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DERBYSHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 73 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DERBYSHIRE  , a See also:

north midland See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. and N.E. by See also:Yorkshire, E. by See also:Nottinghamshire, S.E. and S. by See also:Leicestershire, S. and S.W. by See also:Staffordshire, and W. and N.W. by See also:Cheshire . The See also:area is 1029.5 sq. m . The See also:physical aspect is much diversified . The extreme See also:south of the county is lacking in picturesqueness, being for the most See also:part level, with occasional slight undulations . The See also:Peak See also:District of the north, on the other See also:hand, though inferior in grandeur to the mountainous See also:Lake District, presents some of the finest See also:hill scenery in England, deriving a See also:special beauty from the richly wooded glens and valleys, such as those of See also:Castleton, See also:Glossop, Dovedale and Millersdale . The See also:character of the landscape ranges from the See also:wild moorland of the Cheshire See also:borders or the See also:grey rocks of the Peak, to the See also:park lands and See also:woods of the See also:Chatsworth district . Some of the woods are noted for their See also:fine oaks, those at Kedleston, 3 M. from See also:Derby, ranking among the largest and See also:oldest in the See also:kingdom . From the See also:northern hills the streams of the county radiate . Those of the north-See also:west belong to the See also:Mersey, and those of the north-See also:east to the See also:Don, but all the others to the 'See also:Trent, which, like the Don, falls into the See also:Humber . The See also:principal See also:river is the Trent, which, rising in the Staffordshire moorlands, intersects the See also:southern part of Derbyshire, and forms part of its boundary with Leicestershire . After the Trent the most important river is the See also:Derwent, one of its tributaries, which, taking its rise in the lofty ridges of the High Peak, flows southward through a beautiful valley, receiving a number of See also:minor streams in its course, including the Wye, which, rising near See also:Buxton, traverses the fine Millersdale and Monsal See also:Dale . The other principal See also:rivers are the following: The Dane rises at the junction of the three counties, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire .

The Goyt has its source a little farther north, at the See also:

base of the same hill, and, taking a N.N.E. direction, divides Derbyshire from Cheshire, and falls into the Mersey . The See also:Dove rises on the southern slope, and flows asthe boundary stream between Derbyshire and Staffordshire for nearly its entire course . It receives several feeders, and falls into the Trent near See also:Repton . The Erewash is the boundary stream between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire . The Rother rises about Baslow, and flows into Yorkshire, with a northerly course, joining the Don . Besides the attractions of its scenery Derby-See also:shire possesses, in Buxton, See also:Matlock and See also:Bakewell, three See also:health resorts in much favour on See also:account of their medicinal springs . The whole northward See also:extension of the county is occupied by' the See also:plateau of the Peak and other plateau-like summits, the highest of which are of almost exactly similar See also:elevation . Thus in the extreme north Bleaklow Hill reaches 2060 ft., while southward from this point along the See also:axis of See also:main elevation are found Shelf See also:Moss (2046 ft.), and Kinder See also:Scout and other summits of the Peak itself, ranging up to 2088 ft . This plateau-See also:mass is demarcated on the north and west by the vales of the Etherow and Goyt, by the valley of the Derwent on the east, and in part by that of its tributary the Noe on the south . The flanks of the plateau are deeply scored by abrupt ravines, often known as cloughs " (an Anglo-Saxon word, doh) watered by streams which sometimes descend over precipitous ledges in picturesque falls, such as the Kinder Downfall, formed by the See also:brook of that name which rises on Kinder Scout . The most picturesque cloughs are found on the south, descending to Edale, and on the west . Edale is the upper part of the Noe valley, and the narrow See also:gorge at its See also:head is exceedingly beautiful, as is the more See also:gentle scenery of the Vale of See also:Hope, the See also:lower part of the valley .

