1086 Long Eaton, then known as Aitone, and Sawley, known as Sallé mentioned in the Domesday Book.

1228 Aitone gained the prefix - Long - which is a reference to the length of the village.

1259 A Charter granted to the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, to hold a Tuesday market in Old Sawley, and a three day fair at Michaelmas.

1593 Nicholas Alvye, a Nottingham baker, is recorded as selling his wares in Long Eaton. The forerunner to the market trader in the town.

1675 The Long Eaton Charities formed.

1684 The Sawley Charities formed.

1694 The great fire of Long Eaton destroys 14 houses and several other buildings in and around The Market Place.

1765 The Parish Award defines various divisions of land.

1767 The Long Eaton Parish Award allotted land to 44 people in lieu of their holdings and rights in the former open fields and commons (the Act of Parliament for this enclosure was dated 1765).

1778 The Long Eaton Hall was designed by Joseph Pickford of Derby for the Howitt family. It is a Grade II listed three storey red brick building.

1779 The Erewash Canal completed at a cost of £25,000.

1787 The Sawley Enclosure Award apportioned land to 35 people.

1789 First survey of Sawley was made.

1790 The first Harrington Bridge built over the River Trent at Sawley. It was operated as a toll bridge. Later rebuilt in 1905-06.

1793 Sawley Cut already in existence.

1800 Sawley Baptist Church built on Wilne Lane.

1831 Oldest known reference to a lace factory in existence in Long Eaton.

1839 The railways came to Long Eaton when on 4th June, a line between Nottingham and Derby was opened.

1847 The Erewash Valley Railway line was opened.

1851 Claye's Wagon Works on Main Street was established.

1852 Joseph Austin builds the first large, four storey lace factory near the Market Place.

1853 William Bush started the Long Eaton Gas Company. First gasworks opened on Gas Street, now Chapel Street.

1855 First record of a fire engine in the town.

1858 Re-building of the Almshouses by public subscription.

1862 First National School was built.

1863 A new railway station opened on Station Street.

1867 The first council school was built on the High Street.

1868 The Long Eaton Co-operative Society was formed. First temporary shop opened on Gibb Street. The first customer was a Mrs Smedley.

1869 A collision occurred between a mail train and two other trains coming from Nottingham, at Long Eaton junction. Nine people were killed and 11 injured.

1872 Long Eaton had its first street lighting.

1873 The Long Eaton Board of Health and Board of Education were formed.

1875 The Long Eaton Local Board of Health was formed to administer the town.

1876 Shoulder of Mutton Close purchased to build the first fire station in Long Eaton. This is still the site of the present day station.

1877 Long Eaton Co-op's Old Central store built on Station Street/High Street.

1879 First police station built on New Street. A new one replaced it on Midland Street, in 1968.

1881 The first official Saturday Market began. Friday also became a market day in 1922.

1882 Long Eaton Advertiser first published by Bewley & Roe of Derby.

1884 The cemetary was opened on 2nd April. The land for this and West Park was purchased from the Harrington family.

... Residents of the Almshouses on the High Street had to be rescued from rising flood waters.

1884 A fire destroyed Austin's second and then newly built tenement lace factory.

1894 Sawley was grouped with other local villages to form the Shardlow Rural District Council.

1895 The ultimate meeting of the LELB was on the 19th December 1894. The minutes record it having been held in the School Board Room. This was part of the house which adjoined the High Street Board School.

1900 New Central Buildings for the Co-op were built by F. Perks & Sons, on Station Street/Main Street.

1901 The census for this year gives the population of Sawley as 1,751, with approx 200 brick built houses, 30 of which had thatched roofs.

1903 Electricity first used in Long Eaton, on a direct current three wire system.

1905 Long Eaton had 800 lace machines and 1,200 Twisthands operating them.

... 17 acres of land purchased and drained, the first section of West Park created, the land was originally known as King's Ground in honour of the monarch, King Edward VII.

1906 The Andrew Carnegie Library opened. It is now a Grade II listed building.

1907 The Co-operative bakery was opened on Fletcher Street.

1910 The Grammar School opened and its first headmaster was Samuel Clegg, grandfather to Sir David Attenborough and Lord Richard Attenborough. Now a listed building.

1912 More land purchased from the Earl of Harrington to enlarge West Park.

1913 Footbridge opened on Broad Street, giving access to West Park.

1918 Large explosion at the Chilwell shell filling factory on 1st July, many lives were lost. The force of the blast could be heard in Long Eaton.

1921 Boundaries of Long Eaton extended to take in Wilsthorpe and parts of Sawley and Sandiacre. The Hall purchased by the Long Eaton Urban District Council.

1922 A large fire seriously damaged Trent College.

1927 The clock was added to the existing tower to the New Central Buildings owned by the Long Eaton Co-op.

1928 Building of the Co-op Model Dairy on Meadow Lane was commenced.

... An extra 37 acres was added to West Park

1931 The official Long Eaton Hospital Carnival began. It's aim was to support local hospitals. The first Carnival Queen was Miss Katie King.

1932 Severe flooding hits Long Eaton again, reaching as far as Derby Road.

... Gates purchased from Aston Hall were put in place at the entrance to West Park.

1933 Children's bands were an addition to the carnival parades.

1935 The opening of the open air swimming baths at Grange Park on Station Road.

1938 The Milner Road Electricity Generating Station closed.

1940 On August 28th a bomb landed on Mr and Mrs Cripps' house on Netherfield Road, New Sawley. Mr Cripps died later of his injuries. Two people were also killed on Reedman Road.

1947 Major flooding in Long Eaton. 2000 homes in Long Eaton, Sawley and district were affected.

1949 West Park increases to it's present day size of 127 acres, the new land included The Fox Covert.

1961 The Long Eaton Twinning Association was formed. Long Eaton is twinned with Romorantin in France and Langen in Germany.

1962 Sawley Marina first developed by the Davison brothers.

1971 An intense blaze completely destroyed Orchard's lace factory on Main Street.

1973 Long Eaton market moved to its Beaconsfield Street site.

1974 The Long Eaton Urban District Council is absorbed by the Erewash Borough Council.

1980 Wednesday became a regular market day in Long Eaton, Tuesday was later added as a Flea Market.

1982 Sawley and its surrounding fields were designated a conservation area on July 1st.

1984 The Long Eaton Invaders became National Speedway Champions.

1991 Extensions to The Hall were opened by Michael Portillo MP on 25th April. He was then the Minister of State for Local Government.

2001 Long Eaton, Sawley and surrounding areas experienced an earth tremor measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale.

2002 A second earth tremor hits Long Eaton, Sawley and district. This one measured 4.8 on the Richter Scale. Erewash Borough Council sells all housing stock to an independent housing association.

2003 The Duchess Theatre was devastated by a fire on Sunday 16th November.

2004 The Long Eaton Community Carnival was revived after a break of three years.

2007 On the evening of Friday January 5th the former Silverline Bingo Hall on Derby Road re-opened as a new Galaxy Cinema. This is the first cinema in the town for more than 20 years. The project took five years for owner Mr Asif Sahil to complete.

2008 In the early hours of Wednesday, 27th February, Long Eaton and Sawley felt the effects of a 5.3 earthquake. The epicentre was in Lincolnshire.