Derbyshire

Derbyshire (pronounced "dar-bee-sher" /ˈdɑːbɪʃə/, as opposed to "dar-bee-shire") is a county in the of. A substantial portion of the lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the, a famous chain of hills and s. The county contains part of the , and borders on , , , , , and.

The city of is now a unitary authority, but remains part of the  of Derbyshire. The countains 13 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, there is a large amount of sparsely populated agricultural upland: 75% of the population live in 25% of the area. Although Derbyshire is in the, some parts, such as , are closer to the northern cities of and. Outside the main city of, the largest town in the county is.

Districts and boroughs
Derbyshire has a three-tier local government since the in 1974. It has a based in  and eight  councils and since 1998, a  of. However, Derby remains part of Derbyshire for ceremonial purposes.

At the third tier are the s. In urban areas the work of the council is possibly undertaken by the county or district council. The eight district councils in Derbyshire and the unitary authority of Derby are shown in the map to the right.

These district councils are responsible for and, local roads, , , s and fairs,  and ,  and , leisure services, parks, and

They leave the subjects of, , , main roads, , and  s, ,  and strategic planning for Derbyshire to the County Council.

History
The area that is now Derbyshire was first occupied between the and  periods of the Stone Age when  hunter gatherers roamed the hilly tundra. The evidence of these nomadic tribes is centred around caves located on the Nottinghamshire border. Desposits left in the caves date the occupancy at around 12,000 to 7,000

Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county. These chambered tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire region. There are tombs in Minning Low, and Five Wells, which date back to between 2000 and 2500 BCE Three miles west of  lies the Neolithic  of, This can be dated back to 2500 BCE.

It is not until the that real signs of agriculture and settlement are found in the county. In the moors of the Peak District signs of clearence, arable fields and hut circles were discovered after archeological investigation. However this area and another settlement at are all that have been found

During the the invadors were attracted to Derbyshire because of the  in the limestone hills of the area. They settled throughout the county with forts built near Brough in and near. Later they settled around, famed for it's warm springs, and set up a fort near modern day in a area now known as.

Economy
Derbyshire is a mixture of a rural economy in the west, with a former economy in the east (Bolsover district). The landscape varies from typical arable country in the flat lands to the south of Derby, to the mountain farming of the high gritstone moorlands of the southern Pennines, which effectively begin to the north of the city. This topology and geology has had a fundamental effect on Derbyshire development throughout its history. In addition it has been rich in natural resources like lead, iron and coal. Its remoteness in the late and an abundance of fast flowing streams led to a proliferation of  at the beginning of the, following the mills pioneered by.

Nationally famous companies in Derbyshire are just south of Alfreton and  Power Systems have an engine factory in South Derbyshire. Ashbourne Water used to be bottled in Buxton by until 2006 and Buxton Waterstill is. Other major employers in the county especially around the Derby area are, Egg Banking plc and Toyota.

Education
For a list of individual schools see  Category:Schools in Derbyshire The Derbyshire school system is comprehensive with no selective schools. There is selection by average house price in some areas. Rural parts of Derbyshire have some of the best comprehensive schools in the East Midlands. The average proportion of results getting grades A-C at GCSE including Maths and English is 45.8% in England. For Derbyshire, it is 45.5%. Derbyshire Dales is the best performing district in the East Midlands. At GCSE, the best performing school is in Chesterfield with 85%, followed by the  in Duffield with 81%, then the  in Bakewell with 69%. The worst performing school is the Bennerley School in Ilkeston with 16%. The government target is 25%. At A level, the highest performing school is also Saint Mary's Catholic School, followed by the, then the in Sandiacre. The largest school Is in  at 2100 students.

Average GCSE by district (%)

 * Derbyshire Dales 59.0
 * South Derbyshire 47.5
 * Amber Valley 47.4
 * North East Derbyshire 47.3
 * Chesterfield 46.7
 * High Peak 45.9
 * Erewash 40.4
 * Bolsover 31.1
 * (City of Derby Unitary Authority 42.2)

County flag
As part of a, the plant conservation charity chose the  as the. In 2006, an official was introduced, largely on the initiative of  in September 2006.

Trivia

 * Derbyshire can make some claims to be at the centre of Britain. A farm near has been identified as the furthest from the sea whilst  and  were the centres of population during the twentieth century.
 * Several kings of are buried in
 * Derbyshire is the location of 's mansion/estate called "Pemberley" in the novel . Some scenes were filmed there for the   of the novel, starring  and.
 * was the filming location for the 2006 adaptation of .
 * is where the overthrow of a monarch was planned.
 * Derbyshire is often said to be the home of the, with the first industrialised mills built at by  in the 18th century. The area is now a  in recognition.
 * Derbyshire is famous for the (originating from the small market town of, where it is known locally as the Bakewell Pudding), and Buxton  (from the spa town of ).
 * The ITV 3-Part Television Programme was filmed, in part, at the,.
 * The EVR was also used to film an episode of the BBC's, in May 2007.

Settlements
This is a.

Sport
Derbyshire has many sporting teams in various team sports, the most common being. Derbyshire has at least 21 football teams (listed below), most of who play in tier 6 or lower of the, and the most successful and popular is. are the only other of these football clubs who currently play in the, albeit in the bottom tier (Coca Cola ).

As well as football, Derbyshire also has a  based in Derby, and a   based in Chesterfield.

U.S Residential Development
Polk County North Carolina in the United States also features a residential development which derives its name from the English Derbyshire. The neighborhood presents itself as an English country side experience, with all aspects of the development holding true to traditional English designs and architecture.