Mickleover
Encyclopedia
Mickleover is a suburb located two miles (3 km) west of the city centre and is the most westerly suburb of the City of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

 in the United Kingdom.

History

The suburb is mentioned as a village in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 when it was owned by Burton Abbey
Burton-on-Trent Abbey
Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was originally founded in the 7th or 9th century by St Modwen or Modwenna; and later refounded in 1003 as a Benedictine abbey by Wulfric Spott, a thegn possibly descended from King Alfred...

. At the time of the Domesday Survey
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

, 1086, Mickleover was known as Magna (the Old English version of this is Micel) Oufra. Magna, in early Latin means Great; oufra coming from Anglo Saxon ofer, flat-topped ridge. The oldest parts of the suburb now are located along Uttoxeter Road (B5020). Mickleover was transferred to the County Borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Derby from Repton Rural District
Repton Rural District
Repton was a rural district in Derbyshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Burton upon Trent rural sanitary district which was in Derbyshire .In 1934, under a County Review Order, it was expanded somewhat by taking in the disbanded...

 in 1968. The resident population of Mickleover ward in 2003 was 13,528. The current population is estimated to be in excess of 18,000.

Geography

Mickleover is now one of the largest suburbs in Derby and is still expanding due to ongoing housing developments. House prices in areas of Mickleover are amongst the highest in Derby, with prices exceeding £300,000 in the Mickleover Country Park area, colloquially known as Pastures, after the former psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

 found there.

There is a large 24 hour Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 in the middle of the suburb. Mickleover Court Hotel is popular with commuting business representatives as well as travelling sports teams, notably football teams playing against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

. The hotel also accommodated the England team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 in 2001 when they played a friendly at Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...

 against Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

. Pubs in the village include the large Nags Head and Vine Inn on Uttoxeter Road and the Masons Arms on Etwall Road.

Construction of the £5.2m Mickleover bypass (A516/A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...

) began in April 1972, and it was opened on February 19, 1975.

Railway history

The railway line which passed through Mickleover (the station was about 1 miles (1.6 km) from the centre of the village, entitled Mickleover for Radbourne) originally formed part of the Great Northern Railway's cross country route from Grantham to Stafford and was opened in April 1878. It ran from Grantham on the East Coast Main Line via Nottingham Victoria, over the famous Bennerley Viaduct
Bennerley Viaduct
Bennerley Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct spanning the Erewash Valley between Awsworth in Nottinghamshire and Ilkeston in Derbyshire.- Origins :...

 (which still stands today) and Derby Friargate Station. This section of the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....

, also known as the Friargate Line, (for further history about this now closed railway see GNR Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension), was built as a rival to the already established Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 which at the time had a monopoly over Derby, Nottingham and the surrounding areas.

At Egginton Jcn. it joined the Derby to Crewe line of the North Staffordshire Railway which it left at Uttoxeter to journey on to Stafford. Mickleover station lay on the Derby – Egginton section.

Although most of the line was closed to passenger traffic in December 1939, Egginton station didn't officially close until 3 March 1962 and Mickleover station remained open until 3 February 1964. The final passenger train left Friargate on 5 September 1964 and the line then closed throughout to passenger traffic on 7 September 1964.

Freight remained as did the through excursion traffic but eventually Friargate Goods closed on 4 September 1967. There used to be a dairy at Egginton from where milk was transported to London.

The section between Egginton Jcn. and Friargate was then acquired by the Train Control Group of the BR Research Division, as a suitable test track. It was singled between Friargate and Mickleover, but in 1973 the line was cut back to Mickleover since the eastern end of the track bed had been earmarked for the new A38 trunk road. Thereafter the line was used as a test track until 1990 when the A50 by-pass was built over the trackbed and the line was closed and lifted.

Today Mickleover and Egginton stations survive, Mickleover is a private residence and Egginton is the HQ for a Payroll Company. The route of the line is now a cycle track (to Etwall
Etwall
Etwall is a civil parish and village in Derbyshire, England. It is located southwest from Derby on the A50.-Geography:Etwall is squeezed between the A516, which bypassed the village in February 1992, and the A50. The A516 draws a lot of heavy traffic heading for the M1 north.The village has its...

