Melbourne

Melbourne, a market town in the southern parliamentary division of Derbyshire, England, 8 m. S.S.E. of Derby, on the Midland railway. Pop. (1901), 3580. It lies in an undulating district on a small southern tributary of the Trent, from which it is about 2 m. distant. The church of St Michael is a fine example of Norman work, with certain late details, having clerestoried nave, chancel and aisles, with central and two western towers. Melbourne Hall, a building of the time of William III., surrounded by formal Dutch gardens, stands in a domain owned at an early date by the bishops of Carlisle, whose tithe barn remains near the church. They obtained the manor in 1133. In 1311 Robert de Holland fortified a mansion here, and in 1327 this castle belonged to Henry, earl of Lancaster; but it was dismantled in 1460, and little more than the site is now traceable. The title of Viscount Melbourne was taken from this town. There are manufactures of silk, and boots and shoes.