Belper
Encyclopedia
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district
of Amber Valley
in Derbyshire
, England
.
. The town had population of 20,548 living in 8,790 households according to the 2001 census
.
occupation, Belper was part of the land centred on Duffield held by the family of Henry de Ferrers
. The Domesday Survey records a manor of "Bradley" which is thought to have stood in an area of town now known as the Coppice. At that time it was probably within the Forest of East Derbyshire
which covered the whole of the county east of the Derwent
. It was possibly appropriated by William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby
at some time after it was disafforested in 1225 and became part of Duffield Frith
.
The town's name is thought to be a corruption of Beaurepaire - meaning beautiful retreat - the name given to a hunting lodge, the first record of which being in a charter of 1231. This would have been the property of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
who died in 1296, the record of his estate mentioning "a capital mansion". The chapel built at that time still exists. Originally consecrated in 1250 as the Chapel of St Thomas, it was rededicated to St John during the reign of King Henry VIII
. St John's Chapel is still in use today and is thought to be the oldest building still standing in Belper.
The coal deposits of Derbyshire are frequently associated with ironstone
within the clay substrate. Initially obtained from surface workings, it would later have been mined in shallow bell pits. It is thought that this was important for the de Ferrers family, who were ironmasters in Normandy. By the reign of Henry VIII
Belper had grown to a substantial size. It is recorded that in 1609 fifty-one people died of plague. However, in a Parliamentary Commissioners' report of 1650 regarding Duffield and its chapelries, Belper is described as "a hamlet appertaining to Duffield".
From at least the 13th century there were forges in the Belper and Duffield areas and iron-working became a major source of income, particularly nail making. By the end of the eighteenth-century there were around 500 workshops in the town supplying nails to the newly-built textile mills. The workshops were eventually superseded by machinery during the nineteenth-century. Some of the nail-makers houses are still in existence and form part of local tours of the town.
The industrialist Jedediah Strutt
, a partner of Richard Arkwright
, built a water-powered cotton mill in Belper in the late eighteenth-century: the second in the world at the time. With the expansion of the textile industry Belper became one of the first mill town
s. In 1784 Strutt built the North Mill
and, across the road, the West Mill. In 1803 the North Mill was burnt down and replaced by an new structure designed to be fireproof. Further extensions followed, culminating in the East Mill in 1913 - a present-day Belper landmark. Although no longer used to manufacture textiles the mill still derives electricity from the river, using turbine-driven generators.
Strutt had previously patented his "Derby Rib" for stockings, and the plentiful supply of cotton encouraged the trade of framework knitting
which had been carried on in the town and surrounding villages since the middle of the previous century. Mechanisation arrived about 1850, but by that time the fashion for stockings for men was disappearing. However elaborately patterned stockings, for ladies especially, were coming into vogue, and the output of the Belper "cheveners" was much in demand.
The construction of the North Midland Railway
in 1840 brought further prosperity. Belper was the first place in the UK
to get gas lighting, at a works erected by the Strutts at Milford
. Demand was such that in 1850, the Belper Gas and Coke Company was formed, with a works in the present Goods Road. Electricity followed in 1922 from the Derby and Nottingham Electrical Power Company's works at Spondon
. The first telephones came in 1895 from the National Telephone Company. The end of the century also brought the motor car, CH218, owned by Mr. James Bakewell of The Elms being possibly the first.
Belper remained a textile and hosiery centre into the twentieth-century. Meanwhile other companies were developing: iron founding led to the Park Foundry becoming a leader in the solid-fuel central-heating market; Adshead and Ratcliffe had developed Arbolite putty for iron-framed windows; Dalton and Company, which had been producing lubricating oils, developed ways of recovering used engine oil proving useful during the Second World War; in 1938, A.B.Williamson had developed a substance for conditioning silk stockings - the introduction of nylon stockings after the Second World War seemed to make it redundant, but mechanics and fitters had discovered its usefulness in cleaning hands and it is still marketed by Deb Group as Swarfega
.
