Crich
Encyclopedia
Crich (ˈ) is a village in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has the National Tramway Museum
National Tramway Museum
The National Tramway Museum, at Crich, in Derbyshire, England, is situated within Crich Tramway Village, a period village containing a pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop, including the tram depots. The village is also home to the Eagle Press, a small museum dedicated to Letterpress Printing including...
inside the Crich Tramway Village
Crich Tramway Village
Crich Tramway Village is the recreated historic village that is the setting for the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. The village is set around a period street, with several re-built buildings from all over the country, including the facade of the former Assembly Rooms from Derby and the Red...
, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters was formed during the Childers Reforms in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 95th Regiment of Foot...
regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Built in 1923 on the site of an older tower called Crich Stand, the Memorial Tower is the destination of an annual pilgrimage on the first Sunday in July. It is 1000 feet (304.8 m) above sea level, and has 52 steps to the top. From there eight counties can be seen, including landmarks such as the Humber Bridge
Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world...
and Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
.
History
In 1009 King Ethelred the UnreadyEthelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
(signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent
Weston-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire. It is to the north of the River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nearby places include Aston-on-Trent, Barrow upon Trent, Castle Donington and Swarkestone....
and several other manors including Crich. The charter shows that Weston controlled the nearby crossings of the Trent. The land was listed as eight hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
at Weston upon Trent, and a hide at Crich, Morley
Morley, Derbyshire
Morley is a civil parish within the area of Erewash Borough Council in the English county of Derbyshire, north of Derby It is on the eastern side of Morley Moor, with Morley Smithy to the north. The parish church of St Matthew stands near the Tithe Barn and dovecote of Morley Hall...
, Smalley
Smalley, Derbyshire
Smalley is a village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby road in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England.Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Smæl-lēah = "narrow woodland clearing"...
, Ingleby
Ingleby, Derbyshire
Ingleby is a hamlet and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. Situated on the south of the River Trent on a rise between Stanton by Bridge and Repton, Ingleby contains the privately owned John Thompson public house and the Ingleby Art Gallery....
and Kidsley. This land was then given to Morcar
Morcar (died 1015)
Morcar was a thane of King Æthelred the Unready. He was given lands in Derbyshire in 1009 including Weston-on-Trent, Crich and Smalley by King Æthelred, 1011 and 1012. He was also given the freedom from the three common burdens. He and his brother were murdered in 1015...
, the King's chief minister, and he was unusually given rights that were normally reserved for the King alone. He was given the responsibility for justice and exemption from the Trinoda necessitas
Trinoda necessitas
Trinoda necessitas is a Latin term used to refer to a "threefold tax" in Anglo-Saxon times. Subjects of an Anglo-Saxon king were required to yield three services: bridge-bote , burgh-bote , and fyrd-bote...
, he alone could decide a fate of life or death without the need of the authority of the King or his sheriff. Morcar was given further lands in Derbyshire. Weston (and Crich?) again come under the control of Æþelræd Unræd, when Morcar and his brother were murdered by Eadric in 1015.
Parts of the Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
are Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
, with later Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic alterations from the 14th century. Crich has also a Wesleyan Chapel that was built in 1770.
A workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
was opened in 1734 on the edge of Nether Common. It could accommodate 40 inmates, and accepted paupers from other parishes, including Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Pentrich, Willington
Willington, Derbyshire
Willington is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 2,604.-Geography:Willington is on the River Trent about southwest of Derby...
, Mercaston
Mercaston
Mercaston is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is located in the Peak District 7 miles west of Duffield....
and Denby
Denby
Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Royal Astronomer, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company....
.
Chase Cliffe is a Tudor Revival house on the road from Crich to Whatstandwell
Whatstandwell
Whatstandwell is a village on the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England.It is about five miles south of Matlock and about four miles north of Belper...
. It was designed by Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.-Family:Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr, a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch. He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School....
and built in 1859–61.
Crich was the setting for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series Peak Practice
Peak Practice
Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...
(along with Ashover
Ashover
Ashover is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. It is in the North East Derbyshire district of the county. It sits in a picturesque valley, not far from the town of Matlock and the Peak District national park. The centre of the village is a conservation area. The River Amber flows through...
for a time). Crich is home to 'The Briars', a residential youth centre for the Catholic Diocese of Nottingham. It hosts approximately 5000 young people a year from across the East Midlands, working with them on personal, social and spiritual themes. Images of the village also appear in the 2007 film "And When Did You Last See Your Father" starring Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
. In the film Firth is seen riding a motorbike up Chapel Lane.
Quarrying
Carboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...
(an outcrop on the edge of the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
surrounded by younger Upper Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
rocks).
Quarrying for limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
probably began in Roman times. In 1791 Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
and Samuel Beresford bought land for a quarry to supply limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
to their new iron works at Butterley
Butterley
Butterley is a village in the English county of Derbyshire near to Ripley. It is the site of the Midland Railway - Butterley, as well as the old Butterley Brickworks.- Notable residents :...
. This became known as Hilt's Quarry, and the stone was transported down a steep wagonway
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
, the Butterley Company Gangroad, to the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
at Bullbridge
Bullbridge
Bullbridge is a small village in Derbyshire. The Bull bridge accident happened here in 1860.-The village:Bullbridge has a population of approx...
. Near there they also built limekiln
Limekiln
A lime kiln is used to produce quicklime through the calcination of limestone . The chemical equation for this reaction is...
s for supplying farmers and for the increasing amount of building work. Apart from a period when it was leased to Albert Banks, the quarry and kilns were operated by the Butterley Company until 1933.
The gangroad, descending some 300 feet in about a mile, was at first worked by gravity, a brakeman "spragging" the wheels of the wagons, which were returned to the summit by horses. However, in 1812 the incline was the scene of a remarkable experiment, when William Brunton, an engineer for the company, produced his Steam Horse locomotive
Steam Horse locomotive
The Steam Horse was constructed by the Butterley Company in Derbyshire in 1813 by William Brunton . Also known as the "Mechanical Traveller" it had a pair of mechanical legs, with feet that gripped the rails at the rear of the engine to push it forwards at about three miles an hour.-Design:To...
.
In 1840 George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
, in building the North Midland Railway
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
, discovered deposits of coal at Clay Cross
Clay Cross
Clay Cross is a former mining town and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, about six miles south of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61, the former Roman road Ryknield Street...
and formed what later became the Clay Cross Company. He realised that burning lime would provide a use for the coal slack that would otherwise go to waste. He leased Cliff Quarry and built limekilns at Bullbridge. They were connected by another wagonway including a section known as "The Steep", a 550 yard self-acting incline at a slope of 1 in 5.
Cliff Quarry closed in 1957, although a small amount of limestone extraction still occurs at the western end; it was bought by the Tramway Museum in 1959.
Hilt's Quarry closed in 1933 and is derelict. For 38 years, Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
used it for dumping low-level radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
such as enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
, cobalt-60
Cobalt-60
Cobalt-60, , is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt. Due to its half-life of 5.27 years, is not found in nature. It is produced artificially by neutron activation of . decays by beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60...
and carbon-14
Carbon-14
Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological...
. Following a campaign and blockades by villagers in the Crich and District Environment Action Group, dumping ceased in 2002. In 2004 the Government backed an Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
document banning further dumping, and Rolls-Royce will be required to restore and landscape the site.