Sawley, Derbyshire
Encyclopedia
Sawley is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 within the Borough of Erewash
Erewash
Erewash is a local government district and borough in eastern Derbyshire, England, to the east of Derby and the west of Nottingham. It contains the towns of Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre and fourteen civil parishes....

, in southeast Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Around 6,500 people live in the parish. with a slightly higher than average number of people over 65.

In 2009 Sawley was blighted with a smell coming from waste products being legally dumped onto nearby farmland. The smell was dubbed the Sawley Stink. A dedicated group of local residents campaigned successfully to put an end to the process and Sawley was soon free of the stink.

Every year around the August Bank Holiday, Sawley All Saints holds a flower festival, with themed floral displays inside the church.

Sawley Marina is one of the most prominent features of the village, with access to the regions main waterways.

History

The old name for Sawley was Sallé. Between Sawley and Church Wilne and Great Wilne
Great Wilne
Great Wilne is a small village in Derbyshire, England on the border with Leicestershire. It is 7 miles south east of Derby. It is a village split from its church of St Chads by the river...

 is the junction of the River Derwent
River Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....

 and the Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

. It is to this that Sawley owes it position.
The church of All Saints is thirteenth century and contains Saxon
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...

 and Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 work. and commands a position on a small rise near the river.

Up until the 19th century, Sawley was the most important village in the area, commanding the first river crossing, Harrington Bridge
Harrington Bridge
Harrington Bridge crosses the River Trent near Sawley in Derbyshire carrying the Tamworth Road into Leicestershire. The stonework of the bridge dates from 1790, but the central section was replaced in 1905 after it was damaged by flood water...

, above Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

.

Opposite from Sawley churches is Bothe Hall once owned by the Booth family. The Booths
Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington
Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington was a Member of Parliament, Privy Councillor, Protestant protagonist in the Revolution of 1688, Mayor of Chester and author.-Life:...

 were a wealthy landowning family from Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

 whose principal seat was at Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...

. Bothe Hall was probably built between 1660 and 1680, and has an interior that contains some exposed ceiling beams and a regency
Regency architecture
The Regency style of architecture refers primarily to buildings built in Britain during the period in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to later buildings following the same style...

 staircase.

Other buildings of interest in the area include Sawley Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 Church, which was built in 1800.



Notable residents

  • John Clifford - Campaigner for educational reform and anti-war campaigner was born here in 1836
  • Halle Berry
    Halle Berry
    Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...

    's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley.

External links

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