Derby owes its early dominance in the are to the River Derwent and the two forts established by the Romans to guard the river crossing between upland and lowland Britain. Ever since, the town has maintained its position of strategic importance, as Northworthy to the Saxons then re-names Derby by the Vikings in the ninth century who developed it into the chief town of the county that bears its name.
In this book, the author looks at the Saxon and Viking settlements and the changes that followed the Norman Conquest before giving fascinating glimpses of the lives of the townspeople in the Middle Ages and in Tudor times, when Mary, Queen of Scots strayed into the town.
After the Civil War, when Derby was occupied by Parliamentarians, a period of stability in the 18th century permitted the town to develop as a commercial, industrial and intellectual centre. The book examines the lives and works of such Derby worthies of the time as Erasmus Darwin and Joseph Pickford. Industrial developments are describes, such as England's first silk mill and the world-famous porcelain works, and so is Bonnie Prince Charlie's occupation of the town, bringing another period of excitement and stress, plus further evidence of Derby's strategic importance.
Transport has always been important in the town's economy and the author puts the social and economic effects of the coming of the Midland Railway in the 19th Century and of Rolls-Royce in the 20th into historical context, together with the town's attempts to cope with a rapidly growing population, poor housing and sanitation, and poverty.
The town is shown at its best in the author's account of the civilian war effort and the privations suffered in the two world wars. Debry's creation as a city recognised its regional - and national - status and the book brings the story up to date with the arrival of Toyota and the founding of the University in Derby.
The very readable text is based on a wide variety of primary sources and carefully illustrated with documents, drawings and photographs (old and new). The book provides what Derby has long lacked - a concise yet comprehensive account of its eventful past that is both up-to-date and attractively presented.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. The Beginnings: Prehistoric Derby to 'Derventio'
2. Saxons, Danes and Domesday
3. Commerce and Churches: Medieval Derby
4. Tudor Derby
5. Civil War and Restoration: 17th Century Derby
6. Silk, China, Society and Rebels: Derby in the Early 18th Century
7. Turnpikes, Canals and the Enlightenment: Derby in the Late 18th Century
8. Early 19th Century Derby
9. Railways and Entertainment: Derby in the mid-19th Century
10. Health, Housing, Poverty and the Co-operative Movement: Derby in the Lath 19th Century
11. Rolls-Royce and War: Derby in the Early 20th Century
12. From Peace to Peace: Derby from the Armistice to 1950
13. Festival of Britain to Jubilee City, 1951-1980
14. Derby in the 1990s
Appendix: Derby's Villages
References
Select Bibliography
Index
