PARISH PROFILE for KIRK LANGLEY, St. Michael MACKWORTH with MARKEATON, All Saints MUGGINTON with KEDLESTON, All Saints April 2017 Kirk Langley Mackworth Mugginton The United Benefice of the Parishes of: St Michael’s, Kirk Langley, All Saints, Mackworth and All Saints, Mugginton General Information The three parishes lay adjacent to each other, within the Duffield and Longford Deanery, just to the west and north-west of Derby in the delightful county of Derbyshire. Kirk Langley and Mugginton are small, rural parishes while Mackworth, although equally small and rural, is currently expanding with a new housing development within its borders. Leisure and Sporting Facilities Derbyshire can boast of six wonderful stately homes including Chatsworth, Kedleston and Calke and a World Heritage site called the Derwent Valley which extends from Derby to Matlock. All three parishes lie within 15 miles of the White Peak which forms part of the Peak District, a very popular National Park where many leisure hours can easily be spent walking, bird-watching, cycling etc. For the more adventurous Wild Park Outdoor Centre has facilities for paintball, quad-biking and archery within the parish of Mugginton. Carsington Water, not far north of the Benefice provides further outdoor facilities including sailing. Transport Links Transport links to the rest of the country are excellent. The M1 lies just to the east of Derby enabling easy access to anywhere in the country while the A50 links the M1 to the M6 near Stoke. Rail services from Derby can get you to London in under two hours and East Midlands Airport is just over 40 minutes away allowing easy access to foreign holidays and Birmingham Airport is just under an hour away. An hourly bus service passes through parts of Kirk Langley and Mackworth on the same route whereas Mugginton is served separately. Services Derby, a city of about a quarter of a million people, borders Mackworth and is only about 5 miles from the other two parishes. It can provide all the leisure facilities any city can provide with a theatre, various cinemas, roller-skating, velodrome, ten-pin bowling, a large indoor shopping centre and museums as well as Derby County Football Club. In fact, it caters for all tastes and all ages. It also is a university town and the seat of the Bishop of Derby. If a large city is not what is favoured then the nearby towns of Belper and Ashbourne provide a more leisurely setting with different shops with Bakewell and Buxton offering further opportunities. Other services can be accessed close by. There is an excellent Doctors’ Practice in nearby Brailsford or these can be found in Derby as can dentists and a large hospital in the western suburbs of Derby aiding easy access. Mackworth has garage services, all villages have a pub and there is a hotel and motel in Mackworth as well as a garden centre and café and wine shop in Kirk Langley. In summary - a very convenient and happy place to live! The Map The Communities Kirk Langley Kirk Langley is a rural village located on A52 between Derby and Ashbourne with easy access to major routes leading in all directions. The population of the village is approximately 650 with around 80 children. Within the parish lies the small hamlet of Meynell Langley where there is a thriving garden centre and tearoom. The housing is mainly of a private nature with one small close of low cost housing. There are a small number of working farms located in the parish. At the west end of the village there is an industrial unit which employs around 30 people and in Church Lane there is a metal work business employing 6 people. The wine shop opposite the end of Church Lane is part of a family business. On the eastern edge of the village is Wheathills Residential Care Home which has up to 30 residents. The community covers all age ranges with the working population commuting to nearby towns and cities. The Church of England School is a primary school located in Moor Lane. The school building was opened in 1879 and has been extended to accommodate the changing demands of education. At the present time there are 80 pupils with approximately half from the village. There are plans for the school to be extended further to accommodate children from the nearby development of Langley Country Park. The church has strong links with the school. The Priest in Charge takes collective worship and is an ex-offico Governor. The pupils visit church throughout the year for special services such as Harvest and Christingle in addition to services at the end of school terms. The school was rated as “Good” at the last OFSTED inspection in 2015. A new headteacher has been appointed and commences her post at the start of the summer term. Pupils from 11 upwards generally go on to Ecclesbourne School in Duffield which is one of the best academies in the County. The Village Hall (Leeke Hall), which is owned by the church, is being renovated as funds become available. It is run by a small management committee. The Hall is used by village and non village organisations. These include a very popular Women’s Institute, KLAAS (local art group), drama group and wine club. The G B Barrington playing field on the south side of the church is the home for the local cricket teams and football club. There is also a children’s play area suitable for the younger members of the village. A community orchard is located in Flagshaw Lane, about half a mile from the church. The Bluebell Inn opens for drinks only at the time of writing but there are plans to redevelop it to serve food this summer. The bus service operates between Derby, Ashbourne and Uttoxeter on a roughly hourly basis. Mackworth The village of Mackworth lies approximately 3 miles NW of Derby, on the A52 road to Ashbourne. It is in Amber Valley Borough Council, on the border of Derby City, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The village lies along the Ashbourne Road (A52), and the Lower Road, which lies parallel to the A52, and was the medieval road through the village. The two roads are connected at one end by Church Lane, that leads down to the church which lies in a field, on the route of the Roman Road from Little Chester, in Derby, to Rocester. Markeaton is a hamlet and is situated between Mackworth and Derby. Access to Markeaton is along the narrow winding Markeaton Lane, which joins the A52 to the Kedleston Road.In Mackworth there has been some infilling building developments and barn conversions over the last few years. The housing is a mixture of rented cottages and private houses. However, there is now a major building development of over 600 houses taking place at the top of Radbourne Lane, on the SE edge of the parish, called Langley Country Park. The building started last year, and will be completed in about 3 years. This will increase the original village population by around 8-fold. In December 2016, there were 322 adults on the Amber Valley BC Electoral Roll, with a ‘guestimate’ of possibly more than 50 children. Recent proposals (February, 2017) suggest that there could be more than 600 extra homes built to the west of Radbourne Lane. A considerable number of the parishioners are retired, but most of those of working age are employed locally in both manual and professional occupations. There is little, if any, unemployment. Mackworth and Markeaton were formerly farming communities, but there is now only one working farm, with the remainder of the land let to neighbouring farmers for pasture. There are two hotels in the village; the ‘Mundy Arms’, with a Premier Inn, and ‘The Farmhouse at Mackworth’. There are several firms in the villages, including a commercial vehicle centre, a garage, a garden centre, a hair and beauty salon, and several other small businesses. There is no school in the village. The children attend various schools, including Kirk Langley Primary School, and Mackworth is within the catchment area of Ecclesbourne Secondary School. Mugginton The church serves a mixed rural community of farmers, commuters and a number of retired people in Mugginton, Mercaston, Weston Underwood, Kedleston and outlying areas. According to the Local Authority electoral roll, the population of the parish is 510, mostly living in private accommodation. There is a very limited amount of council and other rented housing. Six new houses have been built on the site of the farm opposite the church. There is now only one firm in the area with quarrying interests, but McCann's have re-established the concrete flooring works in Weston Underwood. Employment is sought mostly outside the parish in Derby. Public transport is limited to a roughly 2-hourly bus service and most people rely on cars for the 7 miles into Derby or Ashbourne. Within Mugginton itself there is the church, the school and the village hall and just up the road is the recently refurbished and now thriving Cock Inn. There is a strong sense of community spirit in the parish and varied and busy social and sporting calendars. Many village gatherings take place in the Village Hall which has been successfully refurbished thanks to grants and local fundraising. There are monthly book club Tuesday group meetings and coffee mornings, regular “pub nights” and many fund raising events. It is worth noting that this small community has over the years raised tens of thousands of pounds for the school, the village hall and for the church.