It's a great place for good ideas – and that's a fact

FROM the humble teasmaid to the bouncing bomb, Derbyshire has many claims to fame – and they all now feature in a book.

A former head teacher has spent two years researching what he believes is great about the county, putting it together with other interesting facts gathered from across the country.

So That's Why They Call It Great Britain also features famous explorers, inventors and heroes from Derbyshire.

Author Steve Pope said: "Until I began my research for the book I had no idea that Derbyshire had so many claims to fame.

"From the humble teasmaid, invented in Derby in 1892 by Samuel Rowbottom, to Rolls-Royce, Derbyshire has been at the forefront of so much that is good about Britain.

"People may already know that Florence Nightingale, whose family had a home at Lea Hurst in Derbyshire, modernised nursing and made it a respectable profession for women – but did you know that she was also a brilliant mathematician who invented the pie chart?

"And did you know that James Hudson, who is originally from Derbyshire, invented the whistle with a pea inside?"

Among the firsts and inventions from Derbyshire that are featured in the book is Derby Arboretum, which became the world's first public park back in 1840.

The first steel-rimmed umbrella, invented by Samuel Fox, born in Bradwell in 1852, is also included, along with Barnes Wallis, from Ripley, who created the bouncing bomb to destroy German dams during the Second World War.

According to the book, Joseph Paxton, head gardener at Chatsworth during the 1840s, came up with the design for the Crystal Palace, in London, which housed the Great Exhibition in 1851.

Mr Pope, of Sheffield, said he decided to write the book to fill in the gaps in his own knowledge.

The 42-year-old visited the county as part of his research and relied on biographical dictionaries, online journals and the internet to finish his debut book.

He said: "Hopefully people will think it is a great dip-in-dip-out kind of book. They should be able to open it at any page and find out something they didn't know.

"It is time that we celebrated what is good about this country."

To find out more about the book, visit www. mondaybooks.com.