Derby 1954

1954 saw a number of events staged in Derby to celebrate the 800th anniversary of its charter which bestowed on it the right to hold a market. This was a highly-valued privilege at the time and many of today’s communities owe their very existence to it. People travelled many miles to buy and sell, often opting to settle permanently near the areas where markets were held.
This short film also features the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Alec Ling and his wife touring the borough’s markets and attending a banquet at the Council House. In addition, there are one or two other local snapshots toward the end.

[@chandlerbingbong]

Damn. We used to be a proud city/nation. Now look at us.

[@tedbagshaw6624]

Lovely bit of film - it's great that this sort of history is shared - Nostalgia is not a trap.

[@georginaleech7344]

This is my father William Smith
Of The Red house stables. Darley Dale Derbyshire. With his coach & team of horses. I remember the day well..

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

I used to live in Greenaway Lane, and learned to ride a horse at Red House Stables, taught by a young lady called Jenny. I still have a lovely picture of me astride 'Robert'. I also used to ride 'Rudy' on occasions. I now live in rural South Warwickshire but I look back fondly on my time in Darley Dale.

[@tango6nf477]

Having been born and brought up in Derby I weep at the sorry state that the City has descended to since living memory. Today it is a filthy scruffy mess and the people of Derby along with it. Oh how we could go back to the town as it was then.

[@nigelfarley814]

What else do you expect under this Government.

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

@@nigelfarley814 His Royal Tonyness started the rot allowing unfettered immigration. I left Derby 2 years ago and have not been back once.

[@nigelfarley814]

@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne Trouble is that us Brits like to travel the world and live where we like. There are around 3 million Brits in France, 2 million in Spain, half a million in both Italy and Portugal. If we look wider there are countless in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Probably 100 million worldwide. Yet we complain when a few thousand come here. Regrettably the country is changing and not necessarily for the better.

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

@@nigelfarley814 Incredible mathematics. More British people abroad than live in the UK. Utterly hilarious.

[@nigelfarley814]

@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne BUT TRUE!

[@reggiesmith3866]

I lived in Derby during the 1940s and remember the trolleybuses and steam trains at Friargate Station. It was a friendly and happy town with many beautiful buildings. When I came back years later I was horrified to see how things had deteriorated in the town BUT thank goodness Darley Park was unchanged and Markeaton Park was looking good too. They must be guarded against so called "improvements".

[@markofsaltburn]

I’m always reluctant to fall into the nostalgia trap; I know from my own family history that there was frequently a much larger gap then between how things looked and how things felt, and that lives were frequently wasted and miserable behind closed doors. On a purely superficial level, however, our civic spaces were - evidently - much more beautiful, amenable and integrated. Consequently, it’s easy to see how seductive the past can be.
The world I live in might be ugly and uncertain, but I’ve had opportunities and experiences that were unimaginable to my working class parents, as well as the wherewithal to address the limitations within myself that just couldn’t have been resolved when we knew much less about how the mind works.
Thank you for posting this.

[@georginaleech7344]

A really interesting program
Full of nostalgia

[@JAB771]

It’s not difficult to see where it’s gone so wrong, just take a look at the population of the city then & something springs to mind

[@phillipclarke2440]

Totally agree with you

[@johnreed8336]

Springs to mind 3rd World .

[@StephenRBeet]

Remarkable film.

[@keithdeley7236]

When Britain was great, what's happened

[@Jordan-io3zi]

Multiculturalism.

[@JL-79]

Diversity became our strength, apparently... 🙄

[@peakdistrictguitarplayer]

Loved seeing Ashford in the Water at minute 25 👍🏻

[@andrewhudson4623]

The worst thing to happen to Derby was in became a city

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

I always felt Derby was too big to be a town, too small to be a city.