Derbyshire

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Derbyshire is a heart-shaped county in the heart of England, traditionally bordering Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, but stopping a few miles short of Lancashire and Warwickshire. It has been little altered by boundary changes, but since 1974 borders Greater Manchester.

The Romans, chiefly interested in the county for its lead and the springs at Buxton, established a number of forts and roads. Christianity came with the first religious house in Mercia built at Repton in 656 (where the Saxon crypt survives), but thereafter Danish invasions placed Derbyshire in the front line of battle until 1013, when Sweyn conquered the whole country.

Throughout the medieval period Derbyshire remained sparsely populated, but numerous market charters were granted and there is a reference to coal-mining near Ilkeston in 1285. The county suffered grievously from the plague, the final outbreak occurring famously in 1665 when six-sevenths of the population of Eyam died. The Civil War saw Derby occupied by parliamentarians in 1643 and, with the north and west of the county royalist in sentiment, a number of small battles followed, including skirmishes at Hartington and Wirksworth (1643). However, Derbyshire's chief importance to the Stuarts came in 1745, when the young pretender and his army occupied Derby before retreating to Scotland. By the 17th cent., the Cavendishes had established themselves as the premier family, mostly due to Bess of Hardwick (countess of Shrewsbury) (1520–1608); they owned 14 per cent of Derbyshire at one stage, controlled one of the county's two MPs, built the magnificent Chatsworth House (1687–1707), and in 1756–7 William Cavendish, 4th duke of Devonshire, was prime minister.

In addition to the building of great country houses, such as Kedleston and Calke abbey, the 18th cent. saw the development of cotton-mills in Derbyshire (notably by Arkwright at Cromford, 1771), impressive growth in coal-mining and iron production around Bolsover and Chesterfield, and framework-knitting at Belper, Ilkeston, and Heanor in the east. Though canal-building did occur in the county, it concentrated on the rivers Derwent and Trent (in the south) and to the north of Chesterfield only; more effective in improving communications were the turnpike roads (the first opened in 1725). It was, however, the railways that profoundly changed Derbyshire and, by the mid-19th cent., Derby had become the railway centre of the midlands, hastening the urbanization of the east of the county. Today, although coal has ceased to be of economic significance to Derbyshire, quarrying (especially limestone) is still important, as are textiles and engineering, most famously at Rolls Royce's aero-engine factory in Derby. In addition, with most of north-west Derbyshire in the Peak District (Britain's first national park), the county attracts vast numbers of visitors, making leisure and tourism major Derbyshire concerns.

Derby is by far the largest town in the county, with 235,000 inhabitants in 1999, but Derby diocese was only created in 1927 (though the cathedral was founded in the 10th cent.), its city status was conferred as late as 1977, and, culturally, Derby has suffered from its proximity to larger Nottingham. Additionally, the city's southern location reinforces the county's diffuse nature, with the north-east looking to Chesterfield and beyond that to Sheffield, and the north-west looking to Manchester. Furthermore, north Derbyshire is millstone grit and limestone country, with stone walls, sheep farms, and bleak moors, whereas in the south there are hedged dairy and arable farms on clay, sandstone, and alluvium.

The county's administrative headquarters are at Matlock, a fine spa town second only to Buxton, its first bath built in 1698, and its dramatic cliffs drawing visitors ever since. But it was Buxton, in the west of Derbyshire and England's highest market town, that prospered most from its hot waters; its sumptuous Crescent, built by the Cavendishes 1780–6, is said to have cost £120,000 and the town retains a sense of Georgian elegance. Also in the rural west, to the south, lie Bakewell and Ashbourne, both granted charters in the 1250s and boasting magnificent parish churches. In Ashbourne, an ancient Shrovetide football game is still played along attractive Georgian streets, and local villages, notably Tissington, dress their wells with flowers annually.

In the east and north, where iron, cotton, and coal dominated the economy, and where much of Derbyshire's industry is still based, runs the M1 motorway, past Ilkeston and Alfreton. Above them is Chesterfield, with its celebrated twisted spire atop an exceptional Gothic church, and Dronfield, which has almost merged with Sheffield. The north-west tip of Derbyshire is the least populated part and contains the Ladybower reservoir, opened in 1945; its largest town, Glossop, retains the appearance of a Victorian mill town, but has a number of attractive 17th-cent. gabled houses.

After the Banham commission report in 1995, Derbyshire retained its county status, with the city of Derby becoming a unitary authority.

Andrew Iain Lewer

Derbyshire is a heart‐shaped county in the heart of England. It has been little altered by boundary changes, but since 1974 borders Greater Manchester.

The Romans, chiefly interested in its lead and the springs at Buxton, established a number of forts and roads. Christianity came with the first religious house in Mercia built at Repton in 656 (where the Saxon crypt survives).