Before 1983 the town gave its name to the Belper constituency
, which from 1945 to 1970 was the seat of George Brown
, the deputy leader of the Labour Party.
world heritage site
. After the Second World War, J. W. Thornton, the chocolate maker, moved into the town from Sheffield, which helped to alleviate the employment problems arising from the contraction of the earlier industries. In recent years, the company completed a move to a new site a few miles away in Swanwick
. Today, the main employment sectors are retail and services although some manufacturing industry remains. The main shopping area is centred around King Street. The town has three supermarkets.
have had plans to build a supermarket in Belper since 1998 and later identified the site of the old Thorntons
factory on Derwent Street as their preferred location. The plans include the construction of a new road giving access to the store and acting as a bypass around the town. These plans have been a topic of debate in the town since they were first announced and a group known as 'B.A.T.S.' (Belper Against Tesco Superstore) was formed in 2007 to protest against them. A rival group, Belper For Tesco, was set up in support of the development.
is situated on the Midland Main Line
. Regular trains between Derby and Matlock on the Derwent Valley Line
are almost the only services to stop there, although one main line service per weekday stops each way and the Friends of the Derwent Valley are campaigning for more.
who operate the bus garage on Bridge Street.
St Peter's Anglican
Church, a prominent landmark in the town, was built in 1824 to replace the smaller 13th-century St John's Chapel which is now used as a town council and heritage chamber. A second Anglican Church, Christ Church, was built in 1850. A local saying calls St Peter's "the low church
in the high place" and Christ Church "the high church
in the low place" based on their different liturgical traditions.
The town is also home to a Baptist
, a spiritualist, a Roman Catholic and a further Methodist church at Openwoodgate, as well as Belper Community Church which meets at the Strutt Centre three times a month.
play their home games at Christchurch Meadow and are currently in the Northern Premier League Division One South
. They are nicknamed The Nailers as a reference to the historical nail manufacturing industry in the town.
and Sixth Form Centre has approximately 1,400 pupils aged 11–18. It was originally named "Belper High School" when it was built in 1973, and is adjacent to Belper Leisure Centre. Famous people to have attended the school include Ross Davenport
- winner of two swimming gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- and Alison Hargreaves
, holder of a number of mountaineering records.
The Herbert Strutt Grammar School was among the Strutt familly's bequests to the town. It became a primary school in 1973 with the opening of Belper High School, and remained in use as such until spring 2008 when it was replaced by a new building on a different site. Notable among its students were the actors Alan Bates
and Timothy Dalton
.
For a number of years from 1979, the innovative Rowen House School
provided education on democratic principles
. Also, during the 1970s and 1980s, Belper was the site of an experimental three-tier education system, comprising a number of primary schools (age 5–9 years), feeding into two main secondary schools (age 9–13 years), pupils from both then usually attended a single American-style high school (age 13–18 years). In the mid-1980s, this scheme was abandoned, and the current two-tier system adopted. At the same time, one of the two secondary schools, Parks Secondary School, was closed down and the buildings, which were in a poor state of repair, demolished. In recent years, the site of the former Parks Secondary School has been used for a new school.
with Pawtucket, Rhode Island
after Samuel Slater
- an apprentice of Jedediah Strutt - went there and founded the American cotton spinning industry.
Belper made international news in 2001 after rejecting a gift of a large fibreglass Mr. Potato Head
model from Pawtucket, as some residents considered it "hideous".
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Amber Valley
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Geography
Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River DerwentRiver Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....
. The town had population of 20,548 living in 8,790 households according to the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
Nearby places
History
At the time of the NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
occupation, Belper was part of the land centred on Duffield held by the family of Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...
. The Domesday Survey records a manor of "Bradley" which is thought to have stood in an area of town now known as the Coppice. At that time it was probably within the Forest of East Derbyshire
Forest of East Derbyshire
The Forest of East Derbyshire was, in medieval times, an area of wooded heath between the River Derwent and the River Erewash in Derbyshire....
which covered the whole of the county east of the Derwent
River Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....
