‘Derby history walk filled with bizarre facts made me see city in a brand new light’

I’m no historian but I thought I knew enough about Derby to ace a local history test.

I was wrong.

A local tour hosted by Derby Uncovered jettisoned my history-related hubris into the River Derwent as I embarked on a walk covering central Derby.

Areas explored were Sadler Gate, Iron Gate, St Mary’s Gate and Market Square. 

The event took around two hours, that is a little longer than the advertised 90 minutes. 

The longer time is down to host David Turner who pours his heart, soul and wit into the walking tour.

I like learning new things, and that is one of the main reasons I thought the talk would be interesting. So often I walk around the city, see something that piques my interest, then I make a mental note to Google or Wikipedia it later.

Except later never comes and since living in Derby for over a decade, I have forgotten about the thousands of things that I wanted to learn more about, but just never got around to.

David is like a walking, talking Wikipedia, jam packed with knowledge, fun facts and who is keen to share his knowledge with the masses.

I know Derby has been the subject of various hit pieces over the past few years, perhaps they should spend time on David’s walking tour to learn basic facts about Derby’s history prior to voicing opinions about the great city of Derby. 

What I loved about the tour is its diverse appeal.

On the evening there was a mix of people of all ages.

Solo attendees, a man and his dog, several couples, and a father-and-son duo who judiciously packed a water bottle (packing a beverage is something that I also recommend) were on the walk on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

It is rare that people laugh on history tours. 

They can be rather sombre occurrences, so I wasn’t really expecting to laugh out loud during the walking tour. 

It wasn’t just me who found quirky facts hilarious, other attendees on the walking tour also expressed joy at various intervals. 

Top four things I learnt from Derby history tour

Tightrope walking donkey

In 1732, an intrepid record breaker tried to carry a donkey down the tightrope between Derby Cathedral and St Mary’s Gate. 

It did not end well. 

Although no one was killed, the donkey fell off the rope and hundreds of people gathered below on pavements were left ‘maimed and bruised.’

First dictionary in the world has Derby origins

St Werburgh’s Church signifies world importance. It is the place where Samuel Johnson - one of the forefathers of the English dictionary - married Elizabeth ‘Tetty’ Porter in 1735. 

The church yard is also the resting place of three men (Jeremiah Brandreth, William Turner and Isaac Ludlam) who were the final people beheaded by axe in England in 1817.

Jails

Derby had plenty of county and borough jails. In the 1660s, John Crossland, along with his elder brother and father, was tried and found guilty of horse stealing. 

By voluntarily agreeing to hang both members of his family, John escaped execution. He carried out the hanging with such gusto, he was given the job as a county hangman. 

Arks on River Derwent

A Derby man built himself an ark that he floated up and down River Derwent in the 17th century. Noah Bullock, who is reported to have been a counterfeiter, was pulled up in front of the Recorder for Derby, Sir Simon Degge, who commuted his sentence.

Derby Uncovered has been offering walking tours for the past few months.

In that time the Community Interest Company has garnered stellar reviews making it one of the top rated activities on Tripadvisor.

Speaking about the tour, David said: “Derby is absolutely rammed full of history if you know where to look. 

“The idea of the walk is to tell as many people as possible about it and this walk really does contain the best, strangest, quirkiest and grisliest of our history. 

“People who come are amazed at what they didn’t know about the city.”

The Walk by Derby Uncovered runs on several dates, lasts for approximately 90 minutes and costs £10 per person. 

To book onto a talk click here.