|
|
|
|
Derby
|
| |
|
| |
Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" ) is a city in the East Midlands region of England in the United Kingdom. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the shire county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the borough was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407. Measured by urban area, Derby is the 18th largest settlement in England.
city has Roman, Saxon and Viking connections.
The Roman camp of 'Derventio' was probably at Little Chester/Chester Green ;
The site of the old Roman fort is at Chester Green.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Derby' Start a new discussion about 'Derby' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" ) is a city in the East Midlands region of England in the United Kingdom. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the shire county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the borough was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407. Measured by urban area, Derby is the 18th largest settlement in England.
History
Origins
The city has Roman, Saxon and Viking connections.
The Roman camp of 'Derventio' was probably at Little Chester/Chester Green ;
The site of the old Roman fort is at Chester Green. Later the town was one of the 'Five Boroughs' (fortified towns) of the Danelaw.
The popular belief is that the name 'Derby' is a corruption of the Danish and Gaelic Djúra-bı (recorded in Anglo-Saxon as Deoraby) (Village of the Deer). However some assert that it is a corruption of the original Roman name 'Derventio'. The town was also named 'Darby' or 'Darbye' on some of the oldest maps, e.g. Speed's 1610 map. Derby recently celebrated its 2,000th year as a settlement.
Modern research (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. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (c. 900) says that "Derby is divided by water". These areas of land were known as Norşworşig ("Northworthy", = "north enclosure") and Deoraby, and were at the "Irongate" (north) side of Derby.
6th century - 18th century
During the Civil War of 1642-1646, Derby was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops commanded by Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, who was appointed Governor of Derby in 1643. These troops took part in the defence of nearby Nottingham, the Siege of Lichfield, the Battle of Hopton Heath and many other engagements in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire, as well as successfully defending Derbyshire against Royalist armies.
Bonnie Prince Charlie set up camp at Derby on 4th December, 1745, whilst on his way south to seize the English crown. The prince called at The George Inn on Irongate, where the Duke of Devonshire had set up his headquarters, and demanded billets for his 9,000 troops. He stayed at Exeter House, Exeter Street where he held his "council of war". A replica of the room is on display at Derby Central Library, which is located on the Wardwick at the bottom end of the city centre. He had received misleading information about an army coming to meet him south of Derby. Although he wished to continue with his quest, he was overruled by his fellow officers. He abandoned his invasion at Swarkestone Bridge on the River Trent just a few miles south of Derby. As a testament to his belief in his cause, the prince - who on the march from Scotland had walked at the front of the column - made the return journey on horseback at the rear of the bedraggled and tired army.
Each year at the beginning of December, the Charles Edward Stuart Society of Derby lead a weekend of activities culminating in a parade through the city centre and a battle on Cathedral Green.
Industrial Revolution
Derby and Derbyshire were centres of Britain's Industrial Revolution. In 1717, Derby was the site of the first water powered silk mill in Britain, built by John Lombe and George Sorocold, after Lombe had reputedly stolen the secrets of silk-throwing from Piedmont in what is now Italy (he is alleged to have been poisoned by Piedmontese as revenge in 1722).
In 1759, Jedediah Strutt patented and built a machine called the Derby Rib Attachment that revolutionised the manufacture of hose. This attachment was used on the Rev. Lee's Framework Knitting Machine; it was placed in front of - and worked in unison with - Lee's Frame, to produce ribbed hose (stockings). The partners were Jedediah Strutt, William Woollatt (who had been joined in 1758 by) John Bloodworth and Thomas Stafford, all leading hosiers in Derby. The patent was obtained in January 1759. After three years, Bloodworth and Stafford were paid off, and Samuel Need - a hosier of Nottingham - joined the partnership. The firm was known as Need, Strutt & Woollatt. The patent expired in 1773, though the partnership continued until 1781 when Need died.
