Derbyshire, midland county of England, having Yorkshire on the N., Notts on the E., Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire on the S., and Staffordshire and Cheshire on the W.; length, N. and S., 52 miles; greatest breadth, 35 miles; average breadth, 20 miles; area, 658,624 acres; population 461,914. The surface in the S. is either flat or undulating, irregular in the middle and NE., and picturesquely mountainous in the NW. or Peak district. The principal rivers are the Trent, Derwent, Dove, and Wye; river communication is supplemented by the Erewash and Grand Trunk Canals. The road and railway systems are highly developed. The soil in the Vale of the Trent is alluvial and very productive. In the hilly districts the land is mostly in pasture; much of it is rocky and unproductive. Oats, barley, potatoes, and wheat are cultivated; and there are many excellent dairy-farms. Warm mineral springs are numerous, the most popular being those at Buxton, Matlock, and Bakewell. Coal is abundant; iron ore and lead are worked; among the other mineral products are zinc, manganese, and barytes. There are numerous and extensive quarries of limestone and marble; fluor-spar is found in the caverns, and is manufactured into a great variety of ornamental articles. Silk, cotton, and lace are the chief manufactures, but malting and brewing are also carried on, and there are some extensive iron foundries. The county comprises 6 hundreds, 314 parishes, with parts of 8 others, the parliamentary and municipal borough of Derby (2 members), and the municipal boroughs of Chesterfield and Glossop. It is mostly in the diocese of Southwell.
– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)
Bakewell Old House Museum
Cunningham Place, Off North Church Street
Bakewell DE45 1DD
01629 813 642
This enchanting museum houses 10 beamed rooms with massive Tudor fireplaces. The building incorporates a Victorian kitchen, Tudor Parlour and Houseplace.
Barlborough Heritage & Resource Centre
1 Ward Lane, Barlborough
Chesterfield S43 4JD
01246 810100
www.barlboroughrc.btck.co.uk
A Village Heritage Centre. Exhibitions and displays of the local history and heritage of this agricultural and mining area.
Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre
Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill
Chesterfield S43 2PR
01246 472450
We have over 60 diesel, steam and electric locomotives on the site, and more are brought in for the Steam and Diesel galas. Our archive room is full of books, videos, magazines, photographs and much more, which have all been kindly donated to the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society.
Bolsover Castle – English Heritage
Castle Street, Bolsover
Chesterfield S44 6PR
01246 822844
Bolsover is a 17th century house built on the site of a Norman fortress and is a wonderful place to meander and muse. See the fairytale house, designed as a fantasy house for entertaining, of rooms stacked on top of one another to create the ‘Little Castle’ with its range of charming and spectacular interiors.
Bolsover Cundy House
Bolsover S44 6BQ
01246 822844
This 17th-century conduit house used to supply water to Bolsover Castle. It has recently been restored, with a solid stone-vaulted roof.
Buxton Museum & Art Gallery
Terrace Road
Buxton SK17 6DA
01629 533540
www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton_museum
Founded in 1893, the museum houses geology and archaeology of the Peak District, including the archives and collections of Sir William Boyd Dawkins and Dr JW Jackson. A busy programme of temporary exhibitions provides opportunities for contemporary artists and access to the museum’s own fine art and photographic collections.
Calke Abbey – National Trust
Calke
Ticknall DE73 1LE
01332 863 822
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey
Vivid example of a great country house in decline, with extraordinary contents, historic park and restored garden. * Baroque mansion with unique collections of curiosities * Invisible corridors, underground tunnels and a secret garden.
Caudwell’s Mill & Craft Centre
Bakewell Road, Rowsley
Matlock DE4 2EB
01629 733185
www.caudwellscrafts.co.uk
Caudwell’s Mill Craft Centre is set in the most beautiful surroundings and the relaxing and informal atmosphere make it a unique place for an interesting day out. Whether you are just stopping to shop and have a coffee with friends or planning a family day trip, taking in the Mill and workshops, you will enjoy a friendly welcome and marvel at the stunning Derbyshire countryside.
