Ambergate To Pye Bridge Line
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Ambergate is a village in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, England, situated where the
River Amber The River Amber is a left bank tributary of the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. It gives its name to the local government district and borough of Amber Valley. The name Amber is a pre-Celtic word with uncertain meaning. Course Its sou ...
joins the River Derwent, and where the
A610 road A61 or A-61 may refer to: * A61 road (England), a road connecting Derby and Thirsk * A61 motorway (France), a road connecting Narbonne and Bordeaux * A61 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Venlo and Hockenheim * Benoni Defense The Benoni Defense ...
from Ripley and
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
to the south and Matlock to the north. Sawmills and Ridgeway are neighbouring hamlets, and
Alderwasley Alderwasley ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 469. Alderwasley Hall is the home to one of the sites of Alderwasley Hall School which ...
,
Heage Heage is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated midway between Belper and Ripley in the Amber Valley district. The village is in the Heage and Ambergate ward, which in the 2011 census had a population of 5,013. Heage is known for its six ...
, Nether Heage and
Crich Crich is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The population at the 2001 Census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 Census (including Fritchley and Whatstandwell). It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Vil ...
are other significant neighbouring settlements. The village forms part of the Heage and Ambergate ward of Ripley Town Council with a population of 5,013 at the 2011 Census. Ambergate is within the
Derwent Valley Mills Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18 ...
UNESCO World Heritage site, and has historical connections with
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
; Ambergate is notable for its railway heritage and telephone exchange. Ambergate has an active community life, particularly centred on the school, pubs, churches, sports clubs; and annual village carnival which is relatively large and consistent locally, with popular associated events in carnival week and throughout the year. The carnival is organised by a voluntary committee.
Shining Cliff woods Shining Cliff Woods are on the west bank of the River Derwent near to Ambergate Derbyshire. In medieval times "Schymynde-cliffe" was one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith and, as such, belonged to Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancas ...
, Thacker's woods and Crich Chase border the village. It is about south of Matlock at the junction of the A6 trunk road and the
A610 A610 may refer to: * Renault Alpine GTA/A610, an automobile produced by the Renault-owned French manufacturer Alpine * A610 road (England), a road connecting Nottingham and Ambergate * Quebec Autoroute 610, a short spur road located in Sherbrooke, ...
to Ripley. A mile east of Ambergate is
Heage Heage is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated midway between Belper and Ripley in the Amber Valley district. The village is in the Heage and Ambergate ward, which in the 2011 census had a population of 5,013. Heage is known for its six ...
with its recently restored 18th-century windmill. Until the early nineteenth century it was known as Toadmoor, from the Derbyshire dialect "t'owd moor" (the old moor) with no more than a few artisans' cottages. The southerly half of the present village is still shown as such on the
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
's maps. The name Amber Gate was originally applied to the tollgate for the Nottingham turnpike, but adopted by the
North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...
for
Ambergate railway station Ambergate railway station is a railway station owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway. It serves the village of Ambergate in Derbyshire, England. The station is located on the Derwent Valley Line from Derby to Matlock, wh ...
which is located on the Derwent Valley line. The turnpike to Matlock was opened in 1818. Until then the main road from Belper northwards had been through
Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mark ...
and such traffic as there was, would have been mainly cotton from Arkwright's Mill at Cromford. However, the
Cromford Canal The Cromford Canal ran from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks. From Cromford it ran ...
, opened in 1794, also passes the village. In 1818 the turnpike to Nottingham was opened with a
toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...
at the junction. The canal towpath can be followed from here to
Cromford Wharf Cromford Wharf is at Cromford in Derbyshire, England. It is located at the northern terminus of the Cromford Canal, which opened in 1794 and ran 14.5 miles (23 km) from here to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire. The wharf stands on ...
, passing
High Peak Junction High Peak Junction, near Cromford, Derbyshire, England, is the name now used to describe the site where the former Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR), whose workshops were located here, meets the Cromford Canal. It lies within Derwent Valley ...
, which is the start of the
High Peak Trail The High Peak Trail is a trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in the Peak District of England. Running from Dowlow , near Buxton, to High Peak Junction, Cromford , it follows the trackbed of the former Cromford and High Peak Rai ...
). This section is listed as a Biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI), and also forms part of the
Derwent Valley Heritage Way The Derwent Valley Heritage Way (DVHW) is a waymarked footpath along the Derwent Valley through the Peak District (as far as Rowsley). The walk starts from Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District National Park via Chatsworth, the scenery a ...
. In 1840 the
North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...
opened with a station at 'Amber Gate' which brought trade for 'omnibus and posting conveyance' to Matlock, which was becoming a fashionable spa town. By 1867 there was a through line from
London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...
to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as well as to
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. Ambergate became an important interchange and, in 1876, Francis Hurt built the 'Hurt Arms' to replace the former 'Thatched House Tavern and Posting House' which the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
had converted into three cottages (now Midland Place). The main railway line runs through the elliptical Toadmoor Tunnel designed by George Stephenson. In 1791
Benjamin Outram Benjamin Outram (1 April 1764 – 22 May 1805) was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways. Life Born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, he began his career assisting his father ...
and Samuel Beresford had built kilns at nearby
Bullbridge Bullbridge is a small village in Derbyshire. The Bull bridge accident, in which a railway bridge failed as a goods train was just passing over it, happened here in 1860. The village Bullbridge has a population of approximately 220 and one public ...
to process
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
from their quarry at
Crich Crich is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The population at the 2001 Census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 Census (including Fritchley and Whatstandwell). It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Vil ...
.
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
had discovered deposits of coal at Clay Cross and realised that burning lime would provide a use for the slack which otherwise would go to waste. He leased Cliff Quarry at Crich, and built eight limekilns beside the railway. Within a year they had grown to twenty. They were connected by another wagonway known as "The Steep", a self-acting incline at a slope of 1 in 5. By 1851 the tiny hamlet had grown to a population of 206. In 1876 Richard Johnson and Nephew opened the wireworks by the river. In 1931 the population had reached 901, rising to 1,794 in 1951. The quarry and the wagonway closed in 1957 but the limeworks carried on until 1965 and the passage of the Clean Air Act. The kilns were demolished the following year to build a storage facility and processing plant for natural gas. In 1966 the first fully operational electronic telephone exchange in Europe opened in Ambergate. This was also the first small to medium electronic exchange in the world and the first of many
TXE TXE, (telephone exchange electronic) was a family of telephone exchanges developed by the British General Post Office (GPO), designed to replace the ageing Strowger switch, Strowger systems. When World War II ended, the UK telephone exchange supp ...
2 type exchanges.


Public houses

Ambergate has two
pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
: The Hurt Arms on the A6 and The Excavator on the A610 at Bucklands Hollow.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Ripley, Derbyshire Ripley is a civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains 62 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, five are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three g ...


References

* Jewell, R., (1995) ''Images of Belper & Ambergate'', Derby: Breedon Books * ''The North Midland Railway Guide'', (1842) Republished 1973, Leeds: Turntable Enterprises * Cooper, B., (1983) ''Transformation of a Valley: The Derbyshire Derwent,'' Heinneman, republished 1991 Cromford: Scarthin Books


External links

* View photographic panoramas of Ambergat
peakdistrictview.com
*
"Picture the Past" Hurt Arms and the Tollbar circa 1880

"Picture the Past" The A6 main road through Ambergate (Toadmoor) Toadmoor circa 1930. Very little has changed except that the road has since been paved.


* ttp://www.urbanassault.t83.net/#/amberdyeworks/4525120827/ Exploring Ambergate Dye Works {{authority control Villages in Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District