A Timeline of Derby

By Tim Lambert

Early Derby

c. 50 AD The Romans build a fort on the site of Belper Road

c. 80 AD The Romans build a fort on east side of the River Derwent. They call the fort Derventio.

873 The Danes found the town of Derby

917 The Saxons capture Derby. The little town flourishes. It has a mint and a market.

1086 Derby has a population of about 2,000

1154 Derby is given a charter (a document giving the people certain rights

1204 Derby is given a new charter

1230 Black friars come to Derby

1348 On the eve of the Black Death Derby has a population of about 3,500

1636 Derby suffers an outbreak of plague

1637 Derby is given a new charter

1665 Derby is struck by plague again. However the cloth industry in Derby flourishes.

1695 Derby gains a piped water supply

1717 England’s first silk mill opens in Derby

1726 All Saints Church is rebuilt

1745 Derby has a population of about 2,000

1745 The streets of Derby are lit by oil lamps

1768 A body of men called Improvement Commissioners is formed with powers to clean, pave and light the streets of Derby

1773 George III visits Derby and agrees that a picture of a crown should appear on China, which is called Crown Derby

Modern Derby

1810 An infirmary is built in Derby

1821 The streets of Derby are lit by gas

1839 St Marys Church is built

1840 Joseph Strutt gives the Arboretum to the town as a gift

1842 A new Town Hall is built

1867 Michael Bass gives land to the town to be used as a public park

1873 A public swimming pool is built

1877 A hospital for sick children is built

1878 Derby School of Art opens

1879 A public library and museum is built

1880 Horse drawn trams run through the streets

1894 Derby is lit by electricity for the first time

Modern Derby

1904 The first electric trams run in Derby

1907 Rolls Royce decide to open a factory were cars and aircraft will be made

1910 The first museum in Derby opens

1916 A German airship bombs Derby killing 5 people

1924 A War Memorial is erected in Derby

1927 All Saints Church is made a Cathedral

1929 City Hospital is built

1930 The last electric tram runs in Derby

1931 Markeaton Park opens to the public

1933 A new bus station opens in Derby

1934 River Gardens open

1939-41 The Council House is built

Second World War 74 people in Derby are killed by German bombing

Early 1950s A large council estate is built at Mackworth

1969-71 An inner ring road is built at Derby

1974 An Industrial Museum opens

1975 The Eagle Centre is built. Derby Playhouse Theatre opens.

1976 Derby is twinned with Osnabruck

1977 The Assembly Rooms open. Derby is made a city.

1987 Markeaton Craft Village opens

1991 Pickfords House Museum opens

1995 The Ram sculpture is erected in Albion Street