Osmaston

Five minutes drive from Ashbourne, the visitor must think they are in another world when they arrive at Osmaston. Formerly Osmaston-in-the-Wood, this sleepy, beautiful village, neither crowded nor bustling, offers the visitor a real haven of tranquillity. It is the archetypal English village, with thatched cottages, village green, duck pond, pub and church. Thatched cottages are rare in Derbyshire, but at Osmaston even the village hall has a thatched roof.

However - not everything is as it seems - it was built in the 19th century as an estate village to house the workers at the Butterley Iron Works. The manor house, Osmaston Manor, was built in 1849 for Francis Wright (his memorial stands in the market place at Ashbourne), the owner of the ironworks, and was demolished in 1964; the main staircase is now in Wooton Lodge, Staffordshire. The park, formerly the manor grounds, is open to the public and has an abundance of wildlife; it is also the location for the internationally recognised annual Osmaston Horse Trials and the more local annual Ashbourne Shire Horse Show.

The Gothic Parish Church of St Martin dates from 1845 and replaced an earlier church whose register dates back to 1606.