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Derby
Derby became the only city in the county of Derbyshire in 1977, where it previously only enjoyed township status. Modern Derby has now spread to include a dozen suburbs and is home to approximately half a million people. Lying on the banks of the River Derwent, Derby is situated in the very heart of England, with fantastic transport links nationwide. Derby has Roman, Saxon and Viking connections. The Roman camp of 'Derventio' was probably at Little Chester/Chester Green and the site of the old Roman fort is now occupied by a football pitch. Later the town was one of the 'Five Boroughs' (fortified towns) of the Danelaw.
An attractive feature of the city of Derby is the magnificent tower of Derby Cathedral which is surmounted by four ornate pinnacles and rises 178 feet above the city and it is the second highest church tower in the country. There has been a church on this site for a thousand years, but the present one was designed and entirely rebuilt, apart from the tower, by James Gibbs in the early years of the 18th century and the first sermon was preached in the new church on 21st November 1725.
Derby Cathedral has a number of attractions, not least the fabulous wrought-iron entrance gates, and the superb screen fashioned by the celebrated Derbyshire craftsman Robert Bakewell. However, most come to visit the delightful little Cavendish Chapel, below which is the crypt containing the most elaborate and magnificently carved tomb of the famous Bess of Hardwick, builder of many mansions including Chatsworth House and Hardwick Hall. Her memorial was designed by England’s first architect, Robert Smythson who also designed and built many of her mansions, and is made entirely of finely worked Derbyshire marble. Here also lie many Earls & Dukes of Devonshires, and this is also the last resting place of famous scientist Henry Cavendish, and John Lombe, who built Derby’s famous Silk Mill beside the Derwent.
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