Throughout the medieval period Derbyshire remained sparsely populated. The county suffered grievously from the plague, the final outbreak occurring famously in 1665 when six‐sevenths of the population of Eyam died. By the 17th cent., the Cavendishes had established themselves as the premier family, mostly due to Bess of Hardwick (countess of Shrewsbury) (1520–1608). In addition to the building of great country houses, such as Chatsworth, Kedleston, and Calke abbey, the 18th cent. saw the development of cotton‐mills in Derbyshire (notably by Arkwright at Cromford, 1771), impressive growth in coal‐mining and iron production around Bolsover and Chesterfield, and framework‐knitting at Belper, Ilkeston, and Heanor in the east. The railways profoundly changed Derbyshire. By the mid‐19th cent., Derby had become the railway centre of the midlands. Today, although coal has ceased to be of economic significance, quarrying (especially limestone) is still important, as are textiles and engineering, most famously at Rolls‐Royce's aero‐engine factory in Derby. In addition, the Peak District (Britain's first national park) attracts vast numbers of visitors.

Derby is by far the largest town in the county, with 235,000 inhabitants in 1999, but culturally it has suffered from its proximity to larger Nottingham. Additionally, the city's southern location reinforces the county's diffuse nature, with the north‐east looking to Sheffield, and the north‐west to Manchester. The county's administrative headquarters are at Matlock, a fine spa town, its first bath built in 1698, and its dramatic cliffs drawing visitors ever since. But it was Buxton, England's highest market town, that prospered most from its hot waters; its sumptuous Crescent, built by the Cavendishes 1780–6, is said to have cost £120,000 and the town retains a sense of Georgian elegance. In the east and north, where iron, cotton, and coal dominated, runs the M1 motorway, past Ilkeston and Alfreton. Above them is Chesterfield, with its celebrated twisted spire atop an exceptional Gothic church. The north‐west tip of Derbyshire is the least populated part and contains the Ladybower reservoir, opened in 1945; its largest town, Glossop, retains the appearance of a Victorian mill town.

Derbyshire, a 169,000-tonne bulk carrier, which sank off the coast of Okinawa in September 1980, the largest British ship ever to be lost at sea. Nearly 282 metres (925 ft) long and 44.2 metres (144 ft) wide, the Derbyshire was carrying a cargo of iron ore. Though of modern design, and constructed only four years previously, the bulk carrier failed to survive a tropical storm it should easily have weathered, and sank so quickly that the crew had no time to radio a mayday distress signal. Initially, the government resisted holding a formal inquiry. However, one was opened in October 1987 when it was claimed the loss might have been caused by structural failure—an identical fault had affected other bulk carriers of the same class. This came to no firm conclusion other than that the ship ‘was probably overwhelmed by the forces of nature’, possibly because it got beam on to the wind and sea.

The families of the crew refused to accept the inquiry's conclusion and raised the money for an underwater survey in 1994, which found the ship's remains in two halves. Another survey in 1996 confirmed the whereabouts of the ship, and in March/April 1997 a special unit of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution carried out a detailed survey. In what was declared by a British government minister to be ‘one of the century's greatest feats of underwater detection work’, the survey's conclusions were that though the Derbyshire undoubtedly did suffer from the structural weakness found in its sister ships, this did not appear to have been the cause of the disaster. Instead, the most likely, and principal, cause was the flooding of a tank in the bows through ventilators and an air pipe, the covers of which had been torn away. This flooding prevented the ship's bows riding the huge waves whipped up by the typhoon; instead, these had come aboard with such force that the deck hatches collapsed and this had led to the ship foundering. As a result of this survey, in November 2000 a High Court judge cleared the crew of any negligence.

Derbyshire county (1991 pop. 915,000), 1,016 sq mi (2,632 sq km), central England. The county seat is Derby . The terrain of the county is flat in the south, rising in the north to more than 2,000 ft (610 m) in the Peak district. The region is drained by the Trent River, with the Dove, the Derwent, and the Wye flowing into it. Much of the county is used for agriculture. Dairy farming and sheep and cattle raising are important occupations. There is also wheat and oat cultivation, as well as market gardening. In the eastern part of the county are coal deposits. Textiles, steel, porcelain, and paper are produced in Derby, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Glossop, and Ilkeston. Tourism is also important. Paleolithic cave art dating to c.10,800 BC is found at Creswell Crags in E Derbyshire. In the Anglo-Saxon period Derbyshire was part of the kingdom of Mercia . There are pre-Roman, Roman, and Norman remains. The great house of the dukes of Devonshire is at Chatsworth .

Derbyshire County in n central England; the county town is Derby, other major towns are Chesterfield and Alfreton. Low-lying in the s, it rises to the Peak District in the n and is drained by the River Trent and its tributaries (the Dove, Derwent, and Wye). Agriculture is important, such as dairy farming, livestock rearing, wheat, oats, and market gardening. There are coal deposits in the e. Industries: steel, textiles, paper, pottery. Area: 2631sq km (1016sq mi). Pop. (1997) 737,700.

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