Ripley, Derbyshire
For other uses of Ripley, see Ripley.
Ripley is a small town in the
Amber Valley area of
Derbyshire in
England.
The surrounding area has been industrialised since the late 18th century. One of the earliest companies to take advantage of the mineral resources around Ripley was the
Butterley Company. The company was formed in 1790 and still survives to the day in the guise of
Butterley Engineering,
Butterley Brick and
Butterley Aggregates (now all separate companies). Over the last 200 years the companies have been a steelworks, coal mining, quarrying, railway, foundry, brickworks. One of the early, and most well known, examples of the work of the company includes the graceful arched roof of
St. Pancras Station in
London. A recent major achievement was the design and construction of the
Falkirk Wheel, a spectacular canal boat lift funded by the
Millennium Commission.
The inventor
Barnes Wallis lived for a time in Ripley and now has one of the town's parks named after him. The house where he was born is now marked with a blue plaque.
Constructed under the premises of the Butterley Company is a 3 mile long canal tunnel for the
Cromford Canal. The central section of the canal is currently disused, but a charitable fund has been formed to reopen the canal.
Ripley is also home to the
Midland Railway Centre a steam preservation trust, dedicated to preserving locomotives, rolling stock and other items related to the
Midland Railway.
Ripley was the northern terminus of the
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company.
The Headquarters of the Derbyshire Constabulary is located on the outskirts of Ripley at Butterley Hall.
John Wesley spent time in Ripley on his travels, preaching to local people under a tree on the market Place and at the old Blacksmiths. The Methodist Church is reputed to be the oldest Church in town and is still active today. At the peak of the movement there were 5 Methodist Churches in the town, but over the years they have combined. Ripley Methodist Church is situated in Wood Street Ripley.[
1]
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Ripley Town Council*
Falkirk Wheel*
Midland Railway Centre*
Ripley Methodist Church *
Information about Ripley Derbyshire 
