Allenton is a small suburb of the city of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England, situated about three miles south of the city centre. It is located between the suburbs of Osmaston, Boulton,

Alvaston Alvaston (/ˈɒlvəstən/ or /ˈælvəstən/) is a village and ward of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Alvaston is on the A6 road (Great Britain), A6 three miles south-east of Derby city centre and probably owes it ...

and Shelton Lock, and is within the Alvaston South ward. Allenton has a high footfall, with a variety of modern shops, stores and other facilities, including free parking. The suburb has its own busy market every Friday and Saturday located on Osmaston Road.

History

Allenton (formerly Allentown) was named after Isaac Allen who built the first houses there in 1878. One hundred and twenty thousand years ago, during a warmer part of the Ice Age, the whole area was a riverside swamp, and skeletons of a

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

and

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

have been found there. The Allenton hippopotamus was found in 1895 underneath the Crown Hotel (established in 1891) and its well-preserved skeleton is displayed at the

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The col ...

Landmarks

Allenton gives its name to a geological feature known as the Allenton Terrace, which is the fluvial terrace of sand and gravel in the lower valley of the River Derwent that it and the surrounding settlements are built on. Allenton has a cosmopolitan outdoor market, although this has been in decline. The suburban shopping centre is among the largest in Derby although there are few high street chains except for

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

Poundstretcher Poundstretcher Limited is a British variety store chain, founded in 1981 by Paul Appell and Stephen Fearnley. The retailer is currently based in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, and since April 2024 has been a subsidiary of the Fortress Investme ...

and

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is lis ...

. A functional sculpture by Michael Dan Archer was installed in the shopping centre in 2007. Commissioned by

Derby City Council Derby City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval ...

, it forms a circular seating area on which are laser-scanned copies and models of some of the key bones of the Allenton Hippo skeleton at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery. An easily recognisable feature of the local streetscape is a pedestrian footbridge over the Mitre Island roundabout, erected in July 1971. This footbridge is popularly known as "the Spider Bridge" and gains that popular appellation because it has eight 'legs' in four directions. Each direction has a set of steep steps and a stepped ramp (for easier wheelchair access). The footbridge has been painted various colours over the years and is currently painted white.

Culture

Allenton has a large number of employees in the aero-engine industry as

Rolls-Royce plc Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

has its jet engine production facility adjacent to Allenton. The former Alvaston & Boulton Board School, built in 1890, on Allen Street, houses the community library. Brexit negotiator

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

took the title "Baron Frost of Allenton in the County of Derbyshire" in 2020, in recognition of Allenton being his birthplace, although he was educated in Nottingham. The old

Derby Canal The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, in Derbyshire, England. The canal was authorised by an act of Parliament, the Derby Canal Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. ...

has long been transformed into a bicycle track with tarmac surface; this track, which runs through the recreational ground, offers access by bicycle from Allenton into Derby city centre – it is part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

. Adjacent to the shopping area is a public house: The Crown Inn (see Crown Hotel above), a Victorian roadside inn dating to 1891 and built by Issac Allen, the original developer of Allenton. Another public house, in a Stockbroker's Tudor design, by the name of The Mitre, was opened in 1930 for Zachary Smith's brewery when Harvey Road was built, and was demolished in 2020. There is a school, a dentist, a playing field and a sizeable public recreational ground, beauty salons, hairdressers, several charity shops, several hot food outlets and a flower shop. Just beyond the edges of Allenton can be found a secondary school and several medical practices. The local fire station, in Osmaston, is just a few hundred yards from the shops in Allenton.

Facilities

The Moorways sports centre £42 million redevelopment is scheduled to be completed by March 2022 with a competition-standard, 50-metre competition swimming pool having moveable booms and two leisure pools with flumes. The location has further infrastructure of sauna, dance studio and gym to complement the existing running track, with the whole being named Moorways Sports Village.We go inside Derby's £42m swimming complex as it's almost completed
'' Derbyshire Live'', 6 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021

References

{{Suburbs of Derby Areas of Derby