Local Treasures
Ripley, with its easy access to major roads is a most convenient centre for surrounding places of interest and for some of the finest scenery in England – the hills, dales and high places of the Peak District. The proximity of Derby (10 miles), Nottingham (14 miles) and Sheffield (25 miles) is a magnet to those who love the attractions of the cities.
The nearest place of leisure interest is within Ripley’s boundaries – the Midland Railway - Butterley at the site of the old Butterley station and steam trains running regularly now attract thousands of visitors. Lovers of our transport heritage need only go on to the National Tramway Museum at Crich, imaginatively developed beneath the beetling limestone cliff surmounted by Crich Stand, a lighthouse monument to the Sherwood Foresters who died in the Great War and which can be seen for miles around when its revolving beam is lit on the anniversaries of their battles. It is in this area where the TV series ‘Peak Practice’ was filmed and the success of the series has attracted many visitors to the area. 
Heage Windmill in Derbyshire is the only six-sailed stone tower windmill in England. The Derbyshire attraction is a Grade II* listed building, sited on a hill providing spectacular views towards the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, was restored to working order in 2002 and looks as splendid as when first built in 1797. Visitors can go on tours with guides normally in costume. There is also an Interpretation Centre and a shop where can buy flour that is milled here.
Trevor Connelly-Haywood of TCH Air Photos has made a short aerial video of Heage Windmill. Trevor lives in Scotland but has friends in the village who worked on the windmill 5 years ago. The windmill is currently closed for repairs to the sails and an appeal is underway to raise money to keep this important historical landmark open, see the Heage Windmill website for information on how you can help. |
From all over the world visitors come to see Derbyshire’s great houses. Haddon Hall, near Bakewell, is the epitome of the 15th century manor house, while Hardwick Hall built by the redoubtable Bess of Hardwick in Elizabethan times is a remarkable building feat with its ‘more glass than wall’ architecture. Chatsworth is one of the great glories of European Architecture and gains much from being still occupied and lovingly tended and stewarded by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. With its Grindling Gibbons carvings, its magnificent library, paintings, wonderfully proportioned rooms and, not least, its grounds, laid out by the ubiquitous Capability Brown, it is a unique experience.
Yet also unique is Calke Abbey, the latest great house to open to the public. Built in 1701-3, it is “the house that time forgot” for it is unaltered since the death of the last baronet in 1924. Its contents, from the everyday trivia to the magnificent 18th century state bed, unpacked and displayed for the first time, remain where they were left in past years. It is a remarkable time-capsule. The Palladian mansion set in a classical park landscape, Kedleston Hall, is one of the most complete and unaltered Adam interiors in England. Many of its treasures are connected with the Lord Curzon who was Viceroy of India.
There are many other no less attractive houses: Tissington Hall, Sudbury Hall, Eyam Hall, Elvaston Castle to name but a few. No shortage then within easy reach of Ripley of the glories of the past!
There are many other no less attractive houses: Tissington Hall, Sudbury Hall, Eyam Hall, Elvaston Castle to name but a few. No shortage then within easy reach of Ripley of the glories of the past!
Perhaps one should return to the nearest – the magnificent ruin of Wingfield Manor where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1569 and 1584-5. There is enough left, particularly of the Banqueting Hall and crypt to evoke its former glories before Cromwell’s men damaged it.
For many, however, the enduring glory of the county and all of it within an hour’s reach of Ripley, is the Peak District.
Many feet now trample the stepping stones of Dovedale, the heights of Kinderscout, the more accessible beauties of Monsal Dale, the Manifold Valley and Beresford Dale. The 542 square miles of the Peak District National Park lie largely within the county. Picturesque towns and villages abound; from prehistoric remains to the early workings of the Industrial Revolution, from potholes to sheer cliffs, it is infinite in its variety.
Many feet now trample the stepping stones of Dovedale, the heights of Kinderscout, the more accessible beauties of Monsal Dale, the Manifold Valley and Beresford Dale. The 542 square miles of the Peak District National Park lie largely within the county. Picturesque towns and villages abound; from prehistoric remains to the early workings of the Industrial Revolution, from potholes to sheer cliffs, it is infinite in its variety.