Chatsworth
Bakewell DE45 1PP
01246 565300
The ‘Palace of the Peak’ contains one of Europe’s finest private collections of treasures, displayed in more than 30 rooms, from the grandeur of the 1st Duke’s painted hall and state apartments with their rich decoration and painted ceilings, to the 19th century library, great dining room and sculpture gallery. Throughout the house, there are magnificent displays of paintings, including work by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Freud, furniture, silver, tapestries and porcelain and a gallery of neo-classical sculptures.
Chesterfield & District Family History Society
2 Highlow Close, Loundsley Green
Chesterfield S40 4PG
01246 231900
CADFHS was founded in 1989 and is based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. The society covers the area of North East Derbyshire previously known as the Scarsdale Hundred.
Chesterfield Museum & Art Gallery
St Mary’s Gate
Chesterfield S41 7TD
01246 345727
www.chesterfieldmuseum.co.uk
The museum tells the story of Chesterfield from its origin as a Roman fort to the present day. It is located in the Stephenson Memorial Hall, built in 1879 as a mechanics institute, and named in honour of the town’s most famous Victorian resident, railway pioneer George Stephenson.
Crich Tramway Village/National Tramway Museum
Crich Tramway Village, Crich
Matlock DE4 5DP
01773 854321
www.tramway.co.uk
Take a tram ride through time. Step aboard a vintage tram and travel back in time along a recreated village street complete with working pub.
Collections: Home to over 70 trams and a host of associated equipment, the museum has sought to acquire an example of each important stage in the evolution of the British tramcar, a vehicle that dramatically influenced the growth of towns and cities. Significant foreign tramcars are also included.
Derby Cathedral
Iron Gate
Derby DE1 3GP
01332 341201
Like all other Cathedrals, Derby is much more than a beautiful building. It is, as its constitution states, ‘the seat of the Bishop and a centre of worship and mission’.
Derby Museum & Art Gallery
The Strand
Derby DE1 1BS
01332 641901
A museum featuring collections relating to the history, culture and natural environment of Derby and Derbyshire. Visit the museum and Art Gallery to discover the fantastic recently refurbished Joseph Wright Gallery as well as our vibrant contemporary exhibition spaces. Discover Derby’s thriving local history in our Nature and Origins galleries alongside favourite exhibits such as The Mummies, 1001 Objects and The Soldier’s Story.
Derbyshire Ancestral Research Group
86 High Street, Loscoe
Heanor DE75 7LF
01773-604916
The group comprises enthusiasts mainly in the fields of family history and local history and is involved in recording monumental inscriptions in churches, churchyards and cemeteries throughout Derbyshire, with occasional visits over the county border.
Derbyshire Family History Society
Bridge Chapel House, St Mary�s Bridge, Sowter Road
Derby DE1 3AT
01332 363876
www.dfhs.org.uk
For over 25 years the society has linked together people researching their family history in Derbyshire. During that time we have built up an extensive library and assembled a team of expert volunteers.
Derbyshire Record Office
New Street
Matlock DE4 3AG
01629 580000 Ext 35201
www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/record_office
The Derbyshire Record Office provides the archive service for the county. It is approved by the Lord Chancellor and Master of the Rolls as the recognised record office for Derbyshire holding official public archives which come from the county.
Collections: You can see original archives from the mediaeval period to modern times at the record office. They include records of more than 250 Church of England Parishes, 600 Methodist and other nonconformist chapels, 500 schools, 200 societies and voluntary organisations and 350 businesses.
Diseworth Heritage Trust
Lady Gate
Diseworth DE74 2QF
01332 853647
Heritage Centre, villages archive, museum, training and exhibition centre.
Donington Grand Prix Collection
Donington Park, Castle Donington
Derby DE74 2RP
01332 811027
The Donington Grand Prix Exhibition is, quite simply, the largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars in the world. Five halls, with over 130 exhibits, illustrate the history of motor sport from the turn of the 20th century.
