Ripley, Derbyshire
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Ripley is a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Amber Valley Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...
district of
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, England. It is northeast of
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
, northwest of
Heanor Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It lies north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parishes in England, civil parish and town council-administered area of He ...
, southwest of
Alfreton Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,79 ...
and northeast of
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. Along with Belper, the parish includes the village of Milford and the hamlets ...
. The town is continuous with Heanor, Eastwood and
Ilkeston Ilkeston ( ) is a town located in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, England, with a population of 40,953 at the 2021 census. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/textiles, have now all but disappeared. Part of t ...
as part of the wider
Nottingham Urban Area The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as built-up land with a minimum area of 20 hectares (200,000 m2), while settlements within 200 met ...
.


History

Little information remains as to when Ripley was founded, but it appears in the 1086
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, when it was held by a man called Levenot. In 1251 Henry III granted a charter for "one market one day a week, on Wednesday, at hemanor of Ryppeleg: and one fair each year lasting three days, on the Vigil Day and Morrow of St Helen". Ripley Fair antedates
Nottingham Goose Fair The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling Showmen, it is one of four established fairs in the Unite ...
. The market day was later altered to Saturdays, with an extra market on Fridays. Medieval Ripley was just a few stone cottages and farms around a village green, with a few dwellings further afield. Corn was ground at a mill owned by the Abbot of Darley. In 1291, Ripley had "two water-mills with fish ponds". The Ripley area has been industrialised since the late 18th century. One of the earliest firms to take advantage of local mineral resources was the
Butterley Company The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009. Origins This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
. It was formed in 1790 by
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 Francis Beresford. Jessop and Wright joined as partners in 1791. Benjamin Outram and Jessop were pioneering engineers best known for their input into the rail industry and their engineering of the Cromford Canal. Outram developed the L-shaped flange rail and Jessop engineered the cast iron fish belly rail. The
Little Eaton Gangway The Little Eaton Gangway, officially the Derby Canal Railway, was a narrow gauge industrial wagonway serving the Derby Canal, in England, at Little Eaton in Derbyshire. The Derby Canal In 1792, Benjamin Outram was asked to prepare plans ...
project was one of the engineering feats they completed. The engineering part of the company closed and the site of the Butterley Company was demolished in 2010. The company was latterly in three parts,
Butterley Engineering The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009. Origins This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
, Butterley Brick and Butterley Aggregates as separate companies. Over the last 200 years these have dealt with steelworks, coal mining, quarrying, railway, foundry and brickworks. One of the best-known examples of the company's work is the arched roof of
St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), officially known since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a major central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is the terminus for Eurostar services from Belgium, F ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, restored as an international terminal. Post-2000 Butterley achievements were the design and construction of the Falkirk Wheel, a canal boat-lift funded by the
Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...
and the
Spinnaker Tower The Spinnaker Tower is a landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. It is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a National Lottery grant. The tower's design was chosen by Portsmouth reside ...
seen in
Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...
as the focus of its regeneration. Ripley was also a mining community, with collieries owned by the Butterley Company until the
Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 59) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or brought into state control, the coal industry in the United Kingdom. I ...
. These included Ripley colliery (1863–1948), Brittain colliery (1918–1946), Ormonde 1908–1970, and other pits at Upper and
Lower Hartshay Lower Hartshay is a small village in the civil parish of Ripley, in the Amber Valley district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is on Hartshay Brook and near the A38 road The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol ...
, Whiteley,
Waingroves Waingroves is a large village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England, approximately two miles away from the town of Ripley, Derbyshire, Ripley. It is in the civil parish of Codnor. In woodland to the south of the village, there are ...
, Bailey Brook, Exhibition,
Loscoe Loscoe is a village near Heanor in Derbyshire, England, lying within the civil parish of Heanor and Loscoe. It had prominent coalmines in the 19th and 20th centuries. Denby Common and Codnor Breach are hamlets on the western edge of the villa ...
, New Langley and
Denby Denby is a village in the England, English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is east from Belper and north of Derb ...
Hall.