. It was possibly appropriated by William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby
William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby
William II de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby was a favourite of King John of England. He succeeded to the estate upon the death of his father, William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby, at the Siege of Acre in 1190...
at some time after it was disafforested in 1225 and became part of Duffield Frith
Duffield Frith
Duffield Frith was, in medieval times, an area of Derbyshire in England, part of that bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers by King William, controlled from his seat at Duffield Castle. From 1266 it became part of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1285 it was a Royal Forest with its own Forest Courts.It...
.
The town's name is thought to be a corruption of Beaurepaire - meaning beautiful retreat - the name given to a hunting lodge, the first record of which being in a charter of 1231. This would have been the property of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund of Crouchback, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster , was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily. His nickname refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade.-Childhood:Edmund was born in London...
who died in 1296, the record of his estate mentioning "a capital mansion". The chapel built at that time still exists. Originally consecrated in 1250 as the Chapel of St Thomas, it was rededicated to St John during the reign of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. St John's Chapel is still in use today and is thought to be the oldest building still standing in Belper.
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
within the clay substrate. Initially obtained from surface workings, it would later have been mined in shallow bell pits. It is thought that this was important for the de Ferrers family, who were ironmasters in Normandy. By the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
Belper had grown to a substantial size. It is recorded that in 1609 fifty-one people died of plague. However, in a Parliamentary Commissioners' report of 1650 regarding Duffield and its chapelries, Belper is described as "a hamlet appertaining to Duffield".
From at least the 13th century there were forges in the Belper and Duffield areas and iron-working became a major source of income, particularly nail making. By the end of the eighteenth-century there were around 500 workshops in the town supplying nails to the newly-built textile mills. The workshops were eventually superseded by machinery during the nineteenth-century. Some of the nail-makers houses are still in existence and form part of local tours of the town.
The industrialist Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings...
, a partner of Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
, built a water-powered cotton mill in Belper in the late eighteenth-century: the second in the world at the time. With the expansion of the textile industry Belper became one of the first mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
s. In 1784 Strutt built the North Mill
Belper North Mill
Belper North Mill, also known as Strutt's North Mill, Belper, is one of the Derwent Valley Mills designated UNESCO World Heritage Status in 2001.It is sited in Belper, a town in Derbyshire, England roughly half way between Derby and Matlock....
and, across the road, the West Mill. In 1803 the North Mill was burnt down and replaced by an new structure designed to be fireproof. Further extensions followed, culminating in the East Mill in 1913 - a present-day Belper landmark. Although no longer used to manufacture textiles the mill still derives electricity from the river, using turbine-driven generators.
Strutt had previously patented his "Derby Rib" for stockings, and the plentiful supply of cotton encouraged the trade of framework knitting
Stocking frame
A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee of Calverton near Nottingham in 1589...
which had been carried on in the town and surrounding villages since the middle of the previous century. Mechanisation arrived about 1850, but by that time the fashion for stockings for men was disappearing. However elaborately patterned stockings, for ladies especially, were coming into vogue, and the output of the Belper "cheveners" was much in demand.
The construction of the North Midland Railway
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
in 1840 brought further prosperity. Belper was the first place in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to get gas lighting, at a works erected by the Strutts at Milford
Milford, Derbyshire
Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...
. Demand was such that in 1850, the Belper Gas and Coke Company was formed, with a works in the present Goods Road. Electricity followed in 1922 from the Derby and Nottingham Electrical Power Company's works at Spondon
Spondon
Spondon is a ward within the city of Derby. Prior to this, Spondon was a separate village which dated from before the Domesday Book of 1086.-Description:The name Spondon is Anglo-Saxon and describes a gravelly hill....
. The first telephones came in 1895 from the National Telephone Company. The end of the century also brought the motor car, CH218, owned by Mr. James Bakewell of The Elms being possibly the first.