Erewash Museum
High Street
Ilkeston DE7 5JA
0115 9071141
www.erewashmuseum.co.uk
Housed in a grade II listed Georgian town house with a Victorian extension. We are a community led museum, focusing on our geographical area, and exhibit for several local societies. We also have a collection of paintings by local artists and pottery from the art potters at West Hallam in the 1920s.
Eyam Hall & Craft Centre – National Trust
Main Street
Eyam S32 5QW
01433 639565
Nearly 350 years ago the community village of Eyam made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the spread of the deadly plague – their own lives. To help you explore some of these stories we’ve created a number of walks starting from Eyam Hall. The centre, built in the Hall’s former stable yard, offers a vibrant hub from which to explore the wider village of Eyam and its captivating stories.
Eyam Museum
Hawkhill Road, Eyam
Hope Valley S32 5QP
01433 631371
www.cressbrook.co.uk/eyam/museum
When plague struck the village of Eyam in 1665, the villagers made the extraordinary sacrifice of isolating themselves in order to prevent the spread of this terrible disease. The harrowing story is the central theme of Eyam Museum, which also tells the story of the village from prehistory to the present.
Hardwick Hall – National Trust
Doe Lea
Chesterfield S44 5QJ
01246 850430
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardwick
One of the most splendid houses in England. Built by Bess of Hardwick in the 1590s, and unaltered since: yet its huge windows and high ceilings make it feel strikingly modern.
Kedleston Hall – National Trust
Kedleston
Quarndon DE22 5JH
01332 842 191
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall
Neo-classical mansion with Adam interiors, landscape gardens and park Masterpiece of neo-classical architecture, designed by Robert Adam. * Eastern Museum filled with the collections of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India * Lovely gardens, with celebrated displays of azaleas and rhododendrons (June).
Kegworth Village Association & Museum
52 High Street
Kegworth DE74 2DA
01509 670137
Kegworth village association and museum forms a centre for researching, recording and preserving Kegworth life, past present and future, as evidenced through artefacts, photographs, records and presonal memories.
Little Chester Heritage Centre
St Paul’s Church, Chester Green, Mansfield Road
Derby DE1 3RA
01332 363354
www.beehive.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/lchc
The centre shows the history of Little Chester (Chester Green) from Roman to recent industrial times by means of artefacts, models and photographs.
Living in the Past Community Archaeology Project
1 West Park Road
Derby DE22 1GG
01332 233961
Community project examining domestic life in the Midlands (specifically Derby) during the 19th and early 20th centuries, through archaeology and social history.
Measham Museum
56 High Street, Measham
Swadlincote DE12 7HZ
01530 273956
www.meashammuseum.btck.co.uk/Visitorinformation
Central to the museum is the Dr Hart collection, a treasury of artefacts, pictures, letters and documents recording the history of a Midland village through the eyes of two local doctors – father and son – over nearly a century. Linked to the Hart Collection are items recalling the coal mining, terracotta and pottery traditions of this area, where mining was first recorded in the 13th century.
Midland Railway Centre
Butterley Station
Ripley DE5 3QZ
01773 570 140
www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk
Butterley Station is the entrance to the Midland Railway – Butterley and everything that you see has been built since the Midland Railway Trust arrived in 1973. At that time the railway was derelict and all the buildings had been bulldozed.
Moira Furnace Museum & Country Park
Furnace Lane Moira
Swadlincote DE12 6AT
Moira Furnace is an early 19th century blast furnace built to manufacture iron. Unfortunately, the furnace was not a great success and by 1811 it had closed down and been converted into housing for miners.
New Mills Heritage & Information Centre
Rock Mill Lane, New Mills
High Peak SK22 3BN
01663 746904
www.newmillstowncouncil.org.uk/heritage.php
The centre is on the track leading down into the ‘Torrs’, a dramatic gorge above which the town perches and which includes mills and the ruined foundations of mills and weirs lying in the bottom of the gorges, attracted to the site at the end of the 18th century by the water power potential.