Governance

What is now Ripley Town Hall on the north side of the Market Place was erected in 1880 as a market hall. The architect was George Eyre of Codnor. It occupied the site of a much older dwelling known as The White House. The Market Hall was originally open on the ground floor. In 1907, it was converted into a Town Hall by the Urban District Council. In the 1990s, the building was much extended to the west and remodelled by Amber Valley Borough Council to form its headquarters. In 2012, the Council proposed to sell off some of the buildings under a rationalisation scheme.


Demography

At the 2021 census, the population of Ripley civil parish was 20,633. The
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
also define a Ripley Built-up Area, which had a population of 20,180. The ethnic makeup of the town was recorded at 98% White British out of 19,703 residents, followed by Mixed Race at 1% out of 231 residents and 1% Asian out of 135 residents. The other ethnic groups made up less than 1% of the local population. In terms of religious makeup, Ripley's residents were recorded to be mostly non-religious at 51% of the local population at 9,696 residents followed by 48% of the towns residents identifying as Christian out of 9.044 residents. Other religions practiced in Ripley include Other religion (121 residents), Islam (57 residents) and Buddhism (57 residents). The town has a high ratio of Women compared to Men at 51% (Women) and 49% (Male).


Education


Primary schools

*Ripley Junior School, Poplar Avenue, DE5 3PN *St Johns C of E Primary School, Dannah Street, Ripley *Lons Infant School, Tavistock Avenue, Ripley *Waingroves Primary School, Waingroves Road, Ripley *Codnor Community Primary School, Whitegates


Secondary schools

* The Ripley Academy, Peasehill Road, Ripley * Swanwick Hall School, Swanwick Hill, Swanwick (2 miles north on B6179 road) * John Flamsteed School, Derby Road,
Denby Denby is a village in the England, English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. Denby is east from Belper and north of Derb ...
(2.5 miles south on B6179)


Pre-schools

*Ripley Nursery School, Sandham Lane *Clowns Day Nursery, Cromford Road *Clowns Day Nursery, Butterley Park, A610 *Alphabet Childminders, Ripley.


Religion

The Methodist Church in Wood Street is reputed to be the oldest church in the town that is still active. At the peak of the movement there were five Methodist churches in Ripley, but the congregations combined over the years. The church was rebuilt on the same site and reopened in November 2009. See History of Methodism in Ripley Derbyshire An outcome of the nearby Pentridge (or
Pentrich Pentrich is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish between Belper and Alfreton in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 191. Pentrich rising The village gave its name to the Pentrich risi ...
) Rising of 1817 was for the Vicar of Pentrich Church to call for an Anglican church to be built in Ripley as soon as possible. All Saints' Church, Ripley was erected in 1821 by the
Butterley Company The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009. Origins This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
. Other places of worship include the Salvation Army hall in Heath Road, which was opened in 1911, the Springs of the Living Water housed in the former St John's Church in Derby Road, the Spiritual Church in Argyll Road, and Marehay Methodist Chapel in Warmwells Lane, Marehay.


Transport

Running under the premises of the Butterley Company is the
Butterley Tunnel Butterley Tunnel is a disused canal tunnel on the Cromford Canal below Ripley, in Derbyshire, England, opened to traffic in 1794. Along with Butterley Works blast furnaces, part of the canal tunnel and its underground wharf were declared a sc ...
on 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 canal lock, locks. From Crom ...
. The central section of the canal is disused, but a charitable fund has been formed to reopen it. Ripley is the site of Midland Railway – Butterley (formerly the Midland Railway Centre), a trust dedicated to preserving railway locomotives, rolling stock and other items related to the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...
. Ripley was once served by Ripley railway station on the Midland Railway Ripley Branch. It was the northern terminus of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company and later of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire trolleybus system.


Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, South Kest ...
and
ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
. Television signals are received from the Waltham TV transmitter. Ripley's local radio stations are
BBC Radio Derby BBC Radio Derby is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Derbyshire and East Staffordshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, AM broadcasting, AM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from s ...
on 104.5 FM, Smooth East Midlands on 101.4 FM, Capital East Midlands on 102.8 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Midlands on 106 FM and Amber Sound FM, a community station which is based in the Unicorn Business Park off Wellington Street. The station broadcasts on 107.2FM in the Amber Valley and online. Local newspapers are the ''Ripley & Heanor News'' and '' Derbyshire Times''.


Parks and natural features

Butterley Reservoir, at the bottom of Butterley Hill in the north of the town, has pairs of
great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship displa ...
,
coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usual ...
,
moorhen Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen." They are close relatives of coots. They are ...
s and other birds to watch, and platforms for anglers to use. There is a footpath that takes in the scenery, with the Midland Railway Trust in the background. Wildlife and a small woodland area can be enjoyed at Carr Wood, signposted from halfway down Butterley Hill. At the bottom of Moseley Street, next to the Red Lion pub in Ripley Town Centre, is a recreation area named after Sir Barnes Wallis, which offers views over to Crich Stand, the Sherwood Foresters Memorial. Crich Stand was built by Francis Hurt in 1778 and in 1922 dedicated to the fallen of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment (colloquially known as the Woofers) in World War I. It is now the memorial for those in the Regiment who died in all conflicts. The Pit Top is an open area with some seating and a white arch sculpture. The grassed area is the site of the original Ripley Colliery, owned by Butterley Company and worked from 1863 until 1948. Crossley Park is a few acres of grassed land opened in 1935. It is surrounded by shrubs and trees on a tract given to the town by James Crossley in 1901. It has a children's play area with a paddling pool, a paved perimeter walk, and a bandstand used as such occasionally on late Sunday afternoons in the summer.


Twin towns

Ripley is twinned with the French towns of Château-Renault and
Lons-le-Saunier Lons-le-Saunier () is a commune and capital of the Jura Department, eastern France. Geography The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jura escarpment extends to the east a ...
.


Community and facilities

The headquarters of
Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million. History In 1965, the force had an establishment ...
is on the outskirts of Ripley at Butterley Hall. Ripley has a community hospital with a minor accident and emergency department that opened on 7 September 1912. The hospital was built after the death of a miner injured at Pentrich Colliery, who did not survive the road journey to Derby in time for treatment. The Ripley Hospital League of Friends has been an active fund-raising group for the hospital throughout its history. Ripley has a
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...
group founded in 1914. For younger children it has two
Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
colonies and a Cub pack. The Ripley Music Festival has been held in the town since 2001.


Notable residents

* Gavin Butt (born 1967), an art historian based at
Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...
, was born in Ripley. * Arthur Octavius Edwards (1876–1960), a civil engineer who built and managed the
Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...
in London, was born in Ripley. * Agnes Elizabeth Slack, a leading temperance campaigner, was born here in 1858. * John Bamford Slack (1857–1909), Liberal MP and prominent Methodist, was born in Ripley. *
Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer, and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaim ...
(born 1969), a heavy metal
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
and
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
musician, whose company Backstage Productions is based in the town * Bombardier Charles Stone (1889–1952), awarded the VC, was born in Ripley. *
Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet (29 January 1803 – 11 March 1863) was a British general who fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Early life James Outram was the son of Benjamin Outram of Butterley Hall, Butterley, Derbys ...
(1803–1863), born in Ripley, fought in the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
and became known as the "Bayard of India". He was buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. * Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), inventor of the "
bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be predeterm ...
", was born in Ripley. He has a town park named after him, and a pub, The Sir Barnes Wallis, until it was demolished in 2021. His house of birth bears a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
. His father was a doctor at The Elms in Derby Road.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Ripley, Derbyshire Ripley, Derbyshire, Ripley is a civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains 62 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, f ...


References


External links


Ripley Town Council
{{Authority control Geography of Amber Valley Towns in Derbyshire