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DERBY CITY GUIDE
Borrowash in Derby

Borrowash Information and services


Borrowash

Borrowash village in Derbyshire, though not strictly a Derby suburb, is a busy commuter centre for Nottingham and Derby and lies on the busy old road between the two cities. It once had its own railway station and a canal run through the village, but both are now gone.

Borrowash is part of the parish of Ockbrook, but has its own church, called St Stevens, which was built in 1899 by P.H.Currey of Derby who designed many fine buildings in the county. Inside is an excellent wrought iron screen of 18th century date, presented to the church by a member of the Pares family. It has a chancel and nave but no aisle. The south wall has a double light memorial window inscribed A.J. Davies fecit Bromsgrove Guild. Archibald Davies (1877-1953) was a founder member of the Bromsgrove Guild of Craftsmen, started in 1898. It aimed to combine fine art and design with the best of craftmanship in the tradition of William Morris. The design and colour of this window are typical of his work, examples of which can also be found at Ashbourne Church, Hereford, Sheffield and Worcester cathedrals. Johanesberg Cathedral contains 40 windows by Davies.

Towles Mill use to provide local employment for women. It was taken over by General Industrial Cleaners but that closed in 1990.

The busy centre in Borrowash, has an array of shops, a supermarket, a methodist chapel and several pubs.

The village is situated close to Elvaston Country Park and its large house. The bridge on the road leading down to Elvaston, was opened in 1898. It took 18 months to build its total length of 700 yards. There are 3 arches over the river and 2 smaller ones over the mill race. On the north side of the river is Riverside House, a listed, rectangular building, with a 3 storey part that is 18th century and a 2 storey part built in the early 19th century. The builders and owners were the Earls of Harington. In the 20th century it was owned by the East Mildland Electricity Board, and used as a residence by chairmen and families of that company. Now there are 3 dwellings on the site, one converted by its owner from the stable block around 1991-92, and called Chapel Mews.

The local football team Borrowash Victoria A.F.C. ( Borrowash Vics ) play in the East Midlands Counties Football League. Local school are Ashbrook Infant and Junior Schools, West Park in Spondon and Friesland School in Sandiacre.

Celanese was once one of Derby's biggest employers. It has closed and is now due fror demolition. At its height, the nearby Spondon plant employed some 20,000 people. Many of the homes built in Borrowash were for Celanese employees. Amongst many other items it was involved in the manufacture of filter tow for use in cigarette filters. In 1958 Courtaulds takes over and then in 1998 Dutch giant Akzo Nobel acquires a controlling interest and the company becomes known as Acordis. In 2007 Celanese acquires the company and the name changes again, to Celanese Acetate Ltd.

For a photo tour of some of the buildings and sights to be found around the Celanese site as part of a heritage project run by Andy Rokita who has created a film called "Softly Spoken" looking at the history of the plant and the people that worked here, please see Celanese Photographs

Local services in Borrowash

Borrowash Doctors Surgeries
A. RAYMENT 207 Victoria Avenue, Borrowash, Derby, DE72 3HG Tel: 01332 280800

Dispensing Chemists
Wilson BJ Ltd Victoria Avenue, Borrowash, Derby, DE72 3HD Tel: 01332 674140



Allestree

Allenton

Alvaston

Borrowash

Chaddesden

Chellaston

Darley Abbey

Littleover

Mackworth

Mickleover

Normanton

Oakwood

Sinfin

Spondon



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