In a See also:

branch vale is situated Castleton (q.v.), with the ruined Peak See also:Castle or Castle of the Peak, and the Peak Cavern, See also:Blue See also:John Mine and other caves . The upper Derwent valley, or Derwent Dale, is narrow and well wooded . In it, near the See also:village of Derwent See also:Chapel, is Derwent See also:Hall, a fine old See also:mansion formerly a seat of the See also:Newdigate See also:family . On Derwent Edge, above the village, are various See also:peculiar See also:rock formations, known by such names as the See also:Salt-cellar . Ashopton, another village lower down the dale, is a favourite centre, and here the main valley is joined by Ashop Dale, a bold See also:defile in its upper part, penetrating the See also:heart of the Peak . The well-known high road See also:crossing the plateau from east to west, between the lower Derwent valley, Bakewell, Buxton and See also:Macclesfield, shows the various types of scenery characteristic of the See also:limestone hill-See also:country of Derbyshire south of the Peak itself . The lower Derwent valley, about Chatsworth, Rowsley, See also:Darley and Matlock, is open, fertile and well wooded . The road leads up the tributary valley of the Wye, which after Bakewell quickly narrows, and in successive portions is known as Monsal Dale, Millersdale (which the main road does not See also:touch), Chee Dale and Wye Dale . On the flanks of these beautiful dales bold cliffs and bastions of limestone stand out among See also:rich woods . Near the mouth of the valley, about See also:Stanton, the fantastic effects of weathering on the limestone are especially well seen, as in Rowtor Rocks and See also:Robin See also:Hood's Stride, and in the same locality are a remarkable number of tumuli and other See also:early remains, and the Hermitage, a See also:cave containing sacred carvings . From Buxton the road ascends over the high See also:moors, here open and grassy in contrast to the heather of the Peak, and shortly after crossing the county boundary, reaches the head of the pass well known by the name of an See also:inn, the See also:Cat and See also:Fiddle, at its highest point, 1690 ft . South of Buxton the elevations along the main axis decrease, thus See also:Axe Edge reaches 160o ft., and this height is nowhere exceeded as the hills sink to the See also:plain valley of the Trent .

The dales and ravines which ramify among the limestone heights are characteristic and beautiful, and the valley of the Dove (q.v.) or Dovedale, on the border with Staffordshire, is as famous as any of the northern dales . See also:

Swallow-holes or waterworn caverns are See also:common in many parts of the limestone region . The hills east of the Derwent are nowhere so high as those to the west—Margley Hill reaches 1793 ft., Howden Edge 1787 ft. and Der-went Moors 1505 ft . The plateau type is maintained . The valley of the Derwent provides the most attractive scenery in the southern part of the county, from Matlock southward by Heage, See also:Belper and Duffield to Derby . See also:Geology.—Five well-contrasted types of scenery in Derbyshire are clearly traceable to as many varieties of rock; the See also:bleak dry uplands of the north and east, with deep-cut ravines and See also:swift clear streams, are due to the See also:great mass of See also:Mountain Limestone; See also:round the See also:lime-See also:stone boundary are the valleys with soft outlines in the Pendleside Shales; these are succeeded by the rugged moorlands, covered with heather and See also:peat, which are due to the Millstone Grit See also:series; east-See also:ward lies the Derbyshire Coalfield with its gently moulded grass-covered hills; southward is the more level See also:tract of red Triassic rocks . The principal structural feature is the broad anticline, its axis See also:running north and south, which has brought up the Carboniferous Limestone ; this uplifted region is the southern extremity of the Pennine Range . The Carboniferous or " Mountain " Limestone is the oldest formation in the county; its thickness is not known, but it is certainly over 2000 ft.; it is well exposed in the numerous narrow See also:gorges cut by the Derwent and its tributaries and by the Dove on the Staffordshire border . Ashwood Dale, Chee Dale, Millersdale, Monsal Dale and the valley at Matlock are all flanked by abrupt sides of this rock . It is usually a See also:pale, thick-bedded rock, sometimes blue and occasionally, as at See also:Ashford, See also:black . In some places, e.g . See also:Thorpe See also:Cloud, it is highly fossiliferous, but it is usually somewhat barren except for abundant crinoids and smaller organisms .

