The following description of the parishes of
Alvaston and Boulton is taken from "History, Topography and Directory of
Derbyshire" by T. Bulmer and Co. 1895.
Alvaston and Boulton
Alvaston and Boulton
were amalgamated and constituted a civil parish in 1884, but they remained, as heretofore,
district parishes for ecclesiastical purposes.The total extent of land under assessment is
2000 acres; rateable value, £10,242; and the population, in 1891, was 3390. It is in the
hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, county council division of Alvaston, poor law union of
Shardlow, petty sessional division, county court district and rural deanery of Derby. The
soil is various, gravel and strong land in some places and clay in others. Wheat, oats,
barley, turnips and potatoes are the chief crops, but a considerable portion of the land
is laid down in grass. The principal landowners are Sir V. Harpur Crewe, Bart., Calke
Abbey; the Earl of Harrington, Elvaston Castle; Mr Geo. Webb Smith, Alvaston; Mr G. A.
Bryan; the Vicar of Alvaston in right of his church ; and Mr Philip William Hubbersty,
Kirkstall Hall, Leicestershire.
The village of Alvaston
is situated on the great south road, two miles S.E. from Derby, and is intermixed with
Boulton. It is under the government of an urban district council of nine members, and
elects two urban guardians.
The manor of
Alewoldstone (Alvaston) was given by the Conqueror to Geoffrey Alselin. Subsequently it
passed through various families by whom portions of land were alienated and given to the
abbeys of Dale and Darley. After the dissolution of these monasteries the lands of the
former were granted in 1547 to Henry Needham; and the land and tithes which had belonged
to the latter were given by Queen Mary to the bailiffs and burgesses of the town of Derby.
The Fraunceys of Stanton-by-Bridge and the Sacheverels had estates here, as also had the
Allestrees a little later. The property of the last named family descended by marriage to
the Borrows, by whom it was sold, in 1812, to John Elliott Esq.. The manor was purchased
from this gentleman by the Earl of Harrington, from whom it has descended to the present
Earl.
Alvaston was formerly a
chapelry subject to St. Michael's, Derby, which church the inhabitants were, by agreement,
bound to attend yearly on the Feast of Relics. The chaplain was appointed by the
parishioners, and was allowed for his support the lesser tithes and oblations. In 1536 the
living was valued at £4 4s.. In the 18th century it was augmented with £400 (Queen
Anne's Bounty), which was laid out in the purchase of land; and at the inclosure of the
commons, in 1802, the curate was allotted 60 acres in lieu of the small tithes. The living
is now a vicarage worth £172, with residence, derived from 76 acres of glebe, and held by
the Rev. T. C. Hairs.
The old church stood
till 1856, when it was taken down and the present edifice erected on the site at a cost of
£2,200. It is in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave, north and south
aisles, and western tower containing two bells. The smaller one is inscribed "God
save this Church 1662", the other bears the legend "IN HONORE BEATE MARIE"
in Lombardic capitals and is evidently of pre-Reformation date*.
The old 14th century
piscina has been rebuilt in the wall of the chancel, and here also are preserved some 18th
century monuments to the Allestrees and Borrows. The reredos over the altar is a fine
specimen of wrought iron work, supposed to have been fabricated by the celebrated
artificer, Huntingdon Shaw. The register commences in 1614, and the communion plate bears
the date 1662. In the porch are two very ancient sepulchral slabs that were found under
the foundations of the old tower, which fell in 1775. The one bears an incised cross
with circular head, the other a plain cross supposed to be Saxon work.
The National School
built by subscription in 1859 receives yearly about £23 from Gilbert's charity. The
Wesleyans have a chapel in the village erected in 1872.
Allenton is a compact
little village of five or six streets, founded about 17 years ago by Mr Isaac Allen. There
is a school here under the management of the Alvaston and Boulton School Board. It is also
used as a Mission Room on Sundays.
Gilbert's Charity
consists of land and tenements left by one Gilbert and others before 1637, for the repair
of the chapel and the relief of the poor of Alvaston. The income amounts to about £70 per
annum, which is divided equally between the church, the school and the poor.
NOTES
*The following footnote
appears in the Directory
Since the above was
written, W. Bradshaw, Esq. of Alvaston Court, has presented a peal of six bells and a
chiming clock to the church in memory of the late Mr Mills. The bells are from the well
known foundry of Messrs Taylor & Co. of Loughborough, and the total weight of the peal
is about 60 cwts. The clock was made by J. Smith & Son of Derby.
ADDITIONAL NOTES by John
Blaylock
The clock of St.
Michael's and All Angels Church is still in situ and has Westminster chimes that can be
heard over a large area of Alvaston. The chimes are not harsh to the ear and have a
pleasant tone. In 1996 a Flower Festival was held in the church to mark the centenary year
of the clock.
The National School
building of 1859 located in Elvaston Lane, fell into serious decay by reason of neglect
and disuse and was sadly demolished in the year 2000.
The said location of
Alvaston being two miles S.E. of Derby requires clarification. The present day main
shopping centre of Alvaston, which was in times past the village green, is approximately
four miles from the Derby City Centre.
