The Parish of Ockbrook and Borrowash lies in the County of Derbyshire one mile from the eastern boundary of the City of Derby. It is set in a predominately rural location, bisected by the A52 trunk road, three miles west of the M1 Junction 25. It is in the Erewash Borough.

The two villages with the Parish have separate identities. Ockbrook, now the smaller of the two, was for centuries, the major settlement. Ockbrook folk made their living by farming until framework knitting and stocking making became important industries in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Roman remains have been discovered in the Parish, evidence that there has been settlement in the area for at least two centuries.

Today the older part of the village is distinguished by some fine houses built two or three hundred years ago; several of these are listed buildings. The Church, situated in the village Conservation Area, was largely rebuilt in the nineteenth century but it still retains its Norman spire. There are four old-established public houses and many cottages of character.

Recent building has added houses to the villages sloping hillside and the population is about 2.5 k.

On a hill, near to the centre of the old village, is the Moravian Settlement, dating from the 1750s. The Moravian Chapel, finished in 1752, and the Manse built in 1822 form part of a line of fine buildings, which now incorporate the Ockbrook School. There are views from here over the village of Ockbrook and across the Trent valley to the hills of Charnwood Forest.

By contrast Borrowash lies on the lower land to the south of the parish. For most of its life Borrowash has been the smaller partner in the parish. Although it had a working mill on the Derwent as early as the 11^th Century (owned by dale Abbey) it remained a faming hamlet with few inhabitants.

This changed when the canal from Derby to Sandiacre was opened in 1795. More industry came and the population grew quickly, especially after the Derwent mill took to spinning thread for the nearby lace industry. In addition, the railway which came in 1839, made commuting to Derby possible. So old Borrowash is characterised by mid and late 19^th Century housing of terraced cottages for the mill hands and rather smart villas for the commuters. There is a fine “daughter church” of brick and four historic Methodist chapels, only one of which is still used for its original purpose.

Borrowash was the home of William Barron, the Victorian Gardener, who was responsible for much of the garden design and tree at Elvaston Country Park.

Modern housing estates came earlier to Borrowash than to Ockbrook, with the bulk of the building being undertaken in the 1950s and 1960s. The population of the Parish is now approximately 8k. Borrowash is now the commercial hub of the parish, with several shops and businesses in its centre.

The two villages with the Parish have separate identities. Ockbrook, now the smaller of the two, was for centuries, the major settlement. Ockbrook folk made their living by farming until framework knitting and stocking making became important industries in the 18th and 19th centuries. Roman remains have been discovered in the Parish, evidence that there has been settlement in the area for at least two centuries.