| Year | Population |
|---|
| 1801 | 14,695 | | 1851 | 48,506 | | 1901 | 118,469 | | 1921 | 142,824 | | 1941 | 167,321 | | 1951 | 181,423 | | 1961 | 199,578 | | 1971 | 219,558 | | 1981 | 214,424 | | 1991 | 225,296 | | 2001 | 221,716 |
Messrs. Wright, the bankers of Nottingham, recommended that Richard Arkwright apply to Strutt & Need for finance for his cotton spinning mill. The first mill opened in Nottingham in 1770 and was driven by horses. In 1771 Richard Arkwright, Samuel Need and Jedediah Strutt built the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill at Cromford, Derbyshire, developing a form of power that was to be a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution.
This was followed in Derbyshire by Jedediah Strutt's cotton spinning mills at Belper. They were: South Mill, the first, 1775; North Mill, 1784, which was destroyed by fire on 12 January, 1803 and then rebuilt; it started work again at the end of 1804; West Mill, 1792, commenced working 1796; Reeling Mill, 1897; Round Mill, which took 10 years to build, from 1803 to 1813, and commenced working in 1816; and Milford Mills, 1778. The Belper and Milford mills were not built in partnership with Arkwright. These mills were all Strutt owned and financed.
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 painter Joseph Wright, known as Wright of Derby, who was famous for his revolutionary use of light in his paintings and was an associate of the Royal Academy; and John Whitehurst, a famous clockmaker and philosopher. Erasmus Darwin, doctor, scientist, philosopher and grandfather of Charles Darwin was also to be found in Derby and Derbyshire at much the same time, though his practice was based in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
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.
The connection with the railway encouraged others, notably Andrew Handyside, Charles Fox and his son Francis Fox. A list of the structures these three built reads like a "Who's Who" of famous buildings.
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. The borough expanded in 1877 to include Little Chester and Litchurch, and then in 1890 to include New Normanton and Rowditch. The borough did not increase substantially again until 1968, when under a recommendation of the Local Government Boundary Commission it was expanded into large parts of the rural district of Belper, Repton and South East Derbyshire. This vastly increased Derby's population from 132,408 in the 1961 census to 219,578 in the 1971 census.
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). This failed on first introduction, but was successful in 1876 and contributed to Plimsoll's re-election as a deservedly popular MP.
20th century to present day
Derby was awarded city status on 7 June, 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the 25th anniversary of her ascension to the throne. The Queen presented the "charter scroll" in person on July 28, 1977. Until then, Derby had been one of the few towns in England with a cathedral but not city status.
Derby has a number of public parks, many Victorian in origin. Darley and Derwent parks lie immediately north of the city centre and are home to owls, kingfishers and a wide variety of other wildlife. Derby Rowing Club and Derwent Rowing Club are located on the banks of the river. There is also an attractive riverside walk and cycle path from Darley Park south to two other parks. West of the city centre is Markeaton Park, while to the north is Allestree Park and its lake. Derby also has the first public recreational park in the country to have an arboretum (Derby Arboretum), which lies to the south of the city centre. The arboretum was set up by the philanthropic landowner and industrialist Joseph Strutt in 1840. The arboretum's website states that the arboretum's design was the inspiration for the vision of great urban parks in the USA, notably Central Park in New York City.
Derby holds an important position in the history of the Labour movement, because 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. The MP was Richard Bell, General Secretary of the Railway Servants Union. Bell was succeeded in 1910 by Jimmy Thomas and he in turn by the distinguished polymath and Nobel Laureate Philip Noel-Baker in 1936.
Despite its strategic industries (rail and aero-engine), Derby suffered comparatively little damage in both world wars (contrast Bristol and Filton). This may in part have been due to the skilful jamming of the German radio-beam navigations systems (X-Verfahren and Knickebein, camouflage and decoy techniques ('Starfish sites') were built, mainly south of the town, e.g. out in fields near Foremark (ref. Kirk, Felix & Bartnik, 2002, see talk; see also ).
