Derby, Derbyshire : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Derby. You may be able to find further references to Derby in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Derby capital of county, parliamentary and municipal borough, and market town Bartholomew
DERBY a town and a district Imperial

This additional information from our descriptive gazetteers is for locations within the parish or parishes associated with Derby.

Place Type of entry Source
Chester, Little township Bartholomew
Litchurch township Bartholomew
LITCHURCH a village and a township Imperial
Little Eaton township and village with railway station Bartholomew

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Derby within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Litchurch 0 2
Osmaston 0 2
Little Chester 1 2
Normanton 2 2
Allenton 0 1
Boulton 0 2
Darley Abbey 0 2
Littleover 0 2
Chaddesden 0 2
Alvaston 0 2
Sinfin 0 2
Markeaton 0 3
Allestree 0 2
Spondon 0 2
Morleston and Litchurch 0 2
Mickleover 0 2
Breadsall 0 2
Chellaston 0 2
Mackworth 0 2
Arleston 0 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Derby. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
DARBY William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
Daniel Defoe A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (London: JM Dent and Co, 1927).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
DEORABY William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
DERBY John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
NORTHWORTHIG William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
NORTHWORTHIGIE John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.