FAMOUS PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH
DERBYSHIRE |
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William Peveril
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The natural son of William the Conquerer, who gave him
large tracts of land in Derbyshire, including the whole of the
Peak District. William was founder of the Castle of the Peak,
where Malcolm, King of Scotland surrendered to Henry II.
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| Henry de Ferres
| A favourite of William the Conquerer.
He was given over 110 manors in Derbyshire. His chief place
was Tutbury Castle, with a supporting stonghold in Duffield.
His son Robert was created Earl of Derby for assisting the royal
cause at the Battle of Standard in 1138. The second Earl of Derby,
the son of the first earl was instrumental in founding Darley Abbey.
William, son and third earl was stripped of his earldom for treason.
Tutbury and Duffield castles were ordered to be demolished.
William, his son, regained the earldom. Two generations later Robert
de Ferres, Earl of Derby had all his estates confiscated when he
joined the Barons against Henry III.
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Robin Hood
| Although a Nottinghamshire character, has many
associations with Derbyshire. Such examples are Robins Hood's Cave,
Robin Hood's Stride, Robin Hood's Well, Robin Hood's Cross and
Robin Hood's Picking Rods amongst others.
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| Mary Queen of Scots
| She was held captive in several houses in the
county, including Old Hall Buxton,
Chatsworth House and Wingfield Manor. In Edensor Church there
is a brass plate to John Beton, a favourite servant of hers.
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| Bess of Harwick (1518-1608)
| Married four times and spent the last seventeen
years as a widow. Her second husband was William Cavendish and
her fourth George, Earl of Shrewsbury. She built several mansions -
Chatsworth, Hardwick and Oldcotes. Her tomb is in
Derby Cathedral.
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| Dorothy Vernon
| She was the youngest daughter of Sir George
Vernon known to his contemporaries as "The King of the Peak".
She married John Manners, son of the Earl of Rutland towards the
close of the sixteenth century. The Haddon estates have
remained in the Rutland family ever since.
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| Anthony Babington
| A young gentleman of large fortune who lived
at Dethick. He joined an ill fated conspiracy against the
life of Queen Elizabeth. He was arrested and exectuted
at Tyburn in 1586.
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| Rev William Mompesson
| Rector of Eyam, he help prevent the spread
of the plague(1666-1667) from his village by preventing anyone
leaving. The plague arrived at the village in a bale of damp
cloth which had come up from London.
259 out of 350 of Eyam's inhabitants died, Mompesson's wife amongst
them. The "Mompesson Well" was where all money was cleansed
and then left for payment of goods and supplies brought to the
village and left on the boundary line. This served to prevent
infection reaching beyond the village. A memorial service is
held on the last Sunday in August in a rocky ravine called
Cucklet Dell where Mompesson preached when the villagers had
to worship in the open.
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| Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton
| The famed fishermen who frequented Dovedale, Mill Dale
and Beresford Dale. There is a Pike Pool and Fishing House at Beresford
Dale, over the door of which is carved their monograms. They used to stay over in
Alstonefield and in the old Norman church can be seen Cotton's pew.
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| Richard Arkwright
| Born Preston Lancashire 1732, subsequently moved to
Nottingham. As a partnership he built the first mill at Cromford in
1771. His inventions brought him much wealth and trouble. He was
knighted by King George III for an address of congratulation following
a failed attempt to assassinate the king by a Margaret Nicholson.
He was appointed as Sheriff of Nottingham and purchased the manor
of Cromford. His son built Willersley Castle.
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| "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
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Bonnie Prince Charlie, Full Street
Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("The Young Pretender"),
encouraged by promises of help from the English Jacobites, marched
into England, and on 4th December 1745, reached Derby via Ashbourne.
He stayed one night at Radbourne Hall, and stayed at Exeter House in
Derby (now demolished). Part of the Prince's army were sent to
Swarkestone Bridge to establish a bridge head over the Trent.
They retreated upon hearing news of the
English army gathering just ahead of them. Little did they know, but
the king was making preparations to leave the country because he feared
defeat.
Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army left to face defeat at
Culloden
The original panels and other items from the
room in Exeter House where he held his fateful council are preserved
and kept at Derby Museums and
Art Gallery. The museum has reconstructed the room and it provides
the visitor with a haunting experience of the events of the time.
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Dr Samuel Johnson
| He married a widow named Elizabeth Porter at
St Werburgh's
Church Derby on 9th June 1735. Johnson regularly stayed with his
friend Rev Dr Taylor who lived at The Mansion, Ashbourne (opposite
the Old Grammar School).
Boswell and Johnson supped at The Green
Man, Ashbourne.
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| Charlotte Bronte
| Associated with Hathersage, where the surrounding
moorland scenery is described in her novel "Jane Eyre".
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Florence Nightingale
| One of the most heroic women of the Victorian era. She was
born in Florence in 1820 and lived at Lea Hurst near Cromford.
She
sacrificed a life of ease to devote herself to nursing. During the
Crimean War she organised the field hospital for the wounded soldiers
at Scutari, where she overcame appalling obstacles and endeared
herself to the troops.
The statue "The Lady with the Lamp"
stands outside the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary on London Road.
There is also a fine bust of her at the Derby Museums and Art
Gallery. She died in 1910.
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John Flamsteed
| Born in Denby, Derbyshire. An early Astronomer Royal
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| Please send me details of
anyone else you consider should be included on this page
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There are many honoured people
associated with the Derby and Derbyshire.
Derby Index
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