It is polished in large slabs at Ashford, where crinoidal, black and " See also:

rosewood " See also:marbles are produced . Volcanic rocks, locally called " Toadstone," are represented in the limestones by intrusive sills and flows of See also:dolerite and by necks of See also:agglomerate, notably near Tideswell, Millersdale and Matlock . Beds and nodules of chert are abundant in the upper parts of the limestone; at Bakewell it is quarried for use in the See also:Potteries . At some points the limestone has been dolomitized; near Bonsall it has been converted into a granular silicified rock . A series of black shales with nodular limestones, the Pendleside series, rests upon the Mountain Limestone on the east, south and north-west; much of the upper course of the Derwent has been cut through these soft beds . Mam Tor, or the Shivering Mountain, is made of these shales . Next in upward sequence is a thick mass of sandstones, grits and shales—the Millstone Grit series . On the west See also:side these extend from Blacklow Hill to Axe Edge; on the east, from Derwent Edge to near Derby; outlying masses See also:form the rough moorland on Kinder Scout and the picturesque tors near Stanton-by-Youlgreave . A small patch of Millstone Grit and Limestone occurs in the south of the county about See also:Melbourne and Ticknall . The See also:Coal See also:Measures repose upon the Millstone Grit ; the largest area of these rocksliesonthe east, where they are conterminous with the coalfields of Yorkshire and See also:Nottingham . A small tract, part of the Leicestershire coalfield, lies in the south-east corner, and in the north-west corner a portion of the See also:Lancashire coalfield appears about New See also:Mills and Whaley See also:Bridge . They yield valuable coals, See also:clays, marls and ganister .

East of See also:

Bolsover, the Coal Measures are covered unconformably by the See also:Permian breccias and magnesian limestone . Flanking the hills between See also:Ashbourne and Quarndon are red beds of See also:Bunter See also:marl, See also:sandstone and See also:conglomerate; they also appear at See also:Morley, east of the Derwent, and again round the small southern coalfield . Most of the southern part of the county is occupied by See also:Keuper marls and See also:sand-stones, the latter yield See also:good See also:building stone; and at Chellaston the See also:gypsum beds in the former are excavated on a large See also:scale . Much of the Triassic area is covered superficially by glacial See also:drift and See also:alluvium of the Trent . See also:Local boulders as well as northern erratics are found in the valley of the Derwent . The bones of See also:Pleistocene mammals, the See also:rhinoceros, See also:mammoth, bison, hyaena, &c., have been found at numerous places, often in caves and fissures in the limestones, e.g. at Castleton, See also:Wirksworth and Creswell . At Doveholes the Pleiocene See also:Mastodon has been reported . See also:Galena and other See also:lead ores are abundant in See also:veins in the limestone, but they are now only worked on a large scale at See also:Mill See also:Close, near Winster; See also:calamine, See also:zinc, See also:blende, See also:barytes, See also:calcite and fluor-spar are common . Apeculiar variety of the last named, called " Blue John," is found only near Castleton; at the same See also:place occurs the remarkable elastic See also:bitumen, " See also:elaterite." Limestone is quarried at Buxton, Millersdale and Matlock for lime, fluxing and chemical purposes . Good sandstone is obtained from the Millstone Grit at Stancliffe, Tansley and Whatstandwell . Calcareous tufa or travertine occurs in the valley of Matlock and else-where, and in some places is still being deposited by springs . Large pits containing deposits of See also:white sand, See also:clay and pebbles are found in the limestone at Longcliff, See also:Newhaven and Carsington .

See also:

Climate.—From the elevation which it attains in its northern See also:division the county is colder and is rainier than other midland counties . Even in summer See also:cold and thick fogs are often seen See also:hanging over the rivers, and clinging to the lower parts of the hills, and See also:hoar-frosts are by no means unknown even in See also:June and See also:July . The winters in the uplands are generally severe, and the rainfall heavy . At Buxton, at an elevation of about r000 ft., the mean temperature in See also:January is 34.90 F., and in July 57.50, the mean See also:annual being 45.4° . These conditions contrast with those at Derby, in the southern lowl,a.nd, where the figures arerespectively 37.50, 61.2° and 48.8°, while intermediate conditions are found at Belper, 9 M. higher up the Derwent valley, where the figures are 36.3°, 59.90 and 47.30 . The contrasts shown by the mean annual rainfall are similarly marked . Thus at See also:Wood-head, lying high in the extreme north, it is 52.03 in., at Buxton 49.33 in., at Matlock, in the See also:middle part of the Derwent valley, 35.2 in., and at Derby 24.35 in . See also:Agriculture.—A little over seven-tenths of the See also:total area of the county is under cultivation . Among the higher altitudes of north Derbyshire, where the See also:soil is poor and the climate harsh, See also:grain is unable to flourish, while even in the more sheltered parts of this region the See also:harvest is usually belated . In such districts See also:sheep farming is chiefly practised, and there is a considerable area of See also:heath pasture . Farther south, heavy crops of See also:wheat, turnips and other cereals and See also:green crops are not uncommon, while See also:barley is cultivated about Repton and Gresley, and also in the east of the county, in See also:order to See also:supply the See also:Burton breweries . A large part of the Trent valley is under permanent pasture, being devoted to See also:cattle-feeding and See also:dairy-farming .

