Quarndon

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.


Look for the letter, to see where I am.

Q is for Quarndon.

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Quarndon is a village to the north of Derby; flowing almost directly out of the city suburb of Allestree. It has a population of around 900 and its name comes from the old English cwoern, meaning quern (a handmill for grinding corn) and dun, meaning a hill.

It has a mix of housing, but most tends to be quite high end and some properties are large!

The main street slopes gently allowing good views south towards Derby.

This terraced house was once the village pub.

Across the road is the Millennium sundial. To tell the time, stand with your heels on the line labelled with the correct month. Your shadow will show the time according to British Summer Time. (Subtract one hour to find Greenwich Mean Time).

The nearby post box is a GR; George VI, 1936 - 1952 (father to our current Queen).

Across the main street is the Parish Church of St Paul, which was built in 1874 at a cost of just over £4,000.

The four gargoyles at the base of the spire represent the four Gospel writers (Matthew - man, Mark - lion, Luke - ox and John - eagle). The skeleton clock was erected in 1897 to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.

I love the weather vane atop the spire.

In front of the church is the village war memorial...

with its beautiful Celtic cross.

The Village Hall, at the top of the main street, has been variously known as the Parish Hall, the Institute and the Church Hall.

While, at the bottom of the hill is the 17th century Joiners Arms pub and, beyond that, a similarly aged drinking place; the village spring well.

Once a famous spa, the wall plaque claims that, in 1727, the Chaleybeate Well was visited by Daniel Defoe.

Staying on the theme of water, just outside the village is this unusual structure...

The Quarndon water tower stores a supply of water at an elevated height. The purpose of this is to increase water pressure in the local system.

When I took this photo, I had to include the speed limit sign. Ooops! :)

Quarndon is a popular place to live, but finding a house here is neither easy, not cheap. With the appropriate planing permission, one can always try constructing a place to live...

or maybe you would prefer to wait until a suitable property came on the market...

From the road, it doesn't look soooooo impressive, but this 5 bedroom, 4 reception room, 3 bathroom freehold property, complete with outbuildings, a coachouse and 1.68 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, is currently for sale and will set you back a mere £1,450,000. Any takers?