Calke Abbey garden heating technology

A guided tour of the 14^th century church, St. John the Baptist, by the churchwarden, Peter Robinson.  The church known as ‘The Cathedral of the Peak’ has fine stained glass windows, tombs, misericords and other carvings.

Organised by the Local History Section

The 2025 summer trip will be based in Folkestone. As usual it will be four nights half board, and will include coach transport from Derby. The hotel is the Grand Burstin Hotel, situated on Folkestone harbour. We hope to hold the cost close to last year’s level, i.e. £430 per head in a twin or double room with a £60 single supplement. The dates are June 23rd to 26th, 2025. The itinerary is not finalised, but we expect to include Dover, Sandwich, Canterbury, Rye, a Martello tower, Richborough, Eltham Palace and Knole. There will be the usual scattering of churches to satisfy David Carder, who will once again be our guide.

To reserve a place, send a £50 deposit to Mrs. Jane Heginbotham, 59 Hickton Road, Swanwick, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 1AG; e-mail jane.heginbotham@btinternet.com. Pay by cheque or bank transfer to Derbyshire Archaeological Society, CAF Bank Ltd., sort code 40-52-40, account number 00032054 by February 15th 2025. Please indicate if a receipt is required.

A two-hour walk around the village of Ticknall looking at vernacular architecture but also including the chapel, tramway bridge and the history of the ruined church before finishing at the present church. The tour will be led by Janet Spavold and Sue Brown, officers of the former Ticknall Archaeological Research Group.

Organised by the Architecture Section

John Smedley has been a pioneer in designing, manufacturing, and producing high-quality, luxurious knitwear for over 240 years. The factory at Lea Mills, dating from 1784, is an important component of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and continues in production today. It is also the home or a remarkable collection of over 23,000 items (examples of products as well as paper records and photographs) that make up the company archive.

Our visit will start with a factory tour to see the production process from yarn to finished garment. After a break for lunch and an opportunity to visit the factory shop, the company’s archivist Jane Middelton Smith will tell us something about the history of the buildings, and an exclusive look into the archive.

Organised by the Industrial Archaeology Section

A rare opportunity to see Radbourne Hall an 18^th century Palladian country house completed in 1742 for the Pole family and lived in by their descendants ever since, set in 200 acres including parkland, woodland and a lake. The house is filled with family heirlooms, including a fine collection of paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby. The Hall is not normally open to the public and we have reserved a number of places for DAS members on one of the tours managed by Historic Houses.

 Bookings through the Historic Houses booking system

Organised by the Architecture Section

Richard Sheppard will give a guided tour of Bolsover Castle in the morning (11.00am to 12.30pm) with a walk around the site to get the feel of its medieval origins and its 17th century heyday. After a lunch break, we reconvene at 2.00pm on the other side of the Doe Lea valley at Sutton Scarsdale Hall, the shell of a Georgian mansion built in 1724-1729 where we delve beneath its 18th century exterior to examine the perplexing structural evidence within its interior for its earlier past.

Organised by the Architecture Section

Most of the modern parish of New Mills was formerly within the royal forest of the Peak.  A corn mill was built before 1391 and was called the New Mill.  By the 17^th century a small village had grown up in the vicinity of the corn mill and took the name New Mill.  The settlement expanded in the late 18^th century when water powered cotton mills were built and the name became New Mills. Most of the early mills were sited near the river Goyt and its tributary, the Sett.  Here there is a dramatic natural gorge, once a busy industrial area, and now a spectacular feature of the modern town.

introductory talk by Roger Bryant followed by a guided walking tour by Mike Daniels.

Organised by the Lcal History Section

A visit to the newly upgraded Industrial Hamlet, a site of scythe and steelmaking since the 1700s. Workers’ cottages, waterwheels, workshops, crucible furnace and tilt hammers are among the many features. The site was recognised as an important example of Sheffield’s industrial heritage as early as 1935 and opened as a museum in 1970. A recent lottery grant has refreshed the way in which the site is presented, so a return visit will be well worthwhile even if you have been before.

Organised by the Industrial Archaeology Section

A guided tour of the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Derby.  It became a cathedral in 1927.  The original church was founded in the mid -10^th century but the main body of the church, as it stands today, is a Georgian building by James Gibbs.  The tower dates from the 16^th century.

Organised by the Local History Section