about the council
POPULATION: 19,636
Ripley Town Council: Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley, DE5 3BT Telephone: 01773 832211
Amber Valley Borough Council: Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley DE5 3BT (01773) 570222, out of hours (emergencies only) (01773) 841414. Opening times: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Wed.
Industry
One of the earliest companies to take advantage of mineral resources around Ripley was the Butterley Company. The company was formed in 1790 and still survives to the day in the guise of Butterley Engineering, Butterley Brick and Butterley Aggregates. Over the last 200 years the companies have seen many variations into different industries such as a steelworks, coal mining, quarrying, railway, foundry, brickworks. One of the most well known examples of the work of the company is the graceful arched roof of St. Pancras Station in London, which has recently been restored to great acclaim as an international rail terminal. A more recent major Butterley achievement was the design and construction of the Falkirk Wheel, a canal boat lift funded by the Millennium Commission and is a renowned achievement.
The Ripley area has been industrialised since the around the late 18th century.
Points of interest
Constructed under the premises of the Butterley Company is the 2966 yard long Butterley Tunnel for the Cromford Canal. The central section of the canal is currently disused, but a charitable fund has been formed to reopen the canal and work continues on this project.
Ripley is home to the Midland Railway, Butterley (which was formerly the Midland Railway Centre) a railway preservation trust, dedicated to preserving locomotives, rolling stock and other items related to the Midland Railway.
Ripley was the northern most terminus of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company.
Ripley is home to local radio station Amber Sound 107.2 FM. A community radio station awarded a five year broadcast license in June 2008; Amber Sound is based on Unicorn Business Park just off Wellington Street and is growing in popularity.
Derbyshire Constabulary Headquarters are located on the outskirts of Ripley at Butterley Hall.
The Methodist Church is reputed to be the oldest Church in town and is still active today. At the peak of the movement there were 5 Methodist Churches in the town, but over the years they have combined Ripley Methodist Church is situated in Wood Street Ripley. All Saints' Anglican Church was built in 1821 and is situated, appropriately enough, on Church Street.
Ripley Town Hall on the Market Place was originally built in 1880. It was greatly extended and remodelled by the Amber Valley Borough Council to form that Council's Headquarters in the 1990's.
Notable residents
Bombardier Charles Stone who was awarded the VC was born here. Barnes Wallis, inventor of the 'Bouncing bomb' and the “swing wing aircraft design” lived for a time in Ripley and the house on Butterly Hill where he was born is now marked with a Red plaque. In 2009 the Well Dressing, in the centre of the Town, theme was Barnes Wallis and his Daughter Mrs Mary Stopes-Roe opened the Well Dressing and visited the house where her Father was born. The present owner took Mrs Stopes-Roe round the house where Barnes Wallis was born.
ARMOURIAL BEARINGS
By Letters Patent dated 8th April 1954, the College of Arms granted armorial bearings to the Ripley Urban District Council in the following terms: "Vert on a chevron or between in chief two stags' heads caboshed and in base a fleur de lys argent a chevronel sable surmounted by a Tudor rose barbed and seeded proper all within a bordure also argent thereon six horseshoes also sable. And for the crest, on a wreath of the colours, out of a mural crown sable flames proper issuant therefrom a Unicorn's head argent armed and crined or charged with three spearheads erect one and two goles."
The green background of the shield refers to the Royal Forest of Duffield which gives the ancient background of the district. The stags' heads, another reference to the Forest, are also from the arms of the Cavendish Dukes of Devonshire who came into possession of Ripley after the Dissolution.
The chevron is for Heage or "Highedge" and also for the hilly character of the situation of Ripley. The black thinner chevron represents the coal seam lying beneath, and the Tudor rose, from the County arms, also refers to Coronation year, in which the grant of arms was sought.
The fleur de lys is from a seal attributed to Darley Abbey, and is also the emblem of St. Mary patron of Crich, part of which is in the District.
As the whole area was formerly in the protection of Darley Abbey, the arms are surrounded by a white border with six black horseshoes from the arms of its founders, the Ferrers family.
The closed helm proper to civic arms carries the decorative mantling and crest-wreath in the main colours of the arms, green and gold. Above is the crest.
The black mural or walled crown denotes a mining town, and the unicorn's head, adapted from the Wright crest which is used by the Butterley Company, rises from the flames suggesting the local heavy industries.
The motto: "Ingenium industria alitur" or "Skill is fostered by diligence", or in another sense, "Character thrives on hard work" or "Ability thrives on industry, is a quotation from Cicero.
The arms were designed by H. Ellis Tomlinson, M.A., of Poulton-le-Fylde. The Armorial Bearings were transferred to Ripley Town Council following Local Government Re-organisation in 1974.
FORMER MAYORS
RIPLEY PARISH COUNCIL - CHAIRMEN
1974-1976 1974-1975 Councillor Mrs M H A Emmas-Williams
1975-1976 Councillor G H Stone
RIPLEY TOWN COUNCIL - MAYORS 1976-Onwards
1976-1977 Councillor T Dexter
1977-1978 Councillor S Flint
1985-1986 Councillor M B Gent, JP
1978-1979 Councillor K Hartshorne
1979-1980 Councillor J F Grace
1980-1981 Councillor W H Emmas-Williams
1981-1982 Councillor M B Gent, JP
1982-1983 Councillor D R Neilson
1983-1984 Councillor Mrs M H A Emmas-Williams
1984-1985 Councillor W Pickering
1986-1987 Councillor RK Harby
1987-1988 Councillor JF Grace
1988-1989 Councillor C Cutting
1989-1990 Councillor Mrs J Cutting
1990-1991 Councillor M J Hawkins
1991-1992 Councillor H R Emmas-Williams
1992-1993 Councillor Mrs M E Kent
1993-1994 Councillor Mrs J Cutting
1994-1995 Councillor Mrs S A Ragsdale
1995-1996 Councillor H R Emmas-Williams
1996-1997 Councillor M C Hooley
1997-1998 Councillor Mrs I S N Harry
1998-1999 Councillor Mrs H Shaw
1999-2000 Councillor M C Hooley
2000-2001 Councillor M B Gent JP
2001-2002 Councillor S M Daley
2002-2003 Councillor S D Freeborn
2003-2004 Councillor M J Missett
2004-2005 Councillor W G Fryer MBE
2005-2006 Councillor Mrs I S N Harry
2006-2007 Councillor C Cutting
2007-2008 Councillor R A P Phillips-Forsyth
2008-2009 Councillor Mrs Lynn Jones
2009-2010 Councillor Ron Ashton