Stanley village in Derbyshire lies about half way between Derby and Ilkeston, sharing a parish with Stanley Common about a mile away. It is a pleasant little rural village whose main industry was coal mining until the closure of Stanley colliery in 1959.
It has a large area of very well tended allotments and the old pit site houses the base for a succesfull outdoor centre.
The Felix bus company , once a well known family business, no longer operates from Stanley.
Stanley church, dedicated to St Andrew, is of 12th century origin, and still contains some Norman remnants like the door on the south side but it was much restored in 1876. It has an attractive interior with an interesting Jacobean pulpit and screen.
Parts of Stanley Grange Farm date back to the 17th century and was twice raided by government forces, when neighbouring West Hallam was a Roman Catholic stronghold. It has been a Jesuit headquarters and a boys school.
Stanley Common has 1 pub, the White Hart which does very nice meals. It also contains the Church of All Saints, built in 1913 but this is now being converted into a pub ( 2012 ). There is also a post office as well as a local primary school.
There are a large number of public footpaths and bridleways starting in the village and it has regular bus services from Derby , Ilkeston and through to Nottingham , all of this makes it ideal walking territory. It does still have a yearly Gala.