Belper remained a textile and hosiery centre into the twentieth-century. Meanwhile other companies were developing: iron founding led to the Park Foundry becoming a leader in the solid-fuel central-heating market; Adshead and Ratcliffe had developed Arbolite putty for iron-framed windows; Dalton and Company, which had been producing lubricating oils, developed ways of recovering used engine oil proving useful during the Second World War; in 1938, A.B.Williamson had developed a substance for conditioning silk stockings - the introduction of nylon stockings after the Second World War seemed to make it redundant, but mechanics and fitters had discovered its usefulness in cleaning hands and it is still marketed by Deb Group as Swarfega
Swarfega
Swarfega is a brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner made by Deb Limited, a British company based in Denby, Derbyshire, and is used in engineering and other oily, dirty, manual trades, such as printing....
.
Government
Belper (UK Parliament constituency)
Belper is a former constituency in the UK Parliament. It was created at the 1918 general election as a county division of Derbyshire, comprising the area in the centre of the county and surrounding Derby, and named after the market town of Belper although this was in the north of the constituency....
, which from 1945 to 1970 was the seat of George Brown
George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
, the deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Economy
Belper's economy was traditionally reliant on manufacturing industry and numerous goods were made in the town. Cotton spinning and textile production were major employers virtually for much of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries. The large East Mill and the smaller North Mill are now all that remain of the industry and are preserved as part of the Derwent Valley MillsDerwent Valley Mills
Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for...
world heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. After the Second World War, J. W. Thornton, the chocolate maker, moved into the town from Sheffield, which helped to alleviate the employment problems arising from the contraction of the earlier industries. In recent years, the company completed a move to a new site a few miles away in Swanwick
Swanwick, Derbyshire
Swanwick is a village in Derbyshire, England, also a Parish within the Amber Valley district, with a population of 5,316 at the 2001 census.It has a number of shops, pubs and other businesses, a Church of , as well as Methodist and Baptist churches...
. Today, the main employment sectors are retail and services although some manufacturing industry remains. The main shopping area is centred around King Street. The town has three supermarkets.
Tesco plans
TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
have had plans to build a supermarket in Belper since 1998 and later identified the site of the old Thorntons
Thorntons
Thorntons is a UK chocolate company established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Thorntons today is a £180 million turnover company with nearly 400 shops and cafes and around 200 franchises together with internet, mail order and commercial services...
factory on Derwent Street as their preferred location. The plans include the construction of a new road giving access to the store and acting as a bypass around the town. These plans have been a topic of debate in the town since they were first announced and a group known as 'B.A.T.S.' (Belper Against Tesco Superstore) was formed in 2007 to protest against them. A rival group, Belper For Tesco, was set up in support of the development.
Road
The A6 is the major through-road of the town and runs parallel to the River Derwent to the west.Rail
Belper railway stationBelper railway station
Belper railway station is a railway station serving the town of Belper in Derbyshire. The station is located on the Midland Main Line from Derby to Leeds.-Description:...
is situated on the Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
. Regular trains between Derby and Matlock on the Derwent Valley Line
Derwent Valley Line
The Derwent Valley Line is a railway line from Derby to Matlock in Derbyshire.The line follows the Midland Main Line as far as Ambergate Junction, which is just south of Ambergate railway station, continuing to Matlock, following the course of the River Derwent.*Derby*Duffield**Former branch line...
are almost the only services to stop there, although one main line service per weekday stops each way and the Friends of the Derwent Valley are campaigning for more.
Buses
The town is served by regular bus services to Derby and surrounding towns and villages as well as longer routes to Manchester and London. The major operator is Trent BartonTrent Barton
Trent Barton is one of the very small number of significant independent bus operators in the United Kingdom. It was formed as the result of merging Derbyshire's Trent Buses with Nottinghamshire's Barton Transport....
who operate the bus garage on Bridge Street.
Churches
The oldest church still used for its original purpose is the Belper Unitarian Church, built in 1788. The present Methodist Church was opened on June 28, 1807 and was originally built to hold 1,400 worshippers.St Peter's Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church, a prominent landmark in the town, was built in 1824 to replace the smaller 13th-century St John's Chapel which is now used as a town council and heritage chamber. A second Anglican Church, Christ Church, was built in 1850. A local saying calls St Peter's "the low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
in the high place" and Christ Church "the high church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
in the low place" based on their different liturgical traditions.
