Derby
[key], city and unitary authority, central England, on the Derwent River.
It was formerly county seat of Derbyshire but became administratively
independent of the county in 1997. Manufactures include automobiles and
airplane engines, pottery (see Derby ware), synthetic textiles, beer,
machinery, and chemicals. The city is also an important rail center. Derby
was a Roman settlement and, in the 9th cent., one of the Five Boroughs of
the Danes. England's first silk mill was built there in 1718. Derby is the
birthplace of the philosopher Herbert Spencer. Noteworthy are the Cathedral
of All Saints, with its Perpendicular tower (1509–27), the Roman
Catholic Church of St. Mary (designed by A. W. Pugin in 1838), the arboretum, the
chapel of St. Mary of the Bridge, and a grammar school founded in 1160. The
Univ. of Derby and a teacher-training college are also located in Derby.
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