Spondon (St. Mary)
SPONDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Appletree, S. division of the county of Derby, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Derby; containing 1586 inhabitants. The parish was formerly more extensive than at present, the chapelries of Chaddesden and Stanley having been separated from it in 1836, and erected into distinct parishes. It comprises 3091 acres, of which 609 are arable, 2363 pasture, 92 wood, and 25 water. The beautiful mansion of Locko Hall, surrounded by a well-wooded park of 240 acres, is situated here. The village, seated on a commanding eminence overlooking the vale of Derwent, is of considerable extent, and the residence of several highly respectable families. The inhabitants are principally employed in agriculture, and in the manufacture of stockings, mits, and silk gloves; a few persons are engaged in brick-making. The Derby canal passes for more than two miles through the parish, and has a wharf about half a mile from the village; near which, on the south side, is a station of the Midland railway. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 14. 7.; net income, £200, with a glebe-house; patrons, the Trustees under the will of the late W. D. Lowe, Esq. The tithes for the liberty of Spondon were partly commuted for land and a money payment in 1788. The church is a large structure in the decorated English style, and consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a tower and spire 114 feet high; in the chancel are three stone stalls: the edifice was thoroughly repaired in 1826, at a cost of £1200. In the churchyard is an antique stone, apparently Saxon. There are places of worship for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. A school is endowed with land producing about £15 per annum; and excellent Church of England schools were built in 1839, by subscription and public grants. William Gilbert left by will, in 1649, the sum of £1000, with which 51a. 1r. 30p. of land were purchased at Spondon, now worth £114 per annum; 20s. are given to ten poor people every Sunday, and the surplus is applied to charitable purposes at the discretion of the trustees.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.