43 Facts About Derby

Derby was settled by Romans, who established the town of Derventio, later captured by the Anglo-Saxons, and later still by the Vikings, who made their town of one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw.

Home to Lombe's Mill, an early British factory, Derby has a claim to be one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution.

Derby is a centre for advanced transport manufacturing, being home to the world's second largest aero-engine manufacturer: Rolls-Royce.

The Derby Waterworks included waterwheel-powered pumps for raising water out of the River Derwent and storage tanks for distribution.

Derby stayed at Exeter House, Full Street, where he held a "council of war".

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Derby had received misleading information about an army coming to meet him south of Derby.

Derby abandoned his invasion at Swarkestone Bridge on the River Trent just a few miles south of Derby.

The Derby Football was banned in 1846, although it was played once more in 1870.

In 1717, Derby was the site of the first water-powered silk mill in Britain, built by John Lombe and George Sorocold, after Lombe had reputedly stolen the secrets of silk-throwing from Piedmont in Italy .

Derby was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and it became a county borough with the Local Government Act 1888.

However, Derby remained a major rail manufacturing centre, second only to Crewe and Wolverton.

In World War I, Derby was targeted by German Zeppelin air bombers, who killed five people in a 1916 raid on the town.

Slum clearance in the 1920s and 1930s saw the central area of Derby become less heavily populated as families were rehoused on new council estates in the suburbs, where houses for private sale were constructed.

Derby was awarded city status on 7 June 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the 25th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.

Until then, Derby had been one of the few towns in England with a cathedral but not city status.

Derby holds an important position in the history of the Labour movement as one of two seats gained by the recently formed Labour Representation Committee at the 1900 general election.

Derby has become a significant cultural centre for the deaf community in Britain.

Derby is divided into seventeen electoral wards, each of which elects three members of Derby City Council.

Derby is in a relatively low-lying area along the lower valley of the River Derwent, where the south-east foothills of the Pennines adjoin the lowlands and valley of the River Trent to the south.

Derby has a green belt area defined to the north and east of the city, first drawn up in the 1950s, to prevent convergence with the surrounding towns and villages.

The rainfall in Derby is significant, with precipitation even during the driest month.

Derby was the home of Core Design, who developed the successful video game Tomb Raider.

Infinity Park Derby is a planned business park for aerospace, rail and automotive technology adjacent to the Rolls-Royce site in Sinfin.

Derby is the headquarters of the Derby Railway Engineering Society, founded in 1908 to promote railway engineering expertise both in the city and nationally.

Local bus services in and around Derby are run by a number of companies, but principally Trentbarton and Arriva Midlands.

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On 8 October 2021 it was announced that Derby had been included in the longlist of bids to host UK City of Culture 2025, but in March 2022 it failed to make it onto the shortlist.

One of Derby's bands is Anti-Pasti, whose debut 1981 album The Last Call reached the top 40 in the UK album charts.

Sinfonia Viva is a chamber orchestra based in Derby, presenting concerts and educational events in the city, across the East Midlands, and occasionally further afield.

Derby Jazz promotes a year-round series of performances and workshops.

Derby has had a number of theatres, including the Grand Theatre which was opened from 1886 until 1950.

In 2012 Derby University took over as sole operator of Derby Theatre; Sarah Brigham was appointed artistic director, and has been in post since January 2013.

Derby gained a high profile in sport following the appointment of Brian Clough as manager of Derby County F C in 1967.

The attempt to establish baseball in Derby was unsuccessful, but the stadium survived for some 100 years afterwards as the home of Derby County Football Club.

Derby's plays on the Ladies European Tour, and was a member of the victorious European Team in the 2011 Solheim Cup.

Derby Arboretum, donated to the town by local philanthropist Joseph Strutt in 1840, was the first planned urban public park in the country.

Derby is believed to be one of the country's highest, if not the highest, ranking cities for parkland per capita.

Derby Rowing Club and Derwent Rowing Club are located on the banks of the river, where there is a riverside walk and cycle path.

Derby is well provided with pubs and is renowned for its large number of real ale outlets.

For those who want to stay in education but leave school, the large Derby College provides post-16 courses for school leavers, apprentices and employer-related training.

Derby has special needs establishments including Ivy House School at the Derby Moor Community Sports College and the Light House which is a respite facility for children and parents.

The Derby Trader was a free weekly newspaper that is no longer in print.

The BBC in Derby have their own local website for the area providing news, travel and weather information, as well as other features.

Twinning agreement with Derby was in the historical Hall of Peace in Osnabruck's Rathaus .