Morley is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 within the area of Erewash

Erewash

Erewash is a local government district and borough in eastern Derbyshire, England, to the east of Derby and the west of Nottingham. It contains the towns of Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Sandiacre and fourteen civil parishes....

 Borough Council in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, north of Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

 

It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the (converted) Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall. The church features a wall of stained glass depicting the story of Robert of Knaresborough

Robert of Knaresborough

Robert of Knaresborough was a hermit who lived in a cave by the River Nidd, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. He was a local man by the name of Robert Flower , the son of a mayor of York. He lived in various places in the vicinity of Knaresborough before taking up residence in a cave by the river...

 along the north aisle which came from Dale Abbey

Dale Abbey

Dale Abbey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Erewash in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England, 6 miles north east of Derby....

 in 1539, home of the fine Sacheverell tombs.

History

In 1009 Æþelræd Unræd

Ethelred the Unready

Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...

 (King Ethelred the Unready) signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Westune

Weston-on-Trent

Weston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire. It is to the north of the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nearby places include Aston-on-Trent, Barrow upon Trent, Castle Donington and Swarkestone....

. The land described in that charter included the lands now known as Shardlow

Shardlow

Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about 8 km southeast of Derby and 12 km southwest of Nottingham. It is part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire. It is also very close to the border with Leicestershire which follows the River Trent, ...

, Great Wilne

Great Wilne

Great Wilne is a small village in Derbyshire, England on the border with Leicestershire. It is 7 miles south east of Derby. It is a village split from its church of St Chads by the river...

, Church Wilne, Crich

Crich

Crich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...

, Morley, Smalley

Smalley, Derbyshire

Smalley is a village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby road in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Smæl-lēah = "narrow woodland clearing"...

, Weston and Aston-on-Trent

Aston-on-Trent

Aston-on-Trent is a Derbyshire village, situated in the English East Midlands, near Derby. It is adjacent to Weston-on-Trent and is near to Chellaston. It is very close to the border with Leicestershire....

. Under this charter Æþelræd gave his minister, Morcar

Morcar (died 1015)

Morcar was a thane of King Æthelred the Unready. He was given lands in Derbyshire in 1009 including Weston-on-Trent, Crich and Smalley by King Æthelred, 1011 and 1012. He was also given the freedom from the three common burdens. He and his brother were murdered in 1015...

, a number of rights that made him free from tax

Trinoda necessitas

Trinoda necessitas is a Latin term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote , burgh-bote , and fyrd-bote...

 and to his own rule within the manor.

Morley was mentioned in the Domesday book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 as belonging to Henry de Ferrers

Henry de Ferrers

Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...

 and having woodland pasture that was four furlongs by three..

Morley Park

Morley Park

Morley Park is an area within the parish of Ripley in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby. It is about five miles north of the village of Morley itself.At the Norman Conquest it was within the wapentake of Morleyston...

was one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith

Duffield Frith

Duffield Frith was, in medieval times, an area of Derbyshire in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers by King William, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1285 it was a Royal Forest with its own Forest Courts.It...

 and is about five miles north in the parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Ripley

Ripley, Derbyshire

Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot....

.

Notable residents

Sir Streynsham Master

Streynsham Master

Sir Streynsham Master was one of the 17th century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681 and is credited with having introduced the first administrative reforms in the Madras Government.Returning to England, in 1692 he...

 who was involved in the early East India Company and who was High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 of Derbyshire in 1712, resided with his wife at Stanley Grange in Morley. Joseph Whittaker

Joseph Whittaker (botanist)

Joseph Whittaker was a British Botanist who visited South Australia in 1839. Whittaker has 300 plants from that trip in Kew Gardens and 2,200 pressed British plants in Derby Museum and Art Gallery.-Early Days:...

(1815-1892), botanist, lived and died here.