Derbyshire World & UK Firsts

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom

Here are some of the things in which Derbyshire people and places led the world and the UK.

Derbyshire World & UK Firsts

Derbyshire World Firsts

Here are some of the things in which Derbyshire people and places led the world.
First ….
• Derby Rib: An adaptation to the stocking knitting frame allowing ribbed stockings to be made. Patented by Jedediah Strutt in 1759.
• First professional nursing school: Florence Nightingale’s family lived at Lea Hurst near Cromford and following her experience in the Crimean War in 1854 she founded a nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
• First depiction of an aircraft in a first world war memorial stained glass window at St Peter’s Church, Fairfield.
• World’s oldest bowling green at Chesterfield Bowling Club since 1294.
• Bakewell Pudding: Said to be invented as a culinary mistake by Mrs Ann Greaves at the Rutland Arms in Bakewell.
• Falkirk Wheel: Made by Butterley Engineering of Derbyshire and opened in 2002 this is a rotating boat lift in Scotland between the Forth & Clyde and Union canals. It has 1,200 tonnes of steel and lifts boats 35 metres to replace a set of 11 locks.
• Bouncing Bomb: Invented by Barnes Wallace from Ripley. It was tested by the Dambusters off the south coast and the dam approach practiced at Derbyshire’s Derwent dams. Wallace also invented the swing-wing aircraft, the earthquake bomb and designs for airships.
• Aero Engine: Rolls Royce in Derby built the ‘Eagle’ engine in 1915 which powered Alcock and Brown’s Vickers Vemy aeroplane on the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in 1919.
• Micrarium: Opened in the St Ann’s Well building in Buxton in 1981 by Dr Stephen Carter. It had 44 specially designed microscopes but closed in 1995 after his death.
• Patented Water Frame: In 1769 a patent was granted to Richard Arkwright for the water frame spinning machine that he had developed with a clock maker John Kay. It did not require a skilled worker to supervise it.
• Water-powered cotton mill: Richard Arkwright built his cotton mill in Cromford in 1771.
• Industrial housing: In 1771 housing for framework knitters to work from home was built in by Richard Arkwright in North Street, Cromford.
• Home of the Industrial Revolution: From 1771 onwards Richard Arkwright’s cotton mill machines and 24-hour working was the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
• First photograph in a cave: Taken by Alfred Brothers in 1865 inside the Blue John mine at Castleton after developing a new flash method.
• Derby Door: Paul Brooks, a Derby hospital manager, invented this inflatable door in 2011 to make an airtight seal to stop infection spreading between rooms.
• Silk Mill: Built by John Lombe and Thomas Lombe in Derby and powered by the River Derwent it opened in 1721 as the world’s first mechanised factory.
• Industrial Spy: John Lombe stole the closely guarded plans for silk making machines from Italy from a mill where he worked and built machines at his Derby silk mill. He died after being poisoned by an Italian lady.
• Dracula – first production: At Grand Theatre, Babington Lane, Derby in May 1924 Bram Stocker’s book Count Dracula was staged. The theatre closed in 1951.
• Hot Dog: After Harry Stevens emigrated from Derby to Ohio he sold fast foods. Legend states that in 1901 he ran out of burgers and put sausages in a roll. The name ‘hot dog’ comes from a later advertisement.
• Standardised Screw Threads: Before Joseph Whitworth of Darley Dale standardised the threads on nuts and bolts they were not uniform which made any replacements or repairs difficult.
• Micrometer: Apart from the Whitworth thread and rifles Joseph Whitworth of Darley Dale developed the first micrometer capable of measuring 1/1000th of an inch.
• Night filming of feeding by Peregrine Falcons: Filmed at Derby Cathedral.
• Female Photographer: Constance Mundy (daughter of Derbyshire MP Francis Mundy) of Markeaton Hall was the wife of William Henry Fox Talbot the photographic pioneer and in 1839 she became the world’s first female photographer.
• Plimsoll Line: To stop ships being overloaded the Derby Liberal MP Samuel Plimsoll proposed the Merchant Shipping Act which was passed and saved many accidents.
• Founder of Sociology: With Auguste Comte (French) Herbert Spencer from Derby is regarded as the Founder of Modern Sociology. He was also a 19th century railway engineer, a journalist and editor of The Economist.
• Quakers: In Derby in 1650 the name Quakers was first applied to the Society of Friends. A name coined after preacher George Fox told a magistrate to “tremble at the word of the Lord”.
• World Snooker Champion: Joe Davis from Whitwell became the first champion in 1927 in the knock-out world championship.
• Swarfega: In 1947 Audley Bowdler Williamson who was an industrial chemist at Deb Silkware Protection Ltd in Belper developed Swarfega to extend the robustness of silk stockings. It also became a hand cleaner for print workers and mechanics.
• Travel Agent: In 1841 Thomas Cook of Melbourne organised for a group of teetotallers to travel by train from Leicester to a rally in Loughborough.
• Umbrella Opening Mechanism: Invented in 1851 by Joseph Hayward who was one of the workers for Samuel Fox from Bradwell suggested using the U-shaped steel stays from corsets and crinoline skirts as a frame to support a collapsible umbrella.
• Town Waterworks: In 1692 George Sorocold created the first town waterworks by agreement with Derby Corporation. A water wheel lifted Derwent River water to be distributed in the town via elm piping.
• Allotments: On Hopping Hill in Milford organised allotments were established.