Derby has also become a significant cultural centre for the deaf community in the UK. Many deaf people move to Derby because of its strong sign language-using community. It is estimated that the deaf population in Derby is at least three times higher than the national average, and that only London has a larger deaf population. The Royal School for the Deaf on Ashbourne Road provides education in British Sign Language and English.
More recently Derby was granted the Fairtrade City status.
Governance
By traditional definitions, 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.
Geography
Derby is split into 17 Wards.
Nearest settlements
Borrowash,
Ockbrook,
Draycott,
Melbourne (Derbyshire, England, UK),
Elvaston,
Coxbench,
Quarndon,
Little Eaton,
Morley (Derbyshire, England, UK),
Duffield,
Belper,
Heanor,
Ripley,
Ilkeston,
Ripley (Derbyshire Constabulary HQ),
Langley Mill,
Alfreton,
Chesterfield,
Matlock (Derbyshire County Council is based here),
Bakewell,
Alfreton,
Buxton,
Breaston,
Long Eaton,
Sandiacre,
Sawley
Nottingham,
Sandiacre,
Beeston,
Coalville,
Loughborough,
Ashby-De-La-Zouch,
Measham
Castle Donington,
Leicester,
Burton-upon-Trent.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Derby at current basic prices (pp.240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | | | | |
|---|
| 1995 | 2,509 | 2 | 1,130 | 1,377 | | 2000 | 3,965 | 1 | 1,819 | 2,145 | | 2003 | 4,421 | 1 | 1,806 | 2,614 |
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Industry
Derby's two biggest employers, Rolls-Royce plc (commonly known in the area as 'Royce's') and the Toyota Motor Corporation, are both in the engineering manufacturing trade. Egg, the Internet and telephone bank, has its national base in Derby. Other companies of note include Bombardier who manufacture train systems and aircraft, and Alstom who manufacture large power plant boilers and heat exchangers.
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 railway station retains an important strategic role in the railway network. Moreover many major railway manufacturers retain a presence and, as reported in the Derby Evening Telegraph, the city is favoured as a possible site for a new national railway centre.
Among a number of IT houses, Derby was the home of Core Design, who developed the computer game Tomb Raider with its heroine Lara Croft.
Landmarks
Derby Cathedral has the third-highest Anglican cathedral tower in the country. In recent years, this has been home to a pair of breeding peregrine falcons
Derby Gaol is a visitor attraction based in the dungeons of the Derbyshire County Gaol which dates back to 1756.
Derby Industrial Museum is situated in Derby Silk Mill and shows the industrial heritage and technological achievement of Derby, including Rolls-Royce aero engines, railways, mining, quarrying and foundries.
Pickford's House Museum was built by architect Joseph Pickford in 1770. It was his home and business headquarters. Derby Museum and Art Gallery shows paintings by Joseph Wright, as well as fine Royal Crown Derby porcelain, local regiments and archaeology. Pickford also designed St Helen's House in King Street.
The Revive Healthy Living Centre, opened by actress Gwen Taylor, was built to provide new health initiatives for the area known as Derwent, Chaddesden, and Breadsall. It is run by local residents and the building has a unique sedum/grass roof.
Much of the skyline of the inner city changed radically in 1968 when the inner ring road with its two new crossings of the River Derwent was built. The route of the ring road went through the magnificent St. Alkmund's Church and its wonderful Georgian churchyard, the only Georgian square in Derby. Both were demolished to make way for the road, a move still criticised today. Thus the editor (Elizabeth Williamson) of the 2nd edition of Pevsner for Derbyshire wrote:- '...the character and cohesion of the centre has been completely altered by the replacement of a large number of C18 houses in the centre by a multi-lane road. As a traffic scheme this road is said to be a triumph; as townscape it is a disaster.'
Places of interest
Transport
Roads
Derby's central location in England means it has extensive transport links with other areas of the country. The M1 motorway passes about 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 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).
