Deoraby or Derby until after it was given up to the Danes by the treaty of Wedmore and had become one of their five boroughs, probably ruled in the ordinary way by an earl with twelve “lawmen” under him. Being won back among the sweeping conquests of Æthelflæd, lady of the Mercians, in 917, it prospered during the 10th century, and by the reign of Edward the Confessor there were 243 burgesses in Derby. However, by 1086 this number had decreased to 100, while 103 “manses” which used to be assessed were waste. In spite of this the amount rendered by the town to the lord had increased from £24 to £30. The first extant charter granted to Derby is dated 1206 and is a grant of all those privileges which the burgesses of Nottingham had in the time of Henry I. and Henry II., which included freedom from toll, a gild merchant, power to elect a provost at their will, and the privilege of holding the town at the ancient farm with an increase of £10 yearly. The charter also provides that no one shall dye cloth within ten leagues of Derby except in the borough. A second charter, granted by Henry III. in 1229, limits the power of electing a provost by requiring that he shall be removed if he be displeasing to the king. Henry III. also granted the burgesses two other charters, one in 1225 confirming their privileges and granting that the comitatus of Derby should in future be held on Thursdays in the borough, the other in 1260 granting that no Jew should be allowed to live in the town. In 1337 Edward III. on the petition of the burgesses granted that they might have two bailiffs instead of one. Derby was incorporated by James I. in 1611 under the name of the bailiffs and burgesses of Derby, but Charles I. in 1637 appointed a mayor, nine aldermen, fourteen brethren and fourteen capital burgesses. In 1680 the burgesses were obliged to resign their charters, and received a new one, which did not, however, alter the government of the town. Derby has been represented in parliament by two members since 1295. In the rebellion of 1745 the young Pretender marched with his army as far south as Derby, where the council was held which decided that he should return to Scotland instead of going on to London.
Among early works on Derby are W. Hutton, History of Derby (London, 1791); R. Simpson, History and Antiquities of Derby (Derby, 1826).
DERBYSHIRE, a north midland county of England, bounded N. and N.E. by Yorkshire, E. by Nottinghamshire, S.E. and S. by Leicestershire, S. and S.W. by Staffordshire, and W. and N.W. by Cheshire. The area is 1029.5 sq. m. The physical aspect is much diversified. The extreme south of the county is lacking in picturesqueness, being for the most part level, with occasional slight undulations. The Peak District of the north, on the other hand, though inferior in grandeur to the mountainous Lake District, presents some of the finest hill scenery in England, deriving a special beauty from the richly wooded glens and valleys, such as those of Castleton, Glossop, Dovedale and Millersdale. The character of the landscape ranges from the wild moorland of the Cheshire borders or the grey rocks of the Peak, to the park lands and woods of the Chatsworth district. Some of the woods are noted for their fine oaks, those at Kedleston, 3 m. from Derby, ranking among the largest and oldest in the kingdom. From the northern hills the streams of the county radiate. Those of the north-west belong to the Mersey, and those of the north-east to the Don, but all the others to the Trent, which, like the Don, falls into the Humber. The principal river is the Trent, which, rising in the Staffordshire moorlands, intersects the southern part of Derbyshire, and forms part of its boundary with Leicestershire. After the Trent the most important river is the Derwent, one of its tributaries, which, taking its rise in the lofty ridges of the High Peak, flows southward through a beautiful valley, receiving a number of minor streams in its course, including the Wye, which, rising near Buxton, traverses the fine Millersdale and Monsal Dale. The other principal rivers are the following: The Dane rises at the junction of the three counties, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire. The Goyt has its source a little farther north, at the base of the same hill, and, taking a N.N.E. direction, divides Derbyshire from Cheshire, and falls into the Mersey. The Dove rises on the southern slope, and flows as the boundary stream between Derbyshire and Staffordshire for nearly its entire course. It receives several feeders, and falls into the Trent near Repton. The Erewash is the boundary stream between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The Rother rises about Baslow, and flows into Yorkshire, with a northerly course, joining the Don. Besides the attractions of its scenery Derbyshire possesses, in Buxton, Matlock and Bakewell, three health resorts in much favour on account of their medicinal springs.
The whole northward extension of the county is occupied by the plateau of the Peak and other plateau-like summits, the highest of which are of almost exactly similar elevation. Thus in the extreme north Bleaklow Hill reaches 2060 ft., while southward from this point along the axis of main elevation are found Shelf Moss (2046 ft.), and Kinder Scout and other summits of the Peak itself, ranging up to 2088 ft. This plateau-mass is demarcated on the north and west by the vales of the Etherow and Goyt, by the valley of the Derwent on the east, and in part by that of its tributary the Noe on the south. The flanks of the plateau are deeply scored by abrupt ravines, often known as “cloughs” (an Anglo-Saxon word, cloh) watered by streams which sometimes descend over precipitous ledges in picturesque falls, such as the Kinder Downfall, formed by the brook of that name which rises on Kinder Scout. The most picturesque cloughs are found on the south, descending to Edale, and on the west. Edale is the upper part of the Noe valley, and the narrow gorge at its head is exceedingly beautiful, as is the more gentle scenery of the Vale of Hope, the lower part of the valley. In a branch vale is situated Castleton (q.v.), with the ruined Peak Castle, or Castle of the Peak, and the Peak Cavern, Blue John Mine and other caves. The upper Derwent valley, or Derwent Dale, is narrow and well wooded. In it, near the village of Derwent Chapel, is Derwent Hall, a fine old mansion formerly a seat of the Newdigate family. On Derwent Edge, above the village, are various peculiar rock formations, known by such names as the Salt-cellar. Ashopton, another village lower down the dale, is a favourite centre, and here the main valley is joined by Ashop Dale, a bold defile in its upper part, penetrating the heart of the Peak.
The well-known high road crossing the plateau from east to west, between the lower Derwent valley, Bakewell, Buxton and Macclesfield, shows the various types of scenery characteristic of the limestone hill-country of Derbyshire south of the Peak itself. The lower Derwent valley, about Chatsworth, Rowsley, Darley and Matlock, is open, fertile and well wooded. The road leads up the tributary valley of the Wye, which after Bakewell quickly narrows, and in successive portions is known as Monsal Dale, Millersdale (which the main road does not touch), Chee Dale and Wye Dale. On the flanks of these beautiful dales bold cliffs and bastions of limestone stand out among rich woods. Near the mouth of the valley, about Stanton, the fantastic effects of weathering on the limestone are especially well seen, as in Rowtor Rocks and Robin Hood’s Stride, and in the same locality are a remarkable number of tumuli and other early remains, and the Hermitage, a cave containing sacred carvings. From Buxton the road ascends over the high moors, here open and grassy in contrast to the heather of the Peak, and shortly after crossing the county boundary, reaches the head of the pass well known by the name of an inn, the Cat and Fiddle, at its highest point, 1690 ft.
South of Buxton the elevations along the main axis decrease, thus Axe Edge reaches 1600 ft., and this height is nowhere exceeded as the hills sink to the plain valley of the Trent. The dales and ravines which ramify among the limestone heights are characteristic and beautiful, and the valley of the Dove (q.v.) or Dovedale, on the border with Staffordshire, is as famous as any of the northern dales. Swallow-holes or waterworn caverns are common in many parts of the limestone region. The hills east of the Derwent are nowhere so high as those to the west—Margley Hill reaches 1793 ft., Howden Edge 1787 ft. and Derwent Moors 1505 ft. The plateau type is maintained. The valley of the Derwent provides the most attractive scenery in
