may be also said, that what he found a desert, he left, comparatively a city CHAP. 5. and a garden. The principal manufacturers now resident in that district Muslin will be seen by reference to the Directory. Mr. J. Wood, and Messrs. J. Weaving. and W. Sidebottom are considered as the most eminent power-loom manufacturers; which looms they employ in the fabric of calicoes and muslins. Calico printing is here carried on extensively: it is performed with cylin- Calico drical copper rollers, on which the figures are engraved. The process of Printing. this mode of printing is so rapid, that pieces of twenty-eight yards are thrown off from each set of rollers in less than two minutes. This art was greatly improved, if not invented, by Mr. John Potts, of the house of Potts, Oliver and Potts, of New Mills. This gentleman was an artist himself, and having studied the different shades of colour produced upon the blue-ware in the potteries, he was enabled to bring the art of calico-printing to a perfection of which previously it had not been supposed to be capable. In a county which is rising so rapidly in manufacturing interest, the Bleaching business of bleaching and that of dyeing become necessarily important. It appears indeed that Derbyshire was distinguished in very early times for its fullers and bleachers. There are bleaching-houses and grounds in about eighteen towns and villages. We have already mentioned those at Millford and Glossop. One of the most eminent in the county is that of Mr. John Garton, at Lumsdale near Matlock. Grass-bleaching is carried on by Messrs. Hewitt, Longson and Co. at New Brampton, and by Mr. Radford at Higham.

and Dyeing.

Of the other branches of industry in which the inhabitants of Derbyshire are chiefly employed, we must not omit mention of tape, ferrets and Tape, &c. small-wares. Manufactories of this nature were introduced in the town of Derby about a quarter of a century ago, by Riley, Madeley, Hackett and Co. and the manufacture of tape is now carried on by different firms, which have all originated in the Haarlem works, in Derby. There are nine mills in the county, at which about nine hundred persons are employed.

The clock and watch manufactories of Derby employ about sixty persons. Messrs. Whitehurst and Son, who conduct an extensive business in this line, are descendants of the celebrated geologist, natural philosopher and able mechanist, Mr. John Whitehurst, F.R.S. That eminent man settled at Derby about the year 1740, where he made the clock and chimes of All Saints church and the clock of the town hall; on which account the corporation presented to him the freedom of the borough. He was subsequently appointed inspector of weights and measures in London, where he died in February, 1788, in his seventy-fifth year. The present Messrs. Whitehurst have made clocks for many of the halls belonging to the nobility and gentry of this and other counties, which are remarkable for their accuracy. They have also made a clock with chimes for Burton old church, and clocks for many churches in this and other counties which are universally admired. The watches of Messrs. Brookhouse, Mr. Tunnicliffe, Messrs. Bancroft and Woodward and other manufacturers are highly esteemed, and have become articles of extensive exportation.

Clocks and

Watches.

Manufac

Among the remaining manufactures, which are too numerous to par- General ticularize, it will suffice to name the paper-mills, the principal of which are at Darley Abbey, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Little Eaton and Matlock.

tures.

CHAP. 5. These employ upwards of three hundred persons. At the manufactory of Paper Manu- Mr. John Ibbotson, of White-hough mills near Chapel-en-le-Frith, there factories, &c. is made the largest sized paper in England. The London press, which has within these two or three years past, issued newspapers of very great dimensions, is supplied from this manufactory; and here, a sheet of paper has recently been made of such extraordinary extent, that it would cover nearly an acre of land. Manchester and other great towns are furnished with large packing paper from this mill. At Messrs. Tempest and Sons, Little Eaton near Derby, large sized machine-paper is also made. Printing has been carried on in all its branches in Derby, Chesterfield, &c. for many years past; and at Derby, Messrs. Mozley and Son, have long been established as wholesale booksellers and printers, and at the present time employ sixty-seven hands. Mr. Richardson is also a wholesale bookseller and printer, and is carrying on a considerable business. There are also colour-mills, plaster of Paris mills, and mills for Roman cement. Hatmaking is carried on at Lea-wood, at which place the government has, during many years, contracted for soldiers' military caps, helmets, &c. Mr. Walker is the proprietor of this establishment. Fine hats are also made at the same manufactory. Hat-making is also an extensive business at Chesterfield, Matlock, Wirksworth, Alfreton, &c.-Tanners, fellmongers and leather-dressers are established in the principal towns.

Trade of the
County.

Imports.

Thus it will be seen that Derbyshire is entitled to take an elevated rank in the trade, wealth and industry of the kingdom. Some writers have placed it as the fourth amongst the counties of England with respect to manufactures; and we may venture to assert, that its character is rising in national estimation. In agriculture it is upon an equality at least with the most favoured districts; and its cheeses in particular are sought for in Exports and other counties. The chief articles exported for sale beyond the limits of the county, appear to be cotton-twist and stockings, silk-thread, piece-goods and stockings, calicoes and muslins, frame-lace, hats: coals, iron, edgetools and implements, nails, lead, red and white lead, building-stone and marble, lime, gypsum, calamine, chert, fluor spar, copperas, grind and millstones, fire-clay, bricks, stones, china, earthenware, jewellery; and, among other articles of agricultural produce, wool and cheese.—In aid of its transit trade or commerce, Derbyshire possesses the Trent, and the Trent and Mersey navigation; the Peak Forest, Cromford, Erewash, Nutbrook, Ashby, Chesterfield and Derby canals. There is now in progress the High Peak railway, which will extend from Cromford to Whaley Bridge on the Goyte, where it will meet the Peak Forest canal, the Pinxton, Denby and many private rail-ways.-The import trade of the county may be considered as consisting chiefly of the raw material for its cotton and silk factories, of groceries and wines, and of other articles of foreign growth, with a few manufactured goods of the peculiar produce of other counties.

