Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak
District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The southern extremity of the Pennine range
of hills extends into the north of the county. The county contains part of the National Forest,
and borders on Greater Manchester to the northwest, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire
to the northeast, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the southeast, Staffordshire
to the west and southwest and Cheshire also to the west. In 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed
Church Flatts farm, near Coton in the Elms, as the furthest point from the sea in Great
Britain. The city of Derby is now a unitary authority
area, but remains part of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. The non-metropolitan county
contains 30 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. There is a large amount
of sparsely populated agricultural upland: 75% of the population live in 25% of the area.
History
The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited, probably briefly, by humans 200,000
years ago during the Aveley interglacial as evidenced by a Middle Paleolithic Acheulian
hand axe found near Hopton. Further occupation came with the Upper Paleolithic
and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age when Mesolithic hunter gatherers roamed the hilly
tundra. The evidence of these nomadic tribes is centred around limestone caves located
on the Nottinghamshire border. Deposits left in the caves date the occupancy at around
12,000 to 7,000 BCE.
Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county. These chambered
tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire
region. There are tombs at Minninglow and Five Wells that date back to between 2000
and 2500 BCE. Three miles west of Youlgreave lies the Neolithic henge monument of Arbor
Low, which has been dated to 2500 BCE. It is not until the Bronze Age that real signs
of agriculture and settlement are found in the county. In the moors of the Peak District
signs of clearance, arable fields and hut circles were discovered after archaeological
investigation. However this area and another settlement at Swarkestone are all that have
been found. During the Roman invasion the invaders were
attracted to Derbyshire because of the lead ore in the limestone hills of the area. They
settled throughout the county with forts built near Brough in the Hope Valley and near Glossop.
Later they settled around Buxton, famed for its warm springs, and set up a fort near modern-day
Derby in an area now known as Little Chester. Several kings of Mercia are buried in the
Repton area. Following the Norman Conquest, much of the
county was subject to the forest laws. To the northwest was the Forest of High Peak
under the custodianship of William Peverel and his descendants. The rest of the county
was bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers, a part of it becoming Duffield Frith. In time the
whole area was given to the Duchy of Lancaster. Meanwhile the Forest of East Derbyshire covered
the whole county to the east of the River Derwent from the reign of Henry II to that
of Edward I. Economy
Derbyshire has a mixture of a rural economy in the west, with a former coal mining economy
in the northeast, the Erewash Valley around Ilkeston and in the south around Swadlincote.
The rural landscape varies from arable farmland in the flat lands to the south of Derby, to
upland pasture and moorland in the high gritstone uplands of the southern Pennines.
Derbyshire is rich in natural mineral resources such as lead, iron, coal, and limestone, which
have been exploited over a long period—lead, for example, has been mined since Roman times.
The limestone outcrops in the central area led to the establishment of large quarries
to supply the industries of the surrounding towns with lime for building and steel making,
and latterly in the 20th century cement manufacture. The industrial revolution also increased demand
for building stone, and in the late 19th and early 20th century the railways' arrival led
to a large number of stone quarries being established. This industry has left its mark
on the countryside but is still a major industry: a lot of the stone is supplied as crushed
stone for road building and concrete manufacture, and is moved by rail.
Derbyshire's relative remoteness in the late 18th century and an abundance of fast-flowing
streams led to a proliferation of the use of water power at the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution, following the mills pioneered by Richard Arkwright. Derbyshire has been
said to be the home of the Industrial Revolution, and part of the Derwent Valley has been given
World Heritage status in acknowledgement of this historic importance.
Nationally famous companies in Derbyshire include Rolls Royce, one of the world's leading
aerospace companies, based since before World War I in Derby, Thorntons just south of Alfreton
and Toyota, who have one of the UK's largest car manufacturing plants at Burnaston. Ashbourne
Water used to be bottled in Buxton by Nestlé Waters UK until 2006 and Buxton Water still
is. Politics
Derbyshire has a three-tier local government since the local government reorganisation
in 1974. It has a county council based in Matlock and eight district councils and since
1998, a unitary authority of Derby. Derby remains part of Derbyshire only for ceremonial
purposes.
