A to Z of Derby A TALE OF MILLS AND BOOM
DARLEY HALL
After several changes of ownership Darley Hall came into the hands of the Evans family, until 1929. Derby Corporation took it over and converted it into a school until 1958 when the school moved. When no further use for it could be found, the hall was demolished in 1962. Apart from the billiard room, which is now the terrace café fronted by attractive gardens.
DARLEY ABBEY PARK
Darley Abbey Park with its wide range of different tree species is at its most impressive when approached on the western side of the River Derwent. It is one of Derby’s most beautiful parks and is a popular leisure facility. Within easy walking distance of the city centre, it offers quiet and relaxing walks through unspoilt parkland
DARLEY ABBEY MILLS
Originally the mills were water-powered. The chimney was erected later with the arrival of steam power. At the outset to ensure an adequate volume of water to drive the waterwheel and increase the speed with which the machinery was turned it was necessary to increase the depth of the Derwent. Today Darley Abbey forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
DARLEY ABBEY – THOMAS EVANS
Thomas Evans founded the mills at Darley Abbey, one of the most important industrial enterprises in an age of great innovation and progress. He and his family also built houses and other amenities for his workers. The boar’s head trademark, taken from the crest of the family coat-of-arms, was used by Evans to market his thread. It achieved recognition in the many parts of the world where he traded, as a symbol of quality.
DERBY COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB
Sir Francis Ley’s visits to America and his interest in baseball led to him founding a sports club and providing a ground for his workers. Here he encouraged them to play baseball. Eventually, the ground became the permanent home to Derby County from 1895 to 1997 and was named the Baseball Ground. Derby County won the old First Division Championship in 1971/72 and 1974/75 and the FA Cup in 1946. The club moved to Pride Park, in August 1997.
DARLEY ABBEY
Only two miles from the centre of Derby, the old village of Darley Abbey is at its most impressive when approached from the city along either side of the River Derwent.
Few traces remain of the old abbey, founded in about 1140, which later became the richest and most powerful in Derbyshire. The land and properties owned by the abbey covered an extensive area not only in Derbyshire but also in Nottinghamshire.
Most of the buildings of the once-proud monastery were destroyed within two years of the passing of the Dissolution of Monasteries Act. The only survivors are the building in Darley Street, converted into a pub in 1980. Some stonework to houses in Abbey Lane and a burial ground beneath Hill Square.
In the 1730s Darley Abbey had four mills, a paper mill, a corn mill, a fulling mill and a leather mill, powered by the River Derwent.
It was the Industrial Revolution, with water the driving force, that saw Darley Abbey transformed from a small settlement into an important industrial village. Thanks to the entrepreneurial approach of Thomas Evans and his family.
Today it forms part of The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The mills built by Thomas Evans, on the east bank of the Derwent, remain largely intact although no longer used for cotton spinning, but for a diverse range of purposes.
DOLPHIN INN
The Dolphin, an old coaching inn, is Derby’s oldest surviving pub, claimed to have been founded in 1530. It is a fine example of a timber-framed building. The Dolphin was a well-known Christian symbol in medieval days, which gives credibility to the presumed date of the founding of the pub. It is said to have been a stopping-off point for highwaymen, including Dick Turpin.