Ancient

Trade.

A district like Derbyshire, abounding in the useful ores of lead and iron, with other natural productions, would necessarily have had some intercourse of trade in very early times. It would be absurd to endeavour to trace any certain vestiges of such commerce, any further than to point out the probability that the mines of Derbyshire were known to the traders of Belgium previously to the Roman invasion, while the pigs of lead, im

pressed with latin inscriptions, which have been discovered in the mining CHAP. 5. districts, sufficiently prove that this species of wealth had become an object Ancient of attention to the Roman government. The conveyance of heavy articles Trade. must have been attended with considerable difficulty, but it appears plainly by Doomsday Book that the Trent had been navigated long before the Conquest, and it may be inferred that water carriage was not wholly unknown in the remotest periods.

There can be no doubt that those who wrought the mines obtained their sustenance from the southern districts of the county, and hence would originate a trade in corn and other provisions. This intercourse continued many centuries, and Camden describes the town of Derby in his time, as dependent for its prosperity upon dealers who purchased corn, which they sold again to the more northern people; but the earliest roads were probably made and used rather for military than trading purposes. We shall have occasion to speak more at large in our Chapter on the Antiquities of the County, concerning the Roman roads and encampments, of which Derbyshire possesses many remarkable and interesting traces; it will be sufficient to observe, that these ancient roads proceeded in direct lines from Roads. one station to another, and were carried over hills, deviating in very few instances from their course for the sake of avoiding steep ascents. Very few carriages were then in use, and all intercourse, including the conveyance of goods, was performed either on foot or horseback.

In after times, this adherence to the straight line of roads, for any considerable length, began to be less regarded; and the leading object was dry and sound ground between town and town. When in times still more modern, wheel carriages came into general use, roads began to claim the attention of the public; turnpike-rates for their repair were established, and the management of particular roads was placed, by special Acts of Parliament, under the direction and controul of trustees.

Roads.

The first turnpike Act, that had reference to Derbyshire, was for repair- Turnpike ing and improving the road from the bridge over the Trent at Shardlow, through Derby to Brassington, situated on the southern slope of the Peak limestone hills. The reason alleged for this first Derbyshire turnpike road terminating at so small and obscure a town as Brassington, was, that the traveller towards the north, having, by means of this improved road, been helped over the low and deep lands of the county, might proceed over the rocky districts, to Buxton, Tideswell, Castleton, &c. without further assistance. From the faulty construction of some parts of this road, which is known at Derby by the name of the Kedleston road, it is now little frequented by general travellers, but is still an important line of communication for some small towns and villages. Improved roads have within the present century become very numerous; among others, we may mention the following mail roads. The London road, which crosses the Trent out of Leicestershire at Cavendish Bridge, and proceeding through Derby and Ashbourn, leaves this county at Hanging-bridge. The Birmingham and Sheffield mail road enters Derbyshire at Monk's Bridge, near Burton, across the Dove, and proceeds through Derby, Ripley, Alfreton, Chesterfield and Dronfield, and passes into Yorkshire, over the Sheaf at Healy near Sheffield. The Sheffield and Manchester mail road, enters Derbyshire at

256

CHAP. 5. Turnpike Roads.

Ringing Low, and passing through the Woodlands and the populous district of Glossop Dale, proceeds into Cheshire. Another Sheffield and Manchester mail road crosses the eastern moors and runs through Bakewell, Buxton, &c. The London and Sheffield mail, through Nottingham, enters Derbyshire at Pleasley, and runs through Chesterfield and Dronfield. The roads for the by-mails, or gig and horse mails, are in various directions: one between Derby and Nottingham, one between Derby and Bakewell, which meets the Sheffield mail coach, and another horse-mail proceeds forward to Stoney Middleton; and several others. There is also a new line of road from Cavendish Bridge to Whaley Bridge, through Derby, Belper, Cromford, Matlock Bath, Bakewell, Buxton, &c. At Ashford a branch from this road runs through Tideswell, Peak Forest, to Chapel-en-le-Frith, Castleton, &c. and it is now under consideration to carry a new line of road from Ashford in the Water to Chapel-en-le-Frith, so as to avoid the mountainous ridges of Peak Forest. The plan and survey of this new line have been made by Mr. Matthew Frost, from whose report we learn that an hour and a half will be saved by this line in the conveyance of letters, &c. by the mail between London and Manchester.Branch and The branch roads that intersect the county in every direction, are too numerous for us to particularise: many are in excellent repair, while others have been neglected in consequence of new and more advantageous lines of road having been constructed. The private roads over noblemen's and gentlemen's estates are generally excellent, from the abundance of materials and the great attention paid to them; while the agricultural lanes possess, in many parts of the county, much rural utility and beauty.

