Mickleover News

Focus on Mickleover: Mickleover didn't become part of Derby until 1968 when it was swallowed up into the city.

The suburb is virtually a town in its own right. It is a self-sufficient community with a giant, 24-hour Tesco and a good number of shops, six pubs, five churches, plenty of schools including its own specialist maths college, and a Derby university campus.

In fact, it feels like a big village, with plenty of local activities – from archery to chess, tai chi to model railways – a few restaurants, and some good leisure facilities.

Although the city centre is just minutes away, Mickleover is surrounded by miles of glorious countryside.

Mickleover grew at a rapid rate until the 1990s when house building virtually stopped - but there are now pockets of new homes springing up as builders fill the need from people who want to move into the desirable suburb.

The rapid expansion of industrialisation in Derby during the 18th and 19th centuries led to over-crowding in the city centre, so the better-off started to look further afield to build their mansions.

Mickleover seemed like an ideal location, and its status as a managers' town was established.

Some of those gorgeous historic buildings still remain, including the Old Hall timber-framed house in Orchard Street where legend has it that Oliver Cromwell stayed when he stormed Tutbury Castle.

The few remaining old properties, including a handful of terraces, now rub shoulders with the new semis and the ultra-modern three-storey houses.

But this isn't trendy territory - this is traditional living at its best, and it’s not hard to see why Mickleover, which residents still refer fondly to as ‘The Village’, is so popular.

There are three toddlers' play groups, four nurseries and seven primary school, which feed into four secondary schools, including Murray Park, now a specialist maths and computing school.

There are also two doctors' surgeries, two dentists, three chemists, and plenty of care homes and facilities for the elderly.

Trains: The nearest mainline station is in Derby, two miles away.

Roads: A by-pass built in 1975 takes traffic around the village and it’s easy to get into Derby.

Bus: There is a good regular service every few minutes through the district and to the city centre.

Shopping: Mickleover has a big Tesco 24 hour store and plenty of other outlets in the shopping centre which are enough for day-to-day living.

Eating and Drinking: Six pubs, some serving food, and several restaurants, including Italian, Indian, Chinese and a classy restaurant in the nearby Menzies Mickleover Court Hotel. There are also plenty of takeaways.

Sports: The sports ground in Station Road offers a variety of activities and is home to the Mickleover Sports football club. Elsewhere, you'll find archery, a gym club, two golf clubs, and several football and cricket teams.

Leisure and Entertainment: Village entertainment tends to revolve around the pubs and the community centre. The pubs are busy and provide music, and the busy community centre in Uttoxeter Road features everything from keep fit to yoga, Tai Chi to bowls, painting classes, tip toe dancing, and even a ladies' barbershop choir.

The Memorial Hall stages regular events, and there’s a very active model railway club, a chess club and a theatrical group, the Mickleover Players.

Open Spaces: Apart from the recreation ground in Station Road, the Mickleover Community Pavilion is situated on Vicarage Park which has a football pitch, a children's playground and a substantial grass area.

The Pavilion has a large community room which opens onto the playing field and a full set of changing rooms for football matches. It was opened in 2006 after the original was burnt down, and its busy community room is used for youth activities every day of the week.