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Published: September 11th 2022
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Belper
East Mill It has been a strange old week. We start off with a moment, that should have been a cause for national celebration. TFB was finally shown the door. Larry the Cat waved goodbye to another temporary resident in Downing Street and the Dilyn looked forward to a life closer to the suburbs. TFB has hinted of a possible return, but let us hope someone changes the locks in the meantime. After what she described as "the longest job interview in history", we drew the short straw and the Margaret Impersonator was invited to Balmoral by Her Majesty to form a government. We knew that the Queen was frail, but it still came as shock, when her passing was announced came on Thursday afternoon. As Paddington so correctly worded it, "Thanks for everything. Ma'am". The show must go on though and after the longest royal apprenticeship in history, Charles ascends to the throne. Long Live the King.
The previous weekend, we had a run out into Derbyshire. Industrial Derbyshire, not the crags of the Peak District beyond. Belper to be exact. The town’s name is rumoured to be a corruption of Beaurepaire – meaning beautiful retreat – the name given to
a hunting lodge in the area first mentioned in a charter of 1231. In the course of the next 500 years, the town changed from a hunting retreat into one of the first mill towns in the UK. However as you sit in the pleasant surroundings of the Raygar Stadium looking up at the hills in the distance, the countryside feel still lingers. We will come back to the football later.
We parked on the far side of the town centre and wandered down the hill passing workers' cottages unchanged since their construction in the 1780s. Long Row - is as the name suggests - an extensive street of houses built for the workers of the new mill. Cobbles still surface the road. The industrialist Jedediah Strutt - a partner of Richard Arkwright, who developed the mills at Cromford - built a water-powered cotton mill in Belper. It was the second in the world at the time. In 1784, Strutt built the North Mill and directly over the road, the West Mill. In 1803, the North Mill was burnt down and replaced by an new structure designed to be fireproof. The steel frame would be in the designs of
later years. The mill that defines Belper is the 1912 East Mill. Half way down Long Row, a break in the cottages gives you a glimpse of the red brick tower.
The break in the cottages on Long Row is interesting in it's own right. The temptation is to look skyward ... to the East Mill. Meanwhile, below the street level the railway line cuts through the heart of Belper. An underground railway of a sorts, or at least a railway out of view. The railways came to Belper in 1840 and provoked some controversy on the exact route to be used. The result was the Milford Tunnel, which slices through the heart of the town centre. Vast expense ensued, involving 11 bridges in less than a mile. We followed Bridge Street towards the town centre. King Street was busy with Saturday shoppers. Independent shops mingled with the more household names of the national chains. I noted that there would be on less very soon, as I extracted some cash from a bank. Whilst it remains a rarer transaction these days to actually use it, the odd note occasionally comes into handy. Lloyds would no doubt cite this, as
Belper
East Mill their excuse for closing yet another branch. We stopped for an alfresco coffee opposite and watched the world go by. One of the more imposing buildings on route up King Street towards the Market Place is the Ritz Cinema. It was built in 1882 as the Belper Public Halls. The cinema was originally born in 1919 and despite a somewhat chequered journey, it is still going strong.
De Bradelei Mills on Chapel Street was once the headquarters of George Brettle & Co. The mill was in existence for just shy of 200 years and was once a leading hosiery company. At the peak, a 1000 employees toiled here. Silk stockings from the company were favoured by nobility and royalty - Queen Victoria no less wore them. The axe finally fell in 1987 and today, it is a collection of factory shops, cafes and antiques centres. I perused the vinyl on offer, although Vera made flipping through the racks more difficult than expected. An interesting footnote to the silk stockings story emerged, whilst I wrote this blog. In 1938, local firm A.B.Williamson had developed a substance for conditioning silk stockings. However, the introduction of nylon stockings after the Second World
Belper
North Mill War seemed to make it redundant. A revised use was then discovered - in cleaning hands. It is still marketed today as Swarfega! Hosiery was a major Belper industry, but the town was also known for nails. The local deposits of ironstone were used, employing over 1400 people in the 1850s. The numbers reduced to just 37 by the 1901 census. One of the local football teams, Belper Town, retain the identity and are still known as "The Nailers".
We headed down to the iconic East Mill. It was built for the English Sewing Cotton Complex. The 7 storey building has 33 windows on each storey, each 9 feet high. The 1400 tons of steel girders are wrapped in 4 million bricks. 4 million Accrington bricks to be precise - not all mills were built in Lancashire, but the trend at the start of the20th century was to build them with Lancashire bricks. The roof is topped with 30,000 slates and the 130 foot tower is topped with a stone water tank to operate the sprinkler system. The mill looks a bit sorry today. A number of the windows are boarded. Of course, although no longer used to manufacture
Belper
East Mill textiles the mill still derives electricity from the river using turbine-driven generators.
We adjourned to the adjacent Belper River Gardens for our picnic. It is difficult to comprehend that the Gardens pre-date the East Mill. They opened alongside the River Derwent on Easter Monday 1906. The attendance ... 6000. A few more than would be at the football later in the afternoon. The bandstand was added in 1907 and a pavilion in 1908. Pleasure boats were added to the adjacent water, under the operation of the Belper Boating Association. The Strutt family took their boating seriously. They brought in an experienced boatman, John MacArthur, all the way from the Isle of Skye to oversee the operation. He was the Great, Great Grandfather of Dame Ellen, who completed fastest solo round the world trip in 2005. There was time for a very decent cup of tea in the renovated Swiss Tearooms and then it was off to the match.
The Christchurch Meadow ground is as nice a non lea ground, as you could expect to find anywhere. Hidden from view just off Bridge Street, it opens up to a view over the hills and looking back from the seats,
Belper
North Mill towards the iconic East Mill itself. Belper United - today's hosts - are the tenants. They have had a rise through the pyramid of the league system without ever having a real home and now share with their town neighbours. The main players here are from Belper Town - now resident in the Northern Premier League. The standard of facilities are way above what you would normally find in the United Counties League. Belper United have rented well. The pitch itself was a gem. A green carpet .... this was as good as anything South Shields could muster in the North East. The "Green Army" as Belper United like to call themselves has been overshadowed by another Green Army playing down the road. The Plymouth Argyle version had rolled into Derby County and probably taken 50% of the home support elsewhere.... or specifically to Pride Park. Crowds at Belper United seem to have an predictable number depending on whether Derby County are in residence. The void left the visiting Quorn fans to boss the seats .... full of loud opinions on the referee and his decisions in a somewhat intimidating manner given this level of football. The opinions might have
been warranted on other day, but given the comfortable nature of the victory you had to wonder what their point was. Quorn proved too strong on the day, but left a somewhat bitter taste. The last time we had seen them, they weren't quite so vocal. Hereford brought a 1000 strong away support in the old Midland League and not a peep was heard.
Appendix 1 Uhlsport United Counies Premier League (North)
Belper United FC 1 Quorn AFC 5
Venue: Raygar Stadium, Christchurch Meadow, Bridge Street, , Belper. Derbyshire. DE56 1BA
Date: Saturday 3 September 2022 @ 1500 Hours
Attendance: 81
Scorerss: 0-1 Demidh 1 Mins (Quorn) 0-2 Assuncao 10 Mins (Quorn), 0-3 Assuncao 40 Mins (Quorn), 1-3 Smyth 45 Mins (Belper), 1-4 Demidh (Belper) 78 Mins, 1-5 Assuncao (Belper) 89 Mins
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Ritz LOL