By Tim Lambert
Roman Derby
Derby began as a Roman fort. The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD. Around 50 AD they built a fort west of the River Derwent on the site of Belper Road. Then, about 80 AD, they built a new fort on the east bank of the river. The Romans called the fort Derventio. There may have been a civilian settlement outside the fort at Derby. The civilians could sell goods to the soldiers.
However, in the 4th century, Roman civilization declined. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 407 AD. The Roman buildings at Derby were abandoned and fell into ruins.
Danish and Saxon Derby
There may have been a Saxon village on the site of Derby after the Romans left. However, the Danes founded the town of Derby about 873 AD after they invaded England. They created a fortified settlement at Derby. It was an easy place to fortify. To the east the river Derwent protected it. To the east and south, a tributary of the Derwent protected Derby. All the Danes had to do was fortify the northern approach between the two rivers. They dug a ditch and erected an earth bank with a wooden palisade on top. The name Derby is derived from the Danish words deor by meaning deer settlement.
In 917 the native Saxons captured Derby and it became part of the kingdom of England. Derby was more than a fortified settlement. Derby was also a place of trade. In the 10th century, it had a mint and a market. Craftsmen would have worked in the little town, men like blacksmiths, coopers, carpenters, and comb makers.
By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), Derby had a population of about 2,000. That might seem very small to us but by the standards of the time, it was a fair-sized town. (A typical village had only 100 or 150 inhabitants).
DERBY IN THE MIDDLE AGES
In 1154 Derby was given a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights). In 1204 a new charter gave the people of Derby the right to rule themselves. They were allowed to elect 2 bailiffs who ran the town. The merchants of Derby were also allowed to form a merchant’s guild. The guild regulated trade in the town and protected its member’s interests.
Several trades were carried on in Medieval Derby. There was a wool industry. The wool was woven and then fulled. This means it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of water and clay. The wool was then dyed. There were also many leather workers making gloves and saddles. There were also the same craftsmen found in any town such as butchers, bakers, brewers, carpenters, and blacksmiths.
During the Middle Ages Derby grew in size and prosperity and may have had a population of around 3,500 in the 14th century. By then Derby was quite a large and important town.
St James Priory (a small monastery) was founded in Derby in 1140. In the 13th century, a ‘hospital’ was added where the monks cared for the poor and unwell. There was also a leper hostel outside the town on the site of Leonard Street.
About 1230 Dominican friars (known as Blackfriars because of the color of their habits) came to Derby. Friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world, they went out to preach and help the poor.
DERBY IN THE 16th CENTURY AND 17th CENTURY
In 1536-39 Henry VIII closed the priory, the leper hostel, and the friary in Derby. However, during his reign, the tower of All Saints church was built. During the reign of his daughter Mary a woman named Joan Wast was burned for heresy in Derby.
Like all towns in those days, Derby suffered from outbreaks of plague. There were severe outbreaks in 1636 and 1665.
However, Derby continued to grow in prosperity. Its cloth industry flourished. Other industries in the 17th century included brewing and, from the end of the century clock making. Meanwhile in 1637 Derby was given a new charter and gained a mayor.
In 1695 Derby gained a piped water supply (for those who could afford to be connected). The water was pumped along wooden pipes by a watermill.
DERBY IN THE 18th CENTURY
In the 18th century, Derby was a fair-sized market town. In 1717 the first silk mill in England opened in Derby. All Saints Church was rebuilt in 1726.
Then in 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie and his troops occupied Derby but they left after only 2 days. From the middle of the 18th century, porcelain was made in Derby.
In 1773 George III visited Derby and agreed that a picture of a crown could appear on china. Afterward, it was called Crown Derby. (In 1890 Queen Victoria agreed it could be called Royal Crown Derby).
Conditions in Derby improved in the 18th century, at least for the well-off. From 1735 oil lamps lighted the streets. In 1768 an act of parliament formed a body of men with responsibility for paving, cleaning, and lighting the streets of Derby.
DERBY IN THE 19th CENTURY
From 1821 the streets of Derby were lit by gas. In 1839 the railway reached Derby. Then in 1840, a man named Joseph Strutt gave the Arboretum to the town as a gift. In 1867 Michael Bass, a brewer, gave land to the town to be used as a public park.
St Mary’s Church was built in 1839. It was designed by the famous architect A W Pugin (1812-1852). In 1842 a new Town Hall was built in Derby. In 1810 an infirmary was built and in 1877 a hospital for sick children was built.
Life in 19th century Derby gradually improved. The first public swimming pool in Derby was built in 1873. Derby School of Art opened in 1878. A public library and museum were built in 1879.
From 1880 horse-drawn trams ran through the streets of Derby and in 1894 the first electric lights in Derby were switched on. Also in the 1890s slum clearance began in Derby albeit on a very modest scale.
