| Wensley | |
|---|---|
 Wensley | |
  Wensley Location withinDerbyshire | |
| OS grid reference | SK263610 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MATLOCK |
| Postcode district | DE4 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| |
Wensley is a small village inSouth Darley parish inDerbyshire of limestone and gritstone properties mainly arranged along the single road which zig-zags through the village or around the square. The whole village, together with part of the adjacent Wensley Dale is a Conservation Area. Until fairly recently there was a Methodist Chapel, a village shop and two public houses, but these have all closed. The former school is now a village hall, Wensley Reading Room. Quite a few of the houses are holiday lets.
The parish church isSt Mary the Virgin in the Cross Green area ofDarley Bridge.[1]
The nearest schools are South Darley Primary School,Winster Primary School,Elton Primary School andDarley Dale Primary School. Its nearest senior schools areLady Manners School inBakewell andHighfields School inMatlock, Derbyshire.
The 172 bus route of Hulleys of Baslow runs from Bakewell to Matlock, via Wensley, Darley Bridge and Darley Dale.
The place-name of Wensley in Derbyshire is first attested in theDomesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ‘Wodnesleie’. It appears as ‘Wodneslega’ in thePipe Rolls of 1167, and as ‘Wednesleg’ in theBook of Fees in 1212. The name means “grove or glade dedicated toWoden”.[2]
The villagers in Wensley were employed in thelead mining industry in the fields around the village in the 18th and 19th centuries, after theLondon Lead Company obtained the mining rights in the 1720s.[3]
Media related toWensley, Derbyshire at Wikimedia Commons