This See also:

industry has prospered greatly, and the area of permanent pasture encroaches continually upon that of arable See also:land . Derbyshire cheeses are exported or sent to See also:London in considerable quantities; and See also:cheese fairs are held in various parts of the county, as at Ashbourne and Derby . A feature of the upland districts is the total See also:absence of hedges, and the substitution of limestone walls, put together without any See also:mortar or See also:cement . Other See also:Industries.—The manufactures of Derbyshire are both numerous and important, embracing silks, See also:cotton See also:hosiery, See also:iron, woollen manufactures, See also:lace, elastic See also:web and See also:brewing . For many of these this county has See also:long been famous, especially for that of See also:silk, which is carried on to a large extent in Derby, as well as in Belper and Duffield . Derby is also celebrated for its See also:china, and silk-throwing is the principal industry of the See also:town . Elastic web See also:weaving by See also:power looms is carried on to a great extent, and the manufacture of lace and See also:net curtains, See also:gimp trimmings, braids and cords . In the county town and neighbourhood are several important chemical and See also:colour See also:works; and in various parts of the county, as at Belper, Cromford, Matlock, See also:Tutbury, are cotton-See also:spinning mills, as well as hosiery and tape manufactories . The principal works of the Midland Railway See also:Company are at Derby . The principal See also:mineral is coal . Ironstone is not extensively wrought, but, on account of the abundant supply of coal, large quantities are imported for smelting purposes . There are smelting furnaces in several districts, as at See also:Alfreton, See also:Chesterfield, Derby, See also:Ilkeston .

Phoenix-squares

Besides lead, gypsum and zinc are raised, to a small extent; and for the See also:

quarrying of limestone Derbyshire is one of the principal See also:English counties . The east and the extreme south-west parts are the principal See also:industrial districts . Communications.—The See also:chief railway serving the county is the Midland, the south, east and north being served by its main See also:line and branches . In the north-east and north the Great Central See also:system touches the county; in the west the North Staffordshire and a branch of the London & North-Western; while a branch of the Great Northern serves Derby and other places in the south . The Trent & Mersey See also:canal crosses the southern part of the county, and there is a branch canal (the Derby) connecting Derby with this and with the Erewash canal, which runs north from the Trent up the Erewash valley . From it there is a little-used branch (the Cromford canal) to Matlock . See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the See also:ancient county is 658,885 acres, with a population in 1891 of 528,033, and 1901 of 620,322 . The area of the administrative county is 652,272 acres . The county contains six hundreds . The municipal boroughs are Chesterfield (pop . 27,185), Derby, a county See also:borough and the county town (114,848), Glossop (21,526), Ilkeston (25,384) . The other See also:urban districts .are Alfreton (17,505), Alvaston and See also:Boulton(x279), Ashbourne (4039), Bakewell(285o), Baslow and Bubnell (797), Belper (10,934), Bolsover (6844) Bonsall (1360), See also:Brampton and See also:Walton (2698), Buxton (10,181), Clay See also:Cross(8358), See also:Dronfield(38o9), See also:Fairfield(2969), Heage(2889), See also:Heanor (16,249), Long See also:Eaton (13,045), Matlock (5979), Matlock See also:Bath and Scarthin Nick (1819), Newbold and Dunston (5986) .

