Sawley is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Erewash, in southeast Derbyshire, England. With a slightly higher than average number of people over 65, the population of just the civil parish was measured at 6,629 as at the 2011 Census. Every year around the August Bank Holiday, Sawley All Saints holds a flower festival, with themed floral displays inside the church and a beer festival held in the village. There are several events throughout the year including a May Day festival, and a Garden Trail. Sawley Marina is one of the most prominent features of the village, with access to the region's main waterways.
History
The old name for Sawley was Sallé. Between Sawley and Church Wilne and Great Wilne is the junction of the River Derwent and the Trent. It is to this that Sawley owes its position. The church of All Saints is thirteenth century and contains Saxon and Norman work. and commands a position on a small rise near the river. Up until the 19th century, Sawley was the most important village in the area, commanding the first river crossing, Harrington Bridge, above Nottingham. In 2009 Sawley was blighted with a smell coming from waste products being legally dumped onto nearby farmland. The smell was dubbed the 'Sawley Stink'. A dedicated group of local residents campaigned successfully to put an end to the process, with recyclers agreeing to stop the pollution. Opposite from Sawley churches is Bothe Hall once owned by the Booth family. The Booths were a wealthy landowning family from Cheshire whose principal seat was at Dunham Massey. Bothe Hall was probably built between 1660 and 1680, and has an interior that contains some exposed ceiling beams and a regency staircase. Another monumental building in the village, is the Sawley Memorial Hall and Community Centre, which was opened by Richard Attenborough in 1958 to remember those who died during the two World Wars. The Sawley and District Historical Society held a display about the war years associated to the village and surrounding areas, in the Sawley All Saints Church, back in August 2009. Other buildings of interest in the area include Sawley Baptist Church, which was built in the 1800.
