Derbyshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, 1,014 square miles (2,625 km2) reaching from the Trent valley to the gritstone moors of the Peak District. About 1,058,000 people lived there at the 2021 census. Derby is the largest settlement; the county council sits at Matlock.
Derbyshire County Council and eight district councils cover most of the county, with Derby a separate unitary authority since 1997.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East Midlands |
| Area | 1,014 sq mi (2,625 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 1,057,970 |
| Density | 403 people per km2 |
| Largest settlement | Derby (261,260) |
| Council seat | Matlock |
| Councils | Derbyshire County Council; Derby City |
| Highest point | Kinder Scout, 636 m (2,087 ft) |
Towns and Villages in Derbyshire
GeoNames records about 615 named settlements in Derbyshire. The list below shows roughly 270, split between the county council area and the city of Derby.
Derbyshire (245 of 592 shown)
- Acre Ridge Estate
- Alfreton
- Alkmonton
- Alton
- Apperknowle
- Ashbourne
- Ashford in the Water
- Ashover
- Aston-on-Trent
- Astwith
- Bacon’s Spring
- Bakewell
- Bamford
- Bankwood Gate
- Barlborough
- Barlow
- Baslow
- Batham Gate
- Belper
- Belph
- Birchover
- Blackbrook
- Blackwell
- Bolsover
- Bonsall
- Boothgate
- Borrowash
- Brackenfield
- Bradwell
- Brailsford
- Brassington
- Breadsall
- Breaston
- Bridgemont
- Broadmeadows
- Bubnell
- Burnaston
- Buxton
- Calke
- Calton Lees
- Cartledge
- Castleton
- Chapel en le Frith
- Charlesworth
- Chellaston
- Chesterfield
- Chinley
- Chunal
- Church Hill
- Cinderhill
- Clifton
- Clowne
- Combs
- Congreave
- Corbriggs
- Coton in the Elms
- Coxbench
- Creswell
- Cromford
- Cross o’ th’ hands
- Crowhole
- Curbar
- Dalbury Hollow
- Darley Bridge
- Denby Bottles
- Dethick
- Doe Lea
- Dove Holes
- Doveridge
- Draycott
- Dronfield
- Duffield
- Earl Sterndale
- Edale
- Ednaston
- Egginton
- Elvaston
- Etwall
- Eyam
- Farley
- Fernilee
- Findern
- Ford
- Freebirch
- Froggatt
- Glapwell
- Glossop
- Godfreyhole
- Grassmoor
- Great Longstone
- Great Wilne
- Grindlow
- Handley
- Hardwick
- Harehill
- Harpur Hill
- Hathersage
- Hatton
- Hayfield
- Heage
- Heanor
- Heath End
- High Cross Bank
- High Peak
- Higher Crossings
- Hill Somersal
- Hilton
- Holbrook
- Hollins
- Holmesfield
- Holmewood
- Hope
- Hope Valley
- Horsley Woodhouse
- Hulland
- Idridgehay
- Ilkeston
- Inkersall
- Kelstedge
- Kilburn
- Killamarsh
- Kirk Ireton
- Kirk Langley
- Kniveton
- Ladygrove
- Langley Common
- Leaden Knowl
- Lightwood
- Little Eaton
- Little Hucklow
- Litton
- Long Eaton
- Longlane
- Lower Pilsley
- Lumsdale
- Makeney
- Markham Vale
- Marston Montgomery
- Matlock
- Matlock Bath
- Melbourne
- Middle Handley
- Milford
- Millers Green
- Milltown
- Monyash
- Moorwood Moor
- Morley
- Mount Pleasant
- Nether Biggin
- Nether Handley
- Netherseal
- New Houghton
- New Mills
- Newgate
- Newton
- Newton Solney
- Northedge
- Oaks Green
- Old Tupton
- Over Burrows
- Overton
- Oxcroft Estate
- Park Nook
- Parwich
- Peak Forest
- Pentrichlane-end
- Pilsbury
- Pilsley
- Pinxton
- Pomeroy
- Priestcliffe
- Quarndon
- Ravensnest
- Repton
- Riber
- Ripley
- Risley
- Rowarth
- Rumbling Street
- Sapperton
- Scarcliffe
- Scropton
- Shardlow
- Shipley
- Shirebrook
- Shirland
- Shirley
- Shottle
- Slack
- Smalldale
- Smalley
- Snelston Common
- Somersal Herbert
- South Wingfield
- Sparrowpit
- Spout
- Stanfree
- Stanley Common
- Stanton by Dale
- Stanton Lees
- Staveley
- Stockley
- Stonebroom
- Stony Houghton
- Sturston
- Sutton on the Hill
- Swadlincote
- Taddington
- Tansley
- Tapton
- The Bungalows
- Thorpe
- Tibshelf
- Ticknall
- Tideswell
- Tinkersley
- Tomthorn
- Trusley
- Turnditch
- Twyford
- Upper Booth
- Upper Langwith
- Upper Padley
- Wadshelf
- Walton upon Trent
- Wardlow
- Wash
- West Hallam
- West Handley
- Weston upon Trent
- Whaley
- Whaley Bridge
- Whatstandwell
- Whitehough
- Whitwell
- Wilday Green
- Wingerworth
- Winster
- Wirksworth
- Woodhead
- Woodseats
- Woolley
- Wormhill
- Youlgreave
Derby
- Allestree
- Alvaston
- Breadsall Hilltop
- Chaddesden
- Crewton
- Darley Abbey
- Derby
- Derby War Memorial Village
- Litchurch
- Little Chester
- Littleover
- Mackworth Estate
- Markeaton
- Mickleover
- New Zealand
- Normanton
- Oakwood
- Rose Hill
- Shelton Lock
- Sinfin
- Spondon
- The Holmes
- Wilmorton
Geography
Greater Manchester lies to the north-west, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire to the north-east, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south and west, and Cheshire to the west.
