When we first came to Derby it was in better economic times, and with a brand new company office and headquarters, company visitors from other countries were happy to hold meetings there.
This meant there were many opportunities for socialising and I was lucky to be invited by senior colleagues and suppliers to some nice dinners at some good Derby restaurants. This included Darleys.
When I booked a table here for this birthday lunch it was in good summer weather, and I thought it was an opportunity to enjoy a drink on the terrace, overlooking the weir on the River Derwent.
Of course, the weather has changed over the past week or so, and we did not expect the one day of superb weather that we enjoyed on Tuesday.
We had a drink in glorious, warm sunshine before our meal, on a table inside overlooking the river, and then we had another 30/40 minutes in the sun drinking coffee.
Late September and outside with no coat!
Lunch was excellent. Three courses – well it was my
birthday!
Then we had a stroll across the Toll Bridge, and towards Darley Park. I probably knew once, but never had any time to take it in, that this area is part of the Derwent Valley Mills site – which in 2001 was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. There are over 1000 sites listed by Unesco of which just 28 are in Great Britain, including Stonehenge, The Tower of London, and The Giant’s Causeway.
The Derwent Valley Mills site extends 15 miles from just South of Matlock Bath, along the valley
In the 19th century, the Derwent Valley saw the arrival of the factory system, with buildings erected to house the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. Industrial production arrived in a big way to a rural environment. At the same time, housing and other facilities for those employed by the factory owners saw the development of the first industrial towns and villages. Cromford is such a typical example.
Many of the buildings at Darley Abbey are remnants of a thriving industrial village,
and in the 1770’s there was a paper mill, a corn mill, two flint mills (for porcelain production) and a leather mill, all powered by water from the Derwent.