Railways
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 East Midlands Trains and CrossCountry. There also remain small local stations at Peartree and Spondon, although services are fairly limited, especially at the former.
The Great Northern Railway's "Derbyshire and North Staffordshire Extension" formerly ran through Derby Friargate Station, from Colwick and Nottingham to Egginton Junction. After closure, part of the route west of Derby was used by British Rail as a test track. Although few traces of the route now remain, the ornate cast iron bridge by Andrew Handyside across Friargate is still in place, as is his bridge over the river.
Air
East Midlands Airport is situated about fifteen miles (24 km) 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 (Derby, Leicester and Nottingham), meant that there was a great deal of controversy locally about the airport's decision to prefix its name with Nottingham in 2004. Later on, in 2006, Nottingham East Midlands Airport reverted to its previous name, seen by many to be a victory for both Derby and Leicester, and promoting a more unified East Midlands. The airport is served by several budget airlines, including bmibaby (for which East Midlands is a main base), Ryanair and easyJet, with services to a variety of internal and European destinations.
Bus and coach
Derby's former bus station was an innovative art deco design by borough architect C.H. Aslin. Originally built in 1933, it was closed in 2005, and subsequently demolished, despite the protests of environmentalists and conservationists. The unique cafe building is planned to be rebuilt at Crich Tramway Museum. A new bus station is set to be built on the site as part of the Riverlights development. As a result of this work, services are currently using a number of temporary stops on streets around the Morledge area.
Local bus services in and around Derby are run by a number of companies, but principally Trent Barton and Arriva Midlands. The city is not particularly well served by long distance coaches, although it is on National Express's London to Manchester and Yorkshire to the South West routes. Additionally a regional route between Manchester and Nottingham is run by Trent Barton via its TransPeak and Red Arrow services.
Between 1932 and 1967, Derby Corporation operated a trolleybus system. The last trolleybus ran on 9 September 1967. Several Derby vehicles have been preserved at Sandtoft and the East Anglia Transport Museum.
Culture, entertainment and sport
Music
The annual open-air concert at Darley Park is one of the biggest free concerts of its kind. It is one of many performances given throughout the year by Sinfonia Viva, a professional chamber orchestra based in Derby. The Derby Jazz group caters for the jazz interest in the city and is regarded as one of the UK's leading live jazz organisations. There is also a summer rock music festival Prom in the Park which takes place in late July every year.
Derby has a lively punk scene, and this is supported by many prominent punk, ska and hardcore bands playing the Vic Inn, a local biker pub. In recent years it has attracted many big names such as the Casualties, Agnostic Front, and U.K. Subs, as well as many local bands. Hardcore punk band, Anti-Pasti, was formed in Derby. In addition to this, the Derby Punx Picnic is held annually at Bass' Recreation Ground (named after Michael Thomas Bass). Here underground punk and ska bands perform late into the night. The Punx Picnic has become an event in recent years, the attendance rising from around 300 in 2005 to just over 1,000 in 2006. The festival attracts punks from all over the East Midlands and the UK.
Theatre and arts
Derby Playhouse regularly received acclaim in the national press for its productions, particularly, in recent years, for its staging of shows by Stephen Sondheim. After a lengthy period of financial uncertainty, the theatre closed in February 2008. It was resurrected in September of that year after a new financing package was put together but forced to close again just two months later because of further financial problems.
See Derby QUAD is a new centre for art and film which opened on Friday 26 September, 2008. This new building has two cinema screens showing both independent and mainstream cinema, two gallery spaces housing contemporary visual arts, a digital studio, participation spaces, digital editing suites, artists studio and the bfi Mediatheque.
is a 270 seat venue with a diverse programme of entertainment including dance, drama, art, music, theatre in the round, comedy, films, family entertainment, rock and pop events, workshops and provides a home for many of Derbyshire's amateur production groups.
Sport
Derby is home to several high profile sports clubs.
