisthorpe was part of the land given to Nigel of Stafford by William the Conqueror. It w ...

Oakthorpe Oakthorpe is a village in north-west Leicestershire, England. In 1086, Oakthorpe was part of Derbyshire and was amongst several manors given to Nigel of Stafford by William the Conqueror. Until 1897 Oakthorpe, and its neighbours Measham and D ...

and Trangesby in Leicestershire). The Smisby lock-up is a

village lock-up A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of dru ...

dating from the 18th century. Considered the best exemplar of the type in the county, it is a

Grade II* listed building 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 Ir ...

Notable residents

* Hannah Bailey, an early emigrant to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, was born here on 2 February 1802. She married Charles Baker ater Rev.of Packington on 11 May 1827 at St Mary's Church Islington, London, before leaving for the Mission fields in Bay of Islands, New Zealand, where they served as Missionaries to the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

from 1828 until their deaths in 1875. *

Reuben Bosworth Reuben Bosworth (ca.1797 – 26 July 1883) was a watch and clockmaker in Nottingham. Life He was born around 1797 in Smisby, Derbyshire. He married late in life in 1856 to Sarah. He was a watchmaker and clockmaker in Nottingham. He was ap ...

the clockmaker was born here around 1797.

''Ivanhoe''

Within 200 metres of the village is a spot where a tournament was held that was described by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

in his novel '' Ivanhoe''. In chapter seven the text reads This quotation is attributed to a visit Scott made to

Coleorton Coleorton ( ) is a village and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the A512 road approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Ashby de la Zouch. Nearby villages include Newbold, to the north, Thringstone to the ...

Hall to visit Sir George Beaumont. They visited Smisby and climbed a now-demolished

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

. Scott noted that a flat area towards Ashby Castle, but within Derbyshire, was reputed to be the place where ancient jousting tournaments had taken place.Smisby local site
accessed 28 December 2007Ordnance survey map 1880–1890

Gallery

Smisby Roundhouse - geograph.org.uk - 199334.jpg, The Smisby lock-up Smisby Arms Smisby.JPG, Smisby Arms St James Smisby.JPG, St James Smisby

References

External links