North East Midland Photographic Record – Picture the Past
c/o Derbyshire County Council, Heanor Library, Ilkeston Road
Heanor DE75 7DX
01773 716967
The libraries and museums of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have in their collections, hundreds of thousands of historic photographs, slides, negatives, glass plates, postcards and engravings recalling the history of the local communities over the last hundred years and more. In the past, these treasures were held in filing cabinets and anyone who wanted to see them would have to make a trip to the library or museum – perhaps to several different locations. Now thousands of them are available online.
Peak District Mining Museum
The Pavilion
Matlock Bath DE4 3NR
01629 583834
www.peakmines.co.uk
Visit a museum where you can experience and wonder at the forgotten world of a Derbyshire lead miner. For centuries, men have toiled underground in cramped and hazardous conditions to earn a meagre living by extracting the mineral galena (lead ore). See the tools they used, clothes they wore, the advances in technology and the importance of this metal in our modern day lives. Crawl and climb through a maze of twisted tunnels and shafts to feel for yourself the cramped conditions of a Derbyshire lead miner.
Peveril Castle – English Heritage
Market Place, Castleton
Hope Valley S33 8WQ
01433 620613
Perched high above the pretty village of Castleton, the castle offers breathtaking views of the Peak District. Founded soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William Peverel, one of King William’s most trusted knights, it played an important role in guarding the Peak Forest area. Following extensive conservation work on the keep, a walk-way erected at first floor level enables visitors to enter two chambers previously inaccessible: a medieval garderobe, and a small room with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.
Pickford’s House Museum of Georgian Life & Costume
41 Friar Gate
Derby DE1 1DA
01332 715181
www.derby.gov.uk/museums
You can see the ground floor dining room, drawing room and morning room as they might have been in Joseph Pickford’s time. A Georgian bedroom and dressing room have been recreated on the first floor, while on the top floor there is a servant’s bedroom complete with straw mattress.
Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, The
The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust’s West Shed Museum, Midland Railway – Swanwick Junction site
Ripley DE5 3QZ
01773 743986
www.prclt.co.uk
The West Shed is home to The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust – a voluntary organisation formed in 1993 to look after and promote the historic locomotives in its care. The West Shed houses a collection of historic steam locomotives and railway coaches, whose history is told through display boards, audio commentary domes, animatronic figures and a mini-cinema with short films.
Red House Stables Working Carriage Museum
Old Road, Darley Dale
Matlock DE4 2ER
01629 733583
Red House Stables Working Carriage Museum has one of the finest collections of original horse drawn vehicles and equipment in Britain. Established in 1946.
Regimental Museum of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers – Prince of Wales
The Strand
Derby DE1 1BS
01332 716656
www.derbymuseums.org/the-soldiers-story
Dedicated to the history of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers, The Sherwood Foresters and the Derbyshire Yeomanry. In Soldiers Story you will follow the story of Derby’s and Derbyshire’s soldiers from the days of muskets and swords at the Battle of Waterloo to the present day conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Renishaw Hall
Renishaw Park
Renishaw S21 3WB
01246 432310
www.renishaw-hall.co.uk
Renishaw Hall is rightly celebrated for its stunning Italianate gardens, laid out in 1895 by Sir George Sitwell (1860 – 1943), great-grandfather of Alexandra Sitwell, the current owner. The gardens boast several ‘rooms’ each with their own names such as the ball room and secret garden, which house species of hellebores, delphiniums and camellias among many others. The Hall is beautifully decorated by generations of Sitwell’s yet visitors will still find evidence of the Hall as a modern family home.
