Evolution of a transport corridor: Derwent Valley
Apart from the Roman Road from Buxton south towards Carsington (now paralleling the A515), most ancient routes were east west pack-horse trails across the Peak, saltways from Cheshire or tracks taking lead (jaggers' lanes) or millstones to the Trent. Whatstandwell, Cromford and Matlock were key places for crossing the largely impenetrable wooded Derwent Valley. The 1750s turnpikes largely followed these older alignments, or the more open Ecclesbourne Valley and drier, parallel ridgeways.
In 1794, Cromford Canal provided a means of carrying cotton, coal, lime, lead and farm produce more quickly to and from the all-important Trent.
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The Gell family of Hopton Hall built the ‘Via Gellia' in 1791 to transport minerals and stone, including Hoptonwood ‘Marble', to Cromford Canal Wharf. The first turnpike between Belper and Cromford was not built until 23 years later. The Cromford and High Peak Railway, completed in 1831, was one of the very earliest commercial lines in the world. The mainline railway in the Derwent Valley opened in 1849 and, with the A6 road (which had itself supplanted several earlier routes to the west), became a major corridor between London and Manchester until the 1960s, when the railway beyond Matlock closed and the M1/M6 opened.
High above the Derwent is the flightpath from Heathrow to North America. |
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