Sunny Hill, Derby
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Sunny Hill (or Sunnyhill) is a southern 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 mainly along the Stenson Road (which goes out to the hamlet of Stenson, on the
Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middl ...
). It lies between the Derby City districts of Normanton and
Littleover Littleover is a village and suburb in the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England, between Rose Hill, Derbyshire, Rose Hill, Normanton, Derbyshire, Normanton, Sunny Hill, Derbyshire, Sunny Hill and Mickleover, about southwest of Derby city centre ...
, and, to the south,
Sinfin Sinfin is a suburb of Derby, England, southwest of the city centre on its southern outskirts. The ward, which includes Osmaston as well as Sinfin itself, had a population of 15,128 in 2011. Historically, Sinfin and Osmaston were separate vill ...
, and the parish of
Stenson Fields Stenson Fields is a semi-rural suburban housing development and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The parish is contiguous with Sinfin, a southern area of Derby, but is outside the city boundary. Stenson Fields ...
in South Derbyshire district.


History

Sunny Hill is not identified by name 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, but the land and any dwellings in the area would be included within Normanton in the hundred of Litchurch. The
Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway (B&DJR) was a Great Britain, British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Derby Midland Sta ...
line was built in the 1830s, and forms a boundary of Sunny Hill to the south and east. This is now the Derby-Birmingham section of the
Cross Country Route The Cross Country Route is a long-distance railway route in England, which runs from to via , , and or . Inter-city services on the route, which include some of the longest passenger journeys in the UK such as to , are operated by CrossC ...
. Sunny Hill is identified as the name of a small hamlet on the Ordnance Survey maps from (at least) 1883 to the mid-1930s, situated along Stenson Road between the junctions with the current Sunnyhill Avenue and Blagreaves Lane. The high point along Stenson Road in this area () would appear to be the 'hill' referred to by the name. Prominent on the early maps are Sunny Hill House (shown until the 1960s when the current Bideford Drive was built) and its associated farmhouse (situated near the current Oadby Rise). During the 1930s, significant development of the area started. The Blue Pool public house was built on Stenson Road in 1936, one of three similar built in Derby in
art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style (the others being the Blue Peter in
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 the Blue Boy in
Chaddesden Chaddesden, also known locally as Chadd, is a large residential suburb of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Historically a separate village centred on Chaddesden Hall and the 14th century St Mary's Church, the area was sig ...
). In early 1939, 5 acres of land (near the railway line, now Mimosa Crescent) were sold to Clarke Aircraft Products, whose factory made aircraft engine components, including those relating to Henry Clarke's patented oil viscosity control valves. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a German
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
camp was constructed on the land south of Sunnyhill Avenue. Initially in 1941 this housed almost 400 men, but was enlarged in 1942 to accommodate an additional 200. After the war, in November 1945, this land was sold to the government War Department, and the camp was used to house eastern European
displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...
as
European Voluntary Workers European Voluntary Workers (EVW) was the collective name given to continental Europeans invited by the British government to work in the UK in the immediate Post-World War II period, to help people who have become homeless during the war and to su ...
. A row of officers' houses had addresses given as Sunnyhill Camp; the houses remain, now forming part of Staunton Avenue. These continued in military use through the 1950s, with officers based at the nearby
Normanton Barracks Normanton Barracks was a military installation in Normanton, Derby, England. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style between 1874 and 1877. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encourage ...
being billeted there. In 1951, the land used by Clarke Aviation was bought by Qualcast for use as their lawnmower production factory. Qualcast remained on the site until 1991. The Blue Pool pub closed in 2009, and the building has since been used as a
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
Express convenience store. From the mid-1930s until the end of the 20th century, housing has progressively been built on the former farm, military camp and factory sites, giving rise to today's predominantly domestic suburb of Derby. The community is ethnically diverse, with significant Asian populations.


Local Facilities

A post office was situated on Stenson Road opposite the junction of Sunnyhill Avenue, it was shut down in 2014. Post office services were moved to the Co-op store at the Blagreaves Lane junction. A local library and a range of shops, take-aways and other services are situated around the Stenson Road end of Blagreaves Lane. Derby bus services run on Stenson Road, and circular routes between Derby, Sunny Hill and the
Royal Derby Hospital Royal Derby Hospital is one of two teaching hospitals in the city of Derby, the other being the Florence Nightingale Community Hospital. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. History The original h ...
.


References

{{Suburbs of Derby Areas of Derby