The town is also home to a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, a spiritualist, a Roman Catholic and a further Methodist church at Openwoodgate, as well as Belper Community Church which meets at the Strutt Centre three times a month.
Sport
Belper Town F.C.Belper Town F.C.
-History:They were established in 1883 and joined the Midland League in 1961. After the 1981–82 season, Belper Town joined the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, winning the title in 1984–85...
play their home games at Christchurch Meadow and are currently in the Northern Premier League Division One South
Northern Premier League Division One South
Division One South is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 4 of the National League System, placing it seven divisions below the Premier League...
. They are nicknamed The Nailers as a reference to the historical nail manufacturing industry in the town.
Primary schools
There are seven primary schools which feed the single secondary school:- Holbrook Primary School;
- St Elizabeth's Primary School;
- St John's Primary School;
- Herbert Strutt Primary School;
- Pottery Primary School;
- Long Row Primary School;
- Ambergate Primary School.
Secondary schools
Belper SchoolBelper School
Belper School and Sixth Form Centre is a comprehensive school located in the town of Belper, Derbyshire, England. It has Foundation School status and is a specialist Technology College. In 2007, Ofsted reported that it was a 'good' school, while in 2009 it was deemed 'satisfactory' due to a dip in...
and Sixth Form Centre has approximately 1,400 pupils aged 11–18. It was originally named "Belper High School" when it was built in 1973, and is adjacent to Belper Leisure Centre. Famous people to have attended the school include Ross Davenport
Ross Davenport
Ross Paul Davenport is a British swimmer. He won two gold medals in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne for the 200 m freestyle and the 4×200 m freestyle relay....
- winner of two swimming gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
- and Alison Hargreaves
Alison Hargreaves
Alison Jane Hargreaves was an English mountain climber from Derbyshire. Educated at Belper School, her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest solo without supplementary oxygen in 1995. She also soloed all the great north faces of the Alps in a single season—a first for any climber...
, holder of a number of mountaineering records.
The Herbert Strutt Grammar School was among the Strutt familly's bequests to the town. It became a primary school in 1973 with the opening of Belper High School, and remained in use as such until spring 2008 when it was replaced by a new building on a different site. Notable among its students were the actors Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
and Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
.
For a number of years from 1979, the innovative Rowen House School
Rowen House School
Rowen House was an independent British boarding school founded in 1979 in Belper, Derbyshire. The name was not a mis-spelling, but a reference to the Utopian thinker and eutopian practitioner, Robert Owen...
provided education on democratic principles
Democratic education
Democratic education is a theory of learning and school governance in which students and staff participate freely and equally in a school democracy...
. Also, during the 1970s and 1980s, Belper was the site of an experimental three-tier education system, comprising a number of primary schools (age 5–9 years), feeding into two main secondary schools (age 9–13 years), pupils from both then usually attended a single American-style high school (age 13–18 years). In the mid-1980s, this scheme was abandoned, and the current two-tier system adopted. At the same time, one of the two secondary schools, Parks Secondary School, was closed down and the buildings, which were in a poor state of repair, demolished. In recent years, the site of the former Parks Secondary School has been used for a new school.
International links
Belper is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
after Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
- an apprentice of Jedediah Strutt - went there and founded the American cotton spinning industry.
Belper made international news in 2001 after rejecting a gift of a large fibreglass Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
model from Pawtucket, as some residents considered it "hideous".
Famous residents
- George Brown, Baron George-BrownGeorge Brown, Baron George-BrownGeorge Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
Labour politician, Foreign Secretary 1965–7, represented Belper from 1945 until 1970, but never actually lived here. He kept a flat in Swadlincote at the opposite end of the constituency. - Timothy DaltonTimothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
, actor, the fourth James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, was raised here - Ross DavenportRoss DavenportRoss Paul Davenport is a British swimmer. He won two gold medals in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne for the 200 m freestyle and the 4×200 m freestyle relay....