Derby County, who were FA Cup winners in 1946, Football League champions in 1972 and again in 1975, and are currently members of the Football League Championship, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2008 with just one win all season. They have played at Pride Park Stadium since 1997, having been previously based at the Baseball Ground (originally built in 1890 as a baseball stadium, a use which discontinued when the sport failed to attract the expected support) for 102 years. Notable former managers include Brian Clough, Arthur Cox, Jim Smith, John Gregory and George Burley. Notable former players include Colin Todd, Roy McFarland (who both later had brief and unsuccessful stints as manager at the club), Peter Shilton, Dean Saunders, Craig Short, Marco Gabbiadini, Horacio Carbonari, Nick Pickering and Tom Huddlestone.
There are currently three senior non-league football clubs based in the city. Mickleover Sports play at Station Road, Mickleover and are members of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division (the ninth level of the English football league system). Graham Street Prims and Borrowash Victoria are both members of the East Midlands Counties League (level ten) and play on adjacent grounds at the Asterdale complex in Spondon.
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. One of the designated first class county sides, they have won the County Championship once, in 1936.
Derby also has clubs in both codes of rugby. In rugby union, Derby RFC play in Midlands Division Two East (the seventh level of English rugby union) at their Haslams Lane ground. Rugby league team Derby City RLFC were formed in 1990 and compete in the Midlands Premier Division of the National Rugby League Conference. From 2008 they are ground sharing with Derby RFC at Haslams Lane.
The city is also represented in the English Basketball League Division One by Derby Trailblazers, who play at the Moorways Sports Centre. They were formed in 2002 following the demise of British Basketball League side Derby Storm.
Local industrialist Francis Ley introduced baseball to the town in the late 19th century, and built a stadium near the town centre. The attempt to establish baseball in Derby was unsuccessful, but the stadium survived for some 100 years afterwards as the home of Derby County Football Club. It was finally demolished in 2003, six years after County's move to Pride Park.
Recreation
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. Although it suffered from neglect in the 1990s, it has recently undergone extensive improvement and renovation.
Markeaton Park is Derby's most used leisure facility. It is the venue for the city council's annual Guy Fawkes Night firework display and contains its own light railway. Other major parks in the city include Allestree Park, Darley Park, Chaddesden Park, Alvaston Park, Normanton Park and Osmaston Park.
Shopping and nightlife
Shopping in Derby is divided into two main sections. The first is a recently opened Westfield Shopping Centre, controlled by the Westfield Group. The second is the older section known as the Cathedral Quarter. This area includes a range of boutiques and coffee shops and is focused around the cathedral and the area around Irongate.
Westfield Derby (incorporating the former Eagle Centre) is the city's main indoor shopping centre. It opened on 9 October, 2007 after major extension work costing £340 million. It contains a brand new food court and a 12 screen cinema (Showcase - Cinema De Lux) which was opened on 16 May, 2008. The development was controversial and local opponents accuse it of drawing trade away from the older parts of the city centre where independent shops have traditionally been located. Some of these have experienced a downturn in trade and some have ceased trading since the development opened. In Westfield itself, a combination of relatively high rents and rising rates have made things difficult for smaller traders.
The Friar Gate area contains a high number of clubs and bars, making it the centre of Derby's nightlife. Derby is also well provided with pubs, many of which have been applauded nationally for their support of real ale.
Education
Like most of the UK, Derby operates a non-selective primary and secondary education system with no middle schools. Pupils attend infant and junior school (often in a combined primary school) before moving onto a comprehensive secondary school. Many secondaries also have sixth forms, allowing pupils to optionally continue their education by taking A Levels after the end of compulsory education at age 16. For those who want to stay in education but leave school, the large Derby College provides a number of post-16 courses.
