Horsley is a small, charming Derbyshire village situated 5 miles north of Derby. It has a population of around 500. It consists of a main street lined with mature trees, a church, a chapel, a village green with chestnut tree, a school, pub, village hall and a golf course just on the outskirts.

Horsley is a florishing community with a bowls club,an over 60's club, a horticultural society and a W. I. Walking is a popular activity with some beautiful surrounding countryside.

Horsley church

Horsley Methodist chapel

Sophie Well

Horsley boasts one of the most attractive village churches in the county, sitting on a hill, set amongst flowers and trees. Dedicated to St Clement and St James, it also serves the communities of Coxbench and Kilburn. It dates back from the 13th century but has been restored and altered much over the years.It has a strongly butressed 14th century tower and spire, a pretty porch with a medieval crucifix, and a lovely array of windows with the fine 15th century clerestory under a handsome parapet of battlements and pinnacles. The interior is wide and light with North and South aisles, the arcade on tallish circular piers, the North arcade octagonal. It contains a large, Perp octagonal font, an Elizabethan chalice and scraps of ancient glass in a window.

There is also a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, a small attractive stone faced building opened in 1845, facing the village green. There was once a castle, situated over in Coxbench, the home of the Montfords, the Shirleys and the Dukes of Lancaster and Norfolk over the centuries that it existed, but few traces of it remain today.

The present Church of England school opened in 1828, enlarged in 1874 and still thriving today. The village pub is called the Coach and Horses. There was another on the outskirts of the village, called the Ship Inn which dated back to 1625., but this now a private house.

The village possess 2 rare features. Firstly the stone pillar box on French Lane. It is unique in Derbyshire and possibly in England. Second, 3 fountains given to the village in 1824 by the Rev Sitwell, a relative of the Sitwells of Stainsby Hall in nearby Smalley. He had arranged for spring water to be pumped from the Old Hills to the village. The fountains are called Banche, Sophie and Rosamund.