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derbyshire

Derbyshire, England

Derbyshire is an inland Midland county. The River Derwent, which flows south through almost the entire length of the county, was at the centre of the industrial revolution. Derwent Valley Mills is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The modern factory system was developed here to accommodate Richard Arkwright's cotton-spinning technology. Derby itself has Roman origins. It grew rapidly in the industrial era. The south of Derbyshire lies in the Trent Valley, the main town in the area is Swadlincote. West of Derby lie the South Derbyshire Claylands, a rolling plateau that slopes from the Trent Valley up to the southern edge of the Peak District. The market town of Ashbourne stands at the north of this area. East of Derby, the River Erewash forms the border with Nottinghamshire. Long Eaton, Ilkeston and Heanor lie along the Derbyshire side. At the centre of Derbyshire lies Matlock and the resort town of Matlock Bath. The locality developed in the 19th century as a spa town. Darley Dale lies on the Derwent north of Matlock, the area hereabouts being known as the Derbyshire Dales. Bakewell, famous for its pudding, lies at the southern edge of the Peak District. Close by are two famous country houses: Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall. The mountains of the High Peak take up the whole north-west of the county. Buxton retains its Victorian charm. The towns of north-east Derbyshire, including Chesterfield, Bolsover, Dronfield, Eckington, Staveley and Killamarsh, reflect the area's industrial and mining heritage.

Place Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 53.138287,-1.661232
Grid Reference: SK227601
Country: England

GBPNID: 305819
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Derbyshire,_305819

Explore Derbyshire on Wikishire

The Derwent was at the centre of the industrial revolution. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. The system was adopted throughout the valley. Derwent Valley Mills is a UNESCO World Heritage Site stretching from Matlock Bath down to Derby. Towns and villages included are Cromford, Belper, Milford, and Darley Abbey.

East Mill, Belper (Derwent Valley Mills)

The City of Derby was where the Derbyshire milling industry started. It was here, in 1717, that John Lombe and George Sorocold built the first water powered silk mill in Britain, though Derby's history stretches back to Anglo-Saxon times or further back still, since the Roman camp of Dervention lay at Little Chester, in the north of present-day Derby. Derby became a cathedral town in 1927 when All Saints Church was elevated into a cathedral. City status came in 1977. Derby Arboretum, opened in 1840, was the first public park in the country and the inspiration for public parks across the land. Derby is still an industrial city, a centre for advanced transport manufacturing. North-west of the city is the 18th-century Kedleston Hall (NT), the house, interiors and gardens designed by Robert Adam.

Derby Arboretum Lodge

The south of Derbyshire, below its county town, lies in the Trent Valley. The Trent forms much of the border with Staffordshire past Burton-on-Trent. The town's eastern suburbs of Winshill and Stepenhill lie east of the Trent in Derbyshire. The Trent then meanders eastwards across Derbyshire becoming the border with Leicestershire near Weston-on-Trent. The main town in the area is Swadlincote, once at the centre of the South Derbyshire coalfield. South of the village of Ticknall is arguably the National Trust's most fascinating property. Calke Abbey (NT) is a baroque mansion built between 1701 and 1704. The Trust has done remedial work but no renovations. The interiors are almost as they were found in 1985 after decades of neglect. Calke Abbey present a unique illustration of the English country house in decline.

The Saloon, Calke Abbey

West of Derby lie the South Derbyshire Claylands, a rolling plateau that slopes from the Trent Valley up to the southern edge of the Peak District. It is an extensively hedged and pastoral landscape. The market town of Ashbourne, known for its annual two-day Royal Shrovetide Football Match, stands at the north of this area. The 17th-century Sudbury Hall (NT), reckoned one the country's finest Restoration mansions, lies close to the Staffordshire border.

East of Derby, the River Erewash forms the border with Nottinghamshire. Several towns lie along the Derbyshire side. Long Eaton grew with the coming of the railways specialising in lace-making and railway wagon manufacture. Ilkeston was built on coal mining, iron working and lace making. Ilkeston Market Place is the site of a Charter Fair, one of the largest street fairs in the country. Langley Mill is at the junction of the Erewash Canal, the Cromford Canal, and the Nottingham Canal. Nearby Heanor was a mining town.

The Amber Valley is a former coal mining area north-east of Derby. The River Amber rises close to the village of Ashover and flows south-west to join the Derwent at Ambergate. Clay Cross, at the top of the Valley, is a former mining town on the Ryknield Street. To the west is Hardwick Hall (NT), a grand Elizabethan country house, built between 1590–1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick. Further south is Alfreton, said to have been founded by King Alfred. Ripley is the site of the 2966 yard long Butterley Tunnel for the Cromford Canal.