Outside the state sector, there are four fee-paying independent schools. Derby Grammar School was founded in 1994 and was for boys only, until 2007, when they accepted girls into the sixth form for the first time, who aim to continue the work and traditions of the former Derby School, closed in 1989, one of the oldest schools in England; Derby High School is for girls-only at secondary level and for boys at primary level; and Ockbrook School is an independent school for girls aged 3–18) and boys aged 3–11). Lastly, Michael House Steiner School can be found in Shipley, Heanor and caters for pupils from kindergarten age through to 16.
Derby also has a City Academy, Landau Forte College, partially state-funded, but also with business backing. It was one of fifteen City Technology Colleges set up in the late 1980s and early 1990s which was converted into a City Academy in September 2006.
Derby also has a number of special needs establishments including Ivy House School (which takes pupils from nursery to sixth form) and the Light House which is a respite facility for children and parents.
The University of Derby has its main campus on Kedleston Road. There is another campus in north Derbyshire at Buxton. A new building at the university was recently opened by Sir Richard Branson.
In 2003 the University of Nottingham opened a graduate entry medical school based at Derby City General Hospital.
Media
The Derby Evening Telegraph is the city's daily newspaper. In addition, a free newspaper, the Derby Express, is delivered to households weekly. The former free Derby Trader weekly newspaper is no longer in print. The daily freesheet 'Metro' is distributed in the city centre every morning, although this only has a very small amount of local content. Another local paper is the weekly Derbyshire Times published every Thursday, which mainly covers news from the north of the county.
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. It has around 150,000 weekly listeners and is available locally on 104.5 FM and 1116 AM, on 95.3 FM in North and Mid Derbyshire and on 96.0 FM in the Buxton area, as well as being streamed on the internet. The BBC in Derby also have their own local for the area which provides news, travel and weather information, as well as other features. From 1983 to 2008 Radio Derby organised the Money Mountain Appeal, an annual on-air charity auction which raised more than £1 million for local causes. Since July 2007, the BBC has managed Big Screen Derby in the Market Place in conjunction with Derby City Council and the University of Derby, as part of the BBC Big Screen project.
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. It broadcasts on 102.8 FM, and is also streamed on the internet, and is listened to by around 120,000 people each week. RAM FM is part of the Gcap One Network, and hosts many big local events, such as the Darley Park Concert, the city bonfire and fireworks, the Christmas lights switch-on, and the Race For Life, raising money for Cancer Research UK.
Trivia
- Derby has been named "Ghost capital of Britain" with over 1,000 paranormal sightings recorded in recent years.
- Bold Lane Car Park in Derby is one of the top ten most secure places in the world according to a study published in a science magazine.
Notable people
- 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
- Daniel Parker Coke (1745-1825), barrister and Member of Parliament
- William George Constable (1887-1976), art historian
- John Cotton (1585–1652), New England Puritan
- Kevin Coyne (1944-2004), rock musician and singer.
- Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), physician
- James Dobb, (1972- ) former motocross world champion
- Ralph Downes (1904-1993) organist and organ designer
- John Flamsteed (1646-1719), first Astronomer Royal
- Lianna Fowler, (1987- ) fashion model
- Sir Charles Fox (1810-1874), engineer
- Sir Francis Fox (1844-1927), engineer
- James Fox (1780-1830) engineer
- Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910), surgeon and artist
- Andrew Handyside (1806-1887) iron founder
- Geoff Hoon (1953- ), politician
- Sir Robert Howe (1893-1981), last British Governor-General of the Sudan
- Arthur Keily (1921- ) marathon runner
- William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), former prime minister
- Stephen Layton (196?-) choral conductor
- John Lombe (1693-1722), industrial pioneer
- Stephen Marley, novelist and video game designer
- Captain Godfrey Meynell, (1904-1935) recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Sir Howard Newby (1941- ) educationalist and sociologist
- Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), pioneer of modern nursing
- Colin Osborne (1975- ) PDC Darts professional
- Ben Pridmore, (1976- ) World Memory Champion 2004
- Samuel Richardson (1689–1761), novellist
- Sir Henry Royce (1863-1933), co-founder of Rolls-Royce
- Max Sciandri, (1967- ) Olympic medalist
- George Sorocold, (?1668-?1738) engineer
- Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), philosopher
Twin cities
- Osnabrück, Germany
- Kapurthala, India (friendship link)
- Haarlem, Netherlands (friendship link)
- Foncquevillers, France (friendship link)
- Toyota City, Japan
- Changzhi, China (Memorandum of Understanding)
Twinning with Osnabrück
Derby is twinned with Osnabrück in Germany. The partnership treaty between the two cities was signed on 17 February, 1976.
