INTRODUCTION

The story of Belper begins as a small settlement in the Royal hunting forest of Duffield Frith. It was given the name ‘Beaurepaire’, which means ‘beautiful place’. All this must seem rather strange reading to the motorist who has driven through the town on the narrow, overcrowded A6, the only desire being to reach the other side as quickly as possible.

A completely different picture emerges for those who have taken the time to explore. Of a small town so rich in industrial heritage that it is not only of national importance but occupies a pre-eminent position on the world stage. Belper is an important part of the Derwent Valley, which is universally recognised as the Cradle of the Industrial Revolution and now holds World Heritage Status.

ST. JOHN’S CHURCH

In the mid-1200s, William de Ferrers, who was lord of the manor at Belper and several other manors, built a small stone church in a clearing. So that the foresters and their families would have somewhere to worship close to home, it was first dedicated to Thomas Becket but was re-dedicated to St John during the Reformation. Today, it has changed very little in appearance but is now used for the joint purpose of the Town Council Chambers and Heritage Centre.

THE BUTTS

Near the chapel is an area known as The Butts, where archery practice once took place, and where horse fairs were held twice a year. The marketplace was once an area of wasteland, from where in 1762, John Wesley preached a sermon. It leads down to King Street, the main shopping area.

NAIL MAKING

Belper’s first main industry was the making of nails. Hunting was a regular pastime in the area, and huntsmen brought their horses to Belper to be shod. Horsenails made in Belper were considered the best in the country and attracted hunting men from miles around.
Belper’s earliest written record of nail making dates back to 1260, but nails were likely made shortly after the Norman Conquest. Originally, the nailer worked for himself with the help of his family. The children would carry the coal, his wife worked the bellows, and he would fashion the nails. It was a hard life, and the work was hot and exhausting.
Nailers had a reputation as hard drinkers, often got into fights, and many were imprisoned for drunkenness and disorderly behaviour. They did not work on Mondays, which they kept as a day for celebrations or recovery! In the 1800s, the trend changed, and larger businesses were set up, but wages were poor, and strikes were not uncommon. Gradually, competition from machinery sent the industry into decline. From a high of 1,400 men and women, the number of workers dropped to 38 in 1901. Today, nail making is no longer in Belper, but it is recalled by the local football team whose nickname is ‘The Nailers.’

 JEDEDIAH STRUTT

Up until 1770, Belper was a small village surrounded by fields with a population of just over 500 people. But in 1771, Sir Richard Arkwright partnered with Samuel Need of Nottingham and Jedediah Strutt to develop water-powered mills along the Derwent. This transformed Belper over the next few years, with mills springing up along the riverbank and houses and other service requirements being built to meet the demands of the rapidly increasing population.

Rarely can one man and his family have created such a lasting impact on the economy of a small town as the Strutts did on Belper. Using the power of the River Derwent to drive the machinery, Jedediah built his first cotton mill, the South Mill, at Belper in 1776. This was followed about ten years later by the first North Mill, destroyed by fire in 1803.

William, his eldest son, was a pioneer in making buildings fireproof. He re-built the North Mill in 1803, which was considered a masterpiece of engineering technology at the time. The brick arch floors were supported on an iron frame, contributing to making the mill fireproof; it had its own ingenious warm air heating system and a hoist between floors.

Small gun embrasures are on the gangway connecting the mills over the Ashbourne road. They were put there to ward off Luddites intent on causing serious damage to the business, but fortunately, they were never needed. North Mill is the second oldest of its type remaining in the world.

INDUSTRIAL HOUSING

The first industrial housing in Belper was built in Short Row and the next in Long Row. Look for the gaps in Long Row, where the houses have been demolished to make way for George Stephenson’s railway, which runs through the middle of the town under no less than ten bridges. Larger houses were provided in blocks of four for mill overseers in the Clusters, and just round the corner in Joseph Street is an old nailer’s workshop. St. Peter’s Church, off Church Lane, was built to meet the spiritual needs of a growing population when St John’s Chapel became too small to satisfy the increasing demand.