This is a list of crossings of the Derbyshire Derwent, the principal river of

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 ...

in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

of England. Listed in the table are those crossings that have been identified from the first formal crossing at the

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridge ...

at Slippery Stones, in the

upper Derwent valley The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park in England. It largely lies in Derbyshire, but its north eastern area lies in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its most significant features are the Derwent Dams, Ladybower, Derwent ...

, continuing through 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 ...

heritage site to

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 last crossing near

Church Wilne Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

upstream of

Derwent Mouth Derwent Mouth is a location on the River Trent, which at that point forms the border between the English counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire. It is both the confluence of the River Derwent with the River Trent, and the point at which the ...

where the Derwent meets the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

. Described by

Defoe Defoe may refer to: People *Defoe (surname), most notably English author Daniel Defoe Places *Defoe, Webster County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses *Defoe (comics), a zombie story *Defoe Shipbuilding Company, a former shipy ...

in 1726 as a "fury of a river" the Derwent could only be forded at a number of particular locations, which could still be impassable during winter floods. Wooden bridges provided for a more reliable crossing, but were easily damaged by those same floods. The wooden bridge at Leadmill was destroyed before it was completed in the early 1700s. Toad-Moor Bridge near

Ambergate Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, and where the A610 road from Ripley and Nottingham joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between Derby to the south and Matlock ...

was rebuilt as Halfpenny Bridge by Francis Hurt in 1792, after being swept away in a flood of 1791. In the

Candlemas Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...

flood of February 1795, the bridges at

Belper Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. As well as Belper itself, the parish also includes the village of Milford and the ha ...

and

Whatstandwell Whatstandwell is a village on the River Derwent in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles south of Matlock and about four miles north of Belper. Whatstandwell railway station is located on the Derby-Matlock ...

were washed away, but were subsequently rebuilt soon after. Glover in his ''History of the County of Derby'' of 1829 noted that there were a number of bridges, fords and a ferry across the Derwent. There were fords at Wilne Mills,

Alvaston Alvaston (/ˈɒlvəstən/ or /ˈælvəstən/) is a village and ward of Derby, England. Alvaston is situated on the A6, three miles south-east of Derby city centre and probably owes its name to Allwald. It is bordered to the north by the ...

Little Eaton Little Eaton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as taken at the 2011 Census was 2,430. The name originated from Anglo Saxon times and means the "little town by the water". It is on the former rou ...

and Ambaston, and a ferry at

Matlock Bath Matlock Bath is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It lies in the Peak District, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

. Wooden bridges were mentioned at Wilne Mills, Borrowash Mills and

Exeter Bridge Exeter Bridge is a bridge in the centre of Derby spanning the River Derwent 200 metres south of the more modern Cathedral Green Footbridge. History Derby's original Exeter Bridge started life as a timber footbridge built by the Binghams of Exe ...

, downstream of which was a long wooden bridge for canal towing horses. Tolls were levied at Wilne Mills,

Darley Abbey Darley Abbey is a former historic mill village, now a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is located approximately north of the city centre, on the west bank of the River Derwent, and forms part of the Darley ward along with Little Ches ...

, and

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

, where there was also a chain-bridge for mill workers. He also recorded a number of county bridges and stone-arched bridges, the majority of which are now listed structures, and in some cases

scheduled monuments In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. A number of these bridges were built by the local industrial families of the Derwent valley, including those of Hurt, Strutt and Evans.

Crossings

Bibliography

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References

External links

{{Commons category, Bridges over the River Derwent, Derbyshire Derwent,Derbyshire

Derwent, Derbyshire Derwent was a village 'drowned' in 1944 when the Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire, England was created. The village of Ashopton, Derwent Woodlands church, and Derwent Hall were also 'drowned' in the construction of the reservoir. Demolition A ...

Derwent