Osmaston, Derby

Osmaston
Osmaston  Osmaston shown within Derbyshire
Population	7,000
OS grid reference	SK365335
District	Derby
Shire county	Derbyshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DERBY
Dialling code	01332
Police	Derbyshire
Fire	Derbyshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Derby South
List of places UK England Derbyshire

Coordinates: 52°53′52″N 1°27′32″W / 52.89771°N 1.45886°W

Osmaston is a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is situated about 4 km south of the city centre, it is written in the Domesday Book as Osmundestune. In 1307 the manor of Osmaston was granted to Robert Holland. It was the location of Osmaston Hall the residence of the Wilmot baronets of Osmaston.^[1]

History

There are two places called Osmaston in Derbyshire. This Osmaston and another in the Derbyshire Dales. It has been this way for at least 900 years. Both places are mentioned in the Domesday Book and both called Osmundestune.^[2]

St James the Lesser Church in 1868

The manor in Derby was the home of the ancient family of the Wilmot baronets.^[1] These baronets built Osmaston Hall which included its own chapel of James the Lesser. The hall was demolished to make way for Ascot Drive industrial estate in 1938, whilst the chapel managed to survive until 1952.

During World War II, on Monday, July 27, 1942, at 7.50am a lone Dornier 217 attacked the Rolls-Royce factory in the area, which was making Merlin Engines and vital to the war effort. The aircraft, at very low level, hit the central stores and the houses opposite. The plane turned, strafed civilians in the Osmaston area and shot down a barrage balloon before returning to base. Twenty-eight people were killed.

Up till 2007, Osmaston was the main location of the manufacturing unit of Rolls-Royce, until this facility was moved 2 km south to Sinfin. The Nightingale Road, Main Works site opened in 1908 to manufacture the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost and at the rear of the site a test track called "Miniature Brooklands" was used to prove the cars.

The two Osmastons meet

The area was called The Osmaston Triangle, an area of Derby bounded by a railway line, Osmaston Road and Osmaston Park Road, with the two roads joining at the "Spider Bridge" in Allenton. In 2003 a major project called the 'Osmaston Housing Improvement Zone' was approved, designed to improve the condition of the local housing. This work included much of the older, privately owned terraced houses in the area with 20 empty properties brought back into use and 93 low-income families helped with essential repairs.^[3]

In April 2009 Derby City Council agreed to buy the old Rolls-Royce site in a move towards the ongoing regeneration of Osmaston.^[4]

Osmaston Park

At the southern edge of Osmaston is a park, known locally as “Top Park”. It is 650 meters long by 250 meters wide with a pathed perimeter of 1,500 meters. It has two grassed areas set aside as football pitches, either side of a central wooded circle called "Ash Wood" with an adventure playground. The park features two Crown Green bowling lawns, basketball courts a community centre and BMX track.

Notable people

• Sir John Eardley Wilmot (1709–1792), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
• Henry Royce

References

1. Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland. (London, 1891) p. 222, accessed 11 May 2010
2. [History of Derbyshire' by David Peter Davies History of Derbyshire], David Peter Davies, 1911, accessed May 2010
3. Photo gallery
4. Rolls-Royce land to be bought up for Osmaston masterplan

External links

• Option for Osmaston
• BBC My Community Osmaston
• Nightingale Infant School
• Osmaston news from the Derby Telegraph