Revolution House
61 High Street, Old Whittington
Chesterfield S41 9LA
01246 345727
www.chesterfieldmuseum.co.uk
The Revolution House, in the Derbyshire village of Old Whittington, three miles north of Chesterfield, takes its name from the Revolution of 1688. Three hundred years ago, this cottage was an alehouse, the ‘Cock and Pynot’ (‘Pynot’ is a dialect word for magpie), and it was here, as history and tradition relate, that three local noblemen- the Earl of Devonshire (from nearby Chatsworth), the Earl of Danby and Mr John D’Arcy met to begin planning their part in the overthrow of James II.
Royal Crown Derby Museum
194 Osmaston Road
Derby DE23 8JZ
www.royalcrownderby.co.uk/visiting
Royal Crown Derby houses the most comprehensive collection of Derby Porcelain to be seen anywhere in the world. It includes pieces from all three of the factories in our history.
Shardlow Heritage Centre
London Wharf, London Road, Shardlow
Derby DE72 2GA
homepages.which.net/~shardlow.heritage
Visit Shardlow and its Heritage Centre for a fascinating insight into this 18th century canal transhipment port. Follow the village trail, on sale at the Heritage Centre..
Sharpe’s Pottery Museum
West Street
Swadlincote DE11 9DG
01283 222 600
www.sharpespotterymuseum.org.uk
A sensitive conversion of a 19th century pottery. The Visitor Centre is a small registered museum centred around a bottle kiln, with artefacts, models, film clips and imaginative computer interactives where people can explore the rich industrial and cultural heritage of the area.
Silk Mill, The
Silk Mill Lane, Off Full Street
Derby DE1 3AF
01332 255308
www.derby.gov.uk/museums
The Silk Mill, Derby’s Museum of Industry and History, is on the site of the world’s oldest factories, the Silk Mills built by George Sorocold in 1702 and 1717. The foundations and parts of the tower from the 1717 mill are still visible.
Sir John Moore Heritage Centre
Appleby Magna DE12 7AH
01530 273629
17th century school building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Sir William Wilson. Many original architectural features from the seventeeth, 18th and 19th centuries remain.
Sir Richard Arkwright’s Masson Mills
Derby Road
Matlock Bath DE4 3PY
01629 581001
www.massonmills.co.uk
Sir Richard Arkwright’s 1783 showpiece Masson Mills on the River Derwent at Matlock Bath are the finest and best preserved example of an Arkwright cotton mill. The Masson Mill pattern of design was influential in nascent British and American cotton mill construction.
Collections: The collection contains diverse items from the British textile industry from its foundations in the late 18th century and illustrates the Legacy of Sir Richard Arkwright.
Strutt’s North Mill
Derwent Valley Visitor Centre, North Mill, Bridgefoot
Belper DE56 1YD
01773 880474
Jedediah Strutt began building mills in Belper in 1776. The North Mill was rebuilt after a fire in 1803 to a ‘fire-proof’ design by Jedediah’s son William.
Collections: Some original and some replica machines displays the evolution of cotton spinning from cottage industry to factory system, from drop spindle and spinning wheel through to Hargreaves jenny, water-frame and Crompton.
Sudbury Hall & the National Trust Museum of Childhood
Sudbury Hall and The Museum of Childhood
Sudbury DE6 5HT
01283 585305
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudburyhall
Sudbury Hall is a 17th century house situated in the picturesque village of Sudbury in Derbyshire. It was built by the Vernon family and contains exquisite examples of craftsmanship, including an impressive wood carving by Grinling Gibbons.
Sutton Scarsdale Hall
Sutton cum Duckmanton
Chesterfield S44 5UR
01246 822844
Work has recently been carried out by English Heritage to make the ruins of this 16th-century house safe. Visitors can now see the fragments of its former rich plaster decoration.
Wirksworth Heritage Centre
Market Place
Wirksworth DE4 4ET
01629 825225
www.storyofwirksworth.co.uk
Wirksworth Heritage Centre tells the ‘story of Wirksworth’ a unique town set in the heart of Derbyshire. From a prehistoric woolly rhino to the history of lead mining and quarrying, Wirksworth has a fascinating history – words, pictures and memories bring this history to life.