Located Central United Kingdom

The ram is the county's regimental mascot. In 1858 during the Indian Mutiny a Ram was captured by the 95th Foot and adopted as a mascot. This tradition has been carried on in the Nottingham and Derby Sherwood Foresters Regiment ever since.

Within Derby there can be seen two statues of 'The Derby Ram' - A stone statue can be found at the junction of East Street and Exchange Street and the bronze sculpture of a ram with a boy sitting astride it, which was erected in 1963 in the Main Centre. This has been moved to a place of safety due to  major redevelopment taking place within the city.  Notwithstanding,  "The Rams" is also the name of Derby's football team.

              Music - Elizabethan Seranade  By Ronald Binge. . . . A Derby boy born and raised in the city. . . .                       

Sir Barnes Neville Wallis

Joseph Wright

Erazmus Darwin

Anthony Babbington

Henry Cavendish

John Flamstead

Jedidiah Strutt

Charles Edward Stuart

Joseph Pickford

Florence Nightingale

Sir Henry Royce

Samuel Plimsoll

Elizabeth of Hardwick

Richard Arkwright

Mary Stuart "Queen of Scots"

Charlotte Bronte

Sir William Stanier

To name but a few !

Further external links for interest

Derby is steeped in history from the arrival of the Roman legions in AD10. Derby was a small but important settlement due to the fact that here was the only place they could with some relative safety cross the River Derwent. Even today in times of low river levels, one can stand on the old St Mary’s bridge and looking between where you are standing and the eight lane "Causey Bridge" see the original stones laid by the Romans over two millennia ago.

The Romans first encampment was a fort, on a park which is fondly known by local people as "Basses Recreation" Ground on the banks of the River Derwent. Some 40 years later around 80AD the people living on this site moved to the new stronghold of Derventio, a name deriving from the Celtic name for river, further up stream where Chester Green now stands. Modern Derby also includes the suburb of Little Chester, originally a Saxon village built on what was left of the small Roman town The Romans vacated in AD410 being recalled to Rome due to the attack of Goths and barbarians. Mercia, a Saxon Kingdom was formed about 140 years later and where we are now situated was "Nordeworde" later corrupted to "Northworthy" a Saxon royal estate. A small church served this area to which St Alkmund was reburied after his death circa 780AD. Following this the Vikings arrived causing mayhem and destruction in 851AD. Following repulsion in 910 King Edward the Elder founded the township of Derby.

The area around the parish church of St Alkmund which was demolished in the late 1960’s, effectively formed the centre of the later settlement of Derby.  The people also re-fortified the old Roman walls of Derventio for added protection to keep the Vikings at bay.

It is said in The Domesday Book (1087) that Derby had six churches and had a growing population with several mills.

Later on, Derby fell under the control of the de Ferrers, who unfortunately fought on the wrong side and were deposed. The Earl of Lancaster became the Earl of Derby and Nottingham until 1554, when Derby was granted a Royal Charter.  This gave the town the right of self government and the freedom to raise revenue for independent taxes.  In 1637, the office of an annually-elected Mayor came into being. 

Along came The English Civil War and Derby was garrisoned for Parliament, by Sir John Gell from Hopton. Indeed there were skirmishes within the town at that time and many of the local churches were striped of their wealth. Even today in the city itself one can see the musket ball marks in the wall of St Werburghs Church . From the end of the Commonwealth, local merchants faced with a scarcity of the official coinage, distributed an unusual series of tokens as currency, which were issued during the boom years following the Restoration until 1668.  John Flamstead, Britain's first Astronomer Royal and the son of a rich local tradesman, grew up in Derby at this time.

Mills made silk thread and calico, were involved in glove making, clock making, ironwork which was on a grand scale (and of the first cast iron foundry), porcelain, marble, innovative and ground breaking architecture and much more were started in Derby. In 1725, Daniel Defoe wrote – "Derby is a town of gentry, rather than trade".  

On December 5th, 1745, Charles Edward Stuart (The Young Pretender) was stopped in Derby on his way to take the English Crown. His immortal words "I see nothing but ruin and destruction before us if we do not press on from this place..." were uttered in the streets of Derby. There are not many towns or cities in the world that can lay claim to be the location where the balance of world history was held in its hands, it happened here. Bonnie Prince Charlie then proceeded to march southwards towards London. If he had been successful a Catholic monarchy would have been in place on the British Throne and the subsequent history of England and therefore the world would have been radically different. It was here in "Derby" where the crucial climax to the campaign took place.

Finally, to complete the industrial transformation of Derby and turn it into "a great place to live, work and play", came the railways in 1839.  On 30th May at 1.18 (pm) the first Midland Railway train arrived in the town, which heralded the beginning of the construction of engines, tenders and rolling stock in the area and continues in a small part today

In 1907, came Charles Rolls and Henry Royce.  The two automotive entrepreneurs were drawn to the area from Manchester by the foundries and cheaper power and dominated the employment area for many years to come.  In 1916, the city was bombed by enemy zeppelins.  Derby made aircraft engines in the First World War and car production moved to Crewe in the 1930’s, aero engine manufacture staying in the town. Rolls-Royce engines like the "Merlin" powered the now legendary "Hurricane" and "Spitfire" of the second World War. Now engines are produced for many of the worlds commercial jet liners and military jets alike.

Royal Crown Derby China Works are situated in the town too, a historic visitors site not to be missed for the visitor.

The arrival of Toyota at Burnaston and the cities modernisation programme brought about extensive change in the mid 1980’s. The city we live in now has a wide spectrum of attractions.  We have a rich industrial and social heritage and one of the greenest and most attractive cities in Europe. In the year 2001 a national campaign was undertaken, All things were taken into account from housing, schools, employment, health to general amenities, the result? . . . We live in the best City in the United Kingdom.