Marston on Dove is a peaceful rural hamlet consisting of a church and a handful of cottages and farms. It is situated 9 miles south west of Derby and 2 miles north west of Tutbury. The village was owned by the monks at Tutbury Abbey at Domesday but the ownership reverted to Henry de Ferres when Norman rule began.
There is evidence of an old Saxon settlement, which lay in the loop of the river Dove which was cut off when the Derby to Crewe railway line was built in the mid 19th century. A tendency to flooding seems to have given the impetus for another settlement to be founded on higher ground at nearby Hilton, but the church remained.
The little, 13th century Church of St Mary at Marston contains the oldest bell in Derbyshire. It was cast by John de Stafford at Leicester in 1366 and inscribed with the words `Hail Mary`. The church organ was brought from nearby Sudbury, for £74 in 1827. Before that, accompaniment was by a small orchestra.
The church itself has a wide chancel with lancet windows and a small south doorway with one order of colonettes. It has an early 14th century aisle and a recessed spire with 3 tiers of dormer windows. The north side of the nave was altered in the 15th century when the clerestory was built.
In 1987 well dressing was revived in Marston after a lapse of 49 years. This was done to celebrate the 50th anniverary of the erection of the village hall, called Coronation Hall, as it was put up in King George VI`s coronation year.