New Mills (7773), North Darley (2756), See also:

Ripley (Io,IIs), South Darley (788), See also:Swadlincote (18,014), See also:Whittington (9416), Wirksworth -(3807) . Among other towns may be mentioned Ashover (2426), Barlborough (2056), Chapel-en-le-See also:Frith (4626), Clowne (3896), Crich (3063), Killamarsh (3644), See also:Staveley (11,420), Whitwell (3380) . The county is in the Midland See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Derby . It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions and is divided into fifteen See also:petty sessional divisions . The boroughs of Derby, Chesterfield and Glossop have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace, and that of Derby has also a separate court of quarter sessions . The total number of See also:civil parishes is 314 . The county is mainly in the See also:diocese of See also:Southwell, with small portions in the dioceses of See also:Peterborough and See also:Lichfield, and contains 255 ecclesiastical parishes or districts . The See also:parliamentary divisions of the county are High Peak, North-Eastern, Chesterfield, See also:Mid, Ilkeston, Southern and Western, each returning one member, while the parliamentary borough of Derby returns two members . See also:History.—The earliest English settlements in the district which is now Derbyshire were those of the West Angles, who in the course of their northern conquests in the 6th See also:century pushed their way up the valleys of the Derwent and the Dove, where they became known as the Pecsaetan . Later the district formed the northern division of See also:Mercia, and in 848 the Mercian witenagemot assembled at Repton . In the 9th century the district suffered frequently from the ravages of the Danes, who in 874 wintered at Repton and destroyed its famous monastery, the See also:burial-place of the See also:kings of Mercia . Derby under See also:Guthrum was one of the five Danish burghs, but in 917 was recovered by iEthelflaed .

In 924 See also:

Edward the See also:Elder fortified Bakewell, and in 942 See also:Edmund regained Derby, which had fallen under the Danish yoke . Barrows of the Saxon See also:period are numerous in Wirksworth See also:hundred and the Bakewell district, among the most remarkable being White-See also:low near Winster and See also:Bower's-low near Tissington . There are Saxon cemeteries at Stapenhill and Foremark Hall . Derbyshire probably originated as a shire in the See also:time of iEthelstan, but for long it maintained a very close connexion with Nottinghamshire, and the Domesday Survey gives a See also:list of local customs affecting the two counties alike . The two shire-courts sat together for the Domesday See also:Inquest, and the counties were See also:united under one See also:sheriff until the time of See also:Elizabeth . The villages of See also:Appleby, Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe, Stretton-en-le-See also:Field, Willesley, Chilcote and Measham were reckoned as part of Derbyshire in ro86, although separated from it by the See also:Leicester-shire parishes of Over and Nether Seat . The early divisions of the county were known as wapentakes, five being mentioned in Domesday, while 13th-century documents mention seven wapentakes, corresponding with the six See also:present hundreds, except that Repton and Gresley were then reckoned as separate divisions . In the 14th century the divisions were more frequently described as hundreds, and Wirksworth alone retained the designation See also:wapentake until See also:modern times . Ecclesiastically the county constituted an srchdeaconry in the diocese of Lichfield, comprising the six deaneries of Derby, Ashbourne, High Peak, Castillar, Chesterfield and See also:Repington . In 1884 it was transferred to the newly formed diocese of Southwell . The assizes for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire were held at Nottingham until the reign of See also:Henry III., when they were held alternately at Nottingham and Derby until 1569, after which the Derbyshire assizes were held at Derby . The court of the See also:Honour of Peverel, held at Basford in Nottinghamshire, which formerly exercised See also:jurisdiction in the hundreds of Scarsdale, the Peak and Wirksworth, was abolished in 1849 .

The miners of Derbyshire formed an See also:

independent community under the jurisdiction of a steward and barmasters, who held two Barmote courts (q.v.) every See also:year . The forests of Peak and Duffield had their separate courts and See also:officers, the See also:justice seat of the former being in an extra-parochial part at equal distances from Castleton, Tideswell and Bowden, while the pleas of Duffield See also:Forest were held at Tutbury . Both were disafforested in the 17th century . The greatest landholder in Derbyshire at the time of the Domesday Survey was Henry de See also:Ferrers, who owned almost thewhole of the modern hundred of Appletree . The Ferrers estates were forfeited by See also:Robert, See also:earl of Derby, in the reign of Henry III . Another great Domesday landholder was See also: