Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...

, England. It includes much of the

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

to the north-west,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

to the north,

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. ...

to the north-east,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

to the east,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

to the south-east,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

to the west and south-west and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

to the west.

Kinder Scout Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and national nature reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and the East Midlands; t ...

, at , is the highest point and Trent Meadows, where the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

leaves Derbyshire, the lowest at . The north–south River Derwent is the longest river at . In 2003, the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

named Church Flatts Farm at

Coton in the Elms Coton in the Elms is a village and parish in the English county of Derbyshire. At from the coast, it is the one of the furthest places in the United Kingdom from coastal waters. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 896. ...

, near

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-d ...

, as Britain's furthest point from the sea.

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 g ...

is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

. The county was a lot larger than its present coverage, it once extended to the boundaries of the

City of Sheffield The City of Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Sheffield, the town of Stocksbridge and larger village of Chapeltown and part of the Peak Di ...

district in

where it covered the suburbs such as Mosborough, Owlthorpe, Jordanthorpe,

Totley Totley is a suburb on the extreme southwest of the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Lying in the historic county boundaries of Derbyshire, Totley was amalgamated into the city of Sheffield in 1933, and is today part of the Dor ...

, Dore and Abbeydale.

History

The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited, probably briefly, by humans 200,000 years ago during the Aveley

interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...

, as shown by a

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleol ...

Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French ''acheuléen'' after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated ...

hand axe found near Hopton. Further occupation came with the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

periods of the Stone Age when

Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

hunter-gatherers roamed the hilly tundra. Evidence of these nomadic tribes has been found in

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 w ...

caves located on the Nottinghamshire border. Deposits left in the caves date the occupancy at around 12,000 to 7,000 BCE.Pevsner, p. 22. Arbor low 274167 560a8cc3

Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county. These chambered tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire region. There are tombs at

Minninglow Minninglow (or Minning Low) is a hill in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, located within the White Peak area at grid reference . Within the clump of trees crowning the hill are a Neolithic chambered tomb and two Bronze Age bowl ...

and Five Wells that date back to between 2000 and 2500 BCE. Three miles west of Youlgreave lies the Neolithic

henge monument There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...

Arbor Low Arbor Low is a well-preserved Neolithic henge in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. It lies on a Carboniferous Limestone plateau known as the White Peak area. The monument consists of a stone circle surrounded by earthworks and a ditch ...

, which has been dated to 2500 BCE. It is not until the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

that real signs of agriculture and settlement are found in the county. In the moors of the Peak District signs of clearance, arable fields and

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s were found after archaeological investigation. However this area and another settlement at

Swarkestone Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 187. Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, a plant nursery/ garden centre and re ...

are all that have been found.Smith, p. 8. During the

Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Stan ...

, the invaders were attracted to Derbyshire for its lead ore in the limestone hills of the area. They settled throughout the county, with forts built near Brough in the Hope Valley and near Glossop. Later they settled round

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.a fort near modern-day

in an area now known as Little Chester. Several kings of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , y ...

are buried in the

Repton Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...

area. Following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, much of the county was subject to the

forest laws A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

. To the northwest was the

Forest of High Peak The Forest of High Peak was, in medieval times, a moorland forest covering most of the north west of Derbyshire, England, extending as far south as Tideswell and Buxton. From the time of the Norman Conquest it was established as a royal huntin ...

under the custodianship of

William Peverel William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest. Origins Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...

and his descendants. The rest of the county was bestowed upon

Henry de Ferrers Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England. Origins He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...

, a part of it becoming Duffield Frith. In time the whole area was given to the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

. Meanwhile, the Forest of East Derbyshire covered the whole county to the east of the River Derwent from the reign of Henry II to that of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

Geography

Derbyshire mostly consists of upland terrain, especially in the northern and central parts of the county. The southern foothills and uplands of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Common ...

extend from the north of the Trent Valley throughout the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, whe ...

and into the north of the county, reaching the county's highest point at

. The southern and eastern parts of the county are relatively low-lying from the Trent Valley and southwards, and east of the Pennines. The main rivers in the county are the River Derwent and the River Dove which both join the River Trent in the south. The River Derwent rises in the moorland of

Bleaklow Bleaklow is a high, largely peat-covered, gritstone moorland in the Derbyshire High Peak near the town of Glossop. It is north of Kinder Scout, across the Snake Pass ( A57), and south of the A628 Woodhead Pass. Much of it is nearly 2,0 ...

and flows throughout the Peak District and county for the majority of its course, while the River Dove rises in

Axe Edge Moor Axe Edge Moor is the major moorland southwest of Buxton in the Peak District. It is mainly gritstone ( Namurian shale and sandstone). Its highest point () is at . This is slightly lower than Shining Tor (which is some to the northwest, across ...

and forms a boundary between Derbyshire and

for most of its length.

Landscape character

The varied landscapes within Derbyshire have been formed mainly as a consequence of the underlying geology, but also by the way the land has been managed and shaped by human activity. The county contains 11 discrete landscape types, known as National Character Areas, which have been described in detail by Natural England and further refined, mapped and described by Derbyshire County Council and the Peak District National Park. The 11 National Character Areas found within Derbyshire are: *

Dark Peak The Dark Peak is the higher and wilder part of the Peak District in England, mostly forming the northern section but also extending south into its eastern and western margins. It is mainly in Derbyshire but parts are in Staffordshire, Cheshire, ...

White Peak The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a Carboniferous limestone, limestone plateau that forms the central and southern part of the Peak District in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitu ...

*South West Peak *Derbyshire Peak Fringe and Lower Derwent *Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield *Southern Magnesian Limestone *Needwood and South Derbyshire Claylands *Trent Valley Washlands *Melbourne Parklands * Leicestershire & South Derbyshire Coalfield *Mease/Sence Lowlands

Geology

Derbyshire's solid geology can be split into two very different halves. The oldest rocks occur in the northern, more upland half of the county, and are mostly of

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

age, comprising

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

s. In its north-east corner to the east of

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

, there are also

Magnesian Limestone The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...

rocks of Permian age. In contrast, the southern and more lowland half of Derbyshire contains much softer rocks, mainly

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

s and sandstones of Permo-Triassic age, which create gentler, more rolling landscapes with few rock outcrops. Across both regions can be found drift deposits of

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

age – mainly terrace and river gravel deposits and boulder clays. Landslip features are found on unstable layers of sandstones and shales, with

Mam Tor Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...

and

Alport Castles The Alport Castles are a landslip feature in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. At over half a mile long, it is thought to be the largest landslide in the United Kingdom. The name "castles" comes from the debris from the landslide, w ...

being the best-known. Cemented screes and

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine. ...

deposits occur very rarely in the limestone dales and rivers, whilst cave systems have been created naturally in the limestone since Pleistocene times. A recently discovered cave chamber near Castleton, named Titan, is the deepest shaft and biggest chamber of any cave in Britain. The oldest rocks are Lower Carboniferous limestones of

Dinantian Dinantian is the name of a series (stratigraphy), series or Epoch (reference date), epoch from the Lower Carboniferous system (stratigraphy), system in Europe. It can stand for a series of rocks in Europe or the time span in which they were deposit ...

age, which form the core of the White Peak within the Peak District National Park. Because northern Derbyshire is effectively an uplifted dome of rock layers that have subsequently eroded to expose older rocks in the centre of the

Derbyshire Dome The Derbyshire Dome is a geological formation across mid-Derbyshire in England. The White Peak area of the Peak District is named after the limestone plateau landscape of the 'Derbyshire Dome' anticline. The plateau is generally between 200m a ...

, these are encircled by progressively younger limestone rocks, until they in turn give way on three sides to Upper Carboniferous shales, gritstones and sandstones of

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is ...

age.

Younger still are the sandstones, shales and coal deposits found on the eastern flank of Derbyshire, forming the coal measures, which are of Westphalian age. All these rock layers disappear south of a line drawn between Ashbourne and Derby under layers of clays and sandstones (

Mercia Mudstone Group The Mercia Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands – the name is derived from the ancient kingdom of Mercia which corresponds to t ...

and Sherwood Sandstones) of Permo-Triassic age. Small amounts of carboniferous limestones, gritstones and coal measures reappear in the far south of Derbyshire from

Ticknall Ticknall is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Calke) at the 2011 Census was 642. Situated on the A514 road, close to Melbourne, it has three pubs, several small businesse ...

(limestone) to

(coal measures). Some areas of the White Peak exhibit contemporaneous basalt flows (e.g. Ravens Tor at Millers Dale), as well as subsequent dolerite sill intrusion at a much later stage (e.g. near Tideswell Dale), whilst mineralisation of the carboniferous limestone in a subsequent period created extensive lead and fluorite deposits which have formed a significant part of Derbyshire's economy, as did coal mining. Lead mining has been important here since Roman Times. The more recent river gravels of the Trent valley remain a significant extractive industry today in south Derbyshire, as does the mining of limestone rock in central and northern parts of the county. Coarse sandstones were once extensively quarried both for local building materials and for the production of gritstone grinding wheels for use in mills, and both former industries have left their mark on the Derbyshire landscape.

Green belts

As well as the protections afforded to the Peak District area under national and local policies, there are several

green belts Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

within the county, aimed at preserving the landscape surrounding main urban areas. There are four such areas, the first three being portions of much larger green belts that extend outside the county and surround large conurbations:

Ecology

Due to its central location in England and altitude range from 27 metres in the south to 636 metres in the north, Derbyshire contains many species at the edge of their UK distribution ranges. Some species with a predominantly northern British distribution are at the southern limit of their range, whilst others with a more southern distribution are at their northern limit in Derbyshire. As climate change progresses, a number of sensitive species are now being seen to be either expanding or contracting their range as a result. For the purposes of protecting and recording the county's most important habitats, Derbyshire has been split into two regions, each with its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), based around National Character Areas. The Peak District BAP includes all of Derbyshire's uplands of the Dark Peak, South-West Peak and White Peak, including an area of limestone beyond the national park boundary. The remaining areas are monitored and recorded in the Lowland Derbyshire Biodiversity Action Plan, which subdivides the landscape into eight smaller Action Areas. The Derbyshire Biological Records Centre was formerly based at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, but since 2011 has been managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. Two of Englands 48 Local Nature Partnerships (LNP) also cover Derbyshire; these are the Peak District LNP and the Lowland Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire LNP.

Botany

Since 2002, the

county flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

for Derbyshire has been Jacob's-ladder (''Polemonium caeruleum''), a relatively rare species, and characteristic of certain limestone dales in the White Peak. Derbyshire is known to have contained 1,919 separate taxa of vascular plants (including species, hybrids and micro-species) since modern recording began, of which 1,133 are known to be either native or

archaeophyte An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region, but which was an introduced species in "ancient" times, rather than being a modern introduction. Those arriving after are called neophytes. The cut-off date is usua ...

, the remainder being non-native species. These comprise 336 established species, 433 casuals and 17 unassigned. It is known that 34 species of plants once native here have been lost from Derbyshire (i.e. become locally extinct) since modern plant recording began in the 17th century. Derbyshire contains two

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

vascular plants, found nowhere else in the world: ''

Rubus durescens ''Rubus durescens'' is a rare British species of flowering plant in the rose family. It is native to England, where the entire global distribution of this bramble is found only within the southern half of the county of Derbyshire. It occurs in ...

'', a

bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

occurring in central Derbyshire, and Derby hawkweed ('' Hieracium naviense''), still known only from

Winnats Pass Winnats Pass (or Winnats, as shown on some Ordnance Survey maps) is a hill pass and limestone gorge in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. The name is a corruption of 'wind gates' due to the swirling winds through the pass. It lies west of ...

. One endemic species of moss, Derbyshire Feather Moss, occurs in one small 3-metre patch in just one Derbyshire limestone dale, its sole world location intentionally kept confidential. The distribution and status of vascular plants in Derbyshire have been recorded over the last 120 years in a series of four major botanical works, each by different authors between 1889 and 2015, all entitled ''The Flora of Derbyshire''. Plant recording is mainly undertaken locally by volunteers from the Derbyshire Flora Group, and by staff at

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 local Wildlife Trusts around the UK working to promote and protect local wildlife. It covers the whole of Derbyshire and was founded in 1962 in response to environmental threats to the local countryside, si ...

and the Peak District National Park. Map of Derbyshire boundaries plus Peak District

The Dark Peak is marked by heathlands, bogs, gritstone edges and acid grasslands containing relatively few species, with plants such as heather (''Calluna vulgaris''),

crowberry ''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there ...

(''Empetrum nigrum''),

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus ...

(''Vaccinium myrtillus'') and hare's-tail cotton grass (''Eriophorum vaginatum'') being dominant on the high moors. The dales of the White Peak are known for habitats such as

calcareous grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover ...

, ash woodlands and rock outcrops in all of which a much greater richness of lime-loving species occurs than elsewhere in the county. These include various orchids (such as

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

(''Orchis mascula''), dark-red helleborine (''Epipactis atrorubens'') and fly orchid (''Ophrys insectifera'')), common rockrose (''Helianthemum nummularium''), spring cinquefoil (''Helianthemum nummularium'') and grass of parnassus (''Parnassia palustris''). Specialised communities of plants occur on former lead workings, where typical

metallophyte A metallophyte is a plant that can tolerate high levels of Heavy metal (chemistry), heavy metals such as lead. Such plants range between "obligate metallophytes" (which can only survive in the presence of these metals), and "facultative metallophyte ...

species include

spring sandwort Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

(''Minuartia verna''), alpine penny-cress (''Thlaspi caerulescens'') (both known locally in Derbyshire as Leadwort), as well as

mountain pansy ''Viola lutea'', the mountain pansy, is a species of violet that grows in Europe, from the British Isles to the Balkans. Description ''Viola lutea'' grows to a height of around . Its flowers are in diameter, and are typically yellow, although ...

(''Viola lutea'') and

moonwort ''Botrychium'' is a genus of ferns, seedless vascular plants in the family Ophioglossaceae. ''Botrychium'' species are known as moonworts. They are small, with fleshy roots, and reproduce by spores shed into the air. One part of the leaf, the ...

(''Botrychium lunaria''). In 2015 Derbyshire contained 304 vascular plant species now designated as of international, national or local conservation concern, for their rarity or recent declines, and collectively listed as Derbyshire Red Data plants. Work on recording and publishing a bryophyte flora for Derbyshire still continues: by 2012 a total of 518 bryophyte species had been recorded for the county. Botanical recording in the UK predominantly uses the unchanging

vice-county A vice-county (vice county or biological vice-county) is a geographical division of the British Isles used for the purposes of biological recording and other scientific data-gathering. It is sometimes called a Watsonian vice-county as vice-coun ...

boundary system, which results in a slightly different map of Derbyshire from the modern geographic county.

Zoology

A number of specialist organisations protect, promote and monitor records of individual animal groups across Derbyshire. The main ones are Derbyshire Ornithological Society; Derbyshire Mammal Group; Derbyshire Bat Group, Derbyshire Amphibian and Reptile Group, and the Derbyshire & Nottingham Entomological Society. All maintain databases of wildlife sightings, whilst some such as the Derbyshire Ornithological Society provide alerts of rare sightings on their websites or social media pages and also publish major works describing the status and distribution of species.

Economy

Derbyshire has a mixture of a rural economy in the west, with a former coal-mining economy in the north-east (Bolsover district), the Erewash Valley around Ilkeston and in the south around Swadlincote. The rural landscape varies from arable farmland in the flatlands to the south of Derby, to

upland pasture Upland pasture (rough grazing and/or semi-natural rough grazing) is a type of semi-natural grassland located in uplands of rolling foothills or upon higher slopes, greater than 350 meters (1148.29 feet) and less than 600 meters (1968.50 feet) from ...

and

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

in the high

uplands of the southern Pennines. Derbyshire is rich in natural mineral resources such as lead, iron,

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

, and limestone, which have been exploited over a long period. Lead, for example, has been mined since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. The limestone outcrops in the central area led to the establishment of large

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

to supply the industries of surrounding towns with

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

for building and

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and all ...

, and latterly in the 20th-century cement manufacture. The Industrial Revolution also increased demand for

building stone Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rock (geology), rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materia ...

, and in the late 19th and early 20th-century, the arrival of the railways led to a large number of stone quarries being established. This industry has left its mark on the countryside, but is still a major industry: a lot of the stone is supplied as

crushed stone Crushed stone or angular rock is a form of construction aggregate, typically produced by mining a suitable rock deposit and breaking the removed rock down to the desired size using crushers. It is distinct from naturally occurring gravel, which i ...

for

road building A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and concrete manufacture, and is moved by rail. Magpie mine

Derbyshire's relative remoteness in the late 18th century and an abundance of fast-flowing streams led to a proliferation of the use of

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

at the beginning of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, following the mills pioneered by

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as t ...

. Derbyshire has been said to be the home of the Industrial Revolution, and part of the Derwent Valley has been given World Heritage status in acknowledgement of this historic importance. Nationally famous companies in Derbyshire include

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, one of the world's leading aerospace companies, based since before World War I in Derby,

Thorntons Thorntons Limited is a British chocolate manufacturer owned by the Italian confectionery company, Ferrero. It was established in 1911 by Joseph William Thornton and his father in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. When Cadbury became part of the M ...

just south of Alfreton and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, who have one of the UK's largest car manufacturing plants at

Burnaston Burnaston is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is about southwest of the city of Derby and has a population of 1,531. It contains the headquarters and vehicle manufacturing plant of Toyota Manu ...

. Ashbourne Water used to be bottled in Buxton by Nestlé Waters UK until 2006 and Buxton Water still is. Derbyshire is one of only three counties permitted to make cheese that is labelled as

Stilton cheese Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties: Blue, which has '' Penicillium roqueforti'' added to generate a characteristic smell and taste, and White, which does not. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of o ...

. The others are

and

. The smallest of six companies making this product is Hartington Creamery at

Pikehall Pikehall is a small village in the Derbyshire Dales consisting of a few dozen households and a handful of farms. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Hartington Nether Quarter. The A5012 road runs through the middle, di ...

. As of March 2021, Hartington Stilton was marketing within the UK but also exporting to the US, EU and Canada. The company director told the BBC that they had "a surge in interest and consumer sales from the US".

Governance

DerbyshireParliamentaryConstituency2019Results

The county is divided into eleven constituencies for the election of members of parliament (MPs) to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. As of December 2019, nine constituencies are represented by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MPs, whilst the remaining two are represented by

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MPs. The results of the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...

in Derbyshire (including the city of Derby) are as follows: Matlock - County Offices frontage

Derbyshire has a three-tier local government since the local government reorganisation in 1974. It has a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

based in Matlock and eight

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

councils and since 1997, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

area of the City of Derby. Derby remains part of Derbyshire only for ceremonial purposes. Derbyshire has become fractionally smaller during government reorganisation over the years. The Sheffield suburbs Woodseats, Beauchief, Handsworth, Woodhouse, Norton,

Mosborough Mosborough is a village in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of Derbyshire, the village was named after The Moss river which flows through the village. During the late 19th century and 20th century, the villa ...

, Bradway and Dore were previously parts of the county, but were lost to Sheffield between 1900 and 1933; Mosborough was transferred in 1967. However, Derbyshire gained part of the Longdendale valley and Tintwistle from Cheshire in 1974. The current area of the geographic/ceremonial county of Derbyshire is only 4.7 square kilometres less than it was over 100 years ago. At the third tier are the Parish councils in England, parish councils, which do not cover all areas. The eight district councils in Derbyshire and the unitary authority of Derby are shown in the map above. These district councils are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council house, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. Education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning are the responsibility of the County Council. Turnditch

Although Derbyshire is in the

, some parts, such as High Peak, Derbyshire, High Peak (which incorporated former areas of

after boundary changes in 1974), are closer to the northern cities of Manchester and Sheffield and these receive services more affiliated with northern England; for example, the North West Ambulance Service, ITV Granada, Granada Television and United Utilities serve the Glossop area and the NHS Trusts here are governed by the Greater Manchester Health Authority. Outside the main city of Derby, the largest town in the county is Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield. Derbyshire is also part of multiple combined authorities. High Peak is not part of Greater Manchester Combined Authority but is connected to the county both by rail and sharing a close area with Tameside at Glossop and Hadfield. The Erewash, Amber Valley and Derby districts are part of the The Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership, D2N2 partnership with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. The Derbyshire Dales, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield districts are part of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (as non constituent members).

Education

The Derbyshire school system is comprehensive with no selective schools. The independent sector includes Repton School, Trent College and The Elms School.

Settlements

There are several towns in the county, with Derby the largest and most populous. At the time of the 2011 census, a population of 770,600 lived in the county with 248,752 (32%) living in Derby. The table below shows all towns with over 10,000 inhabitants.

Historic areas

Some settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the counties of

, Leicestershire,

, and

Television

Because of the size of the county, southern parts of Derbyshire such as

, Matlock, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne and Bakewell are covered by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central in Nottingham, broadcast from Waltham transmitting station, Waltham. Northeast Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, the eastern High Peak, Derbyshire, High Peak ( Hope Valley) and northern area of the Derbyshire Dales (Tideswell and Hathersage) are covered by BBC Yorkshire from Emley Moor transmitting station, Emley Moor, with its ''BBC Look North (Yorkshire and North Midlands), Look North'' from Leeds. The western area of the High Peak (Buxton, Glossop, New Mills and Chapel-en-le-Frith) are covered by BBC North West from Winter Hill transmitting station, Winter Hill and Granada Television, both based in Salford.

Sport

Derbyshire has one English Football League, Football League team, Derby County F.C., Derby County, which plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football. The next highest-placed team is Chesterfield F.C., Chesterfield, which participates in the National League (English football), National League, the fifth tier of English football. There are also many non-league teams playing throughout the county, most notably Alfreton Town F.C., Alfreton Town, which plays in the National League North. The county is currently home to the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C., which plays in Dronfield in north-east Derbyshire. Glossop was the smallest town in the country to have a football team in the top tier of English football, Glossop North End A.F.C., Glossop North End. Photo from Racecourse end

Derbyshire has a cricket team based at the County Cricket Ground. Derbyshire County Cricket Club currently plays in Division Two of the County Championship. There are also rugby league clubs based in the north of the county, the North Derbyshire Chargers and in Derby (Derby City RLFC). The county has numerous rugby union clubs, including Derby, Chesterfield Panthers, Matlock, Ilkeston, Ashbourne, Bakewell and Amber Valley. The county is a popular area for a variety of recreational sports such as Rock climbing in the Peak District, rock climbing, Walking in the United Kingdom#Hillwalking, hill walking, hang gliding, caving, sailing on its many reservoirs, and cycling along the many miles of disused rail tracks that have been turned into cycle trails, such as the Monsal Trail and High Peak Trail. The town of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne in Derbyshire is known for its Royal Shrovetide Football, described as a "medieval football game", played annually on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Derbyshire is host to one of the only community Muggle quidditch teams in the country, known as Derby Union Quidditch Club. The Club recruits players from the age of 16 upwards from all over Derby, and has representatives from most local sixth forms and the University of Derby. The team has competed against both the Leeds Griffins and the Leicester Lovegoods in the past and is part of the vibrant UK quidditch scene. It is also an official International Quidditch Association team.

Local attractions

The county of Derbyshire has many attractions for tourists and local people. It offers

scenery such as

and

, and more urban attractions such as Bakewell,

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.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 g ...

. Such places include Bolsover Castle, Castleton, Chatsworth House, National Tramway Museum at Crich, Peak Rail steam railway, Midland Railway steam railway, Dovedale, Haddon Hall, the Heights of Abraham and Matlock Bath. In the north of the county, three large reservoirs, Howden Reservoir, Howden, Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire), Derwent and Ladybower Reservoir, Ladybower, were built in the early part of the 20th century to supply the rapidly growing populations of Sheffield, Derby and Leicester with drinking water. The moorland catchment area around these is part of the

and extensively used for leisure pursuits such as walking and cycling. There are many properties and lands in the care of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust that are open to the public, such as Calke Abbey, Hardwick Hall, High Peak Estate, Ilam Park, Kedleston Hall, Longshaw Estate near Hathersage, and Sudbury Hall on the

border. Notable gardens in Derbyshire include the formal ones in 17th–18th-century French style at Melbourne Hall south of Derby, the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, listed garden at Renishaw Hall near Eckington, Derbyshire, Eckington, Lea Rhododendron Gardens near Matlock, the Royal Horticultural Society recommended Bluebell Arboretum near

, and the extensive gardens at Chatsworth House. Ardotalia, also known as Melandra, or Melandra Castle, is an ancient Roman fort built in the north-west of the county. The ruins and foundations are open free of charge to the public.

County emblems

As part of a County flowers of the United Kingdom, 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the Jacob's-ladder as the Floral emblem, county flower. In September 2006, a proposal for a Flag of Derbyshire, county flag was introduced, largely on the initiative of BBC Radio Derby. It consists of a white-bordered dark green cross encompassing a golden Tudor rose (a historical symbol of the county) all set in a blue field. The blue field represents the many waters of the county, its rivers and reservoirs, while the cross is green to mark the great areas of countryside. The flag was subsequently registered with the Flag Institute in September 2008. In 2015, BBC Radio Derby commissioned a Derbyshire anthem entitled "Our Derbyshire", including lyrics suggested by its listeners. It received its first performance on 17 September 2015 at Derby Cathedral.

Demographics

In 1801 the population was 147,481 According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, UK Census 2001 there were 956,301 people spread over the county's 254,615 hectares. This was estimated to have risen to 990,400 in 2006. The county's population grew by 3.0 per cent from 1991 to 2001 which is around 21,100 people. This figure is higher than the national average of 2.65 per cent, but lower than the East Midlands average of 4.0 per cent. The county as a whole has an average population density of 2.9 people per hectare, making it less densely populated than England as a whole. The density varies throughout the county, with the lowest being in the region of Derbyshire Dales at 0.88 per hectare, and the highest outside the main cities in the region of Borough of Erewash, Erewash, which has 10.04 people per hectare.

In literature and popular culture

In Jane Austen's novel ''Pride and Prejudice'', Pemberley, the country house of Mr. Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is in Derbyshire. Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is named as one of the estates Elizabeth Bennet visits before arriving at Pemberley. In the Pride and Prejudice (2005 film), 2005 film adaptation of the novel, Chatsworth House itself represents Pemberley. In one scene characters discuss visits to Matlock and Dovedale. Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel ''Peveril of the Peak'' is partly set in Derbyshire. The events of Tom Stoppard's play ''Arcadia (play), Arcadia'' take place in the fictional country house of Sidley Park in Derbyshire. Georgette Heyer's detective/romance novel ''The Toll-Gate'' is set in 1817 around a fictional toll-gate in Derbyshire. The 1969 film ''Women in Love (film), Women in Love'' by Ken Russell had scenes filmed in and around Elvaston Castle, notably the Greco-Roman wrestling scene, which was filmed in the castle's Great Hall. The 1986 film ''Lady Jane (1986 film), Lady Jane'' by Trevor Nunn, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes, has scenes filmed at Haddon Hall. The 1987 film ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' by Rob Reiner, starring Robin Wright and Cary Elwes, was partly filmed in Derbyshire. It included scenes at Haddon Hall and in the

and

. The 1988 film ''The Lair of the White Worm (film), The Lair of the White Worm'' by Ken Russell, starring Hugh Grant, was filmed in Derbyshire. The opening title sequence is of Thor's Cave in the River Manifold, Manifold valley. The 2008 film ''The Duchess (film), The Duchess'' includes scenes filmed at Chatsworth House and at Kedleston Hall. The 1993–2002 TV series ''Peak Practice'' was set in Crich and Fritchley, except for the twelfth and final series, and originally starred Kevin Whately and Amanda Burton. In 2003 an unrelated and less successful medical TV drama, ''Sweet Medicine'', was mostly filmed in the historic market town of Wirksworth. Other Derbyshire locations in which British TV scenes have been filmed include:"Derbyshire on TV and Film"
, BBC Derby, 27 September 2014, retrieved 20 August 2015. *Alderwasley: ''Stig of the Dump'' *Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne and Vernon Street in

: ''Nanny (TV series), Nanny'' *Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield: The twisted spire of Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield, was made famous by its use in the opening credits of the 1966–1971 ecclesiastical BBC TV sitcom ''All Gas and Gaiters'', featuring Derek Nimmo. *Hadfield, Derbyshire, Hadfield: ''The League of Gentlemen'' *The Peak District is the scene of a series of four crime novels of the 21st century by Sarah Ward (novelist), Sarah Ward: ''Bitter Chill'' (2015), ''The Shrouded Path'' (2020), ''A Deadly Thaw'' and ''A Patient Fury''. *

and especially Repton School: ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (in both Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film), 1939 and 1983 versions) *Shirebrook: ''The Full Monty'' *Wingfield Manor: 1980s BBC TV series of ''The Chronicles of Narnia (TV serial), The Chronicles of Narnia''

References

External links

Derbyshire Heritage - derbyshireheritage.co.ukartsderbyshire.org.uk – Derby and Derbyshire arts guide
English Heritage and Derbyshire County Council *
Flora of Derbyshire
– Maps and information on vascular plant distribution
Images of Derbyshire
at the Historic England Archive {{Authority control Derbyshire, East Midlands Non-metropolitan counties Counties of England established in antiquity