Winter 2019
Welcome to the Winter edition of our quarterly e-newsletter! From all of us at the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, we’d like to wish everyone a very happy festive season and all the best for 2020!

Seasonal Cheer in the World Heritage Site
• Cromford Mills is open every day apart from Christmas Day. There are some special Carol Concerts on 20th and 22nd December plus a SnowZone for the children and Christmas Tree Festival. Find out more
• Birdswood will be running their popular Santa Special canal boat trips on Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd, Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th December. Find out more
• Masson Mills working textile museum although closed during December will be open in January. The Shopping Village is open except on Christmas Day. Find out more
• Strutt’s North Mill will host a heritage walk led by Brian Deer and John Morrissey on Boxing Day, starting at 2pm – just turn up! There’ll also be a walk on New Year’s Day also starting at 2pm Find out more
• Derby Museum & Art Gallery and Pickford’s House also have a wide range of activities for all the family. Find out more
• You can also enjoy getting out in the fresh air with walks along the Cromford Canal, High Peak Trail, Heritage Way and more! Find out more

2019 Highlights
Great Place Scheme

We launched the first two of our major art commissions this year. “Mr Arkwright” by artist Jo Fairfax (pictured left) was installed over the summer at Cromford Mills for visitors to enjoy.
You can see more here: Find out more

THREAD by artist Seiko Kinoshita combined a stunning textile and sound installation at Strutt’s North Mill in Belper, with a community lantern event hosted by St Peter’s Church, Belper. Look out for a new film about the commission in the New Year. Find out more
“Art in Unusual Spaces” has inspired over 15 local artists so far to create installations, deliver creative activities and music events in the World Heritage Site. The programme will continue into 2020.

Charted Territory: A new digital portal now hosts maps of the World Heritage Site dating back to the 1790s. You can view the maps at: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/heritagemaps and look out for this touring exhibition next year.

Young Entrepreneurs
Five groups of young people on the “Young Entrepreneurs” Great Place Scheme project have presented their ideas and held successful sales events. All the groups have worked with different local artists and have organised themselves into Companies to create new product ideas inspired by the World Heritage Site. They’ve learnt important skills for the future and had a great time in the process!
Find out more

Management Plan
This time last year we had held a number of community workshops to help inform the new Management Plan. This plan has now been written and a full consultation has been completed. Comments are now being considered with a view to the new plan being adopted in the New Year.

Discovery Days Festival was wonderful again this year, with lots of new events and visitors. Thank you to all the groups, organisations and volunteers who worked so hard to put on a fantastic variety of talks, exhibitions and other activities this year. In 2020 the festival will run at the earlier time of October 9th to 11th.

Thanks to Volunteers
Volunteers are vital to the running of the DVMWHS, and each year the co-ordination team takes the opportunity to recognise their huge contribution. This year we thanked some of them during our post Discovery Days celebration event and the following received an award for their outstanding efforts over the years, especially towards the Discovery Days festival: Nick Mcleod from Strutts Centre, Neil Wayne from The Cedars, Gill Hurst from Bullbridge & Sawmills, Barry Dawber from the Strutts North Mill volunteers, David Romaine from the Arkwright Society, and the volunteers from Leawood Pumphouse & Middleton Top group. They all received an engraved bobbin and certificate.

Book Launch: Matlock Bath
“Matlock Bath: a perfectly romantic place” is now available at local book shops in Cromford, Matlock Bath and Wirksworth, along with Cromford Mills & Strutt’s North Mills’ shops. The new book tells the story of this Derbyshire village from the late 18th century to the present day. Find out more

Looking forward to 2020!
New Museum of Making Opens Sept 2020
The countdown to the opening of the new Museum of Making in Derby has begun! On Saturday 19th September 2020, the new Museum of Making will open to the public for the very first time. The Museum has been designed to inspire those who visit with new creativity, while showcasing Derby’s 300-year history of making and celebrating the area’s rich history of innovation. The Museum is at the most southerly point of our Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, and stands on the site of the world’s first factory.
Find out more

Dates for the Diary
We’ve got an exciting year ahead and here are some Dates for your Diaries! Follow our social media and website for more to come!
20th June – Darley Abbey Day and Constella OperaBallet
25th July – Launch of “Derwent Delights” – A new fun and creative “Quest” will be launched at Cromford Mills.
19th September – Opening of Museum of Making at Derby Silk Mill.
9-11th October – Discovery Days Festival

Look out for our next edition in Spring 2020!
With our best wishes
Derwent Valley Mills Partnership Co-ordination Team