Derbyshire has become smaller during government re-organisation over the years. The Sheffield
suburbs Mosborough, Totley and Dore were previously parts of the county, but were lost to South
Yorkshire in the late 1960s. Marple Bridge was transferred to the Metropolitan Borough
of Stockport in Greater Manchester. However, Derbyshire gained part of the Longdendale
valley and Tintwistle from Cheshire in 1974. At the third tier are the parish councils,
which do not cover all areas. The eight district councils in Derbyshire and the unitary authority
of Derby are shown in the map above. These district councils are responsible for
local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health,
markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services,
parks, and tourism. Education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing
and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning are the responsibility
of the County Council. The county is divided into ten constituencies
for the election of Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. As of May 2010, five
constituencies are represented by Labour MPs, while the remaining five elected a Conservative
MP. Derbyshire residents are part of the electorate for the East Midlands constituency for elections
to the European Parliament. Although Derbyshire is in the East Midlands,
some parts, such as High Peak, are closer to the northern cities of Manchester and Sheffield
and these parts do receive services which are more affiliated with northern England;
for example, the North West Ambulance Service, Granada Television and United Utilities serve
the High Peak and some NHS Trusts within this region are governed by the Greater Manchester
Health Authority. Outside the main city of Derby, the largest town in the county is Chesterfield.
Education
For a list of individual schools see Category:Schools in Derbyshire
The Derbyshire school system is comprehensive with no selective schools.
The independent sector includes Repton School, Trent College and The Elms School.
Settlements This is a list of the towns in Derbyshire.
Sport The county has two football teams currently
playing in the Football League: Derby County F.C.
Chesterfield F.C.. There are also many non-league teams playing
throughout the county, most notably Alfreton Town F.C. who play in the Conference Premier.
The county is also now home to the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C. who have
their home ground at Dronfield in North East Derbyshire. Glossop was the smallest town
in the country to have a football team in the top tier of English football, Glossop
North End F.C.. Derbyshire also has a cricket team based at
the County Cricket Ground. Derbyshire County Cricket Club currently play in Division two
of the County Championship. There are also rugby league clubs based in the north of the
county, the North Derbyshire Chargers and in Derby. The County has numerous Rugby Union
Clubs, including Derby, Matlock, Ilkeston, Ashbourne, Bakewell and Amber Valley
The county is a popular area for a variety of recreational sports such as rock climbing,
hill walking, hang gliding, caving, sailing on its many reservoirs, and cycling along
the many miles of disused rail tracks that have been turned into cycle trails, such as
the Monsal Trail and High Peak Trail. Derbyshire is also host to one of the only
community Muggle Quidditch teams in the country, known as Derby Union Quidditch Club. The Club
recruits players from the age of 16 upwards from all over Derby, and have representatives
from most local sixth forms and the University of Derby. The team has competed against both
the Leeds Griffins and the Leicester Lovegoods in the past and is part of the vibrant UK
Quidditch scene. It is also an official International Quidditch Association team.
Local attractions
The county of Derbyshire has many attractions for both tourists and local people. The county
offers Peak District scenery such as Mam Tor and Kinder Scout, and more metropolitan attractions
such as Bakewell, Buxton and Derby. Local places of interest include Bolsover Castle,
Castleton, Chatsworth House, Crich Tramway Museum, Peak Rail steam railway, Midland Railway
steam railway, Dovedale, Haddon Hall, the Heights of Abraham and Matlock Bath.
