Spondon in Derby - Information and services

Spondon Spondon in Derby was once a quiet farming village, but is now a prosperous suburb of Derby, situated 4 miles to the east of it, bisected by the busy A52 Derby to Nottingham bypass. Spondon village was destroyed by fire in 1340 and then steadily rebuilt over a period of 50 years. Its population trebled during the 19th century and Spondon has grown more rapidly still, with the establishment of the British Celanese Company, now Courtaulds, which manufactures textile and rayon products. There are some fine Georgian houses in Spondon, including The Homestead, a magnificent brick house built in 1741 in the Queen Anne style. It is one of Derbys grade 1 listed buildings. Some notable local men have lived in the house, namely Dr James Cade a Derby surgeon and Sir Henry Fowler, a chief engineer for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. Two miles to the north of Spondon, lies Locko Park with its 18th century stone house. The house was greatly enlarged in the 1850`s in italianate style, with a tall tower, porch, dining room and picture gallery added on. In the grounds is a large lake. The estate was the family home of the Drury Lowes. In medieval times, the original Locko was a leper hospital for nearby Derby. The Parish Church of St Werburgh had also been burnt down during the fire of 1340 and rebuilt. It was restored again in 1826 and then again in 1891. It has a west tower with a spire recessed below the battlements and a large nave with 3 bay arcades to the wide aisles. There are all the usual amenities associated with a large suburb, including, several pubs and a large comprehensive school. Celanese was once one of Derby's biggest employers. It has closed and is now due fror demolition. At its height, the Spondon plant employed some 20,000 people. 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 Spondon church Homestead at Spondon Local services in Spondon Spondon Doctors Surgeries PA DODGSON 81 Sitwell Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7FH Tel: 01332 673905 D GATES 10 Chapel Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7RJ Tel: 01332 674173/663939 Spondon Opticians M J Davis 78 Sitwell Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7FG Tel: 01332 666760 Neil MacArthur 31 Chapelside, Chapel Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7JG Tel: 01332 670065 Dispensing Chemists Asda Stores Ltd Derby Road, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7UY Tel: 01332 670906 Hodson's The Chemist 22 Chapel Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7JP Tel: 01332 663046 Housley Pharmacy 93 Sitwell Street, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7FH Tel: 01332 673574 Spondon Libraries Spondon Library Sitwell Street Spondon Derby DE21 7FG 01332 662708 Spondon Dentists Maunder, Slater, Jones & Mavin 41 Sancroft Road, Spondon, Derby DE21 7EU Tel: 01332 662900 Trusz & Malhotra 10 Strathaven Court, Spondon, Derby DE21 7RH Tel: 01332 544540 Allestree Allenton Alvaston Borrowash Chaddesden Chellaston Darley Abbey Littleover Mackworth Mickleover Normanton Oakwood Sinfin Spondon