Welcome to Horsley Parish, Amber Valley, Derbyshire.
Horsley is a small, charming Derbyshire village 5 miles north of Derby nestling behind the A38. It has a population of around 500. It consists of a main street lined with mature trees, a church, a village green with chestnut tree, a school, pub, village hall and a golf course just on the outskirts.
Horsley is a flourishing community with a bowls club, an over 60's and a W.I.. Walking is a popular activity with some beautiful surrounding countryside.
Horsley boasts one of the most attractive village churches in the county, sitting on a hill, set amongst flowers and trees. Dedicated to St Clement and St.James, it also serves the communities of Coxbench and Kilburn. It dates back from the 13th century but has been restored and altered much over the years. It has a strongly butressed 14th century tower and spire, a pretty porch with a medieval crucifix and a lovely array of windows with the fine15th century clerestory under a handsome parapet of battlements and pinnacles. The interior is wide and light with North and South aisles, the arcade on tallish circular piers, the North aracade octagonal. It contains a large, Perp octagonal font, an Elizabethan chalice and scraps of anicent glass in a window.
There once was a castle, situated over in Coxbench, the home of the Montfords, the Shirleys and the Dukes of Lancaster and Norfolk over the centuries that it existed, but few traces of it remain today.
The present church of England school opened in 1828, enlarged in 1874 and is still thriving today. The village pub is called the Coach and Horses and provides lunches and early evening meals as well as facilites for children. There was another on the edge of the village, called the Ship Inn which dated back to 1625, but this is now a private house. Horsley Golf Course is a mature 18 hole course with restaurants available to the public.
The village has two rare features. Firstly the stone pillar box on French Lane. It is unique in Derbyshire and possibly in England. Second, three fountains given to the village in 1864 by the Rev. Sitwell, a relative of the Sitwells of Stainsby Hall in nearby Smalley. He had arranged for spring water to be pumped from the Old Hills to the village. The fountains are called Banche, Sophie and Rosamund.