Derbyshire UK Firsts

Here are some of the things in which Derbyshire people and places led the UK.

First ….
• Alpine Cable Cars: Installed in 1984 at Heights of Abraham, Matlock Bath.
• Antiseptic Dressings: Produced at Robinsons of Chesterfield in 1889.
• Metal Aqueduct: Built for the Derby canal by Butterley ironworks in 1794.
• Village Community Audio Tour: Eyam in 2004.
• Coke-fired Blast Furnace: At Morley Park farm in 1818.
• Calico: First produced at Arkwright’s Cromford Mill in 1773.
• Paraffin Wax Candle / Oil Well: Sir Lyon Playfair with James Young extracted paraffin from the UK’s first oil well at Riddings coal pit 1847.
• Cheese Factory: Opened in 1870 by William Gillman in Longford.
• Victoria Electric Cinema: Opened in 1910 in Becketwell Lane in Derby.
• Modern Factory: The silk mill, Derby built in 1719.
• Medical Flying Squad: Brainchild of Dr John Collins of Littleover; a Derbyshire Royal Infirmary surgeon in 1955.
• Hansom Cab: Invented in Spinkhill by Joseph Aloysius Hansom in the 19th century.
• Hydraulic Ram: Invented by John Whitehurst of Derby in 1772 then perfected by Joseph Montgolfier.
• Community Owned Hydro Electricity Scheme: At Torrs Gorge in New Mills in 2008.
• Water-powered Marble Mill: In 1748 Henry Watson of Bakewell built the mill at Ashford-in-the-Water to process Ashford Black Marble.
• Inland Oil Well: Sunk at Hardstoft, Tibshelf in 1919.
• Outdoor Education Centre: In 1951 Whitehall Activity Centre was opened just outside Buxton.
• National Park: The Peak District National Park was created in 1951.
• Country Park: In 1970 at Elvaston Castle.
• Public Park: In 1840 The Arboretum in Derby.
• Colour Inkjet Printer: Made in the 1980s by Integrex of Church Gresley.
• Indoor Heated Swimming Pool: Built in 1890 at the Whitworth Institute in Darley Dale.
• Reed Relay Electronic Telephone Exchange: Opened in Ambergate in 1966.
• Mass Trespass: By 400/500 ramblers on Kinder Scout in 1932.

Sources

Reflections magazine Vol 31 Issue 358 Pages 16-20 March 2022 – article by David Fearnehough Derbyshire Extremes by David Fearnehough. Amberley Publishing 2010. ISBN 978 1 4456 0082 6