In the north of the county, three large reservoirs, Howden, Derwent and Ladybower, were built
during the early part of the 20th century to supply the rapidly growing populations
of Sheffield, Derby and Leicester with drinking water. The moorland catchment area around
these is part of the Peak District National Park and is extensively used for leisure pursuits
such as walking and cycling. There are many properties and lands in the
care of the National Trust that are open to the public, such as Calke Abbey, Hardwick
Hall, High Peak Estate, Ilam Park, Kedleston Hall, Longshaw Estate near Hathersage, and
Sudbury Hall on the Staffordshire border. Notable gardens in Derbyshire include the
formal gardens in the 17th–18th-century French style at Melbourne Hall south of Derby,
the listed garden at Renishaw Hall near Eckington, Lea Rhododendron Gardens near Matlock, the
Royal Horticultural Society recommended Bluebell Arboretum near Swadlincote, and the extensive
gardens at Chatsworth House. County emblems
As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose
the Jacob's Ladder as the county flower. In September 2006, an unofficial county flag
was introduced, largely on the initiative of BBC Radio Derby. The flag consists of a
white-bordered dark green cross encompassing a golden Tudor Rose all set in a blue field.
The blue field represents the many waters of the county, its rivers and reservoirs,
while the cross is green to mark the great areas of countryside.
Demographics In 1801 the population was 147,481 According
to the UK Census 2001 there were 956,301 people spread out over the county's 254,615 hectares.
This was estimated to have risen to 990,400 in 2006.
The county's population grew by 3.0% from 1991 to 2001 which is around 21,100 people.
This figure is higher than the national average of 2.65% but lower than the East Midlands
average of 4.0%. The county as a whole has an average population density of 2.9 people
per hectare making it less densely populated than England as a whole. The density varies
considerably throughout the county with the lowest being in the region of Derbyshire Dales
at 0.88, and highest outside of the main cities in the region of Erewash which has 10.04 people
per hectare. In literature and popular culture
In Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, Pemberley—the country home of Fitzwilliam
Darcy—is situated in Derbyshire. In that novel, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is named
as one of the estates Elizabeth Bennet visits before arriving at Pemberley. In the 2005
film adaptation of the novel, Chatsworth House itself represents Pemberley. Mr. Darcy is
described as "owning half of Derbyshire", to which Elizabeth replies, "The miserable
half?" In another scene, various characters discuss a day trip to Matlock.
Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel Peveril of the Peak is partly set in Derbyshire.
The events of the play Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard, take place in the fictional country house
of Sidley Park in Derbyshire. Alfreton is mentioned in the novel Sons and
Lovers by D. H. Lawrence, when a character gets a train to Alfreton and walks to Crich
to see a lover. George Eliot's novel Adam Bede is set in a
fictional town based on Wirksworth. Georgette Heyer's detective/romance novel
The Toll-Gate is set in 1817 around a fictional toll-gate in Derbyshire.
The 1969 film Women in Love by Ken Russell had various scenes filmed in and around Elvaston
Castle, most notably the Greco-Roman wrestling scene, which was filmed in the castle's Great
Hall. The 1986 film Lady Jane by Trevor Nunn, starring
Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes, has scenes filmed at Haddon Hall.
The 1987 film The Princess Bride by Rob Reiner, starring Robin Wright and Cary Elwes, was
partly filmed in Derbyshire. It included scenes at Haddon Hall and in the White Peak and Dark
Peak. The 1988 film Lair of the White Worm by Ken
Russell, starring Hugh Grant, was filmed in Derbyshire. The opening title sequence is
of Thor's Cave in the Manifold valley. See also
List of Lord Lieutenants of Derbyshire List of High Sheriffs for Derbyshire
Custos Rotulorum of Derbyshire - Keepers of the Rolls
Derbyshire constituency list of MPs Derbyshire lead mining history
List of football clubs in Derbyshire References
Further reading Smith, Roly. Towns & Villages of Britain:
Derbyshire. Cheshire: Sigma Press. ISBN 1-85058-622-5. Pevsner, Nikolaus. The Buildings of England:
Derbyshire. Middlesex: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071008-6. Pevsner & Williamson, Elizabeth. The Buildings
of England: Derbyshire. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071008-6. External links
artsderbyshire.org.uk - Derby & Derbyshire arts guide
Derbyshire Extensive Urban Survey English Heritage and Derbyshire County Council
Derbyshire at DMOZ Flora of Derbyshire - Maps and information
on vascular plant distribution Images of Derbyshire at the English Heritage
Archive