Darley Dale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Map sources for Darley Dale at grid reference SK270632
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For other Darleys, see Darley (disambiguation)
Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 6,000 people. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road.
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[edit] History
The town grew in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries around the lead mining and smelting industries Derbyshire lead mining history, and is also a commuter town for workers in Matlock. Between Darley Dale and Matlock is the Cawdor Quarry which supplied stone for Hyde Park Corner and the Thames Embankment in London.
[edit] Famous people
Famous people associated with Darley Dale include Joseph Whitworth, Crighton Porteous and Joseph Paxton, while the snooker player Nigel Bond was also born there. Whitworth bought Stancliffe Hall and supplied four six-ton blocks of stone from its quarry, for the lions of St. George's Hall in Liverpool. He endowed the Whitworth Institute, where the hospital was later founded in memory of his wife.
[edit] Notable buildings and attractions
Notable buildings in the town include its fourteenth century parish church St. Helens, with a yew tree which is thought to be two thousand years old. The south transept has a stained glass window by Burne-Jones and William Morris. Other attractions include the Peak Rail railway which runs from Rowsley South to Matlock via a station at Darley Dale.
It was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom, in the category of 'Large Village'.
There is a bi-annual arts festival, the Darley Dale Arts Festival, held in July in odd-numbered years.
In nearby Two Dales, Ladygrove Mill was built for spinning cotton by Abraham Flint, but converted to flax spinning in 1789 by Daniel Dalkeyne. It was expanded by his sons, Edward and James, who built a series of three dams on the Sydnope Valley rising to 96 feet. To cope with the water pressure, they invented a revolutionary water-pressure "disc engine", which they patented in 1830. The mills and equipment have virtually disappeared but the remains of the dams can still be seen.
Finally, at the bottom of Station Road lies Darley Dale railway station. Although national rail services ceased in the 1960s, the station has been for over 15 years occupied by the railway and heritage preservation group Peak Rail. From here, a heritage steam service operates south to Matlock and north to Rowsley South, with a route distance of approximately five miles.
[edit] External links
- Darley Dale Town Council
- Darley Dale Arts Festival website
- "Geograph" Darley Dale station in the 1990's
- Peak Rail Website
- Map sources for Darley Dale
Ceremonial county of Derbyshire  |
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| Unitary authorities: | Derby | |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Amber Valley • Bolsover • Chesterfield • Derbyshire Dales • Erewash • High Peak • North East Derbyshire • South Derbyshire | |
| Cities/Towns: | Alfreton • Ashbourne • Bakewell • Belper • Bolsover • Buxton • Chapel-en-le-Frith • Chesterfield • Clay Cross • Derby • Dronfield • Glossop • Heanor • Ilkeston • Killamarsh • Long Eaton • Matlock • New Mills • Ripley • Sandiacre • Shirebrook • Staveley • Swadlincote • Whaley Bridge • Wirksworth See also: List of civil parishes in Derbyshire |
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