Hardwick Hall

At the centre of Derbyshire lies ones of its treasures, the inland resort town of Matlock Bath. In 1698 warm springs were discovered and a bath house was built. The locality developed in the 19th century as a residential and spa town. Byron compared it with alpine Switzerland, leading to a nickname of "Little Switzerland". The town and its attractions still thrive. On Sundays in Summer many hundreds of motorcyclists congregate in the town.

Matlock Bath

Pioneering industrialist John Smedley developed Matlock as a fashionable spa in the 19th century. His legacy lives on in Smedley's Hydro and the Gothic-style Riber Castle. Darley Dale lies on the Derwent north of Matlock. Here the hills are somewhat gentler than the fierce slopes and moorland of the Peak, the area hereabouts being known as the Derbyshire Dales.

Bakewell, famous for its pudding, lies at the southern edge of the Peak District. Close by are two of Britain's most famous country houses. Chatsworth House is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family. The house, set in expansive parkland, contains a unique collection of priceless paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and other artefacts. Haddon Hall is a mediæval manor house which has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its] period". John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland, inherited the hall in 1927 and made a life's work of restoring it.

The Hall, Haddon hall

The mountains in the High Peak, take up the whole north-west of the county. The Pennine Way begins at Edale in the Peak District, drawing hikers in their hundreds each week. The rest of the Peak District should not be neglected though. From Ashbourne the Leek Valley can be visited. The Peak District is known for its springs, as countless underground streams bubble up from the hills, and the ceremony of "well-dressing" that takes place in villages throughout the district. Arbor Low is a well-preserved Neolithic henge near Monyash. It consists of a stone circle surrounded by massive earthworks and a ditch.

Buxton, once a popular spa town, retains its Victorian charm. Eyam is famous as the "plague village" that chose to isolate itself when the plague was discovered there in August 1665, rather than let the infection spread. The market town of Glossop lies in the far north-west of the county in the hills and promotes itself as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park". Close by is Hadfield, on the border with the Cheshire 'panhandle'.

The River Dove forms Derbyshire's border with Staffordshire. From Hartington to Ilam, the Dove flows through a series of scenic limestone valleys, known collectively as Dovedale. The Dovedale gorge is considered so scenic that it attracts a million visitors a year.

Wolfscote Dale, Dovedale

The north-east of Derbyshire has long been an industrial and mining area. Its towns and villages (including Chesterfield, Bolsover, Dronfield, Eckington, Staveley and Killamarsh) reflect its industrial heritage and the economic activities which are replacing them. Chesterfield is perhaps best known for the "Crooked Spire" of its parish church. Bolsover Castle was built in the early 17th century, the present castle lies on the ruins of the 12th-century mediæval castle.

Creswell Model Village is an arts and crafts style model village built in 1895 by the Bolsover Colliery Company for their workers. Creswell Crags is an enclosed limestone gorge. The cliffs in the ravine contain several caves that were occupied during the last Ice Age, between around 43,000 and 10,000 years ago. The caves contain the northernmost cave art in Europe.

Creswell Crags

The city of Sheffield expanded into Derbyshire in the 1930s. The villages of Totley, Dore, Beauchief, Greenhill, Norton Woodseats, Norton, Hemsworth, Herdings, Hackenthorpe and Beighton now effectively form the southernmost suburbs of Sheffield. Most retain the original village core and some sense of a village character. In Beauchief lie the 12th-century Beauchief Abbey and the 16th-century manor house Beauchief Hall. Hackenthorpe Hall is a 17th-century manor house. Meersbrook Park lies close to the Yorkshire border with panoramic views over Sheffield. Within it lie the Bishops House, a 16th-century timber-framed building and the 18th-century Meersbrook Hall.

Beauchief Abbey

Derbyshire is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1048 in Manuscript D, known as the "Northern Recension". Its creation appears to be a result of the dismemberment of the Mercian Kingdom's province of the Pecsaete (Peak District) some time after 975 in the reign of Æthelred the Unready. The Derbyshire flag features a green cross on a blue background. These colours represent Derbyshire's green countryside and its rivers and reservoirs, respectively. In the centre of the flag is a Tudor rose, which has been the county badge since the 15th century. The flag was developed in 2006 following a feature on a local radio station. Derbyshire Day is celebrated each September 22nd, the date on which the flag was launched.

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