Downstream again, beyond the mill village of Milford and on the northern edge of Derby, lies the community of Darley Abbey. Here, water power was already in use driving paper, corn, flint and leather mills when, in 1782, the Evans family added their Boar’s Head Cotton Mills and later their factory village.
From here a walk through Darley Park leads to Derby Silk Mill, which marks the southern entrance to the World Heritage Site. Rebuilt after a fire in 1910, John Lombe’s Silk Mill ofthe early 1720s was England’s first ‘modern’ factory.
Beyond the southern reaches of the World Heritage Site the historical interest continues, most notably at Shardlow, an inland river port with a Heritage Centre to tell the full story. The impact of industry on the Derwent Valley was such that, by the end of the 19th century, it was turning out an astonishing variety of products: lace and candles, paint and boots, telescopes and hats, cheese and pearl buttons.
Walking the valley now, what is striking is not simply the amount of industrial history it contains but also the fact that it is, for all this development, still remarkably rural and scenically impressive.
