Local attractions

Breadsall

Breadsall Priory

Built in the 16th Century on the site of a 13th Century Augustinian Priory, the house was much altered in the 19th Century. The poet, physician and scientist Doctor Erasmus Darwin lived at the Priory for a short time until his death in 1802.

Breaston

St Michaels Parish Church

St. Michael's chapel dates from the early 13th Century. Originally only mass was said in the chapel and all weddings and funerals had to take place at St. Chad’s, Wilne

Cotmanhay

Bennerley Viaduct

Stretches over from Amber Valley to Cotmanhay - on the edge of Erewash. Impressive wrought iron lattice work viaduct c. 1879. Almost 500 yards / 460M metres long, which carried the former GNR Derbys extension over the Erewash Valley. Built by Richard Johnson, it closed in 1968

Draycott

St Chad’s Church (Church Wilne)

Medieval Church consisting of nave, south aisle, chancel and 13th Century West Tower. Interesting fittings particularly the font, formed out of part of a cross of the 8th or 9th Century, and believed to be the second oldest font in the country.

Also of note are the glass, monuments, and floor tiles of the Willoughby Chapel. The Church was much damaged by a fire in 1917

Ilkeston

Ilkeston Market Place

The large upper Market Place is a later addition to the lower Market Place for which Hugh de Cantelupe first gained permission to hold a Thursday Market in 1252.

The Market Place is now a conservation area and has several features of historical interest.

St Mary’s Church, Ilkeston

St Mary’s dates from around 1150 AD but has been significantly altered over time. The three piers and arches which separate the nave from the south aisle are all that remain of the original building.

Extensive alterations took place in the Victorian period, including the rebuilding of the tower.

Ilkeston Town Hall

This purpose built Town Hall was built in 1867-68 to an Italian style design by the architects R. C. Sutton of Nottingham.

Dalby House, Ilkeston

Georgian building with Victorian extensions, built as a family home and later as a boarding house for pupils and staff at a nearby school.

The building now houses Erewash Museum and contains displays relating to the history of life in the borough. Also of note are the museum gardens, providing an attractive town centre garden.

Scala Cinema, Ilkeston

Ilkeston’s first purpose built Cinema by James Parsons and Sons of Bulwell (1913), believed to be the second oldest remaining purpose built Cinema in the country.

The style incorporates features of Edwardian, classical and art nouveau designs.

Stanton Road Cemetery, Ilkeston

Ilkeston’s first non conformist cemetery, opened in the 19th Century.

Nearest to Stanton Road are the monuments to many of Ilkeston’s most prominent citizens, at the back of the cemetery are many hundreds of unmarked graves, the final resting place of many of the town’s poorest citizens.

Stanton Ironworks, Ilkeston

The site of the now much reduced ironworks. There had been ironworking on the site since 1840s but much is now semi-derelict and little if any antiquity remains.

There are a few 19th Century work shops remaining but no trace of the blast furnaces. Still intact are the ornate company offices of 1914, adjacent to Lows Lane, and a number of other 20th Century associated buildings.

Straws Bridge

Straws Bridge is located on High Lane, on the boundary of Ilkeston and West Hallam.

It is a popular local attraction, and a haven for both local and visiting wildlife. Plentiful parking is available for visitors wishing to take a stroll around the network of lakes and surrounding footpaths.

Straws Bridge also incorporates the nature reserve known as Pewit Carr. The reserve consists of species rich grassland with orchids, willow carr and sedge beds.

Kirk Hallam

Cat and Fiddle Windmill

The Cat and Fiddle post mill, with the date of 1788 on the timbering, stands on the site of an earlier mill. This is the only surviving post mill in Derbyshire.

On a clear day there are excellent views of the surrounding countryside. At the bottom of the hill is Moat Wood, the former site of the original moated manor house.

All Saints Parish Church

Norman in origin, All Saints Church has a few surviving original features, notably the font.

Little Eaton

Peckwash Mill

Late 18th Century watermill building on the site of a former 13th Century corn mill. During 17th and 18th centuries it was one of the biggest paper mills in the world, finally being used in the textile industry in 1800s and 1900s. The mill, along with other industrial sites, now form part of a World Heritage Site.

Long Eaton

Long Eaton Market Place

Contains many buildings of historic interest and architectural merit. The artist Dame Laura Knight was born close to the market place. The house is now marked by a blue plaque.

St Laurences Parish Church

The church of St. Laurence has a fine Norman south doorway. This and the medieval nave and chancel were rebuilt into the present building when the church was enlarged in 1868. The 14th Century tower and squat spire are largely unaltered.

The church is located on the Market Place in the centre of Long Eaton.

The Hall

The Hall, built in 1778 is a fine example of Georgian architecture, built for gentleman farmer Henry Howitt and his family by Derby architect Joseph Pickford. It has been used for civic purposes since 1921 and the modern extension dating from the mid-1990s contains the Civic Centre.

The Hall and Civic Centre house the Howitt Bequest, a collection of 18th and 19th Century paintings left to the people of Long Eaton by the Howitt family in the early 20th century.

Forbes Hole

Open willow carr, woodland, grassland, scrub and wetland. Plants include water violet and water dropwort. Good for butterflies and moths.

West Park

West Park is situated on Wilsthorpe Road in Long Eaton.

The park is very popular with local people, offering the opportunity to play a variety of sports, including cricket, football, bowls, rugby, and tennis.  The park also has a skate board park, tree trail, floral gardens, band stand, children's play area and orienteering course. 

Morley

St Matthew’s Church and Mausoleum

St Matthews Church shows both Saxon and Norman features. It is best known for its magnificent stained glass windows from the Abbey at Dale, acquired by Sir Henry Sacheverall in 1539. In the churchyard is the unusual mausoleum to the Sacheverall-Bateman family.

Ockbrook

Locko Hall and Park

A large stone mansion nine bays wide and three storeys high with rusticated giant pilasters at the angels. At either end, one storey projecting wings, the west wing is older than the main house and contains a chapel built in 1669.

The present house was built by Francis Smith of Warwick in the late 1720s and has been the ancestral home of the Drury-Lowe family since 1747. In medieval times a leper hospital stood on the site. The garden and landscaped park was created c1792 by William Emes.

The Hall and Park are still privately owned but can be seen from the public footpath which runs to the south side of the estate.

Ockbrook Moravian Settlement

The Moravian Church was formed in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) in the 15th Century.

A Moravian community settled in Ockbrook in the 1740s, and built their Church in 1752. The settlement continued to grow and includes many fine 18th and 19th Century buildings some of which now form Ockbrook School. There is still a Moravian congregation at the church.

All Saints Parish Church

All Saints became the parish church c.1550, before which it had been the chapelry of Elvaston. Of the chapel only two main features remain, the early 12th Century tower (to which the spire was added slightly later), and the Norman font.

Sandiacre

St Giles Church

The Church has examples in Norman, decorated and perpendicular styles, notably in the nave walls and chancel archaeology featuring the Sandiacre Imp. The broach spire is 13th Century and the fire chancel dates from the mid 14th Century.

Springfield Mills

A large, four storey tenement lace factory on the east bank of the Erewash Canal. Built in 1888 by Terah Hooley Ltd lace manufacturers. The most prominent feature of the factory is a tall octagonal chimney on a square base, with an intricately decorated head.