| Melbourne | |
|---|---|
  Melbourne Location withinDerbyshire | |
| Area | 14.73 km2 (5.69 sq mi) |
| Population | 5,264 (2021) |
| • Density | 925.57 |
| OS grid reference | SK385255 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DERBY |
| Postcode district | DE73 |
| Dialling code | 01332 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Melbourne (/ˈmɛlbɔːrn/) is amarket town andcivil parish inSouth Derbyshire, England.It was home toThomas Cook, founder ofthe eponymous travel agency,[1] and has a street named after him.[2] It is 8 miles (13 km) south ofDerby and 2 miles (3 km) from theRiver Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 Census was 5,264.[3]
The name Melbourne means "mill stream", i.e. the mill by the stream. It was first recorded inDomesday Book (DB 1086 Mileburne = mill stream) as aroyal manor.
ThroughWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Melbourne is the namesake ofthe Australian city.[4][5]
AChurch of England parish church building dates from around 1120.
In 1311, Robert de Holand fortified the existing royalmanor house to formMelbourne Castle, though the fortification was never completed.Jean, duc de Bourbon, the most important French prisoner taken at theBattle of Agincourt (1415), was detained at the castle for 19 years. In the 16th century, plans were mooted to imprisonMary, Queen of Scots there, but it had deteriorated into a poor state of repair.
Melbourne Hall, originally owned by the church, was constructed in stages, mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries. It gave its name to theMelbourne viscounts and thence indirectly to the cities ofMelbourne, the capital city ofVictoria, Australia, andMelbourne, Florida, in the United States.
In 1739,Lady Elizabeth Hastings, daughter ofthe Earl of Huntingdon, left funds for a charity school in Melbourne in her will.
TheMelbourne line operated during the Second World War as a military training railway, for engineers to practise the demolition and rebuilding of railways and the running and maintenance of a railway line and its rolling stock.. It was situated to the north of the now defunctMelbourne railway station.
Since 2005, Melbourne has run an arts festival every September.[6]
Theparish church,St Michael with St Mary's, has been described as a "cathedral in miniature". TheDomesday Book records a church and priest here in 1086. The present church was built about 1120, and most of the original masonry is intact, except for the eastern end which has been refurbished. The roofs, naves, aisles and the aisle windows date from the restoration of the 1630s. A restoration was carried out byGilbert Scott in 1859–62.[7] There are several other churches in the town.
Melbourne Hall was originally therectory for theBishop of Carlisle, but was substantially rebuilt byThomas andGeorge Coke in the early 18th century. The hall's gardens were laid out with the assistance of royal gardeners in 1704. They contain examples of the work of Derby ironsmithRobert Bakewell. Melbourne Pool was originally used by the nearby mill. The hall is open to the public in August.
The Thomas Cook Memorial Cottages in High Street were built byThomas Cook, who started popular travel in England. Cook was born in Melbourne in 1808 though his birthplace was demolished in 1968. The buildings built in 1890–91 include fourteen cottages, a bakehouse, a laundry andmission hall. They still provide accommodation for some of Melbourne's senior citizens.
The Market Place is the location of Melbourne's main shops, including the ornate building previously housing theCo-op. Amarket cross, built in 1889, had a bus shelter added in 1953, making it a natural gathering place as the town's primary public transport stop.
Melbourne has two schools: aninfant school and ajunior school,[8] sharing a single site on Packhorse Road. It is also in thecatchment area ofChellaston Academy, with buses provided by Harpur's Coaches and Hawkes Travel, and is close toThe Pingle Academy and Castle Donington College.
The town plays host to Melbourne Rugby Football Club,[9] Melbourne United Football Club,[10] Melbourne Town Cricket Club,[11] Melbourne Royal British Legion Tug of War Club and RAMcc (Ride Around Melbourne Cycling Club).[12] There is also a popular, free entry recreation ground,[13] which holds MTCC, MRFC and MUFC fixtures on a regular basis. There is also a modern sports pavilion, designed by Heath Avery Architects,[14] which will contain changing rooms and toilets, and a desk where people interested in booking out the newly developed astro-turf pitches can book.There were formerly two bowls clubs in the village: Kings Newton Bowls Club on Packhorse Road, and Melbourne Bowls Club; the latter has now closed.Melbourne is close toDonington Park racing circuit, which hosted the1993 European Grand Prix, and today hosts theBritish Superbike Championship,British Touring Car Championship,British GT Championship, and theRoweBritcar Endurance Championship among many other national and club-level racing championships in both cars and bikes.
The town and the neighbouring village ofKings Newton, were served by astation on the formerMelbourne Line between 1868 until 1930. The station became an army-only line until 1945, when it was returned to theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway. The line closed to all freight traffic in 1980. By this time, the line was in decline and the tracks remained in situ until 1988. When Derbyshire County Council bought the track fromBritish Rail and converted the section from Chellaston to Worthington via Melbourne into a footpath. The station site has been cleared, however the station masters house remains as a private residence.
The town contains manyGeorgian buildings and in the 19th century was a centre forframework knitting and footwear manufacture, e.g. Fairystep Shoes.Market gardens have always been a major part of the economy, though now only a handful remain.John Hair's brewery operated in Church Street from 1851 to 1954.
East Midlands Airport, 5 miles (8 km) to the east of the town, was opened in the 1960s and has become a significant regional transport hub. The town's bus service is run byArriva Midlands. Previously,Trent Barton maintained a small garage in Melbourne, the site going on to become a supermarket. It maintained routes toSwadlincote,Derby,Aston-on-Trent andWeston-on-Trent. Bus services for pupils run toChellaston Academy every morning and afternoon. In October 2019 Midland Classic Buses introduced a bus link to East Midlands Airport andAshby de la Zouch and a fast route toSwadlincote via an extension of its route 9 service, now known as airline 9.[15]
There is a wide range of shops and services including aSainsbury's supermarket, ATMs, a post office, a pharmacy, a library, the Melbourne Assembly Rooms (formerly the Bill Shone Leisure Centre), ayouth club and several pubs and restaurants.
In March 2013, Melbourne was ranked as the 15th best town in Britain to live in byThe Times newspaper; the annual Melbourne Festival[6] was also named as one of the Top 10 British Craft Events byCountry Living. In April 2013, Melbourne became the first town in Derbyshire to receiveWalkers are Welcome Town status.
Melbourne Hall hosts regular comedy evenings, and its grounds have hostedJohnny Vegas' Field of Dreamsglamping site since 2023, featured onChannel 4.[16]
There is a wide variety of historic pubs and restaurants in the village, including The White Swan which has been serving customers since 1682.[17]
Regular community events are held at the Melbourne Junior School playing fields, including an annual carnival and, in 2023, a celebration of theCoronation of Charles III and Camilla.
Nearby Donington Park hosts the annualDownload Festival, which attracts many visitors to the town of Melbourne.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from theWaltham TV transmitter.[18]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Derby,Capital East Midlands,Smooth East Midlands,Hits Radio East Midlands andGreatest Hits Radio Midlands.
The town is served by the local newspaperVillage Voice.[19]
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