Derbyshire

Derbyshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Borders	Cheshire Leicestershire Nottinghamshire Staffordshire Yorkshire

Derbyshire is a traditional county in north-central England.

The North and Central parts of the County are dominated by the Pennine Hills. Englands oldest National Park, the Peak District lies mainly within this county, and is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Peak District Towns include, Matlock, Buxton, Ashbourne and Bakewell (though Buxton and Ashbourne are just outside the Peak District Authority boundary). The east of the County is more industrial and it is here that the county's second largest town Chesterfield is located (with its famous crooked spire). The county town of Derby is in the south of the county. Other main towns include Ilkeston, Heanor and Swadlincote. In the far north-west of Derbyshire is Glossop, which forms a part of the Manchester travel-to-work area. Some southern suburbs of Sheffield are in the traditional county Derbyshire, although that city largely falls within the West Riding of the county Yorkshire. As with much of the Midlands, Derbyshire is landlocked; the furthest point in Great Britain from the sea, Cotton in the Elms, is located in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire has one Championship football club, Derby County, and one football league club, Chesterfield F.C.

There are many old houses in Derbyshire, the most famous being Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall, Hardwick Hall, Kedleston Hall, and the ruins of Wingfield Manor.

Derbyshire shares borders with Cheshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

Geography

Northern and western Derbyshire is characterised by the uplands of the southern Pennines. A large part of the Peak District is within this area, which is divided into the Dark Peak and White Peak, the former being characterised by barren moorland, and the latter being dominated by limestone valleys and gorges. The highest point in the traditional county is Kinder Scout, whose summit is at 2,087 ft above sea level.

Administration

Local government

A geographically-large part of the traditional county Derbyshire (plus a small area of Cheshire) is administered by Derbyshire County Council and the eight non-metropolitan districts into which that council area is divided. Derby City Council covers the city of Derby. The extreme north-west of Derbyshire is partially in the admin zones of Cheshire East Council and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. The part of Derbyshire around Burton upon Trent is under Staffordshire County Council. The parts of Derbyshire which form the southern suburbs of Sheffield are administered by Sheffield City Council.

Lieutenancy

There is a county for the purposes of lieutenancy, also called Derbyshire. It consists of the combined areas of Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council.

Statistical

For the purposes of statistics, Derbyshire is divided between 4 statistical regions. The majority of the traditional county - namely that under Derbyshire County Council and Derby City County - forms a part of the East Midlands region. Those under the Cheshire East and Stockport councils make up part of North West England, with the part under Staffordshire County Council being in the West Midlands. The parts administered as the City of Sheffield are part of Yorkshire and the Humber.