Country Images Magazine North Edition September 2017 | Page 15

Buildings over a hundred years old are full of modern machinery,
some capable of turning out a complete garment in one go.
Left and above:
Th e John Smedley factory,
Lea Bridge.
Right:
Robin Maycock & Family
Butchers and Bakers,
Holloway.
Th e 16 th Century manor was the family home of the Dethick family who
were linked to the Babbingtons through marriage and whose son Anthony
Babbington conspired against Elizabeth I to free the captive May Queen
of Scots from Sheffi eld Castle. Along with the rest of the failed plotters,
Babbington paid for his brave but misguided idealism with his life, a life
ended by the cruel punishment of being hung drawn and quartered.
Industry has been to the fore at Lea Bridge for several centuries, and the
village houses were built there to accommodate the workers who toil in this
pleasant corner. In its day the village warranted the services of a branch of
the Cromford Canal. Th ere was once a lead smelter, then a glove factory
around the ‘harbour’ at the end of the canal’s Lea arm, but you need to look
closely to fi nd any evidence, for all that is left is a group of pretty, once canal
side cottages. Th e smelter and glove factory may have gone, but Smedley’s
woollen mill still produces high quality knitwear. Buildings over a hundred
years old are full of modern machinery, some capable of turning out a
complete garment in one go.
High up on the hillside overlooking Matlock and the middle reaches of the
Derwent, Riber’s ‘youngest’ building is the castle built by John Smedley, the
father of hydropathy, or the treatment of all ills with copious amounts of
water. Intended to be the fi nest of his hydros in and around Matlock, as well
as his home, but it failed mainly because of the lack of water, an essential
ingredient for his treatments. Since then it has had a chequered career, being
used as a school, a place to store sugar in wartime, a European wildlife zoo,
and currently is planned to be developed into luxury apartments complete
with helicopter landing pad and indoor health and sports facilities.
Most of the older houses in Riber date from the 17 th century. Both sides
of the hall are now privately owned, and other properties are also private
houses. Eddie Hallam lives next door to the hall at the old farm house
where he creates lifelike bronze sculptures of birds and small animals. His
studio is at Greenways Farm, Riber which is open on advertised days during
the summer months. Telephone [phone].
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