Notes: Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, up until the modern era Spondon was a village separate from the city of Derby. Nowadays the two are very close to each other, although Spondon still has a distinct 'village' feel to it.
The name Spondon is Anglo Saxon and describes a gravelly hill. From the south of the area one has to climb uphill to reach what was the village centre, the most common accesses being via Merchant Avenue, Willowcroft Road and Borrowash Road. There are also roads called Gravel Pit Lane and Stoney Lane.
In about 1333, a great fire, starting at the Malt Shovel Inn and aided by an easterly wind, swept through the village destroying the church and all but a few houses. The damage was so great that a judge, Roger de Bankwell, was sent to hear pleas for relief from taxes. The Great Fire of Spondon is still commemorated. On its 650th anniversary a village fair was held in the 1990s.
One of the high speed links with Derby effectively cuts the village into two, the Borrowash By-Pass (A52), the recently named Brian Clough Way. The oldest and most interesting sections lie north of this road and include the village itself with the beautiful church of Saint Werburgh, and Locko Park, the home of a local land-owning family, the Drury-Lowes. Spondon's secondary schools are also in the north and lie close to the boundary of Chaddesden.
Transport: Because of Derby's rail links Spondon is considered by some to be a dormitory village and there are many people who commute to London. Via the main roads, Derby city is no more than three minutes away and 1 hour 33 minutes after leaving Derby you can be in London on a fast train (thanks to recent timetable improvements by eastmidlandstrains.
