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Industrial
Derbyshire
Michael E. Smith
Derbyshire played an important part in the history
of Britain’s industrial development. The Romans
mined lead here and from medieval times coal mining,
iron working and the manufacture of pottery were all
important.
The Silk Mill, built at Derby in 1722, has a good
claim to being Britain’s first factory and in
1771, at Cromford, Richard Arkwright created a system
of industrial production, which was copied throughout
the world. As water-power was replaced by steam, Derbyshire
colliers hewed millions of tons of coal to fuel the
later phase of the industrial revolution.
With the coming of the railways Derby became an important
manufacturing centre and firms such as James Smith,
making uniforms, and Bemrose, printing tickets and
timetables, piggybacked to prosperity in the wake
of this railway boom.
By the twentieth century a number of engineering firms
had established themselves with the county and in
1940 Spitfires and Hurricanes powered by Rolls-Royce
engines won the Battle of Britain.
In the post-war world the development of the jet engine
and new industries such as nuclear engineering, kept
Derbyshire in the forefront of technical research
and industrial development.
Michael Smith tells the fascinating story of the inventors,
entrepreneurs and artisans who contributed to the
Industrial revolution in Derbyshire as well as later
developments in aviation and chemical and nuclear
engineering. He describes the development of well-known
industrial enterprises as diverse as Crown Derby,
the Midland Railway, Offiler’s Brewery, Rolls-Royce,
Bemrose, the Butterley Company and Toyota as well
as many others.
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About the
Author
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