Private

Roads.

Bridges.

In reply to the regret often expressed, that the first turnpike roads were very erroneously laid down, and after being made at a great sacrifice of expense, are now generally neglected; it has been judiciously observed, that if the first turnpike roads had been conducted through the valleys as at present, the hilly, rocky and often barren districts, over which the first road-makers contrived so absurdly to mount, would have remained yet, and perhaps for long periods to come, without practicable carriage roads, which are so essential to their agricultural improvement, and which these roads, imperfect as they are, have, in many districts, very beneficially supplied. We cannot quit the subject of roads without noticing the bridges, ferries and fords, which may be considered as connected with them.

The bridges over the Derbyshire rivers are generally well constructed, and several of them are built of stone, in a modern and elegant style. Over the TRENT there is the Burton bridge, an ancient structure of thirty-six arches. Swarkstone bridge is very ancient: it consists of twenty-seven arches, and is nearly one mile in length: this bridge was partly rebuilt and enlarged about the close of the last century. Cavendish bridge is an elegant stone edifice, consisting of five arches: it crosses the Trent on the London road, just beyond Shardlow, and unites the two counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, both of which contribute to the expenses of its repairs. Harrington bridge, which crosses the Trent at Sawley, is also a handsome erection, with five arches.-Over the DERWENT there is a private wooden bridge at Wilne mills, near the junction of that river with the Trent, where horse and foot passengers pay toll. At Burrowash mills

there is also a wooden bridge. At Derby there are three bridges over the CHAP. 5. Derwent: St. Mary's bridge is a very fine edifice, and is built in imitation Bridges. of the celebrated bridge at Versailles over the Seine. It was erected in the year 1788, by public subscription. Exeter bridge is a small bridge of wood; and below it, there is a long wooden bridge, chiefly for the use of the canal towing-horses, and foot passengers.-Darley-Abbey bridge, erected by Messrs. Evans, is private property, and passengers pay toll for the accommodation afforded by it.-Duffield bridge is of stone, with five arches, and was widened in 1803.-Milford bridge was built in the year 1790, and is the property of Messrs. Strutt: it is a handsome, solid structure, remarkable for its neatness: a toll is taken of foot-passengers, as well as carriages, horses, &c. There is also at Milford an elegant chain bridge, for the accommodation of the work-people of the mill: it was designed by A. R. Strutt, esq. and built under his direction.-Belper bridge is a handsome stone edifice, of three arches, built at the expense of the county in the year 1795; the old bridge, which from the arms placed over the centre was thought to have been built by John of Gaunt, having been shortly before washed down by an extraordinary flood.-Toad-Moor bridge, the property of Francis Hurt, esq. is a neat stone bridge, at which foot and other passengers pay a toll: it was built in 1792. Watstandwell bridge, with seven arches, rebuilt in 1795, on the site of an ancient bridge, which was said to have been erected in early times by Walter Standwell, an Abbot of Darley.- Cromford bridge is a good stone bridge of three arches. There are other bridges, of stone, at Matlock, Darley, Great Rowsley, Chatsworth park (where there are two) Baslow, Calver (two) Stoke, Grindleford, Hazleford, Malham, Yorkshire bridge, near Bamford, &c. Over the Dove, the public bridges are Monk's bridge, connecting Staffordshire with this county; Tutbury, Sudbury, Doveridge, Norbury, Hanging bridge, Mappleton, Cow-wall, &c. which are all repaired at the joint expense of the two counties, to the intercourse of which they are subservient.-Over the WYE, there is a handsome bridge, of five arches, at Bakewell: Holme bridge is a similar strucAt Ashford-in-the-Water, there are two neat bridges over this beau tiful stream. In Taddington Vale there is a stone bridge, and another at Buxton.-Over the GOYTE, at Mellor Mills, there is a very handsome bridge, of one arch, erected by the late Mr. S. Oldknow, the span of which is fifty-four feet. Marple bridge, Windy-bottom bridge, near Mellor, Hagney-fold (two bridges) near New Mills, are of stone.-Over the ETHEROW, there is a bridge at Copstall near Ludworth, at Broadbottom there is another of sixty-three feet span, and at Hague near Gamsley, &c. -Over the ROTHER, there are stone bridges, at Beighton, Killamarsh, Renishaw, &c. Over the Markeaton or Morledge brook, there are not less than six stone bridges in the town of Derby, and over the same stream there is a very handsome stone bridge in Kedleston Park. The smaller rivers and brooks are crossed by bridges too numerous to particularize: some of which, erected in the parks or other domains of the nobility and gentry, are of very elegant construction, especially that in Calke park, of one magnificent arch, which spans one hundred and nineteen feet.

ture.

The following is as correct a list as can be obtained of the COUNTY BRIDGES; those marked (||) have been erected since the year 1729.-The

S