Our Day

Today was Easter Sunday and a day of sightseeing for some of us. Two aspects of British industry were on our schedule. In the morning we visited the National Tram Museum at Crich. If you say "crytch", the locals will think you are a local. A visit to Arkwright's Cromford Mill, the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, was on our agenda for the afternoon. Access from Hartington by car was really the only practical way to reaching Crich and Cromford, so thanks Paul and Nigel for doing the driving!

As on every Easter Sunday and Monday, WWII was celebrated at Crich. Military and "civvy" garb of the forties was the order of the day. King George VI and Winston Churchill would make a ceremonial appearance in the afternoon. Here we are near the Bowes-Lyon Bridge, where it's very busy with crowds milling around a Leeds tram dating from 1926.

Our Morning

Today was Easter Sunday, and it looked as if, instead of the usual rainy holiday weather we would actually see the sun - lots of it. At the Hall, the sun was shining through the mullioned windows. However, we felt that today some sightseeing would be a nice complement to our more strenuous activities of the previous two days.

At the Hall, the sun was shining through the mullioned windows ...




... while the Victorian prints accompanied us as we went to breakfast.

It's WWII at Crich!

The fledgling Tramway Museum Society was lucky in 1959 to find a site at the deserted quarry in Crich, where they could run their trams. It was at a time when trams were fast disappearing from British towns, and the site at Crich was ideal, in terms of its reasonably central location within the U.K. and in terms of the distance of about 1 mile over which it was possible to exercise the tramcars. Thus, an important part of once every day urban life could be kept alive. This aim, coupled with special events at Crich throughout the year makes sure the public do not forget Britain's transport heritage. We realized that there is so much to see at Crich that every visit reveals new aspects. Still, we only had half a day but we managed to make good use of it, seeing trams originally from a number of cities and towns. The trams that were running at Crich would have been seen on Britain's streets in the 1940s, and so, were the appropriate accompaniment to the other WWII festivities.

London

Feltham tram, vintage 1930.




London's trams plied from Waltham Cross to Purley and Uxbridge to Dartford,
as this display at Crich shows.




Here's our centre-entrance Feltham again.

Glasgow

Glasgow had a large tram system, and although they had modern trams (e.g. the Coronations and the Cunarders), WWII ensured the survival of some older vehicles into the post-war and preservation eras. Number 22 dates back to 1922.




Number 22 at the "Wakebridge" Loop.




Number 22 near Town End.

Liverpool

Liverpool's streamliners date back to 1936/7 and their construction incorporated
technology developed in the early thirties by London County Council Tramways.




Number 869 was built in 1936.

Leeds

Double-deck trams tended to have a top-heavy appearance
accentuated here by my picture taken from the balcony of Blackpool number 40.




I took this picture from the top deck of Feltham 331.
Note the troop manoeuvres!




Leeds number 399 harks back to 1926. Leeds once extensive tram network finally disappeared in 1959, but Crich has preserved five different types of Leeds trams for posterity.

Blackpool

The famous sea-side resort of Blackpool still has its trams, but some have been become heritage and tourist vehicles. Toastrack tram number 166 dates back to 1927. In the 1960s it was one of two converted for use as BBC mobile outside TV broadcast cars,
bringing Blackpool illuminations straight into your living room.




"Blackpool Balcony" number 40 was built in 1926.
It is one of the last open balcony cars to operate in normal use in Britain.

New York

New York's 674 is included here because of one of our group comes from the States.
This tram was built in 1939 and would have operated during the war years, albeit in the States. After the war it came to Vienna as part of the Marshall Aid Plan. In 1969 it was donated to the U.K. Ambassador to Austria, and so came to Crich.

Crests

Trams often used to proudly display the crests of their home town or city. This belonged to an Edinburgh tram. The Latin motto loosely translates as, "Everything is in vain without God".




Bournemouth trams proudly carried their town's motto: "Beauty and Health".

Our Party

Here are some of our CLOG party at Crich.

Arkwright's Cromford Mill

This mill was developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 and was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in the world. It is the main part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is overlooked by Willersley Castle, Arkwright's 18th Century Mansion. Despite the harsh and strict treatment of his workers, Arkwright built a church near the mill. The mill operated until the 19th century, but the contamination, caused by subsequent dyeing activities, restricted access to several parts. Interested staff appeared to be absent; this, and the usual touristy things, unfortunately seemed to obscure the historical importance of the mill.

Arkwright's Mill

This was where the cotton products from Arkwright's Mill were loaded on to canal barges.




The quondam working area between the mill buildings ...




... looks a tad disorganized.




However, it was the need for water power that dictated where the mill would be built.
Here are two "breast-shot" water wheels.

Arkwright's Mansion & Church

Willersley Castle was Arkwright's 18th Century Mansion and is now a Hotel.




Willersley Castle overlooks Mill and Church.




Saint Mary's Church was the private chapel of Arkwright's family,
but opened in 1797 for public worship.

Touristy Bits

Ever popular Birds of Prey were shown in the Mill Forecourt.




Snowy Owl




Harris Hawk




Austin from 1930s




Same Austin from 1930s

Our Evening at the Charles Cotton Hotel

The popular "Devonshire Arms" was in the middle of a refurbishment. However, Paul managed to arrange the venue for our communal evening meal at the Hartington's up-market "Charles Cotton Hotel". As you might know, Charles Cotton (1630-1687) was a poet and playwright and an "angler buddy" of Izaak Walton (ca 1593-1683). Charles contributed to Izaak's famous "The Compleat Angler". However, Cotton or no Cotton, we enjoyed our get-together in downtown Hartington.

Here's Charles Cotton - or at least, his hotel.




As we saw on our arrival on Thursday, "The Devonshire Arms" was being refurbished, so, their gastronomical business had become that of the nearby Charles Cotton Hotel for the duration of the said refurbishment. "Cavendo Tutus" (safe by being cautious) is the motto of the Dukes of Devonshire and might just explain why their lineage has lasted so long. I photographed the crest through the temporary fence surrounding the renovation activities next to the blue robot. The Dukes of Devonshire owned vast tracts of land hereabouts, and their numerous local interests included dairy farming and cheese making. We saw a cheese shop in the village. Hartington is an official source of Stilton cheese.




Here's some nice Victoriana in downtown Hartington.




"Raise your Glasses!" First Go!




"Raise your Glasses!" Second Go!