| Ambergate | |
|---|---|
 Ambergate from the west | |
  Ambergate Location withinDerbyshire | |
| Population | 5,013 (Heage and Ambergate Ward of Ripley, Derbyshire 2011) |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BELPER |
| Postcode district | DE56 |
| Dialling code | 01773 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Ambergate (/ˈæmbərɡeɪt/) is a village inDerbyshire, England, situated where theRiver Amber joins theRiver Derwent. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) south ofMatlock.
The village forms part of the Heage and Ambergate ward of Ripley Town Council with a population[which?] of 5,013 at the 2011 Census.[1] Ambergate is within theDerwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage site, and has historical connections withGeorge Stephenson, and is notable for its railway heritage and telephone exchange. The village also hosts an annual carnival.
TheA610 road fromRipley andNottingham joins theA6trunk road at Ambergate as it runs north to south along the Derwent valley betweenMatlock andDerby. Neighbouring hamlets are Sawmills and Ridgeway.Alderwasley,Heage (the site ofHeage Windmill), Nether Heage andCrich are other significant neighbouring settlements.Shining Cliff woods, Thacker's woods and Crich Chase border the village.
Until the early 19th century it was known asToadmoor, with no more than a few artisans' cottages. The placename has previously been attributed as deriving from the Derbyshire dialect "t'owd moor" (Old Moor).[2] The origins ofToadmoor have been traced back by the Survey of English Place-Names as meaning "toadpool", the earliest reference being in 1397 and associated references suggesting how the name of "toad mire" was later corrupted to become "toad moor" therefore confusing the landscape feature meanings of "mire" and "moor". As the area is a steep-sided valley bottom with notable floodplains, marsh and bog areas adjacent to the River Derwent the "toadpool" definition is more likely.[3]
The southerly half of the present village is still shown as Toadmoor onOrdnance Survey maps, and the name is retained in the street name Toadmoor Lane and theToadmoor Tunnel. The name "Amber Gate" was originally applied to the tollgate for the Nottingham turnpike, but was adopted by theNorth Midland Railway forAmbergate railway station on theDerwent Valley line.
In 1791Benjamin Outram and Samuel Beresford had built kilns at nearbyBullbridge to processlimestone from their quarry atCrich.George Stephenson had discovered deposits of coal at Clay Cross and realised that burning lime would provide a use for the slack which otherwise would go to waste. He leased Cliff Quarry at Crich, and built eight limekilns beside the railway. Within a year they had grown to twenty. They were connected by another wagonway known as "The Steep", a 550-yard (500 m)self-acting incline at a slope of 1 in 5.
The turnpike to Matlock was opened in 1818. Until then the main road from Belper northwards had been throughWirksworth and such traffic as there was, would have been mainly cotton fromArkwright's Mill at Cromford. However, theCromford Canal, opened in 1794, also passes the village. In 1818 the turnpike to Nottingham was opened with atoll house at the junction. The canal towpath can be followed from here toCromford Wharf, passingHigh Peak Junction, which is the start of theHigh Peak Trail). This 6-mile (10 km) section is listed as a BiologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),[4] and also forms part of theDerwent Valley Heritage Way.
In 1840 theNorth Midland Railway opened with a station at 'Amber Gate' which brought trade for 'omnibus and posting conveyance' to Matlock, which was becoming a fashionable spa town. By 1867 there was a through line fromLondon St Pancras toManchester, as well as toLeeds. Ambergate became an important interchange and, in 1876, Francis Hurt built the 'Hurt Arms' to replace the former 'Thatched House Tavern and Posting House' which theMidland Railway had converted into three cottages (now Midland Place). Francis Hurt also built 'Oak Hurst', an 1840s mansion later owned by the railway company.[5] The main railway line runs through the ellipticalToadmoor Tunnel designed by George Stephenson.
By 1851 the tiny hamlet had grown to a population of 206. In 1876 Richard Johnson and Nephew opened the wireworks by the river.
By 1931 the population had reached 901, rising to 1,794 in 1951.
The quarry and the wagonway closed in 1957 but the limeworks carried on until 1965 and the passage of theClean Air Act. The kilns were demolished the following year to build a storage facility and processing plant for natural gas.
In 1966 the first fully operationalelectronic telephone exchange in Europe opened in Ambergate. This was also the first small to medium electronic exchange in the world and the first of manyTXE2 type exchanges.[6]
Ambergate had[when?] twopubs: The Hurt Arms Hotel, at the junction of the A6 and A610, and The White House, which is now a private residence.
Ambergate has an active community life, particularly centred on the school, pubs, churches, sports clubs; and annual village carnival which isrelatively large and consistent locally,[clarification needed] with popular associated events in carnival week and throughout the year. The carnival is organised by a voluntary committee.
Authority control databases: National |
|---|