Author: Maxwell Craven
The Illustrated History of Derby
The Illustrated History of Derby aims to provide a readable and informative account of the history of the present city from the earliest time until the present. It is hoped that it will appeal to residents of the city and visitors alike and also that it will remain a useful reference book for many years to come.
Much new research undertaken by the author and many others has been included, especially concerning the early evolution of the settlement from the end of the Roman Period up until the coming of the Normans and in the later eighteenth century when the then Borough spawned an intellectual revolution of considerable importance. Such men as John Whitehurst, the clockmaker and scientist, Joseph Wright, the painter, Joseph Pickford, the architect, William and Joseph Strutt and Dr Erasmus Darwin have been consistently underrated over the years, when in fact all deserve national reputations. It is hoped that The Illustrated History of Derby will go some way towards setting the record straight.
Emphasis has been placed on the people of Derby over the ages, the connections and continuity they enjoyed and thus how a consistent thread of kinship and ideas have flowed through the life of the town down the ages. Thus, a picture develops of a thoroughly modern city in which live, for example, a family of solicitors with a descent from a medieval villein and a sixteenth-century Borough MP, an ex-Mayor of Derby with a strong connection to the photographic pioneer Fox-Talbot, and several linked families of humbler folk with surprising links to some nineteenth century grandees illustrating the social fluidity which has marked the life of the city for generations.
The book is profusely illustrated with maps and plans and include many previously unpublished photographs.
