Snelston 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...

 three miles south-west of Ashbourne

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...

 in Derbyshire. It includes Anacrehill

Anacrehill

Anacrehill is an area of Snelston parish, to the south of the village. The area contains a small number of cottages and farmhouses located on Virginsalley Lane....

. A tributary of the River Dove

River Dove, Derbyshire

The River Dove is the principal river of the southwestern Peak District, in the Midlands of England and is around in length. It rises on Axe Edge Moor near Buxton and flows generally south to its confluence with the River Trent at Newton Solney. From there, its waters reach the North Sea via the...

 flows through its centre.

The building in the foreground of the photo above is Lower Lodge which stands at the entrance of Snelston Hall. Beyond the lodge is St Peter's church. Snelston Hall was built in 1827 and was demolished in 1951. The local squire, John Harrison had the village remodelled and a new school built in 1847. The village buildings were designed by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...

. This is now a model village

Model village

A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...

.

The parish church of St Peter was substantially rebuilt (except for the tower) in 1825. It is one of the few churches to have had dances regularly held on the roof.

Notable residents

• Michael Sadler
  Michael Thomas Sadler
  Michael Thomas Sadler was a radical British Tory Member of Parliament , opponent of Catholic emancipation and leader of the factory reform movement...
  
  , MP, factory reformer, was born here in 1780. He reformed the laws for children working in factories.

External links

• Snelston at DerbyshireUK