) and nature path with little to indicate its former status.

University campus

Mickleover from May 1964 until June 2007, housed a small 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) campus of the University of Derby
University of Derby
The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...

 which in 2007-8 made way for nearly 700 new homes. The campus was formerly the Bishop Lonsdale College of Education, run by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 (Derby Diocese
Diocese of Derby
The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby who has his seat at Derby Cathedral. He is assisted by the Suffragan Bishop of Repton.The Diocese of Derby...

), and housed the Education and Health departments as well as some social science courses. In late 2007 a new scout hut for the 166th Mickleover Scouts was also built on the site of the University Campus (Derby Campus).

Schools

Mickleover has a number of primary schools. Mickleover Primary, Brookfield Primary, Silverhill Primary and Ravensdale Junior and Infants schools. There are two secondary schools, Murray Park School
Murray Park School
Murray Park School is a specialist Maths and Computing School on Murray Road in Mickleover, Derby, England. It has about 1050 pupils, most of whom live in the Mickleover and Mackworth areas.-History:...

, which also borders the edge of Mackworth
Mackworth Estate
Mackworth Estate is a large council estate situated to the north-west of Derby near to Markeaton Park and the suburb of Mickleover and also the village of the same name but which is linked by no other means....

, and goes straight onto D block in Derby College
Derby College
Derby College is a further education centre with sites located within Derbyshire , England and the surrounding area...

. Many residents of Mickleover, however, attend John Port School
John Port School
John Port Specialist Technology, Mathematics and Computing College is a very large academy in the village of Etwall, Derbyshire, England.-Admissions:...

, or Littleover Community School
Littleover Community School
Littleover Community School is a coeducational secondary school situated on Pastures Hill, Littleover, Derbyshire in England, with an age range of pupils from 11–18....

 both of which can be difficult to obtain a place because of high demand.

The village has two C of E
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 churches – the 1960s St John the Evangelist and the older All Saints. There is also a Methodist chapel and a Roman Catholic church on Uttoxeter Road called Our Lady of Lourdes. All Saints once contained an infant school, as did the Old Tea Rooms, now known as the Mickleover Community Centre.

Publications

Maxwell Craven, a well known Derby Historian who studied at Mickleover College of Education, has a book The Illustrated History of Derby Suburbs. Page 100 onwards describes the history of Mickleover, illustrated by photographs going back to the beginning of the 20th century. After a brief history of Mickleover, the book- Portrait of a Village visits the major streets of the old village and describes their development, amply illustrated by excellent photography.

Sports

Mickleover is home to the relatively small football team Mickleover Sports F.C.
Mickleover Sports F.C.
Mickleover Sports F.C. is a football club based in the Mickleover suburb of Derby, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division...

. Despite Mickleover's status as a suburb, Sports compete in the Northern Premier League Premier Division
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...

 which is the 7th tier of English football, along with former Football League clubs Northwich Victoria and Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...

. The club was formed in 1948 and spent the first 44 years of their existence competing locally in the Derby and District Senior League. In 1993, they joined the Central Midlands Football League Premier Division, gaining promotion to the Supreme Division two years later. They moved up to Northern Counties East League Division One in 1999, and in the 2000–01 season reached the 4th round of the FA Vase
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System...

. Their most recent promotion, to the Northern Premier League Premier Division
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...

, occurred at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Along with Mickleover Sports
Mickleover Sports F.C.
Mickleover Sports F.C. is a football club based in the Mickleover suburb of Derby, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division...

, the suburb is also home to many junior sports teams. A notable example being the Mickleover Lightning Sox football team who are listed in the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 2005 for being involved in the longest penalty shootout. The game between the Sox and Chellaston
Chellaston
Chellaston is a suburb of the City of Derby, which is in the East Midlands in England in the United Kingdom. It is on a natural hill, and has recently expanded due to several new housing estates....

Boys in the 1998 Derby Community Cup, finished 1–1 with Sox winning the shootout 2-1, but not until 66 penalties had been taken. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/08/worst.ever.penalty.shootouts

External links

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