In 1835 Denby was described as a parish (having no dependent township) in the same hundred as Butterley, between two and three miles S. from Ripley, and about 8 N.E. from Derby. Coal, ironworks and a pottery are in the parish. The habitations are thinly scattered to a considerable distance around the church, which is an ancient building, dedicated to St. Mary. The parish in the 1831 census had 1,272 inhabitants.