The headwaters of the Derbyshire Derwent are on the south side of Bleaklow, between Swain’s Greave in the west and Featherbed Moss in the east. Featherbed Moss is a common name in the Penines – Bleaklow has two of them. The Derwent flows south through Howden, Upper Derwent and Ladybower Reservoirs and under about twenty old bridges before joining the Trent south of Derby at Derwent Mouth. The river runs through the Peak District National Park until just north of Rowsley, and then follows the eastern edge of the park down to Cromford.
The Peak District has been farmed for several thousand years, and lead mining pre-dates the Roman occupation. The limestone uplands were monastic sheep runs on an industrial scale in the mediaeval period. The factory system began in the Derwent Valley, which is a World Heritage Site from Cromford down to Derby – the inscription reads:
Criterion(ii): The Derwent Valley saw the birth of the factory system, when new types of building were erected to house the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright in the early 19th century.
Criterion (iv): In the Derwent Valley for the first time there was large-scale industrial production in a hitherto rural landscape. The need to provide housing and other facilities for workers and managers resulted in the creation of the first modern industrial towns.
For the past two hundred years the river valley north of Derby has been a major traffic route, with the Cromford Canal, the railway line from London to Sheffield (and earlier to Manchester as well), and the A6 road from London to Carlisle. The A6 still uses most of the old bridges – very few have been replaced by modern bridges. However, before the early 19th century, there was no continuous route up the valley – the traffic was largely between east and west, with the river being a major obstacle.
More details to follow.



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To follow:
Duffield Church Bridge (Grade II Listed and Scheduled Monument).
St Mary’s Bridge Derby (Grade II* Listed and Scheduled Monument).
Borrowash Bridge.
Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments
Listing is a local procedure and there is a statutory consultation process before the listing is confirmed. Scheduling is a national procedure and no consultation is required. Both give statutory protection, with scheduling taking precedence over listing. It is not obvious to me why a Scheduled Monument would also be Listed. For more information, see Heritage Help