Derby

DERBY

DERBY - the entrance to the stunning Peak District

As far as I could recollect, I first heard of the word ‘derby’ in connection with horse racing contests. That was quite a way back, perhaps during my college days in Calcutta, when at local tea stall ‘addas’, a small group of people interested in horse racing used to discuss about derbies at the Calcutta Race course. In the new millennium, people have started debating the derby between two major football rivals, East Bengal and Mohan Bagan. I have never taken any interest in horse derby, but in the case of football, which I love, the phrase ‘derby’ stumped me when I first heard it during one of the post-COVID clashes between East Bengal and Mohan Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta. Why Derby? The answer to this seemed to have been waiting for me when, along with my wife, I visited the town of Derby in England. Even the name of the city, Derby, stemmed from ‘Djura-by’, meaning the village of the deer. I gathered that the term local derby initially evolved from traditional, fierce medieval "mob football" matches played annually in the county of Derbyshire (which includes the city of Derby) between rival parts of a town or neighbouring towns, sometimes in the eleventh or twelfth century. The baton seemed to have passed down to a most direct origin for the word's current meaning, i.e. ‘The Derby’, an annual horse race founded in 1780 by Edward Smith-Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby.

To explore more of the city of Derby, we took a bus number i4 from Beeston in Nottingham. The bus goes directly to Derby bus station and takes about an hour. As we stepped out of the modern bus station, we were greeted by the beautiful medieval look of the city. The Derby Cathedral, a beautiful and historically significant landmark in the city, can be easily sighted due to its tall and magnificent rectangular Gothic Tower. Although a church founded by King Edmund I in the mid tenth century stood on this site, none of its Anglo-Saxon structure survives. The tower is the oldest surviving part, constructed in the early sixteenth century. The main body, constructed in the early eighteenth century, reflects Georgian (Neo-Classical) architecture. We found the interior quite bright and spacious in contrast to the high-Gothic style of many of the English Cathedrals. The church is also the final resting place of Bess of Hardwick, one of the most powerful women of the Elizabethan era, as well as the Cavendish family (Dukes of Devonshire). A memorial to Florence Nightingale is also located inside. The Cathedral also houses the oldest ring of ten bells in the world, with most dating back to the late 17th century. The largest bell is over 500 years old.

The shorter route to the Cathedral was climbing a few steps. But the steps were very old and slippery due to the rains. We decided to take a slightly longer route. On our way, we came across a strange yet beautiful timber-framed and half-timbered white building. The building houses a pub claimed to be the oldest surviving pub in Derby. The name of this fascinating historic pub is Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, founded sometime in the early 16th century. It was a well-known coaching inn serving as a rest stop for travellers or traders between London and the north. It is rumoured that the inn was a stopping point for highwaymen like the legendary Dick Turpin. In sharp contrast to the real Dick Turpin, the dashing highwayman riding a jet black magnificent mare named Black Bess, and created by the author William Harrison Ainsworth in 1834, became attached to hundreds of old inns and roads across the country. Such a claim of Dick Turnip's attachment to the inn, therefore, appears to be part of the local folklore that grew up around the mythical, popular highwayman.

There are some eerie and murky stories surrounding the pub, such as the ‘Grey Lady’ who haunts the steak bar, a ghostly boy who sits on the stairs, the ‘Flying Scotsman ‘who runs up and down the corridor, and the murkiest of all, a girl in the cellar, whose horrified screams are occasionally heard. According to folklore, the 18th-century extension of the pub, which houses a cellar, used to be a doctor’s house, who used his premises to dissect the bodies of executed criminals. These dark tales of the pub are inscribed outside the pub.

Derby Museum & Art Gallery

We visited the museum and the art gallery, which is about 150 years old. The museum has a remarkable collection of historic porcelain and ceramic ware from Derby and neighbouring areas; archaeological discoveries spanning from prehistory to the 18^th century; military collections including war heroes from Derby in both WW I & II, siege of Lucknow during the sepoy mutiny, Sherwood Foresters and the Derbyshire Yeomanry; galleries showcasing specimens from the natural world. The main attraction, where we spent most of our visit, was the Joseph Wright Art Gallery. This museum holds the world’s largest collection of the 18th-century internationally acclaimed painter Joseph Wright, popularly known as Joe in his hometown of Derby. Famously known as a ‘painter of light’, for his masterly use of artificial candlelight in creating dramatic effects for nighttime scenes. A technique known as tenebrism is the strongest representation of chiaroscuro. Some of the notable paintings were ‘The Widow of an Indian Chief watching the arms of her deceased husband’, ‘Landscape with a rainbow’, and ‘Glittering Moonlight on the Sea’. When he was in Italy, he saw Vesuvius erupting- which he depicted in his painting. After going round the museum and the gallery, we settled for coffee and Choco-orange cake in the Coffee House on the ground floor.

Derby Market Hall

On our way back to the bus station, we spent some time in the 160-year-old Derby Market Hall. The building is a fine example of Victorian architecture. It is a large hall with a spectacular vaulted roof supported by iron arches. The exterior with a large paved space presents a stunningly beautiful sight. The interior, beneath a magnificent glass roof, buzzes with shops offering fresh local produce, vintage fashion, and unique gifts. The culinary journey was irresistibly enjoyable, savouring delicacies at food courts and bars offering a diverse range of cuisines.

Photo credit: Arundhati Sengupta