| Official Name: | Denby |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 53.0197°N -1.4253°W |
| Static Image Name: | Houses on Church Street, Denby - geograph.org.uk - 4724101.jpg |
| Static Image Width: | 250 |
| Static Image Caption: | Church Street, Denby (2015) |
| Population: | 2,190 |
| Population Ref: | (2011)[1] |
| Shire District: | Amber Valley |
| Shire County: | Derbyshire |
| Region: | East Midlands |
| Constituency Westminster: | Amber Valley |
| Post Town: | RIPLEY |
| Postcode District: | DE5 |
| Postcode Area: | DE |
| Dial Code: | 01332, 01773 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SK386470 |
Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is 3miles east from Belper and 8miles north of Derby. Denby is home to a secondary school which is named after John Flamsteed.[2] The village was once served by Denby railway station on the Midland Railway Ripley Branch. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,827,[3] increasing to 2,190 at the 2011 Census.
All four of these, along with a small southern area of Marehay in Ripley, and a small portion of Openwoodgate near Belper, lie within Denby parish.
The settlement was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Denebi. By 1334, it was a market town and held an annual fair in September. For over two centuries, ironstone and clay were being mined; coal mining started in the 1200s. Royal astronomer John Flamsteed (1646–1719) was born in Denby.[4]
In 1806, William Bourne leased the clay bed that had been discovered while a road was being built. Three years later, the family began manufacturing salt-glazed pottery under the Bourne name, with son Joseph running the operation. By the Second World War Denby had switched to producing tableware as well as industrial parts. Brown was the primary colour but the company shifted toward more attractive colours after the war. Ownership of the company remained with the family until 1942; after several owners, Denby was acquired by a consortium that was funded by Valco Capital Partners. The enterprise continues today as the Denby Pottery Company.[5]
There is a memorial garden for John Flamsteed,[4] opposite St Mary the Virgin's Church, which features the stellarsphere which shows the position of the stars and planets overhead at the current time.
The village is commemorated in the hymn tune Denby, composed in 1904 by Charles J. Dale.[6]
Denby Cricket Club was officially founded in 1865, but recent research has revealed records of activity as far back as 1850.[7] The club is based on The Copper Yard, off High Bank.[8] Denby field 5 Senior XI teams in the Derbyshire County Cricket League[9] and a long established Junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Notts & Derby Border Youth Cricket League.[10]
The Denby Dash is an annual 5 mile race around the village countryside in late summer.[11]
In addition to John Flamsteed:[4]