In the mid 19th century Midland Railway Company began making railway engines in Derby. The railway workshops soon became a major employer. There were also many iron foundries in Derby. Other industries in Derby in the 19th century included brewing and paint making.
Derby grew rapidly in the 19th century. In 1877 the boundaries of the town were extended to include New Normanton and Little Chester. In the late 19th century many new houses were built in Normanton and Peartree.
DERBY IN THE 20TH CENTURY
In 1907 Rolls Royce decided to open a factory in Derby where cars and aircraft engines were made. Other industries in Derby in the 20th century were railway engineering and making aircraft engines. There was also a textile industry.
In 1904 the first electric trams ran in Derby. They stopped in 1930 and were replaced by buses. Meanwhile, the first cinema in Derby opened in 1910.
In 1916 a Zeppelin airship bombed Derby killing 5 people and in 1924 a war memorial was erected in Derby. Then in 1927, All Saints Church was made a cathedral, and City Hospital was built in 1929.
In the 1930s a ring road was built around Derby. Furthermore, in 1933 John Logie Baird’s Roadshow demonstrated television in Derby
Markeaton Park opened to the public in 1931. The River Gardens opened in 1934. A new bus station was built in Derby in 1933 and the Council House was built in 1939-41. Meanwhile in the 1920s and 1930s slum clearance continued and the first council houses were built.
During the Second World War 74 people were killed by the German bombing in Derby and over 300 were injured.
After 1945 Derby Council built many more council houses. The largest council estate was built at Mackworth in the early 1950s. Many private houses were also built. In the 1980s a large estate of private houses was built between Chaddesden and Breadsall.
Derby Silk Mill opened as a museum in 1974. The Eagle Centre was built in 1975. (It is now the Derbion). The same year, 1975 Derby Theatre opened.
In the late 20th century Derby continued to thrive. In 1976 Derby was twinned with the German city of Osnabruck. Then in 1977 Derby was made a city.
Pickford’s House Museum opened in 1988 and the Ram sculpture in Albion Street was erected in 1995.
DERBY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
In the early 21st century manufacturing industry in Derby continues to thrive. There is also a significant tourism industry. In 2018 Derby Silk Mill is being renovated.
In 2023 the population of Derby was 261,000.
A Timeline of Derby
c. 50 AD The Romans build a fort on the site of Belper Road
c. 80 AD The Romans build a fort on east side of the River Derwent. They call the fort Derventio.
873 The Danes found the town of Derby
917 The Saxons capture Derby. The little town flourishes. It has a mint and a market.
1086 Derby has a population of about 2,000
1154 Derby is given a charter (a document giving the people certain rights
1204 Derby is given a new charter
1230 Black friars come to Derby
1348 On the eve of the Black Death Derby has a population of about 3,500
1636 Derby suffers an outbreak of plague
1637 Derby is given a new charter
1665 Derby is struck by plague again. However the cloth industry in Derby flourishes.
1695 Derby gains a piped water supply
1717 England’s first silk mill opens in Derby
1726 All Saints Church is rebuilt
1745 Derby has a population of about 2,000
1745 The streets of Derby are lit by oil lamps
1768 A body of men called Improvement Commissioners is formed with powers to clean, pave, and light the streets of Derby
1773 George III visits Derby and agrees that a picture of a crown should appear on China, which is called Crown Derby
1810 An infirmary is built in Derby
1821 The streets of Derby are lit by gas
1839 St Marys Church is built
1840 Joseph Strutt gives the Arboretum to the town as a gift
1842 A new Town Hall is built
1867 Michael Bass gives land to the town to be used as a public park
1873 A public swimming pool is built
1877 A hospital for sick children is built
1878 Derby School of Art opens
1879 A public library and museum is built
1880 Horse drawn trams run through the streets
1894 Derby is lit by electricity for the first time
1904 The first electric trams run in Derby
1907 Rolls Royce decides to open a factory where cars and aircraft will be made
1910 The first museum in Derby opens
1916 A German airship bombs Derby killing 5 people
1924 A War Memorial is erected in Derby
1927 All Saints Church is made a Cathedral
1929 City Hospital is built
1930 The last electric tram runs in Derby
1931 Markeaton Park opens to the public
1933 A new bus station opens in Derby
1934 River Gardens open
1939-41 The Council House is built
Second World War 74 people in Derby are killed by German bombing
Early 1950s A large council estate is built at Mackworth
1969-71 An inner ring road is built at Derby
1974 An Industrial Museum opens
1975 The Eagle Centre is built. Derby Playhouse Theatre opens.
1976 Derby is twinned with Osnabruck
1977 The Assembly Rooms open. Derby is made a city.
1987 Markeaton Craft Village opens
1991 Pickfords House Museum opens
1995 The Ram sculpture is erected on Albion Street