Darley Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darley Abbey is a village on the outskirts of Derby, England. The village is located on the River Derwent and is associated with the world heritage site of Derwent Valley Mills.
[edit] History
Darley Abbey was originally the site of an Augustinian priory which was almost totally obliterated during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The only remaining building from that period is now a public house.
The mill was built in 1783 by Thomas Evans, who hailed from a family with interests in lead iron and copper. Initially, he partnered with Richard Arkwright and Jedediah Strutt in the venture.
It was a six storey building powered by water with an enormous weir across the river. It was destroyed by fire in 1788 and rebuilt with sheets of tin nailed to the beams as protection.
By 1830, Evans constructed a factory village of three-storey cottages across the river from the mill for his 500 employees. This village, along with its toll road, still exist today. The toll road serves as a short cut between the A6 and the Ripley Road. In 1970, the entire area was made into a conservation area, leading to it being named the Derwent Valley Mills heritage area.
[edit] Features
- Darley Park is a picturesque park featuring many different gardens and wildlife areas.
- Saint Benedict Catholic School is one of the largest schools in Derby with around 1500 pupils. The school dates back to 1986, but with several schools previously occupying the site including St Ralph Sherwin. Operating under the head teacher Christopher Reynolds OBE the school has got state of the art CCTV cameras.
- Saint Mary's Catholic School, which dates to 1814 and has since moved to a new building on three separate occasions, is located in Darley Abbey on Broadway.
[edit] External links
| Settlements on the A38, Derby to Mansfield | edit | |
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Heading north: Derby | Darley Abbey | Horsley | Kilburn | Denby | Ripley | Swanwick | Alfreton | South Normanton | East Midlands Designer Outlet | Mansfield |
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