Osnabrück made contact with the British authorities as early as 1948, hoping to find an English twin town and therefore come to understand their former enemies from the Second World War. This attempt was unsuccessful and Osnabrück did not consider an English twin town again until 1972. The twinning agreement with Derby was signed four years later in the historical Hall of Peace in Osnabrück's "rathaus" (town hall). Since then the two towns have exchanged envoys.
Osnabrück now has eleven twin and friendship cities: Derby (England), Angers (France), Haarlem (Netherlands), Çanakkale (Turkey), Tver (Russia), Greifswald (Germany), Vila Real (Portugal), Hefei (China), Evansville, Indiana (America), Gmünd (Austria), Kwangmyong (South-Korea) and there are five envoys working at the twinning office in Osnabrück, who represent Derby, Angers, Haarlem, Tver and Çanakkale.
Every year, Derby and Osnabrück each appoint an envoy who spends twelve months in his or her twin city. The envoy's role is varied, but encompasses areas such as promoting the exchange of ideas between the two cities, as well as acting as an educational and general information officer to promote awareness of the twinning scheme. They can help in all sorts of ways by: translating, giving talks to local societies and schools, finding pen friends and short term host families during work placements, working in day-to-day contact to assist groups who want to get involved in twinning by identifying and approaching possible counterparts, planning the annual mayweek trip and a lot more.
There is an annual exchange between the wind bands of John Port School, Etwall and its twin school Gymnasium Melle in Osnabrück, the two bands taking turns to visit each other and participating in joint concerts. Beginning in 1977, the exchange is one of the longest and most successful of its kind in British history.
The exchange of envoys between two cities is very unusual. The team of envoys in Osnabrück changes every year and Osnabrück also sends envoys to Derby, Angers and Çanakkale. No other city in Germany participates in this exchange of envoys, and in Britain, only one other town, Wigan, receives and sends an envoy.
Gallery
Image:GreenLnRH.jpg|The cathedral from Green Lane
Image:RRoyceRH.jpg|Part of the Rolls-Royce Works
Image:NursesHomeRH.jpg|Nurses' Home
Image:OldCollegeRH.jpg|Old College
Image:SureStartRH.jpg|Sure Start, Normanton
Image:StMathewsDarleyAbbeyRH.jpg|St Matthew's, Darley Abbey
Image:StMaryBridgeRH.jpg|St Mary's-on-the-Bridge
Image:StLukesRH.jpg|St Luke's, Stockbrook Street
Image:FalstaffRH.jpg|The Falstaff public house, Normanton
Image:StJohnRH.jpg|St John's, Bridge Street
Image:WestfieldRH.JPG|Part of the Westfield Centre
Image:WestfieldsRH.JPG|Westfield from Babington Lane
Image:IslamCtRH.JPG|Islamic Centre, Wilmot Street
Image:PrisonRH.JPG|Ex Prison., Ex Greyhound Stadium
Image:StMaryDerbyRH.JPG|St Mary's RC Church
Image:SpaRH.JPG|Spa Inn, Abbey Street
Image:CathRH.JPG|Derby Cathederal and the Dolphin Inn
Image:GuruArjanDevGurdwaraRH.JPG|Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara
Image:DerbySchool1RH.JPG|Derby Moor Community Sports College & the Millennium Sixth Form Centre
Image:Bloomer.JPG|Bust of Steve Bloomer at Pride Park Stadium
External links
|
| |
|
|
