To mark 50 years of UNESCO World Heritage, The Gardens Trust are offering a 7 week series to celebrate some of the UK’s World Heritage landscapes. Week 7 Derwent Valley Mills.

Venue: Online talk via Zoom
Time: 10-11.30am (recorded session available for 1 week will be sent shortly afterwards)
Cost: Individiual sessions cost £5. Or you can purchase a ticket for the entire course of 7 sessions at £28.
Booking: Eventbrite book all seven sessions here or book Talk 7 Derwent Valley Mills here.

Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley is the birthplace of the factory system, where water power was first successfully harnessed for mass production, ushering in the modern industrial age. The need for people to come together to work in the mills resulted in the rapid creation of new communities, complete with infrastructure to provide for their educational and spiritual needs. Today those early mills, and their communities, can still be seen in their stunning valley landscape setting, some barely changed in over 200 years. Their significance was recognised in 2001 when they were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Adrian Farmer has for 19 years been coordinating all heritage aspects relating to the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site – from planning responses to research, and engagement to promotion. He received the British Empire Medal in 2019 and was Highly Commended in the UK’s first Tourism Superstar Awards in 2012, for his work in this area. He has written eight local history books.