Mercaston edge

About 5 miles north of Derby, past the Kedleston Hall Estate, is the village of Weston Underwood. From here the road climbs up past the now closed pre-stressed concrete works, the empty-but-being-renovated Cock Inn, the house with the rather unusual garden (which I am assured is a pet cemetery) and finally levels out before the crossroads over the A517 Belper Road at Cross o' the Hands.

A short distance before the crossroads is a layby which, on a clear day, gives beautiful views over the surrounding countryside.

Looking roughly west, the view stretches away in the direction of Belper and the Derwent Valley.

While further north, you can look over Cross o' the Hands, to the more hilly countryside around Wirksworth.

Although not quite within the Peak District National Park boundary, this type of countryside is typical of the limestone based White Peak.

Belper Hilltop

Belper, the village which exploded into a town, thanks to the mills of Jedediah Strutt, is nine miles north of Derby up the Derwent Valley. In the time of Strutt, it grew to have the second largest population in Derbyshire, a position which has now been claimed by Chesterfield (of the crooked spire). The centre of Belper town is in the valley, close by the river and the main mill, but the residential areas have spread up the valley sides onto the surrounding hills.

Towards the top of one steep hill is, the very appropriately named, Belper Hill Top pub. It isn't one of the towns trendy establishments (they tend to be in the centre), but this place does a very good midweek lunchtime offer on meals . So, on a day when I am not working, my Dad, aunt, uncle and I sometimes head up here for lunch. The food is always good...

...and, I'm sure you'll agree, the views are beautiful.

 

Jedediah Strutt

Jedediah Strutt is the fourth (and last) of the statues above the shop which was the original Boots the Chemist in Derby, and he actually was born in Derbyshire; to be precise, in South Normanton, in 1726. His parents were farmers, but Strutt is yet another son of Derbyshire who is famous because of his association with the textile trade; being the first to refine a frame capable of making a ribbed stocking.

For a while, his frame was in use at the Derby Silk Mill, preparing silk thread to be made up into cloth, but in 1771, Strutt formed a partnership with Samuel Need and Richard Arkwright to build a cotton mill in Cromford, which combined the technologies of the Strutt Derby Rib with the Arkwright Water Frame.

Following this success, Strutt went on to build mills along the Derwent Valley; in Belper in 1778 and Milford in 1782, both accompanied by a row of substantial houses for his workers; just one of the reasons he was considered to be a good employer. Over time, Strutt built a total of eight mills in Belper and the village grew to a population of 10,000 , becoming the second largest town in the county after Derby.

Strutt died in 1797 and is buried in a vault under the Unitarian Chapel he had built in Belper.