Parks and Open Spaces
The city of Derby and its suburbs are fortunate in having over 300 parks and open spaces. These vary significantly from the beautiful and historic former country estates such as Markeaton, Darley, Chaddesden and Allestree to small playground in the midst of housing estates. I have included a few of these here and will try to add more over time
Chaddesden Park
Bass' recreation ground
This 4.5 hectare piece of land is found on the edge of the city and is bordered by the River Derwent to the north and main roads to it's other sides. It was gifted to the town by wealthy benefactor and philanthropist Michael Thomas Bass in 1865 and has a covenant which restricts its use to “be forever used and enjoyed by the inhabitants of the Borough of Derby for a public play and recreation ground”. Mostly open space, edgers by many beautiful trees and featuring a skate park, the area is used by events such as circuses and fairs
Rykneld Recreation Ground
This 11 acre park was once part of the significantly larger Firs Estate. This belonged to Canon Edward Abney who was married to Catherine Strutt, daughter of Jedediah Strutt and lived in a large regency house on Burton Road. Edward was a local pioneer in the new art of photography and was a friend of William Fox-Talbot. He is said to have had a significant influence on Richard Keene who went on to play such an important role in the photographic documentation of the town in the 19th century. Edward died in 1890 at the age of 80 and is buried in the graveyard of St Peter's Church in Littleover. His large estate was inherited by his son Sir William Abney who was an astronomer, chemist and one of the most important figures in the early development of photography. William sold much of the Firs Estate for development as the St Luke's housing estate, retaining just 11 acres at the time. This was also later sold for development as the Firs School. This survived until merging with Bemrose school in 1975 when it admitted girls and became a Comprehensive. Closing some years later and suffering vandalism when it remained empty it was sold to the City Council in 1996 who cleared the site, built an infants school and converted the remainder of the site into a public recreation ground
Markeaton Park
Markeaton is the cities most visited park, attracting about a million visitors a year. This 207 acre park has a long and fascinating history and has many features that mark this history: ancient veteran trees, historic lost roads, old arable field patterns, the 18th century park and buildings and the remains of a Second World War army camp. The history of Markeaton can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as a large village with church and mill and at that time was controlled by the Earl of Chester. It was in 1516 that the estate was purchased by John Mundy, a goldsmith who became the Lord Mayor of London 6 years later. The estate was to remain with the Mundy family for the next 500 years. At the time the estate was purchased it included a Tudor manor house, however this was demolished and replaced by Markeaton Hall in 1755. In 1877 Francis Noel Mundy became the owner of the house and was the last male member of the family to live there. In 1864 in Hanover Square he had married Emily Maria Georgiana Cavendish who was the daughter of the Hon Richard Cavandish of Thornton Hall, Buckinghamshire. The couple had no children so when Francis died in 1903 he left the entire estate to Emily. It was Emily who was the longest resident of Markeaton. Always referred to as “Mrs Mundy” she lived until she was 83. She donated several large tracts of land to the public. In 1905 an area in the West End was donated to form the Mundy Pleasure Ground and in 1924 she gave a large area to form the Mundy Play Area in Markeaton Park. When she died in 1929 her successor the Reverend William Clarke-Maxwell upon her direction donated Markeaton Hall and surrounding land to the Council . The direction to the corporation was that the house and gardens should be used to benefit the people of Derby as a museum or other similar purpose. Unfortunately the house struggled to find a use. It was requisitioned to billet soldiers in the Second World War and was badly damaged. It was subsequently demolished in the 1960s leaving just the orangery and walled garden.In recent years the park has undergone a major program of restoration, reinstating many of the original features and it now looks fantastic
Allestree Hall
Allestree Park is the largest public open space in Derby, stretching to 320 acres of woods, grassland and a large lake. Despite its extensive size it just a part of what was once a much larger estate surrounding the 19th century Allestree Hall. The estate of Allestree was originally owned by the Mundy family of Markeaton Hall from 1516. In 1795 F N C Mundy sold about 130 acres of land in Allestree to Bache Thornhill of Stanton-in-Peak, who wanted a suburban villa within reach of Derby. Thornhill demolished the existing house and commissioned noted architect James Wyatt to design him a new one. The house was finished by John Charles Girardot, who then sold it to William Evans of the Darley Abbey mills family, who enlarged the park to about 300 acres. The house and park had a number of owners over the following hundred years until in 1928 the house and about 400 acres were acquired by the Commercial Construction Company which built houses on parts of the park, but this work was, thankfully, interrupted by the outbreak of war. As with many houses of this time it was requisitioned during the war, in the case of Allestree it became the headquarters of the National fire service. The house never really found a purpose after the war and it has now been closed for many ears and is actually on the English Heritage At Risk RegisterThe park, itself was re-ordered by William Barron & Son in 1917-23, however, after the war the house and park were sold to the Corporation of Derby who created a large golf course in 1947. This closed during the pandemic and has never reopened. Instead the council are returning the park to nature in what is believed to be the largest urban rewilding project in the country
Chaddesden Wood
This beautiful slice of nature on the edge of the Oakwood Estate is officially designated an ancient woodland and a Local Nature reserve. The Friends of Chaddesden Wood have a wonderful description of the site on their website and, as I feel that I couldn't really write anything better, I have copied it here. I hope they don't mind
'Chaddesden Wood is special because it is one of two ancient woodlands in the city of Derby. "Ancient" means it has been continuously wooded for at least 400 years. It covers nine hectares, or 23 acres. Acquired by Derby City Council in November 1990, it was declared A Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in April 1991. Being declared a LNR will help to ensure its proper protection and management. It will also enhance its wildlife, recreational and educational value for existing and future generations.It is believed that Chaddesden Wood has existed since the Middle Ages. Records show that in 1548 George Dethick inherited the Chaddesden estate from his father, John Dethick of Breadsall. The estate contained 100 acres of pasture and 40 acres of woodland. At this time, the woodland would have been managed for its timber. Trees, especially hazel, would be regularly coppiced, cut back to ground level, and then allowed to regrow. This would provide a continual supply of poles. People used these for bean supports, fencing and firewood. Some oaks would be cut down to supply timber for houses and furniture. During the 18th Century a great demand for wooden ships led to the cutting down of many large oaks. Small timber poles continued to be produced by coppicing. Woodland at this time also formed part of large estates which were used for hunting. Chaddesden Wood would have provided cover for game such as deer, pheasants and partridges.Until the early 1980s open fields surrounded Chaddesden Wood. Today only the northern side has a view into open countryside, as houses have been built around the rest of the wood. In 2012, the LNR was extended to include Lime Lane Wood, off Smalley Drive, which is linked to Chaddesden Wood by about 600 metres of hedgerow and features many mature oak trees. Lime Lane Wood extends the coverage to 11.61 hectares or nearly 30 acres.'