In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ripley like this:
RIPLEY, a small town, a chapelry, and a sub-district, in Belper district, Derbyshire. The town standsat the terminus of the Derby, Little Eaton, and Ripley railway, near the Cromford canal, 10 miles N N E of Derby; is well-built; carries on extensive trade in connexionwith neighbouring collieries, the Butterley iron-works, and an establishment for silk and cotton manufacture; and has a post-office‡ under Derby, a railway station, a banking office, two chief inns, a church, five dissenting chapels, a school-church, two national schools, aweekly market on Saturday, and fairs on Easter-Wednesday, 23 Oct., and 5 Nov. ...
The church was built in 1821, restored in 1861, and improved in 1868. The chapelry contains also the hamlets of Butterley, Hartshay, Marehay, Greenwich, and Green-Hillocks; and is in Pentrich parish. Acres, 2, 164. Real property, £35, 860; of which £17, 858 are in mines, and £7, 647 in iron-works. Pop. in 1851, 3,071; in 1861, 5, 244. Houses, 1,050. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to J. Woolley, Esq., and the executors of the late J.Topham, Esq. Butterley Hall is the seat of Major Jessop. A branch of the Erewash Valley railway comes to Butterley works. Zinc smelting is carried on at Hartshay. Roman coins were found in 1730. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £300.* Patron, F. Wright, Esq.—The sub-district contains also the rest of Pentrich parish, all South Wingfield parish, and parts of two others. Pop. in 1851, 9, 489; in 1861, 12, 185. Houses, 2, 510.
Ripley through time
Ripley is now part of Amber Valley district. Click here for graphs and data of how Amber Valley has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ripley itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ripley, in Amber Valley and Derbyshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/650
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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