The northern half sits in the Peak District, the first national park in Britain, designated in April 1951. It splits into the White Peak, a limestone plateau of dry stone walls and dales around Bakewell and Tideswell, and the Dark Peak, gritstone moorland and edges topped by Kinder Scout at 636 metres.
South of Ashbourne and Matlock the land falls away into the Trent and Derwent valleys, gentler farmland running into the National Forest around Swadlincote. The Derwent, Dove, Wye and Trent are the main rivers, and the upper Derwent is dammed into the Howden, Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 1,057,970 residents: 796,710 across the eight districts and 261,260 in the city of Derby. Amber Valley (126,442), Erewash (113,039) and South Derbyshire (108,051) are the largest districts; Derbyshire Dales, at 71,659 over the biggest land area, is the emptiest.
Derby’s built-up area holds about 276,000 people and Chesterfield’s about 76,000. Derby has substantial Pakistani, Indian and Polish communities, drawn originally by the rail works and the engine factories. The Peak District villages have an older age profile and very high house prices relative to local wages.
Economy and Local Life
Advanced manufacturing defines Derby. Rolls-Royce designs and builds aero engines there, Alstom runs Britain’s largest train factory at Litchurch Lane, and Toyota assembles cars at Burnaston, west of the city. Between them they anchor a deep engineering supply chain across the south of the county.
Limestone quarrying is the big industry of the White Peak, centred on Buxton and the Tunstead works, one of the largest limestone quarries in Europe. The east Derbyshire coalfield, which employed tens of thousands around Bolsover, Shirebrook and Staveley, closed through the 1980s and 1990s; distribution warehousing has taken much of that ground.
Tourism matters in the Peak: Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall, Bakewell and its pudding, the show caverns at Castleton, and climbing on Stanage Edge. The park sits within an hour of several million people, which makes it one of the most visited national parks in the world.
History
The Derwent Valley Mills became a World Heritage Site in 2001. Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill, built in 1771, was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill anywhere, and the valley below it holds the earliest purpose-built industrial housing and the model village at Cromford.
Lead was mined in the limestone from Roman times until the nineteenth century, governed by its own Barmote Courts, which still meet at Wirksworth. Derby made silk from 1721 at the Lombe brothers’ mill, often called the first true factory in Britain.
Charles Edward Stuart reached Derby in December 1745 and turned back there, the closest a Jacobite army came to London. The Kinder Scout mass trespass of April 1932, when ramblers walked deliberately onto private moor, is credited with driving the campaign that produced national parks and the right to roam.
Getting There
The M1 runs down the eastern side, junctions 23a to 30, and the A38 crosses from Derby to Mansfield. The A50 links Derby to Stoke-on-Trent and the M6, the A6 runs from Derby through Matlock and Bakewell to Buxton, and the A52 heads east to Nottingham.
Midland Main Line trains serve Derby, Long Eaton and Chesterfield, with London St Pancras about 90 minutes from Derby. The Hope Valley Line crosses the Peak between Sheffield and Manchester, calling at Hathersage, Hope and Edale. The Derwent Valley Line runs from Derby to Matlock, and Buxton has an hourly service to Manchester. East Midlands Airport lies just over the Leicestershire boundary, ten miles south of Derby.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Derbyshire?
1,057,970 at the 2021 census, including 261,260 in the city of Derby.
What is the largest town in Derbyshire?
Derby, a city of 261,260 people. Chesterfield is the largest town in the county council area, followed by Swadlincote, Ilkeston and Long Eaton.
Which councils cover Derbyshire?
Derbyshire County Council with eight district councils, plus Derby City Council, which is a separate unitary authority.
Where is the highest point in Derbyshire?
Kinder Scout, at 636 metres (2,087 feet), in the Dark Peak north of Edale.
What are the postcode areas for Derbyshire?
DE covers Derby, Belper, Ashbourne and Swadlincote; S covers Chesterfield, Dronfield and Bolsover; SK covers Glossop, Buxton and New Mills.