Spondon

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The origins of Spondon can be traced back over 10 centuries, with a reference to the village as Spondune in the Doomsday Book of 1086. The name of Spondon is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "Spon" meaning gravel, woodchip or shingle and "Dune" meaning hill, giving us Spondune as a Gravelly Hill. There have been a number of variations of the name over the centuries including Spoundun, Spandon, Spaindon and Spoondon before settling as Spondon sometime in the 18th century.

Following the Norman Conquest, much of the area's land was awarded to Henry de Ferrers, who became one of the country's largest landowners. The village later passed from the deFerrers family into the hands of the Burton Lazars, a religious and knightly order from Leicestershire dedicated to the care of lepers, and Spondon continued to grow throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. But, in 1340, a huge fire - commemorated locally nowadays as the Great Fire of Spondon - began in a malt house on the site of the Malt Shovel Inn. Aided by a strong wind, the fire raged wildly through the village, destroying all but a small part of the settlement. Such was the devastation and cost of the damage, villagers appealed to the King for help, who granted the villagers exemption from parish taxes for nine months. This funded the start of the rebuilding of the village and Spondon was slowly rebuilt over the following 50 years.

Following the rebuilding, the village grew once more and became a predominantly farming community. Other industries also sprung up in the village, including silk glove making, basket weaving, a brick yard, a timber yard and a blacksmiths.

Spondon's boom began in earnest in the late 1700s when the canal was built through the area while the arrival of the railways in the 1840s heralded the start of Spondon's housing expansion as hundreds of railway workers and senior officials descended on the village. By the end of the 1800s, Spondon's population had more than trebled.

Following the First World War, industry was growing in Spondon with the arrival of manufacturer British Cellulose. Through a number of ownership and name changes, including British Cellanese and Courtalds, the company today operates as Acordis, employing over 800 people on its 360 acre site.

Lying three and a half miles east of the city of Derby, Spondon retained its status as a separate village until it was officially absorbed into Derby's city boundaries in 1968. Despite this, Spondon still retains its own village feel and identity.

[Excerpt taken with permission from www.spondononline.co.uk]

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