Newton Solney is a small and picturesque village in Derbyshire, situated 2 miles North East of Burton upon Trent, on the southern bank of the river Dove at it's confluence with the river Trent.
Once an agricultural settlement, it is mainly is now mainly a commuter village for Derby and Burton. It was captured by the Danes along with nearby Repton in AD874 when they sailed up the Trent, and has had a number of ruling families overlooking it's interests. At Domesday it was the property of Henry de Ferrers. During the reign of Henry 111 it passed to Norman de Solney and later to the Ratcliff family who had brewing interests at Burton.
Newton Park Hotel was built for a local solicitor named Hoskins around 1800 whose son built Bladen Castle, a red brick building perched high on Bladen Hill at the western edge of the village. It was known as Hoskins folly, for it was mainly a facade, a frontage built for appearance rather than the real thing. It is privately owned and now largely concealed from the main road by trees.
The octagonal Beehive Cottage, built from locally made bricks, stands at the entrance of a tree lined lane leasding to the 12th century church of St Mary. Two of the three church bells were cast just before the civil war and have the inscriptions 'God Save Our Church 1615' and 'God Save The Church 1638'. It contains a collection of monuments, many to the medieval members of the de Solney family, including a headless knight from the mid 13th century and an alabaster cross legged knight from around 1375. The churchyard contains the tombstone of Thomas Gayfere,, a master mason who died in 1827, who was responsible for the restoration of Westminster Hall.
The village has two pubs. The Brickmakers Arms was once the village bakery and stands on the site of a former brickyard. The other pub is called the Unicorn.
There is a post office cum shop in the village and a village hall built by Robert Frederick Ratcliff, one time High Sheriff for Derbyshire. There is also a village school.
Newton Solney retains a strong community spirit and has won the Best Kept village in Derbyshire on a number of occasions.
