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DERBY,
the county and principal town in Derbyshire, in the hundred of Morleston
and Litchurch, is 126 miles from London, 59 from Manchester, 33 from
Buxton, 34 from Chapel-en-le-Frith, 24 from Chesterfield, 16 from
Nottingham, 13 from Ashbourn, and 11 from Burton-upon-Trent. It is a
very ancient town occupying a flat tract of land, on the banks of the
river Derwent, and is situated peculiarly favourable for the process of
manufactures which require the aid of water; and various mills have been
established in the town, or its immediate vicinity, for the manufacture of
silk and cotton; but the most celebrated are those of porcelain, and
ornaments of Derbyshire spar and marble. The manufacture of silk is
carried on to a considerable extent, and the number of men, women, and
children employed in it is upwards of 1000. The articles produced
from silk are various, embracing hose, handkerchiefs, shawls, ferrets,
laces, and sewing silk. The original mill erected by Mr. Crochett,
called the 'Silk Mill,' by way of pre-eminence, being the first and
largest of the kind ever erected in England, stands on an island on the
river Derwent. Its history is remarkable, and serves to show the
great influence which the enterprizes of an individual have on the
commerce of a country. The manufacture of porcelain was originally
established here about the year 1750, by the ingenious Mr. Duesbury, but
the most considerable improvements have been effected since his decease,
by the judicious method of preparing the paste and increasing the beauty
of the decorations. The ware itself is not of equal fineness with
the French and Saxon, but its worksmanship and ornaments are far superior.
The manufacturing of spar and polishing of marble, carried on here, is
very curious. Various other branches of business, besides the
manufactures already mentioned, are also carried on to a considerable
extent, and several works of magnitude have lately been established; a
mill for the slitting and rolling of iron; a large furnace for smelting
copper ore, with a machine for flattening and rolling the copper into
sheets; a red lead manufactory; a mill for making tinned plates; large
malting concerns, corn mills, tanneries, soaperies; and there have been
lately introduced large establishments for printing books. On Nun's
Green a bleaching ground has been opened, in which the processes are
preformed by chymistry. The town is governed by a mayor, 9 aldermen,
14 brothers, and 14 capital burgesses, who elect their successors; the
mayor, ex-mayor and four senior aldermen being always justices of the
peace. The assizes for the county are held here, as are also the
sessions, except those at midsummer, which are held at Chesterfield:
the mayor holds a quarterly court of session, and a court leet twice in
the year, the corporation being lords of the manor. There is also a
court of requests for the recovery of small debts, held at the Guildhall
every third Tuesday. Derby returns two members to parliament; the
present representatives are H.F.C. Cavendish and Saml. Crompton, Esqrs.;
the elective franchise is in the free burgesses, and the mayor is the
returning officer. The principal public buildings are a very
beautiful infirmary, built by subscription, replete with every
convenience; county-hall, a townhall, a county gaol, an elegant
assembly-room, and a theatre. Among the modern improvements of the
place are the lighting and paving of the streets; and removing those
obstructions that prevented a free passage; the removal of several bridges
that were built across the Markeaton brook, and erecting three new ones of
stone, as well as an elegant bridge of three arches over the Derwent;
which, together with the silk mills, the weirs, and the broad expanse of
the river, forms a very pleasing prospect on entering the town from the
Nottingham road. The vicinity furnishes a variety of agreeable
walks, where the inhabitants may enjoy a salutary exercise, and a
succession of prospects distinguished by the softer features that attend
cultivation. Numerous bequests for the relief of the poor have been
made at different times by benevolent persons; one of the most
considerable is the Devonshire alms-house for the support of poor men and
women; Wilmot's hospital for four poor men and women; Large's hospital for
five clergymen's widows; national and Lancasterian schools; numerous
Sunday schools; two infant schools; and a free school, founded by Walter
Durdant, bishop of Lichfield, and William de Barba Aprilis, in the reign
of Henry II. Science and literature meet with encouragement; this
may in some degree be ascribed to the philosophical society established
here abut the year 1772. Several book societies have also been
instituted; and to the credit of the individuals composing them, the works
purchased are chiefly of a scientific and philosophical tendency.
Here is a mechanics' institute, and a permanent library, established in
1811. Two newspapers are published weekly, viz. the 'Derby Mercury'
on Wednesday, and the 'Derby Reporter' on Thursday. Five parish
churches are in the borough, viz. All Saints', a perpetual curacy, of
which the Rev. Chas. Stead Hope is the minister; St. Alkmund's, Rev.
Charles Robert Hope, curate; St. Michael's, Rev. Charles Robert Hope,
curate; St. Michael's, Rev. john Garton Howard, vicar; St. Peter's, Rev.
Richd. Rowland Ward, vicar; and St. Werburgh's, Rev. Edw. Unwin, vicar:
there is a chapel of ease to St. Werburgh's building, to be called St.
John's. The family vault of the Duke of Devonshire is in the church
of All Saints. Here are chapels for the methodists, independents,
particular and general baptists, unitarians, primitive methodists, a
catholic chapel, a friends' meeting house, &c. In the vicinity of
the town are many seats and mansions of consequence; and the country round
is exceedingly fertile, well wooded, and plentifully supplied with water.
The surface of the country is flat to the south of the town, and only
gently waved on the other sides. Market days are Wednesday, Friday,
and Saturday. Fairs are January 25th, Friday in Easter week, first
Friday after May 1st, Friday in Whitsun-week, July 25th, for horses,
cattle, and sheep; March 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and September 27th, 28th, and
29th, for cheese. A cheese market, or fair, is also held on the last
Tuesday in August; markets for cattle every Friday in May, and for fat
cattle every other Tuesday throughout the year. The population of
the borough, it is stated, has considerably augmented since the census of
1821: it then contained 19,648 inhabitants; the separate parishes
contain as follows: St. Alkmund's, 3,462; All Saints', 3,745; St.
Michael's, 925; St. Peter's, 3,974; St. Werburgh's 5,317; to which must be
added, to the parishes extending into Morleston and Litchurch hundred, for
St. Alkmund's, 1,565; St. Michael's, 399; and St. Peter's, 261. |
