Derbyshire

Derbyshire is situated in the north midlands of England, bordered in the east by Nottinghamshire, in the south by Leicestershire, in the west by Staffordshire, in the north-west by Cheshire and in the north by Yorkshire (West Riding). It measures about 52 miles from north to south, and for most of that length is only about 20 miles from east to west (although it reaches 85 miles at one point). It has a total area of 1,016 square miles (2,632 sq km) and a population of over 915,000. The county town is Derby.

In Derbyshire there are the popular towns of Ashbourne, Castleton,  Chesterfield, Derby, Kilburn,  Swanwick,  Ilkeston,  Matlock,  Melbourne and Wirksworth.
 

Geography

Derbyshire can be divided into two very different areas, the north being heather and peat-covered limestone and grit stone hills with the moor land of the southern end of the Pennines. This area rises to over 2,000 feet above sea level. In winter the climate can be very harsh and road can be made impassable by snow drifts. In the eastern part of the county are important coal deposits. The southern part is low-lying and relatively flat and fertile. The county is drained by the Rivers Trent, the Dove, the Derwent, and the Wye. Derby is by far the largest town in the county. Other important towns are Alfreton, Ashbourne, Belper, Buxton, Castleton, Chesterfield, Glossop, Heanor, Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Matlock. Nearly all of these are within the industrial part of the county.

 

Industry

The Peak District National Park (Britain's first), with around 22,000,000 visitors per year, is largely dependant on tourism which is an important and major industry. The south and south west, is mostly agricultural, Dairy farming and sheep and cattle raising are important products. The eastern side is almost completely industrial, based on coal mining, iron and steel manufacture, and engineering. Textiles, steel, porcelain, and paper are produced in Derby, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Glossop, and Ilkeston.

 

History

Some of the earliest traces of human activity ever found in Britain were discovered at Creswell Crags, an area shared between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. In the caves at this spot men cooked and ate locally caught hippopotamus and rhinoceros, with the remains being eaten by hyenas. Palaeolithic carvings were also found there. The caves were inhabited before and after (but not during) two separate ice ages, thousands of years apart. There are other prehistoric remains, including a large early Bronze Age stone circle near Youlgreave. The Romans built a number of roads and fortifications, but largely avoided the highest ground. There are also signs that they mined for lead in the hills. Derbyshire was a part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, but later came under the Danelaw. It was the Danes who established the town of Derby.