52°55N 1°30W, pop (2001e) 221 700. City and unitary authority (from 1997) in Derbyshire, C England, UK; on the R Derwent, 56 km/35 mi NE of Birmingham; chartered in 1637; railway; first silk mill (1719); porcelain centre in 18th-c (Derby ware); aero engines, railway engineering; lawnmowers, sugar refining, textiles, chemicals, plastics, china; Cathedral of All Saints (1525), old silk mill industrial museum; football league team, Derby County (Rams).
| City of Derby | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Status: | Unitary, City (1977) |
| Region: | East Midlands |
| Ceremonial County: | Derbyshire |
|
Area: - Total |
Ranked 271st 78.03 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Derby |
| Grid reference: | SK354363 |
| ONS code: | 00FK |
| Demographics | |
|
Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 47th 233,700 2,995 / km² |
| Ethnicity: |
87.4% White 8.4% S.Asian 1.8% Afro-Carib. |
| Politics | |
|
Derby City Council http://www.derby.gov.uk/ |
|
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Labour (council NOC) |
| MPs: | Margaret Beckett, Bob Laxton, Mark Todd |
Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dɑːbɪ/) is a city in the East Midlands of England.
Status
Traditionally, Derby is the county town of Derbyshire, although Derbyshire's administrative centre has in recent years been Matlock. On 1 April 1997 Derby City Council became again a unitary authority (a status it had held, as a County Borough, up until 1974), with the rest of Derbyshire administered from Matlock.
History
Origins
The City has Roman, Saxon and Viking connections.
New research (throughout 2004) into the history and archaeology of Derby has provided evidence that the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons probably co-existed, occupying two areas of land surrounded by water. (Ron Mackeown of Derby Heritage Development Trust has produced a recent paper on this subject.)
The Middle Ages to the 18th century
During the Civil War of 1642-1646 the town was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops commanded by Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, who was appointed Governor of Derby in 1643.
Bonnie Prince Charlie made camp at Derby on 4 December 1745, whilst on his way south to seize the English crown.
The Industrial Revolution
Derby and Derbyshire were centres of Britain's industrial revolution.
In 1759 Jedediah Strutt patented and built a machine called the Derby Rib attachment that revolutionised the manufacture of Hose.
The Belper North Mill of 1804 built by William Strutt, Jedediah's son, is the only original Strutt Mill still standing today. Other famous 18th century figures with connections to Derby include Dr Johnson, the creator of the English dictionary, who married Elizabeth Porter at St. Werburgh's Church, Derby in 1735;
The beginning of the next century saw Derby emerging as an engineering centre, with manufacturers such as James Fox, who exported machine tools to Russia.
In 1840, the North Midland Railway set up its works in Derby and, when it merged with the Midland Counties Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, to form the Midland Railway, Derby became its headquarters.
Derby was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and it became a county borough with the Local Government Act 1888.
Despite being one of the areas of Britain furthest from the sea, Derby holds a special place in the history of marine safety - it was as MP for Derby that Samuel Plimsoll introduced his bills for a 'Plimsoll line' (and other marine safety measures).
Recent history (post 1900)
Derby was awarded city status in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the 25th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.
On 17 February 2003, Derby was granted Fairtrade City status.
Derby holds a special place in the history of the Labour movement - it was one of two seats (the other being Keir Hardie's in Merthyr Tydfil) gained by the recently-formed Labour Representation Committee at the 1900 General Election.
Derby has also become a significant cultural centre for the Deaf Community in the UK.
Landmarks
Derby Cathedral boasts the second-highest cathedral tower in the country.
Derby Heritage Centre, formerly the Tudor Grammar School, told the story of Derby from Roman times till today.
Derby Industrial Museum is situated in Derby Silk Mill and shows the industrial heritage and technological achievement of Derby, including Rolls-Royce aero engine, railways, mining, quarrying, foundries etc. Derby Museum and Art Gallery shows paintings by Joseph Wright, as well as fine Royal Crown Derby porcelain, local regiments and archaeology. as townscape it is a disaster.'
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Derby at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,509 | 2 | 1,130 | 1,377 |
| 2000 | 3,965 | 1 | 1,819 | 2,145 |
| 2003 | 4,421 | 1 | 1,806 | 2,614 |
↑ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Industry
Derby's two biggest employers, Rolls-Royce plc (known almost universally in the area as 'Royce's', not 'Rolls') and the Toyota Motor Corporation, are both in the manufacturing trade.
As already noted, Derby was for many years a significant railway centre, being the former headquarters of the Midland Railway, with both British Rail workshops and research facilities in the town. Although much less important than in years gone by, train manufacture continues in Derby and Derby station retains an important strategic role in the rail network. Moreover many major rail manufacturers retain a presence and, as reported in the Derby Evening Telegraph, the city is favoured as a possible national centre.