, swimmer - Monica EdwardsMonica EdwardsMonica Edwards was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels.-Early life:...
, children's writer, was born here in 1912 - Penelope MortimerPenelope MortimerPenelope Ruth Mortimer , was a British journalist, biographer and novelist.-Early life:...
, novelist and wife of John Mortimer, author of The Pumpkin Eater, was the daughter of the vicar of St Peter's church - John LawtonJohn Lawton (Author)John Lawton is a producer/director in television, and an author of historical/crime/espionage novels set primarily in England during World War II and the Cold War.-Biography:...
, novelist, author of Black Out and Blue Rondo, was born here - Suzy KendallSuzy KendallSuzy Kendall is a British actress best known for her film roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her blonde attractive looks got her leading roles in some fairly prestigious productions...
, first wife of Dudley Moore, actress in British and Italian films - Will HayWill HayWilliam Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...
, comedian and actor, lived in Belper while performing locally in the 1920s - Tracy ShawTracy ShawTracy Shaw is a British actress and singer.She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock in British soap opera Coronation Street during the 1990s and early 2000s.-Career:...
, actress, played Maxine Peacock (1995–2003) in Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960... - Alan BatesAlan BatesSir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
and Graham HaberfieldGraham HaberfieldGraham Haberfield was an English actor. Born in Chesterfield, the son of a railway porter, he was educated at Herbert Strutt Grammar School, Belper...
, actors, both attended Strutts school - Samuel SlaterSamuel SlaterSamuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
, "father of the AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrial revolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
", grew up on Chevin Road and apprenticed at MilfordMilford, DerbyshireMilford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded... - Bombardier Charles StoneCharles Edwin StoneCharles Edwin Stone VC MM was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
who was awarded the VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
was born, and is buried, here - Jedediah StruttJedediah StruttJedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings...
, inventor, opened his first mill in Belper (1777) - Frank SwettenhamFrank SwettenhamSir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...
, colonial ruler of Malaya, author, was born here in 1850 - Audley Bowdler Williamson, inventor of SwarfegaSwarfegaSwarfega is a brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner made by Deb Limited, a British company based in Denby, Derbyshire, and is used in engineering and other oily, dirty, manual trades, such as printing....
and founder of Deb Ltd., still based in Belper - Admiral Sir Trevor Alan SoarTrevor SoarAdmiral Sir Trevor Alan Soar KCB OBE is currently the Commander-in-Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy.-Early life:Soar was born in Belper, and was educated at Loughborough Grammar School. He joined the Royal Navy in 1975, attending BRNC Dartmouth.-Naval career:He commanded the submarines from 1987 to...
, the current Commander in Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy, was born in Belper. - Ron WebsterRon WebsterRon Webster is an English former association football player, who spent nearly all his career playing for his local team Derby County. Webster played at right back. Webster was always a fans' favourite because of his hard tackles and effort. Seth Johnson, a recent ex-Derby player was compared to...
, professional footballer, born here in 1943. A full back, Webster played 455 league games for Derby CountyDerby County F.C.Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
between 1960 and 1978.
See also
- Former Parliament constituency of BelperBelper (UK Parliament constituency)Belper is a former constituency in the UK Parliament. It was created at the 1918 general election as a county division of Derbyshire, comprising the area in the centre of the county and surrounding Derby, and named after the market town of Belper although this was in the north of the constituency....
- Belper Town F.C.Belper Town F.C.-History:They were established in 1883 and joined the Midland League in 1961. After the 1981–82 season, Belper Town joined the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, winning the title in 1984–85...
External links
- Belper Town Council
- Belper Today - newspaper
- Derwent Valley Mills
- Site specific to the North Mill
- BBC: Historical account of the Belper nailers
- Belper School and Sixth Form Centre
- Belper Historical Research Website
- Belper Hockey Club
- Belper Rugby Club
- Belper Town Football Club
- Belper Sub Aqua Club
- Belper Forum
- Belper Musical Theatre
- Belper Bicycle Club
- Thisisderbyshire.co.uk/belper