Waingroves

Waingroves is a small village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England, approximately two miles away from the town of Ripley. It is in the civil parish of Codnor. In woodland to the south of the village, there are remains of a colliery site.Waingroves HallThe land at "Waingrif" was donated by Ralph fitzStephen to the Knights Hospitaller in the early 12th century. The "deed of gift" cites the date 1147, however another document reveals contact between the Abbot of Darley Abbey and the Knights Hospitaller, with regards to Waingroves, as early as 1121.The land was donated for the foundation of a preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller , however there is dispute as to whether one was ever constructed. Of those that believe a preceptory did exist, it is accepted that it only had a very short life: founded around 1147 and "supplanted" by another Hospitaller Preceptory in Derbyshire -Yeaveley Preceptory. Following its acquisition by Yeaveley, a manor was constructed which was leased, along with the preceptory's land, to lay tenants. This, and the small time frame of potential existence, has led some to argue that a preceptory was never constructed at Waingroves, and that the land and the manor constructed by the Hospitallers was for purely secular use.