Transport
Road
Derby's central location in England means it has extensive transport links with other areas of the country. The M1 motorway passes approximately ten miles to the east of the city, linking Derby southwards to the London area and northwards to Sheffield and Leeds. Other major roads passing through or near to Derby include the A6 (historically the main route from London to Carlisle, also linking to Leicester and Manchester), A38 (Bodmin to Mansfield via Bristol and Birmingham), A50 (Warrington to Leicester via Stoke on Trent), A52 (Newcastle-under-Lyme to Mablethorpe, including Brian Clough Way linking Derby to Nottingham) and A61 (Derby to Thirsk via Sheffield and Leeds).
Rail
As already noted, the railway has served Derby since 1840 being the junction of what were then the two main lines from London to Yorkshire and the North East. The present day station is Derby Midland with frequent expresses to London, the North East and South West, provided by Midland Mainline, Virgin Trains and Central Trains.
Formerly the Great Northern Railway's "Derbyshire and North Staffordshire Extension", ran through Derby Friargate Station, from Nottingham to Eggington Junction.
Air
Nottingham East Midlands Airport (previously known simply as "East Midlands Airport") is situated about fifteen miles from Derby city centre, making Derby the closest city to the airport. Its proximity to Derby, the fact that the airport is in Leicestershire, and the traditional rivalry between the three cities, meant that there was a great deal of controversy locally about the airport's decision to append Nottingham to its name in 2004.
Bus and coach
Derby's former bus station was an innovative art deco design by borough architect C.H.
Local bus services in and around Derby are run by a number of companies, but principally Trent Barton and Arriva Midlands.
Derby Arboretum was the first public park in the country, and is thought to have been one of the inspirations for Central Park in New York.
Famous Derby sporting institutions include Derby County Football Club, currently playing in the Football League Championship.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club are based at the County Ground in Derby and play almost all home matches there, although matches at Chesterfield were re-introduced in 2006.
Derby also has clubs in both codes of rugby.
Education
Like most of the UK, Derby operates a non-selective primary and secondary education system with no middle schools.
Outside the state sector, there are three fee-paying independent schools, Derby Grammar School, which caters for boys and considers itself, quite spuriously, a continuation of Derby School (which was one of the oldest schools in the country), Derby High School, which caters for girls (and also boys at primary level only),and Ockbrook School which is an independent school for girls aged 3-18 and boys aged 3-11.
The University of Derby is the city's university.
In 2003 the University of Nottingham opened a graduate entry medical school based in the Derby City hospital.
BBC Radio Derby, the BBC's award-winning local station for Derbyshire and East Staffordshire, is based on St. Helen's Street in the city and offers a mixture of local, national and international news, features, music and sports commentaries.
RAM FM, the independent local radio station for Derbyshire and East Staffordshire, is also based in the city and offers a mixture of adult contemporary music and entertainment, with regular news and traffic bulletins.
Trivia
Has been named "Ghost capital of Britain" with over 1,000 paranormal sightings recorded in recent years
Districts of Derby
| Allenton Allestree Alvaston Arleston Boulton Breadsall Hilltop Chaddesden Chellaston Crewton Darley Abbey Derwent Heights Heatherton Village Little Chester (aka Chester Green) Littleover Mackworth Estate | Markeaton Mickleover Normanton Oakwood Osmaston Pear Tree Rose Hill Shelton Lock Sinfin Spondon Strutt's Park Sunny Hill West End Wilmorton |
Places of interest
Alvaston Park Darley Abbey Derby Arboretum Derby Canal Derby Cathedral Derby Industrial Museum (Silk Mill) Elvaston Castle Derby Friargate Station (of which all that remains is Handyside's bridge across Friargate). Markeaton Park Light Railway, a heritage railway Pride Park Stadium River DerwentFamous residents
Alan Bates (1934-2003), actor Ronald Binge (1910-1979), composer Steve Bloomer (1874-1938), footballer Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), scientist Brian Clough, OBE (1934-2004), football player and manager William John Coffee (1774-1846), artist and sculptor Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), physician John Flamsteed (1646-1719), astronomer Sir Charles Fox (1810-1874), engineer Sir Francis Fox (1844-1927), engineer James Fox (1780-1830) engineer Andrew Handyside (1806-1887) iron founder Geoff Hoon (1953- ), politician Arthur Keily (1921- ) Marathon runner William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Lombe (1693-1722), industrial pioneer Captain Godfrey Meynell, recipient of the Victoria Cross Jyoti Mishra, musician with White Town Sir Howard Newby (1941- ) educationalist and sociologist Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), pioneer of modern nursing Samuel Richardson (1689–1761), novellist Sir Henry Royce (1863-1933), co-founder of Rolls-Royce George Sorocold, engineer Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), philosopher Harry Stevens (1856-1934) one of the claimants to be inventor of the hotdog Jedediah Strutt (1726-1797), industrial pioneer Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996), Engineer Sir Henry Wilmot, recipient of the Victoria Cross Joseph Wright (1734-1797), painter Alastair Yates, BBC presenterTwin cities
- Osnabrück, Germany - Kapurthala, India (friendship link)External Link
Derby Photos - Historic City
Coordinates: 52°55′19″N, 1°28′33″W
User Comments Add a comment…