Darley Dale
| Darley Dale | |
| Derbyshire | |
|---|---|
 St. Helen's Church, Darley Dale | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK270632 |
| Location: | 53°9’58"N, 1°35’46"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,167 (2001) |
| Post town: | Matlock |
| Postcode: | DE4 |
| Dialling code: | 01629 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Derbyshire Dales |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Derbyshire |
Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town in Derbyshire, with a population of around 6,000. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road. It is a commuter town for workers in Matlock.
Darley Bridge lies on the other side of the Derwent.
History
A Benedictine Abbey was built here under the reign of King Henry I[1] in the twelfth century.
The town grew in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries around the lead mining and smelting industries.
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 Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris.
Other attractions include the Peak Rail railway which runs from Rowsley South to Matlock via Darley Dale railway station and the Whitworth Park, a large park located next to the railway.
At the bottom of Station Road lies Darley Dale railway station. National rail services ceased in the 1960s however the station is now occupied by the railway and heritage preservation group Peak Rail. From there, a heritage steam service operates south to Matlock and north to Rowsley South, with a route distance of approximately five miles.
Arts and festivals
The town was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom, in the category of 'Large Village'.
A biennial arts festival, the Darley Dale Arts Festival, is held in July in odd-numbered years.[2]
An annual transport festival, the Darley Dale Festival of Transport, is held at the bottom of Station Road every September.[3]
Next to Darley Dale is the St Elphin's Park, which during the early 19th century was a spa and latterly a well known boarding school for girls.[4]
Nearby is the holiday resort Darwin Forest Country Park.
Two Dales
In nearby Two Dales, Ladygrove Mill was built for spinning cotton by Abraham Flint, but converted to flax spinning in 1789 by Daniel Dakeyne of Knabb House. 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 powered "disc engine", which they patented in 1830 as the Dakeyne hydraulic disc engine.[5][6] It was the progenitor of a type, now known as a "nutating disc engine" (which has been the subject of entrepreneurial interest in the 21st century). The mills and equipment have virtually disappeared but the remains of the dams can still be seen.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Darley Dale) |
- Darley Dale Town Council
- Darley Dale Arts Festival website
- "Geograph" Darley Dale station in the 1990s
- Peak Rail Website
- Darley Dale Fly Fishing Club
References
- ↑ Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835
- ↑ The bi-annual Arts Festival
- ↑ The Annual Darley Dale Festival of Transport
- ↑ St Elphin's Park Retirement Village
- ↑ "The Romping Lion" - The story of the Dakeyne Disc Engine by Phil Wigfull
- ↑ "Inventors". The Romping Lion, Peakland Heritage site. http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=20601221.