Ripley

The surrounding area has been industrialised since the late 18th century. One of the earliest companies to take advantage of the mineral resources around Ripley was the Butterley Company[?]. The company was formed in 1790 and still survives to the day in the guise of Butterley Engineering[?], Butterley Brick[?] and Butterley Aggregates[?] (now all separate companies). Over the last 200 years the companies have been a steelworks, coal mining, quarrying, railway, foundry, brickworks. One of the early, and most well known, examples of the work of the company includes the graceful arched roof of St. Pancras Station[?] in London. A recent major achievement was the design and construction of the Falkirk Wheel[?], a spectacular canal boat lift funded by the Millennium Commission[?].

The inventor Barnes Wallis lived for a time in Ripley and now has one of the town's parks named after him.

Constructed under the premises of the Butterley Company is a 3 mile long canal tunnel for the Cromford Canal[?]. The central section of the canal is currently disused, but a charitable fund has been formed to reopen the canal.

Ripley is also home to the Midland Railway Centre[?] a steam preservation trust, dedicated to preserving locomotives, rolling stock and other items related to the Midland Railway.

Links

• Town Council - http://www.ripley-derbyshire.gov.uk/
• Falkirk Wheel - http://www.falkirk-wheel.com/wheel/falkirk-wheel/wheel.htm
• Midland Railway Centre - http://www.midlandrailwaycentre.co.uk/